Chapter 535: Chapter 535: Old Military Camp Hotel
The monster pulling the cart seemed uneasy at the presence of a stranger. After Goblin Torolf scolded it a few times, however, the powerful creature quieted down.
“Torolf, can you tell me about Military Camp Town? This is my first time going there,” Song Jian said. He wanted to know if Military Camp Town and the abandoned army base on the map were the same place.
“Actually, my master and I decided to settle down in this town not too long ago,” Torolf replied. “I heard that the town’s predecessor was an abandoned army camp. Someone discovered it and turned it into a gathering area using the resources found there. Over time, it grew into a small town…”
Song Jian nodded. It seemed like the Military Camp Town was indeed the abandoned army base marked on the map Qi Yun gave him.
“So it took a decade to develop an abandoned army camp into a town… I wonder when this map was drawn, it’s so unreliable…” Song Jian muttered to himself.
“Are there many god-blessed people in the town?” Song Jian asked.
“Not too many,” Torolf glanced at Song Jian and shook his head, “There used to be a few dozen, but now there’s probably less than ten…”
Song Jian remained silent. Players born in the wilderness had to endure harsher environments compared to those born in bigger cities like the City of Hymns who, at least, had their basic survival guaranteed.
The danger in the wilderness was ten times worse than in the City of Hymns. One could easily encounter high-level monsters at any moment and lose their lives. Even if they hadn’t met any monsters, gathering supplies would be much more difficult than in other places;
However, in such harsh environments, the players who managed to progress could potentially gain many more opportunities and become much more powerful! Just like Tang Ming, who was born in the abandoned town and surrounded by dangerous environments, but could obtain rare jobs and summon terrifying skills such as the skeletal giant dragon. He even managed to join a powerful force like “Death’s Scythe.” If it weren’t for meeting Song Jian, Tang Ming could have easily been a protagonist with great potential for growth;
Along the way, Song Jian continued chatting with Torolf and managed to gather quite a bit of information about Military Camp Town. After more than two hours, Song Jian finally saw the solid walls of the town.
“God-blessed Sir, that’s Military Camp Town up ahead,” Torolf excitedly shouted.
Roar~
The monster pulling the cart became excited as well and let out a roar to the sky;
Song Jian noticed that, while the cart-pulling monster didn’t have a fast speed, its strength was truly immense, walking effortlessly all the way to their destination.
Song Jian followed Torolf into the Military Camp Town and arrived in front of a general store called “Guns and Roses.” A chubby young man was sitting at the counter with a worried look on his face, sighing from time to time.
“Master, we have returned!” Torolf parked the cart in the backyard of the general store and led Song Jian to the counter.
“Alright, good job, Torolf. You can go rest now, and don’t forget to feed our monster some fresh meat,” the young man said, not even looking up.
“Master, this is Song Jian, a fellow god-blessed. He’s planning to go to the Shadowfang Mountain Range and wants to buy some supplies at our store!” Torolf hurriedly explained.
“Buying supplies?” The young man’s eyes lit up as he looked at Song Jian.
“You seem to be new here, is this your first time in Military Camp Town?” The young man smiled widely, “My name is Wang Chui, and I’m the owner of this store. If you’re heading to Shadowfang Mountain Range, I have all the supplies you need!”
“Boss, do you have any maps here?” Song Jian asked.
Qi Yun’s map was so old that many places had either disappeared or changed, causing Song Jian to have quite a tough journey;
“A map?” Wang Chui hesitated, then quickly said, “Of course, I have the latest version here! Not only does it cover all the gathering areas, monster leveling zones, and dungeons within a few hundred meters radius, it even includes a small part of the Shadowfang Mountain Range. The location of the level 30 dungeon Dark Castle is marked very clearly too…”
“How much for a copy?” Song Jian asked, pleasantly surprised to find a map with such clear markings in this small town;
Wang Chui raised a finger and said, “Ten thousand Doomsday Coins for one!”
Song Jian was startled, “Boss, your map isn’t cheap, is it?”
“Well, with this map, you’ll save quite a bit of trouble. They say you’re heading to Shadowfang Mountain Range, right? That area is a level 30 monster zone, so without this map, you might accidentally wander into a monster’s lair and suffer great losses – far more than ten thousand Doomsday Coins…” Wang Chui spoke as if he was truly concerned for Song Jian’s wellbeing.
“Alright, I’ll buy it. And give me some supplies, too,” Song Jian said.
Wang Chui’s face broke into a huge smile – it seemed he had found a big customer. Song Jian had bought the map for the whole price without bargaining.
In fact, the cost of producing the map was only three thousand Doomsday Coins. Wang Chui had initially planned to sell it for six thousand Doomsday Coins, but seeing as Song Jian had bought it without batting an eye, it motivated Wang Chui to prepare more supplies for him.
“Brother, what’s going on in Shadowfang Mountain Range lately? Why are so many people heading there?” Wang Chui asked while packing the supplies and chatting with Song Jian.
Song Jian paused, then quickly asked, “Have a lot of people been going to Shadowfang Mountain Range recently?”
“Yeah, in just the past two days, I’ve seen two groups of people, all players, and just like you, they spent money like they didn’t care about the cost,” Wang Chui said in awe.
“Two groups of players?” Song Jian frowned, asking, “Did they mention where they were going in Shadowfang Mountain Range?”
“Not really, but judging by their direction, I think they were heading to the Dark Castle,” Wang Chui replied. “The players in these two groups were not weak, at least level 23 or 24, and their equipment was pretty good.”
“Perhaps they plan to be the first to conquer the Dark Castle?” Song Jian asked casually.
“Heh, it’s not so easy to be the first to conquer the Dark Castle,” Wang Chui snorted. “That’s a level 30 dungeon. Their strength may be impressive compared to ordinary players, but it won’t be that easy to clear a level 30 dungeon.”
“By the way, is there a hotel in this town?” Song Jian asked. After spending so many days in the wilderness, Song Jian felt as though fleas might start breeding on him soon. He desperately needed to take a hot shower, eat a big meal, and get a good rest on a bed.
There was still half a month left until the time he agreed to meet with Qi Yun, so there was no rush.
“There’s only one hotel in town. Just walk straight down this street for about two hundred meters, then turn left, and you’ll find the Old Army Camp Hotel. You can rest there. I recommend trying their honey wine – it has a rich and sweet flavor and can also replenish Spirit Points!”
“Replenish Spirit Points?” Song Jian’s eyes lit up, and he couldn’t help but smile;
…