Three hours passed, and more than half of the slimes in the clearing had been cleared. The players' EXP bars had noticeably grown.
“Just a few left! Everyone, put your back into it!” Nan Cheng shouted. The staff in his hand burst into light once more as his Wind Slash skill activated, shooting out a green blade of light that killed the last few slimes trapped by the vines.
As the last slime turned into a watery stain, the party members finally breathed a sigh of relief. They collapsed onto the ground, panting heavily.
“So tired...” a player in the party said weakly. “This is more exhausting than running ten kilometers.”
“Totally worth it!” The Mage player opened his EXP panel, a triumphant smile spreading across his face. “I'm almost Level 11—just 1,500 EXP away!”
“Me too,” another player chimed in.
Nan Cheng also took a look at his own EXP bar. He was only 1,000 EXP away from Level 11.
He nodded in satisfaction. “Not bad, not bad. These three hours weren't wasted. This is way faster than doing quests back at the camp.”
“Speaking of which, where's Bruce?” a player asked in confusion.
Hearing this, Nan Cheng looked around and spotted him not far away.
Bruce was currently squatting on the ground, doing who-knows-what.
Curious, Nan Cheng walked over, only to hear a noise coming from Bruce's mouth—
“Sluuurp~”
Nan Cheng: “?”
Quickening his pace, he found Bruce carefully holding two slimes—one blue and one pink—as if examining some kind of precious treasure.
Nan Cheng was full of question marks: ??? Why is he hoarding loot?
Then, he noticed a drop of glistening... mysterious liquid dangling from the corner of Bruce's mouth.
“What are you doing?” Nan Cheng had a bad feeling.
Bruce looked up, gave a cheeky grin, wiggled his eyebrows, and lowered his voice. “Nothing much, just felt like these slimes are pretty cute. Thought I'd observe them a bit more.”
“Cute? You weren't saying that when they were chasing you down earlier. And why are you drooling while observing them?”
Nan Cheng was thoroughly speechless.
“Well...” Bruce wiped the corner of his mouth with a secretive expression.
Nan Cheng glanced at the slimes in Bruce's hands. Seeing that they weren't struggling and were even nuzzling against Bruce's palm, they indeed looked pretty cute. But for some reason, he felt like things weren't that simple.
The viewers in the livestream were also amused by Bruce's behavior:
“Is Bruce planning to adopt a slime?”
“Hahaha, he was yelling about slaughtering them earlier, and now he thinks they're cute.”
“These slimes are indeed pretty adorable. If only they could be pets!”
“That pink slime looks like peach jelly! I really want to poke it!”
“I suggest the game developers add a slime pet system! I'll definitely whale on it!”
“Wait a minute, did he just swallow his saliva?”
“Don't say that, now I'm actually curious if these things are edible...”
“...”
After resting for a while and recovering their stamina, the group prepared to head back to camp.
On the way back, Nan Cheng noticed that Bruce kept holding those two slimes in his arms, carefully shielding them as if afraid they might get hurt.
Moreover, every few minutes, he would look down at them and give a fatherly, fond smile—which, combined with the un-wiped glistening drool on his chin, looked utterly creepy no matter how you sliced it.
The more Nan Cheng looked, the weirder it felt. Unable to hold back his curiosity any longer, he asked again, “What on earth are you planning? Taking two slimes back to raise as pets?”
Bruce chuckled slyly, leaned into Nan Cheng's ear, and whispered:
“To be honest, Brother Cheng, from the very first moment I saw a slime, I've been curious about what it tastes like. During the fight earlier, I secretly snuck a bite of a blue one. Guess what? It actually tastes pretty good!”
“Say what?!” Nan Cheng's eyes widened instantly. His mind went blank with a buzz, staring at Bruce in utter bewilderment, and instinctively asked, “So... what does it taste like?”
Bruce smacked his lips, a look of savoring remembrance on his face as he said with utmost seriousness:
“Mm, melts in your mouth, super smooth texture. A bit like warm ice cream, with a subtle hint of sweetness. Pretty delicious!”
Nan Cheng: “...”
He opened his mouth, but couldn't bring himself to say a word.
The other three players in the party also overheard their conversation. They stopped dead in their tracks, looking at Bruce with dumbfounded expressions.
Thinking they were craving it too, Bruce generously offered the pink slime in his arms, warmly inviting them:
“Don't just stand there! Don't worry, it's not poisonous! I ate one and nothing bad happened. This game is so realistic, it's definitely edible! Want a bite? The pink one might even be strawberry-flavored!”
“No, no, no, we're good!”
The players hurriedly waved their hands and retreated a few steps in complete aversion.
Pink slime: (இωஇ)
Seeing this scene, Nan Cheng's mouth twitched. He facepalmed and sighed helplessly, “Bruce, I gotta hand it to you. You're the first person I've ever seen brave enough to eat a wild mob in a video game.”
Hearing this, Bruce puffed out his chest proudly, full of himself.
“Standard plays, don't overhype it! Who knows, I might even pioneer the game's very first signature cuisine—slime ice cream, slime jelly—and blow up across the entire server!”
As he spoke, he looked down at the pink slime in his hands and swallowed his saliva. “I plan to try this one too and see if the pink one tastes better than the blue one.”
Nan Cheng: “...”
Nan Cheng opened his mouth to say something, but hesitated. He didn't even want to stop Bruce anymore; he just wanted to see what absurd thing this guy would pull off next.
The viewers in the livestream room were equally astonished, dropping bullet comments left and right:
“This is mind-blowing!”
“Holy crap! The folks in front don't need to wonder what it tastes like anymore.”
“Absurd. Is Bruce part dog or something? He eats anything!”
“Whoa there, that's a bit offensive. Dogs didn't eat your rice either!”
“...”
Just as the five of them were dawdling back to camp, a crisp system notification suddenly echoed, ringing out across the entire server:
【Ding—】
【Server Announcement: Players 『Hao Bai』, 『Little Star』, 『Momozi』... triggered Main Quest storyline: Awakening of the Goddess of Light】
【Main Quest Chapter 1 Unlocked】
【Main Quest Activated: Our Home】
【Quest Description: Castellan, once a city of hope, now lies in ruins. A pack of ferocious kobolds occupies its western district, posing a grave threat to the Goddess's safety. Eradicate them completely!】
【Quest Objective: Successfully clear out all kobolds occupying the ruins (Building a teleportation array is recommended)】
【Time Limit: Unlimited】
【Participant Limit: Unlimited】
【Level Requirement: Level 8+ (Level 8 and above can participate)】
【Quest Rewards: Massive EXP, Rare Resurrection Coins, Faction Merit Points, Exclusive Limited Edition Title】
【Quest Hint 1: Want to obtain the full map of Castellan? Go pray to the Goddess in the Temple of Light!】
【Quest Hint 2: Lilith Solavel, the Saintess of Light, is adept in carving teleportation arrays. Seek her help!】
【Quest Hint 3: Kobolds are social monsters that live in large numbers. Be sure to form a party before heading out—do not fight alone!】
【Quest Hint 4: High death risk for this quest! Prepare Resurrection Coins in advance. Using one allows you to revive without losing levels—one coin grants one extra life!】
【Quest Hint 5: Completing any quest objective will award partial quest rewards.】
【Quest Hint 6: Do not back down! For behind us is our home! Brave God-Chosen Ones! Forward, toward Castellan!】
As soon as this server-wide announcement appeared, the five members of Nan Cheng's party exploded into excitement.
“Holy crap?! Who are these guys?! Possessed by the RNG god or something?! They actually triggered a main quest storyline?!”
“How can someone be so lucky? I thought stumbling upon a huge group of slimes was lucky enough.”
“I'm so jealous. A server-wide announcement! I wonder when I'll get featured up there.”
“Castellan? Where's that? A new map?”
The players babbled all at once, each louder than the last.
“Hao Bai... That name sounds a bit familiar.”
Bruce thought for a moment. He had a faint impression of the name, but couldn't recall where he'd heard it off the top of his head.
Nan Cheng, on the other hand, focused on the quest rewards. Compared to daily quests, these rewards were extraordinarily lavish. After reading through them, he drew in a sharp breath:
“Hss—?! Resurrection Coins?! Merit Points?! There's even an exclusive limited edition title?!”
Needless to say, Resurrection Coins were life-saving artifacts. With them, players wouldn't have to worry about losing levels upon death anymore. He wouldn't need to play as cautiously as before—he could go all out in combat, with the fault tolerance and playability cranked to maximum!
As for Merit Points, Nan Cheng didn't even need to guess to know they were the game currency of Glorious Era. While getting game currency as a quest reward was normal, as a veteran gaming streamer, he thought deeper.
This was early in the game's launch, and Nan Cheng understood full well how vital and scarce game currency was at this stage. Plenty of people would pay real money for in-game currency, making this a golden business opportunity dropping right into his lap!
As for the exclusive title, it was even limited edition! Just hearing that made it sound extremely hard to obtain. Players who possessed exclusive titles in games were basically high-level top players, and limited edition titles were the ultimate status symbol. Having one would naturally attract traffic when he streamed the game in the future—what a fantastic reward!
The more Nan Cheng thought about it, the more excited he became, his eyes shining brightly. Without the slightest hesitation, he immediately said to the others:
“Let's go! Back to camp at top speed to accept the quest!”
The group set off immediately in high spirits.
Bruce also caught up while clutching his two slimes, not forgetting to brainstorm as he ran:
“Brother Cheng, do you think if I research whether kobolds are edible while doing the main quest, I'll trigger some hidden achievement?”
“???” Nan Cheng was completely struck dumb. Halting his footsteps, he looked back at Bruce with a complicated expression:
“Bruce.”
“Yeah?”
“Promise me one thing.”
“What is it?”
“If one day you go missing in the game, I definitely won't look for you. Because eighty percent of the time, you'll be inside some cave researching '100 Ways to Cook Monsters'.”
Bruce: “...”
Rate on N.U.
