《The Elemental Tower》


 Chapter 1：I Don’t Want To Be A Starter Packer Anymore!

    Lin Ke. Surname, Lin. Given name, Ke. 24 years old.


    He promised that if he were to be given another chance, he would never be a Starter Packer or cheapskate in an online game ever again!


    Instead, he would place all of his money into the game and become the richest VIP in it!


    Soon after he returned home from work, he casually looked for a newly released browser game, Goddess Continent to relax and enjoy his time. He wanted to see if the game was good. Hence, Lin Ke spent one RMB as he prepared to try the new game.


    As he topped up the money, he spent two minutes to quickly look through the beginner''s guide. Lin Ke then prepared himself to enter the game and clean up the place.


    In that instant, he arrived at a shady, humid forest.


    As a city person, one could say that Lin Ke had no way to survive in the wilderness. He might just not be able to survive a night if he were really left inside a forest alone.


    It was possible that he would be taken away by some wild beasts at any given moment.


    Furthermore, the surrounding environment made Lin Ke''s heart beat rapidly, as these were trees that he had never seen in his everyday life, not even those he had seen in videos. This meant that it was very likely that he was no longer on Earth and was in another world!


    However, this made no difference to Lin Ke as it was as lethal to him regardless.


    Fortunately, when there was a will, there was a way. After taking some time to panic, Lin Ke noticed that items from the game that he was playing had transmigrated along with him.


    Lin Ke felt helpless as he looked at the measly 10 Diamonds in his possession.


    "Seriously. If I were given another chance, I''m definitely not going to be a Starter Packer or a cheapskate anymore. I''ll definitely put all of my salary into the game!"


    Lin Ke was extremely remorseful, but he soon realized something more troubling.


    "Where''s the Main Quest? How am I supposed to level up without the Main Quest?"


    Lin Ke started panicking. He had finally found a ray of hope to survive but troubles kept coming after him one after the other. Was God trying to kill him?


    He shut his eyes tight as he tried to recall information related to this pay-to-win browser game, Goddess Continent. However, the more he tried to recall it, the more his mind went blank.


    "F*ck f*ck f*ck f*ck f*ck f*ck!"


    Lin Ke kept hitting his head. He felt as if a huge swarm of bees was buzzing beside his ears, which annoyed him so much that he started screaming loudly.


    However, he was deep in the forest. Who knew what threat he would attract by screaming so loudly.


    "I''m doomed." It was then that Lin Ke recalled the first sentence in the guide. ''Please follow the beginner''s guide and reach Level 15.''


    ''Would I be in so much agony if I could reach Level 15?''


    Lin Ke wanted to beat the person who wrote the guide to a pulp. How was he supposed to level up without the beginner''s guide?


    He cracked his head as he tried to recall everything that was related to Goddess Continent. This time, he was able to recall something amidst his anxiety.


    First things first. This was a western and magical themed game. In other words, there would be magic and lords in the game.


    Furthermore, this browser game was a mixture of everything, a game that required players to enhance their characters and territories simultaneously.


    Lin Ke then realized something. Where was his Fortress?


    He looked around but all he could see was a dark forest and a pile of stones and wood. Far away, there was a narrow river, but, in Lin Ke''s opinion, nothing that could be deemed a Fortress.


    "Am I the only one here?"


    Lin Ke started feeling despair as his Fortress was not in sight.


    From his limited knowledge, he would need the Fortress in order to level up his character and strengthen his territory. His character would be a goner if he did not even have a Fortress!


    "This is so unfair!"


    Lin Ke groaned as he continued looking around. However, he did not find anything.


    He started becoming suspicious when his line of sight fell upon the pile of stones and wood.


    "These things¡­" Lin Ke muttered. "Perhaps these are the materials to build it?!"


    He calmed down as he recalled the moment he entered the game. There was a field filled with building materials and the System''s arrow was pointing at them. It was as if it wanted the players to start building. He then changed tabs to spend money.


    "That''s right. These are the building materials to build my own Fortress." Lin Ke grew excited after realizing what they were.


    He would be able to develop smoothly as long as he had his Fortress.


    The moment Lin Ke felt happy, a rustle came from afar and soured his mood.


    He was instantly filled with fear. Lin Ke immediately confirmed the source of the sound, ran to the pile of stones, and hid behind it, carefully observing the situation.


    The rustling soon stopped as a gigantic upright creature came out from the trees.


    It was truly a frightening being. This made him realize that he truly was no longer on Earth.


    This being was almost 6.6 feet tall. Its lips were protruding and its teeth were incredibly sharp. No matter how he looked at it, this being was certainly not to be messed with.


    His ridiculously well-built body was messily covered with dirty and tattered skin from other beasts. A notification appeared in Lin Ke''s mind. This beast could be considered a civilized being.


    At the very least, it knew of embarrassment and how to wear clothes.


    Lin Ke did not wonder how it kept itself warm, although he only had thin clothing on him, he did not even feel slightly cold.


    However, being civilized did not mean that it was harmless. Even humans had cannibal tribes.


    The beast gradually came out of the shadows. Lin Ke kept looking at the beast and found it rather familiar.


    "Is it a Werewolf or a Kobold?"


    Its entire body was covered with gray fur and one would mistake it as a canine if it were to get down on all fours. It was slowly approaching him.


    This beast seemed to be incredibly strong. Lin Ke watched it push a small tree blocking its path out of the way with just one hand.


    Lin Ke immediately categorized it as a Werewolf when he realized just how strong it was.


    It was a bloodthirsty Werewolf!


    "D*mn it. It found me!"


    While Lin Ke was observing it, he soon noticed the beast''s nose twitching, as if it had smelled something.


    It did not matter if it was a wolf or a dog. Their sense of smell was incredibly good.


    It must have smelled him. What should he do now?


    Lin Ke gave up on the thought of escaping. He knew that it would be impossible to outrun a beast that lived in this dense forest.


    Hence, he had no other choice.


    "That''s right, I have my Starter Pack! I still have my Starter Pack!"


    A Starter Pack was incredibly important in any browser game. The one RMB difference would often result in an incredibly huge advantage over those who did not pay a single cent at all.


    Furthermore, those who purchased a Starter Pack would have even more advantages when it came to pay-to-win games.


    The game, Goddess Continent, that Lin Ke was playing was a pay-to-win game.


    In a nutshell, all of the beginner''s guides that he found would require the player to purchase the Starter Pack. There was no point in continuing the game if one refused to buy it.


    If that was true, then would the game''s Starter Pack be good enough to bring him safety?


    Lin Ke still had another question hidden within him that he did not even dare to allow it to surface to his thoughts.


    The rewards from the Starter Pack, would he be able to get them?


    ¡­


    A Starter Packer is someone who only buys the game''s Starter Pack and nothing else whereas a cheapskate only buys the cheapest bundle or one-dollar bundle.

 Chapter 2：Red Dragon Queen

    The Werewolf kept sniffing as it sensed a foreign life here.


    The scent was incredibly familiar. It was the putrid scent of those d*mned humans from outside the forest.


    Had a human really entered this forest?


    The Werewolf was enraged when he realized the situation. In exchange for its intelligence, its sense of smell must have degenerated quite a bit, as it was unable to accurately locate the enemy''s whereabouts.


    However, It did not matter. The Werewolf raised its head and looked at its surroundings. The stones and wood that did not fit the surrounding had attracted the Werewolf''s attention.


    The humidity of the air was due to the distant river. The wind blew gently as it spread out the scent of the unknown human everywhere. Although the Werewolf picked up the elusive scent, he was worried that the enemy had already left.


    Thud thud thud¡­ The Werewolf walked about without making any sound at all. It then got down on all fours, as if it was an actual wolf, and walked towards the targeted area.


    As the Werewolf walked forward, the scent of the human grew stronger. This made it more confident in its guess.


    There must be a human hiding behind the pile of stones and wood.


    "Is it just one human or are there multiple?"


    The Werewolf felt his saliva dripping down uncontrollably. It was excited to once again have such an amazing meal.


    A weak and delicious race that had to pitifully rely on their numbers. The Werewolf''s muscles tightened as it arrived at the pile of stones and wood.


    It would be able to see the fearful expression when it went to the other side. Its eyes turned red as it howled angrily. It leaped a few feet into the air, preparing to capture its prey.


    However, just as the Werewolf leaped, it was shocked to see that a youngster was staring behind¡­ it?


    ''Is there something behind me?''


    As the Werewolf was lost in thought, a familiar figure entered its sight. It was a body that was completely covered in wolf''s fur. However, where had its head gone?


    Soon, the Werewolf fell into eternal darkness.


    A pair of bright red heels appeared beside the Werewolf''s corpse. The person then used a red-gold shining longsword that spewed out a scorching hot fire to burn the Werewolf''s corpse and head to ash.


    "The Red Dragon Queen Dra and Red Lotus Longsword."


    Lin Ke muttered from the distance as he looked at the female warrior standing beside the Werewolf''s corpse. She waved her longsword while cleaning up the ash. Lin Ke then took a deep breath.


    This was the most straightforward help Lin Ke could have from his Starter Pack.


    The rewards were one Dark-gold Grade Hero and one Legendary Grade weapon.


    In Goddess Continent, players were able to discern the Heroes'' capabilities based on the color.


    The lowest Grade was white whereas the highest Grade was rainbow. These Grades would determine the Heroes'' ranking.


    The Dark-gold Grade could be said to be an above-average quality, one that could be played indefinitely as an ultimate Hero. This was also one of the benefits of buying a Starter Pack.


    Although the Dark-gold Grade Heroes obtained from the Starter Pack were slightly weaker than those rare Heroes of the same Grade that could only be obtained by pouring in a huge amount of money, the difference was insignificant. As long as one did not have an obsessive-compulsive disorder, this Hero could still be brought alongside him.


    This was one of the reasons why the guides stated that it was a must to buy the Starter Pack. Having a Dark-gold Grade Hero was a huge advantage during the player''s early development.


    One could even say that buying the Starter Pack was just to obtain this female Dark-gold Grade Hero.


    Other than that, there was also the Legendary Grade weapon. This was also the only Legendary Grade weapon that could be used at such a low level. The other Legendary Grade weapons would require players to reach a certain amount of progress and rely on other activities to be able to use it.


    Naturally, if the player''s VIP Level was high enough, the player would obtain a set of Legendary Grade Equipment. However, as a Starter Packer, these rewards were a dream one could only hope for.


    Meanwhile, the Starter Pack''s Hero, Red Dragon Queen Dra, was holding onto the Legendary Grade weapon. In other words, Dra was able to chop off the Werewolf''s head with ease while it leaped in the air.


    "Beautiful."


    Lin Ke could not help but mutter as he watched the female warrior that was striding towards him.


    She was indeed a Dark-gold Grade Hero. The Red Dragon Queen Dra was an incredibly beautiful woman.


    Dra was in her beautiful fiery-red armor which covered more than half of her skin, revealing her almost snow-white skin. Lin Ke''s eyes brightened up as the sun''s rays managed to penetrate through the forest and land onto her skin.


    What shocked Lin Ke the most was Dra''s extremely beautiful face. It would not be a stretch to call her a goddess.


    "Thank you for your praise!"


    Red Dragon Queen Dra revealed an incredibly beautiful smile when she heard Lin Ke''s compliment. She stood in front of him and lowered her body as she made a weird courtesy. "I heed your summons and have arrived, my master!"


    Lin Ke was at a loss. This was the first time that such a beautiful girl was so close to him.


    He looked at the Red Dragon Queen Dra''s bright red hair on the back of her head as she lowered it. He could not help but touch her hair.


    Both of them were stunned the instant they made contact.


    "I''m sorry. I¡­" Lin Ke stuttered as he apologized. He was still in disbelief that such a beautiful female warrior had been summoned before him.


    "There''s no need to apologize for your actions." Red Dragon Queen Dra stood back up. She had a stern yet enraged vibe around her. "Your thoughts are wisdom. I''ll be your sword to destroy all of your hated enemies!


    "For Kassandra!"


    Truth be told, Lin Ke was quite anxious when Red Dragon Queen Dra stared at him. Only a few words got through him but he still understood the whole picture.


    This female warrior had significant loyalty towards him¡­ Perhaps.


    Since Lin Ke grew up in China, all of this was naturally extremely new to him. Just as he was about to open his mouth to ask what Kassandra was, Red Dragon Queen Dra turned around swiftly and looked at the forest behind her.


    "Please wait for a moment. I need to clean up the area first."


    Just as the Red Dragon Queen Dra finished speaking, she picked up the Legendary Grade longsword, which was as long as a human, and charged into the shadowy forest. What came afterward were multiple deep cries.


    "Ah¡­"


    It was only then that Lin Ke''s voice came out of his throat. However, the situation was as clear as day and he shook his head wryly without anyone to confide in.


    Within such a short time too many things had happened, one after the other. However, because he was alone and in danger earlier, he managed to mentally prepare himself to ensure he would be able to survive in this place.


    However, he knew he was safe the instant the Red Dragon Queen appeared. Fatigue started creeping up on him and he felt incredibly tired. He was so exhausted that he instinctively sat on the ground, panting heavily.


    ¡­

 Chapter 3：The Broken Leveling System

    Lin Ke sat on the ground as he looked around. He did not see any danger at all.


    Cries could only be heard in the distance.


    Were they ferocious beasts or Werewolves that tried to attack him?


    Lin Ke did not bother with this as they were all small fries that could be easily dealt with by the Red Dragon Queen.


    Lin Ke opened up the game''s Character Attribute Interface and started looking at it curiously.


    It was not hard to open up the interface as a blurry window would appear before his eyes when he willed it. It was rather transparent and he was able to see what was behind it.


    The interface showed Lin Ke''s personal Attributes and it looked very simple.


    "Name: Lin Ke"


    "Level: 1"


    "Star: One Star"


    "Rating: Average"


    Lin Ke''s own model covered 80% of the window. However, Lin Ke did not feel like it looked like him at all.


    After taking a closer look, he realized the model on the window looked like a Westerner. His black hair had turned dark brown and his face was much more streamlined. There were other changes. Although Lin Ke was able to tell that it was him at a glance, there were too many differences if he were to take a closer look.


    It was as if an Asian had turned into a Westerner.


    "It''s unfortunate that I don''t have a mirror."


    Lin Ke wanted to look at himself but could not find anything that would allow him to do so nearby.


    Although there was a small river in the distance, he did not dare head there - at least while he was alone. The riverbank was more dangerous than his current location.


    Hence, he did not know if it was just his model in the interface or his entire appearance that had changed.


    However, it did not matter. He did not mind if his appearance had changed if he could ensure his survival.


    Lin Ke sighed. He then realized there was a button to obtain more details at the bottom right corner of the Character Attribute Interface. Obviously, it allowed him to check his Attributes and so on in detail.


    Lin Ke was not interested as there was nothing interesting to note from a Level 1 Character.


    However, there were another person''s Attributes underneath his icon in the Character Attribute Interface.


    It was Red Dragon Queen Dra''s window.


    Similarly, the window was mostly covered by her model. The model looked just like the Red Dragon Queen Dra that he saw earlier. Hence, Lin Ke was confident that his appearance had definitely changed. There really was a slight change in appearance when he was transmigrated.


    "Red Dragon Queen Dra"


    "Level: 1"


    "Star: Six Stars"


    "Grade: Dark Gold"


    "Rating: Disaster"


    "It seems like, besides having the same Level as me, she''s much stronger."


    Lin Ke sighed. The word Disaster shocked him as it made him feel like his Average rating was worthless. Furthermore, he did not know just how many tiers were between the Disaster Rating and Average Rating.


    However, as Lin Ke focused his gaze on the word Disaster, a line of small text appeared above it. It was an explanation of the Disaster Rating. "This is equivalent to a natural disaster! A disaster that can''t be avoided!"


    "Woah, that''s amazing!" Lin Ke pouted and then looked at his own Average Rating. "Just a commoner, not much different than the rest."


    "What a horrible comment!" Lin Ke laughed uncontrollably as if he did not mind at all.


    Browser games, no, this was the standard for the majority of the games. The main character''s Attributes would be incredibly bad at first. However, as the Level increased, it would become stronger and gradually become incredibly powerful.


    Lin Ke believed that his Rating would be higher than Disaster if he kept growing!


    He then looked into more details regarding Red Dragon Queen Dra. He wanted to see the Attributes of the Disaster Rated Red Dragon Queen Dra and just how strong she was.


    As he opened the Interface, what greeted him was an introduction to Red Dragon Queen Dra.


    Lin Ke took a closer look since she would be living with him from that day onward. It was a must to understand his partner''s background.


    Red Dragon Queen Dra: "The sovereign of the Dragon Continent, offspring of the Evil Dragon. She was still young when the Evil Dragon passed away. She was cast away by the Red Dragon Tribe and had no choice but to wander on the continent. Dra, who had been cast out, decided to declare herself as Queen of Red Dragons. Since she was alone when she became the Red Dragon Queen, she had become her own queen."


    Hence, Red Dragon Queen Dra was seen as an enemy by the Red Dragon Tribe. Despite countless battles with them, she still had an unwavering wish.


    For Kassandra! In other words, she wanted to find an eternal home.


    She wanted a safe home that would accept her.


    "So that is what Kassandra means." Lin Ke nodded slightly as she understood Dra''s wish.


    However, it was really unexpected to him that Dra was actually a Red Dragon.


    Furthermore, the character introduction for this Starter Pack Hero shocked him. He was not sure if this was real or was it just a fake memory given by the game''s system.


    Lin Ke closed the window as he had a lot of time to slowly figure this out. What was most important to him right now was to see Red Dragon Queen Dra''s Attributes.


    However, Lin Ke could not help but blink at the unexpected situation as he looked at her Attributes. He had even suspected that he had made a mistake.


    Her Strength, Agility, Stamina, and so on were all messed up!


    There was no fixed value and this made Lin Ke frowned. "Is the game bugged or I can''t determine her Attributes at this point in time?"


    Truthfully, Lin Ke still had to rely on the game''s system to survive. He would be in a tough spot if the system was broken.


    He was fine when he did not know it existed, but now that he found it, it was broken. The feeling of being hopeful and then having it taken away was something nobody should experience.


    He continued scrolling down, ignoring the messed up Attributes to see Red Dragon Queen Dra''s EXP Bar.


    Reaching Level 2 was simple. All she needed was 200 EXP Points.


    Lin Ke had been staring at it for a long time and the EXP Bar remained at 0/200. It was not increasing at all.


    However, the cries of the wild beasts from all directions before they died made Lin Ke squint.


    Werewolves and wild beasts were dying continuously under Red Dragon Queen Dra''s hand. However, this did not give her any EXP Points. There could only be one explanation for this - Heroes were not leveled up via killing monsters.


    Lin Ke had played many games in the past. While some games leveled up in such a manner, many more would rely on EXP Scrolls or Fruits to fill in the EXP Bar. Only the main character would obtain EXP when monsters were killed.


    Perhaps this was one of those games. Lin Ke prepared himself as he wanted to look at the game''s Market. Perhaps he could find something there.


    Naturally, there was also one scary possibility - the game''s Leveling System was broken.


    Lin Ke forcefully buried this thought and opened his Character Attribute Interface. He wanted to see his own Attributes and the difference between his and Dra''s.


    However, when he opened it, he found out that his Attributes were all messed up, just like Red Dragon Queen Dra''s.


    As usual, his EXP Bar was the same as hers. It was still at 0/200.


    He did not obtain any EXP Points for killing these beasts.


    The game''s Leveling System via killing monsters was most likely broken.


    ¡­

 Chapter 4：The Elemental Tower

    Lin Ke took a deep breath as he realized how serious the situation was.


    If the Leveling System was really broken, what should he do then?


    As he frowned and was deep in his thoughts, Dra walked out of the forest. She dragged the Legendary Grade Red Lotus Longsword, which was as long as a human, leaving behind a huge gap. Anyone would be shocked when they saw it.


    Lin Ke was extremely shocked as well. What looked like a normal longsword was able to produce such destruction. He finally realized that it was a mistake to think that the Hero obtained from the Starter Pack was the main prize. The real main prize was this incredibly overpowered longsword.


    "My master, any immediate danger within the vicinity has been eliminated" Dra knelt on the floor, presenting the Red Lotus Longsword with both of her hands. "This is your weapon, I shall return it to you."


    "It''s fine." Lin Ke shook his head as he pushed her hands away. "This weapon is able to unleash its full potential in your hand. It''s better for you to use it."


    "Thank you, my honorable master." Dra planted the Red Lotus Longsword into the ground beside her before standing back up and looked at her surroundings. "My master, we''re safe now. You can start building our Fortress."


    "Alright."


    Then Lin Ke pouted. He needed to build a Fortress?


    How was he going to build it?


    He looked at the wood and stones beside him. These were the materials to build it but what was he supposed to do with them?


    Just as he was thinking, a faint window suddenly appeared right in front of him, just underneath the wood and stones. There were many options to build a Fortress.


    Lin Ke glanced through it and saw that Fortresses were divided into two categories.


    They were Resource Fortresses and Combat Fortresses.


    There were detailed descriptions of these options.


    A Combat Fortress was able to grant a great deal of strength to the players and increase their Attributes considerably. Players were even able to summon powerful soldiers.


    Naturally, in order to obtain these benefits, a Combat Fortress would eat up resources at a frightening rate. Furthermore, he would have to choose one of these options if he were to go with the Combat Fortress. The options were "Castle", "Devil City", "Celestial Temple", "Marsh Midlands", and "Bloodbath Arena". Once he had decided the type of Fortress, he would need to gather specific resources to feed his soldiers.


    For example, "Castle" required Food, "Devil City" required Devil Realm''s Egg, and the "Celestial Temple" required Holy Light Stone. If the players were not rich enough, they really could not afford to play this game.


    Then, there was the Resource Fortresses. Although a Resource Fortress did not provide many Attributes to the players and its combat prowess was very low, players would be able to provide themselves with enough resources. The majority of materials needed to build a Fortress could be collected slowly over time.


    The most important point to take away was that Resource Fortress was able to provide a small amount of EXP Points to the players.


    Although it was not much, it was able to reduce the gap between him and those wealthy cash players.


    This was one of the guide''s main points and the recommended Resource Fortress was called the "Elemental Tower."


    Although the Elemental Tower was not the best Resource Fortress, its unique characteristics were what the players needed the most.


    Firstly, this Fortress was most suitable for VIP0 players, minor cash players, and players that did not have much time to play.


    The Elemental Tower was the most worry-free Fortress as players did not need to consider much. All they needed to do was to take out a portion of accumulated materials on a daily basis and this would keep leveling up the Elemental Tower. Furthermore, the Elemental Tower would increase its production rate as well. It would certainly be beneficial in the late game if he were able to produce special materials.


    There was one thing that swayed Lin Ke''s heart. The Elemental Tower was the Fortress that would provide the most EXP Points per day.


    This was the light at the end of the tunnel for Lin Ke. With this, he would be able to level up, assuming that the system was not broken.


    Hence, Lin Ke chose the Elemental Tower as his first construction.


    "The Elemental Tower is being constructed... The time required is 1 hour."


    Hence, a timer starting from 59:59 appeared at the corner of his sight. Its value was slowly reducing.


    "Huh? One hour? Guess it takes quite some time." Lin Ke was startled as, based on his experience in other games, a level one construction would usually be done in a matter of seconds.


    However, he sort of understood why when he saw the wood and stones in front of him started building up via a mysterious force. It was probably due to this.


    It was quite a big pile of wood and stones. Using up all of it would be just enough for a small house. Hence, Lin Ke did not believe that it was enough to build the Elemental Tower.


    Even if it was the lowest level of the Elemental Tower.


    "I''m just going to sit down and take a rest since this Fortress needs a full hour to finish building." Lin Ke looked at Dra standing beside him and patted the ground beside him. "Come and sit here."


    "Yes, my honorable master." Dra nodded respectfully as she crossed her legs and sat beside Lin Ke. She did not sit too close to him and was roughly two fists apart.


    However, this was still considered too close for Lin Ke. He could clearly hear Dra''s breathing beside him and a hint of nice aroma floated about near his nose.


    Lin Ke felt his blood pumping and he talked to Dra, attempting to divert his attention. "How much do you know about the Fortress?"


    He believed that since Dra wanted him to build the Fortress as quickly as possible, it was a sign that she knew more about the Fortress than he did. However, Dra revealed a helpless expression when she was questioned. "I''m sorry my honorable master. I know nothing about the Fortress. The only thing I know is that it will provide us a safe harbor."


    "Is that so?" Lin Ke did not believe her. However, he understood what was happening when he saw Dra''s innocent gaze. This woman really had no knowledge of it.


    "Whatever. Since it only takes an hour. I''ll decide what to do then."


    Lin Ke looked at the Elemental Tower that was in construction and prayed secretly in his mind. ''Since I can''t level up by killing monsters, I really hope the EXP Points given by the building aren''t broken as well.''


    His last hope would be flushed down the drain if that was the case.


    It was agonizing as he waited, especially since this would determine if he would be able to live in this world safely in the future. Lin Ke was in extreme anxiety every single second.


    Hence, Lin Ke wanted to do something else so that he could forget about the time.


    He landed his attention onto the Red Lotus Longsword in Dra''s hand and looked at it curiously.


    Dra placed the Red Lotus Longsword on her lap as she caressed it gently. It looked much smaller and was only half the size of a normal man.


    However, the sword was as long as a man when Dra used it to remove the surrounding threats.


    Lin Ke wanted to look at the weapon''s Attributes.


    However, he did not have to take it from Dra. All he needed to do was to open Dra''s Character Attributes Interface and looked at the longsword in her hand to obtain its Attributes.


    "Red Lotus Longsword."


    "Grade: Legendary."


    "Upgrade Level: 20"


    "Enhanced Level: 0"


    "Star: One Star"


    "Damage: &%£¤&%&"


    The weapon''s damage was messed up as well. It was then that Lin Ke felt the malice of this world.

 Chapter 5：Silver Market

    Lin Ke had already realized that the system was only showing him a vague idea of the stats. The more detailed stats existed in the form of Mojibake.


    Levels were labeled, but players'' Attributes were all in Mojibake.


    A weapon''s Upgrade Level might be labeled, but detailed information on its Attributes was still in Mojibake.


    Lin Ke massaged his temple as he temporarily put this issue aside.


    He already had a ton of problems, one more would not matter at this point.


    Dra remained alert as she stood guard by Lin Ke''s side. Although she cleared out any threats in the vicinity, the blood of all the beasts she killed could have attracted an even stronger predator.


    However, her hands were tied in that situation. If she had not killed these guys, they would have become an immediate threat to Lin Ke''s safety. On the other hand, if she had chased them off, it could have led to an even more threatening situation in the future.


    Furthermore, after killing off these beasts, their corpses could become food to the stronger predators, stalling them momentarily. Once the Fortress was completed, she and Lin Ke would have a place for them to rest in.


    In addition, the gory deaths of these beasts might also ward off another wave of threatening enemies. These enemies understood their own strength, they would retreat on their own account knowing that they were going to be outmatched.


    Lin Ke was not concerned at all that Dra might not be able to protect him. Lin Ke had no doubt that Dra wielded terrifying levels of power as a Red Dragon.


    Her "Disaster" Rating was proof enough for that.


    Unfortunately, the crux of her Attributes was shrouded behind Mojibake, so he could not tell accurately the extent of Dra''s true power.


    With his safety accounted for, Lin Ke opened his in-game Inventory to check out the rewards from the Starter Pack.


    The Starter Pack gave quite a lot of stuff, but it was mainly the Hero and the Weapons. Once he had taken those, what remained were just some Silver, resource packs, and some unique trinkets.


    There were three types of resource packs given - 10 Wood Packs, 10 Stone Packs, and 1 Special Resource Pack.


    The Wood Packs and Stone Packs were Basic Resource Packs. Each pack gave 1000 units of Basic Resources, which are the key materials needed to build the foundation of a Fortress.


    On the other hand, Special Resource Packs only gave 100 units of resources. After a player selected the type of Fortress they were building, it would give them the corresponding type of Special Resources.


    These resources were only needed when building Special Facilities in the Fortress or summoning Special Combat Units. To Lin Ke, these were still useless at this point.


    If he did not mind the sacrifice, Special Resources could be converted into Basic Resources on a 1:1 ratio.


    However, the difference in the value lost would be absurd.


    This was because 10,000 units of Basic Resources were of equivalent value to just 100 Units of Special Resources. It was a difference of an entire 100 times, of course, there would not be anyone who would try this.


    Lin Ke was once again thankful that he got the Starter Pack. If he had come here empty-handed, he would have been digging his own grave.


    That was due to the fact that Lin Ke did not have a single resource to his name after building the tower, the Wood and Stone in his Resource Panel were at 0. All he had was the 50,000 Silver he got from the Starter Pack, so at least he was not at rock bottom.


    That was all the Starter Pack gave him. Lin Ke also took the opportunity to check the Market - one of the game''s most important mechanics. Unfortunately, Lin Ke could only window-shop as he perused through the Market''s catalog.


    The first thing that struck Lin Ke was the item currently on sale on the Market. It was a dark black demonic costume. It was a universal cosmetic outfit that would give players a lot of Attribute points.


    After taking a closer look, he was not shocked to find that the attributes of this outfit were all in Mojibake too.


    However, seeing that this outfit was priced at 4888 Diamonds - though it was lowered to 299 Diamonds from the discount - Lin Ke knew how much of a power-up this outfit would have provided, especially after glancing over at his measly 10 Diamonds.


    Although Lin Ke could only afford to window-shop, he did still manage to get an understanding of the games just by looking at the descriptions of these items.


    The Market had a huge variety of products, all listed down in the dozens of pages in the catalog. As expected, all their prices were also extremely expensive.


    At one point, Lin Ke even saw some Limited-time Sale items. They were all cheap items that were given a 30-40% discount. From the name of the items, they were probably important resources for the early-game.


    Unfortunately¡­


    Lin Ke once again glanced over at his 10 Diamonds.


    ''Screw it, let''s look at other things.''


    Lin Ke noticed that other than the Diamond Market, there was also a Silver Market here.


    In other words, it was a Market that allowed players to purchase items with Silver.


    This piqued Lin Ke''s interest quite a bit as he took a closer look at the Silver Market. A lot of the items here were in the catalog for the Diamond Market he had seen earlier.


    In other words, in the Silver Market, players could use Silver to purchase items that originally required Diamonds.


    "Umm, but isn''t the selection here a little too limited?"


    Lin Ke helplessly looked at the Silver Market catalog that listed out 8 items. Furthermore, all the items listed here all had extremely limited stock.


    After he fiddled around a bit, he realized that he could buy every single item listed here with around twenty to thirty thousand Silver.


    Then, he saw the small question mark at the corner of the Silver Market. It was an introduction to the Silver Market.


    "So this place refreshes every 12 hours?" Lin Ke mumbled involuntarily to himself. This Silver Market would refresh the stock every 12 hours. It had very limited selection and stock, all of which he felt did not have a lot of utility.


    At the top of the Silver Market, the refresh timer for the Market was displayed. There were nearly 10 more hours till the next refresh.


    Lin Ke was not sure about the actual time of this place, but he guessed that the Silver Market resets at Midnight and Noon. Hence, he hypothesized that the time of his current location should be around two in the afternoon.


    Taking a look at the prices of the items, Lin Ke calculated the rough conversion rate between Diamonds and Silver.


    The value of Silver to Diamonds was approximately 1000:1. In other words, 1000 Silver would have the same purchasing power as 1 Diamond.


    In turn, that would mean that the 50,000 Silver he got from the Starter Pack was equivalent to 50 Diamonds. Adding the number of Diamonds he already had, it would total up to 60 Diamonds¡­


    "Why do I feel that the difference is still too big¡­"


    Lin Ke could not help but sigh at the sky. However, one thing he knew for sure was that once the Fortress was completed, the Silver would be produced automatically by his facilities. At that point, he could just slowly accumulate it.


    Now, as he looked through all the interesting items in the Silver Market, he decided to hold himself back. There might be more important uses for Silver, Lin Ke had to use them wisely.


    When resources are limited, one cannot just simply waste them.


    After taking a thorough look through all the items in the Market, he had researched all of these items'' attributes to their utmost limits, using the information to check the validity of his own understanding.


    With that, time flew as he continued his research.


    A long while later, a "ding" rang out in Lin Ke''s ear, causing him to jolt up. Looking up, he realized that his Elemental Tower had already finished being constructed.


    Elemental Tower, Level 1, Allows player to earn an additional 50 points of EXP Points at Midnight every single day.


    This extremely simple attribute gave Lin Ke a weird sense of comfort.


    Finally, he could earn some EXP!


    Despite using the technical term for Mojibake, which is the usual "garbled-up script/gibberish" due to decryption errors, the author in the last chapter used punctuation marks instead

 Chapter 6：Dormitory and Elemental Pond

    A small red medicine bottle filled with some sort of red liquid was in Lin Ke''s grasp.


    This was the Level 1 Strength Potion that he bought from the Silver Market for 1000 Silver. It would increase a player''s Strength by 20 points.


    The reason Lin Ke bought it was to do a little experiment.


    Although he knew that both his and the Hero Dra''s Attributes were all in Mojibake right now, he was wondering if bonus Attribute points would have any effect on it. He needed to take a closer look at it.


    1000 Silver was not much anyway, if converted to Diamonds, it would only be worth around 1 Diamond. Lin Ke thought that it was a fair price in exchange for knowledge.


    Even though he had already bought the Strength Potion, Lin Ke did not use it.


    There was no point in simply wasting a potion since all of this was for the sake of an experiment. It would be best if he could pop this potion when he actually needed it, like during an actual battle, to make the most out of it.


    Furthermore, Lin Ke also wanted to see if Dra, as a Hero, would be able to use this potion.


    In general, potions and other buff-related items could only be used by the player themselves in most online games. They would either buff the player themself or buff the player''s entire team. There were barely a handful of games that allowed Heroes to use potions and the like on their own as players would.


    Lin Ke passed the Strength Potion to Dra, asking her to keep it. He also ordered her to note down her experiences with the potion if and when she used it. After that, he finally went back to analyzing the appearance of the newly-built Elemental Tower.


    A Level 1 Elemental Tower already looked quite decent, though it was not much of a tower, standing at one-story tall, it took up a wide area of space. Based on Lin Ke''s estimations, it had an area of three to four hundred square units. Funnily enough, for the amount of Wood and Stone he used, no matter how Lin Ke looked at it, it should have barely been able to build a small wooden hut.


    The main entrance stood at a shocking height of 4 meters tall and was wide enough for three people to comfortably enter at the same time. As soon as he entered, all the lights turned on as a luxurious interior presented itself to Lin Ke. The brightly lit tower gave off a comfortable feeling.


    The silver lights mounted neatly on the tower walls were not too far apart, so the amount of light in the area was not blinding, but rather soothing. Furthermore, the tower itself seemed to be emitting a light glow. Enhanced with the lighting, there was not a single corner in this Tower that was not lit up.


    As he progressed further into the inner parts of the tower, the area was filled with ten empty rooms. All the room doors were locked shut but Lin Ke could view the rooms from the Control Panel. This type of Control Panel felt like some sort of special surveillance system, giving the player a full view of everything within the vicinity of this area, including every area within the Elemental Tower itself or even the situation around the perimeter within dozens of meters of the tower.


    At first, Lin Ke was still not sure what he could do with all of this, but as soon as he focused his attention on the rooms, a one-line notification appeared in front of him.


    [Do you wish to build a new facility?]


    After Lin Ke chose the option to start building, a huge list of icons appeared in front of him, allowing him to pick the facility he wanted.


    [Dormitory: A living area for Heroes and players to rest. It also produces a certain number of Silver every single day.]


    [Elemental Pond: Collects Elementals from the world and condenses them into Elemental Cores.]


    [Refinery Hall: The facility used for Upgrading, Medicine Production, and Enchantment.]


    [Smithing Hall: An area for smithing equipment.]


    [Summoning Hall: Using Elemental Cores as a sacrifice, players can summon Elemental Guards from the Elemental World.]


    [Altar: A place to summon new Heroes or revive fallen Heroes.]


    After taking a closer look at the list of buildings, he realized that there was nothing to deliberate over. All of these buildings had to be constructed.


    This was especially true for the Dormitory and the Elemental Pond. The former produced Silver, whereas the latter produced a Special Resource, both of which are extremely important.


    Looking around, he found that all ten spots were open for construction, hence, Lin Ke decided to build two Dormitories and two Elemental Ponds, followed by one of each of the other facilities. Then, he decided to leave the remaining rooms empty and build whichever facility he felt lacking in.


    However, when he wanted to build all the facilities at the same time, he realized that he got the short end of the stick by being a VIP0 player. He could only build 2 buildings at the same time.


    With that restriction in mind, Lin Ke chose to build the Dormitory and the Elemental Pond.


    That was a straightforward decision. Most of the other facilities, like the Refinery Hall or the Smithing Hall, required a huge amount of resources to be able to be of any use. Furthermore, he barely had any equipment at that point and had a pitiful amount of Silver. There was no need to think about Upgrading at this point.


    The resources needed for building a Dormitory was simple. It needed 200 Wood, 200 Stone, 2,000 Silver, and a build time of 1 hour.


    The Elemental Pond''s resource cost slightly higher, requiring 300 Wood and 500 Stone. However, the Silver needed was raised to a whopping 5,000 Silver. The price was a bit shocking, to be honest.


    Yet, the build time for it was still 1 hour, which made Lin Ke suspect that all the facilities had the same exact build time of an hour.


    Lin Ke constantly paid attention to the Dormitory''s entire building process. Although 1 hour might seem long, it actually passed by quite quickly in retrospect. After he talked to Dra to get to know more about her, the Dormitory and Elemental Pond had finished their construction.


    He had imagined the Dormitory to be a bedroom, a room that was just over ten square units wide. However, when he decided to personally walk in to have a look at the Dormitory, he was utterly surprised. His expectations were completely blown out of the water.


    Looking into the room from the Elemental Tower, Lin Ke was sure that he only saw a room that was a little over ten square units wide. However, when he opened the room door, he was greeted with a wide suite with 1 room and 1 living area.


    Based on Lin Ke''s judgment, this room was more than eighty square units wide, it was almost as large as his old house back on Earth.


    "This must be some sort of dimensional space¡­" Lin Ke said as he took a deep breath. This was no doubt a dormitory, not a simple bedroom.


    The Dormitory looked plain and simple. It did not have a kitchen or toilet. It only had the one bedroom and one living area for accommodating guests. The living area had a table, some chairs, and some tableware, all made of Stone and Wood, whereas the bedroom''s wooden bed had nothing except for a single blanket.


    It was so plain that Lin Ke could not bear looking at it anymore.


    He opened up the Attributes for the Dormitory to take a look.


    [Level 1 Dormitory: Produces 1000 Silver per day, and awards the player with 20 EXP points. (If there is a player or Hero staying in the Dorm, Silver production doubles.)]


    Lin Ke was stunned, he had just seen something outrageous.


    "It gives money and EXP? If someone stays here the Silver production doubles?" Looking back at this plain and simple environment, he suddenly started to feel like this place was heaven all along.


    Then, he started to wonder if increasing the level of the Dormitory would provide a better quality of living in the Dormitory.


    As Lin Ke attempted to level the Dormitory up, he was met with a system notification rejecting him.


    [You require a Level 2 Elemental Tower!]


    He had not met the building requirements yet. Lin Ke nodded slightly at the notification before bringing Dra over to the Dormitory. "Dra, this room belongs to you now."


    "Yes!" Dra acknowledged the order. To her, every word Lin Ke uttered was absolute.


    The room with the Elemental Pond was much more straightforward. There was no dimensional space at work like in the Dormitory. It was just a pond in the middle of the original room. On regular intervals, a fountain would be formed in the center of the pond, spitting out some shiny gem-like items.


    As Lin Ke picked it up, the item''s Attributes were immediately displayed in front of him.


    [Elemental Cores: A more basic Elemental Condensation Product. It has extraordinary uses.]


    This was the Special Resource that Elemental Towers produce. However, Lin Ke understood that Level 1 would only give him 50 of those. He needed to level these facilities up.


    The Elemental Pond also gave players an additional 20 EXP Points per day.


    Then, Lin Ke set his eyes on the other facilities.


    The one thing that caught his eye the most at this point was the Altar. Lin Ke felt that he still might have a chance to once again summon a new Hero.

 Chapter 7：Delicious Fish Soup

    Lin Ke made preparations to build an Altar, all in hopes of the chance that he could get his hands on another Hero.


    No matter what type of Hero it was, another party member never killed anyone.


    However, as he was preparing to make an Altar, he realized he would have another slot open to build something, but the main issue was what facility to build.


    Actually, Lin Ke was prepared to just level up the Elemental Tower first, preparing to level up the Dormitory in an attempt to improve the living conditions. However, when he tried leveling the Elemental Tower to Level 2, a notification window popped up in front of him.


    [Level 2 Elemental Tower cannot be built.]


    [Required Facilities: Summoning Hall, Altar.]


    Since the Refinery Hall and Smithing Hall were not needed, Lin Ke had no choice but to dump the Summoning Hall into the building queue.


    Building the Summoning Hall allowed players to summon Elemental Guards at the cost of Special Resources like Elemental Cores. To be frank, Lin Ke was not as willing to spend such a valuable resource. However, the Elemental Guards might help improve his defensive prowess a little.


    However, Lin Ke always had the combat capabilities of these types of summons in a negative light. After playing so many games, he knew full well about the lackluster combat capabilities of units that were so easily summoned. When put up against a Hero like Dra, these Elemental Guards would most likely be wiped out even if there were dozens of them.


    In the early-game, to the average player, a Hero like Dra could carry them through 90% of the game.


    However, Lin Ke had no choice but to build the Summoning Hall since it was a required facility.


    The Summoning Hall''s resource cost was much higher than the Dormitory or the Elemental Pond. It needed 1,000 each of both Wood and Stone and an additional 12,000 Silver. As Lin Ke pulled out all of these resources, his wallet cried for mercy.


    The resource cost for the Altar was even worse. After building both of these facilities, his Wood and Stone resources were both down to around 7,000, whereas his Silver was less than 20,000.


    "I''m broke."


    Lin Ke took a deep breath. He felt that he should build a few more Dormitories. Then, not only would there be accommodation for Heroes he summons in the future, but it would also increase his Silver production.


    Based on his current situation, his tight financial situation was a prophecy waiting to be fulfilled.


    However, that did not mean that he could forgo building the Refinery Hall and the Smithing Hall. These were all essential facilities. In the future¡­ If there existed such a future anyway, these facilities were just as important as the resource-production facilities.


    Lin Ke sat silently in the Dormitory as he waited. The build time for the Altar and the Summoning Hall were slightly longer than the Dorm and the Elemental Pond. They took 2 hours to complete.


    As time passed, Lin Ke''s face started to turn pale.


    He could no longer sit still as his stomach was screaming in protest. His stomach was empty, he had not eaten in hours.


    Lin Ke got off work at 5, so it was almost 6 when he got home. As soon as he got home, he ordered some food and started playing the game as he waited. At that point, he was already famished, it had been 7 hours since he last had a meal.


    However, before the food was even delivered, he had been transported over to this place. Since then, a few more hours had already passed. Lin Ke''s hunger was already at his limits.


    In a sense, it had been 10 hours since Lin Ke ate any food.


    "Dra!" Lin Ke looked over to the Red Dragon Queen seated next to him as he asked timidly, "I''m a little hungry, can you make me some food?"


    Lin Ke had scoured the Market for anything that he could eat but had failed miserably. Furthermore, the Elemental Tower was no better. All of these things were made to aid the players in combat, there was no quality of life utility at all.


    "I am very sorry, my Lord." Dra bowed down slightly. "I do not have any food with me, but please wait momentarily, I shall go find some food for you outside."


    After she finished her sentence, she grabbed her Red Lotus Longsword and walked out of the Dormitory. Then, as Lin Ke looked on with the tower''s special surveillance system, she walked outside and surveyed the area before finally heading straight for the river.


    The river was not too far from the Elemental Tower. If anything happened back at the Tower, Dra could return immediately.


    Lin Ke did not feel relieved yet as he watched Dra go hunt some food for him. He was still worried that he might not be able to take the types of food available here. If he were to die from eating dinner in this world, to be frankly honest, that death would be haunting.


    Dra soon returned, based on the time in the Silver Market, she was only out for less than 20 minutes, yet, she somehow managed to bring back three fishes, all heavier than 1 lb.


    As for what kind of fish these were, Lin Ke had no idea. Just the fact that these looked like fish was already good news for him.


    The fish had already been processed near the river. When Dra appeared in front of Lin Ke, she brought out a stone pot. Placing the fish inside, she used her index finger to lightly tap the edge of the stone pot as a ball of clear water appeared from thin air and dropped into the pot. It was just enough to cover the entire fish.


    Then, Dra held the stone pot in her hands and closed her eyes. Suddenly her hands burst into flames as the fire enveloped the entire stone pot. A moment later, a mysterious fragrance started to permeate the room.


    Lin Ke stood up as he looked over at the contents of the pot. The soup was milky white as it continued to boil, constantly sizzling as it came into contact with the scorching hot stone pot.


    This sizzling further accentuated Lin Ke''s hunger, as he could not help but drool at the meal that was to come.


    "Done." Dra finally placed the stone pot on the table. She passed a wooden ladle to Lin Ke, suggesting that he should start drinking the soup.


    Lin Ke took a spoonful of soup and placed it right in front of his nose. Gently breathing in, the crisp fragrance was unbelievably appetizing, causing his entire body to tremble in ecstasy. After cooling it down with a few mouthfuls of air, he had his first taste of the fish soup. The deliciousness of it all surged through his brain as a sense of warmness moved down through his throat as it circulated throughout his body.


    "Amazing!" Lin Ke''s eyes gleamed with joy. No additional seasonings were used, but the taste of this fish soup had already outclassed all the gourmet foods he had tried in his life.


    "Dra! You can have half of it!" As Lin Ke offered, he grabbed a wooden bowl from the side and filled it with half of the fish soup from the pot. He also split the fish in half.


    The fish meat was stewed to perfection. With an effortless tug, Lin Ke managed to grab some meat as he added them to the wooden bowl before giving it to Dra.


    As a Red Dragon, Dra''s appetite was not something that this small bowl of fish could satisfy.


    However, having a huge appetite does come with its benefits. Dra could last half a year without eating anything at all if she had a full meal. The current her was still not at the point where she could feel hunger.


    When Lin Ke offered her the fish soup, she did not reject it. She merely smiled and accepted it, eating all of it slowly.


    In contrast to the delicious fish soup, the fish meat itself was much more subpar. As Lin Ke gulped down the soup, he could not help but think, did the fish meat become less delicious because it gave all its taste to the soup?


    Maybe it was because of the lack of seasoning in this dish that his refined taste buds were not able to adapt to this plain taste.


    As the fish soup was finished, Lin Ke could feel the warmth of the fish soup coursing through his entire body. He had also taken a few bites of the fish meat, but he felt that it was not his cup of tea. Since he felt like there was no point to continue eating it, he did not force himself.


    When Dra saw that, she immediately skewered the remaining two fish on her Longsword. As the sword burst out in flames, it started to grill the now-skewered fish.


    Author seemed to have used a censored verb here to describe the actions of the fire. However, no implication is made so it can''t be deciphered.

 Chapter 8：Werewolf Attack

    "I swear that I''ll definitely create more seasonings in this world! Otherwise, I''ll probably go insane!"


    Lin Ke screamed in his head as he took another bite out of the grilled fish.


    The fish had a high-fat content, melting as soon as it entered his mouth. A unique flavor burst out as the juiciness of the fish poured into his mouth with every bite of the lightly charred fish skin.


    However, with the lack of seasonings, it felt a bit stale for Lin Ke''s tastes.


    The first few bites were amazing, but the more he ate, the less appetizing it became.


    Lin Ke had enough after he finished the first one. However, he could clearly imagine that the taste would become much better just by adding a pinch of salt.


    Well, now that he filled up his stomach, Lin Ke burped out loud as he smiled at Dra.


    Just now, when he was eating the grilled fish, Lin Ke asked Dra if she wanted one of the grilled fishes. However, since Lin Ke did not phrase it as an order, Dra, who was not in a state of hunger, declined. She merely sat next to Lin Ke silently.


    As he set the remaining grilled fish aside, Lin Ke looked at the time. Based on the refresh timer of the Silver Market, it should probably be around 6 in the evening at that point.


    Lin Ke looked outside the tower using the Elemental Tower''s special surveillance system. The originally warm sunshine had faded away as it was replaced with a shining crescent moon in the night sky.


    This place was similar to Earth. Lin Ke reviewed everything he did on his first day in this place. It seemed like it did not have much difference from Earth, especially in terms of oxygen or gravity.


    However, he was by no means a scientist. For him to figure all of this out was already a feat in itself. As for the more minute differences, he did not have the slightest inkling about them.


    "Hmm?" As Lin Ke was using the Elemental Tower''s special surveillance system to view the moon, he suddenly noticed a black silhouette over in the deeper parts of the woods moving suspiciously. He immediately went on high alert as he focused his attention in that direction.


    However, he did not actually need to do that. More than ten tall black silhouettes emerged from the woods, all of them fully covered in long fur. They looked similar to the Werewolves that Lin Ke had seen earlier.


    "Are the buddies here?"


    Lin Ke muttered to himself. Under his cold monitoring, these tall and burly Werewolves moved towards the location where Dra killed the other Werewolves in the afternoon. Over there, they bent down to sniff the charred ground, as if they managed to make out the scent of their comrades'' deaths.


    Soon, a loud howl rang out from their mouths as the fiery wrath of hatred burned in their eyes.


    They looked over at the only building in this area, growling as they surrounded the Elemental Tower.


    "Dra! There are Werewolves outside preparing to attack!" Lin Ke immediately told Dra, "There are more than ten of them, can you take them?"


    Lin Ke scratched his head. He could not understand how these Werewolves managed to make out the scent of their fallen comrades, especially since Dra had burnt them to ashes.


    Luckily for him, Dra immediately gave him an answer that calmed his nerves. "If we''re basing it off of the strength of the Werewolves from this afternoon, then it should not be too big of a problem."


    As soon as she finished, Dra picked up her Red Lotus Longsword and charged out of the tower to deal with those filthy Werewolves who dared surround this Elemental Tower.


    "Wait a minute!" Lin Ke hurriedly stopped her as he saw the countdown timer about to hit zero at the corner of his eyes. "The Altar should be done soon, maybe it can summon a comrade to fight alongside you."


    As soon as the words came out of Lin Ke''s mouth, it became an order to Dra. From her assessment, she would have been able to clear out these Werewolves solo. However, since her Lord had already put it that way, then she might as well wait momentarily.


    The Elemental Tower''s defense was extremely high anyway, even if they were left out there, just these Werewolves would never be able to get into the Tower''s main entrance within their lifetimes.


    There were 5 minutes left till the Altar was completed. Lin Ke repeatedly switched back and forth between the Elemental Tower''s special surveillance system and his actual vision, paying attention to the howling Werewolves around the Elemental Tower and the Altar''s countdown timer.


    He worriedly paced back and forth and immediately ran out of the Dormitory by the time the Altar''s timer reached 1 minute to stand at the Tower''s centermost position, awaiting the Altar''s construction to finish.


    At the same time, the Summoning Hall was also on the verge of completion.


    The Summoning Hall could summon Elemental Guards. Lin Ke had a Special Resource Pack with him that would give him 100 Elemental Cores. He was not sure how many Elemental Guards he could summon with those, but he also wanted to send some of them outside just to test their strength.


    Since Special Resources could now be obtained through the Elemental Pond, its importance had diminished in Lin Ke''s eyes.


    As the one minute passed, Lin Ke received a notification stating that the Altar had been successfully built. He quickly ran into the room where the Altar was built in and had a look at the completed Altar.


    The Altar looked a little weird. It was just a tall platform with complex patterns plastered all over it. Right as he walked in from the door, he saw that the platform had six different stages with a circle at the center of each of these stages.


    Lin Ke was stunned to see that there were two different Altars in front of him as he tried to use it when he entered the Altar''s interface.


    One was a Basic Altar, whereas the other was a High-level Altar.


    Both of these Altars had one free summon, which was amazing news for Lin Ke.


    However, he did not just summon them immediately. He first looked at the introduction of the Altar, trying to understand how these Altars work.


    From the Altar''s introduction, Lin Ke discovered why there were two different Altars in the interface despite only seeing a single one in front of him.


    As it turned out, the two Altar in the interface was classified as the Basic Altar and the High-level Altar. The Basic Altar requires a Summoning Card to summon a Hero, whilst a High-level Altar requires a High-level Summoning Card to summon.


    The highest Grade of Hero the Basic Altar could summon was Purple, the highest Grade for the High-level Altar was Dark Gold!


    In other words, it was the same level as Red Dragon Queen Dra!


    However, this was a P2W gacha game, it would not be an easy task to get the Hero the player wants.


    The highest Grade here does not really matter. Getting Whites and Blues was just a common occurrence.


    When a player uses a Summoning Card in the Basic Altar, it would first give the player a card. Based on the player''s luck, the card determines the rarity of the player''s roll.


    From common to rare, players could get White cards, Green cards, Blue cards, and Purple cards. Then, based on whichever card the player rolled, another roll was made,


    This time, it was to determine whether the player rolled a Hero or Soul Shards.


    Exactly! The cards that came out of these summonings might not always be Heroes. There was also a high chance for it to be the Soul Shards of Heroes.


    A White Hero needed 20 Soul Shards, a Green Hero needed 30, a Blue Hero needed 40, and a Purple Hero needed 60!


    Players with good luck would get a full Hero, players with decent luck would get a large number of Soul Shards, whereas players with bad luck would get a low number of Soul Shards.


    If he managed to get a full Hero or combine enough Soul Shards, whenever Lin Ke wished, he could summon the Hero at the Altar in front of him by using the virtual Altars.


    It did not matter if it was a Basic Summon or a High-level Summon. All of the Heroes summoned in this manner would emerge from this Altar.

 Chapter 9：New Female Hero...es!

    The Summoning Hall was undoubtedly a huge gamble since there was a much higher chance the player would get Soul Shards rather than Heroes. However, in these kinds of gacha games, players were, as a general rule, given a pity system.


    To elaborate, players would be able to get a guaranteed full Hero within every ten rolls.


    The Grade of the Hero might not be guaranteed, but since the probabilities of each Grade were random, players would not always get low-Grade Heroes.


    Lin Ke kept thinking back to the few minutes of guides and walkthroughs that he had read, trying to find any information that would help him in his current situation.


    He vaguely remembered reading this line in one of the guides.


    "The two free Summons that the system gives you will always summon Heroes. Using them, you can easily complete the Main Quests in the early-game. You can switch to higher-Grade Heroes in the end-game if you need them."


    These words gave Lin Ke an important piece of information.


    The two free Summons, one in the Basic Altar and the other in the High-level Altar, were guaranteed to summon complete Heroes.


    "Yep, that''s a welfare service for players in the early-game. After all, they gotta entice the players to continue playing the game." Lin Ke nodded with a satisfied look. If this gacha system gave Hero Soul Shards even in the early-game, he might be screwed in the near future.


    ''No, there wouldn''t even be a future to begin with. Without a Hero, I won''t be able to finish any Quests. Who in the hell would be able to continue playing a game like that?''


    Lin Ke immediately went back to the Summoning interface. First, he selected the Basic Altar and used his first Free Summon.


    The types of Heroes a player could summon were classified by their different Grades - White, Green, Blue, and Purple, in the order of worst to best. Lin Ke wanted to try his luck and see which Grade of Hero he would get.


    With a flash of light. a blue card appeared in front of his eyes.


    [Hero Card: Compassionate Priest Lucy.]


    Without any hesitation, Lin Ke instantly used the card. The area above the Altar started to glow blue as rays of blue light seeped into the circular enchantment of the Altar. As the blue light flashed brightly, a silhouette suddenly appeared in front of him.


    "I''m honored to meet you, my Lord!" A pretty young girl stood on top of the Altar. With long flowing locks of blond hair all the way down to her back, she was wrapped tightly in a sort of linen robe, though that did not stop anyone from seeing her amazing figure.


    "I''m honored to meet you too." Lin Ke nodded with a smile. "Please stand behind me for now, I''m preparing to welcome another comrade."


    "Yes, my Lord!" Lucy smiled as she bowed slightly, getting off the Altar and standing behind Lin Ke.


    As Lucy made her way down, Lin Ke quickly glanced at her status window to check her individual Attributes.


    [Compassionate Priest Lucy]


    [Level: 1]


    [Star: Three Stars]


    [Grade: Blue]


    [Rating: Leader]


    "Her Attributes are a lot lower than Dra''s." Lin Ke muttered in his head. She was a mere Three Star, the contrast was stark when placed side-by-side with the Six Star Red Dragon Queen Dra.


    However, her Rating definitely piqued Lin Ke''s interest. As he looked over at the introduction regarding Leaders, he was much more relieved.


    [With above-average talent, Leaders are often admired by their own kind. They can be considered the cream of the crop.]


    After summoning Lucy, the Basic Altar was now on a cooldown timer. After 72 hours, another free summon would be available. Of course, players could continue to use Summoning Cards to summon, but that was an item that Lin Ke had yet to find.


    When Lucy finally went behind his back, Lin Ke shifted his focus over to the High-level Altar''s free summon.


    This moment was what Lin Ke was waiting for. He prayed for a miracle, hoping that he would summon a Dark Gold Grade Hero just like Red Dragon Queen Dra. He wanted another Hero to carry him through the early game.


    While praying, Lin Ke initiated the summoning with the High-level Altar. When the first ray of golden light shined out from above the High-level Altar, he first felt disappointed. There went his chance to summon a Dark Gold Grade Hero. However, seeing the Golden card in front of him, he still felt a slight sense of happiness.


    After all, the only difference between the Altars was that the High-level Altar had increased the Grade cap of the summonings, allowing players to summon Gold and Dark Gold Grade Heroes, in addition to the Grades that they could summon in the Basic Altar. If his luck had been worse, it was not an impossibility to have summoned another Blue Hero.


    Although this summoning did not give him a Dark Gold Grade Hero, it at least gave him the second-best option - a Gold Hero. If he had posted this in the game''s forums that he browsed before being transported here, it would most likely draw the envy and ire of other players.


    [Hero Card: Elven Archer Avina]


    After summoning the Elven Archer Avina, the High-level Altar also showed the same cooldown timer, signifying that in 72 hours, Lin Ke could attempt another free summon.


    Additionally, players could spend 300 Diamonds or a High-level Summoning Card to summon more Heroes. However, as Lin Ke sat there with only 10 Diamonds, he could not do anything other than watch on idly.


    While Lin Ke looked at the energetic yet graceful Elven Archer, his heart skipped a beat. He immediately summoned her to the Altar.


    As golden light flashed out, the Elven Archer Avina appeared in front of him.


    Avina was quite tall, in fact, Lin Ke''s height could only reach Avina''s shoulders. Lin Ke was already around 1.8 meters tall, but Avina was standing at over 2 meters tall. When seen as a group, she basically looked like she was towering over Lin Ke and company.


    Checking out her appearance, her looks were that of a typical Elf from Lin Ke''s memory. However, despite long pointy ears being an Elf''s signature trait, this Elven Archer Avina''s ears were only slightly pointier than the average human. On the bright side, she looked as charming as any stereotypical Elf would be.


    "I''m honored to meet you, my Lord!" The Elven Archer Avina greeted him in the same manner. Without Lin Ke having to say a word, she made her way over to him.


    At this point, Lin Ke was curious. As an Archer, where was Avina''s bow?


    However, this was a trivial matter. Lin Ke once again opened the status window for Avina as he checked out her individual Attributes.


    [Elven Archer Avina]


    [Level: 1]


    [Star: Five Stars]


    [Grade: Gold]


    [Rating: Nightmare]


    In comparison to Red Dragon Queen Dra, she was just one star behind. It was much better in contrast with the Blue Grade Compassionate Priest.


    The introduction regarding Nightmares was also quite promising.


    [When facing Nightmares, instead of choosing to face them, a lot of people would instead choose to end themselves.]


    This explanation made Nightmares seem much stronger than Leaders. Furthermore, this indirectly explained Elven Archer Avina''s strengths. When up against her, A lot of people would rather choose death than face an existence like hers. With that in mind, it could be seen that a Five-Star Hero would already start messing with the opponent''s psyche.


    After Avina proceeded to move behind Lin Ke, he turned around to take a look at the three. All of these babes had their own strengths, with the Red Dragon Queen Dra obviously having the most superior aura out of the three. When standing side-by-side, people''s gaze would naturally shift to her.


    As a Blue Grade, Lucy''s appearance did not draw too much attention. When looking solely at her, she was unbelievably charming. However, when standing next to these two, she could, at most, be seen as a sideshow.


    "Does this game only have female Heroes?" Lin Ke looked over at the three beautiful Heroes as a thought suddenly popped into his mind. "In that case, wouldn''t the future me be living in a harem world?"


    However, that was merely a thought, though it did leave Lin Ke a little flustered. As someone with little to no experience with women, he definitely had an inclination towards that sort of world.


    Shaking his head, he tried to put that thought in the backburner for now. At this point, what he needed to do was to survive in this world. He could think about all of that when his safety was guaranteed.


    Now, he had to go take a look at the Summoning Hall. This facility had also been completed.

 Chapter 10：Instant Combat Resolution

    Lin Ke wanted to head directly to the Summoning Hall, but on the way, Lucy shyly pulled on his sleeve, showing a pitiful expression as she asked, "My Lord, do you have anything to eat? I''m starving."


    "Umm, a little bit." Lin Ke felt slightly awkward. He never would have expected that the newly-summoned Compassionate Priest Lucy would be hungry so quickly.


    After that, he looked over at Avina and asked curiously, "What about you? Are you hungry too?"


    "Yes, my Lord." Avina''s face blushed red as she lightly grabbed her smooth pale stomach, muttering softly, "I could do with some food."


    "Alright, I understand."


    As the corners of his mouth twitched, Lin Ke brought the girls over to the Dormitory, handing the uneaten grilled fish over to them. "I''m sorry, I only have this one grilled fish with me at the moment. You guys will have to make do for now, we can find more food a bit later."


    At that point, the fish was already cold, but the two of them did not seem to mind. Splitting the fish in half, they wolfed all of it down instantly, much to Lin Ke''s surprise.


    He did not know that they were this hungry. To think that they were hungry enough to completely disregard any ladylike image they had.


    Luckily, the fish did not have many fine bones, so the two of them did not choke on any as they inhaled the food in front of them. Lin Ke felt like that would have been an inevitability.


    Barely a few moments later, an entire 1kg fish had completely disappeared into their stomachs. However, judging by their unsatisfied looks, they were obviously not full yet.


    Lin Ke started to feel a bit more stressed, he had no idea how big of an appetite these Heroes had. He was not sure if he was capable enough to take care of them.


    It was only the two of them for now, but if the Heroes in the future also had such a huge appetite, then what was he to do?


    Inside the Elemental Tower, there was nothing he could see that could be used to help them survive. Would they have to constantly go out hunting and fishing?


    "What a drag."


    Lin Ke mumbled to himself as he led the three babes over to the Summoning Hall.


    The Summoning Hall was another structure that used dimensional space. Inside the tiny room stood a gigantic hall. The ground at the center of this hall was completely etched with complicated patterns. As Lin Ke stood on top of it, a pop up appeared asking if he wanted to Summon Elemental Guards.


    With a wave of his hand, Lin Ke pulled out twenty Elemental Cores and casually tossed them onto the ground. Soon, 4 Elemental Guards emerged from the floor''s enchantment.


    The Elemental Guards'' bodies looked somewhat ethereal, though their height only reached Lin Ke''s chest level. Their bodies glowed with a bluish-purple light as if they were giving off some extraordinary aura.


    However, when Lin Ke checked the Elemental Guards'' Attributes, he was disappointed to see a single Level One icon and nothing else.


    Despite being disappointed by the Level One Elemental Guards, Lin Ke still wanted to do as he planned. He wanted to see how much these Elemental Guards could do.


    After all, these Elemental Guards cost 5 Elemental Cores to summon. A Level 1 Elemental Pond could only produce 10 Elemental Cores per day!


    Lin Ke had the 4 Elemental Guards follow behind him after they were summoned. They were tasked with protecting him.


    As a normal average human, he had no confidence in defeating any of the Werewolves outside - at least not at this moment.


    He had put all his Elemental Cores into this. The Summoning Hall in front of him had exhausted most of his Special Resources.


    "What do you guys think is the best plan of action to defeat the Werewolves outside?"


    "To them, this probably isn''t a big deal." Lin Ke hypothesized. However, that was his natural personality, being cautious enough to not to make any mistakes. Before doing anything, he would always try his best to make any necessary preparations.


    Although he might be a bit reckless at times, he was able to strengthen himself just by waiting a few minutes in this situation, and thus increasing his chances of winning by quite a huge amount. Why would he not do it?


    Within these few minutes, he could summon two more Heroes and a few Elemental Guards to help Dra out. It was obviously better than sending Dra out alone, much less at the cost of a mere few minutes.


    "When heading out, be on your guard everyone."


    Lin Ke stood behind the main entrance as he warned the three girls. When he saw that fire was burning in these girls'' eyes as they were eager to go, he stopped talking and opened the door. "It''s up to you guys, kill all of these Werewolves!"


    As soon as Lin Ke gave the order, Dra pulled out her longsword and disappeared from his sight. By the time he realized it, she was already more than a dozen meters away, hacking away at a Werewolf.


    Elven Archer Avina just stood at the entrance. As she raised her left arm out, a bracelet with a cross dangled down from her wrist. With a flick of her arms, the cross turned into a silver longbow that seemed other-worldly, with a ray of light as its string.


    As Avina pulled on the bow''s ray of light, a light arrow was swiftly fired. It hit one of the werewolves right in the chest and pierced right through it.


    After she shot out three bolts of light arrows, she suddenly stopped. To Lin Ke''s surprise, she suddenly raised both her arms up in the sky and a huge ray of light shot out from the bow, piercing the night sky.


    "Explosion - Arrow of Starry Light!"


    As Avina shouted, a shower of light rays descended from the heavens, pelting the Werewolves straight into the earth.


    Dra, who was also within Avina''s attack range, nonchalantly raised her left arm. With a sudden flick of her wrist, a giant shield that looked like it was made from the scales of a huge creature appeared, shaking off the shower of light raining down upon her. She did not seem to have taken any damage from it.


    Then, with a slash of her longsword, she sliced up the Werewolves that tried to take refuge under her shield in half.


    Before Lin Ke could even finish taking a full breath of air, there were barely a couple of stragglers left from the original large number of Werewolves. They looked on in fear and they tried to make a run for it. Dra did not move in time to strike them down.


    By the time Lin Ke finally realized what had happened, the three beautiful Heroes were already back by his side. Suddenly, Lin Ke started to feel a bit troubled by this situation as he could not help but think that these Werewolves would still return to cause him trouble. At the end of the day, killing them might be the best course of action.


    However, since they had already escaped, Lin Ke could not ask Dra to chase after them. These Werewolves were familiar with this forest, if he were to ask the Heroes to head in, their enemies would have the home-field advantage.


    Furthermore, he could not guarantee his own safety if he decided to weaken the defenses on his side.


    "Alright, the threat''s been dealt with. Avina, Lucy, if you girls are still hungry, there''s a river nearby for you to catch some fish. However, I haven''t personally been there before, so ask Dra about it if you want."


    As Lin Ke walked back into the Elemental Tower, he glanced at the Elemental Guards who did not even get to move. He could not help but sigh.


    Those two girls were too powerful, ending the battle before he even knew it. He did not even get to test the Elemental Guards'' strength at all in the end.


    However, he was quite happy with the developments. Dra and Avina''s combat prowess was out of this world, with their protection, Lin Ke could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

 Chapter 11：Avina’s God-tier Skill

    When Lin Ke headed back to the Elemental Tower, he first went and built two extra Dormitories before doing anything else.


    At this point, he had 4 people but 2 Dormitories.


    Of course, it was not due to embarrassment from sleeping in a room with Dra and the others, but rather, it was due to the fact that whenever a Hero lived in a Dormitory, its Silver production doubled. With so many Heroes, why would he not build more Dormitories? It would be a waste of efficiency otherwise!


    That was right, it was totally not because Lin Ke was too shy! He definitely did not want to waste the possible income from having Heroes stay in their own Dormitories!


    Hence, Lin Ke made his decision. In the early-game, he would build 4 Dormitories and 2 Elemental Ponds, and when those were completed, he would upgrade to a Level 2 Elemental Tower.


    With the Silver produced from the Dormitories, by tomorrow, he could start building the Enchantment Hall and the Refinery Hall.


    Lin Ke had already started to feel the scarcity of Silver in this world. Just from building a few facilities on the first day, the Silver he got from the Starter Pack had already almost been used up.


    If the Main Quests system was still around, it should have been much easier.


    With that in mind, Lin Ke sighed in frustration.


    Well, having these was better than nothing. If he just slowly saved up on resources, he would eventually get enough.


    Looking at the current situation, at least the foundation had been set up. In the future, Silver would be produced every single day; the same applied for the Special Resources. At the end of the day, he could still slowly make his way towards the higher levels.


    The only thing that frustrated Lin Ke right now was all the items in the Diamond Market that he could not afford. That was the issue that stung the most.


    As there were more and more facilities, Lin Ke slowly realized how much EXP points these facilities brought him.


    The Level 1 Elemental Tower itself would give him 50 EXP Points, but resource facilities like the Dormitories and Elemental Ponds would only bring him 20 EXP points.


    However, the utility facilities like the Altar and Summoning Hall gave slightly more EXP Points, giving him 30 EXP Points each. That was quite a decent amount.


    Based on Lin Ke''s estimation, once he finished building the facilities that night, he would be en route to reach Level 2 by the next day¡­ That was a tragic discovery.


    This was an online gacha game after all. If someone needed more than 1 minute to reach Level 2, they were probably considered mentally challenged.


    Basically, these were the types of games that allowed you to level up with just a few clicks early on.


    Soon, Dra and the others returned to the Elemental Tower. As Lin Ke went to greet them, he found that they were carrying the corpse of an entire deer and a few live fish that were still flopping about.


    As Lin Ke watched on, Dra lit a bonfire and started to barbecue the deer meat and grill the fish meat. He walked over to the bonfire and sat down in the middle of the group.


    He was quite curious about the combat prowess these girls had displayed earlier.


    "Dra, Avina, in that battle just now, did you use your full power?"


    As Lin Ke''s nose twitched, he looked over at the green light seeping out from Avina''s hands. Bits of green powder dropped down from her hands and sprinkled onto the venison, instantly emitting a strange aroma.


    "No, that''s not the case." Dra was the first to answer, "I felt like my power was being largely restrained, I did not manage to unleash my full potential at all.


    "Furthermore, my Innate Ability has also been sealed, otherwise, had my Draconic Might still been active, not a single beast would dare to live dozens of miles within this area, much less having these puny Werewolves challenge us."


    Lin Ke nodded at Dra''s words. That was more like the dragons in his imagination.


    "Me too," Avina said as she continued watching the venison being roasted, "Otherwise, my Arrow of Starry Light would''ve been able to cover a much larger area. Why would it even cover such a small area if it was at its full potential? It even let a few insects escape!"


    Obviously, not being able to clean up all the Werewolves took a hit at their ego. They had no choice but to blame it all on their lowered capabilities.


    It seemed that right now, their Levels should be something akin to slowly unleashing their full potential. If they ever reached their full potential, Lin Ke did not know what effects Levelling up would bring them.


    After hesitating briefly, Lin Ke asked the others curiously, "Then, do you guys know what kind of special abilities you have? Maybe something like Avina''s Arrow of Starry Light?"


    When Lin Ke asked this question, the girls hesitated. It was not that they did not want to say it out loud, but rather, it was because they had not paid close attention to themselves much. Whether they had such abilities was something that they truly did not know.


    However, Dra quickly answered, "If you really want me to put a definition to my abilities in that manner, then, I guess they could be seen as two different abilities."


    Dra raised up both her hands and showed them to Lin Ke. "My left arm is my shield, it is able to unleash the Dragon King Shield, blocking all damage not exceeding a certain amount. It can block any kind of damage. On the other hand, my right arm is able to unleash the Dragon King Divine Power, whipping out multiple attacks at once. Every attack is equivalent to my max damage output, in other words, a full-powered attack."


    Lin Ke acknowledged her answer, he now vaguely knew what Dra''s skills were.


    Since the Attributes were mostly written in Mojibake, there was no way for Lin Ke to note down the Heroes'' skills. He could only confirm their skills through their own descriptions.


    Now, Dra''s skills were quite clear to Lin Ke, one was the Dragon King Shield and the other was the Dragon King Divine Power.


    The Dragon King Shield was a damage reduction skill, whereas the Dragon King Divine Power was a multi-attack skill. One was for DPS and the other was for defense, a classic meat shield skill combo.


    Furthermore, Dra was a Red Dragon, a classic hyper-defensive legendary race.


    Based on the game''s classification, Red Dragon Queen Dra was most suited to be placed in the frontlines, becoming a super tanky Hero.


    Then, Avina also started to explain her own abilities, "I think I can only unleash two of these abilities.


    "First is the Arrow of Starry Light you''ve already seen. It can deal area-of-effect damage to enemies within a certain range. If it hits people that I acknowledge as party members, the damage will be negated and be replaced with a small amount of healing."


    Avina''s words left Lin Ke in shock. Never would he have expected that this skill of hers would be so amazing. Not only did it deal AoE damage to enemies, but it could also differentiate between friend and foe. Although it did not heal much, it should still be considered a god-tier skill!


    Dra nodded. Just now, she was within the range of Avina''s Arrow of Starry Light. Since she did not understand the effects of this attack, she had instinctively blocked the attack, even accidentally protecting the Werewolves near her.


    Well, at least she did kill them off immediately after.


    Now that she understood Avina''s attack, if she were ever in a similar predicament in the future, naturally, she would know how to utilize it better.


    However, from this interaction, Lin Ke could also understand the sheer difference in power between Dra and Avina.


    Avina''s Arrow of Starry Light had barely dealt any damage to Dra, she merely shrugged all of the hits off with her Dragon King Shield.

 Chapter 12：Leveled Up

    Avina was not done with her explanation yet.


    She waited for the group to recover from the shock before explaining further about her other skill, "My other skill is what I usually call Fatal Arrow. It will target the most wounded enemy and attempt to kill it."


    Lin Ke was mortified when he heard it.


    ''Isn''t that an assassination skill? If an enemy with that sort of skill uses it on me, will I be able to survive?''


    After all, this was now the real world, it was not like an in-game world where everything was clearly defined by HP. In a situation like this, if he was struck by such a skill of the enemy, he would still have to die no matter how much HP he had.


    "Avina, can you control which enemy you shoot?"


    Lin Ke asked Avina, "If there was an enemy of higher importance, but they weren''t as injured, would you still be able to kill them?"


    Avina considered shortly before shaking her head. "I''m very sorry, my Lord. Against such an enemy, my arrow would not have any special effects. It would become exactly like an average attack."


    Lin Ke breathed a sigh of relief, at least he understood the limitations of these sorts of attacks. So, as long as he could preserve his healthy condition, he would not have to fear such a skill affecting him.


    However, moments later, an even happier thought popped up in his head. Would the enemies in this world even follow the same logic as in-game skills? Only the Heroes that he had summoned using the game system would have these sorts of unique skills, right?


    Furthermore, Lin Ke still had no idea what kind of change he would undergo after leveling up.


    Or rather, would a level up even change anything for him.


    When it came to leveling up, Lin Ke had all sorts of guesses as to what would happen. However, it was barely a few more hours till midnight, he did not need to worry at this point. By the time he leveled up, he would naturally understand what kind of benefits it would give him.


    As soon as Avina finished, everyone''s gaze shifted to Compassionate Priest Lucy.


    In the battle earlier, the enemies were already annihilated before she could even join the fray. That caused everything about her to be shrouded in mystery up to this point.


    "Hmm~ Why are you guys looking at me?" Lucy blinked innocently, seemingly distraught over the sudden attention. Then, almost as if something clicked in her head, she pointed at herself and asked, "Do I have to explain as well?"


    "Of course."


    Dra said in a low voice, "We need to understand your abilities in order to formulate an appropriate strategy for the future."


    Before Lin Ke even said anything, the first Hero to be summoned - Dra, using her authority as a senior, gave out the order to this newcomer.


    "Alright! Alright!" Lucy waved her hands innocently before saying, "And here I thought someone like me, who didn''t participate in the battle, didn''t need to say anything~"


    Lucy looked over at Lin Ke and waved her hands to create some sort of halo. When the halo reached Lin Ke''s body, he was enveloped in comfortable warmth.


    "This is one of my abilities - Compassion." Lucy had a smug look on her face as she said that, seemingly very proud of her ability. "Anyone under the effects of Compassion will have any damage received halved. With that said, if the damage is too high, then Compassion won''t be able to do much."


    As soon as Lucy finished, Lin Ke was overjoyed. This was an additional layer of protection for him.


    With this, his survivability would significantly increase.


    As a Blue Grade Hero, just having this skill was already an amazing revelation in Lin Ke''s eyes.


    However, seeing that both Avina and Dra had two skills, there was no way Lucy would only have one.


    "My other skill is called Empathy." Lucy started to describe her second skill, "It can make one enemy feel empathy for us, causing them to stop attacking."


    As Lucy finished her explanation, Lin Ke was shocked.


    ''This is a god-tier support! A Blue Grade? Are you kidding me?''


    "However, it does have quite a huge limitation." Lucy sighed but had a smirk on her face, obviously recognizing that the group was completely shocked by her skills. "It only works on creatures of flesh and blood, and they must have a high enough IQ and EQ. Otherwise, the effects will be greatly weakened."


    "Oh, one more thing, the duration of this skill is quite short. The stronger the enemy, the shorter the duration. It will be able to last for 10 seconds at most."


    With that addendum, Lin Ke was quite disappointed. However, it was a CC skill after all, in the right situations, this skill might even be as useful as a divine skill.


    As the group continued to converse, Lin Ke was notified that the other 2 Dormitories had been completed. He casually queued another Dormitory and an Elemental Pond to be built. Once he finished all of that, he could then start working on the Level 2 Elemental Tower.


    Seeing his Silver flowing away like water down a drain, Lin Ke could only comfort himself with the thought of the 8000 Silver worth of profits from the Dormitories he would get tomorrow.


    If he was willing to continue waiting, he might even be able to see how the Silver would come into being inside the Dormitory.


    However, Lin Ke went to sleep in one of the Dormitories without even waiting for midnight. He felt like, in this world, it was best to maintain a well-rested status in order to have enough energy for the next day.


    Before Lin Ke went to bed, he started upgrading the Elemental Tower to Level 2.


    The Level 2 Elemental Tower needed 6 hours to complete and by the time he woke up the next day, it would be complete.


    Lin Ke knew full well that he was not a carefree individual. He did not think that he would be able to fall asleep that easily on his first day here in this world.


    He had already made preparations to counter the horrible feeling of not being able to fall asleep. Hence, he decided to hit the sack a few hours earlier, forcing himself to sleep.


    However, all these plans were for naught.


    Just a few minutes after lying down on the wooden bed of the Dormitory, before he could even start recounting the experiences he had today, soft snoring could already be heard inside the room. He was sleeping like a log¡­


    ¡­Until he was awakened by a weird tingling sensation.


    "Ugh~" Lin Ke felt like his entire body was being invaded by dozens of worms, biting and ripping his skin. At the same time, it also felt like someone had rubbed anesthesia all throughout his bones, his body felt so weird that he screamed uncontrollably.


    However, he quickly suppressed his cries.


    He could sense that this suffering was bringing a lot of benefits to him. Although he had no idea where these sensations came from, he gritted his teeth and persevered.


    The numbing sensation came and went like a whirlwind. After holding back his howls of agony a few times, this miserable feeling started to fade away, leaving behind a sense of comfort.


    This type of comfort came from the disappearance of suffering. It was like the feeling of finally being free. As Lin Ke took a deep breath, he opened up the Market and went to the Silver Market.


    He wanted to use it to tell the time.


    "Hmm?"


    However, when Lin Ke saw the Silver Market, he immediately understood what was going on.


    The Silver Market''s refresh timer was at 11 hours and 55 minutes. In other words, based on his deduction, Midnight had just passed.


    To further this line of thinking, that meant that the numbing sensation he felt earlier was related to this.


    With that, there was only one thing that had to do with midnight.


    The built facilities had just given players their EXP Points.


    Lin Ke had leveled up!


    The original onomatopoeia used is more commonly used in Asian culture, usually to imply a cutesy pout kind of feeling.The author made a typo. The original sentence was "seeing that both Avina and Dra had two Heroes". Changed "Heroes" to "skills" based on the context

 Chapter 13：Shortcomings And Compensations

    Lin Ke did not expect that he would feel such agony while going through a level up.


    He did not know if this would happen again or would just be a one-time event.


    However, his body felt so good when he moved it that no word could describe the feeling. It was as if his body had undergone a huge change.


    Lin Ke suppressed his cry when he woke up in shock. Yet, it attracted the few female Heroes that were on high alert.


    His body was already in pristine condition before the transmigration, but he felt even better as strength was surging into his body.


    Naturally, this so-called strength was merely an illusion as his original body was merely clearing up the imbalance in it.


    What was certain was that he was much stronger than his past self.


    The Attributes probably would not have increased much as he raised his Level from 1 to 2 since Lin Ke did not feel much difference in his body before and after his transmigration.


    The only explanation was that Lin Ke''s body was still as it was before he leveled up. However, when he reached Level 2 and his Attributes increased, this caused his body to enhance to what a Level 2 body should be.


    Hence, this sensation was the most intense at this stage. The intensity would lessen along with the side effects when he reached Level 3.


    All he needed was 240 EXP Points to reach Level 3. There was a small difference in leveling up when compared to Level 1 to 2. In other words, Lin Ke did not have to do anything and he would reach Level 3 the next day.


    Whether his theory was correct would soon be proven when the time arrived.


    "I''m fine." Lin Ke looked at the group of female Heroes that were staring at him anxiously. He smiled. "It''s fine, I only felt some discomfort when my body was enhanced."


    Lin Ke comforted the female Heroes and felt that it was time for him to do some stuff.


    As he was left with a few Silvers on him after trying to level up his Elemental Tower to Level 2 before he slept, he had no choice but to delay his second construction.


    Now that he had woken up, he looked at his own Inventory to see that 8000 Silvers had been deposited to him from the Dormitory since there were more than 24 points. In addition to the leftover money that he had, he had enough money to build the Refinery Hall and Smithing Hall.


    Lin Ke brought Dra and the others out of the Dormitory. He went straight to the empty field where the construction had yet to begin and chose to build the Smithing Hall without any hesitation.


    The Smithing Hall could provide Equipment for Players and Heroes. At the same time, it could also provide Military Equipment for the Elemental Soldiers as well.


    Upgrading the Equipment was very important to increase his combat capability. The difference between having Equipment and not having Equipment was as clear as day.


    By combining Lin Ke and the girls'' Attributes, they were only equivalent to Dra with her Legendary Grade Longsword''s Attributes. This meant that they were essentially naked. In gaming terms, it meant that they did not have any Equipment on them.


    Although Avina seemed to have her own Equipment, the Equipment forged directly from the Smithing Hall was able to increase the wearer''s Attributes. Even if they did not utilize the equipment, it would boost their strength greatly by just wearing it.


    Avina, Dra, and the rest were already incredibly strong. Now that they were enhanced by the Equipment, Lin Ke believed that this strength would bring them to a whole new level.


    Furthermore, he would definitely make himself a set of Equipment for self-protection, otherwise, there would be no way he could defeat a Werewolf.


    Despite this, it was not something embarrassing at all.


    After all, he was merely a white-collar commoner who rarely exercised and would only commute between his company and home. It was slightly overboard to say that he was completely useless. Although his Attributes were higher than those Werewolves which had been hunting in the forest all these years, his combat sense and capabilities were far inferior to theirs.


    He was the Lord of a Fortress and his objective was simple. All he needed to do was to keep strengthening himself and increase his survivability so that he could ensure his own safety before his Heroes arrived.


    All the problems could be handed to his female Heroes to settle. If they were unable to solve the problem, it would be the same for Lin Ke no matter how hard he tried.


    All Lin Ke needed to do was to Level up the Elemental Tower and the remaining buildings, and upgrade himself, and the female Heroes. This was his role and everything would be fine as long as he achieved it.


    Lin Ke planned to go back to take a nap despite him feeling like he had greatly recovered.


    "It seems like I can sleep soundly if I sleep in the Dormitory." Lin Ke took note of this as it would be impossible for him to recover this much by just sleeping for two to three hours. He could only achieve it by sleeping very soundly.


    He opened up the female Heroes'' Attribute Interface while he was on his way back and was rather disappointed as they all were still Level 1.


    "Looks like they can''t level up by just killing monsters and they won''t level up along with me as well."


    Lin Ke sighed. It seemed like the only way for them to raise their level and EXP Points were the EXP Scrolls.


    EXP Scrolls were one of the items Lin Ke saw at the Market. He had some hope that heroes would level up along with the Players, and EXP Scrolls were merely tools used to help the Heroes that would be summoned later on.


    It was obvious that a pay-to-win game would always be a pay-to-win game. The Heroes could only be leveled up through EXP Scrolls.


    However, the games were not that greedy. They would not force Players to use the Gold Grade EXP Scrolls worth 50 Diamonds to level up the Heroes.


    One Gold Grade EXP Scroll could provide ten thousand EXP Points to the Heroes!


    Hence, the game''s Main Quest would definitely give Players a number of EXP Scrolls. Furthermore, many EXP Scrolls would appear in future events and Players would not bother spending the Diamonds at all.


    It was fine if it was just a game but Lin Ke was in a very depressing situation. He had no Main Quest to do and who knew if there would be any future events at all.


    The only thing that could comfort him was that he had raised his level and the great number of buildings meant that he would be getting EXP on a daily basis. He would keep leveling up even if he stayed at home.


    ¡­

 Chapter 14：Eradicating The Root Cause

    Although Lin Ke was in distress over his Heroes'' levels, he was not in total despair.


    That was because he still had a little hope left. If this hope had yet to be destroyed, he would still have a chance in obtaining a huge number of Diamonds.


    Yes, indeed. Despite it being a pay-to-win game, it was possible for Lin Ke to obtain a huge number of Diamonds.


    However, this was not something to be astonished about.


    It was completely normal to give Players a fixed number of Diamonds to get them hooked onto the game.


    Generally speaking, if any games were to make such a move, the most common course they would take would be gifting it away through the Arena.


    He would certainly be rewarded with Diamonds if he rose through the ranks and broke his own personal record.


    Furthermore, once he reached a certain ranking, Players would be rewarded with a fixed amount of Diamonds from the game so that they could use them to purchase items from the Market.


    Naturally, if this game wanted to be greedy about it, the Diamonds could be separated into bound Diamonds or non-bound Diamonds and certain items could only be purchased via non-bound Diamonds. Lin Ke could only be disappointed if that was the case.


    Fortunately, Lin Ke did not see any sections catering to bound Diamonds when he inspected the Market. This meant that he could buy any items on the Market with Diamonds.


    Lin Ke could remember clearly a sentence from the guide. It hoped that VIP0 and minor cash players would try to get to the top of the Arena. It would be best for them to get close to those wealthy cash players or players with high VIP ranking early on in the hope that they could carry the other players to the top. They would be rewarded with thousands of Diamonds and the early development would be much smoother.


    The reward was a few thousand Diamonds!


    Lin Ke might not have cared back then, but the current him was very tempted just by the thought of it. He could not wait for the Arena to appear so that he could win a huge amount of Diamonds.


    When the time came, he could buy anything that he liked or needed. He would no longer need to hold onto his remaining 10 Diamonds and drool as he looked at the items presented in the Market!


    Diamonds were valuable items but Lin Ke did not have many at that moment. He had to go back to sleep for a while more to make sure that he had enough energy for the day.


    However, when Lin Ke used the tower''s Unique Sight as he was on his way back, he was shocked to see a few black figures lurking around outside. He focused on them and recognized that these black figures were the Werewolves that he had encountered twice that day.


    "Werewolves again? Aren''t they scared of death?"


    Lin Ke gritted his teeth as he was beginning to feel annoyed by the Werewolves'' presence.


    He originally thought that these Werewolves would get that he was not someone they could mess with after many of their kind were killed. Not to the point where they would run far away from the tower, but they should not have continued surrounding the Elemental Tower.


    Lin Ke could easily guess why these Werewolves were latching onto him. It was not that they had yet to give up, it was that they wanted to take revenge.


    This was something he could not tolerate as the enemies would cause great trouble for him.


    One mistake would cost him his life. Hence, Lin Ke kept telling himself that these Werewolves must be killed no matter what.


    If he could not strike fear into the Werewolves'' hearts, then he had no choice but to eradicate the lot of them. It would be best to destroy their nests, or even the entire population.


    Lin Ke had one obvious impression of these Werewolves.


    They held grudges.


    After hesitating for a while, Lin Ke decided to retract the two words to update his impressions on them.


    They held extreme grudges!


    These beings must be wiped off the map or they would start ambushing him when they realize that they would not win by fighting head-on. They would lurk in the dark and end his life when he was careless.


    "How should I wipe them out then?"


    Lin Ke did not feel bad about killing these Werewolves. Since they tried to kill him, he did not have to feel bad about killing them.


    He was thinking about how he should kill these Werewolves.


    Since they were able to return so quickly to spy on him, the Werewolves'' hideout should not be far away from here. At the very best, the journey would take only an hour.


    Based on the Werewolves'' traveling speed in the forest, it might just be twenty to thirty kilometers away, maybe closer.


    With a tribe of Werewolves that harbored extreme anger towards him at such close proximity, Lin Ke felt that they should be taken care of as soon as possible.


    Although the distance seemed very short, it was still quite far if it was in a forest. It would be incredibly difficult to find their hideout there.


    Dra was a Red Dragon. Although she appeared as a humanoid, her initiation and combat capabilities were incredibly high. She could easily handle a few dozens of Werewolves attacking her at once.


    Lin Ke was incredibly astonished when, ambushed by Werewolves the night before, Dra had rushed in without any hesitation.


    It was a posture that did not even see any threat from her opponent. In fact, when Dra was explaining her skills to Lin Ke, he was certain that those Werewolves were not able to penetrate through Dra''s Dragon King Shield. None of them would have the opportunity to harm her.


    However, Lin Ke had also questioned Dra the night before since he wondered if the Werewolves were able to harm her at all.


    Dra shook her head and was completely honest with Lin Ke. "It would be a piece of cake since there are only a few dozen of them. I won''t be fazed at all. However, if their numbers are in the hundreds, I''ll have to be cautious. If there is a large pack of at least 200 of them, I''ll certainly die if I don''t escape."


    Their numbers were able to win against quality. Since Dra was at her most primitive form, she was no match for hundreds of Werewolves.


    Lin Ke would only be at ease if he were to search for the Werewolves'' hideout with Avina and Dra by his side. They could fight more Werewolves if they teamed up.


    However, only Lin Ke and Compassionate Priest Lucy would be left by the Elemental Tower. As a support Hero, and a Blue Grade one at that, Lin Ke wondered just how many Werewolves she could withstand.


    Truthfully, Lin Ke was able to maintain his defensive state because the Elemental Tower in his Fortress was still developing. Furthermore, the Smithing Hall was almost completed and he soon could purchase Equipment for his Heroes and further Upgrade them.


    Still, the Silver required would certainly increase. The Silver given by the Dormitory would soon increase in a few days'' time and he could use his maximum strength to wipe out those Werewolves.


    However, Lin Ke''s heart kept rushing him to kill off those Werewolves as soon as possible. A threat that was left unchecked at such close proximity was simply something he could not ignore.


    "If only I had a new Hero."


    Lin Ke muttered as he laughed at his own thought.


    He would require a Summoning Card to summon a Hero. Although he could summon a Hero without a Summoning Card from the Basic Altar, he would need to spend Diamonds to summon a Hero from the High-level Altar.


    Lin Ke was reluctant despite the fact that one summon would cost him only 300 Diamonds. He would only rely on the free summoning that was given to him every 3 days.


    Frankly speaking, the chances of him getting a new Hero was simply too low.


    Hence, he only had one method left.


    Lin Ke would have to investigate the whereabouts of the Werewolves'' hideout, gather all of his forces and destroy them.


    He hid deep in the Elemental Tower and kept producing Elemental Guards to protect himself so that the Werewolves would not be able to get a hold of him.


    ¡­

 Chapter 15：Worry

    A thought crossed Lin Ke''s mind all of a sudden.


    He faced Dra who was behind him and asked, "Have you guys handled the Werewolves'' corpses?"


    "Not yet," Avina replied. "I told Dra to not burn the Werewolves'' corpses and leave them outside as a warning to those Werewolves lurking around."


    Werewolves seemed to exist in Avina''s original world as well. Although they were slightly different than the Werewolves here, she believed that the two would be similar in nature.


    Since they were a race of low intelligence, the Werewolves would not dare to get close to a place, assuming that it was dangerous if they found a huge number of their kind lying dead on the ground.


    That was unless their tribe was huge in numbers. Not only would it not scare them away, but it would also increase their hatred and attract more Werewolves to attack them.


    Lin Ke shook his head as he heard Avina''s words. "These Werewolves are probably different than the ones you know. Not only are they not scared, but they took their brethren''s corpses away as well. Furthermore, there are now new men peeking outside."


    "Huh?" Avina was startled as she stopped walking. "My Lord, I''m going to head out and kill those scouts right this instant. I''ll turn their corpses into tools to scare off those Werewolves again!"


    Avina''s plan seemed to have backfired and everyone understood that she felt humiliated.


    Lin Ke nodded softly as he looked at Avina walking toward the main entrance with a cold smirk on her face.


    "Dra, please follow Avina and don''t let her murder all of the Werewolves later," Lin Ke told Dra who was standing beside him. "Please tail those Werewolves that have retreated and find out where their hideout is. I''ve got a bad feeling that leaving them unchecked will bring us a lot of trouble."


    "I understand." Dra glanced at Lin Ke, nodded her head slightly, and followed Avina.


    Compassionate Priest Lucy looked to the right and left as she realized that she was not doing anything. Lucy shrugged as she followed Lin Ke from behind and asked him when they arrived at the Dormitory, "My Lord, do you need me to do anything?"


    "Not for now." Lin Ke patted on the stone stool as he said, "Just staying here and protecting me will do."


    Although it was rather embarrassing to order a girl to protect him, Lin Ke was absolutely fine with it.


    He had no choice. Summoning girls was the main selling point of this game. All the summons were beautiful Heroes. It would be wrong to not let them protect him instead.


    His class was the Fortress'' Lord, not some combat specialist. He would have dragged his teammates down if he were to join in the fight.


    "If that''s the case, I''ll sing a song to my Lord," Lucy said and smiled as she seemed to be bored doing nothing there.


    Lin Ke looked at her suspiciously and nodded frustratingly. "If that''s what you want, please go ahead."


    Lucy smiled and opened her mouth after getting Lin Ke''s approval. A soft and beautiful tone fluttered across the Dormitory and Lin Ke was instantly hooked by her voice.


    The song continued on for a long time. As Lucy stopped, Lin Ke opened his eyes as he had no idea when he started squinting. He looked at Lucy and smiled. "You''re amazing."


    "Thank you for your praise." Lucy bowed slightly. "I guess I should leave now."


    Lin Ke sighed deeply as she left.


    "Did she see right through me?" Lin Ke smiled wryly. He had been in danger ever since he transmigrated here. Although he now had the Elemental Tower, he was not sure of his future yet and this made him feel restless.


    While he could sleep to relax his body, the tiredness in his soul had bothered Lin Ke all this while.


    He did not expect that a mere Blue Grade Hero, Compassionate Priest Lucy would be the first one to notice his condition and sooth his tired soul with a song, causing him to reveal a gentle smile.


    A smile that truly came from the inside.


    Lin Ke really did not expect Lucy to pull such a move at all. Her song was able to wash away his stress and based on what Lucy was capable of, her skills were not as sad and compassionate as it was claimed to be.


    It made sense after putting more thought into it. As a human being, it was simply impossible that she knew nothing else but those two skills that would accompany her for the rest of her life.


    The same could be said for Dra. She would definitely not have only two Skills with her for the rest of her life. There might be Skills that were sealed for now, but she would probably have a few non-offensive Skills in the future.


    Take Dra for example. She probably possessed cooking skills as she cooked a fish soup earlier. After all, she had been living on her own for a long time.


    Furthermore, it was certain that they did not go all out with their combat skills as well. It was not as simple as their Skills being sealed at the moment.


    Enemies of the same Attributes might not be a match against them at all.


    To summarize, Lin Ke had understood this much from that encounter.


    However, when it came to the big picture, he could not exactly describe the situation.


    Lin Ke felt incredibly relaxed now that he was relieved from his stress. After pondering for a moment, he walked out of the Dormitory and headed to the Summoning Hall. He summoned another 10 Elemental Guards and rushed them out to guard the main entrance.


    If Werewolves were to raid them right now, the guards could still somewhat defend and delay them for some time.


    However, he still had no idea just how strong these Elemental Guards were.


    After using the Elemental Tower''s Unique Sight, Lin Ke could not see Avina and Dra within the vicinity at all.


    Dra must have gone out to tail the Werewolves. Since Avina did not return, she probably followed along as well. This was nothing alarming but Lin Ke was worried about them and hoped that they did not get themselves into trouble.


    He waited in the Dormitory for a long time and did not see any sign of Dra and Avina returning from the peak of the tower. Lin Ke was so worried that he decided to lay on the wooden bed. However, he fell asleep within a matter of seconds.


    Lin Ke was confident in Dra and Avina''s combat abilities. Even if they encountered a huge number of them and could not defeat them, they could still escape without any difficulty.


    He did not have to worry about them.


    Lin Ke felt incredibly refreshed when he woke up. It was as if he was floating together with the clouds.


    The Game''s System would strengthen his body whenever he leveled up. It would cleanse his sub-healthy body and give him a near-perfect healthy body. Furthermore, since Lucy''s song had cleansed his soul, the pressure in his heart was no longer there.


    In addition to the many hours of sleep, Lin Ke felt as if he had reincarnated into a new body and was incredibly refreshed.


    However, no matter how refreshed Lin Ke was, he still did not see any signs of Dra and Avina.


    He used the Fortress Sight to search for them and only found Lucy laying in the Dormitory''s wooden bed as she drifted soundly into her dreams. There were some ten Elemental Guards guarding the main entrance and everything seemed to be fine.


    Lin Ke opened up the Market and saw the Silver counting down. He did some basic calculations and realized that it was already 5 in the morning.


    "Where have they gone to?"


    Worry finally settled onto Lin Ke.


    "Did something happen to them?" Lin Ke hesitated on whether he should go out to search for them.


    The sky outside started becoming brighter and two figures could be seen walking towards him from a distance.


    ¡­

 Chapter 16：The Unexpected Army of Beastmen

    Dra and Avina had returned.


    Lin Ke let out a sigh of relief, but the news that came with them was news that could not be any worse.


    No Werewolf nest was found in the vicinity. Dra and Avina tailed the Werewolf that escaped to a valley far away. There, they saw an army of hundreds lurking about inside.


    The army consisted of Beastmen such as Werewolves.


    Avina immediately killed off the Werewolf that retreated as she found the situation frightful. However, that attracted the Beastmen''s attention, causing them to send a horde to chase after them.


    In order to prevent them from discovering the Elemental Tower, Avina and Dra lured the Beastmen around to one end as they went to the other end.


    It was only a while ago that they managed to flee from the Beastmen that chased them and return to the Elemental Tower.


    "In other words, those Werewolves that we''ve been killing were not native to this forest, but scouts from an army of Beastmen?"


    Lin Ke pinched in between his eyebrows while his worry swelled inside him.


    It was really, really unfortunate for him to face such a troublesome problem.


    However, he could be considered lucky. If he had not sent Dra and Avina to investigate this matter at midnight, he would have been completely in the dark. In fact, if Lin Ke did not think of dealing with the issue as soon as possible, he would not have thought that the Werewolves he had been killing were just scouts from an army.


    If they were to encounter each other without any prior preparation, the thought of the end result was able to make him drenched in cold sweat easily.


    Regardless, they were currently in a dreadful situation. What they were facing was an army and the threat could not be compared to a few dozens of Werewolves.


    Since they were in an army, it meant that they were disciplined. These Beastmen had a hierarchy and they had the capability to mobilize in groups.


    No matter how Lin Ke looked at it, he could not see a possibility of him winning at all.


    "Uhm, that Werewolf is definitely the army''s scout. The leather armor it had on its body is very similar to the leather armor on those Beastmen that chased after us," Dra spoke.


    "Leather armor?"


    Lin Ke raised his head immediately as he looked at Dra. His eyes seemed to be brimming. "Are you saying that the Werewolves were wearing leather armor?"


    "Yes. It''s a fairly well-built leather armor." Avina butted in. "It seemed to have some defense as my Arrow of Starry Light almost failed to pierce through it."


    The first Werewolf that attacked him yesterday seemed to be wearing only a beast''s fur.


    Although Lin Ke had forgotten what the Werewolf pack were wearing when they attacked him the previous night, it did not seem to be the well-built leather armor that Avina spoke of.


    Lin Ke seemed to have reached the end of the tunnel upon hearing Avina''s words. He loitered back and forth hastily as the gears in his brain spun quickly. "In other words, those Werewolves that we''ve killed are most likely not affiliated with this army of Beastmen."


    "No wonder. As an army, if they realized that their own men were being killed, they would definitely not ignore it. Even if they won''t mobilize the entire army to carry out their revenge, they wouldn''t have just sent two scouts to chase after them."


    Lin Ke took a deep breath as he asked Dra, "Do you know the army''s current situation? Have you seen it in person?"


    "I felt like they were rather shocked." Dra frowned as she tried to recall what she saw. "We merely killed the Werewolf that escaped and the entire army exploded. Many Beastmen came rushing out. Although they sent a few of them to chase after us, it was rather strange as they seemed to be in chaos a moment prior."


    "I''m not sure how many of them are there, but they were densely-packed from just a glance and there were at least hundreds of them."


    Dra frowned as she did an estimation. "Conservatively, there should be 300 to 400 of them."


    "No, that''s not right. Something''s wrong here." Lin Ke flicked out his index finger as he tapped his forehead. He tried to force himself into effective thinking mode through the pain. "They were shocked and acted chaotically?''


    Lin Ke muttered endlessly as an idea popped into his mind. "That''s it. This army of Beastmen weren''t preparing for war, they had just returned from one. It''s very likely that they were defeated to the point of being chased. Hence, any small movement would throw them into chaos. Since someone came after them, they had no choice but to send out a few men to understand the situation."


    "Dra." Lin Ke turned his head to look at his first female Hero. The fiery-red helmet and armor on her body oozed out a fiery luster. "I need you to do something for me."


    "Head to the Beastmen''s camp and see if they''re still there."


    Dra immediately lowered her head as soon as Lin Ke finished speaking. "Yes, my Lord. I''ll head there right now."


    "Wait a minute." Lin Ke stopped Dra just as the latter stood up. "Please be cautious along the way there. Return immediately if the enemies have been sent out to scout around the vicinity."


    "Yes," Dra responded as she charged out of the Elemental Tower and soon disappeared from Lin Ke''s Unique Sight.


    Dra seemed to realize that Lin Ke wanted to know this information as soon as possible as she ran at an incredible pace.


    Lin Ke then started preparing for the next step when Dra left.


    If the enemies were not what he expected and were an army with high morale, then he had to think of a way to dodge the enemy.


    There was an item in the Market that would certainly be of use.


    It was the Mist Scroll. In Campaign Mode, he could shroud his own Fortress to prevent other Players from attacking it.


    Simply put, it was something similar to an emblem that allowed Lin Ke to avoid war.


    It cost 10 Diamonds and would be effective for 6 hours.


    However, he had to think of how to use the Mist Scroll since it was now brought into reality.


    He still had to experiment to see if it really worked.


    "Avina." Lin Ke looked at the Elven Archer as he touched his mouth before speaking to her. "Can you investigate the forest? I feel unsure about those Werewolves earlier. If possible, can you try and look for their nests around this vicinity?"


    "No problem, my Lord."


    Elven Archer Avina smiled as she bowed. "As an Elf, we''re a species known as the offspring of the forest. Our capability is heightened in such an environment. Those Werewolves pose no threat at all as I can easily escape from them even if I''m surrounded."


    Avina''s words were filled with extreme confidence which made Lin Ke put a lot of hope on her. The latter nodded, signaling Avina that she could leave.


    The only person left behind was Compassionate Priest Lucy. She looked at Lin Ke and shrugged as she felt sorry for her own incapability.


    Lin Ke sighed as he anxiously waited for Dra and Avina''s return.


    "Damn it." Lin Ke seemed to have thought of something at the last second. "I should''ve let them have some food before leaving."


    "No need to worry. They''ll find their own food when they''re hungry," Lucy said hastily. "Each of them carried quite a number of dried meat on them. I think it''s made out of the leftover deer meat from yesterday."


    ¡­

 Chapter 17：The Werewolf Lo

    Approximately 40 kilometers away from the Elemental Tower, there were dozens of tents set up within the small, busy valley.


    Dozens of ferocious beast-like beings were cautiously guarding the only entrance to the valley. In this world, they were known as the Beastmen.


    Although they were guarding the entrance, their ears were pricked up as if they could still hear the quarrels from the tents far away.


    All the Beastmen could not help but lower their heads in sadness upon hearing the noises.


    The origin of the quarrel came from the largest tent there.


    "Someone has killed our scouts! They must be severely punished!"


    "No can do! The enemy is catching up to us and we have no chance of winning at all! We must leave immediately!"


    Some Beastmen were so afraid that they closed their eyes. The difference in strength between the enemy and the Beastmen was so great that even the brave Beastmen did not want to face them ever again.


    "Let''s turn back and kill the Knight Squad behind us. We must not let the pride of Beastmen be tarnished by the Humans!" A green Beastman, who was covered in scars, snarled. In order to emphasize its plea, it had even removed the ax by its waist and slammed the ax firmly into the ground in front of it.


    "Dirty Owl, put away your weapon!" The highest-ranking Beastman spoke. It stared indifferently at the bravest warrior within the army, Dirty Owl. The latter was an elite Beastman that could face ten enemies simultaneously and yet it was instantly intimidated by the former. Dirty Owl muttered as it retrieved its ax and sat down.


    It was one of the most intelligent Beastmen around and was also the General of this army. It was well trusted by the Beastmen and known as the Hero that defended them against the Human''s invasion.


    Although advanced in years, its words were more authoritative than any other. All the Beastmen stopped arguing and looked at it the moment it opened its mouth.


    The Senior Beastman opened its eyes as it looked at the Beastmen around it and said, "The Feathered Hawk Knight Squad is the most elite of the Knight Squads. They''ve fought in all of the most difficult battles against our Beastman Kingdom. This time, their main force has arrived and we''re a lone army, abandoned in Human territory. It''s impossible for us to defeat them."


    "We must escape. However, the problem is how are we going to do that? We''ve successfully finished our mission and those humans can''t wait to tear us apart and eat us up!"


    The Senior Beastman''s gaze was filled with not a single hint of resignation. The Captain of the Feathered Hawk Knight Squad and it had been enemies for many years. It had always believed that it would have a duel to the death with The Captain on the battlefield and had never thought that it would die in a situation like this.


    "Sir, please leave without any worry," A werewolf stood up as he spoke respectfully to the Senior Beastman. "I''ll try to delay the Feathered Hawk Knight Squad here. Please, leave as soon as possible."


    "You? Lo, are you planning to stop them alone?" The Senior Beastman looked at the werewolf and sighed. "The enemy is a group of powerful beings. I was the one who brought you out of this forest, but I don''t think you''ve ever seen just how strong the Feathered Hawk Knight Squad is."


    "I haven''t, my honorable sir. However, I''ve heard many rumors about the Feathered Hawk Knight Squad throughout my time in the squad." Werewolf Lo lowered its head. "Sir, I''m the only one who has a chance of holding back the enemy. The only one who can give everyone here a chance to live."


    "How are you going to do that? You''re just one Werewolf!" Dirty Owl stood up and snarled loudly. "On what grounds do you believe that you can stop the Feathered Hawk Knight Squad!?"


    Lo glanced at Dirty Owl and said calmly, "This is my homeland and I''ve got my people here. There are countless Werewolf tribes here, with tens of thousands of werewolves. Even if we can''t force the Feathery Hawk Knight Squad to retreat, we can at least delay them."


    "Sir, please allow me to stay behind. My brother died here and I still need to find his killer and avenge him!"


    Lo''s eyes were red as it looked at the Senior Beastman.


    "Your brother? The Werewolf that was killed this morning by a mysterious enemy?" The Senior Beastman seemed to have recalled something. Earlier, the Werewolf that he had sent out to scout the area had been killed outside of the valley. Everyone had witnessed it with their very own eyes.


    Many of them were worried that it had been a demonstration of strength by the Knight Squad. Hence, they sent out a few men to scout the area to determine if they had arrived. However, they had lost track of the enemy and nothing had happened since.


    It was then that everybody realized that somebody else had done it.


    Lo held onto its ax and tried to charge out when it heard that its brother had died. However, it was stopped by other Beastmen. The Feathered Hawk Knight Squad was just around the corner, if it was spotted, it would cause trouble to the entire army.


    "Alright Lo. If you truly wish to do so, we''ll go with your plan." The Senior Beastman waved its hand, gesturing to everyone else in the tent to stop speaking. "I''ll return someday and kill every human in this land so that they can accompany you under the ground!"


    "It would be best if my tomb is surrounded by a bunch of female humans. Their flesh is incredibly tender and fresh." Lo revealed a sinister smile. "A kid''s heart tastes pretty good as well. I had one recently and my saliva overflows whenever I recall it."


    Lo strode out of the tent upon finishing its words and disappeared into the distance.


    "Sir, we must not believe that wolf pup''s words." A tiny Beastman beside Dirty Owl looked at the latter. "I suspect that it''s preparing to make a run for it."


    The Senior Beastman sat there silently as it revealed a soft, cunning smile. It harrumphed as cold gas was forced out of his huge nostrils. "The wolf pup is still too young. Had I not found it rather useful, I would never have brought it here. Now that it wishes to run away, let''s do something about it"


    "Kandaro, stay back and make some preparations. Please make sure those bastards from the Feathered Hawk Knight Squad believe that the Werewolf we''ve personally dispatched is preparing to gather all the Werewolves from every tribe to attack them."


    The Senior Beastman''s words were filled with extreme malice. Kandaro, who had never acknowledged Lo, nodded its head. "Yes, I''ll fulfill this mission as quickly as possible."


    As Lo left the valley, he smirked. "Goodbye everybody. Please run while you''re being chased by those bastards from the Feathered Hawk Knight Squad. I refuse to believe that they can find me among tens of thousands of Werewolves in this forest."


    "However, my brother died here. I need to find his killer. After all, he''s my biological younger brother." Lo''s figure soon disappeared into the dense forest and what was left behind was his cold laughter. "I''ll skin that bastard, slice his flesh and savor it slowly!"


    ¡­


    Lin Ke waited silently inside the tower. His expression was calm as he looked at the new changes brought by the Level 2 Elemental Tower.


    There was also the Equipment and upgrades brought by the Smithing Hall.


    The Equipment looked rather unusual this time.


    ¡­

 Chapter 18：The Extreme Improvement from the Equipment

    The Smithing Hall had finished construction long ago.


    Lin Ke already started regretting sending Dra and Avina out just a few moments after they left.


    He should have had them wear the Equipment in the Smithing Hall. Maybe he could have even used his remaining money to upgrade them further, improving their Attributes.


    However, the duo had long since left the tower and there was no use crying over spilled milk.


    Even so, Lin Ke bought another set of Equipment, using quite a bit of Silver in the process.


    He used up a total of 3000 Silver!


    In the Smithing Hall, the Equipment that was being sold was a green Bronze Equipment Set. Each piece of Equipment was sold at quite a reasonable price. They could be acquired for just 500 Silver.


    This price was honestly quite low. Lin Ke had never seen anything with a lower price tag than this in the Silver Market.


    Despite that, when he added up every single piece, it still burned a hole in his wallet.


    Before this point, he had more than 4000 Silver in his pocket; after buying this set, he was left with just over 1000 Silver.


    With this pitiful amount of Silver, he really could not do much. At best, he could upgrade either his Dormitory or Elemental Pond to Level 2¡­


    ...Or prepare to upgrade the Equipment.


    Having bought some Equipment, Lin Ke tried to equip them. He realized, however, that although he could hold on to the Equipment, he could not actually wear them.


    The Equipment seemed ethereal. he could still physically pick them up with his own hands, but as soon as he shifted his attention to something else, they instantly dropped to the ground.


    After fiddling around for quite some time, Lin Ke noticed that his individual Attribute Pane now had an Equipment icon.


    Opening the Equipment icon, the first thing Lin Ke saw was a 3D projection of himself. Next to the projection, there were 6 different slots, coinciding with the six pieces of Equipment he had just bought.


    The helmet, the shoulder guards, the chest piece, the greaves, the gloves, and the boots.


    He could not see their Attributes and other details; all of the stats were displayed as Mojibake. However, when Lin Ke inserted the Equipment into the appropriate slots, a new and strong sense of power emerged within his body.


    This power was extremely strong, causing him to feel like his body was about to explode.


    Of course, though this was an illusion, he could clearly feel slightly lightheaded. It was almost as if he was not himself.


    Lin Ke immediately removed one piece of Equipment. Instantly, he felt much better, as part of the power had disappeared.


    "Ugh, just removing that one piece of Equipment significantly reduced that power¡­ That means a lot of Attributes were lost! Then, in other words, a full set of all 6 pieces of Equipment gives a set bonus?"


    Lin Ke took off another piece of Equipment and felt the power within his body fading away a little more. He slowly removed the Equipment one-by-one as he tried to sense the difference in power of each one.


    When he stopped feeling the power, he put on the equipment set once more and tried again.


    After trying this a few more times. Lin Ke vaguely understood the concept behind this equipment set.


    The set bonus for these 6 pieces of Equipment was based on the amount he had equipped. Other than the minimal Attributes that each individual piece gave, 2 pieces of this set gave a fixed set bonus, 4 pieces of this set resulted in a higher fixed set bonus, and a full set of 6 pieces granted the highest set bonus.


    After Lin Ke tried multiple times, he could approximate the bonus that this equipment set gave.


    If a 2-piece set bonus gave 15 points, then a 4-piece set bonus would increase it by another 25 points, and a full 6-piece set resulted in a whopping additional 60 points.


    As Lin Ke took a look at his own Attributes, he estimated that it was, at most, around 30 points.


    His Attributes had more than tripled, no wonder his body could not withstand it.


    However, all of this was temporary, he just had to persevere until he got used to it.


    This time, when Lin Ke re-equipped all 6 pieces of Equipment, he no longer felt quite as terrible as he did before.


    He had started to get used to this strong power.


    However, instead of continuing to wear the equipment set, Lin Ke removed the entire set. This caused his body to lose this power. This sudden change caused him to feel extremely weak. As he steadied himself, he said to Lucy, who was standing beside him, "Try out this equipment set and see how much stronger it can make you."


    As soon as Lin Ke finished, he immediately opened up Lucy''s Equipment Pane and placed all of the Equipment into her slots, having Lucy wear them.


    After each piece was equipped, its ethereal-looking counterpart disappeared in reality, merging into Lucy''s body.


    Then, as all six pieces of Equipment were equipped, Lucy just frowned a little, not giving much else of a reaction.


    "How does it feel?" Seeing her reaction, or lack thereof, Lin Ke could not help but ask, "How much more power did it give you?"


    "Umm, it feels a little weird." Lucy looked over at Lin Ke, motioning for him to unequip and re-equip the Equipment repeatedly. After a long while, she finally replied again, "It''s a very strange feeling.


    "This set of Equipment increased my physical capabilities, but it didn''t have much of an effect on my abilities."


    Lin Ke just nodded silently. The physical capabilities Lucy was talking about were her Attributes, whereas the abilities were her skills.


    This set of Equipment increased Attribute points; it did not improve skills.


    "With the strengthening given by this set of Equipment, my physical capabilities are now slightly over double of my original capabilities." Lucy tilted her head at Lin Ke. "It didn''t increase as much as it did for you, my Lord."


    "I understand."


    Lin Ke nodded. "I''ll give this to Dra first. As a frontline meatshield, Dra needs the best Equipment she can get."


    Although Lin Ke wanted to keep this equipment set for himself, he realized that the one who needed it the most was Dra, who fought on the frontlines. As long as he did not leave the tower, he would not be in danger.


    However, there was now the problem of how much of an upgrade Dra would get from this equipment set.


    This set had more than tripled Lin Ke''s Attributes but had only doubled Lucy''s.


    In comparison, the difference in improvement was jarring. With that in mind, Lin Ke could guess just how low his Attributes were compared to the Heroes.


    Even Lucy, who was only rated as Leader, already had much higher Attributes than him. This meant that the terrifying bonus Attribute increase from this equipment set would not do much for Dra, who was rated as Disaster.


    Maybe, it would only give her a 50%, or even a 30% upgrade!


    Of course, the Attribute increase might seem terrifying right now, but Lin Ke knew deep down that this small amount of Attributes was not really much to be impressed about.


    After all, the reason why the Attribute gain from the equipment set looked so large was that they were still at Level 1 or 2.


    Once their individual Attributes increased, what could this measly amount of Attributes even do for them?


    In actuality, these set bonuses were only useful in the early game.


    However, even if the set bonuses were not significant, that did not mean that these pieces of Equipment were useless!


    As the Equipment got upgraded and leveled up, the Equipment''s attributes would also increase exponentially. He did not even need to test this. In every game, Equipment would always play a huge role in a player''s stats.


    Most importantly, when Lin Ke was in the Equipment Interface, he saw a very interesting icon.


    That was the Equipment''s "Chain" state, notifying players that when all of the Equipment reaches Level 10, they would gain a Level 1 Chain effect, awarding the user with additional bonuses.


    As for what the specific bonuses were, they were all written in Mojibake. None of it could be read.


    However, based on his experience from the numerous games he had played, it would, at least, be much better than the 6-piece set bonus.

 Chapter 19：Humans Appeared!

    Although the icon for equipment Chain was being displayed, he could not use it right away. In order to truly unlock the Equipment Chain''s effects, besides meeting the Equipment''s level requirement, players still needed to unlock one other function.


    That function was "Research".


    Only after Researching the Equipment''s Chain effect, could players get the first level of Chain effects when they upgraded their Equipment to Level 10.


    On that note, Research required players to build another facility that could only be built when the players had a Level 2 Elemental Tower - the Research Institute.


    When Lin Ke looked at the facility-building interface, the option to build a Research Institute had appeared.


    Of course, along with the Research Institute, the Level 2 Elemental Tower enabled other new facilities to be built.


    However, Lin Ke did not have the Resources to build these new facilities. Hell, he could not even afford to build just the Research Institute. All he could do right now was look at the requirements for these facilities.


    The requirements for the Research Institute were not too high, 500 units of Wood and Stone each, and an additional 3000 Silver. It was not a tall order for him, but Lin Ke was a little short on Silver at the moment.


    He would get more Silver at midnight. Then, he could start construction on his new facilities tomorrow.


    For now, all he could do was stare at the tiny amount of Silver he had left and deliberate whether he wanted to build a new Dormitory or upgrade the equipment set a bit.


    It was already decided that this equipment set would be given to Dra, but he was not going to give it to her immediately.


    After all, he did not even know what situation Dra was in right now.


    If she was in battle, and he suddenly increased her Attributes, he might cause her to lose control of her own powers. This would put her in greater danger.


    Hence, Lin Ke needed to wait until Dra was back at the Elemental Tower before he equipped them for her.


    "Lucy, do you know how to get more Silver?"


    Out of sheer boredom, Lin Ke tried to start a conversation with Lucy. However, seeing her blank stare at him, he sighed helplessly.


    At this point, he was short on Silver and was nearly bankrupt. He would even go steal some Silver if he were given the opportunity.


    However, the currency in this world could not be converted into Silver¡­ Additionally, Lin Ke could not materialize the Silver from within the system, it was nothing more than a bunch of numbers on a screen.


    Hence, even if he got money in real life, he could not add it to his funds.


    As Lin Ke scratched his head, he started to feel like he had done something wrong. He should not have started with building a Smithing Hall. He should not have purchased the equipment set so early. He should have built more Dormitories. Then, he would have been rolling in Silver right now.


    "AARRRGHHH! What a waste!"


    After venting out his frustration, he stopped caring as much.


    After all, if Lin Ke used it for himself, this set could exponentially increase his abilities.


    Dra was not back anyway, so Lin Ke just equipped the equipment set, trying to get used to this huge power surge.


    This time, he had his sights on doing more than just walking normally. He wanted to be able to go into combat while in a situation like this.


    Although Lin Ke had not been in a real battle before, now that he was in this world, he might face situations in the future where he would personally come face to face with an enemy.


    Just having improved Attributes would not do much to help his ability to handle an actual battle. He would not have that happen.


    However, he now had a sparring partner with him - dear Lucy, who was standing right next to him. If he had been the Lin Ke from before he was transported to this world, he would never even dream of raising a fist at a lady. However, now that he was sparring against an immovable Hero, Lin Ke felt no shame¡­


    ...Even if the Hero was a girl.


    As a Hero, Compassionate Priest Lucy overwhelmed Lin Ke in every aspect, easily taking him down barehanded without breaking a sweat.


    "My Lord, your combat instincts are too weak, you should start by learning the foundations."


    Lucy was merciless in her feedback. With the equipment set, her Attributes were barely two-thirds of what Lin Ke''s were right now. Even with that handicap, she was easily able to wipe the floor with Lin Ke. Naturally, her feedback held a lot of weight.


    "As expected of a Leader Rating."


    Lin Ke sat down on the ground, smiling bitterly. "Compared to an average Joe like me, she''s way stronger."


    Lin Ke had to admit defeat. Although Lucy was a Blue Grade Hero, she was still rated as a Leader. She could accurately assess the capabilities of the opposition.


    She was the cream of the crop, so out of every batch of crops out there where there were countless people who were around the same level as Lin Ke, there would only be one Lucy?


    If he was already utterly overwhelmed by a 2-star, he could not even dare to imagine making a move against a 6-star like Dra.


    Finally, Lin Ke truly understood the sheer weight that the Disaster Rating held.


    Then, for the highest tier Heroes, the ones with ratings that looked like something out of an urban legend, an "Embodiment of Chaos"¡­ Just how terrifying would they be?


    Just to put it into perspective, the meaning behind such a rating was chilling. It meant "The Enemy of the World".


    Only the entire world could be a worthy foe for these Heroes. They were terrifying beings that could throw the whole world into chaos on a whim!


    Lin Ke did not dare to imagine any further.


    "Again! Spar with me a little more! Hopefully, this will train my muscles and reflexes. At least then, I will be a bit more useful when we''re actually under attack¡­"


    Lin Ke steadied himself as he stood back up, requesting another bout from Lucy.


    As Lucy''s master, Lin Ke''s words held the same weight as an absolute order. The advice Lucy gave him earlier was due to him not making a decision yet. Once he made a decision, Lucy could only follow whatever he said, executing his orders down to a tee.


    No matter what the situation, she would not object to these orders, unless, of course, Lin Ke gave a new order.


    Lin Ke''s determination to get stronger was honestly quite admirable.


    However, as the stereotypical white-collar worker he was, he begrudgingly asked Lucy to stop her attacks after having a few heavy hits land on him.


    He understood that if he persevered with this, his combat instincts would undoubtedly improve. Then, when he was faced against a foe, he could instinctively act according to whatever strategy he had prepared. However, the repeated pain he was suffering was too much for him to handle.


    Lucy was serious when she sparred with Lin Ke. Her attacks were fierce and merciless. Every single strike was enough to have Lin Ke ache for the rest of the day, knocking him to the ground. The fact that he was able to take so many hits before tapping out was already quite an amazing feat to behold.


    Of course, as a man, Lin Ke did not want to eat his own words in front of Lucy. When he stopped Lucy''s attacks, he gave an excuse. "Give me a moment, I need to go check our surroundings for a while. I''ll be back later."


    Lin Ke opened the special surveillance system of the Elemental Tower. The Level 2 Tower''s upgrades had taken effect, increasing his vision by quite a bit.


    Originally, Lin Ke wanted to use this excuse to stall for time as he slowly observed the surrounding area. However, when he activated the special surveillance system, he was surprised by what he found.


    In the distance, a few black figures were looking right at this place.


    From the looks of it¡­ They were humans!


    The original phrase here was literally "One in ten thousand", an idiom in Chinese which I translated figuratively into "Cream of the crop" in previous chapters. However, the author here used it semi-literally, saying that "In every 10,000 people, most of them being at Lin Ke''s level, there would only be 1 Lucy."

 Chapter 20：Herbivorous Werewolves

    This was the first time Lin Ke had seen another human.


    Although they stood at a distance, Lin Ke could clearly see two very young-looking male humans.


    They were wearing a similar style of uniform, wielding a small circular shield in their left hand and a two-handed sword in their right. They surveyed their surroundings cautiously.


    As they surveyed the area, they seemed to be quite curious about the Elemental Tower, since they looked back at it often. Logically, they should be wondering about how this weird building had suddenly appeared in the middle of this forest.


    Next to them, two horses were lazily grazing. Just a short distance away, there was a Werewolf corpse on the ground.


    Lin Ke raised his brows. The dead Werewolf over there seemed like it was their doing.


    Just as he was pondering on whether he should go greet the duo, the two humans muttered some stuff to each other and got on their horses, leaving in the other direction.


    Lin Ke surveyed the area, noticing a few black figures disappearing into the shadows.


    They were Werewolves.


    "God f*cking dammit! Those persistent bastards."


    Lin Ke angrily gritted his teeth. Ever since he killed the first Werewolf, these bastards had repeatedly come back here, as if the countless deaths of their brethren did not cause them any fear. Every time Lin Ke looked, there were bound to be some tracks that the Werewolves left behind.


    Within just two days, at least forty-five Werewolves had died. How many Werewolves were there in this forest?!


    Just as Lin Ke was getting frustrated at the thought of it, a silhouette suddenly entered his vision.


    It was Avina! Lin Ke hurriedly went to the entrance to greet her.


    Avina leaped down from above, landed lightly on her feet, and proceeded to walk up to Lin Ke. "My Lord, I''ve finished scouting the surrounding area."


    "Very good."


    After Lin Ke and Avina went back into the Elemental Tower, he hurriedly asked, "How much did you learn about the Werewolf den?"


    "Very bad news." Avina shook her head. "Just in the surrounding area, I''ve seen 3 different Werewolf dens. In every single one of them, there were at least 200 Werewolves."


    "Impossible!"


    Lin Ke instantly denied that fact. How could such a small area like this sustain this number of Werewolves?


    There was bound to be a lack of prey.


    "But that is the truth."


    Avina waved her hand as she explained, "I understand why my Lord says this is impossible, but these Werewolves don''t eat meat."


    "What?"


    Lin Ke looked at Avina in surprise, as if his brain had stopped processing data for a moment.


    "Unfortunately, most of the time, all these Werewolves feed on different sorts of fungus. They even started a humic farm to produce large amounts of fungus for food.


    "I''ve collected some of these fungi." Avina suddenly pulled out a grey mushroom. Under its thick mushroom cap was a fat mushroom stalk.


    Avina ripped off a small piece of the mushroom and tossed it into her mouth. "This type of mushroom isn''t poisonous and grows very easily. They have a fatty texture when eaten and each one has its own unique taste. For example, this one was mildly salty, as if it was filled with a certain amount of salt."


    As Lin Ke saw Avina carefreely eating a piece of the mushroom, he also took a piece from her hand. Carefully placing it on his tongue, he slowly started to assess the taste of this mushroom.


    A slightly fishy smell surged down his throat, but when he actually bit down on it, a sweet and salty taste started to envelop his taste buds. As he tore through the mushroom with his teeth, he could vaguely hear the sound of it screeching.


    If eating it raw tasted this good, Lin Ke could not help but think about how it would taste if he cooked it in other ways.


    "In other words, these Werewolves are all herbivores?"


    Looking at the mushroom in Avina''s hand, he fought his urge to just take it from her. Thinking about the fact that the Werewolves were herbivorous, he could not help but feel curious about it.


    "Interesting." Lin Ke rubbed his chin. "The agriculturalization of Werewolves? With the ability to produce food, it''s no wonder they can grow so large in numbers. However, fungi doesn''t seem too appropriate to feed an entire race though. If they really are relying on this as a means to survive, these Werewolves must not be voluntarily undergoing agriculturalization."


    Maybe there were other more civilized races that came and taught these Werewolves to farm, but they just did not want to truly teach them. Hence, they were only taught how to grow fungus?


    Could it be humans? Or maybe some other race? Maybe those Beastmen from the other day?


    Thinking back, Dra did follow a Werewolf all the way back to a Beastmen encampment. There must be some way this was related.


    Werewolves eating mushrooms¡­ Now that was an interesting development.


    Seeing Lin Ke deep in thought, Avina did not interrupt him. When he finally came to his senses, she finally said, "Due to this, the Werewolf population is growing rapidly. That''s why there are so many Werewolf dens in this area. The key issue is that there doesn''t seem to be any conflict between the Werewolves. On the contrary, they seem to be in quite good terms with each other."


    Avina''s words caught Lin Ke''s attention. "What you''re saying is¡­ The Werewolves that keep coming over to harass me didn''t come from the same den?"


    "Yes."


    Avina nodded. "After following a number of these Werewolves, I noticed that they came from various different dens. There was even a Werewolf that took rations away from this area, it seemed to be heading to a faraway den. Perhaps they are requesting reinforcements."


    This is a true "You mess with one of us, you mess with all of us" mentality. Had Lin Ke just accidentally made himself out to be Public Enemy No. 1 to these Werewolves?


    He could not help but laugh at himself.


    Finally, Lin Ke understood why he had such an urge to deal with these Werewolves as soon as possible.


    He originally thought that it was because of the Beastmen Army, but as it turned out, it was because these Werewolves wanted to do Human Wave Warfare!


    Just the 3 Werewolves dens in the surrounding area totaled nearly a thousand Werewolves. Even with those numbers, they were not satisfied. They were prepared to get even more reinforcements.


    In other words, the number of Werewolves that were planning on sieging this Elemental Tower was in the thousands.


    With this number of enemies, it was like the floodgates were opened.


    The number of Werewolves Dra could solo was limited. Even with Avina and Compassionate Priest Lucy lending her a hand, the number of Werewolves they could fend off would not increase by that much.


    If so many Werewolves attacked at the same time, they would be in extreme danger.


    Unless, they hid in the Tower and used the main entrance as a chokepoint. They might be able to defend from there.


    However, if that was the plan, they had to have enough food and drinking water. For the Werewolves outside of their tower, they would barely have a problem with this war of attrition.


    After all, their dens were nearby, it was easy for them to keep pumping resources to their troops.


    "No, the number is too large."


    Lin Ke shook his head. If they were to solely rely on the defenses of the Elemental Tower, the Werewolves would eventually break through. If all the Werewolves dealt a certain amount of damage to the Elemental Tower, they would start to chip away at the tower''s defenses.


    "Hence, we need to be the first to strike."


    Lin Ke raised his head and looked at Avina. "Wait till Dra returns. Then, the three of you group up as a party and coordinate to exterminate one of the Werewolves dens. Deal as much damage to them as possible to reduce the possibility of getting assaulted by impossible numbers."


    "Alright." Avina nodded. "Then, I''ll go rest up first to recharge my energy."


    "Yeah. you go rest."


    Lin Ke nodded. Avina had been working all this time, it was about time for her to take a break.

 Chapter 21：Soul Equipment

    Lin Ke was rather worried about Dra. He was not worried if an accident would happen to her as she was a Dark-gold Grade female Hero with a Disaster Rating, so her strength was terrifying even though she was only at Level 1.


    He was actually worried that she might consume so much energy that she would not be able to cooperate with Avina and the others after.


    Nevertheless, since she was a Red Dragon, a small matter as such was probably not worth mentioning to her at all.


    That being said, he would still ask Dra later. If she did not have sufficient energy, she could rest at the Dormitory before leaving to destroy the Werewolf den.


    Dra only returned to the tower at noon.


    When she returned, she carried a deer''s carcass that was already handled, so it could be roasted right away.


    "Dra, you''re finally back."


    Lin Ke ignored the food brought by her. Although he was somewhat hungry, the Werewolves were the greatest priority now as they were a threat, thus he explained Avina''s inspection and his deduction to Dra in detail.


    Subsequently, Dra reported that the army of Beastmen had already set out to another direction and followed them at a distance to ensure that they left.


    "If that''s the case, let''s settle the Werewolf den as soon as possible."


    Dra was fine with the plan though she had just investigated the Beastmen''s camp because she was a Red Dragon. While she had taken a human form, she maintained some characteristics of the dragon species.


    As such, she only needed little sleep to recover if she were to work for half a month, let alone one night.


    Avina was worse in comparison. Being an elf, her physical strength was way above Lin Ke''s, but she was not on par with Dra at all.


    Therefore, she needed as much rest as she could get to replenish the energy and physical strength consumed.


    Lin Ke pondered as he looked at the deer that was brought back by Dra, then asked her to turn its meat into jerky.


    The wonderful method sounded unbelievable to him at first, and he found it more incredible when he witnessed the process.


    When Dra rubbed a slice of deer meat that was cut, blazing flames appeared, and jerky was made in the blink of an eye.


    Lin Ke placed the hot jerky in his mouth, then began chewing it as hard as he could - yes, this was the tough jerky he remembered, which was unchewable.


    ''It''s not a small technique at all!''


    Lin Ke looked at the perfectly roasted jerky in his hand, which was topped with some crushed pulp - it was from the seasoned fruits that Dra plucked in the wilderness.


    When he took a bite, there was a refreshing texture accompanied by a sour and salty taste, and he was so touched from eating the delicious food that he almost cried.


    He took a deep breath after eating the jerky, then rejected Dra when she offered him another piece.


    "Dra, I have an equipment set here, and I believe that it''ll assist you when you destroy the Werewolf den. I''ll help you put them on." Lin Ke later retrieved the Equipment that he prepared.


    "No, My Lord." Dra shook her head. "If the three of us join hands, I suggest that you give the Equipment to Lucy. She''s the weakest among us, so she''ll be easily in danger if we''re attacked."


    "But I think that you need the Equipment since you''re the only one attacking at close range."


    Lin Ke scratched his head. "Or should I give them to Lucy?"


    "Yes, give them to Lucy. For me, the Werewolves are nothing to be feared since I have Avina and Lucy''s help, as well as my Dragon King Shield. Besides, I have this!" Dra smiled brightly.


    She reached her hand out and the Red Lotus Longsword instantly appeared in her hand. The blade was seen burning in scorching fire. "With this, how can the Werewolves resist my attacks?"


    Lin Ke was slightly frustrated when he looked at Dra''s longsword because he did not notice the Legendary Grade weapon earlier.


    Nonetheless, the longsword disappeared as soon as Dra waved her hand. Lin Ke quickly asked, "Dra, where did the longsword go? Is that your special ability?"


    "This weapon?" The longsword appeared in Dra''s hand again when she reached her hand out. "It''s not my ability. This is a Soul Equipment."


    Dra was surprised when Lin Ke asked her.


    "Soul Equipment?"


    Lin Ke found it strange. ''Isn''t this the Legendary Grade longsword that''s included in the starter pack? Why did it become a Soul Equipment? Is this a Special Equipment?''


    He opened the Equipment Panel to find out about the Equipment, then opened Dra''s interface to equip her with the equipment set that he prepared. He wanted to see the Upgrade margin she would gain.


    It was then when he noticed the Legendary Grade longsword in Dra''s Weapon Panel.


    "Oh right, I saw her holding the weapon the last time I opened her Character Attribute Interface."


    Lin Ke recalled what happened the day before. "Was she already equipped with it then? I don''t think her Equipment Panel was activated yet. Was I able to see her weapon''s Attributes through observing the Equipment on her character image? - Even if the Attributes are garbled.''


    Following that, he equipped himself with the equipment set and could see the Equipment on his character image shown on his Character Attribute Interface, but they could not be seen in reality.


    When he focused on them, their Attributes appeared but were still garbled.


    "I can actually see the Equipment''s Attributes here, and I only need to enter the Equipment Panel if I want to upgrade them or carry out other options."


    Lin Ke nodded as he figured it out, but it was simply a setting issue.


    The moment he focused on the weapon in his hand, he noticed that the weapon shown on his character image faded a little, and he somehow felt like there was something in his right hand.


    He was utterly shocked, so he quickly focused again and the weapon on his character image suddenly disappeared. On the other hand, he felt something heavy on his hand as a familiar longsword appeared.


    Finally, he lifted the illusory weapon that could not be used before, and it was so real that it was the same as a real steel weapon.


    Even when he diverted his attention somewhere else, the longsword did not vanish as it did before.


    "This is a Soul Weapon," Beside him, Dra explained calmly, "It''s normally hidden in our soul, and will only appear when we need it.


    "It won''t be damaged even as time passes, because as long as one''s soul remains, the weapon remains."


    When Lin Ke waved the sword, he did not lose energy at all, and the upgraded Attributes from his 6 Equipment did not change.


    At the same time, his chest piece, shoulder guards, gloves¡­ The pieces of Equipment appeared on his body as he squinted his eyes, which gave him exceptional defensive abilities.


    They were probably known as "Soul Equipment".

 Chapter 22：New Facilities

    The pieces of Equipment created by the Game''s System were tough, and Dra regarded them to be much tougher than normal steel protective gear.


    On the other hand, Lin Ke felt that the most important thing was the armor seemed to be weightless because he did not feel any pressure from it as though it was cotton.


    "A Soul Equipment''s protection toward one''s flesh is actually secondary because it can protect one''s soul, which is the key." Dra sighed as he looked at the equipment set on Lin Ke''s body. "I wonder how many people from the continent I came from fought to their death in order to acquire one."


    Over here, Lin Ke could buy 2 pieces of Equipment a day, and if his Dormitory Grade increased during the later phase, he would have so many Silver to buy a lot more pieces of Soul Equipment.


    "So it''s best not to show your Soul Equipment. Although I''m not sure what the others in this world think of it, it''s definitely not something that can be easily attained." Lin Ke nodded when he heard Dra''s words. After all, those who fought all year round were definitely more experienced than him.


    He removed the equipment set from his body so that Lucy could put them on, then began discussing with Dra while enduring the weakness that he was feeling.


    "You need to bring a few Elemental Guards this time to test their combat powers against the Werewolves." Lin Ke was persistent about testing the Elemental Guards'' abilities through a test.


    The guards did not have to be too powerful, so long as they could go 1v1 against a Werewolf.


    After all, the recruitment requirement was not too high, by which a guard could be recruited using 5 Elemental Cores.


    The Werewolves were rather powerful. Based on the previously gathered data about them, he found that they were much stronger than the special forces from his original world.


    Nonetheless, Lin Ke was not optimistic about the Werewolves'' ability to fight and kill, because he regarded them as dumb beings that only relied on their strength.


    "I understand. I''ll bring a few Elemental Guards when I go over with Avina and Lucy later."


    Dra nodded to express that she understood.


    Afterward, Lin Ke opened the Market to look at Resources. A small resource pack with 100 Elemental Cores cost 10 Diamonds, and he would instantly have 20 more Elemental Guards if he bought it.


    "Damn it, the more I think about it, the angrier I am. I should''ve topped up more Silver." He was extremely annoyed because he could have gotten 1,000 Elemental Guards if he was rich, and he would not need to be afraid of those Werewolves!


    Even though Dra did not need to rest, Lin Ke forced her to rest for 2 hours at the Dormitory. After that, she set out with Avina and Lucy to the nearest Werewolf den.


    Of course, they brought 10 Elemental Guards along to give them a practical test on their combat ability.


    Lin Ke stayed at the Elemental Tower by himself. While he was not exactly afraid, he was worried that a Werewolf might attack the tower all of a sudden. Therefore, he returned to the Summoning Hall, where he consumed all his Elemental Cores to summon over 10 Elemental Guards to replace the ones that followed Dra and the others.


    Only then he was at ease.


    He leaned against an ice-cold stone wall in a corner of the tower and paid close attention to the Game''s System.


    The Elemental Tower had advanced to Level 2, so he could gain 100 EXP Points a day, which was extremely good.


    That being said, more facilities needed to be built if he wanted to get to Level 3.


    For instance, Level 2 Dormitories, and Level 2 Elemental Ponds. Additionally, he had to build at least two of each.


    A Level 2 Elemental Tower also resulted in 10 new building units, and its height was double of what it was. As such, a new staircase was there for him to get to the second floor.


    On the second floor, he noticed that the interior was very similar to the first floor, and there were ten rooms for him to build new facilities.


    In addition, if Lin Ke was willing to spend some Silver and Resources to switch rooms, he could switch rooms between the first and second floors according to his liking.


    Nevertheless, he was not going to do that as he was short of them.


    There were a few new facilities for a Level 2 Elemental Tower.


    Lin Ke was somewhat regretful when he did not see an Arena which he desperately needed, but he was still drawn to the other facilities.


    One of them was a Trading Hall that did not require many Resources. Though he was not sure about the items that could be bought, he believed that he could get useful items from the hall.


    Since the Resources required for the facility were roughly the same as what was needed for a Dormitory, he decided to build it.


    Moreover, it was one of the necessary facilities to be built for the Elemental Tower to level up to Level 3.


    Apart from the Trading Hall, he also built a Dungeon and a Library.


    Lin Ke had a heartache as the Resources required for the Library was extremely high, but he had to build it as it was also a condition for the Elemental Tower to advance to Level 3.


    However, he could build it afterward.


    Other than that, there were 4 new creations due to the Level 2 Elemental Tower and the Summoning Hall.


    They were the Earth Elemental Military Camp, the Water Elemental Military Camp, the Fire Elemental Military Camp, and the Air Elemental Military Camp.


    The Military Camps were annexes of the Summoning Hall and were facilities meant for the Elemental Guards to progress to new levels.


    Lin Ke was uncertain about how the guards could progress in specific, and he could only find out after building them.


    For all that, it was impossible for him to do that now as each facility cost a bomb. They required 2,000 Silver, as well as plenty of Resources and Special Resources, which were supplies that he lacked the most at the moment.


    Nonetheless, he roughly guessed the abilities that would be gained by the Elemental Guards through the facilities according to the facility names.


    The Earth Elemental was likely for Meat Shield, either the Air Elemental or the Fire Elemental was for Long-range, and the Water Elemental could be for Healing or DPS.


    In any case, the leveled-up Elemental Guards would definitely be more powerful than the ones that did not.


    After all, many Resources would be spent on those facilities, so it only made sense that they would become powerful.


    Although there were a number of new facilities that could be built, Lin Ke planned to only build the Trading Hall, and he could only build it tomorrow when he had the money to.


    Ever since Dra and the others left, he had been using his Unique Sight from time to time to observe his surroundings.


    He did it due to a few reasons, but mainly because he hoped that Dra and the others could return safely, and he wanted to be the first to see them.


    His thought was only realized at night.


    When Lin Ke saw them supporting each other by the arm, and that none of the 10 Elemental Guards returned with them, he knew¡­


    They were in huge trouble.

 Chapter 23：The Werewolves’ Powerhouses

    Lin Ke quickly went to the entrance to help the three of them into the tower.


    It was then when he noticed that Avina''s calf was injured.


    The rest were not in bad shape.


    Avina suffered penetration damage. The object that penetrated had been removed, and the bleeding stopped, but it was obvious that she lost some flesh. Lin Ke could not help but furrow his eyebrows upon noticing a hole through her calf.


    "Avina, what other treatment should be done to your wound?"


    Lin Ke obviously knew that her wound should be disinfected, but they did not have the items needed for that. Hence, he hoped that Avina''s Elven race had unique treatments.


    "A small injury like that isn''t a big deal." Dra shook her head at Lin Ke. "Just let her stay in the Dormitory for a night, and she''ll recover fully."


    "What? The Dormitory does that too?" Lin Ke looked at Dra strangely, and questioned, "Is it true?"


    "Yes, it''s true." Dra nodded, and was surprised that Lin Ke was unaware of that. "The Dormitory helps Heroes with recovery and drives negative states away from them. The higher the Level of the Dormitory, the better the effect."


    "Okay." Lucy nodded, then supported Avina as they walked slowly toward Lin Ke''s Dormitory.


    Lin Ke initially wanted to help Avina, but they rejected his offer. Avina smiled at him while shaking her head, and insisted that Lucy helped her.


    On the other hand, Dra stayed where she was as she waited to report to Lin Ke what happened exactly.


    "Okay, tell me why you suffered such a huge impact." Lin Ke sighed and sat beside her.


    Dra sighed too. "We made a shocking discovery that the Werewolves aren''t weak at all. We''re in big trouble."


    "Is that so?"


    Lin Ke was not surprised at all, because the moment he saw Avina injured, he knew that something unexpected happened.


    Only one thing could explain this.


    "Did you meet extremely valiant Werewolves?" Lin Ke asked, but he was already sure of the answer because this was the most possible explanation.


    His guess was further verified when Dra nodded.


    When Dra and the others led 10 Elemental Guards toward the Werewolf den, they never expected to face a tough fight.


    Perhaps because the Werewolves that they previously met were not strong at all, they underestimated them as a whole.


    The instant they charged forward to the Werewolf den, an unforeseen resistance appeared.


    While most normal Werewolves were indeed only as strong as how Dra and the others expected them to be, after hundreds of them were killed, over ten significantly stronger Werewolves appeared.


    The stronger Werewolves were definitely a threat to Dra and the others, so much so that Lucy who was behind had to be protected too.


    On top of that, there were another three more extremely powerful Werewolves.


    They were exceptionally strong, such that one of them ended up in an irresolvable fight with Dra.


    Without Avina and the others who were able to join hands with Dra well, Dra could have possibly been killed.


    Lin Ke trembled with fear after listening to that.


    During the battle, Avina''s calf was accidentally penetrated by a broken spear that was thrown by a powerful Werewolf, but she also took the advantage to injure that Werewolf and managed to kill it together with Dra.


    Following that, the other two valiant Werewolves abandoned their partners and escaped as fast as they could.


    However, the other Werewolves that stayed lost their consciousness to judge and began attacking Dra and the others, but they ended up being killed.


    The Werewolf den was destroyed in the end, but two Werewolves with exceptionally powerful strength got away.


    "If we let those two Werewolves live, we''ll suffer more serious damages in the future."


    Dra was extremely solemn, and by more serious damages, she meant that Lin Ke might lose one or two of his Heroes.


    Although Lin Ke could experiment if the Altar could be used to revive Heroes, he would rather not find out unless it was really necessary.


    "It''s hard to attack a Werewolf den, I didn''t expect that many Werewolves to gather there. This is a really huge problem." Lin Ke''s face took on a ghastly expression.


    He rubbed his temples as his head ached from worrying too much, but he quickly took a few deep breaths to recollect his composure.


    Though things did not go smoothly as planned, he was still glad that a Werewolf den was destroyed, and that one of the powerful Werewolves was killed.


    He was just concerned because it was almost as powerful as Dra.


    "No, they''re very strong indeed, but I can feel that their Nature is far from mine, and is at most the same as Lucy''s."


    Dra negated Lin Ke''s guess by voicing out her opinion.


    Lin Ke figured that Nature was probably a Rating for Heroes.


    She had the Rating of Disaster Level, whereas Lucy''s Rating was only Leader Level.


    There could only be one reason if the powerful Werewolves were matched in strength with Dra if their Rating was so far from hers.


    "Lucy''s Nature¡­" Lin Ke came to a sudden realization. He understood why the Werewolves'' Nature was far from Dra''s when they were well-matched with her.


    It was their Level!


    Their Level was insufficient.


    If the Werewolves were categorized according to the game''s Levels, they were probably monsters above Level 10. If they also had Three Stars, a Blue Grade, as well as a Leader Rating like Lucy, it would make sense for them to be able to match with Dra.


    Once Dra was above Level 10, it would definitely be easy for her to kill those Werewolves.


    Nevertheless, it was a very serious problem, because Lin Ke did not have enough Diamonds to purchase EXP Scrolls. Moreover, while EXP Scrolls gave a lot of EXP Points, he was unsure if the Level of his Heroes who used them had an upper limit equivalent to his own Level.


    Subsequently, Lin Ke opened the Market. He remembered that there were Golden EXP Scrolls that cost 50 Diamonds, and Purple EXP Scrolls that cost 12 Diamonds.


    A Golden EXP Scroll could give a Hero 10,000 EXP Points, whereas a Purple EXP Scroll only gave 2,000 EXP Points.


    Even though Lin Ke did not have enough Diamonds to purchase a Purple EXP Scroll, he recalled seeing discounted Purple EXP Scrolls as one of the hot-selling items the day before, by which each of them cost only 9 Diamonds.


    The discounted price was no longer valid at that moment, but he would refresh the Market again the day after to check if the scrolls would be on sale again.


    If he could purchase one for Dra to help her level up, they would stand a higher chance against the Werewolves.

 Chapter 24：Dungeon, Or Library?

    The Werewolves may have aces, but Lin Ke''s side was strong too.


    Hence, after a den was destroyed, Lin Ke discovered, from observing the whole afternoon, that the Werewolf "eyes" that were initially watching his side from far away were gone.


    It seemed like they dared not stay around his place anymore as they were afraid.


    Nonetheless, Lin Ke knew very well that it was impossible that the Werewolves really left, because they were known for bearing grudges.


    In fact, this was only the calm before the storm. Once the Werewolves had sufficient combat power, they would flood Lin Ke''s tower immediately to kill his people, and might actually eat them up.


    Fortunately, the Werewolves suffered a huge loss this time, so they probably would not attack in the next few days.


    As such, Lin Ke could take advantage of the situation to improve the combat power from his side.


    For example, he could acquire more Elemental Cores and Silver to purchase Equipment or for upgrades, and could think of a way for Dra and the others to level up.


    Avina''s injury was quite severe that her calf was not completely healed even after midnight, but new flesh had already started regenerating. Judging from the situation, she would be fully recovered by tomorrow.


    Lin Ke was finally relieved.


    Dra cleaned her hands and walked over, then nodded when she looked at Avina''s condition. "Not bad, she''s recovering well. Once she recovers in two days, she can join me in guerilla warfare against the Werewolves."


    She had been processing the meat of the wild beasts captured in the afternoon into jerky.


    Apart from that, she also found a rock salt near a Werewolf den, so she brought it back to the Elemental Tower.


    According to Dra, the rock salt''s Grade was terrible, and it was easy for one to be poisoned from consuming too much of it. It could only supply some salt for a human''s body during times of need.


    Lin Ke sent Dra to hunt for wild beasts because he noticed that the Werewolves no longer surrounded the area, so he needed her to capture more beasts to stock up on food.


    This way, they could sustain themselves longer if the Werewolves surrounded them again.


    The longer they could sustain, the more Lin Ke''s Elemental Tower could upgrade, and the higher their combat power.


    Since it was a new day, Lin Ke quickly opened the Market to check the panel for hot-selling items.


    The Purple EXP Scrolls were not on sale, whereas the Golden EXP Scrolls were being sold for 40 Diamonds, which was a much cheaper price.


    Unfortunately, Lin Ke could not afford them.


    "What should I do now? How can I build new facilities?"


    Lin Ke frowned. Normally, he should be building Dormitories and Elemental Ponds to obtain plenty of Resources because it would be easier to build other facilities after.


    However, they were not under normal circumstances at the moment because the Werewolves would attack them at any time. As such, they needed to increase their combat power even if it would delay their future development, or they might not have a future at all!


    Of course, Lin Ke considered leaving for some time to escape from the Werewolves, but he dared not do that when he looked at the Elemental Tower.


    ''If the Elemental Tower is unoccupied when the Werewolves attack, it''ll likely be destroyed by them.


    ''Without the Elemental Tower, what will happen to my female Heroes? Would they still exist?


    ''Will my strength be sealed? Will everything else stop growing?


    ''Without the Elemental Tower, would I be able to still survive in this world?''


    Lin Ke had too many doubts that he dared not take the gamble by leaving the tower with Dra and the others.


    Therefore, they could only stay to defend against the Werewolves and to kill all enemies who would attack them!


    As he exhaled deeply, he put his troubles aside and began checking his gains to see which facility could be built.


    With the advent of a new day, Lin Ke''s body became hot when he upgraded to Level 3, but it was no longer painful and unbearable as before. Instead, hot streams filled his body, and he could clearly feel a comfortable feeling in his head.


    It seemed like it was painful for him yesterday because it was his first time receiving an Upgrade benefit from the System, so he was probably remolded thoroughly.


    Other than his Level, he gained a lot of Resources too.


    Due to the Dormitory that was upgraded to Level 2, Lin Ke gained a total of 10,000 Silvers - 6,000 Silvers from 3 Level 1 Dormitories, and 4,000 Silvers from 1 Level 2 Dormitory.


    He was elated because he lacked Silver the most, and 10,000 Silver could benefit him very much.


    Additionally, he also acquired Elemental Cores. Since the 2 Elemental Ponds were still in Level 1, he gained only 100 Elemental Cores, which could be used to recruit 20 Elemental Guards.


    Lin Ke found out from Dra that the Elemental Guards'' combat power was equivalent to a normal Werewolf, but because they did not fear death, they executed the order given to them without fail and gathered together to kill over 20 Werewolves.


    Needless to say, they were able to do that because Dra and the others were distracting the Werewolves too.


    If the number of Elemental Guards increased, they could resist a considerable amount of Werewolves.


    This was also why Lin Ke wanted to build another Elemental Pond to recruit more guards.


    Nevertheless, it was obviously fine if Lin Ke were to do that earlier in the morning, but after Avina was injured, and after knowing that there were a few super aces among the Werewolves, he realized that the Elemental Guards were very weak.


    Even if he were to recruit more Elemental Guards, they would not be able to go against the Werewolves that could contend with Dra.


    Besides, there was more than one Super Werewolf, and they did not know how many of those there were. For now, there were 3 when Dra and the others attacked the Werewolf den.


    Thus, Lin Ke needed items that could upgrade Dra and the others. While Equipment could improve their combat power, each set cost 3,000 Silver, and the ones sold were not upgraded ones.


    He needed the cheapest way to upgrade Dra and the others, but a way that could also increase their combat power the most.


    Hence, he considered the functions of two new facilities.


    He put the Trading Hall aside for now because he figured that the facility only offered some normal items, but he reserved it for the future as it only cost 1,500 Silver.


    The important ones were the Library and the Dungeon, which cost 4,000 Silver and 3,000 Silver respectively. They both cost a lot, and Lin Ke could very well buy an equipment set with the money.


    ''An equipment set can increase fixed Attributes, so between the Dungeon and the Library, which one is more beneficial than the combat power gained from an equipment set?''

 Chapter 25：Avina Who Is About To Recover

    A Dungeon, as the name suggested, was probably a facility used to imprison an enemy.


    What could Lin Ke gain from imprisoning an enemy?


    He recalled that some web games had facilities similar to a Dungeon, and after making a comparison, he somewhat guessed what it could produce.


    ''Yes, production!''


    The Dungeon was likely a facility that could yield Silver or other Resources for a Player. Of course, it was also possible that it produced EXP Points too, which was extremely important.


    Nevertheless, Lin Ke did not need those things for now. Even if he was so lucky that the facility actually gave EXP Points to a Player, it would not help his current situation.


    It would not be helpful if he leveled up because he could not kill the Werewolves. Even if he were to advance to Level 20, he only had an Average Rating and could not make an effect as significant as Dra who was only in Level 1.


    ''What if the Dungeon produces other resources?''


    If that was the case, Lin Ke was less attracted to it. After all, Silver and Resources could be compensated by relying on other facilities.


    Nonetheless, there was a possibility that the Dungeon produced Special Resources like Diamonds, which would really draw Lin Ke''s attraction. If they were in a safe situation, he would definitely build it as an experiment, but he did not have the time now.


    Furthermore, even if Diamonds could be produced, it would not be in a huge amount, which might not be very useful at that moment.


    Other than the fact that Lin Ke did not need Resources urgently, the Dungeon also had a major drawback. He needed to get captives!


    It was worth noting that a Dungeon''s captives in most games were also Players, and one would only gain rewards by enslaving them.


    Could Lin Ke find other Players? Could he capture them and leave them in his Dungeon?


    Sure enough, a Dungeon could also let a Player capture NPCs of similar strength, but since there were various possibilities, the risks and rewards were disproportionate.


    Especially when the rewards were not very attractive to Lin Ke for the time being.


    Therefore, Lin Ke decided to look at his other option.


    The Library.


    "The Library." Lin Ke sighed because he could not guess much about the facility.


    A facility like that rarely appeared in magical themed, western fantasy web games.


    Additionally, they varied from game to game and had no similarity.


    Hence, Lin Ke was unsure of what the Library contained.


    He needed to consider if he should build it.


    If he did not build it, he could upgrade the Dormitories and the Elemental Ponds to accumulate more Resources, but with a hope that the Werewolves would not attack them soon.


    "Sadly, our safety doesn''t depend on our enemy''s mood."


    Lin Ke shook his head. He had to take necessary precautions, thus he needed to build the Library.


    He wanted to build it because he did not understand the facility well.


    On the other hand, he understood the Dungeon very well, so he did not need to build it.


    Subsequently, Lin Ke stood up and began building the new facilities.


    The Trading Hall and the Library were being built.


    A total of 6 hours was needed to build 2 facilities, and since it was midnight when he started, the facilities would be done early in the morning.


    "Let''s rest for now."


    Lin Ke smiled at Avina and the others. He rejected Dra''s offer to send him back to his Dormitory and lied on his wooden bed once he returned to his bedroom.


    After being restless for the whole day, he was absolutely exhausted.


    He was extremely anxious because of the passing army of Beastmen, the agriculturalization of Werewolves, and their persistence to attack them.


    Fortunately, he had Dra and the others, who really calmed him down.


    Before long, he was deep asleep, and the sky was about to turn bright by the time he awoke.


    It was almost daybreak; the first light would soon be seen.


    Lin Ke strolled around his tower while waiting for the two facilities to be done in half an hour.


    He only slept for 5 hours, which was a few hours less than before he transmigrated. However, he was always in high spirits as he had been in deep sleep and did not feel like he lacked sleep at all.


    Dra was already awake long ago and returned from the outside. She carried over ten fish when she came back, which were tied together by a straw rope that went through their mouth. According to her, she would prepare fish soup for Avina.


    Lin Ke asked for a bowl of fish soup too, and he added a bit of rock salt to enhance its flavor. As such, it was much more delicious than when he first tried it.


    Although it was inevitable that the rock salt carried a bitter and astringent taste, he did not add too much to be safe and was satisfied.


    On the other hand, Avina''s complexion was much better, and the wound on her calf was healing very well.


    Lin Ke sat by her bed as he touched the injured spot on her calf. Beneath her soft skin, there was a slight dent where the wound was, which was due to the muscle that was not fully grown yet.


    It was simply a miracle. Even when she lost a lot of flesh, she was able to regenerate it by just resting in the Dormitory! Moreover, it did not leave a scar at all. If this was possible in Lin Ke''s original world, many people would go crazy over it even if it cost a lot of money.


    "I''ll probably recover fully by nighttime. The part where my muscle grows itches during this time." Avina was rather shy when her calf was being touched, so she could not help but withdraw her leg a little.


    "It''ll only recover if it itches. If you feel nothing at all, it''ll be terrible." Lin Ke chuckled, and he felt much better after knowing that Avina could recover fully.


    While they conversed, he received a notification that the new facilities had been built.


    Finally, the details of the Library and the Trading Hall would be revealed.


    Lin Ke was quite agitated. He was worried that the Library would be a waste of money, but he also hoped that it would be helpful toward increasing their combat power.


    If the new facilities were not beneficial enough, he would prepare to build other facilities.


    A Level 1 Elemental Tower could build a Refinery Hall, and a Level 2 Elemental Tower had another facility that could be activated by building a Refinery Hall.


    Lin Ke could also carry out a lot of science and technology research if he built a Research Institution.


    For instance, Level 1 Equipment Chains could be gained if all Equipment were at Level 10.


    As for what a Refinery Hall could bring, Lin Ke was eager to find out too because he believed that it could really improve his female Heroes'' combat power!

 Chapter 26：The Library’s Unique Function

    After leaving the Level 2 Dormitory that Avina was in, Lin Ke began to head to the new facilities.


    Avina struggled to get up, but was stopped by Lin Ke, who asked Dra and Lucy to keep her company. He then left by himself.


    Since he was inside the Elemental Tower, nothing dangerous would happen to him.


    First, Lin Ke went to the Trading Hall that was nearest to him. Many things appeared the moment he opened the interface.


    He was dispirited after taking a look.


    Sure enough, the Trading Hall was full of things that were extremely useful.


    For instance, exquisite wooden chairs, peppers, silk, and so on. The items were clearly marked with their price, and could be bought using Silver.


    There was only a page with 6 items listed, which would refresh every 6 hours.


    However, the items were not useful at the moment as Lin Ke and the others were in a dangerous situation.


    The Trading Hall was probably a utility facility by the System for Players to earn Silver, because one could purchase items to sell them in other Players'' territory at certain prices.


    Since Lin Ke was the only Player around, he could not sell them to anyone else.


    Nevertheless, he wondered if he should purchase a packet of pepper to try.


    There were a total of 10 packets of pepper, and each packet cost 500 Silver, so 10 packets cost 5,000 Silver.


    If he could sell them to other Players, he would be able to earn a few thousand Silver.


    Seeing as he was the only Player, he decided to test if he could purchase it for his own usage.


    In any case, it only cost 500 Silver.


    Lin Ke decided to buy a packet, and he tried to retrieve it from his Inventory.


    Pop, the packet dropped into his hand.


    The pepper was black, and the packet contained roughly 2 kilograms worth of pepper. When Lin Ke took one out to test, it tasted well, and was definitely real.


    After taking the packet out, he could not return it to his Inventory.


    The game allowed Players to retrieve Items from their Inventory, but disallowed them from putting items back, which was a flaw that really disappointed Lin Ke.


    Other than the pepper, Lin Ke was interested in the other items too.


    For example, silk, cane sugar, and porcelain.


    Those items were not as cheap, but,compared to the other items, were what Lin Ke and the others needed.


    "Forget it, now is not the time for us to have fun."


    Lin Ke closed his eyes. He was done making comparisons by the time he opened his eyes again, and he headed to the Library with the packet of pepper.


    The Library was a facility that he was clueless about. It was a gamble that he took, but was a facility that could possibly increase his team''s combat power the most.


    He smiled the instant he looked at the Library''s interface.


    "Indeed, this is the facility that I need the most now!"


    The heavy pressure that Lin Ke had been feeling for some time was lifted right away, because the Library was exactly what he needed.


    All along, he found it strange that his Heroes'' interfaces did not have options for him to upgrade their Levels.


    Items like EXP Scrolls should normally come with prompts to upgrade, but he could not find them even after looking for a long time.


    Back then, he wondered how his Heroes could be upgraded if he bought EXP Scrolls - should he let them tear the scrolls?


    His questions were answered by the Library.


    The Library was a place where Heroes were upgraded.


    A few empty slots could be seen on the Library''s interface, where Players could place their Heroes in the slots to undergo the Library''s unique function - Advanced Development.


    There were a few Grades for Advanced Development, which were listed out according to the duration.


    There were Advanced Developments that lasted for 1 hour, 4 hours, and 12 hours. In addition, there were also options for 24 hours, and 48 hours, but they could only be activated using Diamonds.


    Heroes could gain EXP Points from Advanced Development. 1 hour, 4 hours, and 12 hours of such development yielded 400 Points, 1,600 Points, and 4,800 Points respectively.


    Advanced Developments activated by Diamonds gave more EXP Points, such that a hero would gain 20,000 Points after 24 hours, and 50,000 Points after 48 hours.


    Throughout the development process, Players could use EXP Scrolls on Heroes to speed up the leveling up process. This was how EXP Scrolls could be used.


    Without the Library, EXP Scrolls were useless.


    What else did Lin Ke need to know?


    It was exactly his desire for Dra and the others to level up as soon as possible, so that they could be stronger against the Werewolves. With that, he quickly shifted Dra and Avina''s virtual avatars to the Library''s slots for an hour of Advanced Development each.


    Of course, Lin Ke wanted to let Lucy do it too, but there were only 2 free slots, and only a VIP Player could have 3 slots.


    Though it applied to VIP1 Players as well, he could only sigh as he was only a cheapskate Starter Packer.


    Nonetheless, two was better than none.


    Since Lin Ke let Avina and Dra undertake an hour of Advanced Development each, they gained 400 EXP Points. While they could not advance to Level 3 with those Points, they could get to Level 2.


    He could then ask them about the difference in their strengths after they leveled up.


    If the difference was big, things would be much easier for them.


    Lin Ke did not go anywhere during that hour. He stayed to build a Refinery Hall, and also upgraded a Dormitory.


    He upgraded a Dormitory instead of building a new one mainly because he did not have enough Heroes, and he could only be rewarded twice the Silver if Heroes stayed in the Dormitories. Thus, he would receive less rewards if he were to build a Dormitory that would be unoccupied.


    Furthermore, a new facility required more Wood and Stone, whereas the Resources needed to level up were lower - of course, the demand for Silver was higher.


    While Lin Ke was trying his best to survive in this world, behind a giant tree outside the Elemental Tower, a few shadows were observing the tower that was out of tune with the forest.


    The tower was not tall, some ancient trees were actually a few times taller than it, but its construction form was very rare.


    "Jonas, is this the Mage Tower that you saw? It''s just a small tower with two floors. It might not actually be occupied by a real Mage. In fact, it looks nothing like a Mage Tower. It''s probably just a normal building."


    A brawny man with a full beard asked his partner, "Is this what Vice Captain sent us to see?"


    "A fella who can build a tower like this in the Werewolf Forest is definitely not simple."


    Jonas rolled his eyes at the brawny man. "We need to observe the Mage Tower''s owner for a while. There have been some movements in the Werewolf Forest lately, so we mustn''t allow any mishaps."

 Chapter 27：Hug

    An hour passed in the blink of an eye, so Lin Ke added another hour of Advanced Development each for Dra and Avina, then headed toward Avina''s room.


    400 EXP Points could be gained from an hour. 200 EXP Points were needed to advance to Level 2, 240 Points were needed to get to Level 3, and 300 Points were needed to enter Level 4.


    In other words, Avina and Dra would be at Level 4 after another hour.


    That was if it was possible.


    In many games, Heroes could not surpass a Player''s Level. If they were almost going to exceed the Player''s Level, their EXP Points would be locked until the Player could level up further.


    That being said, there were also some games that allowed that to happen.


    If the game that Lin Ke was in was the latter, Dra and Avina could level up to Level 4, but if the game was the former, they could only advance to the cap of Level 3.


    Lin Ke''s question would be answered in an hour.


    Once he entered the Dormitory Avina was in, he noticed that the others were looking at him solemnly, so he laughed. "What happened? Why are your faces so dark?"


    "My Lord, did you do something just now? My strength increased a little," Dra replied, somewhat criticizing him, "If this suddenly happens in a battle, I might end up in a bad situation. Do you want that to happen?"


    "Uh, aren''t we in the tower right now? Can an accident happen?" The smile on Lin Ke''s face disappeared. "I upgraded you to another level, so I''m here to check on you."


    "That''s not the case, my Lord." Dra lowered her head and sighed. "I''m dissuading you from doing that because you''ll get used to acting as you please, and it''ll eventually become a habit. You may be careful now, but there''ll be times when you want to experiment with something in the future, and it might cost you a Hero."


    Lin Ke was vexed, so he waved his hand to cut her off. "Okay, okay, I''ll apologize this time, okay? Next time, I''ll definitely inform you in advance if I want to increase your strength!"


    Upon hearing him, Dra shut her eyes and stood where she was without saying a word.


    Lin Ke was embarrassed. Although he could ask Dra to move as she was blocking his path, it would seem like he was surrendering.


    Hence, he decided not to move, and he stood up straight in front of her without saying a word too.


    On the other hand, Avina and Lucy watched them quietly.


    Lin Ke wanted to just leave in anger. ''I obviously know how dangerous it is to increase their strength without warning, so I only did it after making sure that they''re all in the Elemental Tower.


    ''Besides, didn''t I apologize already? Why is she behaving like this!


    ''I wasn''t very sincere when I apologized, but at least I did!''


    Lin Ke gritted his teeth as he was furious.


    When he looked at Dra, who was standing there expressionlessly with her head lowered, he became less angry.


    Eventually, he exhaled deeply, and surrendered.


    No matter what, an extremely beautiful lady was standing in front of him to express her disapproval of his action, and even though she was stubborn, she did it out of a good intention. Nobody could be mad at her for long.


    Moreover, it was true that Lin Ke changed a little. Perhaps because they had been addressing him as their Lord for the past two days, he really thought that he was supreme. As such, he was easily agitated when someone disobeyed him, and was reluctant to accept any criticism.


    "Heh, what a joke."


    Lin Ke ridiculed himself, and began adjusting his mentality.


    "I''m sorry, Dra, it really was my fault," Lin Ke bowed to Dra and apologized to her - he dared not take a further step, because he was afraid of scaring Dra. Even then, Dra was already taken aback.


    "No, no, no, my Lord, you don''t have to do this," Dra spoke incoherently, but Lin Ke could tell that she was extremely happy.


    ''Are you really so happy because of my apology?'' He wondered, and it suddenly struck him that his Heroes only existed because of him.


    Lin Ke agreed with the extremely self-centered thought very much.


    Ever since the female Heroes were summoned to this world, everything about them revolved around him.


    Therefore, even if Dra "went against" him, at the end of the day, she did it for his own good.


    While she sounded like she was worried about the other Heroes, she was actually mad because he might lose a Hero''s help.


    Once Lin Ke figured it out, the knot in his heart disappeared, and he felt so guilty that he subconsciously took a step forward to hug Dra. He patted her back. "Thank you for your reminder. If something like this happens in the future, you must remind me again!"


    Lin Ke did not treat Dra as a lady at that moment as he treated her as a partner whom he could trust. He took a deep breath while hugging her tightly, and instantly smelled a pleasant smell.


    By the time Lin Ke realized what it was, he was very embarrassed. In fact, he could clearly feel the embarrassment, so he froze on the spot.


    A few seconds later, he finally withdrew himself and took a step back.


    Dra was already blushing then, and she dared not look up at him. With that, the room was dead silent again.


    However, the atmosphere was lovely this time.


    Upon noticing that Avina and Lucy were whispering to each other, Lin Ke uttered embarrassedly, "I''ll take a look over there. Don''t forget that you''ll be upgraded to another level soon."


    Subsequently, he ran away.


    Dra stood there for a long time before she put her hands on her reddened cheeks. "Oh, oh, oh, it''s wonderful, he actually hugged me."


    "Hehe."


    "Hehe."


    Her partners giggled, then ran over to her and mentioned, "Sneaky guy, die!"


    Avina, who was limping, ran the fastest.


    Lin Ke flushed when he left the Dormitory, and he only stopped to pant when he was directly below the tower.


    It was his first time hugging a non-blood-related lady for such a long time, and the strange feeling made him think about the moment over and over again, but he also felt so awkward that he wanted to forget it.


    While having conflicting thoughts, Lin Ke entered the Tower Sight, and noticed that a few Humans were spying on them from afar.

 Chapter 28：Settling Knight

    Jonas felt like someone was staring at him.


    He had a special ability since young, where he could notice if someone was looking at him even on a bustling street.


    His life took a turn when people found out about his ability.


    A merchant''s second son rose to be a Knight Servant in the Feathered Hawk Knight Squad, the strongest squad in the Kingdom. In fact, he was personally guided by the vice captain, an honorable Knight of the nobles.


    Jonas found out later that his ability was known as a "Divine Ability". According to the vice captain, he was half a step to being an Extraordinaire as he had some of the traits.


    After training hard for some time, he could definitely become a real Extraordinaire, and would become the sharpest lance in the Feathered Hawk Knight Squad!


    An Extraordinaire was an official Professional, and only one who possessed extraordinary powers was addressed as such.


    While the big Feathered Hawk Knight Squad had three thousand members, less than a hundred of them were Professionals.


    They were the squad''s real combat power, whereas the rest in the squad were only members who served them. Nevertheless, the Knight Squad was still the main force in fights against the Beastmen.


    This was because the squad was extremely powerful even without the Professionals.


    Since Jonas could possibly become a Professional, he was always admired¡­ And envied by many of his associates in the Knight Squad.


    The brawny man who was carrying out a mission with him at the moment was one of them.


    "I think someone noticed us, and he''s looking at us now," Jonas quickly said to his partners, "Should we retreat for now?"


    "No, our mission is to find out about the person in this Mage Tower!" The brawny man spoke rudely, "A fella who''s not even an official Mage is at most an apprentice! We have 3 High-rank Knight Servants here, so we''ll just fight if something goes wrong!"


    In contrast with an official Mage who was at the top after becoming a Professional, a Mage''s apprentice was at the bottom among the apprentices of other Professionals.


    Without a strong body, one needed to meditate for a long time with one''s mind, and had to pay attention to not go out of tune during chants. It was normal for a Mage''s apprentice to be so seriously troubled by the numerous negative states that one did not have much combat power.


    On the other hand, a mediocre Knight was the strongest when one was still an apprentice.


    A High-rank Knight Servant could defeat 5 Mage apprentices during a war, let alone 3 Knight Servants.


    Since they had 3 Knight Servants on their side, and the tower was just a small building that looked like a Mage Tower, the brawny man thought light of whoever was in the tower, and was unwilling to monitor from the outside anymore.


    "Alright, it''s better to save unnecessary trouble now," The other Knight Servant finally spoke, "A few days ago, an army of Beastmen snuck past the Kingdom''s border and swept through a few cities, causing many Settling Knights to fall into their clutches. This is why the Count asked us to find new Settling Knights to be stationed on the border to resist the first wave of attack on the Kingdom.


    "If the person in the tower is suitable, he can probably gain the title of a Settling Knight."


    Being the leader among the three of them, he had the final say, and everything should be done according to his orders.


    "Tsk." The brawny Knight Servant looked away as he was indignant. He thought to himself, ''Another lucky fella.''


    A Settling Knight was a unique position that was handed down from when the Kingdom was established.


    It could not be described specifically in a few words. In simpler terms, it was similar to the lowest rank of nobility, but was an exceptionally rare opportunity to enter higher management as a civilian.


    Settling Knights would normally appoint some powerful locals with strong influence to form a team to settle dangerous areas. If the settling was successful, the Settling Knight would gain a real rank of nobility.


    Nevertheless, the death rate of Settling Knights had remained high since ancient times, and there were very few who managed to be granted as nobles.


    Even so, the few lucky ones could make countless civilians push forward fearlessly, and they were determined to earn the title for their future generations.


    Lin Ke had no idea that the few Humans whom he was looking at were about to make him a Settling Knight. He noticed that they left with their horses after having a discussion.


    The same thing happened previously, where they left as soon as he saw them. Since that was the case, he was certain that it was not a coincidence.


    "They noticed that I was looking at them?" Although Lin Ke asked himself, he was sure of the answer. He rubbed his beard and began thinking.


    He could not be bothered about who those men were, because he only wanted to know if he could use them to fight against the Werewolves who were ready to attack.


    While he was unsure of their strength, he could tell from how they moved around the area that they were not concerned about the Werewolves.


    This meant that they had something valiant to rely on.


    Furthermore, their uniforms showed that they belonged to the same force, which was likely a powerful one.


    Lin Ke scratched his head, then left the Tower Sight after the men could not be seen anymore. He waited for the Advanced Developments in the Library to end.


    The developments did not consume any Resources, because the only thing needed was time.


    For someone poor and blank like Lin Ke, it happened to be something useful yet useless at the same time.


    It was useful because the Werewolves'' attack was a pressing problem, and time was crucial. After all, he needed plenty of time to grow.


    On the other hand, it was useless because he was short of Resources, and could only spend time increasing them. The time wasted during this period did not matter.


    Lin Ke spent his time doing nothing while the hour passed.


    When he finally opened Dra and Avina''s Character Attribute Interface, he noticed that they were both Level 4.


    "Nice, it''s great!"


    Lin Ke could not help but shout and cheered happily.


    He then looked at his interface, and saw that he was still Level 3.


    At that moment, he was extremely grateful to the game developers for allowing a Hero''s Level to exceed a Player''s Level.


    "Very well. Since they can level up, their strength will improve."


    Lin Ke was extremely excited, so he put Dra and Avina under a new Advanced Development.


    This time, instead of choosing the 1-hour option, he decided to let them go through 12 hours of Advanced Development.


    With that, Avina and Dra would advance to Level 8 or 9. He would repeat the process at night, and was sure that they could easily take out a Werewolf den tomorrow.

 Chapter 29：Train With Me!

    Lin Ke quickly went to Dra and Avina''s room. Lucy was seen praying while leaning against the wall, and he wondered which God she was praying to.


    Upon seeing Lin Ke, Dra and Avina, who were having a private conversation, immediately sat up straight. They looked at him, awaiting orders.


    "You don''t have to do that, just act like how you normally would." Lin Ke waved his hand when he saw that they were being rather nervous. He figured that, since he came here in a hurry, they probably thought that had something happened.


    He sat by the bed, then asked Dra, "Have you drunk the potion? The one that increases your Strength by 20."


    On his first day here, he bought a Level 1 Strength Potion that cost him 1,000 Silver.


    "Mm, I drank it." Dra nodded. She consumed the potion during the battle at the Werewolf den. "Its effect is decent, but it didn''t give me a huge upgrade."


    The upgrade was not significant, but she did experience an upgrade.


    Lin Ke nodded as he understood.


    Earlier, he took a look at the Refinery Hall that was built, and found that it was separated into two categories, which were Enchantment Runes and potions.


    An Enchantment Rune was a rune enchanted on an Equipment permanently. It was extremely expensive. A Level 1 Strength Rune that increased Strength by 10 points cost 5,000 Silver.


    On the other hand, the potions that were sold were Level 1 Attribute Potions.


    Lin Ke previously spent 1,000 Silver on a bottle in the Market, but he could now buy any kind of potion without a limit, at the cost of 2,000 Silver each.


    Each potion lasted an hour, which would be very helpful if one were to consume during a battle.


    After getting Dra''s confirmation, Lin Ke was ready to purchase some potions for storage, so that his female Heroes could drink them if they were attacked by an enemy.


    However, he did not have a lot of Silver left as he built too many facilities. Since he could not buy any potions yet, he planned to purchase 2 the next day after he received the money.


    Afterward, Lin Ke began asking Dra and Avina about how they were affected after leveling up.


    "My Upgrades increased after I leveled up."


    Dra seemed to have been waiting for the question. She replied immediately after Lin Ke raised it, "For me, my Strength upgraded a bit more than my equipment set did."


    Lin Ke was elated. ''Not only does her equipment set have Attributes, but the pieces of Equipment also have their own Attributes. They''re lesser than Dra''s Attributes that upgraded!


    ''How much in total does Dra''s Attributes upgrade when she advances by one level!''


    Nevertheless, it made sense that Dra''s growth was fearsome as she was a female Hero with a Disaster Rating. On the contrary, Lucy would not have such a big upgrade margin.


    Avina was not much weaker to Dra. Being a Nightmare Rating Hero with 5 Stars, her growth was probably high, and her strength likely increased by a lot due to the upgrades.


    "Yes, I probably won''t be injured if I had the strength I have now, yesterday." Avina nodded. According to her estimation, her strength increased by a third, which was considered great.


    At that moment, Lin Ke really hoped that the Werewolves would attack them later. He would have enough time to further increase Dra and Avina''s levels, and they could definitely crush the Werewolves.


    With more time, he could also summon more Heroes, and would increase their Levels as well. Everything would be easier that way.


    Lin Ke laughed when he thought about that, because it was only possible if everything went smoothly.


    Avina did not make further comments. Later, when Lucy walked over from the other side, Lin Ke nodded at her apologetically. Due to the lack of slots, he could only level up the female Heroes who were of higher grades, whereas Lucy had to wait as she was a Blue Grade Hero.


    Nonetheless, Lucy was not too bothered. "My Skills are just like that, and leveling up will only increase my Attributes. I can increase their combat power with my Skills, so it''s more important to improve my Skills."


    Lin Ke began pondering upon hearing Lucy''s words.


    It was a problem indeed.


    Although he did not have a facility that could improve his Heroes'' Skills at the moment, he was certain that a facility like that existed after hearing what Lucy said.


    ''Should I upgrade the Elemental Tower to Level 3 to see if there are new facilities?


    ''But I already have plans for the Silver I''ll be getting tomorrow.'' Lin Ke decided to upgrade the Dormitories and the Elemental Ponds by one level each, and would build more of those facilities.


    Therefore, he was not going to upgrade the Elemental Tower to Level 3.


    While Lin Ke was thinking, Dra suddenly whispered to him, "I heard that you previously asked Lucy to spar with you, so that you''ll have some life-saving abilities in the future?"


    Lin Ke froze and felt that the others were fixing their gaze on him at that instant.


    Yesterday, he asked to spar with Lucy as he wanted to develop muscle reflexes that would help him react well during dangerous moments. Despite that, he could not bear the pain after a few times, thus he stopped, and did not ask Lucy for help anymore.


    ''Why is Dra bringing this up now?''


    Seeing as Lin Ke was looking at her embarrassedly, Dra smiled. "It''s not a good idea to train your combat ability with a Priest. You have a top-notch Warrior here, so why did you reject what''s within reach, and look for something that''s far?"


    Dra''s beauty was unparalleled, and her sweet smile made her even more attractive. As such, Lin Ke stared at her unknowingly.


    "Ahem." By the time Lin Ke realized what he was doing, he kept clearing his throat as he felt unusually embarrassed. That said, he did not feel too bad since the others did not mock him.


    "So what are you trying to say?" Lin Ke quickly asked.


    "My Lord, experience a Warrior''s training with me." Dra patted her chest as she said, "Though I''m not extremely familiar with Human Warriors'' training, I''m confident about training a beginner.


    "In just a few days, I believe that you''ll go through a tremendous change!"


    Lin Ke was moved by Dra''s assurance.


    ''Since Avina''s leg hasn''t fully recovered, it''ll be fine if I train with Dra for a few days¡­ Right?''


    Lin Ke scratched his head while looking at the smiling Dra, then finally nodded.

 Chapter 30：A Tough Shield Warrior’s Training

    Lin Ke regretted it!


    After agreeing to the Warrior''s training proposed by Dra, he understood after a few minutes of her teaching what it felt like to be broken-hearted.


    It was true that Dra knew a lot about the Warrior''s training in her original world, but the Warrior''s Profession was known to be "Tough Shield Warrior".


    In simpler terms, it was for war defense!


    One would be beaten!


    The Profession was regarded as cannon fodder among Humans, meant to take damage from enemies, so as to provide a good timing for the main force.


    That was also the exact reason a Tough Shield Warrior had a unique characteristic.


    One could take beatings very well!


    It also meant that one had strong self-protection qualities, because cannon fodder that could be easily taken out was meaningless, and only a tenacious one showed enough presence to attract the enemy''s firepower.


    A Tough Shield Warrior was a Profession for those who could survive even when facing enemies that were much stronger.


    This was also the best Profession for Lin Ke if he wanted to protect himself.


    After Dra explained to him the characteristics of the Profession, he made a firm decision to do it.


    However, he came to a painful realization during the training that it was not a Profession for normal people.


    While there were many ways to train for the Profession, there was only one thing that Lin Ke could do at the moment.


    He could only suffer beatings!


    Suffering beatings was a skill that required technique. The more relentless the person who was beating, the more serious the injuries suffered by the one who was being beaten, which would affect one''s future progress. If the person who was beating was merciful, the effect of the beating could not be displayed.


    Accompanied by a unique skill, a Tough Shield Warrior would slowly strengthen one''s body through the beatings, and could show a special Defense Ability against stronger attacks.


    Of course, the process would not work if one were to be hit by desperate punches. Even though a Tough Shield Warrior was cannon fodder, one could not be trained by just any force.


    Dra employed the safest and the most gentle method on Lin Ke.


    Firstly, Lin Ke needed to remove his shirt - he was supposed to remove his bottoms too, but was so shy that he insisted that Dra started with the upper body movements first.


    He stood on empty ground while forming a cross with his arms, then Dra began slapping his body lightly.


    It was so light that Lin Ke would have thought that she was stroking him if she had not explained in advance.


    As Dra slapped Lin Ke''s body like she was caressing him, heat energy from her palms penetrated his body slowly. Lin Ke remembered that she mentioned that it was something called Qi, and a Warrior would normally have to cultivate for more than ten years to achieve it.


    Lin Ke instantly felt comfortable after his upper body was beaten gently, such that his weariness went away.


    Following that, Dra proceeded to the second round of slapping.


    This time, she exerted more force, and the sounds "pop, pop, pop" were heard. Consequently, Lin Ke''s skin began turning red, and he also felt sharp pains.


    The sharp pains then went away due to the hot Qi, and Lin Ke felt as though he was treading on air.


    For the third round, he began feeling soreness. Dra was slapping him harder, and he noticed that his skin turned black and blue.


    Needless to say, he soon felt severe pain, but the hot Qi did not drive the pain away this time. Instead, the soreness just kept coming like waves.


    Nevertheless, Lin Ke could endure the pain.


    Only during the fourth round, "pop, pop, pop" sounds were no longer heard when Dra slapped his body, because they became "bam, bam, bam" sounds.


    The change of sounds was due to Dra''s slapping force having intensified. Each time Lin Ke suffered a hit, he felt intense soreness that was not only limited to his body''s surface, but also in his muscles, bones, and organs. In fact, the vibrations from the slapping motions caused those parts to twitch.


    Each breath he took came with burning pain, and he was about to fall to one side as he started losing balance.


    Dra reached her hand out to pull Lin Ke back, and used her other hand to continue the slapping. With that, endless hot Qi gushed out from her palms.


    The hot Qi slowly penetrated into Lin Ke''s muscles, and went further into his bones. Under the excruciating pain, the Qi became the source of unbearable pain.


    Finally, Lin Ke cried miserably as he could not take it anymore. Dra slowed down upon hearing him, but soon continued slapping him hard.


    Since Lin Ke did not ask her to stop, she continued.


    When the fourth round ended, before Dra proceeded to the fifth round, Lin Ke stopped her. "Stop, I''ll die if you continue."


    Dra stopped at last. She nodded slowly when she looked at Lin Ke who was about to collapse. "You''re almost at your limit. Sadly, you only underwent four rounds. If you''d like to complete the fifth round, you''ll have to be slapped numerous times."


    Lin Ke felt like dying when he heard her. He quickly asked, "If the fourth round is already unbearable, won''t the fifth round be so painful that even an iron sheet would be cracked?"


    "Yes, or the Defense Ability of a Tough Shield Warrior can''t be unleashed," Dra responded seriously, "Besides, 5 rounds are only the number of rounds required to build a Tough Shield Warrior. I''ve seen the strongest Warrior who was said to have completed 13 rounds of cultivation, the Giants had to lift a gold hammer to hit the Warrior for the process to be completed."


    Lin Ke gulped when he heard that.


    ''How fearsome is the defense of a figure like that? Is that Profession still considered cannon fodder?


    ''If a person like that is hit by the Giants with a hammer during cultivation, how can anyone hurt him during battles?


    ''Can a giant dragon hurt him?''


    Lin Ke looked at Dra. ''Did that fella fight Dra before? She''s a Red Dragon.''


    "I can''t defeat her, because my attacks are useless against her, but we''re not mortal enemies," Dra mentioned when she noticed Lin Ke looking at her, "In fact, we have a close relationship, and I learned some foundations of a Tough Shield Warrior''s training from her."


    Lin Ke shook his head and smiled bitterly. He could see that his body was covered in dirty blood, and he knew that he had turned into a bloody man.


    Moreover, his body swelled, and he could still feel the piercing pain. He dared not imagine how he was going to sleep at night, and what would happen if his body were to touch his bed.


    "I''m sorry. After the Tough Shield Warrior''s training, it''s best that you bathe in a special liquid medicine, because it''ll help you recover." Dra supported Lin Ke by his arm to head to his Dormitory. "We don''t have that here, but the Dormitory can help you recover too, so you''ll be fine tomorrow after staying here for the night.


    "I can help you with your recovery too."


    Dra smiled brightly. After helping Lin Ke to his bed, she reached her hands out to press his shoulders lightly.

 Chapter 31：Unbearable Pain

    Two streams of hot Qi on his shoulders penetrated through his skin like two caterpillars, then spread to the other parts of his body through the gaps between his muscles.


    Different from the ones that entered his bones earlier due to the slaps, the hot Qi now was like hot water that relieved the piercing pain and the swelling.


    Lin Ke could not help but sigh, because he felt relaxed after the obstructions in his Qi circulation were gone.


    The hands that were initially on his shoulders began moving down slowly, and hot Qi continued gushing out of those hands into his body.


    Wave after wave of heat was felt, but was quickly replaced by a cooling and refreshing feeling as though the heat was absorbed by Dra''s hands when she brushed them against Lin Ke''s skin.


    As Dra moved her hands down Lin Ke''s body slowly, Lin Ke had a strange look on his face, because her hands were very close to his lower body.


    Fortunately, she stopped below his abdomen. He kept distracting himself with other thoughts to not think about prohibited images.


    Dra placed her palms on Lin Ke''s belly button, causing more hot Qi to flow into his stomach.


    While Lin Ke was still distracting himself, Dra suddenly wrapped her arms around him, and by the time he realized what happened, she was already hugging him tightly.


    However, instead of a soft body which was what he expected, he felt as if a burning stove was stuck to him.


    Blazing flames that burned his back eventually burned his heart as well, and the pain that he originally felt was replaced by a burning pain.


    The substantial amount of hot Qi that gushed out from Dra''s body was the culprit.


    Lin Ke was enveloped by the hot Qi that entered his body and into his muscles from all directions.


    Instead of being washed by hot water, he felt like he was thrown into a fire!


    Lin Ke shrieked in pain, and his body struggled subconsciously due to the immense pain. At one point, he almost got free because Dra could not wrap her arms around him anymore.


    Upon seeing that, Dra wanted to clamp him down, but she quickly understood why he reacted like that. After a moment of hesitation, she transformed her red armor into scales that fell off her body.


    It was because her armor caused discomfort, and could injure Lin Ke seriously.


    Following that, Dra hugged Lin Ke tightly again, and locked her long legs around his waist. She pinned him to a spot such that he could not get free no matter how he struggled.


    The pain was drowning Lin Ke''s thoughts gradually, but after an unknown period of time, he somehow did not feel it anymore.


    Lin Ke could not tell if he was numbed by the pain, but for some reason, his tensed body loosened, and his mind was blank as if his consciousness was detached.


    At that moment, he could see with his naked eyes that his injuries were healing fast, and the swelling was recovering slowly.


    After a long time, Dra was completely exhausted. She got up from Lin Ke''s body, then sighed after she managed to stand still.


    Her skin that was as smooth as ivory was covered in dirty blood, which was disgusting because it solidified into big pieces of blood shells.


    It was Lin Ke''s blood that was discharged from his body, and it covered Dra''s body when he struggled earlier.


    Dra stood on the floor barefooted, then looked around her before she hummed a strange syllable. Subsequently, flames rose from her feet, which blanketed her body and burned the dirt.


    Afterward, the flames gathered to form a bright red armor that was similar to the one she wore before.


    Once the process was done, she glanced at Lin Ke who was sound asleep.


    His body was also covered in dirty blood, and the blood shells were so dark that he seemed to be wearing black armor.


    Dra approached him carefully. She took the wooden bowl that was beside her, then reached her hand out to fetch clean water, and dipped her fingers into the water to rub Lin Ke''s body with it.


    Bloody water began dripping from Lin Ke''s body, causing the clean wooden bed to be dyed red.


    Dra threw away the blood shells that were removed, and scrubbed his body so diligently that the shells were gone in the blink of an eye. On the other hand, there was a small pile of black blood shells beside her leg.


    When Lin Ke''s body was finally clean, she carried him to another Dormitory.


    The moment they left the Dormitory, the wood that was dyed red faded slowly until it returned to its initial state.


    By the time Lin Ke awoke, it was already very late at night.


    Since the pain was completely gone, his body was full of energy, and he was extremely relaxed.


    The moon in the sky was covered by dark clouds, and only a few stars could be seen.


    Even by using Tower Sight, Lin Ke could only check their surroundings roughly as it was pitch black outside.


    When he opened the Silver Market and took a look at the time, he estimated that it was around 3:30 in the morning at that moment.


    "I was probably unconscious for over ten hours." Lin Ke vaguely remembered what happened before and after he slept, but he wished that he actually forgot about the painful event.


    It would be great if he was already unconscious then.


    Lin Ke noticed that he had his shirt on, and he figured that it was Dra who helped him.


    Though the experience was torturous, it somewhat worked.


    When he touched his chest with his fingers, he noticed that the feeling was different.


    His body became tougher, and his muscles were firmer.


    Lin Ke was uncertain if it was his illusion, or if his brain was lying to him due to the extreme pain that he suffered.


    He poked his body hard, and confirmed that it was indeed different from before, but he was unsure of what exactly changed.


    Since it was too late, he could not wake Dra up to ask her about his condition.


    "Sh*t, I wasted the chance for another round of Advanced Development!"


    Lin Ke suddenly remembered that the Advanced Developments that he previously arranged only lasted for 12 hours, and they were already completed.


    "Damn it, damn it!"


    Lin Ke muttered, then went to the Library. He wanted to put Dra and Avina through Advanced Developments as soon as possible, so that they could level up again.


    However, when he arrived at the Library, he realized that he could not let Dra and Avina undergo Advanced Developments anymore.


    Moreover, their EXP Bar was locked at 100% of Level 9 - they were probably at Level 10, but the System displayed their Level in this form.


    "Upgrade is only available by ranking up!" When Lin Ke attempted to continue their Advanced Developments, a System prompt appeared.


    "Ranking up? Is that a new function?'' Lin Ke pondered.


    While he tried to figure it out, he placed Lucy''s avatar into one of the Advanced Development slots, then set a 12-hours development for her.


    Since Dra and Avina could not be upgraded anymore, it was best that he let Lucy level up too.


    When Lin Ke looked up again, a shadow suddenly appeared beside him.


    He was instantly terrified, but sighed a breath of relief after realizing that it was Dra - he was mainly worried that an enemy had snuck in, but the moment he realized that nothing in the tower could hide from him, he relaxed.


    That being said, he was frightened again when he heard what Dra said. "My Lord, it looks like your body has fully recovered. Would you like to try the fifth round of training?"

 Chapter 32：What About The Server Opening Event?

    Honestly, after experiencing the Tough Shield Warrior''s training once, Lin Ke became extremely afraid of it.


    Nonetheless, he was also rather moved because the immense pain caused his memory to subconsciously block the pain out.


    "It''s not a big deal. It''ll hurt for a while, but I won''t die."


    That was what Lin Ke told himself, but he could not decide if he should accept Dra''s offer.


    When he flexed his muscles, his seemingly energetic body gave him the illusion that the pain that made him miserable was already far gone.


    "Alright, let me consider, and I''ll give you an answer soon."


    Lin Ke was going to accept the offer, but the lingering fear he had quickly made him change his mind.


    Dra nodded and left, because she was sure that Lin Ke would agree to train. After all, it was a self-protection ability, and a Defense Ability that should not be underestimated. It allowed one to resist an enemy''s attack within a certain range.


    Lin Ke was frightened, and he felt beads of sweat on his forehead.


    Afterward, he opened his interface. Although he knew that he was probably already at Level 4, he wanted to verify it.


    The words "Level 4" that appeared were pleasing to the eye, and he noticed that he only needed 350 EXP Points to enter Level 5, so he was sure that he would achieve that tomorrow.


    With the current facilities, Lin Ke was able to gain 450 EXP Points a day.


    It seemed a lot at the moment, but these Points would simply be a drop in the bucket during the later phase. After all, this could not be compared to a real game that would allow him to level up to Level 15 in half an hour.


    Nevertheless, he would still level up slowly in the future.


    Lin Ke dared not imagine how many days and how many facilities he would need to build to achieve the target if he arrived at the stage where a hundred thousand or a million EXP Points were required to gain one level.


    He decided to forget about the scary future for now.


    Just as he was going to close his interface, he noticed a small virtual icon in his Attribute Panel.


    Lin Ke could guarantee that it was his first time seeing the icon, and he immediately focused on it out of curiosity.


    The icon was rather unreal, and it seemed to be comprised of particles. At the bottom of the icon, particles were seen leaving it slowly, which made it look even more illusory.


    It was an image of a shield, and Lin Ke began to realize its meaning after paying close attention to it.


    "Tough Shield Protection: Damage received from attacks currently reduced by 10%, every debuff reduced by¡­"


    There was only a short phrase, and the end of it was garbled-up, but Lin Ke figured that the garbled-up part was probably the specific number. It was likely going to show "every debuff reduced by xxx", but the part was erased.


    "Tough Shield Protection, is this a Tough Shield Warrior''s ability?" Lin Ke began wondering when he looked at the unreal icon.


    Dra mentioned that a Tough Shield Warrior had to undergo training continuously for a period of time to consolidate its effects, or the lack of perseverance would only cause the effects to decline. If one were to only continue the training after a long time, one could not acquire a Tough Shield Warrior''s ability.


    Lin Ke supposed that the unreal icon was showing him that his Tough Shield Protection ability was slowly deteriorating. If he could not consolidate the ability before the icon disappeared, he would lose the ability completely.


    ''Does that mean that I wasted my time getting beaten up yesterday?''


    "That won''t do," Lin Ke mumbled. He was definitely not going to let it go to waste.


    Therefore¡­ He decided to get beaten by Dra later.


    He would endure the pain by pretending that he was being tortured by an enemy.


    Lin Ke felt that he was courting death, but he knew that the technique was useful!


    Earlier on, he tried to punch himself in the chest, and he punched hard.


    Despite that, he did not feel much impact. It was as if his punch hit a layer of leather instead of his body, because he only felt a slight vibration.


    Even though Lin Ke was at Level 4, and his Attributes were not that great compared to Dra and the others, his punch was mightier than the past.


    It did not impact his current body at all.


    At that moment, tens of Elemental Guards were patrolling inside the Elemental Tower. Lin Ke asked one of them to give him a full blow.


    He remembered Dra mentioning that an Elemental Guard''s combat power was similar to a Werewolf''s, so he assumed that an attack from a guard should reflect the same impact.


    An Elemental Guard with a shiny body charged at him, then launched a hit on Lin Ke''s body, which sent him flying away.


    "Mm, it hurts a little." Lin Ke did a somersault before he got up, and noticed that the spot on his chest that was hit by the Elemental Guard swelled. In fact, a blood clot could be seen beneath his skin.


    He inhaled lightly, and was glad that he was fine.


    After getting hurt, Lin Ke also realized that he lost his mind earlier.


    Fortunately, he was able to withstand the Elemental Guard''s attack. He wondered what would happen if he could not bear the hit, because he even asked the guard to give him a full blow.


    As expected, the guard executed the order given without fail, and without holding back at all.


    Feeling half shaken up, half overjoyed, Lin Ke waved his hand to dismiss the Elemental Guard. He began planning how he could really acquire the ability.


    "I''ve only completed four rounds of the training. According to Dra, there''s a powerful figure who completed thirteen rounds. I won''t ask for too much, six or seven rounds should be enough to increase my safety factor."


    Lin Ke totally forgot how much pain he felt yesterday as he was simply immersed in picturing himself with the ability in the future.


    He shook his head after a long time to curb those thoughts.


    Subsequently, he observed the Elemental Tower''s surroundings through Tower Sight, and noticed that Dra was returning from afar - at night, she tended to patrol the area from time to time. Judging from how she behaved, Lin Ke could tell that there were no Werewolves around.


    Ever since a Werewolf den was destroyed that day, there were no longer signs of Werewolves around. This made Lin Ke wonder if they should be prepared for more incoming attacks.


    However, Dra reported that there were only three Werewolf dens nearby, and while the further ones had not been discovered yet, at least it required more than a day''s time to reach them.


    As such, it was very likely the three nearby dens were split from the same den. If Lin Ke destroyed the remaining two dens, would he be able to fight for more time?


    Dra and Avina were both at the 100% of Level 9, and their had Attributes improved by a huge margin. With that, it would be easier for them to take out one Werewolf den.


    All of a sudden, Lin Ke remembered that he had something important to attend to.


    The Altar''s cooldown time was ending soon, which meant that he could perform two new summons.


    If he was lucky enough to summon new Heroes, the fight would be much easier for them.


    Besides, he was definitely going to advance to Level 5 tomorrow, so he wondered if anything special would happen.


    Lin Ke did not believe that he had seen everything offered in the web game.


    ''What about New Server Rewards? What about the Server Opening Event? They should be available.''

 Chapter 33：A New Partner - Finally Here To Heal!

    It was a brand new day, and everyone was safe.


    The Werewolves did not appear, and even the Humans from two days ago did not show up. Inside the tower, Lin Ke underwent some simple martial arts training with Dra, and with the support of his powerful Attributes, he was able to perform actions that he could not accomplish before this.


    Additionally, he also made 4 Upgrades to the facilities.


    2 Level 1 Dormitories were upgraded to Level 2, and 2 Level 1 Elemental Ponds were upgraded to Level 2 too.


    The upgrading of 4 facilities cost him 4,000 Silver, leaving him with more than 8,000 Silver.


    Oh, he was probably only left with more than 7,000 Silver.


    When Lin Ke refreshed the Trading Hall items, he purchased a few necessities.


    Lin Ke was already sick of eating meat jerky and roast meat, so much so that he even refused to eat grilled fish.


    Since he was from the south, he wanted to eat rice very badly, but would have handmade noodles if that was not possible. Therefore, he quickly bought flour from the Trading Hall when he saw it on the list, and bought 20-kilograms of it to make noodles for dinner.


    Lin Ke also bought fine salt because he could prepare a delicious meal by using it with the pepper that was previously bought.


    As for the porcelain set, he bought it because he disliked using wooden bowls and stone bowls that gave off a strange taste.


    He bought a set of it as it was not expensive, so the others could use them too.


    Unfortunately, the hall did not sell tea leaves, or Lin Ke would have taken the opportunity to drink tea from the porcelain cup.


    The remaining 7,000 Silver must not be used, because he had plans for them.


    After spending 1,500 Silver at the Trading Hall, he waited for the Altar''s cooldown time to end.


    The Altar''s room was already filled with people.


    Dra and the others were there to see if a new sister would join them, whereas Lin Ke was there to pray for a powerful helper to face the Werewolves'' attack.


    The longer Lin Ke waited, the more worried he was about the Werewolves. The pressure before the storm made him anxious.


    "It''s starting."


    Lin Ke took a deep breath, then began summoning at the Basic Altar first.


    After a card was picked, Lin Ke noticed a purple radiance from it.


    It was a card for Purple Grade!


    "Nice job!" Lin Ke shouted, then continued praying.


    Nevertheless, the moment he turned the card over, his heart sank.


    It was a Soul Shard.


    6 Soul Shards of Gunfire Destroyer Diana.


    Lin Ke did not know if the number of Soul Shards was considered many or few, so he sighed.


    Anyhow, it was not a complete Hero.


    The Hero''s Soul Shards were left on the Altar until the remaining shards were acquired.


    Lin Ke shook his head in disappointment at the three female Heroes beside him.


    "Don''t worry, you have another chance."


    Dra comforted him, "The High-level Altar is next, so you might get a Hero who''s of the same Level as me."


    Lin Ke laughed right away. One would have to be so lucky to acquire a Dark-gold Grade Hero, thus he dared not believe that he could do it.


    That being said, it was possible to get a Gold Grade Hero. After all, he already had Avina, so he might be able to get another hero of the same grade.


    While the others prayed hard, Lin Ke proceeded the summoning at the High-level Altar.


    The rustling sound of paper was heard. Subsequently, a card appeared in front of Lin Ke, and it shone with purple radiance.


    "Tsk." Lin Ke was instantly disappointed. Purple meant that the Hero only had 4 Stars, which was slightly better than Lucy, and he did not know how many Soul Shards there were.


    When the card was flipped, he saw a beautiful image, and no number was indicated on it.


    In other words, it was a complete Hero!


    ''Long live!''


    Lin Ke cheered to himself, then quickly calmed down. He turned to smile brightly at the others who were looking at him eagerly. "Please welcome our new partner!


    "Stardust''s Child Kara!"


    As Lin Ke introduced the new female Hero excitedly, a purple light beam appeared in the center of the altar, then a petite and beautiful lady who was holding a well-crafted magic staff bowed at him. "It''s a pleasure to meet you, my Lord!"


    Stardust''s Child Kara


    "Level: 1"


    "Star: 4 Stars"


    "Grade: Purple"


    "Rating: Fear"


    Her position on the battlefield was irreplaceable, because those who faced her would either be killed by her, or¡­ By her partners!


    Lin Ke took a deep breath. Stardust''s Child Kara was a Magic Profession, and he hoped that she was what their team needed the most at the moment.


    It would be great news if her Magic DPS was high, or if she had the ability to heal.


    While it would also be fine if she was another control-type character like Lucy, it would be better if she was one of the former.


    Lin Ke looked at Kara anxiously, but before he said anything, Kara was already fixing his gaze on his¡­ Chest.


    "My Lord, it looks like you''re not feeling very well."


    When Kara swung her magic staff, shiny stardust appeared in front of Lin Ke, then entered his body.


    Consequently, Lin Ke felt that the spot where the Elemental Guard hit him became warm. He realized after opening his shirt that the bruise had gone away.


    He was healed.


    ''She''s a character who heals. I''m really lucky.''


    Lin Ke then asked the others to prepare a feast to welcome their new partner.


    Even though the feast''s theme was noodles and meat jerky, nobody noticed it.


    "I''m happy to have met all of you, and I hope that we''ll serve our Lord well in the future," Stardust''s Child Kara raised her bowl of noodles as she said to Dra and the others softly.


    Lin Ke twitched his mouth when he looked at Kara, because she had a noodle on the corner of his mouth, and she did not notice it. It was rather awkward that she was even speaking elegantly to the others.


    Dra and the others ignored the noodle, and nodded at her seriously. "That''s right, that''s our worth."


    They then lifted their bowls together as though they were doing a ritual. "Cheers!"


    Following that, they finished their soup noodles in one mouth. At that moment, Lin Ke felt like something in his heart exploded.


    "You don''t have to be so serious, do you?" Lin Ke did not know to cry or laugh. "It''s just a bowl of soup noodles, a by-product that can be made by flour."


    He could not bear to watch them when they treated the soup noodles as fine wine.


    Dra shook her head seriously. "That''s not the case. We''re aware of the food''s cost, but it was made by you, so it''s more valuable than any fine wine."


    They held onto the point that the soup noodles were made by Lin Ke.

 Chapter 34：The Werewolves Are Here!

    Lin Ke had the most relaxed night.


    Yeah right!


    Once the feast ended, Lin Ke spent some time building a Dormitory and an Elemental Pond, which cost him 7,000 Silver as they were new facilities. Later, he realized that he did not have enough Silver when he wanted to upgrade 2 facilities to Level 2.


    Afterward, Dra continued the Tough Shield Warrior''s training with Lin Ke, and beat him up terribly.


    Nevertheless, after four rounds of slapping, Lin Ke clearly felt that his endurance increased, because he could withstand the process better than he did yesterday.


    That being said, he was still concerned when it was time for the fifth round, so he decided to not do it yet. He would consider it after stabilizing the effects of the first four rounds.


    Though the damage from the slaps had reduced, Lin Ke found that the icon on his Attribute Interface became stable, and it became clearer after plenty of illusory particles filled it.


    Lin Ke estimated that the ability would be completely set after three to four more training.


    According to Dra, only those with top-notch aptitude could achieve that so quickly.


    ''Hmm, a Tough Shield Warrior''s aptitude means a cannon fodder''s aptitude,'' Lin Ke thought to himself.


    Although Stardust''s Child Kara could heal him, Dra rejected her treatment. She mentioned that the energy from Qi was an important tool that must be used during a Tough Shield Warrior''s training.


    If Lin Ke received Kara''s treatment, the training''s effect might reduce, and his previous efforts would be wasted.


    Therefore, Lin Ke accepted Dra''s hug once again. He felt the intense burn right away, but was able to endure by gritting his teeth while screaming on the spot.


    At the very least, he did not struggle as he did before.


    Lin Ke collapsed to the ground when Dra let him go. This time, Kara could treat him.


    A downpour of stardust surrounded him, causing the bruises and swells on his body to go away.


    While breathing heavily, the injuries on his body were treated, but the pain still lingered in his nerves.


    He would be fine in a while.


    Lin Ke was extremely energetic at night since he slept a lot yesterday, but the others were exhausted, especially Stardust''s Child Kara. She was quite weary as she had just arrived, thus she was first to rest in her Dormitory.


    After asking the others to rest too, Lin Ke returned to his Dormitory, and began browsing the items in the Market.


    He only wanted to take a look at them.


    Eventually, it was past midnight.


    Lin Ke instantly felt a hot stream inside his body that flowed to every corner, and he became more energized.


    The feeling was very clear to him as it was his first time being upgraded while staying awake.


    Lin Ke initially thought that he could level up to Level 5, but he obviously miscalculated the gains from his facilities.


    He advanced to Level 6.


    His facilities yielded a total of 600 EXP Points, which were mainly contributed by the Level 2 Dormitories and Elemental Ponds.


    The 4 Level 2 Dormitories and 2 Level 2 Elemental Ponds gave 40 EXP Points each, which amounted to 240 EXP Points. Additionally, the newly built Level 1 Dormitory and Elemental Pond gave 40 EXP Points.


    Lin Ke only needed 450 Points to enter Level 7 from Level 6. Since he already had 80 Points at Level 6, he could possibly advance to Level 8 tomorrow.


    Apart from that, he gained a substantial amount of Silver.


    4 Level 2 Dormitories and 1 Level 1 Dormitory generated nearly 20,000 Silver.


    For gamers, the amount could simply be rewarded from a mission, but for Lin Ke, it was a bountiful earning.


    The moment he saw the amount earned, he cheered so loudly that he attracted the Werewolves nearby - of course, it was just a metaphor, because the tower was soundproof.


    Since the upgrade of the Elemental Tower to Level 3 was well within reach, Lin Ke began upgrading it without hesitation. After pondering for a while, he also decided to build another Elemental Pond as there was another slot.


    This was because one of the conditions of upgrading the Elemental Tower from Level 2 to Level 3 was to have 2 Level 2 Dormitories and Elemental Ponds. It was possible that 4 Level 2 Elemental Ponds were required for the tower''s next upgrade, and since they were beneficial, Lin Ke decided to just build them. Besides, he had plenty of Silver.


    However, he realized that something was off when he looked at his other Resources.


    He was only left with over 100 Wood and Stone.


    The consumption for a Level 3 Elemental Tower was too frightening, because 5,000 Silver and many Resources were used.


    If that was the case, Lin Ke might not be able to build new basic facilities, and could only upgrade them.


    The Elemental Tower did not produce Wood and Stone, and they could only be traded with other Players.


    They could also be purchased from the Market, where a small Wood Pack or Stone Pack with 1000 Resource each cost 10 Diamonds.


    Lin Ke did not have many Diamonds, and the only 10 Diamonds he had were extremely precious to him. Even when he wanted to buy something badly, he would not use them.


    Nonetheless, it did not mean that there was nothing he could do.


    After all, he could actually exchange a Special Resource for a Wood or a Stone. Though the exchange would be heartbreaking, it could be used as a last resort.


    Lin Ke was not that desperate yet.


    He was satisfied when he looked at the Elemental Tower''s interior.


    The ways to obtain Wood and Stone had either disappeared or not appeared yet.


    It was not strange at all. Since his Main Quest of killing monsters to level up was gone, it was not strange at all if facilities such as Logging Sheds were gone too.


    Once the Level 3 Elemental Tower was done, he would decide on the new facilities to be built - facilities that did not require Resources, or required less Resources.


    Needless to say, he looked forward to an Arena the most.


    He hoped that the Level 3 Elemental Tower would give him the option of an Arena.


    According to the Fortress Grade, it was possible.


    Lin Ke dared not think that the Arena option would not be available.


    Therefore, he went to sleep. 12 hours were needed to build a Level 3 Elemental Tower, but by the time he awoke, only half an hour passed.


    Lin Ke yawned while he thought about the facilities again, then a deafening voice took him by surprise.


    "Was that thunder?"


    Lin Ke was not surprised, because the sky had been gloomy yesterday night, and the morning weather was not great, but he did not expect it to only rain at this hour.


    Since it was the first rain he experienced in this world, and he was not very sleepy, he activated Tower Sight to look at the tower''s surroundings.


    It was pitch black outside, and the moon and the stars were covered by dark clouds. Without any source of light, Lin Ke could not get a clear view.


    Tower Sight was equivalent to observing with the naked eye, and it could not scan like a radar.


    After a while, Lin Ke decided to sleep.


    Right then, it was bright outside, and the surroundings became clear to him.


    It was the result of lightning that appeared for a brief moment.


    Lin Ke broke out in a cold sweat.


    He saw many, many Werewolves¡­


    They were attacking!

 Chapter 35：Attack Them By Surprise!

    Lin Ke was drenched in a cold sweat. He thought that it was probably an illusion that made him think that countless Werewolves were here.


    However, when lightning struck again, the brief light outside verified his deduction.


    Far away, on the grass, behind the trees, and beside the stones. The Werewolves were in order, and they were hiding very well.


    The sky was pitch black, the moon was hidden, the thunder was ear-splitting, so the Werewolves struck!


    "Are they really civilized wild beasts?" Although Lin Ke was mentally prepared that they were somewhat civilized, according to the intelligence from Dra and the others, he assumed that they were the least civilized beings.


    ''But how did they learn to utilize the stormy weather to hide around the tower, and schemed a plan in the dark to attack us unprepared?


    ''Those fellas seem to have learned the art of war, they''re cruel and cunning. Since they already have the upper hand, are they making use of external conditions to increase their success rate?


    ''They must''ve realized that Dra is adept in using energy from flames, so they chose to attack on a rainy day.'' Lin Ke believed that they would attack the moment the thunderstorm began.


    He took a deep breath, and stopped using Tower Sight. The raging thunder depicted his mood perfectly at that moment.


    "Damn those Werewolves, I''ll kill all of them when I''m stronger. There won''t be a single Werewolf left in this forest!"


    The Werewolves were too dangerous, and Lin Ke was sure that they were guided by someone. They grew fungi in a humic farm, had well-ordered formations during battles, executed orders without fail, and knew how to utilize external conditions to hide. If he did not eradicate them completely, he could not live in peace in this world.


    Hence, he quickly woke everyone up from their Dormitories.


    "This is our current situation," Lin Ke briefed everyone about the situation, then mentioned, "I think they have reinforcements behind them too, so we must destroy the batch that''s already here as fast as we can, or it''ll be more difficult for us when the rest arrive."


    He said to Dra, "Now is the time to increase everyone''s strength. Come with me."


    Following that, he brought them to the Smithing Hall, and purchased an equipment set for Stardust''s Child Kara. "Your Level is the lowest, but there''s no time for you to upgrade now, so I''ll get you some Equipment to protect you. Try your best to survive, because if you can stay to heal, the others will be safer."


    Lin Ke helped put the pieces of Equipment on Kara, then took a look at Lucy. She had advanced to Level 9, and her Attributes had improved significantly. Since she already had an equipment set , she was safe.


    While Lin Ke had a few thousand Silver that could be used to purchase another equipment set, he would be left with nothing.


    Therefore, after some consideration, he decided to buy a few potion bottles as they might be more beneficial, but he soon felt troubled as they were too costly.


    The only thing he could do was to upgrade an equipment set to increase its Level, because it might give more Upgrade Attributes.


    Once again, Lin Ke held back when he saw the Silver required to do so.


    The Leveling of Equipment was cheap, especially for the first few Levels, but he could not afford to upgrade 6 pieces of Equipment to Level 10 as they cost 1,500 Silver each.


    Furthermore, Lin Ke realized that the added Attributes after an Equipment was leveled up twice were not outstanding, resulting in a low price-performance ratio.


    "Ah." He sighed helplessly. After discussing with Dra and the others, he finally decided to just purchase an equipment set.


    The equipment set was given to Dra. Being a Meat Shield in the front, she needed the Upgrade the most as she would be attracting countless monsters.


    Nevertheless, Dra had a legendary longsword that was given by Lin Ke, so she gave her extra weapon to Avina, but Avina was not too bothered when she received it.


    After all, an extra weapon would not really increase the damage she could cause. It would be a good Upgrade only if she gained Equipment Attributes.


    With over 2,000 Silver left, Lin Ke decided to purchase 3 more pieces of Equipment for Dra. A total of 4 Equipment would increase her Attributes notably.


    Afterward, he purchased a shirt for himself with the remaining Silver. Even though it did not increase his Attributes much, a defense-type Attribute was increased, which was better than nothing.


    "Let''s go! We''ll attack them by surprise," Lin Ke yelled.


    Subsequently, hundreds of Elemental Guards charged from behind him. Most of the guards were summoned using all the Elemental Cores that he had, and some were the remaining guards from before.


    When Lin Ke and his people were near the entrance, he received an unexpected message from Tower Sight.


    Far away, the Werewolves seemed to have caused a riot.


    Lin Ke did not know what was happening, but it was the perfect timing to attack. "Charge, let''s kill the Werewolves!"


    As soon as he ordered, the Elemental Guards swarmed out of the tower to attack the Werewolves.


    The Werewolves were instantly stunned. A loud echo was heard in the silent forest at that moment.


    By taking advantage of the chaos, Dra and Avina charge forward. They were like intense light beams that concentrated into light arrows, and they zoomed toward the chest of the Werewolves that were still at a daze.


    Dra stepped on a Werewolf, then leaped into the air. A fleeting light ball appeared on her body, which was an effect of Lucy''s Skill, Compassion. With that, the damage she would receive would be reduced.


    On the other hand, Lucy and Kara left the tower slowly, and were surrounded by over thirty Elemental Guards. They protected the tower from the Werewolves that escaped.


    Dra was at the forefront when countless Werewolves came out from their hiding as she laughed.


    They knew that their enemies had already noticed them.


    Since it was already pointless to hide, they decided to fight!


    Later, Dra''s Red Lotus Longsword burned in flames that lit up the area.


    Lin Ke watched his partners from the tower through Tower Sight, and was worried about them.


    The only thing they could do was pray. If he were to get involved in the fight, not only would he be of no help to them, but he would also be dragging them back.


    After all, Lin Ke could not fight against an Elemental Guard, thus he would be dead upon facing numerous Werewolves.


    Dra''s longsword was unusually sharp and she was able to kill a Werewolf in one move. As she shuttled between her enemies quickly, over ten Werewolves were killed.


    Nonetheless, she was far from Avina who was killing viciously on the other side.


    The number of Werewolves that she had killed was more than ten times the amount Dra killed!

 Chapter 36：Kill!

    Avina''s bowstring moved rapidly as a great number of light arrows were shot. Each of these arrows was lethal enough to kill one Werewolf.


    His firing rate was ridiculously fast. Those Werewolves that attempted to charge in would fall to the ground after running a few steps as their lives were taken away by the light arrows.


    Lin Ke''s attention was drawn to Avina as the latter''s light arrows had illuminated her vicinity. However, none of the Werewolves'' corpses were near her at all since she easily disposed of them before they had the chance to close the distance.


    Avina''s Arrow of Starry Light''s coverage seemed to have increased significantly ever since she had leveled up. Avina''s Explosion Arrow of Starry Light would be released from her hand after every three attacks, killing countless Werewolves as the arrows rained down from above.


    Normally, Dra would try her best to put herself in Avina''s rain of arrows. It was a rare opportunity for her to heal up and attack the surrounding enemies simultaneously.


    Lin Ke let out a sigh of relief as the number of Werewolves exceeded his expectation. He had estimated that there were some seven hundred to eight hundred Werewolves within his sight. This excluded the Werewolves that had yet to appear and the Werewolves that were causing havoc in the distance.


    There could have been at least a thousand of them if he added up the numbers.


    This was no longer just a gathering from a few Werewolves'' lairs. The number of Werewolves frightened Lin Ke.


    A lair had about 300 Werewolves. Excluding the females and elderly, a Werewolf lair would be able to mobilize about 100 at best.


    Then, just how many lairs of Werewolves had teamed up to raid them?


    What did he do to deserve such treatment from them?


    Speaking of which, it all started when a Werewolf tried to kill him earlier on and it was killed instead. Did he do something else to them that was deemed unforgivable?


    Lin Ke scolded under his breath as he recalled something different from the Werewolves.


    Someone had taught them the art of harvesting and war. Then, he appeared here out of the blue and discovered some of their secrets as well¡­


    Perhaps they were here to silence him?


    Lin Ke shook his head as he took a deep breath. Perhaps everything that was happening was because Dra and the others raided and destroyed their lair a few days prior. Perhaps the other tribes of Werewolves were so scared that they decided to mobilize as well?


    What a joke!


    Lin Ke could still remember what Avina told him. These Werewolves must have sent someone to communicate with the other lairs. How would it be possible that they would team up for such a reason?


    They would at best increase their number of attacks by a small margin. This was certainly the reason why!


    In fact¡­ Lin Ke started looking around and noticed that Avina and the rest''s killing rate had started to fall.


    This was not because they were injured or tired, it was simply because the number of Werewolves they could kill had started to drop.


    There were many Werewolves gathered together at first and they were not afraid of not landing a hit on the enemy by simply throwing out an attack.


    However, as the Werewolves were slaughtered one after the other and their corpses piled up over time, the number of Werewolves dropped significantly. Naturally, their killing rate would drop significantly as well.


    Despite them killing countless of Werewolves, these Werewolves would still charge at them crazily and only a handful of them retreated.


    "These guys are crazy!"


    Lin Ke gritted his teeth as the Werewolves'' stubbornness was simply astonishing. This was not a normal situation at all.


    The problem was that Lin Ke had yet to see those overwhelmingly powerful Werewolves that Avina mentioned.


    The Werewolves here were average at best and not a single Werewolf that was as strong as Dra was present.


    No. Even a slightly stronger Werewolf did not appear as well.


    Lin Ke started pondering at such a weird situation and soon he realized what was happening in the distance.


    "Dra, go over there and scout the situation. Be careful."


    Lin Ke believed it was highly likely that something happened over there and the Werewolves could not send out their stronger individuals. Hence, if he were to send some aid, perhaps he could take care of the stronger Werewolves in one go!


    Perhaps there were other reasons for it, but he would know once he knew what was happening over there.


    Dra was incredibly quick. Furthermore, ever since she had leveled up and obtained her Equipment, Lin Ke believed that those enemies that were initially on par with her were no longer a threat to her.


    Although it was not that far away, Dra was able to depart and return within a few minutes at her current pace.


    "Damn it! I can only see tens of meters around the area clearly. Anything more than that is a complete blur to me."


    Lin Ke muttered. If it was not for this, he would have seen what was happening there.


    The Tower Sight was adjusted based on the Elemental Tower''s Level. At Level 2, the Elemental Tower''s Tower Sight could see much further than when it was at Level 1. When the Elemental Tower reached Level 3, Lin Ke believed that perhaps he would be able to observe the situation there.


    Then, there was no need to risk Dra heading there.


    Avina continued to attack the group of enemies endlessly, clearing the Werewolves around her. However, the Werewolves were closing the distance due to Dra''s absence.


    As Lin Ke was about to warn Avina, she already knew her situation was rather dire. Hence, she immediately retreated back to the Elemental Guards'' formation where Lucy and the others were situated.


    Once Avina entered the Elemental Guards'' formation, they started defending against the Werewolves.


    Stardust''s Child Kara waved her magic staff with ease as clouds of stardust were formed. These clouds spread constantly towards the Elemental Guards at the front line, enveloping the guards as they provided health to them.


    Lin Ke did not fully understand the logic behind healing an Elemental Lifeform. However as they relied on this ability, the Werewolves had sacrificed many of their brethren''s lives and still could not kill a handful of Elemental Soldiers blocking their path.


    As Avina had a guaranteed defense, her attacking prowess had become even more frightening.


    A Light Arrow was shot out the instant the Werewolves within the proximity appeared in her sight. As the light poured down frighteningly, the Werewolves'' corpses could be seen lying everywhere.


    Lin Ke could even see that the ground had absorbed the fresh blood as it was stained in a weird red color.


    As the thunder stopped, a rainstorm quickly followed suit.


    Lin Ke was slightly worried about Dra as she could be in her weakened state. He should not have sent her over!


    Who would have thought that the sky that had been booming with thunder for so long would suddenly rain so heavily?


    "Damn it! Do I have to send Avina out to retrieve her?"


    As Lin Ke was hesitating to do so, the Werewolves outside were still crazily charging towards the Elemental Guards and the latter''s number had started to decrease. Kara''s Healing Spell had started losing its effect.


    Then, just as the Werewolves were about to become even more vicious, they started running and howling in every direction. It was as if a bomb exploded and their courageous behavior portrayed earlier was nowhere to be seen.


    Lin Ke was dumbfounded as the scattered Werewolves ran into the forest and disappeared.


    "What happened?"


    Lin Ke felt a chill down his spine as he looked into the distance.


    He had a strong feeling that the Werewolves'' behavior was related to the situation there.


    "Avina, go and see what the situation is and the rest please return!"


    Lin Ke took a deep breath. Since the Werewolves had left, it would be a good time to send Avina over to investigate the situation. Perhaps she could provide effective support to Dra as well.


    The rest of the team were either not polished enough or had a Level that was high enough. It would be dangerous for them to go over. Hence, it would be best for them to stay back.


    ¡­

 Chapter 37：People of the Feathered Hawk Knight Squad

    As Avina headed into the distance, Lucy and Kara returned to the Elemental Tower safely under the Elemental Guards'' protection.


    Lin Ke welcomed their return. "Good job."


    "No, we don''t deserve the credit. Avina and Dra were the ones who did something."


    Lucy and Kara felt ashamed of taking credit and instead pushed it to Dra and Avina.


    Lin Ke smiled. "You guys helped a lot out there. Although I''ve got nothing good on me right now, just let me know what you want in the future when I''m rich. Don''t be shy about it."


    Since he was still developing the place and was incredibly poor, he had to be careful not to overeat noodles at every meal. Furthermore, he did not even dare to consume any vegetables and would only eat stiff dried meat. It was so unbearable to his palate that he was on the verge of going crazy.


    Hence, he really could not give out anything as a reward.


    "We won''t be shy when the time comes." Lucy and Kara understood the situation very well as they grinned.


    The lot were waiting for Dra and Avina''s return.


    Before everything came to an end, Lin Ke would not let go of his worry, nor would he just swallow it down.


    Ten minutes later, Lin Ke stared excitedly as Dra and Avina returned. She had a torch in her hand and there were some ten people following her.


    Humans!


    Lin Ke squinted. ''Am I going to make contact with the humans of this world now?''


    Perhaps the incident earlier was related to them. What should he do now?


    There were at least a few minutes more before they entered the Elemental Tower. Lin Ke immediately asked for Lucy and Kara''s opinion, but Lucy rolled her eyes at him. "Don''t meet them if you don''t want to. You''re our Lord, let us handle the rest."


    Lucy pushed Lin Ke to Dormitory''s first floor. Then, she adjusted her shirt and whispered something into Kara''s ears before bringing a few Elemental Guards to the entrance of the tower.


    Lin Ke sat on the Dormitory''s first floor quietly as he watched the situation unfold.


    Tower Sight was his eyes. Everything that happened within the Elemental Tower would not be able to escape him.


    The few Elemental Guards took out some chairs and tables from the Dormitory''s ground floor, placing them at the center of the tower and made it into a living room.


    They swiftly set the place up before Dra and the rest stepped foot into the Elemental Tower.


    The instant Dra and the rest entered the tower, a few humans who were in the same attire paused for a moment. A man of an above-average height walked over while the rest stood outside of the tower.


    It seemed that they did not plan to enter the tower together.


    This was a smart decision. Since they were facing an unknown power, it would not be wise for them to gather at one spot to prevent the lot of them from being trapped by the opponent.


    These humans sent one representative into the tower. Not only would this show their sincerity, but it would also allow those outside a chance to escape if there was any danger. They could gather up some manpower in the future to take revenge.


    Meanwhile from Lin Ke''s side, even though Dra looked very generous as she brought them here, she had enough confidence that with the help from the rest in the tower, they could capture everyone if they bore any ill intention.


    Hence, it was a natural occurrence that both would take precautions against each other.


    Lucy stood at the very front while Kara was just one step behind her. The latter arched her body down as she bowed; as if she did not dare to stand firmly in front of Lucy.


    The remaining Elemental Guards were protecting them. The lot was greeted with such a scene the instant they set foot in the Elemental Tower.


    Dra was slightly astonished but she soon lowered her head.


    Her intelligence was incredibly high. All it took was a glance to understand the situation. Avina was not stupid as well, her suspicion raised the instant she realized Lin Ke was not around. Seeing Dra did not utter a single word, she decided to follow her lead and did the same thing as well.


    Then, the unknown man that entered the tower with them walked towards Lucy and bowed down as a sign of respect for their first meeting. "It''s an honor to meet the Lord, I''m the captain of Feathered Haw Knight Squad''s sixth squadron, Anthony Darrens."


    "Pleased to meet you. You can address me as Lucy."


    Lucy gave a soft, elegant smile at him as she greeted him for the very first time. Although the two parties were not familiar with each other''s common courtesy, they seemed to ignore it as they started conversing happily.


    Lin Ke blinked as he thought something was wrong with his hearing.


    He could understand what the other party was saying and Lucy seemed to understand his language as well.


    ''What''s the situation? Is the language universal?''


    However as Lin Ke took a closer look, he found out that things were not as he thought. The movement of the lips and the sound created did not seem to synchronize. It was very highly likely that the other party was speaking in his own language. However, due to some reason, he had made his words understandable to the rest of them.


    Lin Ke soon let go of this question as he saw the people outside were observing his Elemental Tower. Some of them even looked quite familiar and they were probably the ones that ambushed him a few days ago.


    Inside the tower, Anthony was invited to his seat. Kara poured everyone a cup of hot water from the porcelain that Lin Ke bought.


    "What an exquisite porcelain." Anthony praised. "I''m sure one wouldn''t be able to find this in any noble household within the area."


    Although Anthony praised the porcelain, he was not used to drinking warm water. It was actually the opposite. A cup of cold water would suit him more and it would be even better if it was the mineral water obtained from the mountains.


    Both sides started conversing and Lin Ke was soon bored of it. He felt that it was smart of him to not meet the other party.


    The people outside the Elemental Tower walked around the tower several times. Lin Ke was rather unhappy that they were so cautious of him, hence he secretly ordered a few Elemental Guards to act as if they were on a patrol.


    The men started behaving themselves when they saw a few Elemental Guards coming out. They stood by the entrance as if they were guarding the place.


    Lin Ke found this world rather interesting. These people were not even shocked when they saw an Elemental Guard. This showed that this world had beings similar to his own Elemental Guards as well.


    It was raining cats and dogs outside and yet these people seemed totally unfazed.


    Naturally, there was nothing to be fazed about. Lin Ke watched as the rain poured, their bodies were shrouded with a faint glowing membrane that was a few centimeters thick. They were not drenched at all as the water was repelled away.


    "Interesting." Lin Ke looked at his own Elemental Guards. The faint glow around their bodies had dimmed down as if they were not used to the weather here.


    Water droplets would not harm the Elemental Guards in any way. Perhaps they just did not like it.


    Lin Ke stopped the visuals from outside. The conversation in the tower had entered the main topic.


    ¡­

 Chapter 38：Our Identities In This World

    Lin Ke''s attention was elsewhere for a long time, but the conversation between Anthony and Lucy had finally got to the important part.


    "The role of a Settling Knight is simple. All they have to do is to be stationed in Werewolf Forest and make sure the Werewolves don''t go anywhere. When they reach a certain age or have done something worthy, they''ll be awarded a noble title."


    Anthony was incredibly confident as he spoke. A noble title was something countless commoners desired. Furthermore, the Duchy of Sena was ridiculously powerful. The nobles from the Duchy of Sena were at least a rank higher when they traveled to other counties.


    Even the lowest-ranked Knight Leader could enjoy the treatment of a Lord in other countries.


    Lin Ke scratched his head as if he had missed out something. What on earth was a Settling Knight?


    Furthermore, this world seemed to have quite a number of countries which made Lin Ke very tempted to check them out.


    However, he sighed as he recalled his current situation. That was nothing but a dream.


    Lin Ke''s attention was elsewhere for a while and by the time he returned to his senses, he saw Lucy standing up and guiding Anthony out of the Elemental Tower.


    Both parties were smiling and they seemed to be very satisfied with the conversation.


    Lin Ke sighed softly as everything came to an end. Hence, he stood up and walked out of the Dormitory.


    By the time he went downstairs, Dra and the rest were standing there. It was obvious that they were waiting for his arrival.


    "My Lord, our problems are getting more and more troublesome."


    Lucy walked towards Lin Ke as she saw him. "I believe you, too, know of our current dire situation."


    "No, I don''t know anything at all." Lin Ke smiled wryly, "I was checking the situation outside and the conversation had ended by the time I returned."


    Lin Ke believed he should not tell them that he was messing with the people on guard outside and him daydreaming. It was simply too embarrassing. Hence, his excuse was that he was on guard with the situation outside.


    Fortunately, these girls in front of him did not mind at all. Since Lin Ke had said that he did know the entire picture, they reorganized their information and reported to Lin Ke.


    This forest was originally known as the Werewolf Forest. It was named as such because the number of Werewolves had increased drastically in the past century, affecting the villages within the area. It had even attacked the noble''s Castle, causing fear among the commoners. From then on, the place was known as the Werewolf Forest.


    According to the rumors, the number of Werewolves in Werewolf Forest was in the tens of thousands and the numbers simply frightened the Lords in the vicinity.


    Hence, they turned towards their support, who was also someone they swore loyalty to. They requested help from Grand Duke Antalonin. As the Duchy of Sena''s Grand Duke, Grand Duke Antalonin was worried about others as well. Hence, he sent out his decree to hire a huge number of Settling Knights.


    Settling Knights were nobles-in-reserve. They had to possess powerful strength and a certain influence. It would be best that they had good luck as well. Only then they could guard an extended territory for a certain amount of years or obtain some achievement before they were rewarded with a true noble title.


    All these while, the number of people turning a noble as a Settling Knight in the Duchy of Sena was incredibly little. However, it was also a place for a commoner to become a noble.


    Hence, many people who were qualified to become a Settling Knight had arrived around the Werewolf Forest.


    They recruited commoners, trained armies, and hired the strong. They were like a nail sticking firmly just outside of Werewolf Forest, killing every single Werewolf that ran out of the forest.


    In fact, sometimes when they wanted to obtain enough achievement, these Settling Knights would team up and kill every Werewolf that was loitering at the border of the forest. They killed many Werewolves in order to reduce their number.


    This way, they did not have to kill all of the Werewolves and could slowly reduce the number, forcing them to retreat. However, there was an accident in a horrifying war.


    An army of Beastmen under the human traitor''s leadership had discreetly entered the area from an isolated location. They planned to destroy the Duchy of Sena''s capital city, but they encountered misfortune while they were on their journey there. They had no choice but retreat, especially when they heard that the Duchy''s strongest squad, the Feathered Hawk Knight Squad had arrived.


    The Beastmen started retreating frantically, killing and burning countless beings while doing so. They had specifically targeted the Settling Knights and noble''s territory as they tried to destroy the Duchy of Sena''s middle-level power.


    Hence, the border of Werewolf Forest was dragged into the Beastmen''s attacking range and the majority of the Settling Knights died. In fact, several nobles'' Castles were raided as well.


    The Feathered Hawk Knight Squad was enraged by this so much that some righteous knights that lived slightly further away had even left their servants behind and headed towards areas that the Beastmen were terrorizing alone. When the Beastmen saw them, they scattered and retreated.


    They had already achieved their goal. Although not all of them were able to return, the Duchy of Sena would not be able to recover from this weakened state for the next few decades.


    This would be the best time for the Beastmen to rise!


    Lin Ke instantly recalled the Beastmen army that Dra encountered the other day. Perhaps they were one of the armies.


    If they were to attack him, he feared that he would be helpless against them back then.


    Fortunately, the Beastmen did not dare to cause any trouble and retreated swiftly due to the Feathered Hawk Knight Squad chasing them from behind.


    Cold sweat started appearing on Lin Ke''s head. He was literally saved by this.


    This was the general big picture of the situation. What came next was something much more urgent.


    "We''re outside of the Werewolf Forest and the shortest time needed to reach the closest human civilization is a day." Lucy looked at Lin Ke as she opened her mouth. "By horse."


    Outside of the Werewolf Forest lived the most ferocious group of Werewolves, the Vengeful Werewolves. They were the ones that kept attacking Lin Ke.


    These Werewolves were incredibly vengeful. They would endlessly attack those that killed their kind.


    For the past few years, countless Settling Knights died under the ambush from these Vengeful Werewolves.


    Now that Lin Ke had killed so many Werewolves that day, he could imagine how troublesome the days ahead would be.


    The entire tribe of Vengeful Werewolves would certainly wage war on him endlessly.


    Their numbers could possibly exceed tens of thousands.


    Furthermore, the Werewolves that would be attacking them could be much stronger than these average Werewolves that attacked him that day. More ferocious Werewolves would attack him and the intensity of the battle would increase greatly.


    One example would be those Super Werewolves that were on par with Dra''s strength. The reason they did not appear before Lin Ke was because they had gone towards Anthony instead.


    If these Werewolves were to come at him simultaneously, Lin Ke and his group would certainly have a tough fight.


    Although the Elemental Tower would not be destroyed, the end result would certainly be bad.


    "There''s one more thing, which is also the most important bit." Lucy did not open her mouth as Kara, who had been standing beside her said indifferently. "It''s our identities in this world!"


    ¡­

 Chapter 39

    Lin Ke was shocked when he heard those words.


    He regained his senses immediately as his expression turned gloomy. "That''s right. Our identities in this world are incredibly awkward."


    He knew very well that he did not belong in this world and had no identity in it.


    Lin Ke was certain that he would not join the Werewolves and Beastmen after interacting with them. Unless he wished to live the rest of his life alone, the only choice was to make contact with the humans in this world.


    The Werewolf Forest where Lin Ke was currently located belonged to the Duchy of Sena. Although it was near the border, the Duchy of Sena would not allow them to stay there without any proper reason.


    His origin was a mystery and his capabilities and strength were not exactly weak.


    "Hence, Anthony has given us a choice. We can become a Settling Knight for the Duchy of Sena and stay guard in the Werewolf Forest and kill the Werewolves."


    Dra''s words were very clear. "The Duchy of Sena is now in trouble as they were attacked by the Beastmen. Many of their new-generation forces have been killed and they would be in a weakened state for some time. Furthermore, the Settling Knights have suffered greatly and they need to fill in the numbers urgently. There are also certain places other than Werewolf Forest that are in a dire situation. Hence, anybody can become a Settling Knight as long as they apply for it."


    Furthermore, once he became a Settling Knight, he would be contributing to the Duchy of Sena.


    No matter what personal motive he had, there was at least a Settling Knight guarding a dangerous place. In other words, the Duchy of Sena could mobilize more forces to other places. Furthermore, there would be more than one Settling Knight in a district so that they could take care of each other.


    The most important thing was that in order to be promoted from a Settling Knight to a noble, one had to go through a trial given by the Duchy of Sena. This was the most important stage.


    One would be honored with the title of a noble once they made enough contributions.


    "Hence, I''ve promised Anthony that I would become a Settling Knight and guard the Werewolf Forest." Lucy said, "If not for this, not only we''ll have to defend against the Werewolf''s attacks, but we''ve to be cautious of the humans planning something behind our backs. Unless my Lord prefers to give up everything here and leave this place."


    Lin Ke scoffed. He must not move the Elemental Tower from this place. What future would he have if he were to do so?


    He must stay here together with the Elemental Tower. Furthermore, his responsibility did not differ much from the Settling Knights.


    Lin Ke nodded slightly as he agreed with Lucy''s suggestions.


    "There''s one more thing, the most important one." Lucy revealed her cunning smile. "It''s me who''s going to become a Settling Knight. However, everything within the Elemental Tower is still governed by you, my Lord. While I may be restrained here, you''re free to go wherever you wish."


    She was right. He was not restrained in any way at all. Furthermore, she too could leave and visit places as a Settling Knight in the future.


    Since Lucy was the one becoming a Settling Knight, she had to station obediently in the Werewolf Forest. She could order her "subordinate" to other places and this would not be a big issue at all!


    Lin Ke could not contain his laughter as he gave a big thumbs up to Lucy.


    He then casually discussed the Feathered Hawk Knight Squad with everyone and finally understood why they appeared near the Elemental Tower.


    A few days ago, the Feathered Hawk Knight Squad''s scouts found out about the Elemental Tower. As it was at the border of the Werewolf Forest, these scouts recorded the location and sent two people to investigate who was living there.


    It was until they confirmed that they were not affiliated with the Werewolves, they had decided to recruit Lin Ke and his team.


    However, it was not okay to rush in to meet up as both parties had their concerns. Back then, the Feathered Hawk Knight Squad''s main force left the Werewolf Forest urgently. Rumor had it that they had gone out to track the Beastmen army that had revealed themselves. Only a handful of scouts and supports were left behind and they did not dare to make any rash movements because of this.


    It was until that day that the scouts that were on high alert in the Werewolf Forest that they accidentally discovered a group of Werewolves gathering. In order to prevent them from raiding human districts, the scout''s captain, Anthony brought along a few elite scouts to observe the situation. They were then discovered by the Werewolves by accident and were forced into battle.


    This had, in fact, made Lin Ke notice the situation, giving both parties a good opportunity to meet each other.


    "Alright. We should be safe for now."


    Lin Ke took the parchment paper from Lucy. It was the letter of appointment given by Anthony. She could declare herself as a Settling Knight as she had this item.


    However as Lin Ke opened the parchment paper, he realized that he did not understand a single word written on it at all. Hence, it was clear as day to him that despite being able to understand them due to certain causes, he could not read a single word of their language.


    "We need to find someone to teach us this world''s language. We''ll be facing a tough road ahead if we don''t."


    Lin Ke passed the parchment paper back to Lucy. "Since it was given to you, please keep it safe. From now on, you''re a Settling Knight in the eyes of the outsider. You''re going to become a great noble!"


    "Yes, my Lord!" Lucy smiled gently as she bowed down and took the parchment paper.


    **************


    Anthony left the tower and walked in the heavy rain for a long time before a High-ranked Knight Servant came towards him. He whispered, "Boss, are we going to just let her become a Settling Knight? Shouldn''t she go through some sort of an examination?"


    "There''s no need for that." Anthony''s face was stern as he looked at the Knight Servants behind him and warned. "Keep your puny thoughts in your mouth and swallow them. Should you guys dare to pull some tricks and murder them, I''ll personally kill you!"


    Jonas was quite a special one in the squad. As everybody around him signaled him with their gazes, he asked daringly, "Boss, what are you trying to say? Do you think they dare to kill us?"


    "Jonas, you''re someone the captain has high hopes in and you''re sure to stand on equal terms with us in the future. Hence, you don''t have to worry about these things." Anthony''s tone softened as he explained to Jonas, "These girls are not as simple as they look. Even I feel frightened when I''m inside that magical tower. There are at least two people that are just slightly weaker than me." ;


    "What?" The few Knight Servants at the side cried out loud. "Sir, aren''t you already a certified Professional?"


    "That''s right kids! Be careful, these women are going to become Professionals." Anthony grinned as he spoke to them. "However, if we''re lucky¡­"


    The few Knight Servants'' eyes lightened up as if they thought of something.


    Anthony strode forward as he left them in the dust. His grin disappeared as he muttered silently. ''What a bunch of useless people. I don''t think all of you''ll ever become Professionals."


    However, a man was able to catch up from behind.


    Anthony looked at Jonas and comfort filled his heart. At least there was one person that could still make it.


    ¡­

 Chapter 40

    ¡°This is great! This is great!¡± Lin Ke had been extremely excited since the afternoon.


    This was because the Level 3 Elemental Tower was done, and a few good things that came with it made him feel as though he had a heart attack.


    He never thought that the Level 3 Elemental Tower was actually the game¡¯s beginning. Were the parts before this for Players to get used to the game¡¯s basic functions?


    Putting aside the newly built facilities, a few new icons appeared on the empty spot that was initially occupied by the icon gained as a Starter Packer reward.


    They were icons for the Server Opening Event, the 7-Days Daily Login, and the Cumulative Top-up.


    The Cumulative Top-up could be ignored because it had nothing much to do with Lin Ke. He was rewarded with 50,000 Silver for his first and only top-up.


    It instantly resolved his problem of not having enough money, but he quickly put it aside.


    The 7-Days Daily Login was an event that could be found in any web game, where Players would gain a substantial amount of Resources and items from logging in every day. Normally, the rewards were helpful for Players¡¯ development in the early phase.


    Since it was Lin Ke¡¯s fifth day in the game, he could collect 5 days¡¯ worth of rewards from the 7-Days Daily Login event.


    The rewards were unbelievably generous, especially when money was considered a great fortune to him at the moment.


    Lin Ke was rewarded with 30,000 Silver and various Special Items for logging in 5 days.


    [Divine Fruit]: Necessary tool for Heroes and Players to rank up.


    [Forbidden Fruit]: Necessary tool for Heroes and Players to breakthrough.


    [Wishing Stone]: Necessary tool for Heroes and Players to gain stars.


    [Upgrade Stone]: Special Item for Heroes and Players to upgrade Rating.


    The items were sold expensively for 20 to 30 Diamonds each in the Market, yet Lin Ke was holding over ten of each of those items now, which were worth thousands of Diamonds altogether!


    Not only that, but they were also best-sellers in the Market and were not always on sale!


    He could only see those items in the market if he was lucky when he refreshed the hot-selling items, and only a few were usually listed!


    Besides, Lin Ke also obtained some Resource Crates that gave stones or wood when opened, which made him feel relieved ¨C he could continue building facilities.


    The rewards from the 5 days were bountiful, but the ones that would be given on the sixth and the seventh day were even greater. He would be given a few Summoning Cards on the sixth day and a Gold Grade female Hero on the seventh.


    Glorious Flame Ashlyn, a female Mage who specialized in flames.


    Lin Ke was thrilled when he saw Glorious Flame Ashlyn¡¯s card because it meant that another female Hero would join the team in two days.


    She was a Flame Mage with the fiercest firepower and the strongest destructiveness.


    ¡°I¡¯m blessed.¡±


    Lin Ke knew that she was only a standard Hero, but she was the only one of her kind in this world.


    Other than the Login Rewards, he was most concerned about the Server Opening Event.


    If the 7-Days Daily Login was a development base for Players in the early phase, the Server Opening Event was probably a super item that set Players of the same Grade apart.


    Lin Ke was full of anticipation when he opened the Server Opening Event, and the first thing that came into view was the first day¡¯s reward.


    The first day of the event requested Players to be at a certain Level, and those who met the requirement were rewarded.


    One who leveled up to Level 30 would be given tens of thousands of Silver, as well as two Resource Crates. This was the lowest reward.


    Lin Ke did not qualify for it.


    Nevertheless, he could claim another reward from the event.


    Leaderboard reward.


    Since Lin Ke was the only player, he would be ranked first even though he was only Level 1 on the Leaderboard!


    Therefore, he earned rewards for being the first place.


    The rewards were exceptionally generous, so much so that it almost gave him a heart attack again.


    Firstly, he gained 50,000 Silver!


    Secondly, he was given ten High-level Summoning Cards ¨C the second-place winner would be given 6 cards, which was also quite surprising.


    Followed by that was a Level 5 multicolored Treasure Stone, but its specific Attributes could not be seen as they were garbled up.


    Treasure Stones were common in web games. Seeing as the second-place winner would be given a Level 4 Treasure Stone, Lin Ke knew that the stone was unordinary, and it would certainly be very useful.


    He quickly kept the stone.


    As for the 10 High-level Summoning Cards, he planned to use them later as he hoped to get a few more female Heroes.


    However, Lin Ke sighed frustratedly on the next day.


    The second day¡¯s event was regarding Mount Levels, but since he did not have a mount, he was naturally not qualified to be ranked. As such, he could only look at the rewards enviously.


    Next, the third day¡¯s event was about Wing Levels, so he gained nothing again.


    Lin Ke was really helpless on the fourth day as it was for Treasure Stone Levels. He did not possess Treasure Stones or Mounts due to his low Level, and was not given a consolation reward at all.


    Nonetheless, things were in his favor on the fifth day.


    The fifth day was for accumulated points, which were calculated according to the number of facilities built by a Player, as well as their Level.


    Lin Ke was lucky enough to hit a target and was given the consolation prize, which was the lowest reward.


    He could not win the reward above that.


    Needless to say, Lin Ke secured the rewards for being the number one Player again, but he would not get it until midnight as it was still the fifth day.


    That being said, it did not stop him from drooling at the rewards.


    The rewards were simple. He would still earn 50,000 Silver, but the Summoning Cards were changed to Resource Crates, which were giant crates that would give him 10,000 units each, and he would be getting ten of them!


    With 5 crates each for stones and wood, he no longer had to worry about Resources in the early phase.


    Lastly, a blueprint would also be included.


    It was the blueprint of a Special Facility, and a sentence could be seen on the crate that stored it: Blueprint of a random Special Facility in the Fortress.


    ¡®Blueprint of a Special Facility. What blueprint can it be?¡¯ Lin Ke rubbed his nose as he wondered.


    He was so intrigued by it that he might not be able to sleep at night.


    Later, Lin Ke put those thoughts aside because he wanted to take a look at the sixth day¡¯s event.


    Sadly, he could not see what the rewards were since it was not the sixth day yet.


    According to the event¡¯s name, ¡°Heroes¡¯ King¡±, Lin Ke figured that it would either be about his female Heroes¡¯ combat power or the number of Heroes he had. If the ranking was based on that, he would definitely be number one.


    Even so, he did not know how he would be rewarded.


    Apart from the items that gave him fanciful thoughts, Lin Ke was very attracted to the seventh day¡¯s event.


    ¡°Combat Power King¡±!


    Evidently, the ranking would be based on Players¡¯ combat power.


    Lin Ke was rather worried because he realized a terrible reality. Due to the garbled numbers, he was not informed about his combat power. ¡®For the combat power¡¯s ranking, will I not get the corresponding rewards due to some special reason?¡¯


    It was worth noting that the rewards on the last day of events were usually the richest.


    If Lin Ke were to lose the last day¡¯s rewards, he would vomit to death.


    He had already lost the event¡¯s rewards from the second to the fourth day!

 Chapter 41

    Lin Ke was still slightly dissatisfied even after receiving plenty of rewards.


    This was because he realized that there were rewards that he should have received.


    For instance, he should have gained something for leveling up to a certain Level and obtaining a certain combat power.


    These were basic rewards in web games, yet he did not see them.


    Lin Ke guessed that they were probably gone.


    Similar to a System where Players fought monsters to level up, he could only rely on the EXP Points earned from facilities to level up.


    This made him level up very slowly. It was notable that the lowest Level to get rewarded on the first day was Level 30, which meant that a Player could possibly level up to around Level 40 on the first day.


    If a Player could advance to Level 40 in a day, one would probably be at Level 100 after playing for a year. By then, over a hundred million EXP Points might be needed to move up one level, and Lin Ke would not be able to level up much by relying on the small amount of EXP Points from facilities.


    Of course, he was not absolutely sure of that as he did not know what the future held.


    He could only make as many plans as possible for the future based on the present.


    After having a good laugh, Lin Ke took a deep breath, and was ready to build new facilities and proceed with new upgrades.


    The Level 3 Elemental Tower resulted in a total of 30 facility units ¨C although the units were not filled up yet when the tower was still at Level 2, Lin Ke was ready to fill as many units as possible in the shortest time since the tower was already at Level 3.


    Lin Ke received information on the conditions for the Elemental Tower to level up to Level 4.


    The conditions were simple: 4 Level 3 Dormitories, 4 Level 3 Elemental Ponds, a Summoning Hall, a Research Institution, and a few other facilities had to be built.


    On top of that, there was an extra condition.


    The Player had to be at least Level 10.


    A conclusion could be easily drawn from this.


    The Elemental Tower¡¯s Level was restricted by the Player¡¯s Level, which meant that the tower would not level up if Lin Ke did not increase his level.


    Therefore, Lin Ke immediately prepared to fill up the facility units after seeing the notification. In any case, he had earned an unbelievably huge amount of Silver through an Event.


    Even though 500,000 Silver would only be gained tomorrow, the total amount of 1.35 million Silver simply made him feel like he had wealth equivalent to that of an entire nation!


    Nevertheless, when he thought about it seriously, the money did not seem like a lot¡­


    Lin Ke figured that the amount needed to upgrade an equipment set would soon be increased to above the amount that he gained.


    Based on his experience, that was usually the case in most games.


    Firstly, Lin Ke counted the facility units, and noticed that he previously built a total of 14 facilities.


    They included 5 Dormitories, 3 Elemental Ponds, a Summoning Hall, an Altar, a Smithing Hall, a Library, a Trading Hall, and a Refinery Hall. Each of them gave him hundreds of EXP Points.


    Since the Elemental Tower had advanced to Level 3, Lin Ke decided to build all the one-off utility facilities before he proceeded with the resource facilities.


    After he checked, he realized that a lot of facilities had not been built.


    For example, the Research Institution, and the Special Facilities in the Summoning Hall such as Earth Elemental Military Camp and Fire Elemental Military Camp.


    While the military camps did not take up any facility units as they were annexes of the Summoning Hall, the Research Institution would occupy a spot. With that, half of the total facility units were used.


    The time needed to build the Research Institution was an hour, so Lin Ke started building it. Afterward, he built a Dungeon too as it had not been built. As such, there were facilities being built on the 2 building lists.


    Subsequently, he began looking at the brand new facilities that came with the Level 3 Elemental Tower.


    Among the brand new facilities, the one that attracted Lin Ke the most was the Arena that he had been yearning for.


    The Arena was costly as it cost 5,000 Silver, as well as 1,000 Wood and Stone each.


    However, this was simply a drop in the bucket for Lin Ke, who had just gained a lot of rewards.


    ¡°It¡¯s finally here. Once it¡¯s done building, I¡¯ll try and see if I can fight for a rank to get Diamonds to help out with my expenses.¡±


    Lin Ke took a deep breath. He was extremely delighted about the Arena finally being available.


    Nonetheless, due to his Level and combat power, he was worried about whether he could fight for a ranking.


    That was because he was still a beginner at the moment, and according to the settings, he had not even passed the beginner¡¯s task.


    There were NPCs in the Arena, and the ones with a higher ranking would have higher combat power, but even one with the lowest combat power could only be defeated by Players around Level 15.


    Players would normally activate the Arena after completing the beginner¡¯s task, so as to fight for an official ranking.


    Following that, Players would increase their strength to fight in the Arena again to strive for a higher ranking.


    Since Lin Ke was not even Level 10 yet, he was concerned about whether he could defeat the first NPC to snatch the character¡¯s ranking.


    If he could not, the Arena would be meaningless to him.


    That being said, he had enough Resources to afford it.


    Lin Ke decided to build it only after the Research Institution and the Dungeon were done, so he looked at the other facilities.


    The next facility that came into view was a Bloodbath Hall.


    Lin Ke had no idea what it was for, but it seemed like it was for combat, and he guessed that he could gain some Resources from it.


    It was also possible that he could get Equipment from it too. For instance, there were holy tools, divine tools, magic tools, and so on in other games, which were known as Special Equipment. If that was the case, the Resources for those pieces of Equipment would be included as well.


    Lin Ke listed the facility as one of the facilities to be built in the early phase.


    That concluded the utility facilities that would be built, thus he proceeded to look at defensive facilities.


    Wall.


    The Wall was a facility that increased the Elemental Tower¡¯s Defense Ability, so the more it was built, the stronger the tower¡¯s Defense Ability.


    Every Wall that was built would occupy a facility unit.


    The next defensive facility was an Arrow Tower.


    Lin Ke was thrilled about both facilities, because if he built both of them, the Werewolves would surely be badly injured if they attacked again!


    Unfortunately, he only had 2 building lists at the moment, so he could only wait until the other facilities were done.


    Soon enough, Dra asked Lin Ke to undergo the Tough Shield Warrior¡¯s training.


    Consequently, his dirty blood was removed again, and Kara healed him.


    When Dra looked at the dispirited Lin Ke, she asked, ¡°Do you want to experience the most basic Warrior¡¯s training?¡±

 Chapter 42

    The Warrior¡¯s training that Dra mentioned was unlike the Tough Shield Warrior¡¯s training where Lin Ke had to be beaten up. It was a training for fighting skills, which required one to train for ten to twenty years to become a powerhouse.


    Honestly, Lin Ke was afraid of hearing the word ¡®training¡¯.


    This was because he had just undergone the Tough Shield Warrior¡¯s training, and his body was still resisting it, thus he replied after a long time, ¡°Let me consider.¡±


    Dra nodded and smiled. She felt that Lin Ke¡¯s combat power would increase if he went through a certain Warrior¡¯s training.


    After all, being a Tough Shield Warrior was an option for emergency situations, and she felt that a Class that required Lin Ke to be beaten up did not fit his status as her Lord.


    Nevertheless, she would not force Lin Ke to do the training now if he did not want to.


    Although the Research Institution and the Dungeon were done, Lin Ke was so worn out that he did not want to check them out until he got some rest.


    However, the building of new facilities was imminent. For example, the Arena, Bloodbath Hall, Arrow Tower, and Dormitories.


    Lin Ke was ready to use the 10 High-level Summoning Cards to make ten summons in a row.


    He would definitely get a Hero, but he wanted to see how many Heroes he could summon in total other than the one who was guaranteed to be summoned.


    If he was lucky, what Grade could his Heroes be!


    Therefore, Lin Ke built a Dormitory for the Hero that would definitely be summoned. If there were more Heroes, he would build more at night.


    The second facility he built was the Arena.


    Lin Ke was unwilling to give up. He planned to take a look at it right after it was built to see if he had the chance to fight for a ranking, so that he could gain extra Diamonds.


    Diamonds were too useful as they could be used to buy anything.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go summon new Heroes.¡±


    Lin Ke smiled at Dra and the others, and they gathered at the Altar.


    He was extremely excited when he looked at the 10 High-level Summoning Cards in his hands!


    Normally, he could only perform a High-level summon once every three days, yet he could do it 10 times in a row now, hence he would definitely get a Hero!


    Lin Ke took a deep breath before he made ten continuous picks!


    When the first card flipped over slowly, he stared at it for a while, then closed his eyes and cursed to himself.


    It was a normal card, and a Hero¡¯s Soul Shards were seen. He was unlucky.


    Following that, there were green, blue, purple, gold, and even dark-gold cards.


    Even so, they were all Soul Shards. Only when the seventh card was flipped over, a dark-gold radiance showed that the card was for a Hero of an exceptionally high Grade, and the character image that was shown did not have a number on it.


    It was a Dark-gold Grade Hero!


    A new Hero!


    The Hero was of Dark-gold Grade, comparable with Dra!


    When Lin Ke cheered, Dra and the others were elated too.


    Perfect Housemaid Alice


    ¡°Level: 1¡±


    ¡°Star: 6 Stars¡±


    ¡°Grade: Dark-gold¡±


    ¡°Rating: Disaster¡±


    ¡°Perfect Housemaid?¡± Lin Ke was startled when he noticed the female Hero¡¯s nickname. ¡®What does that mean? Is a housemaid a Hero too?¡¯


    He looked at Perfect Housemaid Alice¡¯s Character Card carefully. She had delicate features, white hair, black eyes, and she looked better than Dra. Overall, she seemed very gentle.


    She wore an extremely conservative blue and white housemaid outfit, such that only her snowy white arms were exposed.


    Lin Ke hesitated. ¡®She¡¯s a Hero who¡¯s like a housemaid, is her Rating really this high?¡¯


    Nonetheless, he used the card, and the dark-gold light grew so big that it was dazzling.


    Amidst the light, he seemed to notice a hint of red too, but it disappeared in the blink of an eye as though it was just an illusion.


    When he squinted his eyes, a figure appeared on the Altar, then the light went away slowly.


    Perfect Housemaid Alice appeared.


    Lin Ke realized after seeing her in person that she was more beautiful than how she looked on the card. Her smooth white hair was let down on her back, and she locked her fingers together in front of her abdomen as she bowed. ¡°Hello, my brave Lord, Alice has been summoned.¡±


    Upon seeing her, Lin Ke and the other female Heroes were in a daze.


    They quickly came to their senses, and Lin Ke responded embarrassedly, ¡°Hello, welcome to our team.¡±


    ¡°Hello.¡± Alice nodded and smiled at the other Heroes, then stood behind Lin Ke.


    Lin Ke found it strange when he looked at her, because the way she acted was very different from when the other Heroes were summoned. She seemed to be detached from the others, and was not very affectionate.


    Besides, though Alice wore a housemaid¡¯s outfit, her bubble skirt appeared to be supported by a crinoline that formed a big arc, and it looked like someone could hide under it.


    It was the type of skirt worn by a noble lady.


    A housemaid who was dressed like that could not do work.


    Even though Alice was known as a housemaid, she was still a Hero, and was a Dark-gold Grade Hero with a Disaster Rating, thus Lin Ke would not treat her like a real housemaid.


    The remaining High-level Summons only resulted in some Heroes¡¯ Soul Shards. While some of them were of Dark-gold Grade, it was too difficult to gather enough to form a Hero.


    This time, the summon was real, because Lin Ke was only lucky when he summoned Stardust¡¯s Child Kara previously.


    Of course, he had summoned Avina before that too, but it was a beginner¡¯s benefit given by the System.


    Lin Ke had a few Basic Summoning Cards with him too, but he felt that he would not be lucky as he only managed to summon one Hero from the ten continuous summons, thus he decided to leave the cards for when he was lucky.


    ¡°I¡¯ll buy you some pieces of Equipment for you to upgrade,¡± He mentioned to Alice. With plenty of Resources and Silver now, he could spend lavishly.


    He had decided to challenge the Arena after it was done, so he quickly helped her upgrade.


    Non-upgraded Equipment cost only 3,000 Silver, which was not a concern for Lin Ke at all since he had a million Silver.


    That being said, it was just over ten hours ago when he had to make careful calculations for his Silver.


    At the Library, he let Alice undergo an hour of Advanced Development, then used EXP Scrolls to increase her Level to 100% of Level 9. Subsequently, he purchased a full equipment set for her at the Smithing Hall.


    Additionally, he bought 2 pieces of Equipment for Dra to complete her set.


    Lin Ke simply filled up all his Heroes¡¯ Equipment Panel as it did not cost much, but he would need to plan the upgrades later.


    The pieces of Equipment could be upgraded to Level 30. When he was estimating the cost to upgrade them, his head began to hurt.


    He was experiencing the residual effect of the Tough Shield Warrior¡¯s training ¨C his spirit was drooping, so he needed to rest.


    ¡°Have a chat together. I¡¯ll nap for a while, so call me when it¡¯s time for dinner.¡±


    Lin Ke left while holding his head. He would deal with the Equipment upgrades after getting some rest!

 Chapter 43

    Lin Ke¡¯s mind was blank at that moment. He was probably dispirited due to his mood swings, as well as the Tough Shield Warrior¡¯s training. After informing his Heroes, he staggered toward his Dormitory.


    When he had just taken a few steps, Alice appeared beside him in a flash, and supported him by his arm to bring him to the Dormitory.


    Dra, who was a step too late, gritted her teeth and looked at Alice unhappily.


    That was usually her duty.


    Once Lin Ke was on his wooden bed in his Dormitory, Alice frowned as she realized that he did not have a blanket.


    She also noticed that the interior was very simple.


    Although a Level 2 Dormitory was slightly finer than a Level 1 Dormitory, it was still built using wood and stone, and the only thing extra was a toilet.


    Lin Ke had not built a Level 3 Dormitory, so he was unsure if there would be better changes.


    He was so exhausted that he fell asleep as soon as he laid his head on his pillow.


    Alice stood beside his bed and looked at him, then moved her head closer to his chest to sniff. ¡°Is this the smell of blood?¡±


    She then stood up straight all of a sudden and walked out of the Dormitory with blood-red eyes.


    A brief moment later, she returned to the Dormitory. When she looked at Lin Ke, who was lying on the wooden bed, she removed her housemaid outfit to cover his body.


    Alice stretched the outfit out to cover his body completely.


    Afterward, she nodded in satisfaction, then left the Dormitory.


    Without the housemaid outfit, Alice was only wearing a tight shirt and a tight skirt. She also wore a pair of silver-gray high heels and white stockings, but at the top of her stockings, black leather straps were used to hold four to five silver daggers on each leg.


    While she seemed to be taking slow strides, she was actually moving extremely fast.


    In fact, the Smithing Hall was quite a distance away from the Dormitory, but she returned in the blink of an eye.


    Dra was discussing the Werewolves with the others when she looked up and saw Alice entering the room.


    Just as she was about to call out to Alice to join the discussion, she noticed that she was half-naked.


    Dra¡¯s face darkened as soon as she thought about where she came from.


    ¡°Why are you walking around in those clothes? This is outrageous!¡± Dra yelled.


    Kara and Avina were shocked as they did not know why Dra was enraged.


    ¡°I apologize for showing up like this.¡±


    Alice smiled gently, then crossed her arms at her belly as she bowed. ¡°I had to do this due to some special reasons.¡±


    ¡°Hmph, you¡¯re shameless.¡± Dra squinted her eyes. When she slowly opened her golden eyes again, she was staring at Alice¡¯s red eyes with her dragon eyes.


    Avina was taken aback as Dra would only behave like this during battles, thus she quickly stood up to shout at her, ¡°Dra, what are you doing? She¡¯s our partner!¡±


    ¡°But she wants to kill me!¡± Dra turned to glare at Avina. She knew from her Red Dragon¡¯s instinct that Alice had a strong killing intent toward her.


    She did not know what she had done that offended Alice, but since Alice wanted to kill her, she would let her try!


    ¡°Hmph!¡±


    The red light in Alice¡¯s eyes disappeared, and she held her chin up at Alice. ¡°From today onward, stay away from my Lord, and mind your own business!¡±


    ¡°What!¡± Dra¡¯s eyes were glowing with golden light. ¡°Say that again?¡±


    ¡°Trash, I¡¯m telling you to stay away from my Lord!¡± Alice spoke coldly and lifted her right hand to point at Dra. ¡°Before I arrived, you haven¡¯t been taking good care of my Lord. Not only is his sleeping environment the same as the wilderness, but his body is also hurt. How does trash like you deserve to stay by his side!¡±


    Avina realized that Alice misunderstood the situation, so she quickly mentioned, ¡°It¡¯s not like that!¡±


    Upon seeing that the situation was going to worsen, she immediately explained, ¡°Our Lord wanted to gain a Defense Ability, so Dra naturally told him about the Tough Shield Warrior¡¯s training that can help him achieve that!¡±


    ¡°Enough!¡± Alice waved her hand, then a dagger was nailed beside Avina¡¯s foot, causing Avina to take a few steps back. ¡°You¡¯re just too weak. If you¡¯re strong enough, why would my Lord long for a Defense Ability? There¡¯s no need for you to stay by his side anymore, because I¡¯ll protect him. He doesn¡¯t need to abuse his body like that, so cancel the Tough Shield Warrior¡¯s training too!¡±


    ¡°Your babble is annoying.¡± The golden light in Dra¡¯s eyes shone brighter. ¡°You say that I¡¯m trash, and you say that we¡¯re weak. I¡¯d like to see how powerful you are!¡±


    ¡°You?¡± Alice scorned.


    Their threatening aura caused the other female Heroes to back away.


    It was a fight between two Heroes with Disaster Ratings, hence the other Heroes were extremely pressured.


    Avina was appalled too. She initially thought that her Nightmare Rating was not too far from Dra¡¯s Disaster Rating, but she realized that she was wrong when the two Heroes of Disaster Rating were about to battle.


    Dra did not use the Red Lotus Longsword given by Lin Ke as she only used it against enemies.


    She charged at Alice with her fists.


    Bright red Qi exploded from her body, and countless afterimages were seen when she enveloped Alice with her huge fists. ¡°Dragon King Divine Power!¡±


    She activated her Skill right away, leaving her opponent with nowhere to hide.


    However, the instant Dra¡¯s fists were near Alice, Alice, who was initially looking at her impolitely, suddenly disappeared. As such, Dra quickly withdrew her fists to look around her.


    ¡°Up there!¡±


    Dra instantly identified her opponent¡¯s position by sensing the airflow.


    Alice kicked with her right leg fiercely, forcing Dra to raise her left hand. ¡°Shield!¡±


    Consequently, Dra¡¯s Dragon King Shield appeared to protect her by covering the space around her. A deafening sound was heard the moment Alice kicked the shield, so much so that Kara, Lucy, and the others experienced a headache due to the sound wave even though they covered their ears.


    ¡°That¡¯s all you¡¯ve got¡­¡± Alice remarked proudly. When Lucy and the others looked at them again, they widened their mouths as they were shocked.


    Dra¡¯s Dragon King Shield was broken, and the illusory dragon scales began to disappear. Her right shoulder was hit by Alice¡¯s right leg, but her bright red armor took the damage.


    Despite that, the others knew that Dra¡¯s armor could not have withstood Alice¡¯s attack if Dra¡¯s Dragon King Shield had not resisted most of the damage.

 Chapter 44

    Dra¡¯s heart sank, because her opponent¡¯s attack was truly fearsome. She was well aware of her Dragon King Shield¡¯s Defense Ability, and knew that it would have been tough for her to break it in one move too, so she could imagine how powerful her opponent was to be able to hurt her after breaking it.


    Alice was extremely powerful.


    While Dra was feeling shocked, she was absent-minded for a brief moment.


    Alice captured that moment perfectly.


    ¡°Hmph, trash is trash. How can you be absent-minded in this situation!¡± She shifted her right leg to Dra¡¯s left side, then gave Dra a heavy whip.


    The immense power sent Dra flying away, such that she rolled a few meters away before she was brought to a halt.


    ¡°Damn it.¡± Dra frowned. Though her body was not hurt, she felt that her dignity was trampled as she was easily knocked down by her opponent.


    The fury of the Red Dragon Queen gave her much stronger power!


    Nevertheless, Alice did not give her a chance at all. She approached Dra slowly. ¡°Since you¡¯ve used your ability, it¡¯s time for you to have a taste of mine.¡±


    Upon hearing her, Dra was ready to resist no matter what!


    However, even when she put on her tightest defense, the outcome was still leaning to the worst for her.


    When Dra was defending, Alice, who was a certain distance away from her, said after some time, ¡°Are you ready to defend?¡±


    ¡°Try me!¡± Dra lowered her body and wondered, ¡®Watch how I¡¯m going to beat you into a pig head!¡¯


    She was full of wrath.


    ¡°Hmph.¡±


    Alice scoffed, then suddenly disappeared. Before Dra could react to the situation, she sensed an exceptionally threatening aura behind her.


    Boom!


    Alice somehow appeared behind Dra in a flash to punch her back.


    Dra forced herself to take the hit as she was ready to counterattack.


    Nonetheless, the instant she turned around to grab the corner of Alice¡¯s shirt, her lower abdomen suffered a heavy hit.


    Before the pain at her abdomen even rose to the peak, she was attacked again by continuous punches.


    Dra was stunned. She felt that every part of her body was being struck, and she sensed danger coming from every direction.


    When she opened her eyes to look, Alice seemed to be everywhere, but she soon realized that the figures were illusory, and she could not determine Alice¡¯s exact location.


    Avina and the others who were watching from afar were dumbfounded as well. They saw a few of Alice¡¯s figures punching and kicking Dra simultaneously, causing Dra to be hit more than ten times in a second.


    After a few seconds, Alice suddenly appeared somewhere far from Dra. On the other hand, Dra was on her knees as she had lost her balance, then she fell forward.


    ¡°Dra!¡± Lucy screamed and ran over to her. The other female Heroes cast a hateful look at Alice, then surrounded Dra to check her injuries.


    When Kara lifted her magic staff, stardust gushed into Dra¡¯s body to heal her.


    After a short while, Dra pushed the other Heroes around her away, then tried to stand up. She glared at Alice, who was far away, and clenched her fists together, but did not charge at her impulsively.


    ¡°Do you know why you¡¯re not a match for me?¡±


    Alice grinned and approached Dra when she noticed that Dra was not resigned to the outcome.


    ¡°Why!¡± Dra asked with a hoarse voice. Since they were both Dark-gold Grade Heroes with a Disaster Rating, she figured that their combat power was similar, yet she realized from the battle that there was a great disparity between them. In fact, the difference was much larger than if she compared herself with Lucy.


    ¡°You probably won¡¯t understand since you have a low IQ.¡± Alice stood in front of Dra and looked at her disdainfully. ¡°I¡¯ll explain in a simpler way.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re aware that our Rating is Disaster, right?¡± Alice continued after Dra nodded, ¡°In simpler terms, Disaster can mean natural disaster, which is a mighty power far beyond Humans¡¯ reach! For us, low-Level enemies are not a threat at all, and the distance between us and them becomes bigger as we grow.


    ¡°But there¡¯s also a huge difference between different natural disasters,¡± Alice stared at Dra as she mentioned, ¡°A small earthquake is considered a natural disaster, a hurricane that sweeps the coast is a natural disaster, and a meteor that destroys a whole continent is a natural disaster too!


    ¡°Among natural disasters, the few that leave a deep impression as they cause huge losses are unforgettable.¡± Alice turned her head. ¡°For our Lord, natural disasters like that are given the Legend Rating, which is the Red Grade!


    ¡°You¡¯ll understand better if I use people instead of natural disasters.


    ¡°Let¡¯s say that a Disaster is a heroic figure in an era, but how many from multiple eras are recorded? How many are spread from mouth to mouth? On the contrary, a Legend is considered a top-notch figure regardless of the era, and will always live in people¡¯s hearts even if one isn¡¯t recorded!


    ¡°I happen to be someone like that.¡± Alice headed to the door, then turned to smile brightly at Dra. ¡°Although I only have a Disaster Rating at the moment, I¡¯m approaching Legend without a limit. I need time to settle down. With sufficient time, I¡¯ll definitely become a real Legend.¡±


    Dra looked at Alice in disbelief as she was clearly shocked by the information.


    ¡°On the other hand, you¡¯re just a little Red Dragon that struggles to become a Disaster, and the gap between us is beyond your imagination!¡±


    With that, Alice left the room, leaving the other female Heroes in bewilderment.


    ¡°How is that possible!¡± Lucy could not accept that something like that happened.


    ¡°Why is she doing that? How dare she do that? Her actions are unforgivable if our Lord finds out!¡± Stardust¡¯s Child Kara was indignant at the way Dra was treated.


    ¡°Legend¡­ She said that she¡¯ll become a Legend!¡± Avina clearly knew the meaning of a Legend more than anyone else, thus she was much more worried than the others. ¡°She¡¯s actually so powerful.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t believe it!¡± Dra knelt on the ground, then punched the floor hard. ¡°I¡¯ll definitely take my revenge, I definitely will!


    ¡°Just you wait! I swear by the Red Dragon¡¯s blood that I¡¯ll become a Legend one day, and I¡¯ll pin you to the ground!


    ¡°Ahhhh!!!¡±


    Dra roared for some time before she suddenly stood up. ¡°I¡¯ll go on patrol outside.¡±


    She felt so humiliated and mad that she needed to vent with the Werewolves!

 Chapter 45

    Lin Ke massaged his temple, pulled over his quilt and sat up. He looked outside through the Tower Sight and realized that it was already evening.


    Although he had gotten his rest, Lin Ke still felt as if there were something churning within his head. The sharp, stinging pain was still very palpable.


    He had had after hours of deep sleep. This must not be caused by pure tiredness.


    Lin Ke took a deep breath, getting ready to begin the construction of the new facility.


    The arena ought to be completed by now and so was the newly arrived Alice¡¯s Dormitory. He should be able to level up to Level 2.


    In regards to the Bloodbath Arena, Lin Ke felt that the time was ripe to head over and construct it.


    ¡®I¡¯ll build these two units first. If I still have some time left after I¡¯m finished, I¡¯ll see if I should continue with building the Dormitory or the Elemental Pond.¡¯


    Lin Ke was fixated in his thoughts. He was not aware that someone was standing beside him. He got up and immediately bumped into the person. He was shocked.


    It did not take long before realizing that the person was the housemaid he had just summoned today, Alice.


    ¡®However, why is she only in her underclothes? Where is her usual housemaid uniform?¡¯


    Lin Ke stared blankly and tried to recall for a moment. Was that a quilt he just pulled over? He turned around and realized that he had used her housemaid uniform as his quilt.


    ¡°Ahh, these are your clothes.¡± Lin Ke frantically retrieved the uniform and handed it to her.


    ¡°Thank you, Master.¡± Alice received the uniform and let out a bright smile.


    Lin Ke nodded and said, ¡°There¡¯s no need to thank me.¡±


    ¡°Eh?¡± Lin Ke had a sudden realization that the maid had addressed him as her Master instead of her Lord.


    He was not uncomfortable when his subordinate heroes addressed him as their Lord.


    To him, it was just a common appellation, equivalent to the title of ¡®Lord¡¯. It did not in any way affect the relationship between both parties.


    Hence, Lin Ke did not bother to change how they addressed him. Besides, ¡®Creator¡¯ sounded not bad at all. He always had a small gush of excitement every time he heard it.


    However, when Alice addressed him as ¡®Master¡¯, it was unique enough to raise his eyebrows.


    Seeing how Lin Ke had stared blankly at herself, Alice smiled as she gently put on her housemaid uniform and said, ¡°Isn¡¯t it a housemaid¡¯s job to serve a Master?¡±


    ¡°Or do you prefer that I address you as my Lord instead?¡±


    Lin Ke shook his head slightly and said, ¡°It¡¯s not that. I¡¯m just surprised to hear someone addressing me like that.¡±


    That was right. Be it her Lord or her Master, all that mattered to Lin Ke was that they were only different ways of addressing himself.


    Even if they were to address him by his name, would it make much difference to their everyday life?


    Alice had put on her uniform, but there was an area that was still uncovered near her breasts. It was the part of the uniform that she had torn off.


    Her underclothes protruded from within.


    Observing her expression, she did not seem to mind at all.


    Lin Ke could not help but to take another look. He realized that the hole that was once on the uniform was sewing itself. It probably would not take long before the uniform looked completely new.


    Lin Ke¡¯s own clothes shared the same properties too. Although he had been wearing the same set of clothes since the first day, there were no stains at all. Even if there had been some mild tears, it would vanish before Lin Ke even knew about it.


    This was a special property of the Dormitory. Whether it was people living in the Dormitory or the objects contained within it, they all shared the same recovery properties.


    Lin Ke stood up and walked out of the Dormitory as Alice paced slowly behind.


    It was not far before Lin Ke halted his footsteps. He wanted to find Dra and the others and head to the arena to test it out.


    The Tower Sight was instantly activated. Lin Ke took a complete sweep of his surroundings but was surprisingly unable to detect any sign of Dra.


    He only saw Avina and her group quietly discussing the affairs related to the Werewolves¡­ as well as to his companion, Alice.


    They were probably curious about this newcomer.


    Lin Ke did not think much. After he retrieved his Tower Sight, he did not look for Avina and her group. Instead, he began his construction on the Bloodbath Arena as well as the Dormitory¡¯s upgrades.


    The Bloodbath Arena¡¯s building duration was a little long. It needed a total duration of 4 hours, which surprised Lin Ke.


    It was not long before he put this aside and went to look for Avina in the other Dormitories.


    ¡°Yo, I see you all are still chatting away.¡± Lin Ke walked into the room and greeted everyone. ¡°Do you all want to have dinner together?¡±


    ¡°Thank you, my Lord, for your kind invitation. Unfortunately, we already had our meals.¡± Avina stood up and responded to Lin Ke.


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s fine then.¡± Lin Ke nodded and did not mind. The dried meats Dra made could be found anywhere throughout the Dormitories, he could have easily gotten it.


    His head was still slightly aching at the moment. He did not want to waste his energy crafting noodles or anything similar. Hence, he retrieved a few pieces of dried meat, shared a few with Avina and started chewing on it.


    After a few mouthfuls of meat, Lin Ke felt his mouth was dry. He glanced across his surroundings and could not find any water. He thought of Dra, who was able to craft water.


    ¡°Have you seen Dra? Where did she go?¡±


    Lin Ke asked Avina as he chewed onto his meat, ¡°We still need to check out the Arena in a moment. Why is she not in the tower?¡±


    Avina peeked at Alice, who was standing beside Lin Ke. Her face turned solemn as she was about to explain what happened this afternoon, but Alice interrupted her and said, ¡°Dra must have gone out to patrol. After all, even if the Werewolves have retreated, there¡¯s still a need to prevent any potential ambush from them.¡±


    Alice spoke with a pleasant manner. Lin Ke merely nodded and did not seem to care much.


    As Lin Ke swallowed his dried meat, Avina peeked at Alice again from the corner of her eyes and huffed.


    As it turned dark outside, Lin Ke grew bored of waiting in the Dormitory. He had upgraded Alice¡¯s Dormitory to Level 2 before he also upgraded his own to Level 3.


    In regards to the Walls and Arrow Towers, these could wait till midnight to construct. Building another upgraded Dormitory now could bring in a greater amount of Resources the next day.


    Lin Ke was confident now, he needed not to worry much about the werewolves¡¯ attack anymore.


    With the arrival of Alice, he now had two Dark-gold Grade heroes. This meant that his capabilities had increased dramatically. It would be only two days more before another Golden grade Magic Hero arrived. Two Dark-gold Grade and two Gold Grade heroes ¨C the powerful heroes team would be sure to defend against more Werewolf attacks.


    Dra had finally returned.


    As Lin Ke was using his Tower Sight in boredom, he spotted Dra¡¯s figure from far.


    For reasons unclear to him, Lin Ke was delighted at the sight of Dra. He stood up and as he walked to the main gate, he called out for everyone to join along, ¡°Come, let¡¯s go welcome Dra, she has finally returned!¡±


    Avina heard the call and looked at Alice, who was visually uneasy at that point. She laughed and said, ¡°That¡¯s great!¡±


    Kara and Lucy nodded excitedly as well. They all got up and joined Lin Ke on his way to the main gate.


    Naturally, Alice followed closely behind as well.

 Chapter 46

    Dra was weirded out at the sight of everyone welcoming her.


    Obviously, this was all of her Lord¡¯s arrangements.


    Dra remembered that it was typical of Lin Ke to greet her personally at the main gate each time she returned from the outside.


    It was not only herself, the same went for the other partners, whom her Lord would also greet personally if he did not have other matters to attend to.


    This time was no different. In fact, he even brought along others to welcome her return.


    However, Dra was not in the most pleasant shape when Lin Ke saw her. Fresh blood stained her entire body, making it an uncomfortable sight.


    ¡°Dra, go clean yourself up first. After you¡¯ve eaten and rested enough, we shall commence a battle in the arena.¡±


    Lin Ke smiled as he opened the main gate, allowing access for Dra to enter the tower.


    Dra saw Alice who was standing close to Lin Ke, lifted her chin, and huffed before entering through the main gate.


    Lin Ke was shocked when he witnessed the scene, he asked Avina, ¡°What¡¯s up with those two?¡±


    ¡°Nothing much.¡± Avina thought of Alice¡¯s threatening gaze, her lips pulsed slightly before she could utter, ¡°Probably just couldn¡¯t get along well enough.¡±


    ¡°Oh, then they should probably understand each other more. After all, we¡¯re family and are relying on each other to live.¡± Lin Ke did not think too much into the matter. He rubbed his temple, feeling an increased intensity of pain in his head and continued, ¡°Besides, soon enough we¡¯ll be participating in a huge battle. We can only survive in this place if all of you get along with each other.¡±


    Lin Ke thought what he said had made much sense, but Lucy quickly interrupted and said, ¡°Heh, but some people think they¡¯re too strong and didn¡¯t need to cooperate with the rest.¡±


    ¡°Eh?¡±


    Lin Ke halted his footsteps and turned to Lucy, ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    As Lucy was asked the question, she too halted her footsteps and seemed visually troubled.


    She felt that if she were to tell the truth, she would probably suffer grave consequences. However, Lucy could not keep the matter a secret any longer. After witnessing Dra being brutally beaten by Alice in the afternoon, she was already fuming. Since Lin Ke asked about it, Lucy felt that it was time to reveal what actually happened.


    Hence, Lucy had mentally prepared herself to start explaining the event.


    ¡°Nothing much, we just thought that as our teammates¡¯ capabilities are growing, one day, someone would surely attempt to defeat all the werewolves on their own.¡± Avina quickly diverted the topic, she saw both Lucy¡¯s attempt to spill on the event as well as Alice¡¯s increasingly solemn expression. She continued, ¡°After all, our strengths can only grow dramatically whereas the werewolves¡¯ strengths will always be fixed at where they¡¯re at right now.¡±


    Avina was clear just how terrifying Alice actually was.


    Lucy was just a Leader Rank hero. She felt that Alice was merely strong but nothing else. As a result, she did not think too much into it when Alice defeated Dra.


    On the other hand, Avina was clear that the skill gap between her and Alice was of gigantic magnitude.


    One could say that she was almost at the level of heroes depicted in the legends, a super powerhouse that could only be found once every few years.


    Besides, although the heroes were all unequivocally loyal to Lin Ke, they did not share the same thoughts when it came to working together with each other. Once Lucy angered Alice, her fate would probably have been sealed.


    ¡°Sure, that¡¯s right.¡± Lin Ke accepted Avina¡¯s explanation. Indeed, following the leveling ups of the Elemental Tower and himself, his subordinate heroes would surely become stronger in the process.


    The number of Elemental Guards would grow and so would their capabilities.


    In fact, it would not take long before he was able to sweep cleanly across Werewolf Forest with ease.


    Having been dragged to another topic of conversation, Lin Ke did not feel something was off. Filled with excitement and also an incessant headache, he brought everyone to the arena.


    The arena was enormous and spacious. However, situated in the middle of the arena was an object similar to a fighting ring.


    It was completely empty above. Lin Ke walked forward and a series of virtual images unfolded before him.


    He soon figured out the way to use this fighting ring.


    Lin Ke and his heroes did not need to personally enter the battle below.


    He merely needed to decide on the lineup and the heroes would be projected in the arena. The battle would commence automatically without them having control over it.


    Whether it would be a victory or defeat, they only needed to look at the simulated battle events unfolding.


    On the arena interface, Lin Ke could see all of his heroes¡¯ images and assign roles to them.


    Only five individuals could participate in the battle. It was compulsory that Lin Ke himself participated, whereas the rest of the heroes¡¯ lineup could be freely chosen.


    The best scenario in deciding a team lineup was to at least include a tank, a damage dealer, a healer, and a support. Lin Ke thought that he could already assemble a decent team from his current pool of heroes.


    Dra was a Warrior type Class. She had great defenses as well as offensive capabilities. Although her defense was not as great as a pure buffed tank, her status as a Dark-gold Grade hero meant that she was more durable than the average tank.


    Whereas in the arena, Dra had her own unique identification ¨C Half-Tank, Half-Damage dealer, marked with the symbol of [Sword/Shield].


    Lin Ke could also arrange the battle formation in the arena, splitting into the frontline, middle-line, and backline.


    Heroes received a 15% increase to their Health Points at the frontline, a 10% increase to their Damage at the middle-line, and a 10% increase to their Attack Speed at the backline.


    Lin Ke positioned Dra in the front to act as a tank.


    Then, he looked across the remaining female heroes and arranged them according to the identification assigned to them by the arena.


    The Perfect Housemaid Alice was identified with a [Dagger] symbol, indicating an assassin with strong offensive capabilities.


    Lin Ke positioned her in the middle as the main damage dealer.


    Following after, Stardust¡¯s Child Kara was positioned at the back as arranged by Lin Ke.


    The [+] symbol represented a healer, she needed extra protection to perform her duty in battle.


    Finally, there was still one more person to be picked.


    Should he pick a damage dealer like the Elven Archer Avina, or should he go with a support like the Compassionate Priest Lucy?


    Do not judge Lucy by the fact that she was a Blue grade hero, her Skill in the arena could be considered by some to be unnatural.


    A high percentage of defense combined with a Control type Skill ¨C although still highly ineffective against heroes of high capabilities. How strong could the early NPCs be? Lin Ke believed that this Skill was definitely powerful!


    However, the Elven Archer Avina¡¯s Skill was formidable too.


    Converged Explosive Starry Light ¨C why did it sound so familiar? (Author¡¯s Note: Lin Ke remembered wrongly, it was Explosion Arrow of Starry Light), and Fatal Arrow, specialized in executing ailing enemies.


    These skills, when unleashed in the arena, would be formidable as well.


    Lin Ke hesitated, but he had never thought of switching Alice out.


    As a newly summoned hero, Lin Ke was still unclear on how her Skill worked. However, Lin Ke knew that a Dark-gold grade hero like this would yield powerful capabilities.


    Besides, he could witness her Skills in the arena.


    Lin Ke gave it some thought and finally decided to put Lucy in. Using a team lineup with the greatest survivability, he wanted to measure how they would perform in the early stage battles.


    Finally, in regard to Lin Ke¡¯s position, he felt that he probably would not be of much use in the battle. He positioned himself at the frontline to concentrate most of the enemy¡¯s attacks on him so that more time could be bought for the heroes behind him.

 Chapter 47

    The female heroes arrived beside Lin Ke, but they could not see Lin Ke¡¯s formation set up nor what Lin Ke was looking at that moment.


    From Lin Ke¡¯s perspective, there were five teams to choose from.


    All five teams¡¯ rankings were ranked around 3000 and more. In other words, if Lin Ke defeated them, he would ascend to a rank of more than 3000 and could claim his corresponding rewards every night.


    Speaking of rewards, Lin Ke looked at the arena¡¯s interface and noticed the symbol for Ranking Rewards.


    He opened it and the reward for the first place instantly flashed across his face.


    The reward for the first place was 200 diamonds, 20,000 silvers, and 1,000 prestige points.


    Lin Ke raised his eyebrows. 200 diamonds were within his expectations for such a reward, 20,000 silvers were a decent quantity as well. What piqued his interest were the 1,000 prestige points.


    As he surveyed around, he found the arena shop and entered it. Precious and valuable items were displayed for sales and the currency it used was precisely the prestige points.


    After a rough estimation, Lin Ke realized that 1,000 prestige points could buy him a decent amount of items.


    There were various types of items that were available for purchase in the shop.


    Many of the rune essences were only Level 1, these could enhance Level 1 runes of various stats, such as attack, defense, agility, and evasion. Clearly it needed to be used individually and its prices were at 100 prestige points each.


    Lin Ke guessed that the rune essences could probably be fused together to enhance higher levels runes. He just did not know when he would manage to achieve this. It would probably take a long time.


    Whereas what made Lin Ke most jealous was when he saw heroes¡¯ Soul Shards were also on sale in the arena shop.


    Red Grades!


    Apex heroes of legendary ratings!


    Moon God Sacrifice Evelyn!


    Destructive Apostle Karl Sanna!


    Sublime Angel Gurna!


    Three legendary ratings Red Grade heroes!


    Lin Ke was dumbfounded when he saw the Soul Shards, but it turned to hopelessness upon discovering their prices.


    Each Soul Shard cost 1200 prestige points. To fuse them into a Red Grade hero, Lin Ke would need 200 Soul Shards for that hero.


    Hence, if Lin Ke wanted any of the heroes above, he would still need 240,000 prestige points even if he placed first on the leaderboard.


    That meant 240 days!


    Such an astounding number would frighten even a person like Lin Ke.


    This required a duration for more than half a year, would the players in the game actually be willing to spend such prolonged durations of time in obtaining a legendary rating hero?


    Furthermore, Lin Ke observed that there were options available in the arena¡¯s reward items. After passing a certain rank, he could spend a limited amount of prestige points in exchange for purchasing items at huge discounts ¨C which were otherwise difficult to obtain from the Market.


    These reward items when combined would also require spending a large number of prestige points.


    So, there had to be other ways of earning prestige points.


    Lin Ke read the arena rules ¨C each day he would have 10 free passes in initiating a challenge, beyond which required him to spend diamonds at purchasing passes.


    However, with his VIP0 limit cap, he could only purchase 3 passes each day.


    After glancing through the different items in the arena, Lin Ke geared up to prepare for his first challenge ever.


    He first chose a Rank 3325 team to challenge, their combat power points were in a garbled state, and so was Lin Ke¡¯s own team¡¯s combat powers.


    This meant that Lin Ke could not rely on assuming whether he could defeat the opposing team by referring to their combat powers.


    However, commonly speaking, NPCs that ranked 3000 or above typically had weak combat powers. It would be a breeze for Lin Ke to defeat them.


    Besides, looking at their team¡¯s lineup, it was basically only White Grade and Green Grade female heroes. There was nothing special about it at all.


    Lin Ke immediately initiated the challenge and a new interface appeared before his eyes. At the same time, figures of the heroes¡¯ lineup from both teams emerged in the fighting ring.


    Dra and those selected were delighted to see their projections in the ring, except for Avina who was displeased at her figure¡¯s absence.


    She thought she did not deserve to be unselected due to her Golden Grade hero status.


    Lin Ke¡¯s battle was turn-based, his team was selected to be the first to make its move.


    Did this mean that their combat power was stronger than their opponent, which was why their opponents could not unleash their moves first?


    The first to make her move was Alice, who was the damage dealer in the middle-line!


    She instantly approached the front of the opposing team¡¯s tank and drove a dagger deep into her body. A series of garbled numbers erupted and the opposing tank immediately collapsed.


    Lin Ke inhaled deeply. This was definitely a crazy damage dealer as the enemy tank was annihilated in a split second.


    Beams of light erupted from Alice, who had just killed an enemy tank. It was as if her rage had been filled to the brim, unleashing her skill in the arena.


    Alice jumped and scattered numerous amounts of daggers in mid-air, like a heavenly maid scattering her blossom petals, sealing the remaining 4 enemies within.


    Bang bang bang bang!


    Much of the daggers had landed into the opponents¡¯ bodies, damage numbers were also seen erupting from their bodies ¨C although it was still garbled numbers.


    Then, the remaining enemies let out a loud wail and collapsed.


    Alice had completely annihilated the entire enemy team on her own.


    Everyone who witnessed her performance had thought that she was terrifying. Lin Ke was also incredulous at the sight of it. He looked at Alice who was smiling beside him, flashed a thumbs-up, and said, ¡°That was awesome!¡±


    ¡°Thank you for your compliment!¡± Alice smiled and lowered her head slightly. When she realized Lin Ke had turned around, she put up a provocative look for the others.


    ¡°Hmmph.¡± Dra had a wry expression and did not bother to look at Alice.


    Avina did not even get to be in the battle, she did not have grounds to respond to her provocation.


    For the rest, they did not have the opportunity to perform either. They could only clench their teeth and stare angrily at Alice.


    200 prestige points reward, 2 credit points reward, and 144 diamonds!


    ¡°Wow.¡± Lin Ke was astonished at the reward. It was great to earn that many diamonds just by defeating an enemy. This was heavenly!


    Seeing as his number of diamonds shot up to 154 from 10, Lin Ke felt that his heart was about to burst.


    The prestige points reward had also made Lin Ke understand the significance behind earning 10 victories each day.


    It meant 2,000 prestige points! Stacked on top of the leadership rewards, being ranked first would bring 3,000 prestige points every day. The time needed to acquire a legendary hero was instantly shortened to 80 days!


    This was equivalent to slightly more than 2 months¡¯ time, it was an acceptable time frame.


    If he worked harder, he would get himself his first legendary hero in 2 months!


    Until then, would he prefer the Moon God Sacrifice or would he choose the Sublime Angel?


    The Destructive Apostle seemed formidable too, would he want to get one and test her out?


    Having thought of an exciting future, Lin Ke¡¯s head suddenly did not hurt as much anymore.


    ¡°Second round!¡±


    Lin Ke took a deep, sharp breath and concentrated his focus on selecting his next opponent. The next highest-ranking opponent he could challenge was ranked at 2578th place, a whopping leap of at least 700 ranks from his previous opponent!

 Chapter 48

    A leap of more than 700 ranks also signified a drastic increase in their opponent¡¯s combat power.


    However, it did not matter how great it had increased. Faced with Alice¡¯s combat power, they too were extinguished within a single turn.


    255 diamonds, 200 prestige points, and 2 credit points.


    The total amount of diamonds had increased to 509 pieces, Lin Ke felt that he was rich!


    After that, the opponent they faced was a team that ranked a little more than 2,100 in the leaderboard.


    Although it was only a leap of 400 ranks this time, the pressure was beginning to mount for the team.


    A slight, insignificant pressure.


    Alice could still instantly kill the tank of the enemy team, but when it came to her group attack, there were two NPCs who still managed to survive after.


    Although the remaining survivors were quickly finished by the rest of Lin Ke¡¯s team shortly after, it revealed that Alice¡¯s offensive power was becoming insufficient.


    When faced with higher-ranked opponents, she could no longer instantly kill the entire team on her own.


    ¡°Urr¡­ ¡± Lin Ke hesitated for a moment before standing up, ¡°Hold on, I¡¯ll upgrade your Equipment.¡±


    He prepared for the upgrades as he finished speaking. Unfortunately, he could only complete two levels of upgrades before a revelation hit him ¨C he had not researched the technology required in the Research Institution.


    The Equipment Chain was still not unlocked and he could not obtain the Stats Bonus.


    Lin Ke immediately made his way to the Research Institution. Fortunately, it was not too far away and he could reach the destination after a short walk.


    In the Research Institution, there was only one technology that was available for research. It was specifically Equipment Chain technology.


    The first level of Equipment Chain function enabled him to achieve a certain Stats enhancement once a set of all 6 equipment were upgraded to Level 10.


    Lin Ke initiated his research right away. He was pleased when he saw the duration needed to complete the research.


    The time needed to research on the first level of Equipment Chain was a mere 5 minutes. Compared to the vast amount of time taken for constructions, it was considered short and sweet.


    Lin Ke returned to the arena and decided to upgrade the Equipment to full levels first. By then, the research would probably be completed.


    Upgrading Equipment was a puzzling task.


    He saw that it took only a few hundreds of silver to upgrade one of his Equipment and proceeded to level it up until the maximum level of 30 ¨C but as Lin Ke¡¯s own level increased, so was the cap for his Equipment¡¯s levels. After that, he was dumbfounded.


    He had spent more than 46,000 silver.


    All for one Equipment!


    Whereas for a single hero to upgrade her equipment set to its fullest level, the combined prices of 6 Equipment would cost more than 280,000 silver!


    This was only for an upgrade of one member¡¯s Equipment set!


    If he were to do the same for every member of his team¡­ Lin Ke counted the Silver in his possession and let out a helpless smile.


    He thought that having more than a million silver was equivalent to being filthy rich, the truth was he did not even have enough to upgrade his Equipment!


    ¡®Bloody hell!¡¯ Lin Ke cursed from within. He decided to first max out the Equipment levels for two of his heroes.


    One was for Alice, another was for Dra.


    They were both Dark-gold Grade heroes, having these Equipment on them would bring greater benefits.


    Whereas for the rest, Lin Ke could only feel bad and apologize. His resources were limited and had to maximize its utility amongst limited people in the group.


    Maybe when the time was ripe, he would upgrade the equipment sets of the rest to Level 10 so that they could all benefit from the Bonus Stat of Level 1 Equipment Chain.


    This way, he would not need to splurge on many resources to benefit from a decent amount of Stats increase.


    After spending 560,000 silver, Alice and Dra¡¯s powers instantly shot up.


    To what extent their capabilities had objectively increased, Lin Ke did not know. However, from the number of resources Lin Ke had spent, if their capabilities had only increased onefold, it would be considered insignificant.


    Level 1 Equipment Chain had been achieved, whereas the bonus stats from Level 2 Equipment Chain could also be achieved by similarly leveling an equipment set to Level 20. However, it was still unobtainable at the moment as the Research Institution required upgrading, so that research of higher-level technologies for Equipment Chains could be unlocked.


    With Alice now stronger, her damage became even more terrifying. In her first turn during the challenge, she wiped out all members of an opponent team that ranked 1820.


    This time, the diamond rewards were lesser. It was probably due to the fact that Lin Ke had ascended slightly in the leaderboard compared to before, he only received a little more than 40 diamonds in that round.


    After 5 challenges, Lin Ke¡¯s team had risen to more than 1600th rank on the leaderboard. Aside from his profit of diamonds and prestige points, he had also accumulated a total of 10 credit points.


    Lin Ke had always been puzzled about the purpose of the credit points, it was then that he got his answer.


    An envelope image appeared before him, Lin Ke chose to read it and earned some rewards.


    The reason for the reward was simple, it was because he had earned a total of 10 credit points that day in the arena.


    The reward items were decent, there were 500 prestige points and a chest containing 2 heroes¡¯ Soul Shards.


    One was for a Blue Grade hero whereas the other was for a Green Grade hero, both grades were not considered high. The heroes Soul Shards entered Lin Ke¡¯s heroes pool, waiting to be summoned once enough Soul Shards were collected.


    Relying on Alice¡¯s brutal damage output, Lin Ke found it rare to meet an opponent team that was capable of defending themselves. It was only until the 7th round when Lin Ke¡¯s team was ranked more than 1000, that he finally met an opponent team that could not be instantly defeated in a single round.


    His opponent¡¯s capability grew stronger each time, so was the time taken to defeat them.


    In the end, Lin Ke¡¯s team still stood victorious.


    Now, each time Lin Ke selected from a list of teams he could challenge, the gap between his team¡¯s rank and the highest-ranked opponent team was slightly more than 100 ranks away. This gap grew closer as he became one of the top 1000 ranked teams.


    When he finished consuming all 10 free passes, Lin Ke¡¯s team was ranked 820th.


    Having earned 20 credit points, Lin Ke was rewarded with another 500 prestige points and 2 heroes¡¯ Soul Shards.


    Being ranked at 820th place, he was satisfied with his team¡¯s position on the leaderboard.


    The ranking was not to be underestimated. Although it would reward him every day with only 20 diamonds, this reward would be accompanied by an additional amount of 20,000 silver.


    This was already an impressive number.


    One must take note that Lin Ke¡¯s income from his dormitory had only reached this number at that moment!


    Furthermore, after 10 rounds of battles, Lin Ke earned a profitable amount of diamonds; a total of more than 1,100 pieces of diamonds. All he needed to do now was to consider how he would spend this amount.


    Although this rank was still not the final one for Lin Ke¡¯s team, he felt that he would soon hit a bottleneck.


    The opponent teams that he faced currently had team compositions of a mixture of Blue Grade and Purple Grade heroes. It was already sufficient to cause casualties in his team.


    That was right, as one of his team¡¯s tanks, Lin Ke had started to face situations where he would be instantly killed by his enemy team.


    The reason was simple ¨C his Equipment set was not upgraded and was still at Level 1. That pitiful amount of stats, when combined with his own low amount of levels, was sure to spell death quickly when faced with an enemy team that was at least Level 15 on average. Even with his healer present in the backline, she was not able to restore Lin Ke¡¯s health in time before he was dead.


    Besides, Lucy¡¯s Compassionate Skill did not work as he expected. It was a unit-targeted skill and could only last for a single round. The effect would also disappear as soon as she was attacked.


    What a tricky situation!


    It was different from what Lin Ke witnessed in battle at dusk. In that battle, once Lucy had cast Compassionate Skill onto Dra, she could withstand multiple attacks without the effects vanishing. Obviously, there was a distinct difference between what happened in the arena and in reality.


    Hence, in the last few battles, Lin Ke swapped Lucy for Avina and saw that his team¡¯s performance instantly improved.


    Avina¡¯s strong offensive power had compensated for Lucy¡¯s weakness. There was a clear improvement in his team¡¯s combat power.


    It seemed that the only measuring stick of heroes in the arena were their grades.

 Chapter 49

    Alice did not bring down the tank in the first turn. The tank was later killed by Avina¡¯s follow-up attack.


    Having lost the defense provided by their tank, the entire enemy team¡¯s formation instantly lost their only source of protection and revealed their own weaknesses.


    In the process, Lin Ke had also realized that Alice¡¯s rage could grow rapidly, each time she killed an enemy, her rage would be filled to the brim. Then she would unleash her Skill upon her enemies, attacking the team as a whole.


    However, when Avina killed an enemy, her rage would only be filled halfway through, thus unable to activate her Skill.


    Lin Ke thought that this was due to Alice¡¯s own skill¡¯s effects, perhaps she had the ability to multiply her rage.


    To be honest, it was an incredible Skill to have. In the arena, the heroes mainly relied on their Skills to inflict damage, and their Skills could only be mobilized once their rage had been filled.


    Hence, when Alice could multiply her rage, it also meant that she could also multiply the usage of her Skills on the battlefield. Naturally, this meant even more destructive damages.


    Then, how should Alice¡¯s Skills be reflected in reality?


    Avina¡¯s Skill could also be used as she pleased. At most, it only had a few seconds of cooldown.


    However, as the same Dark-gold grade hero, Dra¡¯s performance in the arena was inferior in comparison.


    Lin Ke definitely did not think that she was weak, but she was inferior because of her position on the battlefield.


    As a half-tank and half-damage dealer, Dra¡¯s performance should be measured by her ability to withstand damage from the enemy¡¯s team instead of her damage output.


    Although Dra¡¯s damage was high, it was all unit-targeted attacks, a huge contrast to the Area of Effect combat technique used by Alice.


    Besides, Dra did have a formidable defensive ability. The same attack that would instantly floor put Lin Ke would have minuscule effects on Dra. She would just stand there with ease and let the enemies have their way.


    Only with a rigid shield like that in the team that other members could feel assured unleashing their attacks.


    Having won another 10 rounds of challenges, Lin Ke was ranked at 688th place. He hesitated whether to spend some diamonds in purchasing more challenge passes.


    If they won, the rewards from climbing up the leaderboard would surely compensate for the loss of diamonds. However, upon closer consideration, Lin Ke did not feel it was worth purchasing.


    It was because the rewards were all the same between the 500th rank and the 1000th rank. Purchasing the passes meant spending 20 diamonds for no additional benefits.


    If he was just playing a game last time, he would not think much about spending that amount of diamonds. Unfortunately, this was now his reality. Every use of resources needed to be done with the most meticulous of plannings, such a purchase would be unwise.


    Lin Ke resisted his temptation and decided to decline. He then prepared to leave the arena.


    Halfway through his walk, Lin Ke suddenly stood still. The female heroes that followed behind were all surprised and stopped as well. Then, they saw Lin Ke collapsing on the floor.


    ¡°My lord!¡±


    ¡°Lord!¡±


    The heroes rushed beside him and saw Lin Ke shutting his eyes. His face was frail and pale.


    His body was also shaking and cold sweat formed everywhere.


    Lin Ke could only feel that his head was about to burst from the intense pain. However, the pain had also severed his nerves, causing his inability to even groan.


    Anguish and suffering were all Lin Ke had felt at that moment.


    It was unclear how long Lin Ke¡¯s pain had lasted, after what sounded like a loud rumble, Lin Ke lost his consciousness.


    Whereas from Dra and the heroes¡¯ perspectives, the once trembling body of Lin Ke suddenly ceased its movement.


    They were shocked at this sight that they immediately placed their fingers near his nostrils and on his chest. The mild gasps for air and the slight movement indicated that Lin Ke had not died yet.


    ¡°How did this happen? Why would such a thing happen to our Lord!¡±


    Avina panicked and was lost. She was unsure whether to carry Lin Ke to his dormitory, worrying that moving Lin Ke would only cause more harm to him.


    Dra lowered her head and was silent, she had not been in a situation like this before.


    If Dra and Avina were already behaving that way, what more for Kara and Lucy. They were less experienced and could only frantically pace around. They had even attempted to lift Lin Ke up before Avina stopped them. When she explained why not to, they panicked even more in the face of not knowing what to do.


    ¡°Huh, this is why I said that you¡¯re all useless.¡±


    When most of the group were panicking, they heard the utterance of a malicious remark. They lifted their head and saw Alice carefully squatting to lift Lin Ke¡¯s body.


    ¡°Move away, useless bastards!¡±


    Once she ended her insult, Alice and Lin Ke vanished in the blink of an eye to an unknown location.


    ¡°Go to the dormitories!¡±


    Dra was silent for a moment before she instructed everyone to split up and find them.


    Lin Ke moved the dormitories so that they would be on the same level, hence it would not take long for everyone to look in each dormitory.


    ¡°Over here!¡±


    Lucy called before entering a dormitory room.


    Dra and the rest rushed to her location and entered the room together.


    At that moment, Alice had already placed Lin Ke on a wooden bed, removed her housemaid uniform and covered Lin Ke, supplying him with an ample amount of warmth.


    ¡°Stop right there!¡± Alice got up and stopped them by extending her arm when she saw Dra and the group rushing into the room,


    As the group had been stressed seeing how Alice had easily defeated Dra not long ago, her gesture was enough to hold them in their places.


    ¡°Alice, what is this about? Why won¡¯t you let us come near our Lord?¡±


    Avina stood at the frontmost position, her worries for Lin Ke¡¯s condition had brushed off any fear she had for Alice. Her eyes widened as if she was ready to fight at any moment.


    ¡°That¡¯s true, what right do you have to stop us from coming over?!¡± Lucy and Kara were angry. To them, Alice¡¯s action had clearly crossed a line!


    Dra did not utter a single word. Instead, she prepared herself, her anger flickering and rising with each passing second. She could release the strongest amount of energy at any moment to destroy the enemy who had once defeated her!


    That was right, Dra had made Alice as her sworn enemy!


    ¡°Hmph, why won¡¯t I let you all near Master?¡±


    Alice chuckled as if she had just heard a good joke. She at the side of the bed, caressed Lin Ke¡¯s short hair on his temple and said, ¡°Why else did you all think that Master would suffer such an injury if it wasn¡¯t because of you stupid bastards who had brought danger to him!¡±


    Alice lifted her head and looked at Dra. ¡°Do you know what kind of injury this is?¡±


    Dra did not reply. Indeed, she did not know the answer.


    Alice waited for a while and saw that Dra was unresponsive. She mockingly laughed for a good moment before she softly revealed the answer, ¡°A weakened soul.¡±


    ¡°A weakened soul,¡± Dra softly repeated the answer.


    ¡°A weakened soul!¡± Avina was visually appalled.


    ¡°A weakened soul?¡± Kara and Lucy were confused about it.


    ¡°Master¡¯s soul has been damaged, it¡¯s partially torn, which is why he¡¯s injured and has collapsed this time.¡± Alice looked at Dra, her tone emphasizing her rage and resentment. ¡°So, all of you good for nothings should stay away from Master, do what you do best and go kill all the enemies in our surroundings! I can handle taking care of Master all by myself.¡±


    You all are the cause of Master¡¯s weakened soul in the first place!

 Chapter 50

    ¡°What did you say!¡± Dra shouted angrily. ¡°What makes you say that we¡¯re the cause of our Lord¡¯s injury!?¡±


    Dra could not hold back her anger. All this while, she was extremely loyal and would give her all to her Lord. In fact¡­ This was the worst provocation and humiliation to her, who had fallen in love with her Lord due to a mixture of emotions.


    Although Dra had lost to her before, the former would still want to fight her!


    ¡°What makes me say that?¡±


    Alice looked at the female Heroes that she had angered with her words earlier. She let out an air of hilarity. ¡°What else do you think damaged the Lord¡¯s soul? Is there an enemy in the Elemental Tower attacking the Lord?¡±


    Everyone was silent!


    Dra and the rest knew very well that the Elemental Tower¡¯s defense was absolute. As long as Lin Ke did not set foot outside of this place or the Elemental Tower was not destroyed, it would be extremely difficult for enemies to even lay their hands on him, let alone harm him.


    Perhaps it was them that had harmed the Lord?


    The few female Heroes looked at each other and started doubting themselves.


    ¡°Hmpf. It looks like you guys haven¡¯t noticed it.¡±


    Alice scoffed. ¡°I¡¯ll give you a hint. It¡¯s got something to do with the bloody smell coming off the Lord¡¯s body.¡±


    Everyone looked at Dra as soon as Alice finished speaking.


    For the past few days, Lin Ke had suffered continuous injuries as he went through the Tough Shield Warrior¡¯s training. This was the only possible source of the bloody smell.


    ¡°Impossible!¡± Dra frowned. ¡°The Tough Shield Warrior training merely causes devastation to the physical flesh in order to evolve one¡¯s body to obtain a higher defense. It wouldn¡¯t cause any injury to the soul at all!¡±


    ¡°Your accusation towards me doesn¡¯t hold water!¡±


    Dra¡¯s refute could not make Alice speechless. In fact, the latter scoffed and questioned further. ¡°Is that so? Do you really think so? Are you certain that the Tough Shield Warrior¡¯s training won¡¯t harm the soul?¡±


    Alice¡¯s words made Dra even more confident. ¡°That¡¯s right. I¡¯ve asked other highly-ranked Tough Shield Warriors in the past and have obtained the entire training module from them. In fact, I¡¯ve gone through the training before and even witnessed the Tough Shield Warrior¡¯s training as well. I know this thing inside out!¡±


    ¡°Oh? Really? Did those Tough Shield Warriors learn it in two days, were able to head into battle in ten days, and become invincible in a month?¡±


    Alice looked amused as she mocked.


    ¡°Impossible!¡± Dra cut off Alice. ¡°One can only build a good foundation if one were to be harmed and soak in elixirs repeatedly in the early phase. There are still a lot of training modules to go through in order to become the most basic Tough Shield Warrior!¡±


    ¡°Is that so? Since you know that it requires so many procedures, why do you think the Lord is able to have such a drastic increase in defense in merely two days?¡± Alice gritted her teeth. ¡°Perhaps your training and the training done by those Tough Shield Warriors is different?¡±


    ¡°The reason those Tough Shield Warriors require so many procedures is that it takes a long time to recover from their injury. They need medicine and other unique techniques to recover,¡± Dra explained. ¡°Furthermore, Lord¡¯s injury is able to heal in a night due to my Qi and the Dormitory¡¯s regeneration. Besides, there¡¯s still Kara¡¯s treatment¡­¡±


    ¡°Enough. Shut your mouth!¡± Alice¡¯s gaze was lethal. ¡°Idiot, do you still not understand? Our Lord is merely a commoner in the past. He has never gone through any training at all. How could he endure the Tough Shield Warrior¡¯s training out of the blue? Extreme pain is enough to cause serious injury to a commoner¡¯s soul!¡±


    ¡°Qi? You must be referring to your Dragon¡¯s Origin. Indeed, it¡¯s able to heal any flesh injury, but it doesn¡¯t provide any assistance to the soul at all. In fact, it would make the soul¡¯s injury worse!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid that the Lord has suffered a serious injury on the first day of those cruel beatings! Yet, none of you realized at all! All you¡¯ve been doing is healing his physical wound but you didn¡¯t provide any treatment to his soul and mental state at all!¡±


    ¡°His soul¡¯s injury became worse as the training went on and everything that has happened leads to today!¡± Alice took a deep breath and asked angrily, ¡°Now, do you think it¡¯s got nothing to do with you guys?!¡±


    Dra¡¯s expression became paler and paler as Alice continued. She froze still as she looked at Lin Ke laying down at the side. She was in disbelief that she was the one that caused such a serious injury to her own Lord.


    She slowly lowered her head as she felt the whole world crumbling down around her.


    The other Heroes at the side felt the same as they shouldered the devastation together with Dra.


    Alice responded with silence as she stared into their mindless gaze. After some time, she opened her mouth. ¡°This is why I¡¯ve told you all that you don¡¯t possess any capability to take care of the Lord. So please, just help the Lord with what you do best.¡±


    ¡°Our Lord needs safety, so please come up with a safe space for him.¡±


    ¡°Now that this place is under attack by the Werewolves, please go and kill all of the Werewolves here.¡±


    ¡°Performing your role is the best loyalty to the Lord!¡±


    ¡°Since our Lord¡¯s injury isn¡¯t too serious, I¡¯ll tend to his wound.¡±


    Alice¡¯s words stabbed right into Dra and the others¡¯ hearts. After a long time, Dra took a deep breath and walked toward the Dormitory¡¯s entrance.


    ¡°I¡¯m coming with you.¡± Avina came to her senses two seconds later. She stopped staring at Alice as she chased after Dra.


    Lucy and Kara looked at each other and started leaving silently.


    There was no need for them to go outside because their Profession and capabilities were not suitable for it.


    It was just that they did not feel like staying in the same room with Alice. They would do the same even if they did nothing wrong.


    ¡°Dra!¡± Alice shouted as Dra was leaving.


    ¡°Please be careful out there and don¡¯t die in any battle so that the Lord wouldn¡¯t need to spend any resources to resurrect you!¡±


    Veins started popping up on Dra¡¯s head upon hearing Alice¡¯s words. ¡°I don¡¯t need you to worry about me! Just take care of the Lord! I¡¯ll kill you if anything happens to him!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll definitely see our healthy Lord standing right in front of you.¡±


    Alice waved her hand, considering it bidding goodbye to them.


    ¡°Hmpf!¡± Dra clenched her fist and stormed out of the room.


    Soon, not a single noise could be heard from the Dormitory. Lucy, who was last to leave the room, closed the door. Despite her not wanting to see Alice, her Lord was still in the room.


    ¡°It¡¯s about time.¡± Alice waited for a long time before she stared at Lin Ke laying down peacefully at the side. She took a deep breath as she climbed up into the bed and kneeled beside Lin Ke.


    Alice caressed her cherry lips as she slowly bowed down and kissed Lin Ke¡¯s lips.


    An azure blue halo appeared as the lips connected. As a few balls of light spread out, she captured them with her hands and absorbed them into her body.


    Moments later, Alice was so tired that she laid aside and panted heavily.


    Meanwhile, Lin Ke who was sleeping seemed to have been soaked into warm water, cleansing every part of his body.


    Part of Lin Ke¡¯s soul that was damaged had finally recovered.


    ¡­

 Chapter 51

    Badum! Badum!


    The heart in its chest started pounding intensely.


    Badum! Badum!


    The hot, boiling blood was gushing.


    Badum! Badum!


    The injuries on its back were moving.


    Badum! Badum!


    The path in front of it was long gone as complex tree branches were blocking its path. The weeds and bushes were filled with life. It would encounter strange-looking snakes and bugs if it were not careful.


    However, it had to keep running forward. The injuries on its back was telling it that the enemy that wanted its life was chasing after it.


    ¡°Lo! I¡¯ll be waiting for you in hell!¡±


    A sharp cry sounded from the distance. The escapee halted before sprinting forward at an even greater speed.


    The rustle kept reverberating in its ears as the Werewolves¡¯ howls crept closer and closer. The same sound came from every direction.


    The escapee finally stopped running as it knew that it could not run away from this.


    The Werewolves had blocked the paths in every direction. Running away was ineffective.


    Hence, it decided to save some of its energy and gave that bastard who dared to betray it a surprise!


    The rustling approached and soon, two Werewolves in well-made leather armor appeared in front of the escapee. Furthermore, they were holding onto a sharp metal weapon as they blocked the path at the front.


    A sharp cry sounded from afar as a huge number of Werewolves surrounded the area from every direction.


    ¡°Kandaro! There¡¯s no place to run!¡±


    The sinister voice sounded from afar as a muscular Werewolf opened its mouth, baring its sharp fangs while its saliva kept dripping down.


    Behind this Werewolf was a familiar enemy that the escapee recognized.


    ¡°Lo, how dare you betray Sir.¡±


    Kandaro stood as straight as a pole. ¡°If Sir returns and discovers your betrayal, you¡¯ll be punished in a way you can¡¯t even imagine!¡±


    ¡°Oh? What should I do then? Follow your arrangement obediently, be used as bait to delay that sinister squad while you guys leave the place happily?¡±


    Lo scoffed. ¡°We Werewolves¡¯ lives are nothing but weeds while the Beastmen¡¯s lives are gems?¡±


    ¡°Hmpf! Don¡¯t you dare forget who brought civilization to the Werewolves, who brought intelligence to the Werewolves, and even the basics of an ambush to you Werewolves!


    Kandaro growled. ¡°Are these not enough for you to delay the Feathered Hawk Knight Squad for a while? All we need is just a few days!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s enough, Kandaro.¡± Lo¡¯s tone carried disdain and disgust. ¡°Do you really think I don¡¯t know why you¡¯re so good to us Werewolves? Isn¡¯t it because you needed us to exhaust the human¡¯s energy so that they won¡¯t bother you Beastmen?¡±


    ¡°Other than us Werewolves, aren¡¯t you treating the Murlocs on the shores, the Sethrak in the swamps, the Harpies in the cliffs, and the remaining minority races the same way? You¡¯ve given them something that could increase their strength but only to a certain extent. It¡¯s enough to attract the human¡¯s attention but they aren¡¯t actually that strong¡­ Similarly to us Werewolves, what use are your gifts if we were to leave the forest?¡±


    Kandaro was speechless as this was precisely the Beastmen¡¯s strategy. They gave them something just strong enough to be a threat to humans but they couldn¡¯t truly be independent. They had to rely on the Beastmen¡¯s order to move forward.


    However, Kandaro must not show his weak side here. ¡°Think about it. If you were to betray Sir now, how will Sir treat you when he returns? Perhaps you haven¡¯t realized it yet, just what I¡¯ve been doing for the past few days!¡±


    ¡°Oh? What have you done?¡± Lo mocked as he started grinning. ¡°Are you helping me to snare the Werewolf tribes and turn me into the Werewolf King?¡±


    Lo¡¯s words made Kandaro laugh out loud. ¡°That¡¯s right. You¡¯ll gather the majority of the Werewolf tribes and become the Werewolf King. Then, you¡¯ll surrender to the Beastman Kingdom. However, the first thing you need to do is to obstruct the Feathered Hawk Knight Squad¡¯s pursuit!¡±


    ¡°Is this how you write your script?¡± Lo did not care upon hearing Kandaro¡¯s words. He was impressed and thankful to the Beastman standing in front of him. ¡°I¡¯m very thankful that you¡¯ve gathered so many Beastmen and wanted to appoint me as the Werewolf King. It¡¯s because of you that I¡¯ve gotten some reputation.¡±


    ¡°However, my dear friend Kandaro, let¡¯s not forget that the Beastmen¡¯s threat will always be greater than us Werewolves. A Beastman General is more important than ten Werewolf Kings.¡±


    ¡°Two days ago when your army was leaving this forest, I told someone to inform the Feathered Hawk Knight Squad and they have already gone after you guys. That Beastmen army of yours will definitely not be able to return to the Beastman Kingdom safely.¡±


    ¡°Is there anything I should be afraid of when the threat is gone?¡±


    ¡°The worst would be that the Feathered Hawk Knight Squad begins clearing up the Werewolf Forest afterward. However the weak, old, crippled, and sick would be the only ones left. We¡¯ll still be the top dogs in Werewolf Forest when they leave!¡±


    Kandaro stared angrily upon hearing Lo¡¯s words. The latter did not expect that the reckless, cruel, and bloodthirsty Werewolf Lo could be this cunning and cold. It was able to turn a dire situation around in an instant!


    Furthermore, he was able to render all invisible threats ineffective. Once this bastard rose to the throne, everyone, be it the humans or Beastmen, would certainly see him as a big threat!


    However, it could not resist happily revealing its plans and finally got to see the terrified horrified expression that came from the Beastman that once looked down upon it. Lo waved its hand gently as multiple powerful Werewolves charged towards Kandaro, thirsting for blood.


    As Kandaro exchanged blows with them, it was beyond astonished. ¡°Rippers! How is this possible!¡±


    The Ripper was one of the Beastmen¡¯s unique Classes. Becoming a Professional Ripper required hundreds of Beastmen to fight to the death in a battle royale. Only those that survived the deathmatch would be known as a Ripper. This was a very important foundation to the Beastman Kingdom.


    The Beastmen had never passed on the Ripper¡¯s training module to any race at all!


    How did the Werewolves obtain this secret!


    However, it no longer had the time to think any further. As a Professional itself, it was a highly ranked being in the Beastman Kingdom. However, its body was held by the Werewolves¡¯ claws and shredded into countless bits of flesh in an instant.


    The fog of blood spread everywhere as Lo stood still quietly. It took a deep breath of the air filled with blood particles. ¡°Good. Everyone, please follow the same order and move forward to take cover. We¡¯ll buy some time to make sure the core team is able to fully retreat before the Feathered Hawk Knight Squad returns from killing the Beastman¡¯s army!¡±


    The Werewolves around it gradually spread out as Lo exhaled.


    The most crucial catastrophe had come to a pass. Now, it should prepare to meet up with that bunch that killed its brother.


    News among the Werewolves was quick in the forest. There was a tower that appeared at the border of the forest recently and they were probably the killers.


    ¡°Hmpf, it¡¯s just a Mage Tower. Nobody knows for sure whether the Mage inside has turned Professional yet. It¡¯s best to utterly destroy it before leaving this place.¡±


    Lo had decided its next action as it revealed its sinister smile.


    After all, everything should end very quickly, no?


    ¡­

 Chapter 52

    Lin Ke felt like he had had an incredibly comfortable sleep.


    So, how comfortable was his sleep?


    All the fatigue and pain in his body had completely vanished.


    The agony he felt before fainting had completely disappeared.


    However, there seemed to be something heavy pressing onto his chest?


    Lin Ke was astonished as he opened his eyes.


    A lazy beauty was in his embrace. Her fragrance and warmth did not pique Lin Ke¡¯s interest. In fact, he was so shocked that he almost jumped up.


    The most important reason was that she looked rather unfamiliar at first glance.


    However, as the beauty rubbed her eyes and sat back up, Lin Ke let out a sigh of relief after having a second look.


    She was the new Hero that he summoned yesterday, Perfect Housemaid Alice.


    As he had a headache for the entire day yesterday, he had only taken note of her for a brief moment. Furthermore, he noticed that her fringe was hiding her face and this was the reason why he did not recognize her immediately.


    ¡°So it¡¯s you. I was wondering who it was.¡±


    Once he knew that she was the Hero that he summoned, the awkwardness within him dissipated. Lin Ke laid on his side as he turned his head to look at Alice, who had just woken up. ¡°By the way, why are you in my bed.¡±


    ¡°My Lord, I was healing your injured soul.¡±


    Alice smiled as she picked up the maid¡¯s attire and wore it.


    ¡°An injured soul? Lin Ke¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°I was harmed?¡±


    Then, he recalled that he had fainted. ¡°That¡¯s right. I felt an intense headache before I fainted. Do you know how I was injured?¡±


    ¡°The story goes like this¡­¡± Alice told him everything Dra had done in detail. Then, she had even explained on Dra¡¯s behalf. ¡°She doesn¡¯t know what she¡¯s doing at all and that¡¯s the reason why she has caused you harm. The Tough Shield Warrior¡¯s training should be stopped and it¡¯s best that you not do anything during this time. You should spend more time tending to your wound.¡±


    ¡°Tending to my wound? How could I focus on healing up when there are so many things going on?¡± Lin Ke smiled wryly before looking around and asked Alice, who had gotten out of his bed to adjust her shirt. ¡°Where are the others? I¡¯m sure it¡¯s already day time.¡±


    ¡°They¡­ have done something wrong. Hence, I chased them out to do other things.¡± Alice softened her voice as she lowered her head. ¡°Dra¡¯s strength is without a doubt powerful and there¡¯s no need to worry about her safety outside. It¡¯s also a good way for her to compensate her for her mistakes.¡±


    ¡°What has she done? She did nothing wrong.¡± Lin Ke shook his head. ¡°She¡¯s just being kind and didn¡¯t think that something would happen to me. I don¡¯t blame her at all.¡±


    Lin Ke looked at Alice upon finishing his words. He felt that the situation was rather strange. He started scratching his head as if he was missing something.


    ¡°Nevermind. Is there any breakfast? I¡¯m quite hungry.¡±


    Lin Ke yawned. As the new day arrived, it was time for him to get to work.


    He had fainted quite early yesterday, resulting in him being unable to level up many Facilities and this made Lin Ke¡¯s heart ache badly.


    As Alice went out to bring breakfast for him, he took this opportunity to check today¡¯s profit.


    After all, he had done a lot of things and built a lot of Facilities yesterday.


    One Level 3 Dormitory had been completed. Unfortunately, it was not the one Lin Ke was living in. The Dormitory¡¯s Silver increment was not as he expected; doubling from 2000 Silvers to 4000 Silver. Instead, it was only increased to 3000 Silver.


    However, the Silver the Heroes brought was doubled. A Level 3 Dormitory had brought Lin Ke a total of 6000 Silver profit.


    The other five Level 2 Dormitories had brought him 20,000 Silver, which made it a total of 26,000 Silver.


    The Elemental Core remained the same and there were no surprises at all. However, Lin Ke could not contain his happiness due to the EXP gained.


    He was now Level 7 and had 450 EXP Points. All he needed was 50 EXP Points to reach Level 8.


    The Daily EXP given from the Level 3 Elemental Tower was 150 EXP Points, which was 3 times more than a Level 1 Elemental Tower. Lin Ke thought that it would keep doubling, and he would be able to obtain 200 EXP Points from it. However, it was obvious that it was just a double increment from when it was Level 1.


    As Lin Ke understood the amount of EXP he gained daily, he was clear how much EXP Points he needed in order to level up.


    He only needed 500 EXP Points to level up from 7 to 8. Meanwhile, it did not take much time to increase the Heroes¡¯ Level to 10. It was very possible that there was only a 50 EXP Points increment per level before Level 10.


    In other words, Lin Ke only required 1,200 EXP Points to reach Level 10.


    With his current earning rate of EXP Points of 830, if he were to put in the effort to build more Facilities, perhaps he would reach Level 10 by tomorrow?


    Lin Ke pondered as he calculated the possibilities. Soon, he shook his head as it looked rather difficult and would decide later on.


    The key problem was whether the Facilities had enough time to finish building.


    Despite him needing only 370 EXP Points, he would need to build 18 Dormitories and Elemental Pond. He would need to spend more time leveling them up. It would be difficult to reach his desired result.


    Lin Ke decided that he would continue building Facilities at the current rate and level up the day after tomorrow.


    After all, it was just an additional day.


    Lin Ke could feel the effects of reaching Level 7. The increment in strength was rather small and this was probably because of many factors involved.


    Lin Ke would be able to build a Level 4 Elemental Tower when he reached Level 10. He believed that his change would be more obvious then.


    He would be able to build more Facilities and his strength would increase as well.


    Lin Ke then made the decision to build those Facilities required that day.


    Since he now had plenty of money and Resources, he could build any buildings he wanted and there was no need to be thrifty at all.


    Lin Ke recalled the 70-Days Daily Login as he was thinking of Resources and money.


    He was now able to obtain the sixth day¡¯s reward, which was the Summoning Cards, Resources, and Silver. Hence, Lin Ke decided to obtain them first.


    ¡°20 Summoning Cards¡­¡± Lin Ke looked at his Inventory. He now had 20 Summoning Cards, but he had no High-level Summoning Card.


    ¡°I guess I¡¯ll summon them later. Let¡¯s see if I can obtain a few more partners.¡±


    The quality of Heroes obtained from the Basic Alter was low and Lin Ke was not really interested at all.


    However, it was always a good thing to have more Heroes. He did not need to rush at all as the result would be the same if he did it later.


    The Daily Login¡¯s rewards were pretty normal. There were not many Resources and only 10,000 Silver.


    What was important was the Server Opening Event.


    Lin Ke opened the Server Opening Event and obtained the first reward for the fifth day.


    Lin Ke did not feel anything when obtaining 50,000 Silver and ten Large Resource Crates. What he had his eyes on was the last reward.


    This was the real reward for being number one.


    Special Facilities¡¯ blueprint!


    Furthermore, it was bound to the Fortress and Lin Ke would certainly obtain a Special Facility from the Elemental Tower. Obviously, this would make anyone excited and curious about what it could be.


    As he used the blueprint, a System Notification swiftly appeared before him.


    [Congratulations! You¡¯ve obtained a Special Facility ¨C Altar!]


    ¡­

 Chapter 53

    Special Facility? Altar?


    Lin Ke raised his brows curiously. Was this the Elemental Tower¡¯s Special Facility?


    He felt like it was not it. The Elemental Tower should be related to elements. Why would there be an Altar?


    Ultimately, it felt like it was linked to some sort of Devil Fortress.


    Lin Ke stood up quietly. The Altar was something that was already finished building and did not require Players to build it. Hence, he could immediately head over to look at the Altar and inspect its function.


    However, Alice arrived along with his breakfast before he was able to leave the Dormitory.


    Lin Ke resisted the urge as it was more important to fill up his stomach first.


    The Altar would just be there. It was not like it was going to disappear.


    The breakfast consisted of a scone that was completely filled with minced meat. It also dripped with some sauce that nobody knew where she had gotten it from. What a pity, Lin Ke was very worried about the taste as he could see some mixture of fruits inside as well.


    ¡°This was the breakfast made by Dra this morning. I¡¯ve warmed it up a little bit.¡± Alice smiled gently as she had a wooden tray in her hands with many scones and minced meat on top of it.


    Lin Ke had briefly taught Dra how to make food and yet, she was able to come up with something presentable.


    Lin Ke¡¯s eyes widened the instant he took a bite.


    It was incredibly delicious!


    The taste had reached the very limit!


    After Lin Ke took the first bite of this unappealing food, he swiftly finished everything that was in his hand.


    The sauce carried a hint of sour and hotness, turning the scones into incredibly delicious food.


    Lin Ke ate three at one go and his stomach even bloated up. He reluctantly placed down the fourth scone as he could no longer stuff another one in.


    ¡°Okay, I really can¡¯t take another.¡±


    Lin Ke realized he had to stop and waved his hands at Alice.


    Only then did Alice pick up a scone for herself. She had been standing to the side while Lin Ke was eating.


    ¡°Why are you waiting?¡± Lin Ke felt an itch on his nose as he saw Alice¡¯s actions. He raised up his hand and scratched it while telling her awkwardly, ¡°You don¡¯t have to wait for me to finish before you start eating. You can eat together with me and the same goes for everyone else.¡±


    Lin Ke was referring to Dra and the rest. They always ate together with Lin Ke instead of waiting for him to finish his food before they began their meals.


    ¡°It¡¯s the role of a housemaid to wait for her Lord to finish eating,¡± Alice said in a serious tone before swiftly finishing the scones in her hand. Then, she cleaned up the plate before heading outside.


    Then, Lin Ke noticed that her originally conservative maid costume¡¯s skirt seemed to be missing. It was now a mini skirt.


    The bare skin between the white stockings and mini skirt was incredibly eye-catching[1]. Lin Ke could not help but take a second look. He soon realized it was improper and shifted back his gaze. It was then that he was tempted to ask out of curiosity, ¡°Where¡¯s your skirt? What happened?¡±


    However, Alice was already out of his sight before he was able to pop the question. The short duration of surprise made Lin Ke ponder for a while.


    ¡°Nevermind, I feel like there¡¯s something I haven¡¯t been told.¡±


    Lin Ke sighed. He got up and started heading towards the Altar.


    However, when he arrived at the Altar, he found out that the Facility was actually called the Elemental Furnace!


    ¡°¡­ Are you f*cking kidding me?¡±


    Lin Ke called upon the System Notification earlier and saw that the word Altar started twitching and soon changed into another word.


    Obviously, it had turned into the word Elemental Furnace.


    As if it had noticed Lin Ke¡¯s awareness, the transformation hastened its pace and the word Elemental Furnace appeared instantly before Lin Ke.


    ¡­


    Lin Ke was completely dumbfounded as he stared at the notification. He then shifted his gaze towards the facility as he was still at a loss for words. Perhaps he should just commit suicide.


    There were only a few possibilities for the change in names.


    Firstly, the System had made a mistake, stating the word Altar instead of Elemental Furnace right before him and self-corrected its mistake.


    Secondly, the reward was supposed to be the Altar. However, due to the Elemental Tower being there, it was turned into the Elemental Tower¡¯s Special Facility.


    Naturally, there was also the last possibility.


    That would be the System¡¯s error, assigning another Fortress¡¯s Facility to the Elemental Tower. Then, the Elemental Tower corrected it forcefully, turning the Altar into the Elemental Furnace.


    Regardless, what appeared before Lin Ke was the Elemental Furnace, not the Altar as stated by the System Notification.


    Lin Ke took note of this incident as it would be likely that he would obtain a new Special Facility. It would be best to take a closer look at it when the time came.


    As for what was in front of him, he entered to check it out. Just what could the Elemental Furnace¡¯s function be?


    Firstly, the Elemental Furnace¡¯s area was not big. The room did not require any space to be placed down.


    Lin Ke felt like hitting his head as he tried to inspect its Attributes.


    Since it was a Special Facility, it would not be providing any EXP Points!


    What the f*ck! Not only did it not provide any EXP Points, but it had even taken a slot as well! Lin Ke was extremely irritated as he saw this.


    He decided that if this Facility could not provide anything useful to him, nobody could blame him for destroying it and making space for other Facilities!


    It was not like Players were not able to destroy any Facilities. He would be wasting his time at best!


    After taking a closer look at the Elemental Furnace¡¯s introduction, Lin Ke¡¯s expression became weird as his eye kept twitching while staring at the furnace.


    ¡®What the f*ck! Is this a place for gambling?!¡¯


    The Elemental Furnace¡¯s function was simple. Players could temporarily place any unneeded Special Items and Special Resources such as Upgrade Stones, Divine Fruits, Forbidden Fruits, Elemental Cores, and even Silver into the Furnace to obtain a certain amount of Smelt Points.


    Players would be able to turn the wheel of fortune at the top of the furnace when they had accumulated 300 Smelt Points which had a total of twelve options. The players would obtain the reward that the arrow pointed at.


    Naturally, Lin Ke had the right to an advantage since it was a Facility.


    He could spin the wheel of fortune once per day every day.


    Naturally, he would have to pay the price if he wished to spin more.


    Lin Ke tried throwing an Upgrade Stone into it and he had obtained 20 Smelt Points. In other words, 15 Upgrade Stones would give him a try at spinning the wheel of fortune.


    It was the same for the Divine Fruit and Forbidden Fruit as they gave only 20 Smelt Points.


    10 Elemental Cores were equivalent to 1 Smelt Point. This meant that he would need 3000 Elemental Cores to spin the wheel of fortune once. Lin Ke shook his head as this was not worth doing so at all.


    He could only do so if he had so many Elemental Cores that he could not finish them.


    Silver¡¯s rate was even worse. 100,000 Silver could only be exchanged for 10 Smelt Points. Spinning it once would cost him 3,000,000 Silver. Lin Ke would rather convert the Divine Fruits into Silver if he could do so.


    Fortunately, confirmation was required before he exchanged them into Smelt Points. Had Lin Ke not been able to put away these items, this little experiment would have cost a fortune.


    After many trials, Lin Ke had finally found the best thing to place into the wheel of fortune.


    Diamonds.


    30 Diamonds could be exchanged for 300 Smelt Points, which was one spin.


    This was probably the most cost-effective item.


    ¡­


    [1] Lookup the term ¡®Zettai Ryoiki¡¯. The author is referring to it

 Chapter 54

    The Diamonds could not be deposited separately. Instead, it had to be spent in a bulk of 30 Diamonds to earn 300 Smelt Points and an opportunity to spin the wheel.


    Lin Ke looked at the more than 1000 Diamonds in his possession, he was tempted. However, he understood what the Diamonds were and decided to resist his curiosity.


    He was once crazily addicted to gambling. During his time in university, he would spend all of his food money on slot machines.


    Each semester, he would lose thousands to the slot machines. Once, he even lost his entire semester fees to it!


    Having bankrupted himself, Lin Ke was frightened. He locked himself in his bedroom and could not muster the courage to meet anyone.


    However, it was also from that incident that Lin Ke learned his lesson. Although he still had not completely cured his gambling addiction, he was at least aware now that the slot machines were rigged each time he saw one.


    After that, he borrowed some money from his friends and worked on a job while he studied until he cleared his debts. He had never touched any slot machines since then.


    At most, he would only consume free Resources within games, playing minigames like wheel of fortune.


    After all, it did not require real money. If he had lost all his in-game currency, he only needed to switch to another game.


    However, when the wheel of fortune had manifested in reality, Lin Ke withheld his temptations. Considering that there was a free trial available, he hesitantly gave it his first try.


    The rewards in the wheel were so attractive that Lin Ke nearly lost his self-control.


    There were common items such as Silver, Wood, and Stone. However, they came in large quantities. If Lin Ke was to strike these prizes a few times in the early stage, Resources would not be much of a problem anymore.


    There were a few options for the Silver rewards. The lowest of it was 50,000 Silver, then came 500,000 Silver until the highest at 2,000,000 Silver. Looking at it, it seemed that the 2,000,000 Silver reward was difficult to obtain.


    Furthermore, there were also Divine Fruits, Forbidden Fruits, and a new item called Skill Lock ¨C Lin Ke was not completely sure of what it was. It could perhaps be used to lock down a certain Skill or maybe unlock new skills in the future.


    He had never seen it in the Market ¨C it may have appeared in periods of peak sales, but Lin Ke just had not noticed it.


    After all, Lin Ke did not have any Diamonds with him during those periods. He would rarely open the Market to indulge himself.


    Lin Ke browsed the Market carefully and made sure he did not miss the item. From what it looked like, the item was difficult to obtain through the common platforms.


    These items that were difficult to obtain using Diamonds were categorized by Lin Ke as mid-tier items in the wheel.


    Then, there were items like the Mount Pellets and Wing Pellets, these could be purchased from the Market for a price of 30 Diamonds. It was equal to the number of Diamonds used to spin the wheel. Winning these prizes would not be considered a loss!


    However, whether or not Lin Ke actually needed these items was another question.


    In the end, these prizes still could not convince Lin Ke. They were mostly common items that could easily be purchased with money.


    Then, there were 3 shocking premium items.


    3 Red Grade Soul Shards.


    5 Dark-gold Grade Soul Shards.


    And a grand prize of 5000 Diamonds!


    The reason why there were no Heroes specified for these Soul Shards was that these Soul Shards were not limited to any specific Heroes.


    These were universal Soul Shards that could be used for any Heroes!


    Dark-gold Grade Soul Shards could replace the Soul Shards for any Heroes who were Dark-gold Grade or below, whereas naturally, Red Grade Soul Shards could replace the Soul Shards for a Red Grade Hero.


    However, Dark-gold Grade Soul Shards could not replace the Soul Shards of a Red Grade Hero.


    Hence, they were distinguished by their color grade and also their quantities.


    If Lin Ke could win 200 Red Grade Soul Shards from the wheel, he could then summon any Legendary Hero that he needed.


    However, it was obvious that such a likelihood was pitifully small. He had played similar games like this one and understood just how low his chance was.


    In regards to the prize of 5000 Diamonds, Lin Ke thought that he would be better off just not thinking about it.


    Lin Ke used the one free pass he was given at attempting the wheel.


    Following the rapid spin of the wheel, it was not long before the pointer gradually stopped. It pointed directly at the Divine Fruit!


    A Divine Fruit was added into Lin Ke¡¯s possession. This item was used to level up Heroes. However, Lin Ke had no way of doing so for now. He either needed to wait until his level reached Level 10 or for the Elemental Tower to reach Level 4.


    It was only then that the Heroes could be leveled up. Otherwise, their levels would always be capped at Level 9 100%.


    The Altar¡­ No, the Elemental Furnace¡¯s effect was just that. Lin Ke was mildly disappointed and decided to leave.


    As Lin Ke still had ample building units, he did not intend to remove this Elemental Furnace. After all, it was still considered a Special Facility that offered him little surprises every day. He would leave it there first before he disassembled it when he had run out of space.


    After that, Lin Ke did not head towards the Arena. Instead, he took a turn and went to Bloodbath Hall.


    Ever since this building had been completed, Lin Ke had never had a chance to take a look at it. Today, the opportunity had finally arrived.


    After Lin Ke first saw the name of Bloodbath Hall, he had always felt it was not in sync with the entire Fortress. To have a Bloodbath Hall in the Elemental Tower was weird, to say the least.


    However, after the Altar had transformed into an Elemental Furnace, Lin Ke realized an important lesson. If there was a building, he should just use it. There was no need to care where the building came from.


    Bloodbath Hall was a great hall that lived up to its name.


    Lin Ke walked into the Bloodbath Hall and saw that it was a hall that had occupied a massive land area. In the center of the great hall was a huge golden chest.


    However, the golden chest was inaccessible unless Lin Ke had defeated the protectors of the ten small houses he passed by on his way to the hall.


    This building was one that required Lin Ke to break through several obstacles.


    Lin Ke searched for the introduction of the Bloodbath Hall and understood its functionality.


    Similar to the arena, the Bloodbath Hall also allowed him to project himself into battles.


    The place he was at was the first level. If he could defeat ten protector teams, it would then be considered that he had passed that level and be eligible for the golden chest in the hall.


    After defeating the first level, he would progress to the second level. The capabilities of the second level¡¯s protectors were higher. If Lin Ke failed that level halfway, he would then need to restart his progress from the first protector of the second level the next day.


    There were limited rewards from defeating the protectors. The best rewards were all found within the chests.


    Before Lin Ke passed a level, even if he had defeated some protectors within the level, his condition would not recover.


    In other words, if Lin Ke had sacrificed massively to defeat one protector, his condition would still remain unchanged when facing the next protector.


    Under such situations, players would need to constantly switch between their heroes to accommodate the scenario.


    Heroes could not respawn upon death and neither did Players ¨C with exceptions given to high-class VIP Players. Each time, 5 battle units could be sent into battle. Upon a Hero¡¯s death, the Hero could be switched out for another Hero. However, this was not the case for a Player¡¯s death. In such an event, a battle unit position would be lost and only 4 Heroes could remain in the battle against the protectors.

 Chapter 55

    Lin Ke opened his battle list and readied himself for the first battle of Bloodbath Hall.


    In the first protector¡¯s room was the protector himself and 7 NPC monsters. After a quick glance through, Lin Ke had decided his candidates for the battle.


    In reality, there were not many to choose from.


    Dra would defend on the frontline, in the middle were Alice and Avina as the damage dealers and at the back was Kara as the healer. The 4 female Heroes had a clear role to play, but Lin Ke was completely clueless when it came to his own position.


    With no Equipment Upgrades nor anything else noteworthy, Lin Ke had the lowest stat amongst all of them.


    His Rating was also the lowest and most common. Basically, it was likely he would be killed instantly once he entered the battlefield.


    However, if he could upgrade his equipment set to Level 30, naturally he would become much stronger ¨C but he would still fall short when compared to his Heroes.


    Hence, Lin Ke was not fully willing to upgrade his own Equipment.


    It was a waste of money and the effects were not even that good.


    Upon closer consideration, Lin Ke would still need to be involved in the battle, and upgrading his Equipment would not be such a bad idea. Besides, even if he was defeated in the battle, his Equipment could still be equipped by other Heroes to continue fighting.


    ¡°In that case, there should be at least 4 equipment sets that needed to be upgraded, the Resources needed for this must be scary.¡±


    Lin Ke smacked his lips and looked at the 900,000 plus Silver left. He knew that upgrading 2 more equipment sets would cost close to 600,000 Silver. He had very little idea of how much could be done with the remainings.


    One of the requirements for upgrading the Elemental Tower to Level 4 was 100,000 Silver.


    Furthermore, it merely took 5,000 Silver to upgrade the tower to Level 3, it was a far cry from the 100,000 Silver required for Level 4. It was probably because the newcomer¡¯s period was over, Lin Ke could no longer benefit from its discount.


    Perhaps other Facilities would demand such a dramatic increase in Silver too when upgrading from Level 3 to Level 4.


    Lin Ke remembered that one of his Dormitories had been upgraded to Level 3. He could check it out later to see whether it takes a terrifying amount of Silver to reach Level 4.


    However, returning to the topic, Lin Ke now felt that he was better off upgrading his Equipment. After all, 30 levels worth of upgrades were sure to grant decent defensive abilities to Lin Ke, albeit him realizing that there would not be many accidents as long as he was hidden within the Elemental Tower.


    ¡°And so it is done.¡± If Lin Ke could withstand the previous Tough Shield Warrior training, he could naturally withstand the pain of spending close to 300,000 Silver!


    Having upgraded his Equipment, Lin Ke felt an unending stream of energy glowing from within his body.


    This was not a hallucination. The Equipment of Fortress was Soul Equipment. After upgrading it, one could clearly feel the difference and the enhancement of their strengths.


    ¡°Hmm, this should be enough.¡±


    Lin Ke hesitated when it came to Avina¡¯s Equipment, he thought, ¡®She¡¯s also one of our main damage dealers. Won¡¯t it be bad if I don¡¯t upgrade her Equipment too?¡¯


    Lin Ke looked at his remaining Silver, there was still more than 600,000 Silver left.


    ¡°Ugh, this isn¡¯t even enough for me.¡± Lin Ke sighed. In the end, he still leveled Avina¡¯s Equipment up to Level 30.


    In for a penny, in for a pound, he proceeded to also upgrade Stardust¡¯s Child Kara¡¯s Equipment to Level 30!


    Within a team, a healer must not be the source of weakness.


    If the healer was instantly killed, there would be nothing else one could do!


    Lin Ke let out a sigh of relief and pushed around the Stats Interfaces of his female Heroes. All their Equipment had reached Level 30. Lin Ke was pleased with the sight of it.


    Having increased their capabilities by this much, they would probably have an easier time out there.


    In the midst of that thought, Lin Ke was stunned, ¡®Not good. I forgot about something. What if they were in an important battle while I was upgrading their Equipment?¡¯


    Lin Ke instantly regretted his decision. It would be horrible if something went wrong in the process.


    He knew that Avina and the rest were outside but still decided to proceed with the upgrades before their return.


    ¡®I hope it won¡¯t be too bad.¡¯ Lin Ke prayed. It was unlikely that any battles would take place in the morning. Besides, Dra was the main source of combat power in that group whereas Avina and the rest belonged to the rearguard. Judging from their capabilities, it would at most delay their time a little before they would soon recover their conditions.


    ¡°Damn it, if only there¡¯s a way to contact them.¡±


    Lin Ke clenched his jaw tightly. He had completely no way of garnering any information about their situations. They were also far from the perimeter of the Elemental Tower, Lin Ke was unable to see them.


    Lin Ke briefly took a deep breath to calm himself. He touched Avina¡¯s image in her Stats Interface and thought, ¡®Oh Avina, are you alright there?¡¯


    ¡°My Lord?¡± Suddenly, a question sounded. Lin Ke was stunned to hear that it was a familiar voice.


    ¡°Avina? Is that you?¡±


    Lin Ke asked loudly, but he was greeted back with silence.


    What happened there? Lin Ke frowned and thought carefully. How did he hear Avina¡¯s voice?


    He looked at his own finger and slowly touched Avina¡¯s image in her Stats Interface, he called out, ¡°Avina?¡±


    ¡°My Lord! Is there anything I can do?¡±


    Avina¡¯s voice rang across his ears once again.


    Lin Ke withdrew his finger and asked, ¡°Where are you?¡±


    There was no reply. There was only silence in his surroundings, all that remained was the echoes of his own voice.


    Lin Ke continued pressing Avina¡¯s image and waited for a few seconds. Avina¡¯s voice resurfaced again, ¡°My Lord? Do you need us to return?¡±


    There was a missing gap in her answer. Lin Ke understood what was going on. It was probably Avina¡¯s second time asking whether she needed to return. The first time she asked was also probably the time when Lin Ke withdrew his finger.


    ¡°Yes, come back. There¡¯s a matter that requires all of you.¡± Lin Ke continued pressing Avina¡¯s image.


    It was soon enough that he had gotten a reply from Avina, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll tell the rest. We¡¯ll return together.¡±


    ¡°Be careful!¡± Lin Ke advised. Having gotten a response from her, Lin Ke moved his finger away. He was no longer pressing Avina¡¯s image.


    There had been no sounds since then.


    Lin Ke looked at the Stats Interfaces before his eyes. After some consideration, he navigated to Dra¡¯s page and pressed her image.


    ¡°Dra!¡±


    ¡°Lord?¡± Dra¡¯s voice sounded like she was panicking, but she soon steadied herself. ¡°My Lord, is there anything you need me to do?¡±


    Why was Dra so nervous? Lin Ke soon knew what the answer was.


    ¡°Dra, I miss the fish soup you made last time and would love to taste it again in the afternoon. Can you catch some fish on your way back later?¡±


    Lin Ke smiled and asked. When Dra had heard his request, she excitedly exclaimed, ¡°Sure! I¡¯ll bring to you the freshest and most delicious fish soup I can make!¡±


    Lin Ke laughed and bidded farewell, but his finger had still not left Dra¡¯s image.


    It was a while before Dra asked with hesitation, ¡°My Lord, is there anything else you would like to instruct me to do?¡±


    ¡°I just want to say that if a person made a mistake but with good intentions,and if that person has understood their mistakes and resolved it, we shouldn¡¯t blame that person. Instead, we should forgive them. Don¡¯t you think so?¡± Lin Ke smiled and explained, ¡°Also, be careful on the road!¡±


    As he finished, he removed his finger from Dra¡¯s image.

 Chapter 56

    Lin Ke saw that he had only more than 100,000 silvers remaining in his inventory and let out a huge sigh.


    He felt that he might be too impulsive with his decisions.


    Lin Ke had relentlessly upgraded 3 equipment sets to Level 30, whereas the Equipment Chain function brought by the Research Center was only Level 1, the stats bonus was only granted to 10 levels for each of the equipment sets.


    He felt that upgrading the remaining 20 levels of the equipment sets was not a wise decision, and thought that he might as well upgrade the Research Center too. That way, he could continue researching technologies for high-level Equipment Chains, granting the team even more stats bonuses.


    However, Lin Ke remembered what he came here for; to test the waters in Bloodbath Hall.


    ¡°Now that I have enough Equipment upgrades, naturally I would stand¡­¡± Lin Ke looked at the battle formation in front of him and placed himself in the last line.


    Was this not obvious? He was just an Average Rating weak ****, would it be meaningful to have him fight monsters in the frontline?


    He might as well focus on dealing damage from the back. This way, he could contribute more to the team.


    One must know, as the main player, one would use up a full battle slot once one dies!


    Lin Ke did not think that he could be a useful defense for the others if he stood in the frontline. If Dra could not even withstand the enemy¡¯s attack, he would have been long gone.


    This battle was no different than that of the arena.


    The protector stood in front with a bunch of NPCs, and Lin Ke defeated them with great ease.


    He was still relying on Alice¡¯s overpowering ability to multiply her rage which allowed her to instantly attack the entire group with her Skill, killing them all in the process.


    This was not surprising at all. In fact, Lin Ke had anticipated this for the first level.


    The reason was simple. Games like this would not immediately allow players access into areas with high difficulties, it was still a browser game after all. The early stages were always easy, then the difficulty would slowly increase. This way, players would be forced to top up and strengthen themselves to defeat more enemies.


    ¡°No matter how many times I look at it, Alice¡¯s Skill is always so strong.¡±


    Lin Ke was still impressed as he saw his team march forward under Alice¡¯s Skill.


    After defeating the protector, Lin Ke earned a few tens worth of Bloodbath Souls. It was a form of currency that was used to purchase items in a shop nearby called Bloodbath Market.


    However, Lin Ke did not check it out. Everything inside would surely require that currency, and Lin Ke did not have much of it. He would definitely not be able to purchase valuable items.


    He would be better off just continuing the battle. It would be a better idea to survey the shop once he had accumulated more Bloodbath Souls.


    It was a smooth sail for Lin Ke. Alice¡¯s Skill was close to wiping out all monsters instantly in almost every round of the first level.


    She did not manage to pull it off in all rounds only because the protector of the tenth round still managed to survive with half health after Alice had used her Skill to wipe off all nearby monsters.


    Even then, the protector was finished off with ease by one shot of Avina¡¯s arrow, granting Lin Ke the completion of the first level.


    The defeat of the protectors had earned Lin Ke 200 Bloodbath Souls. Although Lin Ke did not know the objective value of this currency, this amount of Bloodbath Souls would be considered a decent amount according to the game¡¯s rules.


    After all, Lin Ke could no longer repeat the first level after he had completed it. The Bloodbath Souls were definitely a valuable currency.


    Carrying 200 Bloodbath Souls with him, Lin Ke excitedly opened the golden chest at the center of the great hall. Bright lights erupted from within and a generous amount of rewards instantly entered his inventory.


    Although it looked like a huge amount of rewards, it was actually just for visual effect.


    Lin Ke looked at the final amount of the rewards, there were 50 diamonds and 500 Bloodbath Souls.


    This was the final reward given by the first level of Bloodbath Hall.


    Lin Ke was satisfied. The chest had rewarded more than twice the amount of Bloodbath Souls he looted from the protectors, totaling the amount of Bloodbath Souls to 700.


    There was also the other reward of 50 diamonds.


    This was merely the first level. When he completes more levels in the future, the reward would probably even multiply.


    Facing the protectors of the next level, Lin Ke had no intention of continuing the battle.


    He knew that just because his first level was simple, he would not necessarily have a similar experience with the second level. He intended to consult Dra and the rest once they had returned on whether he should strengthen the team further ¨C for instance, by purchasing runes from the Enchantment Hall or by purchasing Essence for upgrades using prestige points in the arena.


    However, before that happened, Lin Ke could not suppress his temptation any longer. He opened the shop in the Bloodbath Hall to find out what was on sale there.¡±


    ¡°My God!¡±


    Lin Ke was immediately stunned. What were all those dazzling items?


    There were heroes¡¯ Soul Shards everywhere!


    From white grade, average rating heroes to dark-gold grade heroes, their Soul Shards could all be purchased using Bloodbath Souls!


    However, upon closer inspection, Lin Ke realized that not all heroes had Soul Shards that could be purchased via Bloodbath Souls.


    There were only limited options for heroes within each grade.


    As such, although Lin Ke saw the Soul Shards for Avina, neither Lucy nor Kara¡¯s Soul Shards could be found. Obviously, there were many heroes that were unavailable for purchase in this shop.


    Regardless, this was still a remarkable thing!


    In the Bloodbath Shop, each white grade Soul Shard of an average rating hero cost 10 Bloodbath Souls.


    Whereas it would take 20 Soul Shards to fuse into a white grade hero, a feat that could be accomplished with 200 Bloodbath Souls.


    Soul Shards for green grade heroes cost 20 Bloodbath Souls each, which meant 600 Bloodbath Souls were needed to summon one.


    Blue grade heroes¡¯ Soul Shards cost 30 Bloodbath Souls each, 1200 Bloodbath Souls would then be needed to summon a blue grade hero.


    Following after, the price for Soul Shards of purple grade heroes increased exponentially, 60 Bloodbath Souls were needed for each Soul Shards, bringing the cost to summon a purple grade hero to 3600 Bloodbath Souls.


    100 Bloodbath Souls were required for a Soul Shard of gold grade hero and 200 for that of a dark-gold grade hero. Judging from the Soul Shards needed to summon them, it would not take long to realize that the Bloodbath Souls required to summon one were staggering.


    To fuse the Soul Shards into a dark-gold grade hero like Alice and Dra, calculating from the 120 Soul Shards needed, it would require a grand total of 24,000 Bloodbath Souls, a far cry from the 700 Bloodbath Souls in Lin Ke¡¯s possession right now!


    However, Lin Ke did not need to think too much into it. Other than Bloodbath Souls, Lin Ke needed to fulfill other conditions in order to be eligible to purchase Soul Shards for blue grade heroes.


    He could only conduct the exchange after passing the third level.


    Similar conditions were imposed for heroes with higher grades. As long as Lin Ke did not achieve these conditions, he would not be able to obtain his desired hero even if he had a million Bloodbath Souls.


    There were no conditions imposed on the purchase of white grade and green grade Soul Shards, but obviously, Lin Ke was uninterested in them.


    Of course, he already had 2 dark-gold grade heroes, some gold grade, and purple grade heroes. Even his lowest grade hero, Lucy, was a blue grade hero. How would he be interested in white grade and green grade Soul Shards?


    It could still be acceptable if Lin Ke could summon these heroes in completion. However, the point was that Lin Ke would not spend any of the Bloodbath Souls in purchasing these white grade and green grade Soul Shards. In fact, he would not spend them on blue grade, purple grade, and golden grade Soul Shards either. He would channel all his efforts into saving this currency to only exchange for a dark-gold grade hero in the future!

 Chapter 57

    Bloodbath Hall was a great place. However, its usefulness was limited in the early stage.


    To put it another way, it was not that the Bloodbath Hall was useless in the early stage, but that it was Lin Ke who had a long term plan where the Bloodbath Hall did not play a huge role in the early stage.


    After all, according to how the Bloodbath Hall worked, the number of Bloodbath Souls were limited. Once Lin Ke cleared a level, he would have no choice but to load the next level as he could not repeat the same level anymore.


    If he were to insist on continuing the battle but fail to win the first few rounds, it would be unprofitable.


    In the Bloodbath Hall, players had to have a great understanding of their own combat abilities and prepare sufficiently for the next level. Otherwise, the Bloodbath Souls reward would not be as lucrative as before.


    Lin Ke did not need to worry much about the difficulties in Level 2. He fought two more rounds after closing the Bloodbath Shop. Although the enemies¡¯ capabilities had increased decently, Lin Ke could still dominate with ease by his team¡¯s effort.


    As Lin Ke estimated the growth rate of the protector¡¯s power, he predicted that the enemies of this level would not be strong enough to defeat his team.


    However, the last protector of this level would have mighty capabilities, perhaps enough to pose a threat to them ¨C this meant that he would not survive for long in the next level, as the enemies of that level would be many times stronger than this.


    Lin Ke did not continue his offense as he could finish off the remaining protectors anytime. He was not impatient.


    After all, he was merely here to take a look. He still had other matters to attend to.


    ¡°The defensive facilities can probably be categorized into buildings in progress, at least the utility facilities are ready now.¡±


    Lin Ke did not stop thinking about his next decision and arrived in an empty room. Lin Ke smacked his head and said, ¡°Ah, I almost forgot that I still need to look at the requirements to upgrade the dormitories to Level 4.¡±


    Standing in front of the Level 3 dormitories rooms, Lin Ke realized that there was no one in, and was surprised. It was not uncommon for Dra and Avina to head out, but did Lucy join them too?


    To upgrade a Level 3 dormitory to Level 4, the requirements were simple.


    A Level 4 Elemental Tower must be present. Resources to be spent were 50,000 silvers and thousands worth of wood and stones.


    Indeed, now that the newcomer¡¯s phase was over, even a building like a dormitory would now require the consumption of all these resources.


    Before this, it merely required a thousand or two worth of silver.


    ¡°Wow, this is so expensive.¡± Lin Ke took a deep breath. He would be Level 10 and the Elemental Tower would be upgraded to Level 4 by the next day. Then, the upgrades for all the remaining buildings would be placed on top of his schedule too.


    Upgrading the Level 3 Elemental Tower to Level 4 was a huge leap, the resources required had drastically increased. This was not good news.


    Besides, Lin Ke was also unsure whether low-level buildings would lose their newcomer¡¯s benefit once the Elemental Tower gets upgraded to Level 4. In that case, even a Level 1 dormitory would require up to ten thousand silvers to construct.


    ¡°This is the most terrifying news.¡± Lin Ke looked at the remaining silver. There were a little more than 100,000 silvers left. He took a deep sigh.


    He did not regret using close to a million silvers to upgrade the equipment sets. Now, he only needed to consider one issue ¨C his next place of earning more silver.


    For now, he still did not need to worry much over it. He still had not claimed his reward from the sixth-day server opening event.


    The event for the sixth day was [King of the Heroes], the rewards for it were obviously going to be lucrative.


    The event was a competition of comparing heroes¡¯ quantities amongst the players.


    As there was no one else competing with Lin Ke, he did not need to do anything to be eligible for the first place¡¯s reward.


    There were three groups of items in the first place¡¯s reward.


    The first was silver. It was no longer the 500,000 amount of silvers earned a few days ago. Instead, the amount had increased to 1,000,000 silvers.


    It was because of this reward that Lin Ke did not worry about his current consumption rate of silvers. It was a reserve he could fall back on.


    Besides, there was also another event the day after that would probably reward a generous amount of silver as well.


    The second was a piece of Level 6 multicolored Treasure Stone. For now, Lin Ke had no way of using it.


    Finally, the third was a treasure chest.


    A Hero Treasure Chest!


    It was different from the arena¡¯s treasure chest that could only award a hero¡¯s Soul Shards. This treasure chest was capable of awarding a complete hero.


    Red Grade Hero Treasure Chest: Unlock any legendary rating red grade hero!


    This would be a Seven Star hero that surpasses Six Star heroes like Dra and Alice. It would be the strongest hero Lin Ke ever owned!


    Although Lin Ke was excited as it signaled the arrival of a red grade hero, he was not too happy.


    It was because he had immediately realized an underlying problem ¨C the hero had arrived too easily. He was bothered by the lack of that hero¡¯s Soul Shard.


    Of course, it was a joyous occasion to summon a complete hero from their Hero Card.


    However, what if Lin Ke also had the Soul Shards of that hero?


    In Lin Ke¡¯s hero pool, there was one Avina¡¯s Soul Shard. This was rewarded when he was summoning Alice, long after Avina herself was summoned.


    At that time, Lin Ke was overwhelmed by the excitement of summoning a dark-gold grade hero, he did not mind thinking too much about the Soul Shard he had obtained.


    However, now that he looked at the reward, he had a realization ¨C it could only mean one thing if the Soul Shard of a hero still appeared after the hero was summoned.


    These Soul Shards did not instantly become useless after the hero was summoned. In fact, they still played a huge role!


    In the future, it was very likely that the player would need these Soul Shards to upgrade the relevant hero.


    Although Lin Ke was happy that he would have a red grade hero soon, where would Lin Ke find its Soul Shards when he needed to level up the hero in the future?


    Lin Ke filtered through his thoughts, he could only think of the arena that only had 3 specific red grade hero¡¯s Soul Shards for sale.


    ¡°No¡­ there¡¯s another place!¡±


    Lin Ke suddenly raised his head and remembered that there was still one place where he could obtain the red grade Soul Shards he needed.


    The altar¡­ No, the Elemental Furnace!


    There were universal Soul Shards on the wheel above the Elemental Furnace!


    Although there were only 3 Soul Shards per spin, it could be Lin Ke¡¯s only way of upgrading the red grade hero if he managed to win it a few times.


    However, if that was his approach, how many diamonds would be spent before he would have enough?


    Lin Ke looked at the more than 1,000 diamonds in his inventory. Should he try it?


    Soon enough, he shook his head and gave up on that thought. It was possible that he would not get the 3 red grade Soul Shards even after spending all his diamonds.


    Hence, there had to be other ways of obtaining red grade Soul Shards.


    He had to rely on his own patience to keep searching for it.


    Lin Ke did not need to thoroughly consider this matter for now. He was delighted by the fact that he would soon have his own legendary rating hero.

 Chapter 58

    In Lin Ke¡¯s opinion, the grand prize of the sixth-day server opening event was lucrative enough, but he could still earn more rewards from it.


    In this event, the first place¡¯s reward was the most attractive, and the second place rewarded items that were quite decent too. However, the grade of the hero rewarded in the third place was immediately downgraded to gold grade, a significant difference from the former two places.


    Rewards for players in the 4th till 10th place were even more pitiful. There were no heroes awarded in exchange for a few dozen pieces of universal Soul Shards ¨C merely gold grade ones.


    After that, there were no more rewards for rankings. Only the top 10 ranked players were fortunate enough to be rewarded for their ranks.


    This did not mean that other players could not benefit at all from the event.


    In addition, there was still a special reward that could be obtained as long as a certain milestone was achieved.


    Lin Ke looked at the special reward and saw that the milestone was fairly simple: obtain 10 heroes.


    This was not difficult. Lin Ke counted Alice, Dra, Avina, Lucy, and Kara and concluded that he already had half of what was needed.


    He still had 20 Summoning Cards, albeit they were only Summoning Cards from the Basic Altar. However, this would produce the arrival of at least 2 heroes.


    If Lin Ke was lucky, perhaps there would even be 3 or 4 heroes.


    Most important of all, now that Lin Ke had visited the Bloodbath Shop, he had a new plan.


    He could spend Bloodbath Souls in that shop to purchase a new hero, reaching a grand total of 10 heroes in his possession.


    The lowest grade hero would only require 200 Bloodbath Souls to purchase.


    Lin Ke let out a soft sigh. This reward was supposed to be an effortless one to earn. For any normal player, they only needed to mess around and would have more than 10 heroes by their side on Day 6. They could earn heroes from simply leveling up and completing quests.


    Unlike himself, Lin Ke could only rely on Summoning Cards to summon new heroes.


    He did not mind his initial decision to save up on Bloodbath Souls anymore.


    After all, Lin Ke could still earn this currency later on. Right now, what mattered was that he could not forgo the rewards for completing this milestone.


    There were three rewards for owning 10 heroes, which was one gold color EXP scroll, 20 divine fruits, and a high-level Summoning Treasure Chest.


    Whether it was the divine fruits or the EXP scroll, they were useful items for Lin Ke to have. The Treasure Chest was no different, Lin Ke could not withhold his temptation.


    450 diamonds could be used to open the high-level Summoning Treasure Chest and retrieve 3 high-level Summoning Cards from within.


    This was a way of selling high-level Summoning Cards cheap to the players. Originally priced at 300 diamonds per high-level Summoning Cards, players could now obtain it for 150 diamonds.


    There was no reason why Lin Ke would reject such a cheap offer.


    Besides, once the 10 heroes¡¯ milestones had been achieved, there were still many other goals for players to aim for. Once these were completed too, would there be even more rewards?


    The first milestone tested the players on the quantities of their heroes, would the milestones later on test their qualities instead?


    Lin Ke was unsure of this, but he decided that he must earn this reward and look at what else that could be offered.


    Once the decision had been made, Lin Ke committed himself to the matter.


    Of course, by that, it only meant that he went to build another 2 units of dormitories.


    After all, once he had achieved that milestone, the number of heroes he had would increase to more than 10 heroes. There was a lack of dormitories around now, hence Lin Ke needed to build more.


    Lin Ke would try his best to build as much as possible at that moment. He would like to fill up all the remaining building units by the next day or the day after.


    The defensive facilities were once again ignored by Lin Ke.


    On another note, why had Dra and the rest not return yet?


    **************


    Under the dense canopy of the forest, a few dark figures dashed across in the blink of an eye, leaving a trail of werewolves corpses in their path. The earth beneath was dyed red by their blood.


    A few cautious beasts laid low and monitored from afar, attempting to approach the trail.


    The werewolves, who were once kings of the forest, would soon become a scrumptious meal to feast on!


    The dark figures stopped at a distance. In front of all those figures was none other than Dra, who had just made contact with Lin Ke.


    Behind her, Avina, Lucy, and Kara were seen soon after as well. They were mildly exhausted trying to keep up with Dra.


    ¡°Most of the werewolves were already cleared within a certain radius.¡±


    Dra inspected her surroundings. ¡°However, I¡¯m worried that a few of the tough ones had escaped. There were only the sick and old ones in their nest. It was as though they were purposely left there for us to kill.¡±


    Lucy shook her head and said, ¡°I don¡¯t think they left them there for us. It¡¯s probably for the people of Feathered Hawk Knight Squad. What are we to the werewolves? We¡¯re just a tougher bone to chew on. They wouldn¡¯t leave their clansman for us to kill.¡±


    ¡°Besides, they¡¯re Vengeful Werewolves. A species that seeks revenge for the smallest of grievances wouldn¡¯t make such a decision.¡± Avina nodded and agreed with Lucy¡¯s assessment. From her perspective, only the Feathered Hawk Knight Squad could drive the werewolves to such measures.


    These few days, the Beastmen armies passed through this area and were followed by the Feathered Hawk Knight Squad. The werewolves must have gotten wind of the news and decided to move the strong and healthy ones away to preserve their vitality. Those left behind were the old and weak werewolves with the lowest combat power.


    After all, the werewolves were a populous species, it was impossible that they could preserve and protect everyone. Abandoning the weakest part of their group seemed to be a common and justifiable decision from their perspective.


    ¡°This is great. From Lord Lin Ke¡¯s perspective, a day not spent fighting the werewolves is a day that can be spent on upgrading our capabilities. Once we have strengthened combat powers and more sisters by our side, the werewolves would be no match even if they mobilized their entire nest.¡±


    Kara spoke softly at the side, ¡°Besides, the tower¡¯s defensive ability should be very powerful. We can suggest to Lord Lin Ke that he build more structures like the Arrow Tower, it¡¯ll be useful to our defensive ability in the future.¡±


    After walking a distance, Dra saw a river not far ahead. She turned around and instructed the rest, ¡°You all can return first. Lord Lin Ke wanted to have some fish soup, I need to catch some fish for this.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s no rush, Dra.¡± Avina smiled and said, ¡°We aren¡¯t rushing to anywhere, you can take your time catching fish. We could use some rest too.¡±


    Seeing as the top of the tower was now visible from a distance, Dra shrugged. ¡°Alright then, since you all are willing, just wait here for a moment.¡±


    Observing Dra quickly approaching the river, Lucy suddenly jumped in excitement and shouted, ¡°You can do it, Dra! Defeat that bastard, Alice, and take Lord Lin Ke back!¡±


    Dra lost her balance and nearly fell into the river. She turned around with her face flushing, and asked in shock, ¡°What are you talking about?!¡±


    ¡°You can do it! You can do it!¡± Lucy continued jumping and said. She was instantly dragged back by Kara, who laughed and waved to Dra.


    Dra could not stand it any longer. She dipped her hand into the river and went for it. Dra had already caught two fresh fish.

 Chapter 59

    Lin Ke strolled leisurely within the Tower. He felt like he was stuck in there for many days but never set foot outside ever since the Tower was completed.


    It was far too dangerous out there. Lin Ke could not put himself in that situation.


    ¡®The rich do not sit under the eaves[1],¡¯ Lin Ke was familiar with this adage.


    A single werewolf would have posed a huge threat to Lin Ke.


    ¡°I want to go out so badly!¡±


    Lin Ke circled around a few times out of boredom. He was able to restrain his temptation to head outside.


    Although his capability was considered decent now due to his level up and Equipment upgrades, he would still be unable to defend himself if he had met any enemies with levels akin to Dra¡¯s.


    Among the werewolves that roamed out there, such high-level werewolves were not scarce in number at all.


    So, he had better not get himself in trouble out there and stay obediently within the Elemental Tower!


    If he wanted to see what was out there, he could just see through the Tower Sight of the Elemental Tower. After all, even if he had gone out, he could only travel so far before he needed to return.


    Lin Ke sighed but did not end up exploring the outside world using the Tower Sight.


    He saw the same scenery countless times and could recall all of its details with his eyes closed, thus it was not meaningful to see it again.


    ¡°Alice!¡±


    Lin Ke called out. Although Alice had not shown herself since breakfast, Lin Ke believed she would definitely appear once he called for her.


    Indeed, within a few seconds, Lin Ke heard her gentle voice from behind. ¡°Master, do you need me to attend to a matter?¡±


    Lin Ke turned around and saw Alice standing on his right side. She was still charmingly wearing the same set of a housemaid uniform.


    ¡°Yes, just for a small thing.¡±


    He scratched his head as he struggled to find the right word to describe his request.


    Lin Ke wanted to tell Alice that he was too bored and to ask her if there was anything fun to play with.


    The others were out there battling for their collective future but Lin Ke was looking for games to play with.


    Would it be a good idea to make such a shameful request bluntly?


    Lin Ke was stuck for words.


    Alice was not boggled at all. She was fully engrossed in taking her next instruction and preparing herself to complete it immediately.


    However, she still had not received any instructions even after waiting for a while. Alice looked at Lin Ke puzzlingly and blinked.


    Lin Ke blinked too, and she blinked again.


    His eyes were¡­ sore now. He rubbed his eyes and sighed. Lin Ke switched the topic of conversation and asked, ¡°What¡¯ve you been doing throughout this period? Aren¡¯t you bored that you¡¯re always stuck in this Tower?¡±


    ¡°Not at all.¡± Alice smiled, she was still soft-spoken. ¡°I realized that your bed didn¡¯t even have any blankets on it. Fortunately, my skirt has multiple layers of materials, so I cut out a part of it and was making you a blanket, Master.¡±


    ¡°Err¡­¡± Lin Ke gestured. ¡°There¡¯s really no need for that, it¡¯s not even cold here.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a matter of decency.¡± Alice insisted. ¡°We can¡¯t behave like the beastmen who could just fall asleep on any rocks and logs. It¡¯s better if you have a bed and a blanket.¡±


    Lin Ke sighed, he did not persist on rejecting her gift.


    She had already torn a part of her clothes away, could it still be repaired though? It could probably be stitched back, but there was no point in doing that.


    Since Alice was willing to do so, so be it. Lin Ke soon stopped minding about it.


    He started to beat around the bush and asked, ¡°Alice, now that we don¡¯t have much to do in Tower, what do you like doing when you¡¯re bored?¡±


    Lin Ke leaned against the Tower wall and looked at Alice.


    ¡°I mostly don¡¯t feel too bored.¡± Alice looked down and contemplated for a moment, touching her lips with her fair-skinned finger. ¡°Usually, I would practice my combat abilities or conduct battle simulations in my mind. Time always flies when I¡¯m doing these.¡±


    ¡°Practice your combat abilities?¡± Lin Ke asked curiously, ¡°Why have I never seen you practicing before?¡±


    Alice grinned. ¡°Master, I¡¯m actually practicing right now.¡±


    She extended both her hands in front of Lin Ke. A beam of silver light immediately flashed across and appeared on Alice¡¯s palms.


    It was a small dagger. The dagger stopped for a brief moment before it vanished again.


    Alice flipped her hands around. The dagger was now seen on the back of her hands.


    The dagger vanished again and this time, reappeared on her palms. Its disappearance and reappearance kept repeating between Alice¡¯s palms and the back of her hands.


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Lin Ke asked shockingly. He stared for another few moments before he asked puzzlingly, ¡°Spatial shifting?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s spatial energy, an ability that I can control.¡± Alice smiled. She grabbed the dagger and suddenly flung it toward a wall nearby.


    A silver beam flashed across Lin Ke¡¯s eyes and it instantly erupted into multiple arrays of lights, as though a radiating silver flower had bloomed!


    ¡°Tok! Tok! Tok!¡± A series of hammering sounds reverberated from the wall as if there were tens of daggers simultaneously penetrating into its surface. Then the arrays of light disappeared. Lin Ke examined the wall and noticed that there were multiple crevices on the wall. At that time, the dagger had already reappeared within Alice¡¯s grasp.


    ¡°This is brilliant!¡± Lin Ke commended. He related this scene to the one he witnessed in the arena, where Alice¡¯s projection had used the same technique to defeat all the enemies.


    Obviously, in reality, Alice was not limited by the need to accumulate rage before she could unleash her skills. Instead, she could use it anytime to defeat her enemies.


    As Lin Ke just finished praising Alice, she brought back an old topic of the conversation, ¡°Master, did you ask me whether I was bored because you¡¯re trapped here with nothing to do? Then, through me, you thought you could find out if there¡¯s anything that you can do to kill time?¡±


    Lin Ke instantly blushed.


    He was exposed by Alice. Somehow, he felt that his hope of finding something fun was shattered.


    ¡°Looks like Master¡¯s really bored.¡± Alice smiled. There was no intention of ridiculing Lin Ke. Instead, with her scarlet-red cheeks, she winked at Lin Ke. ¡°Then, there¡¯s¡­ actually something fun in here.¡±


    Alice placed her finger on her collarbone and it gradually slid down from there, passing by her clothes buttons reaching her cleavage. It stopped there for a moment before it continued traveling down her body.


    Her finger gently moved through the surface of her clothes, leaving an outline in its path.


    It continued sliding down, passing by her belly and traveling even further below.


    Lin Ke was swallowing his saliva at this point.


    His mind traveled back in time to a scene he once watched on television.


    In there, a pretty woman had struck a seductive pose. ¡°Do you want to have dinner, or¡­ do you prefer to have me instead?¡±


    Have me? Have me? Have me?


    That was the only question echoing through Lin Ke¡¯s mind.


    Should he?


    [1] Chinese idiom that means being prudent

 Chapter 60

    Lin Ke was blushing throughout at this point. However, the story quickly took a drastic turn.


    Alice actually took out a toy for Lin Ke.


    It was a wooden bird. Its wings could be extended upon shaking both its claws beneath.


    Lin Ke sighed and received the toy bird from Alice. Although his mood turned blue, he felt a sense of relief.


    The kiddy toy was not useful to him. After all, he was not a caveman and could understand the mechanism of the toy. The lack of interest from Lin Ke was to be expected.


    Perhaps it could be used in times when he was really bored ¨C even though it looked embarrassing while he was playing with it. However, as Lin Ke shook the toy bird¡¯s claws several times, it actually started to fly.


    Although it could last only a few seconds in the air, Lin Ke felt that it was interesting.


    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡±


    Lin Ke did not expect that a hollow wooden toy bird could actually fly. There must be more to it that he did not know about.


    ¡°This is my investigation tool.¡± Alice retrieved the flying toy bird and hurled it gently. The toy bird instantly glided across the surrounding and disappeared outside the tower.


    Lin Ke immediately used the Tower Sight and observed that the flying toy bird dashed into the distance and vanished a few ten meters into the horizon.


    Leaving the Tower Sight, Lin Ke noticed that the wooden bird had returned to Alice¡¯s hands.


    ¡°What a delicate tool.¡± Lin Ke nodded. This was definitely no ordinary tool.


    Alice resolved Lin Ke¡¯s confusion. ¡°It¡¯s because I¡¯ve deposited a certain amount of my energy into it. When the wooden bird flies, I could use its sight to monitor any place. Once it flies past a certain distance, it¡¯ll automatically return to my hands, but it¡¯s best not to have it fly too much because it needs time to repair itself.¡±


    The bird would be damaged each time it flew. It was unclear whether the damage was caused by the energy Alice deposited or by the spatial teleportation.


    Lin Ke took a few looks at Alice and asked, ¡°You were actually seducing me before this, right? Since there¡¯s no need for all the suggestive actions if you were just trying to retrieve the wooden bird.¡±


    ¡°Of course!¡± Alice nodded and admitted.


    Lin Ke burst into a peal of laughter. He laughed so hard that he felt his heart was racing and that his belly was aching from it. With a hoarse voice, he asked further, ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid I¡¯ll eat you up?¡±


    ¡°That would be most welcoming.¡± Alice gently covered her face and smiled invitingly, ¡°A housemaid¡¯s duty is always to seduce her own Master.¡±


    He was stunned but quickly followed it up with another bout of laughter. He shook his head and declined her enticing invitation.


    ¡°That¡¯s enough, we should attend to our own matters.¡±


    Lin Ke gestured her away. Alice was visually reluctant to leave but still chose to obey his instructions. However, just before she left, she looked out the main gate and saw a few figures emerging from the distance.


    Dra held the fish in her hands while rushing into the depths of the Tower. She immediately bumped into Lin Ke, who was greeting her with a smile.


    Feeling the slight tension of awkwardness, she raised the fish in both her hands and said, ¡°My Lord, the fish are here.¡±


    ¡°Hmm.¡± Lin Ke waved at her. ¡°I shall count on you for the rest.¡±


    ¡°Sure, the fish soup will be ready by noontime.¡± Dra quickly wrapped up and left Lin Ke¡¯s sight.


    Avina and the rest were seen appearing from the distance too. They had all returned.


    When all the members were present, Lin Ke gathered them around for an important task.


    To summon new members of the team.


    This had become a tradition. Each time a new hero was about to be summoned, everyone would gather around and exchange greetings.


    The altar room felt packed once everyone arrived.


    As six of them stood at the entrance of the altar, there was not much space left in an already confined area.


    Lin Ke only had 20 Summoning Cards on him. The highest grade of heroes that could be summoned was the purple grade. However, as long as there were heroes being summoned, it was considered a success for that day.


    He took a deep breath and cheered himself up from within. He soon began his first round of summoning.


    Ten Summoning Cards were drawn and each card was displayed individually in front of him.


    Poof, the first card revealed 3 blue grade heroes¡¯ Soul Shards.


    Poof, the second one revealed 5 white grade heroes¡¯ Soul Shards. There were more this time.


    Poof, poof, poof. Lin Ke drew 3 cards in a row. Unfortunately, they all revealed only Soul Shards of white and green grade heroes. Lin Ke was annoyed. Even if the cards had to contain Soul Shards, he should receive better-graded ones. Such luck was unacceptable.


    Boom!


    Just as Lin Ke was sulking, a blast of green lights erupted from the sixth card. It revealed a complete hero.


    Although her grade was unimpressive and belonged to the lowest amongst all heroes Lin Ke currently owned, Lin Ke was still delighted and he quickly inspected the new hero¡¯s card.


    ¡°Thunderstorm Archer.¡±


    ¡°Level: 1¡±


    ¡°Star: One Star¡±


    ¡°Grade: Green¡±


    ¡°Rating: Excellent¡±


    Lin Ke smacked his own cheeks. The Thunderstorm Archer did not even have a name. Was it not too pitiful?


    Even the blue grade Compassionate Priest, Lucy had a name.


    He did not realize this occurrence while inspecting Soul Shards at the Bloodbath Shop at all.


    It was not surprising. Most of Lin Ke¡¯s attention was focused on higher-grade heroes. He merely took a quick glance at their prices before completely neglecting the hero names of the remaining blue and green grade Soul Shards.


    Regardless, he had now known what the rating above him was called.


    After Average Rating would be Excellent Rating, it was one point higher than his own rating.


    Average ¨C Excellent ¨C Leader ¨C Fear ¨C Nightmare ¨C Disaster ¨C Legend, Lin Ke finally knew all the ratings available, from the lowest to the highest.


    Although he still did not have a Legend Rating hero by his side, he could soon summon one the next day.


    Then, the seventh, eighth, and ninth cards all revealed only Soul Shards.


    Then came the tenth card, the one that guaranteed a complete hero.


    Boom!


    An array of blue lights blasted from the card, representing a blue grade hero.


    Although it was not a high grade, at least the hero would have a name.


    Lin Ke focused all his attention and excitedly turned to the back of the card.


    As Lin Ke flipped the card around, he was instantly stunned.


    ¡°Compassionate Priest Lucy¡±


    ¡°Level: 1¡±


    ¡°Star: Three Star¡±


    ¡°Grade: Blue¡±


    ¡°Rating: Leader¡±


    It was another Lucy Summoning Card.


    Another one, an exact same copy!


    Lin Ke inhaled deeply and looked towards Lucy¡¯s direction. He decided not to summon the green grade hero first, but to use Lucy¡¯s card.


    He wanted to find out if he could resummon another Lucy!


    [This hero has existed in your team, summoning is unavailable!]


    The system declined Lin Ke¡¯s request, he could only smile helplessly.


    Indeed, this card could not be used to summon the same hero again.


    Extra hero cards could probably be used to strengthen the relevant hero in the future.


    Lin Ke kept the card properly and looked at Lucy for a brief moment. To be able to access enhancements more easily than other heroes in the future, she was considered a lucky one.


    Then, Lin Ke channeled his focus onto another hero.


    He was eager to summon and find out more about the Thunderstorm Archer.