chapter 110

Lu Li walked up to the Pillar and reached out to feel its texture.

It was like compacted wood, and when he leaned closer there was a strange smell coming off it.

What was this made of?

The Pillar suddenly shuddered.

The other four Players in the team threw a grappling hook up toward the higher part of the Pillar.

The hook was tied to a thick rope. The user yanked down hard, and the hook wedged firmly into the Pillar.

“That’s a lot of Points-exchanging for a full set of Climbing Items, putting the whole kit together costs 5,000 Points. Just to climb a Pillar… is that really worth it?” Luo Jia Bai was torn. He’d only recently started feeling flush with Points and wasn’t used to splurging.

“There might be another way up.”

Nonhuman Monsters’ eyes still glowed faintly within the Black Mist. Now that they were full, they no longer attacked, simply watching the Players’ every move.

The Players carefully kept their lights confined to a small circle around themselves, avoiding shining strong beams toward where the Monsters clustered so as not to provoke them.

Luo Jia Bai swept two large bulbs of light toward the side and said, “Looks like there’s a pretty tall pile of something over there. Maybe we could stack it up and climb it to get on the Pillar.”

Mirella gracefully lifted her band, revealing one eye to glance in the direction Luo Jia Bai indicated. Then she told him the brutal truth. “That’s human bone.”

“If you’re fearless, you can try stepping on it.”

A strong beam of light swept over, illuminating the bones and the White Evil Spirit Bracelets hooked onto them in stark detail.

The bones formed a small mountain in the open ground.

Gu Yu Chu looked at Mirella with some surprise-he hadn’t expected her to see so clearly even without light. “Those really are Players.”

Luo Jia Bai was stunned by how many bones there were. “That many Players’ Corpses… So the bloodstains on the Pillar were left by them?”

They hadn’t found the right way to clear the Instance like this team had, and had instead tried to brute-force their way forward. They too had found the Pillar that led upward, but were torn down by Monsters mid-climb and dashed to the ground.

Lu Li tested the Pillar a few times and ruled out the method of climbing up by hugging it with his arms. “We’ll have to exchange for Items.”

“I’m going up. If you think the full set of Climbing Items in the Shop is too expensive, you can try buying from me.” Gu Yu Chu dialed his Flashlight down to low power, clipped it to his body, fastened the rope at his waist, and tossed another grappling hook upward.

The gear he wore looked more practical and safer than the set the Players had exchanged from the Shop. The rope was thicker, there was a double safety system, and he could keep constant illumination even with both hands free.

Gu Yu Chu said, “I made a full set of tools-rope, grappling hook, protective gear. You can adjust the height, detach the lighting unit, and it works in any Instance. One set for 1,500. Anyone want to buy?”

“First buyer gets a 5% discount. First three buyers get spare rope and grappling hook refills-those two wear out easily and are consumables.”

Mirella was very interested. She lowered the Wristband she’d been about to use to exchange for Items. “I’ll take a set.”

The two of them pressed their Wristbands together and completed the deal.

Luo Jia Bai: ?

“Is this business of yours even compliant? We’re not going to get flagged by the Necromancer Game for a violation, are we?”

Why did it suddenly feel like they weren’t in the Necromancer Game anymore, huh.

It was like they were in a discount mall.

Everyone else came into the Game to be Players; he’d come into the Game to be a merchant.

Did the Necromancer Game know about this special way of earning Points?

Gu Yu Chu said, “If the tools I assemble get recognized by the Game’s Forum, they can be officially traded and bought or sold. That’s within the rules.”

Luo Jia Bai opened the Forum. Sure enough, the number of highlighted posts had gone up by one. He tapped in; the newest one was posted by Gu Yu Chu.

[Self-made Multi-function Climbing Tool-Walk Vertically Like It’s Flat Ground!]
The post had gone up at three in the morning.

Scrolling all the way to the bottom, Luo Jia Bai’s eyes went wide. “You… you clearly marked the cost price as 400 in your post. You’re selling it for 1,500-isn’t that a bit over the line?”

“Labor fee.” Gu Yu Chu had already finished tying his rope and climbed up a step. “No one’s forcing you to buy it. You can get the 5,000 set, or make your own for 400.”

“I want a set too,” Lu Li said.

After the trade went through, he tilted his head at Gu Yu Chu. “You really need Points that badly?”

He was in a rush. Efficient to a fault.

Like there was something urgent he had to finish.

“Everyone needs Points.” Gu Yu Chu tightened his grip on the rope, thumb rubbing over his ring as he lowered his voice. “I’m just a bit more anxious than most.”

–

Once Luo Jia Bai bought his Item, the first three promotional slots were used up.

They struggled upward.

The four Players who had set off before them were higher up. When a beam of light swept past, their faces could be faintly seen through the mist.

Dangling beside Lu Li, Luo Jia Bai whispered to him:

“That guy named Xia Le keeps looking at you. He seems like the best-looking of the four. When I went around the Pillar just now, he even thanked me. I told him I wasn’t the one who cleared the stage, you were.”

Luo Jia Bai sounded puzzled. “So why’s he still smiling at us? Is he trying to say hi?”

Lu Li glanced back as well and said softly, “He’s been smiling too long.”

“What do you mean?” Luo Jia Bai asked.

“If a smile lasts more than five seconds, it’s probably fake.”

A false, insincere smile.

“I take back what I just said.” After hearing Lu Li’s analysis, a chill ran through Luo Jia Bai. He immediately focused on climbing.

Then he suddenly felt the rope slacken.

He thought it was his imagination, but his foot missed its hold and he slipped, dropping a long way down in a lurch.

“Zip-”

Lu Li deliberately loosened his own rope, dropping down a distance, and grabbed Luo Jia Bai’s hand.

Cold sweat soaked Luo Jia Bai’s forehead. He scrambled to secure himself again. Fortunately, the modular set of Items they were using had a double safety lock, so he hadn’t fallen very fast. It was a scare, but no real danger.

The Pillar shuddered violently.

Something furry leapt up and bumped into Luo Jia Bai’s arm.

Once it confirmed he wasn’t still falling, that furry head hesitated, then pulled away.

Lu Li looked toward the thing that had jumped up out of the Black Mist.

It was the Monster Dog from the previous level.

As the Monster Dog sprang back down into the Black Mist, heated arguing drifted up from below:

“So quick to forget the pain once the wound’s healed. Why do you think your neck was cut by a human? You don’t even remember!”

“He’s just a Rabbit. Did you really have to help him that much? Sure, they helped us find food, but can you be sure he’s actually good? Wasn’t it food that lured you away back then, while they were beating you the whole time?”

“Don’t forget why we failed the world of happiness’s physical exam!”

“Are you still jealous of those strays who used to wander with us, and then got into the world of happiness in the end? They’re purebred. Some of them were only on the streets because humans abandoned them. You were born beneath them and you’ll never measure up!”

Lu Li picked out the Monster Dog’s voice in the quarrel as it protested, “No, I’m not jealous. I’m not jealous at all!”

“You’re still hiding that flyer from the world of happiness, aren’t you?! You still want to climb up, don’t you, to look for the Crown of Happiness?!”

“Get the Crown of Happiness and your wish will come true. I saw the wish he wrote on the back of the flyer!”

Once he confirmed that Luo Jia Bai was stable again, Lu Li let go of his hand.

From the spot where the Monster Dog had jumped up, a torn, ragged piece of paper was drifting slowly down through the air.

Lu Li reached out and caught it.