[Translator: otwentyfirst / Editor: Poledancer1985]
[Host: justreads.net]
[Sept. 20th, 2018]
Zi Cheng also noticed the similarities between the virtual space and the online games she remembered from Earth. She wasn’t a player but she had read one or two novels about them. So although her knowledge was limited she did understand the basics; in order to progress she had to find and complete missions for the clues.
She said farewell to the group she travelled with, fully expecting to go forward alone, but to her dismay Yifu followed behind her. Despite her annoyance she endured Yifu’s presence when she thought of the 95 points she had with the girl. It was a large amount and she didn’t want to lose any.
The two walked around the city trying to find tasks to complete. Unfortunately to their dismay they weren’t given any tasks, despite talking to all the residents they came across. Zi Cheng began to doubt her initial conjecture. Maybe this wasn’t like an online game from Earth?
They stopped at a bulletin board and a notice caught her eye. The posting, from a weapon shop, was looking for an enchanted sword with a third rank magical beast core. The reward was gold. What caught Zi Cheng’s eye was the bonus. On top of the monetary reward there was an additional thank you gift for anyone who caught a large third rank magical ape beast for the core. There were many other similar notices on the board from shops that required running errands.
Many clever children also saw and guessed they could gain clues to the treasure map this way as well; as a result many requests were handed out in a short period of time. Not everyone opted for the requests though. Some preferred to try their luck by looking for the treasure maps directly instead of relying on the reward clues.
Feng Wu was the only one who didn’t do either things. She was busy chomping away on her tenth meat bun while going around purchasing supplies. So far she had purchased a tent, a fire starter, and a water bag; they were all things that would be useful for traveling through the wilderness outside. After filling her water bag with water from the river she found a cheap hotel to spend the night.
All the student candidates had a calm first day in the city.
The feeling of waking up in a strange bed the next morning left Feng Wu disoriented. After several seconds she remembered where she was and the reason. She washed up, left the room and exited the hotel but was unsure about what to do next. Something about a treasure map… But what is a treasure map? She had never heard of it in all the years she lived in the mountain with Master. The teachers, taking it for granted that everyone knew what it was, hadn’t explained. How could there be someone in the world who didn’t know what a treasure map was?
She suddenly remembered what Jier said about libraries and how the books there contained a lot of information. With that in mind she decided she would find a library and use the books inside to get information about treasure maps.
Since the start of the test Feng Wu had purposefully not asked anyone for help. This was all because of Jier, who had undertaken the responsibility of educating her. He had given her a lecture before she started the exams saying things like: don’t talk to strangers unnecessarily, don’t listen to strangers, don’t eat random food... lots of things like that. She wasn’t too capable when it came to dealing with people but her memory was fantastic. She knew he was doing it for her own good so she took everything he said to heart and obeyed them to the letter.
As a result she had not casually talked to anyone other than Pei that first day, and that was only so they could form teams. She kept to herself and only replied if someone asked her a direct question, but now she was in a dilemma.
She wanted to go to the library, but she didn’t know where it was. Blinking her eyes she looked at the people moving around her. There was no helping it, she had to ask for directions. After carefully observing the people around her she headed towards the meat bun vendor from earlier.
The shopkeeper smiled when he saw her heading over. “Little girl, do you want to buy more buns?” Her spending ability really impressed him. If only everyone spent like her his family would be rich.
Once Feng Wu reached the stall she looked at the shopkeeper and seriously spoke. “Uncle do you know how to get to the library?”
“Library?” The shopkeeper wiped his oily hands on his apron twice before answering. “We have a library in the city but it’s not free. One silver coin per hour. If you want to read books, just go to the bookstores instead. It would be cheaper. The library is expensive.”
“Thank you but I want the library.” Feng Wu was adamant.
It seemed she wasn’t willing to listen to his suggestion. Since she was set on it he called his seven year old son over. This son was a plump mischievous boy.
“Here, take this girl to the library.”
The boy didn’t want to do it for free so he tried to haggle with his father. “What do I get out of it? I want chicken a leg.”
The shopkeeper wanted to slap his son for being so greedy, but before he could Feng Wu pulled out a chicken drumstick from her storage bag and handed it to the boy. Since it was already done he couldn’t say anything about it and just told them to get going.
The boy was very happy with Feng Wu’s straightforward personality. He led her through several alley-ways before entering a beautiful building. The building itself was a shop that sold an assortment of magic weapons and items. He brought her inside and led her to the rear of the shop. Everything they passed looked unusual and rare with an appropriate price tag attached. The boy didn’t bring Feng Wu to the store to shop though. The library was located in a secret basement so finding it without a guide would have been difficult, probably impossible without a good amount of luck. He led her to the rear of the building toward a staircase.