002
The mist dispersed.
Instantly, the regional chat channel exploded.
[”The mist’s gone! I can see I’m in some kind of forest, what the hell is this place? Why are there only trees?”]
[“Forest? You’re already lucky, okay? I’m in a desert, nothing but sand! Not a single damn thing alive!”]
[”Wuwuwu~ I think I’m on a cliff! My hut’s right on the edge, what should I do?”]
[“Then I’m super lucky, I’m by a river, there are mountains, water, and even fish!”]
[“I think I’m in some kind of abandoned building. It looks like a city, but not quite.”]
[”Jealous of you, brother! Quick, go see if there are any people nearby. If you find the police, please report it for me, tell them to come find me! I’ll reward you greatly!”]
[“……”]
The chat channel’s messages were refreshing faster and faster.
But Ethan had no time to pay attention to any of that, because he realized that the area where the mist had cleared was only about ten meters wide.
Beyond that, everything was still shrouded in white haze. The fog was thinner than before sunrise, but if this were a city, it would still count as heavy fog.
The place he was in happened to be right at the border between a forest and a grassy plain.
He couldn’t see anything beyond that range.
Which meant…
‘Is my exploration range limited to just ten meters around the hut?’
He picked up the only weapon inside the hut, a broken stone axe, and stepped outside.
But just as he was about to move forward, words appeared before his eyes.
[Go straight ahead: You can gather some dry grass. Fifteen meters ahead there are some dwarf pines, can be cut down. No danger.]
'What the heck is this?‘
‘Does it even warn about danger?‘
Ethan quickly turned to look in other directions.
Sure enough...
[West: There’s a dead tree with a squirrel hole, filled with pine cones. But I don’t think you’ll want to go there, because under that tree, there’s a cheetah fast asleep. With only a broken stone axe, you’re no match for it. If you’re willing to lose a hand or a leg, maybe you can take the risk.]
“……”
’I would have to be brain-dead to fight a cheetah barehanded.‘
‘If I had a gun, or even a bow, then maybe I would have thought about it.’
’What about other directions?‘
[East: Lots of dry branches, perfect for fueling your bonfire. But under the pile, there’s a Gale Snake waiting for a chance to strike. Be careful.]
[South: There’s a bronze treasure chest hidden in the tall grass. No danger.]
[Bronze Treasure Chest: What could be inside? Only by opening it will you find out what kind of surprise awaits.]
”Tsk! Tsk! Tsk!”
"So this is my “golden finger,” huh?”
He could see clearly where danger lurked and where treasure was hidden.
And besides…
He noticed that in the middle of the grassy plain, a bronze treasure chest was concealed there.
If it weren’t for those red exclamation marks, he’d never have noticed it. It was completely hidden among the waist-high grass.
Compared to the other directions, Ethan naturally chose the treasure chest first.
Very soon, he arrived at the spot the prompt indicated.
He pushed aside the tall grass, and sure enough. There it was, a bronze chest glinting with metallic light. On top, a thick copper lock sealed it shut.
[Bronze Treasure Chest: Contains some ores. No danger. Open it?]
’Since there’s no danger, of course I'll open it.’
Click!
The moment Ethan thought the word “open,” the large lock on the chest vanished by itself, and the bronze lid popped open automatically, revealing a pile of stones inside, gleaming with metallic luster.
[Flint: Can be used to make fire. In the wilderness, it’s an extremely valuable resource!]
[Collect?]
“Collect!”
[Flint +20]
[System prompt: Chest automatically disassembled. Bronze +10]
‘The entire chest… is full of flint?‘
“So it is basically filled with fire-starting stones?”
Ethan’s eyes lit up immediately. He couldn’t use that many himself, but he remembered the magic book seemed to have a Trade Channel.
He took out the magic book.
The time display had already changed.
[Time: 08:12. Only 3:48 left until the mist returns. Be sure to leave yourself time to go home, don’t get lost in the fog.]
”Four hours of clear time only?”
”That is way too short.”
Just finding this bronze chest had already taken him twelve minutes.
“Still, getting a whole chest of flint isn't bad. If this can be traded, it might fetch quite a few useful supplies.”
He opened the magic book and silently said, “Trade Channel.”
At once, the previously blank pages began to fill with text.
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
[Trade Channel]
— [Dry wood(2): Anyone want this? I’ll trade for food, anything works!]
[Comment: This is trash from the starter kit, barely enough to burn! Who’d trade with you?]
[Reply: If you won’t trade, then don’t! Stop yapping! Get lost!]
— [Wood (1): Trading for a piece of meat! I’m starving!]
[Comment: Whoever’s got food now is king. You think you’ll get meat? Keep dreaming!]
[Reply: Do you even know how hard it is to chop wood? Took me over ten minutes for just one piece!]
— [Poor-quality stone axe: Weapon for sale. I’ll take food in exchange.]
[Comment: You’re selling your axe? Then how’re you gonna chop wood?]
[Reply: Mind your damn business!]
— [Apple (1): Trading for 100 wood. DM me, negotiable.]
[Comment: Are you crazy? It takes half an hour to chop down one tree! Who has 100 wood?]
[Comment: If I had 100 wood, I’d have upgraded to a log cabin already! Why would I trade with you, you nutcase?]
[Comment: One piece of wood, trade or not, sis? I’m starving! The trees here are so hard to chop!]
[Reply: I heard someone got a bunch of wood from a treasure chest. If you don’t have any, stop staring!]
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
When he clicked on each trade listing, he could see people’s comments and all kinds of bickering.
Not wasting too much time, Ethan quickly skimmed the basic info in the Trade Channel.
From all those comments, he picked up some useful information.
A hundred pieces of wood could upgrade a straw hut to a log cabin.
‘Nice!’
’But how did they know that?’
Then he suddenly remembered, the magic book seemed to have another channel called Upgrade Tree.
‘Maybe that is where the hint came from?‘
Ethan silently thought the words Upgrade Tree.
And soon, the magic book automatically began to display the Upgrade Tree information.
═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═
/AmbitiousTranslator
🥳Joining Patreon keeps me motivated and eager to work diligently, so please consider joining.🥰 You can access upto 20 advance chapter through Patreon.
.gg/bYAfGyp98y