Chapter 53: Companions and the Main Quest

Kamiyu looked at the attributes of the equipment before her and sighed, “This is a max roll piece of equipment, and it’s only Common Tier.”

This piece of equipment, crafted using her Construction Sage Talent, was only Common Tier, yet its attribute values were not inferior to the Legendary Equipment she had taken as spoils from Bai Zhan—in fact, some were even higher.

Common Tier equipment might be useless trash to others, but for Kamiyu, who possessed the Enhancement Talent, it was a rare and valuable white item.

Because she could engrave different affixes onto it depending on the situation.

Crafting white items with Construction Sage, then enhancing and engraving affixes—she was practically like a Blacksmith now.

With this, even if she wore all Common Tier gear, she could easily overpower others in Legendary Equipment.

Moreover, at this stage of the game, defensive equipment in the Trading Post was in high demand but short supply—any piece listed would be snapped up instantly and sold for astronomical prices.

If any were available, they were likely posted by the twelve Beta Players to trade for ultra-rare materials.

She was tempted to keep this piece for herself.

But after a moment’s thought, she decided against it. She already possessed Ancestral Spirit’s Blessing, whose two affixes:

【After successfully dodging an attack, Attack Power increases by 300% for 5 seconds】;

【After remaining stationary for 2 seconds, you gain 10 seconds of Invincibility Window until you start moving. (Passive Skill)】.

were more suited to her playstyle.

Ancestral Spirit’s Blessing was meant to be used in conjunction with False Death Garment, forming a unique Ambush Style build.

Playstyles couldn’t be changed arbitrarily, so the corresponding equipment for a build couldn’t be swapped or mixed freely either.

As for equipment with resistance properties, Kamiyu could invest significant effort to craft an even more luxurious and powerful piece with All-Attribute Resistance for her own use.

Thus, she pushed this pair of pants—this piece of armor—toward Jack.

“What’s this?” Jack asked.

“Put it on quickly. Aren’t you cold, swinging around like that?” Kamiyu turned her face away.

Jack remained unmoved, unwilling to accept favors from others lightly.

He knew how important armor was for Ordinary Players. Bai Zhan’s death had left a deep impression on him—such a powerful player, once his armor was broken by Kamiyu’s strategy, became as vulnerable as an ordinary person, at the mercy of others.

He knew he couldn’t always protect Kamiyu, and compared to himself, she needed armor more.

So he said, “I don’t need armor. This precious equipment should be for you to use.”

“Whether I wear clothes or not doesn’t matter to me.”

“It doesn’t matter to you, but it matters to me,” Kamiyu said helplessly.

“This equipment is only Common Tier. I can easily make a dozen more like it. Hurry up and put it on—seeing what’s down there makes me embarrassed,” Kamiyu said, her face flushing.

But if Kamiyu wasn’t looking, how could she be embarrassed?

“Consider it me repaying a favor. You saved me three times. Me reviving you counts as one, and giving you this Fire Resistance equipment counts as another,” Kamiyu added.

Jack fell silent for a moment, then took the pants—【Suppressing Cold Iron Leggings】.

He didn’t equip them immediately but first checked their attributes.

“Such precious armor, and you’re not using it yourself?” Jack said in surprise.

He immediately recalled a memory from ten years ago, in the freezing cold of winter, inside a dilapidated wooden hut, when his sister Winnie had saved the precious hot soup for him.

He never expected her to be the same way.

At this thought, Jack’s soft spot was touched.

“Hurry up and put them on. They’re just equipment I casually made, nothing special. With enough materials, I could easily make one or two hundred pieces.” Kamiyu felt the atmosphere turning awkward and quickly tried to lighten the mood.

Jack said in surprise, “You can make equipment yourself?”

He had previously scoured his Interface Panel but found no section for crafting equipment, nor was there a public NPC role like a Blacksmith. In his understanding, equipment and Weapons only Dropped from killing monsters or other Players.

“Of course, don’t underestimate me.” Kamiyu didn’t elaborate further.

“After you put them on, we’ll go our separate ways. I don’t have any intention of taking on Underlings right now.” Kamiyu still couldn’t bring herself to take that step.

She was afraid to make friends with others, disliked socializing, and preferred solitude, being a lone wolf—even though Jack’s Talent and Skills were more suited to Forming a Team and playing together.

She took the initiative to step back.

Jack stopped moving and stared at Kamiyu.

“What do you want?” Kamiyu felt uneasy under his gaze and grew nervous.

Kamiyu noticed Jack’s foot shifting forward slightly.

She immediately took a large Backstep, afraid of being grabbed again by this Pervert musclehead.

Jack asked, “Where are you going?”

“Why should I tell you?” Kamiyu retorted stubbornly.

Xu Liwen had told her that she was already Wanted by the authorities, and a large group of Official Players would be hunting her down. She didn’t even know where to go next.

Moreover, in today’s society, it was the era of the surveillance network. Even though she had transformed and was currently in a state of being undocumented, her face had already been captured by the authorities.

Within the surveillance network, she had nowhere to hide. As soon as she showed her face and was caught on camera, she would draw attention.

“You have nowhere to go, do you?” Jack pointed it out directly.

“How would you know? Wait, that’s none of your business.” Kamiyu said warily.

Although she was grateful to Jack for saving her, she still felt afraid when she saw his massive physique, his habit of not wearing clothes, and how casually he had hugged her.

She didn’t know when he might go crazy again and grab her, just like before.

Seeing that he had hit the mark, Jack felt hopeful. He had failed to Protect his younger sister Winnie before, and he decided that from now on, he would do his best to Protect Kamiyu.

He believed that although Kamiyu was clever, she sometimes got too carried away—commonly known as “showing off”—loving to flaunt her skills, which often led to failure.

She desperately needed his Protection. Without it, she would surely go out and cause trouble again, stirring up trouble everywhere.

Even if she avoided him, he would still Protect her, to make up for his regrets.

Seeing the hesitation and confusion on Kamiyu’s face, Jack said solemnly, “You caused such a big incident in Dragon Roar City. The authorities will definitely come after you.”

“I know a way, the path of us international Mercenaries, that can help you escape the authorities’ surveillance and take you to a hiding place.”

“As if you didn’t have a part in it. You also helped Kill the Official Players.” Kamiyu retorted defiantly.

Hearing that Kamiyu didn’t outright refuse, Jack excitedly stood up and said, “Then I’ll take that as you agreeing to be my companion.”

“Hey, hey, don’t push your luck.”

“And hurry up and put on your Pants.” Kamiyu turned her head away, stretching out her hand to block her view.

Kamiyu had no friends and little social interaction. Jumping straight into being companions might be too intense.

While feeling somewhat afraid, she also felt a flicker of excitement.

New friends, new challenges, new goals.

She still had the “Main Quest” to complete:

The Main Quest was to enter the Crimson Earth, kill monsters and collect materials during Hell Tide, and establish a Sanctuary at a suitable location.

There was also the Trading Post space only accessible to Beta Testers, interacting with other Players, and a whole bunch of other things waiting for her to do.

Additionally, according to what this Black Sphere said, the “Crimson Earth” seemed to be the actual game. It felt to her like an isekai MMORPG.

Besides PVP player battles, did this game also have PVE dungeon grinding modes?

Kamiyu looked at the new option on her Interface Panel: 【Enter Crimson Earth: Yes/No】.

She could enter the Crimson Earth now, but she thought to herself, Talents weren’t given for free. With great power comes great responsibility. Why was the Black Sphere so urgently pushing her to kill monsters and establish a Sanctuary?

Sanctuary, sanctuary… Could it be that the apocalypse was about to arrive? Kamiyu recalled some cliché settings from trashy novels: monsters from the game invading reality, a bunch of teenage boys and girls gaining miraculous powers, and wreaking havoc in either the real world or the game world.

Please no, she didn’t really want to be a Savior. She just wanted to be a Camper.