Chapter 13 – Player Association

Mu Yuan felt his heart bleeding. Was it easy for him to earn that little bit of Soul Sand through hard work?

This cross-border tax was ridiculously expensive!

In the real world, he could no longer view item descriptions. However, he had memorized the information about Energy Potions and Crimson Blood Fruits in the game world to the point of recitation. He had also clarified specific usage methods and potential risks through the game forum.

“The Energy Potion can make someone lively and energetic, capable of seven rounds in one night… allowing people to experience the joy of pushing their limits. But for today, it’s more appropriate for me to just sleep. I’ll save this potion for when I really need to push myself, like during the novice trial… There are rumors that the novice trial might last one or two days, or even two or three days. Indeed, only the Energy Potion can help maintain my condition then.”

Mu Yuan materialized three bottles and left three in the game.

As for the Crimson Blood Fruits, he extracted all of them into the real world.

“Crimson Blood Fruits have the effects of activating blood circulation and strengthening the body. They are most suitable for ordinary people like me to improve our Physique. According to the forum, it’s not advisable to eat too many Crimson Blood Fruits at once. One fruit a day, continuously for ten days to half a month, can bring significant improvement.”

By then, punching Goblins and kicking Slimes would be no problem at all.

Hmm, after careful consideration, Mu Yuan realized that his current combat power might be slightly inferior to that of a level one Little Skeleton.

It was time to strengthen himself.

The Crimson Blood Fruit was slightly smaller than an apple. Mu Yuan washed it and ate it whole, skin and flesh included.

At first, he felt nothing and wondered if he had eaten a fake fruit.

But gradually, his body began to heat up, as if streams of warmth were surging and flowing inside him. It also felt like he had eaten a hundred pounds of spicy crayfish—hot, unbearably hot!

“Hah!”

Mu Yuan opened his mouth, exhaling puffs of white mist.

He was extremely uncomfortable but forced himself to endure it. Taking a cold shower at this point could alleviate some discomfort but would affect the absorption of the Crimson Blood Fruit’s efficacy.

Time ticked by.

It didn’t take too long to endure—about half an hour later, the discomfort quickly faded, replaced by a clear mind and a strong body.

Mu Yuan clenched his fist, clearly feeling the strength flowing in his palm.

He felt he could punch a wolf to death with one blow!

Of course, that was an illusion. Even a Skeleton Soldier couldn’t kill a gray wolf with one punch, let alone an ordinary person like him.

But the increase in strength and the lightness of his body were no illusions.

Mu Yuan was a bit too energetic at the moment and had to perform a few sets of calisthenics before gradually cooling down.

He took a shower and went to bed.

“It’s not even one o’clock yet. This routine is really healthy and regular.”

…

The next day, at exactly 7 a.m., Mu Yuan woke up naturally, leaped out of bed, and felt incredibly refreshed.

He first went to his still-on computer to check the situation from the previous night.

The night had not been peaceful. His weak territory had actually been harassed by monsters—once a little after 2 a.m. and again a little after 4 a.m.

“These gray wolves and Goblins are so dishonorable.”

“Oh, they were cut down by Deadbone on patrol as soon as they stepped into the territory? Never mind, then.”

There were two gray wolves and three Goblins, all of them weaklings.However, judging from the diary, Deadbone still resorted to ambush… no, tactical methods. Mu Yuan nodded in approval.

He silently called up the Evolution Points, and a faint square interface unfolded before him.

The Evolution Points for the falcon were negligible, but the skeleton-type Evolution Points had accumulated to “1.78” after a night of growth. This was enough to evolve another Skeleton Soldier.

Mu Yuan had previously tried to further evolve Deadbone, but the feedback indicated that 5 units of Evolution Points were required.

Quite expensive.

At lower Ranks, a rare-tier unit might not be able to defeat five ordinary three-star units, but rare units had higher potential, faster leveling speed, and easier Breakthroughs to higher tiers, so it wasn’t a fair comparison.

Mu Yuan hesitated between evolving a few more Skeleton Soldiers or saving up to let Deadbone advance to a rare-tier unit.

“Let’s wait for now.”

“For the time being, let Deadbone and the others continue training. I need to go out… By the time I return, Deadbone should be able to reach Level 3.”

Mu Yuan took the small amount of Soul Sand and a bottle of Energy Potion with him and headed out.

He also transferred the supernatural game to his phone—well, it was a multi-platform game. Whether on a phone, computer, or handheld console, they were all just mediums, so he didn’t have to worry about being unable to monitor the game while outside.

A little over half an hour later, downtown.

The streets were bustling with people.

Mu Yuan stood in front of a magnificent hemispherical building, staring at the incredibly conspicuous “Player Association” sign. He had a “what the hell” stuck in his throat but couldn’t spit it out.

“This is indeed downtown, and it’s definitely the address of the Player Association, but…”

He had passed through downtown countless times, so how could he have no memory of such a grand building? It was impossible to miss or forget at a glance.

It was practically a landmark building!

Yet, in the eyes of the passersby around, it seemed like just an ordinary, unremarkable building. This was very abnormal, extremely abnormal.

It was as if only players could see this building.

His sudden halt, surprised expression, and “what the hell” look attracted some curious glances from pedestrians.

What’s wrong with this kid?

Mu Yuan’s face flushed slightly. He was just surprised, what do they know!

Fortunately, he wasn’t the only one caught off guard. Three others were also visibly shocked, clearly newcomers like him in Baijiang City.

When everyone makes a fool of themselves, it’s as if no one did.

“Player?”

“Player!”

“The sky king covers the earth tiger.”

“Baby what was it! Wait, what exactly is going on with this Player Association?”

But being with a few other newcomers eased some of the tension, though Mu Yuan couldn’t help feeling amused.

One of them was wearing a frog mascot suit, whether to conceal their identity or because they had just finished a part-time job;

Another newcomer was in a cosplay outfit, cosplaying the unit Fox Woman, with a white fox tail swaying back and forth, making it hard not to follow its movement with your eyes;

The last one was relatively normal, except his hair was a mess like a bird’s nest, with strikingly dark circles under his eyes, and a pale, listless face that made people wonder if he might suddenly collapse and die from exhaustion.

They were all performance art talents.

Ahem, although Mu Yuan had also made a little disguise himself. Well, just a little.

After some conversation, they became slightly more familiar with each other.The older guy in the frog costume was called ‘Froglet Vendor’, and since he was relatively senior, Mu Yuan referred to him as ‘Frog-Selling Bro’; the young lady cosplaying as a fox woman called herself ‘White Fox Meep’, and Mu Yuan shortened it to ‘Three Ying’; the young guy who looked like he’d drop dead any moment had the online name ‘3AM-7AM Grindlord’, so Mu Yuan called him ‘Three-Seven’ (scratched out) ‘Liver Emperor’.

Mu Yuan also made up a pre-prepared ‘player username’ to appear more sociable.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to be a proper person.

……

The Player Association had staff responsible for receiving players and providing explanations.

Under the staff’s guidance, Mu Yuan and the other three quickly entered the association.

The moment they stepped inside, it felt like stepping into a whole new world.

From the outside, the Player Association already looked magnificent, but upon entering, they discovered the interior space was even more expansive, with quite a few people coming and going.

This was because it wasn’t just players here—there were also staff members, no fewer in number than the players themselves.

“Also, because there have been many new players recently, plus many veteran players returning, the association is much livelier than usual.”

“Usually, those wearing strange outfits are new players, while those dressed casually and normally are mostly veteran players.”

The receptionist Young Miss explained.

At this point, ‘Frog-Selling Bro’ couldn’t help but say, “But isn’t Eternal World so dangerous? As players, isn’t it right to be cautious?”

“Being cautious is indeed correct.”

Before the receptionist Young Miss could answer, a bearded veteran player passing by spoke up, “Back in the day, I was just as cautious as you all. But after a while, you’ll find that the Seniors here are all talented, and they speak so pleasantly. I really love coming here.

“As for danger… it’s true that monsters occasionally slip into Blue Star, there are some black player fugitives causing trouble, and there are danger zones like borderlands and those crazy cults. But this world isn’t actually that dangerous.”

Mu Yuan: “…”

The art trio: “…”

(End of chapter)