Chapter 581

【 SOMETHING NOT QUITE RIGHT HERE 】

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After exiting the exchange store with lingering excitement, Tomato suddenly felt that his life had gained a new sense of purpose.

Previously, he had already reached max level and was fully equipped with six sets of legendary golden gear. His familiars included a unicorn, a dragon, and a large crypt spider, forming a complete and enviable collection. He even owned a house at the prime district in Chosen City, and all things considered, he believed himself to be a well-established, endgame veteran.

Aside from not having the patience to build rapport with NPCs and therefore failing to recruit a newly released Elemental Fairy, he essentially possessed everything a player could hope for in the game.

But things had changed.

With the release of the Divine Artifact Repair System, Tomato immediately realized that the era of conventional golden legendary gear was coming to an end.

In the future, gear obtained from the exchange store would likely become nothing more than standard-issue endgame equipment for the average player.

For true elites and wealthy players, a full set of unique divine artifacts would be the new ultimate goal.

And now, Tomato had a new ambition of his own:

To earn money.

To desperately earn as much as possible.

His goal was to accumulate tens of millions in contribution points in order to repair a full set of divine equipment.

With such aspirations in mind, Tomato stepped out of the temple.

At that moment, his companions, who had entered the temple with him, were also exiting one after another.

Similarly, all of them also wore dazed expressions.

But their eyes gleamed with determination akin to wild beasts who had suddenly locked on to their prey.

They exchanged glances, and one of the guild members couldn’t help but speak up:

“Boss Tomato?”

“What is it?”

“Did you check out the Divine Artifact Repair System?”

“Of course. Why else would I have gone into the temple?”

“Well, in that case… Should we organize another guild run through the Divine Ruins tonight to farm contribution points? I suddenly feel so poor…”

The Shattered Divine Kingdom is currently the best place to farm contribution points.

The monsters there are abundant, high-level, and even offer a chance to loot damaged divine artifacts.

Even taking out adventurers who sneak into the dungeon could yield a good profit, particularly those who manage to enter usually carry valuable items, and with some luck, one might seize the divine gear they’ve already collected.

Other players eagerly chimed in:

“Same here. I was thrilled thinking I could finally repair that mysterious piece of equipment I picked up the other day. Who knew even the appraisal would cost over 20,000 contribution points, and repairing it would take nearly 500,000 CP!”

“Now that the artifact repair system is implemented… I instantly feel like a complete pauper. I don’t even have enough points to fix a single shoe.”

“Same here… same here…”

“Let’s get to farming already!”

“……”

As his fellow guild members chattered on, Tomato silently sympathized.

Thinking about the 5 million contribution points needed to repair his crimson axe, Tomato realized he, too, was no better than a pauper.

Just then, another player recalled the axe in Tomato’s hands and asked out of curiosity:

“Boss Tomato, I saw you carrying an axe when you went in. Did you check its repair cost?”

Tomato sighed, nodded, and held up five fingers.

“Five hundred thousand?”

The other players reacted as expected, wearing expressions that said, “I Knew it! what a ripoff.”

But then Tomato shook his head with a strange look on his face and raised his other hand, forming two fists.

The players went silent.

“Five… five million?!” someone gasped in disbelief.

Tomato nodded again.

Everyone: “……”

“Alright, enough talk. When are we raiding the Wild Wolf Mercenaries’ base? My greatsword’s thirsting for blood.”

“Let’s do it tonight. Rally everyone. We’ll bury them, then head to the Shattered Divine Ruins to farm those demon respawn points into the ground!”

༺⟐༻

The release of the Divine Artifact Repair System sent shockwaves throughout the game.

It wasn’t just the First Legion that felt the impact.

Across all guilds and among all players, after reviewing the contribution requirements in the exchange store—or after seeing the dazzling attributes and star-glow golden tags flaunted by some cash-rich players who had already completed their repairs—everyone understood:

A new era had begun.

With most player rising in levels, contribution points had become easier to acquire, and most had been enjoying the relaxed pace.

But now everyone realized that if they aimed to reach a higher rank, they were effectively back to square one overnight.

For some life-oriented players or more casual free-to-play users, the idea of obtaining a full set of divine equipment may seem far too ambitious.

For them, saving up for a full set of golden legendary gear is already considered a significant achievement.

However, among the 360,000 players, there are certainly those who aim to obtain a full set of divine artifacts.

After all, owning a divine equipment offers a clear and substantial boost in power.

Moreover, acquiring just one piece may prove useful for a very long time, possibly even lasting through higher ranks such as Upper Gold or even Legendary.

But that’s not all.

The developers have yet to fully unlock the Silver-rank.

As it currently stands, players can obtain a Silver advancement slot either by competing for a limited weekly quota through Iron-rank contribution rankings, acquiring it as a loot drop from the Labyrinth Dungeon, or occasionally receiving it as a reward through hidden quests.

Among the 360,000 players, those who have successfully advanced to Silver-rank are still an extremely rare minority.

Across the entire server, there are just over 1,000 Silver rankers.

Most players are currently stuck at the level cap of 40. Aside from learning additional skills, their strength has largely plateaued.

But now, things were different.

With the introduction of the Divine Artifact Repair System, many players have begun to see a new path to growth even without advancing to Silver-rank.

That path lies in taking a chance: finding a damaged high-grade divine artifact, repairing it, and equipping it.

And it’s not that hard either.

The wealthiest player on the server, Little Salty Cat, was the first to run a test when the repair system went live.

She repaired every damaged divine artifact she had acquired from other players and equipped them all at once, causing her combat power to skyrocket instantly and surpass that of the top-ranked player, Boxlunch.

But it didn’t stop there.

She had a max-level Iron-rank player from Moe Moe Committee equip all six divine pieces and face off in a PvP match against a Silver ranker in full golden legendary gear.

The result?

The Iron-rank player won five consecutive victories, each one a complete stomp.

Granted, the Silver ranker was not yet max level, but the fact that an Iron-rank player could achieve such a one-sided victory was nearly unheard of.

This event inspired a wave of hope among many Iron-rank players.

Through divine artifacts, they too could become stronger.

Although this method relies heavily on luck, it presents a viable alternative to securing a Silver advancement slot.

Furthermore, the Silver rank will inevitably be fully unlocked across the server sooner or later. The current gap is temporary. In contrast, divine artifacts, based on their descriptions are likely to remain viable for a very long time.

Of course, players tend to ignore two inconvenient truths:

That is the fact that Silver rankers too can also acquire divine artifacts for themselves, and the cost to repair a divine artifact was astronomical.

Still, all that matters was grinding.

After all, a life without dreams is no different from that of a salted fish.

In no time, players from across the server surged into action. The Shattered Divine Kingdom instantly became the most popular dungeon in the game, drawing in a massive number of participants.

As a result, the population of Winterhold City soared once more, placing strain even on the administrative staff of the First Legion.

Players were brimming with enthusiasm.

However, things weren’t looking so great for the outside adventurers.

To their horror, they discovered that the elves of the Elven Forest seemed to have gone mad, swarming into the divine ruins en masse.

Not only that, the behavior of these elves had become significantly even more aggressive.

In the past, adventurers who ran away quickly after encountering elves would usually escape danger.

But now, as long as they were spotted, the elves would relentlessly chase them down like crazed animals.

Escaping became extremely difficult, and if the chase dragged on for even a short while, it would feel like stirring up a hornet’s nest, with hordes of elves descending on the spot.

As it stands, the only reliable way for them to escape was to throw away all the valuable equipment they found, then make a mad dash while the elves were distracted by collecting the loot.

This seemed to be the elves’ one true weakness.

They displayed an almost irrational obsession with these artifacts, especially items looted from divine ruins—those were particularly terrifying to them.

As for the adventurer strongholds, even the Wild Wolf Mercenary Group’s new camp which they proudly claimed to be “absolutely fortified” after several previous defeats was wiped out in less than a day by long-eared elves loaded with explosives.

When players attacked adventurer outposts, they were surprised to find that, aside from the statue of Hodür, the other holy statues they had gathered could no longer be used.

Or rather, similar to how players cannot attack NPCs of their own faction, they found themselves unable to desecrate or even approach these statues at all.

Many players expressed their disappointment.

But they understood.

The Divine Judgement Bombs were simply too overpowered.

Hodür’s version was manageable, but the Eternal Lord’s was practically a miniature nuclear weapon, which was extremely destructive and game-breaking.

Thus, banning them helped restore balance of the game.

Still, that limitation was just a minor episode. At present, nearly every player on the server had their eyes fixed on a new thing:

The Divine Artifact Repair System.

The enthusiasm for repairing divine artifacts even temporarily eclipsed the recent release of the Elemental Fairies.

Of course, this was also because Elemental Fairies were incredibly difficult to befriend.

Despite already being implemented for quite some time, only a handful of players had successfully bonded with one and even fewer had managed to win over a fairy of their preferred gender.

For many players who successfully bonded with Elemental Fairies, it often seemed less about deliberate efforts to please them and more about unintentionally piquing their interest.

Of course, this did not apply to Li Mu, who had truly mastered the art of building rapport.

The Dark Mountain Range which was in a region where magical energy surged chaotically at the foot of the mountains.

A red-haired elemental fairy stood proudly atop a tree branch, head slightly raised, and declared in a haughty tone:

“Hmph! Since you’ve played with me for so long and even came up with such a pleasant name for me… I suppose I shall reluctantly agree to your request and become your companion!”

Li Mu’s face lit up with joy, nodding repeatedly.

At that moment, his heart was filled with emotion, and he was so moved that tears welled up in his eyes.

He had finally succeeded!

To earn the trust of an Elemental Fairy, he had remained in the Dark Mountain Range for half a month, doing everything in his power to please the creature, and now, at last, he had been recognized.

If there was anything he could call a regret…

It was probably that the Elemental Fairy who accepted him was not a lovely and adorable girl like Natsume’s Ding-Dang, but rather a prideful young boy…

Still, all Elemental Fairies had incredibly high aesthetic appeal, so the male fairies were also rather androgynous. Li Mu thought that if he dressed this one up in a little skirt, he would hardly look any different from Ding-Dang.

Ahem. “Nezha” was the name he gave the fairy.

The little creature wore red, specialized in fire magic, and had quite the tsundere personality, it was a fitting match.

All in all, Li Mu was satisfied with the result.

He got along quite well with “Little Nezha.”

Each Elemental Fairy seemed to have a different personality. Previously, Li Mu had encountered a dark-element female fairy who was undeniably cute, but she was also extremely cunning. She had manipulated him thoroughly, then flew off laughing gleefully.

Every type had its pros and cons.

Li Mu believed that, when it came to choosing a companion, personality compatibility was the most important factor.

He preferred straightforward and sincere personalities. Flaws were acceptable, as long as there was honesty in communication.

As for cunning or manipulative types, even if he knew they meant no harm, he simply wasn’t fond of them.

You could call it a clash of personalities.

In any case, now that he had successfully bonded with an Elemental Fairy, he could finally turn his focus to clearing the Divine Ruins and farming for divine artifacts.

Elemental Fairies were extremely sensitive to magical energy. Therefore, Li Mu planned to bring the little one along, hoping it might yield him some unexpected advantages.

Having signed the companion pact, Li Mu invited Nezha to perch on his shoulder, then made his way back to Grey Haven.

When he returned to his guild base, he was immediately greeted by Demacia, who had clearly already heard the news.

His eyes were wide with disbelief.

Then, he burst into laughter:

“Holy crap! Brother Mu, your Elemental Fairy is a boy? You passed up the chance to recruit a beautiful girl and came back with a little pretty boy instead? What’s the fun in that…”

Li Mu: “…”

He was used to Demacia’s big mouth and merely twitched the corner of his lips in response. However, the little Nezha on his shoulder clearly felt insulted.

“Hmph.”

With a cold snort, Nezha lifted a hand and unleashed a first-circle explosive spell on Demacia.

Seeing the small fireball heading straight for him, Demacia’s grin froze on his face.

“Holy—!”

He panicked and tried to dodge.

But it was too late. The fireball struck him squarely on the head.

Although he was already level 50, and the red fairy had intentionally held back by using only a low-circle spell, it was still enough to leave him in an utterly disheveled state.

Caught off guard, his previously afro styled hair now resembled a literal explosion.

With a cry of anguish, Demacia ran off frantically, patting at the flames on his head.

“Serves you right!” Nezha huffed, raising his tiny head proudly.

Li Mu: “…”

He didn’t know whether to laugh or sigh.

But soon after, he felt the little creature on his shoulder suddenly tense up and reach out to clutch his neck.

Having spent some time with Nezha, Li Mu quickly recognized the gesture—his companion was nervous.

Before he could wonder what had caused the little guy anxiety, a familiar and cheerful voice rang out:

“Wow! Brother Mu, you finally bonded with an Elemental Fairy too?”

Li Mu looked up.

It was Natsume.

Perched on his shoulder was Ding-Dang, the wind-element fairy, who was happily licking a white fruit while occasionally casting curious glances at Li Mu and the fairy on his shoulder.

“Yes, this is Nezha,” Li Mu replied with a smile, introducing his new companion.

While introducing the red fairy, Li Mu noticed that his little Nezha had suddenly become uncharacteristically reserved and well-behaved, which was completely unlike the proud and temperamental demeanor he had displayed earlier.

Upon hearing Li Mu’s words, Natsume paused slightly in surprise.

He glanced at the small red figure perched on Li Mu’s shoulder, then smiled and said,

“Nezha, huh… That’s actually quite a fitting name.”

Afterward, he introduced himself as well:

“I’m Natsume,” he said, then gestured toward the fairy on his own shoulder.

“And this is Ding-Dang.”

The two exchanged a few more pleasantries before Natsume took his leave.

Only after Natsume had walked a fair distance away did Li Mu hear a voice filled with wonder from beside his ear:

“So… there really are other contracted Elemental Fairies? Her name is Ding-Dang? What a lovely name!”

Li Mu raised an eyebrow slightly.

For some reason, the way that sentence was spoken felt subtly off.

Turning his head, he looked toward the small figure hovering midair, watching in the direction Natsume had left. Li Mu noticed a subtle gleam in the fairy’s eyes, accompanied by a bashful, boyish shyness.

Li Mu: “…”

Something’s… not quite right here.

Even if he hadn’t personally experienced it, he certainly recognized these obvious signs.

At that moment, if he still didn’t understand why his newly contracted Elemental Fairy had suddenly turned so meek, he’d have to be blind.

So Elemental Fairies… can develop feelings for the opposite sex?!

He stared in stunned silence.

Even if that were true, all Li Mu could do now was light a symbolic candle for little Nezha in his heart.

Because he knew Natsume well…

This guy had always treated Ding-Dang like a beloved daughter. So there was no way he would tolerate any “wild boar” trying to “dig up his cabbage.”

And as for Ding-Dang herself… that little fairy, apart from eating—or rather, licking—seemed completely uninterested in anything but circling around Natsume all day.

This was destined to be an unrequited one sided crush.

Li Mu quietly lit another imaginary candle for Nezha in his heart.

Suddenly at that moment, a few guild players, battered and bruised, limped back into the base, catching Li Mu’s attention.

He frowned slightly and quickly stepped forward to cast Druidic healing magic to assist them, asking:

“What happened? Why do you look like this?”

The wounded players were all Iron-rank.

As they received healing, they gave wry smiles and replied:

“Brother Mu, don’t even mention it… I think the Labyrinth dungeon is currently glitching .”

“The Demonic Labyrinth is glitching?” Li Mu echoed in surprise.

“That’s right. The final boss, Azazel, went berserk,” one of the injured players confirmed.

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