Chapter 45 - 45 42 Catherines Test Mission

Chapter 45: Chapter 42 Catherine’s Test Mission Chapter 45: Chapter 42 Catherine’s Test Mission Editor: Atlas Studios Da Fei snapped back to reality and hurriedly said, “Miss, this is an important item from my teacher, a relic… Please, please give it back to me!”

Catherine shook her head with a smile, “Such high-quality material for a scroll is certainly important, but you’ll have to consider it fully first. Though, right now I need a unit of pearls, can you collect it from a nearby island within two days?”

——System Prompt: Catherine has issued you a quest “Collect 1 unit of pearls in two days”, would you like to accept?

——Task Hint: The beaches near the Desolate Islands have pearl oysters, but there are also extremely dangerous crocodiles and giant reptiles.

Damn it! She’s clearly using me and my awesome scroll to coerce me into joining! But, what can I do in this situation? Da Fei reluctantly accepts.

Catherine then took another proud sip of her drink, “Right, before you set out, you might want to repair your weapons and change your gear at the island’s gear shop. Pearls aren’t something just anyone can collect, and I believe someone who can fight off a great white shark alone won’t disappoint me, right?”

Da Fei said blankly, “I don’t have enough money…”

Catherine smiled faintly, “Just go to Barak’s shop. He took your great white shark, so he shouldn’t have any objections no matter what you take from him. Get prepared and set out, the boat is already arranged for you at the dock. Don’t let me down, or else…”

Da Fei felt a twinge of anxiety and could only nod, “Understood.”

…

Leaving the tavern, Da Fei bitterly cursed that female pirate a hundred, no, a hundred times in his mind! Ugh, I mean, metaphorically slapped her.

What to do? Is the scroll or my future more important? My future is uncertain, but the scroll is right before my eyes!

Become a pirate! Get back the Wisdom Scroll! Seduce this Legendary Hero! Then, sell the account! Such a quality account with dual professions, dual special skills, plus a big boat and Legendary and Epic heroes, it would definitely be worth a few million, right? Those major teams and large guilds wouldn’t mind that it’s a pirate account, right?

Da Fei decisively went to check the current prices online.

The moment he logged onto the forum, two pinned posts made Da Fei’s in-app-purchase-lover eyes squint!

——”Warm congratulations! Blood Sea Studio has joined the Dragon Slayer Guild!”

——”Blood Sea Studio announces a server-wide bounty for the trash player Da Fei! 100 yuan reward for each sighting!”

Holy crap! This Blood Sea Wave really wasn’t a small fry! And they even collaborated with that what, Hemorrhoid Ointment!

——”Our Blood Sea Studio’s motto is, bounties server-wide, wipe them to level zero; expose gear, flay and peel, make sure they never log in again, we recognize the account not the player! Rewards for reports, rewards for kills…”

Damn, damn! Da Fei was utterly shocked.

Recognize the account and not the player? Can I even sell my account still? Even if I do, they will surely knock down the price harshly with this excuse, and an account that could be sold for a million might end up going for a fraction of that! Or, what if Blood Sea Wave sent someone to act as a buyer to scoop up my account on the cheap? In the end, wouldn’t I just be benefiting him and spitting back what I swallowed, with profit?

Damn, ruthless! I’ve been globally wanted before and it didn’t scare me to death! Well, it’s settled then, I’m not selling this account! I can’t bear to part with it! But if not selling, then am I destined to be a pirate under this female thief?

Suddenly, Da Fei felt a jolt.

Wait! Why did she issue me this quest? Is this a test to hire heroes, but I haven’t met her prerequisites! How could she give me follow-up tasks? She’s determined that I’ll surely surrender and become a pirate? No no no, impossible, the other party is an NPC, and NPCs follow rules and logic.

Does that mean being a pirate is not a prerequisite? Or is this task not a test?

Whatever, I have no other options now, I’ll just take things one step at a time.

…

Barak’s shop was large and easy to find, because it was literally called “Barak’s Shop.”

Looking at the shop sign with its bold letters, Da Fei pondered—Even a guy with a big beard can read, wouldn’t Catherine know how to read? Was she just messing with me?

As Da Fei entered, various weapons, gears, pots, books, oil paintings, potted plants, statues, clothes, and furniture packed the place like a storeroom. What a huge miscellaneous goods store! Needless to say, these must be stolen goods he planned to fence. But who would buy them?

A few pirates playing cards on a clearing swept a fierce glance, “What do you want?”

This must be the world’s worst customer service, right? Da Fei quickly replied, “Miss Catherine sent me to buy… uh, pick up some things.”

“Tsk! Help yourself.” The pirates scoffed and turned their heads back to continue playing cards.

Da Fei was startled, just like that? They don’t care and let me pick myself? Damn, Catherine’s words really do hold sway. Da Fei casually picked up a longsword nearby and his eyebrows twitched!

—— Sharp Forged Heavy Sword: Attack +10, Damage +5, Attack Speed -1, Durability 87/120.

Holy crap! This sword has +10 Attack! Don’t scare me, bro! There’s actually good stuff here, this, this, this, is this a free supermarket?! This is clearly the most exhilarating heaven on Earth! Hahaha, bro can casually grab a few hundred pieces, pack them up, and resell them for a fortune!

—— “Put down what you don’t need!” A pirate said coldly without turning his head.

Damn! So there are rules after all. Da Fei reluctantly put down the longsword and chuckled, “May I ask, do you have a full set of parts for the Crossbow Cannon?”

The pirate coldly said, “No, we don’t sell Crossbow Cannons!”

Holy shit! They really treat the Crossbow Cannon like a treasure, no Crossbow Cannon yet talking about watermelons, I was really counting on it! Not even allowed to repair it? Truly a poor pirate with no vision and no future!

Da Fei unwillingly asked, “What about Crossbow Arrows? You must have some ammunition, right?”

The pirate impatiently said, “Red box, a maximum of 100 arrows!”

Fine, at least that replenishes plenty of ammunition. After packing up the Crossbow Arrows, Da Fei circled around the warehouse, still no sight of the weapons used by Long Spear Soldiers, people really don’t use spears at sea. After selecting the other full set of quality gear including helmets, leather armor, handguards, belts, and boots, his personal defense increased by 30 points. Juan’s +3 tattered leather armor was finally retired. But even retired equipment has a market; wealthy Lord Players can buy them to equip their minions.

30 points of defense, the basic defense of a level 7 human Angel. If the opponents are all 0 Attack skeletons, according to the attack and defense formula, a 30-point difference in attack defense equates to exactly 60% damage mitigation—it really feels like a transformation. As long as there isn’t a boss, bro can still achieve great things.

—— “Have you taken everything? If you’re done, then get lost quickly!” The pirate staff began to shoo people away.

Holy shit, they appear casual but are actually sharp-eyed, bro can’t even take one extra item.

Da Fei reluctantly left the shop. Speaking of which, this kind of free equipment supermarket is really quite something. But this also illuminates a problem, the pirates’ looted goods have no outlet to fence, even the best items are just piled up like trash. This proves once again that being a pirate is a dead-end job.

Suddenly, Da Fei had a realization! Is this an opportunity? If I get on good terms with the pirates, could I help them fence their loot? Could I use that as a reason for them to let me off the hook?

Whether it works or not, I must try. But before that, I must complete the beauty’s task to accumulate goodwill; she is an important figure, cannot afford any mistakes.

Da Fei arrived at the docks, where indeed a few pirates sat on a small boat.

“Go!” The pirates didn’t waste words; they set up the sails and started rowing the boat.

Haha, they brought a few soldiers? Da Fei joyfully asked, “Are you guys here to assist me?”

The people coldly said, “Keep dreaming, you’re on your own.”

Holy shit, they’re actually here to monitor bro, afraid that bro might escape.

The Desolate Barbarian Sea Islands being numerous, after half a day of rowing, they reached the destination, a lush big island on the outer ring of the islands, Crocodile Island. Holy crap, there really is a Crocodile Island, that fat Shopkeeper wasn’t joking! Then the small boat docked.

The rowing pirate took out an hourglass and coldly said, “It starts now, you have two days. If you don’t finish, we’re leaving first!”

Da Fei was shocked: “Really?”

The pirates laughed loudly: “Unless you’re willing to join us, you can fend for yourself on the island!”

The rowing pirate added, “Where there’s crocodiles, there’s clams. Moreover, the crocodiles here are very strong, and there are many fierce beasts on the island, but catching giant sharks should be no problem for you, right?” Then the pirates laughed loudly again, ignoring Da Fei, some drinking, others sleeping.

Da Fei felt uneasy. Could it be because bro single-handedly killed a shark boss, they think bro is very capable, so issued a super difficult task to force bro to submit?

Da Fei’s worry quickly became reality.

In the shallow water ahead, sure enough, there were large groups of gigantic crocodiles, all named Desolate Island Cannibal Giant Crocodile! Being able to see their names directly means they are officially disclosed monsters on the official website.

——Desolate Island Cannibal Giant Crocodile: Large boss-level reptile, Attack 30, Defense 50, Damage 85-110, Life 900, Attack Speed 8, Move Speed 14, Experience 15000, Special Skills: Camouflage, Ambush, Rampage, Disabling Bite, Disease Resistance.

The Desolate Sea Area is rampant with pirates, countless dead carried by ocean currents to the nearby Desolate Barbarian Sea Islands, nurturing extremely brutal giant crocodiles. Their skin is as tough as armor, usually lazy like logs, motionless, but once they attack, their massive stride produces speed beyond human imagination, no one can escape their pursuit!

Da Fei’s jaw dropped! It’s a BOSS, all are BOSSes! So many BOSSes clustering together, surely this is a mission scenario, right? Normally, how could BOSS-level creatures be grouped together? With such thick Blood Defense and shocking Move Speed, definitely not something my 8-point health Crossbow Cannon can handle! Even if my Crossbow Cannon was at full health, it couldn’t withstand the wear and tear, 1 unit of pearls is 100 pieces, asking me to collect 100 pearls? To kill all the giant crocodiles here? Is that possible? Bro can’t kill even one crocodile!

If the Crossbow Cannon can’t handle it, then bro being a gunner is even less capable. Perhaps bro should Stealth underwater and steal? Joking, as awesome as Stealth is, can you not stir a single ripple in the water when entering? Bro isn’t a ghost!

In any case, these crocodiles absolutely can’t be forcefully killed.

However, since it’s a collection task, killing monsters has never been the main point. As an expert, Da Fei began to ponder deeply about the seemingly impossible collection tasks from ancient times to the present, falling into deep agony…