Just from the text descriptions alone, it was clear the castle and mine shaft were likely dangerous.
Based on his past gaming experience, Lin Xun guessed that the blacksmith shop on the left was probably a place to upgrade weapons and gear, maybe even sell game items.
After a momentâs thought, he decided to check out the blacksmith shop first.
[You follow the road to the left and enter the makeshift blacksmith shop.]
[The rhythmic clang of hammer on anvil echoes through the shop. A clearly corrupted, elderly blacksmith stands within. Devoid of sanity, it mindlessly repeats forging motions, driven solely by residual memories from life.]
[You attempt to speak to the blacksmith, but it ignores you, continuing to hammer away.]
After the text popped up, nothing else happened. Lin Xun clicked to talk again.
[You attempt to speak to the blacksmith, but it ignores you, continuing to hammer away.]
Lin Xun frowned, deep in thought. He remembered that he had a Basic Forging Stone in his inventory. This might come in handy.
Sure enough, when he selected the Forging Stone, a prompt appeared:
[Give the Basic Forging Stone to the blacksmith. It may recognize this familiar item and speak with you.]
Lin Xun immediately clicked to give it.
[The Corrupted Blacksmith accepts the Forging Stone, raises its crimson eyes to look at you⊠then lowers its head and resumes hammering.]
Unwilling to give up, Lin Xun tried speaking again.
[You attempt to speak to the blacksmith, but it ignores you, continuing to hammer away.]
???
âWait, what? I gave you a gift! Youâre still ignoring me?â
âMaybe the item I gave wasnât good enough. Didnât hit the affection threshold.â
Most likely, the forging stoneâs quality, or quantity, was too low to trigger the next event.
He needed more forging stones.
Rubbing his chin, Lin Xun remembered the road to the right led to an abandoned mine.
âCould there be forging stones in that mine?â
He exited the blacksmith shop and chose to explore the mine.
[You proceed to the right side of the path and arrive at the ominous mine entrance.]
[Rusty shovels, pickaxes, and a broken wooden mine cart litter the entrance. Amid the scrap, you find a usable Cross Pickaxe.]
[You have obtained Cross Pickaxe (Item).]
[Cross Pickaxe (Item): Dried bloodstains blend with the rust on the pickaxe head. Its owner likely met a grim fate. Carrying this allows you to mine ore.]
[Do you want to enter the mine?]
With a mining tool in hand, there would probably be new mining options inside.
Lin Xun clicked to enter.
[You step onto the rusty tracks and enter the mine. The crimson sunlight fades behind you. The tunnel grows dark, but faint blue light flickers from bioluminescent fungi along the walls.]
[A shiny glint catches your eye from an exposed corner of the wall, it looks like rare ore.]
[Do you want to mine this ore?]
[Mining in progressâŠ]
Then⊠nothing.
Lin Xun thought his phone had frozen and quickly restarted it.
Upon reentering the game, the screen still showed: [Mining in progressâŠ]
Only after ten minutes did the text update.
[Mining successful. You have obtained Basic Forging Stone Ă1.]
Of course! The mine was a forging stone farming zone.
Lin Xun decided to dig out the entire mine.
[No more mineable ore in this passage. Proceed further?]
[Guided by the faint glow of unknown fungi, you advance deeper and come to a three-way fork: left, center, and right.]
[Which path do you take?]
The text offered no clues about the different paths.
Lin Xun picked one at random.
[You head down the left pathâŠ]
Soon after, the game notified him of another ore node. After another ten-minute wait, he received another Basic Forging Stone.
The mineâs layout was complex, with many branching paths. Lin Xun followed each one, marking them on his computer while he continued writing his daily word count.
With the persistence of a Fourth Calamity gamer, he was determined to mine this place dry.
After finishing one fork, heâd return to the intersection and head down the next.
â
Outside, night had fallen.
After finishing two massive 2,000-word chapters, Lin Xun had basically finished exploring the mine. His inventory was now stocked with forging stones.
âJust one last path left.â
[You head down the right pathâŠ]
[You blink as your vision clears, you have entered a hidden chamber deep within the mine.]
Lin Xun raised an eyebrow, suddenly interested.
âHidden chamberâ? That could mean treasure⊠or a tasty red target.
[The chamberâs firelight has long since died, yet it isnât completely dark. At the center, a massive chest glows faintly with white light.]
[Do you want to open the chest?]
Could anyone resist that? If someone could walk away from this chest, youâd better not be friends with them, theyâre probably capable of anything.
Lin Xun, clearly not that kind of person, clicked âYesâ without hesitation.
[You stride forward and open the chestâŠ]
[The white light abruptly shifts to crimson. Skeletal, elongated arms extend from the chestâs sides; two massive legs stretch out from below. The lid transforms into a maw bristling with fangs.]
[A three-meter-tall Mimic snaps down on the head of the greedy foolâyou, caught completely off guard.]
[You have died!]
???
âThis game is cursed! I just got sneak-attacked by a damn chest?â
âIf youâve got guts, fight me head-on! Whatâs with the cheap ambush?!â
Lin Xun had guessed the hidden room would contain either treasure or a monster. He didnât expect both at once, in the form of a Mimic.
[You are reborn as a feeble wandering soul in the ruined churchâŠ]
Lin Xun had spent a soul point earlier to reshape the Paladin Shell. Now he didnât have enough left to use it again.
Luckily, the Blood Sun Cultist Shell was still intact and usable.
[The weak wandering soul possesses the âCorrupted Blood Sun Cultistâ Shell.]
Soon, he returned to the mine.
Thanks to his carefully documented routes, he quickly found the hidden chamber again.
[You blink as your vision clearsâyou have entered a hidden chamber deep within the mine.]
[At the center of the room stands a massive chest glowing faintly with white light.]
âHeh. Still pretending to be a saint, huh? Donât you know you canât use the same move on a Saint Seiya twice?â
Lin Xun opened the Blood Sun Cultistâs skill menu, preparing to use Backstab, but then he noticed something else: the Paladinâs Two-Handed Greatsword was still sitting in his inventory.
He tried equipping it to the Blood Sun Cultist.
[You have equipped the Two-Handed Knight Greatsword (Common+).]
[You have become stronger!]
Seriously? It worked?
Apparently, the game didnât have strict class or gear limitations. Even though the Blood Sun Cultist was clearly a rogue-type, he could still wield knight weapons.
[You quietly sneak behind the chest and draw the Knightâs Greatsword. You unleash a Backstab on the Mimic.]
[A wretched howl echoes through the hidden chamberâŠ]
[You have defeated the Mimic. Experience slightly increased.]
[You have obtained Intermediate Forging Stone Ă1.]
[You have obtained Moonlight-Infused Sandpaper Ă2 (Item).]
[You look at the Mimicâs Shell before youâŠ]