Chapter 44: Mocha Forest Finale
’I checked the roots. They’re mostly intact. It should survive if I plant it in my space.’
She rubbed her hands together and transferred the plant in front of her into her space.
As soon as the obstruction was gone, the sudden surge of water blasted Moira Lynch a good distance away.
The players catching fish downstream met a similar fate. The lucky ones only swallowed a few mouthfuls of water, while the unlucky were swept a long way off.
"What’s going on? How did the current suddenly get so strong? How are we supposed to catch fish now?"
A chorus of complaints rose up instantly.
Misty Cloud tried to console them. "Alright, alright. The fish are hard to catch during the day anyway. There are a lot of us, so why don’t we look for ingredients somewhere else?"
The others looked at the now-turbulent stream. It was impossible to even keep their footing in the water. Left with no other choice, they all agreed to Misty Cloud’s suggestion.
Meanwhile, Moira Lynch had reached the end of the stream, which fed into a waterfall. The roar of the rushing water filled her ears.
She looked up. If she wanted to keep going, she would have to climb the mountain.
Looking down at her own scrawny arms and legs, Moira Lynch decided against it.
Just then, a black mass on a nearby tree trunk caught her attention.
She moved closer for a look—it was Wood Ear fungus.
Parting the weeds, she discovered that the covered area was filled with this black Wood Ear.
She took out her Learning Machine and scanned it.
[Wood Ear: Rich in nutrients.]
Moira Lynch’s eyes lit up instantly. ’Great, it’s nutritious. I love nutritious food.’
She reached out and tried to pull the Wood Ear from the tree, but it was as slippery as jelly. Not only did she fail to get a grip, but she also fell flat on her butt.
[Wood Ear secretes a slimy fluid from its surface. It is best to wear gloves and use tools when harvesting.]
Moira Lynch fell silent as she read the additional note on her Learning Machine. ’Couldn’t you have been a little faster? It only decides to warn me after I’ve already taken a fall,’ she thought.
Perhaps because the Wood Ear was growing so tightly to the tree, this time even her spiritual power was useless.
This was the first time her spiritual power had ever failed, but Moira Lynch wasn’t discouraged.
She put on a pair of anti-slip gloves. She didn’t have any harvesting tools, but she did have a shovel.
With a single thrust of her shovel, Moira Lynch pried off a chunk of bark along with the Wood Ear. ’This is way faster than using harvesting tools,’ she thought.
With the shovel, Moira Lynch’s work was twice as effective for half the effort.
Although the Wood Ear was slippery, the bark was particularly brittle. It only took a little force for a large chunk to break off.
’It couldn’t be easier.’
Moreover, Moira Lynch discovered that almost all the surrounding trees had Wood Ear growing on them.
Shovel in hand, she made her way from the edge of the forest deeper inside, completely missing Misty Cloud and her group.
By the time they arrived, Moira Lynch had long since stripped the area clean of all the Wood Ear.
The whole way, Misty Cloud kept looking around, as if searching for something.
Noticing this, a young man beside her asked curiously, "Cloud, are you looking for something? You’ve been glancing all over the place this whole time."
Misty Cloud put on a slightly worried expression. "I’m looking for SesameDumpling. She headed upstream before us, so I thought we might run into her."
At first, Misty Cloud hadn’t paid the girl much mind. She was just a player destined to be eliminated, not worth wasting any attention on. Giving her a little food had been more than generous.
But after the girl chose to leave the group on her own, something started to feel off. At first, Misty Cloud hadn’t thought much of it, but the more she considered it, the less it made sense. ’A girl who looks like she’s barely a teenager, daring to survive alone in the Primeval Forest?’
Besides, at their first meeting, although the girl’s clothes were filthy, she had been full of energy. She didn’t look like someone struggling to survive in the forest; on the contrary, she looked as if she were living quite well.
Misty Cloud realized she might have been tricked. The girl’s points had probably never been stolen at all.
As for the basket she had shown her, it had very likely belonged to someone else.
Having figured this out, Misty Cloud couldn’t help but grit her teeth in anger. ’How can someone in this world be so shameless? I was kind enough to help her, and she couldn’t even tell the truth!’
"Why are you looking for her? She’s bound to be eliminated in the end anyway. Cloud, you’re just too kind, always worrying about everyone."
Despite the young man’s praise, Misty Cloud’s expression remained sour.
She glanced at the young man beside her, her heart filled with disgust. ’Idiot,’ she cursed inwardly, even as a perfectly measured smile appeared on her face.
"Thank you."
At her words, the young man blushed and said shyly, "You’re welcome."
A sharp glint flashed in Misty Cloud’s eyes. ’Thank you all for helping me clear the game.’
Meanwhile, Moira Lynch kept on shoveling bark. She lost track of time, until a familiar game notification sounded in her ear.
[SoySauceDrunkard, congratulations. You have successfully cleared the third round of the game and become an official player.]
A blue light flashed. Moira Lynch had expected to be teleported back home, but when she opened her eyes, she found herself in the game space.
[As a top-ten finisher in this round, you will receive a special reward from the game system in addition to the prize money.]
Immediately after, a huge wheel appeared in front of Moira Lynch, displaying all sorts of items. Some had appeared in the System Mall before, while others were new.
These items all had one thing in common: they were expensive. Prohibitively so—a single glance at the price was enough to make anyone balk.
This was a reward reserved for the top ten finishers.
[As the first-place finisher, SoySauceDrunkard, you may choose any one reward. However, this reward requires payment of a corresponding number of Energy Ores.]
Hearing the system’s announcement, Moira Lynch became highly suspicious. ’Did it just add that rule on the spot?’ she wondered.
’After all, what player would be bored enough to waste a ton of time collecting some unknown rocks? It’s not like they have nothing better to do.’
"System, can I pick anything? In that case, I want a spacecraft."
A moment later, the system’s voice sounded again.
[Dear Player SoySauceDrunkard, according to a system check, you are not yet qualified to purchase a spacecraft. Please select another item that is both permitted by the system and within your means.]
Moira Lynch: ’...Is this system mocking me for being too poor to afford it?!’
She took a deep breath. It was true, but being told she was poor didn’t feel good at all.
"In that case, I want an Intelligent Brain. That should be within your permitted range, right?"
In truth, the Intelligent Brain was what Moira Lynch had wanted from the start. She had only mentioned the seemingly outrageous request for a spacecraft first because she was afraid the system might refuse her real choice.
She had learned before that her current Learning Machine was a precursor to the Intelligent Brain. An essential electronic device for every Starfarer, the Intelligent Brain was something like a combination of a phone, tablet, and computer, but far more advanced and intelligent.