Boom!

The trumpet musket spewed flames, and countless tiny steel balls spat out of the chamber.

An epidemic maniac was blown away and fell to the ground bleeding profusely.

"It's your turn, brother, to get the kill reward."

Rotten Persimmon took care of his ammunition and raised his eyelids and said to a god-loving teammate next to him.

"Thank you, Brother Rotten Persimmon."

The latter smiled, and in the envious eyes of the others, he rushed forward excitedly, raised the wood knife in his hand, and killed the epidemic madman.

Others also get a small amount of experience points because they are teamed up.

"Brother Rotten Persimmon, we've been brushing here for a few days, do you want to continue?"

Someone spoke.

"It feels like the number of 'epidemic maniacs' in the neighborhood has decreased, and it doesn't seem to be refreshing...... There are more and more newcomers in the town, and if this continues, this area will soon be no stranger. ”

Rotten persimmon didn't answer immediately, but opened his own panel.

He looked at "LV9" behind the subclass [Church Guard], and then chose to level up. After a momentary blurring of the numbers, they became "LV10".

Rotten persimmon closed his eyes and let out a sigh.

It's back, it's finally back, and his level is finally back to level 10!

At this time, the rotten persimmon wanted to shout loudly, but because of the ups and downs of these days, his jumping temperament precipitated a little. In addition, there were seven or eight god-loved "little brothers" around him, and he felt that he couldn't be too embarrassed, so he suppressed his excitement.

Rotten persimmon told himself to keep a low profile and not be reckless.

"No, we'll leave Emerald Town today."

He put away the trumpet musket in his hand and answered the question of his teammate.

"Where are you going?"

A companion asked.

Rotten Persimmon glanced at him, and then glanced around at the others.

"Amber City."

*

*

*

The easiest and most cost-effective way to get from Emerald Town to Amber City is by train.

However, the nearest train station to Emerald Town is also a short distance, and if you walk, it will take about half a day.

In order to get to the train station before dark, Rotten Persimmon led the team early, left Emerald Town, and started to hurry.

Smack!

The rotten persimmon stepped on the dead branch with one foot, making a crisp sound.

He raised his hand to block out the sunlight and squinted to look around. The scorching heat distorted the air, and the blinding light shone on the gravel road, and the heat wave hit the face.

"Find a shady place to rest first, it's too hot, and my health is slowly deducting......"

Rotten persimmon said to his companion.

The others couldn't stand the heat for a long time, and when they heard the elder brother in the lead, they immediately took a step forward and ran towards a big tree beside the road.

A group of seven or eight people huddled in the shade of the trees to enjoy the shade.

Rotten Persimmon opens the panel map and looks at the information on it. The place that was originally covered by fog dissipated a part of the area after he purchased the map of Emerald Town, and now he can clearly find the location of the "Emerald Town Railway Station".

"Push harder, it's only an hour or two away......"

Rotten Persimmon took out his water bottle, took a sip, and encouraged.

When the others heard this, their interest was not very high, this ghost weather was really torturous.

"It's just a pity that I didn't meet the bandit team, otherwise I would have been able to brush up some experience by the way...... Isn't it said that this road to the train station is full of bandits? ”

Seeing this, the rotten persimmon changed the topic and asked.

One of his teammates wiped his sweat and shook his head:

"The plague broke out, and the robbers in the wilderness are probably almost dead...... And even if there are survivors, this hot day won't be so 'dedicated', right? ”

"Makes sense......"

Rotten Persimmon responded.

At this moment, everyone suddenly heard a scream and a faint curse in the distance.

“…… Don't chase me! Damn it! I know I'm handsome, but you don't have to pester me like that! ”

Rotten Persimmon and the other teammates glanced at each other.

"Let's go! Check it out! Maybe there are robbers around here! ”

Immediately, the group ran towards the source of the sound.

It wasn't long before they saw a blonde young man, running wildly on the grass on the side of the main road, chased after a rags-clad plague maniac.

The blonde young man wore a hat with feathers and a dirty cloak, which looked very downcast, but it could not hide his noble temperament and handsome appearance.

The plague madman chasing after him was a middle-aged man who looked like a robber, carrying a short axe in his hand, and smiling strangely and chasing after the blonde youth.

"Ahh

The blonde youth accidentally tripped over a stone.

He turned, his eyes wide, as the plague madman rushed forward, raising his axe.

Boom!!

A gunshot rang out.

The mad man who was about to commit the murder suddenly flew sideways upside down, and the short axe in his hand fell to the ground with a snap.

Rotten persimmon walked over with the team.

He had the knife mended to kill the plague maniac who had been shot and fell to the ground, and then looked at the blonde young man himself.

"Alex ......?"

He threw a probe and found that this was an ordinary person, and he was immediately a little disappointed.

Originally, I thought that saving him would trigger some mission, but now nothing happened.

"Thank you for your help."

Alex got up from the ground, patted the dust on his body, and stroked his chest very gracefully.

"Introduce yourself, I'm Alex, a great bard."

He wiped the dirt from his face and smiled brightly.

"But I don't really need your help...... Even without your presence, I'll be fine, I'm just playing around with this patient. ”

Ignoring the collapsed expressions of the rotten persimmon and the others, Alex looked at the corpse at his feet.

Remembering something, he stooped down and picked up the hatchet, pinning it to his waist.

"Actually, I'm embarking on an adventure that belongs to my world, and these dangers are just my spice, not worth mentioning...... You even disturbed my interest, which is very rude. ”

Alex talked.

Rotten Persimmon was already impatient, and one of the team members behind him was also a little tired of this ordinary NPC who was talking big, so he interrupted Alex's words:

"Alright, you braggart idiot, our eldest brother saved your life, you get out of the way...... I hope that next time you encounter danger, no one will help you. ”

"I'm not bragging!"

Alex frowned, looking a little displeased.

"Alright, let's go."

Rotten persimmon was too lazy to waste a conversation with an NPC with a hole in his brain, greeted his teammates, and planned to leave.

But Alex suddenly stopped them, took out the short axe hanging from his waist, and stared at them angrily.

"You're questioning me! Laugh at me and humiliate me! I, Alex, great bard, will not allow you to trample on my dignity like this! ”

He raised the short axe in his hand and pointed at the persimmon group.

"I'm going to duel you guys! If you're a gentleman, be brave enough to accept the challenge, or you're a bunch of cowards! ”

Everyone couldn't help but be stunned.

Rotten persimmon raised his eyebrows, he didn't expect things to turn out like this. The brain of this NPC in front of me is probably bad to a certain extent, and it is even crazier than a plague maniac.

"Huh? I'm really not afraid of death! ”

One of the team members behind Rotten Persimmon spoke.

He walked over to the rotten persimmon and whispered a few words. said that this blonde idiot looks good and has an extraordinary temperament, maybe he has a hidden identity, so he will simply slaughter him, and maybe something will break out.

Rotten Persimmon raised his eyebrows, thinking that it made sense, so he nodded at him slightly.

"Come, I'll accept your challenge, duel!"

After greeting the rotten persimmon, the god-loved guild member walked straight forward and stood against Alex.

"Guts! Then no nonsense, just get started! ”

Alex scolded.

Then he raised his short axe and strode towards his opponent, with great momentum.

"Dragon Slayer Axe!"

With a hideous face, he shouted loudly and slashed the short axe down!

The others were startled by his shout.

Dragon Slayer Axe?!

Syllable!

The player dueling Arics, armed with a rusty scythe, raises his weapon and hooks the handle of the axe.

His originally nervous mood suddenly turned into disdain, and then with a little force, he flipped Alex's hand over.

The hatchet snapped and fell to the ground.

"That's it?"

The player sneered, and with a wave of his hand, the scythe slashed through Alex's neck.

Poof——!

Alex's eyes widened and he looked stunned.

"My ...... This is where the adventure of the world begins...... Is it over? ”

His throat was slashed, and blood splattered out. In the next second, his body went limp, and he fell to the ground.

A harmonica also fell out of his arms.

[You killed Alex the Bard and gained 10 XP!] 】

The players involved in the duel pursed their lips, wiped the blood from their scythes, and then bent down to pick up the harmonica on the ground.

【Sundries - Harmonica】

Item description: A common wooden harmonica, a small wind instrument. Its original owner appears to be a wandering bard, who was brutally murdered in a duel.

"Phew, what garbage."

The player spits and tosses the harmonica in his hand.

"It's just an ordinary NPC, only 10 experience points, and it doesn't trigger any other tooltips......"

"Needless to say, I know, because each of us only gets 1 XP."

Someone responded with a smile.

Rotten persimmon spat out, shook his head and said:

"Let's go, don't waste time."

"Okay, Brother Rotten Persimmon."

The group ignored the corpses on the ground and left the place.

One of the players at the back of the line also picked up the hatchet. No way, they were so poor that they didn't even have a decent piece of equipment, and this hatchet was much better than a rusty kitchen knife.

After about ten minutes of marching, the crowd suddenly heard a scream and curse again.

“…… Damn brutes! Caused me to slip! Oh my handsome face, it's just got disgusting dirt like that! I don't care about you! Don't chase me! ”

Rotten persimmon and his teammates glanced at each other, feeling that this scene was familiar.

"Go see ......"

Rotten Persimmon gave a command, and then led the team to run towards the source of the sound.

After a few breaths, they broke off the main road and under a weedy hillside, they saw a blond young man, chased by a mad dog infected with the disease.

The blonde young man wore a hat with feathers on his head, a dirty cloak, a handsome appearance, and a tall man......

“！！”

Including rotten persimmons, seven or eight players were dumbfounded.

Isn't the guy who was chased and killed by the dog in front of him the wandering bard from before?! But he was just killed, why did he appear here again in the blink of an eye?!

Dead?

Or is there another twin brother?

"Ahh

The blonde youth was thrown to the ground.

The mad dog opened its mouth full of saliva and bit down on his neck.

"Rotten Persimmon Big Brother ......"

The companions of the God-Love Guild looked at the rotten persimmon.

But this time, the rotten persimmon just frowned, standing quietly in place, standing on the sidelines. Didn't come to the rescue like before.

"Ahh

With a scream, the blonde youth was bitten through the throat by a mad dog, blood splattered, and his hands and feet twitched and struggled for a while, and then he stopped moving.

Rotten Persimmon approached with his teammates and slammed the mad dog that was eating the corpse to death.

Then the group gathered around the body of the blonde young man and looked at it for a while.

"This ...... It's the same bard from before, it seems to be a guy named 'Alex', why did he appear again? ”

"Is it possible that they look alike, but not the same person?"

"No, it's true that he's right, I just used 'probe' to see it...... It's called 'Alex'. ”

Rotten Persimmon frowned and spoke.

When the others heard this, they immediately felt creepy.

They obviously saw with their own eyes that this guy was killed by his teammates who cut his throat, and even received a kill prompt, and the experience points were all distributed, why did he appear again?!

This is completely counterintuitive!

Rotten Persimmon stepped forward, picked up the harmonica that had fallen in Alex's hand, and wiped the blood on it.

【Sundries - Harmonica】

Item description: A common wooden harmonica, a small wind instrument. Its original owner appears to be a wandering bard, who unfortunately was killed by a mad dog infected with an epidemic during his travels.

Rotten Persimmon thought for a while, put the harmonica in his hand into his pocket, then turned around and took the lead in taking a step.

"Let's go! Get out of here! ”

He whispered.

"Let's hurry to the train station, this thing is so weird!"

The others looked at each other, and they all saw a hint of panic in each other's eyes.

"It's really weird, let's go!"

"Let's go!"

The rotten persimmon took the lead and began to run forward, and the members of the same team also followed one after another, gritting their teeth and running.

They have only just landed in this game, and their first impression of this world is gray and depressing.

In the past two days, they have been farming monsters on the map of the "Plague Block", and their nerves are a little weak. Not long after I left, I encountered such a strange and terrifying thing.

It's really chilling.

In the afternoon, the sun is getting hotter and the temperature is hotter.

They ran for a few minutes before they stopped.

Following the persimmon's gaze, the team members looked up the hill in front of them on the right, and saw a blonde young man hanging upside down from a tree.

They looked at the man silently, and the man turned upside down, looking at them, looking at each other.

In this scorching summer, the persimmon group broke out in a cold sweat!

"That'...... Is that guy a ghost?! ”

Someone said in a trembling tone.

"I'm not playing anymore! I feel like my sleep pod is moving! ”

The two sides are separated by tens of meters.

Alex seems to have stepped on some trap, and as if he had been caught by someone, so he was hung from a tree.

He didn't act scared, staggered in mid-air, and waved to the persimmon group.

"Hey! Hello travelers! ”

Alex looked very happy to see the players and writhed in mid-air.

"Are you here to save me? Ha! Thank you so much! But you don't have to!

I, Alex, am a great bard, an adventurer who travels the world, and this danger is not too much for me! ”

He fumbled around for a while, then pulled out a harmonica, and hung upside down like this, playing a beautiful melody.

Rotten persimmon stared wide-eyed, stretched out his hand into his pocket, but trembled violently.

He found that the harmonica he picked up before was gone!

"Let's go! Come on! ”

There weren't so many rotten persimmons, and in the sound of the brisk harmonica, he turned around and ran like crazy.

Seeing this, the other teammates also buried their heads and ran wildly.

Half an hour later.

When the group finally arrived at the train station, they collapsed at the door, soaking wet and embarrassed.

The strange things they encountered on the way before are still haunting them now, and they feel oozing when they think about it.

Rested for a long time.

Rotten persimmon trembled his legs and took the lead in standing up.

"Brothers, we're already at the train station! Don't waste time, let's go now! ”

In a wail, everyone reluctantly dragged their tired bodies, followed the rotten persimmon to buy train tickets, and then boarded the train to Amber City.

As soon as they found a seat and sat down, everyone leaned back in their chairs in a daze and fell asleep.

There is also sleep in the game, and this kind of nesting doll-style deep sleep can be understood as a negative state after physical exhaustion, and can also be used as a "cheap means" to restore physical strength and life.

At some point, it can also be used by players as a way to skip boring time.

The specific experience is ...... It's similar to going offline to sleep normally, but with an additional timed option.

I don't know how long it has been.

Rotten persimmon suddenly woke up.

He looked around at the moving train car, where the companions of the Divine Love Guild were still asleep in their chairs, and the other passengers were silently doing their own thing.

Bang ......Bang

The jitter is accompanied by the rhythmic sound of wheels and tracks.

The scenery outside the window streaked by.

There was a strange uneasiness in Rotten Persimmon's heart, he opened the panel and looked at it, and his expression, which he didn't care much about, suddenly froze.

"Level down to level 9......?!"

He looked at the panel in disbelief.

"The number of resurrections has also been reduced by one?! When was it ......? ”

Rotten Persimmon was in a state of complete bewilderment, because he couldn't remember when he had ever died.

He woke the others up in a bit of a panic, and then, in their confused eyes, asked hurriedly:

"Take a look at your panel, have you dropped your level? Has the number of resurrections decreased? ”

"Level drops? Number of respawns...... Decrease? ”

The expressions of the other team members became puzzled, and immediately, under the urging of the eldest brother, they opened the panel to check it out.

“！！”

Soon, their expressions were the same, and they became extremely surprised.

"Really...... It's really downgraded! The number of respawns has also been reduced by one! ”

"What the hell is going on?!"

"Why did we all die once? When did it happen, I have no impression at all! ”

They were all a little flustered.

Rotten persimmon took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.

Remembering something, he opened the panel again, then carefully flipped through the past prompts.

Soon, his pupils shrank.

The latest tooltip shows -

[You were killed in your sleep by Bard Alex!] 】