He didn't have to wait too long. Loves White Silk appeared inside the Star Dragon Ridge outpost. Lind believed he had grown accustomed to the other's face, but still, seeing it in person again caused him severe physical discomfort.
"My lord, I have arrived!"
Lind just calmly glanced at him, maintaining his NPC persona.
Loves White Silk didn't think there was any issue. This was the lord of the early camp—a small Newbie Village chief, so handsome, and a cool personality was perfectly normal.
"The game has changed so much! Did it change because I completed a quest?" His attention quickly shifted from Lind's figure to two wooden signposts at the doorway.
[Weapon Shop][Temporary Corpse Retrieval Point]
"Hiss, this game is all about the details!" Loves White Silk instinctively reached out to touch it. There was a layer of paper pasted on the wooden board, and one corner wasn't pasted well, curling at the edge, damp, probably stuck on with paste.
He put it in his mouth to taste it.
No flavor?
"I forgot, I turned my senses down."
Loves White Silk quickly adjusted his senses to 100, and instantly, the bitter taste of mud filled his mouth.
"Blegh!"
Just this level of interaction detail was enough to crush any other game on Earth nowadays.
Still, if it weren't for the ability to wake up, Loves White Silk would definitely think he had transmigrated.
But he must keep his feedback below 10. After all, he couldn't take off his pants in this world, so turning it up was useless and would only cause suffering.
The [Weapon Shop] was in the same warehouse where Loves White Silk selected his one-handed sword.
When he walked in and saw what was available, a pleased expression spread across his face: "Permission to purchase has indeed been granted!"
"Damaged weapons, selling for 10 Gold Coins each, and one nearly the same as the one I picked out yesterday is actually selling for 15 Gold Coins," Loves White Silk thought to himself, delighted. Lucky that he had an eye for treasure, he'd made a killing.
The prices for armor were divided into three tiers.
"Cloth Armor: 5 Gold Coins"
"Leather Armor: 10 Gold Coins"
"Iron Armor: 15 Gold Coins"
"Plate Armor: …"
However, this included upper body armor, trousers, long boots, gloves, helmets, etc. To assemble a complete set of good gear, plus a bow and several arrows, the price was heading toward 100 Gold Coins.
"Hey, bro!" he approached the Soldier manning the crude weapons stall and asked, "How do you earn Gold Coins?"
The Soldier forcibly controlled himself from looking at that stomach-turning ugly face and remembered Lind's words: "I don't know."
Lind's order to the Soldiers was to minimize conversation with the Undead—not for fear of spilling secrets, as he didn't have any to divulge except for his identity as a transmigrator. It was simply to reduce the Soldiers' troubles, so they wouldn't be distracted from their duties by the Undead idling around and pestering them.
"Compared to the lord, he's much more inflexible. High-intelligence NPCs really are a minority," Loves White Silk said regretfully, shaking his head, his green hair flailing about. He was completely oblivious to the Soldier's hand on the hilt of his sword, nearly drawing it several times in frustration.
After leaving the [Weapon Shop], Loves White Silk went next door to the [Temporary Corpse Retrieval Point] where he saw Old Pete, who he had met before, sharpening his butcher knife.
Loves White Silk was about to ask a question when he suddenly noticed a sign hanging on the wall next to him, with a list of words on it.
"Complete jackal corpse recovery price: 5 Gold Coins"
"Hiss, didn't I strike it rich?" Loves White Silk's spirits lifted. His one-handed sword was priced at 15 Gold Coins, but he had only killed one jackal yesterday, which was worth just 5 Gold Coins. Earning a net profit of 10 Gold Coins just like that!
Labor cost? That's not even a cost! In gaming, you're killing monsters incidentally while playing.
"I'm off to hunt some wolves! Oh, right, I should have a chat with Lord first. Maybe I can pick up some quests along the way." Loves White Silk jogged off to find Lind, who was surveying the growth of potatoes in the vegetable garden. He was absolutely certain, "The Lord definitely has a quest for me, maybe even a side quest."
"My lord, my lord!" Loves White Silk called out from outside the garden fence, waving, "Do you have any quests? Uh, I mean, is there anything I can help you with?"
Lind stood up. He could guess exactly what the other person was thinking. As a former gamer himself, he liked to accept several quests that were on the way to optimize his time, so he didn't mind making up a task on the spot to send him off to work happily.
After a moment's thought, Lind said with a very serious expression, "Thank you for your enthusiasm, Undead! We do have a lot of trouble lately. To peacefully get through the cold winter, we need to hunt a large number of jackal wolves. Hunt 5 jackal wolves and bring back their bodies, and I will reward you with 20 Gold Coins."
He wanted players to grow strong, but their growth had to be planned, and he couldn't just give away equipment for free.
"Oh!! Accepted!" Loves White Silk burst into excitement.
5 jackal wolf bodies could be exchanged for 25 Gold Coins, and with the Lord's reward of 20 Gold Coins, that'd be enough to get half a set of decent Armor!
And it all fit nicely into the plan—completing quests, collecting bodies, and leveling up through combat...
"I'm on it right now!"
Watching the green-haired figure stride away, the Soldier guarding the garden was completely bewildered: "Why are they so interested in Gold Coins?"
That thing is just a bunch of junk metal. Grains, meat, salt, etc., those are the real hard currency, right?
Or is it just that Undead have brains that don't quite work right?
Yes, it was quite normal for the brains of the Undead to have something wrong with them.
No sooner had Loves White Silk with the green hair left, a Soldier on the city wall reported back to Lind.
Another Undead had arrived.
How did he know it was an Undead?
Who else would wear only a pair of white boxers in the dead of winter, if not an Undead?
Lind looked at the two men and a woman before him, trying hard to maintain his composure. Another set of tool players had arrived, which was just great!
"Is that the NPC from the video? He is quite handsome. I wonder if I can get his face customization data."
"Should be him, I've heard he hands out weapons."
"Let's go talk to him. Maybe we can trigger a quest."
The three of them looked at Lind, who wore intricately patterned Armor, a fur coat, and had his hand on the hilt of the sword at his waist. Underneath the golden hair were deep eyes, and his handsome face had a 'keep away from strangers' vibe to it, perfectly fitting the image of a weathered, handsome Knight that the three had in mind.
Lind didn't show too much friendliness—after all, the three hadn't done Loves White Silk's "prerequisite quest," and he needed to treat everyone equally.
The three exchanged glances, and one burly man stepped forward.
Standing at least two meters tall, he was all muscle, with a square jaw and a thick neck—probably having maxed out his body stats. To Lind, however, he didn't seem very strong; he had the feel of "fake bulkiness," and Lind figured he probably wouldn't need a second sword strike to kill him.
Players' physiques didn't represent their strength.
"Respected Lord," said the man, "we are Undead, summoned by divine revelation. Perhaps you have seen our companion, who goes by Loves White Silk."
Very knightly words. If the speaker wasn't wearing just a white pair of boxers, and didn't mention the ridiculous name "Loves White Silk," Lind would have been quite convinced he was a honorable Knight. Compared to Loves White Silk's embarrassing antics and unbridled style, this man seemed to embody the spirit of role-playing.
The trio was also somewhat anxious inside. They had gathered after watching the videos of Loves White Silk and coincidentally being near Star Dragon Ridge, but they were unsure about the level of intelligence the NPC could exhibit. Would he really understand what they were saying, or was it just programmed responses?
They were full of anticipation.