"What's going on here?"
Li Mingyou stared at the five achievements listed in his accomplishment log, momentarily bewildered.
Could it be that all the achievements he had completed in the game before were retained?
That seemed to be the only explanation. Moreover, among these achievements were titles like "Social Butterfly" and "Social Ceiling." If that was the case, didn't it mean that the favorability ratings with the characters were also preserved?
You see, Li Mingyou had completed every single achievement in this game, including all the characters and bosses that could be pursued, maxing out their favorability ratings without missing a single one.
If all of these were indeed retained, wouldn't that make him invincible?
However, these achievements hadn't appeared when he was in the cabin earlier. It seemed that each new area unlocked would reveal corresponding achievements for that area.
Even so, it was already pretty absurd.
Li Mingyou glanced at the five achievements, which directly provided him with a total of 10 points across all attributes, instantly doubling his stats. His combat power went from 1 to 2.
Though still considered weak with a combat power under 5, there was some improvement in his evaluation.
[Combat Power]: 2
[Overall Assessment]: A weakling with combat power under 5, but now capable of battling a goose at the village entrance.
Well, it seems the improvement wasn't significant.
Checking his inventory, the small healing potion made sense; it was a novice's artifact that could restore 100 health points within 30 seconds after consumption.
In "Infinite Dungeon," health regeneration was naturally slow. If your health bar was depleted, it would take nearly a whole day to recover fully. Without other means of recovery, that day would essentially be wasted.
During that time, you couldn't hunt monsters to level up. If you got injured too many times or sustained severe injuries, you might fall behind and eventually be eliminated.
The significance of the small healing potion was self-evident.
But... what was this "Girl's Affection" item?
Curious, Li Mingyou couldn't discern its nature from just looking at the inventory, so he decided to take it out.
"Uh…"
He immediately twitched his mouth corners, rolling his eyes involuntarily.
Oh great, the soft material, the smooth touch, the small triangular fabric covered in blue and white stripes exuded a strong girly vibe—clearly a high-quality "blue and white bowl."
So how was this supposed to be used?
It obviously had no stats; it really was just an ordinary piece of intimate clothing.
[System Alert: Player Lin Wuji has died!]
[System Alert: Player Long Aotian has died!]
[System Alert: Player Wang Batian has died!]
...
Just as Li Mingyou was mocking the "Girl's Affection," two system announcements interrupted his thoughts.
A quick glance at the chat channel confirmed it was buzzing again, as expected.
"Damn, three people died so quickly?"
"What's happening? Why are people dying already when we have half a month?"
"They went out to hunt monsters. I saw them form a team to hunt, and less than five minutes later, they were all dead…"
"Did they encounter a group of monsters?"
"No… I happened to see it. There was only one monster, a flaming chicken, and it killed all three of them in less than two minutes! I initially planned to help them, but thankfully I ran slowly, otherwise I might have been gone too…"
The person sounded deeply shaken, probably breaking into a cold sweat by now. "How can this be? Isn't this the novice village? Shouldn't the monsters here be easy prey?"
"This difficulty seems abnormal…"
Everyone began discussing anxiously.
With such strong and difficult-to-kill monsters, how were they supposed to level up?
Although the novice village had protective barriers making it safe to stay inside, if they didn't go out to level up, they would still be eliminated after a month.
Wasn't this a deadlock?
Li Mingyou wasn't surprised; abnormal difficulty was expected. "Infinite Dungeon" was not a game where you mowed down enemies with ease. On the contrary, it was an ultra-hardcore game, much more challenging than any action game currently on the market.
Back when he first played, he too struggled against monsters, unable to defeat even a single flaming chicken despite several deaths!
Those who didn't understand the monsters' skills and lacked combat experience were practically committing suicide by going out to hunt monsters.
Being worse than the goose at the village entrance wasn't just a joke; it was a reality they couldn't overcome…
At least the goose could take on a flaming chicken and come out on top.
Of course, this was for newcomers. For Li Mingyou, things were different.
He knew all the monsters in "Infinite Dungeon" inside out. Coupled with the boost from unlocking several achievements, his attributes had surged, making hunting monsters for levels as simple as drinking water.
People in the chat channel grew increasingly anxious. The fairies continued complaining, refusing to accept reality. Some with stronger adaptability started forming teams and looking for partners, ready to hunt monsters together.
Li Mingyou wasn't in a hurry. Although he could easily kill outside, there were still good items to collect in the novice village.
He didn't want to hunt monsters with that rusty old sword…
After recalling for a bit, Li Mingyou walked along a path towards the north side of the village.
After about five minutes, he stopped in front of a blacksmith's shop but didn't enter. Instead, he walked around to the back and stopped under an old tree.
"This should be it…"
He took out the rusty novice short sword, roughly estimated where to dig, and started digging with the sword. After about ten minutes, he uncovered a sword hilt buried in the ground.
"Congratulations, player Li Mingyou, for discovering a hidden Easter egg. You have obtained the weapon - Elegant Longsword."
[Elegant Longsword]
Level: 1
Quality: Black Iron
Attributes: Attack +5
Note: A hidden Easter egg, a gift for the lucky traveler. Clearly, it's much better than the rusty short sword.
Perfect, everything was just like in the game.
Suppressing his excitement, Li Mingyou sheathed the sword and continued toward the Adventurer's Guild in the village.
"Welcome to the Adventurer's Guild, how may I assist you…"
Entering the Adventurer's Guild, the girl behind the counter greeted warmly, her words pausing midway as she stared blankly at the boy in front of her.
The silence was somewhat suffocating until she snapped back to her senses, revealing a hint of resignation and relief.
So it was like this, another dream?
Shana
"My dear, you've returned…"
Through teary eyes, she called softly, as if afraid that speaking too loudly would dispel the beautiful dream before her.