The situation left Li Miao a little dumbfounded.
’What’s going on? Doesn’t this thing have an aggro mechanic?’
’The Reef Cave isn’t big enough to keep it out. If that thing actually gets in, I’ll be a sitting duck, cornered and beaten to a pulp...’
’No, that’s not it. It must be because I haven’t touched the Spirit Candle yet!’
With that thought, Li Miao scrambled over to the Spirit Candle.
RUMBLE—
Then, to his horror, he heard the entire Reef Cave begin to tremble.
The Fishman Leader had actually followed him in!
Li Miao’s pupils contracted, and a cold sweat broke out on his brow.
He was suddenly hit with the same urge to log out as when you get jump-scared in a horror game!
’Holy fuck! This is terrifying!’
Just as Li Miao was about to make a disgraceful retreat and log off,
A deep, male voice suddenly echoed beside him.
"Newborn Firelight, it seems you’ve run into a bit of trouble..."
Li Miao instinctively turned to look.
In the candlelight, the man in Broken Armor slowly materialized. As he spoke, he held the Broken Sword horizontally before him and swiped two fingers across its blade...
SWOOSH—
An azure flame erupted, instantly filling the gaps in the Broken Sword. The dazzling Firelight illuminated the cave, reflecting in Li Miao’s wide eyes...
SHING—
SQUELCH!
Before the ring of the blade could fade, it was followed by the sound of tearing flesh!
THUD!
The Fishman Leader’s massive body crashed to the ground. Its fish-like eyes still held a look of savage Madness, and its pupils even twitched, as if trying to understand why it had suddenly collapsed...
The Firelight on the Broken Sword gradually faded, and Luo Ge turned around, his expression calm.
[You have killed the Beach Fishman Leader]
[Obtained: Wax Oil ×10]
[Obtained: Fishman Scale Armor ×1]
"Holy shit..."
Li Miao only snapped back to his senses when the Candlekeeper’s gaze fell upon him, and he shut his gaping mouth.
’This Candlekeeper... He’s so strong!’
’And cool as hell!’
"A Fishman Leader’s eyesight may be poor, but its instincts and Madness are far greater than that of Ordinary Fish People."
"It won’t stop hunting until it completely loses its target."
Luo Ge set the Broken Sword aside and sat cross-legged before the Spirit Candle.
"...The Spirit Candle itself has no Power to repel monsters. Be more careful next time," Luo Ge said.
’Although the true Spirit Candle is on my person and this is just a secondary flame,’ Luo Ge thought, ’if this flame is destroyed, not only will I have to remake it, but the players won’t be able to recover or respawn for some time.’
’But Li Miao doesn’t know that, so there’s no point in blaming him.’
"I understand."
Li Miao nodded, inwardly breathing a sigh of relief.
’That just now... it nearly scared me to death.’
’If I’d actually been killed like that, I probably would’ve been traumatized...’
"You have a good Talent, but you still need to work hard."
As he spoke, Luo Ge handed him the Fishman Scale Armor that had just dropped.
’This thing is worse than my own gear, so it’s useless to me.’
’Besides... I’ve killed plenty of Fishman Leaders, and the Spirit Candle’s storage space is already full of their drops...’
’And if any player gets greedy and tries to deliberately pull monsters for me to kill... heh, I’ll just sit back inside the Spirit Candle and watch the show.’
[Obtained: Fishman Scale Armor ×1]
[Fishman Scale Armor (Ordinary)]
[Type: Chest Armor]
[Explanation: Crafted from the scales of a Beach Fishman Leader. Reduces some damage taken.]
"For me?"
"This... Thank you!"
Li Miao was pleasantly surprised.
’A moment ago, I was thinking that based on what the Candlekeeper said, even though I didn’t cause a disaster, my favorability with him would probably drop...’
’But I never expected that not only would the Candlekeeper encourage me, he’d even give me the armor the Fishman Leader dropped!’
’The Candlekeeper is such a nice guy...’
Li Miao was deeply moved.
After equipping the Fishman Scale Armor, Li Miao suddenly heard the faint ringing of a phone.
Clearly, someone was calling him.
"Candlekeeper, I have to leave for a bit."
Perhaps because the game felt so realistic, Li Miao, on some strange impulse, even bid farewell to Luo Ge before he left.
As Li Miao logged off, his Candle Spirit Body melted into a pool of Wax Oil and slowly flowed back into the Spirit Candle, awaiting his return.
After he was gone, Luo Ge turned his gaze to the Spirit Candle.
’With the Wax Oil from the Fishman Leader, I’ve almost saved up enough.’
[Spirit Candle]
[Tier: Residual Ash]
[Remaining Wax Oil: 93]
[Spirit Candle Building: None]
[Anchor Island: None]
[Summoned Candle Spirits: 1]
’Just seven more to go...’
’I’ll just go kill a few Fish People...’
Luo Ge picked up the Broken Sword beside him, slowly rose to his feet, and walked out of the Reef Cave.
...
After hanging up, Li Miao ate breakfast and returned to his dorm room.
He was about to dive back into Spirit Candle, but his roommate called him over to try another virtual reality game.
But soon enough, Li Miao took off the headset with a frown.
"This isn’t fun. The freedom is way too limited. You can see the rocks, but you can’t pick them up, and things are clipping through each other."
"This game is already pretty good. VR tech is brand new, so it’s not like there are any perfectly realistic games out there," his roommate said with a shrug.
Hearing this, Li Miao immediately started recommending Spirit Candle to him.
His roommate was naturally intrigued and immediately began to look it up.
However, to their frustration, when his roommate tried to launch the game, he received a message: "You do not currently have access."
’Looks like this game isn’t finished yet. It’s probably still in beta testing,’ Li Miao muttered to himself.
But even if he couldn’t play with his roommate, he had no intention of playing any other VR games.
Even though Spirit Candle hadn’t revealed much of its content yet, it was like the old saying goes: once you’ve tasted luxury, it’s hard to go back.
He simply couldn’t muster any interest in other games that were riddled with bugs and offered so little freedom.
With that thought, Li Miao put the headset on again.
’Class isn’t until this afternoon. I can still log on and fight for a while!’
"Spirit Candle... launch!"
...
’Hm? This kid is back so soon?’
Luo Ge naturally sensed it the moment the player came online.
A smile touched his lips. ’Perfect timing.’
...
"Hmm-hmm-hmm..."
Li Miao hummed a little tune as he stretched his body.
"Greetings, veteran."
A sudden voice from beside him made him jump. He turned to see a lean, calm-looking male player watching him.
[Poems and the Faraway Place]
Glancing at the faintly visible ID above the man’s head, Li Miao realized this must be a player who had just joined the game.
"Jeez, you scared the crap out of me..."
Li Miao let out a breath.
Before the other player could respond, Luo Ge’s figure slowly materialized. He looked at Li Miao and said, "Brother Miao Won’t Fail the Exam, you are now a qualified Warrior. Would you be willing to lead this newborn Firelight and familiarize him with the duties of a Candle Spirit?"
As he finished speaking, a quest prompt appeared before Li Miao’s eyes.
[Teach the newborn Candle Spirit the basics and help him learn combat skills.]
[Quest Reward: Wax Oil ×10]
Li Miao’s eyes lit up at the sight.
’Ten Wax Oil isn’t a huge amount, but it’s not nothing. Besides, I can do other things while I’m teaching this newbie. No reason not to accept.’
At this thought, he puffed out his chest and replied, "Of course! Consider it done!"
"Good. Then I’ll leave him in your hands."
Luo Ge nodded slightly.
’The time this saves will allow me to get more Wax Oil.’
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