Blue Maple got up and his body swayed as he walked. He aimlessly ventured deeper into the dense forest. The desolated look on his face was heartbreaking.

He didn’t want to recall the past, but some things were out of his control. The gaming world was much more peaceful and quieter compared to the real world, but he still couldn’t help but recall his past.

He managed to restrain himself every time, but this time…

In this wilderness where there was not a single soul, recalling the past left him…

Uncontrollable!

He didn’t know where he should go. He only knew that he should keep moving forward, even without any destination in mind.

Life and death weren’t of paramount importance in the game. He wasn’t bothered that he had descended into such a pathetic state.

However, he didn’t realize that his trudging footsteps had already developed the slightest bit of change…

It seemed like he was guided by something and approaching closer and closer to a specific destination…

But he was too out-of-sorts to realize this was happening…

He just continued to move forward, but he encountered absolutely nothing on his way – there wasn’t even a single bird or bug, much less a wild beast. It was terrifyingly silent. The only sound that was made came from Blue Maple’s footsteps. The withered leaves crackled as he trampled on them.

Given his state, he was no longer as wary as he usually was. He had lost the will to remain cautious about his surroundings.

He resembled a zombie now. There was no life in his eyes, complementing the quiet and lifeless forest.

After some time…

Blue Maple’s footsteps were still as slow as ever, but he appeared to have regained some clarity in his eyes. But he still lacked one final ingredient that would ‘bring him back to life’.

“Kacha!”

Finally, a crisp, crackling sound echoed. This jolted Blue Maple back to his senses.

Mm?

He was still even a little confused, but his first reaction was realizing that things felt amiss. It wasn’t dangerous, but it did leave him unsettled.

Realizing this immediately made him clear once again.

Something’s wrong. This place makes me feel weird…Blue Maple started shaking his head to force himself awake. He was very doubtful and furrowed his brow as he scanned his surroundings.

However, he only concluded that it was an ordinary forest. There was nothing different about it. Apart from the unusual silence, Blue Maple couldn’t pinpoint what else left him uncomfortable.

This is very strange. It almost feels like…there’s something here that’s attracted me over…he furrowed his brow even more.

Don’t tell me this is something special in the game? Some special quest has been activated? Blue Maple’s only conclusion was this. He couldn’t rationalize any other reason why he would be drawn over.

It appears that the thing that’s attracting me is somewhere in front…

This left him in even greater doubt. He decided to check it out. Anyway, he wouldn’t die in this game. He would only lose a level, but he believed that the benefit outweighed the disadvantage. If he discovered anything interesting, he could be in for a killing.

Eventually, he decided to advance. He summoned his sword just for his safety. Although he could instantly summon his sword, he felt much more at ease with it in his hand.

For greater peace of mind, he also proceeded to check his attributes. He had an inkling that one’s emotions could affect his attributes in this semi-real world, and so, decided to check if his emotional setback earlier had any influence on his attributes.

It had been a while since he paid attention to his attributes too. He didn’t even know his current level.

His attributes panel was displayed right before him. He also cautiously leaned against a tree and ceased moving.

His current attributes were:

[Blue Maple] (Level 56 Sword Hermit)

攻擊：2553-2976 幸運值：1

Attack: 2553 – 2976 Luck: 1

防御：487-595 聲望值：1830

Defense: 487-595 Prestige: 1830

魔防：215-237 榮耀值：0

Magic Defense: 215-237 Glory: 0

Strength: 1107 Evil: 0

Agility: 377 Survival: 50

Endurance: 142 Hunger: 95%

Magic Defense: 68…

Toughness: 98

HP：3015

MP：565

Nothing seems to have been affected. It should be fine. But wow, my attributes have changed significantly. Blue Maple felt much more settled when he realized his attributes weren’t affected. At the same time, he was also in awe after finding out about the improvements that he made.

His attributes were much higher than they were when he removed the first layer of seal. His full-body gear was promoted to Rank 50.

His gear mainly propped up his attack and strength, followed by his agility and speed. It was a gear custom-made for Blue Maple by Old Man Fang. However, the gear couldn’t get any stronger due to material constraints.

Blue Maple’s sword was ranked first in the weapons leaderboard. However, Blue Maple hid it from public view. Even so, it still popped up as question marks on the leaderboard.

In this game, there weren’t any drops from killing another player, so it was natural that one wouldn’t need to worry about revealing his wealth. As a result, many didn’t go to the extent of hiding information about their gear or items.

Blue Maple’s intentional concealment of his weapon left many players curious and jealous. Those players were very concerned about the leaderboard, and the question marks displayed in the first place of the leaderboard kept them extremely uncomfortable. This was further exacerbated by the fact that everything from the second place onwards was displayed with full information.

Blue Maple’s attributes completely surged. Not only were his gears and items completely new, but he had also leveled up very quickly.

Blue Maple didn’t check his level before. At the same time, he didn’t know the attributes of his sword. He was only aware of how strong it was and that he could add it to his gear.

Since everything’s fine, I can just proceed forward. I hope it’s something interested. Blue Maple reverted to how he was. He was curious about what was going to greet him.

As he reverted to his indifferent state, he coldly watched his front as he inched forward. There wasn’t any hint of indecisiveness at all!

Not long after, a huge tree vanished right in front of him. What appeared was a giant cliff. Rocks were rolling off this cliff and crushed many tall trees below.

This cliff wasn’t facing the sun, so it appeared slightly dark.

Moss and weed grew all over this cliff. Due to the rolling and falling rocks, the cliff seemed to be a rocky slope. Among a bunch of broken rocks at the top of this rocky slope, there was a colorful piece of rock. One of its edges was revealed amidst the bunch of rocks.

This piece of rock was magical and seemed as if it came from a fantasy. Its surface was smooth, resembling a cobblestone. Its blue surface was even more dazzling than an Agate crystal. It was simply breathtaking.

A blue glow emitted from this piece of rock, making it appear to be extraordinarily captivating amidst the dark surroundings.

Ding! Announcement: You’ve discovered a strange piece of rock. It seems to have recently fallen off the cliff. It contains magical strength within, which is extremely beneficial in cultivating your Heavenly Fire.

An announcement echoed when Blue Maple discovered the piece of rock.

Cultivating my Heavenly Fire? Blue Maple wondered to himself. The old man didn’t seem to have mentioned anything related to this before. Then…this is probably a pie in the sky.

He raised his lips a little. To him, there were only two possibilities. One, he had struck gold. Two, it was just a fantasy.

The former was almost unrealistic. Blue Maple wasn’t a risk-loving person.

Cheh, lame.

Blue Maple scorned and turned around.

I still thought there was something good drawing me over. Turns out to be a ‘pie’. Lame. Blue Maple was a little disappointed as he turned around.

Even if one wouldn’t truly die in this game, there was no point just giving your life away so cheaply. Although there was the slightest possibility that Blue Maple had struck gold, he was simply not a materialistic person. There was no way that he would gamble on his luck.

I could perhaps give it a go if it’s an item to fuse ice and fire. But if something so coincidental pops up, I’d probably be too wary to take it. Blue Maple mocked himself as he thought.

He had his suspicions over everything. He suspected even the most rational of things sometimes.

Mm?

After taking a few steps forward, he suddenly furrowed his brow and stopped.

He discovered that things were amiss around him. They were different from before!

The luscious trees from before were withering. The withering process was exponentially quick too. Very soon, the entire forest had turned yellowish-brown!

Blue Maple cautiously watched his surroundings and tightened his grip on his sword. At the same time, he engulfed himself with a layer of Heavenly Fire. The change was too strange!

Seems like the ‘pie’ takes initiative. Blue Maple squinted his eyes. He began to focus his attention as he observed the withered trees.

“Ssh…”

The trees started to dissipate and turn into sand that just collapsed onto the ground.

Everything started to fog up and Blue Maple’s vision was hindered.

“Hoo hoo hoo…”

A strong gust of wind blew. Suddenly, the sand started to vanish as the wind blew. Only soil and mud remained. The withered leaves had long disappeared…

Suddenly, Blue Maple sensed something and slowly turned his head…

This is?

He quickly turned his attention to that beautiful piece of rock. However, it was drifting in this barren space now.

At the same time, the magnificent blue was also slowly changing…