Chapter 4

If at the beginning, Luo Lin still regarded this place as a game deep down, then now, after meeting Vianna, he knew he had to give it his all.

But first, he had to pay off the high-interest loan from the villain Malfoy, which required money—twenty silver coins. This was completely different from the game.

In the game, even during the initial new player phase, this amount of money was a small matter for Luo Lin. At that time, he was born as a formal warrior, equipped with a complete set of basic gear. Although the equipment wasn't great, he had a sword, a shield, and chainmail, all of which were complete. The total value of his equipment was over one gold coin, making him a high-born and wealthy individual from the start. Below the warriors, there were many hardworking masses... and now he belonged to this category, and even the lowest of the low, with a negative net worth.

What could he do?

Not pay the money? Default on the loan? Then Malfoy would surely fully display his villainous nature, throwing him into the sea for three days and three nights, and then selling him to a brothel as a pet boy... This guy would definitely do such a thing!

Go to the dock to work as a laborer? Earning fifteen copper coins a day, he would make less than five silver coins a month, which was also not a reliable solution.

He needed to find another way.

Luo Lin sat on the stone railing by the dock, deep in thought.

Go on quests to earn gold coins? He remembered that in the game, there were several quests with generous rewards, which were very helpful to him in the early stages. Luo Lin's memory was quite clear, and he could recall some details.

But he immediately dismissed this idea because he lacked the strength to take on quests.

In the game, when he took on these quests, his level was at least five.

A level five warrior was already a somewhat well-known figure. During the orc invasion, at level fifteen, he had even gained the favor of the Lord of Premo, who praised him as "not particularly powerful, but one of the few smart people." This was evident from the fact that he could secure a spot on the evacuation ship.

The game mirrored reality; because he had the strength, others would give him corresponding tasks.

Now, he was just an unknown nobody, a lonely soul that no one would care about if he died. Who would pay attention to him?

So, doing high-reward quests was not an option for now, at least not now.

What about searching for treasures?

Precious treasures were all located in dangerous places outside the city, guarded by extremely dangerous people or monsters. Moreover, he couldn't remember many of the details, so going there now would be a death sentence.

"If I compare the difficulty, I'm definitely playing on hell mode!" Luo Lin lamented in his heart.

No matter how he thought about it, Luo Lin couldn't find a solution. The game was full of opportunities, but reality was very harsh. Every chance for advancement was fiercely competed for, leaving very few opportunities for him.

"Maybe I should find a dagger and secretly kill Malfoy at midnight." With no way out and a bleak future, Luo Lin really wanted to take a desperate measure.

At that moment, voices drifted over.

"Hey, did you hear? The Homlin sank on the reef in Maribay, and all the cargo is gone."

This news immediately caught Luo Lin's attention. He knew that Maribay was just outside Vandom Harbor.

"Serves him right, who told the captain to set sail in the fog... This time, the miser Homlin will surely kill that guy."

"That's not our concern. I heard that Homlin is looking for people to salvage the cargo, with generous rewards. One silver coin for each cargo box salvaged. You're such a good swimmer, why don't you go for it?"

"I won't go. The water in Maribay is at least twenty meters deep, with sharks and deadly seaweed. I have a wife and children to support, I won't risk my life for this money."

The speakers were two dock workers, who walked by without noticing Luo Lin's presence.

Luo Lin's eyes lit up. "Salvage cargo from the sea? One silver coin per trip... The water is too deep and dangerous, no one will go, can't find anyone... Alchemical potions."

Words popped into his mind, quickly forming a plan. His alchemy would come in handy this time!

"Underwater breathing gel." An alchemical formula came to his mind. This was a very basic alchemical potion, made by grinding and mixing a few herbs.

Of course, this is how Luo Lin did it in the game, but he didn't know if it would work here.

"Smart Brain, is alchemy useful?" He needed to confirm this, as the breathing gel was crucial for salvaging the cargo.

"In alchemy, the simulation degree of basic alchemy without mysterious magic is close to 100%, while the simulation degree of magic-assisted alchemy is unknown."

It seemed that the elites of Earth hadn't fully understood the mages and arcane magic of this world, but the first point was enough. The breathing gel didn't require any magic, just some simple techniques.

Luo Lin was a warrior, but his specialty was alchemy, and he had reached the master level. This simple potion was no challenge for him.

The materials needed for the underwater breathing gel were not many, only two: salmon algae and sponge.

These were abundant in the sea. Luo Lin didn't even need to go into the water to collect them. The fishermen often caught seaweed instead of fish when they cast their nets. He could just take some from their homes; no one would care about this seaweed, as it was only useful for feeding pigs.

After a quick tour of the fishermen's homes near the port, Luo Lin collected these two materials while no one was paying attention, taking only a small amount, about half a pound of each.

With the materials in hand, Luo Lin returned to the shelter to prepare and make the breathing gel as soon as possible.

"Luo Lin, you're back." The old man who had spoken to him before greeted him.

His name was Arat, a pitiful man. He was originally a fisherman with a son. During a fishing trip, a storm hit, and his eighteen-year-old son was swept into the sea. Arat himself was hit by a piece of the ship and lost a leg. After recovering, he was disabled and could no longer fish.

He then moved into the shelter, living off the church's charity and begging. After Luo Lin arrived, he occasionally shared some food with him, so they were somewhat familiar.

"Uh-huh." Luo Lin responded, feeling a bit puzzled. At this time, shouldn't the old man be out begging on the street?

"Your adoptive father left something for you." Arat continued.

"Oh, what is it?" Luo Lin was uninterested, not expecting the old drunk to leave him anything valuable.

The old man stood up from the damp straw pile, limped to the corner, and after a while, pulled out a black, dirty stick... no, a scroll that was dirtier than anything.

"This is what your adoptive father told me before he died. He said he was sorry and had nothing to leave you except this scroll."

Arat handed the scroll to Luo Lin, who took it. The scroll was greasy, black, and had been gnawed by rats. If thrown on the ground, it would be indistinguishable from trash.

Arat continued, "Your adoptive father also said that this scroll can bring power but also disaster. Those who use it will suffer misfortune, just like he did. If you don't want it, don't use it, and just throw it away."

As Arat spoke, Luo Lin tried to open the scroll. Hearing this, his hand trembled, almost dropping the cursed thing. The old man was dead, yet he left him such a cursed item.

However, Luo Lin was also very curious. What kind of scroll was this, capable of bringing power?

Power, he needed it most now. He had only one year left!

"Thank you, Arat. I will use it cautiously." Luo Lin continued to open the scroll, believing that even if it had a curse, it wouldn't be very powerful. If it were, it wouldn't have been hidden in a rat hole.

"Hehe, your adoptive father was right. He said you would choose the path of power, just like he did when he was young. He hopes you won't regret it... Well, it's getting late, and I need to go get my relief porridge today."

Arat, who had seen through the world, remained calm. After speaking, he limped away, leaving Luo Lin alone in the shelter.

Luo Lin untied the dirty cotton thread, which had turned black, and slowly unrolled the scroll. The content gradually appeared, filled with characters, patterns, and lines, forming a mysterious and profound sword.

This 'sword' emitted a sharp aura. Luo Lin only looked at it for a few seconds before his eyes felt like they were being pierced by needles, forcing him to look away.

"I thought this was something special, but it's just a basic weapon scroll." Luo Lin breathed a sigh of relief. Arums' words were quite dramatic, making him think it was something evil like a soul scroll for contacting demons.

A weapon scroll, commonly used by warriors, could enhance the attack power of a weapon and would become ineffective after ten uses.

Luo Lin had used this type of scroll frequently in the past and was very familiar with it. He saw the sword-shaped runes on the edges of the scroll, five in total, indicating it could be used five times. However, four of the runes had lost their luster, meaning the scroll had been used four times, leaving only one use.

One use left, not bad, but why didn't Arums use the last one? Luo Lin recalled the memories of his physical body and deduced the reason.

It turned out the old man was afraid.

Arums was just a brute, with terrible martial skills, not even qualified to be a guard in Vandom. He didn't know where he got this scroll, but it helped him join the Vandom guard force.

To avoid being exposed, he used the scroll cautiously, keeping it a secret. He managed to pass through several critical missions and fooled everyone for ten years.

But the scroll had a limited number of uses. When only one use was left, he was reluctant to use it, fearing exposure. He voluntarily retired, but by then, he was middle-aged and had no source of income. His wife, who was a prostitute at the dock, couldn't bear the poverty and ran away with all their possessions, leaving him to fall into alcoholism.

"The so-called misfortune wasn't brought by the scroll but by the consequences of deceit. Ah, foolish man." Luo Lin sighed, rolling up the sword scroll.

It was a good item, and even if it wasn't useful to him, it could fetch a good price.

Putting away the dirty scroll, Luo Lin began his work. He took the salmon algae and sponge and started mixing them according to the alchemical techniques he remembered.

First, he ground the salmon algae into a fine paste, then mixed in the sponge and stirred continuously for nearly three hours. By the time the afternoon snacks he had eaten were completely digested, the salmon algae paste had successfully been mixed into a green, semi-transparent gel.

"Done." Luo Lin was pleased. The Smart Brain was right; the simulation degree of basic alchemy was indeed high, and this gel looked exactly like the one in the game.

Then, Luo Lin put the gel into a piece of old cloth, creating a simple underwater breathing bag. By putting this bag in his mouth and breathing through it, the breathing gel would filter out air, allowing him to breathe underwater.

Such a device could sustain a normal person's underwater breathing for about three hours.

To be safe, Luo Lin tested it in the water, ensuring it worked before heading to the dock with excitement.

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