Chapter 79 of 100

Chapter 79

13 min read3,300 words

There were a few other items similar to the "Voodoo Puppet," all marked as "Shaman Exclusive." Rodi knew these items would be useless to him, so he didn't touch them. He only took the highest-grade equipment, thinking he could find an enchanter to break it down into some crystals or other materials that could be sold for some money.

These items weren't the main prize. What truly surprised Rodi was the large pile of rare herbs he found on the body of the head wolf, Sarota. Most of these herbs couldn't be found within the Kingdom of Carren. In Rodi's memory, many of these herbs were in a state of "high price, low supply" within the kingdom because their origin was in the Gondola Mountains, which bordered the Orc Kingdom and the Tasmanian Undead Empire. Even orcs rarely ventured into this area, let alone humans.

"Mist Spirit Mushroom, Withered Heart Grass, Mongoose Grass, this is... hmm?" Previously, because they couldn't stay in the thick fog for too long, Rodi had only taken a quick glance before leaving. Now, as he carefully searched through the items, he suddenly discovered an unexpected find—the "Blasphemy Ginseng"!

Because each "Blasphemy Ginseng" looks like a withered human hand, Rodi would never forget its appearance. In his memory, this herb required a high gathering level and was time-consuming and labor-intensive to collect. Moreover, it was rarely used in potions, so few people were willing to dig for it...

However, Rodi was more surprised by the few uses of this herb—it was the only antidote for the "Soul Extraction Potion"!

When chatting with Sally earlier, Rodi had thought that Duke Angmar seemed to have been bedridden for years and unwilling to meet anyone because of the "Soul Extraction Potion." He never expected to coincidentally find the antidote...

If this old guy was indeed poisoned by this potion and Rodi could save him, wouldn't the other party give him some benefits? The favor of saving a life should be worth a lot of experience or special treatment, right?

Rodi was a very practical person. More importantly, the "player" mindset still dominated his thoughts, and the principle of "equivalent exchange" was deeply ingrained. After a moment of consideration, he decided to keep the herb and then moved on to the next item.

If the herbs were a surprise, the last item was a true astonishment—

He obtained... an egg.

"Crocodile Turtle Zarak's Egg"

Can be hatched

Hatching time: 60 days remaining.

The hatchling would naturally be a baby crocodile turtle. Thinking of the Scorpion King who had died in the Silent Forest, Rodi couldn't help but wonder—why did he always encounter bosses who were in the middle of reproducing?

Rodi was quite familiar with "eggs" because the "Ranger" class had a talent tree focused on enhancing pets, the "Beast Master" line. These rangers relied on powerful pets to fight alongside them, similar to the "Beast Master Hunters" in classic MMORPGs. In the early years of the game, this was one of the fastest and most powerful classes, with much better treatment compared to the "Mages" who had to suffer for three years before becoming powerful.

In the early days, over 90% of "Rangers" chose the "Beast Master" line, but the downside was that it lacked staying power in the later stages of the game. "Legendary Pets" were unique and limited in number, so once they were caught, they were gone. If a pet's potential was mediocre, the ranger's power would be significantly weaker. In the later stages, players had many ways to deal with beasts, so "Beast Master" rangers could only play a supporting role in large-scale battles, adding a bit of flair. Only a few rangers with legendary pets remained top-tier players.

Rodi had not chosen the "Beast Master" line but instead went for the "Marksmanship" line, which had the highest damage output. However, he still had some knowledge about pets. Eggs were a relatively rare type of pet because the "loyalty" of the pets hatched from them would almost never decrease. This meant they would always be effective in critical moments, such as blocking attacks or even sacrificing themselves for their owner. However, the cost was high: eggs were difficult to raise, and the hatchlings required constant care and had to be trained from level 0, which was quite troublesome.

However, Rodi clearly had no intention of becoming a "Beast Master" ranger. His principle was to "do everything in the most stable way possible." Since the game had become reality, he had little room for "trying new routes." The safest and most efficient way was to follow the path he had already taken and progress as quickly as possible.

In this case, the egg wasn't very useful, so he might as well sell it when he had the chance.

With this in mind, he checked his experience bar. The attributes of an "Army Soldier" at level 8 hadn't improved much, and he still needed less than 10,000 experience points to reach level 9. Clearly, as his level increased, his leveling speed had to slow down. The quest list showed the highest completion rate for the "Attack the Orc Camp" quest, and the "Kill Shaman Sarota" quest had a "Special Honor Kill" mark, indicating the target's status and importance among the orcs.

Thinking about it, this powerful chieftain who would almost flatten the Kingdom of Carren in the future had died right in front of him... Each time he confirmed this fact, he felt a strange sense of surrealism.

The death of this orc would have a far greater impact on the future than saving Sally. Rodi was certain of this. In the short term, the orcs had lost a potential threat to the entire kingdom and would be too busy with internal strife to bother the Kingdom of Carren for years. From any angle, his expedition had been a complete success, and the fact that they had achieved their goal without any casualties made Rodi feel a sense of pride.

Tech geeks are often perfectionists, and Rodi was no exception. The satisfaction of completing a task kept him in a state of excitement for a long time, so he didn't feel tired even while keeping watch.

At midnight, Soderlor, with dark circles under his eyes, came to relieve Rodi. Seeing Rodi's excited state, he couldn't help but laugh and sigh in admiration. "You did a great job today. To be honest, most of the orcs' deaths can be attributed to you."

Rodi knew what he was thinking, playing with the rough voodoo puppet in his hands. He then changed the subject, "What are your plans for the future?"

"I... actually wanted to ask you the same thing." Soderlor shrugged, seemingly not having thought much about the future. "To be honest, I thought I'd be a lieutenant for life, but now I think I can do... more."

A breeze blew by, and Soderlor sniffed, feeling a transformation within him.

"Having this mindset means this trip wasn't in vain."

Rodi sighed, realizing his goal had been achieved. After breaking through his limits and experiencing life and death, "ambition" and "confidence" had started to give Soderlor new expectations and hopes for the future, rather than the hesitation and confusion of the past. This gave Rodi the opportunity to "guide" him!

So he thought for a moment and continued the conversation casually, "Following the military path might be the safest route, but in this noble system, it's quite difficult to progress smoothly." Rodi counted on his fingers, "The duke's military system is overly complex and redundant, especially for those of us doing hard work on the border... Just wait, we did such a big thing, but even if you report it to them, those guys probably won't care."

"Why?"

Soderlor was confused. In his mind, the team led by Rodi had created a miracle. Even if they didn't receive royal commendation, the lord would certainly reward them... even granting a title was possible. How could it be worthless in Rodi's eyes?

"Look at the problem from another angle. If you're a farmer, you'd be happy to know the orcs won't come anymore. But what about those noble lords? Think about it, they have no real reason to be happy. We kill orcs to protect the border villages and the kingdom, but that's just theoretical. What they're really interested in is money. If killing orcs brought significant economic benefits, they might give me a barony—"

Rodi shrugged and put the puppet back in the bag.

"But now, whether the orcs die or not, they won't feel any difference. If you tell them that orcs won't raid villages for a long time, they won't believe it. We didn't lose a single person and killed nearly four hundred of them. If we tell the lord this, they won't believe it, and they won't dare to believe it..."

"How can it be like this..."

Rodi's words clearly had a significant impact on Soderlor. He hadn't thought about it this much and was momentarily at a loss.

"To put it simply, if the orcs are mostly dead and we continue to be scouts, the next two to three years will be a waste. Want a promotion? Purely a dream."

Soderlor's mind worked quickly, understanding that although Rodi's words were straightforward, they were logical and well-supported, leaving no room for rebuttal.

"Or become an adventurer? A mercenary? But now, neither seems very reliable. The kingdom is relatively stable, and this kind of work is hard and tiring with no future."

"According to you, I don't know what to do."

Rodi's words made Soderlor realize that none of the options seemed promising. He thought about his family's deep-seated grudge—unless Duke Lucifer suddenly "came to his senses" and gave him a piece of land to manage, there seemed to be no way out.

"It sounds like none of these have much future, but the world is always changing. If you become strong, you won't be afraid of not having a meal wherever you go. So, in my opinion, the most important thing now is to strengthen yourself. As for the future... I have some ideas."

Rodi deftly steered the conversation. Soderlor, who now held him in high regard, listened and thought carefully about everything he said. As Rodi revealed a glimpse of his grand plan, Soderlor truly understood the complex and grand vision in this guy's mind...

Thus, this once powerful legion commander became a loyal follower of "Rodi the Great Conman," like a brainwashed fool in a pyramid scheme.

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