Chapter 33

Chapter 33: Mo Ka Forest

Underground, the energy rawstone was wrapped tight in a knot of roots.

No wonder the plant above was so vicious—it had been feeding on the energy rawstone.

Ling Mo also sensed clusters of fruit-like pods buried nearby. Each pod was connected by fine roots, all of them ultimately leading back into the plant.

Ling Mo took a deep breath and focused.

“Collect.”

In an instant, the energy rawstone, the pods, and a chunk of surrounding earth vanished into her pocket space.

The ground above immediately gave way.

“Run!”

Someone shouted, and chaos erupted. Players spun and bolted in every direction.

Ling Mo used the confusion to slip away without a trace, disappearing into the forest as if she’d never been there.

Only after she’d put enough distance between herself and the clearing did she stop to check her haul.

She took out the energy rawstone she’d seized and counted them.

Seven.

Combined with the five she’d already found, that made twelve.

She could pay the system ten and still keep two for herself.

After what she’d seen today, Ling Mo was even more convinced energy rawstone was valuable. She needed to collect as much as possible—if not for emergencies, then as bargaining chips with the system.

She set aside ten pieces in her pocket space for repayment and stored the extra two separately.

Then she took out the pods she’d collected along with the stones.

After rinsing away the dirt, the skins revealed a deep red color.

The more she looked, the more it resembled a pomegranate.

She scanned it.

“Crystal Fruit: an extremely rare ingredient found only in Mo Ka Forest. When cut open, the inside is crystal-clear. Effects include clearing meridians, removing hidden injuries, and repairing the body.”

So the violent plant they’d been fighting was glazed spiny velvet grass.

Seeing the effects, Ling Mo hesitated. She didn’t want to hand this over.

Still, she dropped one crystal fruit into the vegetable basket.

Her points jumped by one hundred—equivalent to two Silver Moon Fish.

That confirmed her suspicion: the high-point ingredients all seemed to carry special effects.

But she didn’t add more crystal fruit yet.

There were still more than five days left. No need to panic.

Between Silver Moon Fish and crystal fruit, her point pressure had eased dramatically. And with the ten energy rawstone requirement settled, Ling Mo finally felt her shoulders loosen.

But she didn’t truly relax. This round eliminated by percentage—the bottom ten percent would be cut.

Nobody knew where the cutoff would fall, which meant everyone else would be scrambling, desperate to raise their scores.

As the light dimmed, Ling Mo returned to the stream and checked her traps. Everything was intact.

This time she found an empty tree hollow to use as a temporary shelter.

The space inside, combined with her pocket space, was just enough for one person. She peeled off the grass and brush she’d been wearing and stuffed it into the opening to block it. Compared to sleeping high in a tree, this was luxurious.

While Ling Mo’s situation was stable, other players were suffering.

Compared to the first two rounds, this one was brutal.

The time limit had stretched from three days to seven. Food and water were no longer provided. Daytime was manageable, but night brought dangers that turned the forest into a nightmare.

Many players spent half the day searching for ingredients while also trying to solve basic survival. Mo Ka Forest might be called a treasure vault, so they weren’t starving, but “not starving” didn’t mean “doing well.”

Some people with fire-based talents could cook their food. More couldn’t even start a fire and had no choice but to eat raw.

The results were ugly. The ones with stronger stomachs felt sick or got diarrhea. The weaker ones could end up collapsing.

Then there was the terror of night—sleeping badly, listening for danger, waking exhausted.

And it had only been two days.

The resentment boiled over. People cursed the ones who had mocked the earlier rounds and pushed the game to raise its difficulty.

Back before second game round, there had been complaints too. But then, people hadn’t grasped what “harder” would really mean.

Now, they were furious enough to want blood.

Inside her shelter, Ling Mo sank her awareness into her pocket space. Two new ponds had already taken shape.

Each one was more than twice the size of the first.

Ling Mo nodded in satisfaction. That should do.

After this round, who knew if she’d ever get another chance? Water-chilling stone was a nonrenewable resource for her. She needed to take as much as possible while she could.

This game really did feel like it had been designed for her.

On the third day, at first light, she pulled aside the grass blocking the entrance and climbed out, heading straight for her nets.

The Silver Moon Fish probably had never encountered a net in their lives. They showed no caution at all.

A new day—starting with a harvest.

She drew stream water into her pocket space, transferred a third of the Silver Moon Fish she’d caught into it, and then—before the water warmed—began pulling in water-chilling stone again.

By the time she collected every net she’d set, her points had surpassed fifty thousand, most of it thanks to Silver Moon Fish.

If she counted the fish she’d kept inside her pocket space, her total would be even higher.

Then she noticed something else.

Besides her points, a number glowed on the vegetable basket’s handle.

5.

Her rank?

Fifty thousand points. Fifth place.

That was solid. If she could maintain it until the end, clearing the game was practically guaranteed.

But she couldn’t help wondering who the top four monsters were—people even more ruthless than her.

Since she needed water-chilling stone, Ling Mo stayed close to the stream as she moved.

This time she didn’t rush to set new nets. Silver Moon Fish only came out at night. Setting traps early would be pointless—and it would make them easier for others to spot.

More importantly, she’d sensed other players moving near the stream.

Meaning she wasn’t the only one who’d found it.

And if they found the stream, they could find Silver Moon Fish too.