owlsbooks Chapter 11 I Can't Take the Civil Service Exam
Chapter 11 I Can't Take the Civil Service Exam
Carpenter Pio and old village chief Lucas were still murmuring praises for "saints and warriors."
The composite armored wall, half a meter thick, stood silently on the ground, its surface shimmering with a faint light.
Just a few meters away from them, the first few players who had created this miracle were sprawled on a haystack like dehydrated salted fish, fiercely criticizing this "hardcore garbage game" that offered no feedback.
Lynn, who had taken in all of this, outwardly maintained the unfathomable demeanor typical of an NPC, but inwardly he was frantically flipping through the system log that had just exploded in his mind.
Just as the wall was taking shape and the natives knelt down, he heard a long-lost tinkling sound.
[System notification: Substantial interference with the defensive physical structure of the southern outpost in Rainbow Village has been detected; the area's survival rating has slightly improved.]
[Achieve hidden milestone: The First Wall of Miracles.]
[Reward issued: Energy Points +500]
You only have hidden achievements, but you don't even have a list of prerequisite tasks?
Lynn silently complained to himself.
However, upon further reflection, he realized he could accept it.
In any case, there is a reward.
It's better than nothing!
Since players are starting to get anxious because of the lack of data feedback, it's time to give them a boost.
With a thought, Lynn summoned the system panel that only he could see and opened the shop section.
The list is extensive, but the vast majority of the content is grayed out and locked.
Lynn focused his attention on the most basic column.
[Basic External Neural Terminal: Adventurer's Emblem]
Price: 10 Energy Points/each
[Function Description: Implantable biophysical terminal. It can quantify and project the energy feedback (experience/level/ability values and skills) extracted by the host from the underlying logic of the world, and also comes with local area network team communication, mission log recording and other functions.]
10 points each? That's a pretty good price, a cheap perk for beginners.
Without any hesitation, Lynn spent 60 points to exchange for six tokens.
Accompanied by a faint white light, six strange crystals, each the size of a fingernail, shaped like maple leaves, and radiating a metallic luster, appeared in Lynn's palm.
Lynn adjusted his white GM hat and strode toward the players sprawled on the haystack.
"Well done, warriors from afar."
Lynn's voice rang out above their heads.
The players immediately stopped complaining and got up.
If a GM initiates a conversation, it either means there's a reward or a new quest is about to begin.
"Your sweat and wisdom have proven to me that you deserve to live on this land."
Lynn opened his palm, displaying the six maple leaf crystals that shimmered with an eerie light before them.
"This is an adventurer's emblem from the frozen snowfields, passed down from ancient times. Accept it, and it will allow you to understand this world more clearly."
"Holy crap, the props are here!" The Czech public security agent was the fastest, grabbing one immediately.
Before he could examine it closely, the moment the maple leaf crystal touched his body temperature, it seemed to melt like ice and snow, seeping directly into the skin of his left forearm.
"Hiss..." The agent gasped.
"It hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts!"
Immediately afterwards, all five people and the dog felt a slight freezing sensation at the implantation site.
They watched as intricate, faintly blue lines, resembling integrated circuit boards, rapidly appeared on the skin of their forearms, eventually converging to form a maple leaf totem.
"It's all over! It's all fucking over!"
A series of extremely mournful howls shattered the tranquility of the outpost.
Everyone turned to look, and saw Ah-en, the roasted whole lamb, slumped on the ground, cradling his shiny left arm, looking utterly dejected.
"I have a tattoo now! ...I can't take the civil service exam now!"
It looked as if a flock of crows was flying across the sky.
"You're a god of gold!"
The climbing snail slapped the roasted whole lamb on the back of the head, laughing and scolding.
"What kind of civil service exam are you taking in a game? Are you trying to become a village official in Pearl Harbor?! You'd better figure out how to use this thing first!"
The snail tentatively touched the glowing maple leaf emblem on its forearm with its finger.
With a buzzing sound.
A semi-transparent holographic light screen, visible only to the players themselves, was projected directly from the surface of the emblem into mid-air. It clearly displayed three modules: [Personal Attributes], [Team Communication], and [Behavior Log].
"That's awesome!!" Xiaoyu excitedly swiped the light screen.
"Forget about whether it's cool or not, quickly check the logs for experience points!"
The snail quickly clicked on the "Behavior Log" section.
On that semi-transparent light screen of the diary, their actions over the past two days were meticulously recorded:
...............
[Kill the Floating Pig, experience +20]
[High-intensity heavy lifting, severe physical exhaustion, experience +120]
[Collaborate to save the villagers of Rainbow Village, EXP +150]
[Assist in constructing composite material armor, altering the appearance of the area, experience +300]
[Hidden milestone achieved: Miracle Wall completed, EXP +450]
"Hahaha! I knew this game was weird!"
The agent stared at the numbers on the screen, slapping his thigh in excitement.
"You only get a few experience points for killing monsters? You get over a hundred for carrying two loads of bricks! You get the lion's share for building walls!"
"Guys, we're doing some kind of massive otherworldly development!"
In a moment of ecstasy, the five people's rankings became completely clear.
The snail, roasted whole lamb, and agent who were the first to arrive in this world had their experience bars stopped at [Lv.4].
Xiaoyu arrived a day late and only has [Lv.3].
The one who just arrived and ran away with the bucket caught up with a recent wave of character experience and has reached [Lv.3].
George is at [Lv.2].
"Leveled up! Let's go figure out how to allocate skill points!"
The climbing snail excitedly switched to the [Personal Attributes] panel.
However, the next second, the veteran internet users were all stunned.
"Wait a minute... where's my health bar? Where's my mana bar?"
The snail searched the holographic panel for a long time and only saw four options: Strength (STR), Agility (DEX), Intelligence (INT), and Luck (LUK). However, it did not see Health Points (HP) and Mana Points (MP).
Lynn stood aside, watching all of this with satisfaction.
He had already learned from his own research that in the real world, the concept of "health bar and mana bar" simply does not exist.
How many hits you can withstand depends entirely on your physical condition and the timing of your defense and block; it cannot be quantified with numbers.
It is also affected by physical strength and physical condition.
Take a chestnut.
The HP bar progress of an extremely tired player is definitely different from that of a player at full strength.
If someone suddenly unleashes their full potential in battle, that's another story.
As for the classic "blood washing" mechanic in MapleStory?
Come on, there's no health bar left. Even the biggest whale can't cleanse the blood.
"Guys, this is awesome!"
The snail gasped, not feeling cheated at all, but instead its eyes burned with fervor.
"No health bar! This means there's no such thing as numerical dominance in the game."
Warriors are tough and resilient, they can withstand a lot of damage, while fragile characters get seriously injured from a single blow. That's fucking hardcore!
Since I can't heal, I can only go all the way down the path of extreme specialization.
Add 5 points to Agility that are 5 points higher than your level, and put all the remaining points into Strength!
The snail did not hesitate at all.
The moment the count was confirmed, the emblem on the arm flashed with a bright light.
The snail let out a muffled groan, feeling a warm current surge through his core muscles, instantly neutralizing the fatigue from carrying bricks.
so comfy.
He clenched his fist, and the muscles in his forearm visibly tightened.
"Awesome! Once I get to the Warrior's Tribe, I'll immediately become a warrior! I'll be in heavy armor at the front, let's see who can kill me in a second!"
"Then I'll max out my intelligence."
Xiaoyu chuckled. What if the game's settings are different from the original? Maybe she could save those 5 ability points.
After adding the points, he felt the chaos deep in his mind vanish, and his senses became exceptionally clear, as if he could capture the elements floating in the air.
"Mages are forever gods. After I change jobs in the Magic Forest, I'll use magic bullets to light your cigarettes."
The roasted whole lamb and the agent respectively invested their points into agility and luck.
"By the way, I haven't decided yet whether to play a marksman or a swordsman for my second job advancement!" The agent made a Dybala gesture, looking excited.
Lynn, who had been observing silently from the side, summoned his own control panel.
As a ruthless foreman, he enjoys the 20% experience bonus granted by the system, and his level has quietly reached [Lv.5].
However, he didn't add any points. In this real and dangerous world, hoarding those 30 points as a trump card for survival might be the safest option.
Just as everyone was still immersed in the joy of becoming stronger, a faint scent of raw leather mixed with wildflowers wafted over from the other end of the boardwalk.
Several players, whose senses had been greatly enhanced, turned their heads in unison.
A woman with wavy hair and wearing a tight-fitting coarse cloth dress was swaying gracefully as she walked towards them.
It was Ms. Sophia, whom the LSP agents coveted.
I really want to spend 2000 Czech riyals to find out more about her, and if that doesn't work, I'll add another 2000!
Sophia walked to Lynn's side, gave a slight bow, and then looked at the players who were still wearing thin white T-shirts with her flirtatious eyes. Her voice was as clear as a bell:
"My lord, although the warriors possess divine power, these simple clothes are ultimately no match for the danger."
I've discussed it with the village chief, and there are still some extremely tough pigskins and snail shells in the warehouse..."
She covered her mouth and chuckled, her gaze sweeping over the group: "If the warriors are willing to help me with some small tasks at the lumberyard in the north, such as... clearing out some wood spirits and carrying back some timber that the village needs."
I'd be happy to personally tailor-make a few decent sets of leather armor for each of you...
"Take it! We'll take this mission!" a Czech public security agent shouted.
I just unlocked the experience system, and now I'm about to unlock the equipment system and the new map, the Lumber Mill!
This is no more interesting than grinding monsters all day!
The working soul of the fourth natural disaster
Under the setting sun, it burst into a blazing fire.