Chapter 48 - 48 45 Cellar Key

48: Chapter 45: Cellar Key 48: Chapter 45: Cellar Key What’s going on? Where did this monster come from? Both of them were somewhat baffled, but the red name floating above the monster’s head was no joke. No matter what, let’s kill it first. Xiao Jie raised his shield to meet the enemy, blocking a series of chops. The demon attacked with remarkable frequency, delivering five or six slashes onto the shield that rang out with a thud. I Want to Be Immortal took the opportunity to swing his battle axe from the side. Splitting Stone Slash! Crack! With one axe blow, he knocked the demon flat. Xiao Jie took the chance to finish it off. A two-piece slash! The stunned monster had no power to fight back; it was the perfect time to deal damage. Swish! The blade’s passage triggered the Limb Cutting effect, chopping off the arm holding the knife. Tian Lishi kept cursing while twisting his body and suddenly pounced on I Want to Be Immortal, hugging him tightly and attempting to bite. -5! -3! -5! -4! Red damage numbers kept popping up. I Want to Be Immortal was momentarily unable to shake free, while Xiao Jie hacked continuously at the demon’s back, chopping seven or eight times until finally slaying the strange creature. “Damn, where did this monster spring from?” I Want to Be Immortal said, drinking from a blood bottle with a sense of bewilderment. Xiao Jie was also puzzled; previously, there had only been straw men in this wheat field. It must have spawned suddenly. But that’s not right. No one had fought here before them, which means if there were any rare monsters, they should be in their spawning state. Unless this monster spawned because the two of them triggered some condition. But besides killing monsters, they didn’t do anything else. That’s it, it must be that after killing a certain number of straw men, this monster would spawn. Xiao Jie felt the monster’s corpse but only found two white items. [Sharp Kitchen Knife (Short Sword). Attack Power: 9 Chop. Weapon Effect: Kitchen Tool. Increases proficiency gained in cooking by +10%. Item Introduction: A sharp kitchen knife that combines cutting, peeling, chopping, and mincing. It improves the wielder’s cooking skill proficiency.] [Cellar Key (Key) Use: Opens the door to the Tian Family Mansion’s cellar. Item Introduction: A rusty key able to unlock a specific lock.] Hey, good stuff. The kitchen knife is all right, likely just a standard tool-class weapon like the Firewood Axe and Shepherd Whip. This key really caught Xiao Jie’s attention. In most games, places like cellars and secret doors contain some good loot. Tian Family Mansion? Could it be that farmstead over there? Xiao Jie looked towards the derelict farmstead not far away. “Let’s go, let’s check it out.” The two arrived in front of the large house, and Xiao Jie tried pushing the door. System Notification: The door is locked tight, it cannot be opened from this side. Huh, it’s locked shut? Could there still be someone inside the farmstead? No, that can’t be; the house looks too run-down to have been inhabited for a long time. Or perhaps there is a back door? The two began to walk around the large house. Calling it a large house might be an overstatement; it was just a two-story traditional building, about the size of the village chief’s mansion. However, after a full circuit, they couldn’t find a single entrance—not even a back door, and the windows had been nailed shut from the inside. This was indeed strange. Having completed the circuit, they returned to the front door where Xiao Jie took a tentative chop at it. Immune! Huh, there’s a catch! Xiao Jie’s spirits were immediately lifted. The door was probably breakable since, if it had been indestructible, the weapon should have just bounced off without showing “immune.” If “immune” was displayed, it suggested that the door could be smashed, just that the type of attack he used was incorrect. Many tool-class weapons in this game have specific effects, indicating that breaking down the door would require a heavy weapon. “I Want to Be Immortal, your turn, use the axe.” Boom! The axe chopped down onto it. -0! Defense not broken! Splitting Stone Slash! Boom! -0! Defense not broken! The door’s health bar did appear, with a full 500 points of Durability. It looks like my thought process is correct, seeing -0 instead of immune indicates that the Battle Axe is at least somewhat effective compared to a blade. But it’s still not powerful enough. Now, this is really bizarre, do I actually have to use a siege hammer to batter down the door? The cellar door most likely should be inside the house, but if I can’t get through the main door, having the key is useless. Xiao Jie took a few steps back, observing the mansion before him, expanding his thinking. Countless gaming experiences flashed through his mind. Do I have to use Qinggong to leap onto the roof, and then enter through the chimney? No, that’s not right, the chimneys on these farmhouses are too narrow to crawl into. The problem should still be with this door, maybe I can go back and take a look at the weapon shop. “Cheng Xian, what’s the Attack Power and weight of your axe?” “12 weight, 21 Chop.” This should be the heaviest weapon in the weapon shop, right? Looking at the setting sun sinking in the distance, Xiao Jie sighed with no choice, it’s already five o’clock, and it will be dark soon. “Let’s call it a day, we’ll return to the village for now, and come back tomorrow to try again.” I Want to Be Immortal seemed to have gotten a bit addicted to chopping monsters, “Can we train a bit longer, Feng?” Xiao Jie was actually itching to keep going too, mainly because these straw men were so easy to kill, much easier than the mountain bandits, but he understood the principle of having plenty of time. “We have plenty of time, we’ve already leveled up today, it’s not likely we can level up again with more training today, let’s come back tomorrow.” “How about we log off here tonight?” “No, don’t be complacent. What if we log on and get trapped by monsters? Once we’re in combat, we can’t log off.” The possibility is not nonexistent. What if a big monster spawned nearby, or a Corpse Chaser passed by here with a Corpse Group, it would be game over once we’re in combat. Although the probability is small, even a small chance becomes 100% once it happens. So we can’t let our guard down. “Let’s come back tomorrow, I feel there must be something good here.” Looking back, they had cleared almost a third of the straw men from that large stretch of fields. Some crows were pecking in the wheat field, feasting on the wheat, eating happily. Speaking of which, we have to thank these crows. Killing these straw men is rather easy, the only thing we need to watch out for is the Flame Embrace, but as long as we’re at full health, we won’t be instantly killed. But it looks like these crows lured us here for the wheat too. “You guys enjoy your meal, we’re leaving, see you tomorrow.” “Caw caw! Thank you, humans, thank you so much!” As they called out, they continued to feast, enjoying the unharvested wild wheat. “No need to thank us, just help us scout some more information in the future, and we’ll be extremely grateful.” “Caw caw, no problem, caw caw!” Xiao Jie greeted them and then directly headed towards the village. I Want to Be Immortal had no choice but to follow reluctantly. The return trip was very smooth. Passing through woods and meadows, they could soon see the walls of Ginkgo Village from a distance. A sense of homecoming immediately filled their hearts. After reaching the village, Xiao Jie couldn’t help but check the weapons list while repairing equipment at the blacksmith shop, but unfortunately, there were no heavier weapons. “Did you guys go monster hunting today?” Wang Kai was surprised to see that both of their levels had risen to 3. “Yeah, what about it, interested in joining us for leveling?” “Not me, I’ve sworn never to leave the village,” Wang Kai responded without hesitation. “You could mix with us, level up a few times before coming back. Just leveling up a bit would give you dozens of attribute points, which could double your physical fitness.” “Heh, no thanks. If I really leveled up, it would only make me want more, like learning Skills and getting Equipment. That would be the end of it. I’d be done for sooner or later, the only safe way is to abandon the thought from the start,” Wang Kai said casually, though one could clearly hear the sour note in his tone. PS: Thanks to the book friend, the Wayfarer, and the Alliance Hierarch for the reward. There will be an extra release tomorrow along with the one I owe from before. I will strive to catch up on all of them this week.