Strange Voyage: Summoning the Fourth Disaster.

Chapter 190 The Soloist and the Wood Spirit Merchant
[You are infected by madness, the upper limit of mental value is -1, and abnormal progress is accumulating...]

Looking at the scene in front of him, Li Miao felt a chill on his back and a tingling scalp.

The influence of the crazy progress also made him feel dizzy, and it seemed that his movements became a little obscure.

This was obviously an illusion, but he didn't know why he was suddenly affected like this. Could it be a feature of the map?

After calming down, Li Miao clenched the Frost Lance in his hand.

Fortunately, this illusion came and went quickly, lasting only less than a second before quickly fading away.

Most of the monsters disappeared directly, leaving only some listeners on the platform returning to their original state, standing quietly in place. It seemed that as long as they did not make any noise, they would not attract their attention.

'Could this be a hint?'

Thinking of the cave on the cliff before, Li Miao felt that there should be a connection between the two.

However, what we need to do now is to continue exploring. After finding the next milestone spirit candle, we can go back and ask other players...

Ok?
With a glance, Li Miao suddenly discovered something.

In the middle of the road leading to the top building, there seemed to be a faint trace of fire flickering on the ground.

There were a few motionless audience members on the platform nearby.

Li Miao approached cautiously, and the audience on the platform ignored him. It was obvious that only the sound could attract their attention.

It would be best if they didn't cause trouble.

Li Miao breathed a sigh of relief and focused his eyes on the traces of fire on the ground.

As if sensing someone approaching, the traces of fire quickly turned into a silent message.

[If you want to do business, please come to the shabby house behind the garden. ]

Buying and selling?

Looks like a merchant NPC?

After reading the message, Li Miao understood. Wandering merchants are a setting in many games.

While thinking, Li Miao raised his head and looked towards the branch road on the right.

Although most of the houses along the central road are damaged, they still maintain their basic appearance.

But the branch road on the right can be said to be in ruins, and some collapsed buildings even cover the original road.

Li Miao moved forward cautiously.

But surprisingly, there was not a single monster on the road.

Even some corners that were extremely suitable for ambushing people were rarely empty.

Li Miao scratched his head.

After taking a look at the pile of collapsed houses in front of him, he took a step forward.

He can actually climb up that small mound!
If it were placed in some games, you might not be able to get past it no matter what.

It is indeed an open-world VR game.

After complaining in his heart, Li Miao looked downwards.

Below is a platform extending from the side of the platform. From some fences and fallen plant roots, it is not difficult to see that this seems to be a garden for guests to rest and relax.

But the garden was now in ruins, and in the midst of the ruins, a man in ragged traveler's clothes was sitting next to a broken fountain.

"Woo..."

The man had his eyes covered and was playing a small flute-like instrument that made faint music that seemed to carry a hint of sadness.

Around him were corpses, also holding musical instruments.

【Soloist on the side stage】

[Rank: Slag]

【Level: 28】

[Talent: None]

[Skill: Chaotic Music]

[Explanation: The soloist beside the high platform is waiting, but he doesn’t know what he is waiting for.]

"Ok?"

This……

Li Miao suddenly felt a little confused.

This looks like a small boss after all, but it's just a level 28 slag monster. Is the monster on the Tranquil Platform so weak?

Was this a fraud?

With a skeptical attitude, Li Miao jumped down from the ruins of the building.

The place is not high, so Zhu Ling will definitely not die from the fall. Only an old version of the demon hunter can be killed from the fall.

Moving step by step, he cautiously came to the Broken Fountain.

What was puzzling was that the soloist on the side stage strangely did not attack him.

There were no monsters suddenly appearing around, as if he really just wanted to perform solo, nothing more...

Li Miao looked around cautiously for a while before confirming that there was really no plot or anything like that.

"Could it be that this copy is not yet finished? A half-finished product?"

"Or do we have to attack the soloist?"

Li Miao frowned, then stretched out his hand and waved it in front of the soloist on the stage next to him.

"Hey?"

The only response he got was the faint sound of music.

Seeing that he didn't say anything, Li Miao scratched his head, then reached out and patted his shoulder.

"Hello?"

The music stopped.

The soloist on the side stage slowly drew out a dagger from his waist and attacked Li Miao.

but!

Free of charge.

Li Miao is one of the best players in terms of level, combat experience and various attributes. A level 28 boss is clearly not enough.

[You killed the soloist on the side stage]

[Obtained: Wax Oil × 26]

[Obtained: Wanderer's Long Coat (Excellent)]

[Obtained: A page of essays by the soloist]

[A Soloist's Essay]

[Type: Letter]

[Content: "...Shelandes' war is still not over... I don't know when I can plant my flower seeds... I hope Shorel's performance will be a success..."]

[Description: A soloist's essay, a mixture of sadness, hope and worry.]

After reading the essay, Li Miao put it away and then stared closely at the soloist's body.

In his opinion, this soloist on the side stage most likely has a two-stage form.

After all, no matter how you look at it, he is a guy who monopolizes the field. How could he be defeated so easily?

Appearances are all appearances!
Li Miao thought firmly.

However, it was not until the corpse completely turned into ashes and dissipated that he reacted in a daze.

No, gone?
That's it?

A level 28 mini-boss is gone?
Li Miao searched around in disbelief, even looking at the fountain water, but still found nothing.

This journey was simple and easy, just like the beginner tutorials in some games to prevent refunds...

"There's definitely something wrong."

Although I couldn't help but think that "this game is no longer interesting".

But Li Miao still subconsciously felt that it was not that simple.

"Forget it, let's go to the dilapidated house first. Isn't there a merchant there? Maybe this NPC knows something..."

After glancing back for a while, Li Miao saw a secluded path beside the cliff, and the guidance of the spirit candle also appeared at this time.

After crossing the path, Li Miao finally saw a dilapidated house. After lighting the milestone candle, Li walked towards the dilapidated house.

The smoky campfire was faintly visible, and a thin figure was standing with his back to Li Miao.

[Wandering Fire: Merchant of Unknown Origin]

A piece of information appeared in Li Miao's sight, but strangely, this information appeared on the top of the broken roof.

A bug?
Li Miao muttered to himself, but without thinking too much, he walked towards the thin figure with a little caution.

"Hello, is this message on the roadside left by you?"

Li Miao asked.

"Yes."

Suddenly, a low voice responded to him, but it did not come from the thin figure, but seemed to come from... the broken house?
Wow...

After a sudden noise, the broken house twisted and deformed, and then condensed, and finally transformed into a tall humanoid bark creature right under Li Miao's eyes.

He had a huge basket on his back, covered with leaves, and no one knew what was inside.

The hard bark tore apart, revealing a pair of calm emerald eyes.

"Sorry, this is to deal with some guys with bad intentions."

“And you come with good intentions, which is rare.”

"Let me introduce myself. My name is Rutan, a merchant from the Wood Spirit Tribe."

"If you can provide enough spiritual materials, we can make some deals."

The tree man Rutan said calmly, taking off the wooden gloves covered with human clothes from his hands and putting them aside.

It turned out that the skinny man was just a disguise of the other party.

Fortunately, I didn't intend to attack him just now, otherwise I would have been killed by now...

Li Miao's eyelids twitched.

But he quickly came to his senses and looked at the other person with some curiosity: "You are not trapped here?"

Judging from the words of the wood spirit merchant Rutan, he does not seem to be a character in the "copy", but more like a character in a dynamic plot.

That is, like Leti and the firewood gatherer, they have the ability to think independently and have normal logical thinking.

Sure enough, Rutan nodded: "You can think of me as the free fire."

really.

After confirming that the other party was indeed a character in the dynamic plot, Li Miao's eyes lit up.

If it is a merchant in the dungeon, the items sold by him are most likely worthless, and every player who enters the dungeon can encounter him.

But the merchants in the dynamic plot... they are not easy to come across, and the things they sell are definitely not ordinary stuff.

However, Li Miao does not have any "spiritual materials" now, so if he wants to find it, he will probably have to go back to find the Candle Keeper.

So I'd better talk to Rutan first and ask about the situation here.

But Rutan seemed to have noticed his intention. Before he could speak, he said, "Since we are both travelers in the dark, I think there is no need to talk too much about things other than the transaction..."

Lu Tan spoke in a flat tone, as if he didn't want to explain too much, and he was not interested in Li Miao's situation.

This made Li Miao choke.

Just as he was thinking about how to respond, a task suddenly appeared in front of him.

[You have received a special mission from Lingzhu: Establish contact with the Wood Spirit Merchant]

[Quest requirements: Leave the Wood Spirit Merchant behind and find the Candle Keeper.]

[Task Reward: Wax Oil × 50]

Lingzhu is also interested in Muling merchants?
Li Miao was a little surprised. After accepting the task, he carefully considered his wording and then told the other party if he could wait for a few minutes and he would be back soon.

In response, Rutan didn't say much, but just nodded slightly in agreement.

Afterwards, Li Miao quickly passed the milestone spirit candle and returned to Zhuxin Island, and the candle keeper was waiting for him as expected.

After he explained the situation, the candle keeper quickly gave him a new task.

[Task requirements: Inform the wood spirit merchant of the situation on Zhuxin Island and try to establish a long-term relationship with him.]

After finishing the job, the candle keeper generously gave him a large piece of burning charcoal spiritual material. Of course, some of the items he got in exchange would have to be handed over.

After doing all this, Li Miao took a look at the world chat channel.

As expected, most of the players in the Tranquil Terrace also came to the Side Terrace Garden and killed the Soloist.

Many players expressed confusion and bewilderment.

But now is not the time to focus on that.

After doing all this, Li Miao quickly withdrew his gaze and used the spirit candle to teleport again to the dilapidated house behind the garden on the side stage.

The tall wood spirit merchant Lutan still sat there quietly and did not leave.

Li Miao quickly came to Lutan and briefly described the situation on Zhuxin Island.

"Oh? Zhu Ling?" Rutan's wrinkled bark face finally showed a hint of surprise: "I thought you were one of those lonely firewood collectors..."

"Unlike them, we have a large population and demand for all kinds of goods. We are in great need of merchants like you."

Li Miao smiled.

"You should be more than one person, right? How about making a big deal first?"

After hearing his words, Lu Tan thought silently for a moment, then took off the backpack, pushed aside the leaves on it, and after searching for a while, he took out a piece of bark that looked like jade.

"...Learn the spell above, and you can call us when you need us."

“Of course, not every time there is a response.”

After handing the things to Li Miao, Rutan closed the backpack again.

There is no doubt that compared to the Shadow of Deception, the Wood Spirit Merchant is more cautious towards the Candle Spirit.

It is obviously impossible to establish contact points with each other like Leti.

[Obtained: Strange Spell (Quest Item)]

However, no matter what, the task assigned to him by Lingzhu was completed. Once the task props were handed over, he would probably get some very good rewards, hehe.

Li Miao happily put it away, and then turned his attention to Rutan's backpack.

"I brought spiritual materials. Can you show me what you sell?"

Li Miao took out the large piece of charcoal spiritual material given by the candle keeper.

Rutan nodded, and then took out another piece of bark engraved with characters under Li Miao's expectant eyes.

[Obtained: Rutan's Product List]

"..."

This guy is really cautious and refuses to show him what is in the backpack.

Forget it.

Li Miao curled his lips and began to check the items on the list.

However, when he saw the first product on it, he was immediately surprised.

[Gear Crystal Replacement Limb: Five small pieces of ember spirit material, created by Galgerda.]

There's nothing wrong with the name, the cost, and the origin.

What surprised Li Miao were, of course, the two words "substitute limbs" and "gears".

The combination of these two naturally gave him some steampunk associations.

"Rutan, this gear crystal replacement limb..." Li Miao looked up at Rutan.

Seeing this, Rutan said nothing, but silently took out an arm made of dull crystal ore from his backpack.

Most of it is made of crystals engraved with spells, and a small part is made of metal gears and precision parts. The hands, in particular, are extremely finely crafted.

"The residents of Galgerda are keen on studying spell technology. This is their creation, and the original intention was to restore the disabled to health."

"And this replacement limb can also be used as a special equipment, allowing you to have a third hand... provided you can adapt to it."

"This information is free. If you want to know the detailed origins of other things, there will be additional charges."

Rutan's voice was low and his face was calm.

Please give me a monthly ticket!



(End of this chapter)