Whose world-class drama are they criticizing?

Ryan said, "The first one is what I just mentioned, using your shadow magic to sneak out along the side path, but that path is long, while the second path is much shorter..."

"I'll choose the shorter one!" Miss Jasmine said immediately, eager to get home and wash off the stench of sauerkraut.

"You've got guts!" Ryan exclaimed, having long since realized Jasmine was no ordinary person. He turned and lifted the hidden panel beneath the cellar, revealing a dark and deep space. "The second way is through these sewers..."

huh?

Jasmine's eyes widened as she cautiously peered down. It was terrifyingly dark below, hiding a great horror. Jasmine quickly pulled her head back out.

Their ears perked up alertly.

When you stare into the sewer, the sewer stares back into you.

"Where, where did the sewer come from?" she stammered.

"Isn't a sewer system a standard feature?"

Ryan, quite naturally, made a scathing statement: "Excellent miniature gardens are often paired with sewer systems. These sewer systems are interconnected, well-designed, and run through every joint. You could say that the sewer system is the soul of every town and its most beautiful feature."

“No.” Miss Jasmine crossed her arms over her chest and refused sternly.

She was furious at Ryan's distorted aesthetic sense; what kind of "most beautiful scenery" was this?!

Ryan looked regretful. He felt that Jasmine had really bad taste. The gaming market was becoming increasingly sluggish because of these new players who had no taste.

It's practically an obstacle to the gaming market.

Unable to visit the sewers he desired, Ryan reluctantly took a detour through a side path. Although Miss Jasmine's taste wasn't sophisticated, her shadow magic was undeniably superb. She crawled in the shadows and slowly slipped out of Blighttown.

When they came out, it was already bright daylight.

The sunlight shone on the wheat ears on both sides, turning them as white as frost.

Ryan tallied up his spoils from the trip, not only throwing the key fragments into the depths but also retrieving the treasure in his hand.

He wrapped the sword blade in thick holy cloth, barely protecting it from the curse of withering disease.

Ryan took off his gloves, and his once white left hand was now faintly yellowed, with fine veins exposed, bloodless, like the roots of a plant.

This is the erosion caused by reaching out to snatch the sword earlier.

The situation was worse than he had imagined, but still within a manageable range.

Any form of erosion requires the accumulation of accumulation bars; only when these bars accumulate slowly will the erosion take effect. The same applies to withering disease.

As a semi-player, Ryan can see the accumulation bar, [Withered Disease (0.1)], which is far from being full.

With an erosion level of 0.1, it will disappear automatically if left alone.

Ryan rested for a while, until the color returned to his left hand and the root-like veins faded, before laying the sword horizontally on the ground, untying a corner of the cloth, and examining his treasure up close.

The hilt had fallen off, and the blade was damaged by years of corrosion and rust, making it impossible to distinguish the original material. The iron and the withered leaves had fused together.

This is a broken sword.

Holding it in your hand, it is slightly heavier than a wooden sword, but much lighter than an iron sword.

The entire blade had grown together with the withered plant, its yellowish roots entwined around the blade and deeply embedded in its body.

This sword is not an inanimate object, but a living one.

The vines were still slowly wriggling.

Without the supply of magic from the host, the withered plant fell into dormancy, its branches and leaves spreading out to expose a blood-red magic core, which consisted of blood-red spores, round and small like tiny eyes.

Infuse these spores with magic, and the withered plant will revive.

A withered plant can regenerate from head to toe; only by destroying its core can it be completely killed.

Ryan examined the sword closely and noticed faint inscriptions on its blade. Swords with inscriptions are considered holy swords. The inscription read "Straw," indicating that the sword's original name was Straw Sword. The name was rather strange, suggesting that its previous owner was also an eccentric.

【Straw sword (broken)】

Grade: None

[A broken holy sword, eroded by withered plants for thirty years; touching it will cause the withered disease to accumulate.]

Are straw the remnants of golden wheat ears, or the withered remains of each year? The straw knight still lingers.

He thought of the sick knight from before; his equipment was of a high grade, so he must be a person of high status.

It's a pity that although Ryan loves this treasure dearly, he can't use it.

Without a hilt, it can only be called a 'sword blank' at best.

Ryan can't use this. This broken sword needs to be reforged, at least with a hilt added, otherwise it will only cause harm.

Miss Jasmine sighed. She had risked her life, almost crawling into the sewers, just to retrieve this broken sword.

She deeply regretted it; she should have known better than to work overtime. Jasmine silently vowed to herself that from now on, she would leave work on time and wouldn't work overtime no matter how much extra pay she received—at least, it couldn't just be about holding hands.

Ryan was quite satisfied. He wrapped the 'straw sword' again in cloth, tied it to his waist, and planned to have the blacksmith reforge it tomorrow... but that didn't seem to work.

He frowned. The old blacksmith's "Curse of the Blacksmith and Fire" was too overpowered. It was a surprise prepared for the players. He had finally managed to get his hands on this divine weapon, and he couldn't let the old blacksmith waste it.

Since that's the case, why not learn to forge it myself?

Having more skills means having more career options.

Once he learned forging, he could unleash his boundless inspiration.

For example, you could make some fun little toys, like a fire-rolling car or a moving Iron Maiden.

Ryan thought to himself, "Let the old blacksmith teach me forging."

After several days of conversation, he discovered that the old blacksmith had extensive forging experience; if it weren't for the curse, he would at least be a royal blacksmith.

Having made up his mind, he led Miss Jasmine back to the capital in triumph.

Ryan's journey home was pleasant. He first shook off the enthusiastic villagers' invitations to eat and dodged the welcome of a few mad dogs. Then he circled around the small river next to his house and found the invisible bridge. He walked in from the invisible bridge, being careful not to step into the invisible pits and fall into the river. Children are not allowed to swim in the river or pond.

Finally, knock on the outer gate. If it can't be opened from this side, crawl through the small hole on the side.

[Guidance Quest: Teach the Lightless to Parry (0/10)]

[Reward Amount: 10 Power Potion Essences (Level 1)]

Shortly after Ryan arrived home, a new guidance mission arrived.

The players, full of fighting spirit, also arrived outside the City of Beginnings.

They all wore relieved smiles.

"We've reached the finish line, easy peasy!"

Chapter 40 I Laugh at Ryan's Lack of Wisdom

[Guidance Quest: Teach the Dark Ones Perfect Parry (0/10)]

[Reward Amount: 10 Power Potions]

The Silver Eclipse reflected a new guiding mission in Ryan's eyes. Ryan nodded; this was a typical tutorial level.

The witch is like the chairman of the board, and Ryan is the project director. The chairman sets the KPIs, and the project director has to outwardly comply but inwardly defy them to complete the targets, while also pocketing the benefits. This is what a normal and healthy workplace is like.

Practice brings true knowledge.

Ryan instructed the archers on the battlements to prepare themselves and to teach them carefully.

But where is the bridge?

Across from the castle, the legendary investigator discovered the crux of the problem: "This castle is surrounded by rivers; how do we get in without a bridge?"

"They'll definitely let us swim across. Sorry everyone, I'll be going now."

A player with the ID 'Long Ge Zhen Yong' said that Long Ge took the lead, eagerly swinging his arms and leaping forward, diving headfirst into the moat.

He'll be the first to rush into the city; all the treasures inside will be his, and everyone else will just have to wait and see.

"Brother Long is awesome."

"So handsome, so incredibly handsome."

"That's how you should swim."

The comments section was filled with cheers.

Brother Long also offered his insightful comment: "Gurgle, gurgle."

The water in the church is not called holy water; the water flowing in the moat is the holy water.

The moat has been tainted by a curse for over a century. Its water is so clean and hygienic that it contains a wealth of nutrients. A single drop could contain half the curse periodic table.

As soon as Brother Long plunged into the river, his skin melted first, his bones evaporated instantly, and his internal organs burned to ashes, killing him instantly.

The cold-hearted Brother Long has transformed into a warm blessing.

Ryan beamed with satisfaction; the tax payment had arrived so quickly.

Brother Long dissolved upon contact with water, and the players all mourned and remembered him, sighing that Brother Long truly sacrificed himself for righteousness and was a truly honest and kind person.

He proved the truth through his life experience: [Things without light are easily soluble in water].

It's just a pity that Brother Long will have to run through the map for another half hour.

"Wow, I'm going to get you."

The old man took a deep breath and clicked the jump button, almost jumping down with Brother Long. The two brothers were cosplaying as Octonauts, and seeing their good brother being harmed by this trash game, they couldn't help but feel sad.

"Brother Long, why do you look like him?"

To express his grief, he took a chicken leg from his backpack pocket—food dropped by a monster, which the old man had always been reluctant to eat. He threw the chicken leg into the moat as an offering, a tribute to Brother Long.

Other players followed suit, picking ingredients from their pockets and throwing them into the moat to express their condolences.

"I have wolf meat in my backpack, I'll give it all to you, sob sob, Brother Long."

"Then I'll throw in a piece of beef, oh."

"I'll toss you a few small snacks, these are your favorites, Brother Long..."

In an instant, all kinds of meat were thrown into the moat and swallowed up by the surging river.

The legendary investigator tossed out several snacks, intending to make sure Brother Long ate and drank well, when suddenly he frowned, narrowed his eyes, and noticed something amiss. "Brothers, why is one of the snacks floating in mid-air?"

"Ah." The other players also noticed that a small snack was floating in the air. The clever ones immediately came to the conclusion, "It's Brother Long! Brother Long has appeared! Brother Long really loves this snack."

"Throw some more."

The legendary investigator continued to throw things in that direction, not just delicious snacks, but all sorts of odds and ends. They all hovered in the air without falling, as if being held up by something.

"Brother Long has a really good appetite."

"Brother Long is not bad."

"That's a really strong taste."

The players were amazed.

"No, that's not right." The legendary investigator's eyes widened. This really wasn't some miracle from Brother Long. He exclaimed, "It's the bridge!"

"It's an invisible bridge."

Invisible bridge?

Players recognize each character individually, but when combined, they create an unfamiliar shape.

In this day and age, can bridges still be invisible in games?

The old man was bold. He tentatively took a step into the air in that direction, and his foot did not miss the target. Instead, he landed firmly on the stone.

"That's true."

They threw offerings down the bridge, but accidentally threw them into the invisible bridge.

Brother Long's death greatly accelerated the players' exploration progress.

"This Chuguang City is too sinister; they didn't even paint the bridges."

The old man couldn't help but curse angrily, saying that the lies just came out of his mouth.

"It must be that kid Ryan who cut corners and embezzled the project funds when he became the city lord, so there's no money left to paint the bridge."

"I won't allow you to talk about him."

Yuzu immediately became unhappy.