Regional Channel 666 (Abandoned Forest) 9983 / 10000
In just one morning, seventeen people had died.
No one knew exactly how, but it was clear that this forest was far more dangerous than Arya had imagined.
This also gave her a new warning: she would need to be far more cautious when venturing outside in the future.
"So hungry… Has anyone found a supply chest? Can you spare some food?"
"You can probably spot one or two chests just by looking around outside. You probably haven't even left, you freeloader. Go die."
"Have internet beggars already begged their way to Kalim?"
"Help! My Shelter is in a tree, at least thirty meters off the ground. Can anyone save me?"
You can't be saved. You'll have to find a vine nearby and climb down yourself.
"There are wolf packs in the forest. Everyone, be careful when you go out Gathering."
So it had been a wolf pack watching her last night. She had thought it was some unknown monster.
"Everyone, absolutely do not drink the stream water. I took a sip and felt awful all over. I'm still having diarrhea."
Huh?
Can't drink the stream water? But it looked so clear…
Arya unconsciously sat up straight. Although she hadn't considered drinking it, she had been thinking about using it for bathing and washing clothes. If it was unsafe, her plans would be ruined.
She immediately scrolled down to read more messages.
"Diarrhea? Shelters have toilets?"
"I found a treasure chest."
"What! You actually found a treasure chest? Big shot, quickly tell us what's inside!"
"Just a 500-gram loaf of bread, a bottle of water, and a box of tissues."
"You found water? Then why did you drink from the stream?"
"I drank it before I found the treasure chest."
"Selling the bread? Two basic units."
"Get lost. Do you want a treasure chest full of poop?"
"Big shot, how are you so sure it was the stream water? It looked perfectly clear, not polluted at all."
"Hmph, fear-mongering. I drank it and didn't feel anything."
"It was only when I returned with the treasure chest that I realized something was wrong. My personal info said my internal magic concentration was excessive."
"Excessive magic concentration? So the water has a high magic content that the human body can't handle?"
"How should I know? Get lost. Don't bother me while I'm on the toilet."
"Are you on the toilet or on the treasure chest?"
"Hahaha…"
For a while, the chat channel erupted with laughter.
Excessive magic concentration? That was a novel idea.
However, recalling what the World's Will had said yesterday—"even the air is filled with abundant magic"—it was probably normal for stream water here to have high magic content. Breathing magic-laden air without poisoning themselves was already fortunate.
No wonder all the supply boxes contained Blue Star products. Perhaps this was a buffer period left by the World's Will.
Arya frowned, pondering.
At that moment, someone appeared in the channel, spewing curses that were shockingly foul, though no one knew who they were targeting.
From his avatar, it was a large-bearded man with a cloth wrapped around his head, a typical Indian style.
After repeated questioning, the old man finally recounted his story:
"Damn it! Everyone, beware! That guy named James Bellman is a liar! He said he'd trade pickaxes with me yesterday, but tricked me into giving him mine and refused to give me the axe!"
Alright, it was clear now.
Arya remembered the trade conversation from last night. He had been cheated. In this strange world, he had trusted someone he had never met. She could only think: he deserved it.
"Liar? Are you talking about yourself, Asan Singh? Don't think I don't know you were jailed for fraud two years ago. How dare you call someone else a liar?"
Before James could respond, someone else jumped in to argue with Asan Singh.
After that, the tone quickly spiraled out of control.
"Oh, isn't this Lin? Not smuggling anymore, now you're moral police?"
"Heh, I thought it was just a barking dog. Didn't notice last night, but today I see quite a few familiar faces!"
"Shut up, Shelter! You still haven't given me that money from last time! If I find your Shelter, I'll kill you."
"Ha! Capone, think you're some godfather? We're in another world now. Be realistic!"
"My goodness, what kind of Evil Men Valley is this? So many criminals."
"666, is this Karim World's Will trying to put so many criminals together?"
"What kind of heavenly law did I break to be stuck in the same area as this bunch of beasts?"
"Very good, very good. I look forward to seeing you born in the Abandoned Forest come up with new tricks."
"Heh heh, dog eat dog, I love watching that."
"Alright, I've remembered your faces. Be careful when you go out, or you won't have a good time."
"Oh, I'm so scared, my little heart is thumping. If you're capable, come kill me through the magic desk's internet cable!"
"Fuck!"
"Damn KB elements, Blue Star has been unified for how many years, why aren't you all dead yet!"
Arya pinched the bridge of her nose as she watched the chat logs.
At least more than half of the ten thousand people in the Abandoned Forest were criminals—robbery, theft, murder, fraud, corruption, poisoning, espionage, arson, drunk driving, smuggling, poaching, human trafficking, extortion, counterfeiting, fake certificates… anything you could imagine, channel 666 had it all.
Some were just troublemakers.
Arya even recognized the tall, perverted man and the short, scarred man who had sneaked into her room last night in the channel.
Borrowing someone's earlier words: what kind of Abandoned Forest was this? Even worse than the Evil Men Valley.
Still, as long as she stayed cautious and avoided interfering with others, it wouldn't impact her much.
After finishing a coconut bun and an apple, Arya cleaned up the trash and went outside. Using her Gathering Skill, she knocked down some vines from the tree trunk and returned to her Shelter with the vines.
Vines +20
Hmm… still 20?
Recalling the number of vines that morning, she frowned slightly. Then she flew out again and used Gathering Skill on a tree.
The tree was too large; one use of Gathering Skill only scraped its surface, causing a few pieces of wood to fall. She counted them carefully—still twenty pieces.
She tried a stone next—twenty pieces again.
Could it be that the basic unit for Gathering Skill was twenty? If so, it matched the magic value consumed.
With her eighty magic value and a recovery rate of one point per minute, she could gather 80 basic units in an hour and twenty minutes. Three thousand-plus units would take only forty to fifty hours, or two to three days. Using a weapon might shorten the time further, but she couldn't wield one without magic.
She had to rest for over an hour to fully recover her magic value. This explained why she had brought her Alchemy notebook. Doing nothing while waiting was painfully boring.
Though she now had a magic desk to read chats, staring at meaningless messages was tiresome.
As for the E-rank monster core, it likely came from the creatures watching her last night. This meant she would have to fight monsters… without any means of attack.
Never mind. She decided to return to Blue Star first and think about the future later.