Volume 5, Chapter 3 – The Inheritance Grounds

The Star Hunter Guild actually looked like a guild straight out of a game.

Although the players had not arrived yet, plenty of NPCs were already standing around the guild hall.

Some were chatting and exchanging information, while others handled their personal affairs at the guild counters.

There were three counters: hunter registration, trading, and mission acceptance. The registration counter had the shortest line, but Anran had no interest in becoming a registered Star Hunter. She walked straight to the trading counter.

Six people were ahead of her. By the time it was Anran’s turn, half an hour had passed.

“I want to buy a star map of the Sea Blue Forest. Do you have one here?” Anran asked directly.

“We do.” The staff member nodded. “As long as you can afford it.”

“How much is a complete star map?”

“One million Bilu.”

“…”

Holy shit.

Anran’s expression immediately darkened.

That was fucking expensive.

Even buying only the middle and latter sections of the star map would cost 670,000 Bilu. She could not afford that at all.

A simple route map should still be within reach, so Anran changed her approach.

“Then I’ll buy a route map from Ruilanduo Star to White Sea Star. Do you sell that?”

“One moment.”

The staff member tapped the screen, and the number “43,000” immediately appeared in front of Anran.

“Forty-three thousand.”

Anran figured that she had more than a hundred thousand in cash, so she bought the star map without hesitation.

One problem was solved. All she lacked now was fuel for the spacecraft and the advanced knowledge required for an Intermediate Mechanic. Both could be obtained with enough time.

Thus, Anran was no longer in a hurry. She even asked whether the Star Hunter Guild sold spacecraft and spacecraft fuel. The answer was yes.

As long as you could pay, they could even find a way to get you a large destroyer.

Spacecraft fuel was even less of a problem. After buying enough boxed fuel, Anran still had more than thirty thousand Bilu left. She simply fenced the things she had stolen here as well, and after all the buying and selling, she ended up with ninety thousand Bilu in hand.

“The hottest mission around here lately is assisting the Ninth expeditionary army. Those people from Night Owl have been causing quite a stir. Not long ago, they launched a surprise attack and destroyed one of the expeditionary army’s space fortresses.”

“The Ninth expeditionary army needs help from Star Hunters?” Anran asked in surprise.

“Not on the front line, of course. But when it comes to dealing with certain problems, these seasoned veterans are much more capable than soldiers.”

Anran nodded. That made sense.

After leaving the Hunter Guild, Anran went to the hover station and fully fueled her spacecraft’s reactor. Then she returned to the Holy See to continue crafting.

She cleared missions at an astonishing speed, so fast that even Tan Lu was shocked. Never before had she seen a newcomer so enthusiastic about farming contribution points, nor one with such a solid foundation!

Well, actually, during the year Tan Lu had served as the cleric here, she had only received five newcomers in total. Two had run away, and the remaining three hardly formed a meaningful sample.

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“This book contains the essence of our doctrine. You must study it carefully. The monthly assessment is in nine days. Even though you’re new, you still have to take it!” Tan Lu said as she handed over a book.

“Oh.” Anran put down the carving knife in her hand and accepted the book from Tan Lu. “I’ll read it carefully.”

Reading books could increase Anran’s accumulated knowledge, but it did not allow her to recite their contents in full. Therefore, she could just have Aila read this sort of thing. When Tan Lu conducted the assessment…

“What is the doctrine of the Mechanical Holy See?” Tan Lu asked.

“What is the doctrine of the Mechanical Holy See?” Anran asked.

Using the private channel provided by Aila’s Heart, Anran and Aila cheerfully cheated together.

Page six, third line.

“@%＆＃%”

“@%＆＃%”

“What is the exact procedure for the Holy See’s prayer ritual?”

Calling Aila.

Page fourteen, seventh line.

“%＃＆%@”

“%＃＆%@”

After repeating the answers several times, Anran smoothly passed Tan Lu’s assessment.

Tan Lu went off to assess the others, extremely satisfied.

She believed she had recruited an exceptionally talented newcomer. Not only was Anran’s mechanical foundation solid, but she also studied doctrine and related knowledge with great diligence. She could absolutely be cultivated as a future pillar of the Holy See.

Seeing Anran study the doctrine so seriously, Tan Lu could not have been more pleased.

“Sis, I recruited a really outstanding newcomer!”

Tan Lu happily spoke to the phantom image before her.

“How outstanding?” the phantom asked.

“She definitely won’t lose to you.”

“Ho ho ho ho, you’re certainly confident.”

“Just wait and see.”

Brimming with confidence, Tan Lu allowed Anran to study the advanced knowledge for an Intermediate Mechanic.

“( ???)”

Anran smiled as she entered the archive room.

There was not much she was permitted to read, but several books could serve as advanced knowledge.

Beginning at the Intermediate Mechanic level, Mechanics gradually began to branch into different paths because of the integrated application of multiple academic fields. However, specializing in the knowledge of any one field was enough to advance to Intermediate Mechanic.

Anran did not spend much time choosing. She first opened a book about the integrated application of electromagnetism and mechanical knowledge.

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The Intelligence requirement for reading it was 120 points. That was no problem at all, since Anran’s Intelligence was as high as 165.

“Ding! You have opened…”

Learning progress: 100%. Anran successfully advanced to Intermediate Mechanic.

Her level also automatically rose from Lv. 30 to Lv. 31.

Compared with the Apprentice and Basic stages of Mechanic, an Intermediate Mechanic not only gained more attributes when leveling up, but also unlocked a specialization template.

Specialization templates allowed certain special equipment crafted by Mechanics to have attribute or profession restrictions.

This was also one of the major distinctions that allowed Mechanics to widen the gap between themselves and other professions.

Nice.

Anran still had five million EXP saved. After raising herself directly to Lv. 34, she had more than six hundred thousand EXP remaining.

After distributing her attribute points, Anran’s attributes became:

[Six Attributes]: Strength 109, Agility 120, Endurance 129, Intelligence 188, Spirit 76 (+17 Spirit Barrier), Charisma 10

Keep it coming. She continued reading the other books as well.

Anran, who loved reading, went on to study advanced books on branches such as “Laser Technology” and “Mechanical Launch Systems.”

Intermediate advanced knowledge was far more profound than anything she had read before, so increasing the progress took much longer. Had Anran’s Intelligence not been high enough, and had Basic Reading Comprehension Lv. 10 not provided a 50% bonus, an entire day would have passed before she finished these books.

Smile.

Tan Lu, who was busy with her own affairs, smiled at Anran as she emerged from the archive room.

Anran returned an equally friendly smile, then continued diligently farming contribution points.

It was eight in the evening when Anran left the Mechanical Holy See. It was 8:37 p.m. when Anran left Ruilanduo Star.

The spacecraft took off in a spiral, rapidly climbing along the route defined by the signal lights. Once it gained enough speed, it shot straight out of the atmosphere.

Before boarding the spacecraft, Anran had thrown the token into a sewer. Had she not been worried that the so-called ether power might cause some kind of trouble, she would have given the token to Aila as a snack.

Whoosh!

“To travel from Ruilanduo Star to White Sea Star, we must first make a thirteen-light-year warp flight. After passing through the Star Gate, there will be another eight light-years to travel. The estimated journey time is fifteen days.”

“White Sea Star is seventeen times the volume of Ruilanduo Star. Its average temperature is eight degrees Celsius, and its gravity is 1.2 times that of Ruilanduo Star.”

“The destination lies within White Sea Star’s Arctic Circle.”

“So happy!”

“So happy!”

Tan Lu took off the Holy See’s “uniform,” had a shower, and happily lay down on her bed. She turned off the lights, pulled up the blanket, and went to sleep.

Tomorrow would be even better!

The next morning.

Anran did not come.

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Tan Lu felt a little puzzled.

The next afternoon, Anran still did not come.

Tan Lu became somewhat angry, but after thinking about it, perhaps Anran had some urgent matter to deal with. She had to stay calm!

On the third day, Anran was still nowhere to be seen.

The fourth day…

The fifth day…

The sixth day…

No, she did not actually wait until the sixth day.

By the fourth day, Tan Lu was already about to explode with rage. Anran had disappeared for three consecutive days and clearly did not take her, the cleric, seriously at all!

And Tan Lu had even believed Anran was a promising talent worth cultivating.

So she took out her tracking device and found the token Anran had thrown into the sewer.

“＃”

Ha.

Tan Lu was on the verge of splitting apart from anger.

Don’t let me catch you again!

Ha.

After her anger subsided, Tan Lu sat on her bed and wrapped herself in the blanket.

She suddenly remembered what she had said to her older sister.

“I recruited a really outstanding newcomer.”

“She definitely won’t lose to you.”

Please let me die of shame.

…

Upgrading Basic skills to Intermediate.

With little to do aboard the spacecraft, Anran used skill points to upgrade several important skills to Intermediate.

She wanted to maximize her strength while also laying a solid foundation for the future.

Intermediate skills allowed her to analyze and repair higher-level equipment, and also enabled her to manufacture machinery more quickly.

On the fourth day after leaving Ruilanduo Star, Anran received news that [Night of the Stars] had reopened.

After twenty days of maintenance in game time, players could finally enter the game again.

[Night of the Stars] had also officially moved from the V1.01 era into the V1.10 era.

The update notes could be summarized as follows:

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1. The new Sea Folk race was now available.

1. The online arena was now open. Even players separated by several star sectors could play all sorts of entertainment modes together in the online arena. Naturally, card and board games were indispensable.

1. The official competitive “Battle Royale” and “Cops and Robbers” modes were now available. Both had been popular game modes for a long time. Once the players had gained some familiarity with the game, [Night of the Stars] decisively introduced them as well.

1. Profession balance adjustments. The skill-point costs for unlocking certain Warrior-type profession skills had been reduced, and players who had already spent points on them would receive refunds for the excess. Most importantly, there were the adjustments to Mechanic that Anran had been looking forward to.

EXP gained from mechanical work was increased by 10%. The success rate of blueprint synthesis was also slightly adjusted. Although the increase was not large, it made the early game a little more bearable for Mechanics.

The increase in EXP gain was crucial.

That was the general summary of the game update.

During the long journey, they could see various celestial bodies streaking past outside and gaze upon the brilliant stars in the distance. The starry sky of [Night of the Stars] was filled with charm, but countless dangers were hidden behind its splendor.

You never knew whether you might suddenly encounter an insect swarm in space, a powerful monster capable of surviving in the void, or even an invasion from a higher dimension.

Fortunately, Anran encountered nothing unusual along the way. The fifteen days aboard the spacecraft passed peacefully, without any accidents.

It was not until they landed on a wasteland within White Sea Star’s Arctic Circle and came into contact with NPCs again that they learned something major had happened.

The Ninth expeditionary army had been defeated in a battle against Night Owl due to a lack of logistical support. The news had already spread throughout the Sea Blue Forest.

Fortunately, the victorious Night Owl lacked the strength to continue advancing. They had merely seized a temporary advantage and were currently busy establishing defensive lines.

In fact, the battlefield was very far from the Sea Blue Forest, several star systems away.

As for why the expeditionary army had lacked logistical support, it was said that Night Owl’s fleet had ambushed the logistics transport routes.

Spaceports and hover stations in many locations had been destroyed by Night Owl. Transport ships either had to change the spaceports where they docked, could not obtain sufficient fuel replenishment, or were delayed as a result. In short, the transport ships’ journeys were anything but smooth. Under Night Owl’s suicide harassment tactics, logistical support for the front line was severely affected. The battlefront contracted into a tight formation, and Night Owl eventually found an opening.

“Here, the map you wanted.”

Anran bought a map.

White Sea Star truly lived up to its name. Everything was covered in endless white, especially near the Arctic Circle, where snowfields and glaciers stretched across the land. As far as the eye could see, the entire world was buried beneath ice and snow. Exhaled vapor instantly became a cloud of white mist.

Even Anran, whose Endurance was extremely high, felt slightly uncomfortable in the subzero temperature. Yet compared with the locals bundled up like rice dumplings, Anran and Aila were still dressed lightly in summer clothes.

Especially Aila. This level of cold meant nothing to her.

Only a place this cold and remote would appeal to the former Pirate Princess as a hiding place for her belongings.

“You’re heading to the Brandon Icefield? I heard a treasure was discovered there some time ago. Lots of people are thinking about going treasure hunting on the icefield now.”

“Treasure?” Anran’s expression immediately changed when she heard the shopkeeper’s words.

“That’s right, around XXX. Most of the treasure has already been handed over to Governor Fitch. They say it contained items worth several billion Bilu, along with many other useful objects. I don’t know exactly what was inside.”

Anran’s face instantly turned green. Bastards! Wasn’t that exactly where the Pirate Princess had hidden her things? Someone had actually excavated it ahead of her. Who was it?

This treasure was merely one of the palaces the Pirate Princess had set up on a whim, but even a casually established palace had been divided into upper and lower levels. The upper level contained surplus materials. The lower level was not truly connected to the upper level and could only be found using a special method.

“Anran, Anran.”

“Let’s go there first.”

Anran spoke. The materials were a minor matter, but the inheritance was crucial. She could always rob the lost materials back later. First, she had to hurry over and see whether the inheritance had been disturbed.

Anran was somewhat anxious, but by ordinary logical reasoning, the Gale Sword Saint profession inheritance should still be there. It was a profession that sounded fun just from its name. Both the palace’s special design and the game’s hints supported that conclusion.

Still, no matter what, she had to curse whoever had dug up the place. Just wait until I find you. I’ll make you regret it.

Driving a rented icefield vehicle, Anran sped toward the destination with Aila.