Trapped Inside the Beta Test World for 1000 Years-Chapter 49 – Shinobu Oshino

Inland and far from the sea, Astan City is one of the few places where players can hunt gillmen, and this underground water area can produce three types of expensive magical materials.
The gillmen's webbed feet are the best material for the "Underwater Speed" enchantment, which can increase swimming speed by 35%. The scale on their forehead is a casting material for "Tidal Wave." The second-to-last vertebra on their degenerated tailbone is the most valuable, being the strongest water affinity transformation material for those below level 50.
Even Felix's ancestral sword, "Gem Firework," owes its shaping properties to the fire-type creature corresponding to gillmen, the 'Flame Salamander Man.'
For example, if you have enough materials and grind 20 tailbones into powder, you can create a similar "Gem Water Splash."
It sounds like a skill from Card Q, but it's actually a shapeshifting water attribute magic sword.
Of course, Xia Ya thought about it this way, but Mia wouldn't let him do it. She would only make him "enter the cycle," meaning to purify.
As a player, the methods of harvesting are too bloody. Most NPCs can tolerate it, but someone as lawful good as Mia absolutely cannot agree.
If the person touching the corpse wasn't Xia Ya, she might have directly taught them what true goodness and beauty are. But even Xia Ya had to sheathe his sword with regret under her watery gaze.
The spendthrift girl purified at least twenty corpses along the way. Xia Ya's heart bled, but he was helpless and could only grit his teeth and sigh.
Forget it, as long as my wife is happy, it's all good!
The Church of Judgment's "purification" is a points system, so consider it as earning points for Mia!
As the purification continued, the flickering white light gradually moved to the middle of the road, and the sound of flowing water grew closer. Xia Ya realized they were not far from the fish tank.
Astan City used to be a lake. After the crustal changes, underground streams surged, with at least a hundred tiny tributaries converging from all directions into the underground reservoir at the city's center, forming the main body of the fish tank that now confines Maengron.
After Simon and the others fell, no matter which stream they followed, they would eventually be swept into the fish tank. Even if they encountered gillmen along the way, the rushing river wouldn't let them escape, especially with Luke watching over them. That kid probably noticed them early on.
As they walked, they suddenly heard chaotic footsteps ahead.
Xia Ya couldn't help but glance back at her. Even with 105 perception points, there was no reaction?
"Didn't you notice in advance?"
"I did!"
"Then why didn't you..."
"But, but you wouldn't let me interfere!"
Hmm...
Better not make things difficult for the half-goose girl.
The footsteps were unfamiliar, but definitely not gillmen. Xia Ya couldn't think of anything else underground. He simply hid behind a rock and suddenly charged out from an angle, thrusting heavily toward the source of the sound.
Clang!
Unexpectedly, the probing strike was blocked. Although the opponent staggered, the force of the sword slightly halted their advance, but it was indeed blocked.
This surprised Xia Ya quite a bit.
Interesting.
In a brief moment, a fish-eyed creature with blue scales emerged from behind the opponent, raising a trident like a scarecrow in a summer melon field, aiming at the two creatures and thrusting forcefully.
Oh, it turns out to be a player being chased by a wild monster...
Xia Ya understood, and seeing the opponent about to fall, he grabbed their wrist and pulled them back, stabilizing their stance. Meanwhile, the Frost Longsword pushed upward, wedging firmly between the two prongs of the blue-scaled gillman's trident.
As a level 20 seafood creature, the blue-scaled gillman had high agility but low strength. Even though it was 6 levels higher than Xia Ya, the strength difference wasn't significant. For a moment, the two weapons were locked in a stalemate.
But there were two people here.
"Its heart is near the lower right, close to its rear. Stab it!"
Hearing Xia Ya's words, the player didn't hesitate, executing a beautiful flip and stabbing the long sword into the blue-scaled gillman's heart, which was writhing and moving inside its body.
The seafood Muglr let out a cry, and its fish eyes began to turn white.
Is it... dead already?
The player probably didn't expect it to be killed so easily, standing there dumbfounded, not knowing to dodge. Xia Ya quickly kicked him in the butt, causing him to fall forward awkwardly, just in time to avoid the acid shooting out from the gillman's body.
The fish eyes had this drawback; even in death, there was a final trick. Xia Ya had suffered from it many times in the past.
The player angrily got up, about to question Xia Ya for kicking him, only to witness the acid etching a steaming groove in the ground, leaving him stunned.
[Player: Shinobu Oshino requests to be your friend.]
Hmm?
What does that mean?
Xia Ya, of course, chose to refuse.
Are you kidding? Am I the kind of person who accepts just anyone?
My precious friend slots are reserved for those like the Jojo trio, who have the right timing and location. I don't even consider non-beautiful girls!
Shinobu Oshino was probably still waiting for him to accept, standing there foolishly. Xia Ya had already pounced on the blue-scaled gillman's corpse, slicing it open with the Frost Longsword in a few swift motions, stripping scales, removing webbing, and extracting bones, all done in less than 5 seconds without a trace of blue-green blood on his hands.
In Illusory Realm, the world is vast and sparsely populated, with many magical creatures, so there's no concept of loot protection. However, following players/NPCs around to scavenge for too long will earn you a "Desecrator" debuff, causing you to be attacked by vengeful monster spirits for no reason.
— "I wasn't even killed by you, and you're looting my corpse! Are you human? I won't let you go even as a ghost!"
Something like that.
"Xia Ya, Xia Ya!"
Mia hurried over, looking him up and down with concern, wiping his sweat, and then raised her hand to purify the corpse.
Damn, good thing I was quick... Xia Ya thought with relief.
At this point, Shinobu Oshino finally reacted.
[Player: Shinobu Oshino requests to be your friend.]
So persistent?
Xia Ya still refused.
His gaze swept over the opponent's sword and uniform, understanding in his heart.
From that beautiful flip earlier, it was clear this guy had some skill. Since Lef could bring skills learned in reality into the game, this person probably had excellent physical abilities in reality too, perhaps even a renowned martial arts heir or kendo expert—though the name suggests an anime fanatic.
Anyone who can leave the Starter Village so quickly isn't simple. Among thousands of players, there are always one or two who are exceptionally strong, and the system has shortcuts for these people. Like Lef, and now Shinobu Oshino, whose profession in the Starter Village was likely Militia.
There's a militia team in the Starter Village, and players can learn "Militia Swordsmanship" after becoming a level 5 Militia.
In Illusory Realm, swordsmanship is equivalent to a toggleable passive skill, or aura, but only one can be active at a time and can be upgraded through proficiency. When "Militia Swordsmanship" reaches Lv5, and the character level is not above 7, it triggers a training quest called "Maden's Recognition."
Yes, that Captain Maden.
He'll have a wooden sword solo match with you, and based on the result, there are three levels of rewards, the best being city training.
Shinobu Oshino was sent to Astan City this way, arriving by carriage, just like Lef.
He's wearing Astan City's soldier uniform, and his sword is a military standard longsword, slightly inferior to the Frost Longsword. His profession likely changed to "Swordsman" along this quest line—the most standard kind, a template for all swordsman professions, and his status changed from civilian to soldier.
It's a shortcut, but shortcuts always come with a price, like the daily patrol tasks for soldiers and behavior constrained by faction.
Outside the city, it's fine, but once deep inside, you must fight any ruffians you see and stop any wrongdoing. Idle individuals have a neutral reputation with regular players but are cold and slightly hostile towards soldiers, which can be quite troublesome.
[Player: Shinobu Oshino requests to be your friend.]
This guy hasn't given up.
"Can't you speak?" Xia Ya couldn't help but ask.
"I-I-I... can't... speak (emphasis)."
Oh, I see.
Xia Ya nodded and accepted.