Chapter 81: Who Can Resist Sweet Temptation?
‘I’ve grown stronger again.’
Anse pulled up his Character Card, and the data on it had changed dramatically.
Life reached 44 points, Mana 43 points, Psionic Energy 10 points, all of them had risen significantly.
However, while Mana seemed plentiful, it wasn’t very sustainable; a Third Ring Spell required 5 points of Mana, and at most he could only cast 8 of them.
‘Combat should still mainly rely on First and Second Ring Spells and Cantrips!’ He didn’t mind; not every enemy was worthy of his Fireball.
A 5th-level Spellcaster also had a major boost, which was a significant increase in the spell effects of Cantrips!
Cantrips differed from regular Spells; they seemed simple and couldn’t be Upcast, but they had their own unique reinforcement direction.
As the Spellcaster’s various abilities continuously improved, reaching 5th level brought a qualitative change, such as Mana Control, spell comprehension, Casting Ability, and development of Class Features; they fully mastered Cantrips, making them produce even more powerful spell effects.
For example, the base damage of Sorcerous Burst and Ray of Frost both increased from 1d8 to 2d8, higher than that of Magic Missile.
This was also why a 5th-level Spellcaster was initially qualified to be a Spell Cannon.
Anse stretched lazily with satisfaction, pushed open the Door, and came to the Deck.
The ship was spotless, with bloodstains and corpses all cleaned up, but a faint bloody smell still lingered.
At the Bow, Salian turned to look at Anse on the Deck, his gaze flickering uncertainly; that man seemed a bit different.
When the others saw Anse, the tension on their faces eased considerably; this unknown environment was fraught with danger everywhere, and only those two men, one old and one young, could give them a sense of security.
Anse came to the Bow and looked out; ahead were towering ancient trees, dark and deep, seemingly endless.
It gave him a feeling of exploring an otherworldly Jungle, and it didn’t feel bad.
Salian looked up at the steel-gray sky, looking dejected: “We haven’t left Faerun, have we?”
“Maybe it’s Realm Convergence plus area swap; this kind of situation during the Magical Plague Era seemed to last for several decades. If we leave in time, there shouldn’t be any Problem.” Anse pondered.
“I hope so.” Salian sighed, “But the Animals here are really plentiful, and edible, so we don’t have to worry about Food for a short time.”
“I like Hunting.” Anse laughed heartily; most Dinosaurs had no Spell-like Abilities, so they weren’t hard to deal with.
“You go eat first; everyone else has already eaten.” Salian advised; he had long noticed that Anse got particularly excited during Combat, like he was addicted.
“Alright.” Anse was hungry anyway.
He strolled into the Dining Room; everyone was basically there, looking like they had just finished eating, with many pieces of Cutlery not yet cleared.
The Forest was windless and calm, the water surface placid, so there was no worry about Cutlery flying everywhere.
Little Clara saw Anse and quickly slipped down from the stool, ran a few steps, and hugged his leg, mumbling with her little mouth: “Brother Anse, Aunt Dara won’t let me play on the Deck.”
“You’ve learned to tattle.” Dara walked over, deliberately putting on a stern face, “Why do you call him brother and me aunt? Am I old?”
“You’re old.” Clara hid behind Anse, completely serious, “You’re over ten years older than Brother Anse; ten years old is old enough to have babies.”
Dara’s face stiffened, her mouth twitched, and she reached out to grab Clara, her tone unkind: “Who told you that? Elf age can’t be calculated like this.”
“Ah, Brother Anse, protect me quickly.” Clara hugged Anse and buried her head in his Clothes, shrinking her body.
Anse smiled helplessly, bent down to pick up Clara, and looked at Dara with his eyes, only to see her quickly avert her Gaze.
“It’s very dangerous outside, with many Monsters that grab kids; you mustn’t sneak off to the Deck by yourself, got it?”
He wasn’t scaring her; Hunting animal young was instinct for many predators because the Risk was low.
“Got it~” Clara nodded up and down, appearing very obedient.
Dara was exasperated; how could the same words have such a different effect coming from different people?
At this moment, the Halfling Chef came over with a wooden deep plate and gently set it on the table: “Mr. Anse, time to eat; this is the roasted bird specially prepared for you.”
“Huh, this doesn’t seem like a bird?” Anse noticed the roasted bird on the plate had two pairs of Wings.
The Halfling Chef shrugged: “I don’t recognize it either; it was caught by Mr. Finn’s Greyhawk.”
Anse focused his gaze on the roasted bird, and Dice quickly Appraised its information: Compsognathus!
A kind of four-winged micro Dinosaur that lived in groups of three to five on Trees, with neon-colored brilliant feathers.
‘Could this Thing be made into a Magic Pet?’ His eyes lit up.
But then he thought better of it and decided not to eat it; he only had one Animal Friendship, with weak effects, and what if the Compsognathus could smell the scent of its kin on him?
“I don’t like this; share it with the injured Crew Members. Just give me some Bread and Vegetable Stew.” He made up an excuse.
“Oh, alright.” The Halfling Chef took the plate away, looking puzzled.
Didn’t Brat say this guy loved meat? Had he changed tastes?
“Get me a clean jar that can hold at least a gallon.” Anse suddenly called out.
“Alright.” The Chef responded.
Anse set Clara down in the seat across from him and asked with a smile: “Have you eaten?”
“Yes, Meat Patty and Roasted Meat, all meat; I don’t like it.” Clara pouted.
“Haha…” Anse smiled.
With the current unclear situation, the ship had started rationing food; this was the right Method, nothing to say about it.
A few minutes later, the Chef brought a wooden jar and a hearty Breakfast: Bread, Meat Patty, Vegetable Stew, Roasted Meat, plus a small dish of Honey and a piece of Cheese.
Anse sniffed the jar; no odd smell. Then he took out the Alchemist’s Jug from his waist, opened it, and poured; the deep amber viscous Honey slowly flowed into the jar, its sweet aroma wafting freely.
“Wow—” Clara kept twitching her little nose, “So much, so fragrant.”
A gallon was 3.79 liters, a large amount; a few spoonfuls per person per meal on the ship would suffice.
Anse had analyzed it; producing Honey had high cost-performance; not only did it provide calories and vitamins, but its sweet taste could also improve the eater’s mood.
Soon, all the top-quality Honey was poured out, leaving the inside of the Alchemist’s Jug perfectly clean, not a drop remaining; very unique.
He put away the Alchemist’s Jug, scooped a spoonful to slather on a slice of Bread, and handed it to Clara: “Eat up.”
“Thank you, Brother Anse.” Clara smiled until her eyes curved into crescents.
No kid could resist sweets, um, nor Elves.
Seeing Anse had no intention of giving her any, Dara stopped holding back and helped herself.
“You can keep a bit; take the rest to the Chef.” Anse pointed at the Honey jar, saying with a grin.
Dara had no idea what politeness was; she snuck a small jar from the Kitchen and filled it with Honey.
Before the jar reached the Kitchen, it was Anse’s personal item; how could that count as stealing?
After simply eating something, Anse went to the Sterncastle.
Greyhawk was dozing at the top, its back feathers broken, wounds still bloodstained; it must have been injured recently.
Brat and Finn were sitting back-to-back; seeing Anse, they quickly stood up.
“This was clawed by a Compsognathus? This Thing is so fierce?” Anse asked doubtfully.
“Compsognathus?” Finn looked baffled.
“The kind of four-winged Birds that Greyhawk caught.”
“Yeah, they fly fast and hold grudges.” Finn scratched his messy beard, a bit helpless.
Anse looked at the strange sky, activated his King Butterfly Cloak, and flapped the Butterfly Wings to fly into the air.
Fly was fast, but it cost 5 points of Mana per use; better to save it when not necessary.
Rising nearly a hundred meters, the view opened up; below was lush greenery, and in the distance was endless Jungle.
Flying a bit higher, at the end of the Jungle appeared a vast plain and a lake like a mirror, but too far to see if there were signs of human activity.
He wanted to fly higher still when a black dot suddenly appeared at the distant horizon, flying toward him at extreme speed.
‘What Thing is that?’ He quickly descended and hid in the dense branches and leaves.
A few minutes later, a huge figure streaked across the sky, greenish scales reflecting sunlight, Dragon Head, long tail, bat wings…
Green Dragon!
