Chapter 253: A Drastic Drop in Numbers

Chapter 253: Chapter 253: A Drastic Drop in Numbers

"Am I the only one curious about what happened? It feels like one second Rex Shaw was sucking up to Blacktiger, and the next, Blacktiger killed him."

"First off, our Rex is a man. Second, there’s a 50% chance Blacktiger is also a man. So, with all that fawning from Rex... you guys think our Tiger is homophobic?"

"Let me say this again: can all of you with nothing but lovey-dovey crap in your brains just die already?"

"Exactly. How could big shots of their caliber kill someone over something so trivial? It must have been some kind of deal that fell through."

The regional channel was buzzing with discussion, but Seraphina Sinclair had no intention of joining in.

First, the item in question wasn’t something to be shown to everyone. Second...

’Who were they to question her actions?’

Seraphina Sinclair had no obligation to explain herself to them.

As for the group chat, Seraphina Sinclair thought for a moment but decided against saying anything.

They were just curious, asking questions like spectators at a show. They didn’t actually care about the truth of the matter.

Besides, they knew their place.

It was fine to watch the drama unfold, but as long as Blacktiger Ford was still alive, who would dare say a bad word about her in the chat?

That was enough.

Seraphina Sinclair closed the noisy chat window. She took out the materials she had mixed that morning, spread out a blank sheet of yellow rune paper, and, holding the rune pen, paused in thought before beginning.

The Lunar Thunder Rune was a C-level Talisman.

The biggest difference between this talisman and the ones Seraphina Sinclair currently had was the rune paper that carried the runes.

Seraphina Sinclair pinched the talisman and examined it closely. There was no doubt that the materials used for this talisman were of a higher grade. But aside from the C-level rune painting materials, the rune paper itself was likely made of a better material as well.

A sense of worry crept over Seraphina Sinclair at this thought.

’If higher-level talismans can’t be drawn on blank yellow rune paper, my combat power will be severely diminished.’

But worrying about that now was just borrowing trouble. At this stage, D-level Talismans were already top-tier in terms of combat power.

Seraphina Sinclair took a deep breath, cleared her mind of distracting thoughts, and after using [Water Stopping] once, she began to paint the talisman.

After Sunflower grew larger, its need for sunshine also increased significantly. Specifically, even though the number of Black Fog Lamps had increased, Sunflower’s speed of producing sunshine had slowed down.

Seraphina Sinclair suspected Sunflower was starting to get lazy.

But the mobile cabin’s upgrades were inextricably linked to Sunflower’s evolution. She had no way to restrict Sunflower; in fact, she wished it would evolve to its final form sooner.

Looking at Sunflower, which was clearly showing its disdain for the intensity of the sunshine, Seraphina Sinclair let out a soft sigh. Then, under Sunflower’s resentful gaze, she pretended she hadn’t seen a thing.

’I have to pretend.’

’The kid’s gotten smarter now, and it doesn’t hold back when it "talks."’

’In a moment, it’s going to start cursing out the Black Fog Lamps in my head again.’

She painted talismans while she waited, and after about two hours, the three hundred Hunger Level’s worth of sunshine was finally produced.

After the mobile cabin’s upgrade, the black fog now surged in four times an hour.

Today was the first time moving after the cabin’s upgrade, and Seraphina Sinclair was naturally looking forward to it.

Although the cabin was now made of stone, its movement speed was the same as before. It was even quite a bit more stable than the old wood cabin.

Seraphina Sinclair could stand steady while the cabin was moving, even without holding onto anything.

Of course, that wasn’t entirely thanks to the stone cabin; it was more because she had long since gotten used to it.

Just as the system announced, after entering the new region, F-level monsters were noticeably rarer. It was either no monsters at all, or they were guaranteed to be E-level.

Now that Seraphina Sinclair had D-level Talismans on hand, even D-level monsters were no big deal.

Because of this, the day’s move could be considered smooth.

After dealing with the last monster that entered, Seraphina Sinclair began to tally her gains for the day.

In total, there were six E-level Supply Boxes and two D-level Supply Boxes. For the remaining four times when no monster entered, the boxes scattered on the floor were, surprisingly, still F-level.

Although she didn’t understand why the Supply Boxes from monster-free instances hadn’t been upgraded, her overall haul was several times better than before. Seraphina Sinclair was still satisfied.

For her, the benefits of entering the new region clearly outweighed the drawbacks.

But for the players in the regional channel...

"Help! My mobile cabin was almost smashed to bits just now! An E-level Irontooth Wolf got in, and my F-level spear felt like I was just tickling it! I barely managed to wear it down and kill it, and now I’m completely spent!"

"The guy above is lucky he could kill it at all... My neighbor, the one with the ID Staylow, his icon just grayed out. He was just saying in the channel that he specifically bought an E-level weapon, thinking he could hold on... It’s only the second day!"

"Aren’t there too many E-level monsters? What happened to gradual progression? This system is a scam! The axe I got from a box was still F-level, how am I supposed to fight with this?"

"I’m done for, I’m done for. I just saw a shadow flash outside, it was definitely E-level or higher! I don’t even dare to breathe, just praying it didn’t notice me... When will this nightmare end?"

"What about the Supply Boxes? Weren’t the Supply Box levels supposed to increase? I risked injury to kill an E-level monster, and all I got were some basic materials? Not even a single decent weapon material! The risk and reward are completely out of proportion! Isn’t this just waiting for us to die?"

"Holy crap, look at the number of people in the regional channel! And it’s only been one morning!"

Seraphina Sinclair paused, her gaze shifting down to the player count.

7542/9998.

’Nearly 1,500 people dead in just one morning?’

The number made Seraphina Sinclair’s fingers tighten slightly.

She knew the elimination rate would skyrocket in the new region, but such a rapid rate of attrition was still beyond her expectations.

’Didn’t everyone already pass the first stage’s trial? Why is the population dropping so fast?!’

The messages in the channel continued to scroll by at a frantic pace, every line filled with blood and despair.

"Fuck! My leg! My leg was bitten off! Does anyone have medicine? Help me! I’ll trade all my materials! Please, I’m begging you!"

This message was followed by a blurry, dark red-stained image that was enough to make one’s scalp tingle.

"Stop whining! Who’s going to give you medicine if they have any? Just wait to die! Fucking hell, this godforsaken place! That monster just now nearly tore my mobile cabin apart! This piece-of-shit wood cabin is full of holes now!"

"I saw a D-level monster! For real! It was too fast, I couldn’t get a clear look! But I know it’s in my cabin. Can someone tell me what to do? How am I supposed to survive this? Tell us how to live?!"

"@Blacktiger Ford, Tiger! Lord Tiger! We were blind before! You’re a magnanimous person, do you have any tips? Please, show us a way to survive! We’ll be your loyal servants!"