The Great Thief

During the break time, the players could log off to take a nap, chat with one another, or go and grab a snack. Everyone had their own way to relaxing and the commander didn’t have much to say about it.

Lu Li didn’t actually feel that tired. After all, he was the child of a poor family, so his upbringing was much tougher. He had felt worse tiredness and bitterness than this.

He walked around and observed the area in a way that he didn’t have the opportunity to when they had first entered. He picked several herbs that were only available in this lava environment, planning to incorporate them into his poison production. Perhaps he could add some fire damage to his poisons.

Although everyone was currently pursuing fire resistance, fire damage was still greatly effective.

Then, Lu Li saw Water Fairy.

The two Drizzle Court companions she brought were not next to her. The people from Ruling Sword hadn’t greeted her, so she was just sitting alone next to a magma pool.

Water Fairy was sitting on a chair that she brought with her. She was very particular and would be exactly the kind of person to do that.

When Lu Li approached her, he found that Water Fairy had a white pole in her hand and a silver silk fishing line on the other. There was an emerald green floater, attached to it but Lu Li didn’t know what it was made of. It seemed to be floating in the magma without taking any damage.

This girl was fishing!

“What kind of bait are you using?” Lu Li asked as he squatted down next to Water Fairy. He didn’t dare to sit down. The ground was very hot and it would significantly damage his pants.

“Fire worms – they are everywhere along the ground. I didn’t think there would be any living fish here, but I am finding all kinds of materials,” Water Fairy explained as she handed Lu Li an item. It wasn’t a very cute item – in fact, it was some kind of skull.

Was it the skull of some dead person?

As a matter of fact, Lu Li did remember what this item was. It was a decent rare material that could only be found in the waters of more complex environments.

This magma pool was one of these so-called complex environments. Swamps could also fall into this category, but no matter what the area was, they all had to have one thing in common. Things had to die in them, and the more things that died, the better.

The skull was generally the hardest part of any lifeform. It was said that the soul of the lifeform would strengthen the skull after death, which was why it could withstand the high temperatures of the magma.

In the Molten Core, countless Dwarves had been killed by the flames of Ragnaros. Later, when the Blackrock Orcs attacked this place, if it weren’t for the Strength of the Flame, the bones of the Dwarves and Orcs would have been scattered throughout these lands.

“There isn’t a description for the item. It just says it’s a rare material,” Water Fairy said as she pulled up her line and fished out another skull. “Is this item useful to you?”

She had never heard of a Trade Skill that required such materials before, and no one in Drizzle Court knew either.

“It is probably useful in Alchemy,” Lu Li said. He obviously knew.

“Alchemy… is it used to make potions?”

Water Fairy was stunned. This was a game, but no one would dare to take the skull of a dead person in reality. Even to use it for a potion here was very strange. If you thought about the fact that a skull was used to make your potion, your stomach would probably be uneasy.

“For poisons. Give these to me, and I’ll see what I can do,” Lu Li requested bluntly.

“Ah, for poison. Alright then, but if it turns out well, remember to give some to me,” Water Fairy said, giving all the skulls to Lu Li.

“Of course, but U will need to experiment. I have to find the formula first, and this isn’t enough material.”

Lu Li took out his own rod and planned to participate in the fishing. Unfortunately, his fishing line was not exquisite enough. He had just bought it from the System store and it turned into ashes as soon as it hit the magma.

“Hey,” the female tycoon called out to her companion.

“Let me see your fishing rod.”

“Don’t you have your own? Why do you want to borrow mine?”

Star Baby was resting on a recliner and was probably just too lazy to move. She didn’t even turn her head when she responded.

“…” Water Fairy was speechless. She handed her fishing rod to Lu Li before standing up and walking over.

If there was a bigger audience here, she probably wouldn’t have cried out like that. However, she currently felt free to speak however she wanted. After she ran over, she said a few things and eventually brought back a fishing rod. She was also holding onto a chair that she had presumably borrowed for Lu Li.

Lu Li’s backpack usually never carried all this random stuff. Other than the fishing competition, he rarely went fishing, so he never bothered to think about getting something to sit on.

“She is still looking over here,” Lu Li said, taking the chair and the fishing rod before sitting down. He glanced back and saw that Star Baby wasn’t reclining anymore and was sneaking a look. Lu Li was a little embarrassed, as there was no one in Ruling Sword that would stare at them so blatantly.

“She isn’t given enough homework to do,” Water Fairy said quietly.

“So? She’s just a school student. Just get the teacher to assign more,” Lu Li said before realizing that his fishing skills weren’t too bad. After casting his line, he quickly caught a piece of coal.

This stuff was basically filler material. It could be used in Engineering, but the fact that it was worth a couple dozen copper coins made it not worth storing.

“I feel like casting your line to a place where there are bubbles makes it easier to catch something,” Water Fairy suggested.

“Oh, maybe… that’s it.”

Lu Li felt a bit awkward, but he cleverly decided not to say anything. Sometimes it was better to show restraint when it came to girls. This was something he learned from his sister, as sometimes they would just say whatever was in their minds.

“This Instance Dungeon is quite hard,” Water Fairy commented after a moment of silence.

“Is there any Instance Dungeon that is easy? If the players could complete the Instance Dungeons too easily, they would have the cut the game designer’s pay,” Lu Li said. He was the kind of person that liked to look at a problem and explore the nature of the problem. There was an obvious tension between players, but a similar tension existed between players and the game designer. A long-lived game had to be difficult. If any small team could easily take down a big Boss, it would be like giving one player the ability the kill everyone on a street. In either case, regardless of what reasons there were for it, the game would close down quickly.

“But you seemed quite confident,” Water Fairy couldn’t help but respond.

Before that, Water Fairy had been thinking about how long it would be before they could complete this Instance Dungeon. She didn’t think that Lu Li would be this pessimistic.

“I am very confident. We will eventually defeat this Instance Dungeon; it is just a matter of time. If a designer made an Instance Dungeon that was impossible, they would have also failed. If that’s the case, the Game Company will eventually reduce the difficulty through an update,” Lu Li said in a matter-of-fact tone.

“I got a rare material, Flame Essence,” Water Fairy called out. “Did you catch anything in those bubbles?”

“Coal, I just keep getting coal,” Lu Li sighed as he threw his newly acquired piece of coal back into the magma. It would just have been a waste of space in his backpack. He rebaited the hook and cast his line back into the place where the bubbles were. Couldn’t this girl see that he was struggling to catch anything from this fishing session?