[434] That's What Buddies Are For!

"Map!" Seeing that there was no one around the village, Yu Xian spoke aloud. A translucent map appeared before his eyes. The village where he had spawned was called Fangfang Village. Just outside Fangfang Village lay the Evil Woodlands, a vast expanse of forest where monsters called ghouls continuously spawned. The ghouls ranged from Level 1 to Level 5. Their combat prowess was not particularly overwhelming; as long as one stayed calm and utilized their skills properly, they could usually be slain. According to the information provided by Feng Mingge, it took killing roughly one hundred thousand Level 1 monsters to reach Level 2. The higher the level, the slower the leveling speed would become, but the speed of monster farming would generally increase. Because of this, a certain level of competition existed among class-holders. Fortunately, people did not truly die in this world. Once anyone died, they were expelled from the Zhen Realm, returning to the location where they had first entered, while their level was reset to zero. To put it simply, all the effort spent in the Zhen Realm would go down the drain. As a result, struggles between class-holders were conducted with extreme caution. Most were unwilling to fight to the death, terrified of dying and being thrown out. Following the map's guidance, Yu Xian arrived at the entrance of the village. Another hundred meters or so ahead lay the Evil Woodlands. After some thought, he decided to summon a beast first. Currently, he had one summon slot. A new slot would be added every ten levels, meaning once his class reached Level 250, he could possess roughly twenty-six summoned beasts. Of course, the actual circumstances might vary—for instance, if he learned certain passive skills that increased summon slots. Yu Xian took out a gemstone from his storage ring, intending to use it as a sacrifice. However, a notification immediately popped up, informing him that the gemstone was not native to this world and could only serve as the lowest-grade material. He put the gem away without hesitation, then summoned Auntie Number Two in the next instant. Auntie Number Two? Yu Xian's eyes widened. He crouched down and stared at Auntie Number Two on the ground, who was roughly the size of an ant, utterly speechless. Evidently, Auntie Number Two was not of much use in this world either. Still, he scooped her up in his palm, contemplating using her as a sacrifice. In truth, Auntie Number Two was merely an aggregation of energy; whenever Yu Xian dismissed the skill, she simply ceased to exist. There was no question of whether it was killing or not, as she was not a living thing to begin with. Holding Auntie Number Two, Yu Xian intended to activate the skill, only to receive a notification: Auntie Number Two did not count as a sacrifice and could not be offered up. Fine, then. Auntie Number Two was not even considered an object. Yu Xian sighed, crouched down, plucked a clump of grass from the ground, and prepared to use it as a sacrifice. This time, it actually worked. However, the grass was clearly the lowest-grade sacrifice possible, capable of summoning only the weakest grade of beast. Fortunately, Yu Xian had only wanted to test the waters and did not care whether the first summon was strong or weak. "Chaos Summoning!" Clutching the clump of grass, Yu Xian directly triggered the skill. The grass in his palm instantly radiated white light before dissolving. Next, a circular magic array appeared on the ground ahead, and a caterpillar crawled out of it. [Decoy Caterpillar] [Level: 1] [Ability: While present on the field, enemies will target it first, but it can only withstand a single hit.] [Remarks: It can block, but only once.] Yu Xian could directly view his summoned beasts' attributes. After reading through the caterpillar's stats, he stepped forward and squashed the Decoy Caterpillar with one stomp. True to its description, it could withstand only one hit—not a single strike more. Next, he plucked another clump of grass and cast Chaos Summoning once again. Before the glow of the magic array on the ground had even faded, it flared with white light once more, and an earthworm emerged from the formation. [Full-Creel Earthworm] [Level: 1] [Ability: When used as bait, guarantees a 100% bite rate; an overflowing keepnet is no longer just a dream.] [Remarks: A single worm won't be enough to fill your creel, though.] Having read the earthworm's attributes, Yu Xian delivered another clean, swift stomp, freeing up his summon slot once more. He was not afraid of a summoned beast being only Level 1; what he feared was a beast that was completely useless. After all, he was only Level 1 himself, which proved Level 1 was not inherently bad. There had to be excellent Level 1 summons out there. The greatest advantage of Chaos Summoning was that it randomly rolled summons. A poor sacrifice merely dictated weak current combat power, not weak potential. Yu Xian intended to keep rolling at the village entrance until he got a summoned beast with sufficient potential before venturing out to grind. As the saying went, sharpening the axe did not delay the woodcutter; opportunity favored the prepared. In the moments that followed, white flashes lit up continuously at the village entrance. The number of departed souls beneath Yu Xian's boots was beyond counting. Just stomping summoned beasts to death had him slightly out of breath. At first, he had plenty of patience, but gradually he grew irritable, and eventually exasperated. Cockroaches, grasshoppers, horsehair worms, mosquitoes... Every single summon was utter trash. Clearly, luck did not even function in this world. Otherwise, with his formidable luck, he would have summoned a top-tier beast long ago. "When I lose my luck, what do I still have? My buddies, of course." Remembering Zhi'er's words for no apparent reason, Yu Xian muttered to himself, a grin slowly spreading across his face. He plucked another clump of grass, clasped it between his palms in prayer, and chanted, "Great Zhen, I am willing to trade my best buddy Zhang Shou's lifelong bachelorhood for a top-tier summoned beast! Please bless me generously!" Folks, this is how you use buddies! Yu Xian opened his eyes and immediately cast Chaos Summoning. The grass in his hands dissolved into white light, and the magic array appeared once more before him. Staring intently at the array, he watched as a small white cat slowly emerged. Atop its head rested a golden ingot, while around its neck hung a red collar and a golden bell. Behind its plump, chubby body swayed a tail of modest length. [Mengmeng Fortune Cat] [Level: 1] [Skills:] [Wealth Attraction: Monsters slain by Mengmeng Fortune Cat have their drop rates increased by 10%.] [Good Fortune: Mengmeng Fortune Cat triggers critical hits more easily; each critical hit triggered increases the drop rate by an additional 1%.] [Safety: Upon death, Mengmeng Fortune Cat leaves behind the golden ingot on its head; inserting money allows it to be resurrected.] [Joy: Mengmeng Fortune Cat provides Luck to allied units and grants immunity to curse-type skill damage.] [Remarks: Whose luck did you sacrifice to summon this little treasure?] A top-tier pull! Reading the little white cat's attributes, Yu Xian beamed with joy. Sure enough, after losing one's own luck, what mattered most was having buddies. Thank you, Zhang Shou! Yu Xian scooped up the little white cat. It was surprisingly heavy, delightfully chubby, and extraordinarily comfortable to hold. "From now on, your name is Mengmeng!" Yu Xian stroked the little fortune cat's head affectionately, smiling ear to ear. Originally, he had only planned to fool around in the Zhen Realm. Dying didn't matter; at worst, he would just be sent home. Now, however, his mindset had completely changed. No matter what, he could not die, and no matter what, he had to bring Mengmeng out with him. If he died, Mengmeng would vanish with him. That was absolutely out of the question! For the sake of his little darling, he would strive with all his might and grind his way to Level 250!