Little Nora's Letter

If ordinary ghouls resembled grey-skinned goblins, the one before him looked far more like a grey-skinned stone giant. Standing about three meters tall, its muscles were as solid as rock. It wore spiked bracers around its wrists and a helmet upon its head. [Giant Ghoul] [Level: 10] [Skills:] [Super Heavy Punch: Leveraging its weight advantage, attacks the target with overwhelming force.] [Savage Charge: Sprints recklessly, slamming into enemies with full force and barreling forward along with them.] [Remarks: Tuosi never imagined he would fall at the very first hurdle, much less that his corpse would become a ghoul.] … After reading its attributes, Yu Xian understood. This was the corpse of a player. Whether this player would ever enter the Zhen Realm again was anyone's guess. If he did return and saw his own body transformed into a ghoul—and further made into Yu Xian's summoned beast—who knew what kind of expression he would make. "All right, then." "I'll make do with it for now." After some thought, Yu Xian called it a day. A Giant Ghoul was clearly not his true goal, but using it as a temporary meat shield wouldn't be an issue at all. Because the sacrificial offering had been a Ghoul's Bento, the Giant Ghoul was already Level 10 right from the start, so there was no need to worry about its strength lagging behind. The Evil Woodlands. *Boom!* A deafening crash echoed. Several ghouls were sent flying by the Giant Ghoul, crashing into trees before cleanly dissolving into bursts of white light. Immediately after, it charged ahead to hunt down more ghouls, tirelessly farming monsters. Yu Xian and Mengmeng Fortune Cat sat side by side on a boulder, watching from afar as the Giant Ghoul wreaked havoc across the area. Soon enough, they realized that with the Giant Ghoul around, there was nothing left for either of them to do. With just the most ordinary basic attacks, the Giant Ghoul could swat them down like children, one punch per target. The ghouls of the Evil Woodlands stood no chance against its onslaught. "As expected, the true meaning of life is lying flat." Yu Xian simply lay back, planning to wait until the Giant Ghoul slaughtered every last ghoul in the Evil Woodlands before leisurely gathering the loot. He felt a prick of curiosity. Which starter village had this Giant Ghoul originally belonged to? The class holders randomly assigned to that village must have suffered terribly. After all, having such a terrifying monster in a leveling zone meant a single careless mistake would get them killed. … … The Guyue Continent, Zhongfacai Mound. Suogu led a party into the vicinity, cautiously surveying the surrounding ghouls. "How is it? Is that Giant Ghoul still around?" a wolf-headed girl asked in a hushed whisper. They had suffered under the Giant Ghoul for ages. Leveling up back then had felt like surviving a heavenly tribulation; a few sacrifices had always been required just to pass through safely. Many class holders had silently sworn that once their levels were high enough, they would return and butcher the monster. "The Giant Ghoul is gone," Suogu said in profound disappointment after using a reconnaissance skill. The rest of the group looked equally crestfallen. If the Giant Ghoul had vanished, the most likely explanation was that other class holders had beaten them to the punch. Killing the Giant Ghoul wasn't merely about fulfilling an oath; they had their own private hopes as well. A monster that powerful would surely drop decent loot. Alas, they were a step too late. … … Over the next few days, Yu Xian took it easy and let the Giant Ghoul do all the grinding. Once he reached Level 10, however, the experience granted by the Evil Woodlands plummeted. Even working non-stop day and night, the Giant Ghoul could completely wipe out all the ghouls across the woods in a single day. Given the Giant Ghoul's efficiency, Yu Xian had assumed he would hit Level 11 no matter what, but that turned out to be completely false. He remained stubbornly at Level 10. Evidently, the Zhen Realm had anti-Sword God of Shili Slope mechanics in place. The higher one's own level and the lower the monster's level, the less experience one received. After Level 10, the Evil Woodlands was no longer suitable for leveling. Not that it mattered. Yu Xian felt that after toiling away for over a month, he had earned the right to kick back and enjoy himself. The only pity was that despite the massive body count racked up by the Giant Ghoul, loot drops were exceedingly scarce—virtually non-existent. "Mengmeng, Mengmeng, Mengmeng…" "Hehehe, Mengmeng is so cute, so precious…" Inside the woods, the Giant Ghoul raged on; outside the woods, Yu Xian sprawled on the grass, smothering Mengmeng Fortune Cat in kisses and nuzzles. Such a soft little kitty—hehehe, utterly adorable. While Yu Xian was playing with Mengmeng Fortune Cat, an origami crane drifted leisurely through the air and came to a stop right in front of him. Noticing the crane, Yu Xian sat up from the turf at once. He cautiously picked up a pebble and tossed it at the paper crane, but a faint shimmer instantly flared over its surface, deflecting the stone. "Doesn't look hostile," Yu Xian murmured to himself. At his core, though, he was an intensely cautious person. Outside the Zhen Realm, he acted thoughtless and reckless only because he knew he had a safety net; no matter how recklessly he courted death, he couldn't actually die. Now, however, he intended to bring Mengmeng Fortune Cat out with him, which made caution paramount. If he died, that was one thing, but losing Mengmeng Fortune Cat was out of the question. With a thought, he ordered the Giant Ghoul to return. Once the Giant Ghoul finished off the few ghouls nearby and hurried over, he commanded it to touch the paper crane. He knew full well that the crane was almost certainly harmless—most likely sent by Niman and the others—but careful sailing kept a boat afloat for ten thousand years. When it was time to play it safe, playing it safe was best, lest he end up looking like a fool. The Giant Ghoul reached out and pinched the paper crane. Since it was Yu Xian's summoned beast, it was recognized as an ally, so no barrier of light appeared to stop it. Yu Xian commanded the Giant Ghoul to unfold the crane, revealing a line of text: *"Boss, it's Little Nora! I'm in Fukang City on the Baihe Continent. Where are you?"* Seeing these words, Yu Xian's eyes lit up. He and Little Nora had been placed on the exact same continent, and their starter areas were remarkably close together. Awesome! Yu Xian sprang to his feet, took the slip of paper from the Giant Ghoul's hand, read it once more, and promptly decided to head for Fukang City. … … Fukang City. Little Nora was minding a street stall. Curiously enough, while its other abilities had been scaled down, its food-creation power had remained intact. With a simple clap of its hands, vast mounds of food appeared out of thin air. Consequently, it was raking in funds at an astonishing pace by selling massive quantities of provisions. "Small profits, quick turnover!" "Small profits, quick turnover! Any cut of meat for just ten Fortune Gold Coins! You're practically robbing me—come and get it!" Little Nora sat by the stall, shouting between bites. Seeing how delicious the food looked as Little Nora devoured it, passersby periodically stepped forward to buy. Little Nora pocketed the coins and went right back to chewing. "I wonder if Big Bro will get my letter," Little Nora muttered after gulping down another chunk of meat. The next instant, its eyes widened slightly. It had leveled up.