I Forged the Myth of the Ancient Overlords
Chapter 734 - 734 733. Pollution Core_1

Chapter 734: 733. Pollution Core_1 Chapter 734: 733. Pollution Core_1 Zhou Changqing had been quite troubled recently.

A week had passed since the campaign against the Iron Lizard.

The arrival of the third batch of test players excited him for only a moment.

For a longer time, Zhou Changqing had to face the complexity of magic.

As a core group member, he had been studying the structure of the Magic Network in Joester’s laboratory recently.

Zhou Changqing always thought that, as a senior engineer, if he could travel to ancient times, he would probably be able to farm and develop many technologies that would surpass that era with ease.

But now he finally understood that he was not a polymath after all, knowing only what he had mastered, and that climbing the technological ladder in ancient times would require more than just modern knowledge—you’d need cheats.

Without proper smelting technology, parts that could withstand stress couldn’t be made, and without mining technology, one couldn’t even find the ore, not to mention the various petrochemical materials, tools, and equipment—all indispensable.

One couldn’t achieve modernity from an agricultural civilization overnight.

Therefore, even though he mastered advanced communication theories, he had to learn magic step by step, understanding its characteristics before he could make a contribution to the design of the Magic Network.

And at this time, learning ability was the key.

For instance, Joester had already basically understood and grasped modern communication technology. Though lacking hands-on experience, in theory, he was definitely no less competent than a graduate student specializing in the field. In contrast, Zhou Changqing was still at the level of a junior high school student in magic.

“…Originally, I thought magic was simple, but now it seems to be much more complicated and troublesome.”

Zhou Changqing sighed and lifted his head from the books, glancing out the window.

Due to the steel supply from the Iron Lizard, fortresses were beginning to be built on the foundation outside Sunset Town, in the newly reclaimed Black Forest. Looking at those concrete structures, Zhou Changqing suddenly felt a sense of reality breaking into the illusion.

“Actually, according to some ancient records and speculations, the magic that’s currently used has been modified.”

Joester spoke without raising his head.

“Was the original more complex?”

Another player couldn’t help but ask.

“No, the original was simpler, even simpler than the magic we use now. What we call ‘modern magic’ has already been categorized, and the mages have defined magic to require rituals and incantations for use, raising the entry threshold for mages.”

Joester answered.

At first, Zhou Changqing thought this was redundant, but after carefully recalling the concept of magic, if magic were a kind of pollution that could harm the human body, then raising the entry threshold was indeed quite reasonable, a form of protection for the world.

“In my world, there was a time when the church, or the upper echelons, held onto knowledge, not allowing the common folk to learn. But later, the monopoly on knowledge was broken, and the ordinary people were able to study those subjects.”

Zhou Changqing remarked.

He was glad he was living in the comfortable and peaceful times. Had he been in an era of war, or even darker and more ignorant times, life would probably be a thousand times more miserable.

“In your world, knowledge does not seem to bring pollution. That’s nice.”

Joester said with a hint of envy.

“That’s still up for debate, haha, maybe we’ve already been polluted without knowing it.”

Zhou Changqing joked.

At that moment, Cui Siter pushed the door open, holding in his hand a crystal-clear crystal that refracted the sunlight, projecting an array of colors.

“Here’s what you wanted, the condensed core of the Iron Lizard.”

Cui Siter placed the crystal on the table, and Joester hurriedly picked it up and examined it closely.

“What’s this?”

Zhou Changqing asked.

“Most of the Demonic Beasts in the Black Forest possess extraordinary power, and some of the stronger creatures produce a deposition of Pollution, this is their core. Don’t be fooled by the beauty of these cores; the Pollution contained within is far greater than in their flesh and blood.”

Joester said, glancing at the object.

“The Pollution in the flesh and blood…”

Zhou Changqing thought it over—he had eaten quite a lot of the Iron Lizard’s meat. After they had pried off the Iron Lizard’s ore-like shell, they had brought back most of the meat as an extra meal. Recently, they finally had days with meat to eat and soup to drink.

He had never considered the possibility of Pollution in the flesh of these beasts.

But he wasn’t really in this world; he was just playing a game. Pollution and the like were merely part of the setting, so Zhou Changqing was not worried at all.

It’s not like the game’s setting could leap into reality and affect him, right?

While Zhou Changqing was pondering, Cui Siter was flipping through those Magic tomes. Although as a Chosen by Gods he couldn’t sign a contract with the Magic Network and receive the favor of the gods of Night Country, as someone who could already navigate [Metamorphosis] and [Sublimation] difficulties, the Pollution he had endured had long surpassed what these spells contained, so casually browsing them was no issue.

Of course, most of the spells were of little use to Cui Siter. In terms of attack power, his “Mimic Solar Flare” could compare to the strongest attack Spell in Night Country. As for the others, Cui Siter wouldn’t need them anytime soon.

However, it was always good to learn more. Since there was no impact on his Sanity, Cui Siter was happy to broaden his knowledge to avoid being caught unprepared when encountering similar strange conditions in other Foreign Domains.

“That’s about it.”

Zhou Changqing continued his research until the game notified him that the power source was about to run out, and he reluctantly prepared to log off and rest.

He returned to the Players’ residence, which had been constructed recently for Players to use when logging off, so that everyone didn’t end up appearing in strange places when logging on together.

After taking off his helmet, Zhou Changqing let out a long sigh of relief.

Originally, he started out by signing up for the beta test of this new game out of curiosity. After being selected, his unit gave him support, but now, after such a long time, Zhou Changqing suddenly found it difficult to differentiate between reality and illusion.

Nowadays, aside from when he was asleep, Zhou Changqing spent more time awake in Night Country than in the present world. When a virtual reality like [Cage] dominated most of his life, he increasingly felt as if he lived in Night Country and reality was the illusion.

NPCs like Joester seemed like real people, with their own thoughts. Communicating with them, Zhou Changqing felt nothing like he was playing a game.

Of course, once he realized this, he would stay a little longer in reality and also take the opportunity to brush up on his communication knowledge.

After charging his helmet, Zhou Changqing washed his face. It was time for dinner, and he was ready to go downstairs for some hot food.

Looking at himself in the mirror, Zhou Changqing checked his appearance.

Normally, living a life consumed by gaming and no exercise, he should look haggard, but unexpectedly, Zhou Changqing looked healthy, as if all the exercise and labor in the game were truly reflected on his body.

Suddenly, Zhou Changqing saw in the mirror that he was smiling—a smile appeared at the corner of his lips.

But he was not smiling at all.

*

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