Leave a comment

Project GB is an official initiative by Re:Library.

While Zane was still on the road, Windblossom had already climbed back to level 20. The rest of the players trailing behind were all sitting solidly at level 19. Shiu and the others had already fallen off the leaderboard.

Zane absentmindedly scrolled through forum posts as he hurried along his journey. The recent implementation of the pet system had brought some noticeable changes to every map.

There was now a very low chance of monster drops including pet eggs during combat. These eggs were tradable, but once used, the pet would become permanently bound to the user.

Additionally, sometimes monsters would spawn at level 1, indicating they could be captured as pets.

Following the update, general stores started selling a new item: Pet Seal Stones. Each seal stone cost 1 silver coin. Based on the current exchange rate, that amounted to about 16 RMB per stone. Even so, most players, driven by hope and desperation, would still buy five.

Why five, you ask? Because level 1 monsters only allowed five capture attempts. If all five attempts failed, the monster would go berserk, reverting to its normal attributes. Worse still, defeating the enraged version awarded no loot or experience.

And because the spawn rate of level 1 monsters was abysmally low, players could comb an entire map and not find even one. As a result, successfully sealed pets and pet eggs were being auctioned for sky-high prices.

Unfortunately, most of the pets on auction were things like rabbits and slimes. Not only did their stats fail to meet demand, but they also siphoned off experience from their owners. Unless prices dropped dramatically, only the ultra-wealthy could afford to splurge on them.

Against this backdrop, Summoners suddenly found themselves in high demand. The Summoner class received a bonus to seal success rate. That one trait alone was enough to shake up how party compositions were formed.

Some players even went so far as to hire Summoners solely to seal pets on their behalf.

Too bad Summoners were as rare as pandas. You could farm for an entire day and not encounter a single one.

…

“Stop! Everyone, stop hitting it!” Endless Sea nearly held his breath, terrified that the little cutie in front of them would flee.

With a swift leap, the wolf spider sprang straight onto Endless Sea’s face and bit him.

The damage barely tickled, but the scene was undeniably disturbing. Endless Sea held back his discomfort and shouted, “Yoyo, do it now!”

“…Are you sure you really want this thing?” YoyoPink stood a cautious ten meters away, hesitating.

“Just finding one of these is already a miracle. Please, hurry up before I lose control and squish it!”

“…Okay… okay,” YoyoPink said nervously as she crept forward, clearly afraid it might jump on her too.

Shiu sighed and strode forward. Under everyone’s puzzled gaze, he calmly picked up the spider by its top and bottom, holding it steady. “Yoyo, go ahead.”

“You can do that?” Endless Sea blinked in surprise.

“Mm-hmm.” YoyoPink nodded, then activated the seal stone toward the baby spider. A ring of glowing violet runes erupted above the spider, engulfing it completely within seconds. The energy shimmered and pulsed for nearly a full minute before finally settling.

Success on the first try? Lucky! A certified gacha god!

Endless Sea looked at the Sealing Stone in Yoyo’s hand and burst out laughing. “This trip wasn’t a waste after all! A Rare combat-type pet like the Wolf Spider is way better than anything on the auction house. We’re going to make a fortune!”

“Should we ask Zanny if they want it first…?” Yoyo said softly.
“Oh right, nearly forgot. Look at me. I’ll go check with them now,” Endless Sea replied.
“Hold on,” the priest at the back, Whiteheal, suddenly spoke up.
“Whiteheal? What’s up?”
“Isn’t this a bit strange?” Whiteheal frowned. “We’re the ones who caught this pet. Why should we just give it away to someone else?”
“Uh…” Endless Sea was momentarily speechless. He had to admit, the guy had a point.

Shiu remained silent, he’d already messaged Zane privately.

“Wolf Spider?” Zane glanced at the pet’s stats. After seeing Lordsey and Starmew’s insane attributes, this Rare pet honestly didn’t even catch his eye.

“Keep it for yourselves. Do whatever you want with it,” Zane said casually.

“Got it,” Shiu replied.

…

In the end, they agreed to sell it. The pet was too expensive for anyone in the group to actually afford.

“I’ll take it to the auction house then. Yoyo, pass me the stone,” Endless Sea offered, figuring Yoyo might not even know where the auction house was.

“Okay.”

“Wait!” Whiteheal stopped him again.

“What now?”

“You all trust him that much? What if he runs off with it? That Sealing Stone’s worth at least ten thousand coins!”

“Um… Endless Sea isn’t like that. We’ve been grinding together for two days,” Yoyo said, lips pursed.

Shiu chuckled. “So what do you suggest?”

“Just have him pay everyone now! Then he can go sell it. Problem solved,” Whiteheal replied, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Endless Sea sobered up. He’d been playing with these folks for so long he almost forgot how risky things could get in online games. “You’re right. I’ll transfer the money now,” he said as he began the transaction. “We don’t know how much it’ll sell for yet, so I’ll give everyone five thousand upfront.”

“Now that’s more like it,” Whiteheal said with a nod.

…

Zane had been running nonstop for another three hours. He never let Rapid Stride sit on cooldown, he used it the moment it was ready.

After crossing who knows how many maps, the vast expanse of sea and sky finally opened up before them. The ocean breeze brushed gently against his skin, it felt incredibly refreshing.

‘But… why is such a beautiful shoreline completely deserted? Is there something dangerous in the water?’

As Zane pondered the unsettling quiet, Starmew leapt down onto the sand. The tide rose and fell in steady rhythm, inch by inch swallowing more of the shoreline.

‘There’s no time to waste. We need to find the Rainlily before it’s too late.’

Rainlily was one of the essential ingredients for Saintspring Ale, though only a small amount was needed. Zenn had said that just three stalks were enough for a full barrel of Saintbloom Water.

‘Let’s split up to search.’ Zane shifted back into human form and headed to the right.

Suddenly, Starmew meowed loudly.

‘What is it?’ Starry walked over. When she looked down, she saw the little tiger clutching a tender green stalk in its paw. She checked the item’s attributes. It was indeed Rainlily!

“Good job.” She ruffled the soft fur on the Frostfang Tiger’s round little head, then gently placed the Rainlily into the glass bottle.

‘Rainlily, gotcha!’

But there didn’t seem to be any more in the immediate area. They searched for another ten minutes, but still came up empty. Even Starmew couldn’t sniff out a second plant.

The water was rising faster now. Could the rest be submerged already?

Zane walked a bit further ahead, and sure enough, just as the tide receded before surging again, a stalk of Rainlily briefly emerged from the sand.

“Whew.” Taking advantage of the brief lull, Zane immediately transformed into Gray Wolf form and dashed forward. He bit down on the Rainlily and raced back.

Unfortunately, the tide moved faster than he did. He was caught in the water, soaked to the bone. The unpleasant, dripping sensation left him completely miserable.

‘That made two. Just one more to go.’

Earlier, when he passed through, Zane had spotted another stalk deeper out at sea, larger than the others, but he hadn’t veered off course to collect it at the time.

‘No helping it. I’ll have to make another run.’

Waiting for the tide to recede to its lowest point, Zane activated Rapid Stride and made another sprint into the shallows. At that moment, Starmew’s fur bristled and it began growling at the sea, its posture tense, like it had sensed something threatening.

Zane’s vision was distorted beneath the water, but thankfully, the essence of the dog paddle came naturally to all canine-type beasts. (Supposedly.)

He locked his jaws around the Rainlily and turned to retreat without hesitation.

Suddenly, the sea split with a violent current that surged straight toward Zane’s back!

‘Oh no!’

A thunderous crash followed. Zane’s Gray Wolf form, which had over 2000 HP, was wiped out in an instant. He barely clung to life, left with a sliver of health.

Support Us

Unlock Early Access ------- Select Project ------- Project Gender Bender Project Necro ∴ Support your favorite series and unlock chapters before the public release.