Chapter 21 The Vibration of the Heart-Protecting Mirror and the All-Staff Upgrade Frenzy
At dawn, before the fog had dissipated over the Forsaken Land, a sharp roar shattered the tranquility of the camp.
"Stop! Everyone stop!! That's not allowed! That's a rock!!"
Eileen Moonsong, who had just woken up, was standing by the newly cultivated field ridge. Her long silver hair was so angry that static electricity was flying everywhere, and her originally elegant and dignified elf image was completely gone.
She had thought that guiding these "chosen ones" in farming today would be a sacred and easy task. After all, humans are also a race that knows how to cultivate, and last night the gods had transmitted their language to her, so she felt that her task was not heavy.
But reality gave her a resounding slap in the face.
"That guy called 'Civil Engineering Dog'!" Eileen shouted in despair, pointing to a deep pit in the middle of the field. "What are you doing? Why did you dig the irrigation canal in this weird U-shape? The water won't flow to the higher ground!"
At the bottom of the pit, the civil engineering student poked his head out, wiping away sweat with an innocent look on his face, holding a homemade entrenching tool in his hand: "Eileen, you don't understand, I'm exploiting a bug... no, I'm trying to create 'infinite water'! In my experience, as long as you pour two buckets of water on this diagonal, the water in the middle will never run out. That's a perpetual motion machine, you know?"
"What? Infinite water? Water flows! That's common sense!" Eileen felt her common sense about nature had been completely undermined. "And who gave you permission to mix that green slime into the soil?!"
Beside him, Shennong, the herb taster, was pushing up his non-existent glasses and explaining in a serious tone: "This is Shennong No. 1 experimental fertilizer. Slime gel is rich in magical activity and can theoretically be used as a'slow-release magical fertilizer.' If successful, wheat might be able to ripen once a week."
Looking at this group of oddly thinking individuals, Eileen felt that her obsessive-compulsive disorder was reaching its late stage.
Just as she was about to use natural magic to calm these lunatics down, a sudden change occurred.
Buzz—!
The palm-sized black obsidian mirrors worn on the chests of all the players present—the [Evil God's Amulet] (also known as the Heart Mirror)—suddenly began to vibrate simultaneously and emitted a faint, eerie light.
"Holy crap? What's going on? A phone call?"
"My amulet is getting hot!"
The players stopped what they were doing and looked down in surprise.
The obsidian surface, which was originally as smooth as a mirror, lit up like a smartphone screen, and lines of text radiating pale golden divine power appeared directly on the mirror surface, even projecting into mid-air.
[Server-wide Announcement: Version Update 1.1 - [Cultivation and Protection]]
[Posted by: Supreme Ruler]
[Dear family members:]
In recognition of everyone's outstanding contributions in the first phase of the "Origin Test," and with the average level of all members having surpassed LV3, the temple will officially enter a new phase of development.
Deep within the temple, Li Wei sat on his throne, wisps of divine power swirling around his fingertips as he broadcast through these dispersed "terminals."
"This is the wonderful use of the Heart-Protecting Mirror." Li Wei nodded in satisfaction as he looked at the players' reactions in his divine vision. "It's not only a resurrection item, but also a communicator, and even more so, a conduit for power transmission."
The text on the mirror continued to scroll:
1. [Divine Favor Shop] Adjustments:
The Divine Blessing Shop is no longer available. From today onwards, all food will be supplied by [Forest Elf Eileen] and other players through the canteen. Those who do not work will not eat. Want better food? Go farm! Go hunt!
2. [Equipment and Skills] Distribution:
The vast majority of players have been detected to have reached LV3 (soul strength meets the requirements).
Starting immediately, all new players who reach level 3 will automatically receive the Evil God's Heart Mirror item.
All players who previously possessed the Heartguard Mirror will automatically receive compensation: [Standard Iron Longsword] x1, [Standard Leather Armor] x1.
Skill Infusion: [Basic Swordsmanship (Beginner)] (Automatically loaded into muscle memory).
3. [Power System] Reconstruction:
Previously accumulated [Contribution Points] will no longer be used to exchange for basic resources, but will be directly converted into [Divine Blessing] (experience points). The death penalty will now be a deduction of a certain amount of experience points. Please cherish your life.
...
"boom!"
The moment the announcement was displayed, a warm current flowed into the body of every player through the heart-protecting mirror.
This is not an adjective, but a real infusion of energy.
In the square, "I'll Teach You a Lesson" was chopping vegetables when he suddenly felt a jolt. His arms instantly filled with power. He felt his senses become sharper, able to see even the dust particles dancing in the air.
"This feeling... has leveled up!"
He subconsciously waved his hand, and a gleaming iron sword appeared out of thin air in his hand.
There was no awkwardness in his movements; it was as if he had been practicing swordsmanship for ten years.
"Swish! Swish swish!"
He casually twirled his sword a few times, his movements fluid and graceful, before finally coming to a steady stop in mid-air.
"I've reached Level 4!"
The fat man glanced at his panel and exclaimed in delight, "With the contribution points I've accumulated, I've leveled up to level four! And my experience bar is almost full; I'll be level five soon!"
Not far away, Shennong, who was tasting hundreds of herbs, also flashed with green light (perhaps because he had just eaten some strange herbs, the special effect was a bit off), and he looked very energetic.
"I've reached Level 4 too!" Shennong excitedly did a Thomas Flair on the ground. "With this kind of physical fitness, I could probably win a gold medal in gymnastics at the Olympics, right?"
The "civil engineering dog" even wielded a shovel, digging a large pit with a single stroke.
"My strength attribute has at least doubled!" the Civil Engineering Dog exclaimed with elation. "With this strength, I'm going to dig ditches all over the wasteland! Eileen, just you wait and see my water conservancy project!"
Eileen stared in disbelief at the group of humans who had suddenly "exploded."
Just a second ago, they were merely a group of slightly stronger civilians. But now, the aura emanating from them is approaching that of a first-tier warrior in a regular army! Especially the leaders, whose strength is even approaching that of veteran adventurers!
"This...is this the power of the evil god?" Eileen looked at the breastplates shimmering on the chests of the group of people, and an indescribable sense of awe rose in her heart.
Inside the temple, Li Wei watched this scene and breathed a long sigh of relief.
As the players leveled up, he felt the previously dormant divine essence within him become more active.
"The current strategy is correct."
Li Wei leaned back in his chair, his eyes gleaming.
"Too many gods died in the previous divine war, and this world will subconsciously exclude all 'god-level' power aggregates. If I forcibly restore my original power, it will only invite rejection from the world and the pursuit of those mad dogs from the astral plane."
"but..."
He looked at the cheering players on the screen.
"I will disperse my power and turn them into my 'vessels' and 'tentacles.' As they level up, I can use them to circumvent the suppression of the rules and even erode this cursed land in reverse."
The stronger the players, the stronger I become.
"This way, I can avoid being kicked to the Astral Plane after I recover. I don't want to face those guys by myself."
Li Wei gently tapped the armrest and once again sent a message through the breastplate that only a few "top-tier" players (such as Husky, Canned Food, and Heart of Steel) could see:
[Hidden Quest Triggered: Explore a 5km radius around the temple, create a map, and find new resource points.]
[Reward: Unlocks LV5 advanced job change privileges.]
"Alright, you leeks... oh no, warriors, let's expand our territory