Cathulhu Online, MUNYA!

Xiaomao smirked. He looked at the crew behind Halal and counted their heads.

"How many guild members do you have, munya?"

"27. Oh, all of them are my friends in real life."

Halal's friends wryly smiled. Since their boss made the decision, they had no choice but to agree.

Seeing how united they were, Xiaomao believed that he made the right decision. Even though they didn't know the value of money, they didn't follow the path of arrogant young masters in novels.

Xiaomao gave them a big clue.

"On the north of the continent is the Seaside Town. Go there, buy a sturdy ship, and sail north. Then you will find an archipelago, munya. Visit the biggest island and gift the lazy crocodile some fish until he talks to you. Once he shows interest in you, give him the black stone, and he will tell you everything. Oh, avoid attacking any monster there or committing crimes. Those NPCs will kill you on sight if you do something wrong."

Hearing Xiaomao's generous information, Halal grabbed the former's tentacles for a handshake.

"You're a good man!"

"No. I'm a good cat, munya."_.

"Hahahaha! Oh, right. Give me a moment."

Halal opened his game menu and fiddled with his game screen.

DING

Suddenly, a message came from his crypto wallet.

Halal transferred him another million USDT!

Xiaomao furrowed his brows and stared at Halal, "You need to be more disciplined with your money! You're not Mr. Beast. How could you give a stranger a million dollars, munya?!"

"Hahahaha! You sound like my mother. Anyway, a good friend always shows sincerity. Since you've shown yours, I show mine! Oh, once I confirm that the information is true, I'll send you more!"

Xiaomao felt bad for Halal's parents, yet he didn't give the money back.

It's his money now!

Xiaomao changed the topic, "By the way, is there a Guild NPC in the town hall, munya?"

Guild NPC was a common jargon in MMO games. Usually, players could talk to these NPCs and register a new guild through them. Then, the players could establish their guilds.

Xiaomao asked this question with the future Guild War Event in mind. After all, the land deed reward was necessary for his future dungeon development and passive income.

"Yes. If you want to register or join a guild, you can talk to the blindfolded NPC girl next to the receptionist. Oh, do you want to join my guild? We share the story quests together, and my father is sponsoring us. The starting salary is one million dollars a month, but if you're a rare item provider or an intel provider, the starting monthly wage is 50 million."

Xiaomao was speechless. Now, he understood why Halal didn't hesitate to spend money.

‘They knew about the secrets. They definitely knew!'

No millionaire invested millions of dollars for no reason. Judging from their actions, they were investing in something more valuable than money, and that was superpower and immortality.

"Nah, I have other plans, munya."

Xiaomao refused to yield the benefits of being a guild leader. Only guild leaders could receive noble ranks later on, and only nobles could raise their Contribution Level higher than 100.

"Ah, shame. Oh, I always wanted to ask you this, but I forgot. Do you know what the black stone is?"

Xiaomao was about to avoid the question, but he suddenly had an inspiration.

‘If this rich idiot knows about the spirit stone, won't the market price increase? There will be competitors, but I will raise the standard of superhumans in the future. It will also weaken the Tlaloc's forces and increase the number of Goddess's followers.'

If the overall superhumans were stronger, Xiaomao's parents might survive the mysterious ordeal in the future.

Xiaomao kept reminding himself why he was playing this game. He steeled his heart and sacrificed invaluable knowledge for increasing the chance of his parents' survival.

"Black stones are corrupted spirit stones of the second god I mentioned earlier, munya. If you use it, you will become the evil god's slave forever. If you give it to the Pangu Church, you will trigger the first god's quests and you will end up becoming the tyrant god's slave because the questline will be one-sided. Remember, Pangu is a tyrant god, and Tlaloc is the evil god. Do not serve them or believe in their followers no matter what!"

As soon as Xiaomao finished speaking, he received a new message from the game.

DING

<Cernun is moved by your dedication, sincerity, and sacrifice. Current Favorability: 5 Stars.>

<Cernun has blessed you. Your add-on skill, Essence of Life, has been upgraded to Legendary++>

<Because of your good karma, your LUCK has increased by 27!>

<The World Tree Spirit, Ohuhuhohohu, has noticed your presence because of your good karma and luck.>

<Ohuhuhohohu has recognized your soul's signature. He is delighted to see you again! Current Favorability: 5 Stars.>

‘What the heck?!'

Xiaomao only wanted to save his parents, and he didn't expect rewards. However, good things rained upon him out of nowhere. He was also surprised that Cernun noticed his actions!

‘I'll be damned. I have 4 million bucks, and Cernun suddenly likes me. My life is so smooth that it's getting scary. Who the heck is the Ohuhu guy anyway? I never heard of that name in my previous life.'

Despite the random development, Xiaomao couldn't stop smiling. But when he glanced at his current Life Qi, his expression turned dark.

Life Qi: 10,000 / 10,000

Xiaomao hadn't used the Essence of Life skill yet as Qi wasn't something that should be used recklessly. It couldn't be recovered by drinking mana potions, and resting wouldn't recover the used Qi.

The only way to restore and gain Life Qi was to use the [Cultivate] feature in the dantian menu, which Xiaomao hadn't unlocked. Thus, he couldn't spend the available Life Qi to exchange for permanent status attributes yet.

"Hahahaha! You're really a good man!"

Xiaomao and Halal continued chatting for several minutes. He added friends of Halal to his contact list, and they bid farewell.

After Halal was gone, Xiaomao returned to the Labor Guild and withdrew another Shaman Fireball spellbook into his inventory as backup bribes for rich idiots. Then, he proceeded with his friends to the market plaza of the town.

.

Essence of Life (Mastery 100%)

In ancient times, cultivators collected Life Qi and condensed them into Life Essence to extend their lifespan. However, people of this world have already forgotten about the techniques. Even the current cultivators in society are a lot weaker than cultivators in the past.

Essence of Life is one of a billion methods to enhance one's body with Qi. By consuming Qi, you can increase your permanent status attributes and spiritual roots.

Skill Type: Active, Qi Conversion

Rarity: Legendary++

Cost: 99% HP and all MP

Cooldown: 24 Hours

Effects: 

– Convert Life Qi into random status points or spiritual roots. Conversion Ratio: 1,000 Life Qi to One Attribute or One Spiritual Root.

– Consume all mana to increase your max mana. Conversion Ratio: 100 MP to 1 Max MP.

– Consume 99% of your HP to increase your max health points. Conversion Ratio: 100 HP to 1 Max HP.

– For every 1,000,000 Life Qi you spent by using this skill, increase the player's level by one and permanently increase all status and spiritual roots by 10. Create an empty Essence Core Crystal. (Total Spent: 0)