Chapter 70: Selena

“Boss Boboer, I wonder if there are any other people in the Shadow Main City who have special skills like you?” After learning the decomposition skill, Chen Mo quietly slipped another gold coin to Boboer.

Knowing that Boboer was a greedy NPC, Chen Mo wanted to see if he could get some other information from him. Especially after noticing that the racial Favorability on him seemed somewhat useful, Chen Mo decided it was absolutely worth a try.

Boboer’s eyes lit up again, and he quickly pocketed the gold coin, but sighed and said, “Adventurer, you’re very thoughtful, but unfortunately, I don’t know anything.”

Damn, you don’t know and still dare take money!

Chen Mo reluctantly slipped another gold coin over. The fat guy still took it without hesitation, but this time his words changed a little: “Adventurer, don’t be like this. I really don’t know anything.”

Greedy fatso! Ordinary people would probably have wasted two gold coins by now, but Chen Mo still had money!

Chen Mo slipped another gold coin over. Boboer snatched it lightning-fast and kept sighing: “You can’t do this, how can you do this? You’re putting me in a difficult position.”

Damn, still not talking!

Chen Mo took the last two gold coins he had and shoved them all into Boboer’s hand at once, deciding that if this guy still wouldn’t talk, he’d find a chance to sneakily take him out—consider it eliminating a public menace.

As if sensing Chen Mo’s murderous intent, this time after taking the two gold coins, Boboer finally glanced around furtively, as if afraid of being discovered, then quietly said to Chen Mo, “Since you’re so sincere, Adventurer, and you’ve also learned Potion-making, I’ll give you a tip. But let me be clear—I’m just telling you what I know. Whether you succeed or not depends on your own skills. That woman has a strange temper; she usually ignores most people. Especially promising adventurers like you—I bet the moment she sees you, she’ll chase you away.”

“What does it have to do with the Potion-making skill?” Chen Mo couldn’t help asking curiously.

“Heh, you wouldn’t know this, but in this world, there are many different kinds of Potion-making skills. What you adventurers learn is just the most basic. Of course, even though it’s basic, it’s also the most universal and systematic skill. That woman learned a type of Potion-making that’s harmful to our Human Race, so she was ostracized. Now she lives out in the wilderness near Shadow City. Over the years, her temper has become even weirder.” Boboer chuckled.

“A Potion-making skill harmful to the Human Race? Then what’s the use of me learning it?” Chen Mo thought it was ridiculous. Those five gold coins seemed like a waste.

“I’m decades younger than that woman. When she was driven out of Shadow City, I was still running around bare-bottomed. What I know is just hearsay; if you ask me, I don’t know either. But take the decomposition skill I taught you—it was banned from being taught because decomposing equipment reduces the Human Race’s gear.” Boboer explained with a grin.

…

The woman Boboer mentioned was named Selena. After asking for Selena’s coordinates, Chen Mo left the Shadow Main City.

Outside Shadow Main City was the Darkwood Forest.

Players who had never been to Darkwood Forest probably thought it was a dimly lit, eerie forest.

When Chen Mo first heard the name Darkwood Forest, he thought so too. But when players entered Shadow Main City and came to Darkwood Forest, they realized how wrong they were.

This wasn’t a forest—it was a terrifyingly huge, brightly lit grove of giant trees!

The ashen-gray earth was dotted with enormous trees, each four or five meters in diameter and hundreds of meters tall!

These trees were frighteningly huge, with tangled roots forming arched bridges above the ground. But the branches and leaves on the trees were pitifully sparse, with only a little green dotting the massive trunks.

If it weren’t for the human Main City behind him, Chen Mo would have thought he’d entered a world of giants.

Each giant tree stood far apart, but the huge roots broke through the soil, intertwining across the open ashen-gray ground, keeping the area from looking too empty.

Sunlight filtered through these roots, creating multicolored halos.

Monsters spawned around the roots, and many players used the roots to kill monsters more easily. But this was only true in the Level 11 to 13 monster areas. After Level 14, these roots could hardly block monsters anymore.

Player Levels were still low, so it was lively outside Shadow City—it felt like a Starter Village, with lots of people competing for monsters. But unlike a Starter Village, PK was allowed here. Chen Mo hadn’t gone far before he saw two or three teams fighting each other.

In the Level 11 to 13 area, there were more people than monsters. Chen Mo moved unobstructed. Selena’s dwelling wasn’t too far from the Shadow Main City. After walking just over ten minutes, Chen Mo found a wooden hut under the arched roots of a giant tree.

This hut stood out so much in Shadow Main City. Before Chen Mo even got close, he saw a group of players crowded in front of it.

The forums were full of players sharing stories about hidden Quests. Selena’s home was so unique that anyone who saw it would want to give it a try.

“Get lost! If you bother me again, I won’t be polite!”

Selena’s temper was just as Boboer had said—not very good. These past few days, she’d been constantly disturbed by these new adventurers, and her patience was nearly gone.

“Master Selena, we came sincerely to learn from you. Whatever you need us to do, we’ll put our hearts into completing it!”

A group of people spoke with utmost sincerity.

Selena wore a black magician’s robe edged with silver threads, giving a sense that she was hiding deep secrets.

“Get lost, now! Otherwise, in three seconds, I’ll kill you all!” Selena shouted coldly.

“Master Selena, please believe in our sincerity…” The group naturally didn’t want to give up just like that, though some quietly stepped back after hearing Selena’s words.

“Hmph! I warned you. Since you’re looking for death, I’ll grant your wish!”

Selena finally lost her temper. With a wave of her hand, a cloud of crimson powder drifted toward the group of players.

“Damn! Poisoned! This NPC really kills people!”

Players touched by the crimson powder immediately turned pale.

Damage numbers of –500 floated rapidly above these players’ heads. Seeing over a dozen people all losing 500 Health Points at once was quite a sight.

These players were only around Level 12, with about a thousand Health Points. They couldn’t withstand such potent Toxin Damage. In just two or three seconds, more than ten people fell to the ground, all dead.

“Damn, glad I backed away fast enough.”

“Forget it, let’s go level up. Trying with this woman is just a waste of time.”

The surviving players who hadn’t gotten too close couldn’t help looking uneasy, feeling very lucky.

The group quickly dispersed, leaving only Chen Mo.

Only then did Chen Mo get a clear look at Selena.

And then, he couldn’t help sweating a little.

After listening to Boboer, he had thought Selena would be an old woman in her seventies, but seeing her now, it was completely different.

The Selena before him showed no signs of aging—she was a mature red-haired woman in her thirties.

It seemed Selena really wasn’t an ordinary NPC!

Selena was even tougher to deal with than Boboer had said. If it were someone else, the five gold coins spent bribing Boboer would’ve been wasted. But Chen Mo had Experience dealing with this kind of person!

With a flick of his hand, Chen Mo equipped the “Fallen One” title