Chapter 88: A Bountiful Harvest

“Swish, swish!”

Until—

Ye Da stared helplessly as the bodies of Long Yi and Skinny Monkey flickered, grew faint, and gradually vanished before his eyes, transforming into glowing orbs of light.

“Players…”

Witnessing this, Ye Da was stunned beyond words. “Could it be that players, like monsters, also turn into meat and beast cores?”

Skinny Monkey became two orbs of light.

Long Yi became three.

Ye Da felt puzzled. Back in the banana grove, why hadn’t that man and woman dropped anything when they died?

“Boots? Grappling hook?”

Thankfully, with a glance, Ye Da saw only a pair of blue boots and a grappling hook inside the orbs; there was no flesh or viscera.

“These must be Skinny Monkey’s equipment?”

Without delay, Ye Da reached out and grabbed the boots from the orb.

[E-rank Swift Boots: Increases agility by 10 when worn.]

After reading the description, Ye Da had only one thought—these boots were far too ordinary, not even as good as his own Black Iron Gale Boots.

This pair was obviously a basic piece of equipment, not even at black iron grade, so naturally incomparable to the S-rank Black Iron Gale Boots.

He’d just put them up for sale at the trading market later.

Stowing the blue boots in his backpack, Ye Da reached for the other orb.

[Iron Eave Hook (A-rank): A fine auxiliary tool, it helps you scale mountains and walls, and can also be used to attack prey. Not very effective against large prey, but an excellent tool for catching smaller creatures!]

“I didn’t expect this hook to drop as well!”

Ye Da’s eyes lit up.

If there was anything on Skinny Monkey that he truly wanted, this grappling hook was at the top of the list. He’d seen how Skinny Monkey used it to control monsters—sometimes pinning them for a few seconds, which could decide the outcome of a fight.

With this, Ye Da could reach unusual places, like the cliffs along the valley.

Having collected Skinny Monkey’s loot, Ye Da turned to the three orbs left behind by Long Yi.

[S-rank Black Iron Necklace (Black Iron Set 4/7): Can activate a protective shield once per day.]

[Note: This is an essential item for Black Iron Warriors. If the full set is collected, all attributes will be doubled.]

“Oh ho?!”

When Ye Da saw what Long Yi had dropped, his eyes sparkled.

Wasn’t this one of the seven pieces of the Black Iron set he was collecting?

He hadn’t expected another piece to be in Long Yi’s possession.

In that moment—

Ye Da didn’t know whether he should thank Long Yi for coming to deliver himself to death, and bringing a gift of equipment, or thank the heavens for favoring him so much.

It was as if the world knew he was gathering the Black Iron set, and sent someone to deliver the next piece right to his door.

Moreover—

Whether it was bad luck or sheer misfortune, Long Yi had such a treasure but hadn’t even used it.

Most likely, he’d already activated it during the battle with the soldier ants.

If Long Yi had managed to trigger the shield in time, Ye Da might not have been able to kill him, and might even have been killed himself by Long Yi and Skinny Monkey working together.

“Ha, what outstanding luck!” Ye Da exclaimed, then glanced at the other items Long Yi had dropped.

After inspecting the contents of the remaining orbs, Ye Da finally understood why that man and woman in the banana grove hadn’t dropped anything—there was simply nothing worth dropping.

[Monster Compendium: Collect ten different monster entries in this compendium to unlock the Junior Beastmaster subclass!]

[Treasure Ring (A-rank): Can unleash a spike attack once per day!]

But as he retrieved the items from the two remaining orbs, Ye Da’s eyes widened.

Weren’t these—

The rewards for second place on the new players’ leaderboard?

He’d been quite envious when Long Yi won the Treasure Ring back then.

Who could have guessed—

Long Yi’s prize would end up in his hands.

There was no need to elaborate on the Treasure Ring. Judging by the Psychic Bow Ye Da already owned, it was not only a life-saving treasure but also an incredibly effective ranged weapon.

Ye Da immediately slipped the Treasure Ring, set with a tawny gem, onto the index finger of his left hand.

Although—

He dearly wanted to test its power right away.

But since it could only be used once per day, he hesitated to waste it.

That single use might be the difference between life and death.

So—

Ye Da decided to save it for a desperate moment.

Or, perhaps, he’d try it once before returning home at sunset, just to see its effect without wasting its potential.

As for the Monster Compendium—

Ye Da noticed the red cover felt much like his Herbal Manual.

Flipping it open, he found illustrated pages with descriptions of various monsters.

The first few pages were gray, showing ordinary creatures like wild chickens and rabbits.

As Ye Da turned the pages—

He soon found a colored entry.

[Brown Bear: Tier Zero]

[Skills: Rending Claws]

[Entry unlocked]

The image of the snarling brown bear instantly brought back terrifying memories of Ye Da’s first day in this world.

He’d barely emerged from the tree hollow before being chased by the bear.

Luckily, the narrow opening had trapped the beast, giving Ye Da a chance to strike back.

Otherwise—

He’d have died long ago.

[Wild Boar: Tier Zero]

[Skills: Boar Rush, Tusk Stab]

[Entry unlocked]

...

[Treasure Chest Monster: Tier Zero]

[Skills: Devour]

[Entry unlocked]

...

Ye Da leafed through the compendium, noting all the entries he’d unlocked so far—mostly tier zero monsters.

Eventually, he reached the entries for tier one monsters he’d killed.

[Small Stone Golem: Tier One]

[Skills: Petrify]

[Entry unlocked]

...

[Medicinal Field Soldier Ant: Black Iron Tier One]

[Skills: Hardened Carapace, Scythe Reap]

[Entry unlocked]

...

[Graystone Spider: Black Iron Tier Three]

[Skills: Venom, Scythe Reap, Leg Impale]

So the Graystone Spider was a Black Iron Tier Three monster—no wonder its beast core contained so much energy!

Ye Da counted his unlocked entries—eight in total.

He needed only two more types to reach ten and obtain the Beastmaster subclass!

He wondered how many different subclasses a person could have.

If it was limited to one—

Between Beastmaster and Healer, Ye Da would rather choose the Healer.

After all, a Healer could save his life at any time, whereas a Beastmaster was less certain.

Besides—

He already had two wolf cubs as companions; one more or one less pet made little difference now.

Having collected all of Long Yi’s loot—

Ye Da swiftly descended to the valley floor to claim the enormous rewards brought by the five soldier ants!