---Third POV---

  "Drop items?" Garble showed a skeptical look. "This game shouldn't have rewards that appear out of thin air, right?"

  Aside from the game interface, the game scenes were absurdly realistic. Quest items and shop goods wouldn't appear out of nowhere—they had to be taken out of a warehouse by NPCs.

  Even the rewarded magicoins were just numbers. To get physical currency, you had to specifically find an NPC to exchange them.

  NeverShowOff kept his head down and worked diligently.

  "Who knows? No harm in searching."

  "True, I'll join too!" ProGamer_Daddy brushed the mud off his arms and started searching through the pile of worm corpses.

  Seeing they couldn't be stopped, Garble and Hedgehog shook their heads helplessly and also picked up their Thornleaf Bdes.

  After all, they'd have to clean up ter anyway, so rummaging through the corpses one more time made no difference.

  Red-scaled worms were like a type of overly rge beneficial insect.

  They significantly enriched the soil and promoted pnt growth, mainly feeding on wild fruits, soil, and rotting leaves.

  After searching through the corpses of three worms, Garble gained a deeper understanding of that st statement.

  Despite having a mouth rge enough to swallow a person whole, they could only eat wild fruits and decaying leaves.

  All because of their inefficient digestive systems.

  Inside the corpses, he found undigested ground fruits from yesterday, or possibly even the day before, that had been fed to them.

  Because red-scaled worms preferred cool and damp environments, these ground fruits looked fresher than those left directly outdoors.

  Besides that, there were also twigs, grass roots, and even unidentifiable rotting meat.

  None of these items had any signs of gastric erosion—they were completely indigestible!

  Garble couldn't help but pause. "It feels like we're digging through a trash pile."

  "Agreed," ProGamer_Daddy replied. "How come we didn't notice these things carrying so much junk during the fight?"

  With half their stomachs filled with indigestible food, how did they even survive?

  NeverShowOff chuckled bitterly. "Looks like cutting them into pieces was actually doing them a favor."

  It helped them eject all the indigestible garbage they'd eaten in the past few days through dismemberment.

  Among the digested mess before them were items they'd recently consumed.

  He noticed a glimmer of white light, out of the corner of his eye.

  He froze.

  Turning his Thornleaf Bde, he stabbed it into the pile of digestive matter, twisted his wrist, and the bde struck something hard.

  Clearing away the debris, NeverShowOff's eyes lit up.

  "Look at this!"

  It was a square-shaped bck iron hammer, with a handle made of wood embedded with metal rings. The design was rough but visually striking.

  The hammer's head was inid with a gem so dark it was indistinguishable from the hammer itself.

  The white light he saw earlier was the gem reflecting the light.

  ProGamer_Daddy came over and gestured at the hammer. It was nearly a meter long.

  "Damn, how could these mindless worms eat something like this?!"

  A meter long!

  Even after being cut into eight pieces, the hammer was nearly half the length of a red-scaled worm.

  Wiping the stomach fluids off the handle, Garble noticed it was engraved with a crossed hammer and battle axe, likely some sort of symbol.

  "The wooden handle is of exceptional quality. Despite being in the stomach for so long, the carvings are completely intact."

  Hedgehog's jaw dropped. "So monsters really can drop items?!"

  No way a red-scaled worm was brainless enough to swallow an iron hammer it couldn't eat.

  Judging by the hammer's quality, it was definitely a reward item!

  NeverShowOff also thought it was extraordinary.

  After cleaning off the digestive fluids, he carefully picked up the hammer and was immediately shocked by its weight.

  "So heavy!"

  Garble tried lifting it. "Rough estimate: about 40 pounds."

  For a worm to move with such a heavy item in its stomach… impressive.

  Even gym dumbbells were only 10–20 pounds. This hammer weighed as much as two heavy dumbbells.

  And unlike evenly banced dumbbells, most of the hammer's weight was concentrated at one end.

  ProGamer_Daddy tried swinging it to test its feel, but the hammer's momentum made him stumble two steps forward, nearly face-pnting.

  He quickly let go. The hammer smashed into the ground, leaving a square dent, and the handle slowly tipped over.

  He wiped his face nervously.

  "Is this even meant for humans? Using it as a weapon is more of a debuff!"

  Hedgehog nodded. "Agreed, even holding it with two hands is hard."

  Garble tried storing the hammer in their inventory, then checked the game interface.

  "There's no information about the hammer dispyed."

  Normally, items stored in the inventory would show their names on the interface, giving a rough idea of their function.

  An extremely basic identification method.

  NeverShowOff said, "Maybe it's gging. Ever since more pyers joined, the game interface has been slower to update sometimes."

  ProGamer_Daddy had a sudden idea:

  "Could it be that this type of item needs identification? Should we ask an NPC?"

  "Sounds reasonable!" Hedgehog enthusiastically agreed. "This has to be a high-level item!"

  NeverShowOff thought about it and found no fws in the logic.

  When faced with a new, unfamiliar feature, asking an NPC was the way to go!

  Although Viktor often spoke cryptically, they never outright refused to answer questions.

  Still, there was no rush to leave yet.

  The four pyers continued rummaging through the worm pile and managed to find a pair of gloves and a belt.

  Both were bck with the same crossed hammer and axe emblem, clearly part of the same set.

  Once they confirmed there were no more new items, the group reluctantly headed back.

  ---

  "Without the red-scaled worm's spawn locations, and with no news from other pyers, it's hard to tell."

  After dismissing yet another pyer treating him like a wishing mp, Viktor rested his chin on his hand, deep in thought.

  "Why aren't they back yet?"

  Calcuting the distance between Honeyvale and the swamp, the four pyers should've returned by now, even if they dragged back the worm corpses.

  Why was he still stuck dealing with other pyers' questions?

  Just as Viktor was about to use GM privileges to track the Lucky Stars Squad's progress again, he saw four mud-covered figures kicking up dust in the distance.

  "Monster attack!" a pyer shouted.

  Viktor rexed. "Oh, they're back."

  But why were the four of them heading straight toward him?

  "Leader~" ProGamer_Daddy shouted from afar. "I missed you!"

  Viktor gasped, raising a hand to signal for a stop.

  "Hold on, just say what you need to. Don't gross me out."

  Especially after fighting red-scaled worms.

  Covered in bck grime, dripping unknown fluids, and reeking of something unholy.

  Garble pulled the hammer set out of their inventory.

  "We need your help identifying some items, boss. Do you know what these are?"

  A nearby pyer who had just left after asking Viktor a question happened to pass by. His eyes widened.

  "Holy crap, what a cool hammer! This game actually has decent items?!"

  After seeing too many worn-out items with 70-80% durability, encountering a fwless item felt like the game's art style had shifted.

  "And these gloves! They even have scales!" he excimed in delight.

  "Wait until you've tried carrying them; then you'll stop being so excited," ProGamer_Daddy said.

  It wasn't just the hammer. The newly obtained belt and gloves were also several times heavier than normal items.

  The pyer's eyes sparkled. "This kind of opportunity exists?"

  "..."

  Unlike the pyful pyer, Viktor immediately noticed the symbol engraved on all three items.

  "A hammer crossing with an axe… this is the Smelting Hammer!"

  "Smelting Hammer?" Garble repeated. "What's that?"

  "It's the symbol of Bern's church, the ancient Fme and Forging God. I've mentioned it before, haven't I?"

  NeverShowOff, Garble, and Hedgehog exchanged bnk looks, clearly clueless.

  God of Fme? God of Forging?

  What are those supposed to be?

  ProGamer_Daddy spped his forehead and excimed excitedly, "I know! It's the ancient god who created the dwarves!"

  "That's right. Obsidian Steel Warhammer, Thunderhide, and the Lava-Weave Belt—they're standard items for members of their church."

  Viktor picked up the gloves on the ground, which were visibly smaller than those for an adult human.

  "They're protective gear made from the scales of thunder beasts. Only wealthy master forgers can afford them."

  "You must've encountered a mid-to-high-ranking member of the Smelting Hammer, and they were likely a dwarf."

  Both the warhammer and gloves were sized perfectly for dwarves.

  A 40-pound warhammer might be heavy for a human. But for a dwarf, it was just the right weight to unleash its full power.

  All three items showed little wear and tear, far from being discarded.

  Who would've thought that after such a short time apart, the four pyers could stumble upon another new development?

  Although dwarves were naturally talented at forging, it was still difficult to train a master-level forger.

  Viktor couldn't wait to ask, "Where did you find these items?"

  To build city walls strong enough to resist a magical tide, they'd need a professional forger. This discovery was like finding a pillow when you're drowsy!

  A master forger as equipped as a walking armory had wandered into the Great Oak Forest?

  If Viktor could persuade—or, rather, intimidate—them into joining The Watchers, there'd be no need to hunt down other forgers elsewhere!

  "Huh? Found them? Weren't these just monster drops?" ProGamer_Daddy scratched his head.

  "All of this came from the red-scaled worms?" Viktor immediately picked up on the key detail.

  Those mindless soft-bodied creatures, hellbent on eating themselves to death, were indeed capable of such bizarre actions.

  "Hurry! Let's go after them!" he quickly made a decision.

  The red-scaled worms had fought with the pyers just yesterday.

  These items couldn't have been in their stomachs for more than a day, so their feeding grounds couldn't be far!

  If they hurried, they might even save the poor dwarf!

  It wasn't pessimism on Viktor's part.

  If even their weapons and personal items had been eaten by a red-scaled worm—a creature not even considered a magical beast—then this daring master forger who ventured into the Great Oak Forest probably wasn't great at combat.

  Viktor stood up, pulling his wizard robe tight.

  The exposed skeletal hand moved slightly, and a long, twisted, bck vine-like staff appeared in his grasp.

  He took half a step forward but paused.

  "No, the situation outside is too chaotic. Only Garble should come with me."

  The familiar time-limited quest window popped up, and Garble accepted it without hesitation.

  "Got it!"

  A quest that required the faction leader's personal involvement had to be significant.

  Plus, it was a chance to explore outside the town with someone offering protection—why wouldn't he take it?

  "Wait, are we jumping straight into a special storyline now?" Hedgehog was dumbfounded.

  As Viktor and Garble departed, ProGamer_Daddy shouted indignantly, "Why didn't I get picked when I was standing closest? Is my reputation not high enough yet?"

  "Maybe it's because he chose wind magic, which is useful for traveling and escaping," NeverShowOff specuted.

  They could've followed if they wanted to.

  But following as part of a quest or just tagging along voluntarily could lead to completely different outcomes.

  Since someone from their team was going, they'd just wait for Garble to return and share the story.

  ProGamer_Daddy reluctantly withdrew his gaze.

  "I was pnning to ask Viktor about the mechanics of light magic attacks!"

  He couldn't shake the feeling that his skills were knock-offs.

  Why could other pyers master all aspects of a skill immediately after learning it, while he had to figure things out on his own?

  Hedgehog's eyes widened. "Did you just say you want to ask an undead how to attack with light magic?" Does that even sound logical?

  "What choice do I have? Edgar is nowhere to be found. Is there even a third NPC in this game who knows magic?"

  ProGamer_Daddy sprawled in the chair where Viktor had just been basking in the sun.

  He had to admit, the chair was quite comfy.

  Hedgehog said, "Isn't the mascot supposed to be some kind of God of Light?"

  "You mean the goddess? She can't even speak human nguage—don't make things harder for her."

  As for the one they didn't mention, Alyanne, she was even more of a handful.

  Not only was there a nguage barrier, but spending more time with her tended to lower favorability, comparable to working under a strict boss.

  Every new pyer had been docked points by her at some point. Even ProGamer_Daddy had a favorability score of -7 with her.

  Better to admire a beauty from afar and avoid unnecessary trouble.

  NeverShowOff mused, "Edgar disappearing for three days is a bit suspicious."

  "Maybe it's because he found out he was carried around town and embarrassed?" Hedgehog suggested.

  ProGamer_Daddy rested his elbows on his knees, striking a "thinker" pose. He spoke in a deep voice, "The moment a new NPC arrived, he handed over all his duties. I'm telling you, my original suspicion was correct!"

  Hedgehog blinked. "What suspicion?"

  "Edgar is from the divine faction! The next time he appears, it'll be as a boss with a health bar!"

  He delivered his theory with passionate conviction.

  Even Hedgehog and the passing pyers couldn't help but appud.

  "Brilliant deduction!"

  NeverShowOff shook his head with a ugh. "If Edgar hears you badmouthing him, he'll deal with you for sure!"

  Just one promo video and a resurrection ritual were enough to make pyers understand the vast power gap between them and Edgar.

  That guy could literally one-shot them like children.

  Careful, or their trash-talking might get them chased by an NPC with a sword one day.

  The mud on NeverShowOff's body was almost dry, making him uncomfortable. As he shifted, fkes of dried mud fell off.

  "Let's put everything else aside for now. There's still a pile of red-scaled worm corpses in the swamp we haven't cleaned up. Let's finish that and go wash up!"

  ProGamer_Daddy gave an "okay" gesture.

  "That's easy—leave it to me!"

  50 advance chapters!

  [email protected]/Malphegor