RNP Chapter 20 New Abilities
Chapter 20 New Abilities
Several lines of small, fluorescent blue text appeared:
[Universal Knowledge: The ability to know information about everything!]
[Note: Increased power will unlock new traits for Universal Knowledge.]
As if it were an innate talent, he understood how to use this ability.
Currently, his ability is to obtain information about anything he has touched.
He took the fiery red crystal core out of his pocket.
This thing had been pressed against his thigh pocket, and it was providing him with some warmth.
A thought struck him, and he turned his gaze to the red-glowing crystal core in his hand.
A line of fluorescent blue text appeared next to it:
【Blazing Marrow Crystal】
[Quality: Excellent]
[Note: This is a companion spirit found at the core of the Crimson Crystal ore vein, tempered by flames for countless years, containing extremely pure fire elemental essence. It can be used for forging, enchanting, or crafting fire-attribute potions.]
"Exquisite? Will there be epic or legendary versions?" Jiang Yuan raised an eyebrow, recalling the red crystal clusters in the cave where the giant scorpion had been.
Before each venom spray, the giant scorpion absorbs energy from the crystal cluster to strengthen its carapace, and the venom it sprays is also fiery red.
This magical beast is clearly of the fire element, and its mutation may also be related to this marrow crystal.
As for its uses—forging, enchanting, and potions.
He has no use for any of them now.
Jiang Yuan then tried touching the things in the room.
For example, that glowing stone.
The moment the fingertip touched it, a line of fluorescent blue text appeared.
Amber Moss
[Quality: Average]
[Note: A type of luminescent moss that parasitizes the roots of the "Gai Mu" tree. After becoming symbiotic with the tree, it gradually hardens into a stone-like shell. Its luminescence comes from the transformation of its life force, and its color is warm and constant, making it a natural light source.]
……
After several attempts, he found that some messages could be displayed while others could not.
He figured out the pattern.
Materials that can be viewed within his range of power will display information upon being touched.
And those things that were beyond his current strength did not react when he held them in his hands.
At least with his current power, he can see information by touching high-quality "materials".
And it is only applicable to certain items.
His crossbow, for example, could not see the information.
However, Jiang Yuan was not disappointed.
Just like the [Gate of Boundaries], he felt that with this change, the cooldown time of the [Gate of Boundaries] was greatly reduced.
To find out the exact amount, we'll have to open the portal after returning.
This means that as his power increases, his "comprehension of all things" will also become stronger, and the ability to "know the information of all things" may become a reality!
At that moment, the curtain outside the tree hole was suddenly lifted.
"Ewon Ewon!"
Hilu's little head peeked in through the gap in the curtain first, her cat tail swishing rapidly behind her.
Behind her followed a cat-eared woman she had never seen before. She looked to be in her early thirties, with short, grayish-brown hair, wearing the same leather armor as Ke Shan, and a narrow-bladed hunting knife hanging from her waist.
The woman stood at the cave entrance without entering. Her gaze lingered on Jiang Yuan for a moment; her expression wasn't exactly hostile, but it was definitely not relaxed either.
"The chief requests your presence."
Jiang Yuan slung the crossbow over his shoulder and stood up.
Hilu immediately leaned closer and lowered her voice:
"Father wants you to go. Hilu has already told him a lot, he won't make things difficult for you."
Jiang Yuan nodded and followed the cat-eared woman across the open space in the center of the tribe.
The largest tree was not far away, and a staircase, much wider than the others, was carved out from its roots, spiraling upwards.
The three of them walked up the steps, passed through two layers of tree holes with tightly closed curtains, and stopped in front of the door at the top layer, which was covered with a complete white animal skin.
The gray-eared girl lifted the curtain and stepped aside.
Jiang Yuan went inside.
The tree hollow was almost twice the size of the one he had just been in.
Eight luminous stone shells were embedded in the tree wall, illuminating the entire space clearly.
In the very center is a low table made from a single piece of giant tree burl, the wood grain on the tabletop resembling rings of a tree growing out.
Behind the low table sat a burly man with cat ears.
He looked to be in his early forties, with short, graying hair and a more rugged facial structure than Ke Shan.
There is an old scar above my left eye, across my brow bone, cutting my left eyebrow in two.
He was wearing a cloak made of a single piece of leather of unknown origin, beneath which his muscular forearms were visible.
As he sized up Jiang Yuan, Jiang Yuan was also sizing him up.
Xilu said that her father had reached the fourth level... Jiang Yuan could vaguely feel a sense of pressure.
"Sit down," the man said.
Jiang Yuan sat down across from him at the low table.
Hilu had already slipped to her father's side, squatting on the side of the low table with her tail curled up on her lap, looking very obedient.
"You can call me Ug. Hil has told me everything about you. Thank you for your help."
Ugner paused for a moment, then said, "I only have this one daughter."
They seem quite friendly... Jiang Yuan felt relieved and said:
"Don't mention it, I'm doing this so I can get out myself."
Ug glanced at him, seemingly satisfied that he hadn't taken advantage of the situation:
"You brought back my daughter, and the Frostclaw tribe owes you a favor. You can stay in the tribe; I will arrange accommodation and food for you."
"Thank you for your generosity," Jiang Yuan said, "but more than that, I would like to have my questions answered."
Ug leaned back, his grey-blue eyes fixed on Jiang Yuan for several moments, then he chuckled and said:
"You mean how to leave here?"
Jiang Yuan did not deny that the information she obtained from Xilu was limited to the Frostclaw tribe, and she knew nothing about the outside world.
"There's nowhere to get out." Ug shook his head. "No matter which direction you go from here, you'll end up with divine marks."
Jiang Yuan frowned slightly, understanding his meaning, and said in a deep voice, "Divine marks are blocking the way in all directions?"
"Except for that forest to the north," Ug said calmly.
"That's also our hunting ground, but the deeper you go into the forest, the stronger the magical beasts become. I ventured deep into it when I was young, but I retreated after encountering a few fourth-tier magical beasts."
"If we go any further in, I can't guarantee we'll come out alive."
He paused, looking at Jiang Yuan: "So, will you choose to accept our protection, or face the monsters of this land alone?"
Jiang Yuan remained silent for a few seconds.
According to Ug, letting him stay in the Frostclaw tribe was indeed a considerable reward.
But he certainly won't believe only one side of the story.
"Thank you for letting me know." Jiang Yuan changed the subject and asked:
"What exactly is a divine mark? Hilu says it's a punishment bestowed by the goddess, do you believe that too?"
Ug frowned, seemingly not understanding why he would ask that question:
"The divine mark is the power left behind by the moon goddess. Touching it will result in death, whether it is a magical beast or a human. There are only a few records of people from our race surviving from the divine mark."
"Hilu was able to emerge from the forbidden area; it must be thanks to the Moon Goddess's protection. And as long as the divine mark hasn't disappeared, then the Moon Goddess has a reason for us to guard this place. This is the will of the gods."
"Have you ever thought about going abroad?"
Ug glanced at him and repeated, "This is God's will."
He stated a fact in a flat tone that required no explanation.
Jiang Yuan nodded but did not reply.
He felt there was no need to ask any further. He had already sensed from Hilu that the people of this world, or rather this cat-eared tribe, had a deep-rooted reverence for the gods that had been passed down through generations.
So Jiang Yuan changed the subject: "Then can I receive a divine gift, um, a blessing from the moon goddess?"
He hasn't forgotten that 50.
Ug's expression changed instantly, his pupils filled with undisguised rejection: "Impossible! You, a human, dare to seek the blessing of the Moon Goddess?"
"Father!" Hilu jumped up. "Jiang Yuan saved Hilu, and the Moon Goddess let him out of the divine mark, so doesn't that mean she doesn't hate him...?"
Her sky-blue eyes were already starting to glisten with tears.
Ug looked at her, but the coldness on his face didn't last long before it was replaced by helplessness.
"I didn't say the Moon Goddess disliked him." He sighed, his tone softening. "The fact that he was able to emerge from the divine mark shows that the Moon Goddess truly didn't reject him. As for the matter of the divine gift—"
He paused for a moment and said, "I'm not going to get involved in this matter anymore. We'll talk about it when Priest Muye returns."
"Priestess of Twilight Leaves..." Jiang Yuan pondered.
Hilu mentioned this priest grandfather several times in the cave; the latter was probably the most learned person in the Frostclaw tribe.
Whether it's the mysterious finger bone, the divine mark, or the job bonuses bestowed by the gods, perhaps he'll be the one to answer these questions.
Jiang Yuan nodded and said:
"There's one more thing. I need magic cores. Is there anything I can trade with the tribe for?"
Ug glanced at him, this time without any sign of offense.
The matter of exchanging magic cores was much more normal to him than the question about the Moon Goddess.
Many warriors use magic cores to aid their cultivation, and this human must be doing the same.
"What will you use to exchange it?"
Jiang Yuan paused for a moment, realizing he really didn't have anything to offer in exchange.
That fiery red crystal core? But Hillu didn't recognize it either, and it probably wasn't very valuable.
If the value is too high, he's easily scammed...
Jiang Yuan then thought of food; perhaps he could bring food from the real world for exchange…
But he suppressed the thought after only a moment.
The Frostclaw tribe is currently short of food, and he is trading food for cultivation resources. He doesn't know what kind of reaction this deal will cause in the tribe.
"I haven't decided yet."
Ug nodded, didn't ask any further questions, and stood up from behind the low table:
"Tonight the tribe will have a bonfire to celebrate the return of my daughter, Hilu, and the fact that she is under the watchful eye of the moon goddess."
He walked to the cave entrance, lifted the animal skin curtain, and said, "You can come and take a look."
This means seeing the guest off... Jiang Yuan got up, bent down, and crawled out of the tree hole.
Hilu's footsteps came from behind, light and hurried.
"Jiangyuan, Jiangyuan! Hiru will take you to where you're staying!"
Ug stood at the cave entrance, watching his daughter chase after him in a few quick steps. He opened his mouth, wanting to call her back, but before he could utter a sound, Hilu had already run far away.
……
Hiru led Jiang Yuan around the central giant tree and to a smaller but thicker tree.
The tree hollow was located two zhang (approximately 6.6 meters) above the ground, and a dark gray animal skin curtain hung at the entrance.
"This is the priest's tree hollow!" Hilu said. "The priest went out and hasn't come back yet, so you'll be staying in the one next door."
She pointed to another tree next to her, where a small hole had been carved out of the trunk, just over ten feet above the ground.
There was no curtain hanging at the entrance of the cave, and it was dark inside, appearing to be empty.
Jiang Yuan glanced at the tree hole; its location wasn't too remote, and it wasn't far from the place Xilu had mentioned earlier, where she lived.
He looked at the cat-eared girl beside him and asked:
"Hilu, what's the food situation like in the tribe?"
Hilu's cat ears slowly drooped down as she said, "Winter has arrived more than two months early..."
"The hunting team was just starting to stock up on food for the winter at this time, but the heavy snow came suddenly and unexpectedly, something that had never happened before... Father told everyone to eat food sparingly, and the hunting team only received half a portion of dried meat each day, with those who didn't go out hunting receiving even less."
As she said this, her sky-blue eyes were filled with worry.
"No wonder." Jiang Yuan recalled the faces he had seen when he first entered the tribe and asked:
"Didn't you tell your father about my abilities?"
During his conversation with Ug, the other party did not show any need for him, which gave him a vague idea.
Hilu shook her head, her expression serious: "Hilu didn't say."
"Besides, what Jiang Yuan brought over wasn't unlimited." She added with a sense of entitlement typical of a hunter's tribe:
"Hilu knows that even the fastest horned sheep will eventually be caught."
Jiang Yuan remained silent for a moment.
This seemingly innocent cat-eared girl is not stupid; she is quite serious about some things.
"Let me check out where I'll stay first." Jiang Yuan walked towards the empty tree hollow.
Hilu followed, peering into the hole, her cat ears twitching curiously.
"So small. Even smaller than Hilu's."
It's really not that big.
The tree hollow was only big enough to fit a low bed and a fire pit.
A speck of "amber-colored moss" was embedded in the tree wall, which could barely illuminate the hay spread on the low bed and a half-worn animal skin blanket.
"That's enough." Jiang Yuan took the crossbow off his shoulder and leaned against the low bed.
Hilu squatted at the cave entrance for a while, seemingly wanting to say something but not saying anything.
Finally, she stood up and flicked her tail behind her: "Hilu is going back first. Father must still have a lot of questions to ask Hilu."
She turned and took two steps, then turned back.
"If Hil comes looking for you and finds you're not here, she'll know you used your powers. So, Hil put a small stone at the door so that when Jiang Yuan comes back, he'll know Hil has been here."
Jiang Yuan paused for a moment, then smiled. "Okay."
Hilu's cat ears twitched, as if she was quite satisfied with the agreement.
She skipped down the steps, her large, snow-white tail flashing in the orange shadows of the trees as she disappeared into the distance.
……