Cathulhu Online, MUNYA!

Chapter 43 – Cat Dad’s Dungeon Shopping

‘Eh? I was planning to transform before I enter the game. I fall asleep again, didn’t I?’

Xiaomao returned to the top of the suspension bridge’s tower. He looked up and saw a shop stall not far away from here.

The dungeon shop was finally open for businesses!

Xiaomao stopped worrying about real-world issues. He checked his status attributes, wondering what the game console and the recent updates had done to his game character.

But nothing had changed. Almost all his stats were the same, except for one peculiar skill.

…

[???????? Instinct] (Bloodline Passive) – Mastery Max.

– Default monster drop rate is fixed to 100% when you participate in the kill.

– Upon killing a red-named player or a player from hostile factions, eject the dead player’s equipment, items, and gold coins in their inventory. Decrease their level by one and increase yours by one.

– Display hidden quest and item information in the description.

– Munya munya munya munya munya munya munya munya munya munya munya munya munya.

– Munya-munya munya, munya munya munya munya munya.

…

Unfortunately, the bloodline skill’s name was still a mystery, but three perks of the mysterious bloodline skill were revealed!

As Xiaomao had guessed, the bloodline skill was behind the drop rate glitch, quest hints, and item description hints. However, there was one thing that astonished Xiaomao._.

It also worked on red-named players!

‘If I kill a criminal player, will they drop everything they possess?!’

The perk clearly stated that the dead red-name player would eject all items in their inventory. By this logic, the drop rate of red-named players would also be 100%!

This bug skill was game-breaking! Victims of Xiaomao in the future would surely complain to the game company!

For the sake of the greater good and the company’s best interest, Xiaomao came up with new inspiration.

‘I must join PVP events and hunt every red-named player in the future! Hehehe!’

Though excited, Xiaomao grinned and put the matter of PKing and stealing other players’ items aside. He approached the NPC shop.

The NPC was a shady guy in a black hooded robe. He wore a white wooden mask and gloves, hiding his true appearance.

On the stall was a gypsy orb. Aside from the orb and the orb’s holder, only a piece of sheet covered his stall.

Xiaomao hopped on the stall, “Hello. Can I see you ware, munya?”

The shopkeeper looked at Xiaomao, and the orb on the table shone in golden light.

Ding

A shop menu appeared. However, it only showed item icons, their names, and prices. Xiaomao couldn’t see the item’s details.

…

<ITEM LIST>

Advanced Teleportation Scroll (1 PACT)

Gnoll Dungeon Teleportation Rune (10 PACT)

A Vial of Vampire Blood (10 PACT)

Smelly Salted Sardine (10 PACT)

Warg Slaying Enchantment Stone (100 PACT)

Gnoll Slaying Enchantment Stone (100 PACT)

Warg Lord’s Lost Keycard (1,000 PACT) (Only One in Stock)

Strange Jade Plate (Mermaid Model) (Exchange Only) (Only One in Stock)

Spatial Bank Service (1 Day) (1,000 PACT)

Weapon Rental Service (1 Hour) (1,000 PACT)

Armor Rental Service (1 Hour) (1,000 PACT)

…

Everything was expensive as expected. This was the game’s mechanism to burn their tokens.

Although the game mechanic was good, not many players were aware of the usefulness of these items yet. Meanwhile, everybody focused on making money by obtaining free PACT in the game, and the token price kept dropping.

Soon, those players would regret their decision of selling their tokens.

Xiaomao checked the items one by one. None of them showed a description, but he knew what they could do.

Teleportation scrolls were common items that could be purchased in major cities. It normally cost 10,000 gold coins. But here, the advanced version of TP scroll spiked up to one million gold coins or one PACT.

The advanced teleportation scroll was indeed worth the money. The teleportation effect could not be canceled or interrupted like the cheaper version, and it could teleport everybody in the caster’s party. Many guilds would stock this item later on for guild wars and skirmish battles.

Gnoll Dungeon Teleportation Rune was another useful item for dungeon visitors. Players could use it to mark this safe zone as a teleport destination. When combined with teleportation scrolls, it saved a lot of time for traveling between city and dungeon.

Vampire blood was a weapon enhancement ingredient. By coating the blood on a weapon, that weapon would have unique property, giving 50% bonus attack damage against werewolves, gnolls, and kobolds. One vial of blood lasted only 10 minutes.

The sardine was the favorite food of Gnoll General. Normally, the general wouldn’t move from the spot until a player got into his range. But with a smelly salted sardine, one could simply bait him from that spot.

Warg Slaying Enchantment Stone and Gnoll Slaying Enchantment Stone were self-explanatory. By giving one of these stones to an enchanter NPC in a city, they could bestow a useful attribute to a weapon.

Warg stone was for the boss behind the massive gate. As for the gnoll stone, it was for the common monster. However, they gave 100% bonus damage, and the effect was permanent, which was more useful than the vial of vampire blood.

But those items were not Xiaomao’s goal. He smiled at the shady NPC and brought out the unidentified bronze model, which he had gotten from the Mama Warden. He put it on the table.

“I see that you have found my lost mermaid model. I’ll give you this jade plate for the trouble.”

The NPC took the model and gave Xiaomao a luxurious-looking jade plate. At the same time, the Strange Jade Plate disappeared from the shop.

This unique item could not be found elsewhere but here, but it was not the only reason why Xiaomao wanted it.

“I’ll buy the keycard as well, munya!”

CHA-CHING

Xiaomao paid 1,000 PACTs and got a sci-fi-like keycard. Again, the item in the shop disappeared.

When Xiaomao put the two items in his inventory, his gold name got even brighter. Now, he had two key items and one ultra-rare evolution ingredient on him.

DING

<Warning, you are holding three precious items in your inventory.>

<If you acquire another key item or an ultra-rare item, your present location will be announced in the global chat once a day at a random time.>

‘Haiya!’

Xiaomao wryly smiled. He was aware of the danger of holding too many unique items in his inventory, but he needed them to access the hidden dungeon.

…

Warg Lord’s Lost Keycard

This keycard belongs to Warg Lord, the chieftain of the Gnolls. He lost it during his stroll, and he has been looking for it for years.

Item Type: Key Item

NOTE: You cannot keep this item in your premium backpack, warehouse, or store inventory. This item is guaranteed to drop from your body if you died.

[???????? Instinct]: You have two choices. First, hand the keycard over to the Warg Lord and befriend him. Or second, find out where you can use this keycard, and you might find something nice.

…

Strange Jade Plate

This ancient jade plate contains profound energy. As for what it is for or what its usage is, only immortal cultivators might know.

Item Type: Key Item

NOTE: You cannot keep this item in your premium backpack, warehouse, or store inventory. This item is guaranteed to drop from your body if you died.

[???????? Instinct]: You might want to treat this plate as a jigsaw piece. Try putting it in a suspicious gate or something to find out. Maybe it can open a path to a secret place.

[???????? Instinct]: This item has a hidden effect. No trap in Chang’e Sanctuary will harm the item bearer.

…

‘Alright. The key to the mermaid sanctuary is secured!’

Xiaomao purchased the Gnoll Dungeon Teleportation Rune and used it right away.

DING

<Would you like to mark this safe zone as a teleport destination?>

“Yes, munya.”

The rune vanished, and a new menu was unlocked It was the list of saved locations that Xiaomao could teleport there. Currently, there was only one name on the list.

Unfortunately, the rune could not be used elsewhere. It was only effective in this safe zone, so Xiaomao didn’t need to buy another one.

But Xiaomao hadn’t finished with the shopkeeper yet. He swallowed his saliva and pressed the “Weapon Rental Service” and “Spatial Bank Service” buttons.

He bought them both!

The NPC’s eyes glittered. He clapped his hands, and a hundred weapon racks emerged from the tower rooftop behind him.

Xiaomao salivated as he stared at the weapon racks. All items glowed and revealed their rainbow names.

The rarity of these weapons was not simply the Gold Super Rare or Red Ultra Rare. These rainbow-named weapons were all legendary items!

“Pick any weapon from the racks. Remember that you can only borrow one for one hour, and it will automatically return to me!”