[Experience Fruit Lv.1]
[Usable during the Apprentice stage. Grants 100 experience points upon consumption.]
Very good. That brush with death had been worth it.
The fruit could instantly raise a player's level. No wonder the two-headed snake had gone berserk the moment Jiang Ming plucked it. It was more furious over the stolen fruit than it had been about being hit.
Jiang Ming recalled the sight he had seen at the time. That tree hadn't borne just one fruit. It was loaded with so many Experience Fruits that he couldn't even count them all.
He wasn't sure how many levels existed in the Apprentice stage. If there were only ten, then this stockpile would be wasted. Jiang Ming could use just a few before hitting the cap, and the rest would have to be stored or sold.
He stood up and shook his head. It was pointless to overthink now. In his current state, he couldn't possibly fight the two-headed snake again.
For now, he would mark the location of this hidden valley and come back later—when he was stronger. Even if he couldn't eat the fruits himself, he could at least sell them for a hefty price.
He would also need to be more alert to unusual scents in the future. If not for the fruit's peculiar fragrance, he wouldn't have investigated at all. His instincts, honed through years of gaming, told him that if Experience Fruits existed, then the world likely held many more strange treasures.
After memorizing the terrain, Jiang Ming circled widely around the valley, eventually reaching a quiet woodland. There, beside a thick tree trunk, he dug a shallow hole and covered himself with palm-sized leaves to conceal his presence.
This wasn't the forest bordering the vegetation zone. He had already combed through that area thoroughly and only dared to rest here because he hadn't encountered any strange beasts.
"Do you want to take the Experience Fruit?"
"Yes."
The fruit in his hand disintegrated into a beam of light that surged into his mouth.
A system prompt followed.
"Congratulations on consuming the Experience Fruit. You have gained 100 experience points. Your level has increased to Apprentice Lv.4. All attributes have slightly increased by 0.01. Spiritual power has increased by 1 point."
Leveling up in this world wasn't like adding spiritual points where you could feel a jolt or flare of energy. Instead, the game upgraded his physical constitution directly. Each increase left Jiang Ming needing time to get used to his subtly enhanced body.
He opened his player panel to check the changes.
[Name: Jiang Ming]
[Level: Apprentice Lv.4 (20/100)]
[Strength: 1.08]
[Constitution: 1.16]
[Agility: 1.27]
[Spirit: 3.91]
[Spiritual Power: 1/24]
[Destiny Card: Classic of Mountains and Seas]
[Card Slots: (empty) (empty) (empty)]
[Backpack]: [Fang (common)] [Twin Snake Skin (rare)]
His spiritual power was still recovering slowly, and the Experience Fruit didn't boost his base spiritual stat, only his current pool.
Jiang Ming pushed away the leaves, determined his direction, and set off toward Area 69.
Thanks to his improved body, he could now walk briskly without tiring. After several kilometers, he reached a small pond.
Even if he didn't feel hunger or thirst in this world, the filth on his body was unbearable. The stench clung to him like a second skin. He glanced around and, seeing no signs of nearby beasts, confidently stepped into the pond to wash away the blood and grime.
As soon as he finished dressing, a system message flashed before his eyes.
"Dungeon time has ended. Thank you for playing. See you next time~"
The experience was over. He was returned to his room.
As Jiang Ming opened his eyes, two new system prompts popped up.
The game had been updated again.
[Blue Star Card Master: Version 1.02 Patch Notes]
1. Dungeon playtime is now officially set to 12 hours. Entry allowed once every 72 hours, starting at 12:00 AM tonight.
2. A Card-Making function has been added to the panel (details included). You may now craft Skill Cards, Weapon Cards, and Armor Cards. The quality levels for these cards follow the same rarity tier as the birthday card.
After memorizing the changes, Jiang Ming quickly opened his panel.
Sure enough, there was a new [Card Making] option next to the stats.
He tapped it.
A new interface unfolded, displaying three categories at the top: Weapon Card, Armor Card, and Skill Card.
Below that were two input slots, each with a plus sign next to them, indicating more slots could be added. Apparently, players could choose how many material cards to use in a recipe.
A small exclamation mark blinked in the lower-right corner. Curious, Jiang Ming clicked it.
[Card-Making Rules: You may insert any material cards into the slots to synthesize new cards. However, ensure material compatibility. Once materials are placed, the system will display the success rate. Weapon, armor, and skill materials cannot be mixed. Final interpretation rights belong to Blue Star Card Master.]
"How generous," Jiang Ming muttered sarcastically.
So, anything could be synthesized—as long as it was deemed 'reasonable.' He glanced at his materials.
[Fang]
[Level: Apprentice]
[Quality: Common]
[Type: Weapon Material Card]
[Twin Snake Skin]
[Level: Apprentice]
[Quality: Rare]
[Type: Armor Material Card]
One was for weapons, the other for armor.
He decided to keep the Twin Snake Skin for now. Rare-grade apprentice materials were undoubtedly valuable at this early stage.
As for the Fang, it might be better sold. It was only ten centimeters long, and Jiang Ming preferred full-length weapons, like swords.
He experimented by placing the Twin Snake Skin in a slot.
A notification appeared.
[Card-Making Success Rate: 0%]
So a single armor material couldn't create a spiritual card by itself.
After testing the system, Jiang Ming exited the panel and opened the Card Master App forum.
The place was buzzing with activity. Players were frantically discussing the update.
["Brothers, how do you even make a Weapon Card? I put two things in and got a 0.1% success rate. I feel so dumb."]
["We're buying all kinds of material cards offline! Any type or quality. Safe transactions guaranteed. Hurry up!"]
["Selling rare materials that can be used for both armor and weapons! Super cheap!"]
Jiang Ming felt a wave of nostalgia. This felt just like the early days of dungeon crawling in old MMORPGs.
He noticed that while there were plenty of trade posts, there were almost no confirmed reports of successful card-making attempts.
Curious, he clicked on one of the posts advertising rare materials.
[Adamantium]
[Level: Apprentice]
[Quality: Rare]
[Type: Weapon/Armor Material Card]
It was the first time Jiang Ming saw a card that could be used to craft both weapon and armor types.
Encouraged by the fact that he also possessed a rare-grade card, he messaged the seller privately to inquire about the price.
After that, he stretched, turned off his phone, and lay back to rest.
He wouldn't be able to re-enter the dungeon for the next three days. Now was the time to focus on things in the real world.
Just as he was closing his eyes, another alert popped up on the forum.
It was an official announcement from the Federation.
[Card Master Mall launching tomorrow at 12 noon!]
[Players interested in buying or selling material cards should use the Federation-approved trading platform to ensure personal and property safety.]
"The Federation works fast," Jiang Ming murmured.
They didn't waste a second. As soon as players understood how valuable material cards were, an official marketplace was rolled out.
Silently, he gave a thumbs up.
Forget face-to-face offline trades.
He trusted the Federation far more.