“Hey! You with the Axe!”
Cheng Mouren, who had just solved his urgent need to urinate, suddenly speaking caused the two college students, who had maintained their distance, to flinch slightly.
After successfully witnessing the entire process of Cheng Tian killing the Red Demon, One-Ear and the other were astonished by Cheng Tian's combat prowess, given that he should also be a novice, and simultaneously felt a faint sense of dread.
This was different from when they fought Zombies; the decisiveness and brutality Cheng Tian displayed while taking down the Red Demon naturally led them to suspect that the Cheng Tian in Reality might not be a good person.
What decent person turns a Demon into a human stick!?
But for them to leave Cheng Tian and proceed alone... they dared not do that even less, fearing they wouldn't even know how they died.
Teaching by words is hard to learn, but teaching by example once is effective. Having personally experienced the danger of the Demon World Village, they had long abandoned any thought of playing the Hero; now, both only wanted to try clinging to a strong back.
So, since Cheng Tian wasn't moving, they simply rested about ten meters away from him.
“Older Brother! Tell us!”
One-Ear, realizing he was far inferior to Cheng Tian, immediately stood at attention.
“Do you have anything to eat?”
“We’ll go look!”
While One-Ear was scratching his head at Cheng Tian’s sudden begging, the foolish college student covered in Blood Scabs directly wrapped his arm around his roommate's neck, taking on the task without asking why.
The Blood Scab Fool, having already committed one foolish act, had an unprecedentedly clear mind at this moment.
He had thoroughly recognized that at least One-Ear possessed some combat power and was qualified to leech off some assistance from Cheng Tian, whereas he himself was just useless dead weight, and the other had absolutely no reason to help him.
If he wanted to cling to a strong back, he needed to demonstrate value beyond combat power as much as possible—running errands, carrying things, handling miscellaneous tasks for his benefactor.
Cheng Tian’s request at this moment was an excellent opportunity to showcase his value.
They indeed didn't have any food, but the Blood Scab Fool remembered that some of the other deceased Players had carried satchels or briefcases, and the chance of finding food and drink inside was high.
A mere hour had drastically changed his perspective; as long as he could latch onto a strong back to survive, looting corpses was just a minor issue.
If they really couldn't find anything, they would have to try searching the surrounding Tombstones to see if anyone had left offerings to steal... He wasn't sure if offerings containing food were common in this medieval-style Worldview.
“Wait a moment.”
Just as the Blood Scab Fool was about to lead One-Ear back the way they came, Cheng Tian suddenly called them back. When the Blood Scab Fool turned around, he saw a baseball bat tracing a parabolic arc land not far in front of him.
“Take this, use it for some self-defense.”
Cheng Tian said as he tossed the Blank Slate baseball bat to the Blood Scab Fool.
“Yes, Older Brother!”
The Blood Scab Fool, who had just made his declaration and immediately received a response, was overjoyed.
One-Ear also patted the Blood Scab Fool’s shoulder, then followed him as they began returning the way they came.
There was quite a significant difference between killing Zombies and searching corpses; at least the two college students couldn't do the latter without any psychological fluctuation.
Fortunately, those bags, large and small, which the Zombies had ignored, did indeed contain some food, especially the female student's satchel, which was stuffed with several types of snacks, all high-calorie items like fruit gummies, dried fruit crisps, and nuts.
Cheng Tian, who was comfortably treating the two young men as errand runners, wasn't idle either. He opened the Bronze Treasure Chest he had been using as a stool earlier.
Naturally, there was no Lurking Vampire Magician inside; it was just an ordinary Treasure Chest.
As the Treasure Chest opened, Cheng Tian’s Wealth field, which had been zero, directly increased by 1500 Chosen Coins. This was clearly the Space’s universal currency, though he wasn't sure about its purchasing power.
The second Loot was the Red Demon Wings that Cheng Tian had chopped off, which had been scattered nearby. It dropped as a processable Material of Green Excellent grade, which Cheng Tian casually stuffed into an empty slot in his Inventory.
Then came the main event.
The third Treasure Chest reward was 1 Free Skill Point.
Besides completing Main Questlines with high completion and high evaluation, killing powerful Monsters, completing hidden side quests, and obtaining special treasures all offered a chance to acquire Free Skill Points.
However, Cheng Tian’s attitude toward Skill Points was noticeably more cautious. Of course, the main reason was that the only Skill he currently possessed that could accept points, judging by its description alone, was not the type to undergo a qualitative change with just one Skill Point.
As the saying goes, spend where you should and save where you should. Since he had already used Attribute Points and Skill Stones, Cheng Tian decided to hold onto this Free Skill Point for now and allocate it later based on need.
While the two young men went to find food, Cheng Tian wasn't completely idle.
Not far from the Graveyard exit, a river, not very wide, blocked the necessary path toward the Demon King's Castle. Above the River Surface, one could see circulating platforms resembling floating ice islands, clearly driven by some special power.
The River Water was clear, and the current wasn't fast, but it was definitely deep enough to completely submerge a person.
After just two glances at the River Water, Cheng Tian unhesitatingly unequipped his “Vampire Hunter” Template.
The reason lay in the Template Skill that came with this Template, named 『Dissolves in Water』.
【Dissolves in Water: Template Skill, Negative Passive Skill. When your entire body is submerged in water deeper than your height, you will be immediately judged as Dead. 】
Because Cheng Tian’s Vampire Hunter Template was the “Native Type,” it inherited not only Simon’s advantages but also his disadvantages.
With this physique, people might even believe Simon was a Vampire...
Hit Dodge was somewhat tricky in practical application, heavily restricted by Terrain requirements. Although it was nominally a Buff effect, Dissolves in Water was a purely unadulterated Negative Passive.
A wise man does not stand under a crumbling wall. Cheng Tian didn't want to gamble on being able to cross to the opposite bank 100% safely and without any accidents using the circulating platforms, so he simply unequipped the Template first.
Even gamblers need to choose their venue, right?
Since he was still wearing the Strawberry Tough Guy Underwear and could reload the Template again after only 15 minutes, he unequipped it without hesitation.
By the time Cheng Tian returned to his original spot, he had filled his Knight Armor helmet with clear River Water.
However, even though he was desperately thirsty, he wasn't rushed. Cheng Tian first gathered some dead branches and dry grass from beneath the surrounding Withered Trees, wrapped the Embers from the Fireball the Red Demon had spewed onto the ground before dying in the dry grass, held it in his palms, blew air onto it, and quickly ignited the grass, raising a small bonfire.
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Next, he spent some effort moving several broken Tombstones to use as a stove, placed them in the fire, and then set his helmet full of River Water on top to boil.
Bei Ye and Ed Stafford had taught Cheng Tian more than once that if conditions allowed, wild water sources must be boiled before drinking.
The consequence of drinking untreated wild water out of laziness was likely severe dehydration... and possibly prolapse.