Chapter 8 My Companions are Few

"I will form a New Hunting Group to put Chi Qi at ease, but not with you," Boggy spoke again after a long silence.

Ma Lu wasn't very surprised, "Is it because I'm of no use?"

"That's right," Boggy admitted straightforwardly.

"Good, it seems like you've started to step into the role of a captain."

"I don't know where you come from, but it looks like you really don't understand the desert out there. The place indeed holds infinite opportunities, but it's also fraught with risks. Your performance against the Thousand-Tooth Sand Bream was totally that of a novice. If I let you into the group, I'm afraid you wouldn't survive even a day," the young boy warned.

"I know hunting is dangerous, so if a fight breaks out, I'll try to stay behind you," Ma Lu said.

"......"

"Before you make your final decision, why not listen to what my psychic power is?" Ma Lu threw out his ace.

"You've awakened a psychic power too?" Boggy finally showed a hint of surprise on his face, "Which series is it?"

"My psychic power is quite special, it's of the Rogue Series."

"Meat... Pigeon?" Boggy looked puzzled, "What is that? Aren't there only seven psychic power systems like wind, fire, electricity, metal, earth, beast, and water?"

"That's why it's special."

"This isn't something you just made up to sneak into the Hunting Group, right?" Boggy expressed his skepticism.

"How about this, let's not consider forming a New Hunting Group for now. We can team up just once, and I'll prove it to you. If you think I'm lying to you, you can kick me out then," Ma Lu suggested.

......

While Boggy was changing the battery of his motorcycle, he stood in front of the fan at the power station for a while, and his mind cleared somewhat.

He felt that he must be insane, actually believing the words of a stranger he had known for less than a day.

In the end, it was probably because he couldn't let go.

Although he had already left the Harpist and swore he'd never be a hunter again, deep down in his heart, Boggy still couldn't accept such a reality. Most importantly, he had once promised that man he would fight alongside him.

Now that person was no longer around, but Boggy still remembered that promise and that was why he was even more eager to continue fighting, to carry on not just his own battle but the man's as well.

Darn it! Boggy punched the metal frame beside him, drawing sidelong glances from passersby.

The young boy didn't mind the pain in his hand, he went to a nearby shop and bought some Hunting Clothes and replenished his supplies, which had been used up last time. Then he rode back to the Little Bear Bar on his recharged motorcycle.

From a distance, he saw Ma Lu squatting outside the door, with a small iron cage at his feet.

Boggy recognized the contents and frowned, "Where did you find so many Young Flame Lizards?"

"I bought them at the bar's kitchen. I'll put it on your tab for now, and I'll pay you back after the hunt," Ma Lu said as he was already climbing onto the motorcycle with the cage in hand.

The Young Flame Lizard is the most common creature in the desert and easy to catch, making it not very valuable. Although Boggy found it strange that Ma Lu was taking a cage of Young Flame Lizards out of the city to hunt, he didn't say anything more, turned around, and drove the motorcycle out of the city.

Ma Lu changed into the Hunting Clothes Boggy had bought for him in the back seat. This was just the most basic model, but even so, it was much better than the black suit given by the Bug Egg, not only in terms of heat insulation but also breathability.

Additionally, the accompanying scarf and goggles could block sand and protect his mouth, nose, and eyes.

Entering the desert again, Ma Lu was no longer as disheveled as he had been five hours earlier, and this time, his golden finger had arrived.

Previously, when attacked by a Thousand-Tooth Sand Bream, Ma Lu had thrown the [Gift of Fate], touted as the most powerful divine artifact in the Multiverse by Old Wang.

Except for a somewhat odd number—29, he had obtained nothing.

Not until he had personally slain a Young Flame Lizard did his [Traveler's Bracelet] suddenly emit a string of alarms.

[Attention Attention Attention Attention... Detecting special high-dimensional energy, inserting new rules into the current universe.]

[New rule insertion completed... Trigger conditions met, activating additional functionality.]

[Function number 29.]

[Congratulations! Your team has just defeated the formidable opponent, Young Flame Lizard. Please choose one of the following three blessings to receive before the 60-second countdown ends.]

1. [Aerobics Enthusiast: Increases the whole team's stamina by 1%.]

2. [Primary Healing: Provides a normal healing to a designated teammate.]

3. [Arsonist: There is a 3% chance that the fire created by team members with fire-type Psychic Power will reignite after being extinguished.]

A line of small print below the options noted: Blessings only effective in the current universe, all blessings will be reset upon leaving.

Ma Lu didn't rush to choose since none of these rewards seemed particularly useful to him at the moment, but this familiar post-battle choice and the in-universe effect rule brought back many memories.

Roguelike? Could it actually be Roguelike?

Roguelike, also termed a 'Meat Pigeon' game, is a genre much like time-management games, significantly more popular at present.

And much as with time-management games, it could simply be inserted as a new gameplay element into any game, just like now.

After some thought, Ma Lu chose the first blessing. He wasn't injured, so Primary Healing was of no use at the moment, and 'Arsonist' was somewhat vague, leaving only the enhancement of stamina as an option.

However, a mere 1% increase in stamina was hardly noticeable; Ma Lu couldn't feel it and could only find the additional blessing in the newly-appearing character status tab on his bracelet.

Yet one blessing was clearly not enough.

Taking advantage of Boggy changing the motorbike's battery, Ma Lu slipped into the back kitchen of the Little Bear Bar.

Although he was chased out in less than three minutes, he managed to bag seven Young Flame Lizards and, amid the chaos, he finished off a dying Bloodsucking Tail Weasel by the sink, which turned out to be a two-star ingredient, offering him three more choices.

1. [Iron Lifting Expert: Increases the whole team's strength by 10%.]

2. [You Slow Down: When a team member's attack hits, there's a 3% chance to inflict slow on the target, reducing their movement speed by 50%.]

3. [I Have Few Companions: The smaller the team, the higher the basic attribute bonus for each member, increasing strength, speed, stamina, and reflexes by 50%. Each additional person reduces the effect by 10%, and the blessing is nullified with more than five people.]

These three options sparked Ma Lu's interest.

The choices he received after defeating the Young Flame Lizard were all white, but after defeating the Bloodsucking Tail Weasel, the colors of the options also changed, becoming two blue and one purple.

Ma Lu briefly scanned them and without any hesitation, he immediately chose the Purple Blessing at the bottom.