Chapter 3: Prayer System! Biggest Reliance!

Prayer System!

This was his greatest confidence and reliance!

It was also the main reason he didn't commit suicide on the spot, attempting to travel back!

In the future, whether he could survive well, living luxuriously and freely traveling the world in the Mobile Castle, or end up dead in the wilderness as food for dung beetles, depended entirely on the Prayer System!

Every time he completed a system task, at least one strand of Praying Power would be born in the Prayer House.

As for how many strands?

That would depend on the difficulty of the task—the harder the task, the more Praying Power he would receive after completing it.

Each strand of Praying Power could be used for one prayer, and the items obtainable from praying included Magic Pets, blueprints, materials, and more.

However, using Praying Power for a prayer couldn't bring about good items; he could only obtain some ordinary materials. Not to mention Magic Pets, he couldn't even pray for blueprints.

To pray for quality items, he could only use a higher-level Prayer Fragment.

Prayer Fragments were condensed from Praying Power, with every ten strands of Praying Power forming one Prayer Fragment.

The praying effect of Prayer Fragments was much better than that of Praying Power.

For example, using Praying Power for a wish was akin to a Primary Prayer, while using a Prayer Fragment for a wish belonged to an Intermediate Prayer. As for the later Prayer Crystal and Prayer Gem, they naturally corresponded to Advanced and Top-tier Prayers.

However, both the Advanced Prayer and Top-tier Prayer were currently under seal, and they would only be unsealed after he had upgraded the "Castle" to a certain extent.

As for what this "certain extent" was?

It would at least have to wait until the "Castle" shed its cart appearance and began to take on the form of a castle.

That was a matter for later; right now, for Char, the most urgent thing was survival!

To survive by any means necessary!

And to survive, he had to rely on the Prayer House, because only the Prayer House could enable him to obtain Magic Pets.

As the game developer, he was all too aware of the importance of Magic Pets.

Magic Pets were not only partners for players exploring the world but also assistants in managing their castles.

Without Magic Pets, the game "Mobile Castle·Fantasy Forest" simply wouldn't exist.

Unfortunately, fate was not on his side; despite his desperate accumulation of Praying Power, the first Magic Pet he recruited was the Star Worm.

At the time, Char was hugely disappointed, although he was well aware that the Magic Pets summoned by the Prayer Fragments were just not powerful "Primary Pets", but who could have expected them to be this basic?

The strength of the Star Worm was even inferior to his own.

The two of them, who was supposed to protect whom?!

Even the Star Worm wasn't in his designed Pet Beast manual; it was a completely new type of Pet Beast that deviated from "Mobile Castle".

Without the protection of Magic Pets, it was difficult for him to survive in this fantasy world, so after the first recruitment failure, Char had no choice but to suppress his urge to use his Prayer Fragment to improve his survival conditions and continued to accumulate Praying Power—in this perilous wilderness, each day he delayed recruiting a sufficiently self-protective Magic Pet increased the possibility of meeting his demise.

By now he had already accumulated eight strands of Praying Power; he estimated that by tomorrow, he would gather ten strands and condense a Prayer Fragment.

Char opened the wooden cabinet, which didn't hold much, similar to this nearly empty "home".

He took out a dagger, a water bottle, and a small bamboo basket.

After tying the bamboo basket around his waist, Char called out to the Star Worm.

"Star Treasure, let's go! We're setting out!"

The Star Worm resting on Char's shoulder, sparkling like a diamond encasing Golden Star, quickly took flight as it followed Char out of the carriage.

With the company of the Star Worm, Char headed into the forest.

However, he did not go too far.

As the game designer, no one knew the game better than he did.

The starting area for players in the game was the safest place—where monsters were not only few in number but also the lowest in level. Leaving the starting area meant encountering monsters of increasing levels—a common trope in all leveling games.

So, searching for food nearby was relatively safe. Going any further, however, would be dangerous.

The sun, filtered through green leaves, was devoid of heat, and the dappled shadows felt like early snow as Char's deer leather boots rustled softly on the layer of pine leaves.

As a half-elf, although he was not as adept in the forest as a true elf, who could move through the woods with ease, he still inherited some of the elves' talents.

This partial talent allowed Char to walk through the dense jungle with relative ease.

The Star Worm was like a companion star, always closely following Char.

This gave Char a sense of security and considerable courage.

People are like this. When you are alone in a dangerous environment, you feel as if you're on the edge of an abyss, scaring yourself as if you might die at any moment.

But having a companion can drastically reduce the inner fear—even though Char was well aware that should any real danger arise, the Star Worm could hardly ensure his safety.

Moreover, the Star Worm's utility went beyond just that.

As Char was contemplating this, suddenly, the Star Worm accompanying him flew to the side and landed on a damp, decaying piece of wood.

Char immediately approached, took out his dagger, and fervently chiseled at the spot where the Star Worm had stopped, and soon a big, white, fat larva appeared before him.

This was another major use of the Star Worm!

Perhaps due to being a larva itself, it had a keen perception of other larvae, even those deeply hidden within wood. Char didn't know the principle behind it.

Char picked out the plump larva and placed it in his bamboo basket; by then, the Star Worm had already located another larva on the surface of the wood.

After a few digs with the dagger, another big fat larva was quickly thrown into the bamboo basket.

…

As the sun went down, a soft rustling came from the bushes.

Char emerged from between the branches, stepping into the dusk.

The Star Worm lingered around him, emitting a faint glow that lighted the way for Char.

Compared to when he set off, Char now appeared much more disheveled, with strands of hair drooping down and traces of mud on his face and body; his clothes looked as though they had been soaked, then dried, then dampened again.

Although the trees provided some cover, the stifling humidity in the forest was inescapable. Having trekked the entire afternoon, Char naturally sweated a lot.

The scent of sweat attracted a large number of insects, enveloping Char like a cloud of gray smoke, constantly trying to bite him.

The Star Worm zigzagged through this swarm, desperately trying to alleviate Char's discomfort from the mosquito attacks.

Tired and thirsty, dirty and sticky, surrounded by incessant buzzing mosquitoes—it would seem unlikely for Char to look cheery, but at this moment, his face was brimming with a smile, clearly joyful.

This was because he could certainly consider this day a fruitful one.

Apart from the white, fat larva in his bamboo basket, he was also carrying a bird that looked like a chicken in his hand.

The bird resembled a chicken, but was much smaller, and its dull color did not obscure its brilliance, with beautiful, dazzling bright purple spots on its brown-gray feathers.