VirtuLink Treasure Book
The sky was exceptionally blue, like transparent crystal. Outside the stone circle lay a vast grassland.
Ethan Brooks coldly surveyed his surroundings, stood up, and said to Tina, "Tina, give me a hint on the fastest way to obtain items and abilities here."
"Head to Whale Town. It's located three kilometers southwest of here. There's a path along the way, so you won't get lost!" Sprite Tina replied to Ethan Brooks.
Tina flew in front of Ethan Brooks and said, "Alright, Master! But first, you should familiarize yourself with the VirtuLink Treasure Book. Please look at your left hand, Master."
Upon hearing this, Ethan Brooks raised his wrist and saw that what was supposed to be the VirtuLink game terminal had now become an ornate metal bracelet, embedded with an oval-shaped red gemstone.
At that moment, the red gemstone was emitting bursts of red light!
With her incredibly clear and melodious voice, Tina said to Ethan Brooks, "Master, please place your finger on it for ten seconds and think about opening the VirtuLink Treasure Book!"
Ethan Brooks did as instructed, pressing his index finger on it for ten seconds: "Open the VirtuLink Treasure Book!"
With a "bang!" a cloud of smoke burst in front of Ethan Brooks, and then a large, thick book the size of an Oxford Dictionary appeared before him, floating in the air.
"Shout 'BIN!' and the VirtuLink Treasure Book will disappear automatically."
Ethan Brooks examined the book, which had a cover made of fine kid leather. The black cover featured a silver inverted cross, with a red hexagram at the center of the cross. He reached out and flipped open the first page.
On the first page, there were three rectangular card slots on the left side, while the right side contained a page of data. On the left page, one of the rectangular card slots held a card with Tina's photo on it.
Sprite Tina, seeing Ethan Brooks staring at her photo, chuckled and said, "Master, this is my true form. VirtuLink sprites exist in card form as familiars, and the first page of the VirtuLink Treasure Book is where I reside. Another player can have up to three familiars, but I will always occupy one slot. So, Master, you can still make contracts with two more familiars."
Then, with a cheerful tone, Sprite Tina continued, "The second page is the settings page of the VirtuLink Treasure Book. You can set quick incantations for the cards and treasures inside the book. This way, when you use the cards and treasures in the VirtuLink Treasure Book, you won't need to summon the book every time. Besides these two pages, the book is divided into six sections: mastered abilities, held cards, owned treasures, carried contracts, acquired titles, and undertaken quests."
Ethan Brooks casually flipped to the page of mastered abilities. On the left side of the page were three basic abilities. Ethan Brooks glanced at them:
**Basic Intelligence: 145**
_Congratulations, you have crossed the threshold into the realm of legendary geniuses._
**Mental Strength: 11**
_You are a mentally vigorous individual._
**Muscle Strength: 198**
_Slightly stronger than an average person, but still needs training._
On the right side of the page were thousands of detailed entries.
As Tina explained, Ethan Brooks quickly understood the usage of the VirtuLink Treasure Book's items. Tina said, "Now, please turn to the section of held cards. Do you see those cards?"
"I see them!" Ethan Brooks replied, looking at the cards on that page.
**VirtuLink Universal Language (Proficient)**
_Level 1 Ability Card_
_Allows the user to master the VirtuLink Universal Language without any prior learning._
**VirtuLink Glory Noble Bank Card (300,000,000 Euka)**
_Special Item Card_
_Can be used at any time to materialize the currency of the Greed Island._
**VirtuLink Glory Noble Exit Card**
_Special Card_
_Can be used at any time to exit the Greed Island and return to the real world. Exiting requires a three-minute preparation time._
_Non-droppable, Non-tradable_
**100 VirtuLink Appraisal Cards**
_Level 1 Incantation-Type Item Card_
_Can appraise the attributes of items. Appraisal success rate may decrease with higher item levels._
**VirtuLink Storage Card**
_Level 1 Item Card_
_Allows the user to possess sixteen one-cubic-meter storage spaces. Weight is unlimited within each space, but each space can only hold one type of item._
At this moment, Tina said to Ethan Brooks, "Master, a normal VirtuLink Treasure Book has 3,200 card and treasure slots, but since you have the Glory Noble Collector's Edition, you have 9,600 card and treasure slots—three times that of others~~"
Ethan Brooks looked at the Glory Noble Bank Card and asked Tina, "Tina, do I have 300 million Euka on my bank card? Is this something everyone has?"
"How could that be?" Sprite Tina exclaimed in surprise. "When entering this game world, unless you have an account like Master's Glory Noble, you don't bring a single cent!"
Ethan Brooks hummed in response. Although he didn't know the prices, 300 million sounded like a substantial amount, probably enough to quickly purchase items.
"Master, don't you want to ask Tina what kind of familiar I am?" Sprite Tina danced in the air, seemingly very eager for Ethan Brooks to ask.
"No interest," Ethan Brooks replied.
"Hmph, Master is really unromantic," Tina made a face at Ethan Brooks, seemingly dissatisfied with him.
"Is there a place to buy items in Whale Town?" Ethan Brooks asked Tina.
"Yes~~La~~~ Master, you are truly a person who gets straight to the point," Sprite Tina said.
"I just don't want to waste time. Stop calling me Master. Call me Ethan. I'm not used to being called Master. You are an intelligent being, and I'm not used to having a hierarchy between intelligent beings," Ethan Brooks said to Tina.
"Alright, Ethan," Sprite Tina quickly changed her address. "Yeah, I think calling you Ethan is more convenient too. I had decided that if you kept insisting on me calling you Master, I would play a prank on you once, but never mind."
"Let's head to Whale Town," Ethan Brooks said as he put away the VirtuLink Treasure Book and walked towards the town.
The distance of three kilometers was quickly covered, and Ethan Brooks had already reached the edge of the town, where he could see the stream flowing outside. The town was built by the sea, and outside it, there was a small river. The water flowed from the direction of the grassland, encircling the town before emptying into the sea behind it.
Ethan Brooks crossed the stone bridge over the river and entered the town.
This must be a very vibrant place! Ethan Brooks thought as he entered the town. It was completely different from the small towns in his country on Earth, which often had only a few streets. The entire town had a sense of solidity, with buildings of various architectural styles standing tall, as if they had existed for many years, with layers and sedimentation of time, like those ancient European towns with a long history, yet not lacking in vitality.
The town's terrain was higher on the side closer to the grassland and lower on the side facing the sea. There were many crisscrossing roads within the town, similar to the intricate layout of a Jiangnan town, yet it also featured modern architectural styles.
People were walking back and forth on the streets. Unlike the realistic visual feel on Earth, looking at the people here, Ethan Brooks felt as if he had entered a world from a comic book.
Ethan Brooks observed the small town and asked Sprite Tina, "Tina, tell me the quickest place in town to obtain items."