novelraw Chapter 7 : Environmental Stability
Chapter 7 : Environmental Stability
Chapter 7: Environmental Stability
As the wooden wheels of the logging cart rolled over the final stretch of gravel road, Lance successfully arrived at the stump camp located at the edge of the forest.
Though called a camp, it was actually more like a spontaneously formed temporary marketplace.
Several caravans from Graystone Town were parked by the roadside, and early-rising townsfolk were selling steaming hot meat soup and cheap black bread to passing adventurers.
The air was filled with the aroma of food.
Groups of three or five adventurers sat around massive tree stumps, exchanging gathered information or looking for temporary teammates.
Most of those mingling here were bottom-tier adventurers without professional ranks, just like Lance.
As for true class-ranked adventurers, unless they had accepted special commissions from the guild, the rest had long since headed straight for the underground dungeon, where the rewards were higher—and the danger greater.
Non-class adventurers could also go to the dungeon, but there was one strict rule.
All newcomers had to complete a sufficient number of basic commissions in Copper Creek Forest first, proving their ability to survive, before they were qualified to apply for entry into the dungeon.
It was like a threshold—ruthless, yet effective in filtering out those reckless fools who overestimated themselves.
Lance rather approved of this.
Compared to the trash companies from his previous life that tried to squeeze every last drop of marrow from their employees, the Adventurers’ Guild in Graystone Town clearly knew how to value its resources.
After all, the dead could not continue creating value.
“Excuse me, are you looking for a team?”
A young voice came from not far away.
Following the sound, Lance saw a young adventurer with a two-handed greatsword on his back inviting others.
The young man had thick brows and bright eyes, short golden hair, and a youthful vigor that feared nothing.
Even after being rejected, he did not grow annoyed. He simply smiled politely and continued searching for others.
His gaze swept across the crowd and quickly landed on Lance, his eyes lighting up.
At that moment, Lance was dressed in a full set of reinforced leather armor, wearing a half-covered hood, with a shortsword at his waist and a round shield on his back. Standing alone, he exuded a steady aura that discouraged strangers from approaching.
The young man hurried over, his face full of enthusiastic smiles.
“Hello!”
The sudden loud voice startled Lance, who had been observing his surroundings. He instinctively took a step back, his hand pressing against the hilt of his sword.
Seeing Lance’s vigilance, the young man scratched his head awkwardly.
“Sorry, sorry, I startled you.”
“My name is Kael. Judging by your equipment, are you on a clearing mission? Are you alone?”
“Today, our party plans to clear out a small Goblin nest. We’re short of a strong backbone—would you be interested?”
“If your clearing mission isn’t Goblins, that’s fine too. I can give you half of my extra reward.”
“There’s a newbie in my party. I need an experienced adventurer to hold the line.”
Lance followed the direction of his finger.
Under the shade of a tree not far away stood two men and one woman. The men were dressed as standard warriors, and the only girl carried a short bow.
Sure enough, it was rare to see noble spellcasters in bottom-tier parties.
“We all came from nearby towns because of the Special Subsidy Order, making a living by clearing Goblins. We all have plenty of experience dealing with them.”
Kael’s attitude was extremely sincere.
But Lance still shook his head decisively.
What a joke—his goal today was to pick mushrooms. He absolutely would not provoke any living creature.
Seeing Lance refuse, Kael revealed a look of regret but did not persist.
Before leaving, he still kindly offered a reminder.
“Sorry to bother you. But if you’re going to carry out a gathering mission, be sure to avoid the western stream area.”
“When I came this morning, I heard there’s a Gnoll scavenging party roaming there recently. It’s very dangerous.”
With that, he gave a wide smile, waved goodbye, and ran back to his team.
What a cheerful adventurer.
Watching the young party gradually depart, Lance couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.
It seemed adventurers weren’t all bandits who killed and robbed—there were still good people among them.
This piece of goodwill information slightly improved his impression of the group.
Lance did not linger at the camp. Tightening the pack on his back, he followed the task map’s directions and plunged into the dense Copper Creek Forest.
According to the information, the plant called Coppercap Mushrooms had more than twenty known growth points within the forest.
However—
The moment his feet stepped onto the soft, humus-rich soil of the forest,
the system interface before his eyes suddenly popped up without warning.
【Loading map affixes…】
【Current Area: Calm (Green) Copper Creek Forest Outskirts】
【Environmental Stability: 97%】
【Current Commission: Gather Coppercap Mushrooms (0/30), Reward: Skill EXP 10, Knowledge EXP 10】
Looking at this string of both familiar and unfamiliar text, Lance froze on the spot.
Wasn’t this from that eroge game from his previous life?
It had actually come along with him into this world!
Lance focused his consciousness on the green “Calm” affix.
A detailed explanation immediately appeared.
【Calm (Green): The flow of magical power in this area is stable. While active in this map, mental abnormality resistance +15%, stamina consumption rate -5%】
As expected!
That classic “map affix system” was still here.
Lance remembered that in that game, some absurd high-difficulty affixes could double resource output, but their side effects were equally terrifying.
For example, settings like “trigger a small explosion upon successful gathering”—completely anti-human.
This Calm affix had not appeared in that game. It was likely a rational adaptation made by the real world.
There were no purely troll-like affixes designed just to disgust players.
However, what made Lance the most ecstatic was the line below.
【Environmental Stability: 97%】
In the game’s mechanics, when environmental stability dropped below 50%, it meant monsters were about to spawn nearby, triggering a forced encounter.
Translated into reality—
This was an ultra-sensitive danger radar.
As long as he kept an eye on this value, once he noticed stability continuously declining, it meant monsters or danger were approaching.
At that point, he could take advantage of the information gap and slip away before danger arrived.
With this, as long as he didn’t court death, it would be nearly impossible for him to be ambushed.
In the original game design, instead of a minimap system, this feature had been implemented.
Its function was like a compass, helping players locate high-risk areas to challenge rare monsters—and incidentally collect some bizarre defeat CGs.
But in Lance’s hands,
this thing was a life-saving charm.
“Thank goodness you’re still here!”
Looking at the 97% green value that represented absolute safety, Lance couldn’t help but praise that improper game in his heart.
When Lance arrived at the first marked gathering point on the map, quite a few adventurers had already gathered there.
Seeing the fully armed Lance approach, those who were bent over searching beneath tree stumps were visibly startled.
Many of them were new adventurers who had recently migrated from nearby villages.
Looking at their shabby equipment, Lance truly realized how fortunate he had been to have a stable job at the guild and to save up that initial capital.
Many bottom-tier adventurers had to empty their family savings just to barely afford learning a single proficient-level combat skill.
As for equipment, let alone reinforced leather armor with embedded iron plates like Lance’s—
they could not even bear to buy ordinary hardened leather gear.
Like the few in front of him, they were only wearing multi-layered coarse linen clothes stuffed with thick cotton padding, merely to prevent scratches from thorns when crawling through bushes.
As Lance approached, a trace of vigilance clearly appeared in their eyes.