Chapter 203. Irish Town Ⅱ (1) Whose Survival Day Is Today?

     In the blink of an eye, Ye Mo went from a small villa on Earth straight into a pack of beasts in a primeval forest. She was dressed in a casual sportswear set, still holding half a jar of Du Kang wine in her hand. Thankfully, she had remembered to put on a mask before arriving.  

     A silver-white mask that revealed only her eyes, imbued with a subtle mental suggestion effect, ensuring that anyone with a C-grade or lower psychic ability would subconsciously overlook her distinguishing features.  

     Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!  

     From all directions, fireballs, ice swords, and wind blades came hurtling toward the newly arrived stranger, perhaps drawn by the lingering scent of fine alcohol on her.  

     “Watson? Wang Xue?”  

     Like a ghost, Ye Mo moved so fast that only afterimages remained, nimbly dodging every attack. The liquor jar in her hand transformed into a simple, unadorned heavy sword.

     With a sweep of her sword, a wave of beasts fell.  

     These were all valuable spoils. Even though items from a team dungeon couldn’t be taken out, Ye Mo still habitually stored everything in her storage ring.  

     “A storage ring…” Ye Mo thought of that little tail ring and suddenly grinned, roughly guessing which dungeon this was.  

     She dashed toward the clashing sounds in the distance and, sure enough, spotted Wang Xue and Watson.  

     They were amidst a group of mercenaries, not slaughtering their way through but slowly wearing down the beasts with water or fire-based abilities. Especially Watson, who was only a second-tier water elementalist. His water orbs had pitifully low attack power, truly embodying the saying “constant dripping wears away the stone.”  

     While practicing their spells, they chatted with the mercenaries, gathering intel.  

     Whoosh—  

     To ordinary eyes, Ye Mo seemed to materialize instantly beside Watson and Wang Xue, her blade already transformed into an all-elemental magic staff.

     “You—?!” A burly man with a thick beard was startled by Ye Mo’s sudden appearance, freezing in place and even forgetting about the magical beast in front of him, his blade hanging limp in his hand.  

     Watson quickly yanked him aside, narrowly dodging an attack from a Flamecloud Cat, then cheerfully introduced, “George, this is Maria, one of our companions. She got separated from us in the forest earlier—glad she finally found us!” 

     “Thank you, sir!” The big man patted his chest in relief, letting out a hearty laugh. “Hah! I could tell you were a team from the start, all three of you have black hair and dark eyes, move like lightning, and are mages to boot!” 

     The mercenary band had quickly accepted Watson and Wang Xue because they’d arrived just in time, when the group was already suffering casualties and on the verge of annihilation. These two oddly dressed strangers had appeared out of nowhere…  

     Then, moving faster than the eye could follow, they took down those two high-tier magical beasts.

     And the man even kindly gave them a bunch of high-tier potions—no, potions even better than high-tier! They had witnessed firsthand how the man named Watson’s medicine saved many lives in their mercenary group, even regenerating lost limbs in an instant.  

     Praise the clover, is today our lucky day? 

     Yet Wang Xue, usually so lively, remained completely silent. The confusion in her eyes made it clear, she had no idea what they were saying. She couldn’t understand a word.  

     Wearing a magic weapon would not provide any memory bonus, which meant she had to learn ancient Irish entirely on her own, instead of being nervous like she would be in the main dungeon.  

     Wang Xue: “F*ck!”

     “Mind your language,” Ye Mo said with a smile to the burly George, then shot Wang Xue a disapproving look before hurling a fireball. Switching to Mandarin, she asked a question: “Why did you toss the scroll into the monster horde?”

     “An eighth-tier magical beast showed up just as we arrived. We had to move fast, and you were a bit slow entering. It’s too simple anyway, you’d definitely be fine. You could probably crush them to death.” Watson frowned, then added, “And don’t think you can change the subject. You started swigging Dukang wine the second we entered the dungeon?”  

     Wang Xue gave a resentful look, ever since Watson’s physical constitution improved, she could no longer successfully steal wine by relying on her five senses.  

     Hawk-Eye rolled it eye.  

     “I saved half a jar for you two,”** Ye Mo cleared her throat, “It’s more precious than gold.”

     Then, in another blatant attempt to redirect the conversation: “So, where are we?”  

     “Irish dungeon,” the two answered in unison. Fortunately, they’d landed in the monster-infested forests outside an Irish town rather than some far-flung corner of this world.  

     Wang Xue grinned. “So, how does it feel to be back?”

     The smile on Ye Mo’s face said it all. “Not bad at all. What’s the mission?”

     Watson not only read the script, but also deliberately pronounced the transliteration in a very Chinese way:

   【 《Irish Town II》  

     Main Mission: Survival.  

     Team Competition Mission: Find the Demigod Artifacts – the Stone of Fal, Nuada’s Sword, and Dagda’s Magic Cauldron. Time limit: 300 days.  

     Note: Upon completion of the Team Competition Mission, all survivors will exit the “Irish Town II” dungeon, and the Main Mission will be automatically completed. If the Team Competition Mission fails, after 300 days all survivors will still exit the “Irish Town II” dungeon with the Main Mission auto-completed, but the Ireland dungeon will be permanently locked.  

     Friendly Reminder: Any demigod artifacts found will be awarded to the team as rewards. No additional rewards will be provided by the system. 】

     Ye Mo tapped emphatically on the words “permanently locked,” realizing that if they completed the team competition mission, there would likely be sequels like Irish Town III and Irish Town IV. “Is this some kind of serialized adventure?” she mused.  

     Wang Xue rather liked this dungeon, it was far less dangerous than the main one. For survivors like them, it was practically designed for guided exploration. “This team dungeon really is perfect for group runs,” she remarked.  

     “Too bad the scrolls are so costly. Getting a spot will be fiercely competitive in the future!” Watson replied. “And for newcomers without a team or who’ve only experienced one or two dungeons, this world still holds plenty of dangers.”  

     Ye Mo then asked, “The Stone of Fal, Nuada’s Sword, and Dagda’s Cauldron, isn’t there one missing?”  

     “You’re right, it’s Lugh’s Spear,” Watson answered. “According to legend, the Tuatha Dé Danann, who once ruled Ireland, possessed four treasures: the Stone of Fal, Nuada’s Sword, Lugh’s Spear, and Dagda’s Cauldron.” 

     “Looks like we guessed right.” Ye Mo and Watson simultaneously thought of a certain someone, and the weapon she was never seen without. “Lugh’s Spear is in Lani Shannon’s hands.”  

     “She’s unbelievably lucky,” Wang Xue marveled. “Getting a divine artifact in just her second dungeon? No wonder she’s so strong. Probably even inherited Lugh’s memories through it—that’d explain her drastic change. This dungeon might as well be tailor-made for her. At least we’ve got some leads now.”

     Ye Mo, still hurling spells after absorbing twelve third-tier beast cores, mused: “What I really wish is the ability to forge divine artifacts myself. This dungeon’s got the alchemy I want to master, plus I can also advance my abilities step by step here. Not a bad deal for me.”

     Watson and Wang Xue agreed. For them too, this world offered deeper magical knowledge, not just cultivation methods, but the innovations of a mature magical society.  

     And best of all? No points required for energy here.

     Of course, if they had the chance to obtain a demigod artifact, they certainly wouldn’t pass it up.  

     Ye Mo suddenly changed the subject:   “But there’s one immediate priority!”

     Watson smiled knowingly while Wang Xue blinked in confusion. “What?” 

    “Language studies,” Ye Mo and Watson declared simultaneously.  

     “Childish,” Wang Xue huffed. “Ireland falls under Celtic mythology, and Celtic culture centers on Ireland and England—which basically means learning English. I’ve even passed the CET-4 and CET-6 exams. How hard could it be?” 

     “Just wait until you go to that ancient Indian dungeon where Watson and I stayed. Then you’ll understand what real linguistic chaos means.” The modern Indian constitution recognizes 15 official languages.

     Ye Mo: “Bring it on!”

     Hurt each other every day.

     The burly George scratched his head with a simple grin. “Don’t understand a word you’re sayin’, but you folks sure get along well.”  

     Other mercenaries drifted over, joining the conversation. They bombarded Ye Mo’s group with questions about their origins, only to receive an unsurprising answer:  

     “The Eastern Continent.”

     “The Tang Empire in the East,” Wang Xue added belatedly after finally processing the exchange.  

     The mercenaries watched in awe as Ye Mo unleashed a dazzling array of magic: wind blades, fireballs, ice arrows, water barriers, earth traps, and vines—her battlefield a kaleidoscope of elemental fury. Their curiosity about the mysterious East only grew stronger.  

     Are all Easterners this powerful?

     They must be!  

     ‘To have crossed the endless magical beast forest with just three people, coming all the way from the East—they must be true powerhouses.’ In a way, the mercenaries had stumbled upon the truth.  

     An hour later, with the combined efforts of Ye Mo, Watson, and Wang Xue, the area was nearly cleared of beasts. After inquiring about the mercenary group’s mission, the trio handed over their targets and collected the rest of the spoils.  

     To their credit, the mercenaries, though clearly envious stuck to their code of honor. Had Watson’s group not voluntarily offered the mission targets, they wouldn’t have taken them.  

     Today really was their lucky day!

     …

     After all, this was a million-player dungeon, and Irish Town stood as the world’s core. Naturally, more survivors would appear near it than anywhere else. 

     On their way back to Irish Town, Ye Mo’s group encountered two or three mercenary bands, each harboring survivors. The Asian faces stood out the most, as did their modern clothing.  

     As for the white survivors who had seamlessly blended in? Well, that was their home-field advantage.  

     The closer they got to the town gates, the more survivors they spotted.  

     When they finally stepped into Irish Town, an unexpected hesitation took hold. Faced with the bustling streets and lively crowds, they felt an odd sense of trepidation, like returning to a hometown after years away.  

     Wang Xue glanced left and right. “So… where to now?”

     Ye Mo’s thoughts wandered, to the Mage Association’s archives, the tavern outside the Mercenary Guild, the Wild Wolf Mercenary Band in the residential district, to Hook, Alice, Thomson. But most of all, to the pitch-black underground world and her diligent, lovable goblin companions.  

     Yet she was no longer Goblin Maria. To them, she was just another cunning human. Showing up unannounced might earn her a hostile welcome. 

     Ye Mo suggested: “How about going to the potion shop first?”

     Wang Xue had no objections, and neither did Watson, except that he walked unusually slowly the entire way. Still, they eventually arrived at the apothecary where Watson had once worked, its door carved with intricate clover patterns on white poplar wood.  

     The shop remained dimly lit as ever, its ceilings stretched impossibly high by spatial magic. The familiar glow of floating yellow candle lamps hovered in the air.  

     “Silverweed, pine resin, venomleaf, toad’s eye, rhinoceros horn, winged tiger fur, scale-fish fins, frost-deer blood…” Watson murmured, recognizing each potion ingredient by scent alone.  

     Then he noticed the rare look of astonishment on Ye Mo’s face. Following her gaze, he saw—  

     ‘Watson!’