The spacious and magnificent stall attracted the attention of Wang Shui, and in the corner, a black single-handed sword caught his eye. "Isn't that the 'Interpreter'?" Despite never having carried out a mission alone, Wang Shui was extremely surprised. His first awakened mission took place in a near-futuristic science fiction world, observing others embracing in armored combat. Whether it was the usual customers or the limited number of friends, he had never heard familiar terms from anyone. For half a year, ninety percent of the information he received was from various battlefield worlds.

Driven by curiosity, Wang Shui opened the product information:

【Interdimensional Key·Interpreter·Pseudo (Special Item·Blue)】

【Grade: 1】

【Danger Level: 1】

【Alienation Type: Real, Enormous】

【Remaining Activation Time: 10 Days】

【Time Flow Speed: 300 times】

【Explanation: A duplicate world key split from the illusionary world key, connecting a duplicate of a fantasy world. Upon separation, an alienation occurred in the duplicate world, and the danger is unknown.】

"Ah, isn't this a sword? This is a key?"

"How about it, young man? Interested?" The stall owner warmly approached as Wang Shui stared at the sword.

"This is a great item."

Ah, the classic opening move of a peddler.

"Some time ago, a group of lone wolf big shots from Class A got their hands on an illusionary world key. The system detected that it could be a permanent special world, but the big shots received a world control task to help the beloved person of the world complete the transformation of human society."

Hmm, ninety-nine percent for helping the harem king Wang Tongren, most likely.

"But that world is a strange real world with no extraordinary powers, no large-scale wars, and not very advanced technology, which made a group of big shots very helpless."

"The big shots applied to the system for world conquest assistance. From the original key, they split out a large number of duplicate worlds, and because if the main character dies in the duplicate world, the entire world will collapse, the big shots decided to use a brute force method to find the main character. Find him, and everything else will be easy."

Brute force? Kill one by one?

"Oh, you look like you've figured it out. The hired war merchants and psychopaths went on a killing spree, starting with high-level figures from all walks of life. In the end, several killers almost developed psychological problems, and they still didn't find the main character. So, the big shots suspected that the main character is an ordinary person, and the plot will be very long. So, they decided to spend money to replicate a bunch of keys and recruit heroes from all walks of life to explore this unknown world. This is the third batch of keys, an exploration period of an unknown world. There's not much information, but the resources are very rich!"

An unknown world?

After a moment of thought, Wang Shui asked, "In a normal world, resources would only be things like minerals. And if it's a duplicate world, what if someone indiscriminately kills and accidentally kills the main character, causing other people kicked out to suffer punishment from the system?"

"No need to worry about that. The big shots have made it clear that only regular exploration is allowed, no indiscriminate killing. Also, the third batch of keys is Grade 1. If someone dares to cause trouble inside, they will be cleared out within ten minutes."

While the stall owner explained, Wang Shui started connecting to the "Dream Network" to search for related information. Soon, he found the post of the Class A big shots.

Exploration of unknown worlds, no violent cracking allowed, 10% death rate for the first batch, 30% death rate for the second batch. The post mentioned that most of the heroes from the previous two batches survived for several hundred days, indicating the safety of this world. Finally, the system determined that they did not encounter the main events of the world, and they were kicked out with very low penalties.

Of course, there was also good news; at least the death rate had increased. It was clear that the heroes had encountered the main storyline content, facing dangers they couldn't avoid.

As Wang Shui read, his eyes brightened… this seemed like a good choice for a mission! No extraordinary powers, not very advanced technology, and a peaceful world. The most dangerous thing would be the microwave-like game login device and the anti-social lunatic waving a syringe all day long.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

This seems suitable for my cautious… ahem, steady farming style, regardless of where the farm is located.

"I'll buy it, boss. How much?"

"Oh, wow, a bargain at 35,000. Will you pay with dream points directly, or 35 silvers?"

"What? 35,000?! Big brother? I can just go to the red light district for a few dozen bucks! Is inflation so severe here?!"

Wang Shui nearly choked on his own spit. After half a year of hard work, he had saved just over 50,000, with no equipment and still waiting to arm himself, and now he had to spend almost all of it?!

"Hey, little brother, are you new here? From Class E? This is a directional world key, and it's a safe world. If you don't run around inside, you won't die, and you think the important thing is the resources inside? Can't be, can't be. You don't think you're the only one who sees the safety value of this thing, do you? This thing can basically get you through a single-person mission safely! It's the third batch of keys, and I've sold over a dozen already. Do you think I'm selling it for nothing?"

The stall owner gave Wang Shui a hard pinch, the smile not so much mocking as it was the kind of comfort a veteran shows to a rookie.

Humph, I'm from Class C, don't scare me! Though it's frustrating, Wang Shui still acquired the key, and shamelessly played up his status as a newcomer, hoping to haggle the price down, only to be sent away with a set of "Initial Life Protection," commonly known as small red potions.

Stuffing a set of five bottles of small red potions into his pocket, Wang Shui, carrying the "Interpreter," continued to browse the market in his worn work clothes.

Unfortunately, he had no choice, as seasoned players usually kept daily life items such as instant food, fresh water, ropes, and wilderness survival tools in their personal spaces. The more particular ones or those familiar with the destination might even exchange their money for these items, which weren't very expensive.

It's worth mentioning that in the "Dream System," even gold was very expensive. Wang Shui didn't find any Japanese yen or any currency he recognized. Hopefully, he'd be able to connect to his home world soon.

Thankfully, there's a solution to his problem, and he found it at a stall selling survival gear:

【Orphan's Wish (Consumable·Blue)】

【Grade: 2】

【Explanation: Special consumable item. Confirms usage at the beginning of the mission and provides an orphan identity in a foreign world, obtaining initial resources based on rarity.】

Although the name sounded a bit odd, this item was quite famous. Considering that the majority of awakened individuals had likely bid farewell to their parents forever, not many found the concept repulsive. With a blue rarity, it seemed to be a consumable item that could be created, although Wang Shui wasn't sure what skill was used to craft it. Priced at 3,000, it seemed like a good deal.

Wang Shui was somewhat tempted, but he was headed to the "Sword Art Online" world the next day, so for now, he put off the idea of making money. Since he was going to the world of swords, with a mission at hand, there was an eighty percent chance he would be tossed into Tokyo.

Given his lack of knowledge about the initial resources, Wang Shui bought two boxes of vacuum-packed compressed food and three large cans of drinking water. This pile of stuff almost filled his novice space.

As for equipment, it seemed possible to save on it, right? There wasn't much in the real world of swords, and he would most likely be targeted by allies of the same camp, but at around Grade 1, everyone was quite cohesive, right?

Out of caution, Wang Shui found a hot weapons stall.

Handguns, rifles, shotguns, submachine guns, and heavy firearms were generally available, all of them locally produced models. They looked clunky and bulky, but the surface metal had considerable ductility, and simple processing could change the appearance. The caliber was fixed at 5mm for the first type of bullet, 7.5mm for the second type, and 10mm for the third type. The price would be higher for special types of bullets.

Wang Shui had practiced shooting over the past six months, but he hadn't gained any firearms-related skills. He didn't know what was going on. He had the proficiency to use firearms smoothly, and that's about it.

So, he picked a medium-sized handgun: 【BSS022-A1-"Worm" (Pistol·White)】. Its appearance was a bit rugged, but it had a great feel, much more solid than the public firearms he had used at the shooting range. It came with 10,000 rounds of second-type bullets with rigid metal pointed bullets, and also included 20 standard magazines (20 rounds each). The total price was 11,000: 100 for the gun and a good deal on the bullets at 0.1 points per round of ammunition. Wang Shui planned to buy more from the local workshop in the slum area, where the bullets were about ten times cheaper, if not more.

In reality, with a world key's buying power, Wang Shui could have formed quite a substantial force with just low-level firearms and ammunition. However, the novice space had only five cubic meters, and three large water tanks already occupied a significant volume.

But, no danger, no danger, just one Kayaba Akihiko could withstand a few bullets. Kirito was also just a mere mortal, and the only time when death was a real threat, they could simply avoid entering, just stay in the real world and let Kirito deal with the scheming planner!

And so, comforting himself, Wang Shui arrived at the mission square. He withdrew the "Interpreter" from behind, connected to the "Dream Network" mission center, selected solo exploration, inserted the sword into the key slot, and then a burst of white light shone, making the "Interpreter" disappear.

The empty task bar now showed a set of information:

【Exploration Mission·Fantasy World (Alienated Duplicate)】

【Grade: 1】

【Danger Level: 1】

【Alienation Type: Real, Enormous】

【Time Flow Speed: 300 times】

【Explanation: An unknown alienated duplicate of the fantasy world, with an unknown level of danger.】

Is this my journey of infinity?

"Start the mission."