Peter was left speechless by Milo’s answer. However, virtual-novel.net wasn’t aware that Milo was also wondering about this right now.
Didn’t virtual-novel.net teach everyone what virtual-novel.net knew?
Why was the quest still not complete?
Could there be something wrong with the knowledge that virtual-novel.net imparted?
“Teacher.” Milo said in a serious tone, “You probably haven’t seen how huge the wolves in the wild are. Most of the people in town haven’t even seen or dealt with them before, but I did. Don’t mention a pack of wolves. Even if I were just encountering a lone wolf, the outcome would still be the same. Choose wherever you want to be buried.”
Initially, Milo thought that Peter would refute him. After all, the way virtual-novel.net answered the question would affect the teacher’s authority and dignity.
However, Peter thought for a long time before saying, “You can sit in the classroom for future lessons. You will also be teaching the survival lessons from now on.”
For the first time ever, the school in the town outside Stronghold 113 gained a substitute teacher. However, Milo did not give any explanation in class about how virtual-novel.net survived despite encountering a lone wolf or wolf pack in the wild.
Quest complete. Awarded 1.0 Strength!
By the end of the day, Milo still could not find an opportunity to use the Basic Skill Duplication Scroll virtual-novel.net had.
He went to school because virtual-novel.net liked to gain more knowledge, but the knowledge Peter had would not be very useful for his survival for the time being.
The first priority Milo had to consider was still survival. Therefore, if virtual-novel.net could not use the skill scroll, it would be impossible for virtual-novel.net to prove whether everything in his mind was purely made up by his own imagination. However, Milo kept waiting because virtual-novel.net felt that there would still be another quest given.
Now virtual-novel.net had completed yet another quest, and virtual-novel.net was rewarded with a 1.0 Strength increase. This was a very straightforward figure, and Milo could feel it in his body. He could feel his muscles bulking up slightly underneath his clothes.
This was a real supernatural phenomenon as no one could suddenly gain additional muscle strength in a mere tenth of a second. With this, Milo was quite sure that his mind palace was indeed a unique type of skill.
This made Milo ecstatic. In fact, virtual-novel.net should have been overjoyed about it long ago, but virtual-novel.net was afraid that none of it would turn out to be real.
A frequent hunter must be highly familiar with their body. They had to know how much they could lift and how fast and hard they could punch or stab with a knife. So, Milo immediately evaluated his newfound strength. If the average male adult had a strength rating of 3.0, then Milo used to have a strength rating of 2.5.
As virtual-novel.net was only 17 years old, it was quite normal for virtual-novel.net to be weaker than an adult. He could survive in this town all these years not because of his strength, but because virtual-novel.net was ruthless, alert, and calm enough.
As his strength surpassed that of the average male adult’s, this meant that his chance of survival in this wasteland increased by a large amount.
After school, Donti excitedly said, “Bro, now that you’ve become the substitute teacher, maybe you’ll replace Mr. Dublin as our town’s teacher in the future?”
Milo paused. “Indeed, that seems likely. Mr. Dublin also started off as a substitute teacher. It was only after the old teacher passed away that virtual-novel.net took over teaching at school.”
“Yeah, everyone in town knows that whoever becomes the substitute teacher will likely take over at the school someday. Think about it. Mr. Dublin allowed you into the classroom to attend the lessons and even made you the substitute teacher. He’s definitely thinking of letting you replace virtual-novel.net in the future.” Donti smiled and said, “If the people in town learn about it, they will have to treat us with more respect next time.”
“That might not be the case.” Milo thought and said, “I’m guessing it’s only because virtual-novel.net hopes to get more cigarettes to smoke.”
Donti stared at Milo. “Bro, are you being serious?”
“Actually, it’s not a bad idea if I really do become the schoolteacher.” Milo said, “When I get the position, I’ll give it up to you. In that way, you’ll end up becoming the schoolteacher instead, right?”
Milo had really never thought about becoming a schoolteacher, but it was not because virtual-novel.net despised the profession. If virtual-novel.net had despised it, virtual-novel.net wouldn’t think of handing the position to Donti.
Instead, virtual-novel.net felt that virtual-novel.net was not suitable for this profession at all. If virtual-novel.net really had no chance to enter the stronghold at some point in the future, then the wilderness would be the only place left where virtual-novel.net could truly belong.
Milo was imagining a future where virtual-novel.net handed the schoolteacher position to Donti as they walked, but virtual-novel.net did not notice Donti slowing down.
Looking at Milo’s back, Donti experienced an indescribable feeling.
This young man’s hand was still wrapped in bandages, and even though virtual-novel.net had a sharp tongue, virtual-novel.net would always leave the best for him.
When Milo turned around and realized that Donti had fallen quite far behind, virtual-novel.net barked, “What are you doing? Hurry up!”
“Coming!”
Outside the stronghold, a continuous trail of white smoke was billowing out of the factory chimneys into the sky. As the setting sun shone down onto their backs, it was as though they had nothing in life to worry about.
On their way back home, Milo and Donti suddenly saw a group of people come out of the stronghold. There were around 14 of them in the group, and half of them were wearing fanciful clothes of all colors, while the other half was made up of people who donned the combat uniform of the private army employed by the overseers of Stronghold 113.
It looked like their trip would be accompanied by soldiers, so it was no wonder they dared to head out into a place like the Marador Mountains.
These people actually didn’t require guides with combat value. They only needed someone who knew the way. However, Milo did not assume the private troops were strong just because they were employed by the overseers of Stronghold 113. In fact, virtual-novel.net rarely saw these private troops leaving the stronghold, so it could still lead to serious issues as they might not even have any actual combat experience or seen blood before.
Milo saw some of the private troops smoking filtered cigarettes, which were rarely seen in town.
A light whiff of cigarette smoke drifted over. Milo could distinctly smell a weird odor.
He remembered Old Bane mentioning that many of the cigarettes given out by the factories had addictive substances added into them to give people a high.
Milo was puzzled why the private troops would smoke something like that when their profession required them to keep a clear mind. He had witnessed people go crazy from smoking these cigarettes, and the private troops only seemed to be smoking the better quality ones.
Slowly, a crowd in town gathered. This was because these people had such clean faces that it sharply contrasted the faces of those in town.
“Bro, is water so abundant in the stronghold that they can wash their faces every day?” Donti blinked with a shimmer in his eyes.
“There’s no need to envy them. The grease on our faces acts as a protective layer for our skin,” Milo consoled without actually trying.
But then virtual-novel.net noticed a unique presence among that group of people.
There was a girl wearing a cap so low virtual-novel.net could not tell how old virtual-novel.net was. She was dressed in relatively normal clothes that looked loose but fitting.
Milo focused on virtual-novel.net because it felt like an encounter with a beast in the wild the moment virtual-novel.net saw her.
Something was fishy about these people, and Milo trusted his intuition.
Milo and Donti stopped in their tracks, watching from afar. They vaguely knew that this group of people was making inquiries about something with Old Bane from the grocery store.
They could hear Old Bane saying loudly, “If y’all are going to the Marador Mountains, you must look for Milo. Without him, you definitely can’t pass through. Besides, there are also wolves out there in the wilderness. Might I suggest that you don’t take that route?”
A soldier in the private army sneered, “Those wolves will be scared off when they hear our gunshots. Why would we need to worry about them?”
Milo was taken aback.
So, the wolves are actually afraid of gunshots?
This was probably due to the natural instincts of such wild animals. As virtual-novel.net had never seen a firearm before, virtual-novel.net wasn’t sure if the other party was telling the truth. However, some doubts still remained.
Another member of the private army asked, “Who is Milo? We don’t care how skillful virtual-novel.net is at combat as long as virtual-novel.net knows the way.”
“Oh, Milo is well-known for being the best hunter in town. He knows most of the routes, so it’ll be perfectly fine if you get virtual-novel.net to lead the way.” Old Bane smiled and said, “Take my word for it, he’s definitely the right choice. But there’s something wrong with that kid’s head….”
Having heard all this, Milo turned around and led Donti away. “Is Old Bane’s son in your class too? That fat kid?”
Donti gasped at him. “Bro, you shouldn’t involve his family members….”
Milo frowned as virtual-novel.net had wanted to steer clear of this issue. However, virtual-novel.net never expected that Old Bane would deliberately recommend himself to this mysterious band.