Seeing Stelle's dissatisfaction, Pei Guang tried to console her.
"Don't be upset. Think about it: our game progress has been less than two months, and we've only explored two dungeons. That's still early-game. Getting high-level recovery items during the early stages is already generous. If items with permanent growth stats had too high of a value this early, the entire stat balance would fall apart.
Besides, don't underestimate that single point of HP. How many last-stand victories and narrow escapes happen because of just 1 HP?"
In any game with health bars, players have managed impossible comebacks or escapes with a sliver of health. If that's true in games, it's even more crucial in this world.
One HP a day, ten HP in ten days, though his own health didn't have visible numbers, Pei Guang felt like each point might be more valuable than he realized. And besides, he had the synthesis pot: who knows how many miraculous items it could produce?
The only downside was that the eggs were laid by True Sting bugs. Pei Guang wasn't confident he could tame them into becoming his personal egg-laying machines.
Still, he remembered the characteristics of the True Sting bug: where there's one, there are probably ten or even a hundred. Once his stats got high enough, he could think about catching and breeding more.
After all, he was inside a giant True Sting bug. If he blew it up along with all the ones inside it, he might get enough roasted material to last years, maybe even decades?
Thinking about that made Pei Guang even more motivated. He was convinced that this quest was the trigger for unlocking permanent stat-boosting items.
But then he thought about how he was already getting stat boosts now, and started worrying about the next dungeon.
If games always offer lots of supplies before a big battle, and Penacony hadn't even been reached yet but he'd already gotten so much, what kind of disaster was waiting for him there?
Could March 7th have been right? Was he really going to end up on a date with a mech pilot, making her flustered and causing her to steal a mech and become a powerful boss?
Pei Guang let his imagination run wild for a while, then packed away the roasted True Sting bug. He picked up the roasted egg and turned to Stelle.
"Want one? If you're not eating it, I will. I have a feeling there are plenty of these eggs on the train. Once I find more, I'll roast them up for you guys. We can save the synthesis for when we've collected enough."
Stelle gave him a thumbs-up. "No problem! But I want the five-spice flavor."
Pei Guang shot her a sideways look. "You're making it hard for me. I can only do three flavors."
Stelle replied, "Then leave out the sweet one. I want salty and spicy! The third can be whatever, as long as it doesn't mess up the taste."
Pei Guang bit into the roasted bug egg. Even though it came from a True Sting bug, he didn't feel the slightest bit disgusted. First of all, the egg smelled amazing after roasting. The combination of sour, spicy, and a touch of sweetness gave it a rather unique flavor.
As for the texture? It was similar to various egg dishes. The yolk had the signature taste of being roasted by Truefire.
Admittedly, the raw egg looked a bit gross, and the mature bug was downright dangerous to society. But under Pei Guang's handling, it had become something beneficial to both people and society.
If it had been born and lived to see this moment, it would've felt truly blessed.
Seeing how much Pei Guang was enjoying it, Stelle asked curiously, "How does it taste?"
Pei Guang answered, "It's got a spicy-sour kick with a hint of sweetness. Kinda weird, but the texture is great~ You've got to trust in our golden-item trait. If it's roasted with Truefire, it's guaranteed to be safe to eat!"
Pei Guang happily finished the egg, and when he saw the system prompt that said "Max HP +1," he took a moment to feel the change in his body. He did a quick mental calculation and made an estimate.
If his stats were quantified, his base HP was probably somewhere between 600 to 700. Gaining 1 point didn't make much of a difference short term, but if it could go up by ten, or even hundreds, it'd be a game-changer.
And if he equipped gear that boosted HP? The increase could get terrifying.
Pei Guang muttered, "Damn, no wonder it only adds one point… It doesn't do much short-term, but the long-term effects are huge. But following the usual game logic, we'll probably get items later on that boost multiple stats at once. At that point, this stuff will be obsolete, huh?"
Pei Guang knew game mechanics all too well. Work hard for a year to gain 365 points, only for the next dungeon to drop an item that gives several hundred stat points all at once?
But that was future Pei Guang's problem. Since there were stat bonuses available now, he wasn't about to waste the opportunity.
Just as he was about to good news with everyone and start collecting more eggs to boost their stats, March 7th came running over.
"Ah Guang! Bad news: the knight you sweet-talked into limping along? He… he got dazzled by the bugs just like me. He's in Dan Heng's room, talking to the bugs!"
Pei Guang responded, "Oh! A mature bug? That's great."
Pei Guang: "I'll explain later. If this works out, I'll cook something tasty for you."
Stelle grumbled in dissatisfaction from the side, "I was the first! March should be after me."
March 7th: "Huh? Alright, alright~ I'm after you~"
With a smug expression and hands on her hips, Stelle then followed Pei Guang toward Dan Heng's room.
Upon entering, the group was met with a shocking sight: Argenti was praising a True Sting. This particular True Sting had grown to over half the size of a person. It was flapping its wings, waiting for the moment Argenti would completely let down his guard so it could devour him.
But Argenti had no idea. He was still showering the creature, which he saw as adorable, with praise: "You must often be described as 'cute.' Does that word burden you? Please believe me, your essence goes far beyond such a simple descriptor. Oh, little sphere... your name shall be... Charm~"
Watching Argenti gaze so affectionately at the bug, March 7th was reminded of some rather unpleasant memories. Thinking back, if she hadn't drawn that skill that removed status abnormalities back then, what would she have said to the bug herself?
Just thinking about it made her cringe!
Hearing Argenti give such a flamboyant name to the True Sting, Pei Guang instead praised him: "You know what? You've got a knack for naming things. It really does look charming."
Argenti turned his head at Pei Guang's words, and in the instant he laid eyes on him, he felt like his vision was bathed in radiant beauty.
Seeing Argenti's stunned expression, Pei Guang waved his hand: "What's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost."
Argenti: "Please forgive my rudeness—it's just that you are so beautiful~"
Stelle looked over to March 7th. "Ah Guang is beautiful?"
March 7th: "I don't really see it?"
Pei Guang proudly declared, "Of course I'm beautiful! As a player, I possess a beauty that comes with unique player-level strength! But Argenti, you've got a good eye. That little guy's body holds something that can make me even more beautiful."
Argenti: "Oh? What is it?"
Pei Guang: "I'll let you try it in a bit, you'll see. Don't worry! I'll let you experience my beauty~"
Pei Guang licked his lips as he looked at the plump rear of the True Sting. These things were just too dangerous. He didn't have the power or the tools right now to raise them. If he couldn't raise it, then it had to die.
But before killing it, Pei Guang decided to maximize both efficiency and gain. Don't even talk to him about being a Paradox Interactive gamer: Pei Guang wasn't just that, he was a survival gamer too.