Chapter 18: Armed to the Teeth

The Legend of the Mage, No Pop-up Version

Lin Jia glanced at the item and almost shouted “Monstrous!” again—a wrought iron ring with +3 defense and +3 magic, he had no idea how much it could fetch, but judging from the cheers of his friends when he died in the Fragrant Stone Catacombs, its value was clear. For a mage, this ring was nearly as precious as the overpowered 1-5 Sea Soul in his own possession!

Having reached level 20, Lin Jia should have been able to switch to a standard Snake Eye Ring with 0-2 magic, but now, equipped with a pair of precious wrought iron rings boasting 0-3 defense and magic, and another with 0-2 defense and magic, he had no need to swap out rings anytime soon.

With a grin, the fourth brother turned his head and called out, “Come here, I’ve got something good for you!” Controlling his warrior, Wind Without Heart, he ran over to trade with Lin Jia face to face. Soon, a top-tier platinum necklace and a pair of ebony bracelets—unavailable in the system shop—were traded into Lin Jia’s hands.

With a pair of ebony bracelets granting 0-1 magic, a platinum necklace with 0-3 magic, and the 1-5 Sea Soul, Lin Jia had fully become a little mage with absurdly high magic power! Now his magic ranged from 5-20. Even though he took off the 1-1 magic-boosting ebony necklace, his upper limit was now higher than any other mage. Even if someone’s level surpassed his own level-20 mage, in a duel, no mage could withstand Lin Jia’s level 2 Thunderbolt!

Besides, quite a few level-17 mages hadn’t even obtained the Thunderbolt skill book yet. How could a level 3 Fireball ever compare to the overwhelming might of a level 2 Thunderbolt?

At present, high-level skill books seemed to be the hottest commodity. Unfortunately, after a whole night of effort, the three brothers had only managed to acquire a few skill books that they could use themselves. Otherwise, with books like “Slashing Sword Technique” selling for half a million, the brothers would have struck it rich again.

Although the eldest and the fourth brother weren’t as overpowered as Lin Jia, they too had managed to swap out for gear unavailable from the system shop. The eldest wielded a level 15 top-grade weapon called “Half Moon,” with 5-10 attack, 0-1 magic, and 0-2 Taoist bonus; wore medium armor with 3-5 defense and 1-2 magic defense; a Phoenix Pearl necklace with +1 accuracy and 1-2 Taoist bonus; a pair of glass rings with 0-2 Taoist bonus; an iron bracelet with +1 accuracy and 0-1 Taoist bonus; and a silver bracelet with +1 agility and 0-1 Taoist bonus. Though his helmet was a standard magic helmet, if this whole set was sold, it would likely fetch two or three hundred thousand gold coins!

The fourth brother’s only top-grade item was an army-slaying saber, unavailable from the system shop, with a formidable 5-16 attack. He also had a pair of power bracelets with 0-1 attack, a pair of ancient bronze rings with 0-2 attack, and a Devil’s Necklace with 2-1 attack, bringing his attack power to 9-28! He had seen Skeleton Rings on other warriors, which required 30 attack power to equip. In other words, Xu Hongbin, the fourth brother, just needed two more attack points to wear one of those famous 0-3 attack rings.

Items like the army-slaying saber, power bracelets, skeleton rings, Phoenix Pearl, ebony bracelets, and Snake Eye Rings—gear unavailable from the system shop—were collectively known among players as “name-brand equipment.” Compared to “top-grade equipment,” they were more suitable for the masses. Though not available from the shop, their drop rates were still much higher than those of the ultra-rare gear. With a bit of luck, one could expect to get a few, but “top-grade” and “monstrous” equipment were treasures one could only hope to chance upon.

With over 600,000 gold coins in their pockets and decked out in powerful new gear, the three brothers couldn’t resist dashing out from the battered city walls, gleefully bullying the non-aggressive “sheep” around the city for fun, enjoying the thrill of one-hit kills. The sheep fell bleating, sending the brothers into such excitement that they hardly wanted to go home. After restocking on potions, they plunged into the Fragrant Stone Catacombs for another round. But then, glancing up at the electronic clock above the cashier, which pointed to nine o’clock, they obediently logged off to prepare for their “reckoning” at home.

A day and night away from home was a big deal for Lin Jia, who had never spent a night out before, even more so for Xu Fangfang, the eldest, being a girl. As for the fourth, Xu Hongbin, he nonchalantly went to settle their overnight gaming bill—he’d stayed up gaming in arcades before and was now thoroughly used to it.

After paying, the three brothers trudged out of the internet café, exhausted. The late September sun blazed down, not uncomfortably hot but so bright it dazzled their eyes. Rubbing away the tears brought on by the glare, they racked their brains for plausible lies to tell their parents once they got home.

Lin Jia yawned widely and said to the drooping fourth brother, “Hongbin! I’ll tell my folks I spent the night at your place, okay? If my mom calls, cover for me!”

The fourth nodded and replied with a yawn that nearly knocked Lin Jia out, “Same here! I’ll say I was at your house playing on the Sony console…” The two had been classmates since kindergarten, right through high school, and their parents all knew each other. This kind of mutual cover story was nothing new.

Xu Fangfang, the eldest, widened her round eyes at the two boys, who were stumbling along as if half asleep, and protested, “What about me?!” She had only become their classmate in middle school, but her tomboyish personality made her a close friend to Lin Jia and the rest of the boys.

Lin Jia yawned again and said, “How should I know! I can’t say you spent the night at my place too, right? That’d be even worse than staying out all night at an internet café…”

“Are you kidding me!” Whether from embarrassment or anger, the eldest gave Lin Jia a good kick, nearly sending the two boys, who were ambling along with their arms around each other’s shoulders, sprawling to the ground.

Passing a breakfast stall, their stomachs all growled in unison. The instant noodles from the night before had long since been digested. Xu Fangfang patted her pocket and asked, “Either of you still got money? Let’s grab something for breakfast.” In this small city on the outskirts of Wuhan, people referred to breakfast as “morning food,” and the many tasty snacks often tempted these hungry youths.

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(Trouble: As usual, here’s the update announcement:

Tomorrow at 11:45 am, look forward to: Chapter 019 – Going Home to Face the Music

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