Chapter 042: Encountering a Fool

That guy instantly panicked when he saw the price. Lin Jia and his companions were indeed selling for nearly two-thirds less than the current market rate. With more and more players joining the game and the drop rate being average, it was rare to see anyone with a complete set of level 22 class gear. As a result, prices kept climbing. Moreover, as players leveled up, they also acquired more gold, so it was only natural for prices to rise with the tide.

"I don't have that much money! My two buddies and I together only have eight hundred thousand... Could you make it a bit cheaper, bro?" the monkey-faced man pleaded anxiously.

"Cheaper? Why don’t we just give it away for free? It’s not like we can’t sell it! At this price, if you wait any longer, there won’t even be any left!" The boss rolled his eyes, brushed him aside like a pesky bug, and pointed toward the fourth member’s screen, which was showing a queue of people waiting to buy. Several players nearby were calling out, “Hurry up! Are you selling or not? I’ve been waiting forever!”

The monkey-faced man, growing more desperate, said, “How about this—eight hundred thousand plus a few pieces of gear, and I’ll throw in a couple packs of cigarettes for you guys?”

“Trade for gear?” Lin Jia looked at him, baffled. “If you have gear good enough to trade, why would you want to buy ours?”

The monkey-faced man chuckled awkwardly. “We’re only level fifteen. When we were grinding in the Pig Cave, a warrior got killed by a pig and dropped a few items. We can’t use them yet, so I figured we’d trade them in for something we can actually equip!”

Lin Jia rolled his eyes. “You’re level fifteen, and you want to swap for level twenty gear? You still wouldn’t be able to use it!”

The monkey-faced man grinned, pulled out a pack of Red Golden Dragon cigarettes—ten yuan a pack—and offered one each to Lin Jia and the fourth member. The fourth member took it absentmindedly and tucked it behind his ear. Lin Jia, about to refuse since he didn’t smoke, hesitated when he saw the fourth member accept, and took one as well, holding it between his fingers.

The monkey-faced man lit one for himself, then, eager to please, flicked his lighter and cupped the flame with both hands as he offered it to Lin Jia. Left with no choice, Lin Jia put the cigarette in his mouth and leaned in to light it, symbolically cupping his hands over the monkey-faced man’s as was customary in their small town. Here, if someone offered you a cigarette, you either declined outright or, if you accepted, you had to let them light it for you—even if you didn’t smoke, you had to light it and hold it. And if they respectfully cupped their hands to light it for you, you had to cup yours in return, or risk coming across as disrespectful.

Taking a deep drag, the monkey-faced man grinned and said, “Bro, you said it yourself—there are more and more people playing these days, and your gear is only going to get more expensive. We’re about to hit level twenty, and who knows if we’ll even be able to get it then? Besides, you’re selling for so cheap, I just want to buy it now and stash it for later! My gear requires level twenty-five, and maybe I’ll get lucky and find another one by then, so I figured I’d trade… You guys are obviously higher level than us anyway and could use it right away, right? Damn, you’re already wearing heavy armor?!”

The monkey-faced man, glancing at Lin Jia’s screen, suddenly cried out in amazement. Players in heavy armor were rarer than a monk’s hair, and in the safe zone, Lin Jia’s little green toad-shaped mage stood out like a crane among chickens in a sea of sky-blue avatars—no wonder he was so eye-catching. “You’re a pro! A boss-level player! No wonder you’ve got so many high-level items!” The monkey-faced man’s eyes shone with admiration and yearning.

“Alright then, let me see what gear you’ve got first,” Lin Jia said, cutting off the monkey-faced man’s bluster, brushing away his worshipful gaze with a shiver.

Cigarette between his lips, Lin Jia followed the monkey-faced man downstairs to look at his equipment. Being admired did feel pretty good, and the cigarette wasn’t half bad either. As soon as he had it between his lips, he felt a swagger in his step—he really did feel more like a boss now! The only problem was the smoke stung his eyes so badly that tears streamed down, turning everything into a blur. But he forced himself to endure it—for the sake of his image!

Wiping his tears discreetly, Lin Jia watched as the monkey-faced man opened his storage and pulled out several pieces of gear.

Demon-Subduing Ring: Level requirement 25, Magic Defense 0-4, Attack 1-2, Magic Power 1-2, Taoism 1-2, Durability 5, Weight 1

Magnifying Glass: Level requirement 24, Magic Attack 1-3, Weight 1, Durability 8

Golden Bracelet: Level requirement 23, Magic Defense 2-3, Attack 0-1, Weight 1, Durability 7

Frostblade: Level requirement 25, Attack 10-13, Weight 20, Durability 20

Lin Jia’s heart skipped a beat. He didn’t know much about the three pieces of jewelry, but that sword—the “Frostblade”—immediately caught his eye. In Legend, higher-level gear always meant better stats, and this sword looked even cooler than the Horse-Chopper. Its blade was long and heavy, paired with an ancient-style hilt—clearly a quality weapon!

Though its attack was only 10-13, lower than the 13-level Bronze Axe’s top end of 0-15, that didn’t mean it was inferior. The Frostblade’s attack was remarkably balanced, with a high minimum. Lin Jia was sure it could outperform the fourth member’s 5-16 Horse-Chopper, and even the 0-20 Shura Axe he’d seen earlier that afternoon might not hit as high as this sword could.

A treasure! An absolute treasure!

Lin Jia’s heart raced as he glanced around the safe zone, noting what weapons other players carried. There were only a handful of Horse-Choppers, a dozen or so Gale Swords at most, and the most common was the Bronze Axe. As for the Shura Axe and this level 25 Frostblade—forget it; nobody else had anything like them!

Was this kid an idiot?

Just this one Frostblade was worth all the equipment Lin Jia’s group had, plus extra gold on top. If it were Lin Jia, he’d never trade a high-level weapon like this for low-level gear—only a fool would do that! He’d never even seen this sword before. It didn’t appear anywhere on the official website’s equipment list, which meant it was at least a “Brand Name” item or better!

If this guy didn’t even recognize the value and just happened to pick it up after someone died, maybe the one who dropped it was a red-named player? Four items dropped at once? Aside from the Frostblade, that handsome gold ring—the Demon-Subduing Ring—looked like something special too. Lin Jia had developed a knack for judging gear: if it wasn’t listed on the official site, it was definitely valuable. The Demon-Subduing Ring boosted all three classes’ stats and had 0-4 magic defense—a property no ordinary or even superb, brand-name, or god-tier jewelry could match. It might well be an ultra-rare item!

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(Trouble: I got carried away writing and ended up an hour late! Haha! But the extra part will go up tomorrow morning. I’ve got the early shift, so the next update will be in the evening. Next chapter, a mysterious item appears that’ll give you a heart attack~

PS: Here’s the group number for “Legend of the Mage”! Feel free to join: 25412968)