Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation
Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Nie Fan touched the tip of the ring with his right hand, where a single word ‘Solanda’ was sculpted upon the ring—which meant ‘hunter’ in Old Elven.
Legend has it that Solanda was also the name of a Druid prodigy amongst the elves in ancient times. He gained the favor of the Lifetree and hence obtained the Ring of Fate, becoming the leader of the elves. He had safeguarded the peace amongst the elven tribes over six hundred years, but when he was assassinated by a group of human bandits in the midst of a war between human and elves, the Ring of Fate was hence lost.
Although the Ring of Fate was only usable by individuals of elven blood, the humans eventually defeated the elves and took elven maidens with them, offering them to human nobles with whom they procreated in order to gain immortality. Henceforth, the blood of the elves was passed down amongst humans as well.
As such, humans who could become druids would be able to use the Ring of Fate.
Nie Fan examined the stats of the Ring of Fate.
[Solanda’s Ring of Fate: Druid-class, Dark Enchanted-grade, upgradeable item, EXP to next level: 0/30000]
[Attack +32, Defense +21, Strength +21, all Druid skills +1, 3% increased chance for magic item drop.]
There were not many Copper items in the market at the moment, and certainly less for the grades above that which were Cyan Bronze or Dark Enchanted Bronze! Accessories were even less common—many players would not necessarily get one even at Level 50 or even up to 60, and making a +10-Defense ring with gems and other materials would require more than five thousand bronze coins! To make something like a Solanda’s Ring of Fate would need the finest gems in the very least.
Indeed, the current value of Solanda’s Ring of Tate was inestimable, not that Nie Fan would sell it.
It was only by binding the Ring of Fate that Nie Fan could use it in ease of mind, or he wouldn’t otherwise—he would cry himself to death if he was killed and dropped it! Even so, it took over three thousand bronze coins to bind that ring to himself, although it could neither be traded nor dropped after that.
Still, those coins had to be spent for the sake of security.
Every attribute of his rose by a notch right after Nie Fan equipped that ring, and he was especially excited with ‘all Druid skills +1′. His Level 5 Bloodthirsty Vines hence leapt up to Level 6 instantly, whereas Black Oil and Mini Fireball reached Level 5 as well, meaning that all his skills were even more powerful. Naturally, his Cheetahmorph was also Level 2 now, and after taking a look at the stats of that skill, he saw that every attribute had increased by a lot with the risen level as well.
Aside from those stats, the 3% increased chance for magic item drop was not bad either. Given how rare items above Copper dropped, increasing that chance by just a little would make anyone excited.
At the same time, 2% of Nie Fan’s EXP gain would be diverted to the Ring of Fate’s EXP, but that would not trouble him. In fact, since that EXP upgrades the ring, Nie Fan would rather it drained more of his EXP—he would be able to slay more powerful monsters the stronger the ring gets, in turn gaining more EXP.
He must earn that money and bind it right away!
When he returned to Tajit Village, Nie Fan checked his bag for things he could sell: a few Level 25 White-grade items and the Level 25 Copper Greatsword. The top-level for players right now was Level 23, but there was a great demand for Level 25 items especially amongst the elite organizations. To make leveling convenient in the future, they had begun to form parties to farm for high-grade items, and they naturally would not hesitate to buy one that appeared in the market.
Despite being unsure how much it could sell for, Nie Fan started to peddle his items on the market. Soon enough, people were flocking towards him.
His offer for the Level 25 Copper Greatsword was three thousand bronze coins, which was expensive but not excessive.
Still, some shook their heads and left after learning about the price.
Nie Fan then checked his friend list. For some reason, that player called Warsong was not online—nonetheless, Nie Fan sent him an offline message detailing the stats of the Copper Greatsword and his asking price, which he would see when he came online.
Later, as he continued peddling, the players nearby suddenly became rowdy. Something was happening!
But even as Nie Fan was left wondering, a female Warrior donning full-red steel armor was approaching him.
“It’s her. It’s Dancing Phoenix!”
“Her level is so high!”
It was only after hearing the other players’ quiet exclamations that Nie Fan really took notice that the lady was Level 25, which was certainly stunning! He definitely did not expect someone to progress so quickly, having assumed the highest was Level 23!
In the end, the data which Nie Fan’s father left him with were merely his experiences after playing the game. The reality was that he remained a newcomer and amateur, and he had a long way to go before he became a skilled gamer. Moreover, there was a gap between his group and the real elites in terms of leveling up.
From the looks of the other players around, it appears that Dancing Phoenix was quite influential too.
Indeed, Nie Fan could not help feeling a sense of urgency following her appearance. It seems that he had been staying in his comfort zone and not striving hard enough.
“Hello.” Dancing Phoenix walked up to Nie Fan and greeted him.
“Who, me?” Nie Fan looked left and right bewilderedly to ensure that Dancing Phoenix wasn’t talking to him before carefully studying her. She appeared to be around twenty and would not lose to Lin Xinyan in looks—where Lin Xinyan appeared pure and vibrant, Dancing Phoenix was valiant and imposing. Her clear, quite-witted eyes were now studying Nie Fan in turn, and the figure beneath her shoulder-length hair was even more stunning, stretching her chest armor to its very limits while keeping her cleavage barely visible. She appeared one point seven meters tall in height, with her fiery-red armor perfectly accentuating her curves and presenting her definitive, devilish figure.
“Yes, what are the stats of your level twenty-five Copper Greatsword?” She asked nonchalantly even as she measured Nie Fan.
‘A Level 21 getting a Level 25 Copper Greatsword,’ she thought quietly. But which studio could he be from? She had never received any information about Nie Fan before, not to mention that he had traded with Warsong’s gang once before.
Moreover, their studios were competing over several villages including Tajit and Moxxi at the moment. Therefore, any threat appearing within these domains would have to be paid close attention.
On the other hand.
‘Oh, so she wants to buy my item,’ Nie Fan thought innocently, and messaged Dancing Phoenix the details.
“Looks good. What’s your price?” Dancing Phoenix asked.
She could not understand why he would be selling such a Copper Greatsword. Could his party have better items than that? That Copper Greatsword was actually slightly better than the weapons she had now too!
“Three thousand bronze coins.”
“I’ll take it.”
Nie Fan’s asking price was a lot higher than the market price, but Dancing Phoenix did not even bargain. He was naturally taken aback by her frankness too, but he certainly wouldn’t eat his words since he had already set such a high price, and completed the trade with Dancing Phoenix.
“You could message me if you have another item to sell.” Dancing Phoenix said, offering a friend request to Nie Fan on her own.
Those words were rather familiar. It reminded Nie Fan of Warsong since that was what he told him back then.
From the looks of things, the studios sorely needed equipment.
“I will.” Nie Fan nodded and added Dancing Phoenix as a friend.
The jingle of a system notification suddenly rang while he was conversing with Dancing Phoenix—it was Warsong, promptly replying to Nie Fan’s message right after coming online. “I’ll have that level twenty-five Copper Greatsword.”
“You’re too late. I already sold it.”
“No way! That’s fast!” Warsong pulled a long face.
“Sorry.”
“Who bought it?” Warsong asked, since not just anyone could purchase an item worth three thousand bronze coins.
“Someone named Dancing Phoenix.”
“Oh, her,” Warsong muttered blankly.
“Who is she?” Nie Fan asked.
That question left Warsong feeling as if he had run headlong into a stone wall. “No way, bro. Are you from another planet? How could you not know Dancing Phoenix?”
“But I really don’t know who she is,” Nie Fan said blankly. Was she that famous?
“…”
Warsong was speechless. If it had been anyone else, he would have definitely retorted to the effect of ‘Why are you even playing VR games without knowing who Dancing Phoenix is? Go home, and stick to milk!’, but he didn’t because Nie Fan was a better player than he was.
Could Nie Fan really have come from another planet?