"Damn it! Another forced acceptance!"
Jiang Bai grumbled as he opened the quest log.
The Blacksmith's Trial (I)
Quest Description: I'm impressed, adventurer. I didn't expect you to be truly extraordinary. So, let's see how much potential you really have.
Quest Content: Within 6 hours, slay 100 "Evil Centaurs." Your level will be permanently capped at 49% of level 5 until the quest is completed.
Failure Penalty: If the quest fails, the player will be permanently stuck at their current level.
Quest Reward: ???
"Sure enough, it's the same old story..."
Jiang Bai slowly closed the quest page. "But this time, the level cap is set at 4, which means I can level up to 4 before taking on this quest. If I fail, I'll be stuck at level 4 forever..."
"Evil Centaurs?" Unfamiliar with this monster, Jiang Bai opened the official monster guide and searched.
"Holy crap!!!"
Half a minute later, Jiang Bai cursed loudly.
"A level 7 monster? This time I'm supposed to go three levels above my current level??"
"And it's an aggressive monster?"
"This is going to be tough..."
After pondering for a long time, it seemed there was only one solution.
He opened the trading market. The staff he had auctioned had already been bid up to 4 gold coins. Jiang Bai had set the auction time for 3 hours. If it continued until the end, it might reach 6 gold coins without a problem. But the problem was, Jiang Bai couldn't wait that long.
Looking at the private chat interface that kept refreshing with messages, one person caught Jiang Bai's attention.
Tang Dynasty Innocent: "Bro, I urgently need a staff right now and can't wait for the 3-hour auction. If you really want to sell, message me. I'll pay whatever price you ask."
After thinking for a moment, Jiang Bai replied.
"Make me an offer."
It wasn't that Jiang Bai was unwilling to let the auction continue. He needed the money to buy some gear to boost his stats. Otherwise, with his current attributes, solo grinding a level 7 monster would be very difficult, and he had to kill 100 of them within 6 hours!
Tang Dynasty Innocent: "I won't beat around the bush. 8 gold coins. That should be the highest price the market can offer right now. If you're willing, add me as a friend. Otherwise, I don't need to explain to you how quickly low-level gear depreciates."
"Not bad."
To be honest, the price Tang Dynasty Innocent offered was a bit higher than Jiang Bai had expected. He had thought 6 gold coins would be the maximum because, after all, this was just a low-level green item, albeit very precious at this stage.
"Deal."
After adding Tang Dynasty Innocent as a friend, Jiang Bai immediately stopped the staff auction and initiated a remote trade with him.
Tang Dynasty Innocent was also a straightforward person. The entire trading process was quick and efficient. Within half a minute, the staff was in Tang Dynasty Innocent's inventory, and 8 gold coins were in Jiang Bai's pocket, tax-free, which was quite satisfying.
"So you're Empty City Old Dream?"
After the trade was completed, Tang Dynasty Innocent sent a message. "I wonder if you're considering selling the purple gear you have on. We can trade offline anytime."
"No way. It's my bread and butter."
Jiang Bai replied bluntly.
"Understood, bro. If you ever get any good gear in the future, message me first. I'll make sure the price satisfies you."
Tang Dynasty Innocent was also straightforward in his response.
"Alright."
Jiang Bai was happy to make friends with such a decisive and efficient person.
"He must be from a relatively powerful guild; otherwise, it wouldn't be easy to find 8 gold coins at this stage," Jiang Bai speculated.
"Boss, wasn't 8 gold coins a bit too much? Considering the current stage, 5 gold coins should be enough for this staff, right?"
After the trade was completed, Tang Dynasty Innocent's subordinate, Tang Dynasty Little Light, spoke up.
"I thought it was a bit expensive too."
Tang Dynasty Innocent said while examining the staff in his hand, "But when I found out it was Empty City Old Dream on the other side, the gold coins were well spent."
"You mean the Empty City Old Dream who was the first in the entire server to obtain purple gear?"
Tang Dynasty Little Light's face was full of astonishment.
"Who else could it be?"
Tang Dynasty Innocent equipped the staff. "This person is not ordinary. The money was well spent."
...
On Jiang Bai's side, he was grinning at the gold coins in his bag.
At this stage, the average player's bag would have at most a hundred or two copper coins, while Jiang Bai's assets had already exceeded 10 gold coins.
"A hundred thousand yuan, and it's going to be spent almost all soon..." Thinking this, Jiang Bai opened the trading market again and searched for level 2 common equipment.
"The average price is still around 2000 copper coins. It seems the equipment market is still quite strong..."
Though reluctant, Jiang Bai knew he had to spend to gain. He directly bid on 8 level 2 rings, 8 level 2 boots, and 8 level 2 greaves.
Since the drop rate for accessories like necklaces and rings was even lower, their prices remained high, and necklaces were especially rare.
The 24 pieces of equipment cost Jiang Bai nearly 6 gold coins, mainly due to the 8 rings, which averaged almost 4000 copper coins each.
He also spent 7000 copper coins on an E-level archer skill.
Aimed Shot: Deals 120% physical damage to the target, with a cooldown of 6 seconds.
A very basic skill.
Soon, Jiang Bai skillfully synthesized each piece of equipment.
Deadly Cat's Eye Ring (Epic)
Physical Attack: 9
Agility: 3
Strength: 2
Deadly: Increases critical hit chance by 2%.
Swift Boots (Epic)
Defense: 8
Constitution: 2
Agility: 3
Swift: Increases movement speed by 10%.
Sturdy Boar Greaves (Epic)
Defense: 10
Agility: 3
Constitution: 2
Sturdy: Increases maximum health by 100.
Jiang Bai admired the three newly forged purple items. To be honest, the attributes of the greaves weren't very meaningful for him, as he was an archer and rarely engaged in close combat. But having them was better than not having them.
After equipping the gear and learning the skills, Jiang Bai's attributes underwent another dramatic change at level 3.
Empty City Old Dream
Level: 3
Profession: Archer
Race: Human
Health Points: 400
Energy Points: 80
Physical Attack: 124
Magic Attack: 4
Attack Strength: 16
Defense: 48
Attributes:
Constitution: 10
Spirit: 4
Strength: 8
Intelligence: 4
Agility: 21
Skills: Vibration Shot, Aimed Shot
Title: I'm Strong
"The attributes are indeed strong..."
Jiang Bai stared at his panel thoughtfully. "But only compared to other players. If facing that boss, it's probably still not enough..."
"Indeed, in Genesis, solo grinding a boss is theoretically impossible."
As Jiang Bai hesitated, he suddenly seemed to remember something and abruptly opened his bag.
"Holy crap! I almost forgot something important. The system also gave me 100 reputation points, which is just enough to upgrade the Heart of Genesis!"