After adjusting the four skills to his desired setup, Yu Zhun began selling off his unneeded items in bulk. As long as items like Skill Books were priced reasonably, they would be snapped up instantly upon listing, and the Lv10 green equipment he couldn't use was also in high demand. Since there was a wide variety of crafting materials and he wasn't sure how to price them, he simply threw them into the auction house for bidding. Although the money wouldn't arrive immediately, the final price was often higher than selling them directly. After all this, the money Yu Zhun had on hand exceeded 300,000.
"Money comes quickly, and it goes quickly, too," Yu Zhun said, taking a deep breath. "Next up, it's time to buy Equipment."
Although the equipment dropped by the Black Rock Snake was excellent, it was currently unusable. To ensure the upcoming solo kills of the other two bosses went smoothly, Yu Zhun needed to first prepare a set of Lv5 Equipment for himself. Once his level reached Lv10, he could sell the Lv5 gear to recover some of his costs. However, the prices would be much lower by then.
This was because all Equipment possessed an attribute called "Equipment Durability". Brand new Equipment had a Durability of 100. As it was equipped and used, this attribute would continuously decrease. Once Durability hit zero, the Equipment would self-destruct. Naturally, the value of the Equipment would also drop along with its Durability. Second-hand Equipment simply could not sell for a brand-new price.
There were ways to restore Equipment Durability after leaving the Newbie Area, but for novice Equipment, it was largely meaningless. The [Leather Armor] Yu Zhun currently equipped came from the previously killed He Guangtao, and it only had 62 Durability when he obtained it. After so many battles, it had dropped to a single digit, completely losing its resale value. The excellent-grade [Demonic Dog Dagger], having been acquired just yesterday afternoon, still had 97 Durability and could easily sell for ninety percent of its original price. The Outstanding Level [Black Demon Sheep's Cursed Necklace] still had 96 Durability. Since this piece of Equipment was so useful, Yu Zhun didn't plan on replacing it anytime soon.
Thus, to gather a complete set of boss-hunting equipment, he still needed to buy a weapon and a piece of Armor. With 300,000 on hand, Yu Zhun intended to indulge a little and go straight for an Outstanding Level weapon and Armor to see just how strong a full set of Outstanding Level gear would be. However, he still needed to carefully consider his choices.
After so many battles, Yu Zhun had gradually abandoned his hope of being a normal Assassin. The most suitable direction for the [Open and Aboveboard] talent was undoubtedly prioritizing survival. As long as his opponents couldn't kill him, he would always find an opportunity to strike them openly and aboveboard, achieving a One-Hit Kill.
Therefore, Life, Physical Defense, and Magic Defense were the most crucial attributes to consider. For Armor, he would choose whatever made him the tankiest. As for his weapon... Weapons that increased those three defensive attributes were practically nonexistent; they generally boosted Physical Attack and Magic Attack based on different Professions.
Daggers added Physical Attack, which wasn't very meaningful to Yu Zhun. Thus, he had to make up for it through equipment effects. The effect of the [Black Snake Frenzied Fang], which triggered a berserk state below half health, was quite good. His Lv5 weapon also needed an effect that suited him.
With this strategy in mind, Yu Zhun browsed through the trading post and quickly found the Equipment he wanted.
[Lizard Dragon's Blessing]
[Equipment Description: Armor forged from the hardest scales of the Demon Beast Red Lizard Dragon. Indestructible!]
[Equipment Level: Lv5]
[Equipment Quality: Outstanding Level (Blue)]
[Equipment Slot: Armor]
[Equipment Durability: 100]
[Equipment Attributes: Life +100, Physical Defense +30, Magic Defense +30]
[Equipment Effect 1 (Guardian): Gain a shield equal to 20% of Max Life Value. Only takes effect once per battle.]
Upon seeing the equipment effect of gaining a shield in every battle, Yu Zhun bought it immediately, even though this Armor cost a whopping 140,000. Since he had the [Black Demon Sheep's Cursed Necklace], his Life was already much higher than other players at the same stage. The higher his Life, the thicker the shield generated by this piece of Equipment. It was safe to say that these two pieces of Equipment were a perfect match.
[Wind Speed Leopard's Fang Blade]
[Equipment Description: A weapon forged using the teeth of the Demon Beast Wind Speed Leopard. May the fierce wind be with you!]
[Equipment Level: Lv5]
[Equipment Quality: Outstanding Level (Blue)]
[Equipment Slot: Weapon]
[Equipment Durability: 100]
[Equipment Attributes: Physical Attack +120]
[Equipment Effect 1 (Fierce Wind): Instantly gain a 100% speed boost for 1 second. Each use consumes 20 Mana.]
The effects of Assassin daggers mainly focused on increasing damage. This piece of Equipment was one of the few that actually suited Yu Zhun. The one-second speed boost would allow him to unexpectedly close in on targets or dodge, increasing his margin for error. Furthermore, because it wasn't well-suited for conventional Assassins, the price of this Assassin-exclusive weapon was only 80,000.
After buying the two pieces of Equipment, Yu Zhun's savings were down to just 80,000. However, his mood lifted again after taking a look at his attributes.
[Character Name: Yu Zhun]
[Level: Lv7 (680/1600)]
[Profession: Assassin]
[Profession Talent: Open and Aboveboard (SSS-grade)]
[Wearing Title: Demon Sheep Nightmare (Green)]
[Attributes:
Life: 1050 → 1386 [Equipment +300] [Equipment Effect +100%] [Title +10%]
Mana: 100 → 120
Physical Attack: 80 → 160 [Equipment +120] [Equipment Effect -50%]
Magic Attack: 0 → 0 [Equipment Effect -50%]
Physical Defense: 70 → 125 [Equipment +30]
Magic Defense: 70 → 125 [Equipment +30]]
[Skills: 4/4]
[Skill 1: Phantom (Lv1)]
[Skill 2: Swift Step (Lv2)]
[Skill 3: Sword Dance (Lv1)]
[Skill 4: Self-Healing (Lv1)]
[Equipment: 3/3]
[Weapon: Wind Speed Leopard's Fang Blade (Blue)]
[Armor: Lizard Dragon's Blessing (Blue)]
[Accessory: Black Demon Sheep's Cursed Necklace (Blue)]
Having gained two levels in a row from the experience of killing the Black Rock Snake, and equipping two Outstanding Level items, Yu Zhun's status panel was now quite impressive.
"With this attribute panel, I probably won't die even if a boss unloads a full rotation of skills on me," Yu Zhun nodded in satisfaction.
It was time to log off. Today, Yu Zhuzhu didn't have classes, and since she wouldn't be eating at school at noon, he had to cook a proper meal. He couldn't just throw something together casually like he did on weekdays.
Back in reality, Yu Zhun walked into Yu Zhu's room.
Inside, Yu Zhu was sitting by the window, lazily basking in the sun while reading a book. The breakfast left on her bedside table had already been eaten. Before Yu Zhun could even knock, Yu Zhu sensed his presence and looked up at the door. The sunlight dyed her hair with a hazy Golden glow, and her tender, rosy skin seemed faintly translucent, looking utterly beautiful.
"Weren't you going to hunt bosses? How did you get back so fast?"
"It's already taken care of. I came back to eat."
"Does that mean you made money?" The picturesque moment vanished in an instant as Yu Zhu leaped up, her eyes gleaming with the Light of a money-grubber. "How much did you make?"
"Eighty thousand."
"Eighty thousand?" Yu Zhu nodded. "If you formed a ten-person team and split it evenly, that's about right."
"I didn't split it. I was by myself."
"Heh, Yu Zhun, you're bragging again!"