Chapter 171: Bounty Hunter
His PVP points were so high; when would he be able to clear them out?!
Lu Li began to regret undertaking this quest; the strategies he had read never mentioned anything about this. He knew there was something wrong when he saw the human slaves, but didn't realize that their deaths would increase his PVP points.
"Dammed PVP points system," he thought.
After completing the quest, Lu Li was transported directly back to the city.
He didn't want to stay in the Barrenlands for any longer than he had to. Who would have thought that he would acc.u.mulate such a large amount of PVP points while in enemy territory?
Lu Li wasn't sure if this was simply just in his head, but he felt a sense of malice from the NPCs and players who saw him and his 34 PVP points.
He needed to get rid of his PVP points.
After clearing out his backpack, he immediately went to the forums to make a lengthy post. He then went to the Exchange Hall and put in a few more 'The World is so Big' before getting ready to go to the Silverwing Outpost.
The remaining scrolls had already vanished. Lu Li couldn't help but feel it was a pity.
"Ah, my colleague. I'm so happy to see that you made it unscathed."
Upon seeing Lu Li, Vinda Nightwing immediately moved past the other players to greet him.
'Dammit, how can you say that I made it unscathed?' Lu Li wanted to cry at him, but instead said, "Thanks to your generous blessings, I was able to complete the quest. All glory to Elune."
"Here is your reward. I hope you will continue to provide your great services," Vinda Nightwing said with great satisfaction.
The system prompted Lu Li that he had gained EXP; he was now LV21 at 33% EXP. The second place on the Level Rankings was taken by Azure Sea Breeze who was LV19. Everyone else was LV18.
In addition to the EXP reward, there was also a piece of equipment.
However, it was worse than what he already had equipped, so he had to sell it.
It was becoming increasingly difficult to obtain equipment that was better than what he already had.
Lu Li left the Silverwing Outpost feeling dejected. He didn't want to be the hero that burned down the Orc's supplies. In his heart, he repeatedly cursed at the PVP points system.
This system was something that had been phased out a long time ago in the virtual world, but was now seeing a new resurgence.
Lu Li noticed two players who began to walk towards him. They were laughing among themselves, but he couldn't help but feel like their laughs were a little fake. He also saw that one of the players had just taken out their Magic Staff, while the other was holding their Bow and arrows.
Whoosh...
Arrows flew towards him and skills were being channeled. If Lu Li hadn't glanced at them, they might have successfully pulled off their sneak attack.
Gale Steps!
This blocked all the attacks and put Lu Li into Stealth.
"No wonder his PVP is so high – this Thief has Gale Steps. This isn't Water Fairy right?" the Mage shouted, as his skills. .h.i.t nothing but air.
"Shouldn't be – he has a male stature. Be careful though," the hunter said, as he summoned his pet.
This was strange – his face was definitely covered. How could they have recognized him?
Lu Li scratched his head in wonder before suddenly noticing a few faint words floating above their heads.
Names above heads had long since been removed, so these words couldn't be their names. Lu Li looked carefully and discovered that they read "Punisher".
Punisher... isn't that the word used for a Bounty quest?
The new system was more likely to designate a bounty to players with high PVP points. Players without PVP points would never be designated a bounty.
After receiving a Bounty Quest, a PVP list would be displayed, which showed the PVP points of players in a descending order.
However, this list did not display the names of those players – there was only a digital code in that column.
As such, players who took Bounty Quests never really knew the true ident.i.ty of their targets. They just needed to kill their target to gain their rewards.
Lu Li felt depressed. His PVP points were easily the highest, so it was no wonder that he was so quickly recognized. While his two a.s.sailants had the word 'Punisher' above their heads, they also saw a word displayed above their target.
This word was a particularly incriminating one: 'Guilty'.
Punishers would obviously exert their punishment on the guilty.
Dammit, how could I have been so dumb?!
The fact that there was a bounty on Lu Li didn't anger him. In fact, it made him happy.
This was his opportunity to deplete his PVP points!
Lu Li ignored the two players who had taken his Bounty Quest. He immediately ran towards the Return Point, transported to Astrana and went straight into the Mercenary Hall.
"Respected Elder, I want to take a Bounty Quest."
Lu Li handed over a gold coin and presented his request to the old, Elven Clerk with a smile.
The elderly wizard took the gold coin and tossed a badge at Lu Li.
"Choose a target from this list. This badge will record all your information – do not lose it."
The badge, which was of a normal size, resembled a small skull that represented death. Its front face had the word "Kill" on it, while the back read "First Order Bounty Hunter".
The Bounty Hunter Badge was the ident.i.ty of the Bounty System Hunters. With this badge, a player could take and complete quests to acc.u.mulate points. When a player had enough points, they could become a more advanced Bounty Hunter.
Lu Li opened up the PVP list. To his surprise, it was quite lengthy. There were about one thousand players who had acc.u.mulated PVP points.
The player with the highest PVP points on the list was No.1189 at 34 points. Next to this entry were 32 stars, which corresponded to the 32 Bounty Hunters who had accepted that quest. These players could periodically pay the system to check Lu Li's coordinates.
The interval between queries was determined by a player's Bounty Hunter level. It was unlikely that any player had reached the second level, so all queries would have had a one hour cooldown.
However, there was a way around this. Players could query the system and share the information between a few players in their party. This would allow them to make multiple queries in the hour, but even still, only one person would be able to complete the quest.
The top player with 34 PVP points was a very attractive target, but Lu Li could only tearfully ignore it.
The second player, who was No.263, was quite far behind at only 9 points. Even he was still marked by a dozen stars.
Nine points were nothing to be scoffed at – to acc.u.mulate so many without dying meant that he was quite strong.
Lu Li confirmed his selection of No.263.
He then queried the system for the coordinates.
89216, 36725, 48.
His target wasn't actually too far from him. Lu Li knew the location clearly in his mind and bolted towards it.
Haste was necessary, as this was the nature of Bounty Quests. What if the target was moving? Or if someone else got there first? If he failed the quest, his gold deposit might get deducted from.
There was a farming location just outside of Astrana which primarily sp.a.w.ned LV18 "Suffering Souls".
Level 18 monsters were currently mainstream, as most players were also around this level.
A lone Mage was leisurely casting his spells when he felt a cold sensation in his back. A figure with a black mask, cloak and attire had appeared behind him.
Within a rotation of Cheap Shot, Backstab, Ambush and Slit Throat, the Mage's lifeless corpse fell onto the ground. The words 'Punished' were printed on his face and the player was summoned into a cell.
Even a Healing Profession player wouldn't have had time to revive him.
With 9 PVP points, it would be at least nine hours before he got out of jail.
"Bounty Quest," said the Thief, as he picked up two pieces of equipment from the floor and disappeared.
The whole time this happening, the surrounding people stood dumbfounded.
Chapter 172: Bounty Quest
Not long after, the two to three hundred players who were farming in the area all converged to stare at the place where No.263 had fallen.
They were an elite group of players from a guild, tasked with protecting their boss while he farmed. There shouldn't have been anyone who dared to attempt his Bounty Quest – was it not a death sentence?
But even under such heavy protection, their boss had been killed.
They must have been dreaming.
"Is... is the boss dead?" one player murmured to himself, unable to believe it.
"Where is the one who killed him?"
Everyone felt burning anger kindle in their hearts.
It wasn't because their beloved boss had been killed, but because he had been killed in the presence of so many people. It was truly shameful.
"He's escaped..."
A player tearfully pointed at the place where Lu Li had vanished. The guild member who was closest to Lu Li also mentioned that Lu Li had greeted them after killing their boss.
"Find him! We have to find him!"
"Stop farming. We have to avenge our boss."
The group readied themselves for battle and spread out.
"Wait, I know who did it."
"Do you know him?"
"Don't look at me like that... there's a lot of pressure on me with so many people around..."
"Dammit, I'll kill you if you don't speak up!"
"Look at the PVP list. The guy with 34 PVP points now only has 25 left."
"He must have killed the boss!"
"Hunt him down, hunt him down..."
Lu Li had already returned to complete the quest. Upon seeing that his PVP points had dropped from 34 to 25, he felt much more comfortable.
However, he couldn't help but think that there was something strange about that guy. It seemed like no one was trying to kill him, even though he had 9 PVP points. His skill was average at best and he didn't even have a chance to retaliate.
Lu Li's second target was No.852 who had 6 PVP points.
Upon querying for the coordinates, he found that his target's location was considerably far away from where he was. He would need to travel all to way to the coastline.
Lu Li was unable to cancel this quest for a three-hour period, unless someone else completed it before then. The only thing he could was to grit his teeth and make the journey; he was going to fly anyway.
The moment he left Astrana, he was met with a huge barrage of skills. Lu Li jumped in fear and ran back into the safe area.
At this stage, the whole city was still a safe zone. However, after the fourth update, the area of these zones would decrease significantly. At that point, a player could be killed even when walking on the street.
Fortunately, there was still quite a long time to go before that happened. As he stood in the safe area, Lu Li looked at the hundreds of people guarding the Astrana gates, who stared back at him with ravenous eyes.
"H-Heroes, how have I offended you that you would bring such a strong force against me?"
Lu Li checked that the bandana was on his face, before allowing himself to relax.
Even the Imperial Secret service hadn't brought this many people. Did these guys have no shame?
The opposing group of players didn't expect Lu Li to react so quickly and regretted casting their spells so early. However, after listening to Lu Li's innocent questioning, they became fired up again.
"You killed our boss, yet you dare ask us why we're offended?!"
"No way, I'm not crazy. Why would I kill your boss? Who is your boss?"
Lu Li kept a completely straight face. It was too bad that his bandana was in the way, so his acting was wasted.
"Our boss was killed right before our eyes by someone whose PVP points have since dropped. So we, the Milky Way Fleet, need to..."
"Oh, number 263!" Lu Li suddenly realized.
"Boy, we aren't being unreasonable. Come out obediently and let us send you to jail. Otherwise, your future will look very bleak."
"Wait."
Lu Li raised his hands and asked, "Do you know who I am?"
The other players looked at each other and shook their heads.
"You don't even know who I am. How are you going to find me to exact your revenge? See you later everyone," Lu Li laughed, as he went into Stealth.
The hundreds of people were dumbfounded.
Astrana was the Light Faction's busiest city and had many gates. The only reason that this group of people had successfully blocked off Lu Li's path was because this gate was closest to the Mercenary Hall.
Lu Li eventually found an empty alley and turned into a crow before taking to the skies.
Astrana was the Druid's base camp, so the NPCs treated animals like crows very well. No one would randomly try to shoot him down.
Lu Li flew back and forth a few times which excited the members of the Milky Way Fleet.
"If he's running so fast, he must be out of energy by now. Everyone, try your hardest to put this guy in prison. The boss was furious about dying, so what this guy did was unforgiveable. Whoever kills him will be award $10,000. Now charge, for the boss!"
"For the boss and for the $10,000, charge!" yelled one of the bemused players, as the group rushed forward in a wild stampede.
Lu Li's second objective was a smart one – he would change locations every few minutes so they couldn't work out where he was.
However, just as he was about to change locations, Lu Li found himself cornered.
Lu Li saw a warrior with the red word 'Guilty' above his head, who was charging towards him. He instinctively went into Stealth and cast Cheap Shot...
"What's going on?!"
One rotation of skills wasn't enough to kill this Warrior, as he was quite well-equipped. However, when he recovered, he didn't retaliate. Instead, he scratched his neck and ask Lu Li why he was killing him.
Lu Li was taken aback; he thought that he had attacked the wrong person.
"Brother, are you number 852?" Lu Li asked, while he continued to stab him.
"Oh, you're talking about the PVP list. Yeah, I'm number 852. Wait... you're wanted by me. How is this possible? How does... ugh...." he gurgled before falling.
His body was then taken away by the system, presumably to the prison.
"d.a.m.n, he was a talker."
Lu Li wiped the sweat off his forehead. This was the first time that someone had intentionally not fought back.
He only had 20 PVP points left. Lu Li nodded with satisfaction, unaware of the hundreds of players around him who were once again left dumbfounded. He then quickly returned to the city so he wouldn't be caught.
The fourth-ranking player on the PVP list only had 3 points.
Nevertheless, he dutifully continued to complete Bounty Quests, while on the run from the group of players who were trying to kill him. He initially thought that this process would be slow, but by now, he had almost depleted of his PVP points. However, his progress was unexpectedly interrupted while undertaking his 6th quest.
The player that Lu Li was hunting had logged off to avoid being killed.
Bounty Quests could not normally be cancelled. For a Bounty Quest to be cancelled, an application had to be made to the Mercenary Hall after three hours, the wanted player could remove all their PVP points, or someone else could claim the bounty first.
In this case, Lu Li only needed to wait two hours before that player's PVP points depleted. After this, the System would default to telling him that he had failed his Bounty Quest. He would then be able to continue and take the next quest.
As of now, Lu Li had 12 PVP points left, but he was still at the top of the list.
Chapter 173: Sister's Sickness
Lu Li was almost out of time now anyway. He had an important task to complete tomorrow, so he simply logged off with no regard for the hundreds of players who had been following him.
As he was worried about the results from his sister's medical examination, he did not get a good night's sleep. He walked out of his room the next day with a pair of dark circles around his eyes, which shocked everyone else.
"Looks like you've been over-indulging yourself," said the landlord suggestively.
Lu Li's only response was to fart loudly. He sat at the table and watched his sister eat her rice porridge.
Lu Xin didn't know what was happening; all she knew was that something wasn't quite right with her brother.
"Pervert," Dou Jing Jing exclaimed, "Since you've gotten up, you've done nothing but stare at your sister."
"Lu Li, can I ask you a question?" Zhou Huan Huan was the most normal of them all.
"What is it?" Lu Li had eaten some rice porridge, but his mind was still preoccupied.
He was desperately hoping that this examination would uncover his sister's illness. It sounded a little stupid, but if it didn't, then maybe the disease would continue to lurk in her until it was too late.
"It has to do with the Death Mines – we have been trying to kill the Elite-difficulty Piercing Heart Wolf General for a few days now. Can you give us some advice?" Zhou Huan Huan carefully asked. She did not think that Lu Li had any obligation to tell him, so she was a little apprehensive.
"There isn't much advice I can give there; your Main Tank is just too weak," Lu Li bluntly replied, unafraid of causing any offense.
"Our Main Tank is already LV18. Our guild actually has two LV18 Main Tanks. One of them is with Water Fairy and the other is with us," Zhou Huan Huan gloomily sighed.
Zhou Huan Huan and the others had been integrated well into Drizzle Court, and were now part of a small, elite team. The guild had also provided them with strong Main Tank and DPS players. Despite this, they had failed every time they attempted the Death Mines.
"You guys can reach out to Azure Sea Breeze for help. For two hundred gold, he'll let get you through the Death Mines at Elite-difficulty. Get your guild to pay the money."
Lu Li wiped his mouth before standing up to hug his sister and send her to school.
"Two hundred gold! That's so much."
Dou Jing Jing stuck out her tongue and started calculating how much that was in real money.
"The guild will definitely agree to two hundred gold," Willow said definitively, "Other guilds are capable of paying two hundred gold, but don't have the connections for something like this."
"Yeah."
Zhou Huan Huan let out a sigh and self-deprecatingly said, "The guild leader probably made us into a separate elite group because we know Lu Li."
Although Dou Jing Jing was reluctant, she couldn't deny that point.
After Lu Li sent his sister to school, he immediately went to the hospital where Lu Xin had her medical examination.
Medical developments had still barely made any progress. Contrary to the predictions made by researchers, terminal illnesses were still untreatable, a variety of new, incurable diseases were still being discovered, and a large proportion of deaths each year were still occurring on hospital beds.
"You were the one who came in for the check yesterday right? Where is your sister?" the old doctor with thick reading gla.s.ses sluggishly asked, while flipping through the medical records.
"She's at school, doctor..." Lu Li slowly replied.
"You are fine – just a little malnourished, but that can be handled with some supplements. But your sister..."
The doctor looked through his lens and saw Lu Li's clothing before gently sighing.
"What's wrong with my sister?"
Lu Li hand had unconsciously grabbed his thigh, but he was so nervous that he didn't feel any pain.
"Have you heard of Heart Failure Syndrome?" the old doctor asked mildly.
Lu Li felt bitter, but he could only stiffly shake his head.
"It is a very rare heart disease. I have been practicing medicine for 30 years and have only encountered three cases. Its cause is very complex. If she doesn't receive treatment, she won't live past eighteen." The old doctor sympathetically looked at Lu Li, antic.i.p.ating that he would break down in tears.
"There must be a way to cure it right?" Lu Li's eyes were fixed on the doctor.
"The cure... is really expensive. Regular insurance that provides for basic health cover is usually insufficient," the doctor said as he shook his head, "The amount of relief that the hospital can provide is also very limited."
"Money isn't an issue!" Lu Li's expression was firm.
Otherwise, what use was his rebirth?
To climb into the upper echelon of society?
To wake up in paradise, intoxicated and surrounded by beautiful women?
No, it wasn't for any of these reasons. In these past few weeks, he had never for a moment thought about these!
There was only one thing that his mind was fixated on and he would do this thing right, no matter what.
No matter what, his sister could not die!
The doctor was shocked; he swallowed his saliva and replied, "For this kind of disease, there are two mature treatment programs. Do you want to hear about them?"
"Please do tell me."
For Lu Li to know that there was a cure would make him less frightened.
"The first kind is a conventional treatment. It involves surgery, and drugs to control the disease and improve her heart's function. If it goes well, your sister will be able to live like a normal person..."
"How long will her lifespan be?" Lu Li interrupted.
"We've detected it fairly early, so it can be more easily controlled. I cannot give you a guarantee, but my professional opinion is that she will easily gain 20 years," the doctor dutifully replied.
Previously, Lu Xin's condition had been discovered in its later stages, so the doctor could only predict an additional 10 years if the treatment was successful. However, Lu Li was unable to afford this.
"What about the other kind?"
Previously, the doctor had talked about a transplant, but didn't go into detail as he knew that Lu Li didn't have any money.
"A full transplant. This will cost much more money."
The doctor glanced at Lu Li's clothing again. He was convinced that this kid was at the bottom of the socio-economic ladder.
"How much longer will a full-transplant allow my sister to live?" Lu Li asked anxiously.
"A full-transplant is quite different from a traditional transplant in that it can result in a complete recovery. However, this treatment is predicated on two conditions - that there is a donor and that the patient undergoes a high-end regenerative treatment after surgery."
The doctor almost couldn't bear to continue, "But I must remind you, the surgery will cost at least $1 million and the regenerative treatment after will be even more expensive. An average family is usually unable to afford this option."
"As long as my sister can be cured, I can pay any amount of money."
Lu Li reached across the table to grab the doctor's hand and pleaded, "Doctor, please help us. Please find a donor for us..."
"A donor can only come along by chance. I will contact the general hospital to see if they have any reserves."
The doctor was impressed with Lu Li's impulse, but he bitterly said, "Boy, this really isn't a small amount."
Lu Li took out his mobile phone and fiddled with it to open up his bank account. He handed his phone to the doctor and said, "You see, I have $1.1 million in my account right now..."
The old doctor didn't believe Lu Li, but curiosity got the better of him. When he saw Lu Li's phone, he almost jumped.
After repeatedly checking the amount, he confirmed that there was definitely over $1 million.
A million dollars wasn't actually that much; this old doctor had seen many patients who were millionaires. He had even seen some billionaires too, but all those people were successful professionals.
Yet before him was a young man in a ten-dollar t-s.h.i.+rt who had more than $1 million.
Chapter 174: Diligently Making Money
"Young man, I'm quite surprised, but there will be additional follow up costs. These additional costs will determine the extent to which your sister is healed."
The old doctor was finally considering Lu Li seriously as he discussed the costs of treatment. However, he still wasn't convinced that Lu Li had enough money to completely cure his sister.
What he underestimated was Lu Li's determination.
"A month ago, my sister and I lived in the Common District, in a small, leaky, one-story house. Now, not only have we moved to the University Villa area, but I've also made $1 million."
Lu Li didn't need to raise his voice; he was merely stating the facts.
With this simple statement and the proof of his money, the doctor had no further objections.
"Alright, I guess I'm getting old and my perspective is becoming narrower. Let's just talk about the general plan of the treatment," said the doctor.
"Do as you please. I only have one family member."
Lu Li chose to believe in this respectable gentleman, who in his past life was very patient.
"The medical examination is actually quite superficial. The patient must now come in to the hospital for a more thorough inspection. I will then organise some experts for consultation. These experts won't only come from this hospital..."
From the doctor's description and explanation of the treatment, the $1 million cost didn't appear to be without reason.
After a morning of conversation, a brief medical plan was written up. Lu Li invited the doctor out for lunch, but was rejected.
He had a good impression of Lu Li and his sister, and promised to follow up on this case as much as he could. He also promised to use his personal connections to find an appropriate donor.
Lu Li then returned to the school and stood outside the cla.s.sroom window, watching her sister.
One of her cla.s.smates whispered something in her ear, which caused her to dance with joy and gently smile. Lu Li had never seen her from this outside-observer angle before.
The sun shone through the gla.s.s window and reflected off her skin, making it glisten like jade.
She was growing up and was no longer the dependent, little girl that Lu Li had the impression of.
Feeling as though she was being watched, she turned her head and saw her brother standing on the edge of the flower bed. He was wearing cheap clothes and a funny hat...
The September roses had also bloomed and were a deep, blood red.
"Brother!"
Lu Xin's eyes instantly lit up. She happily stomped towards him and jumped into his arms.
"I just got back from the hospital and wanted to check in on you. Have you eaten?"
After hugging her, Lu Li was reluctant to let go.
"Yep, Huan Huan is a really good cook. I helped her to wash the bowls," Lu Xin replied.
"Go back to cla.s.s now. I have something I want to tell you tonight."
Lu Li saw that some of the other students were wanting to leave the cla.s.sroom as well. He helplessly touched his sister's hair, before letting her return.
When he arrived back home, Lu Li immediately logged back into the game.
This had nothing to do with his mood, nor was it about his addiction to the game. Rather, he had placed all of his hope in Dawn; he needed to work hard to make money for his sister.
"You're finally on. Drizzle Court is asking us to do an Instance Dungeon and I hear you only asked for 200 gold," Wandering complained, the instant that Lu Li appeared in the tavern.
"200 gold is already quite a bit..." Azure Sea Breeze whispered.
"Shut up. and look at the prospects," Wandering said before beginning his a.n.a.lysis, "... There are hundreds of Unions in Dawn and none of them have been able to clear the Death Mines. Do you know what it means to a Union for them to complete the Death Mines?!"
The other members sat and listened respectfully, like well-trained elementary school children.
"If you and Water Fairy are somehow together, the fact that we picked them is already special treatment. However, we cannot make concessions about the price; we are here to make money."
"Yes, we want to make money!" Hachi Chan waved her fist, but upon seeing that no one else joined in, she quickly dropped it.
"I was just going to let Sea Breeze take the earnings. Do you guys want to split it?" Lu Li was hesitant in asking this question. He thought that Azure Sea Breeze was going to do it alone, while the rest of them would remain unaffected.
Being a party with such strong DPS and Healing, they would be able to clear Elite Instance Dungeons with a single, conventional Main Tank like Wandering.
"Of course we want to split it." Wandering no intention of letting his rival gain a free advantage. "He can keep half of it and the other half can be split among us. This can be the way we do it in future as well – there should be no personal ventures."
"I don't mind," Azure Sea Breeze immediately said.
"No one asked you. You won't take Main Tank equipment, even if it suits you. You're too nice. Next time, ask me before dealing in business matters. I wanted to charge them at least 500 gold but I can't anymore."
Wandering's calculations had revealed his true nature.
Popularity doesn't enable you to place yourself above everyone else, right?
Lu Li didn't reject what Wandering had said, but instead presented an alternative view. One hundred gold split between seven people was just a dozen gold per person.
He displayed some of the things that he was carrying and beckoned at the others to take them.
"And so on..."
Wandering stopped and impatiently snapped at Azure Sea Breeze, "This isn't equipment that has been acquired as a party, so we can't just take it. We have to pay for it."
Of course, internal prices would be a lot lower than what would be found in the Exchange Hall.
The others thought that this was reasonable point so they didn't object. Lu Li didn't mind either way, but also agreed. Perhaps this was how a formal team should be conducted.
The equipment was organized into piles, with the first containing equipment dropped by the players in Lu Li's Profession Upgrade Quest. The next pile was what he had obtained from killing Rennsak. After this, there was pile from killing Imperial Secret Service players and another from the Warsong Canyon...
All in all, there were 19 Steel-grade items.
Upon hearing that they had to pay, none of them retracted their hands. In fact, they had actually become more emboldened to buy the items. Lonesome Flower bought shoes that gave him 3% Movement Speed, which were valued by Wandering at 5 gold. This would be cheaper than buying them in the Exchange Hall, if they could be found there at all.
Lu Li's Swift Leather Boots were taken by Remnant Dream. The swiftness effect was quite powerful, so Wandering wanted to value them at 20 gold. However, Lu Li always personally looked out for the littler hunter and only took 5 gold for them.
The others also picked up equipment that they were satisfied with.
Although Wandering had always played with random parties, he was quite savvy with equipment and hence, was well-equipped. There weren't many Main Tank choices and he didn't find anything that particularly caught his eye.
Sesame Rice Ball's current equipment was the most common. He had returned the equipment given to him by Seventh Heaven, so what he was currently wearing was publicly available in the Exchange Hall. He managed to find quite a few upgrades from Lu Li's piles.
Hachi Chan looked through them excitedly for a long time, but didn't find anything. Her equipment was simply too good already.
The equipment dropped from chain quests was quite similar to what was dropped from Instance Dungeons. As long as the player had a good level of a.n.a.lytical skill and could endure the tedious nature of the quests, they would succeed.
"Oh yeah, there's also this ring." Lu Li took out the Wind Ring.
It was Silver-grade and had very strong attributes.
"Dammit, we have to recruit a Shaman. If someone got this, they wouldn't need friends anymore," Azure Sea Breeze cried out.
"Speaking of recruitment, we have to talk about something."
Wandering was shocked by the ring as well, but he was more concerned as to when a new Shaman would join them.
Chapter 175: Weapon Mold
"Speaking of recruitment, we have to talk about something."
Wandering was shocked by the ring as well, but he was more concerned as to when a new Shaman would join them.
"Didn't you say that you were going to do it?" Lu Li wondered.
If this task was given to Azure Sea Breeze, Lu Li would be worried, because he wasn't a great judge of character. However, it had been a.s.signed to Wandering, Lu Li hadn't given it much thought.
Lu Li had gotten to know Wandering through Azure Sea Breeze in his past life. Besides his narcissism, he was actually very capable, especially in managerial areas. Many guilds had wanted to hire him to be their Vice President.
"You a.s.signed it to me and said it would be easy." Wandering couldn't help but ask, "I really don't understand why you must make a Mercenary Group and not a guild..."
"I didn't have money at the time," Lu Li replied, a little embarra.s.sed.
"Haven't you made a million dollars?" Wandering didn't quite understand.
"Something happened and I spent a lot of it," Lu Li laughed in response.
"Then everyone can just chip in. Guilds are comparably better than a Mercenary group, whether in monetary earnings or in gaining equipment. When a guild gains enough players, there will be great returns," Wandering said impatiently, seeing that he wasn't getting through to Lu Li.
"I was planning to buy someone else's high-level guild to save some money."
Lu Li thought that this was a good idea.
After the previous day's System Update, guilds had begun appearing on the Trading Platform. Their selling prices were much cheaper than the original cost to create one, but their levels weren't very high. The highest-level guild was only LV3.
"Come on, big bro, you can't save money on everything," Wandering exasperatedly said. "As a party leader, you have to ensure that your party members have a sense of belonging. The same can be said about guild leaders. What else, if not building your own guild, is better to foster this sense of belonging?"
The others thought that Wandering had a point, but Lu Li was such an authoritative figure that they had always listened to him.
"You have a point," Lu Li admitted. He wasn't a stubborn person.
"And about the Mercenary Group name, did you have a stroke when you were creating the group?" Wandering continued his ridiculing.
"Have some respect. That's my sister's name."
Lu Li couldn't ignore his remark.
You could attack him all you wanted, but you could never say anything bad about Xin Xin, no matter what.
"Argh, d.a.m.ned sis-con." Wandering rubbed his forehead in frustration.
"Alright, I randomly made up the name, but is it really that important? We are repeatedly the recipients of First Clears and our levels are dominating the rankings..."
"Wait..." Wandering interrupted. "I have one more thing to complain about..."
"Just don't mention Xin Xin..."
The others chuckled.
"I don't understand why you don't put the Mercenary Group name on the World Announcements when you get First Clears. You are missing out on a lot of good publicity." Wandering sounded bitter. Outside of Lu Li, no one knew anything about the Xin Xin Mercenary Group or how to run it.
"We generally just leave the settings to default," Lu Li said as he rubbed his nose. "The only time we changed it was when we helped Drizzle Court get the new record. After taking their money, we had to display their name on the announcements."
"We get the First Clear so often, that we've become de-sensitized to it."
Azure Sea Breeze lifted his head proudly, but no one seemed to appreciate this.
"As for the Level Rankings, I want you all to reveal your names right now. I don't want to go to Luna Square and beg for people to join us. I want people to beg for us. Do you understand?" Wandering spat, as he bore his fangs.
Lu Li thought of the mask in his bag and nodded.
Azure Sea Breeze happily jumped up and cried out, "Wow haha! I can finally reveal the glory of Dawn's number one Main Tank."
"Ah, and now your fans will finally know that you aren't even in first place," Wandering disdainfully said.
"Must you always comment on anything?" Azure Sea Breeze bitterly questioned.
He felt as though he was doomed to always live in someone else's shadow. Wandering had helped him appreciate the compet.i.tive nature of life, but he felt like there was no way he could ever surpa.s.s Lu Li's ability.
His resistances were slightly better than Lu Li's...
But, for a Defensive Warrior to have better resistance than a Thief wasn't anything noteworthy.
Lu Li pulled open his information panel and revealed his name which sat at an impressive first place on the Level Rankings.
Lu Li – 1st, Azure Sea Breeze – 2nd, Lonesome Flower – 3rd, March Rain – 5th, Remnant Dream – 7th.
Fourth place was occupied by Glory Capital's I No Understand, while sixth was occupied by Bloor Red War Flag's Wild.
The Xin Xin Mercenary Group had taken five of the first ten positions.
Of the new members, Sesame Rice Ball was ranked the highest at 23rd. Wandering was next at 35th and Hachi Chan was ranked 71st at LV18, even though she spent most of her time doing quests.
In fact, apart from Lu Li, all the players ranked 2nd to 86th were LV18.
"Alright, do your job well. The organisation believes in you."
Lu Li promoted Wandering to Leader in an unexpected display of trust.
Everyone else, including Wandering, had no idea that Lu Li would be so trusting towards someone that he had only met a few times.
"Dammit." Wandering felt a little bad. He had always thought that stories about compa.s.sion were rubbish, but now that he had actually experienced it, he couldn't help but feel moved.
Of course, this still wasn't to a point where he would kneel before Lu Li.
"I do have one requirement – I will need a large amount of rare materials that I will specifically name. I also intend to learn Forging soon. When I do, my requirements for rare materials will become even greater. As such, any rare materials found by our group must never ever be sold," Lu Li said frankly.
He knew that the people standing before him weren't tyc.o.o.ns. They all had their own reasons for making money.
Azure Sea Breeze and Wandering were graduating this year. They weren't looking for jobs, but had instead decided to become professional players.
Sesame Rice Ball had to pay a termination fee of $300,000 to Seventh Heaven. He was most likely looking to earn that money back.
Remnant Dream and Hachi Chan were both high school students, so anything they earned would be placed towards their University tuition fees.
Lonesome Flower and March Rain's situation wasn't very clear, but they must have had some extravagant spending habits, as they would often trade in their gold for real money at the Trading Platform.
As Lu Li wanted to block the selling of rare materials, he had essentially stopped one avenue by which the group could earn money.
"Rare materials?" Hachi Chan lifted her small hands and said, "I have a lot of rare materials and a Mold. Do you want me to help you make equipment?"
"A Mold?" Lu Li was surprised. He had never seen a Mold before in his previous life. Only bosses above LV20 had a probability of dropping Molds.
"Yeah, take a look..." Hachi Chan reached into her backpack and pulled out something that looked like a Magic Staff.
Mold: Umbranse's Staff (Silver)
Recipe: Forging
Requirement: Intermediate Forging (95)
Use: Creates an "Umbranse's Staff"
Umbranse's Staff: Attributes unknown.
"It's a Silver equip; that's pretty good."
Lu Li rubbed the Mold while the others watched. Only he understood that Molds were not easy to come by.