MMORPG: The Elementalist

En route to the appraisal shop, Qin Ruo found out that Subjugator and Snowleaf were the final two survivors of Death Mountain. After the Undead Sovereign descended back into the cave, the two of them immediately picked up the equipment dropped by Judge and Black Rock. Then, they rushed out of Death Mountain as quickly as possible and directly teleported back to the town once they were detached from their battling state.

As a result, even though three people had fallen in the final battle, their losses were minimal.

Qin Ruo felt relieved when he heard the good news. He delightedly took out two Bandit Class Dark Gold Equipment from his backpack and handed it to Fateless. “Fateless, one of it’s yours. The other one was dropped by Tiger Cub; I’ll leave it in your hands.”

“All right!”

Fateless did not reject Qin Ruo’s offer since he knew the Aquamancer must have gained a huge fortune from the cave. He received the equipment happily and examined them. “Tiger Cub does live up to his name. His equipment’s definitely much superior to mine. Hehe, it’s about time I replaced my worn out ones.”

***

His voice reached the ears of those league players who trailed behind them. They stumbled a little and looked at each other in disbelief.

‘Savage Cub? The horrifying man who does as he pleases on the Mythical Battlefield? These lads forced “the Cub” to drop his equipment? This, this is unbelievable! Wait a minute…’

“Fateless?”

“Is he the famous Bandit King—the No.1 Bandit with the highest Honor Points? Damn! No wonder he looks oddly familiar!” The few players who followed them yelled through their Party Channel once they finally recalled the true identity of the player whom Qin Ruo referred to as Fateless. They drew a cold breath and began to hold a higher opinion of the six-person troop.

***

“Haha, now you’re the unluckiest one. Not only did you drop a piece of equipment, but your Dark Gold Robe’s gone too. Hahaha!” Subjugator tapped Qin Ruo on the shoulder and teased him.

Black Rock rolled his eye and moaned, “Unluckiest my ass… F*ck, I’m more than willing to drop my entire set of equipped items for his priceless treasure.”

“Including your Dark Gold Ring?”

The players behind them were again startled by Subjugator’s notion.

‘That’s even more absurd than the previous news. Dark Gold accessories?! Who the hell are these people?’

“Bullsh*t! Dark Gold accessories are no way near as valuable. I’ll immediately surrender the ring to you if you can get me one of the treasures now.”

The busybodies who trailed them were astonished by Black Rock’s reply. ‘What kind of treasure have these guys gotten their hands on? Have they killed a dragon or robbed the treasure of a god-tier monster? Not even Dark Gold accessories, which were equivalent to Legendary Equipment, could match its worth?’

***

When they stepped into the appraisal shop and saw that it was crowded with enthusiastic players, Qin Ruo and company were a little unwilling to show off their loot at first.

In front of the appraisal counter, more than 10 players had lined up to wait for their turn to get their equipment appraised. Whenever a Gold item was placed onto the counter, the players’ attention would quickly be drawn and many would begin to probe the owner like, “Was this taken from the Graveyard?”

“Did you kill rival faction players, high-ranking minions, or a Boss?”

“Did you come across the treasure by chance?”

Qin Ruo was especially reluctant after he saw the ecstatic expression on everyone’s face.

After all, the items that needed to be appraised in his backpack were no ordinary stuff. Aside from two Legendary Equipment, he also had more than ten Dark Gold Equipment, two Embedded Stones, two Magic Skill Books, a Pet Egg of the Lethal Balrog, and last but not least, the silky violet Divinity.

Taking any of them out would probably create a commotion so big that the appraisal shop’s roof would be blasted off. That was certainly not ideal for Qin Ruo, who usually kept things low profile.

However, Judge and the others thought differently. They ignored the stunned, jealous, and respectful gazes from the crowd and took out their Gold as well as Dark Gold Equipment one after another in front of the expecting audience.

Immediately, the players who just had their Gold Equipment appraised were dazed by the newly-arrived gang. Seeing the pile of sparkling equipment on the counter that outshone the only valuable item in their hand, their excitement and pride from a while ago instantly faded away. Even when there was nothing left to be appraised, most players refused to leave the appraisal shop. They stayed put to watch.

Suddenly, there was pin-drop silence in the appraisal shop.

Everyone held their breaths as they witnessed Judge and Black Rock stuff the appraised equipment back into their bags one by one. They just could not stop salivating over the numerous precious items.

“How is the attribute of the Dark Gold?” Qin Ruo and others, who stood near the counter, asked.

Judge raised his eyebrow and answered, “I didn’t bother to look.”

‘What!’

A few players gave a hollow laugh. ‘Is this guy for real? People purposely come all the way to appraise their item so that they can tell whether the equipment is of a good or bad attribute. This bastard, on the contrary, shows no interest in any of his Dark Gold Equipment and says that he’s not bothered?! Damn, he makes it sound like Dark Gold Equipment are useless trash that he has little interest in.’

Qin Ruo and company were rather speechless too…

‘This is so Judge; always so cool and full of himself when he speaks up.’

“How about you? Are you not bothered to look too?” On the other side, Subjugator tapped Black Rock’s back and asked.

“Meh! The attributes are just so-so. How great the Dark Gold Tier is doesn’t matter to me now. Qin Ruo, go on. I can’t wait to see how your Legendary Equipment fares,” Black Rock urged Qin Ruo to take his place.

There was silence.

“Qin Ruo?”

“The Winter Demon who wreaked havoc throughout the Graveyard of the Gods?”

“Damn, I wouldn’t have recognized him if nobody mentioned it. That’s him for real. Wait, why has he dropped to Level 40?”

Players inside the appraisal shop had now all turned their sights to the most trending person in the H&G forum at the moment—Qin Ruo. Chatters could be heard in every corner.

“I thought he was a hooligan, being half-naked and so…” a female player said.

Some player doubted Black Rock’s claim and argued, “He’s only at Level 40. How could he have possibly obtained Legendary Equipment? I think it’s fake.”

“Doesn’t seem like it… Rumor says that this guy owns a Tier 5 Summoned Monster that’s overly powerful. Don’t know where he got it from but perhaps he could really take down a few Tier 5 Bosses. I think there’s some truth in it. Let’s watch.”

“Hmm, it might be true then.”

***

Qin Ruo had a typical habit. He liked to appraise the most valuable item last. At first, he only took out the Dark Gold Equipment dropped by the Boss and obtained through the treasure chest. He did it slowly and carefully, checking the appraisal results several times. Black Rock and Subjugator were deeply unnerved by his unhurried attitude.

However, his slow movements did not irritate the others in the appraisal shop. Everyone held their breath as they watched Qin Ruo take out the Dark Gold Equipment carefully from his backpack and put them back after the appraisal. They counted in silence…

‘That’s item No. 9.’

It was rare to see even one Dark Gold Equipment on normal days. Today alone, they had seen more than ten consecutively.

After Qin Ruo covered his fair, alluring chest with an appraised Aquamancer Robe, he took out the Mana Core and Embedded Stone from his backpack to be appraised next. On the brink of Black Rock and Subjugator’s mental collapse, he finally retrieved a small notebook from his pack.

Black Rock and Subjugator regathered themselves the moment Qin Ruo took out the Magic Skill Book. The players inside the center also refocused their sights. The temperature in the room once again reached a new height!

‘A Magic Skill Book!’

Black Rock and Subjugator could not believe that they had actually let it slipped their minds. Qin Ruo obtained one when they killed the Lethal Balrog. In addition to the one he got near the Dimensional Portal (which he himself revealed to the party), Qin Ruo actually possessed two Magic Skill Books now.

A Magic Skill Book’s value was no less than a Legendary Equipment’s, if and only if the skill in it was great.

The true value of the Magic Skill Book was uncovered under a series of heavy breathing sounds.

Qin Ruo’s party members received the details of the Magic Skill Book first hand.

Haunting Flame:

Tier 4 Dark Element spell

Consumes 10 MP

Inflicts hellfire on player’s outer body; whoever possessed by the flame will be inflicted with Status Effect: Burn; ignores Defense; deals 100 damage per second; lasts for 10 seconds.

“This spell’s not bad. It’s suitable for a Shadowmancer to defend against warriors in melee battle.”

“Qin Ruo, since you can’t learn the skill, do you plan to sell it or exchange it? If you sell it, I think it’ll be worth at least 500,000 gold coins. If you can’t find a buyer, I can help you to ask around. There are a lot of generous spenders in the Tyranny Clan. Of course, it’d be best if you could exchange it with an equivalent Magic Skill Book,” Subjugator pointed at the spell book in Qin Ruo’s hand and said.

“We’ll discuss that later. I still have another Magic Skill Book left.”

When Qin Ruo packed Haunting Flame and passed the second Magic Skill Book to the Appraiser, the jealous, surprise-laden crowd no longer knew what expression to put on anymore.