Chapter 53: With Money in Hand, We Buy and Buy!

This was also one of the future combat plans Wang Chen devised for himself while flipping through the directory just now. When he undertook his second-class advancement quest, he relied heavily on magic scrolls, largely because his own skills were not yet powerful enough.

But as his level increased, the energy strength of his skills became comparable to that of ordinary silver-grade scrolls.

So why should he continue to buy those expensive magic scrolls? It would be wiser to purchase some potions with notable side effects, which are therefore much cheaper.

Perhaps because of his life experiences from a young age, Wang Chen had always instinctively looked for ways to solve problems on his own when facing difficulties. The system, to him, was always considered an external power—he rarely thought of it at first.

However, after the events involving the Fairy Tribe, he began to feel an urgent need for strength, to forge his own path, and so he broke through that final bit of stubbornness.

He would use every means at his disposal to advance.

It was just like how others could be born into privilege and resources, winning at the starting line from the very beginning. Why couldn’t Wang Chen, too, have his own advantages?

Sometimes, when you want to change something deeply entrenched, you need to use even more unconventional methods.

With this clarity, Wang Chen's thoughts became much smoother, and he resolved to pester the Rebel even more.

...

After a while, the valuation of the items was complete, and a middle-aged man approached, saying,

"Manager, the total value of all consignment items is twenty million Tianlong coins."

Wang Chen was taken aback. He hadn’t expected that such a pile of odds and ends, though they had been reversed, could fetch such a price.

Seeing Wang Chen’s surprise, the middle-aged man adjusted the glasses on his nose and explained, “The quality of these items is quite good. All the equipment comes with additional skills. Even if the average quality isn’t particularly high, it’s still quite rare.”

“And these alchemical materials with dark attributes are especially valuable. May I ask, did you obtain them from the Dark Plateau dungeon?”

Wang Chen nodded.

The middle-aged man seemed unsurprised. “It seems the Dark Plateau has had some issues lately—the teleportation array isn’t working properly, so materials from there have a significant markup.”

“Not to mention, the Dark Plateau was already extremely dangerous. Few people venture there for materials, and even fewer return with them, so naturally, the value is higher.”

Wang Chen smiled but said nothing.

Who could have guessed that he himself was intimately connected to the changes in the Dark Plateau?

The middle-aged man’s tone grew slightly animated. “I must point out these three Dark Hearts in particular—their quality is superb. They must have come from high-level Dark Guardians, and the dark aura within is exceptionally concentrated. They’re outstanding alchemical materials!”

“Just these three Dark Hearts are worth twelve million, the bulk of this batch’s value.”

Upon hearing this, Wang Chen found it unsurprising.

These Dark Hearts had absorbed the seal of the Spring of Vitality, which intensified their dark aura, and the Dark Guardians were indeed formidable foes. The high price made sense.

It was just a pity he hadn’t hunted more of them.

Otherwise, he could have sold even more.

Now that life had returned to the land, he wondered if the Dark Guardians had died out completely.

He’d check next time he visited the Fairy Paradise, but that was a matter for the future.

“Since I can get twenty million for this lot, I don’t need the few pieces of old equipment. Please exchange them for these two instead,” Wang Chen said, jotting a few lines on a note and handing it to Manager Liu.

“By the way, do you have any Phoenix Spirit Butterfly Powder?” he added after a moment’s thought.

In his battle with the Dark Tide Priest, he had used up the last of his butterfly powder. This devious little artifact, so effective in critical battles, was something he wanted to stock up on.

“These two pieces of equipment are easy to arrange, but Phoenix Spirit Butterfly Powder is rather rare. Unless the Phoenix Mirage Butterfly offers it voluntarily, the drop rate from monsters is extremely low,” Manager Liu explained. “If you need it, we’ll have to transfer stock from our various branches to see if we can gather some for you.”

Wang Chen frowned.

He hadn’t realized that something he used for trickery would be so valuable.

So he asked, “Is there anything else with a similar effect to the Phoenix Spirit Butterfly Powder?”

Manager Liu considered for a moment, then flipped through the catalog to a certain page and handed it to Wang Chen. “Would this potion suffice?”

Wang Chen took the catalog and looked:

[Lucky Blessing Potion]

[Description: When used, increases the user’s Luck stat. It is colorless and tasteless, can be consumed orally or applied externally. Note: This potion does not create luck from nothing; after the lucky effect wears off, the target will experience a streak of misfortune, which will be more pronounced than the preceding luck. Use with caution.]

“Excellent. I don’t even need to reverse this potion’s effect—I can just use it directly on someone. The only issue is that since it’s a liquid, if I splash it on someone else, I might get caught in the effect myself. But I can always reverse it.”

Thus thought Wang Chen.

“In that case, if I endure a bit of bad luck and lose a couple of coins, I’ll gain an obvious stroke of luck in return.”

Wang Chen decided to buy about a dozen bottles for his reserves.

When Manager Liu heard Wang Chen wanted so many Lucky Blessing Potions, he tried to dissuade him. “Mr. Wang, as a valued client, I can’t watch you waste your money. This potion was an accidental byproduct of an alchemist’s failed experiment.”

“You see, its effects are quite mediocre—for a sliver of good luck, you might pay a much steeper price later.”

Manager Liu continued earnestly, “Though it’s much cheaper than Phoenix Spirit Butterfly Powder—ten or more bottles combined cost less than a few grams of butterfly powder—you should still think twice!”

“Just bring them to me. I’m buying them for fun, not because I expect any real luck from them,” Wang Chen said.

Manager Liu sighed and instructed his staff accordingly.

Soon, all the items Wang Chen had requested were delivered.

He picked up the two pieces of equipment on the table to examine them:

[Tree of Life Soft Armor (Gold Grade)]

[Type: Armor]

[Level Requirement: Level 8]

[Effect: Increases Constitution by 160 points]

[Durability: 70/70]

[Attached Skill: Life’s Protection. As light and thin as a second skin when worn, this protection is always active and can withstand a full-force strike from a gold-grade beast. Once broken, it will refresh after an hour.]

Wang Chen chose this piece of equipment for two main reasons. Firstly, it was lightweight.

Many pieces of equipment that offer excellent protection are often extremely heavy and cumbersome, hindering movement. Unless one is a frontline class with exceptional physical strength, such gear can be very difficult to handle.

Secondly, he valued the fact that its protection was present around the clock. Whether it was class skills or magic scrolls, most defensive buffs came with a time limit.

Once the time was up, the protection would vanish, regardless of whether it had absorbed any attacks.

Of course, there were some reactive defensive skills that didn’t work this way—these only activated when struck by an enemy, ensuring that the protection was never wasted.