Chapter 71: Transformation
After several hours of waiting, the [Ice Domain Prince Token (Blue)] finally sold.
This item was surprisingly difficult to sell. The contractor who bought the [Ice Domain Prince Token (Blue)] looked destitute, indicating that summoners weren't particularly dominant in Reincarnation Paradise.
That summoner girl was simply too poor. She had to sell everything she owned just to scrape together 26,000 Paradise Coins, and by the end, there was even a hint she might try to pay with her body.
The [Ice Domain Prince Token (Blue)] was too hard to sell, so Su Xiao decisively made the deal.
The girl thanked Su Xiao profusely. In truth, Su Xiao was also relieved to have sold the [Ice Domain Prince Token]. He had been waiting until he almost fell asleep. Bubuteni, that fool, had cycled through sleeping and waking several times, casting resentful glances as if to say, 'Master, I'm so hungry. When are we going to eat?'
Su Xiao now had 72,947 Paradise Coins on him. This substantial sum was enough to buy a top-tier Blue-quality longsword.
After browsing the Trade Market for a while, he did find Blue-quality blade-type weapons, but their attached skills were all mediocre.
The best one had a skill called 'Full Moon Slash.' The damage was decent, but the cooldown was too long, and using it required paying Paradise Coins.
Ultimately, Su Xiao chose to contact the black merchants of the Black Sail Merchant Guild. Those black merchants had been terrified by the Phantom Troupe, and he could exploit that.
He contacted a black merchant. Before long, a black merchant wearing a dark hood emerged from the crowd. He happened to be in the Trade Market as well.
"Guest, we meet again."
This black merchant was the same one who had sold Su Xiao a Blue weapon last time.
"Are you still looking to buy a Blue blade-type weapon this time? Still demanding a high rating? The guild has three decent Blue blade-type weapons left."
The black merchant didn't ask why Su Xiao wanted to buy a Blue weapon; that was personal privacy.
"Three? Let me see them."
Su Xiao was slightly surprised. The Black Sail Merchant Guild's financial resources were indeed astonishing. Just having three top-tier Blue blade-type weapons in stock showed their total equipment inventory was likely impressive.
"Guest, please wait a moment. Regarding the previous matter..."
The black merchant was inquiring about the Phantom Troupe.
Although Su Xiao had killed Karl, he didn't intend to make that public. The Phantom Troupe was indeed a very loose organization, but no one knew if Karl had friends within it.
"I'm still considering it. The Troupe sent another invitation."
Killing Karl and obtaining his number counted as a form of invitation. Given the Black Sail Merchant Guild's relationship with the Phantom Troupe, these black merchants couldn't verify this.
The black merchant's tone became urgent. "Did the guest accept?"
"Still thinking it over. If I join, I'll decide on your matter based on the situation."
"Very well. Here are the three Blue weapons. Please choose, guest."
The black merchant was clearly disappointed but said nothing more. Being invited by the Troupe was already proof of strength.
Three longswords of different designs were laid before Su Xiao. He immediately checked their attached attributes.
Upon seeing the attributes of one sword, Su Xiao made up his mind to try and buy it.
[Solomon's Decapitating Blade]
Origin: Sword Art Online
Quality: Blue
Category: Weapon
Durability: 61/61
Attack Power: 11～29
Equipment Requirements: Strength 18, Agility 13.
Equipment Effect: Decapitation (Active): Swing the blade with full force, dealing additional damage when striking an enemy's neck.
Additional Attribute: Bloody Struggle (Passive): When HP is below 50%, Stamina +3; when HP is below 30%, Stamina +5; when HP is below 20%, Stamina +10. (Stamina bonus takes the highest value, cannot stack, effect lasts 5 minutes.)
Rating: 70 (Note: Blue equipment ratings range from 31 to 70. Blue equipment with a rating of 70 has a special attribute.)
Introduction: A fierce weapon for taking heads.
Price: 15,600 Paradise Coins.
...
The sword's base attributes were average, but the ability granted by its 70 rating was extremely valuable. The effect triggered when HP dropped below 20% was a lifesaver.
Earlier, when enhancing his attributes, Su Xiao had considered whether to moderately increase his Stamina. After all, he was a lone wolf, and being too fragile wouldn't do.
If he hadn't been focused on raising his three main attributes above 30 to unlock the new skills of the Shadow of Law Destruction, he would have already boosted his Stamina.
This skill solved that problem, significantly reducing the danger in his next derivative world.
Su Xiao had already vaguely sensed that only improving his three main attributes was unwise. Without a strong physical foundation, he would eventually face destruction.
Fortunately, his current Stamina wasn't too low. Raising his main attributes hadn't caused any side effects.
After the next derivative world ended, Su Xiao planned to consider appropriately increasing his Stamina.
Picking up [Solomon's Decapitating Blade], Su Xiao looked at the black merchant.
"Price."
"Seventy thousand Paradise Coins for this blade."
Su Xiao frowned. The price was too high. It seemed the black merchant had realized he wouldn't be joining the Troupe anytime soon.
"I'll offer at most fifty thousand."
The negotiation began. The previous preferential treatment was gone; this was the nature of merchants.
"Guest, you jest. This weapon's attributes are obvious to all..."
"This blade has been sitting in your stock for a long time, hasn't it?"
"What?"
The black merchant feigned surprise, but inwardly knew things were going badly.
"I'm a melee fighter, so I understand melee weapons well. A melee weapon's most important trait is sharpness. This blade isn't very sharp; its attack power can't even match some Green weapons. It's better suited for a main tank. But main tanks dual-wield shields. No main tank is extravagant enough to use this to temporarily stack Stamina. Adventure groups have limited resources; they can't allocate this much to a main tank.
It's neither satisfying to use nor a shame to discard."
Su Xiao looked at the black merchant with a hint of amusement in his eyes.
The black merchant fell silent. After a long pause, he said solemnly, "At least sixty thousand Paradise Coins."
"Then forget it."
Su Xiao turned and walked away. He only intended to use this blade's attributes as a temporary measure. Dragon-Slaying Flash still needed to prioritize sharpness, but Blue-quality weapons didn't have powerful attributes like increased sharpness. Only Purple weapons could have such attributes, and even then, very rarely.
"Guest, don't go. Let's talk this over. Fifty-five thousand Paradise Coins. That's my final bottom line."
Su Xiao paused mid-step. Black merchants' words were generally unreliable; 'final bottom line' was complete nonsense.
"Fifty thousand Paradise Coins. Not a single coin more. Otherwise, keep it as a collector's item."
The black merchant said nothing, weighing his options.
"Forget it if you won't sell."
Su Xiao turned and walked away. One step, two steps, three steps.
"This damn 70-rating weapon. Take it for fifty thousand Paradise Coins."
The black merchant closed his eyes in despair. He had sold it at a loss, losing about 1,000 Paradise Coins. For a black merchant, that hurt more than cutting flesh.
This item had been stuck in his hands for five derivative worlds. He had bought it when he first joined the Black Sail Merchant Guild, back when he was still a novice merchant.
He had tried street vending, auctions, and everything else. The result was that those who could appreciate this blade couldn't afford it, and those who could afford it didn't want it.
Without the 'Bloody Struggle' attribute, this blade would be worth at most 20,000 Paradise Coins.
The deal went through smoothly. Su Xiao paid 50,000 Paradise Coins and obtained [Solomon's Decapitating Blade].
His near-death experience in the World of Chopping Reds was still fresh in his memory. In that dying state, even raising his arm had taken all his effort. This blade's attribute was an insurance policy to prevent him from suddenly falling into a near-death state.
Returning to his Exclusive Room, Su Xiao placed [Solomon's Decapitating Blade] and [Dragon-Slaying Flash] side by side.
Activating the Supreme Blade skill, a mass of iron-black light appeared in Su Xiao's hand. The iron-black light swirled rapidly like a vortex. He extended his arm, and the iron-black light enveloped [Solomon's Decapitating Blade].
Crack, crack, crack~
A harsh grinding sound came. Translucent blue crystal fragments floated out and merged into the blade of Dragon-Slaying Flash.
Dragon-Slaying Flash's surface blazed with light. A mass of deep blue light enveloped the blade.
Unlike before, this time Dragon-Slaying Flash took a long time to absorb these crystal fragments.
The deep blue light shone on Su Xiao's face. He was intently observing the changes in Dragon-Slaying Flash.
The deep blue light grew increasingly dazzling. Within the blue light, a faint hint of purple was vaguely visible. Dragon-Slaying Flash was transforming from a Blue weapon into a Purple weapon.