Chapter 73: Redemption
After a hearty meal, Su Xiao held the Lucky Flame in his hand, waiting.
Bubuteni was noticeably quieter after eating. This guy’s daily routine in Reincarnation Paradise was simply eating until full, sleeping, waking up to gnaw on iron biscuits, and then sleeping again after getting tired.
After waiting half an hour, Su Xiao noticed that the Lucky Flame lighter in his hand had become slightly warm, and its overall shape had undergone a minor change.
A blue light gradually emerged, growing stronger and stronger. Xia wasn’t in the dining room, busy in the kitchen. Only Su Xiao was in the restaurant, with no one else witnessing the scene.
The blue light faded, and the Lucky Flame had completed its upgrade.
[You have obtained ‘Destiny Redemption +7’.]
Destiny Redemption +7
Origin: Reincarnation Paradise
Quality: Blue
Category: Accessory
Durability: 56/56
Equipment Requirement: Luck attribute below 5 points.
Equipment Effect 1: Fortune Theft (Passive) – Steals the fortune of defeated or killed creatures. Fortune will be stored within ‘Destiny Redemption’.
Note: Fortune stored at 0%.
Equipment Effect 2: Fortune Force (Active) – Releases the fortune stored within ‘Destiny Redemption’. Holder’s Luck attribute +3 (Enhancement +7 has added 1 point). Effect lasts 2 minutes (Enhancement +7 has increased duration by 1 minute). If ‘Destiny Redemption’ has no stored fortune, 800 Paradise Coins can be paid to replace the fortune, achieving the same effect.
Note: Fortune Force (Active) cooldown is 5 natural days. (Enhancement +7 has reduced cooldown by 2 natural days.)
Rating: 70
Description: The Goddess of Fortune is smiling.
Price: 15,200 Paradise Coins.
…
The Lucky Flame had become Destiny Redemption. Fortunately, the general effect remained the same: both increased the Luck attribute. The Lucky Flame added 2 points of Luck, while Destiny Redemption added 3 points, and the duration had significantly increased to a full two minutes.
Compared to the Lucky Flame’s 15 seconds, two minutes allowed for far more to be accomplished.
The usage requirements for Destiny Redemption had changed somewhat. It now required first defeating or killing an enemy to steal their fortune and store it, then releasing that fortune together.
If the fortune within Destiny Redemption was insufficient, 800 Paradise Coins could be used as a substitute. This essentially meant that, aside from consuming Paradise Coins, Destiny Redemption now had a free-use opportunity.
After examining the attributes of [Destiny Redemption], Su Xiao’s lingering worries were put to rest. He had been concerned that the Lucky Flame’s upgrade would result in some bizarre attribute.
He wouldn’t need Destiny Redemption just yet. He could try its effect after obtaining treasure chests in the future. Moreover, the 2-minute duration made its usage more flexible, not limited to just opening chests.
Putting away [Destiny Redemption +7], Su Xiao left Xia’s restaurant contentedly with Bubuteni.
“Come by later, I’ve ordered a batch of seafood.”
Xia’s gentle voice came from behind. This chef was standing at the restaurant entrance, waving at Su Xiao.
“That puzzle game is pretty good. I’m halfway through it.”
Xia was slightly surprised.
“No way. I played that game for half a year and only got through a small portion. What method did you use?”
“I play it occasionally.”
Su Xiao was telling the truth. He only played it during his spare time between battles.
“As expected, someone with my IQ isn’t suited to be a contractor. Stupidity might be innate.”
Xia leaned weakly against the doorway, her face full of despair.
“See you later.”
Su Xiao planned to do some post-meal exercise, and the Arena was a good choice.
…
Four hours later, on a circular arena platform.
Su Xiao reversed his grip on the Dragon-Slaying Flash in his hand and thrust it through his opponent’s throat. He had already fought his way into the top 50 of the Arena. The contractors in the top 50 were no pushovers; one-hit kills were no longer happening.
[Seventy-nine consecutive victories!]
A line of golden, shining characters appeared above Su Xiao’s head, causing an uproar among the surrounding audience.
“How is seventy-nine consecutive wins possible? What’s this guy’s background?”
“This match was completely one-sided.”
Amidst the tidal wave of cheers from the audience, Su Xiao’s figure vanished from the arena platform, teleported back to his rest pod.
[Personal Battle Ended. Victory!]
[Hunter’s ranking improved. Moved from 49th to 32nd (First Rank).]
[Received a message from this match’s opponent. View? Yes/No.]
The consecutive wins had caused his ranking to climb rapidly, jumping directly to 32nd place.
He viewed the opponent’s message. This time, it was a request for advice.
‘I accept this loss completely. What’s the most important thing to pay attention to in melee combat? The balance of Strength and Agility attributes?’
This opponent was also a melee fighter, a man who used dual hammers.
Su Xiao chose to reply to the opponent’s message. His reply was simple: ‘Grasping the timing.’
Choosing to continue matching opponents, Su Xiao planned to try breaking into the top ten. It wouldn’t be easy; the opponents in the top ten were not to be underestimated.
While Su Xiao was matching opponents, several workers were busy in the Arena.
“The Guild Leader instructed us to keep an eye on that person entering the Arena. His ranking is rising rapidly.”
One worker shouted, and several other workers nearby gathered around. These people were uniformly dressed in white robes with a crossed sword and dagger pattern printed on their backs.
“If I remember correctly, that person’s ranking was 163rd before. Has he made it into the top hundred?”
“It can’t be that fast, right? He might not have entered the Arena during his rookie period and only joined after his strength reached a certain level. Making it to 150th place would already be a great result.”
The workers whispered among themselves.
“The latest news is that he’s already in 32nd place, with seventy-nine consecutive wins…”
“What!”
Several workers looked utterly incredulous.
“Should we notify the Guild Leader?”
“Do you even need to ask?”
Several workers contacted their Guild Leader. This was an organization called the Arena Guild, composed entirely of workers.
They would record real-time changes in the Arena rankings. This intelligence was valuable, and they would sell it to large adventure groups for profit.
Large adventure groups would reward them based on the intelligence they provided and use it to recruit higher-ranked contractors from the Arena.
If someone could break into the top 50 of the Arena, they would receive preferential treatment when joining any major adventure group.
However, this behavior by the ‘Arena Guild’ was quite unpopular. Some lone wolves might end up in conflicts due to refusing recruitment from large adventure groups. The ‘Arena Guild’s’ profit was built on the troubles of others.
The Guild Leader of the ‘Arena Guild’ soon arrived at the Arena. She was a tall, mature woman in a business suit, heavily made up with outstanding looks. Her alias in Reincarnation Paradise was Meiji.
“You did a good job on this.”
Meiji’s voice was soft and alluring. The workers swallowed their saliva, feeling a heat in their lower abdomen.
“Guild Leader, the price for this intelligence is…”
“200 Paradise Coins.”
Meiji traded 200 Paradise Coins to the worker leader. That leader’s mouth opened and closed.
“Not satisfied? This person wasn’t originally discovered by you.”
“No, no, how could that be.”
The leader quickly forced a smile, though inwardly he cursed the woman as a bitch.
It was rumored that Meiji had unclear relationships with the leaders of several large adventure groups, and these workers were somewhat afraid of her.
“Alright, leave this to me.”
Meiji swayed her wasp-like waist gracefully as she walked into the Arena.