Chapter 82: Dual Gains
Su Xiao currently had eight Holy Spirit rank weapons. To purchase several more Holy Spirit rank weapons in a short time, he had only one option left: contact a merchant guild.
Not only that, he also needed to purchase a detection-type piece of equipment. This detection equipment was best if it had Soul characteristics, meaning the higher his Soul Strength, the more complete the detected information would be.
Secondarily, Intelligence characteristics were acceptable, performing a True Intelligence attribute check against the enemy, similar to the Apostle's Eye.
Su Xiao felt that detection equipment with Soul characteristics was unlikely to be available for purchase, as it was far too rare. He would have to settle for the next best option. In any case, as long as he didn't buy anything with Charm characteristics, everything would be fine.
"Beini, contact those people over there."
"Meow?"
Beini, who was eating ice cream, looked a bit confused, then seemed to think of something.
"Meow."
"No problem, I'm already Eighth Rank."
"Meow meow!"
"Go make the contact."
"Meow~"
Beini lowered her head, as if sighing. She wiped the ice cream from the corner of her mouth with her paw and smeared it onto Bubu Wang beside her. Bubu Wang, deeply engrossed in a mobile game and acting as a dog teammate, didn't notice this at all.
The reason Beini reacted this way was because the merchant guild she needed to contact could only be described as notorious. The guild was called Shadow.
The Shadow Merchant Guild valued integrity. The price they offered for purchased items had a bottom line, not falling below 80% of the item's value. Even if low-rank contractors didn't understand, they wouldn't cheat them.
The reason they were notorious was because of their business methods. Once a deal was negotiated and an item was ordered, if the buyer changed their mind by the agreed-upon time, or if the buyer didn't have enough Soul Coins to complete the transaction, they would immediately turn hostile and refund the deposit.
After that, they would hunt down the buyer. Either die, or sign their contract. Only after paying ten times the agreed transaction amount in Soul Coins would they lift that exploitative contract.
This merchant guild's commitment to promises reached a pathological level. If they couldn't gather the buyer's ordered goods within the agreed time, they would refund ten times the deposit.
Stubborn, secretive, and true to their word. Clearly a group of merchants, yet they were powerful. That was the impression the Shadow Merchant Guild gave.
And it was precisely this extremely promise-keeping style that allowed them to grow. As long as the transaction followed the process, they were a very trustworthy group of merchants.
After Beini contacted the Shadow Merchant Guild, a message came back: meet in a doll shop in 30 minutes.
Leaving the Exclusive Room, Su Xiao arrived at the door of the doll shop and found it unusually quiet inside.
Pushing the door open, his eyes were met with a room full of dolls in various outfits. These dolls were completely identical in appearance to real people. Among them was a doll holding a revolver, using it to push up a cowboy hat, with an owl perched on its shoulder, its face wearing a wild and unrestrained smile.
Su Xiao sat down at a small round table. He recognized the man holding the revolver. That man was a member of the Traveling Group, everyone called him Revolver Guy. Su Xiao had fought him and nearly died; at that time, he was still a low-rank contractor.
"He's dead. Died at the hands of a witch."
A man wearing a white shirt with a brown vest over it and rimless glasses walked over. He kept a smile on his face, but it wasn't a fake smile.
"Mr. White Night, you are the transaction partner we anticipated. We've been waiting for so long, and you've finally contacted us. You can call me Shadow No. 6."
Shadow No. 6 walked over carrying two cups of coffee. After placing one on the table in front of Su Xiao, he sat down opposite the small round table.
"I originally wanted to commission custom dolls for a few ladies of the Traveling Group, but unfortunately, they all refused. Speaking of which, Mr. White Night, what kind of transaction do you want to make by contacting us this time?"
"I need five Holy Spirit rank blade-type weapons. High rating is preferred. There are no requirements for the abilities attached to the weapons."
"Is that so? Let me think..."
Shadow No. 6 frowned in thought. After a moment, he nodded.
"One thousand Soul Coins for one Holy Spirit rank blade weapon with a max rating. For five, it will take two world progressions to deliver."
"Hmm?"
Su Xiao wasn't surprised by the high price they were asking, but rather a bit surprised that these people could get their hands on five Holy Spirit rank max-rated blade-type weapons.
The eight Holy Spirit rank weapons Su Xiao currently had varied in rating. The highest was 957 points, while the lowest was only 846 points.
"Do you have a technique to improve weapon ratings?"
Su Xiao wasn't too surprised that the Shadow Merchant Guild could improve weapon ratings. He had an equipment piece called [Radiance Charging Device]. This equipment worked by crushing other equipment, converting the 'Transcendent Characteristics' within the equipment into 'Radiance Crystal Fragments', and then using the 'Radiance Crystal Fragments' to charge growth-type equipment, thereby improving the quality of the growth-type equipment.
If he could obtain [Radiance Charging Device], others could certainly obtain similar things.
"Our guild has a craftsman who can do this. The process requires consuming gems of the same rank as the weapon, but it will alter the abilities attached to the weapon. That's a pity. Because of this, we've lost countless Soul Coins in potential profits.
Mr. White Night, are you interested in this kind of transaction? It requires signing a confidentiality contract. It's beneficial for both you and me."
Shadow No. 6's meaning was simple. He had already guessed Su Xiao's purpose, realizing Su Xiao was using other weapons to enhance the strength of his main weapon.
This confidentiality contract was meant to bind both parties. Su Xiao couldn't reveal the existence of that craftsman to outsiders, and Shadow No. 6 couldn't reveal Su Xiao's weapon advancement conditions to others either.
"What's the cost for one weapon?"
"To improve the rating of a Holy Spirit rank weapon, it's 400 Soul Coins per weapon, but the weapon's own rating can't be too low."
Shadow No. 6 drafted a confidentiality contract. Signing contracts within Reincarnation Paradise was very reliable, unlike signing them in a Primordial World. No one would tamper with the contract. Tampering with a contract within Reincarnation Paradise would result in forced execution. The Task World was completely free; no matter what tricks were pulled, there would be no problem.
"Mr. White Night, I forgot to mention, if you can pay the full amount in advance, as a gesture of goodwill for our first cooperation, our side can offer a 5% discount. Actually, we just want to do business, not have a bad reputation."
Shadow No. 6 took out another contract. This contract was quite something, bearing the dual notarization of Reincarnation Paradise and the Void Tree.
"If we fail to complete your commission on time, we will refund ten times the amount."
Shadow No. 6's tone was casual but firm.
If Su Xiao commissioned the Shadow Merchant Guild to improve the ratings of his existing eight Holy Spirit rank weapons to max, he would need to pay 3,200 Soul Coins.
If he could get all eight of these weapons to max Holy Spirit rank rating, then there would be no need to purchase five additional Holy Spirit rank blade-type weapons. The reason was that the higher the rating of the weapon Dragon-Slaying Flash 'devoured', the higher the Edge Value it gained. Max rating also provided an additional bonus.
This was the fastest way to upgrade Dragon-Slaying Flash to Immortal rank. Glancing at the 19,682 Soul Coins in his storage space, Su Xiao chose to sign this bilateral contract.
[You have paid 3,040 Soul Coins.]
For the first transaction, Shadow No. 6 gave a 5% discount. Clearly, he was preparing for long-term cooperation with Su Xiao.
"Mr. White Night, after you complete the next world progression, you will either receive eight max-rated Holy Spirit rank weapons or 30,400 Soul Coins."
Shadow No. 6 divided the contract into two copies, handing one to Su Xiao and keeping the other for himself.
"I also need detection-type equipment. Priority on Soul characteristics, followed by Intelligence characteristics. Holy Spirit rank."
"Detection equipment with Soul characteristics... I'm sorry, but we don't have that kind of item in our inventory. We do have one with Intelligence characteristics, but it's expensive, very expensive, so expensive that it exceeds your understanding of the price range for Holy Spirit rank equipment. After all, it's detection equipment. I hope you can understand."
"..."
Su Xiao didn't speak. He had been trying to purchase higher-grade detection equipment since the Sixth Rank. Now that he was Eighth Rank, how could he not know how rare and expensive this kind of equipment was.
"I'm glad you understand. Wait for me for two minutes."
Shadow No. 6 stood up and quickly walked away. After a short while, he returned with a wooden box. Opening the box revealed a mechanical eye the size of an apple.
Seeing this mechanical eye, Su Xiao felt it looked very familiar. He took out the Apostle's Eye to compare. The mechanical eye in the wooden box was somewhat similar to the Apostle's Eye, but more intricate.
"This is also a remnant of Ramil Technology? What a coincidence. Unfortunately, that technological empire no longer exists."
Shadow No. 6 was also surprised to see the Apostle's Eye. Ignoring his surprise, Su Xiao reached out and touched the mechanical eye inside the wooden box.
[Eye of the Gods]
Origin: Ramil Technology
Quality: Holy Spirit Rank
Category: Detection Equipment
Durability: 130/130
Equipment Requirement: 12 Intelligence.
Equipment Effect 1: Aura Detection (Active): Can detect all types of enemies and obtain their information. The completeness of the information depends on the Intelligence attribute of both parties.
Tip: When performing detection checks, the check correction is increased.
Tip: Aura Detection (Active) has no cost.
Tip: Aura Detection (Active) has a cooldown of 2 minutes.
Equipment Effect 2: Detection Mislead (Passive): When subjected to enemy detection, you will undergo an Intelligence check. If you pass this check, you can freely adjust the information detected by the enemy.
Tip: You can lower your own information by 0% to 50%.
Tip: You can raise your own information by 0% to 30%.
Tip: Failing this check has no debuffs, but the enemy will detect your true information.
Rating: 999 points (Holy Spirit rank equipment rating is 700 to 1000 points)
Introduction: What the eyes see is not necessarily the truth.
Price: 630,000 Paradise Coins.
Seeing the information for [Eye of the Gods], Su Xiao decided to acquire this item. The Detection Mislead it performed was quite interesting. To put it simply:
When an enemy detected Su Xiao's information, he himself would undergo an Intelligence attribute check. If he passed the check, he could modify the information the enemy detected.
Lowering his own information misled the enemy, making them think his strength was weak. Raising his information served as intimidation, making the enemy feel he was strong.
Actually, Su Xiao didn't care much about this ability. What he cared about was the Intelligence attribute check on himself. This check originated from the enemy, but for himself, it wasn't a debuff check, so it wouldn't be negated by his own abilities.
If Su Xiao passed this Intelligence attribute check, he could trigger the enhancement effect of the Seven-Star title [The Uncrowned King].
The Uncrowned King · Title Effect: Uncrowned (Passive): When subjected to an enemy check, if you pass this check, all your attributes will be temporarily increased by 10 points, and for the subsequent 15 seconds, you will recover 7% of your maximum Health Points per second. During this period, damage taken is reduced by 50% (this damage reduction has priority).
Tip: The all-attribute increase will last for 200 seconds.
PS: (Three chapters today. See if I can burst out four chapters tomorrow, since writing return chapters is very slow, much slower than writing world storylines.)