Chapter 73: Stuck Holding the Bag
Although he didn't know what would happen when he strengthened his Intelligence attribute, it was unavoidable.
He allocated 7 attribute points to Intelligence and awaited the judgment of "Fate."
The unbearable sensation he imagined didn't appear; instead, his mind became clearer.
The Intelligence attribute enhancement only lasted 5 minutes before ending, with no severe pain or unbearable itching.
That made sense—given the frail physiques of those mages, if they had to endure the pain of strengthening the Strength attribute, they'd either die or be left with lifelong trauma.
[Intelligence attribute is a Law-Destruction Shadow affinity attribute. Base Intelligence has reached 50 points. The Hunter may choose one of the following rewards.]
A. Spell Super Amplification: Increases Mana Points by 150.
B. Sage: Intelligence +10
C. Blood Song Shadow: Willpower +12 points.
...
Su Xiao was a bit puzzled. What was willpower? Was it the literal meaning?
After inquiring with Reincarnation Paradise, he learned that willpower was the tolerance for pain, resistance to charm-type skills, etc., and was an invisible attribute.
Willpower had many uses, but Reincarnation Paradise didn't provide all the details.
When choosing attribute rewards, Su Xiao discovered a trick. The reason he had a reward for reaching 50 points was due to the Law-Destruction Shadow. Options with the word "Shadow" were generally not weak and rarely appeared.
He decisively chose C, and the Attribute Enhancement Pod began operating. This time, the process took even longer than when he strengthened Strength.
After a long while, the Attribute Enhancement Pod stopped. Su Xiao allocated the remaining 1 attribute point to Endurance.
Su Xiao's current base attributes were as follows:
Strength: 50
Agility: 50
Endurance: 43
Intelligence: 50
Charm: 5
Luck: 1
...
Su Xiao coughed lightly. His main attributes were already ten times his Charm attribute—quite a gap.
Fortunately, his Charm attribute had reached the level of an ordinary person. At 5 points, this had nothing to do with looks; it mainly depended on temperament.
Although Su Xiao wasn't as ridiculously handsome as the protagonists in various stories, he was definitely not ugly. It was just that his temperament was too fierce.
Recently, Su Xiao had a feeling that because he had killed too many people, his Charm attribute might drop...
After thinking for a moment, Su Xiao decided that in the future, he should appropriately strengthen his Charm attribute a bit less—at least not let it become negative.
He returned to his Exclusive Room with Bubu Wang, sat cross-legged on the bed, and laid out all the gains from the trial world.
The trial world had yielded quite a bit, which was related to his reckless style. Others would hide after securing enough food to survive the trial, but he went wherever the danger was, eventually fighting all the way to the Black Forest.
He placed the items he had obtained in front of him. His gains were as follows:
Soul Crystal (Medium) x13
Phantom Magic Stone (Dark Purple, for enhancement)
Hard Carapace (Blue, forging material)
Curved Claw Blade (Purple weapon)
Demon Box (Chest-type item)
...
Su Xiao wanted to open the chest first, then sell some items, and finally enhance various abilities.
Also, a new arena had opened. If time permitted, Su Xiao planned to experience the new arena.
He picked up the pitch-black Demon Box. As usual, Su Xiao took out a cigarette and lit it with the Destiny Redemption lighter.
He opened the Demon Box, and an item appeared in his hand.
[You have obtained the Burning Demon Heart.]
Burning Demon Heart
Quality: Dark Purple
Type: Consumable
Effect: Using this item allows entry into the IV Demon Modification Facility. The facility can transform humans into demonic physiques.
Rating: 260
Introduction: Modifying a demonic physique carries extremely high risks and requires mastering the demon language to negotiate with the demons at the IV Demon Modification Facility and pay the modification fee.
...
A heart burning with orange-yellow flames pulsed in Su Xiao's hand. This item was essentially a ticket, allowing entry into a demon modification facility after use.
Su Xiao had no interest in turning into a three-meter-tall dark-skinned brute. Besides, he already had the Law-Destruction Shadow class and didn't need another bloodline.
Leaving his Exclusive Room, Su Xiao headed straight for the Trade Market. He had many items to sell.
He arrived at the stall he often used, but unfortunately, it was already occupied. He rented a nearby stall and placed several items on it.
Hard Carapace (Blue) priced at 4,000 Paradise Coins. This was excellent forging material for armor and could be sold easily at 4,000 Paradise Coins.
Shattered Elf +5 (Green) priced at 18,000 Paradise Coins. Shattered Elf was an old piece of equipment he had phased out. Although it was green quality, its attributes were strong, and it had been enhanced to +5. This price was reasonable.
As for the Burning Demon Heart, Su Xiao had no clue.
It was hard to judge the price of this item, so he simply set a high price of 200,000 Paradise Coins and waited for someone to haggle.
Five minutes after opening the stall, the Hard Carapace (Blue) was sold, netting 4,000 Paradise Coins.
Not long after, a contractor stopped in front of the stall.
"This gun, 10,000 Paradise Coins."
This guy was a "straight shooter," cutting the price nearly in half.
"18,000 Paradise Coins, no haggling."
Except for the Burning Demon Heart, nothing else on the stall was negotiable. Su Xiao wouldn't set prices too high; that would waste time. He wasn't a merchant.
"11,000, can't go higher. It's just a green-quality gun."
"Then don't buy it."
Su Xiao stopped talking. The contractor clicked his tongue, realizing 18,000 Paradise Coins was the lowest price.
"18,000..."
After hesitating for a long time, the contractor shook his head and walked away. It wasn't that Shattered Elf wasn't worth 18,000 Paradise Coins, but that this piece of equipment had reached its limit with no potential for further growth. As for continuing to enhance it, only a fool would do that.
Half an hour later, over a dozen contractors had gathered around the stall. After all, dark purple items were rare.
One contractor picked up Shattered Elf, put it down after a moment, then picked it up again. It was clear that this contractor really liked the Shattered Elf gun.
"This gun... will you sell it for 3,000 Paradise Coins?"
Although Su Xiao's expression remained unchanged, he was inwardly speechless. Another even more aggressive haggler had arrived.
"Minimum 18,000. The enhancement cost was high."
18,000 Paradise Coins was just the cost price, but an awkward problem arose: green-quality weapons were generally used by newcomers, and most newcomers couldn't afford such a "huge sum" as 18,000 Paradise Coins.
"Wait for me for half an hour."
The contractor hurried away. It didn't take half an hour; he was back in twenty minutes, probably having sold everything he had.
"17,000 Paradise Coins, can't go any higher. If there was a place to sell blood, I'd have already done it."
This Lv.5 contractor was going all in, hoping to boost his strength with Shattered Elf.
"Deal."
Su Xiao didn't want to keep waiting for the sake of 1,000 Paradise Coins, so he sold it directly.
Only the [Burning Demon Heart] remained on the stall. An awkward situation arose—this time, there wasn't even anyone to haggle.
A bad feeling rose in Su Xiao's heart. Was this thing going to be stuck in his hands?
After waiting bitterly for three hours, even the onlookers had thinned out. Only passing contractors occasionally glanced at it.
Su Xiao thought to himself, it's over. It really was stuck in his hands.
"Um... can this heart be a bit cheaper?"
A timid-looking young man stood in front of the stall. The youth had an effeminate appearance and dressed in a gender-neutral way.
"Of course."
Finally, a customer. Su Xiao decided internally that he could sell it for 100,000 Paradise Coins. He couldn't let this effeminate guy get away.
Seeing Su Xiao's gaze, the timid youth instinctively stepped back two paces.
"B-Big brother, I just want to buy something. Don't... don't look at me like that."