Chapter 73: This Is No Longer About Paradise Coins
The idea was beautiful, but reality was brutally harsh. The Minotaur Lord Arm Guard consumed a certain amount of blood, and the 30% health cost was based on maximum health, not current health.
"85,000. I urgently need Paradise Coins now."
"Deal."
The young man bought the Minotaur Lord Arm Guard with a beaming smile. His heart pounded wildly; in his eyes, he had snagged a huge bargain. The other party clearly needed Paradise Coins urgently.
85,000 Paradise Coins were credited, and Su Xiao's balance became 231,400 Paradise Coins.
After the young man left, Su Xiao immediately stood up.
"Bubu, stop sleeping. We're pulling out."
Su Xiao was certain that young man would return soon. To avoid wasting words, it was best to leave first.
Over ten minutes after Su Xiao left, a blonde mature lady hurriedly brought the young man to the stall.
"It... it was here."
The young man no longer had his previous arrogance; he now looked like a chick just hatched from its shell.
"..."
The blonde mature lady suddenly grabbed the young man's head, her long fingernails touching his eyeballs.
"How stupid can you be? Something worth at most 60,000 Paradise Coins, and you spent 85,000. Even dumber, you bragged about it in the group."
"Sis... I... I was wrong. I'm your own brother. You, you don't need to kill..."
"You're not wrong. I was wrong. I should have let you experience how cruel and terrifying Reincarnation Paradise can be."
The blonde mature lady released the young man's head. Although they couldn't attack each other in Reincarnation Paradise, the young man felt as if he had been granted a pardon. He had personally witnessed his sister gouge out an enemy's eyes and crush them in her hand.
"What were that person's features?"
"Features..."
The young man frowned in deep thought.
"Oh, right, he had a husky with him."
"A husky?"
The blonde mature lady was stunned, then thought of something and sucked in a sharp breath.
"Is it a black trench coat, a sword at the waist, and he doesn't hide his face?"
"Yes, but there was no sword at his waist."
"That's because it's in his storage space."
The blonde mature lady rubbed her forehead.
"My foolish brother..."
The young man's mouth twitched; he felt those words were somewhat familiar.
"Sis... I'm not Uchiha Sasuke, don't... don't call me that."
"Don't talk back."
The blonde mature lady's pupils turned into beast pupils.
"The person who sold you the equipment is named Bai Ye."
"Bai Ye? Who's that?"
The young man looked confused.
"I told you to spend less time with women and more time gathering intel about the Paradise. You didn't listen. Let's go. We can't afford to mess with a monster like that. Among the second rank, there are a few people you can't provoke. I've told you before."
"I remember them all: the Ranger Revolver Guy, the Divine Emperor's Crazy Healer, Bone-Cutting Lucy, Skull-Crushing Man Sanqi, Sniper Cannon Weini, Beheader Ye... Beheader Ye!? Could it be..."
The young man froze in place. He had heard a rumor—a rumor about one person annihilating an entire adventure group.
"Congratulations, my foolish brother. You 'luckily' encountered Beheader Ye, one of the freaks in the second rank of the Paradise. Consider those Paradise Coins a lesson. Don't just stand there. Come back with me to prepare. That thing is starting. The next derivative world... is hell."
The blonde mature lady's expression was grim. Although she was the leader of a medium-sized adventure group, she couldn't guarantee her survival in the next derivative world.
...
Su Xiao sat cross-legged on the carpet in his exclusive room, eyes closed. The Dragon-Slaying Flash lay flat across his thighs. He was upgrading his Blade Grandmaster skill.
After a long while, Su Xiao's eyes suddenly snapped open, a sharp gleam flashing in his pupils.
[Blade Grandmaster has been upgraded to Lv.31.]
Su Xiao instinctively drew the Dragon-Slaying Flash, a cold gleam flashing.
[Blade Grandmaster: Lv.31 (Passive Skill)]
Skill Effect: Increases blade-type weapon attack power by 140% (increased by 6%), greatly improves blade techniques.
Lv.10 Additional Ability
Rhythm of All Things (Top-Tier): This ability cannot be enhanced in Reincarnation Paradise. It can only be comprehended by the Hunter themselves. (Upgraded from High-Tier to Top-Tier.)
...
After checking the Lv.10 additional ability of Blade Grandmaster, Su Xiao closed the skill list. Since he only upgraded one level, the additional abilities at Lv.20 and Lv.30 wouldn't change.
After multiple upgrades to Blade Grandmaster and Azure Steel Shadow, Su Xiao discovered that these two abilities didn't change much between levels 1–9. However, at levels Lv.10, Lv.20, and Lv.30, there was a qualitative change.
Su Xiao referred to the former as small levels and the latter as large levels.
Upgrading small levels was an accumulation of the skill, with relatively low returns. When it came time to upgrade a large level, the accumulation from the small levels paid off, and the skill would see a significant boost.
Su Xiao checked his remaining Paradise Coins. He had 131,400 left. He gave Bubu Wang 1,400 Paradise Coins as pocket money, leaving 130,000 Paradise Coins.
He planned to use these 130,000 Paradise Coins to craft an item.
Twenty minutes later, the Equipment Forging Street in Reincarnation Paradise.
This area wasn't part of the Paradise's basic infrastructure. Most of the shops on this street were run by Workers who had mastered forging skills.
They had plenty of time to improve their forging skills or craft equipment. This was one of the necessary roles of Workers.
There were quite a few Contractors on the street. The clanging sounds from the workshops on both sides formed a continuous noise. Muscular craftsmen wielding hammers sweated profusely beside smelting furnaces. The high temperature from the furnaces could be felt even on the street. It was hard to imagine how these craftsmen, who generally had average physiques, could withstand such heat.
Don't underestimate these craftsmen. Most of them were honored guests of some adventure group. They came here solely to hone their forging skills. Even large adventure groups had limited equipment that needed forging.
Su Xiao came here to repair the Realm Severing Thread. This thread was originally 200 meters long. After battles with multiple powerful enemies, it had broken several times and was now only about 100 meters long.
The Realm Severing Thread was originally a component of an Imperial Artifact, so Reincarnation Paradise hadn't given it a detailed grade.
Su Xiao guessed it was around the Blue grade. It had lasted this long only because of its tough characteristics.
Su Xiao asked at several shops on the forging street. The results weren't good. Although Su Xiao had collected the broken pieces of the Realm Severing Thread, repairing it was very difficult.
When Su Xiao entered the tenth shop, things took a turn.
"What did you do with this thing? Tie up a boss?"
A disheveled old man tugged at the Realm Severing Thread. There were obvious marks of damage on that section.
"The strength of this thing is comparable to Purple materials. What a pity."
The disheveled old man tossed down the Realm Severing Thread.
"Give up. It can be repaired, but the cost is too high..."
"Name your price."
Su Xiao interrupted the disheveled old man.
"50,000. I can not only repair it but also improve its quality. How much exactly... somewhere between Purple and Dark Purple. This thing is somewhere between material and equipment. Improving it isn't too difficult. The hard part is the repair."
"Deal."
Su Xiao's straightforwardness surprised the disheveled old man.
"How long will it take?"
"At most two hours. If you have patience, pay a 40% deposit and you can wait over there."
The disheveled old man pointed to a wooden stool in the corner that looked like it might fall apart at any moment.
After paying the deposit, Su Xiao took out a tablet and sat on the wooden stool to play a puzzle game.
"Enemy troops have arrived in thirty seconds. Crush them!"
A female voice came from the phone in Bubu Wang's paws.
"You're so bad, does that match your 53 Charm points?"
Su Xiao's fingers moved almost like blurs. Bubu Wang's dog body tensed. It had to win this round. This was about the honor of the canine race.
Two hours passed quickly. The disheveled old man had somehow moved next to Bubu Wang.
"Use your ultimate! Use your ultimate! Why are you running? Hey, don't use it against the wall. You..."
"Woof woof."
The disheveled old man and Bubu Wang had somehow hit it off. Su Xiao, on the other hand, was examining the Realm Severing Thread in his hand.
[Realm Severing Thread]
Origin: Akame ga Kill!
Quality: Dark Purple
Category: Equipment Accessory (Can be loaded onto wrist guards, arm guards, gloves, and other hand equipment)
Durability: 190/190
Length: 200 meters
Strength: 14
Sharpness: 7
Rating: 220
Description: Part of a damaged Imperial Artifact.
Price: 31,600 Paradise Coins
...
Su Xiao left the forging street and headed straight for the Equipment Enhancement Hall. After the previous lesson, he planned to enhance the Realm Severing Thread to prevent it from being damaged again.
[Welcome to Enhancement Machine No. 315. User holds 80,000 Paradise Coins.]
Su Xiao took out the Realm Severing Thread. With his operation, a tray popped out of the enhancement machine.
Psssh~
White steam sprayed from inside the enhancement machine. Su Xiao placed the Realm Severing Thread on the tray.
[Equipment inspection... Inspection complete. Realm Severing Thread (Dark Purple) enhancement cost: 4,000 Paradise Coins per attempt.]
Seeing the enhancement cost, Su Xiao was stunned. Enhancing the Realm Severing Thread was surprisingly cheap. Thinking about it, the Realm Severing Thread wasn't equipment. If you didn't know how to use it, it was just a sharp rope. But in Su Xiao's hands, it was a deadly weapon.
[Yes/No to proceed with this enhancement.]
"Enhance."
[Enhancement begins. Please wait two minutes.]
The enhancement time was also surprisingly short.
Rumble...
The enhancement machine started operating, occasionally accompanied by the crackling sound of electricity. The noise was impressive.
Two minutes passed in an instant. The tray extended.
[Realm Severing Thread (Dark Purple) +1 Success.]
After checking the attributes of the Realm Severing Thread, Su Xiao immediately chose to continue enhancing. This thing had potential for development.
One level after another, the enhancements began.
[Realm Severing Thread (Dark Purple) +2 Success.]
[Realm Severing Thread (Dark Purple) +3 Failed. Dropped to +1.]
Su Xiao calmed his mind. This shock was a bit much.
[Realm Severing Thread (Dark Purple) +2 Success.]
[Realm Severing Thread (Dark Purple) +3 Failed. Dropped to +1.]
Seeing this enhancement result, Su Xiao's mouth opened and closed. He wanted to curse but didn't know what to curse.
Half an hour later, over a dozen Contractors had gathered behind Su Xiao.
"This guy is enhancing an Imperial Artifact accessory? And to this extent?"
"Rich and stupid, I guess. It's not a complete Imperial Artifact. Using this thing is hard unless you've been professionally trained."
"You guys didn't see it before. Have you ever seen it drop from +2 to +1?"
"Damn, this guy stepped in dog shit, right? Can enhancing +2 drop to +1? I've never experienced that."
"It can. And he's already dropped to +1 three times."
"Impressive."
Hearing the Contractors behind him, Su Xiao's eye twitched.
Psssh~
The enhancement machine's tray extended.
[Realm Severing Thread (Dark Purple) +9 Success.]
This time, the Realm Severing Thread went from +1 all the way to +9 without any accidents. A wave of exclamations rose from the surroundings.
Su Xiao didn't need to check to know that the Realm Severing Thread's attributes must be impressive now.
If it were equipment, Su Xiao would have stopped at +9. But the Realm Severing Thread was different. Besides, when enhancing above +7, he had already used [Phantom Demon Stone] for protection.
"Continue enhancing."
Su Xiao's jaw muscles bulged. He refused to believe that the Realm Severing Thread couldn't reach +10. He was determined to crush this enhancement machine today. This was no longer about the Paradise Coins spent. After dropping to +1 three times in a row, no one could tolerate it.
But given Su Xiao's luck today, the possibility of successfully reaching +10 was slim. This confirmed the saying posted at the entrance of the Enhancement Hall: Opening chests makes you rich for three generations; enhancing equipment ruins your life.
PS: (Recommending a friend's book 'The Creator of the Heavens'. This is the author of 'Dragon Ball: The Strongest Myth', also in the 2D category.)