Chapter 14: Items That Make People Envious
After the two siblings left, Su Xiao walked into the military supplies tent. The tent was cluttered with miscellaneous items, leaving almost no room to stand, the level of disorder beyond imagination.
"3 ounces of copper, 5 ounces of powdered gray snapping turtle shell, yes, that's right."
Muttering came from inside the tent. Su Xiao stepped over the debris on the ground, and ahead was a workbench. Behind the workbench stood a goblin.
"Another visitor? It's been lively lately."
This goblin had light green skin, stood about a meter tall, with long, pointed ears and a sharp nose.
"Don't be surprised, I'm not a goblin."
The quartermaster didn't look up, accustomed to people's peculiar stares. However, Su Xiao showed no surprise upon seeing him.
"I have one-third human bloodline, one-third goblin bloodline, and one-third dwarf bloodline. Heaven knows how I was born. I've never seen those damned parents either. Maybe they had a threesome. Anyway, I'm the quartermaster personally appointed by Legion Commander Carlos."
Half-breeds weren't uncommon in the Empire, but one mixed to this extent truly was rare. To be precise, dwarves or goblins weren't entirely absent within the Empire, just very rare. Of course, these pro-peace goblins or dwarves often faced discrimination or hostility. As for orcs and trolls, they were absolutely forbidden within the Empire. If any appeared, it was kill on sight.
"Here's the list."
The half-breed quartermaster handed over a list and then ignored Su Xiao, continuing to mix some reagent.
Su Xiao picked up the list, and a prompt from Reincarnation Paradise appeared.
[You have activated the Battle Merit Exchange System. In this world, you may not intimidate, threaten, or use any other harmful means against Quartermaster Nicholas Kaiser. If you become hostile to Quartermaster Nicholas Kaiser, you will be expelled by the Blood Legion.]
Undoubtedly, this quartermaster was not to be trifled with. Becoming hostile to him would trigger a chain reaction that could be fatal.
[Battle Merit Exchange List has been activated.]
Exchange list as follows:
[1 Point of Reincarnation Paradise Merit]
Stock: 196 points (4 points already exchanged)
Price: 100 Battle Merits (Special price for War World, exchange price reduced by 90%)
...
[Soul Crystal (Medium)]
Stock: 50 crystals
Price: 260 Battle Merits
...
[Soul Crystal (Small)]
Stock: 300 crystals
Price: 90 Battle Merits
...
[Branch of the Sacred Oak]
Origin: Vis Star · Dragon Soaring Empire
Quality: Gold
Type: Consumable (usable once)
Effect 1: Permanently increases max Health Points by +15% (limited to Stamina below 80 points), max Mana Points by +15% (limited to Mana Points below 3000), and Health Point recovery rate per minute by +20.
Rating: 400 (Gold item rating is 310-400)
Description: The Sacred Oak is the ancestral tree of the Wood Elves. Never let a Wood Elf know you possess this small branch of the Sacred Oak, or you will die.
Stock: 1
Exchange Price: 10,000 Battle Merits
...
[Darsin]
Origin: Tribal Alliance · Fire and Wine Blacksmith Shop
Quality: Gold
Category: Longsword
Durability: 106/106
Attack Power: 120-201
Equipment Requirements: Strength 70 points, Stamina 30 points, Willpower 30 points.
Equipment Effect 1: Death Curse (Passive), melee attacks deal an additional 50 points of curse damage and apply one layer of Death Curse effect to the enemy.
Tip: The Death Curse effect can stack up to four layers.
Equipment Effect 2: Demon Sword Power (Active), when the enemy has been afflicted with four layers of 'Death Curse' effect, the wielder can choose to detonate the 'Death Curse' or let it deeply erode the enemy.
Detonate Curse Effect: Deals 600 points of curse damage to the enemy.
Deep Erosion Effect: Reduces all of the enemy's defenses by 30% (if the enemy's armor quality is above Gold quality, the reduction effect is greatly diminished).
Tip: Demon Sword Power (Active) cooldown is 48 hours.
Equipment Effect 3: Demon Sword Possession (Active), fully activate the demon sword Darsin, consumes 2 Health Points per second, Attack Speed +20%, Movement Speed +20%.
Tip: Demon Sword Possession (Active) cooldown is 10 hours.
Rating: 360 (Gold equipment rating is 310-400)
Description: I curse you all, curse everyone who covets this demon sword. Your souls will be eroded by the curse's power.
Stock: 1
Exchange Price: 8,000 Battle Merits
...
[Duncan's Call]
Origin: Tribal Alliance · Goblin Laboratory
Quality: Gold
Category: Staff (Length 103cm)
Durability: 56/56
Magic Attack Power: 106-190
Equipment Requirements: Intelligence 75 points.
Equipment Effect 1: Duncan's Arcane Art (Passive), Mana Point consumption when casting +20%, spell size +30%, spell power +12%.
Equipment Effect 2: Eternal Coffin (Active), consumes 400 Mana Points to form a crystal coffin with 4500 durability points that envelops the user, restoring Health Points at a rate of 8% per second.
Tip: Eternal Coffin lasts for 6 seconds.
Tip: After using Eternal Coffin (Active), the user cannot move, attack, cast spells, or use recovery items.
Tip: Eternal Coffin (Active) cooldown is 72 hours.
Tip: If the Eternal Coffin is destroyed, it will create a crystal shard pulse that knocks back enemies within a 10-meter radius.
Rating: 360 (Gold equipment rating is 310-400)
Description: If you're in a hopeless situation, be sure to put yourself in a coffin first.
Stock: 1
Exchange Price: 8,000 Battle Merits
...
The list of items, equipment, and consumables was densely packed. Below the few pieces of Gold quality equipment were numerous Light Gold items. This was to motivate contractors to fight bravely on the battlefield, earning plenty of Battle Merits. Even a Private First Class could activate the Battle Merit Shop.
Not to mention the few items with astonishing attributes, their required Battle Merits were sky-high. No one could accumulate that many Battle Merits in the early stages.
At the very top, the Reincarnation Paradise Merits and Soul Crystals were limited in supply and not too expensive. Su Xiao could confirm that soon, the Reincarnation Paradise Merits and Soul Crystals would be snapped up.
The preciousness of Soul Crystals needed no elaboration. As for Reincarnation Paradise Merits, these were closely tied to the rewards after a war victory.
It was highly likely that after a war victory, Attribute Points or other rewards could be exchanged for Reincarnation Paradise Merits at a certain ratio. Reincarnation Paradise wouldn't deny contractors the chance to gain Attribute Points in any world. Since this world couldn't provide World Source, Su Xiao's guess was even closer to the truth.
Other rewards were fine, but Attribute Points were too precious. They were the foundation of everything. Without a strong physique, one couldn't even use equipment. Moreover, physical fitness was the cornerstone of all abilities. Especially for Su Xiao, who developed four attributes simultaneously, he needed several times more Attribute Points than other contractors.
Thinking this way, the speed at which Reincarnation Paradise Merits would be exchanged was even more astonishing. The stock was limited to 200 points, and 4 had already been exchanged. Judging by the situation, it was clearly because of the 90% discount offered in the War World.
While Su Xiao was thinking, footsteps sounded behind him. A man in a mage robe entered the tent.
Seeing Su Xiao, the mage-robed man paused, then stepped forward and lightly touched the exchange list. Ten seconds later, another 5 points of Reincarnation Paradise Merits were exchanged.
As the war continued, the amount of Battle Merits would increase. Eventually, there might be a situation where one had Battle Merits but couldn't exchange them for Reincarnation Paradise Merits.
The Black Earth War Zone had several adventure groups. More importantly, Battle Merits were a mechanism of Reincarnation Paradise and could be transferred between contractors.
The advantage was that it allowed various adventure groups to pool resources. The disadvantage was that it could easily cause conflicts among contractors of the same faction. However, under the constraints of Reincarnation Paradise, such conflicts rarely erupted unless both sides had lived long enough.
Su Xiao glanced at the [Branch of the Sacred Oak]. This item made him very envious. It increased max Health Points and Mana Points by a full 15%, and also boosted Health Point recovery per minute by 20 points.
Whether to save up or exchange for Reincarnation Paradise Merits was a very agonizing problem. Su Xiao could confirm that some adventure groups had already started saving Battle Merits. Others were equally envious of this item.