My Dream After Having a Do Over Is To Become The Best Player - Chapter 5
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- My Dream After Having a Do Over Is To Become The Best Player
- Chapter 5 - Black Market Challenge
The [Luxurious Accessory Box] slowly opened, emitting a colorful glow, dazzlingly radiant.
Fortunately, Shi Feng was in a dim alleyway, where no players would casually wander. Otherwise, it would surely arouse the greedy hearts of many players, leading to Shi Feng being killed and the treasures stolen.
As the brilliance dissipated, inside the [Luxurious Accessory Box] lay a purple-gold ring. Engraved around the ring’s periphery was a circle of text resembling ancient elven script, containing boundless magical power, alongside a string of quaint silver necklaces.
“Thank goodness, it’s indeed the [Levity Ring].” Shi Feng heaved a sigh of relief upon seeing the appearance of the ring, carefully taking it out for closer inspection.
— Levity Ring (Obsidian), Equipment Level 0, Strength +2, Agility +1, Endurance +1. Comes with the skill ‘Weightlessness’, which significantly reduces the wearer’s gravity, granting a feather-light body for 30 seconds. Cooldown time: 5 minutes.
“Fantastic! The ring is actually not [Bronze] Tier.” Shi Feng’s joy was palpable after reading the description, finding the situation better than expected.
In [God’s Domain], equipment was categorized as Gray, Common, Bronze, Obsidian, Mithril, Gold, Onyx, and Epic.
Initially, the equipment given by the system to players was all [Gray], worthless even for selling. At present, no player possessed [Common] equipment. Although [Common] equipment could be purchased in major cities, they were quite expensive. As for [Bronze] Tier equipment, it was extremely rare, and equipped with attributes, making [Obsidian] Tier items even more precious, with only bosses possibly dropping them.
In the previous iteration, the player obtained the [Levity Ring] as [Bronze] Tier equipment, only adding 1 point to strength, and the skill ‘Weightlessness’ lasted only 15 seconds. However, completing the Quest as a level 0 unexpectedly rewarded the [Levity Ring] at [Obsidian] tier, which was beyond expectations.
As for the necklace, it was a special [Gray] Tier item that NPC merchants liked very much and would buy at a high price.
Wearing the [Levity Ring], Shi Feng allocated all 4 free attribute points to agility that he gained from leveling up.
Shi Feng’s agility instantly reached a height of 12 points, increasing his attack speed to 5 points and his movement speed to 6 points, comparable to a same-level pure agility assassin.
“Once I reach level 3, my agility will reach 20 points, allowing me to unlock the hidden basic agility skills.” Shi Feng looked at the attribute panel with some anticipation.
Shi Feng then moved his body, feeling much more agile than before. If he were to face Mayor Cross now, he wouldn’t be as miserable as before. Once his agility reached 20 points and he unlocked the basic skill, [Nimble Swiftness], his physical abilities would truly be outstanding, akin to a master martial artist from wuxia novels.
Next, he allocated the remaining 15 Free Mastery Points to Single Sword Mastery, leaving 5 points for backup. In an instant, his Single Sword Mastery reached 20 points, advancing from apprentice to novice. The damage caused by single-handed swords increased by 10%. To advance to an intermediate, he still needed 30 more points of mastery.
As a [Swordsman], mastering the use of swords was essential to become a skilled [Swordsman]. Basic slashing was just the foundation; skills were indispensable. The more skills one learned, the more flexible the [Swordsman] combat would become, unleashing even stronger output.
Shi Feng, being a skilled [Swordsman] and a former pro player from the future, with the [Levity Ring] in hand, naturally wanted to quickly level up. The next step was to learn a large number of [Swordsman] skills. Otherwise, relying solely on basic attacks wouldn’t maximize efficiency in monster hunting.
‘I remember there’s a Black Market Challenge in the trading district of [Red Leaf Town]. It seems that players who pass the challenge for the first time can obtain a [Swordsman] skill book’ Shi Feng thought. Most skill books were dropped by level 3 to 5 monsters, with a very low drop rate. At this stage, no players had the time to farm those monsters for skill books, so the only quick way to obtain skill books in [Red Leaf Town] was through the Black Market Challenge.
[Red Leaf Town — Trading District]
Various shops lined the streets, including potion shops, blacksmiths, taverns, and more, making it bustling like a small market. However, since [God’s Domain] had just opened, players were focused on leveling up and didn’t have time to enjoy the game’s pleasures. Therefore, the trading district wasn’t as lively as it could be. Only a few production players were learning auxiliary professions here, such as enchanting, forging, potion making, cooking, engineering, and alchemy.
“Buying herbs at high prices, direct contact available.”
“Buying ores, blacklisted players need not come.”
“Sincerely buying high-level equipment, prices are negotiable, can purchase with credit points.”
Many studios and guild logistics personnel set up small stalls along the streets of the trading district to purchase goods and equipment.
Shi Feng didn’t linger and quickly walked towards the two-story building guarded by advanced goblin sentries. Above it was written “Black Market,” the dark zone of [Red Leaf Town], a place of entertainment built by greedy goblins.
Entering the black market, there was the goblin auction house. Going down the stairs along the cellar led to two empty spaces: one was the arena, and the other was the challenge.
At this moment, several players were standing on the challenge platform, accepting the goblin’s challenge.
“Come on! you can do it this time!”
“Come on! beat those goblins!”
Several players cheered and shouted for a rogue player on the field, their eyes gleaming red, like crazy gamblers.
The challenge was a test of player skills. In a 30-yard long and 10-yard wide area, after entering the arena, all player attributes would become 10 points. Skills couldn’t be used, and equipment was ineffective. Players could only evade or block the shots from goblin rifles. To win, they had to reach the finish line.
The goblins offered three levels of challenges: Bronze, Silver, and Gold. Each challenge could be attempted once every three days. The cost for participation was 5 Copper Coins for bronze, 5 Silver Coins for silver, and 5 gold coins for gold. The higher the challenge, the better the rewards, and sometimes even [Onyx] Tier equipment might appear.
For players who passed the challenge for the first time in [Red Leaf Town], even the bronze reward was almost equivalent to the silver reward.
Shi Feng remembered that in the previous life, a [Swordsman] named Kuang Feng successfully passed the bronze challenge in [Red Leaf Town] for the first time and obtained a rare [Swordsman] skill book.
After a while, the rogue player on the field was hit and fell 20 yards away, with only 10 yards left to the finish line.
“Darn it, so close. Do any of you have money? I’ll definitely make it next time,” the male rogue said repeatedly after resurrecting outside the field.
A male priest shook his head and said, “Boss Kuang, we’ve given you all our money. We really don’t have any left.”
Shi Feng, on the side, heard the name “Boss Kuang” and was surprised. He shifted his gaze to the rogue player.
Clad in black nocturnal gear, not very tall, and quite slender, resembling a monkey, Shi Feng found it hard to imagine that the 10th-ranked assassin on the Star Moon Kingdom’s assassin leaderboard, Kuang Feng, was the ‘monkey’ in front of him.
The assassin named Kuang Feng shifted his gaze to Shi Feng, appraising him with a look that seemed to have found prey. He approached Shi Feng and smiled, “Hello, friend. I’m Kuang Feng, the captain of the Assassin Alliance. Could you lend me 5 Copper Coins? I’ll pay you back 20 Copper Coins tomorrow, alright?”
Kuang Feng was quite resentful of his failure this time. With only 10 yards left to the finish line, he had already found some patterns. Given another chance, he was sure he could make it. Therefore, he wanted to use the name of his guild to intimidate Shi Feng and borrow 5 Copper Coins from him.
“5 Copper Coins?” Shi Feng pondered for a moment before replying, “Borrowing 5 Copper Coins is fine. But you would need to pay me back 50 Copper Coins tomorrow.”
This response surprised Kuang Feng. It was different from what he had expected. After all, he was a rather famous member of the [Assassin Alliance], a rather famous Guild that also played in many other Virtual Reality games, Kuang Feng. He didn’t bother with any pleasantries and assumed Shi Feng was a gaming novice and would just cave in.
Seeing Kuang Feng’s silence, Shi Feng asked again, “Will you borrow it?”
“Sure,” Kuang Feng said with tears in his eyes. Other players treated him like a deity, but Shi Feng didn’t react in the same way. But considering the generous reward, 50 copper coins are nothing.
“Here’s the 5 Copper Coins. Let’s add each other as friends, and don’t forget to return my 50 Copper Coins tomorrow,” Shi Feng said, handing over 5 Copper Coins to Kuang Feng from the 60 Copper Coins he earned from selling the necklace. He also reminded Kuang Feng about returning the 50 Copper Coins.
Kuang Feng, upon receiving the 5 Copper Coins, was tearful as he said, “Okay, I won’t forget.”
Unaware of Kuang Feng’s thoughts, Shi Feng walked towards the green-skinned goblin administrator after completing the transaction.
“Sir, time is money. What can I do for you?” the goblin administrator said arrogantly.
“I want to participate in the bronze challenge,” Shi Feng said, handing over 5 Copper Coins.
The goblin administrator nodded in satisfaction after checking the coins, then opened the wooden door to the challenge and let Shi Feng in.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we have a new challenger for the bronze challenge. Let’s welcome this brave [Swordsman],” the goblin announced loudly.
“Boss Kuang, that kid who lent you the money is also participating in the challenge,” the male priest reminded.
Kuang Feng, still recuperating, smiled and said, “That kid is just a complete newbie. He probably thinks this challenge is easy since it’s just sprinting and dodging. Although the range that he need to run for is only a 30-yard , once you reach 15 yards, the goblins’ attack pattern changes, their attack speed also increased a lot, to the point where even I find it too much to handle.”
“Of course, Boss Kuang. If someone as amazing as you can only reach 20 yards. I guess that kid will probably only make it to 5 yards at most,” the male priest nodded and chuckled.
In the challenge arena, the three goblins at the finish line were already prepared, aiming their rifles at Shi Feng on the starting line.
The countdown in the challenge arena began.
3-
2-
1-
The challenge began!