[Small Pouch]
Quality: Common Weight: 1
Durability: 50/50 Attributes: 10 slots, items in pouch -50% weight
[Silver Moon Short Staff]
Quality: Common Attack: 0~1
Weight: 1 Durability: 200/200
Attributes: Spell casting cost -1, slightly reduces casting time for first circle and below spells
Description: Silver Moon standard short staff, light and durable
[Magic Ring Apprentice Robe]
Quality: Common Armor: 0
Weight: 1 Durability: 100/100
Attributes: Slightly accelerates mental power recovery
Description: Magic Ring standard robe, sturdy and durable
The short sword was the same as before, nothing to elaborate on, 20 silver coins indeed made Yu Yu's purse heavier.
Because she hadn't found any equipment she could use, her equipment slots had been completely empty. Now, thanks to the City Guard's gratitude, she got a windfall with weapons, clothes, and even the pouch she'd been thinking about.
She hadn't even completed the quest!
No wonder it was a hidden quest—it was lucrative. The apprentice robe was black with a hood, with only a strange circle embroidered in silver thread on the chest. The short staff was about the length of a forearm, with a silver moon at the handle, thinner than a mineral water bottle cap by two circles, overall very lightweight.
Yu Yu was in an excellent mood. She looked at the commendation certificate and found it was just an award certificate, which she promptly stored in her pouch. She examined herself.
"Beautiful."
"Yes, beautiful."
Yu Yu turned her head, "Weren't you registering at the square?"
Yun Lun pointed to the sky, "It's time for lunch."
Yu Yu looked up for a while. The sky was still gray and hazy; she had never seen the sun since arriving. She had no idea how NPCs could tell the time.
"The City Guard actually gave you things," she praised, "When you reach level five and pass the Magic Ring test, you can join our Magic Ring."
Yu Yu's eyes lit up. A faction?
"How do I join?"
Yun Lun smiled, "We'll talk about it when you reach level five."
Yu Yu: "I'm level three now."
Yun Lun: "You outsiders level up so quickly, but that's just at the beginning. It'll slow down later."
"All spellcasters in the Ailen Peninsula join the Magic Ring because only the Magic Ring has the most complete spell inheritance. Even for us, most of the inheritance was lost on the mainland..."
"Yun Lun!"
Yun Lun instantly tensed up, "Senior!"
The newcomer gave them a cold glance, "Mind your words."
Yu Yu saw her and immediately waved, "I've paid back my debt!"
Yun Lun's eyes widened.
The black-robed woman looked at Yu Yu for a moment, nodded, and left.
As soon as she left, Yun Lun jumped up, "You didn't tell me you owed Senior Fei money," she said with amazement, "How did you dare?"
Yu Yu was confused for a moment, "I didn't expect her to actually extend credit."
Back then, she had no idea NPCs would be so responsive; it was just something she said casually.
Yun Lun nodded vigorously, "Senior is only a year older than me, but she's already an intermediate spellcaster. She specializes in negative energy and curses. They say she's about to become a high-level spellcaster and might even apprentice under Lord Feil..."
She kept talking, and Yu Yu just listened. She felt that this NPC was really bursting to talk; she wouldn't stop talking whenever she saw Yu Yu. Such a talkative NPC.
Yu Yu thought about her quest, "If a patrol team has disappeared, where would you normally look for them?"
"Disappeared? How is that possible?" Yun Lun's expression changed slightly, "Moon Crescent Town is so close to Silver Moon City, with Lord's protection, calamities can't get close at all. How could anyone disappear?"
Calamities?
Yu Yu looked at her with confusion, "It's man-made."
Yun Lun breathed a huge sigh of relief, "I was saying, you scared me to death..."
She looked shaken, and Yu Yu pressed, "What are calamities?"
Yun Lun's face froze, and after hesitating for a while, she said, "I can't tell you. You outsiders will know when you encounter them."
She said in a low voice, "Don't leave the range of Silver Moon, or you'll die."
Yu Yu: "..."
This game has quite a variety of features.
Yu Yu asked, "Then where do you think I should look for other missing people?"
Yun Lun was much calmer this time, "Maybe some weird organization is up to no good again. Just let the City Guard find them."
Yu Yu was concerned about her quest and rewards, "What if I want to help?"
Yun Lun: "You outsiders are so strange, especially enthusiastic."
Yu Yu: "..."
"Do you know the Human Positioning spell?" she suggested.
Yu Yu: "...No."
"What about the Item Positioning spell?"
"No."
"Then you can only search by yourself," she said regretfully, "I don't know them either."
"But the City Guard might ask the Magic Ring for help, I don't think you need to..."
Given the dynamic quest progression in this game, if Yu Yu didn't find the people quickly, the quest might truly be completed internally by NPCs. That wouldn't do, absolutely not. The rewards at hand must not be lost!
Yu Yu completed the Black-tailed Red Heart Grass quest, happily earning +2 silver coins, and received a cantrip—Call Raindrops. Along with Magic Flame, she now had seven skills.
Yu Yu now had 22 silver and 90 copper coins left. Feeling rather wealthy, she wanted to purchase higher-level skills. This game had no skill restrictions; it seemed you could learn as many as you wanted, which Yu Yu really liked.
"You want to learn first-circle spells? Is your mental power enough?"
"How much mental power do first-circle spells require?"
"It varies, but generally over 30 points. Even if you buy them, you won't be able to use them."
"Are there any with great power?"
Yun Lun looked at her, "There are too many first-circle spells. Which school do you want to learn?"
"Which school is the strongest?"
Yun Lun: "..."
Yu Yu was more precise, "The one with the strongest attack power, something that can wipe out opponents in critical moments?"
She was really lacking attack skills now; Acidic Ray and Spontaneous Combustion were barely scratching enemies.
"Then you should choose Evocation or Elemental," she said, "There's nothing particularly strong in first-circle Summoning, but Summon Long Bow and Summon Spell Warhammer from the Summoning school are widely praised as having good value for money."
Yu Yu: "...My constitution is only 4."
Yun Lun shrugged, "Looks like you're a very traditional spellcaster."
"I was going to recommend Transmutation," she smiled, "With Transmutation, you can turn into a bear in the late game."
Yu Yu: "..."
No, I'm not interested at all.
"Evocation's Force Missile, Force Shield, or Elemental's Lightning Arrow are all good, very suitable for beginners," Yun Lun recommended, "Burning Hand, Freezing Touch, and even Negative Energy's Touch of Fatigue are not bad. Vine Whip, Ice Blade, Wind Blade, and Small Fireball are all commonplace."
"Actually, if you're not looking for attack spells, I think Evocation's Animate Rope is especially useful. Try it and you'll know."
"Water Ball is also good, and works even better when used with Ice Blade and Cold Ray."
Yu Yu was dazzled by all the recommendations and wanted to learn them all. Unfortunately, a first-circle spell cost 20 silver, and she didn't have money to splurge. So expensive, really expensive.
Yun Lun continued to introduce, "If you want self-defense, I think Enchantment is not bad either. Stun, Grease, Sleep—try them and you'll know."
"Transmutation's Barkskin is also good, super hard—ordinary wanderers can't pierce through it."
"Or would you prefer Arrow Deflection Field?"
Yu Yu: "I only have 20 silver..."
Yun Lun: "No problem, work hard to earn money. It'll be quick."
Yun Lun pushed Force Missile and Lightning Arrow to her, "Force Missile is versatile and simple, quick casting, low consumption, not easily countered. Lightning Arrow is one of the top spells in first-circle Elemental, fast speed, great power, longer range than Force Missile. The downside is high consumption."
Yu Yu struggled for a long time, "I'll choose Lightning Arrow, and buy Force Missile next time."
"Sure."
Yu Yu's skill list gained a purple spell.
[Lightning Arrow]
[Tier: 1st Circle
School: Elemental
Casting Range: Far
Spell Range: 20 meters
Casting Cost: 30
Casting Time: 5s
Proficiency: Beginner (0/200)]
Yu Yu: "I heard someone at the academy collects insect silk?"
"Yes, how do you know? Senior Meng'an does, 10 silver per unit. Do you have any?"
"If I have some, can I sell it directly to her?"
Yun Lun nodded vigorously, "Yes, yes. If you don't go through the quest cycle, she can give you 14 silver per unit, and you can buy cantrips yourself."
Yu Yu: "Good, I'll bring them to her when I get some."
Thanks to the guards!
After saying goodbye to Yun Lun, Yu Yu returned to the square and found a crowd of people gathered around her sign.
Seeing her, they immediately swarmed over, "We don't even have enough silver coins for ourselves. Can we pay you?"
Yu Yu: "Yes."
Someone immediately tried to negotiate a lower price, "Both of these skills are taught by people in the City Guard, 10 silver each."
"I know the City Guard instructors teach them, but it takes 15 days to learn," Yu Yu had already checked the market rates on the forum, "10 silver isn't the issue, it's the 15 days that's valuable. Don't think I'm easy to fool."
"As for weapon proficiency, I haven't heard of it yet," Yu Yu said, "Even if you can learn it, it would definitely take a lot of time. Don't try to trick me with talk about low-level skills."
Time-consuming skills were quite valuable among players. This was why Yu Yu had set up a message auction—if they were just ordinary skills, she would have simply set a price. For instance, her spells could be learned immediately, so even with a premium, the markup couldn't be much.
~Edit and rewritten by Rikhi, Reiya_Alberich, ReiNyam~
"Boss, are you selling that sword?" Surprisingly, Brother Beast was also there this time, staring intently at the short staff and sword at Yu Yu's waist, "How did you get equipment? We work in the city, just hoeing grass and feeding cats, but can't get any equipment. Even going out for half a day, we can't find a single monster..."
Yu Yu: "There's an insect nest at the East Gate. You can try there."
"Thank you, Boss! You're a good person!"
Many of the onlooking players were just spectating, but hearing this, they were delighted.
Yu Yu also took the opportunity to say, "If you kill the insects, you can give me the insect silk. I'll buy it for 50 copper per unit."
"Boss, what do you need this for?"
"It's a casting material for spells," Yu Yu said naturally, "I'm buying a lot at once, and I'll use them up eventually."
The crowd immediately promised, "No problem, Boss, wait for me."
Many onlookers immediately dispersed, afraid that others would grab the monsters. Outside the East Gate were scattered rocks with very rugged terrain. Many players walked a short distance and didn't want to continue, so they wandered to the other four gates. Quite a few players had never encountered monsters before.
Brother Beast: "Will you sell your sword? As a spellcaster, you shouldn't need a sword, right? You already have a staff."
Yu Yu ignored him and focused on the main buyers, "What do you say?"
Currently, none of them had equipment, just hemp clothes and pants. Yu Yu, in her black robe, was the most dazzling in the crowd, clearly a high-level player.
"Can you show us the skill descriptions?"
"Sure."
[Aggressive Stance] (One of the warrior basics, a prerequisite for many battle techniques, must learn) [Basic Weapon Proficiency - Longsword] (A prerequisite for certain battle techniques, learning allows flexible use of longswords)
Everyone looked enviously, nearly drooling. Someone seemed to recognize Yu Yu, "Is this what you got from the hidden quest?"
Yu Yu didn't respond.
"Anyway, since these are beginner skills in the game, I won't spend too much," a female player wearing boots hesitated, "I'll take one book for 500, not more."
"Me too, 500," another female player aligned with her.
"I'll buy both for 1,200!" Brother Beast said.
The two women: "?"
Yu Yu held back a laugh, "In that case, then..."
"I'll pay 700 for one," the boot-wearing player said painfully.
"Me too."
Brother Beast hesitated, "...If you sell that sword, I'll buy everything for 2,500."
Yu Yu thought for a moment, then looked at the two people gazing at her pitifully, "Let's make it 600 per book."
The game had just launched; cutting too deeply would make it difficult to continue later.
Brother Beast: "I'll buy both!"
"Like hell you will!"
Just as they were about to fight, Yu Yu noticed that the guards were watching, and quickly said, "Let's do this, I'll sell you the sword."
Brother Beast immediately smiled, "But I think the skills are also important, so why don't I..."
Yu Yu immediately stopped him, "Even if you buy the skills and go out of the city, you'll die. You should just buy the sword."
She felt that these two melee players looked familiar. The players she recognized were no pushovers. If Brother Beast bought the skills and got killed, it would harm her reputation. In this game, dying once meant a three-day blackout. In the end, Yu Yu painfully sold her kept short sword, tearfully making a profit of 1,800.
A month's meal money secured. Thanks to nature's bounty. All three were quite happy and left cheerfully.
"Stupid with money," someone spat, "It's just a few days, spending 600 to buy it. Must be nice to have money."
"You don't understand the world of the wealthy."
Yu Yu didn't pay attention to the conversations between players as she logged off early this time.
The fog outside the house was still thick. Yu Yu glanced at it without further concern.
She went on the forum to post, typing a few bold words—[Beginner's Guide for Spellcasters]
ID, [Boss].