Chapter 15: Three-Pronged Advantage of "Cheating"

Jiang Fei was bored...

After leaving the Rosette Knighthood girls to the equipment in the guild storage, his hands were left strangely empty. There was absolutely no work left to do! The daily 50-gold-coin limit was all spent; even if he tried to find himself more work, there would be none for him. With nothing else to do, Jiang Fei began window shopping around town, looking for unique Recipes.

All the Recipes that NPCs sold were all White tier, which were mainly used for leveling up Crafting skills. Earning money through them would be out of the question. Even with Jiang Fei's exceptionally high Luck, he could only earn peanuts. This was why his current priority was getting his hands on rare Recipes.

...

Jiang Fei casually brought up the Dawnlight City's Level Leaderboard. In the lead was a Level 17 player. It was as expected, for the game was still growing. Even the strongest guild had an average level of 15. Reaching that Level so soon was no easy task. That average level would have meant that most mini-bosses around that area have already tasted their blade. Easter Egg bosses might drop one Green tier equipment, but a Leader tier boss and a hidden treasure chest might actually yield rare Profession Recipes.

"Ding!" It sounded just like one of those classic phones.

Jiang Fei looked down and realized that all the White tier equipment in the red slots were all gone. The mark had made a full circle -- its ends had met.

"Hoho. Leveled up! What surprises have you prepared for me?" said Jiang Fei with a smile, as he opened up the ring's properties window.

Luck +20

All Green tier Equipment crafted will be randomly granted a skill!

One level had made a huge difference to the ring. Not only was the bonus Luck now at 20, there was an additional skill that almost send Jiang Fei's eyes flying out of their sockets.

All Green tier equipment would have one additional attribute, and that attribute would typically be the common ones like Strength, Agility, or Defense. Some attributes were better than the others, such as Accuracy, Evade, and Block. On the other hand, outright passive skills provided a far greater advantage. And at the top of it all, having an equipment that provided an active skill was the ultimate upgrade. In the early stages of the game, having one or two additional active skills did wonders, since the default skills granted by their class was lackluster.

Furthermore, despite having relatively longer cooldowns, equipment's active skills were cost-free. It would exponentially increase one's damage output.

"I have to get my hands on some rare Recipes!" Jiang Fei decided. White tier equipment may sometimes come in Green tiers, but the success rate was low. With such an amazing "cheat" tool around his finger, why even aim for White grades, when you can make Green tier equipment even stronger!

...

Sadly, after spending an entire day scouring the entire city for player-sold higher grade Recipes for sale, he came up short. It was expected, but did nothing to ease off the disappointment as the Recipe could only be found in rare hidden treasure chests or a Leader tier boss drop. At the current stage of the game, not even one of these Leaders have tasted defeat. Even if someone did manage to farm one, their guild would never allow them to put it up for sale!

"WHAT!?" cried Jiang Fei when he finally saw one such Recipe.

Recipe: Corsair's Breastplate (Recipe, Fine)

Requirement: Beginner Blacksmith Level 1

"My good brother! How much is this Recipe?" said Jiang Fei, rushing up to the Bandit behind the counter.

"This? 100 gold coins. No more, no less!" the Bandit replied in a flash.

"Deal! Uh, give me one moment." Jiang Fei accepted the offer and took off.

The Recipe was expensive, probably priced higher than its actual worth, but it was worth every coin Jiang Fei was willing to fork out. The drop rate was too low, to begin with. But to amass that amount of money would take at least a week! He might already be Level 20 by then! However, Jiang Fei had an idea. He remembered counting the number of gold coins in the public guild storage! They had at least 400 to 500 gold coins stashed away!

"Guildmaster! Are you busy?"

Jiang Fei sent a written message to Rosette Rose. At that moment, he was broke and had already spent his daily limit of 50 gold coins. He could only get more money through the Guildmaster.

"What's wrong?" Rosette Rose replied after a short delay. She was busy killing monsters with her band of sisters.

"I need some gold coins."

"How much?"

"...200... gold coins," Jiang Fei hesitated. If he only asked for 100 gold coins, he would not have enough to buy the materials! The materials of Green tier equipment would not be cheap!

"That much? What is it for?"

Rose had thought that Jiang Fei wanted 10 or 20 more gold coins. That was completely fine. However, when Jiang Fei requested 200 gold coins, she had to raise an eyebrow. That amount was almost half of what the entire guild owned! Even though she had spent her own cash to purchase in-game currency, she could feel the sting! Plus, the game was spanking new! The gold-to-dollar ratio would be extremely high!

"I need it for a rare Recipe! It's an emergency! I cannot miss it! If I get my hands on it, I might even craft a bigger surprise for you guys!"

"Erhm... That's alright with me. I'll send Miaomiao over to you," Rosette Rose replied. She decided to take a leap of faith in the new boy. That sum was enough to give even her pause, it was a risk that she was willing to take, especially after the Blacksmith's strong showing in his debut!

"Okay! I'll be waiting at the East gate. Please tell Miaomiao to be quick!" said Jiang Fei.

"Brother...Did you get the Recipe from a treasure chest?" asked Jiang Fei. While waiting for Miaomiao to come over, Jiang Fei tried to strike up a conversation with the Bandit.

"Haha. You want to give it a go?" said the Bandit. His tone suggested that he had taken some offense to it.

"Ah! No. Nothing of that sort. I'm just a Crafter. Going out in the field would be suicide," Jiang Fei said. Jiang Fei deduced that the Bandit was a lone adventurer. Only a solo player would sell the Recipe for money.

"So? Are you going to buy it or not?" said the Bandit. He was getting impatient.

"Please wait. I'm waiting for someone to deliver some coins." Jiang Fei hurriedly explained. What if the Bandit suddenly up and left?

"Brother! I'm here!" cried Miaomiao, running towards Jiang Fei.

"Did you bring the money?!" Jiang Fei asked, barely able to keep his voice level.

"Here!" Rosette Miaomiao sent him the gold.

"Alright. I've got the money. Brother Bandit. Let's make the trade."

Jiang Fei then sent a trading invite to the Bandit.

"Alright. I've got the money, you've got the Recipe. It's a done deal, and I've gotta get back to grinding."

The Bandit promptly turned and left.

"Brother!" cried Jiang Fei. "Let's be friends. I'll buy all the rare Recipes that you find in the future!"

"Gale Moonwalker," said the Bandit without turning back to face Jiang Fei.

"I got it. Thanks!" Jiang Fei sent a Friendship request. The Bandit accepted it before disappearing into the crowd.

Satisfied with the transaction, Jiang Fei smiled. When he turned back to face Miaomiao, she was sulking.

"What a douche," she said.

"Haha!" Jiang Fei could not care less about her comment. He was the big winner in life here!

"Brother! What are we going to do next?" said the petite little girl.

"Huh? Weren't you just training with the other sisters?"

"Hey! You just took 200 gold coins! I'm going to observe you!" said Miaomiao as she crossed her arms and put on a conceited face.

"Did the Guildmaster put you up to this?" Jiang Fei was worried. Had he lost credibility in their eyes?

"Nope. Sister Rose just asked me to deliver the money. That's all!" said Miaomiao with a broad grin.

Jiang Fei quickly turned his back to Miaomiao. He was blushing madly.

"Gogogogogogo—away and disturb someone else! I-I-I-I'm busy!" Jiang Fei stuttered.

He was happy that Rosette Rose had trusted him that much.

"Hell Nayyy~~~ I'm coming with you! Bite me!" Miaomiao clung onto Jiang Fei's arm.

"*sigh* Fine! Do what you want!"

Jiang Fei shook his head. He immediately put the Recipe to use and learned the art of Smithing!