Chapter 282: Miscellaneous Card Deck

After the challenge match ended, the mercenary groups admitted their defeat and offered Rhode their equipment according to the agreement of their battle.

Of course, these people were divided into two groups. One group, led by Hiller, that hoped that Starlight could become a support for the Paphield region. Shearer even gave them the fire element giant sword that never left his side, expecting Rhode to complete his unfinished business.

"This sword is not of much use for me, so I will give it to you now... If you really can lead Starlight to victory, then I will feel really relieved."

Hiller's words were very sincere, but it was difficult for Rhode to be moved. He even wondered if Hiller targeted his mercenary group because he didn't have many two-handed swordsmen, so he intentionally gave that sword to him...

Of course, people like Hiller were a minority. Just like in the game, it was very rare for them to give small artifact weapons; there were more accessories, cloak, and such, but that's what he had been expecting. He actually didn't really need artifact weapons because not many of his subordinates could use such weapons. Rhode had thrown a dagger to Joey after the warm-up match, which made Joey so moved that he knelt down and said he wanted to repay it with his life. Of course, Rhode didn't agree.

Marlene didn't need a weapon, and Rhode couldn't find anything better than her family wand. As expected of a rich second-generation...

There were also some people were not very willing to give up their equipment and felt that they were wronged. Particularly, the leader of Mark White mercenary group, Hawk. He had bet an anti-magic shield, which was the treasure of their mercenary group. This was a powerful magic shield and its material was made from the famous obsidian. This material was able to completely seal off magical power. The Magic Association even used it to build a special prison for mages in an island. Once a mage entered that prison, any magic would be completely eliminated and sealed. Because of this, that material was rarely seen in the market since no mage would allow their weakness to be so easily gotten a hold of. Fortunately, this obsidian itself was very scarce. There was an obsidian mine located in the underground but besides mages, no one could easily enter a place which was filled with dark elves, dwarves, and underground monsters.

Of course, mages themselves wouldn't be so stupid as to look for that place to die.

That's why this material was very rare, and a shield made of this material was even rarer. Because of this, Rhode was a bit surprised when they handed over the shield, but after observing it carefully, it was indeed the anti-magic shield... This was certainly good news for him.

In fact, Hawk was reluctant to take out this shield because it was originally something that the former leader left for Anne. He intended to give it to her once she got older. However, it was such a good thing and Hawk didn't want to miss it, so he chased Anne away and then took it. But of course, he couldn't tell other people the truth; there were already a lot of people who suspected that he deliberately drove Anne away for this shield. Not to mention, this was the former leader's belonging and should have belonged to Anne. That's why there were a lot of people who doubted him in the Mark White mercenary group.

So, the reason for his action was to dispel the doubts, and as a way for him to say "look, I don't care about this thing as much as you say, so don't make wild guesses."

Of course, he said so, but in his heart, he was not willing to give up such a good thing. He deliberately, and even intentionally used this shield against Marlene in order to win and protect this shield. In his opinion, a mage was powerless in the face of an anti-magic shield, so shouldn't his victory should be certain?

However, the reality gave him a slap in the face. After circling around, this shield still fell into Anne's hands in the end. Not only had Hawk lost the anti-magic shield, but one-third of his mercenaries also withdrew from the Mark White mercenary group. Anne, Randolf, and Joey's influence soon emerged. Even others also started to think about their fate if they stayed there ...

Of course, this was not a matter that Rhode should consider; what he had to think about now was the equipment before him.

He had gotten a total of 30 pieces of equipment. Of course, it was impossible for Rhode to use all of them himself. There were longbows, two-handed swords, shields, and more. Even if Rhode used all of this himself, it would lead to others' dissatisfaction since he didn't fight in the match. Marlene, Lize, and Anne might not care, but it might cause problems for the others. He didn't want his men to think that he was like Mark White's leader.

Rhode planned to choose twelve pieces of equipment. The Composition Adornment was able to turn four pieces of equipment into one set of equipment. With twelve pieces of equipment, he would be able to make three sets of equipment, and by adding a halo effect, it would reach a standard equipment. As for the remaining pieces of equipment, he planned to store them. Starlight's reputation had risen again and their stronghold had reached Level 3. Rhode spent 500 gold coins to build an underground treasure room to store a variety of equipment. This was a bit similar to the guild warehouse in the game. However, the construction system of the treasure room in the mercenary group was a little bit different than that of ordinary rooms. The wall and door were sturdy, and there was even magic attached to it. Unless he came in person, any attempt to enter the treasure room would immediately trigger a trap and imprison the one who tried to enter. At the same time, there would be an alarm that notified everyone in the stronghold. From this point, it could be seen that having a treasure room was safer than asking someone to guard it.

Because of this, Rhode was relieved because he finally could begin to consider other things. He intended to bring the guild system in the game into reality. After he classified these pieces of equipment, he moved them to the treasure room. If a mercenary performed well, it could be rewarded to him. Of course, although these things could be taken out to sell, Rhode had other ways to make money. Just like in a time-traveling drama, the main character knew which stocks to buy to earn money. The same went with Rhode, the one who had created a new era in the game. Naturally, he knew that current;y cheap things would cost a lot of money later. When the time had come, he would definitely earn a lot of money. It was just that now, he didn't have the time and energy to do so.

Money could be earned anytime, but precious equipment couldn't be bought once the opportunity was missed.

A lot of veteran players knew this principle.

You could buy equipment, and even subordinates with money, but you couldn't buy loyalty. Now, Rhode wanted to invest his equipment to increase his mercenaries' loyalty and strength. These things just couldn't be bought with money.

Certainly, it didn't mean that money was unimportant.

But now, what he had to think about was his own equipment.

When choosing an equipment, one had to be very fastidious. He couldn't just judge an equipment by its rarity or strength. It also had to be suitable to his fighting style. No one was perfect, and it was impossible to be perfect even with the help of good equipment. So what Rhode had to consider was how to utilize the equipment to his own advantage.

Spirit Swordsman could be classified into many types due to summoned spirits. Some summoned spirits had high durability, so they would be more suitable as a tank. Some had strong offense but weak defense, so they would be more suited to burst damage. If a summoned spirit had a strong ability effect or high dexterity, it could be used for crowd control.

As for Rhode, he naturally chose the type he was most familiar with. After he activated his Dark Dance swordsmanship, he determined that his fighting style would revolve around speed. It meant that he would need equipment that could increase his speed, dexterity, and critical attack.

Once his target was clear, it would be easy to find a suitable equipment.

Soon, Rhode had found what he needed.

The first one he chose was the 'Doppelganger Ring'. It had a 'mirror' magical skill and was able to project two identical images of the holder to move according to the holder's thought. Of course, these projections were not dangerous. They were just phantom images and the effect was similar to the shadow of Rhode's Dark Dance Swordsmanship. But Rhode was very clear, and with this ring, he would have more chances and choices as opposed to his Thousand Shadow.

The next was a necklace that enhanced perception, earrings that increase intelligence by +3. Rhode even found a combat bracelet, and although it did not offer an additional effect that could increase swordsmanship level, it provided a property that was important for Rhode: stability. Stability was a very important factor for swordsmanship like Dark Dance, which focused in speed. Being fast was important, but stable combat techniques and flexibility were important too. Otherwise, if his speed was all over the place and Rhode was unable to grasp it, it would be like a racing car that lost control, which resulted in a bad ending.

"Well?"

Rhode shifted his gaze towards a beautifully crafted ring. It looked very luxurious and beautiful, and it was inlaid with a hexagonal diamond in the middle. Rhode was mesmerized by its beauty, because it was almost impossible to craft something this beautiful out of a magical equipment forged with a magical array. Inside this pile of equipment, this brushed gold ring with luxurious design looked more like a wedding ring than a magical equipment.

What is this?

Rhode curiously stretched out his hand to pick up the ring, condensing his energy. Soon his power entered the ring. In general, when he did so, he would be able to find out the structure and attributes of the ring before him.

But this time, the system prompt that appeared before him made him surprised.

[?? Ring in a deep slumber]

That was all.

All?

Looking at the system prompt, Rhode didn't know how to react. It didn't explain anything at all. ?? What's that? This situation usually only happened with magical equipment that had not been successfully appraised. However, besides the introduction, the attributes of the ring hadn't even been shown. So how could it be a failure?

Just as Rhode was feeling puzzled, something in his pocket suddenly moved. Then, a black shadow suddenly flew out and hovered before him.

It was the Hell Soul Core.