Volume 4 Chapter 32 Return
Since it was on our way, Xiao Yi and I followed Frey and others to Mykenni where they were going to deliver the mission.
Mykenni is not a big city - in fact, it is just a small village similar to the one on the Blue Continent. However, on the Fantasy Continent, the architecture of this "village" is very unique: a castle was built in imitation of the city-states of ancient Europe!
It is called a castle, but from the perspective of oriental players, it can't really be called a "city", it's just a small military fortress! There are four watchtowers and arrow and the watchtowers are connected by walls. The walls are only two meters high and three hundred meters long, enclosing an open space of 100,000 square meters. The main building inside is a palace. Of course, it is also pitifully small, but its interior decoration is magnificent.
King Eurystheus of Mycenae warmly received Frey and his party. After a long speech of thanks and praise, he gave out the reward for the mission: a magic rune ELV!
Speaking of divine runes, they are unique products of the Illusion Continent and the Ice and Snow Continent. In contrast, the Blue Continent and the Scarlet Flame Continent produce gems. Both of these items can be used to inlay equipment to improve equipment attributes, or they are essential materials for making equipment. In the so-called East-West trade, divine runes and gems are one of the main commodities.
The Eastern Continent and the Western Continent each have many specialties, some of which are just for fun or can be used as substitutes for each other, so they don't have much trade value; but some things are essential for players or can greatly enhance player strength. If you can sell such items between the two continents, you can make a lot of profit.
The most important of these are the exclusive equipment for certain professions.
For example, my knight profession is originally a Western profession, so it is rare to find knight-exclusive equipment in the Eastern Continent. Although it cannot be said that there is absolutely no such thing, but compared with the Eastern profession-exclusive or universal equipment (that is, suitable for multiple professions or all professions, and there is no profession restriction in the wearing requirements of the equipment itself), the proportion is less than one thousandth. The equipment explosion rate in Fantasy is originally low. As a result, it is almost impossible for an Eastern knight to get a complete set of exclusive equipment.
In fact, the so-called exclusive equipment does not necessarily have better attributes than general equipment, but it is tailor-made for a certain profession, which can more effectively play the strengths of that profession and make up for its weaknesses. Some better dark gold equipment or professional sets can also comprehensively improve the character attributes or professional skills of that profession. Usually, when comparing a player of the same profession wearing a full body of exclusive equipment with a player of the same profession wearing a full body of general equipment, under the premise of the same equipment grade and player level, the player wearing exclusive equipment is about 20% stronger.
In order to increase strength by 20%, players will definitely not hesitate to spend double the money, so selling exclusive equipment is definitely profitable.
On the surface, talismans and gems have the same functions and can be replaced with each other, but in fact, their properties are completely different.
The requirements for gems are relatively simple. As long as there is a blacksmith of a sufficient level, you give him a piece of equipment and a gem, and he will help you inlay the gem into the equipment, and the equipment attributes will definitely be improved (of course, if the casting fails, both the equipment and the gem will be lost). Different gem colors have different improved attributes; the better the quality of the gem, the more attributes are improved; a piece of equipment can be inlaid with gems multiple times, but there is a maximum number of times. The upper limit is different for different equipment and blacksmiths of different levels, and the more times you forge, the easier it is to fail.
The runes are completely different. A single rune is useless. When using runes to improve equipment attributes, you need multiple runes in a certain order to form a "divine language". The arrangement of divine language is almost infinite. The higher the level of the caster, the more divine language they can master. Some higher-level divine language can greatly improve equipment attributes, while some garbage divine language has limited effect, and some failed divine language can even reduce equipment attributes! The effect of divine language is generally better than gems, and there is no risk of equipment breaking if it fails, but there is only one chance to use divine language to improve the attributes of a piece of equipment.
Comparing talismans and gems separately, each has its own advantages and disadvantages, but the important thing is that talismans and gems can be used together to achieve the effect of 1+1＞2!
Neither talismans nor gems can be used to transform Holy Spirit equipment and artifacts. However, if one has a master-level blacksmith or above, the ultimate divine language, top-quality gems, and high-level dark gold equipment with good attributes, it is not impossible to achieve attributes close to or even exceeding those of Holy Spirit equipment after upgrading, although the cost is high and the probability of success is low.
You should know that with the fantastic explosion rate, it is impossible for ordinary players to obtain a piece of Holy Spirit equipment, but the divine rune + gems provide another way to make the impossible possible. Although it is still difficult to meet all the best conditions and the cost is too high, it is not necessarily cheaper than buying a piece of Holy Spirit equipment (especially if you are unlucky and fail four or five times in a row), but if you can settle for the second best, use high-level divine language, high-quality gems, and better dark gold equipment to synthesize a top-quality piece of equipment that is far superior to ordinary dark gold equipment and not far inferior to Holy Spirit equipment. It is still affordable for most players, and this is also where the bulk of the profit from trade lies.
The ELV rune that Frey obtained is a very rare one among countless runes.
The output of runes is also different from that of gems. Gems can only be dropped by monsters above level 60, and the drop rate of low-quality gems is not high. The higher the level of the gem, the lower the drop rate. Runes can be dropped by all monsters. Some of the junk runes are very common and no one wants them even if they are given away. Some are extremely rare and harder to drop than top-quality gems. The higher the level of the runes, the more rare runes are needed to combine them, so the price of some runes is far higher than that of top-quality gems.
I didn't expect that after Frey took the talisman, he immediately passed it to me and said, "Friend from the East, please accept this gift. It's a small token of my appreciation. I hope you won't refuse it."
I was stunned and said, "How can this be so? We in the East have a saying that goes 'no reward without merit'. How can I accept the reward for your hard work?"
Frey said, "Haha, if it weren't for your help, our mission wouldn't be so easy to complete. Moreover, each completed task in this series of tasks will earn you a reward, but my goal is the grand prize after completing all the tasks - the Holy Spirit Equipment. This talisman means nothing to me, but I hope it can become a testimony to our friendship - don't you want to accept my friendship? Don't you want to be our friend?"
At this point, I couldn't refuse, so I took out a top-quality gem and several high-quality gems, which I brought from the Blue Continent. I wanted to estimate the value of them in the Fantasy Continent and do market research for future trade. Now it would be perfect to use them as a gift to exchange with Frey.
"I am very willing to be your friend. It is my honor to have your friendship. Please accept my small gift."
Frey was very generous. He took the gem without hesitation, handed the talisman to me, and shook my hand vigorously.
I looked at the talisman in my hand. It was a black stone half the size of my fist, with the three letters "ELV" engraved in cursive script. The font glowed faintly red.
At this time, Frey was surprised and said: "Oh, this is a top-grade gem! This is really precious. Thank you, my friend. With these gems, I can make a very good armor!"
In fact, purely in terms of value, the "ELV" rune is far superior to the top-grade gems. Even with those top-grade gems, it is still not as good as this rune. But I am the first player to cross the continent. It can be said that these are the first batch of gems to appear in the Western continent since the public beta of Fantasy. For Frey, it is easier to get a set of ultimate divine language than to get such a gem.
But he was too happy too soon. Although he had the materials, it was very risky to combine divine language and gems to synthesize equipment. If he failed, everything would be over. So I said, "I wish you success, my friend!"
Suddenly, an idea struck me. In the future, I will transport gems from the Cang Continent to the West for sale. The Thunder Alliance is unfamiliar with this place, and it is difficult to expand business alone. Why not find a partner in the West? If we go to the Crusaders and the like, those big guilds are powerful and have the power to monopolize trade profits, and may not be willing to cooperate with us. A medium-sized guild like the Hand of God has a considerable scale and the ability to conduct business, but it is not enough to enter the Eastern and Western markets at the same time. It is a good partner for us to cooperate. After making a lot of profits through trade, the Hand of God may also develop into a group that can compete with the Crusaders, Caesar, etc. Having an additional powerful ally in the West will be beneficial to the Thunder Alliance. Now that we have established a friendship with Frey, isn't this an opportunity to discuss cooperation?
So I said, "My friend, this top-quality gem is worth 30,000 gold coins in the market of our Cang Continent. How much do you think it can be sold for in Huan Continent?"
In fact, the price of oriental gems has loosened up now. The best gems only cost about 20,000 gold coins. It will fall further in the future. Of course, I can't tell the truth completely.
Frey thought for a moment and said, "It's hard to say, but I believe that even if the price is 50,000 or even 100,000 gold coins, there will be people who will buy it."
I smiled and said, "As far as I know, this ELV charm can be used to create several sets of ultimate divine language, such as Death's Breath, Elven Sigh, and Moon Goddess Whisper. Among the Elven Sigh, only ELV is rare, and the rest are common charms. But as long as I bring back a set of Elven Sigh, I can definitely sell it for more than 200,000 gold coins."
Frey looked at me in surprise, as if he didn't understand what I meant by talking about the prices of gems and talismans. Do I have to make up the price difference after exchanging gifts?
Edna beside him was shocked and said thoughtfully: "Mr. Blood Sky, the price difference between gems and talismans in the East and the West is so big, what you mean is..."
I chuckled and said, "Frei, my dear friend, think about it. If I transport a large number of gems from the East and buy a large number of talismans from you, then..."
Frey suddenly realized: "Commercial trade? God, this is a great idea. You will make a fortune, my friend! However, traveling across continents is not easy. With your strength, you can travel back and forth freely, but large-scale caravans..."
I said, "You don't have to worry about this. Players' levels are always improving, and soon we will be able to build enough forces to protect the caravan! But it will be difficult to conduct business in an unfamiliar environment. I hope to cooperate with you, and we can make a fortune together, my friend!"
Frey smiled sheepishly and said, "I am actually a layman in business. Edna is in charge of the finances of God's Hand. You can discuss this matter with her. I am very happy to cooperate with you. You are right. The prospects of this market look very promising."
Actually, I am also an outsider. The finances of the Thunder League are also managed by profiteers. I never ask about it. It is just that the development of East-West trade was the general direction set when the Thunder League was first established, so I have some understanding of this aspect of affairs. But when it comes to specific business cooperation, I know nothing about it.
Fortunately, who is my wife? The future heir of one of the world's largest corporate groups, she is very familiar with business. Although this idea of mine was also impromptu and I had not made any advance plans, she and Edna discussed it in a low voice for less than half an hour and actually came up with a formal business contract!
Although it was just a letter of intent for cooperation, I looked at the clauses and found them clear and detailed. The conditions for cooperation are also very beneficial to both parties, and she secured the lion's share of the profits for us. Hehe, even negotiation experts are not as good as her!
If there weren't so many people watching, I would hug Xiao Yi and kiss her hard to praise her for her ability. However, when she saw my malicious eyes looking at her face, it was easy for her to guess what I was thinking and she blushed immediately.
Afterwards, as both parties had different destinations, we parted ways very amicably. Frey also made an appointment with me to meet again in the future in the Cang Continent, as he also wanted to travel to the East!
After that we traveled around Rome, visited the famous Colosseum, and then headed to Budapest and then to the Vatican.
Here, I finally decided to get promoted!
Originally, in the Cang Continent, I helped Er Qiao capture the Golden Silkworm Queen, and my level had reached 55, which was the unshakable first place on the leaderboard. But then I got engaged to Xiao Yi, and in order to find a betrothal gift for her, I didn't focus on leveling up for more than half a month, but I still reached level 57. After we got married, we traveled across the continent for our honeymoon, which took eight or nine days on the road. In addition, after arriving in the West, we visited various scenic spots, which took another half a month. We only killed some monsters that we encountered from time to time during the journey, and the leveling efficiency was very low. I only reached level 59, and Wufawutian had already caught up with me to the same level. If I delayed any more time, I would not be the first person in Fantasy to reach level 60!
So outside the Vatican City, I went to the Demon Castle, which is the base camp for the fight between Western demons and the Church. There are all kinds of demon monsters in it, and it is a good place for high-level players to level up.
Once Xiao Yi and I started to work hard, our leveling speed was extraordinary. We had the only two semi-artifacts in the entire Fantasy World, so we killed monsters too quickly! Especially Xiao Yi, she was even more powerful than me after putting on the Moon Shadow Robe. She could ignore the attacks of monsters below level 80, and her spells were more than half as powerful as those of ordinary magicians. She could kill big demons that ordinary players would have a headache with, but she could kill them one by one!
In less than three days, I reached level 60, and Xiao Yi went from level 54.5 to level 57!
I came to St. Peter's Basilica, found the NPC and asked for a promotion, and received the promotion mission: The Test of the Golden Dragon.
The three-headed golden dragon, as an S-level boss second only to the seven-winged dragon king, is of course no match for me. However, this mission is not so perverted that I have to fight against the golden dragon. It's just that a young golden dragon accidentally got lost and was captured by a group of NPC bandits to be sold. If this is not stopped, the angry golden dragon will come out of the Dragon Valley and wantonly destroy human cities. Therefore, as a request from both humans and the golden dragon, I have to defeat the bandits, rescue the young golden dragon, and return it to its mother.
The mission is quite difficult. If it were in the Blue Continent, I could easily wipe out the bandits by sending out a battalion of the Thunder Corps. But in the West, there are only Xiao Yi and I. Although I can ask my new friend Frey for help, he might look down on me as his partner. Can't he even complete his own promotion mission?
So Xiao Yi and I went to the valley where the bandits were staying alone. After a fierce battle, we finally used the power of the magic weapon and the tactics of defeating them one by one to completely wipe out the bandit gang and rescued the baby dragon.
Unexpectedly, the three-headed golden dragon that got the baby back also gave me a gift: a strong ground dragon that had just reached adulthood!
It turns out that when a knight reaches level 60, his mount is upgraded and replaced from a unicorn to a ground dragon (this refers to the authentic knight, and the knight is just a general term for a large category of professions. There are many branch professions under it, and their characteristics and mounts are different). Generally, you have to catch a wild ground dragon as a mount. Mine is considered a reward for a high-difficulty task. The ground dragon given by the golden dragon is slightly faster and has a higher load-bearing capacity than an ordinary one. It is a pleasant surprise!
Bigger surprises were yet to come. After completing the promotion at the NPC, I officially became a golden knight and learned the knight's level 60 skill "War Halo". The NPC told me that as the first fourth-turn player in Fantasy, the system would reward me with 100,000 reputation and a medal of honor (which can be worn extra without taking up equipment space, increasing attack, defense, blood, and speed... in short, all performance attributes +5%). In addition, as the first knight in Fantasy to be promoted across continents, the system specially allowed me to hire two paladin NPCs to return to the East. In the future, knight players in the Eastern Continent can be promoted through these two NPCs without having to come to the Western Continent!
Oh hehe... pie in the sky! As the NPC I hired, you obey my orders and serve me. I can determine how much each player needs to pay for promotion! Although I have to pay a large sum of money for the retainer and every income must be taxed, I can still make a fortune! You know, not every player has the ability to cross the desert when they reach level 60. It is much more convenient for them to be promoted locally. And although you still have to come to the West to catch the walking dragon and change your mount after being promoted to a golden knight (there is no such monster in the East), your strength will be improved after the promotion, and there is an extra guarantee for safe crossing of the continent. I dare to assert that as long as my price is not too outrageous, at least 90% of the knights on the Cang Continent are willing to go to the Jinglei League for promotion first, and then come to the West!
Another week passed, and Xiao Yi finally reached level 60. She was successfully promoted to a great magician. However, she was the eighth fourth-level player, and the system only rewarded her with 5,000 reputation and no medals. However, she was still the first magician to be promoted across continents, so she was able to hire two holy magician NPCs to return to Tianshui Pavilion. She made more money than me, because on the Cang Continent, there are many more magicians than knights!
It has been nearly a month since I left the Blue Continent. Although there are still a few cities on the Fantasy Continent that we have not visited, Xiao Yi and I have to embark on the journey home, because when I was offline, A Wei told me in reality that the situation in the East has changed and I need to go back to deal with it urgently. So Xiao Yi and I mounted "Ben Lei" (the name I gave to the earth dragon) and set off on the road home.
Because on the return trip we were teleported directly to Alexandria, and then headed east from Alexandria. Benlei's speed was 160% of that of a unicorn (an ordinary ground dragon is 150% ), and he had better endurance and needed less rest time. Plus we already had experience, so it only took us six days to return to the Eastern Continent. The return trip was extremely smooth, and we didn't encounter any obstacles like mirages.
After returning to the Jinglei League, Xiao Yi said goodbye to me. She also had to go back to Tianshui Pavilion to deal with the backlog of affairs. I asked Awei to notify all the core cadres in the league in advance. When I returned to the headquarters, all the members were online. I didn't have time to tell them about my travel experiences, so I immediately convened a meeting.
The meeting lasted for more than two hours. The next day, I invited several more trustworthy leaders of the alliance gangs, including Xiao Yi, Myna, Xue Hai Wu Ya, Yan Hua Wu Shuang, Xuan Yuan Yu Hen, etc. (There are more than 20 alliance gangs in Jing Lei Alliance at present, but there are less than 10 with real solid relationships and absolute trust) to hold a top-secret meeting in Jing Lei Alliance. The content of the meeting was known to no more than 15 people.
Peace is over and war is coming!
