Chapter 151: The Cube of Death
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Quietly activating the newly acquired skill "Perception," information about the opposing water element mage instantly flashed into my mind:
"Ranma," Level 34 Water Element Mage; Deputy Leader of the "Ironclad Mercenary Corps."
This revelation slightly boosted my confidence in him—being the deputy leader of a mercenary corps meant he had status, not to mention credibility. However, Ranma’s subsequent proposal and Falcon’s response made me doubt his trustworthiness more and more!
...
“This puts me in a tough spot... If you give me the items first, you definitely won’t agree; if I transfer 300,000 to your account first, I can’t do that either! That’s several years’ salary for me... I’d probably jump off a building if I lost that much. How about this—do you have any trusted friends who can act as guarantors? They must have enough reputation and credibility! If someone agrees to guarantee you, we’ll hand over the items to them...”
His confident words didn’t ease our suspicions; instead, they raised our guard even higher.
Falcon and I hadn’t joined any mercenary corps ourselves, yet he asked if we had any reputable mercenary leaders to act as guarantors...
A hint of disdain flashed in Falcon’s eyes as he replied:
“If we knew anyone like that, we would have joined a corps already.”
“Uh, I see... Then how about this? I’ll bring out our corps leader to act as guarantor, alright? He’s Level 36, a Dragon Wolf Knight; our corps has over six hundred members and is somewhat well-known...”
“So you want us to hand over the Ice Condensing Staff to you first?”
“No, to our corps leader. Then I’ll transfer the credit points to you. After you confirm, I’ll get the staff from our leader...”
“Your corps—the one you say is reputable and powerful?”
Falcon voiced what I was thinking, but Ranma answered quite “firmly”:
“Of course! Our corps may not be the strongest, but with over six hundred members, we’re quite formidable in the mercenary world!”
Falcon and I couldn’t help but roll our eyes. We weren’t sure if this guy was overly arrogant or just taking us for fools. Even a mercenary corps of over five hundred members doesn’t close the loopholes in such a transaction.
Even if he doesn’t actually transfer anything, no one would know what’s really happening! And transferring credit points to their corps leader isn’t reassuring either.
Thinking this, Falcon and I ignored him and simply said, “Forget it,” before leaving the appraisal shop. Later, Falcon told me that even mercenary corps often collude to scam others. Some players even create fake corps, recruit people to grow to thousands, then use this “guarantee” scheme to deceive unsuspecting players.
Such tricks are frequently exposed on forums, and player characters get repeatedly called out...
However, with so many cities and players in "Magic Era," and so many scammers, these fraudsters often just move to a new place or disband and re-register a new corps after succeeding, then start scamming again.
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After hearing Falcon recount a few particularly difficult cases, I was instantly on edge: some of these tricks are nearly impossible to defend against, deeply understanding human psychology so that you don’t even realize you’re being scammed!
Although there was no solid proof that Ranma was a fraud, we didn’t want to risk using the Ice Condensing Staff as a test—if possible, it’s best to avoid such situations!
Leaving the appraisal shop, I suddenly remembered the deep blue magic crystal:
“Damn, I forgot to appraise it.”
...Never mind, I’ll go later. It was getting dark anyway. I had plenty of time, so I decided to head to the market first to sell the Ice Condensing Staff and some other equipment to buy myself a full set of Tier 3 gear.
...
With my first experience setting up a stall, I quickly priced a few pieces of equipment under Falcon’s astonished gaze. The three pieces dropped by the Magic Lizard were priced between 1,000 and 1,500 gold coins; the two pieces dropped by the Wolf Clan warrior were under 1,000 gold coins; the highlight, the Ice Condensing Staff, I boldly priced at 50,000 gold coins! (As a top-tier Tier 3 water mage weapon, its value and demand far surpassed the Radiant Shield!)
“You’ve finally gotten the hang of it!” Falcon grinned, standing beside me. Ever since hearing about the Radiant Shield’s popularity, he regretted missing out. Today, it seemed he’d get to witness the madness around a water mage’s ultimate weapon!
Sure enough!
The moment the Ice Condensing Staff, radiating chilling energy, was placed on the stall, several nearby vendors’ eyes lit up, stunned for a moment, then unable to suppress their curiosity, quickly closed up their stalls and rushed over!
Almost simultaneously, passing players were deeply drawn by the staff’s aura and design, swarming toward it like bloodthirsty mosquitoes.
Especially after seeing the staff’s attributes, nearly all of them gasped sharply!
Not just because of the staff’s incredible stats and added water magic boosts, but also because of the staggering price!!
Fifty thousand gold coins!!
At the current black market rate, that required at least 750,000 credit points...
Insane!!!
That price was truly outrageous!!
Yet the staff’s tier and excellent attributes left them unable to utter those words.
Some even began haggling at that moment, the price so high it was unbelievable.
“Brother, can the price be negotiated? Twenty thousand gold coins! How about that? If you agree, I can have my corps members deliver it right away...”
The mage speaking nearly lunged forward to shake my hand, completely unable to resist the staff’s allure!
No wonder—such genuine top-tier equipment rarely appears on the market.
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A top-tier Tier 3 weapon, once obtained, not only greatly boosts strength but can be used all the way to Tier 4 without issue, even retaining prestige beyond that!
“Damn, top-tier Tier 3 gear for twenty thousand gold coins? I’ll bid twenty-two thousand!”
Within less than half a minute, bidding had heated up dramatically, prices soaring to the maximum I had initially set in my mind—twenty thousand gold coins...
Incredible!
I hadn’t realized how irresistible the Ice Condensing Staff was to mages!
Exchanging a glance with Falcon, we both smiled silently—this price was likely just the beginning. The staff’s price could climb even higher, to astonishingly lofty heights!
Sure enough, my silence stirred the crowd into a frenzy. Whether because they thought the offers too low or had begun negotiating with others, even non-mages bowed their heads, seemingly conferring with friends or mercenary corps.
“Heh, keep stringing them along. The real buyer hasn’t come yet... No one would pass up gear this rare,” Falcon remarked, echoing my thoughts.
As time passed and thousands of gold coins flowed in, only the Ice Condensing Staff remained on the stall.
The price kept climbing, though the pace had slowed.
On impulse, I discreetly raised the staff’s price again...
“Damn! Price gouging now!! It was fifty thousand gold coins just a moment ago! Shit!! And now it’s down to thirty-eight thousand? Brother, raising the price at this point isn’t fair!”
A loud voice shouted, and the players around suddenly noticed the price had jumped again...
This time to eighty thousand gold coins!!!
Immediately, heated debates about “morality and integrity” broke out!
Just then, a commotion erupted in the distance. Amid shouts and angry cries, the disturbance rapidly approached...
A dozen formidable warriors appeared in our sight, seemingly all high-level Tier 3, equipped unusually well. They pushed through the crowded throng, clearing a path toward the stall.
The players scattered before them weren’t easily intimidated; just as they prepared to shout back, their voices caught in their throats upon seeing the black skull badges worn on these warriors’ chests!
“I didn’t expect Death Cube to have gotten wind of this. Now you’re in trouble... I heard their leader isn’t just a hidden-class mage but also extremely wealthy,” Falcon whispered in my ear.
I quickly recalled the corps’ profile: Death Cube Mercenary Corps—the rumored first mercenary corps to have a hidden-class profession. Their leader was also the most promising candidate to become the third Tier 4 powerhouse in the Knight Empire, possibly the strongest Tier 4 warrior in the empire’s future!