Chapter 22: "Silver Beast Demon Dagger"

The system notification arrived abruptly: "Demonic Silver Kodobeast slain, gained 172 experience points." Bai Renjie, so exhausted he could barely lift a finger, suddenly found a surge of strength from nowhere, ignored the aches throughout his body, and sat up abruptly. Eyes wide with surprise and joy, he stared at the corpse of the Demonic Silver Kodobeast.

His gaze, shocked, landed on the familiar silhouette that had slain the beast...

The Wild Kirin!

Yes, who else could it be but him? When Bai Renjie had invited him to join the party earlier, there was a faint hope in his heart... Even though a level 4 civilian and a level 7 mutant monster seemed impossibly far apart, the damage bonus had shattered that convention.

A torn wound—any weapon could deal damage through it, and potentially lethal damage at that! Realizing this, Bai Renjie finally let out a long breath, and as he looked toward Black Tea, a smile of relief lit his face.

As for the loot, after Bai Renjie sent a party invite to the Scavenger Kirin, he and Black Tea sat aside to rest, seemingly uninterested in the items dropped by the Demonic Silver Kodobeast.

Not attractive to these second-tier players, but for me—a penniless nobody with nothing to my name—it was an immense blessing!

First, a wealth scattered on the ground—sixty-seven silver coins! As expected from a mutant monster treated like a boss, even its money dropped in a small heap; I’d spent two hours when I first entered the game to earn just as much.

And this was only a tiny portion of the Demonic Silver Kodobeast’s fortune... Even more thrilling than the pile of silver coins were the two gold coins lying nearby—each gold coin was worth a hundred silver coins!

Beside the corpse, a silver dagger lay quietly, its entire surface shimmering, exquisitely crafted yet razor sharp.

A fine item!

I picked it up, eager to check its stats and requirements.

But after examining it for a while, all I learned was its name: "Beast Silver Magic Dagger." No other attributes or requirements were visible; instead, the system kept prompting: "This item has not been identified!"

After asking Bai Renjie and Black Tea, I learned that all equipment with attributes had to be taken to the city to be appraised by an identifier...

Just as I was about to stash it in my backpack, Bai Renjie’s expression turned odd and he asked,

"Wait, Kirin, what did you say the dagger was called?"

"Beast Silver Magic Dagger," I answered without thinking.

No sooner had the words left my mouth than Bai Renjie chuckled strangely, and Black Tea suddenly remembered something, suppressing a giggle as she playfully punched Bai Renjie.

I was utterly baffled by their reaction.

"What’s going on?"

"Ahem, nothing... Actually, this dagger is quite good. Let your sister appraise it for you—if you can use it now, even better!"

"Huh? Didn’t you just say I needed to find an identifier in the city?"

"Dummy, your sister’s life skill is identifier. Why waste money? How many items do you have? Bring them all over... For equipment dropped by low-level bosses like this, she can appraise it right away."

Prompted by Bai Renjie, I hurried to gather everything around the corpse.

Besides the silver leather boots, there was a sparkling ring and something that looked like a scroll...

Killing a demonic monster and earning such a bounty—what luck!

I paid little attention to Bai Renjie and Black Tea’s whispered laughter, quickly stashed the items, and walked over.

"Here, these are all of them—four items in total."

I spoke as I handed over the dagger, boots, ring, and scroll one by one...

But just as I produced the ring, both Black Tea and Bai Renjie’s eyes suddenly lit up, staring at the glittering ring in delight: "An accessory drop! Fantastic!"

Black Tea too was surprised, clearly shocked that the level 7 boss Demonic Silver Kodobeast had dropped a rare accessory.

Taking the ring, Black Tea quickly closed her eyes, and in the next moment, a faint yellow glow emerged from her hand, enveloping the ring: "No matter what its attributes are, at least that third-tier ‘Ice Burst Scroll’ isn’t a waste!"

As the yellow light seeped fully into the ring, intricate patterns appeared on the once-blurry surface, leaving me dumbstruck and halting my search for more items.

"Bronze equipment: adds 3 points to agility, increases resistance to paralysis—a marginal improvement... Kirin, you can use it once you reach level 7."

Suppressing her laughter, Black Tea handed the appraised ‘Beast Silver Ring’ to the Scavenger Kirin.

Bai Renjie wore a sly smile as well.

I alone, clueless, took the ring—after all, they're level twenty-something, so they certainly wouldn’t need a level 7 item. The agility boost was perfect for increasing my own speed.

At this moment, Black Tea picked up the Beast Silver Magic Dagger, sending out a yellow flash...

No response!

"Huh?" Both Black Tea and Bai Renjie exclaimed in confusion, exchanging glances as Black Tea closed her eyes once more. The yellow glow in her hand rapidly transformed—a faint silvery light replaced it, appearing in her palm.

Intermediate identification!

As the silvery light enveloped it, the exquisite Beast Silver Magic Dagger began to emit a gentle silver radiance!

The next moment, its true form appeared before us.

Noticing the dagger’s real appearance, my heart skipped a beat:

A rounded silver hilt, resembling the sharp horn of a Silver Kodobeast, smooth yet without any gloss, but giving an impression of exceptional sturdiness; the cold, silver-edged blade shimmered with intermittent blue electrical currents...

One arc, two arcs, three arcs! Three blue currents flickering and crackling—like an ancient laser short dagger displayed in a museum, full of fantastical modernity!

Then, Black Tea’s puzzled voice reached Bai Renjie and me:

"Ah... how could this be?"

"What?" "What’s wrong?" Bai Renjie and I asked in unison.

Without explanation, Black Tea handed the dagger to us:

Beast Silver Magic Dagger (Silver equipment): Physical Attack 8, with paralysis effect, activation chance 2%, agility +3; strength requirement 10, agility requirement 20, durability 99%, level requirement 10.