"The Ancient God World" always had a free-style gameplay option, which was innovative, but it also came with its fair share of issues.
In the past, pro players stood out for their gaming experience and superior strategy, but otherwise, their handling of the game was no different from ordinary players.
Even athletes or those in other special professions had a distinct advantage in the game.
As for the free-style mode, if you wanted decent equipment, you had to kill bosses. Now, that was practically impossible.
With the new broken slot setting, this scenario amplified. Eventually, everyone would adapt and improve, but currently, the server had been open for just three days. If someone managed to acquire a Green Weapon, it was due to sheer luck.
For regular players seeking Blue Equipment, their only option was to luckily crack open a treasure chest.
The vice president of the Caesar Guild, Godzilla, saw the other elite raptor materials on the stall and asked, "Do you sell these materials for credit points?"
"I only sell these materials for game coins." Li Yao needed to study engineering, and he could not do it without a hefty sum of cash. At the moment, he wasn't part of any guild. If he sold stuff for credit points instead of in-game currency, it could jeopardize his game development plan.
"Alright, give me a moment to gather the funds," Godzilla replied.
"Okay, I guess I'll be waiting here for about two hours."
"That should be enough." Godzilla hurriedly left.
Godzilla had been gone for quite a while. With the high price of a crown, there were hardly any players who could afford it. Only about ten were sold after an hour.
"Sigh, but only players from the Beginner Village are available here. If I could advertise worldwide, I estimate that I could sell out in ten minutes. This is such a waste of time."
He wasn't worried about the price drop for Spirit Weapon and Guardian Soul, consumables were always welcomed in bulk.
However, he was worried about selling the over three hundred elite raptor crowns in his hands immediately as their price would drop dramatically otherwise.
"Guild Leader, look! That's my dagger. Yes, that's right, that's the one that he killed me twice with!" Thumb Explodes shouted at Li Yao.
Li Yao raised an eyebrow and responded, "You're a rogue and you stealthily approach me within ten yards, sit in the bushes for five minutes, and expect me not to kill you first? Are you new to gaming, kiddo?"
Thumb Explodes trembled with anger and screamed, "You are so rude! What do you mean 'new to gaming'? I am the main rogue of the Brilliant Team!"
With a smile, Li Yao replied, "Wow, that's impressive! You are from a pro team. I've been hearing about you guys."
Thumb Explodes fumed with rage. No matter how he looked at it, it didn't seem like a compliment.
Boundless Sky shot a warning glance at Thumb Explodes, who was about to retort again, and said, "Bro, you're amazing! You didn't let Thumb get near you. Regardless of whether we knew each other in the past, let's become friends now, okay?"
"No problem." Li Yao readily agreed, and quickly added him as a friend. "Is Brother Sea trying to 'save face' for your boy?"
Li Yao certainly knew who Boundless Sky was—the Guild Leader of the top guild under the Brilliant Club. The Brilliant Guild alone was ranked among the top-fifty guilds in China. If you took into account all the guilds under the Brilliant Club, their combined power could rank within the top-ten. Moreover, Boundless Sky was among the top-three talented commanders in the national server.
Although he did not achieve Divine Enthronement in the Divine War ten years later, his influence was no less than those who did.
In the last world-league, Li Yao and Boundless Sky knew of each other, but they did not have any interactions. Boundless Sky's personality was great, which was why he could gather a group of good brothers around him.
"To kill or be killed in this game is normal. In fact, I was hoping for Thumb to keep competing against you, brother. But it turns out you're the solo boss killer—Starfire, brother. Therefore, there's no need for further competition. Thumb didn't die in vain." Boundless Sky chuckled. "So, that's what it is. I'd like to buy back this dagger."
"Sure, Brother Sea, just name your price." Li Yao definitely wouldn't make a fuss about selling, nor would he be hot-headed enough to make peace with Thumb Explodes and return the dagger.
"Since it's a normal business transaction, I won't let you suffer. The average price of Blue Equipment is around seven thousand credit points, but the dagger is relatively expensive. How about nine thousand credit points?"
"Deal." Li Yao nodded in agreement. As a lone wolf player, he was unable to enter the core circle of the major guilds, but based on his understanding, nine thousand was already considered a high price.
After receiving the payment message, Li Yao handed over the dagger to Boundless Sky.
Boundless Sky casually handed it to Thumb Explodes.
"Brother Sea, this…" Thumb Explodes was on the verge of tears.
"Take it. It's out of the guild's accounts because technically, you lost the equipment during a guild activity, and it is unrelated to personal matters. Don't feel like I'm showing favoritism—I treat all guild members equally."
Thumb Explodes accepted the dagger without saying a word.
Li Yao gave a thumbs-up in secret. As expected of Boundless Sky—meticulous in command, generous in person, and friends far and wide.
Poaching is a common occurrence amongst clubs and guilds, but after several years of operation, it was a rare sight for poaching to occur from the Brilliant Guild.
Boundless Sky finally noticed the elite raptor crowns on the side. "It's indeed worthy of a solo boss killer. You actually have twenty crowns of elite raptors. The price is also reasonable; I'll take it," he said, eyes twinkling.
A broken slot piece from an elite not only granted an extraordinary green equip, but also potentially a weapon, if you were lucky. The most important thing, however, was that it could provide experiential buff effective till level 10. Even though the buff was only a three percent experience increase, leveling was tough, so this buff could prove invaluable.
"Hold on, those crowns of the elite raptor are what we, the Caesar Guild, have our eyes on," Godzilla shouted anxiously as he returned and heard Boundless Sky's words.
Startled, Boundless Sky chuckled, "Since when did your Caesar Guild become so overbearing? Just because you have your eyes on it, we the Brilliant cannot buy it?"
Caught off guard, Godzilla hurriedly explained, "I apologize for my earlier rudeness. I was just too anxious. I had already discussed the price with this brother here, and he agreed to wait for me here. I have gathered enough funds now. Let's make the transaction."
"Hold on, if the trade hasn't been successful, I should also have the chance to trade." Sea and Sky said, "As one of the top ten in Europe, the Caesar Guild must understand the value of elite void-breaking items. If I may ask, how many void-breaking items has your guild obtained in the past three days?"
Godzilla hesitated before answering, "In the past three days, our guild has obtained just over twenty void-breaking items."
"Similar to us at the Brilliant Guild, to achieve void-breaking damage, a lot of skilled players must have suffered significant level drop, right?"
"Yes, these monsters won't yield any profit if they're attacked by more than a small team, but it's incredibly dangerous for a small team to fight them too. Many attempted to void-break but ended up dropping levels," Godzilla said softly. The game was challenging and had even gained the support and promotion of the government. They knew that the game served a significant political purpose and that other games stood no chance against it.
On the flip side, the game was full of immense opportunities. The entire earth, including the planets in the Solar System that had just been opened, existed on a single server. It was a natural advantage for the game guilds and clubs. They had a massive advantage and were investing aggressively into the game.
"In that case, you should understand why we at the Brilliant Guild can't abandon this trade," Sea and Sky turned to Li Yao, and sincerely said, "Brother Starfire, regardless of the circumstances, you must trade part of these crowns with our Brilliant Guild, even if they're a bit more expensive."
"So, you're the Starfire who's challenging the boss solo. As a skilled player like you, surely you wouldn't break your promise. Of course, we from the Caesar Guild wouldn't put you in a difficult position either. Whatever price Mr. Sea offers, we'll match it," Godzilla seemed anxious. Although they were all part of the same country, it was really just in name only. Regional and clan differences still existed among the people.
If they could purchase these crowns, including those from their guild, the Caesar Guild could equip at least fifty people with equipment and buff. Such a team, whether in leveling or running dungeons, would gain a significant advantage.
Sea and Sky had also become anxious and started arguing with Godzilla. The ordinary spectators were dumbfounded. Two major guilds were arguing over these items. More and more players began to gather as the regional channel became busier. Soon, the place was packed.
"Ahem, what are you guys arguing about? How many crowns do you want? I still have a lot that I haven't brought out," Li Yao helplessly interrupted their argument.
Both of them paused their argument and simultaneously asked, "How is that possible? You... you still have more, how many?"
Li Yao sent them a screenshot, and their eyes nearly popped out.
"Over three hundred, oh my god," Godzilla exclaimed, "Do you know how many elite players we lost leveling up for over twenty crowns?"
"Brother Starfire, your... your day's earnings exceed the three-day income of the top ten clubs in the China district," Sea and Sky chuckled bitterly.
Li Yao smiled and said, "So, do you still want to buy everything?"
"I would like to, but our guild can't afford it. Let's stop competing. My limit is one hundred crowns for a ten silver coin each. I'm truly shocked," Sea and Sky was stammering.
"Sir, you've emptied our guild's liquid funds," Godzilla laughed bitterly.
Due to their competition, both guilds each took a hundred crowns. Other small guilds watching each bought some as well. The remaining hundred crowns were quickly sold out.
The ordinary players who were watching had bloodshot eyes. They watched as the usually untouchable guilds openly argued, and saw a lone player drain the resources of several guilds. One person had dozens of gold coins, while they, the ordinary players, barely had a few silver coins.
"Brother, are you interested in joining a guild?" Li Yao, who was packing up his stall, received a voice message from Sea and Sky.
"Sorry, but I currently have no intention to join a guild." Li Yao declined.
"Alright, then how about doing a challenge run together?"
"I'm about to log off, I've got things to do." Li Yao definitely wanted to do the challenge run, but not right now.
"Then next time, if you get any good items to sell, remember to contact me."
"Definitely."
Li Yao glanced at the real-time, and then logged off.
Half an hour later, having leisurely eaten something, Li Yao logged in again.
He opened his bag, and looked at the thirty-eight gold coins inside. He couldn't help but feel excited. While ordinary players barely had a few silver coins, he had dozens of gold coins.
Just these gold coins alone, if converted to real money, would be quite the hefty sum. That was the advantage of being reborn. He remembered that when he had leveled up to level twenty, he had never seen a gold coin in his bag. The contrast with his current state was immense.
As Li Yao was considering his plans, he wandered around other stalls and managed to find several bargains.
For example, he bought ten Roll Skill Books at one silver coin each.
The Roll Skill seemed ordinary because it was easy to roll in free mode, so why bother learning it? But only Li Yao knew that after learning the skill, there was a brief period of invincibility during the roll.
Although the invincibility period was short, it was crucial for expert players. Used correctly, it was a god-tier skill.
Li Yao also bought nearly twenty Dive Skill Books for a few dozen copper coins each. The effect was similar to the Roll skill.
Such incredible skills were currently considered useless by players, who treated them like the gesture and emotes in previous games. Unwanted at the stalls.
Besides finding bargains, Li Yao also found things he could use. He purchased a Strong Strike Aura and a Poisonous Snake Sting.
What surprised him the most was stumbling upon a blueprint for an Exploding Sheep. Normally, a player studying engineering could only sell this as a pet. However, who would spend money on pets in the early stages of the game?
The stall owner clearly knew this, so he only listed it for one silver coin. He probably never thought it would actually sell, but Li Yao ended up buying it.
With the Eye of the Creator, the Exploding Sheep was more than just a toy in Li Yao's hands.
He was even more surprised to find a Hunter's skill book for Throw Trap.
The Throw Trap skill could allow him to throw Ice Traps, Flame Traps, Poisonous Snake Traps, etc. to designated locations, it was very convenient. Unfortunately, he didn't find any Trap skill books...
After spending two hours, Li Yao had finished walking through the entire plaza. He had visited the warehouse dozens of times to store items, and his gold coins had dwindled to thirty.
Some were bargains, and some were items that he couldn't use at the current stage. Li Yao sold anything he found valuable.
Even after wandering around the plaza, Li Yao was still not content. But all this was just what he did casually. If he wanted to, he could spend fifty silver coins to go to another Beginner's Village and continue scouting for items.
On the way to the blacksmith's shop, Li Yao thought of his sister.
"This girl tricked me into thinking she started playing the game later than she actually did. She actually started playing as soon as the server opened."
The structure of the Beginner's Village is simple. The blacksmith shop not only has a blacksmith but also an NPC that makes clothes. When no players can forge or make clothes, they usually go to the NPC.
The NPC basically makes standard equipment that's common. But at this stage, having even one set of equipment is already extremely luxurious.
"Young clansman, is there anything I can help you with?" the equipper in charge of making equipment asked.
Li Yao performed an elf ritual and said, "I want to make two sets of equipment."
"I'm not yet intermediate level, I can only make equipment with materials from bosses and underneath. If you use materials from elite monsters, you can have some set effects." the equipper said.
"Hmm, I want an Elite Hunter Set and an Elite Warlock Set." Li Yao said, handing over a batch of materials and twenty silver coins.
After waiting patiently for ten minutes, Li Yao finally got his equipment.
Each set consisted of a helmet, shoulder armor, a cloak, chest armor, a belt, leg armor, armguards, gloves, and boots. The hunter set even had an extra Arrow Bag.
Each piece only added a few points of armor value. The Arrow Bag is quite a bit better than the newcomer's, adding three more slots.
The three-piece set effect was to increase 50 life points, and the five-piece set effect was to increase 10 attack points.
This was top-of-the-line for the early game. With a full set, his armor was almost fifty, and his life was almost two hundred. Even a newbie who put on this set could become a decent player.
The Warlock Set's three-piece effect was to increase 50 mana points, and the five-piece set was to increase 10 intelligence. It was equally overpowered.
Li Yao changed into the new set of equipment except for his shoes, the spiky shoulders, the headgear that looked like a fearsome velociraptor face, to him, the equipment looked simple and crude. But other players looked enviously at him, wishing they could have such a cool set.
As Li Yao passed by the mailbox, he mailed the Elite Warlock Set's "Elite Velociraptor Crown" and 1 gold coin to his sister. Then, he headed to the engineering shop.
Engineering and Alchemy were both in the same building.
As Li Yao entered, the Alchemist warmly greeted him, while the Engineering Trainer didn't even glance at him, continuing to drink his alcohol.
"I want to buy twenty beginner life potions, ten bottles of beginner antidote potions, and ten bottles of underwater breathing potions."
"Each bottle of Life Potion is one silver coin, the Antidote Potion is three silver coins per bottle, and the Underwater Breathing Potion is two silver coins per bottle."
"Thanks."
At this stage, absolutely no player would buy these luxury goods. Ordinary players worked hard to kill monsters all day for just the income of a bottle of antidote potion.
Li Yao went to the other side and greeted, "Hello, I want to learn Engineering."
The Engineering Trainer didn't even lift his head and said, "Okay, first bring me a thousand pieces of copper ore."
Even the major guilds couldn't get a thousand pieces of copper ore at this stage, and this was just the first step. If you want to learn engineering, you need to complete ten linked tasks, each one more troublesome than the last.
"This is your old sweetheart, no, it's a letter of introduction from Instructor Eileen." Li Yao put the envelope on the table with a smirk.
The Engineering Trainer quickly picked up the letter and started reading it himself. After a moment, he asked doubtfully, "Ahem, you didn't peek at this letter, did you?"
"How would I dare?" Li Yao quickly replied, even without looking, he already knew what was written inside.
"On account of Eileen, you don't need to run errands." With a wave of the trainer's hand, Li Yao had learned Engineering. "There are some recipes over there, and some basic engineering materials are priced. If you want to learn something or make something, just leave the money."
After finishing speaking, he rushed out of the room as if smoke, not even staying in the shop.
Li Yao was no longer surprised. Every NPC in this game was a sentient being, just like a real person.
Li Yao went over there, learned all the recipes he could, and as the recipes disappeared, his money bag also began to shrivel. Several recipes cost three gold coins.
Li Yao didn't hold back and immediately started practicing Engineering on the engineering table. At first, he could only make some explosive powder and then make explosives.
He logged off in the middle to sleep for three to four hours, had dinner, and then logged on again.
By eight o'clock in the real world, the sky in the game also started to light up.
Li Yao's engineering skill was now 856/1000, just over a hundred points short of intermediate level, but he only had twenty-three gold coins left in his money bag. It couldn't burn any more money.
The remaining hundred or more proficiency points were even harder to practice. Either make some useless engineering items, or make fire guns. But making fire guns requires a lot of copper ore, and hardly any players have learned auxiliary professions at this stage.
The copper ore on the market is not only expensive to death, but even if all collected, it's not enough for him to use. However, he will be able to get a pet at level ten, so he still has some time.
In this period, he needed to gather enough copper ore and get a blueprint for a mechanical chick. This is the first mechanical pet blueprint that can be obtained before level ten.
Although he has the Eye of the Creator which allows him to make engineering items at will, this is only in theory. If he wants to make a living thing, blueprints are essential.
But after this practice of engineering proficiency, he made a lot of engineering items. The journey of the Mechanical Hunter truly began now. At least the level grinding monster hunting won't be as exhausting as today.
Of course, this is just what he thinks to himself. If he were to say it out loud, he would probably get flamed by the players. You, a single player, soloed an elite monster and even bossed, and still not contented? Do you know how heartbroken our ordinary players are when we can't even kill elite monsters, let alone face a boss?
Li Yao will, of course, not be satisfied. Having reincarnated once, if he has to struggle like he did in his past life, then this reincarnation is a joke. If it's still that hard to kill monsters, how can he justify the legacy equipment prepared for players above level sixty, and how can he justify the massive amount of strategies in his mind?
In the last world, I had played as a thief for two years, getting chased around like a dog, so I quit that character.
Later, playing as a Hunter for eight painstaking years was just as miserable. Reincarnation allowed me to keep my skills, but it still felt like banging my head against a wall.
With the engineering expertise from my past life, Li Yao was able to create everything a novice engineer could make.
Blueprints for the Mechanical Sheep allowed Li Yao to create hundreds of them.
At the same time, Li Yao transformed the blue bow he got from missions into an engineering bow which resembles a compound bow. Not only did its damage improve, but the range also increased a bit.
Of course, these accomplishments alone didn't earn Li Yao the title of either a mechanical hunter or an engineering hunter. Based on his memories from the previous world, Li Yao also built an invaluable weapon, the Arrow Tower.
Ordinary hunters would need to be at least level 20 to obtain an Arrow Tower through skills. However, it doesn't inflict much damage and is only used for security purposes, such as alerting the player of dangers during camping. The Arrow Tower is indispensable as it allows you to spot dangers in advance.
Li Yao's Arrow Tower was self-made based on his previous life's knowledge. Due to the Eye of the Creator, the Arrow Tower can also be considered as his pet, thus benefiting from the character's attribute bonuses.
Self-made Arrow Tower
Health: 60 (One-third of the character)
Armor: 21 (One-third of the character)
Damage: 9-13 (Varies with the character's level)
Range: 45 yards
Firing Rate: 1 shot per second
Quantity: 3/3 (Recovers quantity 1 every 60 seconds)
Item is bound
When held in hand, it resembles a small but elegant tower with a crossbow on top, about the size of a palm.
This item is similar to a Shaman's totem. When a Shaman obtains a totem column, it can only project the image of the totem.
Li Yao wasn't entirely satisfied. He remembered towers armed with cannons, crossbow cannons, and even magic arrow towers. However, he was limited by his current proficiency and the available materials, so he could only make a toy-sized cannon, which was far from becoming a tower. This slight disappointment made him work harder.
When Li Yao successfully created another type of inventor's item, his spirits rose again.
The Spike Trap, not a skill-based trap, but an engineering consumable, similar to a hand grenade.
Once triggered, the trap explodes, filling a certain area with spikes that inflict continuous damage or a "bleeding" effect on monsters in the area.
"At last, I can be considered as a mediocre mechanical hunter. It will be perfect if I had a fire gun," said Li Yao, packing his stuff and heading towards the outskirts of Beginner's Village.
As per his plan, he could earn some enviable honors as a Star Fire, and to be on the world's honor list, he needed to use his identity as Star Fire and act as a traditional Hunter when appearing in public.
As for Prairie Fire, he would follow the path of the mechanical hunter, only using fire guns and engineering items in the future. Even if people envied Star Fire, they wouldn't find anything noteworthy about Prairie Fire, allowing him to accumulate wealth quietly.
Of course, to realize these plans, he needed to prepare and make some equipment. However, he hadn't attracted much attention so far, so there was nothing to worry about.
After half an hour of travel, he arrived at a respawning area for level four to five monsters, where no other players were present.
Looking at a level four Demon Wolf Elite accompanied by two ordinary level four Demon Wolves in the distance, Li Yao clacked his tongue and set up his three Arrow Towers in the form of a triangle.
Then, he placed an Exploding Sheep on the ground.
The Exploding Sheep trotted up to the Demon Wolf Elite. The Demon Wolf Elite found it unforgivable for a harmless lamb daring to approach it, and clawed at the Exploding Sheep.
Boom...
A bright explosion ensued. The three Demon Wolves let out tragic screams.
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Visibly damaging figures popped up, indicating that the damage on the two ordinary Demon Wolves had exceeded a hundred. However, this also meant that he just spent 50 copper coins. This basically amounted to one-sixth of a normal level three player's daily income.
The three Demon Wolves roared, their eyes turning red as they rushed towards Li Yao.
The two Arrow Towers biubiu-biu would start to shoot relentlessly as soon as the Demon Wolves came within range.
However, their tragedy was not over yet. Another explosion occurred beneath their feet.
Thud thud thud...
The Spike Trap exploded into action, leaving the three Demon Wolves full of holes.
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A whole bunch of damage numbers popped up above the heads of the three Demon Wolves.
Concussive Shot.
Li Yao's arrow hit the Demon Wolf Elite's head which slowed down its speed by fifty percent.
After testing the damage, Li Yao didn't waste time. He slowed down the Demon Wolf Elite and started using Charged Arrow.
The two ordinary Demon Wolves, miserably stepping on the spikes, fell to the ground and took their last breath, while the Demon Wolf Elite was even more tragic.
With spikes continuously making it bleed from its legs, three arrow towers firing at it, and Li Yao, whose arrows always hit its nose, it barely managed to move out of the Spike Trap's range before it unwillingly fell to the ground. The whole process was effortless, much faster and expended less effort than yesterday...
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