บท 9: Hidden advancement conditions
After parting ways with Foreskin, Mike wandered aimlessly through the Trade Secret Realm, his ears bombarded with shouts from all sides.
"Team up for the 59th floor of the Tower of Truth exploration! Veteran Battle Lords leading the way, hurry up!"
"Abyssal Planes level mission, cleanse a space corrupted by a demon god, generous reward!"
"Reward for information on the demon cult increased by 30%! Bounty for high-ranking demon god followers doubled!"
"..."
The items in the Trade Secret Realm Pass were way out of Mike's league; he was just there for the spectacle. The mainstream items traded here started at millions of gold coins!
Mike had just over 100,000 gold coins in his pocket, not even enough to buy scraps.
After roaming for a solid hour, Mike finally stopped and stood in a corner of the trading market. Piecing together snippets of conversations he'd overheard, he began to grasp the current situation.
"Because of my triple-S rank in clearing the hidden instance, the Defense Headquarters has triggered a level two alert?" Mike was astonished, not expecting his actions to cause such a stir.
A level two alert meant the consumption of resources beyond measure. The Defense Headquarters, manned by three supreme beings, was akin to a massive federal organization.
Mike also learned that the Defense Headquarters had always had a plan for nurturing the 'fourth supreme being'. They were waiting for a seedling who could clear a triple-S rank newbie instance, the birth of a new supreme being for humanity.
Thus, as soon as news of Mike's achievement broke, the formidable war machine of the Defense Headquarters sprang into action, gears turning at full speed. The pre-established contingency plan was executed methodically.
Increasing educational resources, summoning all Battle Lords to stand guard, eradicating Earth's demon cult followers... All these measures were taken with one goal in mind—to provide a healthy growth environment for Thor.
"The Defense Headquarters hasn't made a big show of searching for my identity. There might be moves behind the scenes, but they're being very restrained on the surface."
Mike nodded to himself, understanding the rationale behind their actions. If they directly sought out 'Thor', exposing Mike's identity while he was still in a very vulnerable stage, it would bring endless trouble. The demon gods would never sit idly by as humanity raised another supreme being.
The three supreme beings had already brought humanity and the Abyssal Plane to a stalemate, even allowing humanity to organize small-scale counterattacks. Once Thor also ascends to a supreme being, it would spell doom for the Abyssal Plane!
The only choice, when Thor fully matures, is to nip him in the bud.
The Defense Headquarters' response is to erase all potential threats as much as possible. As for Thor's own growth, given his triple-S rank clearance of the newbie instance, there's nothing to worry about!
Understanding all this, Mike felt a lot more at ease. With no immediate risk of his identity being exposed, Mike refocused on his own growth.
He came to the Trade Secret Realm specifically to exchange resources for faster development.
"All this stuff is way too pricey, and even if I could afford it, I don't meet the level requirements!" Mike scanned the area, pulled out the business card he had from before, and sent a message to Foreskin.
"Happy to serve you!" The green-skinned goblin popped up in front of Mike once again.
Mike, catching him off guard, asked, "How happy?"
Foreskin was stumped... he had no comeback for that!
"Alright, I... ahem... I have a friend," Mike started with a common opener. Anything inconvenient could be pinned on a 'friend'. Creating friends out of thin air!
"My friend's junior just awakened his talent today, entered the Tower of Truth, and cleared the newbie instance."
Foreskin quickly caught on to what Mike meant, "You want to get some equipment and items for this junior of yours, right? Let me find something; here's a commonly used recommendation list!"
Goblin Foreskin handed over a list, clearly prepared in advance. Mike glanced at it and frowned.
"Why is it all D-grade, E-grade equipment?" The enhancements from these pieces of equipment were negligible, practically junk. Mike would be better off fighting bare-handed than using this trash.
Foreskin patiently explained, "For newbie participants, the most important thing is to level up. Equipment at this stage is just consumable! Once you level up, then it makes more sense to consider higher-quality equipment."
Mike nodded, understanding the logic.
We are got to consider the bang for your buck, right? A level 10 S-grade staff without any growth potential is worse than a level 50 common staff!
He pressed on, "Got any staffs that can grow?"
Back when he received the newbie gift pack, Mike had the chance to pick a growable A-grade staff, but he had to painfully let it go for a better reward later on.
"There are some, but..." Foreskin hesitated, then pulled out another list. "Staffs with growth potential usually have hidden conditions for advancement. Each time you complete an advancement, it refreshes with new hidden conditions! So, you see... these pieces of equipment are kind of a mixed bag."
He added, "And they're pricey!"
"Upgradable equipment that's both expensive and a mixed bag," Foreskin said earnestly.
At [Mystic Market], they pride themselves on fairness. Those who can enter the Trade Secret Realm are either rich or noble. Even a temporary pass costs a million bucks a pop! How could an ordinary Joe afford that?
Therefore, Foreskin preferred doing business that builds over time rather than making a quick buck.
Curious like a newbie, Mike asked, "Since the conditions for upgrading equipment are hidden, isn't there any way to find them out?"
"There is a way," Foreskin explained patiently. "Master-level blacksmiths can pay a price to reveal the current conditions for advancement."
"But a master-level blacksmith charges a fortune, way over ten million! And once the equipment advances, the conditions change again. You can't possibly hire a master blacksmith to appraise it every single time, right?"
Foreskin's points made sense.
Upgradable equipment had two main features: 1. Hidden advancement conditions; 2. Refreshed conditions after each advancement.
Essentially, upgradable equipment was like a money pit, requiring massive resources to develop. It was a high-stakes gamble, often resulting in a total loss.
However, these features were practically irrelevant in front of Mike. He could see right through the advancement conditions with just a glance! Even the maximum number of times an item could be upgraded and its future upgrade path couldn't escape Mike's eyesight.
Remembering something, Foreskin added, "Oh, and there's another way to identify advancement conditions. There's an S-grade talent called [Sharp Eye] that can identify the conditions of equipment advancement with a 50% success rate, limited to three times a day."
Foreskin didn't elaborate much on S-grade talents, as it involved confidential information. If Mike wanted to know more, it would cost extra.
Mike just chuckled after hearing this. The gap between S-grade and SSS-grade talents was simply too vast!
After hearing all this, Mike still stuck to his original interest. "Let's take a look at the upgradable equipment anyway. Maybe I'll find something that catches my eye."
"Here's the list," Foreskin said, handing it over. "All these items can be upgraded at least three times!"
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