The Great Thief

Armory Rusty Arrows were the standard weapons of the NPC army. They were manufactured in bulk and stored in the Armory. However, they rusted because of the poor storage conditions and their durability and attack both fell. This didn’t make much of an impact because they were still a lot better than the average Fine Steel Arrows.

A bundle of these arrows costed about 20 silver, which came down to about 2 copper each. This was much more expensive than the cost of making normal Iron Arrows. Therefore, many people were reluctant to use these arrows.

Lu Li picked out the Armory Rusty Arrows and bought the bundles that were listed at 20 silver or less. He ended up with 9 bundles of arrows.

With 10 or so gold left, Lu Li continued browsing but did not find any other rare materials. However, it was not necessary to search for rare materials to become rich. Even trading the most average materials could make big money.

For example, Snake Trust Grass was the most important material for making Intermediate Health Potions. Without it, only Beginner Health Potions could be used at the LV10 Death Mines.

No one had seen the recipe for Intermediate Health Potions, so no one knew about the importance of Snake Trust Grass.

Snake Trust Grass and Silver Leaf Grass were both uncommon. Lu Li spent a day in Snake Valley and had only managed to find 10 or so. However, Snake Trust Grass could also be found around the Beginner Villages. Since Snake Trust Grass was a higher level than Silver Leaf Grass, the Proficiency one gained from harvesting it was much greater.

Many players used them to practise and increase their Harvesting Skill. Since it would be a waste to sell them at the Shops, players would list them in the Auction Hall at very low prices. They hoped that ‘stupid merchants’ would see the Snake Trust Grass bundles and buy them.

Lu Li compared a few other popular materials on the market and decided to buy the Snake Trust Grass.

He bought them not because of their importance, but because of their low price. There was also too much stock in the Exchange Hall. Thousands of Snake Trust Grass had been listed on the market. Some were listed separately, while others were in a set.

Each set contained 20 units of Snake Trust Grass and could be sold for 40 copper in NPC Shops. At the Auction Hall, they were listed for about 10 times that price - 400 copper or 4 silver.

When the recipe was released into the game, a set would cost about 3 Gold. The profit Lu Li made would be much more than just 10 times.

It was too cheap! Lu Li continued to buy and buy and buy!

All together he bought more than 100 sets. He also bought an additional 100 sets that were listed for under 5 silver.

However, Lu Li decided not to buy the sets that were listed for more than 5 silver so that the market would not be affected. Since he had no other competition, he could be patient and wait until tomorrow for more sets to be listed at under 5 silver.

Lu Li then spent about 20 silver to rent a small room which gave him the ability to log off.

After he logged off, the pretty landladies treated Lu Li to some 5-star hotel standard takeaway so that they could ask questions about the game. Lu Li answered as much as he could and they all thanked him.

Zhou Huan Huan and Yang Liu were both new players, so Lu Li designed the best possible levelling guide and advised them to make the most out of their 3 days of Double EXP. After the Double EXP, they would be around the same level as the older players.

The 3 girls considered renting his room for free.

An expert was living with them and giving them tips. Not only were they not paying him, they were also taking rent from him. How dare they!

Lu Li felt energetic during the day and decided to use up some energy at the gym. After an exhausting workout, he dragged his tired body back home and slept.

After waking up, he ate and logged on as always. Since he logged off at the hotel, he received a 1-hour double EXP buff.

This double EXP buff could be used at any time, depending on when the player wanted to activate it. Obviously, once activated, it couldn’t be stopped and would continue for the entire hour.

The Level Rankings had not changed much; Lu Li and his friends were still in the top 6.

Azure Sea Breeze suggested that they go to the next Instance Dungeon since there were players that had already explored new ones. Although the LV10 Death Mines were close to the Human towns, any town with an Instance Dungeon Teleporter could send them there. This included the Grey Valley.

No one seemed to care about the 5 copper transportation fees.

“I still have some errands to run; you guys can go and try out the dungeon. Don’t be too hopeful though, because this Instance Dungeon is extremely annoying. If you guys get hit by the Boss’ ultimate skill, those with weaker equipment will instantly die. He can also target freeze someone. If you heal or cure the frozen one, you’ll draw aggro and will have to kite the boss. I’m not so sure about the exact details.”

Lu Li tried recalling the details of the Instance Dungeon and roughly pointed out the main things.

The level requirement for the Death Mines was only 10. However, the monsters were all at least LV12. Monsters before the bosses were at least LV15 and after the boss, they became LV16.

Lu Li did not want to discourage the others. However, it would be difficult to defeat the first boss Glubtok even under Lu Li’s command. The group’s equipment level was simply too low. As for the second boss Helix, it would plant mines everywhere which were impossible to guard against and predict the location of. Unless everyone had intermediate Healing Potions, it was almost impossible to pass that stage.

Intermediate Healing Potion recipes were extremely hard to find. There were no rumours of any one with the recipe. Otherwise, the prices for the Snake Trust Grass in the Auction Hall would not so low.

Lu Li recalled a post on the forum that was entitled, ‘Whichever Guild announces that they have an alchemist capable of making Intermediate Healing Potions will have a long line of people begging to join.’

Lu Li felt very blessed when he remembered the sets of Snake Trust Grass that he had yet to take out from his mail box. He would browse the market again and use up all the gold he had on Snake Trust Grass.

“Forget it then, we’ll continue to level while waiting for you.”

Azure Sea Breeze decided to give up upon hearing how difficult the Instance Dungeon was. If they got stuck in the dungeon and died, they would lose the equipment found and the EXP gained. He was extremely stubborn and reluctant to lose EXP.

“If you guys want to form a party and kill mobs, I suggest killing Nagas. They’re often in a group, so there are a lot of mobs which are easy to find. Low HP and defence but high EXP. As long as you kill the Naga Healer first, the rest is a piece of cake,” Lu Li suggested.

“Where is it? Mark it on the map.” Azure Sea Breeze took out a leather paper and gave it to Lu Li.

“Someone’s already making the map, impressive.” Lu Li was impressed, as though he was witnessing history unfold.

After studying the rough map, he pointed at the location of Nagas.

“Start killing at this point and continue down this path. You’ll see an abandoned dock. Swim across the sea and after 3 to 5 minutes, you will see a small island. The mobs are plentiful there: more than enough for you guys to clean up. But remember to only enter the water when you arrive at the dock. Otherwise, there might be Ghosts of Dead Pirates which are Elite Grade Monsters with annoying attacks.

Lu Li had a phase where he farmed the Nagas relentlessly to make money. He knew the tips and tricks of farming them like the back of his hand.

The Island was very deserted because people couldn’t even find its location. The mobs there would be enough to help them get to level 12.

“Got it, see you later.” Azure Sea Breeze waved and lead the others to train.

He and the others knew that Lu Li had a lot of secrets, but they never asked him about it. Everyone had their own secret and everyone had a story, just like Lonesome Flower’s Silver Grade Weapon. Its stats were crazy powerful and no one knew where he had found it.

Lu Li left to upgrade his ring. He was about to be rewarded for the preparation he had done for the crafting of the Supreme Two Ring.