Looking at the items he had just picked up in his inventory, Shi Feng was momentarily stunned.
"Did those six ransack some guild's treasury?" Shi Feng stared at the drops from Chenmo Chiying, almost thinking he'd misread them. But the inventory automatically flagged the most recently acquired items, so there was no chance of a mistake.
Chenmo Chiying and his group had dropped a total of seven items. Six of them were pieces of equipment that the six had been wearing. Among these, five were level 50 Iron Rank gear and only one was a level 50 Mythril piece. For current players, obtaining these items would be a massive windfall—especially a level 50 Mythril piece. Even expert players above level 50 in major guilds rarely had more than a handful of those.
But compared to the last item, all that dropped equipment was nothing but fireflies beside the full moon.
Although it wasn't a weapon, it was an Epic-grade item.
Called Pandora's Cube!
This thing was no stranger to the major guilds of his previous life—an ultra-rare Epic item that every guild coveted, yet one so scarce that even first-rate guilds of that era had an incredibly hard time getting their hands on one.
The reason every major guild wanted this Epic item was that Pandora's Cube could enhance equipment.
Pandora's Cube — Epic item, cursed by the gods, delivering real cruelty to those who misuse it.
Skill 1: Mana Refining — Absorbs vast amounts of mana to condense high-purity mana. (One Magic Crystal can refine one drop of Mana Water; one Mana Crystal Stone can refine one drop of Mana Source Water.)
Skill 2: Curse of the Demon God — Using ten drops of Mana Water gives a 10% chance to infuse an equipment piece with mana, boosting its stats by 15% for twelve hours. There is a 20% chance of no effect and a 70% chance of triggering the curse, which applies a mana-weakening debuff reducing stats by 30% for twenty-four hours. Using one drop of Mana Source Water gives a 15% chance to infuse an equipment piece with mana, boosting its stats by 25% for twelve hours. There is a 20% chance of no effect and a 70% chance of triggering the curse, which applies a mana-weakening debuff reducing stats by 50% for twenty-four hours.
This item is cursed. Upon player death, it will always drop from the inventory.
For most ordinary players, Pandora's Cube's effects were practically useless. But for major guilds, this ability was incredibly valuable.
Major guilds were different from ordinary players—they had enough equipment and resources to absorb the losses, so long as the equipment could be enhanced. After all, only when gear was improved could they better take on powerful bosses. When weapons and armor had already been pushed to their current limits yet still couldn't defeat a boss, a flat 25% boost to all equipment stats could make all the difference—giving players a real shot at victory.
It was for this reason that every major guild had been desperate to obtain one.
Shi Feng never imagined that Chenmo Chiying and his group had managed to get their hands on such an ultra-rare item.
"Given players' current levels, they shouldn't be able to obtain this item. It was probably exchanged from Katie Green. I didn't expect it to end up in my hands." Shi Feng suddenly recalled that Chenmo Chiying's group had exchanged for high-grade items from Katie Green before—Pandora's Cube was very likely one of them.
Lakeheart City, Torchlight Trading House.
After Zero Wing took control of Lakeheart City, the Torchlight Trading House had developed at breakneck speed, immediately becoming the city's number one storefront. With the flood of players pouring into Lakeheart City, its bustle was now on par with the Torchlight Trading House back in White River City—and in terms of pure player quality, Lakeheart City was even higher.
The player count at this moment had reached its peak.
The moment Shi Feng stepped down from his carriage, he saw the streets growing ever more crowded with players. Various major guilds, eager to gain an edge in the expedition to the Ice Crystal World, had brought their top experts along. He spotted at least two first-rate guilds on the streets alone, each fielding over a thousand players—let alone the second-rate and third-rate guilds.
It was as if Lakeheart City had become the very center of the Black Dragon Empire, with every major guild gathered under one roof.
This made Shi Feng feel the urgency to pick up the pace. He walked straight into the Torchlight Trading House and headed directly for its warehouse.
Just as he reached the warehouse entrance, Bai Qingxue suddenly contacted him.
"Guild Leader, I just looked into the new expansion content. Overlord Katie Green has set up a massive teleportation array in the central plaza. Players aren't allowed to enter the plaza yet, but the expedition requirements posted outside state that players must be level 50 or above—anyone below 50 can't teleport. The teleportation fee is ten Magic Crystals per player." Bai Qingxue sighed. "With our guild's current Magic Crystal reserves, I'm afraid we can't send too many players to the Ice Crystal World."
She had originally been full of enthusiasm for the expedition. After all, Zero Wing's branch was headquartered in Lakeheart City—the geographical advantage alone should have given them a significant edge.
But now there was a strict level requirement, and on top of that, teleporting a single player cost ten Magic Crystals. The price was outrageous.
Ten Magic Crystals per player meant ten thousand crystals for a thousand players—a sum that even a third-rate guild would feel, to say nothing of lesser guilds. Magic Crystals were needed for all sorts of things in everyday play, and there was no way the expedition to the Ice Crystal World would send a mere thousand players. Even two or three thousand meant spending at least twenty to thirty thousand Magic Crystals on the expedition alone.
Such a quantity of Magic Crystals would make even first-rate guilds flinch—and there was no guarantee those twenty to thirty thousand crystals would be earned back.
"Ten Magic Crystals per person?" Shi Feng couldn't help but click his tongue. That was actually cheap.
After all, he had worked hard to pass the trial of the Ancient God Temple and earn the Temple Warrior title, yet entering or leaving still required fifty Magic Crystals each time. Now it was only ten. Comparing people to people was enough to make you sick.
Although the expedition to the otherworld still required breaking through the Ice Crystal World's defensive barrier to truly enter, this price—by his knowledge—was absolutely the cheapest an otherworld expedition had ever been.
The expeditions he knew of in the past had typically started at thirty Magic Crystals per person, and only after a city was established in the otherworld and a stable teleportation channel set up did the price drop.
Now it was only ten per person, which meant the expedition to the Ice Crystal World would be easier and faster.
"I really need to pick up the pace."
Shi Feng shook his head helplessly, then instructed Bai Qingxue to continue gathering intelligence on the expedition's specifics—to send a small number of experts to follow the expedition force into the Ice Crystal battlefield and gather information, reporting back to him at any time.
As for himself, he loaded the forty thousand Ice Jade Stones from the warehouse into his Epic-grade inventory space—one hundred per stack, four thousand stacks in total. This represented the entirety of Zero Wing branch's funds.
With that, Shi Feng left Lakeheart City and headed straight for the Ancient God Temple, using it as a passage back to the Ice Crystal World.