MMORPG: The Almighty Ring
chapter-43

Chapter 43: Secret Disclosure

An ordinary player would be plenty pleased with a Blue tier equipment, let alone a Legendary Tier. But Jiang Fei was not ordinary. He was a crafting class. Without the support of stronger equipment, he would fall behind in combat!

Jiang Fei’s skills came solely from his equipment. Therefore, his only way of going forward was with better equipment. His combat skills were literally tailor-made. And to do that, he needed more materials, which were in grossly scarce supply!

“Hey, Bro. May I know what you’re equipped with?”

While Jiang Fei was still worrying about where to outsource for more materials, the great victim had flung himself on the doorstep. Southern Azuresword himself had taken the initiative to reach out to Jiang Fei!

The man had been left without a choice. Let alone clearing the dungeon, he could not even break through the first boss. The first person he had reached out to was that enigmatic Verdure Glider, but he had been promptly ignored. His second option had been Rosette Rose, But this beautiful girl was the only daughter of a business family. She had been brought up as a businesswoman, along with the tight defense and light-footed negotiation capabilities. He had not been able to get anything useful from her, other than get increasingly frustrated at her illusive omission of key details. At most, she only said that the first boss was just the beginning. The latter stages of the dungeon would make the first boss look like a baby’s toy. If the first boss was already giving you this much trouble, prepare to be wiped out by the subsequent monsters!

At first, Southern Azuresword and the rest had thought that Rosette Rose was just playing some mental games to increase the gap. But Happy Drunk had made himself a personal example as an effective means of convincing others. The Bearmen monsters that came in ten had toyed with them like infants. Even their formation of four tanks and five healers was unable to hold out! When Happy Drunk was done speaking, the other three guilds were utterly dumbfounded!

As one, the four Guildmasters unanimously realized their actual obstacle was the fact their tanks were made of paper! So, how do we reinforce paper? Put them in a hardcover file! However, they first needed to kill a boss to get some hardcovers! The Blacksmith players within the guild would only waste materials producing White tier equipments. Jiang Fei was the only alternative left!

“Equipment? Of course! Level 15 Blue and Green tier Platemail Breastplates, Blue tier Platemail Shoulders, I have them all!”

Jiang Fei pounced upon the opportunity. This big fat sheep had delivered itself to his door. He would feel sorry for himself if he spared it!

“How about the price?”

When Southern Azuresword heard that Jiang Fei had some actual Blue tier equipment, he was just as shocked as he thought himself fortunate. He would not be the first party to clear the dungeon, but he could still organize two parties, three parties, four parties, five, six, seven, eight parties to attempt sending a tsunami through the Elite Mode dungeon. The glory was no longer there, but the Experience Points and equipment from the dungeon were just as crucial towards the early development of his guild!

“5 gold coins for each Level 15 Green tier Breastplate. 50 Gold coins for Blue tier equipment!” said Jiang Fei, demanding an exorbitant price.

“Uh, isn’t that pretty steep…?” asked Southern Azuresword. He had a huge guild, but the game was just in its infantile stages. The landlord had no surplus grains!

“My equipment all come with extra skills!” said Jiang Fei, making sure to enunciate each word.

“What?!”

Southern Azuresword would have tipped over a chair if he had been sitting on one. Jiang Fei had once sold more than seventy equipment with additional skills, but he had claimed them to be hand-picked and binned. Were all these samples also hand-picked? They even had Level 15 Green tier and Blue tier equipment crafted? These guys were filthy rich, weren’t they?

“I have lots of equipment. It may be impossible for your guild to swallow them all. Spread the word to the other guilds, saying that I want to sell Green and Blue tier equipment en masse!”

This time, Jiang Fei’s greed had blinded his better judgment! While attempting to mercilessly slaughter these big guilds, he had also exposed his little secret!

…

…

“What? Mass-produced blue tier equipment with extra skills?”

Even the smug and arrogant Happy Drunk had opened his slit-eyes wide at that!

“There’s something fishy about this guy!” said Daemon’s Grimace with his husky voice.

“That’s right! I’ve sent someone to investigate. This guy is a member of some small group named Rosette Knighthood. They seem to be a group of pub-level rich ladies. None of them show any promise. Besides, before joining the Rosette Knighthood, this Verdure Glider had been playing solo!”

Lady Casanova marched right in, slamming a pile of documents on the table.

“If that’s so, he’s producing all these miracles by himself?” Southern Azuresword had grown weary of being surprised. He knew that Jiang Fei had a massive amount of Blue tier equipment, but there was too much to go around. Therefore, he had to find someplace to offload them.

“That’s perfectly plausible. After my team put their heads together, their best hypothesis is that he must have encountered a secret quest, secret item, secret NPC, secret skill, secret whatever. Point being, he has to have found something that gives Crafting classes a massive boost. There’s no better reason for a solo player to pick a crafting class,” said Lady Casanova.

The advisers of these big guilds were indeed no ordinary beings. They had ended up on the same conclusion as what Jiang Fei told Rosette Rose. Overlooking Jiang Fei’s cheat ring was to be expected, but it was some solid detective work, nevertheless!

“He’s ours!” When Lady Casanova was finished talking, the other three Guildmasters spoke simultaneously. Evidently, all of them wanted this walking treasure trove for themselves. To hell with Rosette Knighthood and their wealth. Only the big four were worthy of competing with each other. If they intended to poach someone, a small clan like Rosette Knighthood was only bound to be trampled upon!

“Hey! That’s enough, you guys!”

Lady Casanova rolled her eyes. In her mind, she went, “You guys intend to poach him? You think I haven’t already taken action upon receiving the intel firsthand?”

The power balance of Dawnlight City was now in a fragile state. “Magithieves” held the majority monopoly. No one else could be mentioned in the same breath. But if the other three big guilds were brought together, “Magithieves” might find itself at the bottom rung. Now, Jiang Fei’s existence could most possibly tip the scales. If Lady Casanova poached Jiang Fei, that would mean real trouble for the other three guilds. They would most definitely unite to declare war against “Magithieves.” If they gave Jiang Fei the breathing space to bolster “Magithieves’s” firepower, they would solidify their monopoly!

Therefore, in the end, “Magithieves’s” advisory team had come up with a solid plan. Have Jiang Fei, the “variable” remain within this tiny Rosette Knighthood. This small group of gals was not a threat to any guild. Besides, they severely lacked manpower. Jiang Fei’s equipment would have to stand against the entirety of Dawnlight City. Either that, or he would have to sell it all to them. That way, as long as the four of them maintained equal access to his equipment, the city could develop in peace!

After Lady Casanova announced her plans, Southern Azuresword and the rest had nodded in unison. Jiang Fei’s value had clouded their visions. All they could think of was his conscription. When Lady Casanova’s level-headed analysis got to them, they saw the benefits of her plan. If any one guild won Jiang Fei over, that guild would immediately become the common enemy of Dawnlight City. At the early stages of the game, everyone needed room to grow. A city-wide guild battle royale this early in the game would have devastating consequences. It was in everyone’s best interests to keep Jiang Fei neutral, whether they knew it or otherwise!