Sword Among Us
chapter-159

“Thou art a murderer who killed all over the land. The blood thou spilt spilled rose to the heavens. Thou hast been deigned the Killer Star who hast descended on earth…”

*****

Once Happy killed two hundred people, he became a taboo for the diviners and fortune tellers, just as he wanted. He changed his attire again and vanished from everyone’s sight.

Even though the effect of the Killer Star title only lasted for twenty-four hours, to a veteran who had ample experience of the game from his previous life, it was enough to spend all the money he had on his person.

“Heaven Crushing Armor! It’s a middle-grade equipment! All the players who can pay, come!”

“Body fortification manuals, lightness skill manuals, hidden weapon manuals. I don’t have a lot of stock! Those who want them, come quick! They’re all five thousand taels of silver crumbs each! It’s a first come first serve basis!”

As expected of a famous city, Luoyang was very large, and it bustled with activity. The stalls set up by the players on both sides of the street stretched far into the distance. Various people were crying out their wares, their voices rising and falling, but no one felt that it was crowded or noisy. The players who passed by had many choices.

Since Happy had the need to change his attire, he did not enter the city in a flashy manner. He was dressed in simple clothes made from handwoven cloth and fused with the crowd in a very inconspicuous manner.

Even though he was safe once he entered the city, Happy did not change into his blue robes. There were plenty of players in the city, and if he attracted unnecessary attention, he would just bring a lot of trouble to himself.

While he moved forward slowly with the crowd, he paid attention as to whether he could see anything he liked on the stalls by his sides.

It had to be said that the development of World of Martial Arts in its early stages was very quick.

Some time ago, beginner-grade leather armor like Great Wolf Fur Equipment had been very popular, but it had already become something common. As of right then, middle-grade armor had begun to appear one after another and occupy the market!

And some of the players had also begun to practice their life skills.

Ironsmiths, tailors, and herbalists were the most common professions in the game, and they also earned the greatest amount of money. As of then, ironsmiths and tailors had already begun to make their mark in the game using middle-grade equipment and weapons.

For example, middle-grade armor, such as Heaven Crushing Armor and chainmail, had defenses that leather armor could never hope to compare to. Not only did they increase the user’s defense, they also provided a certain percentage to completely ignore damage from particular light weapons. Their defensive properties were very clear.

It was the same for weapons. Even though they were not masterpieces by master blacksmiths, they were much better than iron and bronze swords sold in shops, both in durability and attack. All of their properties, in truth, had increased by quite a large margin.

However, some degree of effort was still required to mold and refine the various materials. Smiths needed to buy or extract metal ingredients from mines, bring them to be processed in shops, then personally smelt them. A lot of time had to be spent on it, and they could also fail in the process. Hence, the fees for the equipment and weapons were naturally very costly. They were just slightly cheaper than lowest-grade masterpieces.

Even so, most players could enjoy a very obvious increase in strength and glory if they could get one or two middle-grade equipment or weapons…

In the past, when Happy had the slightest bit of extra money in his hands, he would not be able to help himself and buy a few of those items.

However, he did not need any of them right then. For weapons, Happy already had four masterpieces in his hands: Snow Axe, Green Jade Shrouded in Heavenly Silks, two Silver-spiked Staffs, and one Hundred-battle Saber that was equal to the level of a masterpiece. He had no need for weapons.

As for equipment, he needed it even less.

It would only hinder him when he practiced his martial arts. For the longest period of time in the future, his main goal would be to practice martial arts, so he did not need any equipment.

However, Happy did stop in front of a stall that was filled with bottles and did not have a lot of people around it.

An herbalist!

He remembered that there were very few players who would choose to be an herbalist in the early stages of the game and even fewer who would persist in practicing their skills. They would find it hard to make any progression. Only when the players’ wallets began to fill up and the prices for their wares increased that more herbalists appeared and became stronger. Their skills even surpassed those of ironsmits and tailors in usefulness!

The stall owner was a man covered in stubble who looked rather dejected and disappointed. It made it seem like he had not been very successful in his life. He was dressed in handwoven clothes and sat on the floor. His gaze made him appear a little lost, and he had a self-deprecating look on his face. He did not pay any attention to the players passing by and would occasionally sigh quietly.

It seemed like he knew that no one would be willing to visit his stall. He was clearly thinking about closing shop and leaving, but he had to continue staying around for some reason.

In other words, he was a person who was in a conflict because of reality and his dreams!

Compared to the merchants who sold weapons, armor, and martial art manuals by his side, this stall owner did indeed appear very gloomy.

Happy walked over and swept his gaze over the stall. Then, he picked up one of the bottles, opened it, and poured a pill out. He looked at it.

[Small Round Pill:

[Grade: 8, Quality: 9. Restores 36 qi in thirty seconds.

[Selling price: 500 taels of silver crumbs per pill.]

‘The quality is pretty good.”

Happy quirked an eyebrow slightly, and he cast another glance at the stall owner. Without saying anything, he continued to look through the stall owner’s other medicinal pills.

Aside from Superior Jinchuang Ointment, which could heal wounds even more quickly, there were also Vigor Pills, which could restore a person’s stamina. They were not sold in shops, however.

There was also poison that could increase the lethality of weapons when applied on the blades, along with poison that was fatal when consumed.

Poison had always been something that Happy looked down upon since his previous life.

His eyes moved away from the bottles that exuded a strange and dark-green smoke and landed on the final few bottles. He picked one up and poured out a medicinal pill that was slightly black and gave off a delicate scent. Happy’s spirits were immediately lifted, and a smile appeared on his face.

[Dew Pill:

[Grade: 7. Quality: 9. Recovers wounds, stamina, and all injuries in thirty seconds, and also restores 36 qi.

[Selling price: 2,500 taels of silver crumbs each.]

‘That’s it! Found it!’

Happy smiled in his heart and turned to the stall owner. “Can we talk a little?”

By then, the stall owner had also noticed the young man who had carefully sized up all the medicine on his stall. Even though he felt that this young man did not appear to be very wealthy because of his handwoven clothes, his temperament and bearing made the man naturally choose to regard his question carefully.

He hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

“As of now, the price is indeed a little expensive, but the materials for Dew Pills are very hard to find, and the cost to create each is not low. If I sell it too cheap, it will not be worth it.”

When he heard the man’s answer, Happy immediately knew that the man had misunderstood him, so he quickly explained. “Haha, the price for your Dew Pills is rather fair. What I mean is, how many Dew Pills do you have, and what level are you as an herbalist?”

“Huh?”

The man was stunned for a moment.

Someone had actually said that the price he set for his medicine was not expensive.

This was the first time he heard those words.

A normal, consumable medicinal pill sold in shops required two hundred taels of silver crumbs, and many players could not afford it, but here was someone who said that a Dew Pill that cost two thousand five hundred taels of silver crumbs was not expensive!

For a moment, he thought that he had misheard.

Happy repeated himself, and the man finally snapped out of his daze.

“I’m a level six herbalist, but my success rate for making grade six medicinal pills is still very low. I can only bring out a handful of them right now, and the effects are very low. The price for them is much more expensive than Dew Pills too. But if it’s Dew Pills, I still have some bottles of them with me.”

“A few bottles?”

When Happy heard this, his eyes lit up.

Dew Pills were very popular in the later stages of the game. Many guilds had even monopolized the ingredients necessary to create them. After all, they were the most important consumables during large-scale battles and quests.

An herbalist who could produce two bottles of Dew Pills in a month was already considered a very good herbalist, but the herbalist before Happy had actually managed to increase his level as an herbalist to level six in just a few short months. He had also gathered so many ingredients to create Dew Pills… Yes, he was definitely not a simple herbalist!