Mark's wealth was now at 87,680 Orbes after he sold everything. This was worth more than what the hunting team got last time after selling their spoils!
"Am I in the wealth leaderboard now?" Mark mumbled to himself as he checked on the wealth ranking, but to his surprise, he was only ranked 3457th.
Wealth Ranking
1st - Flying Baby Panda (487,112 Orbes)
2nd - Xuanyuan Wentian (445,698 Orbes)
3rd - The Destroyer of Worlds (441,395 Orbes)
4th - Century Dragon (432,667 Orbes)
5th - Fishing In A Small Boat (401,476 Orbes)
"These guys are f*ck*ng sick! How did they earn this much money?!" He exclaimed upon seeing the ridiculous wealth of the top players.
Mark shook his head and closed the leaderboards. There could only be two reasons why those people have so much wealth at this early stage of the game. Either they were lucky individuals or they were rich tycoons in the real world.
'I should visit Max and tell him about my encounter with the Iron Fist Gang.' Mark thought as he cautiously headed to Freddy's Weapon Shop.
He made numerous detours in case someone was following him so it took him over an hour to arrive at the weapon shop.
"Hello, guest!" A staff of the shop greeted him politely.
"Hi! Is Max here?" Mark asked while looking around the shop, searching for that familiar figure.
The staff stared at him suspiciously. "Oh? Are you a friend of Sir Max?"
Mark nodded and smiled. "Yes. Just tell him that Wolf is here."
The staff was still suspicious of him. He hadn't seen Mark when he last visited the shop so he didn't know who he was. "Alright. Please wait here for a moment. I'll inform him about your presence."
"Sure." Mark nodded his head.
While the staff went off to inform Max, Mark took his time to check on the items on display. Last time, he could only drool at these items, but it was different now. He was even planning to purchase the sword that he had his eyes on.
Not long later, the staff came back with Max walking beside him.
"Where is Wolf?"
"It's that person over there."
Mark turned his head when he heard this familiar voice. Upon seeing Max, he let out a relieved smile. He was worried that Max was also targeted by the Iron Fist Gang.
"Good day, buddy! Did I disturb you?" Mark grinned as he bumped fists with Max.
Max chuckled and shook his head. "No way! Even if I am busy, I will find time to chat with you! Haha! By the way, how was your trip to the Enchanted Woodlands?"
Mark laughed bitterly while pointing at his wounds. "As you can see, I'm still recovering. I encountered a pack of wild dogs and was forced to confront them."
Hearing this, Max was surprised. "Seems like you had a rough time in the forest…" He paused and looked around before he continued. "Let's talk in my father's office."
"Alright." Mark followed him to Alfred's office.
As soon as they entered, Max pointed a seat for him and said. "Sit down. Do you want coffee or tea?"
Mark grabbed the chair and took his seat before he answered. "Coffee please."
"Alright. Give me a second." Max went to prepare his coffee so he patiently waited for him.
Five minutes later, Max returned and handed him a cup of coffee. "Tell me about your trip to the Enchanted Woodlands." Max smiled as he took the seat in front of Mark.
Mark's face suddenly turned serious. "To tell you the truth, I encountered four members of the Iron Fist Gang when I stepped out of the village."
Hearing this, Max's expression changed. "What?!"
"There were four of them at that time and one of them was even a Body Strengthening Second Level cultivator. I was only lucky enough to escape them." Mark solemnly said.
Max was silent, but Mark could see the fury in his eyes.
"I heard that Sir Jason and the leader of the Iron Fist Gang were once close friends. However, that person betrayed Sir Jason when they discovered a precious spiritual plant. The two drifted apart since then…" Max scoffed after mentioning this.
'That's quite the background story…' Mark thought to himself. The NPCs in the game all had stories of their own which made them feel like they were real people.
"Is there no chance for them to reconcile?" Mark asked tentatively.
Max snorted. "I don't think so. The two groups had numerous conflicts in the last few years that it reached the point where they can't forgive each other."
"Should we inform Sir Jason about this?" Mark didn't want to be targeted all the time. He might not be lucky the next time those people would ambush him.
"Of course! We have to inform Sir Jason as soon as possible!" Max stood up with a stern face.
Mark grabbed his shoulder and said. "Wait! Before we go, let me get that sword first."
Max stared at him in surprise. "You mean you have already gathered enough money for it?" Mark only left for less than a week and he already gathered enough money to buy the Malicious Fire Tiger Sword? The sword cost more than 7000 Orbes, an amount that would deter low-ranking cultivators. Even cultivators at Jason's level would have to save up money before they could afford it.
Mark grinned without saying anything.
Seeing his expression, Max smiled wryly. "It seems like your recent trip wasn't that bad… Anyway, follow me. I'll give you the sword if it's true that you have enough money to buy it."
Max brought him to the storage room where the Malicious Fire Tiger Sword was hidden.
"The sword is worth 7600 Orbes." Max said while handing the sword to him.
Mark lovingly caressed the blade of the sword.
The sword was 1.3 meters in length, including the handle. The hilt was designed like a roaring tiger head with two small ruby-like gems that served as its eyes. The color of the blade had a touch of red which was caused by the special material used in forging it.
Truthfully, Mark felt that it was a bit too gaudy, which might impact his low-profile life. However, he needed a powerful weapon and the sword fit the bill perfectly.
"Here's my payment. Please check it for me." Mark laughingly handed him a small sack filled with coins.
Max thought that he was only joking when he said that he had enough money so he was stunned when Mark handed him the small sack. He quickly inspected the contents and became even more surprised when he found out that he was speaking the truth.
"Do you have a scabbard for this sword? Give me something inconspicuous if possible." Mark couldn't use his scabbard since it was specifically made for his old sword.
"O-Of course! Hold on…" Max opened a compartment in the storage box and grabbed a scabbard for the sword. "You can use this one, but it's quite expensive…"
"How much is it?"
"1900 Orbes." Max replied.
Mark's face twitched. He grabbed the scabbard from Max's hands and inspected its stats.
Ash Bear Scabbard [Rare] 1900 Orbes
+ 3.1 Damage
+ 1.3 Endurance
+ 1.3 Strength
The scabbard was wrapped in black and gray fur which were held together by ten red leather bands.
"I'll take it." Mark no longer hesitated after seeing the stats of the scabbard.
Max smiled and opened his palm facing upwards. "1900 Orbes."
Mark handed him the money.
"Man, you're quite rich!" Max slapped his shoulder, making Mark grimace in pain.
"Damn you! My injuries!" Mark glared at him while gritting his teeth.
"Oh! S-Sorry! I forgot! Haha!"