Returning to the main island, Lein and Nita eagerly examined the market.
Their goal was clear: to purchase full-body equipment to strengthen themselves. Becoming more powerful would accelerate their leveling up. The higher their level, the greater their chances of obtaining valuable materials. That's when Lein's extraordinary talent would truly shine.
Lein navigated to the equipment section of the market, his eyes scanning for long-range weapons. His fingers flicked through the listings, occasionally using filters to narrow down his search. After a few minutes, his eyes lit up as he found the Evo Bow.
(Evo Bow)
- Strength +10
- Explosive Arrow: Arrows will explode on impact, dealing +30 damage.
The Evo Bow was priced at 20 Energy Crystals.
Lein quickly did the math. The current exchange rate for water to Energy Crystals was 1:100, meaning 100 ml of water was worth 1 Energy Crystal. With his vast supply of water, Lein's net worth was effectively 1000 Energy Crystals.
Without hesitation, Lein accessed the market's request feature, filtered specifically for water, and exchanged 10,000 ml of water for 100 Energy Crystals.
[ Successfully exchanged 20 Energy Crystals for Evo Bow ]
[ Successfully exchanged 10 Energy Crystals for 1000 Wooden Arrows ]
A one-meter-long, green bow materialized in front of Lein. The bow looked luxurious and strong, with soft bird feathers adorning its ends and a string that was both sturdy and elastic.
"Hahaha, perfect," Lein laughed, feeling the weight of the Evo Bow in his hands. The explosive power of the bow meant he could annihilate a group of ten goblins in mere seconds.
Lein resumed scrolling through the market items.
[ Successfully exchanged 14 Energy Crystals for Flowing Cloak ]
(Flowing Cloak)
- Resilience +8
- Agility +2
A long, blue-green cloak appeared out of thin air and fell into Lein's hands.
"Nice…" Lein thought to himself, admiring the cloak. It boosted two attributes simultaneously, a rarity even in the entire market.
Lein continued browsing for another ten minutes, eventually acquiring three more pieces of equipment: Wind Boots, Glass Gloves, and Courage Headband.
(Wind Boots)
- Agility +9
- Resilience +2
(Glass Gloves)
- Strength +6
- Resilience +5
(Courage Headband)
- Resilience +4
- Intelligence +1
With these new acquisitions, Lein now wore four pieces of equipment and wielded a formidable weapon. He felt his body surging with newfound strength. He checked his status panel.
[ STATUS ]
- Name: Lein
- Level: 1 (1%)
- Attributes: Strength 19, Agility 14, Intelligence 2, Resilience 23
- Class: Beginner
- Skills: -
- Equipment: (Evo Bow), (Wind Boots), (Flowing Cloak), (Glass Gloves), (Courage Headband)
- Talent: (Infinity Duplicate SSS)
- Features: Market, Chat, Friends
Lein spent a total of 72 Energy Crystals to buy all his equipment. These were the best items he could find in the market.
If there had been stronger gear available, he would have bought it, but who would be foolish enough to sell top-tier items at this stage?
"Brother, look," Nita called out hopefully.
She was now also fully equipped, her attributes not far behind Lein's.
[ STATUS ]
- Name: Cute Cat
- Level: 1 (1%)
- Attributes: Strength 8, Agility 9, Intelligence 21, Resilience 14
- Class: Beginner
- Skills: -
- Equipment: (Guine's Staff), (Soft Boots), (Midnight Cloak), (Smart Gloves), (Forgetful Cap)
- Features: Market, Chat, Friends
"Great, you look taller," Lein remarked, ending his statement with a playful tone.
"Brother!!! Ugh…" Nita felt both flattered and insulted.
She raised her staff, a white light forming at its tip.
"Danger!" Lein exclaimed, eyes wide.
He ran, dodging to avoid becoming the target of Nita's magic.
"Okay, okay… Sorry, stop!"
"Nita… I apologize… Mercy…" Lein kept shouting, pleading for forgiveness.
Seeing her brother's silly antics, Nita paused.
Humph…
She sighed, flicking her long hair back with her small hand.
As Nita stopped, Lein cautiously approached.
"Hehehe, amazing," he complimented, carefully choosing his words.
He praised her a few more times, feeling that if he hadn't run, he might have met an untimely end.
"Enough!" Nita snapped, pressing her finger to her lips, signaling him to stop his exaggerated praise.
"Do you think I don't know?" Nita's gaze was still sharp.
"Heheheh…" Lein scratched his head, smiling sheepishly. His sister had grown up, no longer easily fooled by such tactics.
"Alright, now that we're ready. Let's go hunt those monsters," Lein raised his right hand high, hoping for a cheer from Nita.
All he got was the sound of the wind as Nita walked past him.
Lein followed, trailing behind her with a silly grin, insisting she respond to his motivational words to keep their spirits high.
And so, the siblings ventured into the sea of white clouds once more.
___
[ Killed Sharp-Toothed Wolf: EXP +5 ]
[ Killed Sharp-Toothed Wolf: EXP +3 ]
…
On an island spanning 900 square meters, a fierce battle was underway.
A young man shot arrows every five seconds at a pack of wolves.
[ Sharp-Toothed Wolf ]
- Level 5
- Attributes: Strength 9, Agility 9, Intelligence 5, Resilience 6
- (Wolf's Roar): Increases attack power for a few seconds.
Nearby, a young woman wielding a long staff unleashed a continuous barrage of white ice energy.
(Hailstorm)
A powerful spell, the energy at the staff's tip created a massive hailstorm covering an area of 25 square meters within five seconds.
[ Killed Sharp-Toothed Wolf : EXP +4 ]
[ Killed Sharp-Toothed Wolf : EXP +5 ]
These were Lein and Nita. The wolves before them were the eighth group of monsters they had encountered in the past hour.
In that hour, Lein and Nita had leveled up twice, reaching Level 3.
The 900-square-meter island was home to approximately 90 wolves.
[ Killed Sharp-Toothed Wolf : EXP +5 ]
With the death of the last wolf, Lein and Nita finally relaxed their tense muscles.
As usual, after each battle, they extracted materials from the monster corpses.
Each holding a burlap sack to collect the dropped items, they wondered if the system would eventually provide them with proper bags or if they needed to craft them themselves at a higher level.
They buried their curiosity and continued extracting materials from the wolf corpses.
Each extraction emitted a white light, revealing various items.
But this time, the corpse Lein was handling glowed with a golden light.
[ Acquired Silver Chest +1 ]
Lein's eyes widened in disbelief and awe.
Nita, noticing the golden glow, approached, her eyes fixed on the 30 cm long and 20 cm wide silver chest.
"What's in it?" she asked, her voice tinged with excitement and curiosity.