Blacksmith's shop.
"Why do you know this information?" The dwarf frowned tightly, looking at the man in front of him, draped in a black cloak, emanating a sense of mystery.
For some reason, this man knew about the Red Dragon Blood Armor he had collected and made a high bid to purchase it, which naturally moved him.
But what concerned him more was why this man knew about it.
"Your destiny is displayed in the stars," Xi Mu said with his head lowered, laughing softly as he extended his hand, "Selling the Red Dragon Blood Armor to me is destined."
This dwarf blacksmith possessed armor stained with Red Dragon blood, the armor of Kamor, a dragon-slaying hero from five hundred years ago.
In terms of performance, at the same price, better armor than the Red Dragon Blood Armor could be obtained, but the Red Dragon Blood Armor had hidden attributes specialized in dragon defense.
If someone wanted to slay a dragon, buying the Red Dragon Blood Armor was naturally a profitable deal.
"Are you an Astrologer?" the dwarf blacksmith asked, his grip on his hammer loosening slightly in the presence of the mysterious and elusive man who truly had the air of an Astrologer.
To this, Xi Mu nodded calmly. For a second-time player or those who played multiple times, the identity of an Astrologer was very useful.
Why they could foreknow various secret information was easily explained by the identity of an Astrologer.
After all, the destiny of humans in this world... no, of all life, is reflected in the stars. Anyone with the right ability could observe everyone's destiny.
From birth to death, it was all clear at a glance.
"Are you aiming to push someone's destiny?" mused the dwarf, "You Astrologers always enjoy creating heroes and epics."
"No, I am creating my own epic," Xi Mu shook his head, raising his hand to point at himself. "The dragon-slaying hero will be me."
"...Ah... Hahaha!" The dwarf was stunned for a moment, then burst out laughing. It was amusing for him that an Astrologer, who always created heroes, wanted to become one himself; this also made him momentarily lower his guard.
"An Astrologer wanting to become a hero is indeed rare."
"If one has to create a hero, why not become the hero themselves? It's more straightforward," Xi Mu explained.
The dwarf thought it over and felt it made sense.
Instead of laboriously manipulating destiny, thus shifting the chosen target's destiny toward a desired direction, it made more sense to take on the role personally and become a mythic hero.
Although doing so meant the Astrologer had to fight his own battles, if his ability were insufficient, he might indeed die on the path to becoming a hero.
But if he had enough capability, then taking action himself was obviously more trouble-free.
"Just sell the Red Dragon Blood Armor to me, and in the future, when I write the story, I'll include a mention of you," Xi Mu said, pulling out a credit card from his black robe.
The dwarf hesitated slightly, looking at the credit card in front of him, but chose to accept the extended card. Why not make money when you can?
Not to mention the potential future opportunity to appear in a hero's story.
"Wait for me." He placed his hammer on the table and turned to walk into the back of the blacksmith's shop, from where he brought out a set of armor.
This set of armor was silver in color, with many scars on its surface. From head to toe, every joint was very well protected, totally enveloped.
Unlike other games where less fabric means higher defense, the design of early armor in this game was very meticulous.
Any part not protected by armor, if struck, would truly be injured.
"It's genuine," Xi Mu tapped the Red Dragon Blood Armor and began putting it on immediately. The dwarven blacksmith selling the armor sometimes tricked the players with fake goods, foolishly paying the money only to realize something was amiss later, by which time the dwarf would have fled with the money.
Even if they wanted revenge, they would have to wait until later in the main storyline for the opportunity.
"Rest assured, dwarves are the most honest," the dwarf blacksmith slapped his chest, his voice very hearty, seemingly proud of his honesty.
To this, Xi Mu made no comment, promptly paying the vast sum that would make one wealthy for life, that vanished the moment the credit card swiped.
However, thanks to Anastasia's gift, he still had quite a bit of money in another bank card, enough to cover his expenses for a short period.
"Customer, I hope to see you slay a dragon successfully next time," the dwarf smiled broadly, watching Xi Mu turn and leave without hesitation, waving enthusiastically.
Originally, he indeed had planned to test the waters by offering a fake Red Dragon Blood Armor and gauging whether the other party was a real Astrologer.
But ultimately, he decided against taking the risk.
And now he was very satisfied with his decision, as the other party clearly noticed his subtle thoughts and mentioned them casually in conversation.
If he dared to present a fake Red Dragon Blood Armor, the Astrologer would manipulate fate, leading people into a dead end.
He would probably be in big trouble.
Meanwhile.
On the streets.
Xi Mu lifted his head to observe the sky, determined his direction, and gradually quickened his pace, starting to run.
He certainly couldn't defeat the dragon now; the gap in their attributes was too vast, and even if he exerted all his strength to inflict damage, it wouldn't compare to the opponent's healing speed.
Therefore, he planned to level up first and then look for an opportunity to kill a dragon and change his class to become a human with the power of dragons.
For now, he decided to undertake a side quest.
...
...
"Your Highness, Princess, run quickly!"
With a panicked voice echoing through the roaming forest, a young girl with golden short hair, holding up her elegant gown, ran out from the darkness.
Behind her, there were sounds of wailing and the clashing of weapons, and the occasional bursts of thunder and flames that tore through the night's darkness.
"Damn it, what in the world is going on!" The girl gritted her teeth, softly cursing as she did her best to escape.
She was on her way to meet the God of Plague at her father's indication, but she was ambushed midway.
"Wait until I catch you, I'll kill you all!" Her piercing green eyes conveyed her anger and stubbornness.
Fear and panic were completely absent from her, and aside from the expected anger, she was alarmingly composed.
This princess was neither weak nor merely decorative.
"Princess, you must survive!" From the shadows, a figure in black emerged, throwing several throwing knives toward the girl's back.
"Wind, answer my call!" The princess turned around, waved her hand at the incoming throwing knives, and the air seemed to obey, immediately shifting.
The throwing knives were deflected in that moment.
However.
Whoosh—the sound of tearing through the air came, and the girl's body was pierced by arrows, her wrist, ankle, and left shoulder instantly penetrated.
The throwing knives were just a means to distract.
"Snap!" The girl fell to the ground, with her wrist and ankle pierced, losing the ability to run.
"What a pity, Your Highness," the man in black approached the girl, dagger in hand, "I'm going to gouge out your eyes and admire your stubbornness and refusal to give up."
"You should have shot arrows through my head," the girl propped herself up with one hand, looking coldly at the man in black beside her.
"It seems your master wants you alive."
"No...you're mistaken, this is our personal decision," the man in black wavered the dagger in his hand, his eyes gleaming with amusement.
"Princess, you overlooked that you are a very charming woman."
"A third-rate character's script, couldn't the copywriter put a bit more effort into it?" A voice of dissatisfaction came, and the man in black and the princess looked in the direction of the sound, seeing a man in silver armor, holding a dramatically designed greatsword, walking out.
"Playing the hero saving the beauty?" the man in black scoffed, but quickly composed himself as the greatsword of the man was stained with fresh blood.
Considering the freshness of the blood, it had just been acquired.
And now, with none of his companions firing any arrows from the surroundings, it suggested that they were likely taken out.
The blood on the greatsword belonged to his companions.