Inside the Cross Town Inn, Ethan looked at his spoils, feeling that this trip was well worth it. He picked up three skill books without hesitation and chose to learn them all.
[Ding! You have learned Flame Leap.]
[Ding! You have learned Shadow Strike.]
[Ding! You have learned Hat Trick.]
Flame Leap was similar to Shadow Jump, both being escape skills. However, Shadow Jump relied on the shadow realm, while Flame Leap used flames. Now, with these plus his Blink skill, he had three escape options.
Ethan had no complaints—escape skills were lifesavers, and having more was always better. Shadow Strike, on the other hand, was an offensive skill best suited for assassinations.
[Shadow Strike: In a high agility sprint, you transform into a shadow to strike, ignoring armor.]
[Condition: Stealth Mode]
[Cooldown: 30 seconds]
Lastly, there was Hat Trick, a unique skill requiring a hat as a medium.
[Hat Trick: Your hat possesses spatial properties, allowing you to store items.]
[Casting Medium: Hat]
[Cooldown: None]
After learning the skills, Ethan's eyes fell on the two pieces of equipment.
[Fanged Fish Dagger(Purple-Gold): A down-and-out ranger's only possession, sadly lost to a shameful gambler.]
[Trait 1: Attack +49, Dexterity +10, Armor Penetration +5]
[Trait 2: Agility +1]
[Trait 3: Fishbone Agility: Your agility is unaffected when in water.]
…
[Roy's Hat (Purple-Gold): A hat that had long accompanied Roy, but was unfortunately lost to you.]
[Trait 1: Perception +50, Diplomacy +10, Magic Resistance +5]
[Trait 2: Charisma +1]
[Trait 3: Charm-based skill effect +20%.]
"These are amazing—Roy really lost big this time."
Ethan couldn't help but feel sorry for Roy for three seconds while admiring the equipment.
It was rare to find gear that increased base stats, as only exceptional items had such traits. And these two items both did! The Fanged Fish Dagger added 1 point of Agility—not much, but it was equivalent to leveling up once. It also boosted attack, dexterity, and armor penetration.
But compared to the hat, the dagger paled in comparison. Roy's hat not only increased charisma—a rare special stat—but also enhanced charm-based skills.
"No wonder Roy was so reluctant to part with it. He probably used this hat to deceive quite a few people," Ethan chuckled as he gleefully donned the hat.
He then opened his character stats to check.
[ID: Dustwalker]
[Race: Human]
[Base Attributes: Strength 10, Agility 15, Constitution 10, Spirit 14 (-3), Intelligence 9]
[Special Attributes: Charisma 2, Luck 0]
[Class: Magician (Level 3/14.78%)]
[Talents: One More Time (Unique), Dual Shadows (S)]
[Proficiencies: Silver Tongue, Nimble Hands, Card Master, Quick Reflexes]
[Skills: Blink, Investigate, Shadow Clone, Shadow Jump, Shadow Hide, Shadow Strike, Flame Leap, Hat Trick]
[Equipment: Cards, Fanged Fish Dagger, Roy's Hat]
[Wealth: 6 Gold, 48 Silver, 70 Copper]
[Status: Extremely Fatigued (Spirit -3 in Godfall)]
[Attribute Points: 0]
Looking at his profile, Ethan finally felt at ease. His stats were now starting to look decent—before, they were embarrassing. Especially with the number of skills he had accumulated, which were his true strength.
In *Godfall*, a player's power depended on their array of skills and proficiencies, allowing them to adapt to various situations.
"Time for bed. I'm exhausted after pulling an all-nighter, and my Spirit is already down."
Ethan closed his character sheet and was just about to lie down for some much-needed rest.
[Ding! You have an incoming call from Naomi. Do you accept?]
"Damn it, what does Naomi want now? Has she already gathered all the gold?"
Ethan was puzzled but accepted the call.
"Hey, what's up?" Ethan asked.
"Name your price."
"Price for what?"
Ethan was confused. Hadn't she already bought the strategy guide? What was she talking about?
"For those two Purple-Gold items of yours, of course."
"Ah…"
It suddenly clicked for Ethan. He opened the equipment rankings, and sure enough, both his items were at the top of the list.
[Equipment Rankings:]
[1st: Roy's Hat (Purple-Gold), ID: Dustwalker]
[2nd: Fanged Fish Dagger (Purple-Gold), ID: Dustwalker]
[3rd: Storm Greatsword (Gold/Limited Item), ID: Cat King]
[4th: Mastery Staff (Silver), ID: Supreme]
…
Seeing this, Ethan couldn't help but laugh. Apart from him, the next best item was a limited-time Gold piece, while the rest were mostly Silver gear—such a stark difference!
No wonder Naomi wanted to buy his gear—who wouldn't be tempted by these stats? But Ethan wasn't selling; these were Purple-Gold items, only second to Epic. There was no way he'd sell them before reaching level 50 unless something better came along.
"Sorry, the gear's not for sale," Ethan replied flatly.
"…"
Naomi was silent for a moment. She really wanted to buy them, but there was no point in pushing. After all, they still had another transaction to complete.
"Alright, forget it. But I've gathered the 50 gold coins—send me the strategy guide for the Treasure Cave."
"That fast? Alright, I'll give it to you when I get back," Ethan said.
"What do you mean by 'get back?'" Naomi frowned.
"Come on, it's a difficult-level dungeon. Have you ever seen anyone clear it yet?"
Ethan rolled his eyes. This was Naomi, the famed "Goddess of War", and she didn't even know this much?
"Hmm…"
Naomi thought back and realized he was right. No guild had cleared a difficult-level dungeon yet. The monsters inside were ten levels higher than the players, and the final boss was even fifteen levels higher. With the current power level of players, it was impossible.
"So what do you mean by 'get back'?" Naomi continued pressing.
"It's simple. I'll come back and lead the run myself," Ethan explained.
"You're leading… and you think you can clear it?" Naomi was skeptical.
"Of course I can! It's my guide, after all. Now hurry up with the gold!" Ethan urged.
"Alright, but I'll give you the gold in person. I'm not taking any chances."
"That's 50 gold—enough to buy a medium-sized guild."
"Ugh, fine, in person then. See you later."
"Wait, when will you be back? This afternoon?" Naomi pressed.
"No, tomorrow afternoon, at the earliest—I'm in the Snowy Plateau."
"Snowy Plateau? Why are you there?"
"Ugh, why are you asking so many questions? It's annoying! I'm hanging up!"
Ethan grumbled and cut the call.
Yawning again, he lay back down, his exhaustion overtaking him.
[Ding! Supreme requests to add you as a friend. Do you accept?]
[Ding! Cat King requests to add you as a friend. Do you accept?]
…
[Ding! You have an incoming call from 'Angel of War'. Do you accept?]
Before Ethan could even close his eyes, a series of notifications bombarded him again.
"For god's sake, what now!" Ethan scratched his messy hair in frustration and quickly disabled the friend request feature. Finally, he collapsed into bed, determined to get some rest.
While Ethan slept soundly, the outside world was far from quiet.
On *Godfall's* forums, endless discussions about his two Purple-Gold items skyrocketed to the top of the trending list.
…