In Shell Town, "Shadow" was a figure everyone looked up to!
At a time when most players struggled to even reach level 3...
He had already reached level 7!
If this were just an ordinary online game, people might have been impressed but wouldn't think much of it.
But now...
Eclipse of Eternity was a game where power was directly tied to lifespan!
How could people not be envious?
Under countless admiring gazes, Riven returned to Shell Town. His first order of business was activating the teleportation gate in the plaza's basement, earning him 1 reputation point.
Then, he returned to the plaza and reopened his stall.
Originally, many other players had set up shop around a broken flowerbed, but the moment they saw Riven, they immediately gathered around.
"The boss is finally here! I've saved up 150 days of lifespan just to buy something from him!"
"Last time, he sold an Ice Spear skill book, and that let Gray Rose shoot straight to second place on the rankings! Absolutely insane!"
"No kidding! Anything the boss sells is top-tier!"
A crowd gathered in anticipation.
Everyone knew that the items Riven sold often had great effects!
At this stage, most players could farm basic monsters, but bosses were another story.
They could accumulate lifespan, they could grind mobs for low-tier or common gear, but there was no way for them to acquire high-tier equipment or skill books...
Buying from Riven was the only option.
After all, even if they encountered a boss, they couldn't beat it!
Any useful equipment or skill book Riven had would be in high demand.
For example, the Silver-tier warrior skill book "Battle Roar", which had dropped from the "Cursedborn," had sold for 300 days of lifespan...
That price was no joke.
A single skill book had been exchanged for nearly a year's worth of life!
Many warriors wanted to buy it, but they simply couldn't afford it. They could only watch in envy as a level 4 warrior took it away...
"300 days of lifespan for a skill book… is it really worth it?"
"If you're broke, living longer is just prolonged suffering. Might as well trade lifespan for power..."
"You're thinking too short-term. With this skill, that guy's farming speed will skyrocket. What's 300 days in the grand scheme of things?"
"Exactly! If you're strong enough, forget 300 days—immortality isn't impossible!"
Aside from this skill book, Riven was also selling lower-ranked gear and skills.
Low, Normal, and Bronze-tier items were all available.
Some with particularly useful effects, like boots that increased movement speed or skills that granted control effects or bursts of speed, sold for 50-80 days of lifespan.
The rest were cheaper, going for 20-40 days.
In addition to selling, Riven had put up a notice that he was looking to buy storage-related items.
It wasn't long before a striking young woman approached him.
She wore a flowing black robe, her figure slender and graceful, with a staff hanging at her waist.
She was none other than the Seer, the hidden-class member of Marcus' team, known by the alias "Black Yafe Nali"!
Seers belonged to the mage class and could equip mage gear.
Thanks to their class passives, Seers were far stronger than regular mages—especially in terms of raw damage.
"Boss, boss! I have what you need!"
The beautiful girl stepped up with a playful smile.
Her bright eyes sparkled as she extended a delicate, pale hand, revealing a ring to Riven.
He glanced at it:
[Storage Ring: Contains 12 storage slots. Does not occupy a ring or backpack slot.]
Riven was surprised.
Backpacks were limited—each player could carry a maximum of three.
But a Storage Ring was a unique storage item that didn't take up a backpack slot.
In other words, it provided extra inventory space!
These rings technically had a chance to drop from any monster, but the drop rate was abysmally low. In his past life, a single Storage Ring could easily sell for at least ten years of lifespan—3,650 days or more!
So Riven asked, "How much are you selling it for?"
Black Yafe Nali grinned mischievously.
"I don't want lifespan… I just want to add you as a friend, and… I'd like you to help our team kill a boss."
Riven considered it, then sent her a friend request.
[Player "Black Yafe Nali" has accepted your friend request!]
[Player "Black Yafe Nali" has sent you a private message!]
Opening the chat, he quickly got the details. Apparently, after Marcus logged off, he hadn't come back online yet. Bored, Lina had wandered around grinding mobs… and stumbled across a Gold-tier Boss!
Of course, she couldn't take it down alone. Her original plan was to wait for her team to log back in. But then she hesitated—even with her full team, they probably wouldn't be able to kill it.
The Bronze-tier Sprint Runner they had fought before had already left a deep impression on her!
And now, she had run into Riven. This was the perfect chance to get to know him and trade the Storage Ring for his help.
Riven asked, "What's the name of the Gold-tier Boss?"
Lina shook her head. "I was too far away to read its name. But I could clearly see the golden health bar. It's in a swamp… on a ship which looked old and broken down..."
A ship?
Riven nodded, already forming a guess.
He messaged her back, "I'll help. If the boss drops gear or skill books you can use, they're yours. Everything else belongs to me. Deal?"
Liza blinked in surprise.
"Huh? What about Captain Marcus and the others?"
Her plan had been to take Riven along with her team so they could all split the loot. However, that wouldn't be worth it for Riven.
He shook his head. "Your team has every class. If nothing for assassins drops, I'd be fighting for free."
Liza thought about it and realized he was right.
A Gold-tier Boss wasn't going to be easy.
She compromised. "Alright, but if it drops something for Marcus and the others, can you give us a discount?"
"Sure."
Lina nodded, "Okay! We'll head out once they log in—"
"No need to wait," Riven interrupted. "Just take me there. I can kill it alone."
Lina froze. "Huh?"
She stared at him in shock.
Alone… against a Gold-tier Boss?
Wasn't that insanely arrogant? To her, Riven was undoubtedly fast, strong, and unpredictable. But Eclipse of Eternity's monsters—especially bosses—were no joke.
Let alone a Gold-tier Boss—they didn't even know its abilities yet! And this guy was acting like he could just walk in and solo it…
Wasn't that a bit much?!