044 Tycoon, Shall We Be Friends?

Cheng Xue watched as Morning Wind opened the treasure chest, her heart pounding with excitement. These ancient treasure chests were undeniably the most expensive in the game; collecting ten thousand gold coins to open one at the start of the game was a daunting task. Who knew what would come out of it?

Morning Wind only intended to try his luck with one chest. Even though he was quite wealthy now, spending ten thousand gold coins on a chest still stung. Usually, items from lower-level chests were only suitable for that level. If he waited until higher levels to open them, it would be far more worthwhile, and by then, gold coins would be less valuable—he could easily afford it. Using ten thousand coins at a low level was, in all honesty, not the best idea.

System: You have opened an Ancient Treasure Chest and received [Right Fang of the Wind Serpent].

[Right Fang of the Wind Serpent]
Epic, Dagger, Unique
Equipment Requirement: Rogue
(Temporary Level: None)
Damage: None
Skill: [Wind Serpent Step]
Effect: Each attack deals additional fixed damage equal to level ×4.
Effect: Upon successfully using an ultimate skill, retain half your combo points, and for each point consumed, you recover 10 energy. This effect can trigger once every 30 seconds.
Set: 1/2 (Left Fang of the Wind Serpent): Each attack deals additional fixed damage equal to level ×2.
Description: A razor-sharp dagger forged from the right fang of the Wind Serpent King.

“A growth-type epic weapon! This is worth it!” Morning Wind never expected to pull a weapon with growth attributes, and on top of that, it was part of a set. The only other growth equipment he’d stolen was the Arcanite Axe from the Alliance Army Treasury; even his Brotherhood Sword required materials and quests for each upgrade and couldn’t grow with his level. This dagger was on a whole different level.

What disappointed him a little was that it wasn’t a weapon for warriors. If he sold this dagger, it would fetch a fortune. If he managed to get the other dagger in the set, selling them together could rival the price of a Talent Stone. If he couldn’t sell them, he could always keep them for synthesis; growth-type equipment became more valuable as the game progressed—these were the rarest items in the game.

“Morning Wind, see if you can get a growth-type staff next!” Seeing him pull an epic growth dagger, Cheng Xue was elated. If only a staff would drop next.

“I’ll open two more,” Morning Wind said, but then paused as a thought struck him. “Xiaoxue, ask your sister if she wants to take down the Wind Serpent King. If she does, we’d better invite another guild. Our guild alone can’t handle it.”

“Alright, I’ll ask my sister.” Of course, Cheng Xue wanted to kill a world boss—such a feat would boost the guild’s reputation. But killing a boss was complicated. The boss itself was formidable, but the real problem was competition from other guilds. Frost Snow Guild alone couldn’t withstand the onslaught; having another guild as an ally would help.

System: You have opened an Ancient Treasure Chest and received [Hurricane Stone].

System: You have opened an Ancient Treasure Chest and received [Left Fang of the Wind Serpent].

In just two more chests, Morning Wind obtained a Talent Stone. That alone was a massive profit, not to mention the epic growth dagger set.

“Epic weapons and a Talent Stone!” The five girls stared wide-eyed, unable to believe what they were seeing. To think a legendary Talent Stone could drop, and then a dagger set on top of it.

“He must be out of gold by now, right?” After seeing Morning Wind open three ancient chests, everyone assumed he’d be out of coins. Carrying thirty thousand gold coins was already outrageous—could he possibly have more?

They were wrong. Morning Wind crouched down to open more chests. If he hadn’t just sold a Talent Stone, he wouldn’t have had the funds for this spree. Now that the chests were so generous, he didn’t mind spending all his coins. A single Talent Stone was worth sixty thousand gold now, not to mention the dagger set.

System: You have opened an Ancient Treasure Chest and received the material [Rainbow Wind Serpent Skin].

System: You have opened an Ancient Treasure Chest and received the skill book [Wind Step].

An epic-grade purple material, excellent for crafting leather armor or as a synthesis ingredient. Still, spending ten thousand coins for it felt a bit underwhelming, especially since it wasn’t useful to him. If it had been an ore, he could have used it for forging armor, but leather was too niche. Few people yet understood the value of epic materials, so selling it wouldn’t profit him—he’d just have to wait and see if it became useful later.

Morning Wind paid little mind to the epic material; he was far more interested in the orange-grade skill book. Such books were unique, and from its name, it seemed to be a speed-boosting skill. If warriors could learn it, that would be perfect.

[Wind Step]: Acceleration skill. Move as swiftly as the wind, removing all movement-impairing effects and increasing movement speed by 40% for 4 seconds. Cooldown: 30 seconds. (Learning requirements: Warrior, Paladin)

“At last, a speed skill!” Seeing that warriors could learn this acceleration skill, Morning Wind nearly wept with joy. In the arena, warriors and paladins were notoriously slow—mobility was their Achilles’ heel. This skill completely compensated for that. Combined with his Divine Descent skill, he would be a powerhouse in the arena.

If someone were selling a speed skill for warriors, Morning Wind would buy it for fifty thousand coins, let alone ten thousand. After opening five ancient chests, he felt it was completely worth it, and with two more left, he didn’t mind opening them all. Once all the chests were opened, the Wind Serpent King boss would appear. He decided to open one more now and save the final chest for when everyone had gathered.

System: You have opened an Ancient Treasure Chest and received a [White Gold Coin].

[White Gold Coin]: Currency. Special currency from another plane, forged from platinum. Can be exchanged for fifty thousand gold at the main city treasury. Usable for material synthesis and purchasing items in special locations.

Morning Wind turned over the platinum-forged coin in his hand, engraved with a lifelike dragon. Exchanging it for gold in the city treasury would be foolish; white gold coins had many uses, especially on the larger maps, where they were required for certain quests and to purchase special items. They were also essential for synthesizing equipment—legendary gear couldn’t be crafted without one.

Spending ten thousand gold for a white gold coin was an absolute win. Even exchanging it for gold would yield a forty-thousand profit, not to mention its other uses.

Seeing Morning Wind pull so many top-tier items, the girls were stunned. None of them imagined he’d be carrying sixty thousand gold coins—if they had that much, they would have cashed out already.

“Rich guy, can we be friends?” one of the girls asked, intrigued. Anyone who could carry that much gold, pull so many high-level items, and play with such skill was a prime candidate for friendship.

“Heh, I’m not rich; I earned all this!” Morning Wind replied. He wasn’t some pay-to-win player—the girl really thought he’d bought his coins with cash. If it hadn’t been for selling a Talent Stone, he wouldn’t have had this much gold.

Before the girls could say more, Cheng Xue interjected, “Morning Wind, my sister’s already contacted the Storm Guild. They’re bringing people to Wind Serpent Valley. Once everyone’s here, we can start the boss fight.”

“Alright, I’ll head back to the city to fetch some things. Don’t open the last chest yet.” Having just acquired so many valuables, Morning Wind needed to deposit them in his warehouse. If he died during the boss fight and dropped them in the ensuing chaos, no one would know who picked them up. Fortunately, with his Warp Banner, he could transfer back to the city and return quickly.

“Okay!” Cheng Xue knew how much loot Morning Wind had obtained. If word got out, he’d be targeted for sure. Since the boss fight hadn’t started, there was plenty of time for Morning Wind to come back.

After using his Hearthstone to return to the main city, Morning Wind stored his loot in the warehouse, then switched to his Shapeshifter clone and equipped the new epic growth daggers. Instantly, the two daggers became a pair of razor-sharp claws for his alt.

[Claw of the Wind Serpent (Right)]
Epic, Claw, Unique, Bound
Equipment Requirement: Shapeshifter
(Temporary Level: 25)
Damage: 221–323
+25 Constitution
+25 Agility
Skill: [Wind Serpent Step]
Effect: Each attack deals additional fixed damage equal to level ×4.
Effect: Upon successfully using an ultimate skill, retain half your combo points, and for each point consumed, you recover 10 energy. This effect can trigger once every 30 seconds.
Set: 2/2 (Left Fang of the Wind Serpent): Each attack deals additional fixed damage equal to level ×2.
Description: An exceptionally sharp pair of claws, capable of tearing enemies apart.

“Fixed bonus damage equal to level times six—each attack gets an extra 150 damage. That’s more than enough burst for basic attacks.” With his claws’ attack speed, which could hit twelve times per second with both hands, the extra damage per attack was devastating.

Epic weapons were truly on a different tier! Morning Wind was in high spirits as he teleported straight to Wind Serpent Valley to prepare for battle. This time, he hadn’t planned on bringing his warrior character—there was no need for him to fight the Wind Serpent King boss. With so many tanks from the allied Storm Guild, he could let them handle it. Besides, his warrior’s twin Brotherhood Swords would draw too much attention in a group fight, inviting unnecessary trouble. Most importantly, he didn’t want to reveal his warrior’s strength and risk people linking him to Blood Dragon.

With a pair of class-specific epic weapons, each attack dealing extra fixed damage, he’d be overpowered whether leveling or running dungeons. These epic daggers were even more powerful than his Brotherhood Swords.

Upon teleporting to Wind Serpent Valley, Morning Wind found that both Frost Snow and Storm Guilds’ players had already assembled. Frost Snow Guild was mostly female players, with male players mainly filling tank roles for leveling and dungeons. Storm Guild, on the other hand, had a majority male roster. As soon as he arrived, Morning Wind saw the Storm Guild’s elite players chatting up the beauties from Frost Snow.

“Xiaoxue, have someone block the entrance to Wind Serpent Valley. Don’t kill the Wind Serpents that spawn between the entrance and the altar,” Morning Wind said, switching to his alt, which Cheng Xue hadn’t yet recognized. Since they were about to take on a boss, he needed to warn them to watch for other guilds coming to steal the kill. Every guild had spies, and word about a boss fight would spread quickly.

A human warrior, annoyed by Morning Wind’s sudden interjection, turned and asked, “Xiaoxue, who is this guy?”