novelhk Chapter 29 Dice and Cowboy Hat
Chapter 29 Dice and Cowboy Hat
Inside the exchange, Suren turned to look at the right side of the room, where a notice board similar to the one at the duty station was hanging, but the material used looked more sturdy and the overall size was smaller.
Suren walked over and saw a few people scattered around in front of the notice board. Suren even spotted a hunting dog among them.
There aren't many rewards on the notice board, and the overall difficulty is higher compared to the duty station.
Suren even saw a bounty for the "Level III Demon: Calamity Duke," with a reward of a high-ranking "Blasphemy Creature," negotiable.
According to Professor Derwent, the giant wolf that Suren faced in the wilderness of Loren Town had other abilities it hadn't used, most likely because it had overused them when hunting prey. Suren and his companions' survival was partly due to luck.
Even so, that "Red Wolf of the Law" was quite troublesome. If it weren't for Suren's "Evil Ghost in the Mirror," the group would most likely have been wiped out.
If the "Dominator of Demons" is this powerful, one can only imagine how terrifying a Level III demon must be. No wonder this quest has been posted for over a month and no one has claimed it yet.
Suren looked at the other bounty missions and found that even the easiest bounty required the elimination of a level II demon.
Suren recalled the bounties he had seen posted under the name of "Mist Exchange" while on duty, most of which were low-level bounties.
This may be part of a transaction between the exchange and the church, since the commissions drawn from low-level bounties are a considerable source of income for the church.
Suren shook his head, not intending to accept the bounty. Firstly, although the reward was generous, the task was too difficult. Secondly, he hadn't disguised himself, so even if he completed the task, it would inevitably attract unnecessary attention.
"Speaking of which, this exchange didn't have any masks or disguises at all; I just swaggered in like that."
Suren thought to himself that in his mind, everyone should be given a mask, or at least have a hood to cover their faces.
In fact, this was also Su Lun's preconceived notion. Since the "Mist Exchange" could post bounties on the "Deathbird Monks", it meant that it must have cooperated with the church's official authorities, so there was no need for any disguise.
Suren secretly made up her mind that when she was strong enough, she might be able to disguise herself and take on some missions.
Having made up his mind, Suren turned to leave and head to the trading area, but then heard a commotion behind him.
He turned his head and found the source of the noise—someone had accepted the bounty offered by the "Lord of Calamity".
The man was dressed rather extravagantly. His clothes were the typical denim outfit worn by factory workers, but they were adorned with all sorts of accessories, some of which were so dazzling that they made one's eyes water. In his hands, a pair of specially made dice were spinning incessantly.
He wore a gray cowboy hat, and long, dark yellow hair cascaded down from the brim, making him look like he had stepped out of some flamboyant comic book.
Suren tried to see the other person's face clearly, but found that the air around his face seemed to be distorted, and he could only see a blurry silhouette.
As if sensing Suren's gaze, the flamboyant man looked in Suren's direction. Perhaps it was just his imagination, but Suren thought the man smiled at him.
The man toyed with the dice in his hand and left the exchange with rhythmic steps.
Suren took a deep breath; the oppressive feeling from that man was so strong that his palms were sweating.
"At least a powerhouse at the 'Agent' level."
Suren murmured to himself, "Although the 'Agent' is only at the third stage, there are only four stages of extraordinary beings in this world. According to Corrigan, the 'Agent' has already surpassed humanity, and many people cannot reach that level even after a lifetime of effort."
Arriving at the official long counter, Suren looked at the exhibits behind it.
The display shelves behind the counter mostly contained common materials, but Su Lun focused on the high-quality "Nymph Teardrop Orchid" and "Azure Crystal," which are important auxiliary materials for creating the "Source of Knowledge Essence" for those who have advanced to awakening.
Finally, Suren found the two materials on a display shelf at the edge: a water lily with its petals layered and unfolded in a bowl shape; and a piece of azure crystal.
Suren calculated that even through official channels like the exchange, which have significant premiums, only about 30 pounds of meat would be needed to meet the requirements for promotion.
However, making "Source of Knowledge Essence" also requires a "Demon Heart Seal of Domination". Su Lun had previously checked at the duty station and found that it required 2500 contribution points, while the price on the black market was even more outrageous - 4000 gold pounds.
"These prices are outrageous. A single Heart Imprint costs the equivalent of 3 to 5 years' income for a middle-class person, and that's for a lawyer, a high-quality middle-class individual," Suren couldn't help but complain inwardly.
Of course, Suren also knew that it was quite easy for superhumans to accumulate money; the materials produced by a single "evil spirit" were worth about 500 gold pounds. However, entering and leaving the wilderness usually required permits, and hunting was not such a simple matter.
In addition, there is another method of preparation, which only requires about 5 "Evil Spirit Dust Crystals" plus auxiliary materials to make. This is generally called "Secondary Source Essence".
Compared to the regular "Source Knowledge Essence", the "Secondary Source Knowledge Essence" is cheaper, since the price of 5 "Evil Spirit Dust Crystals" only fluctuates around 1,000 gold pounds.
However, the hidden dangers are also obvious: those who advance in this way often need to spend more time and effort to advance again.
Given that most people cannot reach the threshold of becoming an "agent," this promotion method is relatively more popular.
However, Suren did not intend to use this method.
Firstly, if he wants to figure out the truth about his time travel, he definitely needs to quickly improve his rank.
Secondly, the delay in the "evil spirit in the mirror" erosion is closely related to the promotion, and I dare not gamble on it.
Besides the basic materials, there are also some strange items on the display shelves. There aren't many of them, some of which are alchemical products, while others are "blasphemous creations".
At that moment, an item caught Suren's attention: a seemingly ordinary leather pouch with an intriguing label that read "Endless Pouch."
Suren carefully examined the "Endless Pocket." Based on the label, Suren knew it wasn't a "blasphemous creation," but rather an alchemical artifact with a very short lifespan of only one year. Its price wasn't high, only 2300 pounds.
Suren guessed that the "Unholy Ones" in the general populace were more concerned with increasing their power, while church officials didn't have the same storage concerns. Furthermore, the limited lifespan of the item also reduced its value, resulting in its low price. After all, few people would spend a lot of gold pounds to buy a time-limited consumable.
"Are you interested in the 'Endless Pocket', sir?" A female trader noticed Suren's gaze and stepped forward to strike up a conversation.
Suren smiled politely: "I am indeed somewhat interested, but this thing has a time limit, which is a real shame."
The woman looked Suren up and down, a strange expression on her face, and slowly said, "Sir, before you came, a gentleman told me that a yellow-skinned, black-haired young man wearing a Deathbird uniform would be there later, interested in the 'Endless Pocket.' He asked me to pass on a message to you."
Suppressing her intense unease, Suren quietly asked, "What did he say?"
The trader tilted his head, seemingly pondering the meaning of that sentence.
He said: "This is the guidance of the goddess of fate."