In this chaotic world, it all started when they found an elf girl

Page 30

　He wouldn't be happy to leave if you actually let him go.

　The next day.

　Roy yawned and slowly got out of bed. He had spent the whole night discussing with the goddess Astrea how to better rescue (or rather, conquer) the elf girl.

　The two became more and more excited as they talked, almost until dawn.

　After reaching LV.2, Roy only needs to sleep five or six hours to maintain his energy throughout the day.

　Ryu, fully armed, appeared at the door.

　Roy put on his equipment—the Muramasa Sword, and strapped a gray bracer (Steel Bracer) to his left forearm, the highest-level equipment he had ever obtained.

　Rewards obtained from the system will remain there as long as Roy doesn't withdraw them.

　Roy used it entirely as a storage space, only taking out the items he needed, such as potions, which he could use as needed without worrying about damaging them in battle, making it extremely convenient.

　The two left the Star Garden and headed towards the Tower of Babel.

　Liu pursed her lips and said softly, "This matter originally had nothing to do with you."

　Roy laughed and said, "It's only fair to reciprocate. You helped me hunt monsters, so now it's my turn to help you."

　Hearing Roy intentionally blurring the lines between the two, Liu's beautiful brows furrowed.

　"Don't forget our promise!"

　"That's a different matter."

　Facing the elven girl's aggressive gaze, Roy remained unfazed. "They're all the same, there's no difference."

　Liu stopped in her tracks, her complex gaze sweeping over Roy's entire body before finally settling into a soft sigh.

　Soon after, the two arrived at Babel Square.

　The news that the two of them fought against the Apollo Familia last night, and that Ryu beat Hyacinthus to a pulp, has spread throughout most of Orario, and the surrounding adventurers show a hint of awe on their faces.

　I thought the Astrea Familia had been wiped out, and that the remaining one, Gale, was just a beast without fangs.

　It now appears that the opponent's fangs have not only not been lost, but have likely been sharpened even more.

　There is also a new LV.2 player who is in his early teens or early twenties and shows signs of a phoenix rising from the ashes.

　Compared to Ryu's cold expression.

　Roy seemed so approachable, with a kind smile on his face. He would greet adventurers he knew, such as members of the Ganesha Familia, and even the LV.1 newbie he had once tricked...

　But what seems harmless is often the most terrifying.

　Those adventurers with ulterior motives were just as wary of Roy as Ryu at level 4.

　Last night's conflict between the two clans was caused by Roy. He even dared to face twenty or thirty members of the Apollo clan alone and gave Hyacinthus, who was at level 3, an elbow strike. He is truly unfathomable.

　If Liu is a sharp sword with its edge fully revealed, then Roy's sword has not yet been drawn. No one knows whether it is a divine sword or a piece of scrap metal. This unknown fear surrounds them.

　Upon entering the Tower of Babel, Roy was about to descend.

　Liu's fair, jade-like hand grasped his sleeve, and she said, "Not down, but up."

Chapter 52 Chun Kebrand's Failure

　"above?"

　Roy, who was being held back by Ryula, looked puzzled. He remembered that the Tower of Babel was the guild's temporary office, the commercial street, and the gathering place for the gods.

　Ryu couldn't help but facepalm. Why was this person so oblivious in this regard? "Are you planning to enter the dungeon like this? With just an arm guard?"

　Upon hearing this, Roy looked down and realized that his equipment did indeed look rather shabby.

　Following Ryu's gaze, he realized what he lacked—protective gear, especially for his chest. If his internal organs were attacked, it would be no small matter.

　"and then?"

　“There are armor shops run by the Hephaestus Familia on the Tower of Babel,” Ryu said.

　The two took the magic stone escalator up to the floor where weapons and armor were sold. Looking around, they saw that most of the shops belonged to the Hephaestus Familia.

　Founded by the blacksmith goddess Hephaestus, this clan boasts countless artisans skilled in forging, producing weapons and armor of exceptional quality, second to none in Orario, and correspondingly, quite expensive.

　The shop that Ryu took Roy into was also owned by the Hephaestus Familia, but unlike other shops, it didn't have exorbitant prices of millions of falis.

　This shop is relatively inexpensive.

　These are mostly the works of novice blacksmiths, whose forging experience and skills are not as good as those of veteran blacksmiths, so novice adventurers can afford them if they grit their teeth.

　Although it's a newcomer's work, it bears the name of the Hephaestus Familia, so it's not just any piece of trash that can be put on display. Compared to the shady workshops of those unknown small families, it's clearly much better.

　Upon entering the shop, you are greeted by a dazzling array of weapons and armor, priced between 5000 and 50000 Fali. Higher-priced items are placed in other shops, creating a differentiated experience between different shops.

　This business model felt very familiar to Roy. The products were strictly hierarchical. Sure enough, no one was a fool. His advantage was his access to a wealth of information. When it came to mental agility, there were always people more capable than him.

　Roy and Ryu had a clear goal: to head straight for the armor section.

　The experienced Ryu stood by, offering advice to Roy. In terms of materials and forging techniques for the armor, she completely outclassed the newcomer, Roy.

　During this process, Roy also learned from Ryu to distinguish between good and bad equipment. He absorbed Ryu's experience like a sponge, trying to grow into a qualified adventurer as quickly as possible.

　After about ten minutes, the two of them picked and chose, but still couldn't find suitable protective gear.

　Roy's standards are too high.

　The armor here wouldn't even be rated as "low-level" in the system. People like Roy, who start with several pieces of high-quality equipment, wouldn't even look at this "scrap metal".

　Better armor is available, of course, but it's more expensive in other shops belonging to the Hephaestus Familia...

　"Are there any other types of protective gear?"

　The two approached the shop manager.

　A strange light flashed in the brown-haired cat-man's eyes. He had been observing the two of them since they came in. The girl was an expert, but unfortunately, she was wearing a cloak, so he couldn't see her face.

　“There is indeed one more piece of armor. Take a look at this.” The cat-man carefully took out a piece of gray steel armor from under the counter. It was inverted triangular in shape, with smooth, polished edges that gleamed.

　Roy touched it and, following the method of the Ryukyu sect, felt the hardness of the steel. From the details, he could almost see every hammer blow the blacksmith used to forge this armor.

　Is this armor of high quality?!

　Roy was startled, but upon closer inspection, he noticed something amiss. Perhaps the blacksmith had been disturbed in some way; not only was a corner of the armor missing, but the subsequent quenching was also not done very well, and the quality did not reach the high-grade level. It was more of a near-high-grade piece of equipment.

　Moreover, he searched through it several times but couldn't find a signature. Roy began to suspect that this might have been done by some small workshop, using such a large amount of materials.

　However, if the price is right, you can buy it; it's the highest quality armor in the shop.

　At that moment, Roy noticed that Ryu was also looking at the armor and gave him a subtle look.

　Roy asked, "How much?"

　The cat-man smiled knowingly. The other party had already seen the quality of the armor, unlike those newbies who would be disgusted by a missing piece.

　The cat-man held up three fingers. "Three hundred thousand falies, this armor is yours."

　Roy said decisively, "Thirty thousand falies!"

　The cat-man's face darkened. "Who haggles like that? Are they trying to cut off my lifeline?" He snorted and prepared to take back the armor.

　Roy said meaningfully, "You don't want anyone else to know about this, especially..."

　Upon hearing this, the cat-man youth shuddered, and his gaze toward Roy held a hint of surprise and uncertainty.

　Roy placed the armor on the table and laughed, "Don't rush, buying and selling is all about bargaining."

　The young man with the cat gritted his teeth and stomped his foot. After repeated tug-of-war between the two parties, the deal was finally settled at 85,000 fali.

　"I said I would pay you back!"

　Liu said earnestly, took out a money bag, and put the talismans one by one on the table. There were exactly 85,000 talismans, no more and no less.

　Roy saw a hint of heartache deep in Ryu's eyes. The Astrea Familia was short of money right now, and they wished they could stretch every fali to two.

　If they can't make a fortune next, they'll all be starving in a couple of days.

　Having obtained the armor, the two left the shop.

　"It's about time we talked about this equipment," Roy said, looking at Ryu.

　Liu looked surprised. "You didn't know?"

　Roy laughed and said, "That was just to scare him."

　Liu pursed her lips, suppressing a laugh. She had seen Roy haggling and threatening him, and thought Roy already knew. It turned out that he had noticed her gaze and the fact that the armor was unsigned, which led to his judgment.

　Ironically, it actually startled the other party.

　Ryu's gaze shifted to the armor. "If I'm not mistaken, this is the work of the 'One-Eyed Master'."

　"The One-Eyed Master... that Tsubaki Kobrand!"

　Roy was startled. Tsubaki Kobrand, the leader of the Hephaestus Familia, was a Level 5 adventurer who had been given the title of "One-Eyed Giant Master" by the gods.

　Almost everyone in Orario knows this name; aside from the gods, Tsubaki Kobrand is the world's top blacksmith.

　Chun Cobrand's works all start at tens of millions of fares, how could you see them in a place like this?

　Ryu reminded her, "This is a failure."

　“I understand.” Roy quickly grasped the reason.

　It's estimated that something went wrong during the forging of Chun Kebrand, causing the forging to fail. Someone took it away to dispose of it, and these people secretly took it out to sell.

　Because it was unsigned, most people in Orario have never seen or used Tsubaki Kobrand's armor, and this fact remains undisclosed to this day.

Chapter 53 Killing the Young Dragon

　I acquired Tsubaki Kobrand's work for 85,000 falies, even though it was a failure.

　Roy felt like laughing.

　The material cost of this armor alone far exceeds 80,000 Fali. Keep in mind that this is a near-high-level equipment, of higher quality than his village's best sword, which is estimated to be worth over 500,000 Fali.

　People who come to this kind of shop are usually level 1 newbies and adventurers who have just leveled up to level 2.

　How could the other party possibly have anticipated that Ryu, at LV.4, would come over and even recognize Tsubaki Cobrand's work?

　If they don't want this to be exposed, the other party will have no choice but to sell the armor to them at a rock-bottom price.

　Roy put on the armor, wrapped the straps around his back and tied them in a knot, and the armor was printed on his chest.

　Eight or nine pounds was nothing to Roy, and the missing piece was no problem either. If he had bought it for millions of dollars, Roy might have grumbled, but since he'd found it for 80,000 dollars, even if it was broken, Roy would have to say it was good that it was broken!

　Having settled the armor issue, the two entered the dungeon. Their most important task for the day was to make money.

　With one at level 4 and the other at level 2, the upper levels posed almost no challenge for them.

　"War Shadow" and "Killer Ant" are known as "newbie killers" in the upper echelons. They caused Roy quite a bit of trouble during the War Game. Now, Roy kills them one by one with a single sword strike, without any hesitation.

　Liu was even more efficient, flashing past like a gust of wind, turning all the surrounding monsters into dust, and raining down magic stone fragments.

　She even dared to charge straight into swarms of killer ants, single-handedly sweeping away hundreds of monsters.

　Roy also needed to hone his combat skills and adapt to the power of LV.2. He had no interest in acting as a supporter, so he activated his magic, materialized lightning, and formed a lightning avatar to follow behind and pick up the fallen magic stones.

　Seeing this, Liu was inwardly amazed.

　She followed Roy when he went to the dungeon to experiment with magic and witnessed the magic herself.

　She had seen many clone magics, but she had never seen a clone like Roy's that could be maintained for a long time, had a certain combat ability, and move freely before.

　It's like having your own other hand or sibling.

　However, it must be admitted that having such a clone is extremely convenient when exploring dungeons. When encountering unknown areas, the clone can go in first to explore and can also act as a supporter, greatly improving the efficiency of making money.

　The two quickly arrived at the tenth floor.

　The floor where the war game with the Rudra Familia once took place has vanished without a trace, and the corpses have been eaten by monsters. This is the nature of the dungeon; no matter what damage is caused, it will eventually be restored to its original state.

　Liu said, "Let's take a break."

　She didn't care, but the key was Roy. The next eleventh level was a territory that the other party had never set foot in before, so they couldn't be careless in the slightest and had to keep their physical and mental strength at its best.

　The two rested under a dead tree, away from the wall, so they wouldn't be ambushed by monsters that suddenly appeared.

　Ryu asked, "How much does the magic consume?"

　Roy was not surprised and replied, "Summoning it requires 10% of your mental energy, and then controlling it requires 2% of your mental energy to maintain for one minute."