Chapter Seventy-Five: Epic Equipment with Extraordinary Attributes

There was nothing remarkable about the few blue treasure chests. For him now, blue-quality equipment was all much the same, unless it boasted extraordinary attributes as an accessory or weapon; otherwise, the differences were mostly in the stat bonuses. What mattered most to him were rare-grade items or blue equipment above level thirty.

Levels ten to twenty-nine constituted a major tier called “Official Profession,” or First Tier. Levels thirty to forty-nine made up the “Elite Profession,” the Second Tier. Fifty to sixty-nine was the “Extraordinary Profession,” Third Tier. Above seventy was the “Legendary Profession,” Fourth Tier. Within the same tier, the differences between equipment attributes weren’t significant; a level fifteen blue item differed from a level twenty-five blue item by merely a point or two. Only blue items above level thirty were markedly superior to those at twenty-five, making them worth swapping out. But since his level was still below thirty, he simply replaced his gear with any blue-quality item that surpassed what he had, and sold the rest.

“Red loot chest!”

Chu Cheng flexed his fingers, reached out, and opened the chest. A crimson light immediately shot forth. He drew two items from within: a ring glowing with red light and a skill scroll.

Orc Warlord’s Strength Pendant (Rare/Crimson)
Type: Necklace
Requirement: None
Bonus Attribute: Strength +10
Bonus Attribute: Attack +20
Skill/Active: Wild Power – When activated, increases physical attack by 100 for 15 seconds; cooldown 2 hours.
Slot: 1
Appraisal: The Orc Warlord’s most cherished pendant, imbued with the wild power of the orcs.

“This is superb!”

It perfectly matched the violent stereotype of the Orc Warlord, offering a boost to offensive capability. Without hesitation, he equipped it.

He then examined the skill scroll—a very familiar intermediate skill: Thunder Strike.

Thunder Strike LV1 (Intermediate): Slam your weapon into the ground, dealing 150% maximum physical damage to enemies within a 5-meter radius, slowing them by 50% for 3 seconds. Cooldown: 60 seconds.
Note: Stun can be dispelled. Priority: Three stars.

This skill was a classic. Over seventy percent of strength-based melee fighters and tanks learned it as an area-of-effect combat technique. The remaining thirty percent chose alternatives better suited to their builds.

Had Chu Cheng not possessed Spatial Refraction as a talent, along with Furious Thunder Strike, Rising Ocean Surge, and Blade Storm—all powerful AOE abilities—he would certainly have learned it himself. Now, he had no need and could sell it when he returned.

After stowing away his new treasures, Chu Cheng rubbed his hands in excitement and took out the treasure chest radiating intense purple light.

“A purple chest—guaranteed to contain an epic item!”

Chu Cheng had never seen an epic item before; likely, no one in his entire grade had... well, perhaps one person. Sun Yu, who slew Rending Claw—a terrifying boss of the Extraordinary Tier—would have a very high chance of acquiring a purple chest. The story rewards would be somewhat inferior, even with a five-star rating, as the gap between five-star rewards could be considerable. Based on his own performance, Chu Cheng didn't expect a purple chest, but was certain to receive a red one, and a deep crimson one at that.

It was worth noting that only bosses above level fifty, of the Lord class, would grant 100 points and 5 privileges on the school’s bounty board. Though Rending Claw was a level fifty Extraordinary boss, it was merely a terrifying template, not a faction leader, hence no bonus. Both its power and status paled in comparison to the Orc Chieftain and Centaur Chieftain, so the rewards for defeating it were not as generous.

Yet, this time, Chu Cheng had changed the fate of the human commander, who would have been beheaded—a critical impact, earning him 50 points, 3 privileges, and 5000 reputation.

In theory, Sun Yu’s total reward should be higher, as he ranked first for performance. However, the issue was that Sun Yu had died once, which severely lowered his school’s evaluation score, placing him below Chu Cheng.

Knight Commander’s Fortified Defense (Epic/Deep Purple)
Type: Plate Armor
Requirement: Level 25, Constitution 50, Strength 50
Base Attribute: Defense +20
Bonus Attribute: All damage -20
Bonus Attribute: Magic resistance +20%, resistance +20%
Bonus Attribute: HP +500
Skill/Active: Fortification – When activated, reduces all damage by 40% for 15 seconds; cooldown 2 hours.
Slots: 6
Appraisal: An exceptionally powerful defensive plate armor, the most reliable companion of a warrior.

“Whoa!”

Even though Chu Cheng knew that story chests would yield items best suited for him, he could not help but marvel at the attributes before him. The stats, the bonus skill, and—crucially—the six embedded slots made this the pinnacle of epic equipment below level thirty; it was impossible to find anything stronger in that category.

He had skipped rare-grade entirely and obtained an epic-grade cuirass. Until he found another epic body armor, this piece could be used all the way to level fifty without needing replacement.

“Damn, isn't it best to socket six rare-grade gems for constitution?”

That would instantly grant 60 points of constitution, equivalent to 600 HP, plus 6 resilience and 6 base defense—maxing out his survivability.

Without hesitation, he equipped it immediately.

As for the heavy armor that had accompanied him for so long, it could still fetch some money when sold.

Besides the armor, the purple chest contained only 10 chaos gold coins—a timely relief for his urgent needs.

Once all the loot was sorted, Chu Cheng left and headed to the market, where he sold all his unwanted items for about 4 gold. Next, he found a teacher at the school’s outpost who specialized in jewel cutting, selling his four premium cut blue sapphires for 30 silver each, totaling 1 gold 20 silver.

Now, he had 15 gold and 58 silver on hand.

Not much; he couldn’t even afford six rare-grade gems. Those cost 3 gold each, making six worth 18 gold. Beyond that, he would need to spend money to exchange reputation items, and after the campaign, he had to prepare 30 gold to buy remaining skill and attribute points from the school—a massive shortfall.

“Damn, still poor!”

“I’ll have to exchange some items to sell outside and earn a bit of profit.”

Chu Cheng turned and contacted Quartermaster Mo Han at the fortress, explaining his purpose. The other replied immediately:

“Come to the south gate of the barracks.”

He hurried to the south gate, where Mo Han stood by the tent entrance, waving and smiling at him.

They entered the tent. Mo Han opened the exchange panel and said with a smile,

“You performed well this time—surpassing Sun Yu. Keep it up at the end of the month and aim to hold onto first place.”

Chu Cheng nodded earnestly.

“I’ll do my best.”

“Huh? Why are there so few items now?”

Top Profession Certification [Mage] x1, requires 10,000 reputation and 25 gold.
Advanced Profession Certification [War Knight] x1, requires 5,000 reputation and 5 gold.
Epic Magic Gem x2, each requires 2,000 reputation and 6 gold.
Solar Ray Scroll x2, each requires 500 reputation and 1 gold.
Warhorse Mount x1, requires 1,000 reputation and 3 gold.
Swordmaster’s Handbook x1, requires 1,500 reputation and 3 gold.