The group found the chief appraiser. When Old Man saw it was me, he grinned from ear to ear. But even though we were familiar, he didn’t cut me any slack on the price. He cast a dazzling appraisal spell, and the ancient ring emitted waves of light. Old Man started getting excited—“An artifact! An artifact!” As the radiance faded, the skull on the ring disappeared, replaced by the image of a mage holding a sword. “What is this?” I asked the now nearly delirious Old Man.

“Ignorant but lucky kid, some call it the Gift of the God of Magic, others the Compromise of the God of War. When a mage is attacked, it transfers the damage to mana instead. Surely you understand what that means?”

Oh my god, I’ve struck it rich! Generally, even powerful mages with shields can still be instantly killed by a strong warrior’s combo, especially in group battles. If the levels are close, mages are at a disadvantage. With this, a mage may not be invincible, but at least dying becomes much harder. No wonder it’s called the Compromise of the God of War—truly lives up to its name. Normally, when attacked, you lose 40% health and 60% mana, but after chanting the incantation, only mana is lost. The mana pool of a mage can only be described as insanely high.

Grace and Darling were overjoyed, acting like they were the best in the world. Still, it’s better to keep a low profile. Who knows what kind of adventures others might have? Celebrating cost me another 5 gold coins—sigh, prices are really high.

Our team’s next opponent was the Eternal Ancient Mage Team, a lineup of level 51 mages, famous for their powerful attacks.

The match took place in the center of Genghis Khan Square, with two arenas running simultaneously. The other match was Beauty Team versus The King's Return.

The match officially began. The opponents immediately filled the field with Hellfire, then activated shields and unleashed Thunderbolts. Even though we were prepared, poor Little Henry was instantly killed. I thought they’d target me or Grace first—what a mistake. The Two Sams charged in with two charged Flame Strikes, but a level one shield just wasn’t enough. Big Sam’s two strikes shattered the mage’s shield,

and Little Sam’s two strikes finished him off. Although both sides lost one member, the opponent’s attack power barely dropped. Under the torment of fire and lightning, The Two Sams finally couldn’t hold on and fell. I managed to take out one of their mages, so now it was two versus three. It looked like we’d have to pull out all the stops. Grace used fire talismans to pin down two mages, giving me the chance to take out the other. One-on-one with me? No chance. Without losing any health, I finished him off with my Thunder God’s Descent. Grace couldn’t kill the other two, but they couldn’t do anything to Grace either. Dragging it out would only hurt them. As for killing me, they had even less hope. In the end, they surrendered in despair—better than being carried out. The semifinals ended with a victory for Guns and Roses Squad.

The finals were held in the afternoon. Our opponents had the same lineup as us, and their team name was “Heroine”—as the name suggests, all women, and all beauties. Everyone was used to calling them Beauty Team, and so far, they were the only team more famous than us.

I heard they were all among the first 1,000 players to get accounts and receive rewards, though I’m not sure what bonuses they got. Their members were Mood, Lily, Megan, Laura, and Lucy. If you’re fooled by their looks, you’re doomed. Their levels were 54, 51, 50, 50, and 52, and their classes were warrior, mage, warrior, taoist, and archer, with perfect teamwork. Big sister Mood was the highest level I’d seen besides myself, and honestly, it’s hard to go all out against a group of beauties. In terms of strength, we were probably a bit weaker, but with our hidden abilities, it was hard to say.

The match began. As soon as Beauty Squad entered, the crowd erupted in screams—so many fans! Each of them wore a full set of level 2 celestial gear and level 2 divine weapons—truly terrifying. Among us, only Grace had a full set of level 2 celestial gear. I had a grand mage’s robe that required level 61 to wear, and a Soul-devouring Staff, but the rest of my accessories were just minor treasures. Sigh, comparing yourself to others is just asking for trouble.