“Heavens, we’ve struck it rich!” Little Henry only ever gets this excited about money. Looking up, wow, the ground was covered with gear and gold coins. That doomsday fireball sent the Ghost King and all its minions straight to reincarnation, dropping loot everywhere—so satisfying. All that was left was to clean up the battlefield, and we did a thorough job: the best items were a Rageblade and a Sage’s Staff. Mood and her group insisted they didn’t want any equipment, so the Rageblade went to Big Sam, and the Sage’s Staff to my Grace. Now she’s got a full set of level-two celestial gear—gotta make sure the wife is well dressed. The rest of the loot gave us a nice little windfall too. Huh? I found a strange silver ring; it looked special, so I took it back for appraisal. The whole group happily headed home.

;

Volume 2

3~4

Chapter 3: The Overpowered Magical Beast That Shouldn’t Exist

Back in the city, Grace forgot to put away Red Cloud, which caused quite a stir—everyone in the city was talking about the appearance of the Phoenix. People were asking, “Did you see the Phoenix Goddess?” and others were saying, “She’s so beautiful it’s unreal…”

Ah, fame brings trouble, just like pigs fear getting fat. The woes of being famous. Before we got surrounded, I grabbed Grace and Darling and dashed out, heading to see the chief appraiser, that old man. For some reason, I had a feeling this ring was connected to my wives. As soon as the old man saw us, he brightened up—maybe he was just lonely. With his high fees, not many people would want to visit him. He insisted on chatting for a while before I could even show him the ring. He glanced at it and spat out a few words: “20% off, 4,000 gold coins.”

My first reaction was to take him out—what a rip-off. We’re such nice people, keeping a lonely old man company, and he still charges so much. Last time he charged me 8,000, but at least it was worth it. After some haggling, we settled at 3,500. Once I paid, the old man finally cast an appraisal spell on the ring. The ring flickered in and out of sight for a while before the old man shot me a sideways glance:

“Kid, your luck is off the charts. This time it’s a ghost artifact. Not quite as good as the last one you got, but still extremely rare. This is an ‘Invisibility Ring.’ With this ring, except for a few special monsters, no other monsters can see or attack you—as long as you don’t attack them first. It’s mainly for helping low-level players level up or scouting dangerous areas. It doesn’t work on humans, and the rest of its functions you’ll have to discover yourselves.” He stroked his beard and puffed out his chest, “Hey, hey, don’t go yet, I’m not finished!” Stupid old man, putting on airs. We grabbed the ring and left, not interested in his rambling.

“Darling, put it on. You’ll be safe from now on, and I won’t have to worry anymore.” I gently took her delicate, soft hand and slipped the ring on her finger. Safety comes first in the world—now everyone was satisfied.

That afternoon, everyone went their separate ways: Little Henry continued his chef training, The Two Sams went to practice PK, the The Lauren Sisters disappeared somewhere, and I wandered around the city with Grace and Darling before deciding where to go next.

In the very center of the city was an information board, where the latest news and official updates were posted. There were quite a few people there today, so we went to take a look. The rankings here were for the entire China region of the game, not just one city (I’m in Yanhuang City, but there’s also Nuwa City, Pangu City, Gonggong City, etc.), and travel between cities hasn’t opened yet.

Heavenly Rankings:

1. Soul Eater — Mage, Power: 7800

2. Illegal Entry — Warrior, 4900

3. Mood — Warrior, 4860

4. Neverending Battle — Warrior, 4650

5. Little Fish of Sand River — Warrior, 4500

6. The King's Return — Warrior, 4440

7. George Washington — Archer, 4000

8. Never Die — Rogue, 3900

9. Cold Moon Blade — Taoist, 3800

10. Soul Pursuer — Rogue, 3790

Rich List:

1. Fresh Apple Scent

2. The Deadliest

3. The Most Venomous

4. I Am Gold Coin

5. Poor God

6. Never Die

7. The Chef

8. Treasure Pot

9. Mood

10. Host

Beauty Rankings:

1. Phoenix Goddess — Grace

2. Celestial Maiden of the Clouds — Flying Cloud

3. Enchantress of Blossoms — Enchantment

4. Little Elf — Little Grace

5. Water Fairy — Love Without Trace

6. Dream Fairy — Dream Chaser

7. Five Fairies — The Lauren Sisters

8. Ice Fairy — Icy

9. Fire Fairy — Passionate as Fire

10. Wind Fairy — Willow in the Wind

Note: Power is a comprehensive measure by the system of a player’s normal combat strength, including their best equipment, level, and hidden skills. Pet abilities are not currently counted.

Divine Weapon Rankings:

1. War God’s Compromise Divine Artifact

2. 3 Invisibility Rings (Ghost Artifacts)

4. 5. 6. Blessed Necklace (Ghost Artifacts)

7. Melody of Temptation (Ghost Artifact)

8. Healing Ring (Ghost Artifact)

9. Source of Magic (Ghost Artifact)

10. Super Load-Bearing Space (Ghost Artifact)

Reputation Rankings:

1. Soul Eater 1040

2. Illegal Entry 700

3. Mood 600

4. Fresh Apple Scent 540

5. The Deadliest 500

6. Little Fish of Sand River 440

7. Celestial Maiden of the Clouds 420

8. The Deadliest 400

8. The Most Venomous 400

8. Never Die 400

(As for detailed character introductions, they’ll be revealed gradually as the story progresses.)