Andrew Bennett noticed that the clothes David Grant and his companions were wearing were all quite decent—probably some minor top-tier items. Judging by the look, they were bronze-level; there weren’t any silver-level pieces yet, so bronze was already the best available. Why, then, were they so shocked over just a few skill books?

What Andrew Bennett didn’t know was that, at the current low player levels, both equipment and skill books were extremely hard to come by. Equipment was a bit easier—even with low drop rates, you could still get some, and as long as you had money, you could buy it. But skill books were a different story; you couldn’t buy them even if you had the money. The market demand was just too high, and the skill books players managed to get weren’t even enough for their own use. That’s why David Grant and his group were so excited.

Andrew Bennett took out all three skill books, and David Grant accepted them from Andrew Bennett with trembling hands.

“Can you sell us these three skill books?” David Grant looked at Andrew Bennett expectantly.

Andrew Bennett glanced at the ever-lengthening line and said, “Alright, but I don’t know what price to ask.”

David Grant said excitedly, “I’ll definitely give you a fair price, brother.”

David Grant looked over the three skill books in his hands, thought carefully, and said, “This Iron Shirt is a low-grade technique. For now, since there aren’t any better techniques, if it were put on the market, everyone would fight over it. This morning, the auction house sold a low-grade defensive technique for ten gold coins. Of course, its real value is much higher than ten gold, but most players don’t have that much money right now, so it only sold for ten.” David Grant glanced at Andrew Bennett, saw that Andrew Bennett showed no dissatisfaction, and continued, “As for this mid-grade skill book, I can’t even estimate the price—no one has ever sold one before, but it’s definitely worth several times more than Iron Shirt. And this Criminal Wound book should be about equal in value to the mid-grade technique. So my estimate is around sixty gold coins.” David Grant looked up at Andrew Bennett.

This price was far beyond what Andrew Bennett had expected. If he put the skill books up for auction, they definitely wouldn’t fetch such a high price. As David Grant said, very few players could spare that much money right now. Andrew Bennett himself had only managed to earn seven gold coins so far.

Seeing that Andrew Bennett accepted his price, David Grant continued, “Of course, these three books are worth far more than that. Honestly, this is all the gold we can come up with right now. If you’re willing, we can make up the rest in cash. The current exchange rate between game gold and cash is 1:50. We’re willing to add another 1,000 yuan on top of the sixty gold coins. If you need cash, we can buy your game gold at seventy yuan per coin.” David Grant could tell that Andrew Bennett was a professional player, and professional players preferred cash transactions, which is why he made the offer.

Andrew Bennett was stunned. Why did he become a professional player in the first place? Wasn’t it just to make some extra money? Unbelievable—three skill books could actually sell for such a price. The people behind David Grant all looked completely unfazed, not at all surprised by David Grant’s offer. Clearly, they did these kinds of deals all the time. Back when he played Tianxia, a level-50 minor top-tier item could fetch over a thousand at most, but he never expected prices in Honghuang to be so high. It was clear that Honghuang’s appeal was unmatched by Tianxia.

David Grant clutched the books tightly, afraid that Andrew Bennett might take them back. “Of course, if you think the price is too low, feel free to say so.”

Andrew Bennett wasn’t ungrateful—this price was already the limit. When Andrew Bennett agreed, the people behind David Grant all looked pleased, leaving Andrew Bennett a bit confused as to who was really getting the better deal.

From David Grant and his group’s perspective, they didn’t care how much they spent, because skill books were so hard to find. As for Andrew Bennett, he didn’t care much about these books. You could say it was a win-win, and everyone was happy.

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Chapter 8: Seven Mysteries Sword

Andrew Bennett gave his bank account information to David Grant. After David Grant transferred the money, he held onto Andrew Bennett’s hand, repeatedly urging him to sell any equipment or skill books to him in the future. Andrew Bennett felt a chill and washed his hand several times.

When David Grant heard that Andrew Bennett still had several pieces of equipment to appraise—especially a Sword Immortal Iron Sword—he followed Andrew Bennett all the way to the appraisal office. When Andrew Bennett got the Iron Sword appraised, David Grant’s gaze toward Andrew Bennett became even more ambiguous.

Andrew Bennett couldn’t help but feel a bit creeped out inside. Did he have some kind of special hobby?

After buying the three skill books, David Grant didn’t have much gold left, but he quickly gathered over a hundred more coins. When the last four pieces of equipment were appraised, Andrew Bennett kept two for himself and sold the other two to David Grant.

The two pieces sold for thirty gold coins plus 1,000 yuan, especially the Seven Mysteries Sword, which was bronze-level with high attack and +2 strength, selling for twenty gold coins and 800 yuan.

Finally, he had money, and his equipment had been upgraded. The gloves gave +3 defense and +1 spirit, the shoes +2 defense and +1 speed. Compared to ordinary players, this was already quite good—at least enough to barely squeeze into the ranks of experts.

With eighty gold coins, he was still far from being able to buy a Pill Cauldron. But these eighty coins gave Andrew Bennett some confidence; as long as he didn’t spend recklessly, they would last him quite a while.