Chapter 059: The Sequel to "Selling Crutches"

The Mage’s Legend, Free of Pop-ups

It was clearly taking advantage of a fool—an act so enticing that Lone Wind, who had already run all the way to the Viper Valley mines, couldn’t resist the temptation. Overcome by greed, he painstakingly rushed back, finally managing to negotiate face-to-face. But the Boss then claimed that these items were to be exchanged for one female Taoist “Soul Robe,” one male Mage’s “Magic Cloak,” a Blue Jade Necklace, a Skull Ring, and a pair of exceptional 0-2 magic Ebony Bracelets.

The poor fellow nearly fainted on the spot, cursing the Boss as a swindler. Yet the Boss replied, neither warm nor cold, “Are you stupid, or am I? You seem to do business often—why don’t you calculate the value of these items yourself?” The words left him speechless, likely rolling his eyes in frustration.

The hapless lad stood there silent for a long time, probably still calculating the value. Suddenly, the Boss walked over to a warrior who had just appeared beside her, holding a Horse-Slaying Saber. Sensing that, if the Boss added a little more, the deal would be worthwhile—after all, the Boss’s gear was top-tier at this stage—Lone Wind privately messaged the Boss again.

This time, the Boss wasn’t in a hurry. She simply said that the warrior in front of her also had a Skull Ring for sale and that she was willing to offer an extra Skull Helmet and a Taoist’s Bamboo Flute Necklace in exchange.

Now Lone Wind became anxious. The male Taoist’s Soul Robe, the Demon Subduer, and the Skull Helmet were currently the hottest commodities on the market—practically priceless, since male Taoist and Warrior players made up 80% of the game’s population, causing the prices of their equipment to soar. Adding in three hot-selling skill books, 100,000 gold coins, and a pair of Taoist bracelets, he stood to profit handsomely—at least three skill books and 100,000 gold coins as pure gain.

But suddenly, just as the deal seemed set, someone else jumped in to intercept it. How could Lone Wind accept that? He hurriedly insisted that he was there first and demanded the transaction follow the “first come, first served” rule. To sweeten the deal, he relaxed his conditions, agreeing to exchange all the gear the Boss wanted plus a Taoist Ring with 1-2 Taoist Power.

Yet the Boss replied with feigned regret, “Oh my! You were silent for so long, I thought you didn’t want them. I only want the Skull Ring anyway—the rest doesn’t matter. This warrior says he’ll trade with me, and his is top-quality with great durability! Why does a Mage need so much other gear, anyway? Forget it, let’s trade next time!”

Lone Wind was dumbfounded. If the Boss traded three skill books and Taoist bracelets for a male Soul Robe, Demon Subduer, Skull Helmet, and 100,000 gold coins, she’d be taking a loss. This made Lone Wind suspect that the Boss might not know the true market value of some items. If he could close this deal, he’d make a killing—just the three skill books were worth nearly a million gold coins. His female Soul Robe, male Magic Cloak, Blue Jade Necklace, Skull Ring, and two top-tier Ebony Bracelets, at market value, could at best be traded for a male Soul Robe, a Skull Helmet, and a Demon Subduer, since male gear was far more expensive than female gear. Mage gear, in particular, was cheap due to the small number of Mage players, leading to supply outstripping demand.

So Lone Wind, in his most “sincere” tone, said to the Boss, “Trading all that for just a Skull Ring is a terrible deal! Trade with me instead—I’ll even throw in some extra gold!”

Thus, the Boss decisively “abandoned” the warrior, who hadn’t moved since returning to the safe zone, and resumed heated bargaining with Lone Wind. She nitpicked his gear endlessly—complaining it wasn’t top-tier, the price was too high, or the durability wasn’t full, so she’d have to pay for repairs, and so on—completely confusing Lone Wind.

In the end, the Boss successfully exchanged the Demon Subduer, Skull Helmet, and male Soul Robe—just three items—for: one female Soul Robe, one male Magic Cloak, one Blue Jade Necklace, one Skull Ring, two exceptional 0-2 magic Ebony Bracelets, one 1-4 Magic Magnifier, and one 0-3 Magic Snake Eye Ring—a total of eight items.

Old Four and Lin Jia were utterly stunned. How did this exchange even happen? Had Lone Wind lost his mind? And the Boss herself wore a blank expression; clearly, she’d also become dizzy from the back-and-forth. If Lone Wind hadn’t angrily insisted on trading his eight items for the Boss’s three, she might have kept haggling for another half hour. To endure someone more long-winded than the Buddhist monk Tang Seng—especially when she’s a woman—without committing suicide was a feat of willpower.

The list of equipment might make readers dizzy, unable to grasp the situation, so here are the item prices for comparison:

Lone Wind’s items:
Female Soul Robe: 800,000
Male Magic Cloak: 600,000
Blue Jade Necklace: 800,000
Skull Ring: 600,000
Two top-tier 0-2 Magic Ebony Bracelets: 1,600,000
1-4 Magic Magnifier: 2,000,000
0-3 Magic Snake Eye Ring: 400,000
Total: 6,800,000 gold coins

The Boss’s items:
Skull Helmet: 800,000
Demon Subduer: 500,000
Male Soul Robe: 1,500,000
Total: 2,800,000 gold coins

In other words, Lone Wind could have traded just the female Soul Robe (800,000) and the 1-4 Magic Magnifier (2,000,000)—these two items alone—for all the Boss’s items. Instead, he essentially gave Lin Jia and the others a free bonus of 4,000,000 gold coins!

How did such a dramatic deal occur? Truthfully, neither side really understood themselves...

When Lin Jia and his friends left the safe zone and went to the warehouse to split the loot, Lone Wind stood naked and bewildered next to the veteran in the city, still in a daze, probably wondering where something had gone wrong...

At this stage in Legend, 99% of players didn’t have more than 100,000 gold coins, because leveling up and buying gear consumed so much. Anyone who could maintain a steady supply for leveling was already doing well. Thus, even most high-level trades were conducted by bartering, with gold coin values listed only as a reference.

Haven’t you seen mid-level players forced to hunt deer for meat in the newbie village because they couldn’t afford potions? Or seen players with broken equipment they couldn’t afford to repair, running into battle bare-chested?

Having ascended to the ranks of the wealthy, Lin Jia and his two brothers split their loot contentedly in the warehouse and began changing into their new gear. Suddenly, from the safe zone came a naked figure’s anguished wail: “I... Damn it!!! I’ve been swindled out of everything!!!”

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