Chapter 073: Cursed

It was hard for Lin Jia to part with such a fine item he had just obtained, and even if he was willing to give it back, judging by Old Four’s obvious fondness for it, there was no way he’d get that juicy prize out of his hands. So Lin Jia simply feigned ignorance, saying, “What? Coral ring? I’ve never heard of that before! Is it for a priest or a warrior?” Lin Jia thought to himself, With so many people fighting for it at the time, there’s no way you could be sure I was the one who picked it up!

Sure enough, the one who called himself “Conquering the World in Shorts” replied in frustration, “Damn! I finally saw a mage kill a white wild boar in Pig Cave 4 and a bunch of stuff dropped. I rushed in and snatched a ring, but those guys beat me back to town before I could even check its stats! Damn it!”

Now Lin Jia was intrigued. White wild boar? He’d only ever heard of red and black wild boars. So there are white ones too? He couldn’t help but ask, “White wild boar? There are white ones in Pig Cave?”

Clearly out of sorts, “Conquering the World in Shorts” replied grumpily, “Forget it if you didn’t get it! Even if you did, you wouldn’t give it back! Damn!” With that, he went silent. Lin Jia tried messaging him again, but the other had already logged off.

Lin Jia shrugged. It’s just an online game, after all. Can you really expect everyone to be paragons of virtue, returning lost items like Lei Feng? Especially when the guy’s attitude was so bad! Even if I told him I picked it up, I wouldn’t give it back!

As Lin Jia opened his character’s equipment menu, he asked, “Are we going for revenge?” He looked happily at his recovered Sea Soul staff. After being killed and losing his equipment, he was feeling a bit scared—besides, their enemies were so numerous that it was unlikely the three of them could succeed in avenging themselves. Suddenly, Lin Jia noticed his Sea Soul staff had gained a new attribute: Curse +1. He was amazed. When did this staff suddenly get an extra attribute? Could this not be his original staff?

Thinking it over, it seemed impossible. This was definitely his prized Sea Soul, down to the same durability points he’d neglected to repair for days. How could it gain a new property just by changing hands? What exactly did Curse +1 do? Did it work like Accuracy +1, increasing the chance to hit, but instead cursed enemies?

Lin Jia recalled that during the recent PK, after the system notified him of committing murder, there was another notice: “Your weapon has been cursed.” At the time, he hadn’t paid attention, and the weapon didn’t seem to change. Why did the attribute only appear after being unequipped and re-equipped?

He vaguely remembered that, when he first created his character, he’d killed hundreds in the newbie village to collect gear, and after each kill, the system sometimes said, “You have committed murder,” and occasionally, “Your weapon has been cursed!” Back then, he hadn’t cared. Later, when he got the Sea Soul staff, he casually sold his old Ebony Sword to the shop without checking whether it had gained any new properties.

In this game, temporary weapon properties don’t display immediately. Properties like “Luck” gained by using “Blessing Oil,” or “Curse” added after killing, only show up after you unequip and re-equip the weapon.

Rumor had it that the higher a weapon’s Luck, the better its damage output. The attack stat on equipment wasn’t a fixed value per hit; Lin Jia’s total magic attack ranged from 6 to 25, but that didn’t mean every Lightning spell would hit for 25 points. The reason for the 6–25 range was that his attacks would fluctuate somewhere between those two numbers.

If each point equaled one HP, then fighting a monster with 100 HP, if Lin Jia’s attacks always hit for 25, he’d need only four hits to kill it. If he always hit for 20, he’d need five. For example, without any Luck bonus, his five attacks might deal 6, 15, 19, 21, and 25 damage—a total of 86. He’d need another 14-damage hit to finish the monster off.

But with Luck +9 and a bit of fortune, he might hit 25 every time: 25, 25, 25, 25, 25. In that case, the monster would be dead after the fourth strike. That’s the importance of Luck: it helps you hit the upper end of your damage range.

Curse, on the other hand, does the opposite. If Luck helps you hit your maximum damage, Curse makes you hit your minimum. If Luck gets you 25, Curse gets you 6. There’s no need to elaborate further.

Some say that Luck also increases the drop rate for rare items when killing monsters. The higher your Luck, the higher the chance for a good drop. Others claim that Curse affects item drop rates in PvP; in this game, when a player dies outside a safe zone—whether killed by a monster or another player—there’s a chance to drop equipment. The higher your Curse, the more likely your killer will loot your gear. Whether to prioritize higher damage or higher drop rates depends on personal preference.

These are secrets veteran players have pieced together over time. For now, Lin Jia was simply delighted that his prized Sea Soul staff had gained an extra “Curse” attribute.

“Of course we’re going!” Old Four grinned fiercely, “Damn it! They took our territory and killed us—no way they’re leveling in peace! I’ll stir up so much trouble they’ll be running around like chickens and dogs! Let’s go buy potions, half red, half blue, and use hit-and-run tactics!”

The three brothers, fueled by righteous fury, had made up their minds: if they couldn’t grind levels, neither would those who seized the Fragrant Stone Catacombs! If I can’t level, you can forget about having fun!

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[Author’s Note: Ugh! I’ve been too obsessed with this game these past two days and neglected to update, earning the scorn of all! Even the ones who dragged me into the game have now kicked me out so I have no choice but to get back to writing…

Fine, fine! I’ll get back to typing honestly… There’s another chapter coming! If you want to play the game, the address is in the pinned post in the review section—go find it yourselves! Remember to name your character “Mage’s Legend · **,” then contact any guild member to let the leader know you want in! If the leader’s not online, just leave a message in the review section and I’ll get you in!

Now, off to write my chapter…]