Chapter 53: Bounty (1/2)
Liu Ye couldn't even reach his opponent when his chest exploded with pain. He slowly looked down and saw a sharp ice shard pierced deep into his chest before his body split apart into white pixels.
The city disappeared from his view and he appeared back in the lobby with multiple screens in front of him.
[You died. Waiting for the respawn.]
[00:00:59]
Giant red words on the screens reminded him of his failure while restricting his login for a whole one minute.
”Ouch…” Liu Ye muttered while rubbing his chest. Even though the pain was already gone, his brain could still feel the burden.
Never again.
Dying in the game seemed like a pretty uncomfortable experience but at least he had it behind him. Liu Ye now knew it was best to avoid dying at all cost and provoking a massive gang of thieves would most likely lead to his death.
He quickly opened his profile to check what he lost and was surprised at his luck.
[Ding! You have died and received a Standard Death Penalty.]
[Standard Death Penalty]
[Description: Players will lose the Experience gained in their current level after death. They will also drop their first item at a 75% rate and 25% less for each following item. This rate could be lowered or increased based on the Player's or opponent's Luck value.]
[Experience lost: 12,600]
[Items lost: 100x Small Mana Potions]
[Note: If a Player dies while having 0 Experience, they will drop down a level and lose half of their Experience. This drop is limited to 1 level per day and is separate to the Death Penalty from the special zones.]
”So lucky, tsk,” Liu Ye clicked with his tongue, not really pained at the loss of one stack of Small Mana Potions. ”I guess I need to invest in more Luck next time I level up.”
[Name: Grind God]
[Level: 16] [SP: 0]
[Exp: 0/26,000]
Although he lost a whole half a level of experience, it was to be expected. The game gave out so much experience that it had to punish players for dying. He wouldn't be surprised if dying was very common in the later stages of the game.
Looking at his new items though, Liu Ye could only sigh at the high requirements. He was immediately convinced he wouldn't be keeping any of the weapons for himself.
[Thunder Sword] [Locked]
[Description: A well-made sword equipped with a rare Thunder Essence Crystal. It uses Mana to cover the blade with lightning that can shock the opponents upon striking. It can also activate an ability called Thunder Strike, shooting a lightning bolt from a long distance.]
[Damage: 100]
[Effects: Passive Shock which paralyzes the opponent for 3 seconds. It cannot be used on the same opponent more than thrice in the span of one minute.]
[Ability: Thunder Strike - 1000 damage.]
[Requirements: Lvl. 50, Firebending, 25 Intelligence, 15 Wisdom.]
[Cost: 3 MP per second and 50 MP for each Ability usage.]
[Ability Cooldown: 30 seconds.]
The shock effect was interesting but it didn't seem that overpowered and the requirements only disappointed Liu Ye further. He already thought of adding some points to his Wisdom stat in order to use the accessory items but adding 15 points was just a waste of Skill Points.
Knowing the system, mastering high-tier Abilities would bring him more benefits. The weapons looked like a possible choice for the Players without any potential who also wanted to enjoy the power of multiple Elements.
[Note: Using Elemental Weapons will not increase your Elemental Mastery.]
The note at the end of each weapon only made him close his inventory quicker. He basically exchanged those items for being hunted by high-ranked Gang Members so Liu Ye at least hoped to get some money out of it.
Ding!
Just as he thought how much he could extort the rich players, the timer ended and he didn't hesitate to login back in the game. To his surprise, he appeared back in the Teleportation Station on one of the unused platforms. Thankfully he wasn't charged for arriving in the Emerald City once again.
'Alright, now that I died once, this chick should think I'm dead so I should be left alone,' Liu Ye thought as he headed out towards the Bank once again. Even if they still remember me, I will simply leave Emerald City after completing the quest and enjoy the other parts of the Mainland. They shouldn't hunt me down everywher—”
[Ding! Black Panther has used a Bounty Tag on your head worth 1000 gold. If you die from a bounty hunter, you will lose two levels and your whole inventory will drop. If you wish to cancel the Bounty Tag, visit the Mercenary Guild to pay a 1000 gold removal fee.]
”What the fuck?”
———