10: Slay him

"Brilliant, you're just a Priest. If you really cross me, aren't you afraid I'll keep my eyes on you forever?"

Bai Tian smiled and said, "You're a man in his dozens; can't you have some self-awareness?"

"If I needed to be afraid of you, would this weapon still be in my hands?"

"I'm giving you one last chance, or I'll just blacklist you."

"With your reputation, if I take this weapon out to sell, heh..."

Vantis gnashed his teeth in anger, but he also understood that threats were useless: "I'll give you 10,000, return the weapon to me."

Bai Tian: "My previous Black-grade sharp steel sword sold for 20,000. You want your own weapon back for just 10,000? Do you really take me for a fool?"

Vantis's mouth twitched with rage: "Then how much do you want?"

Bai Tian gave a crooked smile: "20,000. Not a penny less."

This Assassin weapon was naturally inferior to the sharp steel sword dropped by the Crocodile King BOSS and wasn't worth 20,000.

But the value of some things varies from person to person.

Vantis was beyond furious: "You..."

"I'll give you 15,000 at most."

Bai Tian sneered, "Then I'll just go contact Glorious World or Jade Star Painting Moon. Those two great guilds should give me a good price."

This made Vantis want to curse: "Your mother..."

But he immediately changed his tune: "You win. Come back to the Beginner Village to trade."

Bai Tian: "No time! I'm putting it on the trading platform now, go buy it instantly."

Worried that his important, handy weapon would be snatched by someone else, although Vantis hated Bai Tian to death, he didn't dare be careless and immediately entered the trading platform to keep watch.

Soon, he saw the [Cold Iron Short Blade] Bai Tian had just listed, but the price was: 22,000!

"Brilliant, you bastard, I'm not done with you!"

They agreed on 20,000, but it was listed for 22,000. Being ripped off once more, Vantis was fuming with rage.

But he still quickly paid the money and snatched the weapon up instantly.

This weapon was related to his leveling speed and could not be lost.

Meanwhile, Bai Tian quickly received a notification that the equipment he listed had been sold, and 20,000 yuan arrived in his account after deducting the handling fee.

In just a short while, another 20,000 was credited, and Bai Tian's net worth suddenly reached 39,700 yuan.

This speed of making money made Bai Tian feel a bit surreal.

Bai Tian's mood improved even more. Humming a little tune, he stepped out of the forest and soon arrived at the Crocodile Shallows.

As for Vantis's resentment, Bai Tian didn't care at all. He even wished the guy would come find him again, so he could kill him with the Rebound and then sell the dropped equipment back to him again.

In the shallows, the Level 8 crocodiles Bai Tian had cleared earlier had already Refreshed, but the number was cut in half.

Moreover, the Crocodile King BOSS still hadn't Refreshed.

It was said that after a BOSS in [Nine Heavens] was killed, it would take 7 days to Refresh again, and the drop rate would decrease accordingly.

These crocodiles were Level 8 ordinary monsters, the same level as Bai Tian. Farming them could increase his Mana and also advance the upgrade progress of his [Rebound].

Furthermore, Bai Tian needed to look for clues for the hidden quest here, so he immediately began his actions.

With Bai Tian's current attributes, a single crocodile could only deal about 141 damage to him.

Under the 20x Rebound, a single hit would kill a crocodile.

Although Bai Tian had used Level 1 Conversion to turn 1,000 Mana into Health, his total Health was only 1,340.

His maximum Health was high, but his body's defense was indeed a bit poor; he could pull at most five crocodiles at the same time.

Any more and his Healing Spell wouldn't be able to keep up. Unless Bai Tian relied on the several-fold Mana burn of [Level 1 Conversion], which would also multiply the effect of the Healing Spell. But his Mana wouldn't be able to handle such high-consumption operations; Bai Tian currently only had low-level Mana Potions, and his sustainability couldn't keep up.

It seemed it was time to stack some defense attributes.

A whole pond of crocodiles was completely cleared by Bai Tian in less than 6 minutes.

He picked up 1.8 silver and was lucky enough to get a piece of White-grade leg armor.

——[Crocodile Leather Leggings]!

(Cloth Armor Equipment)

Quality: White

Health: +30

Dual Defense: +2

Durability: 20/20

Requirements: Mage or Priest class.

Haha!

This equipment came just in time; Bai Tian immediately equipped it.

Although he had cleared a pond of crocodiles, there were still no clues for the hidden quest.

Bai Tian could only continue searching and farming nearby.

Soon, he discovered another pond three hundred meters away, and the monsters inside were still Level 8 crocodiles.

To speed up the farming efficiency, Bai Tian converted 1,700 Mana into Health, bringing his total Health to 2,060.

He only kept 96 Mana, just enough for the cost of three Healing Spells.

After all, a low-level Mana Potion could only restore 80 Mana.

His level 1 magic gem could only restore one point of Mana per second, which was just enough.

By the time Bai Tian farmed until after 9 PM, he had basically swept the crocodiles in this entire area clean.

During this period, he gathered 51 silver and two pieces of White-grade plate armor equipment.

The experience to reach Level 9 was also close; he was about to hit Level 9.

His Mana had increased by more than 1,000 points, and his Rebound Talent was also about to upgrade to the next stage.

By now he was hungry and thirsty, and since the hidden quest still had no leads, Bai Tian planned to log off after listing the two White-grade items on the platform for sale.

"Oh, ow..."

Suddenly, a painful groan came from a dense forest ahead.

Bai Tian had been farming here for most of the day and hadn't encountered a single player.

This sound was clearly made by an NPC.

An NPC in the wild—a quest prompt?!

Bai Tian immediately canceled his logout and hurried toward the direction of the cry of pain.

A moment later, he saw a sallow, thin middle-aged man with wax-white skin lying in the jungle, clutching a wound on his calf and constantly crying out in pain.

A line of information floated above the NPC's head: Escaped Mine Slave — A Niu.

When he saw Bai Tian approaching, the NPC A Niu seemed to be struck by immense terror. Ignoring the pain, he struggled to turn and flee.

Unfortunately, his leg was injured, and he collapsed again before he could even run a few steps.

"I... I finally managed to escape. Even if I die, I won't let you demons take me back to the mine..."

"Kill me if you have the guts!"

A Niu was extremely emotional.

Bai Tian knew this was clearly a quest, so he tried to make his expression look as kind as possible and said to A Niu:

"Don't be afraid, I'm not here to catch you. I am a free adventurer."

"Is there anything I can do to help you?"

Seeing that Bai Tian didn't approach any further and hearing his kind voice, the emotional A Niu calmed down slightly.

He looked at Bai Tian suspiciously: "You... you really aren't one of those demons? You're not here to catch me?"

Bai Tian spread his hands to show he was completely harmless.

Seeing this, A Niu believed him a little: "Brave adventurer, I am hungry and thirsty, and my leg is injured. If possible, could you help me get some water, food, and herbs?"

——"(Ding-dong!)"

"(A Niu has issued a request to you. Do you accept?)"

"(Special Prompt! After gaining enough Favorability and trust from A Niu, you might find a clue from his mouth regarding the remains of the Village Chief's younger brother.)"

Hearing the prompt, Bai Tian breathed a sigh of relief. That hidden quest was finally no longer a shot in the dark.