Chapter 41 - A Loan

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Tian Kuang, Lin Fei, Tian Fei, and Tian Xin all looked at Xiao Ling, bemused.

“You want to embed the gemstone in your equipment? If your level is too low, you’ll lose more compared to what you gain by embedding a gemstone in your equipment,” said Tian Kuang. Only large guilds would do something like studding a low-level equipment with a gemstone. Ordinary players would never do that.

Xiao Ling hesitated for a moment. Should he tell them that he was a Mechanical Alchemist? If he said that, he might just shock them out of their socks. The other players could still accept another player being a general Warlock, as all three specializations shared some similarities. The three specializations were branches of a single class and shared the same source of power. No matter how powerful they become, they would not be able to overcome the limitations imposed upon the demonic classes.

However, Xiao Ling was sure that they would not be able to accept another player being a general Warlock and a Mechanical Alchemist. It was too mind-blowing for a player to have a general demonic class and a Mechanical Alchemist. This was especially true during large raid quests. A player whose damage output was no lower than an ordinary Warlock’s coupled with the damage output from their mechanical puppets would certainly outshine Fire Mages who were known for their high damage output.

Being a Mechanical Alchemist was his secret. Although Tian Kuang and the others were nice people, they barely knew each other. If he told them this secret of his, he would not be able to forgive himself for being reckless.

Xiao Ling said, “I’ve learned engineering, and am now at the Journeyman rank.” Tian Kuang should be able to pick up on his evasiveness. He hoped that they would understand.

“Journeyman rank engineering?” Tian Kuang and the others were greatly shocked. They did not expect Xiao Ling to take up the unpopular ability of engineering. It was not as if engineering was useless, but more that engineering was a difficult ability to train. There would only be several thousand Journeyman engineers, at most, on Endace Continent. There were certainly none of the Expert rank. With his Journeyman rank engineering skills, he would be treated like a VIP in any small guild. He would also be treated well in large guilds.

Under normal circumstances, only certain Mechanical Alchemists would take up the life skill of engineering. However, they merely had to familiarize themselves with it. After all, if they were bringing a mechanical puppet as a companion, they would need some engineering for basic routine maintenance works. Only a handful would continue up to the Journeyman rank. They would only do this to build better mechanical puppets.

“No wonder your level is this low. You’ve been focusing on improving your life skill,” said Tian Kuang after some thought. “What do you need to make that item you have in mind?”

“Five Cobalt Gems and five Verdant Gems,” replied Xiao Ling.

The others drew cold breaths. That was a cost of nearly 30,000 gold coins! What was Xiao Ling planning on making?

Mechanical puppets were not the only products of mechanical engineering. There were many other useful items that could be made, for instance firearms, volatile explosives, Smoke Powder, spyglasses, monster detectors, ore detectors, and other items. The most interesting object would be the Goblin Jump Cables, which could shock another player back to life. However, there was a limit to how many times a player could be revived by the Jump Cables; a player could not be revived endlessly.

Products of engineering were sold at extremely high prices. Naturally, the costs of their raw materials were high as well.

Tian Kuang did not think that Xiao Ling would spend that much energy to build something impractical. Since Xiao Ling seemed reluctant to tell them, he chose not to ask.

“I didn’t now that you’ve learned engineering as well.” Tian Kuang glanced at Lin Fei, and asked her, “How many more Cobalt Gems and Verdant Gems do we have?”

Tian Kuang and the others had been farming Scarlet Warriors and Scarlet Mages here for quite some time. Also, they farmed the monsters in batches.

‘They have more Cobalt Gems and Verdant Gems?’ The thought of this made Xiao Ling’s heart leapt.

“We have seven Cobalt Gems and six Verdant Gems. I think that their prices will go up, so I stowed them away and haven’t sold them yet.” Lin Fei and the others had bought these gemstones with their own gold. They bought several other gemstones as well. They wanted to sell it after their values had appreciated. However, she did not say that they actually bought them. Xiao Ling almost leapt at Lin Fei’s words. He did not expect them to have this many in their possession. If he had five Cobalt Gems and five Verdant Gems, Xiao Ling could build a gargoyle already!

“If you need them, brother Xiao, take them,” said Tian Kuang in a casual tone.

Xiao Ling was dumbfounded. That was tens of thousands of gold they were talking about! Naturally, Xiao Ling knew that Tian Kuang was not so rich that he would give away 30,000 gold’s worth of items. He intended on using this as a gesture of friendship.

There were times where money could not buy friendship, but there were exceptions as well.

Xiao Ling shook his head, and said, “I can’t.”

Xiao Ling was not a person who would leap at any benefit laid out before him. He would like to have Tian Kuang as a friend as well, but accepting another person’s gift without good reason would mean that he would be owing him a favor, which was much more troublesome than owing him money. However, since they had the gemstones he needed, Xiao Ling did not wish for this opportunity to slip past him. After all, they would still be selling it to him. “How about this, I’ll enter into a loan pact with you guys. I’ll buy the Cobalt Gems and Verdant Gems from you.”

Xiao Ling insisted on not easily accepting the gemstones for nothing.

“Five Cobalt Gems and five Verdant Gems. I’ll sell them to you for 20,000 gold.” Tian Kuang knew that he could not dissuade Xiao Ling. If Xiao Ling had accepted the gemstones forthrightly, he would have to reconsider his judgement of Xiao Ling’s character. A person had to correct his own character if he wanted to earn another person’s respect. Making friends was matters of the heart. Not coveting every single item your friend owned was the most basic rule of friendship.

The current market prices of the Cobalt Gem and the Verdant Gem were about 3,000 and 2,500 gold coins, respectively. Judging by the current trend, their prices would continue to rise. Buying them at 20,000 gold coin was a great offer for Xiao Ling. It would not be asking for too much even if they were sold at 30,000 gold. Xiao Ling opened his mouth to say something, but Tian Kuang cut across him. “It’s a deal, then. We’ll have many chances to work together in the future. Don’t fret about this trifling amount.”

10,000 gold was a trifling amount? When Tian Kuang said this, Lin Fei, Tian Fei, and Tian Xin showed no signs of protest. For a high-end player, any amount of money lost could be earned again. However, it was difficult to find a good party member; they were priceless. Tian Kuang’s thought was that if this gesture could compel Xiao Ling to stay as a permanent member of their party, 10,000 gold coins was a small price to pay. Even if Xiao Ling chose not to stay, he would still be more than willing to offer his help at their request in the future.

To Xiao Ling, Tian Kuang’s intention of forming a permanent party was completely beneficial. Xiao Ling accepted the offer gladly. Since Tian Kuang insisted that he take them, he would only be making matters difficult by rejecting it.

“Alright, then,” said Xiao Ling.

“I’ll store them in my personal vault for now. Let’s continue farming. I’ll pass them to you at night when we’re back in town,” said Lin Fei.

“Mm-hm,” Xiao Ling grunted in response.

Lin Fei was off to attract monsters again. Xiao Ling let his imagination roam. He did not expect that he would be able to build a mechanical puppet this quickly. Xiao Ling was highly looking forward to the gargoyle’s attributes.

Xiao Ling’s mind seemed to be elsewhere throughout the afternoon. Fortunately, he did not have to do much operating. He did not make any serious mistakes throughout their farming process.