Gray Dagger

"Rare? It only requires level one?"

After hearing the shopkeeper's introduction, Li Xunsheng spoke in disbelief.

The best weapon he had seen so far should have been Yi Qing's level-five blue dagger, Tusk. Its attack power of eighty was enough to make anyone drool at the sight of it... Yet even a weapon of that level could only be considered high-grade equipment (blue).

"Yes, please take a look."

The shopkeeper took a square box from beneath the counter, gently twisted open its lock, and displayed the weapon inside before the young man.

[Gray Dagger (+3): Rare (Green) Attack +40 (+12) Critical Hit Rate +4 (+1) Agility +4 Strength +2 Required: Level Lv.1 or above]

[Attached Trait—Throat Cut: When this weapon directly attacks a weak point, total damage dealt increases by an additional 30%!]

[Weakness: A position with no defense or the weakest defense. Weakness Damage and critical damage are calculated separately and can stack.]

[Price: 3 Gold Coins]

"This is really..."

There actually happened to be a level-one green piece of equipment here, and Li Xunsheng's breathing quickened.

Moreover, this green dagger had even been enhanced! Its +3 enhancement level had increased its attack power by twelve points. As a level-one piece of equipment, this dagger actually had fifty-two points of base attack power! One had to know that an unenhanced level-one longsword only added ten points of attack power!

But... why couldn't he see its durability?

After obtaining the Eye of God, Li Xunsheng had grown accustomed to checking all kinds of information. However, the dagger's durability wasn't displayed, which instantly made him sense that something was wrong.

Ignoring the shopkeeper, who was talking nonstop, the young man narrowed his eyes slightly and stared at the weapon inside the box.

[Gray Dagger (Damaged) Durability 60/60]

[Because of a certain apprentice's shoddy craftsmanship, something went wrong when this dagger was repaired. Although its damaged structure had not weakened its abilities, it could no longer be repaired.]

The young man's eyes widened slightly, and his heart jolted.

In other words, this dagger could no longer be considered equipment. In a sense, had it become a consumable?

The shopkeeper had actually said nothing about such crucial information. Heh, what an honest businessman...

The customer's gaze suddenly turned strange, making the middle-aged strongman, whose face had been flawless until now, show a hint of embarrassment.

"Boss, isn't three Gold Coins a bit much for a consumable?"

"Haha... You have a good eye, customer... This dagger does have a tiny little problem... How about this? Two Gold Coins?"

[Tsk, I ran into someone sharp-eyed. Could this kid be an appraiser apprentice? How can he see through things so accurately?]

'Appraiser apprentice? What's that?'

The Eye of God detected the shopkeeper's thoughts, leaving Li Xunsheng slightly puzzled. However, he quickly shifted his attention back to the dagger in front of him.

"It's more than a tiny little problem."

Glancing at the weapons around him, Li Xunsheng folded his arms and began bargaining.

"To be honest, this dagger is nothing special. If not for its low level requirement, it wouldn't have much else going for it."

Li Xunsheng wasn't wronging the weapon with those words.

The level-five blue dagger [Tusk] had twice the attack power of the [Gray Dagger] even without enhancement. This showed that while rarity was important, higher-level weapons still held a considerable advantage in base stats.

A rare level-one dagger like this was certainly useful for beginners, but it would easily be replaced. It couldn't be used for long and wouldn't be considered by advanced adventurers.

As for new adventurers... saving up three Gold Coins wasn't easy. There was no need to pay such a price for a weapon that would soon be replaced.

"Customer, you can't put it that way. It has a trait. Only equipment of green quality or higher can have trait bonuses, and that's quite a valuable point... How about this? Two Gold Coins?"

What the customer had said was indeed true, so the shopkeeper had no choice but to lower the price.

"The trait... is pretty good, but it's a shame this weapon won't last long."

An additional thirty percent to total damage was indeed a good trait.

For an assassin who used daggers, dealing Weakness Damage should have been quite easy. This trait was truly top-notch.

Unfortunately, this was a level-one weapon, and its base stats were truly nothing to look at.

"Most importantly, it won't last long. Once those sixty durability points are used up, this thing will be scrap. It can't be used anymore."

If it weren't damaged, he could still sell it after using it up and recover some of his investment. In that case, two Gold Coins might not have been unacceptable. After all, he could simply spend one Gold Coin later to replace the weapon, right?

But unfortunately, this was a consumable! Once it was used up, it couldn't even be sold. It would directly become worthless.

"This... Then name your price."

The customer's words struck the dagger's weak points every time, so the shopkeeper simply spread his hands and gestured for him to make an offer.

"Fifty Silver Coins."

Li Xunsheng named an outrageous figure without changing his expression.

"That's impossible!"

The strongman was like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. He was practically about to jump up and curse on the spot.

Even asking for an exorbitant price wasn't this outrageous! This was a rare weapon, not some common unenhanced piece of junk!

"At least one Gold Coin! No matter what, it's still rare equipment. I won't accept any further bargaining!"

The shopkeeper slammed the box shut, indicating that there was no room for discussion.

"If it's less than one Gold Coin, I might as well keep it as a collectible!"

"..."

[This man is serious. He really intends to collect this dagger and use it to spur on his apprentice.]

"But... I only have ninety-nine Silver Coins and fifty Copper Coins on me."

Li Xunsheng gave a helpless, bitter smile as he displayed his wallet, indicating that he really had only that much.

He had lent another fifty Copper Coins to Yi Qing. That young lady should currently have been busy repairing her severed arm and had no time to repay him for the moment.

"This..."

Realizing that the customer genuinely wanted to buy the dagger in his hands, the shopkeeper froze as well.

After weighing his options, the strongman helplessly waved his hand.

"Fine, fine, fine. I'll give you a discount and take fifty Copper Coins less."

It really wouldn't do to let this thing sit uselessly in his hands.

"You'll have to visit our Burning Iron Furnace more often in the future."

After packing the Small Round Shield and Gray Dagger, and accepting all of Li Xunsheng's money, the strongman once again revealed a smile.

"Okay."

After obtaining suitable equipment, Li Xunsheng could hardly suppress the delight on his face.

With such a sharp weapon, leveling up should be easy.

In order to reach level ten within a week, he had truly thrown everything he had into it.

"Do you know of any areas suitable for beginners to explore?"

"An area for beginners to explore? I'm not sure."

After the transaction, the shopkeeper was in an excellent mood. He thought for a moment before offering his suggestion:

"However, you can go take a look at the Adventurer's Guild. They should know the monster distribution and such better than anyone."