Epic Equipment

A small wooden barrel had yielded only two cups of wine, its red hue as gorgeous as amber.

One cup for Xiao Yang, and one for Redbeard.

Redbeard was clearly impatient, but he handled everything with utmost care, creating a rather awkward contrast.

Before drinking, the ritual had to be completed. Redbeard raised his oak cup high and shouted!

"Drink this cup, and our friendship will be as steadfast as a mountain!"

"Drink this cup, and our friendship will be as steadfast as a mountain!"

Each of them shouted a toast. The moment they finished, Redbeard eagerly drained his cup in one gulp. In an instant, his face turned red—not, more accurately, his entire body turned red.

He let out a belch, and the breath of wine pouring from his mouth turned into a burst of scorching flame.

Before he could say a word, the fellow collapsed onto the ground and went completely still.

He was drunk. He'd passed out in an instant, sleeping as peacefully as a baby.

This wine was truly potent!

Xiao Yang opened his mouth, feeling an inexplicable sense of anticipation. It might sound bizarre, but he was genuinely curious about the taste of wine brewed with Dragon's Root.

He tipped it into his mouth. The wine slid down his throat, and after a moment of burning heat, nothing happened. The Pot of Greed had completely hijacked the entire cup of Red Logan's Great Horn.

The whole cup went down, and Xiao Yang hadn't even had time to properly savor the wine.

Xiao Yang felt a little regretful. He really had wanted to taste it. But that regret quickly vanished when the God Game prompt appeared.

Check in progress. Pot of Greed activated. Attributes greatly increased. Strength permanently increased by 10. Gained constant Fire Resistance, current level: Weak. Conducting race check. Not a member of the order Squamata. Draconic scales changing. Gained permanent trait: Tough Skin.

Tough Skin: Increases constant Defense by 5. Damage below 1 can be negated.

Redbeard really was a fine older friend. His wine had not only saved Xiao Yang a hefty sum, but also permanently granted him Fire Resistance and the Tough Skin trait.

Of course, benefits like these didn't come for nothing. They were a reward Xiao Yang had earned through sincerity. He'd missed out on the chance to get rich overnight, but had gained a generous dwarf big brother—and a cup of Red Logan's Great Horn, which Redbeard would only share with someone he considered a friend.

Xiao Yang thought that when he got the chance, he'd find some equally good wine for Redbeard to try. The fellow was already thoroughly passed out, snoring away in the Myriad Worlds Trading Area.

There was no need to worry about safety. The Myriad Worlds Trading Area was a trading zone maintained by the God Game. There might be ways to get around some of its restrictions, but its security was still guaranteed.

So there was no fear of Redbeard getting messed with by other players while he slept.

Xiao Yang packed up his stall. He still had three hundred thousand Spirit Coins.

Two hundred and forty thousand had come from Redbeard, and another sixty thousand from selling the Zombie Flesh Boots and some other odds and ends. He planned to wander around and take a look, while also preparing for his raid on the Dungeon Guardians.

Of course, before wandering off, Xiao Yang sent Redbeard a friend request.

Was three hundred thousand a lot? It was a huge amount! At least, it was to Xiao Yang a week ago. But after wandering around the Myriad Worlds Trading Area for a bit, he had to admit that three hundred thousand Spirit Coins only looked like a lot. In reality, it didn't go very far—or, rather, his standards had been raised too high.

Green-quality Fine equipment generally cost between ten thousand and a hundred thousand.

For a newcomer like Xiao Yang, who hadn't even reached level ten, a full set of green equipment was more than enough. He could even use it all the way to levels ten to fifteen.

With a good equipment setup, a suitable build, or just a tight budget, plenty of players used green equipment all the way to level twenty.

If Xiao Yang were thrifty, those three hundred thousand Spirit Coins would be enough to outfit him from head to toe in green gear.

But the thing was, Xiao Yang's attention was now entirely fixed on blue equipment or higher. He'd been spoiled by the Hidden Map and the Dungeon Delver.

With the little money he had, though, it wouldn't be easy to find a few suitable pieces of blue equipment in the trading area.

Blue equipment ranged in price from a hundred thousand to no upper limit.

There were a few simple reasons for this. The gap between the weakest and strongest blue equipment was enormous, and blue gear was currently the main equipment for most players.

The worst blue equipment might be nothing more than a cup that could hold a lot of water. But even Redbeard's powerful Lava Battle Axe was still only blue-quality.

For that matter, if Xiao Yang chose to put his Blackrock Prison three-piece set up for sale, he could undoubtedly fetch a fortune.

Equipment wasn't the only way to grow stronger. Many high-level players still wore a full set of blue gear. Their strength also came from their classes, skills, all kinds of techniques, followers, their own advancement, class advancement, and the evolution of their skills. And, of course, the main reason was that they couldn't get their hands on better equipment.

The next tier above blue-quality Superior equipment was Epic equipment. Epic equipment—just as the name suggested—was connected to an epic. Either it had a place in an epic tale, or it had been part of one itself.

To obtain such equipment, one had to either take part in an extraordinary, large-scale battle and claim it from terrifying lord bosses or major characters, or throw oneself into a sweeping story and see it through to the end. That, too, could elevate the equipment in one's hands.

With such harsh requirements for obtaining it, Epic equipment was hardly ever sold by players. It was the kind of thing that couldn't be bought even if you had the Spirit Coins.