Because of the three keywords, a crowd quickly gathered around the stall.
At the trading plaza, white-rated goods were everywhere, and green-rated products were the mainstay. Blue-rated equipment, by contrast, was practically synonymous with rarity.
The words "rare" and "top-tier" spoke to its quality. High-quality, high-rated gear immediately drew a large crowd.
"Hey, buddy, can you lower the price on that [Summoning Horn]? I'll take it for 8,000 Paradise Coins."
"Yeah, yeah! Your Summoning Horn may be blue quality, but the requirements are way too harsh! Lower the price and I'll offer 10,000 Paradise Coins."
"But the effect is powerful. Three attributes, two checks, and it's an active skill!"
"Sure, the effect is pretty strong, but it massively reduces all your attributes, permanently lowers them too, and the cooldown is so long. Not worth it!"
"What, if the cooldown were shorter, you'd want to use it in every world?"
Wang Changle listened to the offers and chatter from the onlookers without saying a word. He simply raised the price by 1,000 Paradise Coins.
The [Summoning Horn] came at a tremendous cost to use, but it was a necklace—an item that was rare by nature. Its three traits made it even more valuable.
He had never intended to sell this piece of equipment to a lone freelancer. It wasn't much use to someone who fought alone.
But to a team or an organization with an adventurer group, it was a strategic-level piece of equipment.
Every adventurer group was bound to have a specialist in Charisma, someone who could negotiate with or win over characters from the story. Such specialists also tended to have decent Intelligence.
An auxiliary necklace that took up neither a weapon nor an off-hand slot, yet had an enormous range and a skill with checks based on two attributes!
Once activated, as long as the team protected their Charisma specialist, the moment the horn sounded, the balance of battle would tip decisively in their favor.
Even against the reverse—a large-scale assault by summoned creatures—it would be a solid countermeasure.
Wang Changle's 1,000-Coin price increase silenced those who had hoped to haggle him down.
The rare white-rated [Harden Giant Axe] sold faster than the [Summoning Horn]. A dark-skinned burly man bought it.
[You received 5,000 Paradise Coins, which have been deposited in Mark Space.]
After the weapon sold, the only thing left at the stall was the lonely Summoning Horn. The surrounding chatter died down, but his private messages kept coming.
[You received a message from an anonymous Contractor. Please check it!]
[You received a message from an anonymous Contractor. Please check it!]
[You received a message from an anonymous Contractor. Please check it!]
"..."
Wang Changle glanced at the flood of private messages and the constant Paradise notifications, then closed his messages. The world fell quiet.
Most of the messages were threats, while some were offers to buy the item at a low price. Neither meant anything to him.
He had concealed his face, and as a Hunter, his number was hidden from them too. Their so-called threats were utterly hollow.
Yet the crowd kept growing. For him, that was naturally a good thing.
A crowd meant buzz and exposure. People tended to follow the crowd, and once a topic drew enough attention, word would spread faster. Then the adventurer groups would come.
To its own team, this kind of equipment was a trump card. To other teams, it was a deterrent.
Though many small adventurer groups had no intention of buying it, they still sent people to watch. They were clearly more interested in who would end up with such a piece of equipment.
In Cycle Paradise, information could sometimes be a bargaining chip.
"Move it, move it! None of you are buying anything, so why are you blocking the way?"
A man about two meters tall, with black eyes and red hair, who looked just like the God of Fire, shoved his way through the crowd and let the people behind him pass.
A twin-tailed little girl with a bust that didn't match her petite frame, long, straight legs, a childlike face, and a mature woman's figure. She had the cold, abstinent air of a queen, with a hint of languor.
This woman, who combined so many kinds of beauty, was clearly a Charisma specialist—or, more accurately, her Charisma attribute was extremely high. Four or five handsome men of different types surrounded her.
"It's Flower Boat's Courtesan!"
"So these are all her lovers? Terrifying. They're all from Derivative Worlds."
"Shut up! Flower Boat's Courtesan is here, so Moon Princess must be nearby too."
From the onlookers' chatter, Wang Changle learned the basics about the adventurer group called Flower Boat. It was founded by two women.
One was called Flower Boat's Courtesan, the other Moon Princess.
Aside from the two women, all their Contractors came from Derivative Worlds, transformed from characters in the stories—and every one of them was handsome.
Talk about having it all!
Wang Changle looked away. Just now, he'd actually felt like giving the [Summoning Horn] to the woman before him. She was terrifying.
"Hello, sir. I'm Anthony of Flower Boat. I hope you don't mind me asking, but is there any room to negotiate on the price?"
The youth wore a white tailcoat with gold embroidery on the cuffs and silver-rimmed glasses. He looked just like a butler from a Central European world. He addressed Wang Changle with courteous humility.
Just as Wang Changle was about to reply to Anthony, a group of people forcibly pushed their way in. At their head was a man holding a long spear and wearing an unknown beast hide.
"We, Hunter Camp, will take this horn."
[You received 31,000 Paradise Coins from Contractor No. 468777.]
Before the fierce-looking man could finish speaking, Anthony had already taken the horn and walked over to Flower Boat's Courtesan.
"Bear Knight Captain, remember to move faster next time! This is Paradise. Being loud won't help you."
A youth in blue robes, holding a folding fan, with a face as handsome as jade, spoke coolly.
He looked like a wealthy young master, but had a distant, unapproachable air about him, much like Hua Wuque from The Legendary Siblings.
"You pretty boy who lives off women! I'll kill you next time!"
"If your Dragon Leader had said that, I might have believed you."
Anthony adjusted his glasses, nodded to Wang Changle, then hurried after Flower Boat's Courtesan.
Flower Boat's Courtesan, the group's leader, hadn't said a word the entire time. She'd only furrowed her brow slightly when Bear Knight Captain arrived. As soon as she had the Summoning Horn, she left.
Her utter languor and indifference had immediately provoked the broad-shouldered Bear Knight Captain. He turned his gaze on Wang Changle, resentment plain in his eyes.
"Kid, didn't you hear me say we wanted this equipment? Have you got a death wish?"
Wang Changle glanced at the red-faced Bear Knight Captain, deciding that the man really was a bear. He calmly stepped past the stunned Bear Knight Captain and bought the [Call of Nature].
"Oh, you didn't know this was Cycle Paradise?"
After saying that, he shot the man a glance, activated the Mark on his hand, and vanished from the trading plaza.
Bear Knight Captain had been slighted twice, and his expression darkened.
He didn't dare get too out of line with Flower Boat's Courtesan. After all, his adventurer group, Hunter Camp, was on the same level as Flower Boat.
But this unknown Contractor, who was obviously a freelancer, had dared to ignore him too. That was an affront to his status and dignity.
He was an official member of Hunter Camp. How could he let a mere freelancer act so brazenly?
Now he'd failed to complete the task his leader had assigned him, and had been humiliated again and again. Enough was enough!
"Fine, fine, fine! So this is Paradise, is it? Then I'll show you what real Paradise is. Find out everything you can about that man!"
Back in his private room, Wang Changle had no mind for anything else. He focused entirely on the blue skill book before him and began a class compatibility check.
[Skill "Call of Nature" is 98% compatible with your class. It can be added to your skill bar.]
[You have learned the active skill: Call of Nature.]
[Call of Nature, Level 1, Active Skill]
Requirements: Consume 60 points of mana.
Skill Effect: Consume plants or natural energy within a certain range to summon 1 Treant to assist in combat. Cooldown: 54 seconds (1 minute); duration: 24 (20) seconds.
Note: When plants are nearby, consumption is reduced by 60% (50%). The Treant's form will depend on the plants.
(Nature's Heart bonus has been calculated.)
The initial cost was high, but if there was vegetation nearby, he only needed 24 points of mana to summon a Treant. It was excellent value for the cost.
Low cost, short cooldown, sustained combat potential, and damage capability—that was the kind of skill he'd been looking for as his standard go-to.
But that still wasn't enough. He needed to test his theory.
Before long, he arrived at the [Training Ground]. Using his Hunter privileges, he summoned Kakashi Hatake once again.
[Pay 4,000 Cycle Coins to activate for 4 hours.]
Pale, milky light flashed. The densely vegetated forest appeared once more, with Kakashi Hatake sitting lazily on a tree branch.
"Ah, ah, I didn't oversleep this time! Let's get started~"
Center.
Before you continue