Black Market Challenge

The luxurious accessory box slowly opened, blooming with a multicolored radiance that shimmered brilliantly.

Fortunately, Shi Feng was in a dim alleyway where no players wandered; otherwise, he would surely have incited the greed of many, leading them to kill him and snatch the treasure.

As the radiance faded, a purple-gold ring lay inside the box, its outer edge engraved with a circle of text resembling ancient Elvish script and brimming with infinite magic, alongside a simple, archaic silver necklace.

"Thank goodness, it really is the Gravity Ring." Seeing the appearance of the ring, Shi Feng let out a sigh of relief. He carefully took it out to examine it.

Gravity Ring: Mysterious-Iron rank, required level 0, Strength +2, Agility +1, Stamina +1, comes with the skill 'Gravity Liberation', which allows the wearer to significantly reduce the gravity acting upon them, granting a body as light as a feather for 30 seconds, with a 5-minute cooldown.

"Fantastic, it's not Bronze rank after all." After reading the description, Shi Feng's eyes lit up with joy; the situation was better than he had imagined.

Equipment in God's Domain is categorized into Trash, Common, Bronze, Mysterious-Iron, Secret-Silver, Fine-Gold, Dark-Gold, and Epic.

The equipment players receive from the system at the start is all trash, unwanted even when sold for money. At this stage, no player possesses Common equipment. Although Common gear can be bought in large cities, the price is very high. As for Bronze rank, it is extremely rare and comes with additional attributes, while Mysterious-Iron is even more precious, only having a chance to drop from bosses.

In his previous life, the Gravity Ring that player had obtained was only Bronze rank, adding only 1 point of Strength, and the 'Gravity Liberation' skill lasted only 15 seconds. Getting a Mysterious-Iron Gravity Ring for completing the quest at level 0 was truly unexpected.

As for the necklace, it was a special grey item that NPC merchants favored and would purchase at a high price.

He put on the Gravity Ring and added all 4 free attribute points gained from leveling up into Agility.

Shi Feng's Agility instantly reached 12 points, his attack speed rose to 5, and his movement speed increased to 6, putting him on par with pure Agility Assassins of the same level.

"Once I reach level 3, my Agility will hit 20 points, which will allow me to unlock the hidden basic skill for the Agility branch." Looking at his attribute panel, Shi Feng felt a surge of anticipation.

Shi Feng moved his body, feeling much more agile than before. If he were to face Mayor Cross now, he would never be as wretched as he had been earlier. If he could reach 20 Agility and unlock the basic skill Agile Swiftness, his physical prowess would be exhilarating—truly comparable to a martial arts master from a wuxia novel.

Afterward, he added 15 free mastery points into One-Handed Sword Mastery, leaving 5 in reserve. His One-Handed Sword Mastery instantly reached 20 points, advancing from Apprentice to Primary Swordsman, increasing the damage dealt by one-handed swords by 10%. He was still 30 points away from advancing to Intermediate Swordsman.

As a Swordsman, if one wants to become a master of the blade, basic attacks are only the foundation; skills are indispensable. The more skills one learns, the more flexible a Swordsman's combat becomes, allowing for greater damage output.

As a master of the sword and a reincarnator, now that he possessed the special item Gravity Ring, his next step for rapid leveling was naturally to learn a large number of Swordsman skills. Only then could he unleash the true instincts of a Swordsman; otherwise, relying solely on basic attacks would never maximize his monster-killing efficiency.

"I remember there's a Black Market Challenge in the Red Leaf Town trade district. It seems the first player to pass the challenge receives a Swordsman skill book." Shi Feng pondered. The vast majority of skill books were dropped by level 3 to 5 wild monsters, but the drop rate was extremely low. At this stage, no player could farm those mobs, and obtaining other Swordsman skill books would be too time-consuming. He didn't have the time to grind, and the only way to quickly obtain a skill book in Red Leaf Town was through the Black Market Challenge.

Red Leaf Town Trade District.

Various shops lined both sides of the street—potion shops, blacksmiths, taverns, and more. It was quite bustling, much like a small bazaar. However, since God's Domain had just opened, players were all busy leveling up and had no time to experience the pleasures of the game. Thus, the trade district wasn't at its peak yet, with only a small number of production-class players there learning auxiliary professions like Enchanting, Blacksmithing, Alchemy, Cooking, Engineering, and so on.

"Buying herbs at a high price, contact me if you have any."

"Buying ores, no scammers."

"Sincere buyer for high-level equipment, price is negotiable, can pay in credits."

Many logistics personnel from studios and guilds had set up small stalls along the streets of the trade district to purchase supplies and equipment.

Shi Feng did not linger, walking quickly toward a two-story building guarded by high-level Goblins. Above it was written "Black Market." It was the dark underbelly of Red Leaf Town, an entertainment venue built by greedy Goblins.

Entering the Black Market, one found the Goblin Auction House. Following the stairs down into the cellar, there were two open areas: one was an arena, and the other was the challenge course.

At this moment, several players were already standing at the challenge course, accepting the Goblins' trial.

"Come on, you have to succeed this time!"

"Go for it, take down those Goblins!"

Several players were cheering for an Assassin player on the field, their eyes gleaming with a red light, much like crazed gamblers.

The challenge course was a test of a player's technique. In an area 30 yards long and 10 yards wide, all players' attributes would be set to 10 upon entering. Skills could not be used, equipment was ineffective, and one could only dodge or block the shots from Goblin muskets. Reaching the finish line meant victory.

The Goblins offered three levels of challenge: Bronze, Silver, and Gold. Each challenge could be attempted once every three days. The entry requirements were 5 Copper for Bronze, 5 Silver for Silver, and 5 Gold for Gold. The higher the challenge, the better the rewards; sometimes, even Dark-Gold equipment would appear.

If a player was the first in Red Leaf Town to pass a challenge, even the Bronze level reward would be comparable to the Silver level.

Shi Feng remembered that in his previous life, a Swordsman named Kuang Feng was the first to pass the Bronze challenge in Red Leaf Town, obtaining a rare Swordsman skill book.

After a short while, the Assassin on the field was hit and collapsed at the 20-yard mark, still 10 yards from the finish line.

"Damn it, so close! Do you guys have any more money? I'll definitely pass next time!" the male Assassin said repeatedly after respawning outside the field.

A male Priest shook his head and said, "Boss Cixin, we gave you all the money the five of us had. We really don't have any left."

Hearing the name "Cixin," Shi Feng was surprised and shifted his gaze toward the Assassin.

Dressed in black night-traveler gear, he was short and very thin, looking much like a monkey. Shi Feng found it hard to imagine that Cixin, the tenth-ranked Assassin on the Star-Moon Kingdom's leaderboard, was this "monkey" before him.

The Assassin named Cixin shifted his gaze to Shi Feng, looked him over, and revealed a look as if he had found prey. He walked up to Shi Feng and smiled, "Hello friend, my name is Cixin, the Assassin Captain of the Assassin Alliance. Can you lend me 5 Copper? I'll pay you back 20 tomorrow, how about it?"

Cixin was very unwilling to accept this failure; he was only 10 yards from the finish line and had already found some patterns. If given one more chance, he was certain he could pass. Thus, he wanted to use his guild's name to intimidate Shi Feng into lending him the 5 Copper.

One had to know that the Assassin Alliance was a very famous large guild in the virtual gaming world. Any veteran gamer knew the name. Being a captain of the Assassin class meant he was definitely a big shot, someone many players worshipped. Ordinary players would surely beg to get on his good side and offer the 5 Copper—as for paying it back, that was certainly out of the question.

"5 Copper?" Shi Feng thought for a moment and replied, "I can lend you 5 Copper, but you pay back 50 tomorrow."

Cixin was instantly stunned; this was not what he had expected. He was the Assassin Captain of the Assassin Alliance, the famous Cixin! Shouldn't the other party be showing some respect? Was Shi Feng a gaming newbie?

Seeing Cixin remain silent, Shi Feng asked again, "Are you still borrowing?"

"Borrowing." Cixin almost wanted to cry. Other players would call him a big shot upon seeing him, but Shi Feng had no reaction. However, thinking of the generous rewards, 50 Copper was worth it.

"Here is 5 Copper. Let's add each other as friends; don't forget to pay me back 50 tomorrow." Shi Feng traded 5 Copper from the 60 he had made selling the necklace to Cixin, not forgetting to remind him to pay back 50.

After receiving the 5 Copper, Cixin was teary-eyed as he said, "Fine, I won't forget."

Shi Feng didn't know what Cixin was thinking. After the trade, he walked toward the green-skinned Goblin administrator.

"Sir, time is money. What do you want?" the Goblin administrator said haughtily.

"I want to participate in the Bronze Prize Challenge," Shi Feng said, handing over 5 coppers.

The goblin manager weighed the coins, nodded in satisfaction, and opened the wooden door to the challenge arena, letting Shi Feng inside.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we have a new challenger who wishes to take on the challenge. Please welcome this brave swordsman!" the goblin announced loudly.

"Brother Cixin, that kid who was borrowing money is also participating in the challenge," the male priest remarked, offering a reminder.

Cixin, who was still resting, smiled and said, "That kid is nothing but a rookie. Does he think the challenge is that easy? Although it's only 30 yards long, the goblins' attack patterns change after 15 yards, and their attack frequency increases significantly. Even I find it difficult to handle, let alone him."

"That goes without saying. Even someone as skilled as Brother Cixin only made it to 20 yards; I reckon that kid will be finished after 5 yards at most," the male priest nodded with a laugh.

Inside the challenge arena, the three goblins at the finish line were already prepared, aiming their muskets at Shi Feng on the starting line.

The countdown on the arena began to flash.

3...

2...

1...

The challenge begins!