Chapter 18: Chapter 18

[You have slain Arek, Vanguard of the Fallen Legion]

[You earned 91244 EXP]

Those lines of text popped up in Jiang Qiao’s notifications. All the players who had joined him in the hunt received the same EXP rewards too.

However, the players had not come to kill the Boss solely for EXP, but for items!

The Orange or Red kind!

As the players were left doubtful since Arek did not immediately drop any items after he died, a rainbow rain of red and orange suddenly descended from the skies, including one particular golden radiance that blinded every player’s eyes.

“Looks… orange?”

“There… are drops? But so many?”

The players eventually saw that the sudden rainbow rain was not releasing droplets, but more than three hundred legendary-grade and unique-grade items.

Jiang Qiao was staring at the golden flash in the sky too. He could swear he had never seen so many epic-grade items dropping all at once.

It was a pity that he had arranged for the golden rain himself.

In the skies, Ocean Blue was in hidden form, and had opened the [Indestructible Bag] and showered gifts upon every gamer—just like Santa Claus.

Indeed, every player who had joined the battle would receive epic or unique-grade items, or even one of the mount’s reins.

Like falling stars, the items streaked through the skies and dropped into every player’s hand.

As Jiang Qiao and Ocean Blue communicated through their minds in the hour where he was busy trying to kill the Boss, Ocean Blue was busy picking the best item reward for the players of different classes.

Chance was involved in the item-drop reward, with each player able to receive one amongst three selections: epic-grade item, unique-grade item, or mount reins.

“I got an epic-grade drop!”

Behind Jiang Qiao and before he could even see what items he had obtained, the shielder who had been smashed into a bucket by Arek was happily cheering while lifting a shield shining in gold.

He looked just like a wrestler raising his champion belt in the arena.

After all, basking in the golden light of that shield after spending an entire hour hammered around by the Boss’s various gimmicks was worth it.

“No need to get excited, Shortedge. I got an epic-grade item too!” The shielder’s party mate reminded him that he wasn’t the only one who got unique-grade item as a reward.

“Level 25 epic-grade item is going to be useless soon enough… the unique-items with no level limits is where the money’s at.”

On the other hand, there were also other players who clearly had better understanding of the game: Level 25 was merely a novice level that passed in the blink of an eye.

When observed from the gameplay rhythm of the Sacred Souls, items of Level 25 would at best be replaced by Level 35.

In comparison, unique-grade items that could be used over a player’s entire career had a lower drop rate.

The Shielder looked at the other players around him then, all of whom had received epic-grade drops or mount reins. In comparison, there were just around thirty who managed to obtain unique items.

Zhao Mingwei was one of them, and he was holding a sphere of red radiance.

He had indeed received the Memory of the Light Elves, and there was an irrepressible smile on his face.

Jiang Qiao himself received an epic-grade Summoner-class staff too, which attributes were acceptable for his current phase.

Nonetheless, the players did no soak in their delight for too long—the roars of orcs from nearby reminded them that the dungeon event was far from over.

“Ocean Blue, assign every healer-class player a mission.”

Jiang Qiao connected his consciousness to Ocean Blue after equipping his epic-grade staff, the [Fire Elves’ Prayer]. “Rescue all injured NPC within the abyssal rift zone, and the reward of rescuing ten persons is the reins of a mini griffin.”

Ocean Blue had now essentially evolved into Jiang Qiao’s wage slave, but she had no complaints.

After all, she had seen for herself from the skies the locust-like efficiency the gamers showed in killing monsters.

As such, she had to fly around, occasionally throwing down some blue or white items to make up the numbers.

There was no doubt that the players had won in this occasion’s Abyssal Hunt, and now, both Jiang Qiao and Ocean Blue needed to tidy loose ends.

***

Meanwhile, FreeMilk received an epic-grade robe [Sacred Radiance], which increases her healing effectiveness by 5 percent.

“Damn it, why can’t it be Grognar’s Coin Box?!” She flung the epic-grade item on the ground in slight irritation.

After all, the unique-grade item [Grognar’s Coin Box] was the reason she had joined the Abyssal Hunt, which increases the rate of coins acquired from monsters, elites and overlords.

In fact, other unique items would be acceptable even if she could not get the Coin Box since those items could be traded, whereas epic-grade items were tied to their owners. The only thing that unique items lacked were the addition of combat attributes, but their effects would be useful even when the player reaches level 100.

From FreeMilk’s perspective, unique items would soon make a lot of money in Sacred Souls!

But even as she pondered how she should swindle the other players in the abyssal rift, a quest notice popped up.

[Limited Quest]

[Rescue: Heal ten injured targets to receive a mini-griffin rein. Each subsequent injured target healed would be rewarded with 5 silver. Positions of injured targets have been marked.]

Mini griffin? A mount?

Right! The mounts in the game can be traded too!

FreeMilk quickly dashed towards the marked locations of the injured which was actually behind the perimeters set up by the military.

She downed a bottle of cloaking potion and slipped inside, only to find that she had not left the map of the Abyssal Hunt, although it was quite close to its edge.

Could this be reality?

After a moment of pause, she hurried to one of the injured. The person was dressed in modern fashion, and despite Sacred Souls having various scientific-classes, FreeMilk was not so foolish that she would consider him a game NPC.

At the moment, that injured person’s leg appeared to have been crushed by debris, but the ambulances and medics were busy somewhere else, leaving him to wait in pain for their arrival.

FreeMilk promptly cast a quick heal gingerly, because she wasn’t sure that the game’s spell would work for a character in reality.

Nonetheless, it was effective—FreeMilk’s eyes sparkled when she saw that the injured man’s leg wound closed itself rapidly!

“Who… who are you?” The injured man was positive that FreeMilk wasn’t a doctor when he saw her bizarre clothing.

“I’m a nurse!” Free Milk replied.

“…”

Even before the injured man could marvel at his recovery, FreeMilk had extended her hand at him.

“One healing, five silver. Thank you very much!” She added.

“Sil-silver?”

The injured man was left dumbfounded again; he never even heard of such currency.

“Oh, silly me… let me think…” FreeMilk slapped herself in the head before extending her hand again. “Three hundred dollars per heal! Non-negotiable!”

“Thr-three hundred?! That’s too expensive!” The injured man was no millionaire after all.

“Not paying? Well, guess I could break your bones again!”

The cross in FreeMilk’s hand suddenly turned large enough to smash a human into the ground without hope of pulling them out of it.

“Three hundred it is! Take it and go!” The injured man was immediately spooked by the cross that was no different from a hammer, quickly forking out three hundred dollars from his wallet and handed it to FreeMilk with both hands.

Be that as it may, his injury would have cost at least ten or twenty thousand dollars in medical fees, and still holds the possibility of residual effects. On the other hand, FreeMilk’s swift healing immediately restored him to full health, even granting him great vitality.

Still, when Free Milk tried to take the three hundred dollars, her hand passed through the money as if she were a ghost. However, she did not give up and tried another five to six times—eventually catching it on the seventh time!

Then, she happily ran towards another injured person.

On the way, she cursed that she didn’t allocate skill points to Agility, but thanks to the quest markers, she managed to complete the healing quest in less than ten minutes, earning three thousand dollars and fifty silvers in the process.

The easy earnings naturally motivated her to work harder, although there were no longer any markers of injured persons in the abyssal rift after she healed her thirty-second victim.

However, FreeMilk stared at the ninety-six hundred dollars in her hand, and suddenly looked up towards the direction of the first River Town hospital.

Could it be possible?

She strode out of the edge of the abyssal rift then, but everything immediately turned gray-white, and her one leg that went beyond the circle of the Abyssal Rift instantly vanished.

A window popped up in front of her eyes as well.

[You are about to leave the dungeon. Do you want to log out?]

Fine… so it was impossible.

FreeMilk quickly retreated,

[The Abyssal Hunt is ending in ten seconds. All players please be prepared to leave the dungeon.]

‘It’s the end already? Oh my god! What about my nine grand?!’

FreeMilk quickly attempted to stuff the stack of notes into the Sacred Radiance, her newly equipped robes… but it was meaningless, because it did not have a single pocket!

‘What use are you!’

FreeMilk then saw that there was just four seconds left before the log off.

Still, suddenly inspired amidst the emergency, she opened her backpack and shoved all the notes into it as if it was a vending machine.

Fortunately, the backpack really took in the notes.

“Phew…”

Then, after staring at the ninety-six hundred dollars in cash and then casting a longing look at the first hospital, she left the Abyssal Rift.