Chapter 198 - Trial of God

Shi Feng had only sold 10 stacks of Hard Stones. When compared to the demand of the entire White River City region, it was a drop in the ocean.

Seeing such burning demand, Shi Feng placed another 10 stacks of Hard Stones up for auction.

This time, he changed the minimum price to 12 Silver Coins and the buyout price at 15 Silver Coins. By doing so, he tried to find out the highest price Hard Stones could currently sell for and the bottom line of these desperate players.

As expected, nobody paid the buyout price immediately this time. Instead, they bid over the Hard Stones. However, the numbers rose very slowly, and there was only a small increase of several Coppers with each consecutive bid.

One minute later...

The price of the 10 stacks of Hard Stones finally displayed a significant increase. The bidding had gone from 12 Silver Coins to 13 Silver Coins, and it continued to rise to 13 Silver, 30 Coppers before finally stopping. Obviously, this was the final price these desperate players were willing to fork out.

“Their bottom line should be around 13 Silver Coins, huh? Still, this has surpassed my expectations. In the future, I can simply sit tight and wait for the money to roll in,” Shi Feng also felt that 13 Silver Coins was the limit for Hard Stones. If the prices further increased, then aside from Guilds, average players could not endure such an expense.

Moreover, Shi Feng had only paid around 30 Coppers for each stack of Hard Stones when he purchased them in bulk. Now, he sold them for 13 Silver Coins per stack; their value had increased over 30 folds. One could not be too greedy. Shi Feng was currently satisfied with the results.

Shi Feng then continued removing Hard Stones from his bag, setting them up for auction; he sold 20 stacks per batch, and each batch would be available every ten minutes or so. Considering the consumption rate and finances of the players in the White River City region, 1,600 to 1,700 stacks should sell each day.

If Shi Feng sold a thousand stacks per day, not only could the entire White River City region fully deplete his stock, it also would not cause any adverse effects on the price of Hard Stones.

If Shi Feng could sell 1,000 stacks each day, he could earn over 100 Gold every day by selling the Hard Stones at 13 Silvers per stack. Moreover, these were genuine Gold Coins and not Credits. Such a daily income was more than ten times higher than the daily income of first-rate Guilds. With such funds in his hands, Shi Feng would not have to worry about financial issues when he developed his Guild in the future.

With the sales system all set and done, Shi Feng’s finger tapped and slid, calling out the half-transparent communication interface. His finger then moved and tapped on his good friend Blackie’s call button.

“Blackie, are you guys done with the Reputation Quests? If you are, then gather in front of the teleportation gate. We’ll go Dungeon diving together,” Shi Feng asked.

“We’re already done with our quests. However, it seems that we’ve been trapped inside a sealed map. We need to go through a trial if we wish to leave,” Blackie grew excited when he heard about Dungeon diving, and he wished he could immediately go to display his prowess. Ever since he obtained Mavis’ Guard, he had started browsing the internet and watching videos of experts displaying their skills. He had also frequently sparred with his team members, and his techniques had greatly improved. He would definitely shock Shi Feng with his new techniques. Unfortunate, he couldn’t do any of that right now.

“A sealed map?”

Shi Feng’s eyebrows wrinkled, his mind entering a deep thought. He did not know how Blackie and the others managed to enter a sealed map. Logically, the quests he sent them on had no such locations.

However, after recalling Blackie’s description of the place, he suddenly understood the situation Blackie and the others were in.

He could not help but admit that their luck was truly impressive.

There were various miraculous opportunities available in God’s Domain, and players most frequently discovered the Trial of God. Players also called it the Trial of Heroes, and it was a test given by Gods for mortals to become heroes. As long as it was a Level 10 map or above, there was a chance for this trial to appear. Players would occasionally encounter this trial out in the fields, questing or grinding. However, less than one out of ten thousand players would have a chance of meeting this trial.

Blackie and the others were definitely lucky for encountering this trial.

Every Trial of Heroes was a heaven-sent opportunity. As long as players could clear it, they would receive a bountiful reward. In this trial, equipment and EXP were considered the lowest form of reward. If players could perform exceedingly well in the Trial of Heroes, they could receive permanent Attribute increases, super-rare or improved skills, an abundant amount of Weapon Mastery, and many more super-rare rewards.

Weapons and equipment could only be used for a period of time; they were like foreign objects. They were not truly part of one’s strength. However, it would be a different story if players could receive things like permanent Attribute increases and super-rare skills. The value of such things far surpassed that of weapons and equipment, and they would be of immense help towards one’s future development.

“How many colors were on the trial door that you guys entered?” Shi Feng asked.

Shi Feng’s question confused Blackie. However, since Shi Feng had asked, Blackie tried to recall the number of different colors on the large double doors they had entered. He then said unconfidently, “I think there were four colors.”

“Four?! Are you guys trying to get yourselves killed?!” Shi Feng immediately wanted to scold Blackie.

The Trial of God did not only possess rewards, but it would also mete out punishments. The punishments and rewards given were also equal.

In God’s Domain, with opportunity came danger. There was no such thing as a free lunch in God’s Domain, and even if there were, it might very well poison you to death.

The Trial of Heroes was normally categorized into seven tiers. If there were only one color on the teleportation gate, then the trial would be Tier 1; it was also the easiest trial to clear. Along with the increase in number of colors, the difficulty would increase exponentially.

If there were four colors on the Door of Trials, then it would be a Tier 4 trial. Its difficulty would be around eight times or above that of a Tier 1 trial. If Blackie and the others could clear it, the minimum rewards they could obtain would be Fine-Gold rank or above weapons and equipment. Normally, it would be a Dark-Gold ranked item. If they could finish the trial with a sufficiently high completion rate, there was a possibility they could receive permanent Attribute increases or have one of their skills upgraded to a stronger version.

However...

The punishment for a Tier 4 trial was no joking matter. If Blackie and the others failed to complete the trial, the lightest punishment they might receive was a massive loss in EXP; they could very well lose several levels. Blackie and the others might even lose a portion of their Attributes or skill mastery permanently, possibly entering a weakened state for a long period of time.

Such severe punishments were also one of the reasons why most players would avoid entering the Door of Trials after finding one. They would instead choose to sell the information to a large Guild, making a huge profit.

“Brother Feng, are we in a very dangerous situation?” hearing Shi Feng’s panic, Blackie could not help but swallow nervously, his heartbeat increasing in pace.

Meanwhile, Fire Dance and the others who stood beside Blackie also became extraordinarily serious after hearing Shi Feng’s words. They no longer dared belittle this trial.

“I can only give you guys advice. Act within your capabilities. Do not attempt meritorious deeds; only try to leave in one piece. Don’t forget to pass on my advice to everyone in the team. However, Blackie, since you have Mavis’ Guard, logically, you guys should have a very high possibility of clearing the trial. However, remember not to rush things. Even if you have to waste a lot of time, you must never hurry. The rest will depend on your battle techniques, intelligence, and wisdom,” Shi Feng then continued to pass on all his knowledge about the trials onto Blackie. As for whether or not they could clear the trial, it would depend solely on Blackie and the others.

The tests of the Trial of Heroes had never repeated, so there were no known strategies to conquering one.

However, in Shi Feng’s previous life, after collecting the knowledge and wisdom of many predecessors, he managed to form a strategy that was not an actual strategy, which was to act within one’s own capabilities and plan before taking action. One must not rush when carrying out the Trial of Heroes. Other than that, there was no true strategy for conquering the Trial of Heroes.

With Fire Dance, Cola, and Blackie’s Mavi’s Guard, they should be able to clear a four-colored trial. However, they should not be able to leave the trial in a short time... Shi Feng felt a headache building. He originally intended to upgrade their equipment by raiding a Dungeon. However, that plan had gone down the drain now. He did not even know if Blackie and the others could manage to leave the trial within a week.

The Trial of Heroes was never simple, and it was an extremely time-consuming trial. In Shi Feng’s previous life, it wasn’t unusual if players spent more than a month clearing a trial.

In the past, a top-tier expert had once made a fair evaluation of the trials. A five-colored trial had the difficulty rivaling an Epic Quest. A six-colored trial had the difficulty rivaling a Legendary Quest. As for a seven-colored trial, it had the difficulty rivaling a top-tier Legendary Quest.

In Shi Feng’s previous life, even after God’s Domain had been in operation for over a decade, there had yet to be a player that could clear a seven-colored trial. Of course, part of the reason was that no true apex expert had encountered a seven-colored trial.

In the past, the highest tiered trial cleared was a six-colored trial. Meanwhile, one of the conquerors of a six-colored trial was the Cleric God, Violet Cloud, one of the publicly acknowledged top ten Cleric Gods in God’s Domain.

Thinking that Violet Cloud was currently with Blackie and the others, Shi Feng hesitantly released a sigh of relief. Although Violet Cloud had yet to grow into her prime, her potential could not be ignored. For a four-colored trial, Blackie and the others should... might... possibly... be able to clear it.

“Forget it. No point worrying about it too much. It seems that I can only upgrade my own equipment for now,” Shi Feng sighed. Habitually, he opened up the Auction House interface, searching for items under the Miscellaneous section.

The Miscellaneous section of the Auction House was just like TaoBao[1]. Oftentimes, players would auction some good things without realizing their actual value or things that they felt were not valuable at all. Hence, Shi Feng often browsed through this section, hoping to find a lucky catch.

Just as Shi Feng casually flipped through the pages...

“Flaming Sun Scripture.”

Shi Feng incidentally discovered a flame-red book displayed on the item interface of the Auction House. Shi Feng’s expression trembled at the sight of this book, and he could not help but wish he could immediately snatch this book into his hands.

Someone dared to sell even this item? This is simply ludicrous.

Shi Feng’s sight then shifted towards the price tag displayed on the upper-left corner the ancient book.

TL Notes:

[1] TaoBao: Taobao is a Chinese online shopping website similar to eBay, Amazon and Rakuten, which is operated in Hangzhou, Zhejiang by Alibaba Group.