Chapter 17

Once again, the clock struck 9 minutes and 59 seconds, marking the decisive moment. The price had surged to 85,000. As the final second ticked away, numerous last-minute bids flooded in, pushing the final transaction price to a staggering 120,000.

"Damn it! Even bidding 110,000 for a black iron weapon failed? I thought the final price would be around 100,000 and tried to outsmart it by adding an extra 10,000, but still failed," Huang Shao exclaimed in frustration. Lately, he felt as though nothing was going his way, always being outbid by just a little.

"Damn it, I swear if I find out who it is, I'll expose them," he gritted his teeth.

"Phew... Junlin, you were right. These people really don't value money. Early-game black iron equipment reaching 120,000, who knows what prices high-level gear will fetch in the future," Linzi sighed in relief.

"I can only say that Dust knows how to time things perfectly, and this equipment happens to be in high demand. We have a few big spenders in our newbie village, but they're relatively rare at this level. It won't be this outrageous once we reach the main city and more sellers flood the market," Junlin remarked.

"Yeah, it's both opportunity and tragedy to be born in the same newbie village as him," Haoran sighed.

The others nodded in agreement. With their skills, they could have easily dominated an ordinary newbie village, but here, they were merely supporting roles.

"According to official statistics, there are already over 200 million players in Huaxia playing this game, and the numbers are still rapidly growing. So, these high equipment prices are normal. It's also an opportunity for us. Maybe he diminishes our presence here, but because of him, many in our newbie village have early access to high-stat gear. I believe our overall strength in the newbie village should be among the top. When we reach the main city, our advantage will show," Junlin added.

"Mm," the others agreed.

Meanwhile, Uncle Liu handed the Fanged Greatsword to Su Muxue. "Miss, with this weapon, our monster grinding efficiency will increase significantly. Let's aim to level up to 10 early and secure a favorable position in the main city."

"Mm," Su Muxue sighed. "120,000... Dust has probably made hundreds of thousands from selling equipment just from yesterday till today."

"Yes, because he's ahead of everyone else, making money in this game is really easy for him. So, if we want to develop in the game, we have to stay ahead of the majority," Uncle Liu advised.

"Ding! Your item listed on the auction house has been sold for 120,000. After deducting fees of 18,000, 102,000 has been transferred to your linked bank account."

Wu Shaochen, who was busy grinding Silver Wolves, suddenly heard this notification. Though somewhat unexpected, he was starting to feel numb. "Selling a black iron weapon for 120,000... If I auction that skill book after we reach the main city, the game warehouse will definitely be stocked."

He sighed and continued grinding Silver Wolves. Checking his experience—2340 out of 8000—he calculated that at level 8, each Silver Wolf yielded 72 experience points. Including drawing aggro, it took roughly 3 minutes per wolf, meaning it would take about 4 hours to level up.

"This is quite slow," Wu Shaochen sighed inwardly. In reality, his monster grinding speed wasn't much faster than others. They teamed up, slashing monsters at a rate far surpassing his own solitary efforts. However, his advantage lay in tackling higher-level monsters solo, a feat impossible for group players. He had to carefully manage fights against foes his level, intermittently retreating to heal unless he stocked up on potions. When grouped, experience was divided evenly, making his leveling pace unmatched.

"I need to change my strategy," Wu Shaochen muttered. Currently healing 6 health points per second, he could regenerate 300 points in 50 seconds—enough to endure three Silver Wolves' attacks at once. "Wouldn't it be better to grind in groups?"

Acting on his thoughts, Wu Shaochen drew three monsters simultaneously. He struck one before realizing all three wolves were attacking him simultaneously. Panicking, he retreated hastily.

"Damn, miscalculated. I need to run! How did I forget they attack together? If each wolf hits me once, that's nine attacks—I'd be done for," Wu Shaochen slapped his forehead.

"Alright, sticking to the original plan unless I can separate them," he concluded.

Suddenly, one Silver Wolf activated a skill, Swift, swiftly distancing itself from the others and charging toward Wu Shaochen.

His eyes brightened. "This works for separating them!"

After grinding for two hours, he logged off to eat breakfast and resumed for another three and a half hours, finally reaching level 9. His health increased to 660, mana to 140, and he accumulated 28/10000 experience points, with other attributes unchanged. He had slain 79 Silver Wolves in total, obtaining two pieces of Silver Wolf equipment:

- **Silver Wolf Helmet**: HP +60, Defense +10

- **Silver Wolf Ring**: Attack +12, Armor Penetration +1%

Equipping the Silver Wolf Helmet increased his health to 680, replacing the Frog Helmet. He decided to auction both the Silver Wolf Ring and the replaced Frog Helmet on competitive bidding terms, uncertain of their exact market value.

In the end, the Silver Wolf Ring sold for 15,000, while the Frog Helmet, presumably no longer exclusive, fetched only 5,000 yuan. As expected, without exclusivity, items' values dropped rapidly as players' levels and equipment improved. Previously, Wild Boar equipment sold for up to 30,000, but now Silver Wolf gear could only fetch half that amount, 15,000.

Nonetheless, Wu Shaochen wasn't too disappointed. After all, these were second-hand items he had replaced. Selling them for money was better than selling them to NPCs for a few coppers.

With one more level, he could visit the village chief and head to the main city. According to the game's mechanics, the first job change should come with some rewards.

Post-level 9, each Silver Wolf yielded only 66 experience points. To accumulate 10,000 experience required defeating approximately 152 wolves. At an average rate of one every 2 minutes, it would take him five hours to level up—quite daunting.

"Oh well, just gotta grind slowly," Wu Shaochen sighed. Determined to excel, he continued luring monsters with his wooden sword. Just then, a loud wolf howl echoed from deep within the valley. In response, the previously lazy Silver Wolves in the valley suddenly organized themselves into a disciplined formation, ready for battle.

"Could that sound be a boss?" Wu Shaochen wondered to himself. "Let's go check it out."

He sprinted towards the depths of the valley at an incredible speed, dodging Silver Wolves along the way. If he couldn't dodge them, it didn't matter—they couldn't catch up to him anyway, with his swift movement speed of 50.