How to upgrade the ring

"Alright. Good job everyone! Let's wrap up," announced Cai Wenji as he stabbed his dagger into the last scorpion.

Li Wei spent the rest of the day hunting scorpions with the party. They were slowly getting the hang of it and were able to collect large amounts of exp and loot. Even Li Wei already had more than 8000 exp. That speed was slightly above his own when he was alone. If it was not for his high fatigue level, he would gladly continue hunting; he already had (-1) next to his dexterity, vitality, and strength. After all, he had to spend more energy to defeat stronger monsters.

"Shall we go to the Colosseum? Wang Chong said that they would continue the duels there," excitedly asked The One Hero. After winning his last duel, he was really pumped up and gave his all when fighting the scorpions.

"We can go and have a look," nodded Cai Wenji. This sort of competition was not uncommon for him. Whenever the young generation of the hidden families would gather for an event, they would usually end up comparing themselves in duels.

"Yeah, it will not be bad to test our strength," commented Titan on the side.

Li Wei silently waited for everyone's answer. It looked like they were all looking forward to the duels. He was also interested in them, but his fatigue level was quite high already and he wanted to visit a grade 2 Blacksmith to learn how to upgrade his ring.

"You guys can go! Beibei is waiting for me. I promised her to go to the market with her. I am just a priest anyway; the Colosseum isn't a place for me," announced Bright Sun as Li Wei was still deep in thoughts.

"What about you Seven? Are you coming with us?"

"I would like to, but I also have something to do. Maybe I can come a bit later?" answered Li Wei.

"Oh, come on! It would be fun you know. Everyone is not as strong as me. Uou can easily stomp those guys," commented The One Hero as he patted Li Wei's shoulder.

The latter simply rolled his eyes. After just one day, he was already used to the way The One Hero spoke.

"Ok, I will update everyone's contribution points when I get back to the inn. Those who want to go to the Colosseum, follow me," said Cai Wenji, as he led the group towards the exit.

Almost everyone followed him, except for Li Wei, Bright Sun, and the mage.

"Where are you going, Seven?" curiously asked Bright Sun. As far as she was aware, Li Wei should not have anything important like a quest to do.

Li Wei hesitated, he thought of his ring and how it was a unique item and his only upgradeable one. Should he keep it a secret? It was, after all, one of his trump cards.

"Just going to the shops, I would like to see if there's any good equipment. I have some gold to spend. It would be good if I could buy from the sect, but the sect's blacksmiths still need some training to reach grade 1," answered Li Wei.

"Alright, let's walk together then. I am also going to the main street. Beibei is waiting for me there."

Li Wei silently nodded and followed Bright Sun. The mage left as soon as they reached the entrance. A group of players was waiting there and warmly welcomed her when she arrived.

"So? What do you think of our team? Not too bad, eh?" asked Bright Sun as she led the way towards the city.

"It is much better than I thought. I never expected you to be part of such a guild when you first invited me at Little Root Town."

Bright Sun chuckled upon hearing that answer, "Would you have preferred if I behave like Skywalker and attract everyone's attention?"

Li Wei recalled how the three guilds invited him at the same time. Skywalker, a member of Exodia, was the most arrogant one of the three. In addition, he did not have a good opinion of the guild, to begin with when they tried to find who killed the Wolf Queen.

"I just hope that you will enjoy your stay at the guild and contribute to its growth," continued Bright Sun. "Ah and Beibei told me that she transferred some contribution points to you since you helped in securing the loot yesterday. Don't be surprised when you see your points."

"Convey my thanks then," answered Li Wei. He was not feeling very comfortable with Bright Sun. Although she was very friendly, it was like talking to his boss while he was just a simple employee.

But fortunately, Bright Sun seemed to immediately understand the situation.

"You don't have to be so formal. It's only been a day, but we are part of the same team now. Treat me like a casual party member. Tell me, where are you from?" asked Bright Sun as she giggled.

Li Wei was speechless at first, but as he saw Bright Sun curiously looking at him. He could only start speaking about him, how he was an orphan that lived in Beijing that liked to play online games.

And just like that, the two reached the city. They quickly paid the entrance fee and went towards the Trade District.

As they entered the district, Li Wei immediately noticed Sun Rose leaning against a wall. She was clearly not in a good mood; two young men were accompanying her. Li Wei immediately recognized one of them; he was the one who nodded to Wang Hao while he was challenging The One Hero.

As soon as Sun Rose noticed Bright Sun approaching, her expression suddenly brightened, and she immediately left the two men behind her to greet her friend.

As for Li Wei, as soon as he saw that, he said goodbye to Bright Sun and left the place. He could tell that the young men were not very happy about the situation and he did not want to be part of it.

"Sister Cai Die. You are late. Why were you walking so slowly? These two are pestering me again," murmured Sun Rose as she got near Bright Sun.

"I was just talking to Seven. He wanted to go buy some stuff. I could only adjust my walking pace, but I am here now, let's go!" declared Bright Sun while smiling.

The two young men followed closely behind Sun Rose. "Hello, Cai Die. You are finally here. We were keeping company to Liu Beibei."

"Thank you, Li Mu. If there's nothing else, Beibei and I will take our leave," calmly answered Bright Sun as she grabbed Sun Rose's hand and proceeded to leave. But she was immediately stopped by the other man.

"Was the man that was walking with your family's new recruit? Seven? Is it true that he cleared the 14th floor of the Tower of Heroes?" asked the man. His name was Li Feng, he crossed his arms and coldly looked at Bright Sun, waiting for an answer.

"His in game name is Seven. As for the Tower of Heroes, that is none of your business," answered Bright Sun, not bothering about him.

Li Feng's expression immediately darkened; "You... I am already lowering myself to talk to someone from a branch family if you were not Liu Beibei's friend, I..."

"You what? Say it!" taunted Bright Sun as she turned to look at Li Feng. Sun Rose next to her also glared at him. She was clearly displeased at the way he was talking to her friend. There was already some tension between their families. The only reason Li Feng was there, was to get closer to Liu Beibei. He was interested in her, not only for her beauty but also because she was the heir of the Liu family.

As for Li Feng, seeing Sun Rose's expression, he did not dare continue and could only internally grumble as he looked at the disappearing silhouettes of the girls.

...

As soon as Li Wei left, he went to an adjacent street and wandered around until he found a shop with the Blacksmith Insignia. The district was definitely more prosperous than Little Root Town. Shops were everywhere, and it did not take long for Li Wei to find what he was searching for.

The shop was well furnished, and it did not only display the blacksmith's insignia but also several others. He immediately pushed open the door and went in. The shop was a much higher standard than Carlos'. It was even better looking than the ones on the main street of Little Root Town.

'Looks like the high street shop.'

"Greetings customer. May I help you?" asked a young receptionist as soon as she noticed Li Wei.

"Hello. I would like to talk to a Blacksmith. Is it possible?" asked Li Wei. As soon as he saw the receptionist. He immediately put aside the idea that she was a blacksmith due to her physique.

"Is it for a custom order? In that case, please give me a minute. I will call a master," said the receptionist as she indicated a sofa where Li Wei could sit.

The latter nodded and silently waited. There were many customers around. Most of them were examining the weapons that were displayed or bargaining with the sales girls. Li Wei noticed that there was a much larger variety there and it was not limited to metallic equipment; leather armors and rings were also displayed.

One minute later, the receptionist came back and guided Li Wei to a private room. A muscular man was standing in there, he was still flushed red from the heat of the workshop and was wiping his hands with a towel.

Li Wei quickly entered the room and greeted the blacksmith while the receptionist quietly closed the door behind her as she left.

"Hello. May I ask what you want to order? " quickly asked the blacksmith with an expressionless face.

"Actually, I am not here to order any equipment, but more for asking for advice. I have an upgradeable ring and would like to know the conditions to upgrade it," said Li Wei.

The blacksmith immediately twitched upon hearing that Li Wei was not buying anything, but he quickly calmed himself as he heard the rest.

"Alright. Show me your ring. It will cost you one gold for the examination and I cannot guarantee to be able to give you an answer," declared the blacksmith as he waited for Li Wei.

'1 gold? Just for examining? Outrageous!' inwardly exclaimed Li Wei, but he could only take out the ring and 1 gold from his inventory. This was the only way he could think of to find the way to upgrade his ring.

The gold coin immediately disappeared in the Blacksmith's hands as he observed the ring.

"mmmm"

"mmmm"

After a few seconds of grumbling, the blacksmith finally placed back the ring on the table, "Give me a minute. I'll go grab someone."

'He is not running away with my gold, right?'

Not knowing what to do, Li Wei could only nod and wait. The blacksmith quickly came back accompanied by a thin looking man. The latter did not even greet Li Wei and simply grab the ring and started examining the ring.

"This is Master Chen, a grade 3 enchanter," respectfully presented the blacksmith.

Li Wei once again silently nodded and waited for Master Chen's verdict. He did not understand why an enchanter came there, but he did not mind as long as he obtained the quest to upgrade his ring.

Finally, Master Chen placed the ring back on the table and turned his attention towards Li Wei. "You have a very interesting ring, young man... Did you get it from the ruins?"

"No, it was given to me as a gift from someone," calmly answered Li Wei.

"Mmmm, the ring does not need to be physically upgraded right now. What it needs is an enchantment. This is why I was called here. We do have the necessary materials for that. It will cost you 150 gold," declared Master Chen as he looked at Li Wei, waiting for his answer.

"What? 150 gold?" exclaimed Li Wei. His mind went blank. He could not keep it inside, that was just too expensive. How many pieces of equipment could he buy with that much gold?

"Yes, the materials are quite expensive. Unless you want a lower quality enchantment..." started Master Chen.

"No no, can you give me the list of materials instead? I would like to see if I can gather them myself... 150 gold is way too expensive for me right now," exclaimed Li Wei with an embarrassed expression.

"I thought so. Then the formula will cost you 5 gold. I will warn you that you are not strong enough to collect them right now, but there are some that you can already gather."

Li Wei took a deep breath upon hearing the price. That was really expensive just for a formula, but it was still better than 150 gold. "Alright. 5 gold it is," said Li Wei. His heart was hurting, but there was nothing he could do.

"I knew you would choose that, but I will even tell you where you can find the materials... "

...

An hour later, Li Wei walked out of the shop and walked towards the Colosseum. His heart was bleeding, he already spent so much of his hard-earned gold. In addition to the formula, he also asked Master Chen to enchant his throwing needles. The latter refused at first since they were of very low quality, but in the end, money changed his mind.

Li Wei now had 10 throwing needles that would magically come back to his belt after throwing them, unless they were caught or under the effect of another spell.

Although he was displeased at having used so much money, he thought that it was not too bad since he now had a new quest added to his quest log:

[Upgrade the Ring of Chaos(II) "

Collect 40 Goblin Blood (0/40)

Collect 1 Moon Stone (0/1)

Collect 1 Rainbow Feather (1/1)

Collect 5 Shining Alyssums (0/5)

Collect 2 beast cores (from level 15 or above) (0/2)

Reward: Ring of Chaos (Grade 2)

All these materials were meant to be collected after he reached level 15, but fortunately, he already knew where to find them. Master Chen was generous enough to give him that information for free. The most expensive of the 5 materials was the Moon Stone, it was normally very rare and could only be found by chance but fortunately, there was another way to obtain it; through the Colosseum.

And Li Wei was coincidentally going there. Prizes were awarded according to the win streak players would achieve and one of the prizes was the Moon Stone. However, it was easier said than done, he needed a 20-win streak in order to obtain that prize.

"Sigh, that ring is so expensive! At least, I already have the Rainbow Feather… I was lucky to pick that one at the Tower of Heroes…"