Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Hurricane Controller (Energy Converter)

Grade: Rare

Attack: 662

Intelligence 25

MP 300

Effective Attack Range 50 m

Increases Wind Energy Damage by 12%

Bonus Effects: Increases Wind skill casting distance by 20%

Level Requirement: 50

Overall Evaluation: Excellent

Inside the equipment appraisal office in Silvermoon City, Feng Luo looked at the attributes that appeared on the staff the appraiser handed over, his eyes showing unanticipated delight.

This was a staff dropped by the rebel army commander. Although it wasn’t out of the question that it would be a piece of Rare-grade equipment, by Feng Luo’s estimates, the probability was higher that it would be an Excellent grade. However, he did not expect that the attributes after the appraisal would not only be a piece of Rare-grade equipment, but it was a staff that had extremely valuable Rare attributes.

Increases Wind skills casting distance by 20 percent!

It was worth noting that the biggest advantage of Wind Manipulators was that their casting distance was several hundred meters farther than the other three energy manipulators. An attack casting distance of around 400 meters made it so that they were really something in hit-and-run tactics. And the Rare attribute of this staff actually increased the casting distance of Wind skills by 20 percent. Moreover, among its basic attributes, there was actually a bonus of increasing attack distance by 50 meters!

Just what did this mean? It meant that Wind Manipulators who equipped this staff would have an attack distance of around 550 meters. This distance rivaled the attack range of Machine Gunners. It was close to two times the attack range of other Manipulators. It even exceeded the casting range of Earth Manipulators by a factor of two. (The Earth Manipulator’s attack distance was the lowest in War, at only 250 meters.)

The value of Rare-grade equipment was best reflected by its Rare attribute. Without a doubt, based on this Rare attribute alone, this staff named the “Hurricane Controller’s” price had far exceeded Feng Luo’s previous estimation of a few hundreds of thousands of credits.

In addition, although the level requirement of Level 50 was a bit high, based on the current leveling progress of the players, someone in War would likely be able to reach the maximum level in, at most, about 20 days. So, there were definitely players on the lookout for Level-50 equipment. Plus, by wielding a piece of Rare-grade equipment with such strong attributes, the owner would never have to worry about being unable to sell the item for a high price in War.

However, Feng Luo put the staff in his backpack after he learned its attributes. Right now, he was more concerned about the silver chip dropped by the Boss Beetle. Just what kind of item would a Level-45 Boss drop?

“Hmm, this chip?” said the appraiser.

He was a middle-aged man wearing square, high-tech appraisal spectacles. Rows upon rows of data flashed by the display screen, emanating blue lights. The man had an Advanced-Level Appraiser badge equipped on his chest. After fumbling about with the chip about for a while, he raised his head to look at Feng Luo.

“Excuse me, sir,” he said. “I can’t appraise this chip of yours. However, I can transmit the information and data from your chip onto the internal optical computer of the Appraisers Guild and ask for the help of the knowledgeable Appraisal Masters. I’m wondering if you would agree to me doing this?”

The words made the expectant Feng Luo’s spirits drop. It was an irritating feeling—like holding in a sneeze.

“Huh?” said Feng Luo. “Then… Then you should hurry up and upload it!”

He had no other recourse. Equipment appraisal in War was unlike other games, where appraisers simply needed to cast “Appraise,” and, after a flash of light, the appraisal would be complete. Item appraisal in War was done by either NPCs or player appraisers based on their knowledge, as well as comparisons between the data obtained through technology like the appraisal spectacles worn by this NPC and the database of the Appraisers Guild to help clarify the attributes of the item. It was kind of like appraising artifacts and cultural relics in reality!

However, due to the fact that there was a limit to the knowledge base and the level of expertise, not every Appraiser was 100 percent guaranteed to be able to appraise every item. In fact, an Advanced-Level Appraiser’s success rate of appraising items was only around 85 percent. And when faced with a situation in which they failed to appraise an item, the Appraiser would inquire whether the player would be willing to enter the information of the item into the computer terminal before uploading the data onto the internal network of the Appraisers Guild to allow some more knowledgeable Master Appraisers help identify the item.

Of course, Feng Luo felt that this was something the game company had intentionally set up to help them cheat players for more money. Items that normal Appraisers failed to identify would need the service of higher-level Appraisers, which meant that players would need to pay for more expensive appraisal fees. The catch was—even though he knew he was being cheated—when faced with this sort of situation, he could only bite his tongue and accept his fate.

The middle-aged appraiser finally raised his head after around five minutes and spoke to Feng Luo after he readjusted the spectacles on the bridge of his nose.

“There, got it,” he said. “Storm City’s Master Roland replied saying that he can identify this type of chip. However, sir, you will need to bring the chip to his appraisal office personally!”

“Storm City, huh?” said Feng Luo. “Good thing it isn’t too far.”

He let out a sigh of relief. At least he was not like some players who had to take an airship and travel across half the Federation just to appraise an item. Storm City—a city whose name overlapped with the city name of another game from Feng Luo’s memory—was a giant metropolis several times larger than Silvermoon City. It was one of the top ten largest cities of the Federation. The number of players alone exceeded 15 million. Adding in the NPCs who lived inside the city, the total population of Storm City exceeded 50 million. Additionally, it was also the direct superior city of Silvermoon City. In terms of administration, it had jurisdiction over the management of Silvermoon City.

Taking an aircraft from Silvermoon City to Storm City would take about an hour. It wasn’t all that far, but it was just a bit of a waste of time. In War, riding on transports required the player to physically stay inside the vehicle throughout the trip. It was not like other games where players only needed to go through cut-scene videos of getting on and off an aircraft. Fortunately, players could choose to idle when riding on transports. Then they could switch to the forums to chat or watch movies, and when they reached their destination, the system would wake them or notify them. So the process wasn’t too boring.

However, Feng Luo still wasn’t ready to go to Storm City. He wanted to head to the Exchange first and sell the staff dropped by the rebel army commander. After that, he would use the earned credits to go on a shopping spree and look for the materials needed to manufacture the Eye of the Thunder.

The materials needed to manufacture a Rare-grade sniper rifle were certainly not cheap. They would probably cost, at the very least, several hundred thousand credits. And with the probability of failure, he needed to prepare at least 400,000 to 500,000 credits. Finally, he still needed to search for Level-40 skills chip, such as “Maximum Shooting,” suitable for Snipers at the Exchange.

******

The Exchange was perhaps one of the busiest places in Silvermoon City and had been so since the server was launched. That was because players could buy all kinds of equipment, materials, and mission items, as well as sell the equipment and supplies they obtained here. The daily flow of people in the area was several times greater than the Mission Hall or the airport.

“What? Rare-grade equipment requires a 5 percent exchange administration fee?”

Feng Luo frowned as he heard the words of the beautiful female NPC attendant. He was just about to turn the Hurricane Controller over, after already handing over the “Silver Will” alloy longsword dropped by the silver-armored warrior and the Fine-grade boots.

This wasn’t the first time he had auctioned off items at the Exchange, but he had never auctioned off a piece of Rare-grade equipment before. Only now was he informed that the game company charged such a high administration fee for trades involving Rare-grade equipment.

If it were a piece of normal equipment, an administration fee at this rate would have been nothing. The key, however, was that Feng Luo estimated, based on the attributes of the Hurricane Controller alone, that its final price would not be less than 700,000 to 800,000 credits. It might have been even higher. So that 5 percent administration charge was just too expensive.

The administration fee alone would be enough to purchase a piece of Fine-grade equipment with normal attributes! Feng Luo thought after doing some calculations in his mind.

The problem was, if he did not use the Exchange, his only other option was to take it to auctions held by players.

Compared to the Exchange, player auctions attracted higher-end players. They also marketed the products in advance, so, in most cases, equipment could be sold at higher prices. The catch was that the administration fees of player auctions weren’t cheap either. Some normal large-scale auctions would charge administration fees even higher than 5 percent.

Not only that, but if he were to sell the item at an auction, then the process would take longer. He might have to wait anywhere from ten days to half a month before receiving his money, and, at the moment, he urgently needed the money from selling the staff to purchase materials for the Eye of the Thunder, as well as a Level-40 skill chip.

Moreover, although Dan Hen had said that he did not contribute much to acquiring the staff, Feng Luo had no intention of keeping it all for himself. He was prepared to mail a piece of suitable equipment to Dan Hen after selling the staff. So the staff needed to be sold as soon as possible.

Just as Feng Luo was hesitating, a Businessman life profession player wearing a suit suddenly smiled and asked him. “Sir, do you have a piece of Rare equipment for sale?”