Chapter 9

"Is anyone here?"

With the experience from his previous life, Lin Han did not dare to barge into the dilapidated-looking shop. After clearing his throat, he asked in a low voice, his voice hoarse and clear in the cemetery's silence.

"Who is it?"

A similarly hoarse voice came from the darkness within the shop. Two eerie green lights appeared in the darkness, and as they drew closer, a figure draped in black emerged from the shadows. Above his head floated a line of green text—“Dean—Frostfire.”

Dean, this was the name of the NPC, and the title before it indicated his status. In the Eternal Kingdom, any NPC with a title was a super powerhouse, and this frail-looking lich was no exception. Despite his bent and seemingly frail appearance, even the Lin Han from his previous life would not have been able to last a minute against him.

"Lord Dean, I know you have a Level 2 Town Heart for the Cemetery Clan. I believe I have met your requirements, so I would like to purchase one."

Lin Han respectfully placed his right hand on his left chest, a gesture of respect among Black Knights. Upon seeing this, Dean's eyes glowed green for a moment before he turned and disappeared into the darkness.

When he reappeared, he was wearing the characteristic dark green and black robes of a lich. His withered arms were wrapped in silver and black chains, and the aura of death spread around him. Lin Han could clearly feel this presence, which was his true form. The frail body was just a facade to deceive the uninformed.

"I have been out of the world for many years, and I didn't expect anyone to find my whereabouts. Boy, I can see you are a small lord, very small, the kind I could crush with a single finger."

Dean floated in the air, speaking slowly. The name above his head had changed from green to light gold. Even if Lin Han had not seen it before, he found it incredible. In the Eternal Kingdom, the only ones who could have a light golden name were Legendary Heroes. This lich named Dean was a Legendary Hero.

"Um, is it really necessary to describe it like that?"

Lin Han was at a loss for words at Dean's description. Although he had such power, it was quite hurtful to say it so directly. However, Dean seemed to pay no attention to Lin Han's words and continued in his hoarse voice, "Since you claim to have met my requirements, go and clear at least 1000 units of skeletons and 1000 units of bones, and 200 units of zombies. Then I will acknowledge your qualification to purchase a Town Heart from me."

"Ding! You have accepted Dean's quest—Qualification for the Lich's Recognition."

"Qualification for the Lich's Recognition—C-Class Quest: Listen, boy, I don't know how you found out about my identity, but getting something from me is not that simple. Go and clear 1000 units of skeletons and bones, and 200 units of zombies. Only then will I acknowledge your qualification to purchase items from me. Remember, you only have one day. After that, you will have no chance. Quest Reward: Dean's Purchase Qualification."

"Hehe, finally got it!"

Lin Han was overjoyed at the quest. To purchase a Town Heart from Dean, he first had to complete this quest. It was said that this lich's quest had a limit, with only fifty players able to accept it. Only those who completed the quest would gain the right to purchase items from Dean.

Unfortunately, by the time Lin Han learned about this, the fifty slots had already been taken. Dean's shop offered more than just Town Hearts; there were many other treasures and even building blueprints. Of course, these required more than just one quest to gain purchase qualifications. To obtain these items, one had to raise their favor with Dean to the level of Adoration, a daunting task.

Completing this quest would grant Lin Han 30 points of favor, just the beginning of the favor quest. The relationship with Dean started at Indifferent, then Friendly, Friendly, Admiring, and Adoration. It took 1000 points of favor to go from Indifferent to Friendly, meaning he would need to complete this type of quest 30 times. The worst part was that the quests Dean issued were random. One might get a 30-point favor quest, the next a 10-point one, or even a few hundred points, all depending on luck.

After issuing the quest, Dean disappeared into the darkness again. Lin Han did not linger, as his goal was achieved. Dean would not speak to players much before they completed the quest. Instead of wasting time here, he decided to explore the NPC shops, where he might find rare treasures at low prices. However, such opportunities were rare. Before Lin Han arrived in Dragon City, the treasures had already been claimed, and any good items that occasionally appeared were quickly bought by lucky players or those who camped out.

But now, the entire Dragon City was empty. Lin Han was unsure if any other players had arrived, but he knew the longer he delayed, the fewer good items he would find.

"Come and see, adventurer, I have all kinds of good things here!"

Following the descriptions from his previous life, Lin Han quickly found the first shop. This shop, which specialized in treasures, often had good items at low prices, attracting many players.

Now, the shop was empty, with only two兽族NPCs, dressed in animal skins and with deep red skin, chatting at the entrance. Seeing Lin Han, they immediately became enthusiastic, approaching to show their goods.

"Huh?! It's actually a Bone Heavy Armor. Damn, there's even a Soul Devouring Longsword. Damn, how much did the first guy to get here make!"

His eyes scanned several treasures, and Lin Han's expression kept changing. Familiar names flashed in his mind, and he felt a bit dizzy. Although he was prepared for this, seeing so many rare treasures still left him unable to remain calm.

"Bone Heavy Armor: Green Tier 5 equipment, +3 Defense Talent, +2 Defense for Skeleton units, +20 Health for Skeleton units."

"Soul Devouring Longsword: Green Tier 5 equipment, +3 Attack Talent, +2 Damage for melee units, 5% chance to trigger Soul Devouring effect, dealing 30 additional damage and reducing target's movement speed by 30% for 3 seconds. Deals 150 additional damage to summoned units."

The Bone Heavy Armor and Soul Devouring Longsword were both powerful early-game treasures. However, the key was that they were part of a set—the Undead Fury Set. Lin Han saw all the components of this set in the shop!

"Bonecrusher Boots: Green Tier 5 equipment, +2 Defense Talent, +0.2 meters per second movement speed for melee units, +0.1 meters per second movement speed for ranged units."

"Endless Wraith Heavy Helmet: Blue Tier 1 equipment, +2 Attack Talent, +3 Defense Talent, +4 Damage and +1 Defense for all units."

"Set Attributes: Three pieces: +4 Attack, +2 Defense for Undead units. Four pieces: +10% Attack for Undead units, and gain the set skill—Undead Fury."

The Undead Fury Set was one of the best early-game sets for Cemetery Clan lords and heroes, with no level requirements and excellent attributes. The four pieces could grant players an additional 8 points of Defense Talent and 5 points of Attack Talent. The Undead Fury skill was also a powerful strategic ability.

"Undead Fury—Activate the fury of the Undead within the set, causing all Undead units within 200 meters to enter a state of Undead Fury, increasing their attack by 30%, movement speed by 40%, and attack speed by 40%, but also increasing the damage they take by 100% for 15 seconds. Cooldown: 600 seconds."

This skill could significantly boost Lin Han's army's attack power in a short time. A 30% attack boost plus the 10% from the four-piece set meant a 40% attack increase! Combined with the attack speed boost, the damage output could nearly double.

"This price, it's really not just a little bit overpriced!"

Although he was excited to see the set, Lin Han was a bit depressed when he saw the prices. The Bone Heavy Armor cost 2000 gold, the Soul Devouring Longsword 3000 gold, the Bonecrusher Boots 2000 gold, and the Endless Wraith Heavy Helmet the most expensive at 5000 gold. The total cost for the set was 12,000 gold.

Lin Han currently had only a little over 8000 gold, but he was not worried. In Dragon City, there was a resource exchange where players could convert resources into gold or buy resources with gold. The system would take a 5% commission on each transaction, but in the early game, this was the main source of gold.

"One unit of wood for 400 gold, the same for stone and ore. It seems no one has discovered this place yet."

When Lin Han arrived at the resource exchange, he was shocked by the prices. In his previous life, he had sold resources many times, and the highest price for one unit of wood was 100 gold. Now, it was four times that, a testament to the resource exchange's system. The more people bought a resource, the more expensive it became, and the more it was sold, the cheaper it became.