Chapter 5

The luxurious jewelry box slowly opened, revealing a dazzling array of colors, shimmering brilliantly.

Fortunately, Shi Feng was in a dark alley, where no player would come to loiter. Otherwise, it would definitely arouse the greed of many players, who might kill Shi Feng to snatch the treasure.

The light faded, and inside the luxurious jewelry box lay a purple-gold ring. Around the ring was a circle of text, resembling ancient elvish script, imbued with boundless magic. There was also an ancient silver necklace.

"Good, it's indeed the Ring of Gravity." After seeing the ring, Shi Feng immediately sighed in relief, carefully taking it out to examine it.

Ring of Gravity: Adamantite, Equipment Level 0, Strength +2, Agility +1, Stamina +1, Skill 'Gravity Liberation' - significantly reduces the gravity affecting the wearer, making the body as light as a feather, lasts 30 seconds, cooldown 5 minutes.

"Great, it's not even Bronze." After reading the description, Shi Feng's face lit up with joy, the situation being better than expected.

In the Divine Realm, equipment is divided into Trash, Common, Bronze, Adamantite, Mithril, Refined Gold, Dark Gold, and Epic.

At the beginning, the equipment given by the system to players is all trash, not even worth selling. Currently, no player has Common equipment, although it can be bought in large cities, it is very expensive. As for Bronze equipment, it is extremely rare, with additional attributes. Adamantite equipment is even more precious, only dropping from bosses.

In the previous life, the player who provided the Ring of Gravity had a Bronze one, which only added 1 point to Strength, and the skill 'Gravity Liberation' lasted only 15 seconds. Completing the task at level 0 would give an Adamantite Ring of Gravity, which was unexpected.

As for the necklace, it was a special gray item that NPC merchants liked and would buy at a high price.

Wearing the Ring of Gravity, Shi Feng added all 4 points of his free attributes to Agility.

Shi Feng's Agility immediately reached 12 points, increasing his attack speed to 5 and movement speed to 6, comparable to a pure Agility assassin of the same level.

"Reaching level 3, my Agility will reach 20 points, allowing me to unlock the hidden basic Agility skill." Shi Feng looked at the attribute panel, feeling somewhat excited.

Shi Feng moved his body, feeling much more agile than before. If he faced Mayor Cross now, he wouldn't be as helpless as before. If his Agility reached 20 points and he unlocked the basic skill 'Nimble and Swift,' his physical abilities would be amazing, almost rivaling martial arts experts in novels.

He then added 15 points of free proficiency to One-Handed Sword Proficiency, reserving 5 points. His One-Handed Sword Proficiency immediately reached 20 points, advancing from Apprentice to Novice Swordsman, increasing the damage of one-handed swords by 10%. He still needed 30 more points to advance to Intermediate Swordsman.

As a swordsman, to become a sword expert, basic attacks are just the foundation; skills are essential. The more skills learned, the more flexible the swordsman's combat becomes, allowing for stronger output.

Shi Feng, being a sword expert and a reborn player, with the special item Ring of Gravity, naturally wanted to learn a large number of swordsman skills to fully unleash the true potential of a swordsman. Otherwise, just basic attacks wouldn't improve his efficiency in killing monsters.

"I remember there's a black market challenge in the Red Leaf Town trade district. The first player to pass the challenge can obtain a swordsman skill book." Shi Feng thought. Most skill books drop from level 3 to 5 monsters, with a very low drop rate. Currently, no player can farm these small monsters, and obtaining other swordsman skill books is time-consuming. He didn't have the time to farm, so the fastest way to get a skill book in Red Leaf Town was the black market challenge.

In the Red Leaf Town trade district.

The streets were lined with various shops, including potion shops, blacksmiths, bars, and more, bustling like a small market. However, since the Divine Realm had just opened, players were focused on leveling up and didn't have time to enjoy the fun of the Divine Realm, so the trade district wasn't the busiest yet. Only a few production players were here to learn auxiliary professions like enchanting, blacksmithing, potion-making, cooking, engineering, and alchemy.

"High price for herbs, contact directly."

"Buying ores, no black people."

"Sincerely buying high-level equipment, price negotiable, can use credit points."

Many studio and guild logistics personnel set up small stalls on the streets of the trade district to buy resources and equipment.

Shi Feng didn't stop, quickly heading towards a two-story building guarded by advanced goblins, which read 'Black Market.' It was the dark area of Red Leaf Town, a playground built by greedy goblins.

Inside the black market was a goblin auction house. Following the stairs down to the basement, there were two open spaces: an arena and a challenge area.

Several players were already standing in the challenge area, facing the goblin challenge.

"Come on, you must succeed this time."

"Come on, take down those goblins."

Several players were cheering for an assassin player on the field, their eyes glowing red, like mad gamblers.

The challenge was a test of player skill. In a 30-yard long, 10-yard wide area, all players entering the arena would have their attributes reset to 10 points, unable to use skills or equipment, and could only dodge or block the goblin musket shots. Successfully reaching the end would count as a win.

The goblins offered three levels of challenges: Bronze, Silver, and Gold. Completing a challenge would reset every three days. The entry fees were 5 copper for Bronze, 5 silver for Silver, and 5 gold for Gold. The higher the challenge, the better the reward, sometimes even including Dark Gold equipment.

For the first player to pass the challenge in Red Leaf Town, even the Bronze level would be comparable to the Silver level.

Shi Feng remembered that in the previous life, a swordsman named Wild Wind was the first to pass the Bronze challenge in Red Leaf Town, obtaining a rare swordsman skill book.

After a while, the assassin on the field was hit, lying 20 yards from the start, 10 yards from the finish.

"Damn, so close, do you guys have any money? I'll definitely pass next time." The male assassin, after respawning, said repeatedly.

A male priest shook his head and said, "Leader Heartstab, we gave all our money to you, we really have no more."

Shi Feng, hearing the name Heartstab, was surprised and shifted his gaze to the assassin.

Dressed in black night gear, short and thin, almost like a monkey, Shi Feng found it hard to believe that the tenth-ranked assassin on the Star Moon Kingdom's assassin leaderboard was this 'monkey.'

The assassin named Heartstab looked at Shi Feng, sized him up, and with a predatory gaze, approached him and smiled, "Hello, friend. I'm Heartstab, the captain of the Assassin Guild. Can you lend me 5 copper? I'll pay you back 20 copper tomorrow."

Heartstab was very frustrated by his failure, being only 10 yards from the finish. He had found some patterns and was confident he could pass if given another chance. He wanted to use the guild's name to intimidate Shi Feng into lending him 5 copper.

The Assassin Guild was a well-known large guild in the virtual gaming world. Any veteran player knew the name. Being the captain of the Assassin class meant he was a god-like figure, idolized by many players. Ordinary players would definitely seek to attach themselves to him and lend 5 copper, without expecting repayment.

"5 copper?" Shi Feng thought for a moment and replied, "I can lend you 5 copper, but you need to pay me back 50 copper tomorrow."

Heartstab was taken aback. This was not what he expected. He was the captain of the Assassin Guild, the famous Heartstab. Was Shi Feng a gaming newbie?

Seeing Heartstab's silence, Shi Feng asked again, "Do you still want to borrow it?"

"Yes." Heartstab almost cried. Other players called him a god, but Shi Feng showed no reaction. However, thinking of the rich reward, 50 copper was worth it.

"Here's 5 copper. Let's add each other as friends, and don't forget to pay me back 50 copper tomorrow." Shi Feng traded 5 copper from the 60 copper he got from selling the necklace, reminding Heartstab to repay 50 copper.

Heartstab, with tears in his eyes, said, "Okay, I won't forget."

Shi Feng, unaware of Heartstab's thoughts, completed the transaction and walked towards the green-skinned goblin manager.

"Sir, time is money. What can I do for you?" the goblin manager said arrogantly.

"I want to participate in the Bronze challenge." Shi Feng said, handing over 5 copper.

The goblin manager weighed the copper, nodded in satisfaction, and opened the challenge door, letting Shi Feng in.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we have a new challenger. Please welcome this brave swordsman." The goblin announced loudly.

"Heartstab, that guy who borrowed money is also participating in the challenge." The male priest reminded.

Heartstab, still resting, smiled and said, "That guy is a complete newbie. Does he think the challenge is easy? Although it's only 30 yards, after 15 yards, the goblin's attack pattern changes, and the attack frequency increases dramatically. Even I find it hard to handle, let alone him."

"Of course, Heartstab is so amazing, he only made it to 20 yards. I bet that guy won't even make it 5 yards." The male priest nodded and laughed.

Inside the challenge area, three goblins at the finish line were ready, aiming their muskets at Shi Feng at the starting line.

The countdown on the challenge area began to flash.

3...

2...

1...

Challenge begins!