Chapter 53 The Fruits of Hard Work

"Explosive Staff (Superior)"
Two-handed Weapon
Requirements: Level 11, Mage class
Weight: 15
Material: 30
Durability: 100%
Intelligence +1
Spell Penetration +5
Chain Explosion (Passive): Whenever any damaging spell hits, there is a chance to trigger a chain explosion. Each explosion deals 5–30 points of fire damage to enemies within a 3-meter radius. The higher the mage’s spell damage, the more explosions are triggered, up to a maximum of five.
‘The dwarves have a saying: Stay away from mages, especially those with a short temper.’

The effect of Spell Penetration is to reduce the target’s spell resistance. If the opponent’s resistance is zero, then for the staff’s wielder, it is as if the enemy’s resistance is -5, significantly increasing damage.

“What a dazzling effect!” Bai Coco and A-Kui both leaned in, marveling at the staff’s attributes.

“Dazzling is just the beginning~ This staff is perfect for clearing mobs. From now on, Qingyi can gather a bunch of monsters, and A-Kui can keep throwing magic missiles from behind. The triggered special effects will be phenomenal~” Lu Kuan explained to the three girls with a smile.

Hearing this, stars seemed to light up in A-Kui’s eyes. At their current level, players had learned very few area-of-effect skills, so this special effect was undeniably advantageous.

Now, everyone was even more eager to see the remaining superior magical items. Lu Kuan picked up the next artifact and handed it to Bai Coco: “This is the best thing we got from this quest. Coco, you really lucked out.”

“Is it really mine?” Bai Coco exclaimed with delight, carefully taking the uniquely shaped artifact.

This item was crafted in the form of a blooming lotus. The stem served as the handle, and the petals glowed with a faint orange light, while delicate reddish mist drifted constantly from its surface.

“Warmth of the Light (Superior)”
Off-hand Item
Requirements: Priest class, Intelligence or Intuition 10
Weight: 5
Constitution +1
Healing Effect +5
Tidal Surge: Summons a tidal totem lasting one minute. Within a 20-meter radius, all allied units receive the Tidal Surge effect: mana recovery rate +4 per 5 seconds, stamina recovery rate +1 per 10 seconds. Skill cooldown: 5 minutes. The totem has 5 hit points.

Holding the artifact, Bai Coco radiated a soft blue glow, appearing almost angelic in her purity. Combined with her adorable features, the sight left the group momentarily spellbound.

Yet, seeing the item’s properties, Bai Coco looked confused. When she noticed everyone staring at her, her cheeks flushed.

“Captain, is this Tidal Surge actually useful? Using mana and stamina potions restores much more than this, doesn’t it?” Bai Coco voiced her doubts. Qingyi and A-Kui clearly shared her concerns, turning to Lu Kuan for answers.

“It’s useful, absolutely~” Lu Kuan grinned confidently.

Equipment with active skills was already rare, let alone one with such an exceptional support ability.

The biggest challenge for teams venturing into the Black Desert was the limited endurance of healing classes. Tidal Surge seemed tailored specifically for the desert’s demands!

With its one-minute duration, it could restore about a third of a healer’s mana. If the folks at Heaven’s Eclipse learned of this artifact, it could easily fetch tens of thousands in gold.

Lu Kuan’s explanation finally made the three girls understand just how valuable mana regeneration was at this stage.

“Right, wasn’t there also a short sword? How are its stats?” A-Kui remembered the short sword gifted by Ellie’s mother and looked curiously at the equipment on the table.

Lu Kuan picked up the short sword and displayed its attributes for the team: “This one’s pretty ordinary. Compared to the other two, it’s nothing special.”

“Bloodthroat (Superior Short Sword)
One-handed
Requirements: Agility 8, Strength 6
Weight: 3
Sharpness: 25
Durability: 70%
Agility +1
Blood Fury (Passive): Normal physical attacks can inflict magic damage equal to weapon damage on ghosts and spectral enemies.
‘The murderous aura on this blade is almost tangible; who knows how much blood it has absorbed.’

The short sword’s appearance was plain, its blade marked by several nicks, though the edge gleamed sharply. Clearly, despite years of use, its owner had taken meticulous care of it.

A sharpness of 25 was remarkably high—Lu Kuan’s current green short sword only had a sharpness of 12, making the difference obvious.

However, its unique effect was rather lackluster.

Ordinary physical attacks couldn’t harm incorporeal monsters, but even when facing such enemies, Lu Kuan wouldn’t foolishly engage them directly; that was work for mages and priests.

“All right, these spoils are easy to distribute,”

Lu Kuan placed the short sword back on the table and continued, “Coco gets the artifact, A-Kui gets the staff, and the short sword is perfect for Qingyi, so it’s yours…”

“No, thank you,”

Qingyi quickly shook her head. “Yesterday at the auction house, I saw a one-handed axe that boosts… boosts strength. Now that I have money, I can finally buy… buy it.”

Lu Kuan nodded, “That works~ In that case, the three of us each get a blue item, which offsets eighty gold coins each. Of the 350 gold coins from this quest, we each get twenty-five, and the rest goes to Qingyi.”

In no time, Lu Kuan distributed all the remaining loot. The three girls, inexperienced in such matters, allowed him to handle it all.

“This isn’t right; you’re getting the short end of the stick,”

A-Kui shook her head, her cute short hair swaying with the motion. “This quest would’ve been impossible without you. I don’t want to take advantage.”

Bai Coco agreed, and though Qingyi said nothing, her gaze made her feelings clear.

Lu Kuan felt a subtle warmth in his heart. Having witnessed enough deceit and betrayal in games during his past life, he truly appreciated the girls’ attitude.

“Don’t worry, I’d never let myself get cheated,”

Lu Kuan laughed, then said solemnly, “This is the principle of team adventure: everyone works together and takes what’s suitable in the end. If someone monopolizes all the loot just because they contributed more, that’s true unfairness.”

The girls, seeing his earnest expression and sensing his conviction, seemed to understand something, nodding instinctively. After a moment, A-Kui suggested, “Then you should take the two skill scrolls. You can’t refuse; I hear top players really value skill points.”

“Agreed.” This time, Lu Kuan didn’t refuse. In fact, he’d been planning to take the scrolls—he needed them.

Qingyi looked at Lu Kuan, her charming eyes glinting softly. After a moment’s thought, she spoke: “Captain, what did you… say to Ellie earlier? The quest completion rate was so high—does it have something to do with that?”