Chapter 395 - 385: Unlucky Shane Rhodes

When Shane Rhodes and Kai York emerged from their game pods, they saw a table piled high with all sorts of fish dishes.

"Moira, did you cook the entire fish family tree today?"

Looking at the fish on the table, Kai York couldn’t resist taking a bite, then praised her out of habit, "Moira’s cooking is getting better and better."

Moira Lynch brought the final dish, a braised fish, to the table. The three of them started eating, discussing what had happened in the game as they ate.

After learning that Moira Lynch had spent the entire day killing fish in the game, Shane Rhodes and Kai York looked again at the table full of fish-related dishes and couldn’t help but gulp.

"You’re saying the items you craft can be materialized in the real world with a Real Exchange Coupon?" Shane Rhodes asked.

Moira Lynch nodded. "Before, when I was in the game, the system had me casually craft three items. I didn’t think much of it, but after I logged in this time..."

Moira Lynch explained the whole story from beginning to end, leaving Shane Rhodes and Kai York completely stunned.

At this point, the two of them didn’t know how to describe Moira Lynch anymore. Her luck was so good, it was enough to make anyone jealous.

However, Shane Rhodes quickly realized the gravity of the situation. "Moira, you absolutely must not let anyone know about this."

As the saying goes, an innocent man becomes a target when he possesses a treasure.

The Major Guilds might not have the power to get you banned directly, but they have plenty of ways to make your life in the game unlivable.

Moira Lynch nodded. "I chose to list the items anonymously at the auction. The handling fee is a bit higher, but it’s worth it for the security."

Besides, as they say, the wool comes from the sheep’s back.

"If all goes well, I should have enough money to buy the land tomorrow."

’Once I get the land rights, I’ll have to plan it out carefully.’

Hearing this, Shane Rhodes suddenly looked up and said, "Besides the plot you want, the surrounding land is also pretty good. Do you want to buy it all? I can sell it to you cheap."

Kai York, who knew Shane Rhodes well, suddenly said, "Boss, you’re not trying to scam Moira, are you?"

As soon as he finished speaking, a flicker of guilt flashed in Shane Rhodes’s eyes before he quickly regained his composure. "What are you talking about? How could I possibly scam Moira? I just think, since she’s already buying, it would be better to get it all done at once and buy a bigger piece, right? It’ll save trouble later on."

Kai York: Stare...

Moira Lynch: Stare...

Under their combined gazes, Shane Rhodes finally chose to tell the truth.

Although he, like Moira Lynch, had received an internal beta slot for the game, his chosen role as a City Lord meant he was far less free than she was.

Not only was he not free, his freedom was actively restricted. As a City Lord, he was forbidden from leaving his city except when summoned by the King.

Even with his other identity as a player, the most he could do was move around in the immediate vicinity.

On top of that, the system required him to meet performance quotas within a time limit, or he would be demoted.

But after a brief investigation, he found that his city, Aethelburg, was dirt-poor.

He, the great Lord of a city, was broke as a joke. Those ten Game Coins he had given Moira Lynch earlier were scraped from between his teeth.

After hearing Shane Rhodes’s story, Moira Lynch and Kai York both gave him looks of pity.

"A demoted City Lord probably becomes a magistrate, right? You can just get promoted again after being demoted. It’s a perfect chance to switch to a richer city and become its lord."

Hearing Kai York say this, Shane Rhodes shot him a glare and said, "Do you think it’s easy to get promoted again after you’ve been knocked down? *Divine Soul* isn’t like a normal game where you can just meet the requirements and level back up after you’ve lost a level."

In short, the biggest problem facing Shane Rhodes right now was a lack of money.

Facing Shane Rhodes’s eager gaze, Moira Lynch thought for a moment and said, "I can’t make any promises. If I have enough funds tomorrow, I suppose I could buy it."

’Buying up all the surrounding land would be a perfect way to avoid being disturbed by others.’

...

「Meanwhile.」

"The auction house has new items? Why are they all exactly the same?"

"A single ring costs twenty thousand Game Coins? This person must be desperate for money."

"Look at this design. It’s obviously mass-produced."

Other players, especially fellow Forging Masters, could tell at a glance that all the rings were made from the same piece of material. As for the pearls, they were probably just polished from the wood cored out from the center when making the rings.

"And they still have the gall to brazenly set the price at ten thousand. It’s like they’re afraid someone will actually buy it."

"I’ve got to see what’s so great about these things that they dare to set such a high price. Anyway, looking is free."

Just as these people were criticizing the Healing Rings and Healing Pearls, privately mocking whoever was crazy enough to buy such things, the stock of both items began to dwindle at an astonishingly fast rate.

"Some idiot is actually buying them?"

"Whales will be whales. They spend money without a second thought in the real world, and they throw it around by the thousands in the game too."

"What a bunch of fools."

Seeing that people were actually buying them, and that some had even started fighting over them, many onlookers began to mock the buyers.

But none of the buyers responded to the mockery. They were all focused on snatching up the goods.

Finally, after the Healing Rings and Healing Pearls were all sold out, one of the kinder buyers posted a screenshot of the items’ Attributes.

"Open your eyes and take a good look. We’ll see who the real idiots are."

"Fine, I’ll look! Let’s just see what’s so special about them," one of the players who had been laughing the loudest said defiantly.

And then, he went silent.

"!!! Special Items!!"

Then he saw the item’s effect.

"!!! Automatic healing."

This inevitably made them think of the Healing Ring that had appeared not long ago.

Although the effect of this Healing Ring wasn’t as overpowered as *the* Healing Ring, it was definitely a top-tier item among healing tools, especially with that automatic healing.

You don’t have to actively trigger the item; it automatically heals any wound on your body. Who wouldn’t want to own a divine item like that?

The other players were slow on the uptake. When they finally realized what they had missed, they were beating their chests and stamping their feet. The louder they had laughed before, the deeper their regret was now.

They practically wanted to go back in time and slap themselves twice.

’That’s what you get for not looking closely, just laughing and laughing and laughing.’

At this moment, everyone noticed something: both of these items came from the same mysterious seller.

For someone to produce so many Special Items at once—this was a first, a world-shaking event since *Divine Soul* first launched.