Chapter 31: The Infernal Bazaar
Next came the shopping period. Wei Zheng reminded everyone not to squander their points and to save them all for purchasing a character pack, which would be a tremendous boost. They could also make the most of this time by finding an open space to unleash their combat skills and magic—training within the Evolution Sphere would yield twice the result with half the effort.
Chen Mo secretly opened the points shop with his Demon King ID, invisible to everyone else. A translucent touchscreen popped up. As he tapped into the shop and glanced at the item list, his heart nearly leapt out of his throat.
The instance shop now had two pages: one was the Novice Shop, with the same items as before; the other was the Hell Shop, featuring an entirely new inventory.
Chen Mo couldn't wait to open the Hell Shop.
The entire shop's style instantly shifted from sunlight to darkness.
[Instance Shop = Hell]
(Only players who have reached Hell difficulty may enter)
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[Character Packs]
[Intermediate Warrior: Constitution 100; Spirit 10; guaranteed awakening of one intermediate combat skill; required points: 500,000]
[Intermediate Mage: Constitution 10; Spirit 100; guaranteed awakening of one intermediate magic skill; required points: 500,000]
[Bard: Constitution 50; Spirit 50; guaranteed awakening of one skill; required points: 1,000,000]
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[Skill Books]
[10% chance to obtain a basic skill for your class; each person may purchase up to ten; required points: 100,000]
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[Equipment]
[Refined Steel Greatsword, Strength +5, points: 10,000]
[Exquisite Magic Wand, Spell +5, points: 10,000]
[Refined Steel Armor, Endurance +5, points: 10,000]
[Exquisite Magic Cannon, Meditation +5, points: 10,000]
[Refined Steel/Exquisite Boots, Agility +5, points: 10,000]
##################
In the Hell difficulty shop, character packs and equipment were all upgraded, and skill books had been added. As for the equipment, Chen Mo had no interest at all—he was the Demon King with C-rank top-tier gear; these novice items were only suitable for beginners.
What intrigued Chen Mo most was the Bard character pack. This had to be a new class, and from his deduction, it was likely a ranged archer-type.
An Intermediate Warrior or Mage required only 500,000 points to purchase, while the Bard cost a full million. Chen Mo's total points amounted to barely 200,000, and that was only because he’d cleared three stages and picked up over a thousand gold coins. It was hard to imagine how the students at school could ever accumulate a million points—it would take them a year and still be out of reach.
Such was the harsh reality of the game: the strong could obtain more points, buy stronger equipment and character packs, while the weak were trapped in the mire, struggling to escape.
Chen Mo tried clicking to purchase the [Intermediate Warrior]. The NPC assistant instantly emitted a synthesized electronic voice: “Ordinary people cannot purchase the Warrior character pack!”
As expected, just like last time, ordinary people were discriminated against.
He then tried to buy the [Intermediate Mage], but again, it was unavailable.
Only one option remained. Without any hope, he clicked to purchase.
“Sorry, you do not have enough points to make this purchase!”
Huh? There was hope!
The system prompt was about insufficient points, not about ordinary people being barred from purchase. This meant that ordinary people could indeed transfer to the Bard class!
A Bard, honestly speaking, was just an itinerant beggar living off scraps. On reflection, it did fit the flavor of an ordinary person.
There was still time; opportunities would come again. Two instance runs per day, and each could net at least over 100,000 points.
Chen Mo’s attention turned to the skill books. Warriors had combat skills, mages had magic—what did ordinary people have? He was exceedingly curious.
A hundred thousand points—Chen Mo steeled himself and bought a skill book!
A white skill scroll appeared in his hand.
[Basic Skill Scroll]
[Open to gain a 10% chance at a class skill]
At that moment, Goddess Zhong Lin’er of Class F was surrounded by eager admirers. Not only was Zhong Lin’er beautiful, but her skill at flirting was unparalleled. She could make every man feel she fancied him without ever crossing the line, maintaining ambiguous relationships while making each suitor utterly devoted—this was a formidable skill indeed!
Zhong Lin’er’s gaze kept flitting surreptitiously toward Chen Mo. It wasn’t out of affection, but rather because Chen Mo’s indifference stung her pride as a Douyin superstar. Furthermore, the fact that Ye Zhiyan, whose beauty rivaled her own, actually liked this silly boy only fueled Zhong Lin’er’s jealousy.
If she couldn’t have him, then she’d destroy him.
Flirtatiously, Zhong Lin’er incited her pursuers, “Look at that Chen Mo. He has no points, yet he keeps tapping away as if he’s rich and buying all sorts of things.”
Zhu Mao hurried to please her, “Exactly, Lin’er, don’t worry. I have a cousin in Class C. Later, we’ll…” Zhu Mao leaned in close, taking the opportunity to get a little too familiar.
Upon hearing Zhu Mao’s plan, Zhong Lin’er was delighted; she didn’t even mind his forwardness. Just imagining Chen Mo groveling in defeat filled her with exhilaration.
Meanwhile, Chen Mo was absorbed in studying the basic skill scroll, oblivious to the world around him.
This [Basic Skill Scroll] was undoubtedly the first of its kind in the world, visible only to its owner. If any of his classmates or the five instructors saw Chen Mo holding a skill scroll, their jaws would hit the floor.
Chen Mo’s hand trembled as he opened the scroll.
[Congratulations! You have drawn the Ordinary Person’s skill—Golden Fried Rice Recipe]
Chen Mo: “…”
Elf maiden! Come out here! I swear I won’t beat you to death!!!
What the hell was this? Golden Fried Rice? Was this supposed to be a skill?!
Chen Mo had spent 100,000 points on this useless garbage. He’d have been better off buying ten attribute points!
Frustrated and on the verge of tears.
Seeing Chen Mo’s aggrieved expression, Zhong Lin’er felt immensely pleased. “Look at him—he looks so miserable!”
Zhu Mao, in his “wisdom,” analyzed, “I bet Chen Mo saw all those great items in the shop, but didn’t have the points to buy any, so he’s heartbroken.”
Zhong Lin’er sneered, “With his measly hundred points, he dreams of shopping? What a fool.”
Live and learn.
Chen Mo swore that, even if he starved to death or leapt from here to his doom, he would never again buy a skill scroll—what a scam!
He finally understood the true nature of the ordinary person class. It was truly ordinary—even the skills were mundane. Fried rice! If Ning Xuan ever found out, she’d tease him for a whole year!
Just then, the sweet voice of the Evolution Sprite echoed through the air: “Break time is over. You will be automatically transported out of the Evolution Sphere in three seconds.”
3!
2!
1!
White light enveloped them, and the world seemed to plummet.
The next instant, all the students found themselves back at the library entrance.