All sixteen seats in the splendid room were now filled. Broken, Booba, and Freya occupied the seats closest to the door, directly opposite Elincia.
Maylock, the renowned strategist of the Ass Guild, stood up again once the room fell silent. He adjusted his sunglasses and scanned the faces of the crew.
“Let’s go over this one more time,” he began in a commanding voice.
“This tree raid boss has been an incredible thorn in our side. We have encountered it several times already, sometimes with up to sixty players, although we only managed to take it down after three attempts.” His words left no doubt about the seriousness of the situation.
The atmosphere in the room was thick with tension. The expressions on the faces of those present ranged from annoyance to anger to intrigue.
“This monster stands like a statue in one spot, making it an easy target for close-range fighters. However, its wild vines attack indiscriminately, posing a significant threat. This makes it difficult for ranged attackers to engage the beast.
So, we need to divide the team. One group will handle the vines, while the other focuses on taking down the monster…”
Maylock spent nearly an hour meticulously explaining the strategy for battling the monster. He covered everything in great detail-timing, attack variations, item usage, and each person’s specific tasks. His strategic prowess was remarkable, and it was as if he could accurately predict every possible scenario in the upcoming battle.
Skywarden’s eyebrows furrowed as he pointed his finger firmly at Broken. “What’s he going to do?”
Maylock calmly replied, “Considering that the thirteen of us can confidently defeat this monster without much struggle, I believe we should place him near the frontline as an extra fighter. His close-range combat skills will be valuable.”
“Tsk!” Skywarden spat, his face contorting with irritation. “It’s a waste of time having an amateur like him fight near me while I’m tanking! It’ll only hinder our efforts.”
Booba’s face twisted into a grimace. “Jeez, Skywarden talks way too much for my liking,” he growled.
Broken raised a hand. “I will follow the team leader’s instructions and ensure our progress isn’t hindered by me. I can always retreat in an emergency situation-you have no worries.”
At the same time, Broken felt someone watching him intently, not taking their eyes off him. He glanced briefly toward one corner and saw a woman dressed like a ninja, her outfit covering most of her body and the mask that covered part of her face, leaving only her eyes visible.
From her attire, she was likely an assassin class, a close-range fighter who relied on speed and surprise attacks.
She was Charmelyn. Since Broken didn’t yet know all the members of the Ass Guild, he nodded at her.
The girl realized that Broken had nodded at her, and she quickly looked away. Freya seemed to notice the exchange and playfully sent a private message to him.
[Freya: Hey, flirt… do you like that kind of woman? You know, the quiet and gentle introverted type?]
He chose not to respond.
Maylock then explained several backup strategies for dealing with Broken’s situation within their team.
“Alright, that’s all from me,” Maylock concluded his part and immediately returned to his seat.
Since this was a dangerous expedition, Booba and Freya wouldn’t participate due to their low levels.
To ensure the secrecy of Broken’s level, he would not be joining their raid party. This meant that any information about his level could be kept hidden from the others.
“Without Broken in the same raid party as us, it will be difficult to monitor his status if he gets injured,” Elincia reasoned. “But, as previously decided, we will still give him all the loot drops from the monsters.”
“Khi khi khi… no worries,” Goldrich responded. “I’ll make sure he doesn’t run out of Mana, and Jovina can also help to periodically heal him.”
“Yoa!” Jovina said loudly. “Hahaha, no worries, I can fully heal Broken with one skill. Let me handle it.”
Should he tell them that he had a healing skill? Broken then raised his hand. “I have a pretty good healing skill myself. I might need a Mana supply.”
“Alright… thanks for the info, Broken, khi khi khi…” Goldrich replied.
“He’s always happy to know more about you, Broken,” Freya responded casually.
“Okay, if there are no more concerns, we can go with the plan,” Elincia concluded.
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Regardless of their personal opinions, the team had to perform with nothing but perfection. This was the ultimate demonstration of their professionalism; they could come together despite disagreements and unite to carry out any task with finesse.
Once they ensured all necessary preparations had been made, they quickly set off for the battlefield. The raid monster they were about to face would usually appear near sunset in Twisted Wild Forest, close to Clario Town.
This type of monster only appeared four times a month, making this opportunity especially rare. They had to be careful not to run into any other parties who might be on the same raid. The fourteen of them hurried into the woods, with Skywarden leading the way as the tank and Kingsley bringing up the rear to protect them from behind.
The assassin Charmelyn, the martial arts fighter Optimus, and Livelywood, the young prodigy swordsman, spread out in the middle formation to guard their ranged attackers who had lower HP and defense capabilities.
The ranged attackers were distributed into several lines, ready for any monster attacks coming from various directions.
Broken walked quietly in the back row, close to Kingsley.
Noticing him, Maylock strode over, weaving through the rows of people. He stopped beside Broken and pushed his sunglasses up onto his forehead so he could look him in the eye.
“Hey,” he said.
Broken turned towards him, surveying him thoughtfully before nodding. “Hey.”
“I heard you recently crafted Epic-grade arrows,” Maylock continued eagerly. “Could you craft some for me? Alternatively, can I purchase the ones you’ve already made? I’d be happy to compensate you generously.”
“I have Rare, Elite, and Epic-grade arrows,” Broken stated firmly. “How many do you need?”
“How many do you have?”
“More than 100 pieces of each.”
“What?!” Maylock’s loud voice echoed off the trees, making everyone within earshot pause.
All eyes turned to them, curious about the discussion.
Everyone stood still, waiting until Broken finally acknowledged their collective attention.
“More than 100 pieces, you said? Epic-grade?” Maylock continued, his voice filled with
disbelief.
“Yes, Rare, Elite, and Epic, each more than 100 pieces.”
Maylock swallowed hard. “Ca-can I purchase all of them? Since you don’t need them, right?
I’ll pay a fair price.”
“But… I don’t know their price. I’m not sure about this yet. I haven’t done any market
research,” Broken replied. frёeωebɳovel.com
“Can you show us the items, Broken?” Elincia said quietly as she walked over.
Broken then reached into his Inventory and pulled out three arrows, each with a different
grade.
They were all astonished when they read the detailed descriptions he provided for the arrows.
“This is truly Epic-grade…” Elincia said. “So you’re quite a talented blacksmith. It seems your luck is truly great, Broken.”
“So these arrows can only be crafted by Advanced Rank Blacksmiths, right? Khi khi khi,”
Goldrich then also responded.
Maylock explained, “I understand the market price of these arrows well. The Rare one costs between 10 to 15 bronze coins, the Elite one costs five times more, and the Epic one can cost 40 to 50 times more.” He added, “This arrow has an attribute that ignores defense by percentage, which is very useful in battles against players or monsters with high defense.”
Elincia then turned to Broken and asked, “Would you be interested in selling them, Broken? You can confirm the price at auction when we get back, and Maylock will pay it properly if what he said is not correct.”
After thinking for a few moments, Broken decided that he still had enough arrows for the upcoming battle, even if he sold some to Maylock, as this would increase their fighting
potential.
After carefully calculating the cost and negotiating, they finally struck a deal for a grand total
of four gold coins and ten silver coins. He was pleased; he had made a tidy profit in just a few
days of casual work.
“Do you have any arrows left?” Maylock asked.
“Yes,” Broken replied. “I have twenty-five Rare, more than one hundred Elite, and fifty Epic.”
“What?!” they all exclaimed at once, their eyes wide with shock.