Book 9: Chapter 63: Drawing Prizes

Qin Lun felt a warmth on his face, and everything in front of him was bright. He habitually rolled over, squinted his eyes, and reached out towards the side. Gazing at the empty other side of the bed, his consciousness slowly became clear.

“Monica… oh, she’s already back!” Qin Lun sat up from the bed and shook his heavy head. He had drunk alone last night and had a bit too much. The young man pushed off the covers, got out of bed, and walked to the wall. He reached out and pulled open the curtain, which was already open a crack, and looked out at the busy city street outside the villa window.

Noon at Devil’s Horn was no different from usual. Aside from the entertainment district and training grounds where Apostles gathered, other parts of the city resembled an elegant and beautiful medieval town.

Unique villas and manors stood on both sides of the streets and alleys. Apostles and servants in various outfits hurriedly moved amongst them. This ordinary scene reminded Qin Lun, at a certain moment, of that bustling port called Ankhaipe in the Toril World.

Every time he finished a Quest World, Qin Lun would feel that the scenery before his eyes was somewhat unfamiliar for the first few days after his return. Yet his cognition clearly told him he had only been away for a short while. This strange contrast always made him feel slightly uncomfortable inside.

“This is a bit boring!” After watching the scenery for a while, Qin Lun listlessly retreated back into bed. He threw a pile of cubes from his Storage Space in front of him, picked through them, and began the work of counting his money.

Having gone through over ten Quest Worlds, he now understood why those Apostles, as soon as they returned from the other space-times, would directly immerse themselves in the entertainment district.

For Professional Apostles who had experienced more than ten Quest Worlds, the initial tension and excitement of the adventurous life had begun to fade. They gradually adapted to that high-intensity law of survival of the fittest. Compared to the Quest Worlds, the safe and stable Devil’s Horn was certainly very dull.

No wonder no Apostles sought to become kings or conquerors or fight over territory within the Shattered Starry Sky. Compared to the perilous other space-time adventures with limitless possibilities, it was just too childish. No Professional Apostle would be interested in the native worlds of the Star Void.

It was like being in China with its numerous local delicacies; even the most delicious pizza was just seen as a baked cake with toppings on the crust, definitely not becoming a staple food.

“For drawing prizes, it seems more fun to start with the small ones first!” Staring at the four cubes lined up in a row before him, Qin Lun scratched his head and picked up the small gray cube that Father Jack had dropped.

“Is this… a Skill Scroll?” Seeing the silver-patterned scroll pinched between his fingers, Qin Lun blinked his eyes in surprise. He truly hadn’t expected this enhancer to give such a good item.

“Holy Word…” After checking the skill name on the scroll, a slight smile couldn’t help but appear on Qin Lun’s face.

To be serious, this Skill Scroll wasn’t actually very precious. The skill rank was only D-, barely recognized as an Apostle Skill by the Shattered Starry Sky. Furthermore, the scroll restricted learners; only those with the Priest or Pastor class could use it.

There were quite a few Priest class professions in the Star Void, but most Apostles who had already changed classes had their own core skills. The rank of this Holy Word was really a bit low. Although it could still be upgraded at some cost, the cost-effectiveness wasn’t high. It could probably be sold for around four to five thousand Shattered Crystals.

However, Qin Lun knew there was someone who would be willing to pay several times the price to buy this Holy Word: the other Serial Killer, Shepherd Hill. Hill had already changed class to a Prayer Pastor and had similarly learned a series of Priest skills.

However, the core skill of the Prayer Pastor was unusually hard to find. The focus of this profession wasn’t on the two words “Priest”, but on the “Prayer”. Although Holy Word had a low rank, it happened to be one of the Prayers.

The so-called Prayer of Apostle Priests did not refer to sound. Its combat manifestation was a type of image rune, transmitted through sound and light waves, capable of directional attacks on targets. It had abilities like binding, barriers, attack, defense, warning, and so on. Some powerful Prayers were no less potent than a Magician’s Forbidden Spell.

The skills for Priests sold in the planar trading grounds weren’t very few, but there weren’t many from the Prayer skill line. This Holy Word came from a Divine Comedy World with a background similar to the Earth Federation, and it was a skill dropped by a Catholic Priest. Its authentic flavor should suit the Shepherd, and Qin Lun could definitely squeeze a good sum from him.

After dropping the Holy Word, the small cube disappeared. However, Qin Lun was quite satisfied. Getting a Skill Scroll worth a few thousand Shattered Crystals meant Father Jack had absolutely given his all, sparing no effort until death.

Having his interest in drawing prizes greatly piqued by the small cube, Qin Lun soon opened Uka’s Bloody Cube again. This time, however, Uka’s Bloody Cube disappointed Qin Lun a bit. He drew the pair of combinable crescent scimitars that the blindfolded youth had.

Actually, Qin Lun had originally held high expectations for Uka’s Bloody Cube. What he wanted wasn’t this pair of scimitars, but the blindfolded youth’s innate talent ability, that illusionary Eye Technique.

Qin Lun currently possessed two kinds of Eye Techniques. The Clock Eye could accelerate thinking, analyze and simulate enemy attack and defense skills, leaning towards offensive attributes. After the Ganitus Left Eye fused with the Detection Aura, the mutated Staring Aura leaned towards scouting attributes. The only regret was that neither Eye Technique had illusion-type mental skills.

Scimitars of Sanoga (Set), Dark Gold Quality, came with two active sword energy skills. One was called Spinning Slash, the other Crescent Moon Arc Slash. Provided the user supplied sufficient Mana Value, the scimitars could automatically unleash the sword energy skills.

This pair of scimitars could be used for both long and short range, with high applicability. They counted as high-value Dark Gold items, but Qin Lun couldn’t use them.

Qin Lun currently had the Ayala Longbow for long distance, Burial of Light and Darkness for medium distance, and the high-powered Eye Techniques—Stellar Black Hole and Arid Glacier from the Ayala Weapon Casket, as well as the magic skill inherent in the Glove of Sacrifice. For close-quarters combat, Qin Lun relied more on Gun Fu. Now, with Demon Transformation and the freezing damage from Frostwind Chaser, his need for other cold weapons was very low.

Qin Lun basically covered all combat distances for individual operations. From a combat style perspective, he was gradually shifting from his previous physical attacks towards magic attacks, starting to move away from pure martial arts-based close combat. Physical attack weapons like the Scimitars of Sanoga, which depended on swordsmanship skill, didn’t suit him.

However, this weapon had high applicability. He didn’t worry about not being able to sell it for a good price. Moreover, Qin Lun felt he didn’t even need to sell it externally; perhaps his own people could take it off his hands internally. For example: Disciple Hansen, the Weapon Master who had changed class to Viking Warrior, would probably like this kind of physical weapon that covered both medium and close range.

Uka’s Bloody Cube yielded this pair of Dark Gold scimitars and also gave several thousand Shattered Crystals, which was better than nothing. Qin Lun estimated that this Second Order Reincarnator had brought him a profit of roughly seventy to eighty thousand Shattered Crystals.

Watching the Bloody Cube vanish into the air, Qin Lun curled his lip and picked up the multi-colored cube dropped by Black Queen Mira. This cube was just like its mistress, appearing dazzlingly colorful and extremely beautiful.

After opening the cube, the first item he drew made Qin Lun raise his eyebrows slightly, his expression a bit strange. He had actually drawn the black tailcoat vest that Mira wore.

Phantom Leathers (Portable Item)

Quality: Dark Gold

Material: Phantom Crystal Thread

Weight: 330 grams

Protection: 2 points; Perception: 3 points; Agility: 3 points

Equipment Ability Rule: Transformation

Transformation: This leather outfit has two transformation abilities. One is attachment transformation, which can change the camouflage color and external texture of the Phantom Leathers, granting disguise and concealment capabilities. The other is combat transformation, which, by infusing one’s own Mana, can harden the texture of the Phantom Leathers, usable for blocking and resisting blade cuts.

Equipment Description: This equipment belongs to a World Treasure, has no usage conditions, and cannot be upgraded in quality further. Attachment transformation can last up to five minutes at most, followed by a ten-minute cooldown period. Combat transformation has no cooldown time; it becomes permanent after transformation. However, within one natural day, the two different types of transformation abilities cannot be used simultaneously.

After reading the description of the Phantom Leathers, a flicker of joy passed through Qin Lun’s eyes. With a shake of his hand, the lady’s tailcoat vest slowly transformed into a men’s dark red scarf, which he then put away into his Storage Space.

He didn’t care much about the combat transformation of the Phantom Leathers. From the fight between Grant and Mira, its protective capability was limited. However, the attachment transformation of the Phantom Leathers was very useful. Sometimes, disguise and concealment were more effective than combat. It was really convenient. Used well, its value was hard to estimate. It counted as a high-quality item with special uses.

After yielding this equipment, Mira’s multi-colored cube didn’t disappear immediately. Qin Lun fished out a sheathed broad-bladed straight sword from inside, which turned out to be Black Queen’s personal weapon.

Grim Chain Gunblade (Composite Weapon Case)

Quality: Bright Gold

Material: Tungsten Alloy, Phantom Composite Material

Weight: 1620 grams

Artifact Spirit: Metal Phantom

Combination Equipment: Integrated Air Shotgun, Barbed Hook Scythe, Broad Blade Sheath

Broad Blade Sheath: This weapon transformation is a Tungsten Alloy blade. The material is hard, comes with a sharpness attribute, and can cut through almost anything.

Barbed Hook Scythe: This transformation ability has multiple uses, but requires extremely high skill to use. Otherwise, it’s easy to injure oneself.

Integrated Air Shotgun: Perhaps the most easily mastered ability in this composite weapon case. It can fire highly compressed air bullets with quite good power. However, the ammunition base must rely on the user’s Mana Value. The advantage is that besides the relatively slow firing rate, there is no additional cooldown time.

Equipment Requirements: The Apostle must possess proficiency in either Swordsmanship or Blade Technique, Whip Technique, and Gun Technique. For each missing proficiency, the corresponding weapon ability cannot be activated.

Looking at this composite weapon case, Qin Lun didn’t know what expression to wear. This thing was simply a weaker version of the Ayala Weapon Casket. The broad blade corresponded to Frostwind Chaser, the air shotgun corresponded to the Ayala Longbow, and the barbed hook scythe corresponded to the Dryad Ghost Claw.

If this had been in the past, he would have been overjoyed. But now…

With a bitter smile, he put away the “Grim Chain Gunblade”. Qin Lun suddenly raised his eyebrows. In his previous lapse of attention, he hadn’t noticed that Mira’s cube was still floating in the air!

“Could there be more equipment?” Qin Lun, not very confident, reached his hand into the cube.