Chapter 374: Please Kill Me

“Unique? Are you talking about that sense of exclusivity, of having something no one else does?”

“No.” Duan Fei shook his head. “That stuff is essentially just limiting production and telling a story. The better the story, the more idiots you get, and the more excess profit you make in the end.”

“Isn’t that how luxury goods work? What is it, then?” Merlin asked with considerable interest.

“It’s about making yourselves irreplaceable, making your products one-of-a-kind so that no one can imitate them. And you need to change your mindset. Don’t think about doing business with players, think about advancing and retreating alongside them.”

“Elaborate.”

“What I mean is, when players run into an emergency and need a large number of Magicians for support, a capitalist’s choice is to take the opportunity to raise prices. You, however, should be thinking about whether you can provide a batch of Magicians for free. To make small money, you just raise prices. To make big money, you need a grander vision.”

Merlin seemed lost in thought. He sat with Duan Fei, sipping red wine and eating dried cheese.

It wasn’t until he noticed Yue Hua was about to wake up that he said regretfully, “Thank you, Mr. Duan. It’s been a pleasure chatting with you. I hope we have the chance to talk again in the future.”

“Of course.”

“Thank you again for your assistance to the Merlin Company. This is my gift to you.”

Taking the ring off his left hand, Merlin passed it to Duan Fei.

“Merlin’s Magic Ring: Uncontaminated, Unique, Can be taken out of the instance. Description: A ring worn by Merlin for hundreds of years. One Magic can be fixed onto it, and that Magic will automatically be upgraded to Legendary Level. Note: This ring is already attuned with a Card Magic.”

Unique items are not classified within the general item system, because only one of each exists, and they often have special purposes.

A unique item isn’t necessarily powerful; its value lies in its rarity.

After reading the item’s description, Duan Fei was lost in thought, then asked, “The Action Cards we used in the virtual instance…”

“That was a large-scale Magic. I’ve already fixed it onto the ring. Even after you leave this place, you will still be able to use that Magic. I don’t know what kind of chemical reaction that large-scale Magic will have with you, but I believe you will make good use of it.”

“I am indeed very interested in that Magic, but how did you know it’s what I wanted?”

“I am Merlin, after all.” Merlin laughed. “My Mind Reading Ability is quite strong, too.”

“Then why does your granddaughter hate you so much?”

“…Duan Someone, sometimes you’re really not very likable.”

After finishing his conversation with Merlin, Duan Fei saw him off, greeted the now-awake Wang Er and Yue Hua, and then left the instance.

The main point of this instance was to repay a favor to Merlin, so Duan Fei wasn’t actually too concerned about the rewards.

However, the settlement screen still held a small surprise for him.

“Main Quest: Achieve victory in the Holy Grail War. Completed. After an indescribable instance exploration, your Level has not changed. Your proficiency with the Crowbar has risen to a new level. If you persist, you may comprehend a Crowbar-related Skill on your own. Your various Attributes have slightly increased. Due to your performance in this instance, you have gained an additional 1 reputation point. Because of the effect of your [Savior] title, the reputation you gained is doubled. Your total reputation is now 8 points. Instance Rating: Greatly Meritorious. Abyss Coin reward doubled. You have obtained one thousand Abyss Coins. You have obtained the unique item, Merlin’s Magic Ring. As for the Magic on it, please explore it on your own.”

Having repaid the favor to Merlin, Duan Fei stared at the Magic Ring, knowing that his next step was to figure out the use of this Magic.

For something this strange, of course he had to find the Divination Master.

Returning to the city, Duan Fei and Jinghong found the Divination Master’s hermit crab cottage. As soon as they got close, they heard her excited shout.

“Jinghong, I’ve been waiting for you for so long!”

“Mm-hm.” Jinghong nodded helplessly and followed Duan Fei into the mushroom cottage on the hermit crab.

The moment they walked in, the Divination Master fiercely pulled Jinghong into her arms and nuzzled against her for a long time.

Only after she was satisfied did the Divination Master turn around, hold out her hand to Duan Fei, and say, “Alright, hand it over.”

“How did you know!?” Duan Fei asked in surprise. “Were you spying on me?”

“Don’t flatter yourself. If I were going to spy on anyone, it would be Jinghong,” the Divination Master huffed in displeasure.

“Can I punch you? Just once,” Jinghong sighed helplessly.

Taking the ring from Duan Fei’s hand, the Divination Master observed it for a moment, then said, “I see. I understand now. A powerful, large-scale Magic, one that can change the very nature of things. This Magic has already reached Legendary quality. It’s a very useful item. Duan Someone, name your price.”

“It’s not for sale. I’m not short on money right now.”

“A shame. The effect of this Magic is to stimulate the abilities of your Character Cards, making the effects of the cards you’ve collected stronger. Although it’s not as versatile as before, it can make them more specialized. Which Character Cards have you collected so far?”

“Hancock, Anna, and the Elder Daoist.”

Duan Fei materialized his Character Cards and handed them to the Divination Master.

Hancock’s was a scene of him piloting a spaceship; Anna’s was a picture of her covered in artificial muscles, charging across a battlefield; the Elder Daoist’s was an image of him sitting cross-legged in meditation.

“For a Summoner, you have rather few cards. But the Summoner is a late-game Profession anyway, so just take your time. Alright, now, activate the Magic on the ring, inject your Extraordinary Energy into it, and that should do it.”

Seeing the Extraordinary Power Duan Fei was channeling, the Divination Master immediately grew a little excited.

‘It’s actually Divine Power.’

The method for obtaining Divine Power was extremely rare. She herself had only obtained this kind of Extraordinary Power at Level 45, and she still didn’t have much of it.

‘This kid, Duan Fei, has more potential than I thought.’

At first, this thing only had an effect like damage reduction, but once a player reached the final stage, the effects of Divine Power would truly erupt, allowing the player to transform once more.

‘This young man has a promising future.’

Smiling at Duan Fei, the Divination Master felt that there shouldn’t be any problems in the future.

Meanwhile, Duan Fei had also completed the process of injecting Divine Power into the ring.

The ring began to glow. The Card Magic activated, and an arrow emerged from the ring, pointing toward the Character Cards.

“Choose. Choose one and activate it,” said the Divination Master.

Choosing Hancock, Duan Fei activated the effect on his Character Card.

Hancock’s Character Card immediately burst into flames from the Magic’s effect, and in a short while, it turned to ash and vanished without a trace.

“Hey, where’s my card?”

“Don’t worry, it’ll be back in a dozen or so hours. Do you feel anything right now?”

Duan Fei finally relaxed, took a moment to feel it out, and then said, “I feel… like my luck has become exceptionally good.”

“Do something to test it.”

“Jinghong, please try to kill me.”

“…Can we try a gentler method of verification?”