The sun gradually rose higher, and the harsh sunlight, without any cover, bore down, making the desert unbearably hot. Huang Yi’s sweat poured down like rain; he took a water bottle out from his storage ring and took a big gulp with great relish, then continued to sprint forward. The footprints left by the old man became clearer and clearer, and it seemed he would catch up to him soon.
Climbing up a sand dune, Huang Yi habitually looked down and instantly noticed a small black dot on the horizon; that dot was followed by a trail of footprints leading straight to him. It seemed that the small black dot was indeed that old man.
Huang Yi gathered his strength and dashed forward. By now, he had transformed into a Half-Beastman form, his body large and each step kicked up clouds of sand that drifted far into the distance, a sight of grand momentum.
The small black dot grew larger and clearer, and indeed, it was an old man. The old man had a white towel tied around his head and wore a dry vest, exposing his bronze skin, which appeared to be permanently colored by the desert from years of walking in it. His skin was covered with wrinkles, showing the marks of time. His back was slightly hunched, burdened with a backpack that seemed heavy enough to bend his back.
Seemingly feeling someone catching up from behind, the old man stopped, turned around, raised his hand to shield his eyes, and looked in Huang Yi’s direction. His murky eyes were filled with serenity.
Soon, Huang Yi caught up with the old man, breathing slightly heavily. He gave the old man an apologetic smile and said, "I am sorry for catching up to you like this, but I need to ask for your assistance."
Wiping the sweat off his body with the towel removed from his head, the old man asked, "Are you here to buy something from me?"
"Buy something?" Huang Yi’s heart skipped a beat. Looking at the old man’s attire and the backpack he carried, he suddenly had a bold guess and exclaimed in mild shock, "Could it be, you are a Traveling Merchant?"
"Exactly!" The old man nodded and smiled broadly, "My name is Kula Mingyue, and I roam this desert year-round, engaging in small trades. I have many strange and curious items here, but I do not accept money. I am only interested in the peculiar scent of Achievements. If you have many Achievement Points, then I would be very happy to trade with you."
Huang Yi’s heart leapt with joy; he had finally encountered one of those legendary Traveling Merchants!
In the forums, he had seen players mention the legend of the Traveling Merchant many times. A Traveling Merchant is essentially a system-bound Achievement Point Merchant. After achieving certain milestones, everyone earns some Achievement Points, the sole purpose of which is to be spent with an Achievement Point Merchant, purchasing items that can’t be found elsewhere. However, these Merchants are very rare and difficult to come across. Some people might go their entire lives without ever encountering one, leaving their Achievement Points to idle away uselessly, never having the chance to be spent.
Now, Huang Yi’s Achievement Points were undeniably substantial. He already had three Special Achievement Points, which he received for completing three Special Achievements. The three Special Achievements were: [World-renowned]: having his name appear in the announcements; [Rare Class]: becoming a Rare Class Holder; [Joyful Dragon Pond]: entering the Dragon Pond in Bai Long Lake. Besides that, he also had one Unique Achievement Point awarded for the Unique Achievement of [Surpassing Two Hundred Levels] after defeating the Hydra Death Scales.
Having so many Achievement Points was of no use to him, particularly the Special and Unique Achievement Points. Their greatest value to Huang Yi was the various Attribute Bonuses they provided; however, the Achievement Points attached to them did not contribute any attribute improvements to Huang Yi, so holding onto them was a waste. But now, he finally had an opportunity to put them to good use!
"Let’s find a place to rest! The sun here is so intense. There’s a big rock over there; let’s go hide in its shade," the Traveling Merchant said as he retied the towel around his forehead and then continued to carry his heavy pack toward a large rock in the distance.
"That pack must be heavy on your back! Here’s a storage ring, which can hold a lot of things. It’s for you," Huang Yi noticed Kula Mingyue was struggling and couldn’t help but offer his own storage ring. Now that he had the Overlord’s Pact Storage Ring and he hardly filled the space of the storage ring, he didn’t need an extra one, so his original ring was useless to him, making it perfect to give away.
"Hm? Is this the legendary storage ring? I’ve only heard of it, never actually seen one!" Kula Mingyue took Huang Yi’s storage ring, turning it over in his hands, and marvelled at it.
Then, he slipped the ring onto his finger and put the heavy pack into it, sighing deeply in relief, "It feels so great to shed the load! Thank you, young man!"
The two of them talked as they slowly made their way to the shade of the rock. It was much cooler here, the scorching sun blocked, leaving a rare coolness.
"Since you’re looking to buy my goods, I’ll pick some out for you! I have many curious trinkets here, some precious little things that can only be traded with Special Achievement Points, even Unique Achievement Points," Kula Mingyue said, flipping the storage ring and pulling out the backpack he had just carried, swiftly untied the knots, and spread it out on the cool ground, revealing many small trinkets.
Huang Yi squatted down, interestedly browsing through these trinkets. They were of all shapes and kinds, odd and quirky—there were broken glass mirrors, fist-sized metal telescopes, scarred little wooden puppets, dirty clay figurines, and many more items that were unnamed and even unseen before.
To the eye, these items looked like toys that a curious child had randomly collected, with no apparent connection to treasures. But Kula Mingyue treated them as treasures, carrying them across the desert, suggesting these trinkets were extraordinary and served some special purpose.
"What do these things do?" Huang Yi asked Kula Mingyue.
"Their uses are quite unique. In certain situations, they can be very useful, but generally, they don’t do much," Kula Mingyue explained, picking up two broken glass mirrors, "This is called a Projection Mirror. If you give another mirror to your friend, whatever scene this mirror captures, it will appear on your friend’s mirror, allowing them to see it too. However, if the distance is too great, it won’t work."
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I am willing to exchange all my Achievement Points for a single Recommendation Ticket from you. My dear, you can cast today’s recommendation vote now!