"Your work assignment has come."
"So soon?"
Prioress Tia looked calmly at Zheng Yichen, who fell silent. Truthfully, it wasn’t too soon. After returning to Hazy City, he had sorted out everything that could be arranged. After collecting the deliveries, he basically had no other obligations and was preparing to consider taking on some Hazy City hunter activities.
"Uh, I understand. Where do I need to go, and what should I do?"
Considering the task was related to his own life, he gave it serious thought and ultimately decided not to skip the beginner’s tutorial.
"As before, locate the targets you’re meant to find and eliminate them, or completely prevent them from causing any unstable changes."
Essentially, it meant finding the targets and then killing them. That was pretty much it.
"Then how do I find them?"
"Proxy Agents’ eyes can see unstable elements, and you will receive prompts when you’re close to them."
Zheng Yichen thought for a moment and took out a box from the storage that he had never used before: "What about dealing with them while they are contained in this thing?"
"Approaching will suffice."
"Alright, I’ll get moving? Give me a day to prepare some weapons."
Prioress Tia agreed to this request, which made Zheng Yichen wonder if the Dusk Cathedral was somewhat conscientious?
"Then, about the processing of this box, is it the same two million as before?"
Tia nodded: "There will be an extra charge for any additional requests."
"Alright then, process it into a fishing rod for me, the same kind I used before. Mmm, make it a bit thicker too. No problem, right?" Zheng Yichen described the fishing rod he had used before.
But then he thought about the amount of money he was going to spend and subsequently requested numerous additional adjustments—thicker, heavier, sturdier. He also casually inquired about enhancements and amplifications... cough, cough.
It was just a casual question he threw out there, but Tia told Zheng Yichen that it was indeed possible. However, he would need to find different materials, such as those that could enhance weapons, which could include but were not limited to ores, some form of crystals, and the like.
Without prior knowledge, Zheng Yichen did not realize that the Sword of Hell he had snatched from the Headless Knight was also considered ’enhancement material,’ not just because of the materials the sword was made of but rather the power of Hell contained within it.
There was also the scabbard made from the Tree of Death, which was another type of enhancement material. However, considerations of compatibility were needed for enhancement processing; it wasn’t simply fusing together heaps of different things. For example, if he decided to use the Sword of Hell as enhancement material for the fishing rod he was getting made at Dusk Cathedral, any future upgrades to that rod would require materials of the same type.
It didn’t have to be the Sword of Hell, but materials similar to the Tree of Death’s wood, or other attributes related to Hell or death.
Adding something different wouldn’t much affect the quality of the weapon itself, but whether the weapon’s imbued power would be usable is another question altogether, as is whether the user could handle a weapon that could heat up due to conflicting attributes.
In summary, the processing technology of the Dusk Cathedral was impressive, but they only processed; if the Proxy Agent or a Dusk mercenary acted recklessly and didn’t heed advice, the Dusk Cathedral would not be responsible for the consequences.
Trading a super cool Sword of Hell and a scabbard made from the Tree of Death for a fishing rod that could emit green flames and somewhat open the Gate of Death to Hell...
Seemed like a fair trade? No, he spent even more money!
"Can this be used as enhancement material?" Zheng Yichen, struck by a sudden idea, produced a black chunk in his palm, which quickly morphed into a rod. It was a ’mouthpart’ generated by his extraordinary abilities which could suck vigorously at the sight of blood.
"Enhancement materials can be used to change your own derivatives."
"Then forget it. What about the one-horned mule’s horn and tongue? Can they be used as enhancement material?"
"Yes, if you forfeit the Sword of Hell and the Tree of Death."
"What if I want all of them?"
"You can, but you’re responsible for the consequences."
"... Then what about just combining the horn and the tongue?" Zheng Yichen gave up.
"If they’re from the same source, there’s no problem. Which one do you want to prioritize?"
"The horn. Right, the horn can be processed too, right? Turn it into a short spear for me, and vampire teeth can be added as a material, right? How much altogether?"
"Three million two hundred and ten thousand. You only get this opportunity once."
This price... it’s going to clean out the family coffers. After fulfilling the ’order,’ Zheng Yichen calculated a rough estimate of the gold stored at home. He had collected quite a bit previously, but after all this expenditure—buying a house, buying equipment, and now processing a weapon—
There wouldn’t be a drop left.
Three million for the fishing rod’s processing, and twenty-one thousand for processing the horn and the tongue of the one-horned mule. Subtracting the vampire teeth, he could save ten thousand. The price difference between these two materials made Zheng Yichen’s jaw drop—they were simply not on the same scale.
At midnight, the Dusk Cathedral, which had been sparsely populated, began to buzz with activity. Now, those who came were no ordinary people, but Hazy City hunters and Dusk mercenaries. Zheng Yichen didn’t know how the Dusk Cathedral managed to keep its information so secure.
But considering the uniqueness of this place, it must be some incredibly amazing method, right?
This didn’t concern him much; what was important were the people who came here. As more hunters and Dusk mercenaries arrived, Zheng Yichen noticed some special traits; he could sense the differences between them.
After midnight, the Dusk Cathedral became a relatively quiet ’exchange’, completely unlike during the day. The items displayed during daytime seemed like they were just to deceive people casually, but after midnight, the real deals were presented.
Zheng Yichen’s gaze fell on a nearby weapon entwined with chains, brought out by a Dusk mercenary. The weapon... well, Hazy City was not the kind of place where catastrophic attacks could be produced so easily, at least not by an individual.
Some very powerful weapons were brought to Hazy City where, naturally, their effectiveness reduced. Zheng Yichen had a deep understanding of this.
The Sword of Hell that he acquired didn’t change in Katrina’s world. With the same expenditure of life force, it could only ignite a tiny flame. After the change, the same life force could turn the weapon into a raging torch. A weapon considered trash in other higher-level worlds might not actually be trash.
It was the world in which the weapon resided that limited its potential. The material of the weapon might be poor, but the power it contained differed. Once such a weapon was brought to a higher-level world, it would immediately become awesome.
"This sword..."
"Is a sealed demonic sword!" said the Dusk mercenary earnestly to Zheng Yichen.
Zheng Yichen looked at the chained sword and pondered for a moment, "Then why don’t you keep it?"
The other party frankly said, "Because it’s sealed."
Zheng Yichen felt dubious about the item, and instinctively glanced around, soon noticing Prioress Tia not far away. When Tia caught Zheng Yichen looking her way, she turned her gaze towards him, just like a motion-sensing light.
"How much for this sword?"
"A flat rate of eight hundred thousand."
"You’re asking eight hundred thousand for such an incredible demonic sword? At least give the weapon some respect."
The Dusk mercenary who was putting the sword up for sale couldn’t help but roll his eyes. "I never said the sword was very powerful."
Zheng Yichen fell silent. Turning his attention elsewhere, he noticed that most of the hunters present were buyers, while the Dusk mercenaries were sellers. As for these hunters, many of them were likely well informed about the Dusk Cathedral’s state of affairs at this time.
Just like the bartender had said, those who enjoyed the Dusk Cathedral frequented it, while those who didn’t, would not come back after their first visit.
In Zheng Yichen’s view, these Hazy City hunters all seemed to be potential Dusk mercenaries, who might join at any moment.
"What is... this sword?" Zheng Yichen’s eyes widened when he saw the item laid out before another Dusk mercenary, mainly because the style of the weapon surprised him.
"The locals call this kind of weapon a Flying Sword, seems pretty powerful anyway," the Dusk mercenary said casually, glancing at the black pattern on the blade.
Damn it, what a badass weapon! Zheng Yichen couldn’t help but look around again, and he noticed a detail: while there were many unusual and exotic items on display, there were very few technologically advanced weapons. There were firearms, but those firearms looked like they could be purchased through Hazy City’s channels, some even appeared very primitive.
As for anything resembling advanced technology, there was none.
It seemed like exceptionally mighty cold weapons were treated as if they were valueless—cough, not valueless, rather easily neglected.
After a while, Zheng Yichen caught sight of a familiar figure, Hunter Arno.
"Good evening."
"Ah, you’ve come," replied Hunter Arno without surprise, as he watched Zheng Yichen approach. "How about it, have you found anything to your liking?"
"I have, but everything’s so expensive." The items related to combat were all priced over two hundred thousand.
"That’s normal."
Arno smiled, "Not everyone can handle those weapons well."
"But why aren’t there any tech weapons here?"
Zheng Yichen voiced a question that weighed on his mind. He noticed that even the items displayed by Arno were mostly materials, with weapons being a secondary feature, and those weapons were predominantly cold ones. There was a flintlock pistol that looked no better than junk.
"Tech weapons hold their value," Arno stated matter-of-factly, picking up a dagger in front of him. "You see this? Its original user was a wizard, supposedly some sort of magic user. This weapon could produce a rift like a cloud of black mist that people could pass through in his world."
Zheng Yichen looked at the dagger in Arno’s hand with surprise. "That powerful?"
"Very powerful in its original place, but here in Hazy City, this thing is no different from an ordinary dagger. It’s not even as sturdy as a metal one, let alone creating that black mist rift," Arno said, and then he couldn’t help but smile. "If this thing was really so incredible, why would it end up in my hands?"