"What could it be?"
Jiang Bai looked at his inventory with great anticipation. He thought it would be some kind of divine gear.
But the reward was far beyond what he expected.
It turned out to be a pure white, palm-sized Pet Egg.
"A pet egg!?"
Jiang Bai was stunned for a moment, completely unprepared for this.
[Pet Egg]Item Description: Upon hatching, grants a random rare mutant pet.Hatching Requirement: Hunter-class profession, with the Beast Taming skill.
Jiang Bai stared at the pet egg in a daze, his expression slowly becoming exaggerated.
"Rare... and mutant?"
Anyone familiar with Genesis' game mechanics would understand the value of those few words.
In Genesis, hunter-class characters could indeed tame a pet to fight alongside them.
Pets in Genesis always start at the lowest grade: E-level.
What sets pets apart is how they are cultivated afterward. From E, D, C, all the way up to SSS, it's entirely based on resources—there are no innate differences at the start.
So the only thing that could truly create an innate gap was the pet's talent level.
Pet talents in Genesis are ranked from lowest to highest as: Common, Rare, Mutant, and Rare Mutant.
Common pets have no innate talents.
Rare pets have one talent.
Mutant pets have two.
And the legendary Rare Mutant pets have three innate talents!
This is what gives some players a head start from the very beginning. Although there are only four ranks, the gap between each is massive—like a chasm. And the difficulty of obtaining them increases exponentially.
Each innate talent represents a unique game mechanic. It's these mechanics that fundamentally transform an item or creature.
For example, Jiang Bai's A-level AoE skill – Multishot would only be D-level if not for its Critical Hit and Instant Cast mechanics. With them, it's solidly in A-tier, or even higher.
"This thing guarantees a rare mutant pet. The value of that…"
Jiang Bai couldn't even begin to estimate how much this egg was worth.
Because right now, no player is qualified to hatch it.
The requirement was very clear: you need a hunter-class profession, which only becomes available after level 10.
The use of the word "class" was intentional. Genesis has an incredibly complex post-specialization system, with hundreds of hidden classes for players to discover. Naturally, many of those fall under the hunter category.
Staring blankly at the snow-white pet egg, Jiang Bai for the first time seriously considered what class to choose.
"If I put this on the market, it would spark a frenzy—especially among top-tier hunter players!"
He stowed the egg and picked up his final piece of loot: a Skill Enhancement Scroll, then happily set off toward the Magic Crystal Mine.
During this time, Jiang Bai's private messages had long since exploded. He was used to it, but a direct message from Datang Innocent still had to be answered.
"Bro, skip the pleasantries. Just show me what you've got."
Datang Innocent was always straight to the point.
"Judging by today's drop, you're gonna make me bleed."
Jiang Bai had gotten used to dealing with him. Other than selling junk gear, he rarely used the marketplace anymore.
One reason was the marketplace fee. The other: Datang Innocent was honest and always offered fair prices. Jiang Bai never felt shortchanged.
"Bleed? Think I can't afford it?"
When Jiang Bai pasted the Roaring Flame Staff's attributes into the chat, Datang Innocent was instantly stunned.
The chat window was silent for almost 10 seconds before he finally replied:
"Holy sh*t! An Epic Staff!?"
His tone had shifted to one of disbelief.
"Bro, I have to have this staff. Name your price—anything goes!"
"Same as usual. You name your price. Honestly, there aren't any level 10 Epic staffs on the market right now, so I don't know its true value. If your offer's fair, it's yours. I don't need it anyway."
Jiang Bai replied calmly.
Although he said he had no clue, Jiang Bai did have a rough estimate in mind.
The best staves currently on sale were a few level 8 blue-grade ones, all going for more than 10 gold coins. So this level 10 purple Epic staff? Charging double wasn't unreasonable.
Given how hard it was to level up in Genesis, the higher the level, the longer the gear stayed relevant.
While Jiang Bai was doing mental math, Datang Innocent replied:
"I did a quick estimate. I won't let you lose out. 30 gold coins. Deal?"
"Damn!"
Jiang Bai couldn't help but mutter, "Damn rich people… tossing out 300,000 like it's pocket change."
There was no way he could refuse this offer. It was basically the best price possible.
"Deal!"
"This guy's really solid."
Once again, Jiang Bai felt Datang Innocent was someone worth keeping around.
Datang Innocent sent a trade request. Just then, Jiang Bai remembered something and asked tentatively:
"Do you have something called Boss Soul Crystal?"
He asked cautiously because this item was truly rare. There were none in the market—not because Jiang Bai was the only one who had gotten it, but because the players capable of killing bosses now were all big guilds, and they'd never sell such precious materials.
"Boss Soul Crystal? I actually do have one…"
"But what's it for? I still haven't figured it out."
Datang Innocent replied.
"You really have one?"
Jiang Bai's eyes lit up.
"It's for a quest. If you're not using it right now, would you sell it to me? Name your price."
"Come on, bro, don't insult me."
Datang Innocent laughed heartily.
"If you need it, just take it. Talking about money makes things awkward."
"No way." Jiang Bai refused firmly. "This thing's worth a lot. I'll give you at least 10 gold coins. I always charge you for gear, but I can't accept something for free?"
Datang Innocent replied:
"That's different, bro. You give me first dibs on gear—that's worth more than 10 gold coins. Seriously, I insist. If you don't take it, I'm canceling the deal. No staff for you either."
As he spoke, a shimmering Boss Soul Crystal appeared in the trade window, and the gold coins still showed 30—unchanged.
"Well…"
Jiang Bai knew he couldn't win this argument. And he really needed the item for his quest. So he accepted the trade.
But he wasn't about to freeload.
Just as he clicked "Confirm," he also added a blue-grade Pearl Ring for casters into the trade window.