Online Game: Start With Synthesizing Top-tier Divine GearBy Jinwan Chiji
Soon after, Jiang Bai swiftly completed the trade. Now, Datang Wuzui had one more staff and a rare blue magic ring in his inventory.
"What... bro, what do you mean by this?"Datang Wuzui asked anxiously.
"Take it. Cut the chatter. Don't nag. Help me find one more Boss Soul Crystal, that's what matters."
Jiang Bai closed the chat window right after replying, completely ignoring Datang Wuzui.
After the transaction, Jiang Bai's wealth had soared to a total of 52 gold coins—equivalent to 520,000 RMB!
Thinking about it filled him with joy, and without realizing it, he started strutting like he owned the place—like a cow with a gynecological disease: absolutely badass.
"Who said gaming ruins your future?"
"Who said only losers play games?"
"And who said you can't make money playing games?"
"Hahahahaha…"
Unknowingly, Jiang Bai found himself on a winding trail leading to a mine.
"This should be the Magic Crystal Mine, right?"
Standing outside the entrance, he peered into the dim cave, which glowed faintly with a bluish light, giving it an eerie, almost serene beauty.
Inside the cave, light-blue magic crystals occasionally jutted out of the walls. Jiang Bai hadn't learned mining yet—otherwise, collecting them would've been a breeze.
From deeper within came the faint clanging sounds of pickaxes—clearly miners at work.
Moving further in, Jiang Bai soon spotted a ragged miner holding a pickaxe.
[Mist Forest Miner]
Monster Level: 9
Attack: 90
Defense: 42
HP: 750
"Compared to the level 8 Snow Wolves, this is quite a power jump—especially that +10 attack. That's not normal. Usually, each level difference means maybe +5."
Jiang Bai frowned as he evaluated the miner's stats. "Still, it's fine. My current defense is only 80, but with my armor's 20 points of damage reduction, these guys can't break through."
In theory, Jiang Bai could pull a whole group, but to be cautious, he decided to test one first.
With a [Shock Shot], the miner was slowed and came at him sluggishly, swinging the pickaxe.
"-444!""-40!"
"That's more like it."One arrow and Jiang Bai let out a sigh of relief. "As expected, though this guy has 10 more attack than the Snow Wolves, the cost is slower speed. Much slower. Add a 20% slow on top? Kiting them is no problem at all!"
He couldn't help but praise, "The [Frost] effect is seriously god-tier. The benefits are insane!"
The more he thought about it, the more Jiang Bai grew attached to his level 1 Ancient Longbow. All the more reason to finish this quest and get it upgraded ASAP.
After taking down the first miner with a second arrow, Jiang Bai confidently began pulling mobs.
The ideal number per pull was around 20. More than that and some would lose their target. 20 was optimal.
[Multishot]!
The instant-cast arrow scattered like fireworks. With damage numbers flying across the screen, the thrill was beyond words.
"-323!""-323!""-646!""-646!"
As expected, the increase in crit chance wasn't too noticeable in single-target fights—but in AoE? It was a whole different story.
"Hell yeah!"
Watching [Multishot] come off cooldown instantly, Jiang Bai was hooked.
No doubt about it—he was totally addicted to the thrill of AoE grinding.
[Multishot]!
Another starburst of arrows. Slowed-down miners behind him were dropping like flies.
With an 8% crit chance buff, landing crits with [Multishot] became common. By the third cast, the whole pack of miners was wiped out.
"You killed [Mist Forest Miner], gained 50 EXP...""You killed [Mist Forest Miner], gained 50 EXP...""[Plunder] activated: Strength +1"
...
A screen full of system messages—each one pure dopamine.
Especially when [Plunder] triggered, and he saw +1 to his stats. Utterly satisfying.
"Nice, the drop rate for magic crystals is higher than I expected."
While cleaning up the battlefield, Jiang Bai found 7 magic crystals from 21 miners—way better than trying to farm blood from magic wolves.
Then began Jiang Bai's solo grind session.
Monster herding was addictive. Even though the process—pull, kill, repeat—was monotonous, the satisfaction and surprises were unmatched.
Especially when mobs dropped dead in an instant, EXP bar shot up, and the ground filled with glowing loot—pure ecstasy.
In four full hours, Jiang Bai wiped out over 600 miners. He was in the zone, completely immersed.
Exactly 200 magic crystals—mission complete. His EXP bar was now at 58% into level 9.
[Plunder] triggered 11 times: +4 Strength, +3 Constitution, +2 Agility, and an annoying +2 Spirit.
That Spirit gain seriously annoyed Jiang Bai—useless stat for an archer.
Archers weren't like spellcasters or priests—they didn't need much mana unless they spammed skills.
He also got 4 white-tier (common) items, 2 green-tier (uncommon), all level 10 gear.
Plus, 2 E-rank skill books: [Backstab] (Assassin) and [Charge] (Warrior). These low-tier skills weren't worth much anymore.
After deducting listing fees, the 4 white items and 2 skill books netted less than 4 gold coins. Datang Wuzui directly bought the 2 green items off him for 8 gold coins.
Now that the early-game phase was over, gear prices were gradually stabilizing.
He also got a [Skill Enhancement Scroll].
"The drop rate on these things is insanely low."
Jiang Bai carefully stored the scroll and grumbled. So far, he'd only found four—barely enough to enhance [Multishot] once.
As for the last Boss Soul Crystal, Datang Wuzui managed to find one. But it came from another guild—no way he'd get it for free.
In the end, Jiang Bai bought it for 13 gold coins—a fair price, though slightly higher than he wanted. Still, he needed it urgently.
After clearing the battlefield, Jiang Bai crushed his Town Portal Stone without hesitation. A flash of light—
And he was back in the bustling starter village, full of players.
"Old man! I'm turning in the quest!"
Looking at the tireless blacksmith working away, Jiang Bai's heart started pounding.
"This is it—the moment to upgrade my weapon!"
"What could be more exciting or thrilling than this?"
"And what's next in the hidden questline? Could it be... the final chapter?"