[ Everyone has unpleasant things that they would prefer not to remember buried deep in their memories—leave them buried. To face each day with a smile is the best proof of a strong, healthy spirit.]
After leaving the hospital, Bai Zhi went to check on the wards of the orphanage. They had avoided the worst, but the loss of their home, not to mention the kindly orphanage director, had undeniably dealt them a painful blow.
In all honesty, Bai Zhi was terrible when it came to comforting others, so he parroted some pithy phrases, but did not stay long. As for the bank card he had meant to give the director, Bai Zhi made sure to leave it with the orphans instead.
This was the best that Bai Zhi could do for them—eventually, the government would make the appropriate arrangements for those orphans.
Finally, after taking a final look at the ruins of the orphanage—at a distance, since the public was still not allowed anywhere near it—Bai Zhi got on the first coach home the next morning.
Thoughts of Chu Tsi and his enigmatic words occupied Bai Zhi on the journey home, and he began to develop an idea of why news of the Fallen had never been widely spread…
To the rest of the world, the Fallen were no different from supernatural entities. Anytime that a Fallen showed itself, Players naturally showed up to handle it.
As for the Players, acting with caution was second nature to them, and since informing the entire community about the Fallen would only incite widespread panic, they saw no need for it.
With the advent of things like Players in the world, there were inevitably those who would abuse their special powers for selfish ends. In this country, the Concerning Department would immediately dispatch agents to deal with troublemakers of this sort, which was brutally effective.
Other countries, which idealized Freedom, naturally saw the occurrence of power struggles as such individuals asserted their own right to their freedoms. In war-torn regions or places beyond the reach of any governments, ambitious Players even had the power to declare themselves the highest authority in their territory.
Most Player organizations in other countries were disunited and quarrelsome, constantly embroiled in an endless state of civil war. Of course, rivalries and quarrels between Players were bound to happen anywhere in the world, and this country had its fair share of such problems, but they were not as severe as in other countries.
"Oh, I almost forgot to check my loot..." said Bai Zhi as he looked into his Inventory.
Despite the hiccups at the end of the last quest, "Life's Hard Disk", Bai Zhi had walked away with quite a hefty reward. Not only did he receive a fortune in Coins, but the significant boost in Experience Points had bumped him up a level. Still, the best prize of all was probably the random Rare item in his Inventory.
In the Marketplace, a decent Rare item could go for upwards of several thousand Coins. A random item, however, even a Rare one, was subject to the vagaries of chance—for example, there was a post on the Player's Forum about an item a certain Player had received from such a reward, an infinitely durable... wooden club.
Durability was a property of most wearable equipment, typically weapons and armor. Should an equipment's durability drop to zero, it would become completely unusable, so regular repair of equipment to restore their durability formed a major portion of a Player's expenses, with higher-quality equipment costing much more to repair.
Take Radiance, for example—the weapon Bai Zhi had gotten from the Player formerly known as Lin He. Its current durability was sitting at 60 / 240, and to repair it to full durability once more would cost at least 500 Coins.
That club with the infinite durability, on the other hand... It may have been indestructible, but it could barely inflict any damage. Would anyone even want to use such a rookie weapon?
[ Item Name: Pluto (Enervated) ]
[ Type: Special Equipment ]
[ Quality: Rare ]
[ Weight: N/A ]
[ Durability: 20 / 20 ]
[ Effect 1: Disillusion (Passive) - Ability to see through low-level illusions. ]
[ Effect 2: Acuity - For one minute after activation, gain dynamic vision, and chance to inflict critical hits is increased to the maximum.]
[ SE Consumption: None / 50 Spiritual Energy ]
[ Requirements: Perception of 12 or above ]
[ Note: Fusing with 5 other materials of equal Quality will increase this item's Quality by one, up to Perfect ]
This random Rare item he had received from the quest was a support item. Its outward appearance was a thin, convex piece of transparent material, no different from contact lenses, except there was only one lens.
Bai Zhi contemplated the item for a moment. "Seems like it would work well with Radiance…"
With that, Bai Zhi put the magical lens on his right eye.
The revolver, Radiance, was able to deal decent damage, but losing durability quickly was not the only problem with it. There was also the matter of Bai Zhi's poor marksmanship. Only one out of six shots he fired could hit its target, and even that, only thanks to Radiance's special effect, Precision. After all, Bai Zhi had never even touched a gun before.
Thanks to Pluto (Enervated), however, he had effectively gained the ability to cosplay a master gunslinger, at least for a minute. As for increasing Pluto's Quality, Bai Zhi decided he was not going to worry about it for the moment. The note in the item's description had failed to mention any details about the materials needed, but if they had to be of "equal Quality", trying to do that now was going to bankrupt him.
To raise Pluto (Enervated)'s Quality to the next level, Elite, would require him to fuse it with a whole five pieces of Rare items or equipment—meanwhile, the only Rare item in his possession was his main weapon, Radiance, and that wasn't even something he had earned himself, but had been given.
The cost of raising the Quality was just too great, and a poor investment besides. It was only a support item, after all.
Wait a minute, speaking of...
Bai Zhi's face fell as he suddenly recalled something. He had lent Bane to Viridescent during the "Life's Hard Disk" quest, but it seemed to have not left her possession ever since, even up to the end of the quest...?
"...Whatever. I'll just ask for it back the next time I see her. Along with the 10 Coins a day she owes me for the rental," muttered Bai Zhi as he turned to the window.
The sun was high in the sky, bathing everything in dazzling light, promising a wonderful, brand-new day ahead.
