Chapter 118: Getting Ready to Set Up Shop!

It was already past 6:00 PM when dinner finished. Many players had finished their meals early, and the area around the Exchange was packed with people. Fortunately, the developers of "Moonlight" had the foresight to make players' avatars semi-transparent within a 20-yard radius of the Exchange, allowing players to overlap with one another and effectively solving the congestion issue.

"Lin Fan, what's going on? What’s this big business you mentioned?" Lu Xuehan asked as soon as she logged on and appeared beside me.

I immediately traded the "Blessing of Strength" skill book to her. After nearly a minute, she looked at me in astonishment. "How did you get this skill book? This ability is way too overpowered!"

I smiled and replied, "I got it from a quest. You're right, it is quite broken. I want to see how much of a boost it actually provides. The general goods merchant sells blank scrolls for one silver coin each. Buy one, use the skill on it, and let’s see how much attack it adds!"

Lu Xuehan nodded, learned the skill, and returned with the scrolls. Her small hands moved with a pink glow, brushing lightly over a blank scroll; complex patterns immediately appeared on the parchment—the mark of sealed power.

"Here, give it a try!" A scroll glowing with a golden light appeared in the trade window. Lu Xuehan laughed, "It costs me 300 mana to craft one. Good thing I have nearly 5,000 mana, otherwise I wouldn't be able to make many."

I examined the scroll in my hand: [Temporary Blessing Scroll (Quality 82): Adds a certain amount of temporary attack to a weapon.]

I clicked on the scroll and applied the effect directly to my Sword of Darkness. A red flash swept across the blade, and the sword began to emit a faint, azure glow, reminiscent of a starry sky in the night.

"Haha, how beautiful! Hurry and check how much of a boost it added!" Lu Xuehan said with a giggle.

I quickly opened the weapon's attribute panel:

[Sword of Darkness] (Blue Equipment)
Attack: 170-245 (Temporary Attack +82)
Strength: +28
Stamina: +24
Agility: +21
Required Level: 32

Lu Xuehan stared at me, stunned. "It added 82 temporary attack! A level 32 blue sword now has attack power comparable to a level 40 purple weapon!"

"I wonder if it stays consistently around 80..."

"It doesn't matter, let's try a few more. I just calculated that it takes about 10 seconds of channeling time to make one scroll. If I work for half an hour, I can fill an entire inventory." Lu Xuehan handed me a few more scrolls as she spoke; it seemed she hadn't been idle.

I immediately wiped the effect from my weapon and reapplied it using a new scroll. The quality of this one was 84, and as expected, it added 84 attack power. The bonus was determined by the quality of the scroll, which was convenient for pricing different tiers!

I carefully inspected the five scrolls she gave me; their qualities were 84, 72, 64, 68, and 77, mostly hovering between 60 and 80. This was good—while the scrolls significantly boosted a player’s attack, they wouldn't break the game's balance. I had initially thought this skill was a bug, but now I realized the design in "Moonlight" was quite reasonable.

Lu Xuehan blinked and asked with a grin, "How much should we sell these for? I can only make 16 with a full mana bar. Mana potions that restore 800 points are selling for 20 silver each; the cost is quite high."

I pondered for a moment before realizing, "There's a restorer in the Great Cathedral hall who can instantly restore full health and mana for only one gold coin per visit."

Lu Xuehan was slightly surprised. "What! One gold coin?? I only have 67 gold coins right now..."

I suddenly remembered that during our grinding session in the Icewind Lands yesterday, I had kept all the money and equipment, leaving her with only her purple staff—and she had spent a fortune on potions. It was only natural she was broke.

"Oh, I forgot. All the money from our leveling is with me..." I smiled and traded 3,000 gold coins to her. That would be enough for her production costs, and I would still have over 1,500, which was plenty for daily expenses.

"Xuehan, go to the Cathedral and craft the scrolls. We’re not leveling tonight; we're making money. There aren't many people higher level than us anyway. You’re firmly in third place in Silvermoon City, and it will take Murong Shan Shan at least another day to catch up."

Lu Xuehan looked at me with her beautiful, flickering eyes, making me feel a bit self-conscious. I explained, "I won't be idle either. I’ll go to the city gate and advertise for you. In an hour, we'll open shop. I'll handle the stall, and you just keep crafting."

Lu Xuehan nodded and went into the Cathedral to buy blank scrolls. I turned my attention to the crowds at the East Gate—infinite business opportunities!

I bought a virtual stall from the Exchange NPC for 100 gold coins. A small yellow flag appeared in my inventory; once planted, it would be valid for three hours. That meant it cost 33 gold per hour—no wonder there wasn't a single other stall in the massive East Gate plaza.

Ready, I ran to the center of the plaza and shouted at the top of my lungs: "Listen up, heroes! Don't miss out! In one hour, we’ll be selling a massive supply of temporary attack scrolls at the East Gate plaza! They add 60 to 90 attack power to your weapons! An essential tool for leveling and PvP! Buy some for your spouse, combine them with 'Indian God Oil,' and get twice the results with half the effort! Come take a look even if you're not buying!"

After shouting for a few minutes, there was no effect. People just gave me strange looks, clearly skeptical. Ten minutes later, even in the game, my throat started to feel raw and my voice grew hoarse. *Damn it*, hawking really wasn't a job for just anyone.

"Hey, you're shouting quite happily, what are you up to?"

A sweet voice came from behind me. It was Murong Shan Shan, whom I hadn't seen in a while. She was followed by over a dozen players, all of whom seemed to have decent levels and good equipment. These must be the core members of the guild she planned to build. The level 37 thief, Soul Snatcher, was among them, looking at me with undisguised hostility...