Legend of the Pinnacle of Online Games

Chapter 7 A Girl's Thoughts

"Yes! Please come in!" The young female shop assistant led Lin Hanchuan into the store, calling out as she went inside, "Dad, we have a customer!"

As soon as I entered the store, I was greeted by a middle-aged shop owner wearing an apron, who greeted me warmly, "Welcome!"

What medicine do you need?

Lin Hanchuan glanced at him, then his gaze swept around the store.

The shopkeeper casually opened a glass cabinet, took out a bottle of potion, and introduced it, "Intermediate red potion, 1 silver coin per bottle. After use, it restores 2% of total health + 20 health points per second for 20 seconds. The effect can be stacked."

Lin Hanchuan glanced at it but wasn't interested. "Do you have any potions that can instantly restore health?"

Recovery potions are categorized into instant recovery and continuous recovery based on the recovery status.

As the shopkeeper said, the continuous recovery provides a fixed amount of healing every second, and it needs to continue for a certain period of time for players to enjoy the full effects of the medicine.

Generally speaking, players who rely on tanks or similar characters with low health will choose this type of character in order to ensure their long-term survivability in battle.

For example, some tank players, when facing a powerful boss, will choose to take a potion that provides continuous healing before the battle begins, and then engage in combat. During the battle, if their status drops, the potion will replenish their health immediately. This ensures that they can maintain peak condition in the early stages of the battle and increase their margin for error.

But for fragile mage classes like Lin Hanchuan, instant healing and immediate relief potions are what they need most.

After all, their own health is limited, and their defense is a major weakness. They lack the survivability of warrior/tank classes. A single skill from a boss or monster can leave them with very low health. Without instant recovery potions, they can be knocked back to town after taking another skill from a boss or monster in a short period of time.

"Yes, we do!" The shopkeeper put the continuous healing potion back in its place, then opened the glass cabinet next to him and took out a bottle of potion. "This is an instant-recovery intermediate-level healing potion. After taking it, it can instantly restore 10% of your total health plus 100 health points! However, the price is a bit high."

"How much?" Lin Hanchuan asked.

The medicines placed in the store do not have publicly displayed prices; the store manager sets the prices entirely on their own.

"Five silver coins a bottle!" The shopkeeper looked at Lin Hanchuan and gave him a price that was a bit of a rip-off.

"Dad!" The young shop assistant turned to look at her father in surprise. She was about to say something when the shop manager silenced her with a look.

Under normal circumstances, the total amount of recovery from instantaneous recovery potions is lower than the cumulative amount of recovery from continuous recovery potions.

Therefore, the prices of the two are generally about the same.

Even if there is a price difference between the two, it won't be too large. In fact, most of the time, the price of instant recovery potions is lower than that of continuous recovery potions.

Now, however, the instant healing potion is 4 silver coins more expensive than the intermediate healing potion that provides continuous healing.

Having played "Descent" for so many years, how could Lin Hanchuan not know that the shopkeeper was treating him like a fat sheep to be slaughtered?

Lin Hanchuan looked up at the shop manager again, then smiled and nodded.

"Alright! Give me 20 bottles!" Lin Hanchuan showed no anger. After paying one gold coin and receiving 20 bottles of intermediate-level potions from the shopkeeper, he asked again, "Do you have agility potions, intelligence potions, and resistance potions to remove negative status effects?"

Looking at the gold coin he had just received, the shopkeeper couldn't stop smiling. "Of course! It's just that the price might be a bit higher."

"It's alright, just say the word, money's no object!" Lin Hanchuan said nonchalantly, his expression indifferent. However, he looked at the shop manager more and more often, and at the same time noticed the young female shop assistant next to him, who was playing with her fingers with her head down, and her fingernails seemed to have grown a bit.

Emboldened by Lin Hanchuan's generous response, the store manager immediately began to offer even more outrageous prices.

"Basic Agility Potion, 50 silver coins per bottle. After consumption, it increases: 2% base agility + 2 agility points. A maximum of three bottles can be consumed at the same time, lasting for 10 seconds!"

"Basic Intelligence Potion, 60 silver coins per bottle. After consumption, it increases: 2% base intelligence value + 2 intelligence points. A maximum of three bottles can be consumed at the same time, lasting for 10 seconds!"

"There are two types of potions that can remove negative status effects: a basic fire resistance potion and a basic water resistance potion. Both cost 80 silver coins per bottle. After consumption, they can increase resistance to the corresponding type of negative status effect for 20 seconds!"

What are you looking for?

Looking at the shopkeeper's smile, Lin Hanchuan's fist, gripping the staff, almost hardened.

No evidence is needed to prove it. Even if someone had a butt on their head, it's clear that this guy is a demon in human skin.

This "shopkeeper" may not know that although the NPCs in [Descent] are no different from normal people in reality, the official [Descent] team will give these NPC villagers a friendly and approachable setting in order to make new players have a good experience in the newbie village. Some basic items sold in the shop, such as potions, will be cheaper than in the city.

A basic agility potion normally costs 5 silver coins in the city.

He's now selling it to himself for ten times the price.

That's really going too far!
This kind of cunning and treacherous NPC merchant image is rarely seen even in open-ended cities, let alone in simple and conservative villages.

Even when playing a villager, you still need to conform to the basic settings!

This guy is a complete failure as an actor. Even if he didn't show up, other players would probably beat him up if they encountered something like this.

He was starting to lose his temper! Lin Hanchuan sighed. The chatter of players coming and going outside the shop calmed him down. He handed over 1 gold and 10 silver coins, "One bottle each of a beginner agility potion and a beginner intelligence potion, please?"

"Okay!" The shopkeeper quickly put away the money. "But the potion is in the warehouse in the backyard. I'll go get it for you!"

The pharmacy is not just a storefront; there is also a warehouse in the back.

The counter in the storefront normally sells various potions that restore mana, health, and detoxify. More expensive and rare potions that increase attribute points are placed in a safer location.

After all, it's not uncommon for players to rob a potion shop. According to the system rules, as long as you don't kill NPCs, there shouldn't be any major problems.

“I’ll go with you!” Lin Hanchuan nodded.

The store manager did not give Lin Hanchuan a reply and turned to walk away.

Lin Hanchuan's figure suddenly froze as he looked down at the fair, delicate hand that was holding him, its fingernails seemingly longer.

"What's wrong?" Lin Hanchuan's gaze returned to the young shop assistant, and he asked, "Is there something you need?"

"I..." The young shop assistant glanced at the shop manager's figure, who had already disappeared through the back door of the shop, and her expression instantly turned tearful. "Could you please do me a favor?"

"you say!"

“I feel like my father has been acting strange lately. He used to be a gentle and considerate person who always put his family first. The neighbors all praised him as a good person.”

"But then one day, I realized he had changed. He became more interested in money, less concerned about his family's feelings, and more irritable..."

The young shop assistant's eyes revealed fear and unease.

"He even hit me frequently!"

"I think he might be possessed by a demon. Can you help me find my father?"

Lin Hanchuan glanced at his personal panel, which was completely blank, then nodded and smiled, saying, "No problem, but what can I do to help you?"

As if she had found a helper, the young shop assistant quickly said, "I have set a hidden trap in the warehouse. All you have to do is throw this potion on him. If he is possessed by a demon, black smoke will come out of his body. If he is human, there will only be water stains."

The young female shop assistant took out a bottle of clear liquid medicine from her pocket and handed it to Lin Hanchuan.

Lin Hanchuan took it and glanced at its attribute information through the system.

[Identify the potion]: Special potion, demon-oriented. Spray the liquid from the potion onto the corresponding target. If black smoke appears on the target, it is a demon.

"Tsk!"

Lin Hanchuan clicked his tongue lightly.

Identify the potion; this potion is not cheap and belongs to the truly rare category.

It really should be priced in gold coins.

The "newbie village" is even less likely to exist.

Lin Hanchuan gave the young female shop assistant a deep look. It seemed that his F-rank hidden mission had triggered this special plot.

"Then why don't you throw it away yourself?" Lin Hanchuan asked casually.

The young shop assistant trembled, and her voice began to stutter, "I...I...I..."

“I understand!” Lin Hanchuan looked at her nails, which had indeed grown longer again, and said with a smile, “After all, you are just a weak woman, and he is your father. If he really is a demon, you can’t deal with him alone. If he isn’t, you can also put the blame on me.”

Lin Hanchuan's explanation made the young shop assistant breathe a heavy sigh of relief, and then she quickly nodded and said, "I'm very sorry that you saw my little scheme."

"It's alright!" Lin Hanchuan said nonchalantly. "Let's hurry over, or your father will come out from the backyard."

Just as he took a step forward, Lin Hanchuan suddenly stopped and turned to look back.

The young shop assistant, whose heart skipped a beat, heard Lin Hanchuan say, "Oh! Right! If we all go to the warehouse, there will be no one to watch the shop, and someone might come and steal the potions."

"Furthermore, in case—and I mean in case—it turns out to be a demon, and things get a bit noisy, I think we should close the shop door to prevent others from finding out."

"Oh, right, right, right!" The young female shop assistant realized what she meant, immediately turned around, and closed the shop door.

Lin Hanchuan let the young female shop assistant walk in front, his smile almost overflowing.

(End of this chapter)