Hooooooonk—!
The warning horn of Paldia roared through the nighttime air, its echo reverberating across the entire city. A beam of crimson light shot into the sky from the magic tower in the city center, signaling that the “Monster Horde Invasion” event had officially begun.
The thousands of Players stranded in the city ran around in a panic. The flashes of combat skills and the din of shouting filled the main streets. Most of them were still low-Level and running short on healing potions. The low-grade weapons in their hands could barely inflict serious damage on the hordes of monsters pouring in from the east.
Yet inside the used goods shop at the edge of town, the atmosphere was eerily peaceful.
Clang! Clang!
Metal and magical energy struck together in a steady rhythm behind the wooden counter. Sean stood focused in front of the pile of materials Lumiell had delivered as promised. His eyes shone with a calm that sharply contrasted with the chaos outside.
[Materials complete:] Furious Lightning Core (B-rank) x1 Ancient Magic Wood x1 Silent-Forged Scrap Metal x3 Low-Grade Magic Core x5
“Ready...” Sean gave a faint grin as he extended both hands over all the materials.
Fwoooooom!
Dark violet-black energy erupted from Sean’s palms, denser than ever before. The Dark Merchant Forge swallowed the Furious Lightning Core into the center of the magic circle. Frantic azure lightning tried to burst through the circle, but Sean’s mass of violet energy viciously compressed it into the Ancient Magic Wood!
KRAKOW!
A blinding flash lit up the tiny shop before silence returned once more.
A magic staff roughly one meter long appeared in Sean’s palm. Its body was made of pitch-black wood covered in ancient carved patterns, while a purple crystal crowned its tip, containing wildly surging lightning within.
[Synthesis successful! You have received: “Silent-Engraved Lightning Fury Staff (B-rank—Special Grade)”] [Attributes: Magic Attack +120, Intelligence (INT) +15, MP regeneration +10%] [Passive Skill: “Chain Lightning”—When casting a lightning spell, has a 25% chance to spread damage to 3 additional nearby targets] [Special Grade Skill: “Silent Cast”—Reduces magic casting time by 40%]
“A staff... A B-rank Special Grade with a casting-time reduction skill?!” Lumiell, who had been waiting anxiously beside him, drew a deep, involuntary breath. Her azure eyes glittered with utter shock!
In Atheria, for players in the mage class, reducing spell-casting time was an incredibly rare, utterly broken attribute. A 40% reduction could turn a mage into a walking artillery cannon!
“Take it...” Sean handed Lumiell the beautiful staff. “It’s yours now, just like we agreed.”
Lumiell accepted the staff with trembling hands. Warm lightning energy seeped through her leather gloves and into her body, nearly tripling her magic attack power in an instant!
“Thank you so much... Mr. Sean!” Lumiell met the young merchant’s eyes with genuine admiration. “I’ll honor our agreement to the letter... My stream tonight will make sure everyone knows the name of the ‘Paldia Used Goods Shop’!”
Jingle!
Lumiell pulled up her hood to conceal her face, then spun around and ran out of the shop, heading straight for the eastern city wall.
Sean watched her go, then walked over and opened the wooden window beside the shop. Through it, he saw the eastern city wall being attacked by hundreds of Level 7–10 Iron Skull Wolves. Several Players had begun retreating as their armor broke and weapons fell apart.
But then... a figure in Lumiell’s black cloak appeared atop the city wall!
She raised the Silent-Engraved Lightning Fury Staff toward the sky. A huge holographic streaming window popped into existence above her head, along with a live viewer count that surged into the tens of thousands within seconds!
KRAKAKAKAKAKAK!
A massive beam of azure lightning shot from the staff’s tip and struck the middle of the Iron Skull Wolf pack with brutal force! The frenzied lightning leaped from target to target like a chain, killing dozens of monsters on the spot with a single swing!
“Holy shiiiit! What the hell kind of magic is that?!”
“That’s Lumiell! How is she firing spells that hard and that fast?!”
“Look at the staff in her hands! That purple B-rank aura—is that thing for real?!”
Shouts of astonishment rang throughout both the stream chat and the actual battlefield. Lumiell smiled beneath her hood, then spoke into the streaming microphone connected to every Player on the server, her voice powerful and commanding.
“You want a weapon like this... You want to survive tonight, don’t you?” Lumiell paused, then pointed the staff toward the edge of town. “Head to the ‘Used Goods Shop at the Edge of Town’! Bring all the junk items and monster materials you have and trade them in... The merchant there will work a miracle for you!”
The moment Lumiell finished her announcement, the chat exploded! Hundreds of desperate Players suddenly turned toward the edge of town, their eyes shining with hope!
Watching the entire scene from his shop window, Sean raised a victorious, knowing smile. He knew that from this moment on... his little junk shop would never be the same again!