The Great Thief

After they shared the profit, the two of them went their separate ways.

Even though Lu Li seemed as if he had given up a lot, the Number 257 Administrative Order was already a huge gain for him. This item was at least half the value of the treasure box, and Lu Li had still received other things too.

Captain Sanders’ Belt (Gold): Armor 32, Agility+16, Strength+8. Special Effect 1: Critical Strike Chance+10%. Special Effect 2: Dodge+15%. Special Effect 3: Certain chance to silence target during attacks for three seconds. Level Requirement 30, Durability 64/64.

A good Thief belt usually came with dodge attributes and although the Dodge amount wasn’t very significant, it was nevertheless still quite good.

Dodge effectively minimized the chances of a player receiving maximum damage. For example, if an opponent’s attack ranged between 100-200, you would be more likely to receive 100 damage.

Completely dodging the attack of another player was not realistic, since these virtual games relied on a player’s techniques.

The silence effect was even better, but the gloves that Water Fairy had lent to Lu Li in the past had an identical special effect already. It was no wonder why she didn’t choose to take this belt.

Lu Li’s Legionnaire’s Band also had a similar effect, but the chances of activation were too low. The equipment effect had only been triggered a few times so far. It was only a level 25 silver grade equipment after all.

Captain Sanders’ Return Ring was a ring for Berserkers. Drizzle Court probably didn’t have many female players who were willing to play the Berserker class. At the same time, Moonlight from Ruling Sword was one of the best Berserkers in the game, so the item was left for Lu Li as well.

It felt like he was always looting gear for Moonlight. Last time, it was the Axe of the Legion, and this time, it was Captain Sanders’ Return Ring.

After returning to Astrana, Lu Li felt like the city had become unfamiliar to him. The only thing that remained the same was the crowded population of the city.

Lu Li met up with Square Root 3 in a bar. When he entered a private room, the manager of Ruling Sword was laid back sipping from his wine.

”No one caught you. I’m impressed,” Square Root 3 joked.

”You have a lot of spare time.” Lu Li felt like things were unfair; he grabbed the wine cup and finished it. At the same time, he also slipped himself into the opposite chair.

”Only slacking off while I can,” Square Root 3 laughed, slightly tipsy already.

He wasn’t lying – the guild was still laying down the foundations. He had to manage all of the big and small tasks by himself.

It wasn’t until these past few days when friends from the past had come over to join the guild. These friends also included management-level players from Star Moon Union. Square Root 3 had finally found his chance to relax a little.

”I have something here that can probably spare you from a lot of effort,” Lu Li said as he passed over the Number 257 Administrative Order.

”What can possibly spare me from hard work? There’s no way the work I’m doing can be replaced by something as simple as an item. Oh my, a guild level up?!” Square Rot 3 had been the manager of Star Moon Union in the past, so he was familiar with the item.

”If you use this, the guild will instantly become a level 26 guild. Our guild will expand to the size of a big guild too,” Lu Li said proudly.

It was true that he wasn’t good with management, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t contribute at all.

Square Root 3 rubbed the item in his hand with a complex emotion on his face. This was such a small item, but it was capable of accomplishing the hard work over the past two months of thousands.

”This was what you found in the treasure chest, right? Seriously...” Square Root 3 couldn’t find proper words to describe his feelings.

”There are other items too; Water Fairy took some of them.” Lu Li was still a little salty about what happened before, especially when he had split the gold and Water Fairy was smiling so happily.

”You two... never mind. I don’t want to ask.”

Square Root 3 lost interest and tossed the guild-level-up back onto the table.

”What do you mean?” Lu Li was confused. Square Root 3 had been so excited just then, and now, he had suddenly lost interest.

”We’re not using it.” Square Root 3’s eyes lingered on the item on the table, but his expression was soon replaced with determination.

”Why not? It saves so much trouble. We can go from level 15 to level 26 in an instant. We’ll be a part of the big guilds too. There won’t be many guilds out there who would be better than us.” Lu Li couldn’t comprehend Square Root 3’s train of thoughts.

”The drawbacks are greater than the benefits,” Square Root 3 said as he shook his head again.

”What drawbacks? I’d like to hear about them,” Lu Li probed, not entirely convinced.

Square Root 3 took a sip from his wine and thought briefly before he asked, ”Do you know how we leveled our guild to level 15?”

Ruling Sword had been created too late; they were only level fifteen at the moment. Although their speed of leveling up was already fast enough, they were still a long way behind the other big guilds.

”Quests and material donations, right?” Lu Li had not participated in the leveling of the guild, so he wasn’t too sure of the details.

”Our members had to do quests to level up the guild. They dug for minerals, picked herbs, skinned animals, went fishing…They had to work for every single piece of material; I didn’t spend a single bit of money on buying materials. Do you know why?” Square Root 3 explained patiently.

”We’re broke and we need to spend money on other important areas?” Lu Li suggested.

”No. You’re right about us being broke, but we can still afford to buy materials,” Square Root 3 said as he waved his fingers then continued, ”It’s the sense of belonging.”

Lu Li thought for a bit and slowly understood.

”Everyone built this guild together bit by bit; most players did something for the guild. Many sacrificed their time to level up or their time to spend with their girlfriends, just so they could get a little more material for the guild to level up. They’re much more passionate about the guild than you and I,” Square Root 3 smiled.

”So that why you chose not to use this item…” Lu Li took the guild-level-up back. After he heard Square Root 3’s explanation, he felt like the item had lost its value.

”The average level of our players is lower than other players from the big guilds,” Square Root 3 continued. ”Once the guild reaches level 26, leveling the guild will require higher-level materials. However, a lot of the players in our guild are still low-leveled in their trading skills. At the same time, other players who have been doing quests for the guild won’t be able to complete them either – they’re too low leveled. The development of the guild would stop entirely...”

”It wouldn’t feel nice for them to have their efforts denied by a single item.” Lu Li was convinced.

”So, let’s sell this,” Square Root 3 said as he calmed down.

”I feel like this item isn’t so valuable anymore.”

Lu Li had originally expected the item to sell for around a million dollars, but he wasn’t so sure about it anymore.

”No, this item is still valuable. It’s more valuable than you think,” Square Root 3 said with a spiteful grin. ”There are a lot of people out there who are willing to take the shortcut without thinking about the consequences. Weren’t you really excited about it too?”

”Geez. You don’t have to remind me about how shallow I am.” Lu Li rolled his eyes.

”I’ll have Shen Wansan sort this out for me.” Lu Li immediately contacted Shen Wansan, then asked, ”Does the guild need money these days? I’ll pass this money...”

”You save up some money to buy a house. It’s sad that you’re still renting a house while you’re already the owner of a club.”