"Yes, you heard right. I'll take all of them,"

Chang Long confirmed, now turning her gaze from the items in the store to the shop assistant, who blushed and realized Chang Long was serious.

"In that case, please wait a moment!"

The assistant said before quickly disappearing into the back of the store. Chang Long had become an important customer for the shop. Although each candle only cost ten coins, buying all ten thousand candles amounted to a significant sum. The shop would also finally be able to clear out stock that had been sitting unsold for years, without incurring any loss.

Chang Long did not have to wait long before the assistant returned, carrying ten bags emblazoned with the store's logo. Each bag could hold a thousand items. Although a bit taken aback by the sheer number of bags, Chang Long accepted them and handed over her VIP bank card to pay the hundred thousand coins for the candles. She then carried ten bags of candles out of the store.

Players passing by could not help but stare at Chang Long, knowing that to receive bags with the store's logo, a player had to spend over a hundred thousand coins. Plus, it was not from a jewelry or fashion store where a single item could easily cost ten thousands. And here he was, carrying multiple bags, making others think he had to be a wealthy player buying gifts for female players.

Chang Long did not care about the stares, as she was preoccupied with how to return to Elder In's location. After running, she had been observing the route from Europa Island map and found out that his place was quite far from Ark City, and she could not use a teleportation scroll to shorten the journey back.

"Sigh..."

Chang Long sighed in frustration, sitting on a bench under a tree. She then remembered the golden mystery box she had received from slaying the hundred-eyed giant, Argus. Though she knew the items from such boxes were random, she could not help but hope it would contain something she needed most right now.

With intense concentration, she slowly pried open the golden box's lid and reached inside the box that was only slightly larger than her hand, her heart pounding. The item she could feel by her hand made her realize that her wish was half-granted. Now she only had to see what kind of attributes it would offer.

Flashhh!

As her hand touched the item within, the box dissolved into light. Chang Long slowly opened her palm to see a gold ring adorned with blue gem with ancient runes engraved around it. Chang Long could not decipher the runes, but the system promptly informed her:

"Player Chang Long has received one Lord of Magic Ring."

The gold ring in her hand was so large that it could fit only her thumb. Excited, with the new ring Chang Long quickly checked the attributes, hoping it would have the ability enhance her mana. She eagerly read the stats that appeared on her wristwatch display.

"Lord of Magic Ring: Increases mana by 50,000, halves the cooldown time of skills used, and reduces the mana cost of skills by 10%,"

Chang Long read the ring's attributes several times to be sure. The ring's mana boost was an impressive fifty thousand, and it halved the cooldown time for her skills. This was much more than she had hoped for.

Chang Long happily slipped the Lord of Magic Ring onto her thumb. Now she could use her dimensional shift skill with half the mana cost, and the ten-minute cooldown would be reduced to just five minutes. However, the problem was that even though she could use the dimensional shift skill, the distance she could travel was only ten meters—running would be faster. At least her swift movement skill had reached level fifty, and her evasion and climbing skills were at forty-five and twenty-five, respectively. The long journey should not be much of an obstacle for her.

"What did you get, missy?"

Devi-chan asked curiously, noticing Chang Long's delighted expression.

"A ring that increases my mana by fifty thousand, Devi-chan,"

Chang Long replied cheerfully. She stood up, hoisting the ten bags of candles, ready to return to Elder In to complete the quest for the Beast User profession.

"Hey there, lad. You must be loaded, carrying bags with the game's logo like that. You must've spent hundreds of thousands,"

Before Chang Long could leave, a group of male players surrounded her, looking like a bunch of thugs.

"Step aside, I need to go,"

Chang Long said coldly, bluntly pushing her way past the male players who were blocking her path.

"Hey. That's too much. We're talking to you!"

The apparent leader of the group shouted after Chang Long, who seemed completely indifferent to them. When she ignored them, they drew their weapons and surrounded her again.

"Hand over those bags if you don't want to get hurt!"

One of the seven thugs yelled at Chang Long, who still barely reacted to them, lost in her good mood from receiving something she liked.

"Huh?"

Chang Long looked up from the ring, confused by the group in front of her.

"Stop acting dumb. I told you to give us the bags!"

The thug yelled, frustrated. Since they had started robbing players, Chang Long was the first to seem unfazed by their threats. The passing players did not intervene, knowing the gang's reputation and the rumors that the Doom Star Guild backed them.

"I can't. These are for a quest,"

Chang Long replied nonchalantly, further irritating the thugs, who wanted to rough her up right away to see her expression changing from composed to fearful of them like their previous victims.

"I said hand them over!"

One thug lost his patience and yanked a bag from Chang Long's hand in anger. He eagerly opened it, expecting valuable items worth a hundred thousand coins, but froze in shock at its contents.

"What's in there, man? Must be something good to leave you speechless!"

His friend asked excitedly, noticing his stunned expression.

"Candles, all a thousand slots are filled with candles and nothing else..."

the male player replied.

"Candles!"

His thug friends exclaimed in unison, turning to look at Chang Long with confused expressions. Even the other players watching from a distance were puzzled.

"Yeah, they're candles. The remaining nine bags I have are also filled with candles. Still want them?"

Chang Long replied firmly, annoyed at being robbed in broad daylight and having her belongings snatched rudely.

"What the hell are you doing with so many candles? Planning to burn down a house!"

The gang leader asked, frustrated. Today had to have been their unlucky day, robbing someone crazy, a person who would buy thousands of candles, a largely useless item compared to torches.

"Burn down your house, maybe. Now give them back so I can get going!"

Chang Long retorted, snatching the bag of candles back and walking away irritably. But the gang leader was even more irritated, feeling disgraced in public by her indifference against their threats, fearless retortion and humiliating act of walking away indifferently. At his signal, the seven thugs surrounded her again.

"Sigh... just my luck,"

Chang Long muttered, reaching into her bag for something. As she got hold of it, she found herself encircled once more.

"You think you're tough, ignoring us over and over? You'll regret disrespecting us while waiting to respawn!"

The gang leader shouted, raising his sword to attack. Chang Long smirked, tossing a blue-white spherical object into the air before using her dimensional shift skill to teleport to the southern gate. She disappeared and reappeared ten meters away in her intended direction, causing a stir among the onlookers.

Crack!

Before the thugs could recover from their shock, the sphere Chang Long threw had fallen and hit the ground and shattered, catching their attention. A wave of icy mist spread rapidly from the shattered sphere, quickly engulfing a hundred-meter radius. Fortunately, the area was a spacious plaza in the city center, so other players were not affected by the freezing mist and ice caused by the Eye of Ice.

Most players could escape in time unlike the seven thugs, standing at the epicenter, were frozen solid. Chang Long chuckled weakly, her face pale, and hurried to get out of the hundred-meter radius herself. Devi-chan and Hisa-chan laughed softly at her cleverness. The other players could not smile and looked at Chang Long in astonishment. Murmurs spread throughout the city, with people discussing the strange magic Chang Long had used, as no one had ever seen such a spell before.

After using her dimensional shift skill, its level finally increased to level two. However, the mana consumption and cooldown time also doubled. Chang Long could not help but think that without the Lord of Magic Ring, her dimensional shift skill would never have leveled up. And without the Buppha Garland acting like a rejuvenating crystal, she would have collapsed from exhaustion every time she used the skill.

Upon successfully exiting the city, Chang Long spread her wings and soared into the sky. She wanted to use her wings before they became even more damaged. The feathers at the tip of her left wing were still ragged and uneven, unlike the pristine feathers at the tip of her right wing. She had no idea how to restore them to their original state.

As she flew back to Elder In, guided by Devi-chan, Chang Long opened the public communication channel to read the players' comments about the two strange skills she had displayed. In truth, she had only used one skill, while the other effect was caused by the shattering of the Eye of Ice. Yet, no one seemed to notice or mention this detail. This did not surprise Chang Long, as she had learned from Oliang that most players regarded the Eyes as junk items and did not bother hunting the beast kings that had them on their foreheads. Those who did hunt them did not keep the Eyes, considering them clutter. Thus, Chang Long was likely the only player aware of their true power.

"Everyone's guessing my profession,"

Chang Long laughed as she read the comments from players in Ark City. Some guessed that she was a Bishop, a top-tier Priest profession with teleportation skills. However, Bishops could only teleport between cities they had previously visited, unlike Chang Long's secret skill that allowed her to teleport at will. Moreover, they would need a medium or a guide from the city they wanted to teleport to, such as stones from the city.

Others speculated she was an ice mage due to her powerful ice magic, despite the city's damage limitation of 50%. The confusion stemmed from the fact that no one saw her cast any spells, and she did not wear the typical flowing robes favored by mages. This caused confusion among the onlookers as to what Chang Long's actual profession was.

"No one will ever guess it right, heh heh,"

Devi-chan laughed when Chang Long shared the comments with him and Hisa-chan.

"If they knew you had a profession unrelated to any of their guesses, I wonder what their faces would look like,"

Hisa-chan said, chuckling.

"Whatever their reactions..."

"Watch out!"

Devi-chan shouted, but it was too late. A giant bird snatched Chang Long once again.

This was why most players avoided using wings, despite their convenience. They risked being grabbed and carried off to feed the hungry chicks, each as large as a cow. Ordinary wings also consumed a lot of mana, making players prefer hunting for mounts or using other riding equipment that was more convenient, such as brooms popular among female mages—though obtaining one required completing an arduous quest. Other options included flying swords, which could not be used as weapons but, fueled by mana, became excellent low-flying mounts, unlike wings that were cumbersome and prone to collision with branches, they were not as big.

"Sigh..."

Chang Long sighed in frustration. There was nothing she could do until the giant bird stopped flying, as she was being carried in an acrobatic upside-down position. The fierce wind battering her face prevented her from even opening her eyes to see where she was being taken.

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