Chapter 43: The Dustless Mask

Wu Shaochen spent nearly an hour traveling and finally arrived at Jinling City, then made his way directly to the city governor’s office.

As he entered Jinling City, a young man in green opened his friend list and sent a message to someone: “Boss, that person has entered Jinling City.”

After Wu Shaochen arrived at the governor’s office and stated his purpose, the guards did not stop him. Instead, they led him into the hall and asked him to wait. Then, they went to report his arrival.

Soon, the city governor walked in. Upon seeing Wu Shaochen, he smiled and said, “Adventurer, weren’t you supposed to be looking for the leader of the Black Wind Stronghold? Did you run into some trouble?”

Without saying much, Wu Shaochen took out the head of the Black Wind Stronghold’s leader and handed it to the governor, saying, “There’s no problem. The Black Wind Stronghold leader has already been taken care of.”

“Ah!” The governor stared at the head in front of him, momentarily speechless. He clearly didn’t expect Wu Shaochen to actually kill the leader of the Black Wind Stronghold.

After a long pause, the governor regained his composure and said with a sigh, “Heroes come from young people! Adventurer, thank you for solving such a big problem for me. This is your reward.”

Ding: Quest Complete. Gained Reputation +1000, Gold +50, and received the title [Bandit Slayer Hero].

“Eh, there’s even a title,” Wu Shaochen said, smiling with joy. Titles never go out of style. He quickly checked it:

[Bandit Slayer Hero]: Wearing it increases health by 10% and defense by 10%.

Nice! Wu Shaochen immediately equipped it, boosting his health to 6062 points, physical defense to 597, and magical defense to 586. He immediately felt stronger.

After receiving the reward, Wu Shaochen took out a parchment and handed it to the governor. “Governor, this is something the village chief of Liu Family Village asked me to pass on to you. He wanted me to tell you that the seal is loosening and that he hopes you can send troops to support.”

“Liu Family Village?” The governor seemed to have no recollection. He took the parchment from Wu Shaochen and opened it. After a brief glance, his face became very grave.

After a moment of silence, the governor finally said, “Adventurer, thank you for bringing such an important message. I have nothing else to give you, but I don’t have much use for this, so I’ll give it to you.”

Ding: Quest Complete. Gained item [Dustless Mask].

Wu Shaochen received the item from the governor and looked at it with a gleam of excitement. It was a mask made from an unknown material, so thin it was almost like the wings of a cicada. The design was exquisite, far superior to anything in the shop. It could instantly transform one’s aura and make anyone wearing it appear much more refined. Most importantly, it had an effect when worn, which was quite remarkable.

[Dustless Mask]: Wearing it blocks all skills and scrolls that are used to detect or probe. The shape of the mask can be freely changed.

This effect was absolutely amazing! Although Insight skills could not be used on players, there would definitely be skills or scrolls capable of probing players in the future. With this mask, Wu Shaochen no longer had to worry about being spied on. Plus, the fact that it could change its shape was an incredible technique for hiding his identity.

“This is definitely a game-changer,” Wu Shaochen thought, thrilled, as he equipped the [Dustless Mask] and stored the useless mask from the shop in his backpack. He immediately felt a significant shift in his aura.

After equipping the mask, Wu Shaochen noticed that the governor still looked grim, so he asked, “Governor, is there anywhere I can be of help?”

The governor shook his head and said, “I will handle this matter. You may leave now.”

“Alright,” Wu Shaochen replied, then excused himself.

Just as he was about to exit, the governor suddenly called out to him, “If possible, could you help me clear the jungle tigers in the Tiger Roar Forest? They’re causing some trouble for the troops advancing.”

“Alright, leave it to me,” Wu Shaochen assured confidently.

However, after a long pause, there was still no quest prompt. Wu Shaochen felt a bit frustrated—was this supposed to be a free favor?

Seeing that Wu Shaochen agreed so quickly, the governor praised him, “Adventurer, your name is Chenfeng, right? I’ve remembered you. You’re a hero of Jinling City. When clearing the jungle tigers, make sure not to venture too deep. There is a jungle tiger king inside, which is not something you’re capable of handling at your current level. If you encounter it, just run.”

Wu Shaochen’s eyes lit up when he heard this. “A boss?”

If that’s the case, helping out for free wasn’t too bad, since the Tiger Roar Forest was currently the best place for leveling up. Having a big boss there would be even better!

He quickly reassured the governor, “Don’t worry, Governor, I won’t act recklessly.” This way, he hoped to maintain a good relationship with the governor of Jinling City. Even though the quest didn’t offer any rewards, building ties with the governor was definitely beneficial. It would be useful in the future when dealing with matters in Jinling City.

The governor nodded in satisfaction, his opinion of the adventurer increasing greatly.

After leaving the governor’s office, Wu Shaochen went to the warehouse, where he took out the [Brutal Charge] skill book and placed it on the auction house. It was the perfect time to sell it, as he had already seen many people on the forums looking to buy skill books.

In the auction, the price of [Brutal Charge] soared, eventually being sold for 550,000 gold, setting a new high for the auction house.

Wu Shaochen looked at his balance of over 460,000 gold and felt a sense of satisfaction. He had kept the skill book for this exact moment, and it hadn’t let him down. He had initially thought it would go for around 300,000, but it ended up selling for 550,000! It seemed that people valued skills more than equipment, and rightfully so—skills wouldn’t be outdated, while equipment would.

With more than 3 million gold in his account, Wu Shaochen’s thoughts turned to buying a house. He couldn’t believe how quickly he was earning money.

“It looks like I’ll need to keep hunting bosses,” he muttered to himself. “Buying a house in SZ City is going to require more than this amount.”

Wu Shaochen then went to the pharmacy and checked out the items there. The offerings were much better than the ones in his starting village.

Small Red Potion: Restores 200 health per second for 10 seconds. Cooldown: 30 seconds. Price: 5 silver.

Medium Red Potion: Restores 300 health per second for 10 seconds. Cooldown: 30 seconds. Price: 10 silver.

Large Red Potion: Restores 500 health per second for 10 seconds. Cooldown: 30 seconds. Price: 50 silver.

There were also blue potions in small, medium, and large sizes.

The potions here in Jinling City were much better than those in the starting village, but the prices were also much higher. Even with his fortune, Wu Shaochen hesitated to buy too many.

In the end, he bought 20 large red potions for 10 gold and 100 medium red potions for 10 gold.

He bought these potions in preparation for the upcoming boss fights. According to the governor, the boss in Tiger Roar Forest was no ordinary creature, so he needed to stock up to ensure his survival.

After purchasing the potions, Wu Shaochen sold all his leftover red potions from the starting village, cleaned out his backpack, and realized that the monsters in his starting village were the only ones dropping potions. Since he hadn’t gotten any potions from monsters in Jinling City, he had to buy them himself.

After finishing all this, Wu Shaochen decided to log off. It was almost time for dinner, and he could eat first before continuing his adventure.