Orson disabled the black [Heretic of the Beast Clan] title and leisurely picked up two imperial gold coins from the ground.
Not bad. That's about two thousand bucks in his pocket.
"What… He can actually pick it up?"
"This is so unfair! Why does he get it?"
"Don't tell me he's the one who killed the boss? Still in Level 1 beginner gear? Could he really be… a GM?"
The crowd of players stood frozen, staring in disbelief as Orson, clad in beginner gear, casually summoned a Level 10 purple staff into his hand.
"Boss damage output was over 600 DPS earlier. That's impossible for any player right now."
"Definitely not a player. Probably a dev fixing a bug—we've seen those before."
The crowd's eyes, alight with greed, fixated on Orson. If the newbie village didn't restrict PvP, Orson had no doubt they'd swarm him to kill and loot everything.
[Pinoc's Spirit Staff]
Effect: Recovers 3 MP per second
Set Bonus (3 pieces): +120 HP, +150 MP
Set Bonus (6 pieces): +200 HP, +300 MP
"Hmph. It has MP regeneration, but 3 points? That's pathetic."
Orson shook his head with slight disappointment.
Weapons with MP regeneration are valuable, but this was useless to him. If it regenerated MP by percentage, then it would have been a different story.
In Infinite Dimensions, players could equip six armor pieces and four accessories. However, only heroic-tier or above gear came with set bonuses. Collecting three or six matching pieces would activate extra stat boosts, with rarer sets even unlocking awakening skills.
The mana boost on this staff didn't matter to Orson, but the HP boost was decent. Still, as someone who specialized in long-range attacks, he wasn't planning to engage in melee combat any time soon.
Besides the staff, the boss had also dropped three Level 10 blue armor pieces. Orson promptly listed them in the auction house.
Low-level gear was only transitional; its value would plummet after the opening phase of the game. Selling it now made the most sense.
ThunderStrike: "Wait… You're a player?"
Orson glanced at the swordsman blocking his path.
To avoid unnecessary trouble, he calmly shook his head. "Official test personnel. Designation 404."
Ever since learning the truth behind Infinite Dimensions, Orson no longer identified himself as a "player."
In three years, the term "player" would cease to exist. Instead, people would face life-and-death trials as "challengers."
"Phew… Scared the crap outta me. I knew it! There's no way this game lets players get this OP—it'd be totally unbalanced."
A collective sigh of relief swept through the crowd. If a Level 7 newbie mage could take down a boss from hundreds of meters away, it'd be game over for everyone else.
ThunderStrike: "Hey, mind if we talk?"
Orson eyed the [SSR] prefix in the swordsman's username, sneering inwardly as he pocketed his loot and walked away.
"Listen, since the staff dropped in the game, our SSR guild master—he's a mage—might want it. Name your price."
The berserker caught up to Orson, switching to private chat.
"You can buy it, but I won't sell it to your guild," Orson replied meaningfully.
"What's that supposed to mean? Who do you think you are, acting all high and mighty?" ThunderStrike fumed, his tone growing hostile.
Without another word, Orson muted him.
Many players displayed guild prefixes in their names, and this swordsman was clearly one of SSR Guild's lackeys.
Orson's history with the SSR Guild ran deep.
In Sword and Conquest, he'd brought countless honors to this guild. But in the end, he was scapegoated and betrayed, left to bear the stigma of match-fixing.
In his past life, Orson had been powerless against the overwhelming force of capital. But now, things were different.
"You framed me for throwing matches and ruined my name. Just wait—I'll settle this debt with interest." Orson smirked coldly.
Back at the village, he submitted his main quest and listed the staff at a starting bid of 20 gold coins, with a two-hour auction window.
To avoid being stalked by other players, Orson logged out, took a hot shower, and got some rest.
At dawn, he re-entered the game.
"You have new mail. Please check your inbox!"
"Your auctioned item has been sold."
"Your auctioned item has been sold."
The moment Orson logged in, five notification messages appeared. He opened his inbox to review the transactions.