Close Combat Mage Chapter 80

Translated by: Taffy
Edited by: mrbaconator, Comfortabull, Yeow

Chapter 80 – The Different Ring

“Discuss? What is there to discuss? Is it really necessary?” Suo Jia rudely responded to the red clad mage’s words.

Suo Jia sighed, turned to the red clad mage, and said, “Your boss is really too overbearing. Who says that it must be sold for the same amount I bought it for? Do you know what my circumstances were at that time?”

As he explained up to this point, Suo Jia unhappily glanced at the knight and continued, “I had to borrow the power of a person with strong status and position, and pressure everyone so that they wouldn’t dare to place bids against me. This is the only reason I was able to purchase it at such a low price. On what grounds do you request that I sell it to you for the same price?”

Suo Jia suddenly lifted his hand, and pointed at the green armored warrior, saying, “Alright, didn’t you say earlier that I was extorting you? Then let me ask you, as a water mage, why in the world would I ever buy a fire elemental staff?”

“This….” Faced with Suo Jia’s question, the green armored warrior stuttered for a while before blushing red as he replied, “Of course it’s to collect it and wait for it to appreciate in value, so that you can use it as exchange for equipment you need.”

Suo Jia nodded and loudly declared, “See, don’t you understand it clearly? Since you know that I have bought this for the sake of letting it appreciate in value, then why do you ask me to exchange it for the price that I had originally bought it for?”

Suo Jia then turned around to look at the red clad mage and said, “Mister Mage, I want you to answer this next question honestly. In your opinion….this Vulcan’s Roar, although it is not a Legendary-ranked staff, can it sell for over 220 million? Is it worth this price or not?”

Hearing Suo Jia’s words, the red clad mage grew serious as he nodded his head firmly, “As long as one can afford it, I believe that….any fire mage wouldn’t dare to pass up on the chance of getting their hands on this staff. Even 220 million gold may not be its true worth. In my heart, it is completely priceless, and is worth any amount of money.”

Suo Jia nodded in satisfaction at these words. Finally, he shifted his gaze towards the silver armored knight, the boss of the group, and said, “Mister Knight over there, do you understand now that I’m not extorting you? I can confidently tell you that once you have this staff, your groups attack abilities will increase by multiple fold. Although this Vulcan’s Roar is not a Legendary-ranked staff, to this Mister Mage, the effects of this staff are even more powerful than a Legendary-ranked magical equipment. With this staff, even if you guys went to the Greater Trade Routes, your group’s attack abilities can already be qualified as top ranked!”

“The Greater Trade Routes!” Hearing Suo Jia’s words, the silver armored knight’s eyes burned passionately. The Greater Trade Routes was the paradise that every warrior dreamed of.

Smiling at the knight, Suo Jia calmly said, “If you bring this staff onto the Greater Trade Routes, only Epic-ranked equipment sets would be able to hold a candle to it. I ask of you, do you still think that a staff this powerful is not even worth 220 million?”

The knight swallowed hard with difficulty. He understood that what the brat was saying was correct. Although it was expensive, owning this staff would allow his group’s attack power to be immediately increased at an exponential level. Moreover, he would no longer have to worry over the mage’s weapons in the future. As long as his other companions managed to get their hands on some ranked weapons and equipment, they would be able to wreak havoc anywhere, even if it was the Greater Trade Routes!

“Alright…” After thinking of all this, the knight said resolutely, “In that case, I won’t say any more about this. Just use this staff alone in exchange for the 44 interspatial rings.”

“Haha….” Smiling, Suo Jia gently tossed the four crystal cards back onto the table, and laughed, “That’s right, everything’s in good faith. I’m honestly very interested in your rings, so I don’t mind giving you an additional 40 million out of amiability.”

Seeing that Suo Jia actually tossed over the 40 million again, the knight could not help but be surprised. Although he did not say it out loud, he internally now admired Suo Jia. Suo Jia clearly didn’t have to hand over any money, and yet he still did. This was extremely generous of him, and it really made him blush, as he had realized the shame of his previous actions.

The deal was quickly completed. The 44 interspatial rings, as well as the mysterious blue glove and the dirty dagger were exchanged for Vulcan’s Roar and 40 million gold. Both parties were very satisfied by this deal, and the knight inwardly decided that in the future, if they ever found any good items, they would definitely be brought back here for Suo Jia to look over them first. This little fellow, although he was still young, he had quite good vision. For the sake of keeping others’ interests in mind and upholding fairness, he was willing to pay large sums of money. Such a good client could only be found here.

After the deal had been completed, Suo Jia invited the three to a sumptuous midnight snack. Only after this, were they seen off. The three of them had all agreed with Suo Jia that the next time the group discovered any good items, they would definitely bring them to Suo Jia first. Any high quality items would be prioritized for Suo Jia to purchase.

As he watched the three figures gradually fade away into the distance, Suo Jia smiled. Actually….the reason he had given them that 40 million was to give them a peace of mind. He had already stolen quite a bit from them and couldn’t afford to further swindle them anymore; it was difficult for everyone.

This interspatial ring was incomparable to the Gale Ring. If the interspatial ring was brought to an auction, the starting price would have to be at least 10 million. However, nobody would ever sell such a useful item in an auction. That was why Suo Jia had cheated them in the exchange with the idea of buying them at a Gale Ring’s price. In reality, these interspatial rings’ value was something that nobody could determine, unless they were really brought before an auction for a thorough inspection.

Suo Jia returned to his room and dumped all 44 interspatial rings on the table. Seeing the table covered with rings, Suo Jia could not help but sigh in admiration. These 44 rings were worth at least 440 million. However, even if someone offered 1 billion for them, Suo Jia would not sell them. These items were too precious; only idiots would give them away.

“Hm” As Suo Jia flipped through the rings, he suddenly frowned. He quickly took out one of the rings from the pile and held it up to his eye to inspect it more closely. The more he looked at it, the more he felt that there was something a bit off. Why was this?

It wasn’t that the ring was fake. If such an item were fake, it wouldn’t have magic power at all, and could be sensed as soon as it was touched. Suo Jia had already tested all of them earlier before he had purchased them; they were definitely all interspatial rings.

However, no matter how much he looked at the special one in his hands, he couldn’t deny the fact that it seemed different from the others! Although it was also made of bronze like the others, the ring was also covered with strange vein lines. More importantly, there was a tiny gem embedded in it!

Suo Jia suspiciously placed the ring on his finger, and channeled his spirit power into the ring to further inspect it. It actually would’ve been better if he hadn’t inspected it. After he had finished, Suo Jia could not help but be dazed as he continued to stare at the ring on his finger.

Normally, there was only a cubic meter’s worth of space within an interspatial ring. However, Suo Jia was dumbstruck as he discovered that within this interspatial ring, there was approximately 10 cubic meters worth of space!

Suo Jia swallowed hard in excitement. He gathered his spirit power, and then activated the Space Shield within the ring. Suddenly….a shapeless Space Shield quickly materialized in front of Suo Jia. Although it was both colorless and amorphous, Suo Jia clearly felt its existence and form with his spirit.

The Space Shield was about 1 meter in diameter, which was no different from any other ring’s Space Shield. Testing it with one attack, the Space Shield immediately dispersed. At the same time, the attack was swallowed by the Space Shield.

Suo Jia furrowed his brows in suspicion. Could it really be that…..this interspatial ring only had a larger volume than the other rings, while its Space Shield’s strength remained the same?

He doubtfully switched to another interspatial ring and tested it. As expected, the result was the same, or at the very least Suo Jia hadn’t sensed any other differences. Unable to figure out the reasoning, Suo Jia wore both, one on each hand, and activated both Space Shields to compare them side by side. Suo Jia believed that there definitely had to be a difference.

Soon, Suo Jia’s test showed results. The average interspatial ring could only materialize 3 Space Shields in succession before its ability to do so would temporarily disappear. However, the strange interspatial ring could materialize dozens of Space Shields in succession. Although he really wanted to test exactly how many could be released before its cooldown period, Suo Jia had used up all of his spirit power and was no longer able to materialize a new Space Shield.

Although the Space Shield was invisible and incorporeal, it provided an absolute defense. No matter whether it was a slash from a sword in close quarters range, or whether it was a magic attack from a long distance range, it would completely shield against it a single time. After that one time, the Space Shield would immediately disappear. If one wanted to use it again, one would have to materialize it once more.

In terms of the average interspatial ring, the ring’s abilities could only support 3 Space Shields. After all 3 were activated, a couple of minutes were required to restore the shield. However, Suo Jia’s strange ring seemed to be able to materialize Space Shields endlessly; as long as one had enough spirit power, one could keep releasing the shields.

Looking at the strange ring in his hand, Suo Jia knew that with this ability alone, this ring was definitely qualified to be Legendary-ranked. Such an amazing ring obviously couldn’t be handed to others. Suo Jia immediately slipped it onto his own finger; he refused to part with it for the rest of his life.

Chapter end