Chapter 226
On a street located in the heart of the Trade Area, a man hiding himself under a hooded cloak hurriedly walked into the tall building, the Starstreak Trading Firm, by the roadside.
Due to its raging popularity, there were plenty of players entering and leaving the Starstreak Trading Firm. Moreover, players who wore cloaks were common at the trading firm, so the hurried man did not attract the attention of other players.
However, if one observed carefully, they would discover two exquisite longswords strapped to his back. Of the two swords, one released a faint glow that resembled a black flame, while the other released a green stream of light. One could easily tell that these two swords were extraordinary items. Moreover, the style of this man’s equipment clearly indicated it was a Set Equipment and a high-quality Set Equipment at that.
This person was none other than Shi Feng currently disguised as Black Flame.
Previously, after spending most of his day hiding in a Forging Room, Shi Feng had forged a total of 600 Basic Mana Armor Kits; 400 of them were Physical Armor Kits, while the remaining 200 were Magic Armor Kits.
A large amount of Copper Ore, Bronze Ore, Intermediate Recovery Potions, and Intermediate Mana Regeneration Potions was required to make so many Armor Kits. Fortunately, Shi Feng had these materials in spades.
With the Philosopher’s Stone, Shi Feng could refine Stones into Ores. There was no need for him to purchase any at all. As for Basic Potions, he simply needed to spend some money to purchase a large stock of them. However, when compared to the value of the Basic Mana Armor Kits, the cost of these potions was practically negligible.
Shi Feng had even resolved the issue of production success rate, which was the most troublesome factor when producing the Basic Mana Armor Kits.
For starters, as an Advanced Forging Apprentice, Shi Feng possessed a 20% success rate when forging the Basic Mana Armor Kits. After factoring in the Book of Forging and the various supporting tools he possessed, his success rate was further boosted to 66%. Although there was still the chance of failure, each try would only cost him 70 Copper Coins.
With Shi Feng’s current wealth, he would not feel even an itch from losing such a meager amount of money.
After arriving at the third floor of the Starstreak Trading Firm, Shi Feng quickly discovered a long line of people in the hallway. These people were currently queued up outside an office. A majority of these people consisted of NPCs, while the minority were players.
“Hey, do you know what ‘first come, first served’ means?”
“You mannerless brute! You actually dare break the rules that Lady Anna has set!
“Bro, you sure have guts, huh? Aren’t you afraid of Goddess Anna kicking you out?”
Regardless if it were the NPCs or players queued up in the hallway, all of them sent fierce glares at Shi Feng. However, their anger did not stem from their hatred of meeting Shi Feng for the first time. Instead, they were afraid of Shi Feng’s rudeness earning the ire of Lady Anna. They had been painstakingly waiting to meet Lady Anna for a long time now. If Lady Anna chased all of them away in a fit of rage, it would be a tragedy.
“What are you guys queuing for?” Shi Feng asked curiously.
Shi Feng casually glanced at the people queued up in the hallway. Just from a rough estimate, there should be over 200 people present; this was in no way a small number. Moreover, looking at how all of these people referred to Anna as “Lady Anna” or “Goddess Anna” with both admiration and respect, Shi Feng couldn’t help but grow astonished.
“You dare come here without even knowing this?” Everyone immediately rolled their eyes at Shi Feng. They looked at Shi Feng as if he was a noob, their gazes filled with disdain.
“The Starstreak Trading Firm is currently hiring a large number of Forgers and Potionmakers. If we’re chosen and can work for Starstreak, we will enjoy a private workshop all to ourselves. Moreover, the trading firm will provide us with an endless supply of materials. If we perform well, the trading firm will even reward us with our very own private research room and provide us with all the materials we need to carry out our research. In other words, as long as we can become a Forger or Potionmaker of Starstreak Trading Firm, both money and fame will be available for our picking.”
Speaking up to this point, everyone couldn’t help but sigh incessantly. They felt great envy towards those who had already become Forgers and Potionmakers of the Starstreak Trading Firm. However, when a female player suddenly walked out from the office with a disappointed look on her face, everyone’s mood immediately dampened.
Due to Starstreak growing more and more famous, the number of NPCs and players who wished to join the trading firm had also grown explosively. Hence, the tests’ difficulty had also been increased. It was no longer as easy as the trading firm’s initial recruitment.
“How many consecutive eliminations have that been already?”
“I think this should be the seventh. The test is becoming more and more challenging. Previously, one of every five applicants would succeed. Now, only one out of eight succeed. I wonder what the chances will be when it is my turn?”
The people queued near the back started growing anxious.
“Anna sure is strict.” Shi Feng revealed a bitter smile.
Although having such strict selection criteria wasn’t a problem, players were still fundamentally different from NPCs. Especially for players who were timid and introverted, it was a little extreme to reject them after undergoing only a single test.
Cream Cocoa, the female player who had just walked out from Anna’s office, was one such example. In the past, Cream Cocoa was a genius forger who had the title as one of the Ten Great Master Forgers of Star-Moon Kingdom, and Shi Feng was fully intent of recruiting her into his Guild in this life.
He did not think that, shortly after Cream Cocoa had left the Assassin’s Alliance, she would immediately come to Starstreak, only to be rejected once more.
Fortunately, Shi Feng had made a trip to Starstreak Trading Firm. Otherwise, he would similarly be shedding tears of regret with Cruel Sword…
“Hah… another failure… Where am I supposed to head to now?” At this moment Cream Cocoa wore a dejected expression. Previously, she had been chased out of the Assassin’s Alliance due to her production success rate being overly low. Now, Starstreak Trading Firm had also rejected her. After these consecutive failures, she no longer knew where she should head. “Am I really not cut out for forging? Maybe I should go adventuring and fight like the other players. However, I am a sports idiot. How am I supposed to fight like the others?”
“Hello. Are you here to apply for a job at Starstreak Trading Firm?” Shi Feng asked, blocking Cream Cocoa’s path.
“Mhm,” Cream Cocoa nodded as she glanced at Shi Feng. Currently, she did not have the mood at all to pay any attention to a stranger.
“Are you interested in taking another test?” Shi Feng asked with a smile.
Shock flashed in Cream Cocoa’s eyes. Immediately, she lifted her head and focused on Shi Feng. For a moment, she had even thought that Shi Feng was one of Starstreak’s personnel. However, when she failed to find the Starstreak Trading Firm’s emblem on Shi Feng’s clothing, she couldn’t help but feel disappointed.
“Hahaha! Who do you think you are? Starstreak’s President? Can you let someone, who has already been rejected, take the test again? If you wish to pretend, at least think of the time and place. Look at where you are at right now. At the very least, you should get a Starstreak Emblem before putting up your act,” a tall and beautiful Cleric sneered as she sent a disdainful gaze at Shi Feng.
However, Shi Feng did not get angry at this girl’s provocation. Instead, he used Observing Eyes on this tall beauty.
[Melancholic Smile]
Level 10
Cleric
Seeing this name, Shi Feng was shocked. Although not as famous as Cream Cocoa, Melancholic Smile, the tall beauty of a Cleric before him, was also one of Star-Moon Kingdom’s future Master Forgers.
Shi Feng truly did not think that the Starstreak Trading Firm could be so attractive as to lure two future Master Forgers.
“My bad, I forgot to introduce myself. I am…”
Just as Shi Feng was about to introduce himself, Anna suddenly walked out from the office as she called for the next batch of interviewees. However, the moment her eyes spotted Shi Feng, she hurriedly walked over to Shi Feng in a panic.
Meanwhile, everyone else revealed ridiculing smiles as they watched Shi Feng. They fully intended to enjoy the show that was about to play out.
_You’ve humiliated yourself big time, now._
Shi Feng actually dared pretend to be Starstreak Trading Firm personnel. Now that he had been caught in the act, he would definitely be shown the way out.
“Your Excellency, this subordinate is extremely sorry for this! I did not think that these people would disturb you. I will immediately send them away,” Anna glared at Cream Cocoa and Melancholic Smile, hurriedly apologizing to Shi Feng.