48 Hours a Day

Zhang Heng was really interested in the effect of Moresby Bone. The bartender lady identified it for him and he’d also tested it out for himself. Unlike his other game items, it was actually extremely difficult to trigger the Moresby Bone’s effect. In fact, a very particular ritual needed to be performed before one could utilize it. Thankfully, it was not that hard to get the materials for this ritual. Around nine hours was needed for the entire ritual to be completed.

If performed successfully, the user would enter the time loop. The realm within this loop was a world of nothingness. Not even death would happen in the realm of the time loop. This was actually the perfect place for one to master their skills. Archery would be a good example. In this realm, the user would not feel hungry, thirsty, or tired. With determination, one could actually train until their archery skills maxed out. However, no one would be able to withstand such a boring routine for too long. Zhang Heng estimated that even a person with a strong mental fortitude would not be able to stay within the time loop’s realm for more than half a month.

That was a place void of anything. Zhang Heng wondered how the monster called Moresby stayed inside for tens of thousands of years. Just like entering the realm of the time loop, if the user wished to exit the realm, someone would need to prepare the ritual again. This was why the Alkiz were stuck inside the realm after they exterminated Moresby.

If the old man in the Chinese attire did not break the balance of time, that monster would have probably been stuck inside the time loop for eternity. Despite this, the item kept its value. The premise of being able to live forever inside the time loop itself was attractive enough for someone to bid for it.

Zhang Heng let this item go because he had an extra 24 hours every day. Besides, he was new to the game, and he had just completed three quests. Sure, he could earn game points pretty quickly, but the reward was simply not good enough.

After deducting the 5% processing fee, Zhang Heng received a total of 2,755 game points. With this amount, he was now officially a bidder at the auction house. As he flipped through the catalog again, something captured his attention on page four.

[Paris Arrow. Grade: D. Description: Once the arrow is launched, it would automatically land on the target’s weak point. Current price: 410.]

The name of this arrow reminded Zhang Heng about a story he heard when he was still a kid.

It went like this:

During the Trojan War, Achilles was the strongest hero from Greece. Legend said that he was the son of one of the heroes from the Argonauts, namely Peleus, and the Ocean Queen, Thetis. There were many versions of his story. One of them was that his mother, Thetis, was told by the Queen of Fate that she would be killed on the battlefield. So, she soaked her son, Achilles, in the River Styx to turn him into an indestructible hero. As she was holding his heel as she dipped him, his heel later became his only weakness.

When he grew up, he turned into a war hero killing countless enemies during the Trojan War. He was the one who had eliminated Hector, the most powerful warrior from Troy. After that, he was involved in a fight between Apollo, the God of the Sun. According to Gustav Schwab, the author of Gods and Heroes of Ancient Greece, Achilles was killed when Apollo shot an arrow at his heel. The name and description of this game item matched the arrow that was mentioned in the Greek epic poem, Odyssey.

After knowing that players would face unknown danger in the real world, Zhang Heng wanted to arm himself well to make sure that he could protect him and others. The Paris Arrow matched perfectly with his Lv2 Archery Skill. As long as he could aim and launch the arrow at his target, it would automatically aim for the target’s weak spots.

This was actually a niche game item, where only players with an archery skill would be attracted by it. That would mean only a few players would fight for it. So, half an hour later, the price of the Paris Arrow had increased by only 65 game points. As compared to other game items, the Paris Arrow was evidently not as popular.

Amid the auction, Ding Si’s cellphone rang nonstop, seeming as if he was getting more business by the minute. Zhang Heng was not surprised, as those participating in the auction were here to look for items that could help them in the game. If what they wanted to buy was in high demand, and they lacked game points, they would frequently look toward the chamber of commerce for help. Some would even sell off game items that they possessed in exchange for more game points.

In that one hour, Ding Si’s fingers never left his cellphone, closing one deal after another. However, after leaving the auction house for a short while, he seemed to receive fewer messages when he returned.

“I just closed a big deal. I’m left with very few game points. That would mean my job for today is done,” Ding Si sighed in euphoria.

“Congrats!”

The auction was about to end soon and Zhang Heng checked on the Paris Arrow again only to find out that the price had increased to 445. So, he subsequently bid another 20 game points on it.

In the end, he managed to obtain the Paris Arrow for a total of 465 game points.

Other than that, a pair of earrings captured Zhang Heng’s attention as well. It allowed the user to gain 100% fire resistance. However, its price had started climbing higher and higher, and in the end, he had to give the item up. As he looked at all the unidentified items in the catalog again, he noticed all kinds of items. A Samsung cellphone and Gucci handbag were listed as well. With only pictures to guide him, it was hard to determine their function.

It was not necessary, though, for him to try his luck on all these items.

However, just as he was about to close the catalog, a picture captured his attention. It was a key. The engraving on its end was extremely familiar to him. Suddenly, Zhang Heng remembered where he had seen the pattern. Earlier, when he activated the Shadow Moment, he stared right into the crow’s eyes, and though the picture was a little blurry, he still managed to recognize the crow engraved on it.

Amongst all the game items he possessed, Shadow Moment was the only item with an unknown origin. Who knows, he might just find more information about his Shadow Moment through this key. The Shadow Moment was a D-grade item. That would mean this key was probably a D-grade item as well. Right now, no one had placed bids for it. That would mean Zhang Heng would be able to acquire this item with only 100 game points.

As luck would have it, he managed to obtain the key at its base price.

After the final purchase, he was now left with 2,292 game points. He then closed the catalog having no further intention to purchase any more game items.

The auction was coming to an end and the auctioneer announced the last valuable item.