Refusal

"However, the boss evolution process will take some time."

"Since no one can kill that boss right now, I might as well give it time to evolve..."

"I'll head back first and take care of some things."

Riven glanced at his inventory.

Halfway to level 4, his 10-slot inventory was already full.

It was packed with equipment and skill books that didn't suit his class.

To Riven, these items were useless. The best option was to trade them for [Tradeable Lifespan].

But for the other players in Shell Town, these were valuable treasures that could significantly boost their strength.

Take the Mage skill book "Ice Spear", for example.

Once learned, this skill could slow enemies upon impact and even had a chance to freeze them. Of course, boss monsters had high resistance to control effects, making them difficult to freeze.

But against regular mobs, it was an absolute weapon.

On his way back to Shell Town, Riven saw several players getting chased down and killed by Creepers...

His expression remained indifferent.

This kind of thing was only common in the early stages of the game.

It wouldn't take long before people realized that the key to survival was simply adding points into Agility.

With high Agility, they could outrun the Creepers and avoid getting chased down—no matter how many came after them.

And if a Creeper tried to flee, players with enough speed could easily hunt it down!

This was exactly why Riven focused on Agility.

As he approached Shell Town's safe zone, he finally disabled his stealth.

However...

He opened the system panel and activated the "Face Mask" feature.

In Eclipse of Eternity, a player's in-game appearance was identical to their real-world self and couldn't be modified.

"In reality, I'm still just an ordinary person. I haven't extracted any abilities yet."

"I can't afford to expose my identity."

Riven was well aware of the consequences.

If people discovered his identity, with him being the number one player in Shell Town, trouble would come knocking—perhaps even putting his life in danger.

This kind of thing...

He had seen it happen too many times in his past life.

After enabling the "Face Mask" feature, a layer of impenetrable black mist veiled his face.

He was clad in the standard black starting robe, with "Sprint Hide Leg guards" on his legs and "Rotten Hide Boots" on his feet. Beneath the dark mask, only his cold, piercing eyes were visible.

In Shell Town, the gathered players from Riverbay City all wore anxious expressions.

They desperately wanted to reach Level 3 and return to reality.

But right now, they couldn't even kill a single Creeper. Every time they encountered one, it was never alone—always appearing in groups. How were they supposed to fight that?

As a result, they huddled together in Shell Town, endlessly discussing strategies.

Then, Riven arrived.

His cold and imposing presence immediately drew the attention of the surrounding players.

His leg guards, boots, and the "Corroded Dagger" in his hand were clearly drops from wild monsters outside.

Most strikingly, his dagger and leg guards emitted a faint bronze glow.

They were obviously Bronze-tier equipment!

"Who's this guy? Why is he acting all high and mighty?"

"Bro, he has two pieces of Bronze gear—wouldn't you flex too?"

"Damn... don't tell me he's the number one player, Shadow?"

"Holy crap, I think he really is! Shadow! Someone's offering a million dollars to power level them!"

"Boss, I don't even need you to power level me. I'll pay 20,000 just for you to tell me how you solo farmed out there..."

"Waaah, Shadow, I've already died four times! If you help me level up, I'll do whatever you want... I'm still... a newbie..."

In an instant, a crowd formed around Riven.

Some wanted him to help them level up. Others wanted to learn how he soloed monsters.

Unfortunately, Riven ignored them all.

He walked straight to the town square and sat down next to a crumbling flowerbed.

Opening the trading post function, he listed ten pieces of equipment and skill books for sale.

Shop Name: [Gear & Skills Clearance – 10 Minutes Only! Buy Fast!]

There were a lot of players in town.

Riven estimated that 10 minutes should be enough.

The moment his shop appeared, it immediately caught the attention of everyone around!

"Damn, it really is Shadow!"

"Unbelievable! He's selling gear! And two pieces of Bronze equipment too!"

"Did he kill a Bronze-tier boss? I heard that Bronze-tier Curseborn wiped out over thirty players, including that punk, Blondie, and his crew!"

"Yeah, that boss is insanely strong. Could someone really kill it this early?"

As the players gathered, a woman in a gray mage robe approached with her team.

Her figure was stunning, an alluring s-curve with a well-proportioned chest and long, slender legs—making it impossible to look away.

"How much for Ice Spear?"

The gray-robed woman pursed her lips and asked directly.

Like Riven, she had also activated the "Face Mask" feature.

But Riven recognized her immediately.

This woman was none other than "Gray Rose," currently ranked 11th on the Shell Town leaderboard.

Her robe was a low-quality drop from common mobs, but it matched her alias well...

Riven glanced at her and said, "100 days of tradeable lifespan."

Gray Rose frowned slightly. "100 days? That's too much. I can't afford it. Can you lower the price?"

Riven shook his head, unwilling to waste words.

The "Ice Spear" skill was a massive boost to early-game Mage grinding efficiency. 100 days was already a bargain.

Gray Rose then asked, "Can I pay in cash?"

Riven replied indifferently, "If you have the money, buy lifespan from other players first, then come trade with me. If no one offers more, I'll hold the item for you."

Gray Rose bit her lip. "Wait here."

She led her team aside and discussed in party chat for a moment...

Thirty seconds later.

Gray Rose returned and said, "Alright. 100 days of lifespan. Let's trade."

By this point, Riven had accumulated 268 days of tradeable lifespan from farming.

Gray Rose, on the other hand, had reached Level 2 and killed at least 30 to 40 Creepers.

However, the lifespan drops from those Creepers had been split among her teammates…

Now, she had gathered all of her team's tradeable lifespan to purchase "Ice Spear", hoping to accelerate their progression.

—

[You have sold "Ice Spear (Skill Book)." You have gained 100 days of tradeable lifespan!]

[Tradeable Lifespan: 268 days → 368 days!]

—

Just as the transaction completed, a few people suddenly shoved through the crowd and approached Riven.

Leading them was a ponytailed girl wearing a short-sleeved black top—none other than Duck Pear!

She had clearly torn the sleeves off her standard-issue black robe, making it look more casual and lively...

"Shadow?"

The young lady looked down at Riven from above, exuding an air of arrogance. "I'll give you an opportunity. Just power level me to Level 3. Once we're back in reality, I'll pay you 1 million dollars. My father is the chairman of Jan Industries—you don't have to worry about me not paying up!"

The crowd erupted in shock.

1 million!

Just to power level her to Level 3!

The surrounding players were stunned!

"That's insane!"

"For someone like Shadow, carrying her to Level 3 should be easy!"

"Yeah, that's free money right there..."

But to everyone's surprise...

Riven glanced at the short-sleeved girl, his expression completely indifferent.

"I refuse."