3: Chapter 3: In three days, I went from being penniless to a small-time tycoon!

Lin Feng stared at the "mana: 5/10" display on the attribute panel and sighed helplessly.

Since returning from the Explorers Guild, he had already conducted several Fusion experiments.

Every time his mana was depleted, he had to wait two hours like an idiot.

"No, I have to find a way."

He opened an online shopping platform and searched for "Mana Recovery Potion."

A long list of results popped up.

[Elementary Mana Potion (Small)]

[Quality: White Common]

[Effect: Restores 5 mana points immediately after consumption]

[Cooldown: 3 minutes]

[Price: 20 points]

[Elementary Mana Potion (Medium)]

[Quality: Green Excellent]

[Effect: Restores 10 mana points immediately after consumption]

[Cooldown: 3 minutes]

[Price: 50 points]

Lin Feng's mouth twitched.

"This is highway robbery!"

He had 998 points now, which seemed like a lot.

But if he relied on drinking potions to grind Fusion, this little money wouldn't last two days.

"Forget it, I'll just stick to natural recovery."

Lin Feng tossed his phone aside and slumped onto the bed.

Anyway, he didn't need to go to school anymore.

After the Awakening ceremony ended, high school courses automatically terminated.

Those with good Talents went to academies, while those with average Talents either joined a Pioneer Team or sought immediate employment.

As for someone like him who joined the Explorers... there probably weren't many in the whole school.

"It's just as well, it saves me from seeing the faces of Wang Hao and his gang."

Lin Feng rolled over and stared at the ceiling.

He still had a fifteen-day rest period before he had to enter a Dungeon for a mission.

Before that, he had to explore the potential of his Talent as much as possible.

"Let's set a small goal first," Lin Feng sat up. "Earn a hundred thousand points!"

...

Day One.

Carrying a large bag, Lin Feng ran through seven second-hand markets.

He specifically collected "trash" that nobody wanted.

Rusted ironware, books with missing pages, expired food, damaged furniture...

The prices were outrageously cheap.

"Young man, why are you collecting this junk?" an old man at a stall asked curiously.

"For handcrafting," Lin Feng lied without blinking. "A school practical activity."

"Oh, a student." The old man waved his hand. "Then I'll count all these as 1 Credit. Take them all away!"

Lin Feng spent 50 points to acquire a whole tricycle's worth of "raw materials."

After pulling them to the warehouse, he began a Fusion frenzy.

[Rusted Kitchen Knife + Iron Pot = Refined Iron Short Sword (Green)]

[Old Sofa + Spring = Comfortable Single Chair (Green, Comfort +1)]

[Expired Flour + Sugar = Preservable Biscuits (White)]

Every time he fused, his mana would be empty.

He waited for it to recover, then continued fusing.

From nine in the morning until twelve at night.

Lin Feng was as exhausted as a dead dog, but looking at the mountain of "goods" in the warehouse, he grinned.

Day Two.

He hired a small truck and hauled the goods to different areas to sell.

"Boss, how much for this short sword?"

A young man who had just awakened picked up the Refined Iron Short Sword and tested it.

"Green quality, attack power 6-11, only 800 points," Lin Feng quoted.

"Isn't the market price 1000?"

"Clearance sale, only this one left."

"I'll take it, I'll take it!"

[Human points +800]

"This chair is really comfortable to sit in..."

"Comfort +1 attribute, won't get tired from sitting long. Original price 1500, now 1200."

"Give me two!"

[Human points +2400]

"How much for the biscuits?"

"1 Credit per pack, three-month shelf life."

"Give me twenty packs!"

[Human points +20]

When he closed his stall in the evening, Lin Feng opened his account.

[Current points: 29840]

"Almost thirty thousand..." His eyes lit up.

Day Three.

Lin Feng changed his strategy.

He no longer collected junk; instead, he went to the Explorer Market to buy "useless" white equipment.

[Damaged Leather Armor (White)]: Defense +2, there's a hole in the chest.

[Blunt Short Knife (White)]: Attack power 3-5, the blade is curled.

[Old Cloth Boots (White)]: Movement speed +0.5%, the soles are almost worn through.

The sellers treated these items as scrap, with unit prices not exceeding 10 points.

Lin Feng bought thirty pieces in one go.

Back at the warehouse, he rubbed his hands together.

"Today, let's try... equipment Fusion!"

He first picked up a piece of Damaged Leather Armor and another piece of Damaged Leather Armor.

Activate Talent!

[Fusible items detected: Leather Armor ×2]

[Same type of equipment]

[Minimum consumption: 2 mana points (Simple Repair)]

[Maximum consumption: 30 mana points (Attribute Sublimation)]

Lin Feng's eyes lit up.

"There's even a repair option?"

He chose 10 mana points.

Two pieces of Damaged Leather Armor fused into one complete piece of leather armor, and the attributes actually improved!

[Obtained Item: Tough Leather Armor]

[Quality: E-rank (Blue Refined)]

[Defense: 8]

[Effect: 1% chance to reduce 5 points of damage when attacked]

[Description: Formed from the Fusion and sublimation of two pieces of Damaged Leather Armor]

"It's Blue!"

Lin Feng continued excitedly.

Blunt Short Knife + Blunt Short Knife = Sharp Short Knife (Blue, Attack Power 8-12)

Old Cloth Boots + Old Cloth Boots = Lightweight Boots (Blue, Movement Speed +2%)

In his most exaggerated attempt, he fused five pieces of white equipment together!

Leather armor, bracers, belt, leggings, helmet...

The light lasted for a full ten seconds.

[Obtained Item: Ranger Set (5-piece set)]

[Quality: E-rank (Blue Refined)]

[Set Effect: Agility +3, Stealth effect increased by 10%]

[Description: A miracle of Fusion and sublimation of five pieces of white equipment]

Lin Feng held the set of equipment, his hands shaking.

"If I sell this..."

He checked the market price.

A Blue quality 5-piece set started at at least fifty thousand points!

And it was a seller's market!

...

That afternoon, at the Explorer Market.

"Ranger Set, Blue Refined, 5-piece set, selling for only forty-eight thousand!"

As soon as Lin Feng shouted, a dozen people immediately crowded around.

"Hey man, can we see the attributes?"

A thin middle-aged man squeezed to the front.

Lin Feng displayed the set's attributes—this was a built-in sharing function of the panel that could show part of the equipment's information.

"Holy crap! Agility +3? A set effect?"

"These attributes are much stronger than individual Blue pieces!"

"Forty-eight thousand... the price isn't expensive."

The thin man stared at the set, his eyes glowing: "I'll take it! Cash... no, Credit transaction!"

Lin Feng showed his payment code.

[Human points +48000]

The crowd exploded.

"Hey man, do you have more?"

"Do you have the same one? I'll pay fifty thousand!"

"Boss, leave your contact info!"

Lin Feng waved his hand: "No more, just this one set."

He quickly packed his things and squeezed out of the crowd.

He could still hear discussions behind him.

"Where did this newcomer come from? Having such good stuff..."

"Maybe his family gave it to him."

"Bullshit, look at his Training Longsword; it's standard Guild newcomer equipment."

Lin Feng walked quickly away from the market, taking several turns to ensure no one was following him before sighing in relief.

He opened his account.

[Current points: 134520]

"One hundred and thirty-four thousand five hundred..." Lin Feng took a deep breath.

In three days.

From 998 points to over one hundred and thirty thousand.

It had increased by nearly a dozen times!

"This Talent... is practically a money-printing machine."

Lin Feng felt wonderful.

But he quickly calmed down.

He had money now, but what about his strength?

He was still Level 1, and his attributes relied entirely on his initial Physique.

He didn't have a single skill.

"I can't just rely on throwing money in Dungeons," Lin Feng frowned. "I need to improve my combat power."

He opened his panel and looked at his attributes.

spirit 12, Magic Attack 50.

"Glory Corona is a light element Physique... the Mage path should be the most suitable."

Since he was a child, Lin Feng had liked close combat, influenced by his father—his father was a Warrior.

But his Talent [Fusion] required mana consumption; it seemed more suitable to pair with Spells no matter how he looked at it.

"If I can fuse skills..." Lin Feng's heart raced!

"Let's try it!"

Lin Feng headed straight for a skill bookstore.

This was a small three-story building with a sign that read "Federal Skill Library (Donghai Branch)."

As he pushed the door open, a blast of cold air hit him.

The hall was filled with bookshelves, categorized by profession: Warrior, Mage, Ranger, Priest...

Each book was encased in a crystal cover; one could only read the introduction and could not flip through them.

"Hello, what skills do you need?"

A young clerk wearing glasses walked over.

"Elementary skill books for light and fire elements," Lin Feng said.

"This way, please."

The clerk led him to the Mage section.

In front of the light element bookshelf, there were five or six skill books.

[Skill Book: Light Bullet Technique]

[Quality: White Common]

[Effect: Condenses light element to fire a light bullet, dealing spirit × 2 light attribute damage, consumes 1 mana point]

[Learning Requirement: light element affinity above 3%]

[Price: 3000 points]

[Skill Book: Illumination Spell]

[Quality: White Common]

[Effect: Creates a light orb lasting 3 minutes, illuminating a 20-meter radius, consumes 5 mana points]

[Learning Requirement: light element affinity above 2%]

[Price: 1000 points]

Lin Feng then looked at the fire element bookshelf.

[Skill Book: Fireball Technique]

[Quality: White Common]

[Effect: Condenses fire element to fire a fireball, dealing spirit × 3 fire attribute damage with a slight explosion effect, consumes 15 mana points]

[Learning Requirement: Fire element affinity above 3%]

[Price: 4000 points]

[Skill Book: Searing Hand]

[Quality: White Common]

[Effect: Attaches flames to the palm, the next melee attack adds spirit × 1 fire attribute damage, consumes 1 mana point]

[Learning Requirement: Fire element affinity above 25%]

[Price: 3500 points]

"Glory Corona is a pure light element Physique," the clerk reminded him. "While your light affinity is definitely sufficient, if you learn fire element skills, the effect will be diminished."

"It's fine, I'll take a look at everything."

What Lin Feng was actually thinking was: Light Orb Technique + Fireball Technique, what could they fuse into?

The combination of light and fire...

His heart was beating a bit fast.

"Light Bullet Technique, Illumination Spell, Fireball Technique, Searing Hand." Lin Feng pointed at the four books. "One of each."

The clerk was stunned: "Are you sure? That's eleven thousand five hundred points."

"Are you sure?"

"Alright, please wait a moment."

While the clerk went to get the goods, Lin Feng browsed some more.

He suddenly saw a special bookshelf in a corner.

The label read: Special Skills / Talent Derivative Skills.

There were only three books here, and they were ridiculously expensive.

[Skill Book: Elemental Perception]

[Quality: Green Excellent]

[Effect: Passive skill, increases perception of surrounding elements, element affinity +5%]

[Learning Requirement: Any element affinity above 5%]

[Price: 20000 points]

[Skill Book: Mana Control]

[Quality: Green Excellent]

[Effect: Passive skill, improves precision of Mana Control, Spell consumption -5%]

[Learning Requirement: spirit attribute above 12]

[Price: 25000 points]

[Skill Book: Rapid Casting]

[Quality: Blue Refined]

[Effect: Passive skill, shortens the casting time of all Spells by 10%]

[Learning Requirement: Intelligence attribute above 20]

[Price: 50000 points]

Lin Feng sucked in a breath through his teeth.

"So expensive..."

But he still pointed at Elemental Perception and Mana Control: "I'll take these two as well."

"Huh?" The clerk returned with the four skill books. Hearing that he wanted two more, his hands shook. "Th-that's another forty-five thousand..."

"Yeah, let's check out."

Lin Feng showed his account balance.

When the clerk saw the six-digit number, his eyes widened.

"A-alright! I'll process it for you immediately!"

Five minutes later, Lin Feng walked out of the bookstore carrying a bag.

The bag contained six skill books, with a total cost of fifty-six thousand five hundred points.

His account balance had over seventy-eight thousand left.

"Spending money like water..." Lin Feng muttered, feeling the sting.

But at the thought of the possible results from fusing these skill books, he grew excited again.

"Time to go home and get to work!"

The young man quickened his pace, running toward his apartment.

The setting sun cast a long shadow behind him.

And his mind was filled with only one thought—

Just what kind of monster could be created through skill Fusion?