Death Notice

Qin Lun had made two major modifications to the Death Notice. The first was connecting the Death Notice to his Apostle Soul Mark, transforming it into a special management piece of equipment. This formed system functions like an exchange list, character projections, equipment skills, and more. It was like installing an operating system on an optical computer.

The second change occurred after the Orphan World. He underwent a physical test in the Moonlight Forest. Then, he established a database within the Death Notice, defining four body attributes for the Law Body, along with specific data for Health Points and Stamina/Energy Points. This was to support the initial Combat Model.

As Qin Lun’s equipment, skills, and combat experience grew, he gradually realized that the initial four body attributes were incomplete. Especially after Qin Lun defined the data for “Mental Will” and “Protection,” numerical values for these two attributes also appeared on Apostle equipment.

This discovery made Qin Lun realize that Apostle equipment might also enhance the other four body attributes. However, because his definition of those four attributes was incomplete, the Death Notice hadn’t displayed their specific numerical values on equipment items.

Apostles’ Law Bodies were fundamentally different from ordinary fleshly bodies. Apostle equipment possessed spirit and Law. They weren’t quite the same as tools used by sentient beings; they were more like supplements or extensions of the Law Body itself.

Originally, Qin Lun thought Apostle equipment only acted on skills. Now, it seemed even Blue Quality equipment should enhance the basic capabilities of the Law Body. His current physical fitness likely included equipment boosts, not solely the effects of body enhancement.

Qin Lun carefully recalled his past fights, and the processes of using his skills and equipment. He cautiously and meticulously refined the definitions for the other four body attributes.

When he felt he could no longer add more detail or make finer distinctions for those four body attributes, he finally noticed specific numerical values for those four attributes appearing on each piece of his Apostle equipment.

The Dagger of Sin gained +2 Agility. The Leather Army Boots added +1 Agility. The Leather Trench Coat provided +1 Constitution. The Combat Gauge boosted +2 Perception. The Earth Dragon Lizard Scale Armor contributed +3 Constitution. The only oddity was the “Burial of Light and Darkness”; it showed no body attribute enhancement. Qin Lun guessed it only enhanced offensive Laws.

Adding the earlier increases in Mental Will and Protection, Qin Lun’s current body attributes included 33 points added by equipment. The Earth Dragon Lizard Scale Armor alone accounted for 13 of these points. His total for all six body attributes was 169 points. The 33 points from equipment made up nearly 20%. Considering equipment skills as well, the impact of Apostle equipment on strength was immense.

After modifying the Death Notice’s database, Qin Lun felt invigorated and refreshed. Clearer equipment data meant finer control over his Law Body. This made his Combat Model more accurate, effectively enhancing his combat capability.

He lazily stretched and stood up from the armchair, pulling open the curtains. Bright sunlight streamed in. They had entered the Nars World in the morning; the time in the Shattered Starry Sky was just past noon now.

After some thought, Qin Lun decided to visit the Auction House. Having witnessed High-Rank Apostles like Casey fight in Nars, he felt a strange sense of urgency.

Leaving his room, he found Didi and Frank gone. They had probably gone together to the City Administration Office to get their follower Identity Plates. Moments later, he entered a small booth at the Auction House. He turned on the projector and started browsing the list of available items.

As he understood equipment and items better, Qin Lun now had a general direction for the gear and skills he needed. He no longer blindly scrolled through the massive inventory like when he first entered the Auction House.

His most pressing needs were for a detection piece of equipment with a visual display effect and some earth-type defensive magic. Protective gear, once critical, had slipped to second place thanks to acquiring the Earth Dragon Lizard Scale Armor.

The remaining items were to find Frank some exceptionally durable chainmail and a charging-type melee skill.

However, to his frustration, despite the Auction House’s incredible variety, he couldn’t find a suitable visual detection device. The few items that had image-feedback skills were only Blue Quality, and he wasn’t impressed.

Earth magic options numbered around a dozen, but most were attack spells like his previous Earth Spike technique. Defensive spells were scarce, and their grades were low, all only tier two or three. Essentially, they were D-grade defensive spells.

D-grade defensive magic? Qin Lun truly disdained it. Right now, he only wielded three D-grade skills: the self-created gun techniques, Swift Wind Step, and his old Combat Gunmanship. He could tolerate lower levels for gunnery and Swift Wind Step. After all, these body-oriented skills improved with real combat experience and practice.

However, spell-based skills, especially defensive ones, with low grades? Qin Lun couldn’t stand it.

The Jungle Hunter profession wasn’t skilled in magic to begin with. Combined with being a high-evasion ranged class, improving a D-grade defensive spell would be excruciatingly slow. Even after surviving ten to twenty Quest Worlds, that spell might still be stuck in D-grade.

This wasn’t idle speculation—he had proof!

His Swift Wind Step stemmed from the Wind Drift Art. Acquired in the Phantom Demon World, it was originally D+-grade. After surviving two Quest Worlds, it remained D+-grade. And this was a movement skill he used frequently! A defensive spell would be far worse.

The other spells on him? Crystal Mirror Magic Array, Thorn Technique, Maze Spirit Channeling Art—these weren’t D-grade spells, but their improvement speed was equally frustrating. If he hadn’t encountered the Legendary Druid Master Vima in Nars, these spells would look exactly the same as when he first got them.

Especially the Maze Spirit Channeling Art. Just remembering the nosebleeds after summoning an Inferno Hound made Qin Lun wince. He didn’t want to relive that. He couldn’t find a Legendary Profession expert every time a low-or mid-tier spell he learned malfunctioned and needed him to adjust the spell runes in the Magic Network Core!

Finding no suitable equipment or skills at the Auction House, Qin Lun did see plenty for Frank.

Dozens of Blue and Purple Quality chainmail made it hard to choose. Even Dark Gold Equipment chainmail existed, with over ten pieces available. Charge-type skills were abundant too: Wild Charge, Rhinoceros Trample, Leap Shock, among others—all solid choices.

Seeing so many options, instead of picking casually, Qin Lun had another idea. He wanted a dual-purpose item—chainmail possessing an inherent charge ability.

Was this wishful thinking? Not necessarily. Why couldn’t chainmail have a built-in charge skill?

After all, Qin Lun once owned protective gear with a charge skill—that Dark Gold Helmet dropped by Gadurot, the BOSS in the Undersea Temple of the Phantom Demon World. With built-in spikes, it supposedly had a charge skill. He ultimately sold it to a High-Rank Apostle.

That High-Rank Apostle, initially aiming for Qin Lun’s Exemption Token, tried to take advantage by trading for the Dark Gold Helmet. Qin Lun tricked him slightly. The Wind Drift Art and the virtual Magic Network Core? Weren’t those obtained from that High-Rank Apostle?

Had Qin Lun kept that Dark Gold Helmet, he probably wouldn’t sell it now. Protective gear plus a crowd-control charging skill? The dream Main Tank equipment! Thinking back, maybe he hadn’t benefited that much from that deal.

Then there was Qin Lun’s first Dark Gold Equipment—the Hexagonal Prism Shield!

Lightweight, versatile, it resisted physical and magical attacks while enabling counter-strikes. A Leader from a mid-tier team traded for it, offering the FN-500, the Shahbakh Ring, plus two basic scrolls for firearms and swordsmanship.

Back then, Qin Lun thought he scored big! But now, looking back? Without those two scrolls thrown in, he basically exchanged a top-tier shield for two useless items.

The FN-500 was passable. Though lacking general utility, it proved crucial in several fights. But the Shahbakh Ring, believed to be powerful? Utter garbage!

Ignoring his specific needs back then, had Qin Lun kept the Dark Gold Helmet and the Hexagonal Prism Shield, he could have gotten Frank any protective chainmail now. His hunchbacked follower could be a decent Main Tank at the entry level, even without changing classes. Tears welled up at the thought.

This realization killed Qin Lun’s motivation to shop. He decided to consign his surplus gear and head home.

He had quite a few extra items. The Skull Coins weren’t worth much. He listed them for 1000 Shattered Crystals and forgot about them. The Gladiator’s Leather Armor (Purple Quality) from Qingming was damaged and needed repair. He listed it cheap with a reserve price of 15,000 Shattered Crystals.

Deep Blue Quality Combat Gauges were scarce in the Auction House. Though the Quality wasn’t top-tier, exchanging required a Bronze Card. Qin Lun set a higher reserve price than the Gladiator’s Leather Armor—20,000 Shattered Crystals minimum.

Beyond these ordinary items, Qin Lun hesitated about selling the rest.

The Beast King’s Hunting Bow, made from earth dragon materials, retained its Dark Gold status despite minor degradation. Simple refinement could achieve Purple Gold Quality. Paired with a C+-grade Bow Dance Technique, it was practical as a professional archer’s core ability.

The “Phoenix Soaring Fist – Flamingo” Skill Scroll was B-grade! Scanning the entire Auction House, Qin Lun had never seen such a high-grade skill scroll. He would definitely think thrice before selling.

He considered these three items precious. He placed them in the display slot without setting a price. A note stated they must be exchanged for high-quality protective gear, detection gear, or high-tier earth-type defensive spells.

After finishing this, Qin Lun left the Auction House and went straight back to the Villa. His shopping enthusiasm faded, replaced by exhaustion. He gave up.

He woke later in his dimly lit room, groggy, only to see his Identity Plate flashing brightly.

His Identity Plate was linked to the Villa’s projector. Typically, messages on the projector wouldn’t alert the plate directly. Only urgent contact from individuals Qin Lun specifically marked as “Important Figures” would trigger such a response.

He had designated only eight people as Important Figures: Mafa, Beruses, Hill, Grant, Hansen, Didi, Frank, and one other. The last person was unusual. They had spoken twice, but Qin Lun only had the contact number—no name.

Qin Lun glanced at the Identity Plate. Surprise flickered across his face. The person contacting him as an Important Figure… was that nameless individual!