Chapter 363: Shocking Appearance of an SSS Talent
Seeing how readily Damian agreed, Forrest Wilder couldn’t help but glare at him.
Damian, the target of the glare, looked utterly clueless. He had no idea what was going on or why his friend, who had been perfectly pleasant just moments before, was suddenly upset.
Since Damian had already gone ahead and agreed, Forrest Wilder worried that holding out now would leave a bad impression on the tavern owner. He gritted his teeth and consented as well.
"Fine, but I want to get the cards as soon as possible."
Although both the authorities and The Card Tavern’s owner had opened up quite a few dungeons lately, Drakonia’s population was simply too large. Even with so many dungeons available, it still wasn’t enough. A single entry slot often had to be won through a lottery or an auction.
If things were like this in Drakonia, it was even worse in other countries.
Furthermore, unlike the people of Drakonia, foreigners had to fly a long way just to get here, and even then, a slot wasn’t guaranteed.
"You’ll have to get in line for that. I’ll notify you when it’s your turn."
After all, it was first come, first served.
Besides these three, Reina Quinn had also gotten a taste of success from her last venture and wanted to manifest a few more dungeons. Perry Yates gave her the same answer: she would have to wait in line. However, Reina Quinn would need to prepare the necessary cards herself.
The reason Dylan Adler and the others didn’t need to provide their own cards to manifest dungeons was because their dungeons were located on Cerulea. Perry Yates had a high degree of control over these, and she could swap out the manifested cards whenever she pleased.
However, Reina Quinn’s dungeons weren’t on the same Cerulea that Perry inhabited. While Perry still held ownership, the degree of control was vastly different. Therefore, to avoid a situation where she ended up with nothing, she had to minimize her potential losses.
After taking care of everything, Perry Yates went down to the first floor.
The first floor of The Card Tavern was perennially packed. To avoid hassle and get quicker access to the tavern’s new releases, many players had simply taken up residence inside.
But today, the first floor was exceptionally bustling.
In fact, it had been like this for several days; Perry was only just noticing it now that she’d come downstairs.
The reason for all the commotion was the Talent Photocopier.
Thanks to the invitations Perry Yates had previously sent out, many players from other planets who were short on cash had come to sell their Talents.
After all, it was just making a few copies of their Talent. It didn’t cause them any harm, and they could get money for it—what was not to like?
Among them were many whose Talents weren’t Body Enhancement. Even if low-level, these other Talents were far more expensive than Body Enhancement Talents.
This wasn’t because the Body Enhancement Talent was bad. Quite the opposite, it had a very wide appeal. The elderly, the middle-aged, and patients with frail health all loved to purchase Body Enhancement Talents.
In their words, it was much better than taking medicine.
With medicine, you had to wait for it to take effect, take it every day, and it wasn’t even guaranteed to work. But a Body Enhancement Talent was different. With just one card, all ailments vanished, and your body became visibly stronger.
Many illnesses weren’t incurable in themselves, but rather the patient’s body was too weak to recover.
It was like the common cold. For someone with a weak constitution, it could develop into pneumonia or something more serious. But for a healthy person, a good night’s sleep would likely be enough to feel better.
However, there were simply too many players with the Body Enhancement Talent, so its price never rose very high.
Of course, Perry Yates deliberately keeping the price down was also a factor.
Just then, a loud noise suddenly erupted from the Talent Photocopier.
The sound instantly drew everyone’s attention, and all eyes turned toward it.
The Talent Photocopier, which had been in the middle of a job, suddenly began to glow with a dazzling golden light.
Seeing this, Perry Yates instantly understood what was happening. That golden light only appeared when an SSS-rank Talent was being copied.
At the same time, everyone saw the notification on the Talent Photocopier:
[Talent Level: SSS
Talent Name: Hidden
Copies Available: 3
Copies Authorized: 3]
Before the crowd could even recover from their shock, three glittering golden Talent Cards emerged from the machine.
The player with this SSS-rank Talent was a girl who looked to be only fourteen or fifteen. She wore a skull mask and had her hair tied in pigtails.
When Perry Yates appeared, the crowd parted, clearing a path for her.
"What do you want?"
For an SSS-rank Talent Card, the price Perry Yates had set was one four-star card—Skill or item card, the seller’s choice. If all three cards were sold at once, they could be exchanged for a five-star card, again with a choice between a Skill Card or an item card.
The little girl in the skull mask tilted her head. "I haven’t decided yet. Can I have some time to think about it?"
Perry Yates nodded. "Of course. But you should make your choice as soon as possible. And it would be best not to leave before you do."
As she spoke, Perry Yates glanced behind the girl.
The girl followed her gaze and looked behind her, only to see that nearly everyone in the entire tavern was staring at her.
Their gazes were filled with envy, jealousy, and greed.
Inside The Card Tavern, the rules prevented them from trying anything. But the moment she stepped outside, they would have no such reservations.
"Thank you for the warning. I’ll be careful. By the way, can I exchange them for something else that’s equivalent in value to the cards?"
Hearing this, Perry Yates thought for a moment. She couldn’t really think of anything else that was comparable in value to a four- or five-star card, but since the girl wanted to trade for something different, she wouldn’t refuse.
"You can."
"In that case, can I choose from those cards on display?"
The little girl pointed to the fan-shaped wall of cards that Perry Yates had put up to both awe and attract customers when The Card Tavern first opened.
Perry Yates had made it clear from the beginning that those cards were not for sale, so after the initial opening, no one had bothered trying to acquire them.
"Sorry, those cards are not for sale," Perry Yates said. "If you’re set on it, I can create custom cards with similar effects for you."
Unlike the other cards she had, which she had upgraded from one-star or even White Cards, these were naturally born High Star Cards. They also held a different, personal meaning for her, which was why she didn’t want to sell them.