My Runes Can Be Upgraded - Chapter 4

On his way back from Team 8911’s activity room, Wu Wei was in low spirits.

It wasn’t that he couldn’t bear to leave the team but that he felt he had more or less failed.

He felt that if he had been slightly stronger, or worked just a bit harder, perhaps it would not have resulted in him being kicked out of the squad today. Instead, he could have left on his own terms!

When faced with failure, some people would think that the world was to blame instead of looking at themselves.

There would also be people like Wu Wei, who would feel that, at the end of the day, for not being able to prevent such things from happening, there was no one to blame but themselves.

However, delving deeper, such a mentality was, in actuality, one full of conceit.

Wu Wei was conceited in thinking he could do everything well and that everything that did not go as planned was just a result of him not putting in enough effort.

Nonetheless, judging whether such a mentality was good or bad is not easy.

Yet, one thing was sure: Wu Wei would be able to pull himself together quickly, thanks to his mentality!

Instead of wallowing in disappointment, he patted himself on the face and encouraged himself: “Pull yourself together. What I need to do is think about my next step!”

Wu Wei was now team-less.

Reality begged the question: how would he go back to Runic World from now on?

To Runemasters, Runic World was a place of utmost importance. The resources that Runemasters required to cultivate all originated from Runic World.

Runic World was not just some virtual world. It was a world filled with real opportunities and real danger. The large number of Runemasters who died in Runic World each year was a testament to the difficulty of survival there.

Hence, Runemasters always formed teams to explore while looking out for each other.

Now that he had been kicked out of a team finding another with his current conditions would not be easy.

And even if he were to find one, Wu Wei knew that he would not be able to guarantee that an incident like today would not repeat itself.

Being kicked out was an experience that Wu Wei did not want to relive.

While Wu Wei had a headache over his situation, he was suddenly reminded of the place he had found in Wild Boar Valley last night.

In that instant, a bold idea formed in his mind.

“Since no team will be willing to accept me, I will just enter Runic World alone!”

Wu Wei was decisive and would not hesitate after making his mind up.

However, he didn’t immediately take out his Book of Runes to proceed to Runic World directly. That would be a little too reckless.

Entering Runic World – especially solo – was something that required careful preparation.

The first preparation Wu Wei needed to make was to purchase supplies.

Water, dry ration, sleeping bags, and runic flint were some of the most essential items that he needed to bring along – especially sleeping bags and runic flint. He didn’t need to get them with Zhou Hong and the others in the past since they did not camp out. However, now that it would be impossible for him to go in solo and expect to come out within a day, he could not be careless.

These items were sold by the academy, so Wu Wei could procure everything he needed in a single trip to the marketplace.

After buying all the items, Wu Wei took out the [Common] orb that Zhou Hong had given him. After opening it, a Runic Armament appeared in Wu Wei’s hand.

..

Runic Armament: <Wild Boar Crossbow>

Quality: <Common>

Equipment Level: <Level 9>

Equipment Requirement: <None>

Equipment Effect: Can fire one Wild Boar Crossbow Bolt with an attack power equivalent to a Wild Boar King’s normal attack every 20 minutes.

..

The crossbow had an outrageously slow reload time.

Furthermore, its attack power was not very impressive either. It could only be said to be an ordinary piece of equipment.

However, Wu Wei treated it preciously!

After all, it still boosted his combat power!

What made Wu Wei even more satisfied was that the crossbow did not have any equipping requirements – he could use it right away!

“With this, I will be able to proceed a little smoother. However, this alone won’t be enough – I still need more!”

As he said this, Wu Wei’s gaze fell upon the stack of 10 runic stones.

Runic stones were used as the primary form of currency in Runic World. In the real world, 1 runic stone was worth roughly 1,500 USD. 10 runic stones were worth 15,000 USD!

This was not a small amount at all!

Unfortunately, it was not a significant amount of money for a Runemaster.

Wu Wei picked up the ten runic stones and headed through the back of the dormitory building.

Behind the dormitory building was a trading market filled with shops and stalls. Some of them were run by students.

As soon as Wu Wei arrived at the market, he felt like he had entered a different world.

“Big sale! Big sale! Level 10 Runic Armaments on sale! 1 Runic Armament for 50 runic stones! Don’t miss it whether you’re just passing by or not!”

“Selling runic pills! This runic pill was personally refined by a third-year female Alchemist! 1 for 5 runic stones!”

“Blind boxes for opening, blind boxes for opening! From [Common] runes to [Legendary] runes – as long as you’re lucky, you’ll get what you want for just 10 runic stones!”

“What are you waiting for? It’s your loss if you don’t buy! The best runes are waiting here for you to bring home!!!”

..

The non-stop shouting of the peddlers created a strong and lively atmosphere within the marketplace.

Whenever Wu Wei came in, he would always watch the people opening blind boxes near the entrance for a while. However, he would never try it himself.

People were all born with a tendency to gamble. The difference was that while some people could control it, others couldn’t!

Wu Wei belonged to the type with self-restraint. Why, you ask?

Well, just because he was poor!

Before today, 6 runic stones had been the sum of all his possessions. And although today he possessed 16 runic stones, he still did not dare to think of trying his luck.

Why? Because he could not afford to lose even 10 runic stones!

Striding past the blind box stall, Wu Wei quickly walked deeper into the market, where a specific stall was located.

It was a stall run by a person covered in a black robe. This mysterious person sold runic pills.

Wu Wei stopped in front of the stall.

Seeing Wu Wei come over only to stand without saying a word, the black-robed stall owner pulled out a sign with words written on it.

[What do you want?]

“A runic pill! Just one!”

The black-robed stall owner pulled back the sign, wanting to write that runic pills were not sold individually.

As the black-robed stall owner was about to finish writing, Wu Wei repeated what he wanted.

“I just want one!”

The black-robed stall owner stopped writing, erased the words on the sign, and began to rewrite.

[1 pill for 5 runic stones]

Before the stall owner could finish the last character, Wu Wei bargained.

 “I only have 4 runic stones!”

The stall owner stopped writing and frowned.

 “If you don’t sell it, I won’t leave!”

The black-robed stall owner deliberated for a moment. Then, he took out a runic pill bottle and tipped a pill out, handing it to Wu Wei.

“Thank you!”

Wu Wei took the pill and handed over 5 runic stones.

The bewildered stall owner began writing something.

[Didn’t you say you only had four…]

“I thought I only had four, but since I have five, I’ll give them all to you!”

The black-robed stall owner was stunned. After a while, he wiped off the half-written words on the sign and began writing five words.

[You are a good person.]

Wu Wei grinned. He then pointed at an old-looking black bottle of pills on display.

“Thank you. Is that still of any use to you? If not, can you give it to me?”

Two minutes later, a satisfied Wu Wei left the market with a black bottle in his hands.

Next, he visited the cafeteria, where he bought over ten portions of food, before finally returning to his dormitory – upon which he summoned his Book of Runes.