Ashen Dragon

Chapter 230: Chapter 155 Cassius’s Treasure (Part 2)

To this rare big client, the snake woman offered a dazzling smile that made one’s whole body tingle, and said softly,

“Alright, dear customer.”

She was about to order the strong ogres to move the chests over when she heard Charlotte’s voice.

“No, I don’t want the chests you’re giving. Can I choose them myself?”

“Huh?”

The snake woman showed a puzzled expression, but still politely replied, “No problem, but there really shouldn’t be any difference.”

“Big difference!”

Charlotte adjusted his glasses in a pretentious manner and said confidently, “Heh, according to the official storyline, since it’s ‘Cassius’s Gift’, there’s bound to be some good stuff hidden inside.”

“But considering the sneaky nature of the developers, do you think they’d let you easily pick out the good stuff? What if the people in front have already picked out all the good items? How would they deal with the remaining junk?”

Charlotte pointed to the chests, his eyes reflecting a confident light. He said loudly,

“So these chests are definitely designed to first scam you for a wave of gold coins to recover the cost, and then let you get the goods. But they didn’t expect me to go for the jugular!”

“Everyone, look closely in a moment to see what it means to achieve greatness against all odds!”

The onlookers, hearing Charlotte’s rational argument, began to believe him.

“Oh my God, as expected of the president of a major guild, he’s really got some skills.”

“Makes sense, I’ll follow his lead and buy it later.”

“What a big shot, he understands the mechanics. No wonder no one drew anything good before.”

However, Cassius, watching everything in the royal palace, felt quite amused: “You must be overthinking it. I didn’t set up any rigged mechanics; you normally buy and get the item.”

“My dear divine gear, where are you?”

Charlotte went to the back of the shop, browsing through the identical-looking chests, pretending to think deeply for a moment, and finally picked out one carefully.

“Heh, looks like the first blue gear is about to appear.”

Under the expectant eyes of the crowd, Charlotte opened the chest grandly, and a white light shone.

“Whoosh——”

[Ogre’s Beast Hide Clothing]

Quality: None

Item Description: A rough garment made from worg hide, worn by an ogre for several years, exuding a foul odor that might be useful for driving away annoying neighbors.

The numerous expectant glances converged on the fly-covered beast hide, and the crowd instantly fell silent, with even a few scattered boos.

“How is this possible?”

Charlotte’s eyes widened, full of disbelief.

Turning to the skeptical crowd around him, he intentionally coughed a few times and explained, “Even I can’t guess right every time. You should know that getting good items is a rare event. Besides, I still have nine more chests. Just watch and see!”

He picked and chose again, selected a chest that looked pleasing to the eye.

Once more, the chest was opened.

The crowd craned their necks to look.

[Rackham Noble’s Whip]

Quality: None

A whip found in the basement of an old castle, silently recounting the Rackham family’s atrocities against the people.

Charlotte’s face instantly darkened, noticing the crowd’s schadenfreude-filled gazes, he forced a pale smile.

“Ahem, ahem, this time it’s also an accident. I still have eight more chests.”

Eight chests were opened in quick succession.

[Great Goblin’s Stinky Shoes], [Kobold Merchant’s Green Bandana], [Lizardfolk’s Aged Bone Staff], [Orc’s Underpants]…

“How is this possible——”

Charlotte stood there in a daze, feeling as if he was about to spit out old blood.

He unexpectedly drew eight pieces of equipment that were nothing but garbage, even beggars on the streets of Northwind Castle wouldn’t want these, and he spent a total of fifty gold coins!

The onlookers were dumbfounded, whispering among themselves, marveling at his awful luck.

“You’re a genuine African chieftain.”

Someone even bluntly stated, causing the crowd to burst into laughter.

Being mocked by hundreds of people present, the always vain Charlotte blushed with anger and couldn’t help but argue, “What do you know? I’m collecting data, using this method to calculate the official drop rates and find the loopholes. Now I’ve achieved my goal and will soon get some good items.”

The crowd listened to his elaborate explanation and were actually fooled by him.

But soon someone realized something was off and deliberately shouted loudly, “Then show us some good items to prove it!”

“Yeah, yeah!”

“Buy another one and show us!”

The excited onlookers stirred up the commotion.

Charlotte’s face turned red, breathing heavily. He clenched his teeth and finally made a decision.

“Slap!”

He slammed the table and poured out fifty gold coins from his backpack, slapping them on the table, and shouted, “Bring me ten more!”

“I’ve already found the loophole in the draw. Since single draws don’t guarantee anything, I’ll go for ten consecutive draws!”

“Wow, that’s a lot of money!”

“As expected of him.”

And so, ten specially selected chests were moved over by the ogres and opened simultaneously at Charlotte’s command. The spectacle left many players clicking their tongues in awe.

“From ancient times till now, countless mage masters, I don’t know how many of you became gods, but I’m praying to you; please let me get some good items!”

Charlotte groaned silently in his heart.

But immediately afterwards, the unimaginable happened; ten white lights appeared in unison, reflecting off Charlotte’s glasses, making his expression lifeless and ghostly pale.

Underpants, jackets, headbands, cloaks, these white gears could form a luxurious beggar’s outfit.

“How… is this possible? How could there not be a single good item, not even a green gear?”

His legs went weak, and he collapsed to the ground, muttering to himself,

“My entire year’s savings…..”

The gorgeous snake woman approached Charlotte kindly, helping him up and “kindly” reminding him, “Dear customer, if you still want to buy, we also offer loan services.”

“Considering your significant contribution, the annual interest rate is only five percent.”

“Son of a…..”

Charlotte, seated on the ground, was so furious he almost passed out.

The onlookers sighed in sympathy, laughed at his misfortune, or were relieved.

“Lucky I didn’t buy any, this thing is a scam.”

“Yeah, what treasure? Looks more like a junkyard. He bought twenty and still got all trash.”

“As expected of Charlotte, this time he risked himself. We will remember your contribution.”

Cassius watched this scene with some anxiety: “Is this event I’ve prepared for so long going to fall through?”

“He has terrible luck. Even with random selection, he shouldn’t draw nothing from twenty chests!”

He wanted to personally intervene and smack him, telling him to just open them normally to get the items.

He had even held back this time, as even scamming players required sustainable development, a long-term strategy.

If he scared players away at the first attempt, what would happen to their enthusiasm in the future?

So Cassius had ensured player satisfaction, even placing a dozen good rare items inside, to attract more players once the game officially launched.

At that time, those veteran beta players would brag on forums, “I got blue gear for just five gold coins back then!” and the new players would be envious and eager to try.

In this way, a never-ending stream of players would willingly jump into the pit.

But Charlotte’s awful luck was beyond his expectation, making him question everything.

Next, several players tried their luck but were misled by Charlotte, randomly picking from the inventory, and all ended up with white lights.

“This is a total scam.”

“A lesson paid in blood, don’t buy.”

The ‘Sky Flying Witch’ looked at the beautifully decorated chests, feeling tempted. She loved collecting quirky items and brewing them into unsettling potions.

Squeezing the gold coins in her hand and hesitating for a moment, she decided to buy one.

“You have to try everything once, and I’ll treat it as a closing event. Even if I don’t get anything, I can comfort the president. He’s a bit pitiful.”@@novelbin@@

She didn’t have high hopes, just wanted to join the fun.

At the front, the snake woman asked, “Dear customer, would you like to choose the chest yourself like they did?”

Sky Flying Witch giggled and waved her hand, “No, I’m just here for fun. Pick one for me.”

“Here, exactly five gold coins.”

Although it was just five gold coins, she still felt a bit pained, her eyes lingering reluctantly on the coins.

The snake woman laughed gently and took the coins, instructing the ogres to bring a chest over.

Thus, the chest originally meant for Charlotte was brought in front of Sky Flying Witch.

She casually opened the chest.

“Clatter——”

A crisp sound rang out, a dazzling blue light emerged from the gap.

A luxurious wand with seven prismatic crystals embedded in it lay quietly in the chest, emitting a rich magical aura.

[Wand of Wonder]

Quality: Rare

Item Description: This wand has 7 charges. While holding it, you can make a target cast a spell. The target can be a creature, an object, or a point in space.

The spell effect will be random, including [Slow Spell], [Stinking Cloud Spell], and other spell effects, such as “turn the skin bright blue” and “shoot a stream of gems.”

“Surprised? Unexpected? This is magic, endless wonder and change!” – Archmage Trinade upon studying the Sea of Chaos.

“Huh?”

Sky Flying Witch’s mouth dropped open in shock.

The crowd was silent for a moment before it erupted in excitement. They had expected a joke, not for someone to actually get a good item!

“Oh my God, she got something!”

“A rare item! It’s a rare item! And it’s the most valuable wand, worth at least a thousand gold coins!”

“A European who got lucky!”

“Luck can’t change destiny, nor can spending!”

In the distance, the heartbroken Charlotte was also attracted by the commotion. He looked over, half-dead, and saw the rare gear in front of Sky Flying Witch. It seemed to be the chest he was supposed to open.

“Oh, merciless heavens, why me!”

Charlotte felt as if he was spitting out old blood, wishing he could lie on the ground and end his life.

Sky Flying Witch, feeling the burning gazes from the crowd, seemed rather embarrassed.

Quickly spotting Charlotte in the distance, she happily waved at him, wanting to share the good news with the president who had brought her along to level up.

“President! Over here, I got something!”

“Please stop calling me president…..”

“Call me chieftain now, you despicable European. There is now a sad barrier between you and us Africans. Farewell, no, goodbye forever.”

Charlotte slumped to the ground, feeling utterly drained.

He could only slowly close his eyes, already unconscious, almost about to pass away.