Assassin at Range: The Sniper’s Lethal Power

In ExoGenesis, skills can be upgraded in two ways: by leveling up and by upgrading the grade.

The first method is straightforward—just keep using the skill to increase proficiency, and eventually, it levels up. But upgrading the grade is trickier.

Even if a skill reaches LV10, it cannot be improved further without special means. Not everyone has a unique item like the Beast Skull.

The most common way to upgrade a skill's grade is through a Skill Evolution Stone, but the drop rate is ridiculously low, comparable to Guild Tokens.

Given that, it's easy to understand why a Gold Grade skill book like Blood Tide, which is a group-damage skill, would trigger such an intense bidding war.

After Sophie finished introducing the attributes of Blood Tide, all the guild leaders in the room couldn't hold back their excitement. In no time, the price shot up to 15 million, and there were no signs of it stopping.

When bidding for equipment, they usually weigh the pros and cons, considering the cost-effectiveness. But when it comes to bidding for skill books, there's no need for such calculations. They just throw money at it.

One guild leader remarked, "Blackshade really is a friend of the mage classes, dropping all these amazing mage items."

"I've cleared Crimson Tomb a couple of times, and it was all physical gear. Makes me feel terrible as a mage."

"Good grief, you and Blackshade are really neck-and-neck, huh?"

"Stop talking, will you? Can you let a brother get a good deal for once?"

"Yeah, it's already up to 20 million, can you guys stop bidding? Don't you care about money?"

"Fair point, we should slow down a bit."

Even though one leader was saying they should slow down, they were bidding harder than anyone.

Before long, the price hit 30 million.

At that point, the atmosphere calmed down a bit. Everyone realized that no matter how rich they were, they still had to consider their resources.

But Drake had a different mindset. For him, money was just meant to be spent. He immediately raised the bid to 32 million.

One guild leader groaned, "Drake, show us some mercy, give us a chance."

"You've already won two Gold Grade pieces, can't you let us have the skill book?"

"Come on, Drake, do me a solid, I'll owe you one!"

Hearing this, Drake paused for a moment before saying, "Alright, I'll make it clear. 36 million is my limit. If it goes above that, I'm out."

Truth be told, even with the strength of IFA, they could easily afford up to 50 million. Drake had prepared hundreds of millions for this auction, and with the Guild Token not being up for grabs, he was more than willing to spend big on gear and skills.

But Drake also had to consider the opinions of the other guild leaders. He wasn't some reckless guy like DarkSaber, who would refuse to listen to anyone. Drake knew that making too many enemies would lead nowhere. If other guilds teamed up against him, even IFA would have trouble handling it.@@novelbin@@

Most importantly, IFA didn't have a top-tier mage at the moment. If they won the book, it would probably go to Sophie. But as a priest, Sophie focused more on buffs than damage output, so it wasn't like she needed this skill.

After weighing everything, Drake decided to put a cap on the bid.

The guild leaders around him let out a collective sigh of relief. They were genuinely worried that Drake would continue raising the price, and even if they won, it would leave them with little to work with.

But a few guild leaders were still a little nervous. They didn't want to drive Blackshade to hate them over something like a Gold Grade skill.

The value of the skill book was definitely around 30-40 million.

After a few more rounds of bidding, the price hit 39 million.

Storm77, the leader of Celestial Club, gritted his teeth and declared, "40 million!"

The other leaders took a moment to think and then decided to back off.

Sophie raised her hammer and announced, "40 million once, 40 million twice... 40 million three times! Congratulations to Storm77 for winning the Blood Tide skill book!"

Storm77 exhaled in relief.

While the cost was high, he had secured a major boost for his damage potential, which would benefit him and his guild greatly.

After completing the transfer, Sophie handed over the skill book to Storm77.

Without a word, Storm77 slapped the skill book and immediately used it. He then bowed toward Tristan. "Blackshade, I'm stepping out of the auction now. I'll see you around."

He had already seen the list of remaining items for auction. There were a few more mage gear pieces, but they were only Silver Grade, which didn't interest him much. Plus, he was feeling the pinch on his finances, so he decided to level up instead.

Tristan nodded, "Storm77, take care."

Tristan wasn't one to demand that everyone stay until the end of the auction.

After Storm77 left, a few more players trickled out of the shop, but most of the guild leaders stayed behind. They knew that the second highlight of the auction was still to come.

The two Dark Gold Grade pieces hadn't been auctioned off yet.

Sophie stood on the stage and addressed the crowd, "Ladies and gentlemen, after three rounds of fierce competition, I'm sure you're all a bit worked up. So, let's cool off with a couple of Silver Grade pieces first."

Everyone chuckled, feeling smug.

Look at that, what class! For them, even Silver Grade equipment was just a stopgap. Continue your saga on My Virtual Library Empire

Sophie continued, "As you all know, Blackshade's profession is Assassin. The next items we'll be auctioning are the weapons he once used—Bone-Cutting Twin Daggers! These weapons are highly praised by Blackshade himself!"

Bone-Cutting Dagger (Main Hand)

Silver Grade

Attack +300

Agility +15

Equipment Requirement: Level 10, (1/2)

Bloodletting Stiletto (Off Hand)

Silver Grade

Attack +300

Agility +15

Equipment Requirement: Level 10, (1/2)

Set 2/2: Attack +200. Activates Frenzied Dash, allowing you to quickly move toward a target, causing a blade storm that deals (Attack*200%) damage to enemies in your path. Cooldown: 30 seconds.

The moment the attributes of the two weapons were revealed, the guild leaders were immediately intrigued.

On one hand, the weapons themselves were powerful, especially with the added mobility effect. This would greatly improve the survivability of a squishy Assassin, and it could also be used for offense when the safety of the environment allowed for it.

Of course, that wasn't the most important part.

The real draw was that these weapons were used by Blackshade himself.

If they could get their hands on these, they might just tap into some of Blackshade's luck and possibly gain even more fortune down the road.