Chapter 63 - 63: 063 The Counterattack of the Fallen Professional
Among the dozen or so templates that Bell Bella had given him, besides the common ones like[Warrior][Archer][Mage], there were two templates that Dean McKenzie had never seen before.
Template: Fragile Skeleton Shielder Template
Quality: Normal
Usage Requirement: Pale Skeleton, Physique at 2.5 points
Template: Clumsy Skeleton Apprentice Assassin Template
Quality: Normal
Usage Requirement: Pale Skeleton, Agility at 2.5 points
However, these two templates were not the reason why Dean McKenzie gave Bell Bella gold coins.
Correct, it was gold coins and not silver ones that he packed in the cloth sack.
Four whole ones!
The reason he gave so much was that Dean knew Bell Bella hadn’t recognized him before she came over. She was specifically here to sell templates, and likely even battled specifically to collect these templates.
Obviously, this boss lady was short on money.
Although Dean couldn’t understand how someone as powerful as Bell Bella could be so hard up for cash.
But that didn’t stop Dean from helping her out to the best of his abilities.
Firstly, Dean had been somewhat influenced by his long acquaintance with Anthony.
Secondly, this boss lady had given him a lot more than the little cash he had given her in both the Skeleton Cave and the Goblin Forest.
So, Dean didn’t mind giving her a little help.
Of course, being the stingy person Dean is, he grit his teeth and gave her four out of the 24 gold coins he possessed. If asked to keep just four and give out 20, he would sooner die.
He is a bit generous, but definitely not excessively so.
On the other side, Bell Bella was …
After receiving the cloth sack from Dean, she went into a deserted alley with a despondent look, hugging and acting cute to the mysterious man at the end of the alley who was shrouded in a black cloak.
“Little Black, I’m so poor now, I don’t even have the money to buy potions!”
The mysterious man brushed her off, held up a sign offering her sincere advice:[You won’t be poor if you join the Professional Alliance!]
As for this suggestion, Bell Bella resolutely declined: “No thanks, I don’t want to bind my life to such trifles. The world is vast and I want to explore it properly!
I want to climb the highest mountain, cross the biggest rivers, go beyond the seas, above the clouds, beneath the earth to see what it’s all about.”
The moment she said that, Bell Bella became totally excited, her small face flushed red.
The mysterious man opposite her then threw a bucket of cold water on her dreams.
[Right now, you can’t even get out of South Hill Base!]
All of a sudden, the enthusiasm on Bell Bella’s face ceased. She became dejected, muttering angrily, “Those damn mermaids!
Someday I’m going to beat them up one by one and make fish soup with them!”
Obviously, she had visited Mermaid Lake once before and had a pretty bad experience!
She went in full of pride and arrogance, but came out with all her equipment damaged to the point of breaking and her all potions used up.
She just made a special trip to the Skeleton Cave to hunt some monsters in hopes of selling these templates and earn some money to repair her equipment.
“Oh right, speaking of selling templates, Little Black, do you know who bought them?
The young man I mentioned to you before!”
[And then you gave him the templates for free again?]
“Of course not, I’m not stupid to give them away free just because he called me a boss. While I needed money, I naturally asked him for it. I even haggled with him and asked for a high price that others wouldn’t dare to ask!
Look here!”
Bell Bella took out the cloth sack and waved it about before quickly tucking it back in.
[Open it!]
“You don’t believe me? I told you I asked him for a very high price, but fine, fine, I’ll open it!”
Seeing that she couldn’t fool him, Bell Bella begrudgingly took out the cloth sack, and as the tinkling sound of metal hitting metal resounded, four shining gold coins tumbled out.
Both of them were stunned.
This was especially true for the mysterious man. He was dumbfounded.
Asking someone for 4 gold coins for a dozen or so templates was quite a theft!
“No way, I have to return the money to him!”
Bell Bella quickly picked up the coins and set off to find Dean McKenzie.
An hour later, she returned with a despondent look again.
She couldn’t find Dean. He had already packed up and gone home.
“Forget it, I’ll just consider it as borrowing from him. I’ll pay him back double later!
Off to make money!”
Then, Bell Bella used the money to repair her equipment, bought a necklace with the [Underwater Breathing] effect, stocked up on potions, and proudly set off towards Mermaid Lake, ready to embark on her journey of revenge.
But as she entered, Bell Bella was taken aback.
“Where are the fish?”
The Mermaid Lake hadn’t refreshed yet. On a vast map, there wasn’t a single alive fish!
Over at Dean’s place.
After buying the stuff from Bella, Dean left the trading area and went to the library to borrow all the available books regarding information about monsters.
Then he returned to the dormitory and started reading, waiting for Anthony’s arrival.
Among the books about monster information, Dean first read two types: one about undead skeleton lineage monsters, the other about earth-element monsters.
This was all part of his preparation for upgrading his skills.
[Meditation] had just finished its upgrade and is now at level 3. Immediately following the first successful upgrade, he could do the double upgrade.
And the first-successfully upgraded[Mana Recovery Water] showed Dean the potential of this skill, or rather, of this trait.
If he could add another[Mana Recovery-Earth], he’d be able to recover mana anytime, anywhere, even without the presence of the Land of Bone. How splendid would that be!
The monster information about the skeleton lineage was for the preparation of[Summon Skeleton]’s upgrade.
However, just as Dean had started reading, he hadn’t gotten into the groove of it yet when he heard a knock on his door.
Dean blinked in surprise.
“Is it Anthony? You’re here quite early. Wait a second. I’ll get the door!”
Next moment, the door to Dean’s dormitory was opened.
And just as the door to Dean’s dormitory opened, a figure rushed in. The long knife in his hand slashed at the person who opened the door.
The long knife fell, and the assailant was left dumbstruck.
The strike had indeed hit, but it didn’t split Dean in half as he had expected. Instead, it hit a skeleton, smashing it to bits.
Obviously, it wasn’t Dean who opened the door!
At the same time, Dean, who was behind Doggy Three, slapped his chest, bemused. “I knew it, Anthony never knocks!
Good thing I was a bit cautious. I didn’t expect there to be a scoundrel trying to harm me!”
Upon hearing what Dean said, the stunned attacker glanced at Dean, who was standing behind a Gate of Bones with a ton of skeletons surrounding him, and his face turned black as night.
What do you mean being a bit cautious?
Regardless, what good does being cautious do? It’s all about strength in this lawless world!