Just call me Thor

Chapter 53  I don't know what happened last night, I still have a headache

Mike and Blaze met up in the Trade Secret Realm. Blaze Morrow took the initiative and said, "Fourth Bro, my granddaughter just switched her job class to an SS-tier Divine Beast Tamer. Each summoned beast gets an extra divine blessing, and there's a higher chance of triggering a bloodline reversion..."

Listening to Blaze's introduction, Mike was slightly surprised as he looked at Jessica. An SS-tier class template? It was unexpected that Jessica could achieve this on her own.

Even though Jessica's talent had awakened to an S-tier and she had the unconditional support of a Battle Chief elder, it was still incredibly tough to secure an SS-tier class template in the class-switching realm! That required an Exploration Rate of 95% and battling a boss to the very end—extremely challenging! Even with SS-tier talent, there was no guarantee, and yet Jessica had managed it with her S-tier talent. This alone suggested that Jessica's future achievements might well exceed becoming a Battle Chief.

"This girl is stronger than I imagined," Mike thought. He never expected that a casual remark he made once could potentially add another Battle Lord to the future of humanity! While it was only a theoretical possibility and how far Jessica could really go was still uncertain, it was already quite impressive.

"Is this the allure of supreme power?" Mike mused with a wry smile, shaking his head. The source of all these storms was, ironically, himself!

Collecting his thoughts, Mike turned to Jessica and asked, "I understand the situation. What do you need me to appraise?"

Jessica was a bit nervous. The presence of Fourth Bro, as described by her grandfather, was immensely intimidating—not only was his personal strength formidable, but his appraisal skills were also exceptionally rare.

"Master Fourth Bro, I need your help to appraise what items are needed for this little bird to upgrade," she said.

As she spoke, a canary landed on her shoulder and then stood quietly in her palm. Mike glanced at it and said softly, "It has the lineage of a golden-winged roc and has enjoyed two divine awakenings. Not bad, not bad at all."

With just a casual remark, Fourth Bro had pinpointed the canary's secrets, leaving Jessica utterly amazed. Was this the level of Fourth Bro's appraisal skills? It was incredibly powerful!

"Since it has already enjoyed two divine awakenings, focusing on its development is a wise decision. You have three options." Mike continued, using the [Eye of Truth]. The upgrade paths for the canary were clear in his vision. He ignored the lower-tier upgrade methods, focusing only on those that would maximize its potential and combat power.

"You could feed it [Venomous Substances], the more potent, the better, and in sufficient quantity. Afterward, this canary will succumb to the poison. You then burn its body and bury the ashes on a diamond pile. Collaborating with a necromancer, you can summon a Venomous Bone Roc."

Hiss—

Jessica's canary trembled all over in the palm of her hand, staring at this Fourth Bro with eyes full of fear.

Are you a devil?

Is this method of upgrades really okay?

The canary's heart leapt to its throat, terrified that if Jessica nodded in agreement, its little life would be over.

"Of course, this method is a bit sinister, and the summoned creature, the Venomous Bone Peng, is very hard to control and likely to backfire."

After Mike finished explaining, Blaze Morrow made a decision,

"Fourth Bro, let's skip this method. Jessica is quite fond of this little bird."

The canary finally relaxed, but still dared not get close to Fourth Bro. In its heart, Fourth Bro was now synonymous with the devil.

Then, Mike introduced two other hidden upgrade methods.

One could enhance the canary's eyes, allowing it to scout over large areas and gather intelligence.

The other, after the upgrade, would allow the canary to have a telepathic connection with its summoner, improving their coordination in battle.

As for which upgrade method to choose, the choice was left to Jessica herself.

"Thank you. Jessica, aren't you going to thank Master Fourth Bro?"

"Thank you, Fourth Bro!"

"No need to thank me, it's all charged, and it's not cheap."

Mike was straightforward about charging for his services, as it was only natural.

Blaze Morrow waved his hand, sending his granddaughter away to think over which upgrade to choose.

Meanwhile, he stayed with Mike, wandering around the Trade Secret Realm, as they had more to discuss.

"Fourth Bro, three hidden upgrade paths, according to the market price, one hidden upgrade path is worth 250,000 gold coins, how about 1 million gold coins for all three?"

Blaze Morrow, a veteran Battle Chief, was generous, offering 1 million gold coins, worth $1 billion!

At the Battle Chief level, owning millions in gold coins was indeed a reality, but it was rare for someone to spend so much on their juniors!

"Gold coins are not a necessity for us, Elder Blaze, I'd prefer to barter."

Mike spoke slowly,

"Fire-related equipment, skill books, items, materials, all valued at 800,000 gold coins would suffice."

Now practicing in wind, fire, and lightning elements, Mike's needs were more than triple that of a mage of the same tier!

He had already established channels for procuring materials for each element and was gradually building up his stock.

"That's easy to say... but are you training a junior?" Blaze Morrow asked tentatively.

Previously, Fourth Bro had asked him to imprint two curses, Sea of Flames and Flame of Life, which Blaze thought were for self-defense for a junior.

"That's right."

Mike nodded, he was indeed training a junior, but that junior was himself...

"So these items need to be high-tier but low-level, hard to find on the market, I think only you could dig up such treasures."

"Easy to say, easy to say!"

Blaze Morrow didn't mind Fourth Bro making demands, what he feared was him having no demands!

If Fourth Bro really chose to take the 1 million gold coins, Blaze Morrow would be disappointed.

Fourth Bro's appraisal skills far exceeded anyone Blaze Morrow knew!

Whether for Jessica's future development or for Blaze Morrow himself, connecting with Fourth Bro and maintaining a good relationship was all benefit and no harm!

"I had prepared quite a bit of fire element materials, thinking Jessica could follow the same path as me. Now that Jessica has found her own way, these items are just sitting idle, might as well trade them with you."

Saying this, Blaze Morrow took out a list of materials and handed it to Mike.

The list clearly marked the tier of each item and included the latest trading prices from the Mystic Market to ensure a fair and just transaction.

In the end, Mike picked a pair of S-tier fire element boots and a high-tier fire element core, totaling a value of $820,000. Blaze Morrow rounded down the figure, and the deal was struck.

Equipment: Flame Rhythm Boots (Lv.25)

Tier: S

Attributes: Agility+65

Perks:

[Flame Rhythm]: When moving at high speeds, fire element spell effects +15%

[Dance with Fire]: Can instantly teleport next to a flame, within a range of 0.6 miles, cooldown time 600 seconds

Upgrade Perks: Nôv(el)B\\jnn

[Enjoy Parkour]: When chased by monsters above your own level, flee for 1500 miles

Upgradeable times: 2

Upgraded times: 1

"What kind of upgrade perk is this, might as well throw me in the subway for parkour..."

What Mike valued most about the Flame Rhythm Boots was that they could still be upgraded twice, enough for him to use for a while.

The effects of the [Flame Rhythm] and [Dance with Fire] perks were also very powerful, the former increasing Mike's sustained output capability, and the latter giving Mike more diverse movement options.

As for the high-tier fire element core, it was one of the materials for crafting Battle Chief-level weapons.

Ares had agreed to contact a master smith for him, but Mike needed to provide his own materials.

With both items in his pocket, Mike parted ways with Blaze Morrow, staying a bit longer in the Trade Secret Realm before returning to Earth.

"What a night of gains!"

Mike quickly calculated the gains from his trip.

"100% Exploration Rate, SSSS-tier completion of the second layer, turned Stormweaver from one element to three elements!"

"Also passed the ninth-tier Battle Soldiers test, upgraded the Golden Lone Wolf, oh, and mooched two bottles of wine from Maxen Stoneheart!"

"Flame Rhythm Boots, high-tier fire element core..."

Mike's total gains for the night, measured in gold coins, were in the millions.

"Plus the reward from the whistleblower list, and the two skill books Ares promised me!"

These two items were the most valuable gains of Mike's night, though they hadn't yet been delivered to his hands.

Now, even without using Charge Up, Mike could hold his own against a Battle General-level pursuer!

"But the guy who wants revenge on me, he's not a Battle General, he's a Battle Lord!"

Mike shook his head with a wry smile, being targeted by a Battle Lord was not a pleasant experience, he needed to quickly enhance his own strength.

"Just maintain the current pace, give me a little more time..."

After sorting everything out, Mike pushed open the door, ready to head to school.

"Young man, good morning!"

The door across opened, and workers were moving furniture, a kindly old grandfather stood in the stairwell greeting Mike.

"I just moved in, I used to be an instructor, just call me Instructor Blaze, we're neighbors now, let's look out for each other."

Mike: ...Nonsense, I not only know you're called Blaze, but I also know you're Blaze Morrow, just fifteen minutes ago you were affectionately calling me Fourth Bro!

Unfortunately, these words Mike couldn't say out loud.

This old guy moving in across from him was mostly because of Jessica!

Jessica's talent had awakened a second time, she wasn't very discerning, couldn't see the essence.

But Blaze Morrow could see through it at a glance, Mike definitely helped Jessica!

For this, Blaze Morrow didn't mind hiding his identity, moving across from Mike to keep a close watch on this young man.

Mike smiled and greeted him, "Instructor Blaze, good to see you!"

"Young man, you look well, you must have had quite a haul last night at the Tower of Truth."

"Just so-so, it's all thanks to Thor, I did indeed gain quite a bit. Instructor Blaze, you look spirited, must be having good luck lately!"

"Not at all, I don't know what happened last night, I still have a headache. You're going to school, right? I'm just going for a walk, going to see where I used to work."

"Instructor Blaze, take it slow, the stairs are steep, may I help you?"

"Thank you, young man, not many warm-hearted young people like you around these days!"

"..."

An old and a young 'fox', each with their own schemes, pulling each other along, slowly heading towards the school.