Chapter 127: The Transfer Student and New Equipment

The crisp sunlight of a new day bathed the earth. Following my routine morning rituals, I made my way to class.

"Everyone, there's another class battle coming up soon," someone announced.

"Yeah, I heard Class 10 has declared war on us. Should we accept?"

"Of course! We’ll knock those guys flying and add another win to our record."

It seemed our class had been challenged yet again. I wondered if we would achieve a perfect victory this time. Just as I felt a flicker of interest in joining the fray, the professor walked in and tapped the desk. "Students, please settle down quickly."

Everyone scurried back to their seats. The professor continued, "Class, we have a new student joining us today. Please give her a warm welcome."

"A transfer student? Is it a guy or a girl?"

"I hope it’s a girl."

"Yeah, definitely."

The class erupted into enthusiastic chatter. A minute later, the door opened, and the new student walked in. The entire room went silent in stunned awe. While everyone had hoped for a girl, this person was almost "wickedly" beautiful.

She was tall, with long red hair and deep crimson eyes that gave her an imposing presence no one could ignore. Even in a standard school uniform, her proud posture and slender legs were showcased to perfection. She possessed an incredibly powerful aura, like a burning red rose. It was as if a haughty princess had descended from somewhere. I thought that perhaps only Huanyue could rival her beauty.

The professor said, "Alright, let’s have our new student introduce herself."

The red-haired girl spoke, "Hello everyone, my name is Hualian. I just returned from France, so you could say I’m a returnee. I look forward to your guidance in the coming days. Thank you."

The professor added, "If you have any questions, save them for after class. For now, let’s begin the lesson. Hualian, please find a seat."

She stepped down from the podium and walked over to an empty seat next to Ye Shuang, asking, "May I sit here?"

Ye Shuang nodded vigorously; the guy must have been overjoyed. Then, we were subjected to the professor’s droning lecture.

***

During the lunch break, it wasn't just our class—the entire school seemed to have gathered, surrounding us completely. One girl asked, "Hualian, what happened to your hair and eyes? They’re so pretty."

Hualian replied indifferently, "An accident turned them this way."

"What kind of accident?" the girl pressed.

"I’d rather not say," Hualian answered.

More questions followed, but Hualian didn't seem to care. After giving a few casual answers, she left the classroom. I also stepped out to the campus convenience store to pick up a bunch of things. On my way back, I saw Ye Shuang clutching a bouquet of flowers, twitching behind a tree in a highly agitated state. I walked over and asked, "What are you doing?"

Seeing me, Ye Shuang whispered, "Bro, keep it down, you'll expose me!"

"Expose you?" I asked, confused. As he grabbed me and pulled me to peer around the tree, I saw a girl sitting on a stone bench not far away, eating a piece of bread while looking at her phone. It was none other than the new student, Hualian. I pulled Ye Shuang back and asked, "Don't tell me..."

Ye Shuang said dreamily, "That’s right. Heaven has blessed me by sending such a beautiful angel. I intend to confess my love, ask her to date me, and let our hearts fuse together like a roaring flame..." He looked completely ecstatic.

"Is that so? Then why are you hiding here? Go for it," I said.

"Bro, truth be told, I already tried once. I bumped into her at the cafeteria, and I was so excited that I prepared to confess the moment she stepped out the door. But... but just before the confession..." His face darkened.

***

"Just before the confession..." I looked at him, curious. I wasn't surprised that Ye Shuang would jump to confess to someone he liked, but judging by his expression, it hadn't gone well.

"Did you get rejected?" I guessed. His chances of rejection were usually quite high, and his success rate was abysmal.

"Just before the confession, I was misunderstood," Ye Shuang said, wearing a look of deep regret, as if it were a life-altering blunder.

"Misunderstood?" I asked, puzzled.

"Yes. Because I appeared so suddenly, she thought I was an attacker. She knows martial arts—she shoulder-threw me onto the ground. By the time I got up, she was gone." That explained his gloominess.

"So you want to try again, right?" I asked.

Ye Shuang nodded. Just then, I saw Hualian stand up, and a handsome boy approached her. I tapped Ye Shuang's shoulder, signaling him to look. We watched as the boy held up a bouquet and asked, "Miss Hualian, would you go out with me?" The guy was bold. But the moment Hualian glanced at him, a crisp "slap" echoed. She had struck him across the face, sending him sprawling to the ground. The flowers fell, and Hualian stepped right over them, acting as if nothing had happened, walking away naturally. The boy stood up, looking disheveled, and left.

I looked at Ye Shuang. He had gone rigid, as if petrified. It was as if some evil magic had sucked out his soul. "Ye Shuang?" I waved my hand in front of his face, but he didn't react. The once-energetic guy had lost all vitality, turning into a living corpse.

Thinking about it, seeing his own strategy meet such a fate must have been a huge blow. To be safe, I dragged him back to the dorm. He maintained the same posture the whole way—quite a feat. After handing him over to Xiao Xi, I decided to log into the game.

Once inside, I arrived at the dwarf elder’s workshop. He was already waiting there.

"Lad, you’re finally here," the dwarf said, beaming.

"Where’s my gear?" I asked.

The dwarf pulled back a cloth covering the table, revealing a set of brand-new equipment.

Wind Dragon Combat Suit, Grade: Emerald, Defense +520, Strength Mastery +6, Agility +10, Magic Damage Reduction 15%, Wind Element Resistance +12%, Evasion Rate +10%, Additional Skill: Atmospheric Aegis (Consumes 300 Mana, manipulates surrounding air to form a Wind Energy Shield with 10,000 durability. While active, melee physical attacks have a 10% chance to knock back the attacker. Lasts 1 minute, 5-minute cooldown). Required Level: 45.

Wind Whisper Belt, Grade: Emerald, Defense +100, Health +1500, Mana +1500, Storage Capacity +5 slots, Casting Speed +10%, Health Regeneration 30/min. Required Level: 40.

Thunderstorm Overlord Pauldrons, Grade: Silver, Defense +40, Strength Mastery +6, Agility Mastery +6, Lightning Element Resistance +20%, Lightning Storm Skill Range +15%, Power +10%, Additional Skill: Grab Cannon (Consumes 250 Mana, grabs an enemy to trigger internal power, dealing non-elemental explosive magic damage. Before that, the enemy is grabbed and thrown forward, dealing physical damage. If they hit a wall or the ground, they are stunned for 3.5 seconds). Required Level: 48, Exclusive to Beast Warrior class.

Ancient Sinew Leggings, Grade: Purple Gold, Defense +100, Mana +500, Health +500, Water Element Resistance +10%, Movement Speed +12%. Required Level: 39.

Wind King Combat Boots, Grade: Emerald, Defense +65, Agility Mastery +10, Movement Speed +20%, Jump Power +20%, Evasion Rate +20%, Wind Element Resistance +17%, Additional Skill: Wings of a Thousand Miles (Consumes 200 Mana to instantly increase movement speed by 300% and evasion by 30% for 10 seconds. 270-second cooldown). Required Level: 42.

Not bad, not bad at all. A master’s work. I checked my stats:

Weiwei Long, Title: Peacekeeper.
Class: Beast Warrior
Level: 48
Health: 8,000
Mana: 5,500
Attack: 759
Defense: 1,135
Reputation: 3,210
Trial Points: 500
Luck: 1

"Haha! I’m invincible!" I shouted to the heavens. Suddenly, the dwarf handed me a black scabbard containing a short one-handed sword. "Take this. It's modeled after your original blade. I didn't have enough materials, so it’s not perfect, but it’ll do."

I drew the blade. It was translucent, pale blue, and emitted a chilling aura, looking like a sword of ice. I checked its stats:

Frostlight Sword
Grade: Silver
Attack +950, Health +1000, Mana +1000, Health Regen +15/sec, Mana Regen +15/sec, Ice Element Attack. 23% chance to slow opponents for 3 seconds.
Skill 1: Ice Core Blast (Consumes 2500 Mana, pierces an enemy and detonates, dealing magic damage and freezing them for 2.5 seconds. 3-hour cooldown).
Skill 2: Ice Armor (Consumes 700 Mana, creates an Ice shield that reduces damage taken and deals ice magic damage to melee attackers for 30 seconds. 5-minute cooldown).
Sharpness: AC
Required Level: 48, Required Agility Mastery: 100.
Note: All-class compatible.

(I modified the stat bar; the old one was getting too confusing even for me.)