Starting Unlimited Evolution from Grinding

Chapter 314: The Clumsy Shirleyas

"Oh... okay."

Although Finnie felt a bit awkward, she was indeed curious about this younger sister, so she didn't refuse and nodded in agreement.

Shirleyas, with keen perception, led Lin Mo and the others out of the office, leaving only the pair of sisters in the spacious room.

The awkward atmosphere continued to spread, but in the end, Finnie still stepped forward and took the initiative to speak...

On the other side, guided by Shirleyas, Lin Mo and the others arrived on the third floor of the Noren Trading Company.

"Do you have any specific needs?"

Shirleyas's words were very polite, but her tone was somewhat cold, or rather, calm.

This demeanor reminded Lin Mo easily of Sherfilia back in the day.

But Shirleyas's personality was clearly different from Sherfilia's... her current appearance was simply their work mode.

"Hmm..."Lin Mo pondered for a moment. If one were to talk about improving strength, for him at present, the most cost-effective option would naturally be elemental reagents.

Previously, Lin Mo had already consumed several intermediate elemental reagents, but there were still a few elements he hadn't tried. Now that he had money, it was the perfect time to fill those gaps.

So he spoke up, "I'd like to purchase some intermediate elemental reagents. I need four types: Earth Element, Wind Element, Water Element, and Light Element."

"Alright."

Shirleyas nodded, then immediately walked ahead, leading them to a glass cabinet.

Inside were many elemental reagents, noticeably more in quantity than the last time they visited. It was foreseeable that as the market continued to expand, the Noren Trading Company would definitely prepare even more in the future.

With competitors already gone, the next step was to firmly occupy the market. In this situation, they had to meet customer demands as much as possible and absolutely avoid stockouts.

So the claim that the current Noren Trading Company was short on materials wasn't baseless; it was a fact.

Otherwise, Lin Mo wouldn't have been able to "trick" Noren earlier.

No matter what, as the future heir of an Imperial Royal Duke Family, she wasn't a naive fool like Finnie. When handling serious matters, Noren was anything but careless.

"Everything you need is here. Please feel free to choose."

Although it was called choosing, there wasn't really much to select.

Now that he had ample funds, Lin Mo naturally didn't mind spending an extra thousand or two. If he was going to buy, he'd buy the best.

Thus, for all four intermediate elemental reagents, he selected the highest specifications available in the store.

Among them, the Earth, Wind, and Water Element reagents were each 9,000 Gold Coins, while the Light Element reagent was more expensive at 11,000 Gold Coins, the same as the one he bought for Finnie last time.

Taking the reagents out of the cabinet, Lin Mo directly stored them in his Ethereal Ring.

Although this didn't follow the store's rules, Shirleyas just glanced at it and didn't say anything.

"Is there anything else you need?"

"Let's buy a few pieces of equipment."

Ellie said.

The rewards they just received at the palace included 200,000 Gold Coins for him alone! Plus, Ellie, Finnie, and Sherfilia all made it into the top ten, each receiving 50,000 Gold Coins, bringing the total to a whopping 350,000 Gold Coins.

Earlier, selling the monster materials fetched another 70,000 Gold Coins. Adding some previous savings, their team now held a massive sum of 450,000 Gold Coins!

With this much money, normally, for an average Professional, purchasing "Essence Blood Serum" would be a very good choice.

Especially for those Professionals who hadn't consumed it or had consumed very little, the "Essence Blood Serum" that rapidly boosts attributes was undoubtedly one of the best ways to increase strength.

But Lin Mo and his team didn't need this stuff.

Lin Mo's own attribute growth speed was already very fast... As for Ellie and the others, as long as Lin Mo's attributes increased, theirs would naturally follow suit. There was no need to spend so much money on that stuff.

And aside from buying reagents, the best use for Gold Coins was, of course, to purchase equipment.

"You should have Epic Level equipment here, right?"

Lin Mo looked at the maid lady before him.

Shirleyas nodded, "Please follow me."

With that, she turned and went upstairs.

A moment later, on the fifth floor of the Noren Trading Company, after opening multiple layers of security, what appeared before everyone was a not very large but exquisitely decorated secret room.

As soon as Lin Mo stepped into the room, he noticed the equipment displayed in front of him.

It wasn't the usual glass cabinets. Instead, each piece of equipment had its own independent display stand, with a dust-proof Wind Element magic array applied on top.

There were about thirty pieces of equipment in total, and every single one was Epic Level!

Truly worthy of a Royal Duke Family... this depth of foundation was indeed astonishing.

Judging by Shirleyas's reaction, Epic Level equipment probably wasn't considered anything rare within the Oxivis Family.

But at least for Lin Mo and his team currently, Epic Level equipment could still bring a significant boost.

The equipment didn't have prices marked, but the maid nearby surely knew. Lin Mo focused on appraising the equipment attributes.

"This one isn't suitable... this one's attributes aren't great... this one is pretty good, but the original equipment is already good, so it wouldn't bring much improvement..."

While Lin Mo was meticulously selecting, Ellie was also examining the equipment in front of her.

As for Sherfilia, she had been following behind Lin Mo the entire time, maintaining the demeanor expected of a maid.

Lin Mo roughly understood the reason, probably because of Shirleyas's presence, she was secretly "competing."

How adorable...

Lin Mo actually didn't have much equipment that needed replacing.

Currently, he had an Epic Level Frost Dragon Scale Sword, an Epic Level Ethereal Ring, and for armor, he had the Magic-Resisting Gold-Thread Armor obtained earlier in the Secret Realm, plus the Shadowblood Stride Boots currently held as collateral.

That made four Epic Level pieces in total, which was already quite extravagant. Adding one more wouldn't bring much improvement.

On the other hand, Ellie and the others had plenty of room for improvement.

This Academy Grand Competition used a points system, especially in the preliminary rounds. It wasn't a matter of Lin Mo winning alone; Ellie and the others also had to defeat their opponents and earn more points for the team to advance smoothly.

So, this time was mainly about buying equipment for them.

On the way over, Lin Mo had already roughly thought of the targets.

First was Ellie's sword. Ellie was still using the Steel-Cleaving Sword that Lin Mo had phased out earlier. The attributes and quality of that sword were indeed decent, but after all, it had been used for quite some time, facing many powerful enemies alongside Lin Mo and Ellie. Its durability was now less than half. Although it might hold up a bit longer with repairs, since they had money now, there was no need for that.

Then there was Finnie. Her Mithril staff was an excellent weapon back then, but by now, it was time for an upgrade. Sherfilia was the same, needing an Epic Level dagger.

Then, they would each buy one Epic Level piece of armor... that should be about it.

Six Epic Level pieces of equipment, and the money in hand would be pretty much spent.

"Lin Mo, what do you think of this sword?"

While Lin Mo was selecting, Ellie was also eyeing her own weapon. After a while, she suddenly jogged over, pulling Lin Mo to a sword.

Lin Mo focused his gaze.

This sword was named 【Silvermoon Blade】.

【Silvermoon Blade】

Equipment Type: Weapon/One-Handed Sword

Level: Epic (Purple)

Attributes: Durability +130%, Sturdiness +90%, Sharpness +130%

Hidden Attribute: Silvermoon Shine IV: During combat, increases Agility attribute by 35 points. During night battles, Agility attribute receives an additional 8% increase.

Equipment Amplification: Moonblade IV: When using sword technique skills, power increases by 25%.

Equipment Skill: Silvermoon Slash: Releases a silver Sword Energy, imbued with moonlight power, inflicting additional Ice Element damage. Deals an extra 20% damage to Fire and Dark attribute targets!

A good sword!

The effects of this sword were indeed excellent. In all aspects, it was a fairly standard Epic Level weapon and also suited Ellie well. Especially the hidden attribute "Silvermoon Shine," which could even increase attributes by a percentage during night battles!

Even for a Transcendent Level expert, this sword would be quite useful.

"How much for this sword?"

Lin Mo turned to look at Shirleyas.

"42,000 Gold Coins."

Shirleyas glanced at it and quoted the price.

This price was also reasonable.

Lin Mo nodded.

Then this one it is!

Lin Mo immediately picked up the sword and handed it to Ellie, whose face was full of anticipation.

"Thank you, Lin Mo!"

Ellie, always straightforward in character, immediately kissed Lin Mo's cheek.

Although her own prize money was enough to buy this sword, handing the money over to the team fund and having Lin Mo buy it for her felt different. It was much more joyful than buying it herself!

Shirleyas silently glanced at them and didn't say anything.

Next, Lin Mo successively picked a suitable staff for Finnie, a dagger for Sherfilia, and then selected a piece of armor for each of the three.

During this time, it seemed a store employee came over and handed Shirleyas a note.

This way, counting the equipment Lady Behira gifted them when they left Silverstream City, they each now had three Epic Level pieces of equipment.

But the cost was naturally heavy. Several pieces of equipment added up to about 330,000 Gold Coins.

The most expensive was, of course, Finnie's staff, priced at a full 110,000 Gold Coins!

Well, that's just how it is with Mages...

Adding the 4 intermediate elemental reagents from earlier, the total expenditure this time reached nearly 380,000, exceeding their savings.

But it was fine. Lin Mo was a member of the Noren Trading Company, so he had a discount.

"How much is it after the discount?"

"266,000 Gold Coins."

Shirleyas replied without hesitation.

"Huh?"

Lin Mo was instantly stunned. "Why is it so cheap?"

"Miss Noren just instructed us to directly upgrade you to the highest-level Star Diamond membership, so you can enjoy a 30% discount."

Upon hearing this, Lin Mo directly gave a thumbs up.

This little sister-in-law is awesome!

Originally, he was a Level 2 member, only eligible for a 10% discount. Now, the 10% discount became 30%.

You have to know, the cost of this equipment wasn't low. A 30% discount basically meant they weren't making much money, probably not even a 5% profit. It was purely a friendly price.

Normally, becoming a Star Diamond member definitely wouldn't be easy.

Lin Mo recalled the employee who suddenly came over earlier to give Shirleyas the note. Probably the content on that note was about giving them this discount...

So, did Finnie make it happen?

Lin Mo didn't know what had happened upstairs earlier.

So he decided to go up and take a look, conveniently to pay.

Thus, carrying the selected equipment, Lin Mo returned to the top floor of the Noren Trading Company.

Pushing the door open, Finnie was sitting on the sofa, still looking adorably cute. Noren, however, seemed much more well-behaved, blinking her eyes as she sat opposite Finnie. A cup of coffee was placed in front of her, and she held a small spoon, absentmindedly stirring it. Some coffee had even splashed out onto the table.

Shirleyas walked up to her with an expressionless face, half-squatting down, intending to take a cloth from the tea table drawer.

Then...

Well, in short, everyone present was greatly shocked.

That massive pair, resting on the table, received a slight squeeze with her movement.

"Hiss—!"

Lin Mo couldn't help but suck in a sharp breath.

Ellie looked utterly bewildered. She looked at Shirleyas, then lowered her head to look at herself, roughly comparing. After sensing the disparity, the ears on her head drooped down.

Sherfilia maintained her maid's composure, but Lin Mo, familiar with her, could clearly see her "pupil earthquake."

Noren's eyelids also twitched, feeling deeply helpless towards this maid of hers, this other "older sister."

Only Finnie remained clueless, completely unresponsive. Instead, she turned to look at Lin Mo, immediately stood up, and jogged over, "Mr. Lin Mo! Have you finished selecting the items?"

"Um... this is for you."

Lin Mo somewhat reluctantly withdrew his gaze and handed the staff and cloth armor in his hand to her.

"Thank you..."

Finnie, her face slightly flushed, accepted the items, the corners of her mouth unable to stop rising.

"Clatter—"

Then, a discordant sound suddenly disrupted the atmosphere.

Everyone looked up to see that the maid lady who had just shocked everyone seemed to have accidentally knocked over the cup while wiping the table. The coffee directly soaked the clothes on her chest, and the cup even shattered.

Uh...

Although it wasn't some major incident... but normally, would such a mistake happen?

As a maid from an Imperial Royal Duke family, and an elite maid of no ordinary status at that, she shouldn't make such a low-level mistake.

Sherfilia's gaze instantly became "sharp," staring intently at the flustered Shirleyas.

"I'm sorry, Miss Noren. Shirleyas will clean it up right away... Ah!"

Shirleyas, completely different from her previous "aloof" demeanor, somewhat panickedly went to pick up the fragments on the floor, but lost her balance and fell again. This time, even her skirt got stained with coffee.

Noren's mouth twitched, "Shirleyas, leave it. You don't need to do these things."

"How can that be? This is Shirleyas's duty as a maid!"

Shirleyas said while getting up from the floor, tidying the fragments, and silently leaving. This time, no problems occurred.

However, not long after she left the room, an even louder sound of something shattering was heard.

"Lady Shirleyas, that's Miss Noren's vase..."

Chaos ensued outside.

Noren's face instantly darkened.

"Pfft—"

Ellie couldn't hold back and directly laughed out loud. It was like a switch was flipped. Lin Mo and Finnie followed suit and laughed. Only Sherfilia maintained her "calm" expression, her eyes carrying a sense of "pride" as if she had regained her footing.

This Lady Shirleyas, although powerful in strength and seemingly perfect, it seemed that in terms of maid talents... well, to put it diplomatically, she was completely clueless.