Chapter 64: The King of Blank Slates

Could this be a bug?

‘The server must be acting up again,’ I thought, my initial reaction.

However, after scrutinizing it meticulously, a pang of dismay struck me.

It truly wasn’t a bug.

To begin with, when a weapon is forged, it can sometimes acquire additional ‘affix’ attributes.

These affixes might grant a certain amount of intelligence or strength, or perhaps a few points of fire or ice attack.

Yet, these are merely common affixes, considered basic unless their bonus values are exceptionally high.

Advanced affixes, on the other hand, are those that immediately convey a sense of grandeur and power.

For instance, an advanced affix could specify the weapon’s attack as a particular elemental type, or cause it to inflict an ‘XX-level damage amplification’ upon striking, or apply a bleeding effect with each hit, or even have an ‘XX% chance to stun the target’ or ‘XX% chance to ignore defense’ when attacking.

There is also a rather unique affix, classified as a common attribute, which doesn’t appear in the affix display panel.

This particular attribute is known as ‘Increases weapon base attack by XX points.’

Its uniqueness stems from the fact that all top-tier, high-attack weapons invariably possess this affix.

Typically, such weapons feature one attack-boosting affix alongside one or two advanced affixes, striking a balance between raw power and utility—after all, advanced affixes are often monstrously powerful.

A Level 30 blue-grade item can have a maximum of three affixes and a minimum of one.

I mentally tallied them, and my luck seemed to hold; it had three.

The weapon’s inherent base attributes also fluctuate, often quite significantly, making them one of the crucial factors that can either send players into raptures or despair.

Specifically, a Level 30 blue longsword has a minimum attack of 50 points, with a perfect score being 110 points.

Anything exceeding 95 attack is a rarity typically only seen in dreams.

Furthermore, affix attributes also vary widely in their values, ranging from a minimum of 1 point to a maximum of 40 points.

Any value above 30 is another one of those ultra-rare phenomena usually confined to dreams.

‘Hold on, my head hurts,’ I thought, needing to summarize.

The sword currently in my hand boasted a base attack of 110 points—the legendary full attribute value—and concealed three additional attributes.

Additional Attribute 1: Increases weapon base attack by 40 points, full attribute value.

Additional Attribute 2: Increases weapon base attack by 40 points, full attribute value.

Additional Attribute 3: Increases weapon base attack by 40 points, full attribute value.

‘Right, nothing wrong here.’

‘…Nothing wrong, my foot!’

What was this déjà vu, this feeling of having won the grand prize only to receive a piece of trash?

This had to be the most powerful ‘blank slate’ (TL Note: A gaming term referring to an item with high base stats but lacking any unique or special attributes.) in history!

At first glance, if one ignored its attack stat, it could easily be mistaken for a common white-grade item!

This was a joke!

I… well, *I* (TL Note: The Narrator refers to herself using a masculine term ‘laozi’ then corrects to a feminine ‘laoniang’ indicating a gender swap or a general exasperated self-reference.) had poured so many materials into this, how was I supposed to explain this ridiculous outcome to Su Yingning?

While this weapon might actually be incredibly potent, it felt subtly, overwhelmingly weak!

A blank slate!

Whether it was truly a blank slate or not, it certainly looked like a genuine, super-sized blank slate!

To throw so many magic crystals into it only to produce a blank slate felt utterly humiliating!

Who would ever want their first time (TL Note: Refers to forging a top-tier weapon) to result in a blank slate?

There were so many more possibilities!

So many more aesthetically pleasing options!

Moreover, without any other appended attributes, this piece of equipment would likely be utterly crushed in PvP!

It would essentially only be useful for bullying weaker monsters!

Should I perhaps list it on the auction house before Su Yingning came online, then buy back some magic crystals to make up the difference?

The sheer comedic disparity left me feeling incredibly awkward; the result was neither a divine artifact nor mere trash, but rather this bizarre, utterly useless (TL Note: Literally ‘chicken ribs,’ meaning something that is not worth much but you are reluctant to throw away, hence ‘useless’ or ‘regrettable’) thing!

[Please name the weapon you have forged.]

“Fire of This Lady Is Not Amused At All.”

[Confirm new weapon name as: “Fire of This Lady Is Not Amused At All”?]

“Confirm.”

[New weapon has been named “Fire of This Lady Is Not Amused At All.” Level 30 longsword “Fire of This Lady Is Not Amused At All” has been added to the equipment compendium.]

Add my *sister* (TL Note: A common Chinese expletive similar to “my ass” or “the hell you will”)!

Get this embarrassing, ridiculous stain on my life out of my compendium right now!

[Transfer new weapon to warehouse, auction house, or backpack?]

“Backpack.”

Regardless, I might as well carry it for now.

Although I couldn’t equip a longsword, and even if I did, it would have no attributes and I’d just be flailing wildly (TL Note: ‘夏姬八挥’ (xia ji ba hui) is a playful, somewhat vulgar internet slang meaning to swing haphazardly or randomly, like doing something without purpose or skill.), perhaps I could use it to chop down trees or something.

With such high attack, cutting trees with it would surely be satisfying.

[“Fire of This Lady Is Not Amused At All” has a total attribute rating of 2300 points, now ranking first in the entire server’s Equipment Hall of Fame. Do you wish to publicize your name and equipment attributes?]

“No no no no no!”

The Equipment Hall of Fame was an item leaderboard.

While it offered no substantial rewards, it provided a powerful incentive for crafting (TL Note: The Chinese uses `打造` (dǎzào) for crafting, followed by `抽奖` (chōujiǎng) for lottery/gambling in parentheses, implying crafting is akin to gambling for good items.)-enthusiastic lifestyle players, and simultaneously served as a symbol of status and strength.

Among the Equipment Hall of Fame’s evaluation criteria, the most crucial factor was an item’s base attributes; a single point of base attack boosted the rating by a full 10 points.

This very system had led to the Hall of Fame being inundated with these ‘super blank slates,’ with only a few genuinely top-tier items interspersed, yet still overshadowed by the sheer volume of blank slates.

And my super blank slate was, in fact, the King of all Blank Slates!

Though being the ‘King of XX’ sounded rather imposing, I couldn’t find an ounce of joy in it.

What truly vexed me was the game’s item attribution system.

Beneath the attributes of this colossal blank slate, my name was boldly signed in conspicuous orange text:

Crafted by: MC Mary Sue

An embarrassing name paired with embarrassing equipment—my mortification had now breached the heavens!

Amidst my disarray, my gaze flickered to a bag I’d been unconsciously holding in my left hand, having dismissed it from my mind.

[Goblin’s Advanced Treasure Bag: Contains random crafting materials. Small chance to yield equipment blueprints, special items, or special materials.]

A cradle of dreams!

My eyes immediately blazed with fervor!

Magic crystals! Give me magic crystals! High-grade magic crystals! I needed another try! I needed a comeback! I needed to turn the tables!

In that instant, I completely forgot the most crucial rule of game psychology.

[Operational Tactic #1, The Core Purpose of All Game Behavior: To apply a ‘Daydreaming Buff’ (TL Note: ‘Fei Qiu’ (非酋) or ‘non-chief’ is a Chinese internet slang term for someone with consistently bad luck in gacha games or draws.) to the unlucky, making them falsely believe their next attempt will turn the tide.]