After prancing around for a brief moment, Carmen dismissed herself, saying how she wanted to check up on Xu Feng.
"Go ahead, Lady Wraith. I shall guard the surroundings at the cost of my life." Jeff said solemnly, subconsciously flashing his new gear. It was clear that he was grateful for Carmen's generosity and was willing to exert more effort into this commission.
"Okay, I'll leave the guarding to you." Carmen smiled lightly and promptly returned to Xu Feng's side. To her astonishment, most of the initial equipment was gone, leaving precisely 5 pieces left on the ground.
She counted them silently in her mind. '1 Superior Common, 2 Uncommon, and 1 Superior Uncommon????'
Instantly, her eyes widened in shock as she turned to Xu Feng.
"Why is there—"
Before she could even continue her question, Xu Feng suddenly stood up and "accidentally" flashed his cloak.
However, the cloak he wore now wasn't the Hurricane Cloak, but a Feathered Cloak— a Common equipment.
Both cloaks looked somewhat identical in terms of appearance, but the latter was a completely inferior version.
She had read the description and knew the Feathered Cloak only offered very minimal protection. It wasn't wrong to say it was just for visual appeal and nothing else.
"Hey, don't you goggled at my Superior Uncommon equipment?" Xu Feng warned sternly, taking a few steps back, almost as if he was afraid of her snatching it.
"..."
Call her naive or something else, but Carmen would be damned if she believed he had mistakenly worn the wrong cloak.
"I'm still not going to agree to join your guild… at least not with my current circumstances and thoughts regarding it." She announced, putting up her stance.
"I still won't give you my cloak even if you agreed to join." Xu Feng rolled his eyes, remaining adamant.
Although he sounded very serious, Carmen was more certain that he was faking it and allowing her to get the Superior Uncommon cloak.
If anyone was going to turn stupid like that, Xu Feng would be the last person popping up in her mind. Throughout their entire interaction, especially during the battle, he was the most composed one out of them all.
Heck, they succeeded in the end mainly because Xu Feng managed to cripple the Harbinger's wings, otherwise, Jeff might not be capable of slaying it.
After all, the Harbinger could always soar to the sky and fly away to escape once it realized its defeat was imminent.
"Yes, I was wrong to stare at your SUPERIOR UNCOMMON equipment." Carmen said, emphasizing the rarity as she grabbed her supposed "common" equipment.
Shortly after, she equipped the authentic Hurricane Cloak and instantly felt the effect.
"Eh, how come my equipment is glowing dark green?" She glanced at herself and asked in confusion.
"Turn off the glowing effect…" Xu Feng smiled bitterly and explained.
"Oh…" As if she realized what was wrong, she quickly turned off the glowing effect. "Why did it have a glowing effect?"
"So that people can flex or brag about their equipment."
"But isn't it too flashy and blinding to the eyes?"
"It's a show of power, so naturally, they want to blind the average player. But then again, I suggest not turning off the glowing effect because it will only bring trouble to you."
Before Xu Feng could continue his explanation, Carmen interjected, "Trouble from the greedy players who want to steal your equipment, right?"
Nodding, Xu Feng praised, "Very good, you're learning now."
"Hehe," Smiling sheepishly, she proceeded to equip all the other equipment, instantly increasing her attributes by a large margin.
Nevertheless, she still gave him a warning, "I appreciate the equipment, but that doesn't mean I will join your future guild."
"Well, you can keep pondering. I'm sure you will join sooner or later." Xu Feng adjusted his glasses, feeling rather confident. With his generosity and advice, he was positive that she already held a different opinion of him.
She might still be wary of guilds, but at the very least, she had started to begin to lower her guards toward him.
That was all that mattered, to say the least. His goal for adventuring with her this time was to build up a relationship and trust.
And thanks to the aggressive Skyrazor Harbinger, it helped bring his goal closer to success.
"Anyway, we should continue advancing." Xu Feng calmly said. "The Harbinger delayed our time, but it's not all that bad. We now gained an understanding of everyone's skills and capability, making it easier for us to confront the Ironhide Behemoth."
"Un, I feel like it's easier for me to control two Elementalists now." Carmen clenched her fist and nodded. Ever since equipping the new gears, she felt a surge of mana rising, giving her a sense of familiarity and comfortability in utilizing her skills.
Shortly after, Carmen went toward Jeff and informed him that it was time to leave.
"Rest assured, Lady Wraith," Jeff smirked coldly, patting his new armor. "With my presence here, that Ironhide Behemoth or any other monsters that we may encounter will not get past me."
"In that case, I shall take back the equipment if any monsters come to harm us." Xu Feng interrupted.
"..."
Speechless, Jeff was left stupefied by Xu Feng's harsh condition.
Wasn't he merely speaking it out as a figure of speech?
It really wasn't going to be possible to prevent all monsters from harming them. Additionally, the Ironhide Behemoth could easily do AOE damage, and they will be damaged if within the range of its radius.
"Ignore him, Jeff." Carmen said, stepping to the front, and continued, "Feng simply likes to tease others, so there's no need to mind it."
"Y-Yes," Jeff quickly bowed slightly and thanked her silently in his heart.
Meanwhile, Xu Feng was unamused and realized that Carmen was starting to make herself too comfortable. She was even starting to talk on his behalf.
'Hmm, should I stop this nice treatment and treat her like Kai?' Xu Feng wondered silently, feeling rather complicated.