The hall was luxuriously decorated. The ceiling was made of glass with special materials, making the lighting extremely bright. In the center, there was a fountain pool with artificial rockery, surrounded by lush vegetation, creating a vibrant green atmosphere.
Beyond the hall, past a spiral corridor, was a gathering area.
Here, an open-air teahouse was specially set up. A large group of people had gathered there chatting. They all looked around eighteen or nineteen years old, full of youthful vigor. As Nie Yan scanned the crowd, several familiar faces came into view. Hao Cheng, Zhao Li, and Guo Huai—these three friends had kept in touch with Nie Yan even when he was in a difficult period in his previous life, so he remembered them clearly. They were Nie Yan and Tang Yao’s close friends from middle school, with the strongest bond.
“Hey, Nie Yan, Tang Yao, you guys are here,” Hao Cheng noticed Nie Yan and Tang Yao and immediately walked over, punching Nie Yan in the chest. “Wow, you’re more muscular and taller now. Remember back in middle school, you were so skinny you looked like just ribs. Have you started working out recently?”
Hao Cheng noticed that Nie Yan was indeed quite different from before. His physique and demeanor were worlds apart, which slightly surprised him.
Nie Yan smiled and said, “You haven’t changed much, still as strong as a bull.”
Hao Cheng was tall and muscular. In middle school, he was known for fighting, having taken down several tough guys at school, and served as the captain of the Sanda team.
Hao Cheng glanced at Tang Yao beside him and laughed, “You’ve gotten fatter.”
“Man, can’t you be more tactful?” Tang Yao joked, pretending to scold him.
After a while, Zhao Li and Guo Huai also approached. Zhao Li was slightly shorter than Hao Cheng, with darker skin and a square face. In terms of looks, he was still quite presentable and popular among girls, having flirted with many in middle school. Guo Huai was more introverted, wearing glasses and appearing quiet and refined.
“Nie Yan is here,” Guo Huai smiled.
“Hey, Nie Yan, long time no see. Finally, the five of us are together again,” Zhao Li said excitedly.
Guo Huai pointed to the sofa nearby and said, “Come sit over here.”
The five of them sat together and started chatting.
Not far away, several girls were repeatedly glancing in their direction, and their whispers reached Nie Yan and the others’ ears.
“Hey, is that Nie Yan?”
“Looks like it.”
“He’s changed a lot.”
“Yeah, much better looking now. I remember he was really thin before.”
Nie Yan glanced over and saw a few slightly familiar girls, smiling and waving at them. They smiled back shyly, surprised that Nie Yan was no longer as reserved as he used to be.
Nie Yan had once been an excellent student who only focused on studying and was indifferent to the world. When his personality started to change in his previous life, he could no longer recall. Now he already had an adult’s mindset and remained calm and composed.
The five of them talked about their current situations, and gradually the conversation turned to the most talked-about game now, Faith.
“You guys are all playing, right? Where are you hanging out? Let’s team up next time! Do you know the guys from Class 2? A group of them entered the game together to level up, and apparently they’re already quite strong. The highest level among them is already 12. Someone from Class 11 started a guild, which already has hundreds of members.” Hao Cheng spoke excitedly about the game.
“Hao Cheng, what class are you and what level?” Zhao Li asked.
“Warrior, already level 11. The annoying part is I’m in a small team, occasionally doing some dungeons together, but there are a few newbies in the team who always cause wipes. Otherwise, my level could be even higher.” Hao Cheng said. Since he had practiced Sanda, his reflexes weren’t bad, and he had a natural talent for playing a warrior. “How about you?”
“I’m a level 10 Mute Paladin, currently in Bright Holy Flame. Unfortunately, I’m only in a second-tier team and couldn’t get into their elite group,” Zhao Li said with a bitter smile.
Nie Yan was a bit surprised, not expecting Zhao Li to have joined Bright Holy Flame.
“Damn, those bastards from Bright Holy Flame, they ambushed us last time and almost killed me,” Tang Yao frowned.
“That’s not related to me,” Zhao Li quickly clarified.
“I know,” Tang Yao nodded. There was no need to take it out on his own brother.
“I’ll quit the guild when I go back, anyway I’m not happy there,” Zhao Li patted Tang Yao on the shoulder.
“True friend!” Tang Yao smiled. This was the kind of close friend he had.
“What about you guys? What levels are you at?” Hao Cheng looked at Guo Huai, Tang Yao, and Nie Yan. Zhao Li’s level was decent, which didn’t surprise him much, but he expected Guo Huai, Tang Yao, and Nie Yan wouldn’t be very high.
“I’m also level 10, a Holy Word Mage,” Guo Huai said. His level wasn’t low either.
Hao Cheng’s eyes lit up. Level 10 as well. Since he had reached level 10, it proved that Guo Huai’s skills were pretty good. Plus, being a Holy Word Mage, having three relatively strong players meant that the five of them could team up to farm monsters and level up together.
“What about you, Tang Yao?” Hao Cheng asked. He didn’t expect much from Nie Yan and Tang Yao, as the two of them weren’t into gaming much back in middle school. He was even surprised when he heard that Tang Yao and Nie Yan were playing games.
“Eh, eh.” Tang Yao glanced at Nie Yan and, seeing Nie Yan nod slightly, smiled and said, “Arcane Mage, level 14.”
“Uh, fourt… level 14?”
“You’re not kidding, right?”
The atmosphere suddenly became strange. Hao Cheng, Guo Huai, and Zhao Li looked at Tang Yao in shock, stunned for a while. Level 10 or 11 was considered quite good at the moment, and there were still many players at that level. But level 14 was extraordinary. Being in the top three on the leaderboard was just too shocking.
The atmosphere became eerily quiet.
Tang Yao’s vanity was greatly satisfied by Hao Cheng and others’ reactions, and he looked slightly proud.
“You little guy are something else, hiding your strength so deep!” Hao Cheng patted Tang Yao’s shoulder.
“Exactly, you’re amazing. Level 14, that’s insane. What’s your name in the game?”
“Kite,” Tang Yao replied.
“Damn, so you’re Kite. No wonder your leveling up was so aggressive. We’ll follow you from now on. You know what I mean. Do you have any gear you’ve outgrown?”
“Come on, give me a break. I’m also following someone else,” Tang Yao smiled bitterly.
Hao Cheng and the others were momentarily stunned and asked, “You’re that strong and you still need to follow someone else? They should be following you instead. Which guild are you in? Quit it right away.”
“Exactly, with such strength, you could easily form your own guild. Look at the top players on the leaderboard, the first is Broken Sky, the leader of Triumph, Half Awake Fox, the leader of Holy Roman Empire, and the leaders of Bright Holy Flame and Crazy War Alliance…” Guo Huai listed them off, and everyone realized that, except for Tang Yao, all the top ten on the leaderboard were guild leaders.
“Among the people I know, you’re the strongest. If you start a guild, many people will join. I can bring a bunch of guys with me,” Hao Cheng quickly said.
“Same here,” Zhao Li immediately chimed in.
“We can get at least two or three thousand people in the first batch!” Guo Huai said, surprising everyone with his rare outburst.
“That serious?” Tang Yao was taken aback.
“Of course. You’re level 14, how much influence do you have? We can go around and recruit classmates, getting two or three thousand people easily. However, the guild benefits will be an issue. If we can’t establish a guild warehouse, it will be a bit problematic. Without a guild warehouse, the number of members might cap at two or three thousand. But if we set up a guild warehouse and provide good benefits, and let them recruit more people, the numbers will snowball,” Guo Huai’s thinking was quite clear.
Nie Yan nodded slightly, finding Guo Huai’s words very reasonable.
Seeing Zhao Li and Hao Cheng looking at him in surprise, Guo Huai shyly pushed his glasses and said, “I and some friends thought about starting a guild before, but later gave up. We had no influence at all, and our financial resources couldn’t compare with those big guilds’ backers.”
Nie Yan suddenly recalled that back in middle school, he had heard that Guo Huai’s father ran a supermarket with more than two hundred large chain stores, so he had substantial financial resources. It was normal for Guo Huai to have such thoughts, especially since Faith was becoming increasingly popular. If a large guild could be successfully established, the economic benefits would be significant.
“We never heard you talk about this before. You always do things quietly.”
“What do you think, Yaotou? Let’s start a guild together. You be the leader, and I just want a small share. I’ll handle the funding,” Guo Huai said, his eyes sparkling. If Tang Yao could stay at the top of the leaderboard, his influence would be enormous. Raising a banner would attract a steady stream of followers. Even if they couldn’t build a guild as big as Triumph or Holy Roman Empire, creating a mid-sized guild was definitely possible.
Tang Yao shook his head and said, “The guild will be built, but I won’t be the leader. And as for shares, I don’t have the authority to decide that.”
“You won’t be the leader? Then who will?” Guo Huai was taken aback and asked.
“I might be the nominal leader, but the real leader is… Nie Yan. Because I’m following him,” Tang Yao smiled, saying something that shocked Guo Huai, Hao Cheng, and Zhao Li.
“Nie Yan?”
Guo Huai, Hao Cheng, and Zhao Li turned their surprised gazes to Nie Yan, who had been silent all this time. They suddenly remembered that they had been too excited in the conversation and seemed to have forgotten to ask Nie Yan his level. Could it be even more shocking than Tang Yao’s?
Nie Yan, who had been sitting silently beside them, instantly became the focus.
“Nie Yan, what class are you playing, and what level are you?”
“Yeah, we didn’t get a chance to ask earlier.”
“Don’t hide it anymore, just tell us!”
Seeing the expectant expressions on everyone’s faces, Nie Yan smiled and said, “Fourteen, Rogue.”
“Rogues can reach level fourteen? That’s incredible! Why isn’t that on the leaderboard?” Hao Cheng swore, knowing how hard it was to level up a Rogue. The highest level Rogue was supposedly only level twelve, and none of the top ten on the leaderboard were Rogues.
“He’s not on the leaderboard, he’s hiding,” Tang Yao explained.
“Sure enough, the quiet guy is the fierce one.”
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