Nie Yan planned to have some well-known crafting players lead the way in establishing organizations similar to mercenary guilds in various cities. Crafting players could register for free in these crafting guilds, accept and complete tasks, and receive rewards. The guilds would allow the posting of various employment and recruitment information without charging any intermediary fees.
What Nie Yan aimed to do first was unite the crafting players within the Bull Tribe, integrating them into the broader crafting player community. By offering them more favorable treatment compared to other guilds, he intended to create a role model effect, encouraging more crafting players to join the Bull Tribe.
The crafting players in the Bull Tribe were treated exceptionally well. Ordinary crafters desperately wanted to join the Bull Tribe, but few truly talented ones existed. Nie Yan intended to attract them all through favorable benefits via the crafting guilds. He had merely outlined the concept, leaving the management team to work out the specific details.
Nie Yan dialed Gu Huai’s voice chat and shared his ideas.
After a brief pause, Gu Huai replied, “This idea sounds good and has some practical potential. If successful, it would be very meaningful.”
“How many high-level crafters do we currently have?” Nie Yan asked. He only had a general understanding of the Bull Tribe’s situation and had never dealt with specific details, which had always been handled by Gu Huai’s management team.
“At present, Star Pharmacy employs thirty-nine senior alchemists. Furthermore, the entire guild consists of sixteen senior alchemists, thirty-one senior engineers, six senior enchanters… totaling approximately over two hundred senior craftsmen in all,” replied Gu Huai, citing the most recent statistics he had received.
The difficulty of leveling up various crafting professions varied. Enchanters and rune scribes were the hardest to train, followed by alchemists, while other crafting professions were relatively easier. In the entire Karol City, there were a total of thirty-six senior alchemists, twenty-one of whom belonged to Star Pharmacy. Additionally, Star Pharmacy had attracted eighteen senior alchemists from other cities, achieving remarkable success.
However, over two hundred senior crafters were still insignificant compared to the entire player population of the Grailand Empire.
“Has anyone successfully advanced to the Master level?” Nie Yan asked. Master level was a significant threshold. In the future, advanced crafters would be common, but only one in a thousand could successfully advance to the Master level. Upon reaching the advanced crafting level, one could apply for a decent job in any guild. Becoming a Master-level crafter meant achieving fame and becoming a leader in the field.
“Not yet. There are six people in Star Pharmacy with great potential to reach the Master level. Among them, the most promising is Nannan, who is closest to achieving Master status. He learned the Life Winter formula you obtained and is expected to successfully advance within ten days. As for the others, they would need at least thirty days or more,” Gu Huai explained. Advancing to the Master level was an extremely difficult process.
Recalling his past life, Nie Yan found the situation similar and said, “Once Nannan successfully reaches the Master level, you should promote him vigorously. Use him as the leading figure to energize the crafting guilds.”
“I understand,” Gu Huai nodded, grasping Nie Yan’s intentions.
Nie Yan stayed in Hilton Fortress for a day, had the three little companions behind him cleaned up at the inn, and bought NPC-specific clothing for them. He noticed that their loyalty had slightly increased.
The next day, Nie Yan received news that High Commander Brexspire had returned. He crossed the bustling streets and headed toward Brexspire’s house.
Nie Yan noticed squads of guards occasionally patrolling the streets, fully armed and wearing standard-issue armor, moving in groups along the streets.
The atmosphere in Hilton Fortress was much heavier than usual. It seemed that Ignatius had relayed his message to the fortress’s governor. This relieved Nie Yan of a major concern. If, in five days, the subterranean monsters indeed surged toward Hilton Fortress as he predicted, it would mark his first successful prophecy.
He wondered what reward he would receive for the successful prophecy.
High Commander Brexspire’s residence was a refined and elegant two-story stone house, encircled by sturdy walls with a courtyard brimming with diverse plants. Nie Yan stepped inside.
Guided by the doorman, Nie Yan met High Commander Brexspire in the living room. He was a burly man, a full head taller than Nie Yan, with blocky muscles all over his body, resembling a giant beast.
He was a level 220 legendary swordsman, a barbarian like War God Cro.
At the moment, Brexspire was wearing a loose coat without armor, his left arm bare.
“Respected Mr. Brexspire, good day,” Nie Yan greeted respectfully. Figures like Brexspire were unattainable for players. Without the titles Demon Hunter and Grand Scholar, he wouldn’t even have the qualification to converse with Brexspire.
“Hello,” Brexspire greeted amicably.
Nie Yan’s gaze fell on Brexspire’s left arm. He noticed that Brexspire’s left arm muscles were somewhat atrophied, with a grayish hue, appearing on the verge of rotting.
“Curious?” Brexspire smiled.
“Yes,” Nie Yan nodded.
“This is the fallen curse of the legendary undead mage Nadago. As time passes, it will gradually consume me until I become a rotting corpse,” Brexspire said, his tone devoid of sadness, as if stating an ordinary fact.
“What can be done to lift the curse on you?” Nie Yan asked cautiously, realizing that Brexspire’s curse was related to the half-broken Nadago’s staff he possessed.
“Unless I can obtain an item from Nadago as a spell medium, the curse on me cannot be removed. However, the undead mage Nadago has not appeared for over a thousand years,” Brexspire replied.
Since the undead mage Nadago had not appeared for a thousand years, and Brexspire was cursed by Nadago, did that mean High Commander Brexspire was also a figure from a thousand years ago?
“I think I might be able to help you lift the curse,” Nie Yan said, pulling out Nadago’s staff from his backpack.
Upon hearing Nie Yan’s words, Brexspire was slightly surprised. When he saw Nie Yan take out a half-broken staff from his backpack, his gaze locked onto it and could not be diverted.
“It’s the curse staff! How did you get it?” Brexspire exclaimed in shock. “Why is it broken?”
“The undead mage Nadago was bound by a formation, and I managed to kill him. This is my loot,” Nie Yan replied, omitting the process of defeating Nadago.
Although Nie Yan didn’t explain how he defeated the undead mage Nadago, Brexspire knew how terrifying Nadago was. A single curse from Nadago could turn Nie Yan into a corpse.
“You are a hero of the Grailand Empire, and this is your rightful reward—the glory of a hero!” Brexspire said, waved his hand, and streams of light illuminated Nie Yan’s body.
Nie Yan checked his level and found that it had suddenly jumped to level 72, which shocked him with the massive amount of experience gained.
In addition to the experience reward, Nie Yan’s military rank jumped three levels at once, from Decurion to Myriarch, and then to Commander and High Commander.
The reward for defeating a legendary undead mage was indeed generous!
Nie Yan looked at his health, which had increased to 6,200, and his defense and other attributes had also significantly improved.
The Myriarch’s attribute bonus: Attack +20%, Health +30%.
This was an additional bonus. If he were to advance to Commander and High Commander in the future, there would be even higher attribute bonuses. Nie Yan remembered that in his previous life, a level 93 blood tank warrior who advanced to Myriarch had a health pool of 12,000, with defense and health so high that even same-level thieves would take over fifty seconds to defeat him.
Thieves were a class with low health, making it difficult to reach such high health levels. Nie Yan’s current state was already considered extremely abnormal.
Level 72 was getting closer to level 100. Once he reached level 100, Nie Yan could undertake the quest to advance to Shadow Dancer!
“Mr. Nieyan, would you be willing to give me this staff to help me lift the curse on myself?” Brexspire asked sincerely.
“Of course, Mr. Brexspire. May it help you relieve your suffering,” Nie Yan replied, trading the half-broken Nadago’s curse staff to Brexspire.
Brexspire took the curse staff, let out a deep breath, and crushed it into dust with his strength, smearing it onto his left arm. The staff transformed into streams of black energy, seeping into Brexspire’s left arm. Gradually, the grayish hue on Brexspire’s left arm faded, and some color returned, although it was still slightly pale.
Brexspire exhaled, his body drenched in sweat, and a relaxed smile appeared on his face. “Finally, this damned curse has left me. Thank you, Mr. Nieyan.”
“It’s my honor to help you relieve your suffering,” Nie Yan smiled, continuing with the standard quest dialogue.
“No words can express my gratitude. Here is a dragon egg of the Darkwing Dragon. Originally, I intended to hatch and keep it for myself, but now I have decided to give it to you,” Brexspire said, pulling out a black, basketball-sized egg from his bag. Its surface was covered with black patterns, emitting dazzling black light that instantly illuminated the entire room.
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