Chapter 561: The Archmage!!

After the white light vanished abruptly, a crisp system prompt sounded. Nai Yan quickly glanced at the system message.

System: You have synthesized the Necklace of Yearning.

As long as the synthesis was successful and didn’t fail, everything was fine. Nai Yan’s heart, which had been hanging in anxiety, finally settled. Now he felt at ease.

Nai Yan checked the attributes of the Necklace of Yearning. It increased the Alchemist skill level by +1. He couldn’t help but feel ecstatic—this was one of the best attributes available. The guild warehouse of Cowherd Tribe had several master-level potion recipes. With this necklace, those potions could finally be produced.

Necklace of Yearning: Special Item.

Attribute: Alchemist skill level +1.

Restriction: Bound upon use. Skill proficiency cannot be gained while wearing this item.

Nai Yan immediately sent a message to Niao Busheng Dan.

“Boss, did you need me for something?” Upon seeing it was from Nai Yan, Niao Busheng Dan respectfully set aside his current work and replied.

“Among our guild’s advanced alchemists, who has the highest potion success rate?” Nai Yan asked. Naturally, this Necklace of Yearning should go to the one with the highest potion-making success rate.

“The one with the highest success rate… probably should be Low-Key Nannan. Generally speaking, his potion-making success rate can reach around 95%. Next would probably be me,” Niao Busheng Dan thought for a moment before replying.

Low-Key Nannan had the highest potion-making success rate, while Niao Busheng Dan had a certain probability of producing better potions and gaining significant skill experience. Comparatively speaking, Low-Key Nannan was more suitable to use this necklace.

“I have a necklace here. You two discuss who should use it appropriately,” Nai Yan said, sending over the attributes of the Necklace of Yearning and then mailing it to Niao Busheng Dan’s mailbox.

Seeing the attributes of the Necklace of Yearning, Niao Busheng Dan inhaled sharply. As an alchemist, he understood the necklace’s value. They had spent several months locked inside laboratories making potions just to reach the advanced alchemist level. Although many were on the verge of becoming master alchemists, they found that breaking through the bottleneck was extremely difficult. Without special recipes to break through the barrier, they could only remain stagnant. Advancing to master-level production professions proved far more difficult than expected. This necklace could instantly elevate an advanced alchemist to a master alchemist or even a grandmaster alchemist.

Unfortunately, while wearing the Necklace of Yearning, potion-making would not grant skill experience. It could only be used as an auxiliary item during potion creation. It was normal for the necklace to have such a restriction. Without it, it would be too overpowered.

“Give it to Low-Key Nannan. He can create potions beyond his level. In the future, he might even produce grandmaster-level or even great-grandmaster-level potions,” Niao Busheng Dan said. He also had to manage the Starlight Pharmacy and didn’t have much time for potion-making. Giving the necklace to someone else was clearly more beneficial.

“There are master-level healing potion and master-level mana potion recipes in the Cowherd Tribe guild warehouse. Have Low-Key Nannan learn those recipes and start producing some potions,” Nai Yan said. In his previous life, master-level potions were extremely scarce and expensive. Currently, master-level healing potions and master-level mana potions were considered items beyond their level. People like Cui Can Dao Guang (Radiant Blade) and Tang Yao already had tens of thousands of hit points or mana points. Advanced healing potions and advanced mana potions could no longer meet their needs. However, master-level potions could instantly restore their hit points and mana to full.

During dungeon raids, having master-level healing potions and mana potions could provide players with more sustained combat capability, possibly preventing one or two wipes.

“Alright,” Niao Busheng Dan replied, and he went off to handle the matter.

After producing one Necklace of Yearning, Nai Yan felt much more relaxed. He continued grinding monsters nearby for a while but failed to obtain any further Life Emerald Gems.

Nai Yan packed up his things and prepared to return. A gust of wind blew by, carrying what seemed like the salty scent of the sea breeze.

Was this place close to the ocean?

Nai Yan couldn’t help but wonder. Recalling the map, he realized this location was still somewhat distant from the coast. The southern coastline was about ten minutes away by horse. It was truly amazing that the sea breeze could reach this far.

Was the southern coastline the Silent Bay?

Thinking of the name, Nai Yan suddenly remembered—he still had a task in Silent Bay. He pulled down his lengthy quest panel and searched through it, eventually locating one quest clue.

His next quest required him to go to Silent Bay and meet the dragon girl, Beineta.

The Ten Holy Knights quest had only just begun. The final boss of the Ten Holy Knights quest was too powerful—whether it was the traitor Bruin or the hellhound, they would need to reach level 100 and evolve into the Shadow Dancer phase before they could stand a chance against them. That’s why Nai Yan hadn’t triggered that quest yet.

Since he was already here, he might as well go find Beineta and obtain some quest clues.

With that thought, Nai Yan packed up his things and summoned the recovered Falkner Warhorse, riding swiftly in that direction.

Inside the canyon, the light was dim, and gusts of wind blew, causing the trees to sway and rustle loudly.

The Falkner Warhorse dashed quickly across the plains.

A movement in the distant forest caught Nai Yan’s attention—there were people!

With a loud bang, an elemental sphere screamed through the distant forest, exploding in a burst of colorful brilliance. A deafening scream echoed from within the forest. From the sound, it seemed to be the area’s boss monster—the Rampant Black Bear.

Could someone be clearing out the Rampant Black Bear? That was a level 90 boss. Even Nai Yan dared not easily engage the Rampant Black Bear. It was definitely one of the most terrifying bosses of the current stage.

Seeing the dazzling light of the elemental sphere, Nai Yan’s heart pounded. That was the Elemental Sphere spell!

Nai Yan was very familiar with the Elemental Sphere spell. In his previous life, when he was over level 100, he had fought against elemental mages. Elemental Sphere was a must-have spell for elemental mages, and it was extremely damaging. If he remembered correctly, Elemental Sphere was a level 100 spell, and it couldn’t be learned until around level 110.

Could it be that someone had already surpassed level 100, or even learned a level 100 spell at a lower level?

Filled with some confusion, Nai Yan recalled the Falkner Warhorse, entered stealth mode, and swiftly moved toward the distant commotion.

After traversing the dark forest for over ten minutes, Nai Yan hid in a corner and observed the battle scene. In the open space ahead, a giant bear lay dead on the ground, its body covered with signs of magical explosions.

Judging from the scene, Nai Yan could see that the bear had remained within a ten-yard radius throughout the fight. What incredible control!

Beside the bear stood two figures wearing black cloaks. One of them approached the bear, bent down, picked up something, then said something to the other. The two then started walking away.

Nai Yan cast Super Insight on them to check their status.

Krasbi: Level 120 Boss, Flame Inquisitor, Magus.

An NPC! Nai Yan’s heart pounded. As for the other, a thinner figure, was a player—a elemental mage.

Such a combination was truly shocking.

Nai Yan couldn’t detect the elemental mage’s name or details, so it seemed he also had a name-hiding item.

As Nai Yan cast Super Insight, the Magus Krasbi suddenly became alert, scanning the forest with his eyes and glancing toward Nai Yan’s direction.

Not good, he had been detected!

Nai Yan immediately held his breath. He alone understood how terrifying a level 120 Magus NPC was. If he approached within 60 yards of the Magus and a fight broke out, it would be nearly impossible to survive.

The most terrifying aspect of Magi was that random teleport scrolls were ineffective against them. Even if you had already used a random teleport scroll, their magical essence could follow spatial rules to quickly locate and pull you back.

In his previous life, Nai Yan had fought against players with the Magus title. They could toy with you however they pleased, leaving you with no chance of resistance.

Even an 180-level master thief might not be able to outmaneuver a level 120 Magus.

This was a gap in class hierarchy.

This was also why so many people were eager to obtain top-tier class titles like Magus or Shadow Dancer.

“Respected Mr. Krasbi, what’s the matter?” the elemental mage beside him asked.

Krasbi shook his head and remained silent.

The two turned and left the area, heading deeper into the forest.

The Magus Krasbi’s perception was too sharp. Nai Yan dared not follow them. He couldn’t help but feel curious and puzzled—how could a player have a level 120 NPC assisting him in battle?

Thinking about it, according to Faith’s system, there were several possibilities.

First, the Servant System. While completing quests, players might encounter opportunities to recruit NPCs as their servants, making them fight for them. Just like the Ten Holy Knights quest Nai Yan had previously received—if he could defeat the hellhound and rescue the trapped holy knights, he could make Karl become his servant. Second, the player might be in the middle of a quest. Sometimes, during certain quests, NPCs would be involved, such as escorting an NPC or assisting an NPC in defeating a monster. Third, the Hire System. Players could pay some money to hire NPCs for their tasks. For example, Nai Yan’s Divine Hire allowed him to hire a powerful holy knight to assist in combat.

As for the relationship between NPC Krasbi and the elemental mage, Nai Yan could only speculate without any way to verify.

Nai Yan felt a sense of threat. There were so many powerful and talented individuals in Faith. If he didn’t work hard, he might fall from his position of supremacy, which would be a huge disaster for the Cowherd Tribe.

He must advance to Shadow Dancer as soon as possible! Not just an ordinary Shadow Dancer— at least a Holy Shadow Dancer level!