“The drop rate for Apostle of Light in Bright Valley is pretty good. Have you guys entered Bright Monastery yet? If you clear Bright Monastery, you should get more than just Quick Retreat, right? What about Desperate Strike?” Nie Yan casually asked. He had his eyes on Quick Retreat and wanted to check if there was another skill book available.
Hearing the mention of the Bright Monastery, the Sacerdotist player felt a chill, glanced at Nie Yan, and shook his head. “We’re nowhere near ready for that yet. The monsters inside the Bright Monastery are far too powerful for us to handle. Friend, your equipment looks quite impressive; you must have already cleared those dungeons, right?”
“I know a bit about it, but I haven’t been there. How much is this Quick Retreat selling for?” Nie Yan asked. He felt slightly disappointed upon hearing there was no Desperate Strike, but getting Quick Retreat was still good.
Hearing Nie Yan’s words, the Sacerdotist was somewhat doubtful. With gear as good as Nie Yan’s, he must have tried every instance, especially the Monastery of Light, which dropped many good items for thieves. High-level thieves usually went there.
“I want to trade this Quick Retreat for some gear. If you have gear for Elementalists, Sacerdotists, or Paladins, we can trade.” The Sacerdotist said, thinking to himself that with the value of Quick Retreat, exchanging for some gear should be reasonable.
Nie Yan showed a hesitant expression. He had thrown away all the low-quality gear into the auction house. The only thing left was a Sacerdotist staff, and he wasn’t sure if Yaoyao would need it.
“If you don’t have any gear, we can just transact directly. Friend, name your price; if it’s reasonable, I’ll sell it. My name is Shen Fawangxi. First time meeting, second time getting familiar. Even if the deal doesn’t go through, we can still be friends.” Observing Nie Yan’s behavior, Shen Fawangxi noticed Nie Yan’s calm and steady demeanor. Confident in his own judgment, Shen Fawangxi was sure Nie Yan was definitely an expert player.
“Shen Fawangxi?” Nie Yan vaguely recalled someone by that name. In his past life, he had heard of Shen Fawangxi, who was somewhat renowned. It was said that Shen Fawangxi had once clashed with the Radiant Sacred Flame guild, killing hundreds of its members alongside his companions before vanishing without a trace. Looking back, it made sense—a solo player without a guild backing would naturally be at a disadvantage when confronting an entire guild. Many players had suffered under the Triumph guild, just as Nie Yan had in his previous life. Perhaps due to their shared experiences, Nie Yan felt a faint sense of camaraderie toward Shen Fawangxi. In his past life, Shen Fawangxi had been far more famous than Nie Yan. Unlike Nie Yan, who had been cornered by the Triumph guild and forced into hiding in the mountains for months, Shen Fawangxi’s reputation had soared much higher.
“I’m Nie Yan. I’ll take this Quick Retreat. How about one silver and fifty copper?” After all, Nie Yan was flush with wealth and casually tossed out a high offer without so much as batting an eye.
Quick Retreat, no matter how expensive, couldn’t exceed one silver and fifty copper.
“That’s too much. This skill book definitely can’t sell for that much. Just give me one silver.” Seeing Nie Yan’s straightforwardness, Shen Fawangxi didn’t hesitate and decided to make friends. In the game, having more friends meant more paths to success. Having more expert-level friends made trading gear and teaming up for instances much easier.
“How many people do you have in your group?” Nie Yan asked. If he wanted to form a team for instances, he would need more people. Maybe he could connect with them.
At the beginning of the game, it was rare to find a fixed team. Expert-level players usually only joined better teams, but good teams weren’t easy to find. Players eager to form teams could easily “hook up” together.
Hearing Nie Yan’s question, Shen Fawangxi’s eyes lit up. “Are you going to do instances? I have six people, all university classmates. Their skills are pretty decent—five are level four, and one is level six. But he often joins other teams for instances. If we ask him, he will definitely come. Among us, there is one Berserker, three Elementalists, and two Paladins.”
“I might form a team, but not yet. We’ll see how things go later.” Nie Yan smiled.
“Oh.” Shen Fawangxi was slightly disappointed. Thinking about it, forming a team wasn’t easy. “Our gear is pretty weak. If we do instances together, we’d have to start from the easiest ones, which is a bit troublesome. Also, with our six-person composition, it’s hard to get a team.”
“Gear isn’t a problem. I’ll contact you when I find more people.” Nie Yan said, adding Shen Fawangxi as a friend.
“No problem. Just call me anytime.” Hearing Nie Yan’s words, Shen Fawangxi felt some anticipation.
To develop in the future, one must have their own team. Finding people was indeed a troublesome matter. Randomly found people were often mixed in quality. If they encountered someone who didn’t contribute and only dragged the team down, it would be frustrating. However, they had to form the team first. If they encountered someone incapable, they could only kick them out.
After some insistence from Shen Fawangxi, Nie Yan didn’t haggle and bought Quick Retreat for one silver. Quick Retreat was an escape skill. When you couldn’t win, you ran. This was normal in the game. Quick Retreat increased a thief’s speed by 30% for one minute while escaping, allowing them to quickly get away from enemies. Sometimes, a life-saving skill could help a player avoid disaster.
Nie Yan chatted with Shen Fawangxi. He wasn’t in a hurry to level up. After all, he had many opportunities to train, and his level would quickly catch up.
“Where did you get so many herbs?” Nie Yan asked, looking at the items Shen Fawangxi was selling, most of which were herbs.
“No choice. Among the five of us who train together, three chose gathering professions. We didn’t level up much; we just collected herbs all day.” Shen Fawangxi said with a helpless smile.
Nie Yan had a rough understanding. As a free player, without side jobs like gathering or skinning, it was difficult to make ends meet. The fact that Shen Fawangxi was wearing the Radiant Walker Robe and wielding the Falling Moon Wind Staff indicated he was doing relatively well—even better than many guild-affiliated players.
After a moment’s thought, Nie Yan pondered how many people he could gather if he wanted to form a dungeon team. Tang Yao was one, and Shen Fawangxi’s side had six members. As for finding a shield warrior, he wasn’t sure if Cui Can Daoguang would join. Since he had sold the Lion King Shield to Cui Can Daoguang, the latter would definitely owe him a favor. Perhaps he could even bring a few more people along. Then, by recruiting some strangers, they might just barely manage to assemble a full team.
“No wonder you’re setting up a stall at the Alchemist Guild.” Nie Yan smiled. Only Alchemists would need so many herbs. “You keep selling. I’ll go first. Let’s stay in touch.”
“Okay.” Shen Fawangxi replied.
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