As time passed, tasks accumulated one after another, quickly surpassing three hundred, yet the respect value continued to accumulate steadily, little by little.
After passing the three hundred mark, the items requested by Catherine became increasingly expensive, such as Dark Rune Cloth and Black Crystals, each worth thousands of gold coins, and fifty or sixty of them were required at once. The rewards remained almost the same as before. No wonder the previous player had given up after reaching three hundred tasks; the demands beyond that point were simply terrifying.
Nie Yan wondered whether he should stop here as well. Continuing this task would cost a significant amount of money for each additional point of respect value gained, making it no longer worth the investment.
He decided he would go up to three hundred and ninety tasks. If there was still no progress at three hundred and ninety, he would quit.
After handing in so many items, he had accumulated 132 points of respect value. If he had done other tasks instead, he would have needed at least two or three S-rank tasks to accumulate this much respect value.
After handing in five Black Crystals, a crisp system notification sounded.
System: You have gained three points of respect value.
This was the three hundred and sixth task. The items required to complete each task were becoming increasingly expensive, but the rewards were also growing more generous, bringing Nie Yan some comfort.
The reward for the three hundred and thirtieth task was a Resurrection Gem, worth fifty to sixty thousand gold coins. Considering Nie Yan had spent over a million gold coins on these thirty tasks, a single Resurrection Gem could hardly soothe his wounded heart. The experience reward for these thirty tasks was quite substantial, giving Nie Yan a 7% increase. His respect value also reached 152 points.
At this stage, Nie Yan estimated that even the wealthiest superpower guild leaders, such as Cao Xu from Century Capital, Duo Duo from Angel’s Fall, and Ang Yitian Shi from Angel Dominion, would probably find it hard to persist.
Nie Yan continued, though no one could predict exactly how many tasks were required to complete this mission entirely.
“Respected Great Prophet Nie Yan, Hilton Fortress has once again been attacked by monsters. The warriors of Hilton Fortress fought bravely to protect our homeland, but their equipment is now extremely scarce. Would you be willing to help me find one thousand pieces of level 30 Epic equipment?” Catherine asked.
It had started to ask for equipment now. Fortunately, one thousand pieces of level 30 Epic equipment weren’t worth much, much cheaper than the items previously required.
Quickly, players below brought one thousand pieces of low-level Epic equipment. These were generally of poor attributes and not worth much. After all, Catherine only mentioned Epic equipment without specifying any attributes.
One thousand pieces of Epic equipment were handed over to Catherine.
“Respected Mr. Nie, thank you for your generosity. On behalf of the warriors of Hilton Fortress, I thank you.” Catherine bowed deeply.
System: You have gained nine points of respect value.
His respect value had reached 161 points. Three hundred points of respect value didn’t seem too far away anymore.
From then on, the tasks Nie Yan received were mostly about collecting equipment: 500 pieces of level 30 Unique equipment, 800 pieces of level 35 Rare equipment, 700 pieces of level 35 Epic equipment, etc. Without being the leader of a guild, gathering these items would drive a person crazy. Although one could buy them at the auction house, the items sold there were usually expensive and of better attributes. The low-quality junk items were generally hard to find. Each task would likely cost a significant amount of money.
Starting from the three hundred and thirty-first task, the tasks were only about collecting equipment, which wasn’t very difficult for Nie Yan. The guild warehouse of Cowhead Tribe had an abundance of discarded equipment, especially low-level equipment, with millions of pieces at the very least. They regularly had to clean out a lot of it, but there was still an endless supply. Handing in some of it wasn’t a big deal.
From the three hundred and thirtieth task onwards, the rewards became exceptionally generous, giving Nie Yan a real sense of satisfaction. His respect value quickly accumulated to 230 points, and his experience points also increased rapidly.
A crisp system notification sounded, indicating a level-up?
Nie Yan quickly opened his personal status window and indeed, his level had increased to 157.
At this rate, it wouldn’t be long before his respect value broke through 300. This progress was much faster than he had imagined, and he could also gain a significant amount of experience points along the way.
He was now approaching the three hundred and sixtieth task. He wondered what the reward for the three hundred and sixtieth task would be.
The three hundred and fifty-ninth task required Nie Yan to find thirty pieces of Sub-Legendary equipment at level 120 or above. This was Sub-Legendary equipment! Previously, Guo Huai had done a survey, and the entire Cowhead Tribe had only about 1,200 pieces of Sub-Legendary equipment, with only over 600 pieces at level 120 or above. Now Catherine wanted to take away thirty pieces?
This was only the three hundred and fifty-ninth task. Who knew what lay beyond?
Nie Yan hesitated this time. Thirty pieces of Sub-Legendary equipment were no small number!
“Guo Huai, can we find thirty pieces of Sub-Legendary equipment at level 120 or above in our guild?” Nie Yan asked.
“That task requires you to hand in thirty pieces of level 120 Sub-Legendary equipment?” Guo Huai asked in surprise.
“Yeah.” Nie Yan smiled bitterly. “Should I continue?”
“How much respect value do you still need?” Guo Huai asked. If it was a lot, they might as well give it up. Although the Summon Dire Wolf skill was powerful, an absolutely deterrent skill, they had already spent so much for 300 points of respect value. This time was even more excessive, demanding thirty pieces of Sub-Legendary equipment.
“Only fifty-two points left.” Nie Yan replied.
Guo Huai frowned slightly. According to Nie Yan’s progress, fifty-two points of respect value wasn’t that much. Should they hand in the items or not?
“My gut feeling is that the three hundred and sixtieth task is definitely crucial, but the requirements are just too unbelievable. I think we should give up. Doing a few major tasks might get us to a thousand points of respect value. We can come back to this task later,” Nie Yan thought and said.
“Major tasks aren’t something you can do whenever you want, let alone the fact that they might not necessarily reward respect value,” Guo Huai said. Nie Yan was an unshakable monument for the Cowhead Tribe, and continuously enhancing his strength to firmly maintain his position as the top player would serve as a great inspiration for the guild members below. It was worth spending any amount of money, as morale was priceless. He gritted his teeth and said, “Thirty pieces of Sub-Legendary equipment aren’t that big of a deal. I’ll have someone send them over to you shortly.” He remembered there were some discarded Sub-Legendary equipment in the guild, although they were Sub-Legendary level, their attributes weren’t great, with a total of sixteen pieces. They just needed to find another fourteen.
Nie Yan reluctantly handed over thirty pieces of Sub-Legendary level equipment to Catherine.
System: You have gained twenty-five points of respect value.
“Respected Mr. Nie, to express my gratitude, this is something I obtained during my adventures in the Dark Swamp. I hope it can be of some help to you. Your talent is extraordinary, and you have great potential to reach the Legendary status. You might still be missing this,” Catherine said as she took out a blue diamond-shaped crystal from her backpack.
Seeing this crystal, Nie Yan’s heart trembled. He was very familiar with this item; it was exactly what he had been seeking all along—the Fragmented Divine Spark. He had already gathered the four conditions required to ascend to Legendary status: Divinity, Divine Artifact, and Sage’s Heart. Adding this piece from Catherine to the six Fragmented Divine Sparks he already had, he now had four. He was just one step away from reaching Legendary status, a title one level higher than Shadow Dancer! A height no player in his previous life had ever reached!
He never expected the three hundred and fifty-ninth task to have such an additional reward.
“Respected Great Prophet Nie Yan, I apologize for troubling you so much. Finally, may I ask if you would be willing to help me collect five pieces of Legendary equipment at level 120 or above? This is my final request,” Catherine said sincerely.
Hearing Catherine’s words, Nie Yan’s heart trembled. Was this the final task? He was also shocked by the final task’s requirements. Five pieces of Legendary equipment! Goodness gracious, in the entire Cowhead Tribe, there were only a few pieces of Legendary equipment at level 120 or above. Among their group of top players, there were only over sixty pieces. She wanted to take away five at once. Wasn’t that cutting into their flesh?
But the three hundred and fifty-ninth task had rewarded a Fragmented Divine Spark, so the reward for the final task was definitely not simple.
Nie Yan suddenly remembered there were seven pieces of Legendary equipment in the Cowhead Tribe’s warehouse. Those pieces had been left there unused because the equipment requirements were too high for ordinary players to wear, making them very impractical. Since they were just sitting there unused, why not put them to good use, complete all of Catherine’s tasks, and perhaps gain something new.
Nie Yan had someone retrieve those five pieces of Legendary equipment. Although it pained him, the task had come this far, and he absolutely could not give up now!
As Nie Yan handed the items to Catherine, a white, holy light descended from the sky. Being enveloped in this light, his entire body was filled with a warm feeling.
System: You have completed Catherine’s commission and gained the title of Sage.
His entire body was enveloped in white, holy light. The sacred glow made Guardian Angel Kalenna joyfully excited. She flapped her wings and flew up. Gush after gush of holy white light seeped into her body. Slowly, another pair of wings grew from her back, transforming her into a six-winged angel! Although her size didn’t change, the aura she exuded was more sacred and powerful than before.
Nie Yan glanced at Kalenna’s status. Nearly half of Kalenna’s skill tree had already been unlocked. Nie Yan now had access to as many as sixteen skills!
An exhilarating reward! Although some powerful skills were still not freely usable, such as Kalenna’s Protection, which remained grayed out, having sixteen skills already made Nie Yan ecstatic.
Since his class change to Holy Shadow Dancer, Nie Yan had deeply experienced the little angel’s power, which was far superior to any other pet!
Nie Yan wondered what exactly the Sage title was and what additional effects it had. He thought to himself and opened his character status.
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage