Nie Yan examined his current specializations: Crossbow Specialization at intermediate level, Dual Wield Specialization at basic level, and Quick Hands at basic level, with three free skill points remaining. After some thought, he upgraded both Dual Wield Specialization and Quick Hands to intermediate level, and then learned the basic level of Stealth, which provided additional stealth bonuses.
Intermediate Dual Wield could grant players around 13 points of attack bonus, which was quite significant.
Nie Yan’s attack power was increasing steadily. Once his agility met the requirements and he wore the Ring of Scarlet Venom, even a high-health shield-wearing opponent of the same level would be easy prey. Most accessories and legendary equipment usually required only specific attribute points, meaning as long as those were met, they could be worn. However, most standard equipment had strict level requirements, making it difficult to obtain higher-level defense and attack stats. Still, rings that boosted attack power and necklaces that enhanced defense, although rare, did exist and were usually extremely valuable.
Nie Yan had already started thinking about his agility. After all, reaching 160 agility wasn’t easy. Agility-boosting skill books for Rogues were scarce on the market. Players usually kept them for their own guild members, and rarely sold them publicly. When they did appear, they were snapped up quickly due to high demand, just like strength-boosting books for Warriors or intelligence-boosting books for Mages. Agility-boosting skill books for Rogues were particularly hard to find and only occasionally appeared by sheer luck.
Half-Awake Fox would happily agree to find strength-boosting books for Rogues, but if asked to find agility-boosting ones, it would be difficult. With so many Rogues in his guild, who wouldn’t need agility? Why would he give them to Nie Yan, an outsider? Even if he personally agreed, the other Rogues in his guild would likely refuse.
As for gem sockets, Nie Yan had mostly socketed Strength gems into his gear already, leaving little room for Agility gems.
Reaching 160 agility was daunting. If Nie Yan didn’t gain more attribute points per level than other players, and if the Shadow of the Sogdian didn’t grant him an additional 30 agility, reaching even 100 agility at his level would be difficult. If he couldn’t find any agility-boosting books, he would just have to wait.
“Let’s head back first,” Nie Yan said. After defeating the elite Scale Frog, they still had many things to do.
“Okay,” Tang Yao also wanted to check how the guild was doing.
They activated their Recall Scrolls, and two beams of white light flashed. Nie Yan and Tang Yao returned to the city.
“Let’s go to the guild hall first, then I’ll set up the guild vault,” Nie Yan said after a moment’s thought.
“Alright.”
Nie Yan and Tang Yao headed toward the guild headquarters, located in the southeast of Carol City, as assigned by the server. Each guild had a designated area. For example, the Holy Roman Empire guild was located in the south of Carol City, while the Triumph Empire guild was in the north. These guild headquarters were often far apart, and each had one or two NPC guards to maintain order and prevent conflicts.
To avoid being recognized, Nie Yan and Tang Yao had to hide their profiles.
They were still some distance away from the guild hall when they saw a huge crowd, so packed that they couldn’t even get through. Players of all classes filled the streets.
“It looks like we won’t be able to get through,” Tang Yao said with a bitter smile. He hadn’t expected such a massive crowd at the guild hall entrance, and didn’t know when it would subside.
“If we can’t get through, we’ll skip it for now. I’ll go to the auction house and start building the guild vault.”
“Okay. Yu Lan messaged me earlier. They’re going to farm level 10 monsters and then do Black Flame. I’ll go check it out and add them to the guild. Their team is pretty decent. With some adjustments, they might not become an elite team, but they’ll definitely be a top-tier one.”
“Once I’m done, I’ll take them through Black Flame,” Nie Yan said thoughtfully. Black Flame Forest was quite challenging. If he led the team, Yu Lan and others could avoid dying at least five times.
“That would be great. How long do you think you’ll need?”
“Shouldn’t be too long, about an hour.”
“Then I’ll go farm monsters with them first. Hopefully, we can get some level 10 gear.”
Nie Yan parted ways with Tang Yao, first heading to the Star Pharmacy to withdraw thirty gold coins and handing over the loot recipes to Bird-Not-Left-Egg. He then went to the Sosomia Workshop to purchase one hundred Flash Dusts, fifty Polymorph: Sheep scrolls, and fifty Web spells. Next, he went to the auction house, periodically listing a few Flash Dusts, Polymorph: Sheep scrolls, and Web scrolls for sale.
He opened the auction house’s equipment section, where there were at least hundreds of thousands of items listed for sale. Nie Yan started shopping, buying gear with decent stats at reasonable prices, while ignoring overly expensive items. His backpack gradually filled with gear. In addition to the equipment needed for building the guild vault, he also bought a lot of fire-resistant items.
The thirty gold coins flew like water. Nearly ten gold coins were spent on fire-resistant gear, while twenty gold coins bought over two hundred pieces of silver-grade equipment, each averaging around ten silver coins. These were quite valuable, with stats that were definitely top-tier for ordinary players at this stage.
After finishing his shopping, Nie Yan went to the warehouse manager and established a guild vault. He set up rules: players could deposit herbs, outdated gear, or money into the guild vault and earn 1-2 guild contribution points based on the item’s rank or the amount of money. Once they accumulated enough contribution points, they could withdraw gear that met the requirements. For example, a level 10 Rogue gear piece with +7 Strength and +8 Agility might require around 200 contribution points. Once used, it could be returned for 120 points. It was somewhat like a bank, but the guild vault would grow over time, helping the guild thrive.
Of course, depositing gear or money wasn’t the only way to earn contribution points. Each time a player joined a dungeon run, they would earn some points. If another guild member obtained a piece of gear while you didn’t, you could still receive some points. Completing guild quests also awarded contribution points.
In short, the more contribution points a player had, the better gear they could access from the guild vault.
Nie Yan carefully set up each rule, referencing the best practices from top guilds in his previous life, ensuring there were no exploitable loopholes before officially opening the guild vault.
Nie Yan had full ownership of the guild vault. Hao Cheng and others could distribute between 1000-2000 contribution points, while Tang Yao could distribute up to 3000. If they needed more, they could request additional points from Nie Yan.
The guild vault could be accessed from either the personal warehouse or the guild headquarters.
Nie Yan sent a message to Hao Cheng and others: “The guild vault is now open. Take a look.”
Meanwhile, at the guild headquarters, Hao Cheng, Guo Huai, and others were busy adding new members. More and more players were joining, and the congestion hadn’t eased.
Upon receiving Nie Yan’s message, they excitedly opened the guild vault at the guild headquarters. Inside, over two hundred silver-grade items were neatly arranged, an impressive sight. There were even some level 10 golden-grade items. At the back were twenty-three pieces of silver and golden-grade gear that required level 30 to wear, with very high contribution requirements—over 3000 points.
Nie Yan had carefully considered this. Although displaying level 30 gear might seem a bit showy, considering Tang Yao’s well-known ability to farm higher-level monsters, putting level 30 gear in the vault would definitely shock ordinary players and reinforce the guild’s strength.
Hao Cheng was stunned. Seeing so many high-quality items neatly displayed was truly impressive, especially the level 30 gear at the back, which symbolized strength. Being able to obtain level 30 silver and golden-grade gear now sent a clear message to players: if they increased their guild contribution, they could wear silver and golden-grade gear at level 30 while others were still struggling to find gear.
“Everyone, please quiet down!” Guo Huai shouted to the players crowding to join the guild.
The players, who had been pushing and shoving to get in, immediately quieted down to hear what the guild leader had to say.
“Our guild leader is currently the top-ranked player, Ya Zi. You’ve seen it with your own eyes. We’re honored that the guild has received such enthusiastic support. Guilds rise and fall, but I want to emphasize that our guild has long-term potential and will provide comprehensive benefits. We hope more players will join us and help us grow into a major guild that can rival Triumph, Radiant Flame, and the Holy Roman Empire. As part of our current benefits, all guild members can enjoy a 95% discount when purchasing potions at the Star Pharmacy by showing their membership in the Ox Hero Tribe guild. Additionally, the guild vault has now been established and is available for use. We hope more skilled players will join our guild.”
“Wow, the guild vault is already open? So fast!”
“So many silver-grade gear! And even level 30 gear!”
The newly joined players couldn’t help but murmur in astonishment. The hundreds of silver and golden-grade items displayed in rows dazzled their eyes.
“Brother Wang Feng De Niu, can you reveal how our guild is connected to the Star Pharmacy?”
“Yeah, tell us!”
“This is temporarily classified information,” Guo Huai said calmly, exuding more and more the aura of a seasoned guild leader.
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