Chapter 137: Entering the Ranking

Since Tangyao was the main attacker, he received more experience points. The experience from a level 30 elite monster was quite generous, allowing him to level up once directly.

To encourage players to challenge their limits, the game rewards players with more experience points when they defeat monsters higher than their own level. The higher the monster’s level, the more experience a player gains upon defeating it, almost doubling. However, simultaneously, the higher-level monsters are more difficult to defeat. It was rare for someone like Nieyan to use special methods to defeat high-level monsters beyond his level. Therefore, despite not focusing entirely on leveling up, Nieyan’s level was gradually catching up.

“Damn, that’s awesome! I leveled up directly,” Tangyao murmured, having never seen leveling up so exciting before. He had advanced from 1% at level 10 to 7% at level 11. At this rate, reaching the top level wouldn’t be difficult.

Nieyan picked up the items dropped by the scaly frog from the ground.

“I wonder what dropped,” Nieyan said as he picked up the items from the scaly frog. There was one Gem of Fortune, 26 silver coins, and a pair of rogue’s leggings.

Shadow Wind Leggings (Golden Equipment): Required level 30.

Attributes: Defense 133-135, Balance +12, Jump +15, Tenacity +23.

Weight: 12 pounds.

User Restriction: Rogue, usable by any faction.

The Shadow Wind set was considered one of the better sets among level 30 golden rogue equipment. The set included three pieces: leggings, gloves, and shoulder guards. Completing the set granted an additional 30% speed boost and the skill “Annihilation Strike.” It wasn’t particularly useful now, and perhaps by the time he reached level 30, he might find better gear. However, keeping a set as a backup was still good in case he couldn’t find suitable gear later.

“I got a rogue item and 26 silver coins,” Nieyan said to Tangyao, turning around.

“Oh? Uh, you keep it. Give me any mage items you find; I don’t need the rest,” Tangyao replied, still somewhat dazed.

At that moment, a system announcement appeared.

System Announcement: The Triumph Empire has issued a bounty for player Nieyan. For every level Nieyan loses, players can receive 50 silver coins by presenting the kill video at the Triumph Empire headquarters.

Seeing this announcement, Tangyao was stunned. He looked at Nieyan and asked, “How come you’re wanted by the Triumph Empire? Just because you killed three of them?” What kind of person did Nieyan kill to provoke the entire Triumph Empire to issue a bounty?

Nieyan hadn’t expected the Triumph Empire to spend so much money just to get his head. He would have to be more careful in the future. He smiled at Tangyao and said, “It’s nothing, just a bounty. They have to be able to take it first. What’s there to fear for a rogue being wanted?”

Nieyan looked relaxed, but Tangyao furrowed his brow, recalling what Nieyan had told him earlier—that they should establish a guild, and that one person’s strength was nothing compared to a guild. It was evident that Nieyan’s mind wasn’t as relaxed as his expression suggested.

When a person truly confronts a guild, the pressure is enormous.

“If you really end up fighting the Triumph Guild, you’ll definitely be at a disadvantage alone. Let’s create a guild and fight them. It’s better than constantly hiding from them,” Tangyao suddenly said firmly.

“Aren’t you the one who said you wanted to level up and flirt with girls?” Nieyan laughed. “Don’t worry. Right now, the Triumph Guild can’t do anything to me.”

“If my brother is wanted by the Triumph Empire, how can I still level up and flirt with girls? Am I even human?” Tangyao spat. “Damn it, they think they’re so great. Just killing three people and they issue a server-wide bounty. Let’s create a guild and crush them. I’ll start the guild and recruit people right away!”

“Are you serious?” Nieyan asked.

“Of course I am!” Tangyao wasn’t someone who sought power. He wanted to create a guild solely to help Nieyan.

Nieyan was silent for a moment. Although creating a guild was challenging, wasn’t everything started from scratch? Great achievements began with small steps. There was no harm in starting planning now.

Nieyan wasn’t suited to be the public face, so Tangyao could take that role while Nieyan operated behind the scenes. Together, they could carve out their own domain.

After a fierce internal struggle, Nieyan finally made up his mind. He put the items away and said to Tangyao, “Let’s go. Our next target.”

“Can we still find elites?”

“This scaly frog spawn area is huge, covering two entire mountain ranges. There are two places where elites spawn. If there are no elites left, we can go for sub-elites.”

“Awesome, let’s go!” Tangyao was thrilled by the elite scaly frog they had just defeated. Hearing Nieyan say there were more, he was already eager to go.

Nieyan carefully considered his options. To gain influence among players and prepare for establishing a guild, reputation was crucial. If nobody had heard of you, who would join your guild? The most direct way to build reputation was the level leaderboard. Climbing to the top of the leaderboard and dethroning Fotian would be a heavy blow to the Triumph Empire. With reputation, recruiting players would be easier. Players tended to follow trends. Once the trend started, the guild would grow rapidly like a snowball. Whatever happened, taking the first step was essential.

The two headed toward the next elite scaly frog spawn point.

As Nieyan walked, his voice chat rang. It was Banxing de Hulu (Half-Awake Fox).

“How did you end up against the Triumph Guild?” Banxing de Hulu asked, finding it incredible that Nieyan had been wanted by a guild. This was the first time he had encountered a guild-wide bounty on a single player.

“I killed four people from Triumph.”

“What kind of people?”

“They seemed to be all from their elite squad.”

Banxing de Hulu was silent for a while before replying, “Wow, you’re amazing. Being wanted server-wide isn’t easy. You can’t fight off so many people alone. If someone corners you, you’re done. They’ve set a high bounty, so many people will try to claim it. If you run into any trouble, you can come to me. Although the Holy Roman Empire can’t match Triumph, we still have tens of thousands of members.”

“Thanks,” Nieyan replied. However, he didn’t believe Banxing de Hulu would truly confront Triumph for him, as Banxing de Hulu had to consider the interests of the entire Holy Roman Empire. Still, having this intention was already quite good.

After finishing the conversation with Banxing de Hulu, Nieyan quickly received many messages from Yaoyao, Shenfa Wangxi, Cui Can Daoguang, and Daibiao Dage Qizi.

“Nieyan, how come you’re wanted? Be careful when you go out,” from Yaoyao.

“Bro, you’re wanted now. You’re famous. Next time, give me an autograph. I’ve always disliked Triumph. If there’s an event next time, remember to invite me,” from Shenfa Wangxi, who had always been at odds with Triumph in his past life.

“By the way, are you still forming a team? If you’re going to raid dungeons, hurry up. Level 10 dungeons are already open,” from Cui Can Daoguang, who didn’t take Triumph seriously at all.

“Be careful when you go out. If anyone causes trouble, let us know,” from Daibiao Dage Qizi, who, although not having a guild, was a professional player with his own circle. Despite Triumph’s wealth and power, they didn’t fear them.

After parting ways with them, Nieyan occasionally contacted them. He regarded Shenfa Wangxi, Cui Can Daoguang, Daibiao Dage Qizi, and others as potential teammates for the future, thus paying close attention to them. Nieyan had thought that, with the bounty on him, these people might avoid him.

A person’s character determines whether they are worth associating with. If these people avoided Nieyan after the bounty, their friendship would be gone. Nieyan wouldn’t even bother associating with such fair-weather friends.

However, this incident proved that these people still had some sense of loyalty.

Nieyan replied to their messages, proving he was still alive.

Soon, Nieyan and Tangyao arrived at another elite scaly frog spawn point and continued farming.

Under the cover of Mist Dust, the scaly frog became an easy target. Tangyao diligently cast arcane spells.

“We need to find you some area-of-effect spells. Most elite mages in guilds already have advanced magic,” Nieyan said, watching Tangyao attack the scaly frog. Tangyao’s strongest spell was only Meteor now, lacking other area-of-effect spells.

“I heard some guild arcane mages have secret arcane spells. Where do you get those? They seem rare.”

“You can obtain secret arcane spells by completing quests at the Arcane Temple. The quests are quite difficult, but you should meet the requirements now. You should get one when you have time. You won’t find common area-of-effect spells on the market. If we get a chance, we should form a team and raid a dungeon,” Nieyan said. Ultimately, most good things were concentrated in the dungeons, so they needed to go there to get them.

After leveling up and completing tasks here, they could form a team and help Tangyao establish a guild.

Tangyao continuously cast arcane spells, explosions of magic bursting on the scaly frog. The scaly frog’s health dropped rapidly. More than 30 minutes later, it fell to the ground again.

Both Tangyao and Nieyan leveled up.

System: You have reached level 12. Would you like to enter the leaderboard?

No!

Nieyan wouldn’t enter the leaderboard for now. Tangyao, however, publicly displayed his name and level, entering the tenth place on the leaderboard, which thrilled him.

“Shall we keep leveling up?” Tangyao asked. Were they advancing too aggressively?

“If you’re going to establish a guild, keep leveling up. If not, forget it,” Nieyan replied. The more Tangyao leveled up and gained reputation, the more players would be attracted to his guild.

“Of course, I’ll establish a guild!” Tangyao said firmly. “Triumph? I’ll crush them. Even if I die, I can level up again. With such a fast leveling speed, what’s there to fear? I’m an indestructible little cockroach!”