Chapter 123: 130 Power!

Disappearing is an excellent survival skill for rogues. In his past life, the reason why he could often turn the tide of battle or escape calmly was largely due to this skill. As for Deathblow, Nie Yan’s current health had reached 360, so 30% of that was approximately 100 points. This meant that when Nie Yan used Deathblow, there was a 50% chance to deal 200 damage, a 20% chance to deal 300 damage, a 10% chance to deal 500 damage, and a 20% chance of being dodged. In terms of single-target damage, this skill was extremely terrifying.

Deathblow was an advanced rogue skill with a cooldown of two natural days, which was quite lengthy. However, such a formidable ability naturally came with certain restrictions. This was similar to elemental temple magic and holy temple magic, which also featured extended cooldowns. Additionally, Nie Yan’s Celestial Arbitration skill from the Courage Chapter required a ten-day natural cooldown period and hadn’t fully reset yet. With a ten-day cooldown, it could only be utilized approximately 36 times per year.

With Celestial Arbitration, Deathblow, and Disappearing, Nie Yan felt he was getting closer to obtaining the third Order Chapter, though it was not yet the right time.

Nie Yan checked his strength attribute, which had already reached 83. If he learned the five passive skill books that increased strength from Banxing De Hu Li, and increased his strength a bit more, he would be able to equip the Sogot Shadow Cloth Boots.

“Hey, how are things going on your end?” Nie Yan sent a message to Tang Yao.

“I’m still grinding. The Arcane Sprite’s experience has increased by 67%. Damn it, why is leveling up so hard? I’ve been grinding for two days and I’m about to go crazy. If I were leveling on my own, I could have gained at least ten levels in two days,” Tang Yao complained in a depressed tone.

“Arcane Sprites are indeed quite difficult to level up. Just hang in there for another day or two,” Nie Yan chuckled. This kind of tedious leveling was indeed a torment for someone as restless as Tang Yao. However, Tang Yao’s personality really needed some tempering.

“I understand,” Tang Yao replied gloomily. Actually, it wouldn’t be just one or two days; it would take at least three days or more. If he could reach level ten in two days of grinding here, he wouldn’t want to miss this opportunity. In the future, if he wanted to come here to grind monsters, he would have to pay a teleportation fee of 20 silver coins, and without Haibo Keduo leading the way, he couldn’t even reach this desert.

“You keep leveling up. I’ll head back first. Did you bring Return Scrolls?” Nie Yan asked.

“I brought them. It’s fine, you go ahead.”

“Okay then, I’m off.”

Nie Yan found an open area and started using the Return Scroll. After a flash of white light, he returned to Carol City.

“Have you found Backstab and Eviscerate yet?” Nie Yan headed toward the auction house and sent a message to Banxing De Hu Li.

“I found them. Where are you now? I’ll have someone deliver them to you.”

“At the entrance of the auction house in Carol City.”

“Alright, they’ll arrive in no more than five minutes!”

Nie Yan stood at the entrance of the auction house in Carol City. Soon, a player from the Holy Roman Empire found him and sent a trade request, placing seven skill books on the trade interface.

“These are from our guild leader for you.”

“Here, thirty silver coins for your guild leader.” Nie Yan transferred thirty silver coins to him.

“Alright, got it.” The player from the Holy Roman Empire took the money and then bid farewell and left.

Nie Yan looked at these skill books. Backstab and Eviscerate were both offensive skills with decent damage. He currently had too few offensive skills, so he needed to find some to enrich his arsenal. He looked at the remaining five skill books.

Savage Might, Wild Strength, Strength Amplification, Restless Power, and Warlock’s Might—five books in total. Savage Might increased strength by 6, Wild Strength by 5, Strength Amplification by 6, Restless Power by 5, and Warlock’s Might by 6.

Passive skill books that increased strength below +8 were rare but not expensive. Rogues didn’t have a high demand for strength, and the effectiveness of these skill books in boosting strength was quite limited. However, after Nie Yan collected so many, the cumulative effect became significant. After learning these five passive skill books, Nie Yan checked his strength attribute, which had already reached 110, still 20 points short of 130.

This was easy to handle. Nie Yan entered the auction house and sat in a corner.

First, he gathered all the anti-petrification potions and equipment available on the market, then opened the auction house’s gemstone section. Various gemstones were displayed before him in dazzling variety. Searching for Strength Gemstones, hundreds of listings immediately appeared.

All of them were grade one Strength Gemstones, which only increased strength by 3 points. Getting them embedded into equipment at the gem artisan cost around 3 silver coins. Normally, players were reluctant to spend this money, as equipment was updated too quickly. Using good equipment for embedding Strength Gemstones was considered wasteful, while using inferior equipment for it felt not worth the effort. As a result, the demand for Strength Gemstones significantly decreased, making their price quite low at only 3 silver coins.

Nie Yan spent 24 silver coins to purchase eight Strength Gemstones, then went to the gem artisan and embedded each Strength Gemstone into his gauntlets, shoulders, legs, and leather armor, with two gemstones per piece of equipment.

After spending nearly fifty silver coins, Nie Yan’s strength finally reached 130. With this series of strength enhancements, his strength had now reached a level that ordinary rogues at his level could hardly achieve.

He successfully equipped the Sogot Shadow Cloth Boots. This amazing piece of equipment significantly boosted Nie Yan’s attributes. Combined with the Shadow Dance skill, Nie Yan’s survivability was greatly enhanced.

Looking at the boots on his feet, their streamlined design was adorned with elegant and ancient runes, emitting a dazzling yet unassuming glow, adding a touch of mystery to this legendary item fragment.

Nie Yan concealed the glow of the Sogot Shadow Cloth Boots and moved around a bit in them. They felt quite good.

Wearing such excellent gear at level ten was unimaginable for ordinary players.

If only he could wear a full set of legendary gear someday, Nie Yan thought. However, legendary items were extremely rare and difficult to obtain. In his past life, when Nie Yan was level 120, the official Faith had released data stating that there were a total of over 50,000 legendary items scattered across the continent of Atlantis, with around 10,000 in the Empire of Gringland. However, less than twenty of these had actually ended up in players’ hands. Fragment pieces were quite common, but few people could collect them all. The so-called divine gear circulating among players were merely sub-legendary items or fragments of legendary items.

Nie Yan headed toward the pharmacy in the eastern part of Carol City, wondering how things were going there.

A few minutes later, Nie Yan arrived at the pharmacy. Occasionally, there were only one or two players coming and going, all of whom were well-equipped, likely sent by major guilds.

“Hello,” Inselas greeted Nie Yan as soon as he saw him.

Nie Yan nodded and checked the pharmacy’s revenue. The account already had 28 gold coins. With the opening of the new instance, the attention of the major guilds would shift away from the Sorth Valley, and the popularity of Black Fen potion would gradually decline. From now on, they could sell as much as possible and quickly get rid of the remaining stock.

“Yesterday and the day before, Mr. Nan Nan of Low Profile, Mr. Shang Xin Yi Jiu… saw that you were hiring an alchemist and came to ask if you were here, but I couldn’t get in touch with you,” Inselas listed a long string of names, totaling around sixty to seventy, all of whom were applying to become alchemists.

Although Nie Yan’s pharmacy had just opened and was only selling one type of potion, the popularity of Black Fen potion had shocked players about the connections and financial resources of the owner of the Starry Pharmacy. Therefore, upon seeing that Nie Yan was hiring alchemists, many alchemists came to apply.

Nie Yan was a bit surprised that there were so many applicants. He looked through all the names and was moved.

Shang Xin Yi Jiu: Novice Alchemist.

Nan Diao De Nan Nan: Novice Alchemist.

…

Counting them, there were a total of 67 people. Surprisingly, 12 of them were already novice alchemists, including many well-known figures from his past life. Among them, Shang Xin Yi Jiu and Nan Diao De Nan Nan became billionaires eight years later. Although they weren’t as famous as Niao Buseng Dan, they were top-tier alchemists. Now that the game had just started, they probably hadn’t found a patron yet. As for the others, there were also many well-known alchemists.

If he were to invite these alchemists for interviews, it would certainly expose the fact that he was the owner of the Starry Pharmacy. Among these alchemists, there were definitely some with ulterior motives. However, if he kept being cautious and hesitant, he wouldn’t be able to get anything done. Nie Yan thought for a moment and called over Niao Buseng Dan. Among the people around him, Niao Buseng Dan was a trustworthy person, and handing the store over to him for management should be fine. By pushing Niao Buseng Dan to the front, he could remain behind the scenes, directing the Starry Pharmacy.

Nie Yan removed some applicants with particularly poor reputations from this list, then sent messages to the remaining candidates one by one, inviting them to come to the Starry Pharmacy for an interview.

A total of ten novice alchemists and twenty-six alchemy apprentices received Nie Yan’s messages. Even if he could only hire half of them, it would still be quite good.

As for famous alchemists like Nan Diao De Nan Nan and Shang Xin Yi Jiu from his past life, he was determined to recruit them at all costs!

Nie Yan thought for a moment. Spending five gold coins could upgrade the pharmacy to level two. After the upgrade, the pharmacy would have more space and a second floor, which would be specifically designated for alchemists to brew potions. Alchemists would have their own dedicated laboratories, and they would not be allowed to carry potion items out, making management easier and preventing some alchemists from embezzling resources.

This way, even if some recruited alchemists had questionable characters, there would be no need to worry.

Nie Yan made a decision. If he focused on developing the pharmacy now, it would become a golden goose, continuously generating income for him. Five gold coins were not a large amount for him at this point.

System: Are you sure you want to upgrade the Starry Pharmacy to level two? This upgrade will cost 5 gold coins.

Yes!

The Starry Pharmacy became even more magnificent. As a two-story building in an area where only low-rise structures existed, it stood out prominently. In fact, throughout Carol City, it was currently difficult to find another level-two shop!