Nie Yan’s generosity had certainly won the loyalty of Xiaobuxiangdan. He kept investing heavily in Xiaobuxiangdan, and the more he invested, the more tightly bound Xiaobuxiangdan became to Nie Yan’s side. If Xiaobuxiangdan ever wanted to leave, he would have to pay a massive compensation fee. Considering Xiaobuxiangdan’s financial situation, breaking free from Nie Yan was practically impossible, which was exactly Nie Yan’s intention.
Nie Yan had previously purchased numerous potion recipes and a large quantity of potions worth over ten silver coins, completely filling all five of Xiaobuxiangdan’s backpacks.
“Use these herbs first. When I’m not around, focus on improving your skills,” Nie Yan said. These herbs would last Xiaobuxiangdan a very long time.
Seeing his backpacks filled with herbs, Xiaobuxiangdan was deeply moved. Even if he were clumsy, these herbs would be more than enough to help him reach the rank of Novice Alchemist. Just moments ago, he had been expelled from the Ranger Guild, and now he had encountered Nie Yan, making him feel as though he had ascended from hell to heaven. He couldn’t help but wonder if he was dreaming.
“I don’t even know how to repay such a heavy debt of gratitude. Thank you,” Xiaobuxiangdan said, his voice trembling.
“Don’t be so sentimental. It sounds cheesy. I’m not doing this without purpose. If you become a Grandmaster or Master Alchemist, making me lots of money will be the best repayment,” Nie Yan replied, waving his hand dismissively. Since his rebirth, he had changed history. Without the support of the Triumph Guild, whether Xiaobuxiangdan could become a Grandmaster Alchemist was an uncertain question. Nie Yan could only give it a try—investment always carried risks. “Go ahead and start brewing potions. I have many things to attend to.”
“Yes, Boss. I’ll go brew potions first,” Xiaobuxiangdan replied. If he spent so much money without producing any results, he would feel ashamed to face Nie Yan. From being expelled from the Ranger Guild to being taken in and valued by Nie Yan, Nie Yan had reignited a flicker of hope in his previously despondent heart. Xiaobuxiangdan was filled with gratitude toward Nie Yan.
Xiaobuxiangdan left, deeply grateful.
Nie Yan thought to himself that he had probably found a treasure. Even if Xiaobuxiangdan couldn’t reach the Grandmaster level, reaching the Master level would still be quite good.
Nie Yan intended to gradually gather a group of people to work for him, and Xiaobuxiangdan had become the first person he recruited.
Reborn into the game, Nie Yan harbored great ambitions. He wanted to build his own team, have his own alchemist, and even his own tailoring master. Perhaps one day, he would have his own guild—though he might not join it directly, he could control his team remotely. Using his foreknowledge and expertise, he would help this team grow stronger.
The future of Faith would bring forth many mysterious and exciting maps, instances, expansions, and intense fortress battles, guild wars, and even nation-versus-nation wars between the two factions.
Countless financial conglomerates would enter Faith, lured by the thriving commercial opportunities. Like massive sharks, they would carve up this enormous cake, opening shops, forming guilds, and dominating entire cities, becoming powerful regional forces.
As a foreseer, Nie Yan refused to merely survive in the gaps between these giants. Therefore, he needed his own power base. Although Nie Yan currently had nothing, he believed that even the tallest tower starts from the ground up, and he had already begun laying its foundation.
Bringing his thoughts back, Nie Yan realized that his most urgent task was to grow stronger as quickly as possible.
He tried hard to recall the locations of the other scrolls of Order and estimated the difficulty of obtaining them, wondering which scroll could be acquired at his current level.
However, after pondering for a moment, he reluctantly decided to give up. The scrolls of Order were guarded by Order Wardens, and his chances of survival were less than ten percent—essentially a suicide mission. Previously, when he had gone to retrieve the Scroll of Courage, he had been fearless, as he had nothing valuable on him. At worst, he would lose a level, so he had decided to give it a try and, surprisingly, succeeded. This success was partly due to the terrain around the valley where the Scroll of Courage was located—it had cliffs to jump from and was close to a town, advantages not found in other locations. Now, Nie Yan possessed the Scroll of Courage, and if something went wrong while obtaining the other scrolls of Order, he could lose the Scroll of Courage, which would be a terrible loss.
Since the game’s launch, Nie Yan hadn’t focused entirely on leveling up but had accumulated many valuable items—Weaver’s Ring, Feather-Falling Gem, Scroll of Courage, and a large number of skills and attribute points. These were all resources Nie Yan had slowly accumulated, giving him the strength to go even further.
What else should he do? Nie Yan shifted his thoughts and remembered another item. If the Scroll of Order was a divine treasure for lawful good players, then another item was a powerful tool for thieves—the Shadows of Sogot, a pair of legendary boots. As a legendary item, its attributes were incredibly high. However, during the ancient Battle of Sogot, it had been split into three fragments, scattered throughout the Empire of Grelan. Collecting all three fragments and recombining them was necessary to restore the legendary item to its original form.
One of the fragments of Shadows of Sogot was not far from Karol City, located in an ancient city within a marshland.
Sogot Ancient City, that ancient metropolis, carried the dark and distant memories of a bygone era.
“Sogot Ancient City, that’s definitely a troublesome place,” Nie Yan murmured. In his previous life, he had visited there, but by then the fragment of Shadows of Sogot had already been taken, and Sogot Ancient City had become a simple monster-farming map. The monster respawn rate there was extremely high, making it difficult to enter alone without a team.
However, as a rogue, it might not be impossible—he might be able to sneak in.
Legendary items were all extremely difficult to collect. Since he had the opportunity to obtain even a fragment of a legendary item like Shadows of Sogot, Nie Yan was unwilling to let it slip away. Soon, some guilds might storm into Sogot Ancient City.
I’ll give it a try. Maybe I can actually collect all the fragments, Nie Yan thought.
Nie Yan purchased some essential consumables, exited Karol City through the western gate, teleported to the ground, and walked toward the distance. Ahead lay an open plain, where warm sunlight bathed lush greenery.
After walking across the plains for over ten minutes, Nie Yan looked back. Karol City, the floating metropolis, hovered high in the azure sky, surrounded by glowing magical rings that shimmered brilliantly under the sunlight.
This mighty, indestructible city in the sky represented the greatest architectural achievement of the Empire of Grelan.
The mages of Grelan possessed extraordinary wisdom and abundant magical power. It was their unimaginable magical strength that had lifted this magnificent floating city into the sky, keeping it suspended among the clouds.
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