Nie Yan’s thoughts expanded. It wasn’t only in the Sauth Valley; similar situations occurred when other dungeons opened. When the Golden City opened, prices of equipment with +5 or higher Dark Resistance soared tenfold. When the Phantom Canyon opened, prices of equipment with +7 or higher Focus soared twentyfold. There were countless such examples.
After the rebirth, opportunities to make money were everywhere. How could one not become rich?
Nie Yan arrived at the auction house, opened the auction catalog, and in the potion section, he discovered a large number of Blackphenol Potions—over 180 bottles in total. Each bottle was priced at around two copper coins. These potions weren’t widely used, so the finished products didn’t sell for high prices. Without hesitation, Nie Yan purchased all 180 bottles. He then checked the potion recipe section and found 56 Blackphenol Potion recipes. Each was priced at over twenty copper coins, and he bought all of them in one go.
At the moment, Blackphenol Potions were considered marginal items, but soon players would discover their value. Once the Sauth Valley opened, when players tried to buy Blackphenol Potions, they would find the prices had skyrocketed to an unbearable level.
In the days to come, the price of Blackphenol Potions would at least remain stable at ten copper coins per bottle, often selling for even higher prices.
After acquiring all these items from the auction house, Nie Yan headed toward his personal warehouse to store them first—it would be too cumbersome to carry them around.
Five players with alchemy guild silver badges passed by Nie Yan, chatting as they walked.
“Strange, I wanted to buy a Blackphenol Potion recipe to practice my skills, but the Blackphenol Potion recipes were already sold out. I could only buy a Silverphenol Potion recipe instead.”
“How could that be? Who would buy these things? This morning when I checked the auction house, there were still fifty or sixty recipes unsold.”
“Why would I lie to you? If you don’t believe me, go check for yourself. Even the finished Blackphenol Potions have been bought out.”
“That’s really strange.”
…
Hearing the conversation among the five alchemists, Nie Yan’s lips curled into an almost imperceptible smile as he walked past them.
Arriving at his personal warehouse, Nie Yan stored all the Blackphenol Potions and recipes inside. He then bought some consumables, including Speed Scrolls, Strength Scrolls, Water Breathing Potions, and so on. Afterward, he teleported to Trak Town and headed toward Randor Lake.
He had half an hour left before logging out—he wanted to complete the quest before logging off!
After consuming a Speed Scroll, Nie Yan’s speed increased slightly. Once the scroll’s effect ended, he immediately used another one after the cooldown, maintaining a high-speed running state continuously.
If others learned of Nie Yan’s actions, they would surely be outraged. Ordinary players were reluctant to use expensive items like Speed Scrolls even in dangerous situations. Nie Yan, however, used these scrolls merely to run faster and save time.
In the distance, Nie Yan spotted the Frogman Tribe. As he approached, he found the tribe had become a wasteland, with frogman corpses scattered everywhere. These corpses wouldn’t respawn until the next day. The members of Triumph Guild had already left. The scattered huts of the frogman tribe appeared particularly desolate under the setting sun.
Eliminating the entire Frogman Tribe would yield at least ten silver-grade items. With some luck, there might even be one or two gold-grade items. Additionally, there would be a large amount of fish scales and skins for crafting equipment.
“The Triumph Guild members acted quickly,” Nie Yan thought, a sense of crisis arising in his mind. He had too many enemies, and while he was developing, his enemies hadn’t stopped either!
Nie Yan passed through the Frogman Tribe and dove into Randor Lake, rapidly swimming toward the direction of Physician Blavens.
More than ten minutes later, he spotted an old man fishing at the lakeside of the central island under the sunset.
“I wonder what reward I’ll receive this time,” Nie Yan thought, swimming faster.
“Young man, you’ve arrived. How did your task go?” Physician Blavens saw Nie Yan coming ashore and asked.
“I found them. Here are the ninety Silk Threads you requested. I hope these items can help you,” Nie Yan said, trading the Silk Threads to Physician Blavens.
“Finally collected enough Silk Threads. Tomorrow I can return to Hilton Fortress. The warriors of Hilton Fortress will remember what you’ve done for them. May the Holy Light bless you, generous and kind adventurer. Darkness will eventually be extinguished, and light will fill the entire land,” Physician Blavens said joyfully, putting the Silk Threads into his bag.
System: Respect value at Hilton Fortress increased by 11.
Nie Yan glanced at the system prompt. The higher the respect value in a region, the easier it was for players to receive quests there and enjoy discounts when purchasing items. He thought to himself that he should visit Hilton Fortress someday and not waste these 11 respect points.
“May the gods bless the warriors stationed at Hilton Fortress,” Nie Yan pretended to pray devoutly. These quest dialogues were essential.
“These items represent my sincere gratitude, generous and kind adventurer. May you have a smooth journey,” Physician Blavens said.
System: You gained 16,523 experience points.
System: You obtained Swift Turn Boots (Gold).
Nie Yan had expected to receive three rewards, one for each 20% completion. He was surprised to receive only one reward. Perhaps completing the entire quest at once reduced the number of item rewards but improved their quality. It turned out to be a gold-grade item!
Nie Yan checked the attributes of the Swift Turn Boots.
Swift Turn Boots (Gold-grade): Requires level 5.
Attributes: Defense 19–21, Tenacity +11, Movement Speed +12.
Weight: 2 pounds.
Class Restriction: Rogue, usable by all factions.
Adding 11 Tenacity and 12 Movement Speed—this was a fantastic item! Each point of Tenacity boosted maximum HP by 2 and Defense by 1. With 11 Tenacity, that translated to a gain of 22 HP and 11 Defense, along with 12 Movement Speed. It was practically a top-tier starter item for beginners.
He now had level 5 boots.
Nie Yan placed the Swift Turn Boots into his backpack and thanked Physician Blavens. He checked his experience bar—it had reached 97%. He was about to level up soon.
With over ten minutes remaining, Nie Yan rushed toward the area where water spiders spawned, squeezing in more than ten minutes of grinding, killing several water spiders. However, his experience only increased to 98%. He wouldn’t level up today. He would probably level up early tomorrow after killing a few more monsters.
Nie Yan decided to log out. With less than a minute remaining in his gaming time and not enough time to kill another monster, he disconnected from the game and removed his helmet.
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