Nie Yan and Stone exchanged a few more words before ending the voice chat. Nie Yan had already arrived on the island and found the fishing physician, Bravens.
“Young man, how many silk threads have you collected?” Physician Bravens asked when he saw Nie Yan return.
“Respected elder, these are the thirty silk threads I found. Please take a look.” Nie Yan replied according to the standard quest dialogue.
“Young man, thank you for your generosity. As a token of appreciation, here are thirty silks for you. Additionally, I have decided to teach you a skill,” said Physician Bravens.
System: Do you wish to learn the Intermediate Combat Bandage skill taught by Physician Bravens?
Nie Yan’s heart leapt—he had been hoping for this skill. Without hesitation, he clicked confirm.
System: You have learned the Intermediate Combat Bandage skill taught by the Archmage.
Intermediate Combat Bandage: Craft and use Intermediate Combat Bandages. Required material: ten silks. Each bandage restores 20 HP over 10 seconds, can be interrupted after 3 seconds, and can be used on teammates.
Ten silks equaled twenty copper coins—quite expensive, but in a crisis, this could be a life-saving item!
System: Quest “Physician Bravens’ Commission” completed 20%.
Nie Yan was momentarily stunned. He should have completed the task by handing over thirty silk threads. Why was it only 20% done?
“Young man, thirty silk threads are far from enough. I still need more. Can you help me find them?” Physician Bravens asked.
“With pleasure, respected elder.” Nie Yan replied quickly. It seemed that the reward of learning the Intermediate Combat Bandage skill was only a fragment of the entire quest. He had no idea what other rewards awaited him. “Respected elder, these are the five rare silk threads I found. May I ask what they are for?”
“Rare silk threads are processed from ordinary silk threads. Each rare silk thread is equivalent to six ordinary ones,” the elder explained. He asked Nie Yan, “Have you decided to hand them over to me?”
“Yes,” Nie Yan replied. Five rare silk threads equated to thirty ordinary ones. After grinding for so long, he hadn’t even made as much as killing a Water Spider Leader.
But this was understandable, as killing a Water Spider Leader was extremely dangerous. Nie Yan alone could never have done it.
System: You received thirty silks.
System: You received the Silver Bounty Hunter’s Leather Armor.
System: Quest “Archmage’s Commission” completed 40%.
Seeing the second system message, Nie Yan was delighted. He opened his backpack and found a silver-white leather armor.
Made from an unknown animal hide, the armor was tough and gleamed with a silvery sheen. It didn’t even require identification.
He checked its attributes.
Silver Bounty Hunter’s Leather Armor (Silver-grade): Requires level 5.
Attributes: Defense 13–17, Strength +5, Agility +5.
Weight: 3 pounds.
Class Restriction: Rogue, Paladin. Alignment: Lawful Good.
Silver-grade equipment had about 30% higher defense than ordinary gear of the same level and came with two additional attributes. If sold at an auction house at current market prices, this Silver Bounty Hunter’s Leather Armor would fetch at least five silver coins.
Combined with a level-five dagger, this level-five Silver Bounty Hunter’s Leather Armor meant that once Nie Yan reached level five, he could completely upgrade his gear.
Suddenly, Nie Yan felt more motivated to level up.
The rewards from this elder’s quests were indeed generous. There was still 60% left to complete. Collecting ninety silk threads from monsters would be exhausting. He decided to buy them. Ninety silk threads would cost three silver coins. By that logic, he still didn’t have enough money.
How could he make money quickly? Nie Yan racked his brain, recalling the guides he had read online before.
Suddenly, an idea struck him. He suddenly remembered something—the so-called most useless item at the game’s launch: Bat Fangs. Bat Fangs were materials used to craft level 0 beginner weapons. These weapons had extremely low attack power and were practically never used, except occasionally by players learning forging skills who might purchase a few Bat Fangs to practice their basic forging techniques. No one else would buy them at all. Selling five stacks (100 Bat Fangs) to an NPC would only earn a single copper coin. As a result, countless Bat Fangs were left scattered on the ground in level-3 Bat spawning areas, completely ignored.
Some players preferred to discard Bat Fangs rather than occupy their backpack space with junk. Only players with little money would collect them and sell them to NPC shops.
However, Nie Yan knew another use for Bat Fangs. In Karol City, there was an advanced blacksmith who offered a hidden quest to purchase Bat Fangs. Every ten Bat Fangs (half a group) could be exchanged for some experience points and one copper coin. This advanced blacksmith would buy Bat Fangs in unlimited quantities. Later, after players discovered this NPC, the price of Bat Fangs soared.
This was a profitable deal, Nie Yan thought. He just needed to go to the Bat spawn area and put up an advertisement offering to buy Bat Fangs at one copper coin per group. Soon, there would be a flood of Bat Fangs. Then he could hand them all over to the advanced blacksmith for rewards. This way, he could earn both money and experience. How had he forgotten about this!
Without hesitation, Nie Yan rushed to Trak Town. Upon returning, he retrieved two silver coins from his personal warehouse, placed all his unused gear into the auction house, and visited an appraiser to identify the Soft Leather Gloves dropped by the Golden Electric Eel. They were a level 0 item with +2 Agility.
For level 0 gear, the attributes were quite impressive. Nie Yan equipped the gloves—they were the first bronze-grade item he could wear.
The gloves emitted a faint bluish glow. Nie Yan set his gear glow to hidden—it was better to stay low-key. Having top-tier gear in the wild could easily draw unwanted attention. He used a teleportation point to Karol City and hurriedly made his way to Kardi Blacksmith Shop in the city center.
Karol City had over sixty blacksmith shops, dealing in various iron products—from siege equipment to weapons, armor, and even horseshoes. Kardi Blacksmith Shop, however, was located in a relatively remote area and was one of the least conspicuous shops.
Advanced Blacksmith Kardi’s Bat Fang collection quest was discovered in a previous life by a Paladin player. After learning about the quest, this Paladin player bought massive quantities of Bat Fangs and exchanged them with Advanced Blacksmith Kardi for money and experience. He wanted to keep this secret, so he did it very discreetly. As the Paladin collected more and more Bat Fangs, other players became curious about his intentions. Eventually, a Rogue followed him to the shop and exposed the secret. However, by then, most players were already over level ten. Bat Fang prices had risen sharply, and no one wanted to sell them at low prices anymore. Looking back, they could only lament how many Bat Fangs they had thrown away. Because he discovered this hidden quest and secretly profited from it for a long time, the Paladin player made a fortune.
But now, the only person who knew this secret was Nie Yan!
Nie Yan entered Kardi Blacksmith Shop. It was a very narrow store but one of the few officially designated blacksmiths by the Grilan military.
As soon as he entered, Nie Yan saw an NPC blacksmith apprentice.
“Respected customer, may I help you with something?” the apprentice approached and asked.
“I’m looking for Mr. Kardi.”
“I’m sorry, my master is out,” the apprentice apologized.
“I have something urgent to discuss with him. When will he be back?” Nie Yan asked. The apprentice’s response was as expected—the quest was triggered this way.
“May I ask what business you have with him? I can relay the message,” the apprentice said, eyeing Nie Yan cautiously.
“Please tell Master Kardi that I can help him resolve his current troubles.”
“Please wait a moment,” the apprentice said and hurried out the door.
After a while, the apprentice returned with a muscular middle-aged blacksmith. The man had a messy beard, a bare muscular upper body, and skin turned dark red from years of exposure to fire.
“Respected blacksmith, I heard you’re having some troubles. If you’d like to share, I might be able to help,” Nie Yan said. He hoped the quest dialogue was correct.
“With autumn approaching, the battle at Hilton Fortress is intensifying. We need more weapons to meet the frontlines’ demands. I require a large amount of supplies, but I have no idea where to start,” Blacksmith Kardi said, troubled.
“May I ask what kind of supplies you need? I might be able to help you find them.”
“I need a large quantity of Bat Fangs. If you can provide Bat Fangs, I am willing to buy them at two copper coins per group,” Kardi said. To him, Bat Fangs were critical supplies.
NPCs were merely programmed by the game’s AI, lacking much intelligence. They were only responsible for issuing and receiving quests. As a hidden NPC, Blacksmith Kardi wouldn’t publicly announce this quest.
System: Do you wish to accept Blacksmith Kardi’s commission?
Yes!
System: You have accepted Blacksmith Kardi’s commission.
“Please rest assured. I will definitely find these supplies for you,” Nie Yan said. He took his leave from Blacksmith Kardi, went to a teleportation point, and teleported to Modo Village.
Near Modo Village was a large Bat spawn area, the most concentrated location for level-3 Bats.
Inside the village, it was packed with people—at least hundreds of players.
“Forming a team for the level-3 dungeon ‘Brave’s Tomb,’ level 3 and above, Mages with over 30 magic damage.”
“Forming a team to farm Bats, level 3 Fire Mages welcome!”
Players were seeking teams. Some had already found groups, while others wandered aimlessly. Players with better gear usually found teams quickly, while those with poorer gear were often avoided.
One by one, the teams set off.
It was morning in-game. Once players formed teams, they usually farmed monsters all day, only disbanding near evening.
Nie Yan set up a stall near his personal warehouse and put up a sign: Buying Bat Fangs, 1 copper coin per group.
As soon as the sign was up, many players gathered around. Most of them frequently farmed Bats nearby and had many Bat Fangs in their bags. They usually sold 100 Bat Fangs to NPCs for one copper coin, which wasn’t much, but every little bit helped. Seeing Nie Yan buying Bat Fangs at one copper coin per group—much more profitable than selling to NPCs—they were thrilled.
Bat Fangs, usually discarded everywhere, could now be sold at such a high price. Selling them could generate considerable income.
Ordinary players had low daily incomes. After spending on gear and potions, most had only ten to twenty copper coins. Extra income was naturally welcome.
“Hey, bro, I’ve got three groups of Bat Fangs. Want them?”
“Sure, the more the better.” Nie Yan nodded, scanning the dozens of people around him. He noticed five or six players already organizing their bags. Others hurriedly opened their personal warehouses, fearing Nie Yan might collect enough and stop buying.
“What are Bat Fangs used for?” some players asked curiously.
“Practicing basic forging skills,” Nie Yan replied.
“Why would basic forging skills require so many?”
“I have dozens of friends learning forging skills. I’m buying for all of them. Those who want to trade, proceed. Those who don’t, please don’t crowd around,” Nie Yan replied casually.
“Here’s mine, two groups.”
Nie Yan checked the trade window, placed two copper coins, and clicked confirm.
“Here’s mine, three groups.”
One by one, players traded with Nie Yan. Some brought three or four groups, others one or two. Those who hadn’t traded yet stood anxiously. Those who had already sold their Bat Fangs to NPCs or discarded them regretted their decisions.
Nie Yan traded while storing the purchased Bat Fangs into his personal warehouse. His backpack only had twenty slots, which wasn’t nearly enough.
More and more players came to trade with Nie Yan. Those who had sold their Bat Fangs told their friends, and soon, many others came with Bat Fangs.
Soon, Nie Yan had collected over 200 groups of Bat Fangs.
Nie Yan quickly put up a notice: “Everyone, please wait. I’ve run out of money. I need to go get some more from my friends. I’ll be back in fifteen minutes. Please come back here in fifteen minutes.”
“But I haven’t traded yet…”
“Me neither…”
Nie Yan pushed through the crowd, took a breath of fresh air, and thought, these players were too enthusiastic.
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