Chapter 12: External Block

“Why should I learn alchemy?” Yaoyao asked curiously.

“Wizards who don’t learn alchemy will definitely end up broke when they level up, as magical potions are too expensive. Humans have a talent that allows them to craft higher-level magical potions. It would be a waste not to learn alchemy,” Nie Yan replied.

“Okay, I’ve noted the coordinates. Thank you for your advice, Nieyan.”

Spotting a water spider moving ahead, Nie Yan swam toward it. He suddenly stopped when he was about five yards away. The water spider in front seemed a bit different from ordinary ones, its body larger.

Water Spider Leader: Level 3, 120/120.

“It’s a leader monster,” Nie Yan turned and told Yaoyao.

“Can we defeat it?” Yaoyao asked. Nie Yan was more knowledgeable, so she had begun to consult him when she had questions.

“About that, though it might be a bit challenging,” Nie Yan looked around. The open water surface offered no advantageous terrain. This was the paradise for water spiders.

“If it’s too dangerous, let’s forget it,” Yaoyao said. Dying here would be too costly. It would take at least two or three days to regain a lost level.

“Do you have any underwater breathing potions?” Nie Yan asked. Water spiders were surface-dwelling creatures that couldn’t dive underwater, which would be their fatal weakness.

“No, I didn’t prepare enough, and I used them all up previously,” Yaoyao blushed. She hadn’t expected to consume so many underwater breathing potions on the way. If she had had them, she wouldn’t have been in danger. When danger arose, she could have simply dived underwater and avoided trouble.

“I still have one left. Take it. Water spiders can’t breathe underwater. You attack it first. If it gets too close, immediately dive underwater. I’ll shoot it with crossbow bolts from a distance and draw it away. Once it moves far away, you can resurface and continue attacking. When its health is nearly depleted, we’ll attack together,” Nie Yan said thoughtfully.

Using this method, they could gradually wear down the water spider.

“I didn’t realize you were actually quite clever,” Yaoyao couldn’t help but look at Nie Yan. It seemed as though any problem became effortless in Nie Yan’s hands.

“I scored 260 on an IQ test when I was little. This is nothing,” Nie Yan smiled and swam toward another direction.

Seeing Nie Yan’s smug expression, Yaoyao couldn’t help but smile. This guy really blossomed with just a little encouragement.

About twenty yards from the water spider leader, Nie Yan thought it was close enough and signaled Yaoyao.

Yaoyao waved her staff, casting Holy Judgment, which struck the water spider leader, reducing its health by 15 points.

A leader monster, its defense was indeed much higher.

The water spider leader shrieked and charged toward Yaoyao. Before it arrived, she could attack once more. She began preparing Holy Strike. A beam of light from the sky struck the water spider leader, reducing its health by 16 points.

After preparing his crossbow bolts, Nie Yan fired them one by one. Puff after puff, all the bolts hit the water spider leader, each dealing -6 damage. Then he hurriedly reloaded.

After Yaoyao finished her Holy Strike, she saw the water spider leader charging toward her, so she dove into the water.

Once Yaoyao was underwater, the water spider leader could do nothing to her.

The water spider impatiently moved around the water surface near Yaoyao.

Puff, puff, puff—three more arrows hit the water spider leader. Its attention was drawn to Nie Yan, and it charged toward him.

Nie Yan hurriedly reloaded his crossbow, but before he finished, the water spider leader had already reached him. He quickly switched his crossbow for a dagger.

“Assassinate!”

Nie Yan assassinated the water spider leader in the abdomen, reducing its health by 12 points.

The water spider leader launched an attack, reducing Nie Yan’s health by more than 60 points.

Such high attack power!

If he took another hit, he would surely die!

Nie Yan originally wanted to attack once more, but after encountering such danger, he dared not risk it. He dove underwater.

The water spider leader missed its attack, raised one spiked leg, and plunged downward like an arrow into the water, piercing Nie Yan’s shoulder and going straight through.

-32, a damage number floated from Nie Yan’s head.

After successfully landing a hit, the water spider leader raised another leg and charged toward Nie Yan.

Underwater, Nie Yan rolled sideways. The water spider leader’s spiked leg scraped past Nie Yan’s cheek, sending up a stream of bubbles.

“Close call!” Nie Yan dove deeper to escape the water spider leader’s attack range. His health was down to less than twenty. He couldn’t afford to confront the water spider leader head-on again.

“Holy Word!”

Taking advantage of Nie Yan drawing the water spider leader’s attention, Yaoyao unleashed a powerful spell, reducing its health by 27 points.

“Are you okay?” Yaoyao asked with concern, seeing the two high damage numbers floating from Nie Yan.

“I’m fine. The water spider leader’s attack is too strong. Don’t let it hit you,” Nie Yan said with lingering fear. He had underestimated the water spider leader’s attack power, nearly costing him his life.

“I understand,” Yaoyao replied and waved her staff again.

Under Yaoyao’s continuous attacks, the water spider leader’s enmity shifted back to her and charged toward her.

“Holy Judgment! Holy Strike!”

After Yaoyao finished her round of attacks, she dove underwater again.

The water spider leader angrily walked back and forth on the surface. Three arrows from Nie Yan struck the water spider leader’s butt.

Repeating this process, the water spider leader’s health gradually depleted. With Yaoyao’s final Holy Word, the water spider leader’s health dropped to zero. It curled up and floated on the water surface.

The entire process was easier than imagined.

Seeing the water spider leader dead, Nie Yan finally exhaled in relief. Killing the water spider leader increased his experience by about 5%, reaching 52%.

“What dropped?” Nie Yan asked.

“You can check it out,” Yaoyao said, placing the two items she picked up into the trade window.

Silken Gauntlets (Bronze): Level Requirement 0.

Attributes: Defense 2-3, Magic +3.

Weight: 1.3 pounds.

User Restriction: Mages, any faction.

“Do you have appraisal skills?” Nie Yan asked. Normally, the dropped equipment should be unidentified. He didn’t expect Yaoyao to have learned appraisal at such a low level.

“Yeah, I learned the lowest-level appraisal skill,” Yaoyao nodded.

“You can keep the gauntlets, and I’ll take the rare silken threads. I have a use for them,” Nie Yan said. He wondered how these rare silken threads differed from ordinary ones and whether Physician Blavens would accept them.

“Okay, I won’t be shy then,” Yaoyao said. She really needed these gauntlets. The +3 magic was the best attribute for a mage. They would be worth at least fifty or sixty copper coins on the market. By this calculation, Nie Yan was at a disadvantage, so she felt slightly apologetic. Thinking back to Nie Yan taking the assassination skill book earlier, she felt better.

Yaoyao placed the rare silken threads in the trade window, and both confirmed.

When trading, they were very close. Nie Yan’s gaze fell on Yaoyao’s cheek. Yaoyao’s skin had always been good, white like jade porcelain, without a single flaw.

“What are you looking at?” Yaoyao asked nervously. Being stared at by Nie Yan made her cheeks flush slightly.

Seeing Yaoyao blushing, Nie Yan laughed and swam toward a nearby water spider.

After hunting monsters for an afternoon, Nie Yan collected twenty-three silken threads, and Yaoyao’s water flask was full.

“In a few days, my team will be clearing the Treacle Town treant forest. There are a few spots left. Do you want to join?” Yaoyao asked, pretending to be casual, but secretly hoping Nie Yan would agree.

The Treant Forest was a level 3 small instance dungeon, one of the basic instances. The difficulty of basic instances was often high. The final Treant King was tough, a sub-elite monster. If the warrior’s defense was below sixty and health below two hundred and twenty, there was no chance.

“How many people are there in your team?”

“Eighteen, including you. Two shield warriors, two berserkers, two paladins, two rogues, three priests, and seven mages.”

“What are the main shield warrior’s defense and health?”

“If the main shield warrior’s defense and health are sufficient, it’s okay. Otherwise, I advise you not to go,” Nie Yan shook his head. If Yaoyao’s team was an elite team, it would be fine to go. The Treant Forest dropped many good items for rogues.

“Defense fifty-three, health two hundred and thirty.”

“The health is okay, but the defense is too low. I advise you not to go,” Nie Yan shook his head. The main shield warrior was still lacking.

“Why?”

Yaoyao widened her eyes in confusion, looking at Nie Yan.

“The Treant King has a 2% chance to crit. Therefore, the main shield warrior’s defense and health must be high, and the priests’ healing must keep up. Otherwise, if a crit occurs and the main shield warrior is killed instantly, you’ll all die. Although no equipment drops or levels are lost in the instance, losing 20% experience is still quite frustrating.”

“How do you know this?”

Nie Yan smiled faintly but didn’t answer.

“Although I think you might be right, they’ve already prepared for many days. I can’t just not go.”

“Listen to me. Let your main shield warrior reach defense sixty before going,” Nie Yan said. If Yaoyao didn’t heed the advice and went, she would definitely lose 20% experience. Fortunately, 20% experience wasn’t much, and it could be regained in less than a day.

“To reach defense sixty, we’d at least need a bronze defense item. That’s too hard,” Yaoyao shook her head. A bronze defense item was worth five or six times more than ordinary bronze equipment, at least three or four silver coins. Their team simply didn’t have that much financial capacity.

“If possible, delay it. If your friends insist on going, there’s nothing I can do. Anyway, dying only costs 20% experience.”

“Nieyan, are you telling the truth?” Yaoyao asked with a furrowed brow, showing concern.

Nie Yan nodded and swam toward another water spider.

Yaoyao intuitively felt that Nie Yan’s words were reliable, but she was puzzled. How did Nie Yan know this? Even if he had been to the Treant Forest, it would be impossible to obtain such precise data so quickly.

“I’ve finished my task and should return now. I had a great time leveling with you today, Nieyan. Add me as a friend. I’ll contact you later,” Yaoyao said, feeling a bit reluctant. Nie Yan was her first pleasant male friend, though only a friend.

“Okay,” Nie Yan replied and added Yaoyao as a friend.

“Then I’ll go first. Bye,” Yaoyao waved and swam toward the opposite shore.

Yaoyao’s figure grew more distant.

After Yaoyao left, Nie Yan felt slightly melancholic but quickly adjusted his mood and continued hunting water spiders.

One by one, water spiders fell under Nie Yan’s dagger.

Checking the time, there were still three hours before the game closed when Nie Yan’s voice chat rang.

“Expert, it’s me,” Shitou sent a message.

“What’s up?” Nie Yan replied.

“I have a friend who wants to meet you.”

“I’m busy lately and don’t have time.”

“My friend said he’s willing to pay two silver coins for the strategy guide of the Forsaken Wizard Camp.”

“Did you wipe at the wooden fence of the Forsaken Wizard Camp?” Nie Yan asked. That was a tough checkpoint. If they didn’t know the trick, it would be very difficult to pass.

“How did you know?” Shitou was surprised. Nie Yan guessed accurately. He was more convinced that Nie Yan must have previously cleared the Forsaken Wizard Camp.

“Of course, I know. If you want the strategy guide for the Forsaken Wizard Camp, you can. First, transfer the money to my personal warehouse.”

A personal warehouse was equivalent to an account. The player himself could freely deposit and withdraw, while other players could only deposit but not withdraw.

“I need to check first,” Shitou said. Clearly, he wasn’t the one calling the shots. After a while, he sent a message to Nie Yan: “My friend said we can pay a one-silver deposit first. If your guide proves effective, we’ll pay another silver coin.”

Nie Yan thought for a moment and said, “Okay.” The other party agreed to this transaction because Nie Yan had been correct several times. Paying in advance carried a significant risk for them. If Nie Yan was a scammer, their money would be wasted. So paying half as a deposit.

System: Player Feilaishitou deposited one silver coin into your personal warehouse.

“The money has been transferred,” Shitou said. He was also a bit nervous. If Nie Yan cut off the voice chat, their one silver coin would be wasted.

“The first checkpoint, the wooden fence, has seven Forsaken Wizards. Don’t let the warrior tank. Seven Forsaken Wizards attacking simultaneously will overwhelm warriors below level five. Have the rogue stand by the locust tree beneath the fence and use a crossbow to shoot the leftmost Forsaken Wizard. Remember, the firing position must be precise to lure out exactly three Forsaken Wizards. Once those three are defeated, the remaining four will be much easier to handle.

Another critical spot is near the altar, where a Forsaken Priest resides. When engaging him, be cautious not to accidentally aggro the Forsaken Wizard Leader. The Forsaken Priest patrols every five minutes. When he reaches the stone pillar outside the altar, have the shield warrior pull him, leading him about five or six yards away before the melee team engages. After defeating the Forsaken Priest, you can then take down the Forsaken Wizard Leader.

If you have any further questions, feel free to message me,” Nie Yan said. Having taken their payment, he felt obliged to assist them. After all, it was just a minor dungeon that would soon be cleared by others. Trading some information for a bit of coin wasn’t a bad deal—especially for two silver pieces.

“That’s it?” Shitou was stunned and asked.

“That’s it.”

Such a little information was worth two silver coins. Nie Yan’s money was earned too easily.

However, this checkpoint-clearing method was the culmination of countless players’ accumulated experience. An average team would typically need multiple wipes to grasp it. Viewed from this perspective, perhaps the strategy guide wasn’t overpriced after all.