《VRMMO Botanist》


 Chapter 1：The Epic Mission

    Level 30 Instance Dungeon, Ruins of the Angels.


    Level 30. This could be said to be the changing point within "The Boundless World." It was the real start of the game, a milestone for adventurers. However, it still did not explain why this dungeon was highly infamous amongst all Instance Dungeons.


    For adventurers below Level 50, the most excellent highlight of this dungeon was the highly coveted reward, "Osir''s Blessings," the only Equipment Set available at this point. For adventurers below Level 30, this was the single Instance Dungeon that offered Experience Points for every first clearance within the week.


    Amongst the highly experienced players, this dungeon had another purpose. The most straightforwardly grueling Epic Mission, the "Stone of Eternity," was set here. It had demanded the adventurers'' astronomically colossal amounts of time spent within this dungeon.


    The Ruins of the Angels was a notorious Household Name. Five years from the game''s debut, several adventurers had already reached the highest level, 120. Even then, their laboriously grinding within the Ruins of the Angels had sapped the life out of them, scarring them eternally.


    Additionally, this Instance Dungeon was the toughest one yet for anyone below Level 30. The Final Boss, Wandering Angel of Death, was seemingly invincible, sending hopelessness and despair crashing onto the young and inexperienced players. Only with hours of training and practice did the parties finally graduate from the hands of this unbeatable Boss.


    Despite the fact that the game had already been online for five years, its popularity had been soaring within the last twelve months. As such, the number of parties sharpening their skills in the dungeon had been on a steady rise. At the multiple entrances to the dungeons, countless parties had congregated. Many adventurers clenched their jaws, their sharp resolute eyes focused on the dungeon as they re-entered after yet another defeat.


    By their sides, the streets were bustling with other adventurers.


    "Party of 5 recruiting the last member! Knight and Healer have already been recruited. We need someone with a high Damage Per Second (DPS), with at least a Silver Tier piece. Preferably a Mage, no amateurs!"


    "Outstanding Healer looking for a party! Huge Mana reserves ensuring your Health returns to you like the flooding waves. Guaranteed HP!"


    "Silver Tier Mage bracelet for sale! Just for 5 gold coins. PM if interested!"


    "Any party looking for a Botanist? Botanist¡­! Botanist¡­!"


    "Botanist? ¡­Sorry, we''re full!"


    ...


    The outskirts of the little town of Aiur housed one of the entrances to the Ruins of the Angels. Groups after groups of Level 30 adventurers were screaming and hollering, requesting to form parties or selling their prized rewards. With the cacophony of hustle as a backdrop, an intermingling surge of vitality and drive washed through the bustling town.


    At the spawn point, a glimmering ball of light appeared. A man, clad in a low-key black from head to toe, walked out from the ball of white light. His profession was clear, an Assassin. The muscular and tall man weaved his way through the crowd, avoiding contact with any others. He exuded a dominating presence with a stern face topping off his well-sculpted body, highlighting his potentially extraordinary abilities.


    Instantly, any group who were still missing members zoomed in a beeline over to him, asking the same question. "Brother, my team still lacks a high DPS member. Are you interested?"


    "Sorry, I already have a team." With a small smile, he declined without hesitation. The next moment, his body turned translucent and disappeared. He had already entered the Instance Dungeon.


    What the heck? How did he get a party so fast? Didn''t he just log on?


    As the parties scratched their heads puzzled, the Assassin had already materialized within the Ruins of the Angels. Unbeknownst to the hopeful adventurers outside, there was no one around this tall stealthy figure. This man was challenging the largest source of headache within "The Boundless World" all by himself!


    He turned and scanned his surroundings with sharp eyes. Bits of debris dotted the ground, forming ragged piles of rubble. Buildings and pillars had crumbled, sinking, and morphing into one with the earth. Glancing behind one of the pillars, he sensed danger. Groups of Undead Monsters had gathered, roaming aimlessly between the cracking walls.


    Watching the overly familiar sight of undead creatures wandering about, an inexplicable vile sensation churned in his stomach. Narrowing his eyes onto these monsters, Ye Chen activated his skill, "Sneak." Leaving as a motion blur, Ye Chen weaved his way between the dense monsters and pillars smoothly.


    Within the Ruins of the Angels, it was not only the Boss that was a pain to fight. The minions before the Boss fight proved to be a substantial headache for the weaker parties. Even with the Assassins'' Sneak, accidentally ramming into a monster would spell death by mass butchering.


    On the other hand, Ye Chen swerved his way through this vast sea of monsters without a hitch. What''s more, he even had the confidence to do so, even with both his eyes closed.


    Within a minute, he had breezed through the cluster of undead monsters, arriving at a dilapidated garden.


    Untidy patches of grass speckled across the ground of this Ancient Roman garden. On the unkempt bushes, tiny, vibrantly colored flowers added exquisite dots of life, bringing color to the desolate garden. Within it, a tall angel loitered about. Its movements were rigid and sullen, completely drained of life. On its back, where one may expect to see a pair of majestic wings, there was only one left. This zombie-like angel was none other than the biggest obstacle new adventurers would have met until this point, the Wandering Angel of Death.


    Ye Chen narrowed his eyes onto the handicapped angel. His feet did not slow down. Instead, his strides widened and accelerated. As he leaned forward, his body zoomed straight towards the Boss.


    BAM!


    511!


    Sneaking up silently, Ye Chen appeared by the back of the Boss. With one swift slash, his sneak attack hit its mark from point-blank. Above the Boss''s head, a crimson red value flashed. Critical Hit!


    "WRAWWW!"


    The thunderous roar of the Boss reverberated through the garden. As it turned, the Angel of Death clawed at Ye Chen.


    Alas, all it got in its claws were air. The instant the Boss turned, Ye Chen had taken a swift sidestep and circled to the Boss''s back. Gripping tightly on his deep red dagger, he thrust viciously onto its back once again.


    BAM!


    ...


    When Assassins assaulted their enemies from behind, the damage would be multiplied. While the attack this time did not land a critical hit, another enormous value flashed above the Boss''s head.


    BAM!


    BAM!


    BAM!


    ...


    The unceasing efforts of the Boss to retaliate against this unannounced Assassin was to no avail. Every one of its attacks missed Ye Chen by a hair''s width. This solo Assassin was seemingly virtual, without an actual physical body. Within the onslaught of torrential attacks, he was like a sprout of common duckweed. Living within the everlasting danger of getting hit mercilessly, yet drifting along the water surface constantly to avoid it. His impeccable movements and leg work likened to a beautiful dance on the rippling water, a tranquillity within the chaos.


    What a flawless execution of the Phantom Dance!


    "Phantom Dance" was the so-called creme de la creme of all of the skills available to Assassins. The execution by Ye Chen was wholly pleasing to the eye. Should this Boss fight be recorded and uploaded onto the forums, it would spread like wildfire. Undoubtedly, everyone would have the same thought.


    This man¡ª he must be the best Assassin, "Black Phantom."


    "WRAWWW!"


    "WRAWWW!"


    "WRAWWW!"


    The Boss''s HP was plummeting like a boulder thrown off the cliff. This Assassin''s individual DPS was way higher than the combined DPS of a six-man elite party. From the start to the end, never once did the Boss land a single hit on its attacker. The only change would be malicious roars, which boomed louder and louder.


    SLASH!


    Suddenly, the remnants of its monolith feathers snapped off the Boss''s wings, bulleting straight to Ye Chen.


    A large Area of Effect (AOE) attack! There was no place to hide!


    Alas, the instant the first feather was about to break off, the Assassin had leaped onto a crumbling marble pillar by the side. With another leap, Ye Chen soared high above the Boss. As the father-bullets were about to make a bird out of him, he backflipped. Right at that moment, the entire swarm of feathers shot by, right below his scalp.


    This was not a spell or an Assassin''s skill. It was a simple technique of a midair backflip. Yet, the number of players able to execute it so smoothly during an actual Boss fight was countable with two hands.


    BAM!


    BAM!


    BAM!


    Without delay, the barrage of lethal strikes from Ye Chen continued to rain upon the Boss after the missed AOE Attack. Like a running tap, the Boss''s HP plummeted.


    "WARRRRAAWWW!"


    Another critical hit found its way onto the Boss''s back, drawing a hoarse cry from the Boss. The grayish-black angel buckled, crashing onto the ground slowly. Upon impact, it dissipated as dust, leaving behind some items scattered across the ground.


    Seeing the sparkling rock within the rewards, the corners of Ye Chen''s lips lifted.


    As he picked the rewards up, the system displayed:


    [You have received an item, "A fragment of the Stone of Eternity."]


    A fragment of the Stone of Eternity. It was a locked item. It could not be sold or thrown away. It was an item demanded by the Epic Mission, "Stone of Eternity." The adventurer had to collect 999 fragments to exchange for "Stone of Eternity" from Grandmaster Brando.


    "After three long years, I finally have the last fragment! HAHAHAHA!"


    As the number of fragments jumped to 999 within his inventory, Ye Chen burst into a bray of maniacal laughter.


    He could finally wave goodbye to this plague-like nightmare of a dungeon three long years and uncountable missions within the Ruins of the Angels. "Finally, I''m out of this God-damned place!"


    Picking up the other rewards of the ground, Ye Chen turned and left.


    "Oh? Brother, you are out so soon! Did you get annihilated? Then, join us! We all have Silver Equipment. I guarantee that we are effective as a group!"


    Since his entry into the Instance Dungeon, only four minutes had passed. Seeing his speedy return, the parties swarmed forward and attempted to recruit him again.


    "No thanks, I''ve cleared it." With a smile, Ye Chen took out his map and chanted.


    The last ten seconds past within a blink of an eye. Within a ball of white light, Ye Chen vanished from the entrance of the dungeon.


    Only when Ye Chen had disappeared did the adventurer register those words. Immediately, a face of disbelief took the place of his friendly smile.


    "You cleared it? Only idiots would believe you!"


    At the spawn point of Aiur Town, Ye Chen materialized.


    Scanning his surroundings, he walked towards a secluded area.


    Aiur town could be known as the hometown for the Level 30 adventurers. Many monster spawn points and Instance Dungeons were around the suburbs. Despite the isolated area on the map, there were still many adventurers gathered. At any time, the town was bustling with life. Lively chatters could be heard at every moment with numerous adventurers talking to the NPCs, trading items, or completing missions.


    Of all the NPCs, only one man had no one in front of him. That was the man Ye Chen was looking for, Mr. Adolf.


    "Mr. Adolf, I wish to undergo Character Rebirth." He examined his character, who had long finished his Rebirth Mission two years ago.


    The snoozing old man immediately burst with vitality, "Character Rebirth? Are you sure?"


    "Yes."


    Immediately, the old man''s eyes sparkled with energy. He had only one role within the entire game: to facilitate the adventurer''s character rebirth.


    Character Rebirth was highly similar to deleting an account in the old games. But, there were crucial differences.


    "Keke, Character Rebirth will result in the reset of your level, and all of your skills will be deleted. Knowing all of this, do you still wish to continue?" With concern flowing from his voice, Adolf asked again.


    "Yes!"


    "Are you really sure? This will mean that the majority of your efforts will be lost." Again, he dutifully and earnestly persuaded this child from Character Rebirth, for fear he would make a wrong decision.


    "YES!" Ye Chen''s face darkened. His patience had snapped.


    What the heck?! I''ve been reborn so many times, and this old man only gets more annoying!


    "Keke, what a brave child. Actually, being reborn and working from scratch is not a bad thing. While your level and skills would be lost, your items, reputation, gold, and experience points will be inherited by your new character. However, let me warn you. If your equipment or attributes were obtained from a mission, clearing the same mission would not grant you these rewards again."


    "Also, regarding your secondary profession. Should your new character choose a similar profession, the proficiency of your skills can be inherited. The items, gold, and equipment can be taken from the storage immediately after your rebirth. However, the proficiency, reputation, and experience points of your secondary profession can only be collected from me after you reach a level similar to your current level. Do you understand?"


    Clearing his throat, Adolf recited a lengthy explanation to Ye Chen. This message was a piece of good news for Ye Chen, but still, he could almost memorize them by heart already.


    "Yes, please allow me to be reborn." Ye Chen nodded.


    "Very well, please choose a new profession and username."


    "Profession, Botanist. Name, Page of Lingering Dust." The moment Ye Chen finished his sentence, Adolf whipped his hands across the air.


    Ye Chen''s body burst into a streak of white light, disappearing from Aiur Town.

 Chapter 2：Village Chief, You’ve Gone Senile

    Was the Assassin profession not awesome?


    No, of course not.


    Assassins were indeed strong, but the class had its inherent shortcomings. In group PK, especially in the later phase of aerial battles, the disadvantages would gradually become prominent.


    And what Ye Chen needed was a profession that could engage in large-scale AOE killings!


    The only profession that could meet the needs of Ye Chen was the Botanist profession. Although coined by many as a "self-torturing profession" and "newbie killer", among veteran adventurers, it was recognized as a truly "late-blooming" profession.


    Moreover, while others had to practice to the advanced stages before the profession of botanist could exert its real power, for Ye Chen who had made many preparations, he did not need to wait that long. He only needed to advance to Level 30, inheriting attributes such as experience points. Afterwards, he could undergo rapid strengthening of the botanist profession!


    This profession, which had been incessantly criticized, would soon emit a dazzling brilliance in his hands. The most powerful Botanist in the game would be born in his hands!


    Although his level compared with those of high-level adventurers was indeed widely disparate, the level disparity was just a difference in mere numbers to Ye Chen. Not to mention, it was only a negligible difference of 30 levels.


    A white light flashed, and Ye Chen''s figure appeared in the Novice Village.


    At the same time, there were also male or female adventurers streaming around, similarly clad in a pair of cloth pants or a small undergarment. Many adventurers were amateurs who had just entered the game. When they saw those female adventurers who were wearing only a white and thin piece of cloth, their eyes couldn''t help but stray towards them, wanting to feast their eyes on the bountiful harvests.


    "Pervert, what are you looking at?!"


    Some of these female adventurers who just entered the game were not to be easily trifled with and immediately lashed out at those guys with wicked thoughts.


    What a familiar scene. It felt like the time when Ye Chen had just entered the game. At that time, he almost successfully wooed a beauty, but unfortunately, his levelling got too crazy. Whenever the beauty asked him out, he would always be talking about levelling, levelling, or levelling. Finally, unable to stand his maniacal training talk anymore, the beauty angrily dumped him.


    However, with so many new adventurers around, could this be a brand new village that the system released?


    Ye Chen thought that the game has become crazily popular recently. With a large number of adventurers pouring into the game, the possibility of the game developers releasing a brand new novice village was not nil.


    "If it''s the case of a brand new novice village, then that mission may not have been completed yet."


    Ye Chen remembered one of the most valuable missions in the Novice Village. This task belonged to the random-assignments category, but it was the most basic random-type World mission, with specific trigger conditions.


    Random-Type World Missions were good stuff. Most will reward the most lucrative Reputation and Experience Points, so this kind of mission was often one-of-a-kind.


    The way to trigger this mission was a little weird. Very few people knew about it. People in the know all regarded this mission as a very confidential matter and kept it a secret. At least, Ye Chen had not heard of this mission being discussed in public. In a brand new Novice Village, the likelihood of him receiving this chance mission was quite large.


    Thinking of this, the cloak with a Defense of +2 in Ye Chen''s backpack was equipped, and he quickly dashed towards the Village Chief.


    "Village Chief, do you have any missions?"


    "No!"


    "Village Chief, can you send me a piece of equipment? Don''t you find me too pitiful, with only a poor piece of clothing?"


    "Go out and turn left, the equipment store is there!"


    "Village Chief¡­"


    ...


    The Village Chief was an old fogey. Many adventurers thought of accepting the mission from the Village Chief, but it seemed that all they faced was abject rejection.


    Glancing at the old man who felt both a little familiar yet a little foreign, Ye Chen confirmed that this mission should not have been completed yet. If someone had completed the task, the Village Chief would have left, leaving a different NPC in his place.


    Ye Chen looked at the hordes of adventurers hounding the Village Chief, and he smiled evilly. The Village Chief indeed had the mission here, but it required a unique trigger condition!


    "Village Chief, you''ve gone senile!" Ye Chen walked over, looked at the aged Village Chief, and sincerely made this statement. "You are senile, your whole family is senile!"


    The Village Chief glanced at Ye Chen and rebuked angrily. What he hated the most was others saying he was old, especially from a young guy he didn''t know!


    Drip!


    Where did I go wrong?! Ye Chen could not help but break into a cold sweat. F**k me, in my rush to grab the mission, I missed some critical preparatory steps!


    However, it could not be blamed on him. He had only overheard about it once when the game was first opened quite a few years ago. At that time, it was no longer possible for him to receive this task. Although his character had been reborn several times afterwards, every time, he was reborn into those established Novice Villages, hence there was no possibility of him taking up the mission.


    Recalling what the person said, the fog in Ye Chen''s brain gradually dissipated.


    If one wanted to trigger the mission, one must first gain the trust of the villagers, that is, to obtain an "invisible" Reputation within this Novice Village.


    In the Boundless World, in any village, town or city, the player had an invisible Reputation. The more frequent the player operated in that place, the higher his invisible Reputation would grow. And when the player leaves that place, the invisible Reputation would gradually disappear with the passage of time.


    The fastest way to improve the player''s invisible Reputation in a place was to complete missions. If Ye Chen remembered correctly, to trigger the mission from the Village Chief, all the missions within the novice village had to be completed before his invisible Reputation could barely reach the requirements to trigger the secret mission.


    There were innumerable tasks in Novice Village, but many adventurers could achieve Level 10 after completing only half of the missions and chose to then leave the village. That was because, after Level 10, one must leave the novice village and transfer to the major cities outside to select a profession before one could continue to level up.


    These brand-new rookie adventurers were different from the adventurers who chose to be reborn such as Ye Chen. Their professions were not predetermined once they were created, but when they reached Level 10, these adventurers could select their favourite professions.


    Adventurers who choose character rebirth were similar to them. At Level 10, they must also go to a city and choose a profession again to continue levelling up. The difference only laid in their choice of professions, which has been determined during the rebirth.


    Completing every single mission in Novice Village was something Ye Chen never attempted before. Although he had completed the various missions in the Novice Village several times, not once have he completed all of them. Each time he reached Level 10, he would elect to leave the Novice Village.


    However, the forum had a complete list of Novice Village missions. If he were to go online and take a look, then he would know all the missions!


    Ye Chen quickly went to the forum, searched for the missions within Novice Village, and quickly scanned through all the missions once at a blistering speed, before returning to the village.


    "Kill the chicken, butcher the cow, deliver the letter, exterminate the pests¡­"


    The Novice Village''s missions were quite simple. Ye Chen followed the list from his memory and took on several missions at once, running back and forth in the village. Halfway through his quests, he even learned the Warrior''s Straight Cleave Skill from the Novice Skill Instructor.


    The Novice Skill Instructor could freely teach a skill from any profession, but this skill could only be used within the Novice Village. If one was not satisfied, one could even choose to delete the skill. When it was time to choose a profession at Level 10, the learned skill would automatically be deleted.


    As for the missions, many were related to hunting monsters and collecting quest items. For convenience''s sake, Ye Chen chose to add all the attributes points from levelling up to Strength.


    Every time the player increases by a level, the five attributes of Physique, Strength, Agility, Intelligence, and Spirit would increase by one point, in addition to five open attribute points. Before Level 10, there was no need to leave the open attribute points unused. At Level 10, when choosing a profession at the Profession Guild, the system would allow one to redistribute one''s attribute skills once for free, so Ye Chen happily added all his points to Strength. Otherwise, with the measly Attack Power of 1 to 3 of the Novice Wood Sword in his hands, killing the monster would be quite strenuous.


    Since it was a newly-opened Novice Village, most of the new adventurers were busy robbing monsters from one another. Still, it was incomparable with the time when the game first released. With Ye Chen''s skills, when used to snatch monsters from these rookie adventurers, it was akin to a fish in water. Ye Chen often waded into the middle of fierce infighting between adventurers, and soon there were hordes of adventurers out for his blood.


    If not for the fact that adventurers could only PK after reaching Level 10, Ye Chen would really be swarmed by the angry mob.


    The feeling of violently killing monsters with full power was simply too satisfying. Ye Chen''s missions went smoothly. In just two hours, the missions within the village were almost half completed, and his level reached Level 7.


    Before Level 10, progress was still extremely swift. One could advance to Level 10 in about three hours, but after Level 10, the experience required for levelling would exponentially increase.


    Another hour passed. Ye Chen''s level quickly rose to 10, but it took yet another hour for Ye Chen to complete all the novice missions in the Novice Village per what the forum said.


    Then, Ye Chen went to find the Village Chief.

 Chapter 3：Titan Megacity

    "Village Chief, you''ve gone senile."


    This time, Ye Chen''s heart was pounding away as he spoke. While his informant was unlikely to lie to him, he was skeptical about this peculiar way of triggering the mission. What''s more, his previous failure not only rewarded him with a lecture by this old man but also got him some "pleasant" greetings for his entire ancestry.


    "Oh, Page of Lingering Dust, did I really go senile? Even you have begun to call me that¡­"


    The Village Chief waved his hand in a slight depression, chasing out the adventurers that had been bugging him. Only Ye Chen and the Village Chief were left in the room. Not only that, but the tone of the Village Chief had also taken a different shift.


    This was the classic mission mode. Immediately, Ye Chen knew he was on the right track.


    "Village Chief, I think it''s time to pick your successor." With the mission getting closer to hand, Ye Chen earnestly responded.


    "You think so too? Haiz¡­ Perhaps I should have passed it to my son when he told me that I was aging several years back. If I had done so, he would not have left and not return," the Village Chief lamented.


    "Your son? Village Chief, what is his name?"


    The experience that Ye Chen had gathered from gaming blared within his mind upon hearing the news. His informant did not mention this to him, however, as though it was his conditioned reflexes, he probed further.


    "My son''s name¡­ Ezek? Issac? Shucks, I can''t even remember my own son''s name anymore!"


    These words sent a spine-chilling shiver down Ye Chen as cold sweat formed beads on his forehead.


    What the heck?! To forget his own son''s name is a seriously high-level ability!


    Even so, Ye Chen kept these two names deeply etched in his mind. Possibly, they may come in useful in the future.


    "Looks like I''ve really gone senile. However, I will need some time to find a successor. How about this? I can tell you that your future is brightly lit. If you can prove your skills, I can let you assume the position of Acting Village Chief. While we may be a small and seemingly insignificant village, I am sure this appointment would bring some benefits for your future development. Want to give it a try?"


    Finally, the Village Chief offered the mission. Without any second thoughts, Ye Chen accepted it with a tap of his finger.


    [System Message: You have accepted the mission, "Acting Village Chief"!]


    "Very good. By the east of the village, there is a vicious wolf that emerges out of nowhere. Time and again, it steals and kills the farm crops, sometimes even people. If you can rid the village of this headache, I''m sure the villagers would acknowledge you as the Acting Village Chief." The Village Chief sternly issued the mission details.


    "Leave it to me, Village Chief! I will return shortly!"


    Just killing a wild beast? That''s easy.


    ..............


    "Brother, did you receive some sort of mission? Please share it with me! I will be eternally grateful!"


    "Bro, tell me the way to trigger the mission! I will give you 100 Gold as thanks!"


    "Big brother, can you bring this little sister along?"


    As Ye Chen walked out of the Village Chief''s house, a huge crowd had amassed outside. Not long ago, the word that the Village Chief was behaving oddly had leaked. Before long, the rumor had enveloped all of the adventurers within the Novice Village. Even the densest idiot could tell, someone had received a mission from the Village Chief.


    As Ye Chen walked out, the crowd engulfed him within, pestering him non-stop. Before long, he was trapped within the circle. The intense pressure had caused beads of sweat to erupt on Ye Chen''s forehead. In the fit of the moment, he thrust his finger towards the sky and screamed out an inconceivable lie. He exclaimed, "WAH! A FLYING BOSS!"


    "Where? Where?"


    Who knew that several of the new players would fall for it? Seizing the opportunity, Ye Chen immediately sneaked out of the human prison that they trapped him in.


    "Fuck! We got tricked!"


    The sky was a beautiful cerulean blue with the warm gleams of the sun shining comfortably. There was not a single bird to be seen, much less a dominating flying Boss. Immediately, the adventurers sensed that something was wrong and whipped their heads back to the mysterious man. Who knew that he had already vanished without a trace?


    ...¡­.


    Within the forest, Level 10 monsters lurked at every corner. Despite the abundant prey to hunt, not many adventurers could be spotted. Within the Novice Village, Level 10 was easily attainable even without any form of training.


    Passing through a few bunches of monsters, Ye Chen quickly found the vicious wolf that the Village Chief spoke of, the Gale Wolf, Level 13.


    Within the Boundless World, there were no appraisal skills. Facing these monsters, the adventurers could only see their level. Other data and the monster''s statistics were only available through other means, or by their own conclusions through battles with the monsters themselves.


    From the name alone, the Gale Wolf was a speed-type monster. Ye Chen would not and dared not to underestimate a beast of this sort.


    While the Gale Wolf would probably not possess extraordinarily dominating powers, Ye Chen was in a new character who was weaker than he could believe. Should this beast get two consecutive hits on him, Ye Chen would no doubt end up dead.


    The best way to face an enemy of unknown attributes was to carefully scout for its abilities before going in for one smooth kill. Every time there was a new Instance Dungeon, adventurers relied on the multiple group annihilation to supply themselves with sufficient information before they could plan for a way to clear the dungeon.


    However, Ye Chen seemed to have overestimated this Gale Wolf. Indeed, it had high speed, but could not even be qualified to hold a candle against the Angel of Death he had faced. Without spending too much time, Ye Chen killed this Gale Wolf that had a pathetic 3000 HP without a hitch.


    How did he tell the HP value? Ye Chen was an expert at deducing the overall HP of the beast from the cuts and bruises they had suffered.


    ...


    "Nice. Very nicely done. My eyes did not lie to me. Perhaps, I''m not senile yet."


    Completing the mission, Ye Chen returned to the Novice Village to report his success. In front of him, the Village Chief''s expression had lit up with felicity. The Village Chief gave Ye Chen a hard pat on his shoulder.


    [System Message: You have completed the mission, "Acting Village Chief"!]


    [System Message: You have obtained 20 Reputation Points! Current Reputation Points: 20]


    [System Message: You have obtained 2 Experience Points! Current Experience Points: 2]


    [System Message: You have obtained the Acting Village Chief Seal!]


    [The Acting Village Chief Seal has been bound. The items only available to the Acting Village Chief can be bought in the village at a 20% discount.]


    Without delay, the Village Chief handed over the rewards of the mission. Seeing the benefits and rewards, Ye Chen had no complaints.


    The Acting Village Chief Seal was not of any use. While it did bring him a 20% discount, the items he could purchase in the Novice Village were low-quality goods below Level 10. After Level 10, they were useless. However, the 20 Reputation Points and 2 Experience Points were decent rewards. These two attributes were rare within the game. Never had he expected to obtain such rewarding items from the overly easy mission.


    "Village Chief, is there anything I need to do now?"


    "Nothing else, you have done well. The difficulties faced by our villagers have all been speedily resolved, thoroughly convincing everyone of your ability. You are still young, so you should go out and see the world and broaden your horizons. If you are free, just drop by and carry out your duties as the Acting Village Chief."


    From what Ye Chen gathered, the mission ended here. However, his gaming experience had a strong sense that this odd mission would definitely have continued in the future, but it would not be easy to trigger it.


    The VIllage CHief''s intentions were clear, he wished for Ye Chen to leave the Novice Village. Similarly, Ye Chen did not waste any more time, making his departure quickly. From the teleportation device within the Novice Village, Ye Chen vanished and materialized within Titan Megacity.


    Titan Megacity was one of the busiest megacities where adventurers below Level 60 hustled. Within the region, countless towns, both big and small, were located, and Aiur Town was one of the vassals of Titan Megacity.


    As Ye Chen materialized within the teleportation device, the grandeur of the streets within the city swept over him. Roman-style buildings were erected on both sides of the roads, with exquisite designs adorning the walls and windows. As people strolled along, the lively and lighthearted was unmistakably enjoyable. This city was definitely one of Ye Chen''s favorites within the game.


    "The Warring Dragon Guild is recruiting new players! We are the top guild within the Oriental Region and have first-hand information of the game. There isn''t a single clearing strategy of the Instance Dungeons that we do not own! Now, we are organizing a training regime for new players to level up quickly. First come first serve, never again will such an opportunity arise!"


    "Top 10 guilds of Oriental Region, Oriental Empire is recruiting! The benefits are abundant for your members!"


    "Dynamic Alliance is recruiting! We are not a big guild, but we have the zest and hot-bloodedness that the big guilds lack. Enter the guild and join our brotherhood. As brothers, we will conquer the world with you!"


    ...


    At the front of the massive teleportation gate, a cacophony of recruitment calls resounded. With the sky-high popularity of the Boundless World now, new players had been flooding in daily. Now, it was the best time to strengthen the population of each guild. As the thick blend of shouts echoed within Ye Chen''s ears, a warm familiarity engulfed his heart. After three long years of grinding within the devilish and alienated Instance Dungeon, he had finally returned!


    Ye Chen walked out of the portal and walked down between the rowdy recruiters. As he walked past the Warring Dragon Guild, he couldn''t help but snort coldly.


    Hmph! There isn''t a single clearing strategy of the Instance Dungeons that you do not own? Such blatant overconfidence! Well, being the top guild within the Oriental Region isn''t a lie, though¡­ I guess it''s not baseless overconfidence¡­ Freak! Am I late already?!


    Suddenly, Ye Chen remembered the inauguration at the Botanist Guild. When he looked at the clock, several hours had already passed. The majority of the city streets were safe areas, so Ye Chen walked to the side and logged off.

 Chapter 4： Two Lolis

    Opening his eyes slightly, Ye Chen planned on reaching out and removing the gaming helmet adorning his head, but instead, he felt a heavy weight pressing down on his arms.


    Looking down, Ye Chen looked at the left and right arm with good humor, each being tightly hugged by a six-or seven-year-old beauty, who was spouting a mushroom-head haircut, as though afraid that he would fly away.


    He planned on gently pulling out his arms from the tight embrace of the two little girls, but his actions came to nought. When his arm trembled slightly, the two little girls clad in black skirts, like a pair of twin sisters, blinked open their eyes and groggily looked at him.


    "Big Brother Ye Chen¡­ hngh¡­ Good morning."


    The two little girls yawned, releasing Ye Chen''s arms, and grunted as they made their way up from the bed. One voice was a bit weak but still sounded crisp, the other was brimming with vitality.


    "Still sleepy? Do you want to sleep in for a while more?" Ye Chen took off the game helmet and asked.


    "No!" The two little girls shook their heads violently, and Ye Chen couldn''t help but laugh helplessly seeing their actions.


    "Then brush your teeth and wash your face. Big Brother will make breakfast immediately."


    All three of them climbed up from the bed that could only be considered moderately-sized by any standards, walked through the small and dilapidated living room, and came to a tiny toilet. Each person took up a toothbrush and mouthwash cup.


    "Xiao Lan, you need to brush your teeth up and down to get a thorough cleaning."


    The three of them brushed their teeth together. Ye Chen looked at Xiao Lan and held her little arm to demonstrate.


    "Okay." Xiao Lan nodded weakly.


    "Like me!"


    "Yes, just like Xiao Jing."


    Xiao Jing grinned, exposing a neat row of pearly-white teeth, and happily boasted to Xiao Lan. Ye Chen saw her cute actions and laughingly praised her.


    The three of them finished brushing their teeth, the two little girls flipped open two books in the living room while adopting a lying position on their bellies. At the same time, Ye Chen went to the kitchen to start making breakfast.


    "Come, breakfast is ready." After a while, Ye Chen brought the breakfast out.


    Xiao Lan and Xiao Jing swiftly packed up the living room, and the two of them coordinated their efforts to put out the little wooden table together.


    "Brother Ye, will you still go to work later?" drinking the freshly-heated milk, Xiao Lan asked softly.


    "Yeah, later you guys stay at home obediently or watch TV if you are bored. Don''t go outside. Otherwise, you will be abducted by bad guys. Also, don''t open the door no matter who comes, understood?" Although he gave the same instructions every day, Ye Chen could not help feeling a little worried, scaring the two with a grimace, mimicking potential kidnappers.


    "Relax, Big Brother Ye, I will protect Xiao Lan!" Xiao Jing''s tone held the firm resolution of the seven-year-old girl.


    "Hehe, Xiao Jing truly is a responsible elder sister. Then, when Big Brother is not at home, get along nicely with Xiao Lan, okay?"


    Ye Chen profoundly experienced how hard it was to raise two children in the last two months. Fortunately, Xiao Lan and Xiao Jing were both very sensible. Otherwise, he would be in dire straits.


    "If you are thirsty, there is water in the water dispenser. If you are hungry, just open the rice cooker, and there are warm dishes and rice inside. Don''t starve yourselves, alright?" After finishing breakfast, Ye Chen looked at the time. It was time to go out. Before going out, Ye Chen told the two again.


    "Got it, Big Brother Ye, stay safe." Xiao Lan and Xiao Jing waved their hands to Ye Chen, and Ye Chen could then slightly put his heart at ease, locking the door behind him.


    "Xiao Lan, let''s go watch TV."


    "Okay!"


    Turning on the TV, the lively Xiao Jing excitedly hopped onto the old black sofa and impatiently sat down.


    "...following this, we will be broadcasting a piece of news. The 511 orphanage incident that garnered the public''s close attention due to the collective escape of orphans¡­"


    The TV turned on, and the news sounded, but the moment the news anchor began to speak, Xiao Jing quickly pressed the remote control, and the TV turned off. The room fell silent.


    "The news is soo boring, let''s play a puzzle game!"


    "Alright!" Xiao Lan answered briskly and positively.


    Walking over to the paper container where they stored the puzzles, Xiao Jing retrieved a box that contained 2,000 pieces of an extra-large puzzle.


    The two little girls moved the furniture with much difficulty, clearing a sufficient amount of space on the floor for their task ahead. SHALAH! Xiao Jing overturned the box in her hands, and all the puzzle pieces tumbled loudly onto the ground, forming a small hill.


    "I''m ready, Xiao Lan. When we complete the puzzles, let''s see who pieced together the most number of pieces!" Xiao Jing confidently issued a challenge to Xiao Lan, her eyes sparkling spiritedly.


    "Alright! But I think I will definitely win Xiao Jing!" Xiao Lan''s seemingly perpetually-weak eyes flashed with an excited glint.


    "Hmph! We need to try before we know!" Xiao Jing didn''t display any weakness, and the two each animatedly began to gather a pile of jigsaw pieces to themselves and started piecing the puzzles together while adjacent to each other.


    Xiao Jing was seven years old, and Xiao Lan was six years old, but the speed of the two putting together the puzzle pieces was dazzlingly fast. Generally speaking, when putting together a jigsaw puzzle, one would usually start from the characteristic points of the puzzle image. However, these two little girls merely stared at the random piece of the puzzle in their hands. After studying it for a while, they rapidly set the piece on the floor. It was as though they had accurately determined the position where the piece belonged to and locked it into place. This was even though there was not another puzzle piece around the solitary piece.


    The pieces of jigsaw puzzle pieces of assorted colours were swiftly assembled on the floor in this manner. A massive, splendorous colourful jigsaw puzzle nearly two meters long gradually took shape!


    "Heehee, 1058. I won!" A small expression of pride appeared on Xiao Lan''s chubby and tiny face.


    "Urghhhh. Sure enough, Xiao Lan is still more awesome¡­ It''s only been two hours! This is sooo boring. Who knew how many times we pieced together this jigsaw puzzle. The location of all the pieces has already been memorized, this is sooo meaningless." Xiao Jing lay on the ground, with her limbs sprawled out, and complained in a bored voice.


    "If we play a few more times, then Big Brother would be back!"


    "Okay, let''s go again! I just don''t believe I won''t win against you!"


    Having her fighting spirit reignited, Xiao Jing animatedly jumped up from the ground.


    ...


    "Ye Chen, time for lunch!"


    At a construction site, the scorching sun shone high and bright in the sky. Ye Chen was wearing a yellow safety helmet, pushing a small cart.


    "Okay, coming."


    Stopping the movement of the cart, Ye Chen took off his helmet and wiped the sweat on his forehead.


    "You don''t have to be so diligent. The journey of life is long, and there are never-ending tasks, so you gotta take it easy. No matter how hard you work, the wages will only amount to this much anyway." A bearded, middle-aged uncle smiled and patted Ye Chen''s shoulder.


    "Hehehe, I thought at first that this punk Ye Chen would definitely run away after a few days. Although he has a good physique, his footsteps are sloppy, one look and I can tell that his body is almost on the verge of ruin. But how great it is to be young! After two months, his body has become so strong and sturdy again." Another uncle in his forties, looking at Ye Chen''s slightly tanned skin, as well as his muscular and robust body, could not help but reveal an envious look.


    More than two months ago, when this young guy came to the job site to apply for the job of a coolie, they were not optimistic about this young man, who had a decent physique but pallid skin and no strength in his steps. They have seen their fair share of young people like him, who can''t bear hardships, many disappearing without a trace after the first day.


    However, Ye Chen endured through the arduous labour, and his body recovered at a shocking speed. In just slightly more than two months, it seemed as strong as a cow.


    "Uncle Liu, you are still young." The group of people were eating lunch together. Ye Chen smiled and placated the middle-aged uncle.


    "You say he''s still young? HAHA! My housekeeper and his wife know each other quite well. When the two were gossipping, I even heard his wife complaining that he can''t even put up a decent fight at night."


    As a result, when another middle-aged uncle overheard the conversation, he snickered and chipped in evilly, causing the people around him to suddenly burst out into raucous laughter.


    "Old Qian, are you picking a fight with me?!" Uncle Liu was immediately infuriated and glared at Old Qian fiercely.


    "Cough, let''s not talk about this anymore. That game, the one called ''The Boundless World'', have you guys ever played it? It seems like it''s exploding in popularity recently. My son said that it was very fun inside, and also allowed me to take a look at the virtual environment. It''s truly not bad, playing is quite relaxing." Old Qian hurriedly changed the subject.


    Fuck me, was "The Boundless World" truly so popular? Even the workers at the construction site knew about it!


    Ye Chen listened, unable to help but sweat profusely.


    "I never played this game before, but I received some insider news from the relatives of a news reporter. You should know about the 511 orphanage incident that was trending the other day? I heard that the Director Huang not only mistreated the orphans, he even illegally imprisoned the adult orphans that should have left to help him grind for equipment within the game!"


    As soon as Old Qian mentioned this topic, another worker chipped in a hushed voice, and when Ye Chen heard it, he couldn''t help perking up his ears to listen as well.


    "Are you for real? Why didn''t the news report that? Does this game really hold so much attractiveness?"


    "I heard that the news placed a lot of pressure on the game company behind it¡­"


    ...


    "Ahh ahh, I lost again, I don''t want to play anymore!" In the living room, Xiao Jing collapsed on the floor dispiritedly again.


    "Let''s read a book. Xiao Jing, teach me some words."


    Xiao Lan quietly kept the puzzle on the ground, shaking Xiao Jing''s arm and crooned.


    "Well, okay. But that picture book is useless. I remember there was a stack of newspapers in the carton. There should be a lot of words inside that you don''t know yet."


    When Xiao Jing heard Xiao Lan''s words, she immediately regained her spirits. She ran into a corner of the room, flipping through a stack of newspapers.


    "Wow, what an old newspaper, it seems to have been kept for several years." She carried over a stack of newspapers from the carton, which was covered in a thick layer of dust.


    "Alright, I''m going to start reading. If you don''t know, you can ask me."


    "Okay!"


    "I see, it seems to be a newspaper related to games¡­ Well, it doesn''t matter, it''s all the same! Mystery! The top-ranked Mage of the Oriental Region, Dragon Soul deletes his account! The Warring Dragon Guild had just established its status as the first guild in China a few days ago. But at 9 o''clock last night, when the game was at its peak, many players found that Dragon Soul, ranked first in the Mage rankings and belonging to the core of the Warring Dragon Guild, had disappeared without a trace! Various signs indicate that the character of the Dragon Soul no longer exists. The reporter contacted the Warring Dragon Guild. The Warring Dragon Guild spokesperson said the guild was unclear about this matter!"


    "Don''t read so fast! This word, this word, and this word as well! I don''t know it."


    "Oh, okay, this is the word ''soul'', and this is¡­"


    The two little girls seriously studied the characters in the newspaper. Xiao Jing taught, and Xiao Lan diligently took in her words.


    "Is anyone inside?"


    But not long later, the voice of an unfamiliar male drifted in from outside the room, and a DUDUDU series of knocking on the door followed.


    When the two little girls heard it, they closed their mouths and looked nervously at the door.


    "Is anyone inside?" The man outside the door continued to knock on the door and ask.


    "Xiao Jing¡­" Xiao Lan looked at Xiao Jing with trepidation.


    "Don''t be afraid, listen to Big Brother! Don''t open the door, everything would be fine," Xiao Jing said in a low voice.


    "Hehehe, you see? There''s nobody! I''ve been observing this room for a few days. That young guy goes out every morning and comes back late at night. We''ll have more than enough time to ransack this entire room."


    Seeing that no one answered, the person outside the door laughed sinisterly. Furthermore, it looked like he was not alone.


    "Don''t talk nonsense! I''ll stand guard, you go in and take away all the valuable things." Another voice was mixed in, and then there was a loud series of clicking noise ensued.


    "What do we do? They are coming in!" Xiao Lan was anxious to the point that she was on the verge of tears.


    "Don''t worry, I will protect you!" Xiao Jing turned and dashed into the kitchen, bringing out a sharp kitchen chopper!

 Chapter 5：Professional Tutor

    Xiao Jing''s small black eyes were fixated on the doors of the room, her gaze burning intently. She held her breath as her hands fidgeted and grasped tightly onto her last hope, the chopper.


    KACHA!


    "Hehehe! It''s opened~!" A sinister and devilish voice chirped outside as the door creaked open.


    The moment the blond hooligan stepped through the door frame, a cold malicious glimmer came slicing in from the corner of his eye.


    SHINK!


    The bright sound of a metallic crash sounded as orange-red sparks shot from the floor. The blond hooligan was caught entirely off guard. As he stared blankly as the cut on his shoes, a blood-curdling shiver ran through his spine. Immediately, his heart raced as cold sweat collected on his skin. Disbelief was written all over his face. His eyes matched with the barely meter tall assailant in front of him. The young child had picked up her hands again. As though her previous slice had cut all thoughts of escape from his mind, the blond hooligan stood with his mouth gaped, frozen, and rooted to the ground.


    "What happened?" The back-haired hooligan immediately knew that something was off from the loud metallic crash. When he turned around, his eyes met with the attacking loli, sending horror flooding through his mind.


    "RUN!" The more mature black-haired hooligan immediately screamed with caution.


    Just as the little girl of malice chopped down again, the black-haired hooligan grabbed the blond hooligan by his collar and yanked him out of the door. Without delay, they zoomed out with their tails between their legs.


    "FUCK! Didn''t you say that there isn''t anybody in the house?" The fear and fatigue had sent them wheezing heavily.


    "How was I supposed to know? I never see them coming out in these few days¡­" Inside, the fear and the killing intent had shaken the blond hooligan down to his core.


    "Brother Cai, that little girl¡­ She was really going to kill me¡­" As his gaze traced the cut on his shoes, he could still feel the remnants of fear. If this cut had landed leftwards a little more, he would have lost half his toes.


    "Nonsense! The girl is barely out of infancy. How is not cutting you good luck? If she had hit you, then just suck it up," Brother Cai snorted.


    "No, no, I really sensed it. She had the same strong hostility and anger that could only be sensed in those crazy bastards that don''t care if they die." As he spoke, the close shave with death resurfaced in his mind, the bone-chilling shiver ran through every cell on his body. While it may be that she does not know what is heavy and light retaliation, but that murderous eyes were too sinister.


    "In any case, we were lucky. For now, let''s avoid this area and that house. I think that guy you spoke of isn''t normal," Brother Cai said after some thought.


    Hearing those words, the blond hooligan also sensed the abnormality of the man in that room.


    ...


    "What do we do? The lock is spoiled¡­"


    Within the room, the two lolis were not basking in the elation of chasing away the two thieves. Instead, they were swaying the broken door to and fro. Their despair and worried stricken faces curled up as they watched helplessly the broken door.


    "Xiao Jing, will Brother Ye abandon us?"


    "No, he won''t. Brother Ye is nice."


    They hugged their little heads and sat down on the floor, staring at the unlatched door.


    "What if Brother Ye really abandons us?"


    "No worries! I am around! I will stay with you!" Xiao Jing clenched her fist in resolve. Her lips attempted to smile, but her eyes could not hide the churning worries.


    As they wallow in perpetual worries and anxiety, seconds become minutes, and the clock ticked to 5 P.M. Ye Chen had returned to the rental apartment.


    "Is something wrong? What happened?" As he opened the door, Ye Chen could tell that the lock had spoiled. Then, his eye gazed upon the crestfallen little lolis.


    With lowered heads, the two girls mumbled the entire incident, as their eyes darted around.


    "You stupid girls. You are so small, but your mind is running wild. This isn''t even your fault!" Gently, Ye Chen smiled at the two girls and patted their heads.


    "So, Brother won''t throw us away?" Instantly, the warm pats drew a bright smile across the girls'' faces.


    "Of course not."


    "WAH! I LOVE YOU, BROTHER YE!" The confirmation lifted the burdensome worries of the little girls, releasing a peal of joyous screams.


    "But, never ever point a knife at anyone, alright?" Ye Chen never forgot to lecture the girls.


    ...


    The door lock was not entirely spoiled, just clogged up. With some tinkering, Ye Chen fixed it.


    After dinner, the two girls retreated into bed early. The entire day of baseless fears had drained all the energy out of them. As Ye Chen tucked the two girls into bed, their loving and blessed smiles warmed his heart. He sat down by the bedside and drifted away in thought.


    The dangerous incident of today had got him thinking once again.


    The rental apartment in F City was located in an area similar to the slums. There were no safety measures or security. Theft and house break-ins were a daily occurrence. He had not over-thought it as he had lived alone in the past and never really left this house. But now, things were different. The two girls had to be alone within the house while he was at work. As he thought, leaving them alone was really too reckless and dangerous.


    After these three months at the construction site, money isn''t really a big issue anymore. My body had recovered much better than expected too. I also completed my in-game mission without a hitch. If I put in some effort, earning a living through the game should not be a big issue. Decisively, Ye Chen planned to cut short his stint at the construction site.


    Should Xiao Lan and Xiao Jing not enter his life, he had planned to spend his entire life on the game. But now, with the two girls, he had to make changes to that plan.


    In the past three years, he practically did not make any revenue from the game. His spendings and earnings were approximately the same. With their entry into his life, he dropped into a financial crisis. More importantly, he also found that his formerly sturdy body had weakened by a large margin in the three years of extensive gaming. He had become extremely feeble.


    Coupled with the dire need for money, Ye Chen gritted his teeth and went for the interview at the construction site. While the work was grueling, the pay was much more than typical jobs. Additionally, the work was a gym session for Ye Chen, so it was like killing two birds with one stone.


    Having made the decision to quit his job, Ye Chen put on the gaming helmet and sunk back into the game. If he was to be unemployed, the money must come from the game. Otherwise, they would be on the fast track to starvation. For that to happen, he must quickly hit Level 30, so that he could power up his adventurer by leaps and bounds.


    ...


    The darkness of night was prime time for gamers. As Ye Chen stood along the streets of Titan Megacity, waves after waves of people were walking by.


    His first stop was a storage area. He took out some gold and the Level 10 Iron Tier Botanist Equipment he had prepared beforehand. Having equipped himself, he flagged down a horse carriage and headed straight to the Botanist Guild.


    As the name suggested, Titan Megacity was a large city. The various professions had set up their headquarters across the different regions in town. As a new player, getting lost was common. However, with just 10 gold, the horse carriage could bring the adventurer to any location faster.


    The carriage stopped in front of a marble infrastructure. Getting off, Ye Chen walked into this palace-like, greyish-white building. By the massive entrance, a thorned vine symbol was carved exquisitely. This marked the headquarters of the Botanist, the Botanist Guild.


    While the profession of a Botanist was coined by many as a "self-torturing profession" and "newbie killer," the Botanist Guild within Tian Megacity was not devoid of people. When Ye Chen entered, there were still many adventurers present. After all, the Botanist was a new and exciting profession, highly attractive to the new players. What''s more, it was recognized as a truly "late-blooming" profession.


    However, Ye Chen was crystal clear. A majority of the people would drop out of the profession before they hit the blooming stage. The very reason for the poor reputation of a "newbie killer" profession was the high fall out rate of the adventurers. While it was a fun profession, it was also a torturous process to strengthen the character.


    "Do you wish to be a Botanist, and choose me, Trousse, to be your Professional Tutor?"


    "Yes!"


    "Do you wish to be a Botanist, and choose me, Bran, to be your Professional Tutor?"


    "Yes!"


    ...


    Within the spacious hall in the Botanist Guild, several NPCs with various skills stood. Within them, a majority were tutors for the new players. Each of these tutors was repeating the same questions and sentences.


    "Now, go fight monsters and raise your level with the new skills!"


    Ye Chen followed the backs of the new adventurers. In front of him, someone had just agreed to Trausse''s terms and learned some new skills. With happiness flushed all over his face, he skipped past Ye Chen and out of the Botanist Guild.


    Right after, Ye Chen walked in front of Trousse.


    Trousse was an old man, approximately 60 years of age, clad in a deep green Botanist cloak of exceptional silky quality. His high-quality garments signified his extraordinary status. A Botanist was classified under Mages, with the linen armor as the leading equipment. For the male NPCs, their status could be seen from the color and quality of the cloaks.


    "Do you wish to be a Botanist, and choose me, Trousse, to be your Professional Tutor?" Trausse looked Ye Chen in the eye, sternly repeating the same question.


    "I wish to be a Botanist. However, I do not want you as my Professional Tutor!" Ye Chen made a daring and different decision!

 Chapter 6：Self-Torturing Profession

    Ye Chen''s unusual answer that deviated from the others made Trousse narrow his eyes slightly. It had been a long time since he had heard this answer.


    "Are you sure you don''t want to? If you choose me to be your Professional Tutor, you can learn some pre-advancement skills from me for free, and even receive well-rewarding profession-affiliated missions. If you give up this right, you will not be able to enjoy these treatments." Trousse didn''t talk too much nonsense, and merely gave a reminder.


    "I''m certain!" Ye Chen nodded.


    Many rookie adventurers didn''t know that in the Profession Guild, when an NPC asked whether to choose him as a Professional Tutor, there was another option. Instead of selecting the NPC in the Profession Guild as their mentor, they could elect to pick other NPCs as their own Professional Tutor.


    However, this was not a secret among those adventurers who entered the game two or three years ago. Two or three years ago, the majority of the adventurers answered this way when they took up a profession. Instead of choosing a Professional Tutor in their respective Profession Guild, they would rather go look for their own Professional Tutor.


    However, this situation only lasted for a while, and gradually disappeared.


    In fact, the NPCs who could recruit apprentices in the Profession Guilds had a high status amongst the other NPCs. For most adventurers, it was challenging to find mentors more advanced than the NPCs in their respective Profession Guilds. For adventurers who did not choose a mentor in the Profession Guild, in the end, most of them could only select some other lower-levelled NPC as their Professional Tutor. Else, they would be unable to level up or learn advanced skills after reaching Level 30.


    The Professional Tutor didn''t have too significant an impact on the adventurer''s growth. Finding a fantastic Professional Tutor didn''t mean that one would have access to some secret skills. Similarly, one wouldn''t have missed out on learning some skills just because one went under the tutelage of a lackluster Professional Tutor. Most of the adventurers thus focused on the independent growth of their own characters.


    However, if one could go under the mentorship of an influential Professional Tutor, then this would be akin to having a bigshot as one''s father. There were still some unique instances in the game, especially for certain missions, and when dealing with other NPCs, where the selection of Professional Tutor would come into effect.


    These effects may not be useful, but when needed, the results were often surprisingly good.


    Ye Chen knew that there was a pretty famous Botanist NPC within Titan Megacity and the method of becoming an apprentice of that NPC. This method did not have a 100% guaranteed success rate. However, by getting an influential NPC as a Professional Tutor, even though it was probably not useful for the early stages of the game, in the later stage, it was difficult to say!


    "Well, I won''t force you then." Trousse nodded and waved his hand lightly. A ray of light shrouded Ye Chen''s body.


    [System Prompt: You have become a Botanist Apprentice!]


    "Congratulations on becoming a member of the Botanist profession. I have some basic skills of the Botanist here with me. Since you are not my apprentice, you will need to pay ten gold coins to learn. Will you learn them now? If you don''t learn them, you will not be able to accept the Botanist mentor-apprentice trial mission."


    Ye Chen already made early preparations for the matter, and he nodded and paid the ten gold coins. If one did not pay gold coins at this time, then as Trousse said, one cannot accept the trial mission. Adventurers of all professions will only be officially inaugurated if they complete this trial mission. Otherwise, they will not be able to learn more advanced skills and their skill levels cannot be further upgraded.


    [System Prompt: You have learned the skill "Pre-Seeding"!]


    [System Prompt: You have learned the skill "Single Transplant"!]


    [System Prompt: You have learned the skill "Withering Light"!]


    [System Prompt: You have learned the skill "Planting: Iron-Armored Willow"!]


    After paying ten gold coins, Trousse waved his palm lightly, and Ye Chen immediately received a series of system prompts.


    "You are now a Botanist Apprentice. To prove that you are really suitable to be a Botanist, you need to complete one of the simplest trial missions," after distributing the skills, Trousse continued.


    [System Prompt: You have accepted the mission "Botanist Apprentice Trial"!]


    "Thank you, Mr Trousse." Accepting the mission, Ye Chen turned and walked out of the Botanist Guild.


    Ye Chen didn''t read much about the mission details, but he didn''t even have to look at it to guess that this so-called trial mission was just a mission to kill monsters to collect items. The trial missions of all major occupations were almost the same type, which was not difficult at all, but a little time-consuming.


    But even for the simple task of killing monsters, for a Level 10 Botanist, this task still felt rather daunting. So Ye Chen was not in a hurry to do the trial mission. He had to complete another mission first. After completing this mission, even a Level 10 Botanist could increase his output by one-third!


    Walking straight out of the Profession Guild, Ye Chen reset his attribute points after taking up the profession, and the total of 45 open attribute points was added to the Spirit attribute.


    The Spirit attribute was the most essential attribute of a Botanist. With the addition of Spirit, in addition to the standard increase of MP, Magic Critical Rate, and Magic Defense, every 10 points of Spirit added by the spiritualist could increase the Attack Power of his plants and his own Magic Attack by 1 point!


    Following that, Ye Chen went to another building in the Titan Megacity that was more majestic than the Profession Guild.


    The Hero Arena!


    The Hero Arena was located next to the enormous Central Square of the city. It was a vast gray stone building reminiscent of the ancient Roman Arena.


    The Central Square of the city was built on the foundation of neat rows of marble, and there were a few black or white pigeons hopping around on the ground. Many in-game couples like to come to this peaceful square to whisper sweet nothings to each other.


    However, in the Hero Arena next to the central square, there was always a frenzy at any time. Here, there would never be a lack of passion.


    Walking on the neat rows of marble, passing through the hopping pigeon flock, Ye Chen stopped in front of the tall stone gate leading to the Hero Arena. Beside him, stood an NPC. It was the Arena Manager, Ed.


    "Esteemed Mr. Ed, I would like to challenge the 100 Arena Victories missions." Standing in front of the sturdily-built Ed, Ye Chen stated his intentions respectfully.


    "One hundred victories? What an aspiring little guy, maybe the next hero of The Boundless Continent is you!" Ed praised loudly.


    [System Prompt: You accepted the mission "100 Arena Victories"!


    100 Victories: Achieve 100 Victories in the Arena, and receive Ed''s rewards.]


    "Thank you, Mr. Ed." Ye Chen turned around and walked along the colossal stone staircase in front of the Hero Arena leading to the Arena stage.


    "Wow, isn''t this a Botanist? Wanting to enter the Arena at such a low level, could he be asking to be abused?"


    "Haha, it would be nice if I was matched up against him."


    Two adventurers who were similarly walking towards the Arena looked at the set of Botanist equipment that Ye Chen was wearing and scoffed loudly.


    Ye Chen has changed to the Level 10 Black-Iron-grade Equipment Set. The types of equipment of each class in the game could not be worn randomly. The types of equipment of each profession had their own characteristics and were easy to distinguish.


    To most professions, Level 10 Botanists were even easier to bully than Priests.


    Ye Chen smiled, disregarding their scornful opinions, and just stepped into the Arena.


    Both the interior and exterior of the Hero Arena was similar in appearance to the ancient Roman Arena. Within the Arena was a colossal stone circular staircase, where adventurers could sit and watch the battles in the Arena stage, situated in the middle.


    Although the Hero Arena was enormous but compared with the number of adventurers, this area was simply not enough to hold the number of observers. The battles that could be observed in the Arena and watched by other adventurers were actually fairly high-level battles. Otherwise, for most adventurers'' battles, especially those between adventurers below Level 30, were played in the Virtual Arena.


    "Connect to the Virtual Arena and enter training mode." After entering the Arena, Ye Chen gave the order, and he then appeared inside a small Virtual Arena.


    In training mode, one could set the behaviour of the opposing NPC. Ye Chen directly set a wooden man who could not move and was used to test skills.


    Subsequently, Ye Chen used the Pre-Seeding skill to plant the seeds of the Iron-Armored willow tree.


    On the way to the Arena, Ye Chen purchased some seeds of the Iron-Armored Willow from the grocery store. For Botanists to summon plants to fight, they must have the seeds of corresponding skills, or even if they have learned the specific skill, they cannot summon any plants to fight.


    One minute later, a gray-black willow tree nearly two meters high, grew out from the area that Ye Chen threw down the seeds.


    Plants planted using the Pre-Seeding skill took one minute to grow, which was one of the main reasons why the Botanist profession was considered weak.


    During times of crisis, if the most crucial plants of a Botanist were not summoned in time, it meant not having any fighting capabilities. In that minute, it was enough to slaughter the Botanist who had a low HP bar and puny Defense eight or even times.


    "Single Transplant!" Ye Chen''s staff waved, and the Iron-Armored Willow appeared beside the wooden man in an instant.


    The plants grown by the Botanist were rooted in the ground and are unable to move. To move the plants, one must use the Transplant skill. Low-level Botanists only had access to the Single Transplant skill, and this skill cannot be upgraded. After each use, it could only be used after a 30 seconds interval. Only after obtaining the title of "Plant Master" could the skill cooldown be shortened and the Botanist could learn Mass Transplant.


    Iron-Armored Willow, as its name implied, was a defensive plant that does not have a high Attack Power by itself, but it could swing its two wickers to attack.


    SNAP! SNAP!


    Under Ye Chen''s commands, the Iron-Armored Willow attacked the wooden man, but the HP values leaking from the wooden man''s head left Ye Chen dumbfounded.


    The default pieces of equipment of the wooden man were set to Bronze-grade. Bronze-grade was better than the White-grade but was worse than Black-Iron grade. Ye Chen was decked in Black-Iron-grade gear, which raised his Spirit. The grown Iron-Armored Willow only managed to hit for 20 damage points. If it was after deducting the bonuses from equipment and attributes, when encountering adventurers with high Defense, he was afraid that the Iron-Armored Willow would not even break through their Defense.


    "Fuck me, this is truly a self-torturing profession."


    Silver-grade equipment for Level 10 adventurers was extremely scarce. A set of Black-Iron-grade equipment was basically the best equipment for Level 10 Botanists. Then, under the circumstances of using a set of Black-Iron-grade equipment, the output of the Botanist was still so tragic. The title of "self-torturing profession" was indeed veritable.


    "Withering Light."


    Ye Chen raised his staff and a ray of Withering Light shot towards the wooden man.


    Withering Light was the only skill that the Botanist can use to attack in the early stages without using seeds to grow plants. It was instantaneous, but the cooldown was only three seconds. Based on Ye Chen''s knowledge, most of the Botanists in the early stages relied on this very skill to sustain themselves.


    But for the Withering Light, the damage output was also a tragedy. Although it was only a Level 1 skill, and there was room for improvement, as a mage-related profession, hitting for only about 30 points of damage was really unreasonable. A mage of any other profession with Bronze-grade equipment could casually hit for forty or fifty damage points.


    If Ye Chen were to enter the Arena in this state and encounter melee adventurers, considering his skills, slowly whittling their health to zero was not a problem. But if he were to face off against any magic-related professions, victory would require strenuous efforts on his part, while there was a real danger of losing to the other party at any time.


    After all, for magic-related professions, early low-level skills could be locked to auto-aim. As long as people bombarded his area, they could easily take care of him, and no amount of expertise was enough to evade them.


    "However, hehehe."

 Chapter 7：Dagger Wielding Botanist

    After confirming that the Botanist was a far more headache-inducing profession than he had imagined, Ye Chen did not rush to begin his Arena Battles. Instead, he turned and headed for the Titan Megacity''s Trade Area.


    "Looking for Level 50 Premium Gold-Tier Knight Armour. Just PM me, I have all the gold you need!"


    "Selling Level 20 potions cheaply. Around 25 Poison Resistance, slightly lower than the store''s antidote but cheaper as well. If you want it, quickly, PM me now!"


    ...


    The Trade Area was booming with life and energy. Ye Chen shopped for around half an hour and spent 30 gold on a full set of equipment. Then, he returned to the Arena.


    Putting on his new equipment, Ye Chen''s appearance took a 180-degree change. His profession as a Botanist was wholly unrecognizable. Scanning through his equipment, one would realize that not a single piece was made for mages. Furthermore, the weapon he held in his hands was not a staff, but a short dagger.


    Sharp Dagger (Bronze): General Equipment, Physical Attack 7~11, Magic Attack 8~12, Strength +3, Minimum Level 10.


    Within the game, some general equipment existed. These items had weaker attributes than the profession-locked equipment at the same level. However, the biggest perk was that it was usable by all professions. The sharp dagger was one of these items. Additionally, Ye Chen had changed all of his equipment to general equipment intending to boost this physical attack and strength.


    "A Botanist using Physical Attacks¡­ I bet I am the only one ever¡­ hehe." Brandishing his sharp dagger in front of him, Ye Chen smirked at that thought.


    "Connect to the Virtual Arena, begin random battles!" Ye Chen said the command, as excitement surged through his veins. He could not wait to see the other adventurers'' expression when this dagger-wielding Botanist sliced at them.


    One hundred victories, this mission was much like the other Arena missions. To prevent cheating, the participants were not allowed to choose their opponent, and the matching process was decided by the system.


    Soon, the view in front of Ye Chen blurred, and in the next instant, he was in a mountainous region.


    "The Arena battle begins in 5 seconds, please make your preparations. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, START!"


    As the countdown ended, Ye Chen could finally regain control of his body. Immediately, he planted an Iron-Armored Willow seed before leisurely sauntering towards the map center.


    For Arena Battles, a typical 1 vs 1 battle would only last for five minutes. Should both parties be unable to kill each other within this timespan, the system would weigh the various components of the battle before deciding the victor. The chances of a tie were nonexistent.


    There were two attributes considered: the time spent in the center of the map and the amount of damage dealt on the opponent. Between the two, the first factor was more critical. As such, many adventurers rushed at breakneck speed to the center once the battle began. Should the adventurer not enter the center of the map by the end of the third minute, it would be an automatic loss.


    Despite that, Ye Chen was taking his own sweet time as he strolled to the center region. He knew that his opponent would be zooming over or even had reached by now. After all, arriving first and not being killed would definitely secure their victory after five minutes. However, Ye Chen was not in a hurry. The Iron-Armored Willow needed time to grow, reaching too early would not place the tide in his favor.


    After a good long minute, Ye Chen finally appeared in the center region.


    Another Warrior Adventurer had long been waiting there. He was standing guard in the center of a large clearing. A sense of familiarity sprouted within both of them as their gazes met. With his superior memory, Ye Chen immediately recognized him.


    "Wow, Brother, your wish came true." Ye Chen laughed at the Warrior.


    This Warrior was none other than the man who mocked Ye Chen by the stairwell at the Hero''s Arena. While one can''t avoid one''s enemies, Ye Chen had not expected to meet this man who called him a "pathetic Botanist" in his first match.


    "Oh? Aren''t you the Botanist? What''s up with the messed up equipment?" As expected, the Warrior recognized him and gave him the condescending scowl again.


    "Yeah, I''m a Botanist."


    "Then why are your equipment, neither fish nor fowl?" The Warrior''s interest was piqued. Ye Chen''s equipment was just Level 10, and all of it was Bronze Equipment, barely better than the lowest quality White Equipment.


    "More convenient for killing. A Botanist is more swag with this stuff." Ye Chen smirked.


    "Fuck you! Who will believe such nonsense?" The Warrior''s in-game name was "Illicit Relations." As he heard Ye Chen''s words and saw that feeble and frail appearance, he naturally assumed that Ye Chen was lying. Without hesitation, he leaped into action, mercilessly sweeping his blade at Ye Chen.


    What? He dodged it?


    Illicit Relations was stunned. As though Ye Chen was a prophet, he sidestepped the moment the attack started. By the time the slash landed, he was outside the attacking range. What was more shocking for Illicit Relations was the counterattack. Right after Ye Chen ducked out of range, he circled around with marvelous footwork and closed back in. With that odd-looking dagger, he cleanly sliced across.


    13!


    ...


    Two minutes later, the battle had ended. Engulfed in gloom and dissatisfaction, Illicit Relations returned to the Arena.


    "HAHA! Illicit, I won again! How ''bout ya?"


    Illicit Relation''s Mage companion skipped across and chirped in elation.


    "Lost."


    "Oh? What profession is your opponent? Very strong?" That reply took the Mage by surprise. Illicit Relation was quite a powerful ranker within the Arena.


    "A Botanist."


    "Wh...What? Botanist?!!" The Mage''s eyes widened three-folds. He doubted his ears. After all, weak was an understatement for a low-level Botanist, and that was a well-known fact. This was true unless the Botanist had Godly equipment.


    "That fella is the one we met at the entrance. He should still be in his PKs. Search his user and watch his battles, you will understand. His name is Page of Lingering Dust."


    Illicit Relations did not say anything else and searched up Ye Chen''s username within the viewing rooms.


    Piqued, the Mage also quickly searched through the viewing rooms. As expected, Page of Lingering Dust was in another battle.


    The battle had just begun, barely two minutes had passed. Then, the Mage turned to Illicit Relations as his facial muscles twitched in sync. "This guy¡­ is a Botanist?"


    "Duh? Didn''t you see the Iron-Armored Willow?" Illicit Relations snapped.


    Well, it was not the Mage''s fault for questioning his eyes. Even Illicit Relations could not believe that Ye Chen was a Botanist.


    Soon after, the two of them gave up entering the virtual Arena. Battle after battle, they stood in the viewing room to watch all of Ye Chen''s matches.


    "What the heck? He''s on a 40 match streak!"


    Initially, the Botanist was clad in a bunch of random general equipment charging at his enemy professionally with a dagger. Then, in the next instant, he was clad in the cloth armor of a Botanist. With a swing of his staff, a ray of Withering Light flashed across. As pain and damage ravaged the escaping opponent, the face of the spectating Mage grimaced in shock and second-hand pain.


    After one and a half hours, the duo had watched 40 consecutive matches. Ye Chen''s raw power and skill had them mentally prostrate themselves in front of this dagger-wielding Botanist.


    Inhuman predictive abilities! Speedy and accurate Instantaneous Equipment Shifts! Once he closes in, death awaits!


    "FUCK! What the heck is this guy doing as a Botanist? He will be peerless as an Assassin!"


    Forty matches in, the spectators within the Virtual Room were no longer just the two of them. There were close to thirty other adventurers watching this Botanist who had won yet another match with almost full health. They cursed as they watched on.


    "Running with your tail between your legs after being slashed by a Botanist''s dagger? Shame! Utter shame on you!"


    Alas, all of them present were the victims and losers who suffered a crushing defeat under that same dagger. Under the sharp blade coupled with the Iron-Armored Willow and Withering Light, they were chopped mercilessly until they ran. Yet, running was not an option. The moment that fact dawned on them, they were either already butchered and dismembered or powdered into dust under the Withering Light.


    Stricken by shame and disbelief, they had all stormed into his room in a fit of fury. Who knew that they would end up speechless in the face of Ye Chen''s raw strength?


    As they watched on, they could feel their mind go blank. All words to describe this scene had left.


    A dagger-wielding Botanist was unprecedented. This was a being that should not exist in this same world as them. The whole crowd could not place their fingers on this. Why would an adventurer of this prowess choose this headache and pain-inducing profession? Did he really just wish to enjoy the adrenaline of choosing despair on others with a dagger?


    Losing to a Botanist in close combat¡­ While he was extraordinarily powerful, it was shameful. Everyone was mortified, traumatized even. They could not live with this shame. Deep down, they yearned for someone to avenge them. Alas, things were not going well. Match after match, the only thing that changed was the increasing number of consecutive win streaks that Ye Chen had. Within a short three minutes, all of the potions ran out, and the opponents got butchered or powdered.


    Within the Arena, the potions were different from the outside ones. Adventurers within Level 10 to 20 were only given 10 HP and MP potions. Once they were used up, there were no more.


    "He won again! Ninety win streak! Oh gods above and below, is there really no one to clean up this man for us?" As the opponent fell to the ground once again, a peal of cries echoed.


    At this point in time, the virtual viewing room was packed with more than 400 spectators. Commonly, an arena better of Level 10 Adventurers were neglected, and no news would be spread. To accumulate such numbers in a low-level arena was incredible.


    A voice murmured silently within the noisy channel, "I''ve called the Queen of the Night."


    Suddenly, all chatters seemed to be sucked into a void.


    "That Queen that set the more than 200 in streak? That Queen of the Night?" Within the channel, another voice softly whispered within the silence.

 Chapter 8：Spatial-Class Mage

    "Yes," the quiet voice sounded again.


    "Haha, now there is a good show in store for us!"


    Watching the room, a sudden excited clamor broke out.


    There was a perverted Botanist who was about to hit a hundred consecutive win streak with a dagger, and a more perverted guy who had maintained a winning streak of more than two hundred battles. This battle was really worth seeing!


    "Who is the Queen of the Night? What is her profession?"


    For the spectators within the viewing gallery, many adventurers were obviously very foreign to this username and couldn''t help but ask curiously.


    "Hey, wait a minute, and you will find out! You will not be disappointed!"


    But those adventurers in the know gave a mysterious laugh.


    "This Page of Lingering Dust is using random challenges, so even though the Queen of the Night is matched up against him, it is not a definite thing that she would win," seeing no one answering his question, the man said unconvinced.


    "Stupid, ignorant! Adventurers with such a long winning streak will definitely be able to meet within three games inside the Arena. Especially now that Page of Lingering Dust is at ninety wins in a row, as long as the Queen of the Night comes online to the Arena, there is a 100% chance that they will meet!" the veteran player replied angrily.


    Although the Random Challenge System in the Arena randomly selected opponents for adventurers, specific rules applied to this system. Outstanding adventurers with excellent challenge records would often face opponents with similarly stellar records.


    Everyone was waiting with bated anticipation, and during the waiting period, many adventurers called for their close acquaintances to come and see the fun. Most of these adventurers were stuck in between Level 10 and Level 20, specializing in the battling within the Arena and polishing their challenge records. Since they got wind of such an exciting battle, even if they were levelling in the wild, they all hurried back at breakneck speed, afraid of missing the fight.


    In the Arena, unless it was the two opposing parties themselves, else for spectators like them, who were watching in the viewing gallery, they were unable to record videos of other people''s battles. This translated to the fact means that they will never see the battle again if they missed it now.


    There were more and more spectators watching the room, soon reaching a view count of seven or eight hundred people.


    "Fuck! With so many people watching the room in the Level 10 Arena, even if it is not unprecedented, it would be in the top ten in the history of the game!"


    Looking at the continuously refreshing notifications in the channel of the room, some old-birds couldn''t help feeling emotional for a while, and this simultaneously raised their expectations for this battle.


    Under the expectant gaze of everyone in the room, Ye Chen had won two consecutive games, setting a record of 92 successive victories!


    "Why isn''t the Queen of the Night coming yet? Could it be that she is afraid?"


    After waiting for two games, some people couldn''t help but fret, worrying that even if they were to continue waiting, the Queen of the Night might not come, and this perverted Botanist would be gone.


    "She is here. If there is no accident, then in the next game, the two will play against each other," the quiet voice spoke with firm determination.


    "A new round has started, it really is the Queen of the Night!" some adventurers shouted excitedly right after the quiet voice spoke.


    "Blade, how do you feel about this Botanist?" Watching the ongoing proceedings within the room, Iron-Blooded Bunny asked the Bloodthirsty Blade, who was standing beside her, his voice very clear and sweet.


    She and Bloodthirsty Blade were the core elite members of the Iron-Blooded Guild. Their levels were approaching the max level of 120. Under normal circumstances, they would not appear in a low-level Arena like this. However, a while back, the two overheard people speaking fervently about how in the low-level Level 10 Arena, a perverted Botanist appeared. There was even a high likelihood that he would face off the Queen of the Night, so they all came over to satisfy their brimming curiosity.


    When the Queen of the Night was almost about to hit her two hundred consecutive victories, the two had rushed over upon hearing the news. But to think, it didn''t take a long time for this low-level Arena to have yet another powerful figure appearing within its midst.


    Being able to win dozens of games in a row was definitely a manifestation of real strength. Still, for those who could win a hundred games in a row, they could basically be regarded as monster-level figures!


    "Judging from the two battles just now, this Page of Lingering Dust is undoubtedly very formidable. I think he used to be a melee-type technical player before. Otherwise, his reaction would not be so swift and instantaneous." Bloodthirsty Blade''s cold voice seemed to cut through the air. Although he had a name that seemed crazy and bloody, in actuality, Bloodthirsty Blade was a relatively calm person.


    After the two arrived, they only watched two rounds of battles, but they already had a clearer understanding of the Botanist who used a dagger to cut people.


    "I think so. The strange thing is why did he choose the Botanist? Preparing two sets of equipment and alternating between physical daMage and the Botanist Attack to produce output is indeed not bad. But now he is only taking advantage of the fact that other adventurers are still low in level and have few skills in their arsenal. When reaching more advanced levels, he''ll definitely be unable to keep up this kind of playstyle. With such an amazing skill set, he should understand this fact too. So, why did he choose to play a Botanist?...Well, forget it, it''s others'' matter on how they like to play. Blade, do you think it''s possible to recruit him into the guild? When his level becomes higher, he will definitely become a formidable figure!"


    "Depends on luck," Bloodthirsty Blade lightly said in response.


    Iron-Blooded Bunny could only smile bitterly. When she discovered the Queen of the Night before, she contacted the Queen of the Night excitedly, expressing her willingness to recruit her to become a core elite, yet the Queen of the Night refused her in no unclear terms.


    "It''s starting! It''s starting! When they arrive, they will walk to the central area of the map!" An excited voice on the channel sounded, and the two refocused their concentration back to the match.


    The Arena map was a flat green grassland, and Ye Chen and the Queen of the Night were gradually approaching each other.


    "Spatial-Type Mage?"


    Looking far away at the familiar, gleaming pitch-black profession-specific clothing of the Queen of the Night, Ye Chen''s face slightly twisted.


    Spatial-Type Mage was a profession that could compete with the Botanist and was also known as a "self-torturing profession" and "newbie killer" profession.


    For Mage professions of any other element, many skills had the ability to lock-on and track the enemy, but for the Spatial-Type Mage profession, practically none of its skills had the auto-aim function. If the Spatial-Type Mage wanted to attack his target, he must obtain the specific spatial coordinates of the target before launching an attack.


    There were two ways to get the spatial coordinates of the target. The first and easiest method was to automatically calculate the target''s coordinates using the auxiliary guidance system of the Spatial-Type Mage profession. However, the auxiliary system did not give the coordinates of the target in an instant but required at least one second of calculation time to get the coordinates of the target. And as long as the target deviated from his original position, the calculation result was directly invalidated.


    As for the second method, the adventurer could directly deduce the coordinates of the target. In this case, within a few meters of the target, according to the terrain, one or several coordinates would appear randomly. Based on these coordinates, the player can guess the specific coordinates of the target and then launch an attack.


    Hence, although the Spatial-Type Mage had the highest Skill Attack and destructive power among several Mage systems, few adventurers played the Spatial-Type Mage. With the auxiliary system that comes with the Spatial-Type Mage profession, killing some monsters was okay, but it was basically a joke to use in PK.


    However, if one were to choose to guess the target coordinates by themself, then one would have to be extremely sensitive towards spatial coordinates, which was definitely not something that ordinary adventurers could do. And even if they had this ability, playing this profession was simply too tiring, and few people could bear it for a long time. With this ability, it was much better to pick other professions and have an easier time.


    When Ye Chen looked at the Queen of the Night in the distance, she had a tall and slender frame, with a head of flowing, black hair and Queen of the Night similarly looked back at Ye Chen, the Botanist.


    Ye Chen didn''t know her yet, but she already knew that Ye Chen was an expert, and especially rushed over.


    The two rapidly approached each other, and in the blink of an eye, Ye Chen had entered the attack range of the Queen of the Night.


    Although Ye Chen also had Withering Light to cover his long-range attack capabilities, and could be considered half a long-range attacker, compared with the orthodox magic-related professions like a Mage, especially the Spatial-Type Mage, his attack range was much smaller.


    However, Ye Chen didn''t pay much attention to it. When fighting against a Spatial-Type Mage, constant movements were the biggest weapon in countering them!


    After all, just by relying on the guidance system of the Spatial-Type Mage profession, it was basically impossible to lock-on to his position. As for the Spatial-Type Mage personally deducing the coordinates, without a certain threshold of strength, it was impossible to achieve!


    SHUAH!


    Ye Chen continued to run forward, but in a flash, a black ball of light suddenly tore through space and pierced through his chest. Ye Chen instantly lost more than fifty HP at once!

 Chapter 9：Maniac

    What an expert!


    A Spatial-Type Mage who was able to hit an always-moving target was extremely rare within the game. Across the entire Boundless World, there were probably less than 100 of such talent, and they were all National Gaming Treasures.


    However, this was perplexing. Why would such a god-tier Spatial-Type Mage appear in this mediocre low-level Arena?


    But, now was not the time for such questions!


    He was already at a 92-win streak. Just 8 more and he would achieve the 100 win streak. He could not afford more matches than that. Adventurers were supplied with free potions only for their first 10 matches of the day. After which, every battle would cost him 10 silver coins to purchase the medicines. With his current poverty, these potions were not a luxury he could afford!


    "HAHA! The Queen of the Night is so damn amazing. One shot, one hit! At this rate, the Page of Lingering Dust would be dead before he can even get close to our Queen!


    The spectating adventurers cheered thunderously in the viewing room. They were all hyped up by the sniping of the Queen of the Night. Amongst them, there were a large number of die-hard fans of the Queen present. The tiny and sharp face of hers, topped with her ebony black ponytail flowing down her twine-thin waist. Most of all, her ice-cold expression coupled with her flawlessly sculpted figure, enchanted the hearts of several players.


    On the other hand, many were fueled by the rage and shame of being cut down by a dagger-wielding Botanist. The embarrassment of losing to a mage at swordfight had turned into anger, driving them to support the Queen in her conquest of stopping Ye Chen''s winning streak.


    "Wow, Spatial-Type Mages are indeed powerful. Even when Page of Lingering Dust changed back to his Botanist Equipment, he still took so much damage even with the Magic Defense. If it was other professions, that damage would be unimaginable." Seeing the severe damage, several praises resounded in the room.


    It was shocking and perhaps terrifying that the Queen could cause such high damage on Ye Chen, who was a Botanist, a profession which prided themselves in Magic Defense. Should the opponent be other professions, they should count themselves lucky to walk away alive.


    Now then, what would Page of Lingering Dust do? Would it really play out to be as they expected, dying before he could get close to the Queen?


    The eyes of the spectators glued onto Ye Chen.


    On the field, Ye Chen''s feet had not stopped for a single moment. After he confirmed that the Queen was a real expert Spatial-type Mage, he immediately downed a bottle of HP Potion.


    Facing the high DPS of a Spatial-type Mage, Ye Chen was cautious about retaining a full HP bar. If the Queen landed a critical hit on him, that mediocre 100+ HP would be leading to an instant death.


    Subsequently, Ye Chen''s eyes narrowed onto the Queen of the Night, clad in a sombre black robe.


    Needless to say, the Spatial-type Mage was fearsome. Being able to set accurate coordinates for her attacks had multiplied the powers of a Spatial-type Mage. Should she have the AOE skills of a high-level Spatial-type Mage, there was no room for hiding.


    Too bad, she was only barely above Level 10. With her limited skill set, she was no threat to Ye Chen even with her elusive and powerful assaults.


    It''s coming! Spatial Totem Pole!


    With his eyes focused on the Queen, Ye Chen''s body flickered. In an instant, his forward-moving trajectory changed, and he sidestepped to the left. In a flash, he flickered. By his side, a pillar of black light shot skywards in the spot he would have been in.


    "He dodged it! How?" That dodge set off a series of wild exclamations from the spectators. A Spatial-type Mage''s attacks were traceless. When close combatants fought with the Queen, none of them could get close to her. The only reason for the end of her streak was in a high DPS battle. At that time, her opponent got lucky and landed a series of critical hits, ending her long winning streak.


    "Luck! He must have gotten lucky!" Countless adventurers screamed. Other than a lucky coincidence, they could not accept another truth.


    Iron-Blooded Bunny exchanged glances with Bloodthirsty Blade at that sight. The surprise on their faces concentrated.


    "Spatial Fissure! What the¡­? He dodged it again!!"


    As the heated chatter ensued, the Queen had launched a second attack, the Spatial Fissure. In their early stages, Spatial-type Mages only could use two skills, Spatial Totem Pole and Spatial Rupture. The latter was the move that hit Ye Chen previously. The Spatial-type Mage would conjure a black ball of light from a crack in space, completely undetectable. Yet, the move that caused a considerable blood loss for Ye Chen had unbelievably missed this time.


    The moment that the Queen launched the Spatial Rupture, the thousands of eyes watching witnessed it again, Ye Chen moved before the assault, as though he looked into the future. He sidestepped from his position and trajectory barely a second before, causing the Queen to miss.


    SHUAH!


    Immediately, a giant pillar of black light erupted bare millimeters beside Ye Chen!


    Again, it was not a poor aiming by the Queen, but smart changes in movement by Ye Chen!


    The first time, Ye Chen got lucky. The second was coincidental. But what about the third?


    They had to admit it. Page of Lingering Dust was a master of prediction to the extent of predicting even a Spatial-type Mage''s attacks.


    The room was devoid of noise as the spectators held in the breaths and swallowed their dissatisfaction for Ye Chen.


    "This guy¡­ Simply a maniac¡­" the adventurers admitted in an undertone.


    At the same time, shock overwhelmed Iron-Blooded Bunny and Bloodthirsty Blade. They were considered adventurers with high-level skills. They were also players with considerable fame within their own guild. However, should they be the one facing these elusive attacks from the Queen, their evasion rate would not be more than 50%. That was the main driving factor for their recruitment of the Queen.


    Now, a person who could entirely predict the Queen''s movement had appeared and even effectively dodge all her attacks. How could they not be surprised?


    "When the battle ends, immediately contact him!" Bloodthirsty Blade immediately instructed Iron-Blooded Bunny.


    If they did not recruit such genius, they would be wasting their life away!


    .....


    The consecutive attacks by the Queen of the Night and Ye Chen''s prophetic dodges had brought the battle''s tension to its peak.


    With the several attacks by the Queen, Ye Chen had closed in substantially. At his current position, he could launch attacks with the Withering Light. However, he chose not to do so.


    When he activated the Withering Light, he could no doubt hit the Queen. However, an expert like her would not let such a golden opportunity slip by.


    A double-edged opportunity would definitely leave Ye Chen with huge and unsustainable losses. On the contrary, closing up into the Queen would seize absolute victory for him. Looking at his progress, that would not be of any difficulty.


    SHUAH! 87!


    "AH!"


    When Ye Chen sensed an impending attack, he immediately shifted his trajectory, attempting to close in as usual. Who knew, his face ran right into a giant pillar of black light at the moment he attempted to circle around to the Queen of the Night. A terrifying 87 HP was butchered off his HP bar in that one instant.


    Loud cries and cheers boomed from the spectators as they saw the turning tables.


    They had initially believed that this match would be the victory of Page of Lingering Dust. But now, it seemed like the Queen of the Night had finally decided to put in her all.


    "Interesting!"


    From that, Ye Chen knew that the Queen had decrypted his way of reading her attacks. Previously, he could tell when she would attack from the subtle changes in her expression. Having sensed that, she no longer positioned her attacks at where Ye Chen was. Instead, she played his trick against him, causing him to run into the attacks.


    "Well done! But¡­" Ye Chen''s movement abruptly stalled, as though a car had jammed its emergency brakes.


    At the same time, the Spatial rupture exploded by Ye Chen''s top left corner. Unfortunately, it missed.


    "Looks like she is basing it off intelligent guesses. Afterall, it''s either left or right."


    Without delay, Ye Chen bulleted straight at the Queen.


    From her last attack, Ye Chen knew that she had not wholly deciphered his movement read technique. The Spatial Totem Pillar was only successful as he always chose the top left or top right as his escape. As long as she launched her attacks there, she had a 50% success rate.


    Before, Ye Chen heavily relied on the top left or right to avoid the attacks, as he was lazy. He wanted to get to the Queen of the Night as soon as possible. Now that since the other party wished to snipe him in these two directions, he had to move more.


    "The Queen of the Night is about to lose."


    Watching from the viewing room, Bloodthirsty Blade observed Ye Chen''s evasive movements in all directions irregularly. The Queen of the Night''s attacks missed more and more, but Ye Chen''s distance from her had shrunk considerably.


    At first, he and Iron-Blooded Bunny had thought that the Queen was oppressive. Now, it seemed to them that she could not even hold a candle to the Botanist. After all, he hadn''t attacked a single time since the beginning.


    "Who is this Botanist? How can such a powerful player be unknown?" Iron-Blooded Bunny also saw it. As she watched the Level 10 Botanist, she couldn''t help but ask.


    "The Boundless World is huge. It''s only normal. Now.. how are we going to recruit him¡­" Bloodthirsty Blade lamented.


    Just moments ago, the duo was hyped with surging adrenaline, wishing to recruit this expert at all cost. Now, they felt how overwhelmingly powerful this man was. While their guild had substantial fame, they really were not confident of recruiting such an expert. After all, what benefits and remuneration would they give to retain him? With his capabilities, he could easily fit into a much better guild.


    "This¡­" Iron-Blooded Bunny too was stumped.


    "Page of Lingering Dust has entered the close combat region of the Queen!"


    Instantly, the spectators roared in excitement.

 Chapter 10： 100-Match Winning Streak!

    "Single Transplant!"


    In the process of the Queen of the Night''s continuous attacks, although she kept retreating and wanted to pull away from Ye Chen''s position, Ye Chen still miraculously closed the distance between them to less than three meters. Ye Chen transplanted the Iron-Armored Willow without hesitation, blocking the front of the Queen of the Night.


    Although the Iron-Armored Willow was low in Attack and could not even move by itself despite being the primary means of attack for a Botanist, instead it had a broader attack range to compensate for its shortcomings. Once transplanted, the Iron-Armored Willow immediately waved its two dark green wickers, launching a ferocious assault against the Queen of the Night.


    Two values displaying more than twenty points of damage rose from the head of the Queen of the Night. Like most adventurers who choose the Spatial-Type Mage, the Queen of the Night was also pursuing the thrill of having high Magic Attack. However, under such circumstances, her Defense was clearly not very low, showing that the equipment she adorned was obviously quite high-quality.


    "Withering Light."


    The Queen of the Night stubbornly resisted against the attack of the Iron-Armored Willow and wanted to continue her retreat. However, this time with Ling Chen''s staff falling down in one fell swoop, a ray of Withered Light smashed down on her position. The Queen of the Night took another thirty over points of damage, and due to the impact from Ye Chen''s attack, her body, which was already blown back from the assault of the Iron-Armored Willow, trembled slightly.


    After two waves of attacks, the Queen of the Night had lost more than 80 HP. There was a red overlay around the Queen of the Night''s body, and she hurriedly drank an HP recovery potion. However! Ye Chen''s equipment changed suddenly and became a general-purpose melee set!


    "The Queen of the Night is done for."


    In the viewing gallery, those adventurers who had watched Ye Chen''s dozens of battles knew that the Queen of the Night was about to lose. This battle had a clear victor.


    That Page of Lingering Dust was wearing a general-purpose melee set. Though the Physical Attack was not very high, once entangled by him, unless it were soldiers and assassins with close-range melee skills and enough ability to force him to switch to other professions, there was no need to even think about escape. The Queen of the Night, a Spatial-Type Mage, had no melee capabilities at all. In the face of this kind of pervert who grew even more brutal in close-range melee battles, there was not even the slightest glimpse at victory.


    Within the Arena, the Queen of the Night did not admit defeat but tried her best to shake off Ye Chen''s pursuit, but her efforts were only in vain.


    "She''s actually a rookie player?" Ye Chen had a weird expression on his face as he chased after the Queen of the Night.


    A while ago, Ye Chen had guessed that she might only just started playing "The Boundless World", judging from his close examination of the Queen of the Night''s mechanics. At this time, after closing in and engaging in melee combat, Ye Chen fully confirmed this fact.


    The Queen of the Night should be a rookie player who had an extremely acute sense for spatial coordinates and blessed with intuitive calculation ability. Otherwise, adventurers with such high skills would not behave so clumsily in close-quarter combat. For those genuinely expert adventurers, although they cannot entirely shake off his pursuit, temporarily escaping and buying time to restore HP shouldn''t be a problem.


    [System Prompt: The Battle is over, Congratulations on your Victory!]


    "The Queen of the Night really lost, and she lost so miserably."


    When Ye Chen received the system prompt proclaiming his victory, the viewing gallery was deathly silent.


    Although the Queen of the Night caused no small amount of damage to Page of Lingering Dust, everyone could see that Page of Lingering Dust held an absolute advantage throughout the game. Even if they were to be rematched, the Queen of the Night would undoubtedly lose.


    "Awesome!"


    Although many fans of Queen of the Night became downcasted because of her loss, more adventurers were already wholly convinced of Ye Chen''s ability.


    "There are still seven matches!"


    On the other side, after Ye Chen won against the Queen of the Night, she seemed to not take her loss to heart and started a new round again.


    It took him an average of three minutes to achieve victory in a single match. After more than 90 consecutive battles, Ye Chen had been fighting in the Arena for more than four hours. But with the appearance of the Queen of the Night, it uplifted his spirit and reignited his will to battle. Now he only needed to fight for another seven games, and he could be liberated from the Arena.


    There was no suspense in the next seven battles, Ye Chen successfully completed a 100-Match winning streak.


    "Another 100-match winning streak legend is born."


    Those adventurers inside the viewing gallery who were watching Ye Chen''s fights sighed emotionally. Only these adventurers, who were often embroiled in the Arena matches, know what a gargantuan task it was to achieve a 100-Match winning streak, let alone it was a Botanist who achieved it.


    "He couldn''t be thinking of continuing his challenge, right?"


    "He seemed to have left."


    When the player searched for Ye Chen''s in-game name, they failed to find the corresponding virtual Arena room.


    ...


    [System Prompt: Congratulations on your 100-Match winning streak!]


    [System Prompt: The mission "100 Victories" is completed!]


    After achieving a 100-Match winning streak, two system prompts repeatedly sounded in Ye Chen''s ears. Ye Chen could then let out a sigh of relief, leaving the virtual Arena, and walked to Ed outside the Hero Arena.


    "Page of Lingering Dust?"


    Ye Chen had just walked out of the gates leading to the Hero Arena and headed down the stairs. However, he was suddenly ambushed by a male and female pair, who jumped in his way, blocking his advance.


    "Do you two have something for me?"


    Ye Chen swept a quick glance at the two, but there was no impression of them in his mind.


    Both Bloodthirsty Blade and Iron-Blooded Bunny were secretly rejoicing at their luck. One should know that the Hero Arenas in major cities in the Oriental Region were connected through the Virtual Arena. When they tried to contact Ye Chen halfway, they found that Ye Chen the punk had already blocked the remote friend application and could only patiently wait at the gates of the Arena. There were so many Hero Arenas in the Oriental Region, and they encountered Ye Chen as soon as they started waiting. So, it could be said that their luck could definitely be said to be great.


    "We are the core elites of the Iron-Blooded Guild located within Titan Megacity. We just watched this Bro''s fight, and we really admire Bro''s ability. I don''t know if Bro is willing to join the Iron-Blooded Guild. As long as the Bro agrees, after entering the guild, we definitely cultivate you as one of our top elites!" Iron-Blooded Bunny quickly explained her intentions.


    Although she felt that it was rather unlikely to recruit Ye Chen, she couldn''t just give up without doing anything.


    "Sorry, but I have no intention of joining any guilds."


    Joining a guild indeed provided tremendous benefits for low-level adventurers. At least when running Instance Dungeons, one did not worry about unable to find a team, especially for professions like the Botanist, which is rejected by most teams.


    However, Ye Chen did not have any intentions of joining any guilds. After receiving the "100-Victory" mission rewards, even if his efficiency before hitting Level 30 was not as good as those highly-efficient level grinding teams, but compared with the average populace, it was not any worse!


    "It doesn''t matter. Whenever Bro has the intentions of joining a guild, why not consider our Iron-Blooded Guild first? The door of our Iron-Blooded Guild will always be open for you!" Bloodthirsty Blade interjected at this time and sent a "close friend" request to Ye Chen. To prevent celebrities from being harassed, remote friend applications could be blocked, but the close friend application function could not be blocked.


    They didn''t intend to persuade Ye Chen at once. For this kind of expert who was definitely not a newcomer, giving empty promises and wanting to convince him at once was a fool''s dream.


    Ye Chen received the close friend application and accepted it without much thought.


    In the game, networking was a vital resource. Even if Ye Chen had no intention of joining the Iron-Blooded Guild at all, it was much more convenient to solve any matters of conflict or contradiction, by having connections with a senior executive.


    "Okay, we''ll talk about it then."


    After adding Bloodthirsty Blade and Iron-Blooded Bunny as friends, Ye Chen turned to say goodbye and walked in front of the Arena Manager Ed.


    "Haha, I, Ed, am indeed good at picking out talents! You actually achieved the glorious record of a 100-Match winning streak! For a promising young man like you, I, Ed, will never be stingy! I must give you a generous reward!" Ye Chen approached, and Ed immediately broke into cheerful, boisterous laughter.


    [System Prompt: You have completed the mission "100 Victories"!]


    [System Prompt: You have been guided by Ed, and your ability as a Botanist has been improved. You can now plant one more plant to fight. The current number of plants that can be planted is 2!]


    [System Prompt: Due to your excellent performance in the Arena, Ed has given you a special reward! You got the skill book "Planting: Durian Bomb Tree"!]


    It was actually the skill "Durian Bomb Tree"?!


    Even if it was Ye Chen, when he saw this unexpected reward, he couldn''t help but widen his eyes in surprise!

 Chapter 11： Durian Bomb Tree

    Ye Chen earned the reward of planting a second plant during battle after completing the "100-match Win Streak" Mission. There were no surprises here, this was a household fact within the community of Botanists. However, Ye Chen had never expected to be rewarded with the Durian Bomb Tree after his 100-match winning streak.


    Durian Bomb Tree was an uber-rare skill within the Boundless World. Across the countless Botanists, Ye Chen had only seen one adventurer own this skill. He never expected that this skill was an exclusive reward of the "100-match Win Streak" Mission!


    During his research into this profession, Ye Chen had poured countless nights and energy into researching the source of the Durian Bomb Tree. As long as a Botanist possessed this skill, their tumultuous and arduous training process would ease, and their leveling speed boosted by leaps and bounds. With this skill, the Botanist could become even more potent than Mages! Without a doubt, this skill was Ye Chen''s most coveted skill!


    Unfortunately, despite the astronomical time he had shed for this, he could not discover its origins. After all, he had only seen this Durian Bomb Tree used by one man. Its presence and fame within the game were close to non-existent. Even the Botanists had trouble finding out the source, much less him, who was still an assassin.


    He never expected this ultimate beginner skill, which he craved would appear in his hands at this time and location!


    "HAHAHA! What a windfall!"


    After an extended daze, the reality of the blessing finally sunk in. Joy and excitement burst within Ye Chen''s heart as he leaped and skipped about in elation.


    It was always the most unexpected occasions that brought the greatest happiness. Now, Ye Chen felt joy comparable to when he collected the 999 fragments of the Stone of Eternity after three long years of grueling resilience and torture. Surging with excitement, Ye Chen''s fingers tapped rapidly, preparing to learn this fantastic skill.


    [System Notice: You have yet to finish the Botanist Apprentice Trial. You are unable to learn more skills.]


    Like the skies open their floodgates above him, the system immediately doused the raging flames of adrenaline in his heart.


    "Huh. As I thought, I can''t learn this. I need to quickly finish this damn trial mission."


    Somewhere deep down, Ye Chen knew this was going to happen. Still, inevitable disappointment lingered in his mind.


    The Botanist''s Apprentice Trial was to kill 1000 Kobolds (Humanoid Dogs) in the Kobold Forest right outside of Titan Megacity. Additionally, collect 100 pieces of Kobold Bones. Even if Ye Chen had received Ed''s guidance and could now utilize two plants in combat, finishing this trial with the pathetic DPS of the Iron-Armoured Willow will take some time. If only he could use the Durian Bomb Tree, blasting 1000 of these dogs would be easier than walking in the park.


    However, Ed''s rewards did not stop at just the skills. Ed also gifted him with some seeds and the opportunity to exchange for more. Being able to exchange the Arena Points for more seeds was a seriously valuable benefit.


    "Oh right, here are 50 Durian Bomb Tree seeds. It''s a gift. It would be impossible to plant trees without seeds, after all. Should you need more in the future, just come to me. You can change your arena points for these seeds."


    [System Notice: You have received 50 Durian Bomb Tree seeds.]


    The seeds that the Botanists required were easily attainable in the General Store or Botanist Guild in the early stages. However, from the mid-stage to the later stages, the rarity and value of the higher-tier seeds skyrocketed. The better the skill, the rarer the seeds. In fact, a vast majority of the seeds were only produced by a high-level Landscaper. Even if the Botanist had remarkable and lethal skills, he was worthless without the required seeds. This was another main reason which caused the Botanist to be infamous as a torturous profession.


    As Ye Chen''s eyes gazed at Ed, he laughed wryly. A Durian Bomb Tree seed would come at a sky-high cost of 50 Arena points. The Arena points were only attainable through battles in the Arena. A victory would award the adventurer with 3 points, and a loss would deduct 1 point. With the points as currency, exclusive items and equipment were available for trade with Ed. Despite the rarity of the items, little adventurers choose to grind their hours in the Arena for them. With simple calculations, most could tell that the time wasted in the Arena was nowhere justified by the quality of equipment obtained.


    In terms of the Durian Bomb Tree seed, one seed was equivalent to Ye Chen''s 17 victories in the Arena. In other words, close to an hour''s effort. With his 5 hour effort, he clinched 100 consecutive wins. While it sounded like much, that miraculous deed would only bring him 6 seeds.


    Moreover, 6 seeds were possible only because of his speedy victories and 100% win rate. For regular adventurers, a seed would have taken them up to 3 hours in the Arena. Even if the Durian Bomb Tree brought about easier leveling, its efficiency was highly discounted.


    The astronomical amount of time required in the Arena was not sustainable even for Ye Chen.


    What''s more, the regular Arena Battles were practically useless for Ye Chen''s leveling at this point in time. Like today, he would not have fooled around for 2 to 3 hours in this place if not to increase the number of plants that could be planted,


    "Mr. Ed, may I know where the cultivation method for the Durian Bomb Tree seed could be obtained?"


    The cultivation method of the Durian Bomb Tree seeds was critical. It would be sustenance as he progressed up the levels.


    Alas, life would never be so easy. Mr. Ed shook his head and said, "My seeds are provided by the producers. I also do not know the full cultivation details."


    Ye Chen nodded in understanding. He was only trying his luck and knew that it was impossible to get the method from Ed. There was no way the system would allow him to get the cultivation method with such ease. Otherwise, the seeds sold by Mr. Ed would practically be a mere display.


    ...


    The outskirts of Titan Megacity, by the east of Kobold Forest.


    The Kobolds regularly spawned here. Being only Level 13, they were perfect fodder for beginner Level 10 adventurers. This was especially so as within the Boundless World, Level Suppression existed. Within 3 levels, the suppression was minimal. However, from 4 levels and wider, the stronger opponent would gain a 10% evasion bonus for every level difference!


    When an adventurer was 4 levels higher than his opponent, he would gain an additional 10% bonus on top of his basic evasion. Should the gap extend to 10 levels, the higher level adventurer, relative to the low-level adventurer, would be able to attain the highest 80% evasion rate. When faced with those high-level Boss, the evasion rate formed by level suppression could even reach an astounding 95%!


    After the calculations, most adventurers would not fight monsters that were more than 3 levels above them even if they were farming for experience. Weighing the HP and DPS, together with the Level Suppression, the most efficient and effective method for gaining experience would be to kill monsters within a 3 level difference.


    Not only that, but the Kobold Forest was also the location of a majority of beginner missions. Coupled with the ideal level of their experience points fodder, adventurers were hustling about every corner of the region. When Ye Chen arrived, countless were already around, chasing and hunting for their prey.


    The Kobolds had an appearance akin to that of an Orc. They, too, wielded their weapons, which skillfully crafted from bones. The most significant difference was their heads. Kobolds had the head of a dog. However, they had the same ghastly appearance, foul to the core.


    The sun''s rays were peeking through the thick foliage above Ye Chen as he strolled into the Kobold Forest. He did not stop on the outsides of the forest. Instead, he stepped on the yellowed rustling carpet and swerved between the tall yellowing trees and headed in a beeline into the depths of the woods.


    There were too many parties in the outer areas sharing the limited numbers of monsters. While he could control two plants at a go now, the limitations of immobile plants were still huge. Before Ye Chen learned Group Transplantation and could coordinate with the Single Transplantation, fighting with other adventurers for monsters would be a considerable difficulty.


    Needless to say, the fastest way to complete the trial was by joining a party. When capitalizing on the multiplied combined DPS, more monsters could be killed in a shorter amount of time. The newbies were scorned and ostracized against the profession of a Botanist, and Ye Chen knew that fact too well. Although he was confident that his DPS would not be lower than any player here, he could not be bothered to attempt to join a party. He would only get eyes of contempt in return. Anyway, the night was still young. He just had to spend more time, and the trial task could be completed.


    As he approached the depths of the forest, the density of adventurers gradually decreased. Once he got in further, he would begin the trial.


    "Brother! Over here! Do you want to team up? Our party happens to have one man offline."


    Ye Chen passed by another party on his right. One of the Warriors saw Ye Chen and greeted him.


    "Botanist? They don''t even have any damage! No, thanks!" However, another adventurer burst out immediately after recognizing Ye Chen''s profession. This somewhat handsome young mage, Chu Bailong''s face curled up with contempt.


    "What''s the matter? Bringing him along would not kill us, right? Also, Botanists do have damage, just slightly lower for now. Moreover, we are this deep in, how are we gonna fight anyone else?" Ridges formed on the Warrior''s forehead.


    This Chu Bailong is really, really narrow-minded.


    "I called another friend. He''s coming now," Chu Bailong insisted. Whether or not it was true, no one knew.


    "Thanks, but I think I won''t trouble you guys." Politely, Ye Chen thanked them and continued moving deeper. He had no intention of joining such a boisterous party.


    "Hey! HEY! Xiao Ai! Why did you quit suddenly?"


    Not long after Ye Chen turned away, the Warrior suddenly shouted as he turned to the silent and shy priestess.

 Chapter 12： Loli Priestess

    The rest of the team looked at the Loli Priestess.


    "Well¡­ Come to think of it, I still have something to do, and I will be going offline in a few minutes. You should call more people over." The Loli Priestess looked up at the sky. She seemed to struggle to wrack her brains, before suddenly clapping her palm together violently, giving an explanation as though suddenly enlightened.


    The faces of the several people were black, and even a fool could tell that this was an excuse that she had just painstakingly come up with.


    "Then I''ll be going. Everyone, good luck in killing monsters!" The Loli Priestess clenched her tiny fists and punched them into the air, giving an adorable cheer, before hugging her big sandalwood staff and happily skipping away.


    "Fuck! Without a Priest, how do we continue hunting?" The Warrior angrily kicked the tree beside him.


    In the Boundless World, a Priest was an essential profession. As long as the Priest was not a beginner, he basically would not need to worry about the formation of a team. An outstanding Priest was a prized commodity that the guilds of various sizes would actively strive to recruit.


    Although there were various medicines in the game that can restore HP, the price of these medicines had always been high, and almost all these medicines would result in resistance to the drug. For example, the HP recovery potion used for Level 10 sold in the system store had the following description: "After use, restore 20 HP per second for 10 seconds. The cooldown of the potion is 30 seconds and increases resistance by 30 points."


    The meaning of drug resistance was straightforward, which was to make players resistant to the effects of potions. Within a day, when the resistance reached a certain level, the potion would not have any effects.


    If the player was not equipped with specialized equipment that increased the upper limit of drug resistance, under normal circumstances, within a day, the upper limit of the potion''s drug resistance was merely 1000 points. Take the level 10 HP recovery potion sold in the system store. Within a day, only 33 bottles could be used, so the quantity was quite restrictive.


    Of course, if it was the other types of HP recovery potions, they could still be used. After all, the maximum resistance of the potions that each player can use every day was 3000 points. For example, if the resistance of the Level 20 HP recovery potion has reached 1000. But if the drug resistance of the Level 10 HP recovery agent was not full yet, you could still use the Level 10 HP recovery potions. However, for the players who far surpassed these levels, they obviously have to choose to do so begrudgingly.


    Although there were many Potion Masters in the game, some even produced potions with a lower drug resistance raising effect than the ones sold in the system store. However, generally, they still increased drug resistance by around 20 to 25 points. Without a Priest and just downing bottles of potions for recovery was akin to trying to use a cup of water to put out a spreading wildfire.


    Without potions, one could only sit on the ground and meditate to recover. Although the speed of meditation and recovery could still be considered rather fast, it simply could not be compared with the presence of a Priest.


    "I''m going too, you can call one more person over!" After the Warrior scolded angrily, he also withdrew from the team.


    There were no Knights in the team, and now also Priest-less, no amount of potions was enough. Moreover, the Warrior had no good impression of Chu Bailong. If he hadn''t thought that it was just another night of grinding and he just had to bear with it, he would have long left.


    Now that even the Loli Priestess had left, it was even more pointless staying on the team.


    After withdrawing from the team, the Warrior directly used the Town Return Scroll, leaving the remaining four party members.


    "What the hell can four people even do? We''re leaving as well." Of the remaining four, the other two glared at Chu Bailong with looks of dissatisfaction and directly left the team.


    "Brother Long, what should we do now, do we go back to the city and find another team?" Of the remaining two people, one of them was obviously a friend of Chu Bailong, and he could only ask helplessly.


    Chu Bailong''s small pale face twitched slightly, and a chilling glint appeared in his eyes.


    "No! Go and kill that bitch!" Chu Bailong looked in the direction of the Loli Priestess leaving. If it weren''t for her, he wouldn''t need to face the others'' displeasure.


    The other Mage sighed slightly, as though he knew things would turn out like this, but he could only go along with it.


    "Big Brother, wait! Party with me."


    Ye Chen hadn''t gone too far a distance before the Loli Priestess caught up.


    Ye Chen turned around and recognized that she was the Priest in the team just now, and asked strangely, "What''s wrong, weren''t you in that team? How come you came to find me?"


    "I don''t like that guy. It''s uncomfortable to even watch him. Big Brother, you have no party, that''s so pitiful! Hence, the brimming-with-affection Xiao Ai, which is me, has decided to help Big Brother. How is it, don''t you feel very touched?" The Loli Priestess wrinkled her tiny nose, then her lively eyes flashed with excitement, and she laughed boisterously.


    "Well, it is very touching. Come, what is your in-game name? I''ll party with you." Ye Chen smiled. Although he had met many interesting people in the game over the past few years, he did not expect to encounter such an interesting loli here.


    "Bai Xiao Ai."


    Ye Chen nodded and gave her a team invitation.


    Although a Priest also had no damage output, with one around, the plants planted by Ye Chen would not have to worry about dying, and he could save a lot of time to complete his mission.


    As for having one more person to share experience, Ye Chen didn''t care at all. After completing the apprentice trial mission and learning the Durian Bomb Tree skill, levelling was just a trivial matter. It was more important to quickly achieve the mission now.


    "Very good, the adulterous pair are together, saving us time! Giant Mountain, kill the two together!"


    Ye Chen and Xiao Ai had just formed a team, and Chu Bailong chased from behind. Seeing the two coming together, Chu Bailong harrumphed coldly. If he had to pick a culprit, he always thought it was the Botanist in front of him. If he didn''t pass by, the team would never be disbanded!


    "No problem." Giant Mountain, who was standing next to him, shrugged his shoulders slightly. He knew the character of Chu Bailong best. He knew whatever he said at this time would only be in vain. If he wasn''t careful, he might even accidentally redirect his anger to himself.


    "Attack, kill the Priest first, then we slowly cook the Botanist," Chu Bailong said. Both of them lowered their staves in one fell swoop, each person sending a fireball barreling towards Xiao Ai.


    Woosh!


    The two secretly launched an attack from behind. The fireballs roared, the light in the woods slightly distorted. Ye Chen''s eyes twitched slightly, and he made a sharp, abrupt turn. At the instant he saw the two fireballs, his foot moved sideways, blocking the pathway of the two fireballs.


    -37! -39!


    Two fireballs slammed and burst on Ye Chen''s body, causing more than two damage values of over thirty to rise above his head.


    "Fuck! This Botanist sure reacts quickly!"


    Although the sneak attack was successful, it hit an entirely different target, and Chu Bailong couldn''t help cursing angrily. He knew that Xiao Ai''s equipment was not very good, and aiming for Xiao Ai would result in higher damage.


    "Be careful, don''t let down your guard. Try to replenish my HP while protecting yourself."


    Ye Chen also saw Xiao Ai''s equipment were rather standard, thus deciding to help her resist the two magic attacks. If Xiao Ai were to receive the fireballs, he was afraid that nearly half of her HP would be knocked off.


    Although a Priest''s Magic Defense was relatively high, it was under the prerequisite that they had the corresponding equipment quality to keep up. Xiao Ai''s equipment was only average. Even if she had allocated all her attribute points to raising her Spirit, her Magic Defense was at most equivalent to a well-equipped player.


    "Okay." Xiao Ai nodded, understanding clearly her role in this battle, and her staff was swiftly swung down in Ye Chen''s direction. A strange light enveloped his body, and his HP immediately recovered by 50 points.


    Ye Chen could not help secretly marvel when he saw it. Although the Priest''s healing would have the system''s guidance in locking onto the target, it was only restricted to slow-moving targets. If the Priest wanted to heal the target while it was engaged in high-speed movement, he would need extremely acute judgment. In fact, Xiao Ai was able to accurately replenish his HP while he was rapidly approaching Chu Bailong and Giant Mountain. Thus, it could be seen that Xiao Ai did not only have a cute look but was actually a genuinely competent Priest.


    After his HP was successively restored, Ye Chen''s threw aside his notion of drinking an HP potion.


    "What is this Botanist running over to us, is he looking for death? No matter, Giant Mountain, kill this guy first!"


    Chu Bailong didn''t know what Ye Chen was thinking by running towards them. However, he was still infuriated over the fact that Ye Chen blocked their attacks and hollered to Giant Mountain.


    The two men once again rose their staves, wanting to launch another attack, but at this time, several shadowy figures appeared around the two people, and the several cold light blades of a dagger flashed!


    Several damage values floated above their heads at practically the same time. Chu Bailong and Giant Mountain were instantly killed by these Assassins!


    "Haha, you two are fortunate. If it weren''t for us, you two would have been killed."


    There were a total of six Assassin players, the exact number to form one team. Several of them were leaning over to pick up the items dropped by Chu Bailong and Giant Mountain.


    "Thank you." Ye Chen knew that the real purpose they killed Chu Bailong was not to help them while saving him and Xiao Ai was just an afterthought.


    The reason was straightforward. In the Boundless World, the PK rules between players were different from the traditional games. As long as the level difference between players did not exceed five levels, one could attack at will, and their crime value would not rise.


    As long as the level allowed for it, an active intention to kill others did not increase one''s crime value. But if the party that actively initiated the attack was killed before the end of the aggro state, a piece of equipment from the backpack would have a guaranteed chance of dropping. Furthermore, the chances of items dropping would be much higher than usual.


    Chu Bailong''s pieces of equipment were quite good. When he actively initiated an attack, he was spotted by the team of Assassins passing by here. Of course, the Assassin team would not hesitate to kill them. After all, who knew how many monsters they had to kill to grind out a single decent piece of equipment.


    However, Ye Chen still politely thanked them. Otherwise, if they really end up fighting, he would have to waste many potions and time.


    "We''re going."


    After several Assassins had finished collecting the dropped loot, they continued to head for their original destination and vanished from Ye Chen and Xiao Ai''s eyes.


    "Big Brother Dust, they are so weird. They should all be Level 15, right? Their levels are so advanced, so what did they assemble a whole team of Assassins to do in the Kobold Forest?" Xiao Ai asked.


    "I estimate that the Kobold Leader is about to respawn." Ye Chen stared deep into the Kobold Forest.

 Chapter 13：Beside The Boss

    "Boss?" Xiao Ai''s eyes glimmered with excitement.


    "Yes. It''s a lower level Elite Boss. Every week, this Boss would respawn within the Kobold Forest, with each respawn being two to five hours later than the last. Most likely, this team of Assassins is here to hunt this Boss." Ye Chen nodded and explained. As he looked at her, cold sweat formed on his forehead. This cute little girl was nothing like her appearance. This innocence she wore was a fraud. She would most likely pounce head first onto the Kobold Leader the moment she saw it.


    "Ah! I see¡­" Xiao Ai''s expression was sorrowful as she pouted. But, it could not be helped. Searching for the Kobold Leader in this massive forest was anything but simple.


    "Let''s leave aside the Boss and get out of here first. Seeing how petty those two Mages are, they must be recruiting members to come back for us now." With Chu Bailong''s narrow-mindedness, he would definitely not let this death slide so easily.


    When Chu Bailong attacked, the Assassins seized the opportunity to rip him of his equipment. Within moments, he was dead. Worse still, he did not even catch a glimpse of the usernames of the Assassins. Without a target for revenge, Ye Chen and Xiao Ai would undoubtedly become the scapegoat for his hatred.


    Ye Chen and Xiao Ai swerved to the other end of the Kobold Forest in caution. At the same time, Chu Bailong revived. The instant he revived, a tower of boiling anger erupted from Chu Bailong as he bellowed through the adventurer''s message board.


    "Sister, I got murdered! You have to avenge me!"


    "Hmph! Scum! As useless as ever! Didn''t you say that you would dominate the world with your own independent strength? What happened to show us your true colors? Just one day, and you come crying to me again? Looks like this is the extent of your strength, womanizing worthless trash!"


    In another Instance Dungeon, a lady received Chu Bailong''s cry for emergency help. Crimson Rose was a bewitching beauty within the game. Ice-cold frost flushed through her face as she read the plea from her brother, then she mocked scornfully.


    "I even tore down all my pride to come to you! You just need to tell me one thing. Are you helping or not!" Chu Bailong snapped.


    "No matter how worthless a scumbag you are, you are still my brother. Of course, Sister will help you. Now, tell me how many people are there in the enemy camp. Don''t you dare hide anything. Otherwise, don''t think about me helping you ever again." Crimson Rose was stern and solemn in her warning.


    "Sister, I knew it. You are the best!"


    Despite Crimson Rose giving him an extra-harsh lashing, Chu Bailong did not feel unhappy or rebellious. Compared to Crimson Rose, he was indeed not even worth being called trash.


    "Quit the nonsense, and talk!" Crimson Rose''s patience was nearly at her limit.


    "It is like this¡­" As detailed as he could, Chu Bailong described the incident without hiding a single thing.


    "Hmph, you truly live up to the name of trash. You asked for it! I will not activate the Crimson Blood Guild to help you at all¡­"


    "Sister, you ¡­ you agreed¡­" Chu Bailong screamed in anger.


    "Shut up!" Crimson Rose yelled back, "Let me finish your spineless ass!"


    All of Chu Bailong''s complaints were shoved back down his throat with that single yell.


    "If this incident spreads out, it would not be good for our Guild''s reputation. So, not a single guild member will be helping you. But, I do know some people who are in this ''revenge'' industry. According to your intel, the enemies are six Assassins, one Botanist, and one Priestess. I will hire two teams to assist you. You have three hours, whether or not you find your enemies and get your revenge, it''s wholly up to you."


    "Thank you, Sister!" Chu Bailong expressed his thanks while a shrewd, devilish smirk extended across his face.


    "Cut that crap! Just don''t cause trouble for me anymore! That man, Jack of All Trades, will add you as a friend and contact you. Keep yourself in the city and wait!"


    "Alright." Excitedly, Chu Bailong stood by the revival spot and waited. But soon, the conversation he just had sprouted back into his mind. He realized how weak and pathetic he had acted. Uncontrollably, the rebelliousness within him had been revived.


    "Hmph! You watch out. If I ever climb above you, I will marry you to an ugly old dude into a faraway land!"


    Far away, the gorgeous Crimson Rose sighed under her breath. Immediately, she linked up with Jack of All Trades.


    "Oh wow, is this the prettiest Rose? What do you need from me?"


    On the other end of the world, a brawny and rugged man answered. The instant Crimson Rose appeared on his message board, the twine-thin waist, seductive red dress, and well-endowed chest surfaced in his mind again. Lecherously, his fingers fidgeted as he wiped the corners of his lips.


    "Cut your excessive flattery. Of course, I need your help. I want two low-level teams to help my brother kill some people."


    "Your brother?"


    At the request, all sorts of possibilities broke out in Jack of All Trades'' mind. This was the perfect, God-given opportunity to get his hands on this enchanting woman.


    "Leave it to me. I will handle this personally!" Slamming his fist onto his chest, he reassured Crimson Rose. After getting the details, he flew to Titan Megacity to meet his client.


    ...


    "All right, here should be far enough. They should not be able to find us here."


    Within the Kobold Forest, Ye Chen had brought Xiao Ai to a secluded spot.


    "Wow, what''s that giant ferocious monster?"


    Before Ye Chen could begin his hunt, Xiao Ai pointed her finger at a towering ghastly beast. The beast was colossal, roaring furiously as it stared diagonally into the sky.


    "Fucking hell¡­" Turning his head, the curses of disbelief could not be kept in any longer as sweat collected on his head.


    That beast was not just any beast. It was the only Boss across the entire Kobold Forest, the Kobold Leader! The Kobold Leader did not have a fixed spawn point, causing a need for the Assassin party to enter the forest, combing every corner for this giant creature. However, under normal circumstances, it would spawn in the deeper regions of the woods. Places like this location where Ye Chen and Xiao Ai were at were not generally chosen as the spawn location. Yet, the impossible became a reality. Their luck was off the charts.


    Ye Chen looked down at his equipment. Then, his eyes rolled.


    The Kobold Boss was Level 15. Leaving aside the level suppression, Boss skills, and DPS, just the Boss''s Defense was already a massive headache. Be it him, or the Iron Armored Willowed would never do enough to shatter the Boss''s defense. Moreover, Xiao Ai was a Priestess, which also meant that the two could only stand far away and admire its disgusting ugliness.


    "WHOAA¡­ the Boss¡­ Kobold Leader¡­"


    Before Ye Chen could finish speaking, he had already noticed that Xiao Ai''s eyes were shimmering. She could not help but inch forward subconsciously as she looked on at the beast.


    "We can''t kill it. Let''s not waste our time and our life."


    Cold sweat burst forth the moment Ye Chen saw the blinded excitement in the little loli. He was seriously worried that this small girl would jump in recklessly to fight. Even if her attacks could not break the defense, she would be the target of the Boss''s aggression under this circumstance without anyone to hold the aggression. With the trash-tier attributes of her equipment, she probably would not even last a single hit.


    "Oh man¡­. I really wanna pat that furry head¡­ What a shame¡­" Thankfully she was not entirely blinded. She lamented at her spot.


    On the other hand, Ye Chen did not see it as much of a loss. The Kobold Leader was only a Level 15 Elite Boss. Even if the loot was the best, it was not that great.


    "Do you have friends with a similar level? Get them to bring some people, and we can fight."


    "Nope, let''s just leave the Boss alone. Whatever, with a Boss beside us, killing the Kobolds would be more satisfying."


    Once again, the peculiar girl set off another wave of worries within Ye Chen.


    However, claiming that Ye Chen had absolutely no interest in the Boss would be fake news. As a gamer, no one would be indifferent to a Boss, especially when right beside it. With this location being very isolated, camping here while completing the trial here was the right decision. Should he finish the trial before anyone arrived, he could learn the Durian Bomb Tree. Then, fighting the Boss would no longer be an impossible task.


    "Alright, let us begin hunting then. Just keep healing my plants, but watch your MP too. If there are little monsters and you have excess MP, you can use the Holy Bullet. However, don''t draw aggression."


    Ye Chen was unsure if this common sense in the game was something she possessed after the time spent with Xiao Ai. Judging from this little loli''s reaction to a Boss, she was a newbie without a doubt. As a precaution, he warned her entirely again.


    "Alright!" Chirpily, she nodded and waved her staff around.


    Seeing that, Ye Chen blasted the Withering Light onto the nearby Kobold. As expected, the Kobold brandished its bone mallet and rushed over menacingly. Seeing the start of the battle, Xiao Ai did not hold back as well. A glowing yellow bullet blasted through the air and slammed face-first onto the Kobold. However, the damage done was little, pitiful even.


    Just as the Kobold was going to close in, Ye Chen transplanted his Iron-Armored Willow. When the first entered the Kobold Forest, he had planted the trees by the edge of the forest.


    When other adventurers saw the trees of a Botanist, no one would court trouble and attack them. To the system, attacking the plants were likened to initiating a battle with the Botanist. Should other adventurers come across the idiotic prank, they could seize the opportunity and get a 100% equipment drop. Several adventurers had learned the lesson the hard way when they poked some fun at the Botanist.


    A Level 13 Kobold only had 400 HP. With two people, killing it was still considered fast. Within another 30 seconds, Ye Chen transplanted his second Iron-Armored Willow. Now, there were two Iron-Armored Willows present.


    "WOW! Brother Dust, you can plant two trees?" Seeing the second transplant surprised the little loli Priestess.


    "Yup spent some time getting 100 consecutive victories in the arena."


    "Gosh, that long grueling hours must have been painful. I know another beginner Botanist. He also attempted this disgustingly tough mission. I heard he did not even win a single time after 10 matches at the arena." Xiao Ai''s eyes glowed with admiration as she imagined the effort and resilience Ye Chen needed to get the 100 victories in the arena.


    "Er¡­ yeah. I spent¡­ some time." Seeing the admiration and empathy, Ye Chen could not break the news of his little effort and the huge benefit he received.


    With the extra Iron-Armored Willow, the progress leaped by several folds.


    Botanists faced various kinds of hardships in battle. The plants on the ground were immobile until a skill was used. However, that also brought advantages. When the time of a plant spent rooted to one spot lengthened, the speed of the plant''s automatic regeneration would speed up. Even in continuous combat, the regeneration was visible to the naked eye. The more advanced the plants were, the more obvious the regeneration.


    However, for this lowest-level Iron-Armored Willow, the recovery effect was minimal even at the maximum. If not for Xiao Ai''s constant assistance in healing, Ye Chen would need to let the Iron-Armored Willow rest for a while for every few monsters killed to restore HP.


    "Whoa! The monster dropped loot!" Xiao Ai''s sharp eyes caught the sparkle of monster loot when the Kobold was killed by the Iron-Armored Willow and excitedly exclaimed.

 Chapter 14：The Badass Legendary Necklace

    Ye Chen was standing right next to the equipment. He picked it up, and tossed it towards Xiao Ai after sweeping a glance.


    "Your luck is not bad. It''s an Apprentice Priest''s bracers. It''s yours, go put it on."


    It was part of the Apprentice Priest set, Level 10 Bronze-grade equipment, and also known as Apprentice Set. Of course, other than the name and appearance of the complete set of equipment resembling an equipment set, this profession-specific "Apprentice Set" did not actually come with the bonuses of an equipment set. However, as the attributes of individual pieces were the best compared to similarly-levelled Bronze-grade equipment, even matching up to some common Black-Iron-grade equipment, it was quite popular among low-level adventurers.


    However, as far as Ye Chen knew, most of the profession-specific Apprentice pieces of equipment were dropped from elite mobs. The chance of ordinary mobs dropping them as loot was rather minuscule. They had only defeated a few trash mobs before one dropped, so their luck could be said to be quite good.


    "Wow, it adds five extra attribute points to Spirit. It''s so much better than my White-grade bracers. Xiao Ai glanced at it and happily equipped the equipment.


    The two continued to clearly mobs, but not long after, the Kobold monsters dropped another piece of equipment. Although it was just White-grade, the equipment in the game did not drop so easily. If one''s luck was terrible, even after defeating hundreds of monsters, he might not be able to loot a single piece of equipment.


    In addition to equipment, Ye Chen found that the drop rate of copper coins was also much higher than he had expected.


    Monsters dropping loot was naturally an exciting thing. Ye Chen looked at these ugly Kobolds who kept dropping items and also felt them a lot more pleasing to the eye.


    "Fuck! What the hell is it today? It''s another Apprentice Priest equipment." After killing for a while more, Ye Chen picked up a piece of equipment on the ground, and finally couldn''t help cursing out loudly.


    From the time the two started hunting, only a total of fewer than 150 monsters were killed. However, seven pieces of equipment dropped, two of which were still excellent Apprentice Priest equipment. With typical item drop rates, this was practically impossible, and Ye Chen had to wonder if the system had a bug.


    Xiao Ai smiled and accepted the new piece of equipment, and the two continued to hunt monsters. It didn''t take long for Ye Chen to pick up yet a piece of equipment again, and he felt an uncontrollable impulse to faint!


    "Fuck your Grandma, this is simply going against the Heavens! It was another Apprentice equipment, but this time it''s for a Botanist!"


    "Big Brother Dust, I think it''s related to this necklace¡­" Xiao Ai also noticed that something was a bit strange, and then posted out the attributes of a necklace on the team channel.


    Looking at the equipment details sent by Xiao Ai, Ye Chen couldn''t help but stare goggle-eyed!


    Blessing of the White Angel''s Necklace (Legendary): Already bound to an adventurer, equippable by the Priest profession. This necklace has undergone a powerful state of blessing, and the original attributes were temporarily suppressed. From the time of obtaining this necklace, even if the necklace is placed in the inventory, the blessing would still be in effect before the duration is over. In the Blessed state, the chances of items and money dropping when the user or his teammates kills a monster are significantly increased. But the more people in the team, the smaller the Blessed effect. The Blessed effect is valid for the first 5000 monsters. When the Blessed effect disappears, the necklace will revert back to its original attributes. The number of times the current Blessed effect has been activated: 688/5000.


    Ye Chen believed that he was well-informed, but this was the first time he had seen such a fantastic piece of equipment!


    "Where did it come from¡­? Well, it doesn''t matter if you don''t want to say it. I was just a little curious." Ye Chen couldn''t help himself. This was no ordinary piece of equipment, but a legendary equipment that would leave countless adventurers green with jealousy. For Xiao Ai, a newbie to the game, how did she possibly get her hands on this legendary equipment?


    Although the attribute of this necklace shining with holy silver light was unknown, Ye Chen knew that the attribute of this necklace would definitely be exceptionally excellent. He had seen many legendary equipment times in the past, but never one blessed by such a powerful blessing that it would cover the original attribute. If one were to tell him that the unique attribute of the necklace was ordinary, Ye Chen would never believe it!


    "It''s okay even if I tell you. Anyway, even if I said it, I think no one would be able to get it again." Xiao Ai didn''t mind at all. She didn''t have much idea about the equipment. She used to wear this necklace while going along Chu Bailong and others to form a team to hunt monsters. However, it didn''t display any effects, and she even thought the necklace was a scam.


    "When I was in Novice Village, I went to the game forum to find a quest guide, and then I saw a post saying that if I drown in the sea for two or three hours, I can learn the Diving skill," Xiao Ai thought for a while and mused wistfully.


    "That''s definitely a lie¡­ Wait¡­ Don''t tell me you actually did it¡­" Ye Chen looked at Xiao Ai speechlessly. As long as she looked at the responses of the other adventurers below the post, she would definitely find that it was a troll post.


    "Haha¡­ Isn''t Novice Village just a small island, surrounded by the sea? So, I jumped into the sea, wanting to learn the Diving skill, but I got washed away by the sea! T.T"


    Ye Chen heard it and couldn''t help sweating buckets. Most of the time, the only result awaiting someone swept away by the ocean beside the Novice Village was to drown and die.


    "I thought that I was done for, but then a massive piece of wood floated from the sea. I held on to the wood and drifted for another half a day, arriving at another deserted island. On the island, I found that there were many very high-level monsters on the shore. But when these monsters saw me, they all ignored me, and I walked all the way up to a small valley. There was an old granny NPC in the valley, who seemed to have fainted on the ground. I gave her some water, and when she woke up, she asked me to find food for her."


    That worked as well...?! Ye Chen was really left at a loss for words. This was truly the textbook example of the Miraculous Encounter system. Other than seeing it being mentioned on the forum, Ye Chen had really never seen anyone around him relying on pure dumb luck to trigger a Miraculous Encounter event.


    "After feeding her, she said that she was injured and asked me to help treat her. The skill I learned in Novice Village was healing, so I used the skill to help her replenish HP. But the old granny''s HP was so strange! I only added 1 point of HP after one treatment. I labored for a long time, and her blood only increased by a teensy-weensy bit! The old granny got annoyed when she saw this, so she sent me to gather a herb, wanting to rely on refining medicine to treat her injuries."


    "So you agreed, and came back after gathering the herb?" As Ye Chen asked, he couldn''t help but sigh.


    Xiao Ai''s luck truly left one flabbergasted. As the skills learned in Novice Village belonged to the Practice-type and were only to get a feel for the skill, the effects of the skills usually only applied within Novice Village. Outside of Novice Village, no matter what skill it was, the effect would only become 1 point. That was to say, if it was another Priest, who had chosen the profession, using a healing skill to treat the NPC, it would only take a short time for the old granny NPC''s injuries to be cured.


    Given Ye Chen''s understanding of the pain-in-the-arse, seemingly pointless missions within the game, he had no doubt that if the damage to the NPC was immediately cured, the next herb-picking mission would not be triggered. The quest chain would just end there.


    "No, a colossal scorpion was guarding the area where I was supposed to gather the herbs. When it saw me from a distance, it immediately glared over, and I was too scared to approach. But I quickly found out that this scorpion was located at the bottom of a cliff, so I ran to the top of the cliff and smashed it with stones¡­"


    "And you smashed it to death?" Ye Chen found her words a little unbelievable. In theory, monsters would not be hurt by this.


    "It''s not that simple." Xiao Ai scrunched her small face. "At first, I tossed several rocks, but they didn''t cause even a single point of damage to it. After the bastard was smashed, it raised its giant hook-shaped tail to threaten me. Of course, I got angry at this sight, and I declared war on this stupid scorpion. I relentlessly smashed it with rocks, and unknowingly I used up all the rocks on the top of the cliff. When I threw down the last boulder, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the ugly scorpion was actually smashed into a big hole by the boulder and died!"


    As Xiao Ai spoke up to this point, as though remembering the unbelievable appearance of the scorpion being killed, she boisterously chuckled while clutching her stomach.


    When Ye Chen heard this, he was beyond the point of speechlessness. This couldn''t even be described as luck anymore. For any other person, he was afraid that it was impossible to get this legendary piece of equipment!


    "After bringing the herb back, the old lady saw that I didn''t have the Medicine Refinement skill. After shooting me a look of contempt, she then taught me the Medicine Refinement skill. Thus, I refined the herb into medicine and gave it to her. After taking the medicine, she said she was all right and rewarded me with this necklace."


    "She even taught you the Herb Refinement skill?!" Ye Chen broke out into cold sweat again. Medicine Refinement was a secondary profession skill. One needed to achieve at least Level 15 within the game to take up a secondary profession and then learn the corresponding secondary profession skills. The Miraculous Encounter of this loli was about to pierce through the Heavens!


    "Yeah, she even instructed me to be a Pharmacist in the future."


    "What is the name of the Medicine Refinement skill you learned?"


    "Legend of Medicine Refinement."


    Ye Chen was silent.


    A badass life required no justification! The importance of a Priest in the game, a powerful Priest nonetheless, would always be a hot commodity within the game.


    Xiao Ai already had a Priest''s legendary equipment, as well as a unique refining technique. Furthermore, Xiao Ai herself had excellent plasticity, brimming with immense potential. Ye Chen had already foreseen Xiao Ai''s glamorous future ahead.


    Ye Chen already felt his heart stirring for Xiao Ai, but¡­ it was still too early to tell. He and Xiao Ai hadn''t known each other for a long time, and Xiao Ai was just a complete newcomer. When she might decide to suddenly stop playing was still uncertain. Hence Ye Chen was not in a hurry to recruit her.


    "Oh right, Xiao Ai, have you done the mission ''The Thief in the Rice Field''?" Ye Chen suddenly remembered something and asked.


    Xiao Ai''s necklace will take effect no matter whether it was equipped on her body or not. It was simply too wasteful to kill trivial mobs like this and loot these worthless items. He then remembered a mission. With this necklace, there was a possibility of striking a huge jackpot!

 Chapter 15：Stealing The Boss

    "The thief in the fields?" Xiao Ai was perplexed.


    "Good, not completing it yet is good. Let us finish this trial quickly and get to it. If we are lucky, we can jump a few levels with that mission."


    Having spent a long time with Xiao Ai, Ye Chen knew she was here to complete her apprentice trial. However, she not only had to kill 1000 Kobolds but also collect 100 pieces of Kobold''s teeth.


    "What? We can level up that much?" Xiao Ai''s eyes sparkled with anticipation.


    "But we need your necklace to work, or else we probably can only level up by half a level¡­"


    "Alright! Alright! Let''s go later!" Blinding rays of excitement radiated from Xiao Ai as she lept on the spot.


    "But¡­ I still really wanna get my hands on that Boss¡­" Looking at the colossal creature looming close by, Xiao Ai pouted gloomily.


    "No worries. When we finish the apprentice trials, I will be able to learn a super powerful skill. At that time, let''s give it a shot."


    Since the start, Ye Chen had always had a lingering desire to clinch the Boss loot. Now, learning how revolutionary Xiao Ai''s necklace was, the conviction to defeat the Boss raged harder than ever.


    While the Boss loots of such low-level Bosses were generally mediocre, it did not mean that top-tier loots were not present. If they were lucky, he might receive some ultra-rare items. Within the Boundless World, some items were not location-locked or event-locked. Of them, the most valuable and common were skill books.


    Skill books were highly sought after within the game. They were only attainable as ultra-rare loot from Boss fights or exchangeable with the Achievement Points. However, the difficulty of even getting a single Achievement Point was astronomical. It had left countless adventurers looking at the skill books with heated eyes at the exchange counters, yet they could only sigh and walk away empty-handed.


    "Really?" In that instant, Xiao Ai felt energy and power bursting through her veins.


    "Of course!" Ye Chen nodded vigorously.


    "Then, let''s kill them all! As fast as possible!" Xiao Ai couldn''t wait to finish the apprentice trial.


    With two exciting events awaiting their attention, the duo flurried through their trial missions. Needless to say, Ye Chen''s impeccable skills and precise control dished out substantial DPS on Kobold after Kobold. On the other hand, Xiao Ai performed way beyond Ye Chen''s expectations. Not only did she consistently and carefully maintain the health of the two Iron-Armored Willows, she even began to take the offense and attack with the Holy Bullets.


    As seconds melted into minutes, the recovery of the Iron-Armored Willows strengthened. Ye Chen took on a more offensive positioning, taking all of the Kobolds'' aggression onto himself, keeping the attacks on the Iron-Armored Willows to a minimum. With the need to heal the Iron-Armored Willows decreasing, Xiao Ai''s attacking frequency increased, increasing the overall damage by the duo.


    Coupled with the Blessings of the White Angel''s Necklace, the collection of the required items were met before long. What was left was only to kill enough Kobolds.


    The number of killed Kobolds rose at an increasing rate. Throughout the process, the equipment loot and bronze coins never stopped dropping. Xiao Ai had already collected a full set of the Priestess Apprentice Equipment Set, boosting her DPS and Healing Capabilities by several folds. Ye Chen, too picked up half a collection of the Botanist Apprentice Equipment Set. While he did not require this equipment, their scarily high drop rate still had him shaking his wide-eyed face.


    If the White Angel''s Necklace did not have a killed monsters limit, this one necklace would literally be priceless.


    SHUAH! SHUAH!


    The 700th Kobold dropped dead on the forest grounds. As the low thud resounded, two blinding glows accompanied.


    Ye Chen''s Iron-Armored Willows had leveled up. A Botanist''s plants were just like adventurers. When planted and alive, they would gain experience from killing monsters. When the experience was sufficient, they would level up. However, they could only become a level higher than the adventurer''s skill. As the Planting: Iron-Armored Willow skill Ye Chen had was Level 1, his Iron-Armored Willows were capped at Level 2 after killing several hundreds of Kobolds.


    Compared to a Level 1 Iron-Armored Willow, the Level 2 counterpart did not gain much attack power. However, the defense and HP and regeneration abilities were on a much higher level. From now on, Xiao Ai did not have to heal these plants anymore. She could focus her MP entirely on attacking the monsters.


    If Ye Chen was alone, preventing the death of the Iron-Armored Willow was not impossible, but highly inefficient. With his impatient attitude, he would choose to fight monsters after monsters without stop. If the Iron-Armored Willow died, he just had to plant a second one.


    Now, with a Priestess by his side, not only did the Iron-Armored Willow not die, it had even leveled up. It was no wonder any adventurer who was a Priest was the most popular party member in any corner of the Boundless World.


    Like two maniacs, Kobold after Kobolds fell onto their knees, turning into dust. In the process, their eyes sporadically glanced at the giant Kobold by their sides. As their numbers of Kobolds killed approached 1000, there were still no signs of any other adventurers within the area. No one else had found this isolated spawn point of the Kobold Leader.


    "Fuck! Where the heck is the Kobold Leader?!"


    Within the other areas of the Kobold Forest, the scenes were precise, as Ye Chen had suspected. Countless parties swapped across all of the common spawn points. A full hour had passed since the spawn of the Kobold Leader. However, not a single party found the Kobold Leader. As they combed another area, the adventurers could feel their patience stretching to the breaking point between the party members. They were all clear of the unsaid fact: the Kobold Leader had spawned in a new unknown location.


    "Argh! We give up! You all go ahead. If this Boss spawned in a different and uncommon location, finding it would be a waste of time!"


    Several more minutes passed, and countless teams threw in the towel. Left behind were the carefree and bored adventurers, slowly and nonchalantly looking for that one spot within the massive, sprawling Kobold Forest.


    As the adventurers ferreted about for the Kobold Leader, Chu Bailong had linked up with Jack of All Trades, bringing the hired mercenaries into the Kobold Forest. Leading his large group of fighters, Chu Bailong scoured for Ye Chen and Xiao Ai.


    Unbeknownst to this man, Ye Chen had brought Xiao Ai out of the deeper regions to the isolated and quiet edge of the forest in caution. Not only had, but they were also so blessed to meet the highly sought after Boss.


    After charging through the forest for some time, Chu Bailong''s patience snapped like twigs. "FUCK! Did he run off into the city?"


    "If you wish to give up, we can head back." Smiling, Jack chimed in from the side. This was not new to him, and he did not care as well. For him, the payment had been made. Whether or not the client could find his target was none of their business.


    "Go search for him! I don''t believe I can''t find him!"


    Chu Bailong had steeled his resolve to vent his anger. He could not live with this embarrassment, especially not after the cruel lashing Crimson Rose had given him. He would rather die than to swallow and live with the shame!


    ...


    "Finally done!"


    Under the watchful eye of the Boss, Ye Chen and Xiao Ai completed the trial mission at an absolutely fantastic speed. Within less than three hours, they wiped 1000 Kobolds off the forest''s grounds, much less than Ye Chen had anticipated!


    "Let''s go back and report to the guild!"


    Jotting down the Boss''s coordinates, the duo took out the Town Return Scroll and teleported back to Titan Megacity.


    "Quickly report, and I will see you later."


    The instant their feet hit the city, they hurried back to their respective guilds, looking forward to killing the Boss.


    Hastily, Ye Chen entered the Botanist Guild. He headed in a beeline to Trousse, reporting the successful completion of his trial. With shocked eyes, Trousse sized up Ye Chen. Then, he nodded and praised.


    "Hmm, nicely done on the mission. From now, you are an official Botanist. The Botanist is not any weaker than the other professions. I hope you will shine brightly in your career and become a Master Botanist. Only then are you in the true world of Botany."


    "Thank you, Professor Trousse." While Ye Chen was in a hurry, manners were not sacrificed.


    Before Level 15, the guild could only provide some unrewarding but straightforward lower-tier mission. Ye Chen only stopped by the vault to collect the skill book, Planting: Durian Bomb Tree, and he headed out.


    The skill book sparkled with a golden glimmer in his hands. Taking a deep breath, Ye Chen tapped on it to learn the skill.


    [System Notice, you learned the skill, "Planting: Durian Bomb Tree"]


    From the vault, he also took the precious fifty Durian Bomb Tree seeds. Just as he was about to leave, a dark red bottle caught his attention. His eyes narrowed onto it as his thoughts rumbled. He took it out as well.


    As he reached the meeting point at Titan Megacity''s gates, he met up with Xiao Ai. She, too, finished reporting to the Priest Guild. Brimming with excitement, the duo left to hunt the Boss.


    A Priestess and a Botanist, this odd combination drew puzzled expressions from the passersby along the way. After all, what could a party fully built on Spirit points do in a mission?


    However, their condescending and befuddled gaze fell on blind eyes. Xiao Ai was skipping about, bursting with adrenaline, far too busy to bother about the others. On the other hand, Ye Chen''s mind was scouting for a safe place to plant his plants. He found a secluded spot and planted the two Durian Bomb Tree seeds.


    Within twenty minutes, they neared the location of the Boss.


    However, before the Boss entered their sight, vibrantly colored equipment caught their attention. Within the half-hour which they left, other adventurers had found the Boss.


    "AHHHH! People are fighting the Boss! OMG, they even reduced its health by half!" Panic tore apart Xiao Ai''s heart. She could not believe it. All her efforts yet others would take her reward...

 Chapter 16：Sacred Blood

    "I have an idea. Stand guard here, I will find a suitable position around here," Ye Chen said suddenly.


    "Okay." Xiao Ai felt a little strange. There were as many as forty or fifty adventurers around the Boss. She couldn''t think of any way to do it in this situation.


    "Don''t walk too close, be careful of others coming to kill you. If the Boss is pulled away, remember to notify me," Ye Chen urged.


    The game encouraged competition for the Boss. Within a specific range around all Bosses, killing and PK was completely legal.


    For Bosses below Level 30 and within 300 meters around the Boss, as long as one''s level was not higher than the Boss, one could attack any adventurer in this range without any penalty. Even if someone had first attacked others and was retaliated against and killed, it did not mean a 100% equipment drop.


    Therefore, if the adventurer did not have a certain threshold of strength, he would have to stay far away from a Boss if he were to see one. Otherwise, he could only lament his fate if he was killed.


    "Understood." Xiao Ai nodded, and Ye Chen walked towards the surrounding woods.


    "There are a lot of stones in the Kobold Forest. I don''t know if there are enough stones around. I hope there is enough time."


    This was not the first time that Ye Chen had gone into the Kobold Forest. So many years had passed, but the low-level map of the Kobold Forest had not changed much. Today, he entered the Kobold Forest again. On his way to his destination, he was greeted by the familiar sight of grayish-white stones situated in the forest.


    If he had planned on killing the Kobold Leader, then he would have to find a stone that was at least two to three meters tall. Otherwise, it was impossible for him and Xiao Ai, who were only Level 20-ish adventurers, to kill a Boss that was 5 levels higher.


    "I found it!" After sprinting through a distance of hundreds of meters in the woods, Ye Chen looked at a tall gray stone that appeared in front of him and immediately grew overjoyed.


    "It is 2.77 meters. That should suffice!" Just with a glance, Ye Chen could see the giant stone proudly standing amongst thick foliage.


    "Fuck! It''s that guy, that guy over there! Kill him for me quickly!"


    As Ye Chen approached the giant stone, Chu Bailong, who was situated not too far away, watched Ye Chen get closer and closer. He then pointed at Ye Chen and gave a fierce shout to the others hidden in the surroundings.


    The several adventurers around all looked at Jack of All Trade, waiting for his orders.


    Although Chu Bailong was their employer in name, along their journey there, their impression of Chu Bailong as an employer had hit rock-bottom. Before Jack of All Trade gave an order, they would not make a move.


    Jack did not rush to attack but narrowed his round and chubby eyes, studying the Botanist who was looking at the gray stone.


    In the game, he had been one of the elites for a long time. His senses were extremely acute, a far cry from Chu Bailong, a newbie who does not understand anything. However, the Botanist who was looking at the gray stone left him with an indescribable expression. He wanted to know what the Botanist was going to do next.


    Suddenly, the Botanist''s staff moved, and a strange plant, with a color scheme somewhere between yellow and green, suddenly appeared on the top of the gray stone!


    Looking at this sudden turn of events, Jack''s cunning eyes suddenly froze, and were replaced by boundless horror! Exquisitely accurate Coordinate Transplantation!


    When a Botanist used transplantation skills on standard surfaces, he could specify a location at will, and transplant the plant to that location more accurately. But for Coordinates Transplantation, to transplant the plants successfully like what the Botanist did, one must have a precise understanding of the spatial coordinates of the top of the stone. Otherwise, the transplant would fail, the transplantation skills would enter the cooldown state, and even the plants would die as a result!


    The margin of difficulty was several magnitudes higher than the Spatial-Type Mage''s coordinate attack!


    He personally witnessed the plant being transplanted the stone from a distance away. That was to say, this person merely glanced at the stone, yet he already deduced the coordinates of the peak of the stone?


    Jack couldn''t believe it, but this was indeed what he saw with his own eyes.


    Or perhaps¡­ This person may have gone through many attempts over a long time, and the coordinates were long determined by him over his experimentations. It was hard to say for sure.


    Jack found a possible conjecture to disprove the anxiety in his heart. Otherwise, this person would be too devilishly skilled!


    But what did this Botanist transplant to the top of the stone? Jack carefully examined the yellowish-green plant on top of the stone. It was a species that he had seldom seen, leaving Jack with a feeling of foreignness.


    But the dull-yellow ripe durians quickly led Jack to think of a Botanist and his unique-owned plant, the Durian Bomb Tree!


    Yes, he was not mistaken, it was indeed a Durian Bomb tree!


    For the Durian Bomb Tree, Jack had only seen it a few times from game footage. At this time, the outline of the Durian Bomb Tree gradually grew more distinct in his brain. He could now determine that on the body of the seemingly-puny Botanist, was undoubtedly a Durian Bomb Tree!


    How can this be?! The fatty''s eyes were full of incredulity.


    "What''s wrong? Hurry up and attack or he''s going to escape!" Chu Bailong loudly urged on the team channel.


    "Don''t be so impatient. Give me a minute," Jack glanced at the punk and said frigidly. He could not for the life of him understand how this guy could offend a Durian Bomb Tree Botanist. Possessing a Durian Bomb Tree meant that this Botanist''s coordinate positioning transplantation was likely the genuine skill!


    If this was the case, this person was definitely not a simple character!


    "What do you mean? Could it be that you''re thinking of going back on your words? Forget it, if you guys don''t take action, I''ll attack myself!" Chu Bailong furiously raged in the team channel.


    "If he dares to initiate an attack, kill him directly," Jack unhappily ordered on the channel, removing all pretense of courtesy. The surrounding bunch of attackers already had a negative opinion on Chu Bailong. When they heard Jack''s command, they all surrounded Chu Bailong with a menacing expression.


    "YOU! YOU''RE UNBELIEVABLE! I WOULD LIKE TO SEE HOW YOU EXPLAIN YOURSELF TO MY SISTER!" Chu Bailong viciously glared at Jack.


    Jack paid no heed to his threats. He had initially intended to flatter the brother of the Crimson Rose to get into her good books, but after some interaction with him, he found out that this guy was just a prodigal son who would never succeed in anything. Given his understanding of Crimson Rose, wanting to explain himself was but a simple matter.


    Jack looked at the Botanist again and found that he retrieved a dark red bottle from his backpack, opening the cap, and placed it on the ground.


    A cloud of dark red smoke rose from the bottle, and then quickly shot into the air and disappeared without a trace.


    "How come this thing gives a sense of familiarity... Could it be that thing¡­? But how is that possible?"


    Looking at the ominous dark red smoke that dissipated, Jack''s face was even more surprised.


    "THAT WOMAN! KILL THAT WOMAN! YOU MUST DEFINITELY KILL HER!"


    At this time, a tiny Priestess came running from a distance, and the moment Chu Bailong saw her, he suddenly hollered and caused a ruckus.


    "SHUT UP!" The amiable and face full of smiles that Jack initially adopted took a 180 degree turn. He shot Chu Bailong with a vicious glare. For this kind of person, the more one were to give way to them, the more impudent and ballsy they would become.


    "Jack, what''s going on with you?" Crimson Rose sent Jack a whisper at this time. It was apparent that Chu Bailong had complained to her.


    Crimson Rose felt a little curious. In her impression, although the fatty was frivolous and treacherous, he was very credible and someone who kept his word.


    "How many Botanists do you know can Coordinate Transplant?" Jack did not rush to explain, and only asked her this question.


    "With a success rate of 30% to 50%, there are two or three," Crimson Rose slightly sighed and replied.


    "How about a Botanist who knows the Durian Bomb Tree skill?" the fatty asked again.


    "Nonsense, there is only one who showed up publicly in the game, that is to say, there is only one Botanist who knows this skill," Crimson Rose replied angrily. She didn''t understand the meaning behind the fatty asking these pointless questions.


    "Then, I will say it directly. In front of my eyes, there is a Botanist who can not only Coordinate Transplant, he also knows the Durian Bomb Tree skill. Not only that, but he also seemed to use a bottle of ''Sacred Blood'' a while ago!" The fatty sighed heavily.


    "WHAT??!!" Crimson Rose suddenly could not help but scream from her current position!

 Chapter 17：Freaking Awesome Skill

    "Jack, you better not be joking with me." Crimson Rose took a couple deep breaths, struggling to believe the absurd news she just heard.


    Coordinates transplantation, Durian Bomb Tree, and Sacred Blood were the rarest amongst the rare skills and items within the Boundless World. Calling them National Treasures would not be an exaggeration. For a single adventurer to possess any of these three would justify his high skill and position within a game. Yet, these three had all appeared on a single man right now!


    "I don''t have that much free time to joke around!" Jack''s voice was stern and heavy. His eyes had glued onto the scene at the giant boulder in front of him. Wave after waves of monsters swarmed towards the boulder, clawing mercilessly at the Botanist standing calmly at the peak.


    That crimson bottle on his hands¡­ Others may not recognize it, but he was sure. That bottle had to be the Sacred Blood!


    From the chaos by the Boss, the Sacred Blood had taken effect.


    "Fucking hell! Is that really the Kobold Leader? Why is it so violent and brutal?"


    The huge commotion had drawn the attention of adventurers who were hunting nearby. The moment they witnessed the massive attacks from the giant Kobold, gasps of disbelief escaped.


    "Alright, I shan''t beat around the bush. We will not be killing this man. Per our rules, we will compensate you two times the money. If you insist on killing him, it will be ten times the cost. Personally, I do not suggest that you kill him. Otherwise, your brother and your Crimson Blood Guild will end up mired in tons of trouble." Firmly, Jack set the ultimatum with Crimson Rose. The Botanist was just Level 10, killing a bug like him would not bring about any excitement, satisfaction, or adrenaline. Without any form of massive remuneration, it was certainly not wise to pitch themselves against a high-level pro.


    "Don''t kill him!" Crimson Rose was swiftly decisive as well.


    "I think your brother¡­"


    "Kill him and come back!" The lack of hesitation in her voice and the immediate decision won the admiration of Jack of All Trades. This firm leadership was the precise decision he had set his eye on this woman. Alas, his lack of an alluring body vanquished all his chances.


    "Kill him." Waving his hand nonchalantly, Jack set the death sentence.


    "What¡­ What are you doing?! Sister will never let this slide!"


    Unbeknownst to the Mage, the death had been ordered by Crimson Rose. Seeing the killing intent glimmering in the eyes of his assailants, he panicked and threatened. Unfortunately for him, everyone simply smiled and soon, any signs of life escaped.


    "Now then, time to watch the good show. Keep your eyes peeled on that Botanist. In the millions of adventurers, not everyone gets to watch this." Having finished his end of the deal, Jack plopped carelessly into the forest grounds and looked into the distance with interest.


    "Jack, what tricks did that guy use? My friend was fighting the Boss, and he said that the Boss and its minions went into a frenzy. Their attack powers burst through the roof, wiping them off the map like bugs. Then, the monsters ran away," one of the hired mercenaries said.


    "That is the effects of the Sacred Blood." Jack''s eyes narrowed as he smirked.


    "Sacred Blood?"


    "Yes, within the area around the Boss, Sacred Blood will increase the attack of the Boss and its surrounding minions by 50% for the next five minutes. However, within that period, the Boss''s defense will drop by 70%, and this decrease will last for ten minutes."


    "What the heck?! Isn''t this Sacred Blood literally made for Boss-stealing?" All of the surrounding adventurers were dumbstruck.


    An attack from a buffed Boss would definitely kill any adventurer within the attack range. Then, the user of the Sacred Blood just had to saunter in five minutes later and rip all of the benefits and take down the Boss for himself!


    "Of course! But, the Sacred Blood is a rare commodity, only attainable through selected random-type World missions. These missions are hardcore. If not for the difficulty of the missions, Sacred Blood would not be so highly sought after," Jack lamented with a deep sigh. Having a bottle of Sacred Blood was a mark of an elite adventurer. When Crimson Rose was still at her intermediate levels, she too took on a mission with the Sacred Blood as a reward. However, she had to throw in the towel in the end. It was because of this that she fully understood what a bottle of Sacred Blood meant, leading to her firm and swift decision to not get on the wrong side of this Botanist.


    "What?! Did he really use such a precious item on a Level 15 Boss? What a waste!" All of the surrounding adventurers were in utter disbelief.


    A Level 15 Boss, even if it was stolen from others, wouldn''t drop any precious items. There were countless guilds in Titan Megacity, but not a single guild sent a party over to fight for this Boss. All of the adventurers involved were self-initiated parties.


    "I don''t think so. The tier of the Sacred Blood is relative to the adventurer''s level at the point of completing the mission. I think he used a Level 30 Sacred Blood that would be effective on Bosses below Level 30."


    Jack vigorously shook his head, there was no way that bottle of Sacred Blood was a high end one. Otherwise, it would fetch sky-high prices on the market, causing countless guilds of all sizes to turn red-eyed for it.


    "What the heck?! The Botanist just transplanted another Durian Bomb Tree. Freaking amazing man. He''s just Level 10, and he can transplant two trees already." As Jack was explaining, another adventurer witnessed the deed and exclaimed.


    The route to unlocking the second plant was an open secret across all adventurers, not just Botanists. On the forums, slurs at the torturous process of levelling as a beginner Botanist would never leave out this fact.


    With exaggeration as definite on the forums, the truth remained that countless Botanists only managed to attain the second plant when they hit Level 30.


    Jack snorted as he shook his head. To him, this was only natural. He would be more surprised if Ye Chen had not unlocked the second plant.


    ...


    "Wow! Brother Dust, how did you do it? The Boss really ran over! That Boss suddenly became really crazy and swung that bone bat around killing everybody in the forest. It was so damn SATISFYING!" Xiao Ai was overwhelmed with adrenaline. Just moments ago, she watched helplessly from a distance as the Boss''s HP dwindled. Right at the moment that the Boss was going to be killed, it went maniacal. It swept and struck the adventurers around, the priest became useless and elation swept over her.


    Then, Ye Chen''s message came. He told her to rush over to him when the Boss ran in her direction. Surprisingly, it turned out as Ye Chen predicted.


    "But, will these two trees really hit the Boss from so high up?" she looked at the two trees and asked. From a distance, Xiao Ai could see the Boss was closing in.


    "You bet. Later, watch their HP for me. If the Boss hits them, just focus on healing them. Don''t worry about the aggression."


    Ye Chen only gave the instructions without any explanation. The Boss stormed over to Ye Chen as he was the source of the Sacred Blood. This occurred as there were no longer any enemies left nearby. Under the Sacred Blood''s effects, the Boss would only damage objects that had attacked him. In its eyes, a Priestess was as good as transparent. However, that did not mean that Priestesses would be safe. Should there be many attackers, the Boss might get the aggression jumbled up and sweep across the entire region, going on a rampage, and killing anything it saw. This was the main reason for the total annihilation of parties that used the Sacred Blood.


    "RAWR!" The Kobold Leader brought a group of Kobolds and charged menacingly towards the giant boulder. Seeing this, Ye Chen retreated slightly backwards with Xiao Ai.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    The moment the Kobold Leader reached the base of the giant boulder, the two Durian Bomb Trees released the massive durians from the branches, erupting into balls of flames on the ground!


    199! 231! 222!


    "Oh, my good Heavens! Freaking serious damage!"


    Massive damage appeared on the heads of the Kobold Leader and the Kobolds. Within instants, all of the smaller Kobolds were obliterated, leaving just the Kobold Leader staring daggers up at Ye Chen. From a distance, the originally rowdy group with Jack of All Trades had fallen into a pin drop silence. Their eyes widened in shock, and their jaws dropped.


    "The Durian Bomb Tree is impressive as I expected. However, that insane damage is still because of the Sacred Blood." Jack''s eyes narrowed onto Ye Chen as he explained to the others.


    "Freaking Awesome Skill! Now, the Boss is just awaiting death!"


    "Huh? Do you really think it''s this easy? The Boss is not an idiot!" Jack burst into a peal of laughter.


    As he spoke the Kobold Leader raised the colossal Bone Maller and swung it overhead, crashing violently onto the Durian Bomb Trees. In one stroke, the trees lost half of their HP! At that instant, a glow radiated from the trees. Xiao Ai had leaped right into the action, slowly but surely regenerating the HP of the trees.


    Meanwhile, in the hands of the Kobold Leader, a giant white bat appeared again. It did not immediately hit the Durian Bomb Tree but hovered back and forth impatiently under the giant boulder. Time to time, it roared ferociously. It seemed like using the bone mallet to hit the trees had a cooldown.


    However, this cooldown was not long. Before the HP of the Durian Bomb Tree was full, the Kobold leader once again smashed the HP of the Durian Bomb Tree by more than half.


    Under the Defense Reduction effect of the Sacred Blood, the damage of the Durian Bomb Tree was extremely massive. The HP of the Boss plunged rapidly under the constant barrage. At this rate, the Boss would fall to the ground in no time.


    However, even with the cooldown of the skills, the DPS of the Boss was still higher. At least, the adventurers could tell that before the death of Boss, the two Durian Bomb Trees would crumble first.

 Chapter 18：The Boss Massive Explosion

    "From what Mr. Jack said, this person should be very powerful, but even so, his Level is lower, so he shouldn''t be able to resist us. Should we make a move and snatch the Boss?" Noticing this window of opportunity, the gears in the Assassin''s mind churned.


    The several people around him apparently shared the same idea, and they all looked towards Jack.


    Stealing a Boss was justified under the rules of the system. No one needed would feel any guiltiness, but whether they would actually proceed with it depended on Jack giving the go-ahead. After all, they were still under Jack''s employment.


    Although it was difficult to get any good loot from a Level 15 Boss, killing a Boss, even if it did not drop anything, was still something that left people feeling refreshed afterwards.


    "Snatch the Boss just before the Botanist dies? It''s not impossible. If you only dispatch one person and kill the Botanist, then we will rob the Boss." The fatty smiled, with a treacherous look on his face.


    Several people around looked at each other, not knowing what the fatty was plotting. However, among them, one of the Assassin adventurers hesitated before resolving herself.


    "I''ll go. I don''t believe that I can''t kill a guy five levels lower than me!"


    Although the Botanist focused mainly on Spirit, Spirit affected an adventurer''s perception. Adventurers with high perception could know the location of the Assassins in stealth. However, for such a low-level spiritually-trained adventurer, his perception would definitely be trash, nothing fear-inspiring. As long as he snuck past, with an Assassin''s high attack, the Botanist whose HP was thinner than paper could be killed directly!


    "Fuck! The Botanist rushed out!"


    The Assassin wanted to wait for a little longer. When the Boss had less HP, he would go into stealth, and then launch an attack on the Botanist. However, at this time, several people were surprised to see that the Botanist had suddenly put on a strange set of non-Botanist equipment, rushing forward and stabbing the Boss fiercely. He then quickly retreated backwards in the next moment!


    What left them even more shocked to see was the Boss turning sharply, and the Bone Maller that was initially aiming for the top of the giant stone smashed down towards the Botanist!


    If one was struck by the Bone Maller of the Boss, with the paper-thin HP of a Botanist, there was simply no possibility of survival!


    However, the rapidly descending Bone Maller was actually within a few centimetres from the Botanist but narrowly missed the Botanist. The Botanist actually did not suffer a point of damage at all!


    "What happened? What happened just now? How did he escape?!" Several people frenziedly shouted the team channel. They all imagined that the Botanist would be mangled to bits by Boss, but the Botanist miraculously survived.


    "It seems that at the moment when the Boss made a move, his footsteps seemed to have faltered¡­ And then he avoided the attack," one adventurer speculated doubtfully.


    This was a genuine expert!


    While the surrounding adventurers were still excitedly discussing how Ye Chen escaped the Boss''s attack, the fatty''s eyes were narrowed into a thin slit, while a strange glimmer was shining through the slit!


    This person actually used this method to transfer the aggro of Boss to himself at the instance when the Boss was ready to attack Durian Bomb Tree. This way, the Durian Bomb Tree could survive, and the Boss would be unable to kill the Durian Bomb Tree. At this rate, it was just a matter of time before it was bombarded to death by the Durian Bomb Tree.


    However, in doing so, it also carried an extremely high risk of being spiked to death by the Boss in a moment of carelessness, and wasting all of one''s efforts!


    If it was someone else, the fatty might have felt that such action is a last resort attempt. However, judging from the reactions of the Botanist, the fatty had no such feeling at all. The Botanist obviously had excellent control over the Boss''s attack rhythm, evading its attack easily!


    While the fatty stood amidst the discussion among the several other people, the Botanist repeated the same tactic again. This time, the Boss attack failed as well.


    Once again, the same phenomenon had occurred. Even the adventurers who were a little dull became aware of the intentions of the Botanist.


    "This guy is so perverted! Isn''t he going to kill the Boss like this?" Several people were horrified.


    "It''s not strange. After a few more times, the Boss would really be killed!" Another person gasped, his face ashen with terror.


    They thought that if they were targeted by the Bone Maller attack of the Boss, they would absolutely not be able to avoid it. However, the Botanist in front of them had already avoided it twice in a row!


    "Okay, who else is going to kill him? It''ll be too late if you don''t go now," the fatty smilingly urged his subordinates.


    However, after seeing that the Botanist had such a devilish technique, several people around him had no confidence in whether they could kill the Botanist. They were all in the Level 16 to 20 range. If they weren''t careful, failing to kill the Botanist or even dying due to the Botanist or the Boss, the consequences would be beyond tragic. Under the rules of the game, the chances of their equipment dropping would be 100%.


    "Since no one is going, we''ll wait to see what equipment the Boss will drop."


    The fatty looked at the Boss. The Boss was about to die. Although they weren''t the ones who finished the Boss, it was not a bad idea to see what the Boss will drop. As for snatching the Boss, the fatty didn''t have much interest.


    A Level 15 Boss that had been toyed with others to such an extent, what useful items could it possibly drop? The benefits were far from the point where the fatty would go to offend this expert.


    And for Boss below Level 30, as long as the adventurer''s level was higher than the Boss''s level, the drop from killing the Boss would be significantly reduced. It was already challenging to expect the low-level Boss to drop any good loot, and it may not be surprising that nothing dropped at all.


    As they were speaking, the HP of the Boss was getting lower and lower, and the lethality of the Durian Bomb Tree was extremely fatal to a Boss of Level 15 with a 70% defense reduction. The Kobold Leader fell to the ground with a loud bang under the watch of the crowd.


    The fatty and the others were a bit curious about what the Kobold Leader would drop, but that was all. They didn''t harbor much expectation from the lowest-level Boss.


    But the moment the Kobold Leader fell, a pile of colourful, shiny objects fell from the Kobold body. Several people who witnessed the sight could not help but become stunned again.


    "Fuck, the Boss has exploded! This scene is almost as spectacular as the first kill of the Boss!"


    "I seem to see a skill book! Is it blue or red¡­?"


    "There are hundreds of gold coins!"


    Several adventurers around were clamoring in a frenzy, and the fatty''s jaw dropped when he saw it.


    ...


    "Wow, I levelled up, and there are so many goodies as well!"


    The Kobold Leader died, and Ye Chen and Xiao Ai''s bodies both shone with a pillar of light, symbolizing their levelling up. They both rose to Level 11.


    Killing a Boss gave an immense amount of experience. Much less to say that the two even killed the Boss, despite a five-level suppression. With the experience bonus, both of them were able to get a lot of experience in one fell swoop.


    "Three pieces of Level 15 Silver-grade, three pieces of black-Iron-Grade, two pieces of Bronze-grade, and four pieces of White-grade¡­ This explosion is really bountiful¡­ 119 gold coins¡­ But all these are rubbish, these two skill books are the most valuable things!"


    Ye Chen and Xiao Ai were both a little excited as they walked towards the stone. They picked up all the items and found that the items dropped by the Kobold Leader this time were even more incredible than the first time it was killed!


    "This ''Spring Rain'' Priest skill is genuinely quite good. After you learn it, the effect may not be apparent initially. Still, when the skill level is high enough, it will be handy in the future."


    There were two skill books, one was the skill Spring Rain that many Priests desperately sought for but were unable to find.


    "Oh, is that so? I''ll see the effects after learning it." Xiao Ai accepted the Spring Rain skill book and then clicked to learn the skill.


    In the game, many skill books had no learning requirements. Spring Rain was such a skill. An emerald light flashed around Xiao Ai''s body, and the skill book disappeared from her hands.


    "Consumes 100 points of MP. Adventurers within 10 meters of the designated target will continuously recover HP for 5 minutes¡­ It seems to be very powerful."


    Xiao Ai immediately applied the Spring Rain skill to herself and Ye Chen. A hazy green raindrop immediately fell from the sky and enveloped the two. Then, both of them entered a continuous HP recovery state.


    "It only recovers 6 HP every second, that''s so little." Looking at the values rising above their heads, Xiao Ai immediately wrinkled her small face and complained.


    "The effect of this skill has a lot to do with the Spirit attribute points. As you progress to higher levels, the skill level will also rise. The effect of the Spring Rain skill will be significantly improved, and you can save a lot of HP potions by using it," Ye Chen explained. For Priests with the advanced Spring Rain skill, as long as they were correctly used, the entire team basically would not need to consume any HP potions. Considering the constraints of the upper limit of drug resistance, Priests with such a skill will be heartily welcomed no matter where they go.


    "As for this ''Illusions of Time'', it''s a skill used by Botanists, so I''ll accept it." Looking at the other skill book, Ye Chen couldn''t help the excitement rising in his heart!

 Chapter 19： A Monthly Reward

    Ye Chen could not believe his eyes. He had thought that this skill, Illusions of Time, would have to wait until he was Level 30. Only then could he exchange for the skills book with the Achievement Points he had left with Mr. Adolf. For this skill book to appear as a Boss loot was indeed a timely blessing.


    Now, not only did he gain a way to kill other adventurers in PK, he had even saved a considerable load of Achievement Points. It was indeed a windfall from this Level 15 Boss.


    Without delay, Ye Chen''s fingers tapped the book. Warm glimmering golden rays burst forth from within the text, enveloping him. Then, the system showed his successful acquisition of the skill.


    His eyes glanced at the empty but strengthening skills menu, and a sense of satisfaction sprouted within him. This new character, Page of Lingering Dust, was developing faster and better than he had imagined.


    He looked at Xiao Ai. "These equipment aren''t worth much. Come, let''s split them."


    There was a limit to how impressive the equipment that a Level 15 Boss could drop. While the Boss did drop the top-tier loot under the influence of Xiao Ai''s necklace, a Silver-grade Equipment, it was not worth much as the equipment of an adventurer within the beginner levels changed too quickly.


    "Sure." Xiao Ai had no comments. Ye Chen eyeballed the equipment and split them into two portions per their value.


    Ye Chen''s eyes swept across the clock. To his surprise, half the night had passed while they were completing the trial and killing the Boss. In real life, the sun would peek out of the horizons soon. Still, they barely had enough time to finish the "Thief in the Fields" Mission.


    As they were about to leave, a plump man walked out of the shadows of the foliage. Behind him, tens of men followed. Seeing the scene, Ye Chen''s forehead puckered. To use the Town Return Scroll, ten seconds of reading time was needed. If he was attacked midway, the process would be halted. As such, if this group held malicious intentions, they were probably not going to make it back into Titan Megacity the normal way.


    "Hmm, expert brother, we were passing by when we saw your exquisite display of talent and skills. Hence, we would like to be friends with you. I am Jack of All Trades. Be it underhanded practices, murder, robbery, theft, or pimping, as long as there is money, I will do it. Should the Expert brother need any services, just let me know," Jack smiled a wide PR smile and introduced himself curtly.


    Ye Chen''s eyes narrowed on the plump, brawny man.


    This man is the infamous Jack of All Trades? Ye Chen had never seen him in person, but he did hear of his deeds on the forums.


    Having seen the officious self-introduction and the mighty accompanying platoon behind him, Ye Chen could guess their purpose here. However, he could not place his finger on why they did not act in the end.


    Unable to understand, but unwilling to think more. Being killed once or twice would not harm him much at this point. For the matter, Jack held the absolute advantage of numbers. If they really got into action, there was no way he and Xiao Ai would survive. Then again, what was there to fear?


    "Ah, Mr. Jack! I might really need your help in the future!" Ye Chen flashed a smile and walked forward.


    Acquainting himself with adventurers like Jack would bring huge conveniences within the Boundless World. Ye Chen knew he would have to get this plump man''s help in the future and initiated a friend request.


    "Then, Brother Dust, we shan''t disturb you anymore. Contact me if you need help." Accepting Ye Chen''s friend request, Jack did not bother with the small talk. Nodding, he militarily waved his hands. "Let''s go!"


    "Yes, Boss!" The group resounded loudly, taking out their Town-Return Scrolls. Within instants, they were gone.


    "Alright, let''s go too," Ye Chen said to Xiao Ai. "Drop the equipment at the vault, and we can finish this ''Thief in the Fields'' mission."


    "Alright. Brother Dust, is that plump man with the creepy smile famous?" Still looking at where Jack stood, Xiao Ai curiously asked.


    "Famous within a certain community," thinking for some time, Ye Chen replied. "Let''s go."


    ...


    "Brother Dust, are you in a hurry to finish this mission? Somehow, I feel that you want to finish it by today at all costs."


    Several minutes passed, Ye Chen and Xiao Ai appeared by the other side of Titan Megacity. Not far in front of them, there was a modest farmhouse within a lush green pasture. Sweeping across, there were tons of adventurers gathered, crowding around the area.


    "Mhm, this mission is a system event mission, all adventurers are limited to one entry every week. There are two rewards available, one is a guaranteed reward for every team following their score. The second was a limited reward for the top team every month. That team will receive 10 Achievement Points and 1000 gold. As today is the last day of the month, we need to finish it before the day ends. Otherwise, we will need to wait for a month before we know the results."


    "Oh, I see. Which means, that huge crowd of people here all want to do the mission?" As realization dawned on her, Xiao Ai pointed her finger at the massive swarm of people at the farmhouse''s entrance.


    "Of course, every last day of the month is the busiest day for the ''Thief in the Fields'' Mission." This scene was familiar to a veteran like Ye Chen.


    The mission "Thief in the Fields" was not limited to certain levels. As long as the adventurers were over Level 10, they were eligible. The mission was not tricky, easily survivable for an adventurer equipped with bronze equipment. Most importantly, this mission was simple. It only needed the adventurer to continuously kill a fat rat, and collect the rice from it. The drop rate of the rice depended entirely on luck. If an adventurer was lucky, he might get the best result of the month, even with the most basic equipment.


    Despite the lackluster experience rewarded by the mission itself, many high-level adventurers came here without fail at the end of the month. Especially in the last few hours, there were always a large number of adventurers who wished to accept the mission from the NPC "Paddy Field Watcher." They would spend half an hour just to try their luck. After all, this mission had been around from the beginning of the game. No party could consecutively clinch the top spot. The party that got the highest achievement reward every month had not been repeated a single time.


    "Level 60 High DPS Party lacking 1 member! Looking for a Mage! We have 4 Mages and 1 Priest, just need 1 more Mage!"


    "Level 50 Knight looking for a party! Level 4 Taunt and Level 3 Provocation!"


    Nearing the farmhouse, the bustling sound of activities echoed. Many adventurers had come here at the ending hours to seek a party.


    "HAHAHA! We got 295 grains of rice! We are going to be RICH!!!!!"


    Within the cacophony of noises, a peal of euphoric laughter pierced through.


    "What the ¡­ 295? The top of last month was only 270¡­"


    "Fuck, that means the winner this month is set already?"


    "Dude, that party is only Level 40. How did they get so much rice? Impossible¡­"


    The adventurers around him were dumbstruck, spreading the news like wildfire. On the other end, the mind-boggling rumor erupted. Just like a tornado, another storm whipped up on the other end of the crowd due to this same news.


    At this time, looking across the golden Paddy Fields, one party was maniacally massacring the fat rats that were scurrying about.


    Within the party, except for the Priest, other adventurers were all Mage-class. From their equipment, their levels were evidently not low.


    The Priest was clad in an elegant white coat, pure as snow, with beautiful patterns intricately sewn on. Looking at a crimson cloak mage, he mocked, "Rat, these are your kind. How can you so heartlessly kill them?"


    That Mage, Rat, gritted his teeth as his eyes menacingly stared daggers at the Priest. "Shut your fucking mouth, you sissy ass bitch. I already told you to not call me by my nickname in the game! "


    "You are the sissy ass bitch, your family members are sissies!" Red hot magma erupted within the Priest.


    "Both of you hold your tongues. There was news that a party collected 295 grains of rice!" Just as the crimson Mage was about to rebut, the most stately middle-aged Mage stopped the two.


    "Cheh, it''s only 295. We used ''Lucky Scroll,''''Strong Attack Scroll,'' and ''Swift Speed Scroll.'' I think we can easily collect more!" The red robe mage snorted dismissively, brushing off these nearly 300 grains indifferently.


    "Pull yourself together! Don''t assume that we will definitely succeed! Luck is everything here. Countless parties had splurged extravagant sums here to no avail. This time, we even used the Lucky Scroll. We cannot allow poor attitudes of our own members to sabotage the rewards! As we level up, the Achievement Points would only become harder to get. If we can clinch these 10 points, life will be much easier!" the middle-aged Mage snapped coldly.


    "Got it, leader." The surrounding adventurers heard those stern words, and their expressions turned severe. There was no more room for games.


    "Okay, kill them!" Looking at the fat rats around, the leader hollered.


    Flashes of multicolored light shone blindingly as patches of magic circled the fat rats. Waves after waves of magic attacks were surging in mercilessly towards the surrounding rats!

 Chapter 20：Golden Paddy Fields

    "Brother Dust, is 295 grains of rice considered a lot? Do we still have any hope?"


    From the reactions of the adventurers around them, even the naive Xiao Ai noticed that the situation was not too optimistic.


    "Well, it depends on the power of your necklace. If it can function normally, there would be no problem in taking the first place."


    Ye Chen smiled and did not pay much heed to the news of 295 grains of rice being collected. If Xiao Ai''s Blessing necklace was functioning normally, there would definitely be no problem in taking the top position. On the other hand, if the effects did not proc in this mission, it would be impossible for him and Xiao Ai to compete for the first in this activity anyways. Therefore, he did not need to overthink about it at all. He just needed to carry out the mission normally.


    "Haha, even such a low-level Botanist came to join in the fun. The last day of each month, the fanfare this place garner here is really not an over-exaggeration."


    As Ye Chen took Xiao Ai from the crowd to the paddy field watchman, an adventurer who Ye Chen bumped past turned to see the perpetrator. After turning around to see that it was a Botanist, he immediately scoffed condescendingly.


    "You''re just a short-legged Warrior yourself."


    Ye Chen ignored the taunts of this person, but Xiao Ai glanced back at the adventurer and quietly muttered under her breath.


    "Little girl, what did you just say?!" the Warrior adventurer angrily shouted, seeming as though her words had struck a raw nerve.


    "Xiao Ai, leave him alone. Come over and prepare to enter the Instance Dungeon." Ye Chen looked at the time and found that he really had to do the task quickly, so he greeted Xiao Ai.


    "Oh, you two young adventurers, you received the news and ignored the long distance to travel here to help me get rid of those nasty thieves in the paddy fields! Those thieves are so abominable. Seeing now that the rice is mature, they are currently in the paddy fields, rampantly thieving away the results of my hard work of several months. I will never tolerate their wanton thieving ways! Please, can the two of you help me get rid of the thieves in the paddy fields and take back the rice they stole? I will definitely give you a satisfactory reward!"


    The paddy field watchman was a peasant and was standing in front of the farm while wearing a straw hat and carrying an age-worn iron hoe. As Ye Chen walked over with Xiao Ai, he immediately called out joyously to Ye Chen and Xiao Ai.


    [System Prompt: You have accepted the mission "Thief in the Rice Field". Will you enter the Instance Dungeon "Golden Paddy Field" now?]


    "Yes!" Ye Chen did not spare any words to talk nonsense with the paddy catcher, directly accepting the mission, and entered the Instance Dungeon.


    "Fuck! Don''t think of running¡­ Haha, a Botanist and a Priest, and they just entered the Golden Paddy Field? What a pointless waste of time!"


    The Warrior adventurer obviously didn''t want to let Xiao Ai pass by, so he chased Xiao Ai over to where the watchman was standing. However, the result was that he saw Xiao Ai and Ye Chen, both accepting the task and entering the Instance Dungeon.


    "Two greenhorns who don''t know anything. I estimate that they will be killed soon," one of the compatriots of the Warrior scoffed.


    "Hmph, that''s true. But then again, they might be afraid of me and deliberately escaped into the Instance Dungeon."


    However, the Warrior was still indecisive and wavered between leaving or staying. This reason seemed more plausible to him.


    On the other side, the scenery in front of Ye Chen and Xiao Ai''s eyes suddenly changed!


    An Instance Dungeon of the Golden Paddy Field!


    Looking at the vast expanse in front of her, no matter where Xiao Ai looked, a neverending stretch of golden rice crops seemed to stretch into the boundless horizons. Xiao Ai''s eyes widened with disbelief and amazement!


    "Wow, it''s SOO beautiful!"


    Xiao Ai rushed into the paddy field in front of her, paying no regard to her dignity and shouted excitedly.


    The Golden Paddy Field was indeed an Instance Dungeon that took the concept of a breath-taking landscape to the extreme. Although Ye Chen had been here many times, whenever he saw the beautiful scenery in front of him again, he would still feel like his spirit was being soothed and sink into relaxation.


    "Get ready, the Instance Dungeon will officially start soon."


    However, their purpose here was not to see the scenery, but to aim to win the championship!


    "Alright!" Xiao Ai jumped out of the golden paddy field.


    "I will briefly summarize the situation. A large number of rats will appear in the paddy fields later, and our task is to kill these rats. And in the center of each paddy field, there will always be a rat nest. As long as we manage to find the rat nest, the rats hiding all over the paddy field will come out and gather to attack us. The attacks of these rats are quite standard, and we don''t need to care too much about them. You just need to maintain your usual standard of healing and usage of potions. However, you still have to pay attention to the HP of the Durian Bomb Tree and restore its health from time to time. The rest of the time, just wait for my order." Ye Chen pointed to a paddy field in front and gave some precautionary warnings.


    "Okay, understood!" Xiao Ai nodded affirmatively.


    "Then we''ll search for the rat nest first." Ye Chen waved his staff, and the two of them entered the paddy field and began to look around for the rat nest within this copious paddy field.


    "Brother Dust, over here." After a while, Xiao Ai pointed to a nest made of rice straws ahead of her and waved towards Ye Chen.


    "Single Transplant." Ye Chen came to the rat nest and transplanted a Durian Bomb Tree.


    BOOM!


    Sensing that there was a monster beside it, the Durian Bomb Tree didn''t even require any instructions from Ye Chen. A durian dropped from the tree one after another and began the bombardment.


    The level of the monsters in the Instance Dungeon for the Golden Paddy Field mission corresponded to the level of the adventurer team. With the lethality of the Durian Bomb Tree, killing monsters of the same level was a piece of cake. The already frail HP of the rat nest was wiped out in a flash.


    After the rat nest was eliminated, a tremendous chain reaction immediately spread throughout this wide Golden Paddy Field. The sound of crops rustling was unceasingly transmitted over, and the entire paddy field suddenly became translucent. It was now possible to clearly distinguish the fat, menacing rats, hidden in the paddy field. They began to rush towards the place where the two were, one after another.


    "There are so many rats!" Xiao Ai was immediately shocked by the copious number of rats.


    "There''s no need to care about the rats that are rushing over. Pay attention to the rats that don''t come over, take the time to kill them all," Ye Chen commanded.


    The rats that were staying put at their positions were the leaders of the mobs. For ordinary item drop rates, those rats that will not run after the destruction of the rat nest were most likely to drop rice. If they decided not to waste time on those rats, and instead just kill those that were rushing over before heading to the next paddy field, the benefits would definitely outweigh the losses.


    Although initially, some people said that this was reverse psychology playing tricks on one''s mind, after numerous adventurers'' experiments, they found that if the same team did not kill these non-running rats, the count of rice after clearing the last paddy field would definitely be less than when the rats were killed. That meant this was a proven fact, and one definitely should not be lazy!


    "Okay, got it." There were far more terrifying monsters than rats in the game. Although the sheer number of rats still gave Xiao Ai a scare, Xiao Ai quickly adapted and answered cheerily.


    "Spring Rain!" After looking at the rats scurrying over, Xiao Ai''s staff waved, activating the Spring Rain skill she had just learned, as well as a Holy Bullet. The Bullet struck a distant rat which seemed nonchalant to the imminent threat of death ahead of it.


    The Durian Bomb Tree''s killing range was quite broad, worthy of the title of the strongest skill of the Botanist''s arsenal. The two merely stood under the Durian Bomb Tree, and those rats rushing over were not even able to land a scratch on the two before they were aggro''ed by the Tree.


    The attacks of these mission rats in the Instance Dungeon were feeble, only causing 10 points of damage, but their attacks had the characteristics of ignoring Defense. No matter how high the Defense was, or how low, it was all the same in front of them. Each time one was attacked, damage values that number at least above 10 points would float up above their heads.


    This damage would not result in critical damage to most adventurers. Still, if the number of rats was significant, even if each rat only causes a few points of damage, the cumulative damage was considerable.


    Therefore, adventurers who enter the Instance Dungeon to complete the mission must still have specific requirements for their equipment. Otherwise, if their HP wasn''t enough, and their damage was not high enough, even if there was a Priest, they invariably would be mobbed to death by the sea of rats.


    As for Ye Chen and Xiao Ai, their equipment was not a problem. However, the number of team members was too small. The damage output will certainly not be able to keep up. Sooner or later they would be surrounded by rats, but the existence of the Durian Bomb Tree solved this problem, so Ye Chen did not have to worry about it at all.


    The Defense of these rats was not high, and their HP gauge was not long as well. As soon as they approached the Durian Bomb Tree, under the massive bombardments that caused grievous damage upwards of 100 damage points each time, they were unable to withstand two or three rounds, collapsing dead on the ground.


    "Some rice has dropped!" The rats rushed forward in unceasing waves, but all fell down dead to the Durian Bomb Tree. The sharp-eyed Xiao Ai noticed that after a rat died, it dropped a grain of golden rice.


    "There is still one here, and one dropped over there too!"


    However, it didn''t just stop there, and the grains of golden rice suddenly dropped out in batches three or four!


    "Haha, not bad, your necklace is indeed effective!"


    Ye Chen had entered the Golden Paddy Field Instance Dungeon many times before, but he had never seen such a crazy drop rate before and couldn''t help but have a wide grin on his face.


    Based on the rate the items were dropping, even if they wanted to avoid the first place position, it would be extremely difficult!


    With them off to a good start, Ye Chen and Xiao Ai''s spirits were uplifted. Both of them ignored the rats rushing towards them, instead using their skills to attack the lazy rats outside the paddy field who had no intention to move.


    The rats quickly died one after another. After thirty seconds, Ye Chen already had 8 grains of rice in his hand.


    "Under normal circumstances, harvesting 10 grains of rice from a paddy field is already considered excellent. The entire Instance Dungeon lasts for 30 minutes, and most teams wipe out a paddy field in one minute, so 300 grains of rice is basically the limit of the mission. But with the Blessing of the White Angel''s Necklace in effect, the drop rate of the grains of rice have a noticeable increase, so we can proceed with using that option."


    These were the thoughts running through Ye Chen''s mind, and with a wave of his hand, he directly transplanted another Durian Bomb Tree over. The transplanted position was about two meters away from the original Durian Bomb Tree.

 Chapter 21：Illusions Of Time

    "The rats on the outer edge dropped some rice, I will go pick them up."


    Just as Ye Chen was going to pick up the rice, Xiao Ai killed one of the motionless rats of the edge, and a grain of rice dropped. Immediately, she exclaimed and rushed into action.


    At the same time, a grain was dropped by the Durian Bomb Tree.


    "Xiao Ai, pass me the grain."


    In total, the two of them had collected 10 grains.


    "Alright." Without question, Xiao Ai passed Ye Chen the rice grain. In Ye Chen''s inventory, there were now 10 grains of rice.


    "Combine into ''Delicious Food''!" After collecting 10 grains, a system option appeared, and Ye Chen chose to fuse them into a perishable item!


    "Xiao Ai, be on guard. A huge wave of rats is coming!" Ye Chen cautioned his partner.


    Upon usage, "Delicious Food" would release a mouth-watering scent, attracting all of the rats from across the paddy field to one location for 90 seconds.


    Every adventurer who had attempted this Instance Dungeon knew of the effects. However, not many chose to do so, other than during their initial few attempts. Indeed, "Delicious Food" attracted a massive wave of rats. However, the results were dismal. If the party could earn back their initial 10 grains investment, it was already a good result. Many times, the 10 grains would result in a negative return.


    If Xiao Ai did not possess the Necklace of the White Angel, Ye Chen would not have done so.


    By the base of the 2 Durian Bomb Tree, Ye Chen used Delicious Food.


    A sumptuous scent wafted with the gentle breeze, spreading and enveloping the field within it. Within an instant, a massive scurrying sound erupted across the golden field. All of the rats were swarming maniacally towards the delightful dish under the trees.


    "My God, that''s a lot of rats¡­" Xiao Ai''s brain stuttered for a moment as she struggled to comprehend the sight her eyes took in.


    Ye Chen''s face twitched as well. His mind had gone on pause as his thoughts churned to keep up. This was different from the situation he saw in the past. The volume of rats swarming towards him was exponentially more dominating than what he recalled.


    As they struggled to react, the mighty army of rats had appeared by their sides!


    Under the shadows of the trees, the two astonished adventurers stood. If the army of rats chose to attack them, they would not last longer than a minute even with all of their HP potions. Thankfully, the attack range of the Durian Bomb Tree was wide. The instant the rats entered the area, durians pelleted down, engulfing the frenzied and famished rats within the blinding rays of death.


    It was a magnificent sight. A sea of bright light sparkled with crimson numbers fleeting about as the rats perished.


    Suddenly, a loud exclamation pierced through the cacophony of explosion. "I can''t heal in time!"


    As a Level 10 Priestess, Xiao Ai could only use 2 Healing Skills, Spring Rain, and Healing. Furthermore, Healing could not regenerate health for both trees at the same time. Under the merciless gnawing of the unending swarm of rats, the HP of both Durian Bomb Trees were plunging. At this moment, she could barely keep the Durian Bomb Trees by their side alive. As for the one further away, she was helpless.


    At this rate, in less than 10 seconds, the other tree would be destroyed by the rats. Without the second tree, the Durian Bomb Tree by their side would not last long under an even more massive group attack as well!


    However, not a strand of worry was on Ye Chen as his eyes darted over to the overwhelming surge of rats. He knew the most giant wave of rats was just this initial wave. After which, the numbers would dwindle. They just had to last these 10 seconds, and they would be fine.


    "Illusions of Time!"


    Swing his staff at the Durian Bomb Tree 2 meters away from him, Ye Chen used the skill he had just learnt!


    A beam of gray light descended like a pillar from the Heavens onto the Durian Bomb Tree. Under the glimmer, the size of the Durian Bomb Tree ballooned by several magnitudes. The tree shook uncontrollably as durian bombs rained on torrentially.


    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!


    Rapid explosions shook the earth, sending pulses of shockwaves across the field. Under the cascading durian bombs, the rats around the second Durian Bomb Tree were reduced to a minuscule ball of white light before they could even react.


    "Wow¡­ What skill is this?" Xiao Ai''s eyes and her mouth were frozen wide open in an expression of stunned surprise. Then, she muttered softly.


    "Illusions of Time. The Boss dropped this skill. It will boost the vitality and power of the plants. However, it will last less than 10 seconds." Ye Chen was blase. While the skill was rare amongst the Botanists, the effects were well known. It was impressive to Xiao Ai as she was a greenhorn.


    That being said, the prowess of the combination of Durian Bomb Tree and Illusion of Time was unmistakably appalling. Ye Chen only dared to use Delicious Food because of the Illusion of Time.


    "OH MY GOODNESS! So many grains of rice!"


    Under the overwhelming DPS of the 2 Durian Bomb Trees, the rats were defenceless and quickly killed. In their place was a sprawling area of sparkling grains of rice, leaving Xiao Ai wide-eyed as she stared in excitement.


    "Pick them up after we clear most of the rats. They will not respawn until some time later. Watch your HP, don''t die." Seeing her overflowing excitement, Ye Chen was slightly worried. If Xiao Ai really died, the mission was practically over.


    Soon, the first wave of maniacal rats on the map was entirely obliterated. Under the effects of Delicious Food, there were still waves of rats trickling in from afar. However, the numbers and density paled in comparison. The Illusions of Time lasted for another 7 seconds, but the situation still stabilised majorly.


    With lesser rats plaguing their minds, Ye Chen and Xiao Ai picked up their loot. Their initial investment of 10 grains was quickly collected back. The remaining 90 seconds of the Delicious Food pass in a blink of an eye, bringing a stop to the swarming rats. In this time, the duo counted their earnings.


    A dazzling 38 grains of rice!


    "Nice! Let''s continue!"


    Satisfied and happy was an understatement of how Ye Chen felt in the face of this result. He quickly fished out another 10 grains and made another serving of Delicious Food.


    ...


    At the same time, in another golden paddy field within the Instance Dungeon, the mage team led by The Invulnerable had stopped their attacks. The final countdown had begun for them, and they were about to be transported out of the dungeon.


    "HAHAHA! Three hundred sixty seven grains, we are so going to break the record!" The crimson mage, named Rat burst into uncontrollable laughter.


    "Hmm, well-done everyone. Let''s stop here for today. The results will be out tomorrow at 6 P.M. Then, we can go for a huge celebration!" The Invulnerable was very pleased with their gatherings. In his memory, the number of teams that collected more than 300 was countable with his fingers, and every single one of them was the top.


    "Boss, I want to get a hostess!" one of the mages exclaimed in excitement.


    Before The Invulnerable could respond, 6 pillars of light shone, transporting them out of the golden Instance Dungeon.


    ...


    It had been thirty minutes since Ye Chen and Xiao Ai entered the golden paddy field. Soon, two white lights flashed near the rice field watchman, and Ye Chen and Xiao Ai appeared.


    Ye Chen seemed to be in a hurry. When she appeared, she took Xiao Ai and ran to the "Paddy Field Watcher" to report their successful mission.


    "Two young adventurers, thank you so much. I didn''t expect you to kill so many of the thieving rats and recover so much rice. Here, a gift to show my appreciation!"


    The "Paddy Field Watcher" in a farmer costume saw the two and welcomed them happily.


    [System Message, you have completed the mission, "The thief in the Fields"]


    [System Message, you have gained 213368 experience!]


    [System Message, you have levelled up to Level 12!]


    [System Message, you have levelled up to Level 13!]


    [System Message, you have levelled up to Level 14!]


    As multiple messages rang, the blinding light of levelling engulfed Ye Chen and Xiao Ai.


    "Fuck! What is going on? Why did they gain so much experience?!" Seeing the peculiar sight, the adventures on their side gasped.


    "What? What''s with the hullabaloo?" The adventurers who did not witness the scene crowded around in curiosity.


    "Xiao Ai, I''m going offline. I will come online slightly later tonight. The dungeon results would be released at 6 P.M., you can collect the reward first. If you have other plans, you can go ahead alone, don''t need to wait for me. If you have questions, just check the forums, the answers are all there." Treating the crowding adventurers like transparent glass, Ye Chen spoke to Xiao Ai hastily and went offline.


    "Eh, pretty little girl, how did you level up so fast? Tell me, big brother here will bring you along to level up!"


    "Beautiful lil sister, ignore this pervy old man. Tell Sister, I will bring you to a fantastic guild!''


    "Come on, tell me! I will pay you!"


    ...


    As Ye Chen disappeared from the spot, Xiao Ai was left alone in the epicentre of this mess. The surrounding adventures finally realised what happened and flooded towards here, rattling off by themselves, drowning Xiao Ai with a cacophony of deafening noise.


    "ARGH! Fucking noisy! Get! Away! From! Me!!!!!" The elegant, and petite Xiao Ai suddenly snapped. Her face was overflowing with disgust and annoyance as she roared at the top of her lungs.


    Facing the booming lioness''s roar, the adventurers just stared, open-mouthed. Her scream was so out of character, so far from what they thought of her. Their brains went blank, formulating no thoughts other than to register the shock.


    One of the adventurers shook his head vigorously. His ears must be playing tricks on him. Seizing the silence, he approached her. "Mhm, pretty girl¡­"


    "Fuck off." Before he even finished, Xiao Ai''s eyes sent knives with her gaze, snapping again.


    This time, they all heard her loud and clear.


    Ignoring the totem-like, dumbstruck people, Xiao Ai took out the Town-return Scroll and headed back to Titan Megacity.


    "God, I''m beat."


    As soon as he returned to the city, fatigue flushed her tiny face, turning downcasted. As if she had lost all her strength, she dragged her staff behind her. Her arms drooped lifelessly as she treads down the street like a zombie.


    After being stared at by others on the street for a while, Xiao Ai pulled her back up and stretched lazily. Soon, the ball of white light took her away from the streets.

 Chapter 22： Bug-Like Achievements

    Ye Chen opened his eyes and removed the game helmet, and wanted to discreetly get up to make breakfast without disturbing the two little lolis sleeping beside him. However, he only just turned his head before Xiao Jing''s bright eyes staring at him curiously.


    "You woke up so early today?" Ye Chen squeezed Xiao Jing''s tiny, egg-shaped face that was still a little chubby with baby fat.


    "No, I just woke up a while ago. I was just wondering when Big Brother will wake up, and then Big Brother actually woke up when I was thinking that," Xiao Jing said with a soft giggle, and Ye Chen didn''t know if the words of the little girl were true or false.


    "Xiao Lan is still asleep, so don''t wake her up. She is still young, let her sleep a little longer. Oh right, Xiao Jing, do you want to sleep in a little longer?" Gently pulling away Xiaolan''s little hand, helping to pull the sheets over her body, Ye Chen asked softly.


    "No, I want to help Big Brother to make breakfast." Xiao Jing quickly got up from the bed with a cute grunt.


    "Well, go brush your teeth and wash your face first." Ye Chen knew Xiao Jing''s character and knew that any words he said would fall upon deaf ears, so they quietly left the room and began to brush their teeth and wash their faces.


    The two of them started to cook breakfast. However, Ye Chen was just doing it alone, while Xiao Jing just walked behind like a little follower. It was a simple matter to make breakfast. However, today Ye Chen still had to make a trip outside, so he prepared both Xiao Jing and Xiao Lan''s portion of lunches as well.


    When the meal was almost ready, Xiao Lan walked out of the room while rubbing her eyes groggily.


    "Xiao Jing, why haven''t you woken me up?" Taking advantage that Ye Chen didn''t pay attention to her, Xiao Lan tugged at Xiao Jing''s clothes and complained with a face full of grievances.


    "No, I called you, but you didn''t wake up," Xiao Jing smiled and answered.


    "Is that true? Then you must shake me harder next time." Xiao Lan thought back hard to see if there were any memories in this respect. Still, she couldn''t think of anything, so she gave a sincere plea to Xiao Jing.


    "Big Brother will be going out today, but it won''t take a few days. After that, I can accompany you two at home almost every day in the future." While eating as per their usual breakfast routine, Ye Chen smiled and announced to the two little girls.


    "Really?" The little girls'' black pupils sparkled with joy.


    "Of course."


    "Yay, that''s great!" The two little girls were delighted. Although they were very sensible, they were still children, after all.


    "I''m going out. Please be careful. If someone knocks on the door like yesterday, turn on the TV and blast the volume, then they won''t dare to come in." After eating, Ye Chen instructed the two before heading out.


    The purpose behind going out today, was primarily to head to the construction site and quit his job. Although he was originally contracted as a temporary worker on the construction site, and there was no limit to the duration of his work contract, it didn''t mean he could just leave whenever he wanted.


    "Ye Chen, have you found a new job?"


    During the break, Ye Chen told the foreman about his resignation. The workers around him heard that Ye Chen was going to stop and all flocked, asking enthusiastically.


    "In a way, yes," Ye Chen nodded and replied with a smile. It was too troublesome to explain in depth.


    "It''s good to do another kind of work. This kind of physical work is trading your life for money. If we can choose not to do it, we wouldn''t have wanted to do it. But we don''t have a choice. You''re still young and have a lot of prospects. Changing to other jobs and exploring your options is something that you should do." Old Qian praised Ye Chen, and the workers around him all nodded.


    ...


    "Then, for the money, can I trouble foreman to credit it to my bank account when the time comes. You guys are busy, I will be going first."


    The foreman on the construction site did not make things difficult for Ye Chen. Regarding Ye Chen, the foreman''s impression of him was quite good. When he heard that Ye Chen had found a new job, he immediately agreed to let him go. As for the wages, it was tallied on a monthly basis. Ye Chen''s share could not be given out until all salaries were settled.


    "Relax, we won''t cut out your portion." The foreman lit a cigarette and waved to Ye Chen.


    "If you have the time, come over to play!" Seeing Ye Chen leave, some workers around him who were already familiar with him shouted in the distance.


    "If I have time, I definitely will." Ye Chen waved his hand, but he knew these were just platonic pleasantries. The work at this construction site was almost completed. After the construction site was completed, these workers would not know where they would go to continue work on a new construction site.


    ...


    "Big Brother!" Ye Chen returned to the house, and the two little lolis greeted him happily.


    "Brother, I played a puzzle with Xiao Lan today, and I won once!" Grasping Ye Chen''s arm, Xiao Jing proudly boasted.


    "Really? Xiao Jing is really incredible." Ye Chen caressed Xiao Jing''s head affectionately.


    "Big Brother Ye, I intentionally let her win." However, after a while, Xiao Lan quietly whispered in Ye Chen''s ear, making Ye Chen indecisive whether to cry or laugh as he listened to her.


    Soon, the three of them finished their dinner, but Ye Chen was not in a hurry to play the game instead accompanying the two little girls to watch TV.


    Looking at the happy two little lolis, Ye Chen was also thinking about his schedule in the future.


    He really wanted to make a living from the game, but just playing at night, the time would definitely be far from enough, or at least he was still from this ideal at his current stage. His character was still so low-level, and it will take a lot of time to level up, but he can''t just throw the two girls at home every day and stay in the game all day long.


    "I think it''s better to buy a set of indoor monitoring equipment game support packages." Ye Chen thought about it and came up with a barely feasible solution.


    The indoor monitoring equipment game support package could allow Ye Chen to split up several small screens to watch the scenes captured by indoor cameras. Not only that, but it could also transmit Ye Chen''s image in the game to his indoor TV, not to mention the fact that it even enabled voice chat with people in the room.


    Ye Chen searched up the prices on the Internet. Fortunately, it was not too expensive, only requiring 5000 yuan, which was still within his budget. Ye Chen immediately placed an order and bought a set. The website informed him that his order would be delivered the next day.


    Meanwhile, as Ye Chen was troubled by the matters concerning the two little lolis, the in-game discussion had already reached a frenzied breaking point!


    "Fuck me, 468 grains of rice, how is this even possible!"


    "Not only that, look at the number of people in the teams! There are only two people, two people! They''re even a Priest and a Botanist!"


    "No, look at the Levels! They were only Level 10 when they entered. How is it possible? There is definitely a bug in the game!"


    ...


    Although most adventurers knew that it was impossible to achieve the first place with their achievements, there were still many adventurers concerned about who would get their hands on the lottery-like rewards after six o''clock in the evening. Yet, looking at the unprecedented, record-breaking number of grains gathered resulted in a sensational buzz amongst the adventurers.


    In the past few years, among the mission teams that have attempted "The Thieves in the Rice Fields", some teams have achieved amazing results. Still, the number of 300+ grains of rice had always been the limit, and no team could exceed 400. Now, such a group has emerged and even achieved the breathtaking result of 468 in one fell swoop.


    If it was a team that was a publicly-recognised powerhouse, then it would still be okay. Although everyone would find it strange, they won''t have too much of an opinion about it. They will merely treat it as the other party having a stroke of luck or perhaps using some sort of unique item. However, on the given name list of champion teams given, it was actually only a two-member team with both members at Level 10. Both their professions were even publicly revealed to be the weakest early-game damage dealer duo of a Botanist and Priest!


    For these two professions, even if they were clad in Gold-grade pieces of equipment, it was questionable whether they could survive in the Golden Paddy Fields. So how was it possible that they managed to achieve such jaw-dropping and practically impossible to achieve results?


    Bug!


    The adventurers who got wind of the news all developed this strange feeling, and soon someone posted on the game''s official forum!

 Chapter 23：Levelling Plan

    "Golden Paddy Fields, a sky-breaking record! Is it a bug? Must be a bug!"


    "Mysterious two-man team, history''s strongest Priest and Botanist!"


    "Buying the ID of the insane record-setting Botanist and Priest. Call 110 now!"


    "GM, I''ve found a bug. I want to report it! Quick!"


    "Level 10 Botanist sets an unbreakable record! The turning point of Botanists?"


    ...


    The news swept across the land like a raging fire. Quickly, the forums erupted with discussions and threads after threads of attention-grabbing titles surfaced. Many adventurers were taken aback by this unprecedented record and quickly followed the topic on the forums.


    All sorts of voices could be heard on the forums. First, the people who were confident that this was not a system bug. They carefully analyzed how two low-level adventurers, much less a Priest and Botanist, could set such unattainable results. Some were highly curious about who these two gods were. However, a vast majority were unable to accept this fact, screaming and shouting about a bug in the game. They demanded an explanation from the developers, whining about how a benefit reaped from bugs was a loss on their part.


    [*** Dust, **Ai, who in the world are these two people?]


    As the adventurers fanned the flames of rage and shock on the forums, the party of mages and their leader, The Invulnerable, stood at the front of the Golden Paddy Fields Ranking Board. Their faces fell faster than a corpse in cement boots. At the moment that the results were released, their skin grayed as their mouths hung with lips slightly parted. Like a goldfish, their eyes were as wide as they could stretch.


    Within the mission, the entire Boundless World had agreed that 400 grains were an unsurpassable upper limit. With their score, the Invulnerable had absolute confidence that they were the champion for the month. Before the clock ticked to 6 P.M., his entire party had arrived, sanguine about the results. Who knew, it was a freeing cold pail of water that awaited them.


    If the winner was a conventional six-man party, they could probably be a grain or two higher. If that was the case, The Invulnerable could only point his hatred at luck and misfortune. Who knew, they lost to two Level 10 adventurers, what''s more, a Botanist and a Priest! This loss was inexplicable and blatantly unacceptable! Dissatisfaction surged through his veins, rushing to his head as he clenched his fist in anger.


    On the other hand, Ye Chen had seen this coming. He knew that their unbelievable result would set off an unstoppable uproar once it was released. Long before he had left the dungeon, he had hidden their names undercover. Even so, the system would not protect their names fully, leaving the last word behind. As for the profession and team structure, it was for all to see.


    "Seems like there''s a huge hooha on the forums, I will go take a look." Sensing the suffocating silence, Rat could not take it anymore and immediately escaped into the forums. Before long, he was back in the game.


    "The developers had released a public notice. The two adventurers had regular data. However, they did use special and ultra-rare equipment to achieve this unprecedented result." Rat waved his hands wryly and snorted.


    The developers were swift in their reaction. Before a massive unsalvageable commotion broke out, they curbed it with an ultimatum.


    Hearing the official conclusion, the pale-white faces were overwhelmed with disbelief and disappointment. With this formal notice, all hopes of them receiving the rewards were dashed.


    "Fuck! What sort of miraculous equipment did they use to get this fucking insane results!" The so-called sissy ass bitch Priest slammed his valuable staff onto the ground in a fit of rage, acting nothing like the nickname he was called.


    "Argh, whatever, stop being angry. We all know this dungeon very well. To get such inconceivable numbers, special equipment is far from sufficient. True skill is essential and indispensable. If they managed to get this with just two people, we truly lost to them in every aspect. What''s more, if they are really skilled and low-level, we can try contacting them."


    While the unexpected loss of rewards did send a painful blow of disappointment straight into The Invulnerable''s face, he immediately recovered and thought of the optimistic opportunities.


    "Boss, you want to recruit them into the guild?" puzzled, one of the mages asked.


    "Idiot! Do you really think it is so easy to recruit such skilled people into the guild?" The Invulnerable rolled his eyes hard at this mage.


    Ashamed, the mage rubbed his head and laughed awkwardly.


    "Boss, then do you mean that mission?" Rat was the fastest to react, "...Indeed, with their skills, we can try contacting them."


    "But, they have hidden their names. Looking for them is fishing for a needle in the sea. By the time we find them, who knows what level they have become already?" Hearing the discussion, the Priest calmly interjected.


    "Whatever let''s try first. Not like it would take a lot of time. If we find them, good for us, if not, we have no losses."


    ...


    The raging flames of the new unbreakable record of "The Thief of the Fields" mission were quickly quenched by the official statement from the GM.


    Other than the still white-hot interest in the two Level 10 Botanist and Priest, the majority of the players placed their attention on the equipment used. After all, the skills available to a Level 10 adventurer of any profession was limited, no way close to powerful. Even if they had skills, it was not possible to score such an astronomically high score. With some slight deduction, it could be easily told that the most significant factor here was their equipment.


    "God damn it! Why didn''t the GM release the name of the equipment used? Even if we can''t get it, at least we know about it¡­" Some adventures lamented in disappointment. However, deep down they knew, the GM was already kind when they revealed that the score was a result of rare equipment. That was the maximum amount of details that they could release.


    Only at around 9 P.M. did Ye Chen finally log onto the game. At this time, while there was still some discussion about the event, it was small and could not hold a candle to the initial massive uproar.


    "Brother Dust, you have finally come online! You don''t even know how heated the debate and discussion about us were just hours ago!" The instant Xiao Ai saw Ye Chen''s username pop online, she sent him a text message.


    She had entered the forums after their glorious victory to search up some information. Never had she expected to see countless threads discussing their identities and even making baseless guesses. Seeing the dumbfoundedness of the elites and veterans, hundred different emotions welled up within her, erupting into satisfying happiness. Now, as she saw Ye Chen online, she could not help but feel it rushing through her veins again.


    "Oh? Do you wanna be even more famous?" Hearing her enthusiasm, Ye Chen''s eyes narrowed as he teased her further.


    Attaining fame for just a matter of time for him, however, right now his level was too low. It was still not the right moment to show his entire hand of cards. After all, this was a game. In the face of Level Suppression, even the most celebrated talent suffered a massive cut.


    "OF COURSE!"


    "Then, let''s kill some monsters to level up."


    "Err¡­ so sorry, Brother Dust, my friend also joined the game. I need to follow them and have moved to another city¡­" Immediately, Xiao Ai''s excitement watered down as her tone turned apologetic.


    "Ah, I see. Then come to me should you have any queries then!" Indeed, that stunned Ye Chen for a while. However, he quickly recovered. This was sudden, but not unexpected.


    Things still boiled down to the difference they had. Xiao Ai was just a regular adventurer. Even with great luck, powerful equipment and skills, she could not follow Ye Chen''s ace. From today onwards, he was going to spend a considerable chunk of his time within the game. With his current pace, he would leave Xiao Ai in the dust within 10 days if she did not stick with him at every moment. At that time, they had no choice but to split.


    Xiao Ai was just a normal 16 to 17 year-old girl. Asking her to spend all her time in a game was unreasonable. While Ye Chen did have thoughts of cultivating Xiao Ai into a professional, he knew it was not practical.


    "Alright. Thanks, Brother Dust. I will find you if I have time." In another wild area within the world, Xiao Ai cut off the call with Ye Chen. With her fingers, she tugged mercilessly on her rosy cheeks and put on her mask of happiness. Smiling chirpily, she squatted and gestured to a cute pink rabbit monster. "Lil rabbit, come to me. This sister will give you candy!"


    "Xiao Ai, are we really killing this cute little bunny?" By Xiao Ai''s side, a similar-aged young girl was plagued with hesitation, hugging weakly onto her magic staff.


    "Of course? If you don''t kill it, how are you completing your mission?" KILL!!!!" Placing her hands on her hip, she leaned forward and pressured her friend.


    ...


    Between 6 A.M. of last night and 12 P.M. of the next day, the "Paddy Field Watcher" would be replaced with a different NPC. As Ye Chen approached, he bowed courteously and said, "Honourable adventurers of the Boundless World you are a member of the champion party of this month. I am pleased to award you 10 Achievement Points and 1000 Gold! Congratulations!"


    [System Notice, You have gained 1000 Gold!]


    "Time to go level up. I''m at Level 14, 33%, still far from Level 30. But where should I go?"


    Having collected his rewards, Ye Chen''s thoughts went to his levelling plans. When he was reborn, he did make a concrete plan as to how to level up as quickly as possible. However, his plan had to adapt to his circumstances. He had never expected to receive the Durian Bomb Tree or the Illusions of Time. Now, his levelling plan had to change to make the most out of his skills.


    To maximize the power of the Durian Bomb Tree, in the absence of a Priest, he had to find a levelling point where he could transplant the plants to a high vantage point. From there, he would launch his attacks while the monster could not reach him. As far as Ye Chen knew, there are not many locations that met these two conditions. Of the areas that were above Level 10, there was only the Gray Stone Forests, with the exception for the giant boulders in the Kobold Forest.


    However, Gray Stone Forest was a Level 19 monster spawn point. Although the Stone Wolf was not a long-range attacker, it was known to be very agile and quick. Ye Chen was only at Level 14, and the Level 10 shoes he wore only added 3 points of Movement Speed. He must at least acquire a pair of shoes with 5 points of Movement Speed bonus to effectively utilize his positioning technique to prevent the Stone Wolf from closing in.


    A pair of shoes with 5 points of Movement Speed bonus would easily be categorized as an absolute treasure. Even though he had no idea if he could find a decent pair, he had no choice but to try.

 Chapter 24： Acting As A Prodigal Son

    Movement speed was an essential attribute in the game. An adventurer''s equipment consisted of weapons, armour, bracers, leggings, shoes, necklaces, rings, and earrings. Out of a total of ten standard equipment, only the shoes helped to increase movement speed. A pair of shoes with good attributes and help to increase movement speed was akin to a good car. It would always garner everyone''s attention, and the price to get one''s hands on one was naturally high.


    Hence, it was not easy to find a pair of shoes with high movement speed. Especially if one were to want to get them immediately, one must be prepared to have others carve out a pound of flesh.


    However, Ye Chen had just received a reward of 1000 gold coins. Even if he were to spend more money, he would not mind too much. The question was where on earth he could go to immediately purchase a pair of shoes that adds a movement speed of 5.


    Acquisition in the game forum was a possible method. Still, this method would garner feedback far too slowly, unless one was willing to pay a sensational sky-high price and cause others to discuss it. Otherwise, only Heaven knew when he would actually acquire a pair.


    Thinking for a while, Ye Chen felt that he could only head to the Trade Lobby in the city to get the pair of shoes he wanted in the shortest time.


    Heading back directly to the Titan Megacity, Ye Chen entered a huge trading hall not long after walking on the spacious gray marble street.


    "The newly-launched Level 60 Summoner''s pinnacle Gold-grade equipment, Wild Wolf summoning skill level +1!"


    "Selling various grades of low-resistance potions!"


    ...


    He had entered the door of the Trading Lobby before he was assaulted by a cacophony of lively buying and selling sounds. As he swerved his gaze to see the commotion, he saw that there were rows after rows of countless adventurer-owned stalls set up in the Trade Lobby.


    Ye Chen didn''t pay attention to these adventurers, nor did he have the thought of finding an excellent pair of shoes that could be worn by the Level 14 adventurers from these adventurer-owned stalls. Instead, he headed for a less-populated area in the Trade Lobby and called out the item auction system.


    In the Trade Lobby, many adventurers that seemed like they were standing still were in actuality browsing the items in the item auction system.


    Of course, this item auction system could only allow one to view the items being auctioned in the Titan Megacity as well as the surrounding auction systems in the various large and small towns within its scope. The item auction system within the entire Oriental Region would only be opened on Saturday and Sunday. At that time, the Trading Area would become quite lively, like a festival taking place.


    For those with the money but no place to spend it, in those two days, as long as the items they were looking for were not too abnormal and rare, they should be possible to acquire them from the item auction system, which would boast a terrifyingly large amount of transactions.


    Although it was only an item auction system centred around the Titan Megacity, the moment Ye Chen entered the auction system, he found that there was a fierce bidding war for a Venomous Flying Dragon mount''s egg. The price of which had already reached more than 800,000 gold coins.


    "Venomous Flying Dragon''s egg? Shouldn''t such a rare drop start auctioning on the weekend?"


    Even if it was Ye Chen who saw it, he couldn''t help but be surprised.


    Venomous Flying Dragon, as an aerial-type mount, has an extremely eye-catching body-shape. Its attributes were even more perverted, and it was definitely a symbol of identity and strength!


    Under normal circumstances, it should have appeared in the weekend''s All-Oriental auction. However, when Ye Chen looked at the auction deadline, it immediately became clear to him why the egg would show up now. The bidding of this Venomous Flying Dragon had actually already lasted for a week without any upper limit. The current price was only the prelude, and when the weekend comes, the price will shoot through the ceiling in one fell swoop.


    Within the game, no matter whether it was items or money, the drop rate was extremely scarce, but many places required the vast consumption of gold coins. Although the game had been running for several years, the gold coins still showed no signs of depreciation and still have considerable purchasing power. Despite this, the Venomous Flying Dragon had already auctioned for a price of over 800,000, which was a frightening amount. If these gold coins were sold on the trading platform, it would cause one to strike the jackpot overnight.


    Ye Chen knew that the Venom Flying Dragon held an immense attraction to those "whales", and the final transaction price will definitely be more than doubled the current price.


    "Fuck me, if I can get on my hands on such loot, the matter concerning Xiao Jing and Xiao Lan can be solved in one go." Watching the price of the Venomous Flying Dragon suddenly shooting up by another 20,000 gold coins, Ye Chen couldn''t help but feel despondent.


    Twenty thousand gold coins could allow one to do many things in the game, but in this item auction of this priceless drop, this increase seemed to amount to only two copper coins.


    But Ye Chen was only rambling to himself. Waiting for the pie to fall was not in his character. He turned his attention away from the Venomous Flying Dragon, instead searching for shoes with high movement speed that was below Level 14.


    As for finding the right pair of shoes, Ye Chen did not hold too much confidence. To place items on the auction system, one must pay at least ten gold coins, but for many items below Level 10, most couldn''t even earn back the initial cost of the ten gold coins. Hence, in the auction system, Level 10 equipment would rarely be seen.


    But the moment Ye Chen entered the search bar, he felt that he was blessed by good fortune. There was a pair of Level 13 Gold-grade shoes being auctioned.


    [Oil Lizard Leather Boots(Gold-grade): A pair of shoes made from rare Oil Lizard leather. With a slick and shiny surface, one could hardly feel any resistance wearing this shoe.


    Attributes: Defense +7, magic Defense +8, Movement Speed +5, Can be equipped at Level 13.


    Profession Limitations: None.


    Additional skills: Low-level Explosive Run-away.


    Low-level Explosive Run-away: Exhausting all your body strength to increase the movement speed by 1 additional point within 30 seconds. However, within 1 minute after the end of the state, you will enter a fatigued state, and the movement speed will be reduced by an additional 2 points. Skill cooldown: 3 minutes.]


    Glancing at the remaining time of the shoe auction, Ye Chen couldn''t help but rejoice for coming in time. If he had arrived even a few minutes later, the shoe auction would be over.


    There were more than seven minutes of auction time left for the pair of shoes. Upon discovering this pair of shoes, just solely looking at the attributes, Ye Chen found that the bidding price had changed twice. Who knew how many people were eyeing this pair of Gold-grade shoes and engaged in a fierce bidding war?


    The starting price was at 100 gold coins. Although it seems that several people were bidding for the auction, the current bidding price of the auction was not very high, only at 135 gold coins and 66 silver coins. Every time someone bade, only a few silver coins would be added.


    "Other than increasing Movement Speed by 5, this pair of shoes has a low level and even lower attributes. The low-level Explosive Run-away skill is even more of a troll skill for most adventurers, and at most, it is only worth up to three hundred gold coins. However, the adventurer who is selling quoted an asking price of 500 gold coins. No wonder that these people only came to bid slowly at this time." Ye Chen had an abundance of experience in this field and immediately saw through to the root of the problem.


    For shoes of this level, it was actually quite a troll. The adventurers who could afford them will instead choose to spend the money directly on hiring someone to power level them, and instantly advance so that they could wear higher-level equipment. As for adventurers who have no money, although they want to buy them, they could only lament their poverty. For low-level adventurers, where would they find hundreds of gold coins to buy a pair of shoes? If they had so much money, they would directly buy a decent set of silver-grade equipment, which would strengthen their damage output and Defense.


    While Movement Speed ??was good, for most adventurers, damage output and Defense were far more essential.


    So now, the bidders were either the merchants who intended to resell the item, or mediocre adventurers who didn''t have enough money, yet wanted to buy the shoes to show off. But no matter who they were, neither would pay the asking price of 500 gold coins. But this did not include Ye Chen.


    After observing for a while more, he found that there were indeed at least five people eyeing at the pair of shoes. Hence, Ye Che didn''t think too much, directly buying it at the asking price.


    After all, to Ye Chen, Defense was as transient as clouds. The Movement Speed of these shoes could still last him until Level 30, and he can sell the shoes anytime after they are replaced with a better pair then.


    Although this did not negate the fact that he still lost over two hundred gold coins, however with so many bidders, only the system would know who the item would ultimately fall to. Ye Chen did not want to potentially regret and waste his time just because of the two or three hundred gold coins. It was not an uncommon sight to Ye Chen to see adventurers who wanted to spend less on the auction, but ultimately losing the bid and falling into a sea of despair.


    Ye Chen bought the shoes at the asking price. In the Trade Lobby, several adventurers were still anxiously counting down how much auction time was left. In their hearts, they were scheming on how to strike at the last possible moment. However, these nefariously-plotting adventurers all couldn''t help their hearts almost going still with shock.


    "Fuck! Which prodigal son is this?!" After remaining silent for a while, a fat businessman couldn''t help viciously cussing out.


    Five hundred gold coins to buy a pair of Level 13 shoes. This was really too fucking prodigal, the extreme heights of extravagance!

 Chapter 25： The Legendary Place

    Gray Stone Forest was home to the infamous Stone Wolves. Their aggression, high attack power, long HP and fast movements had made a nasty name for themselves amongst the lower level adventurers. For a greenhorn, they were undoubtedly a big headache. Hence, adventurers seldom choose to come to the Gray Stone Forest. When Ye Chen entered the region, it was eerily quiet, the pathway was empty. Looking into the distance, there were no silhouettes or any human movement, just the dark, ancient gray boulders, like sentinels standing guard over the forest.


    The boulders were more ancient than any other trees in sight. On its surface, twisted vines, both withered and vibrant, lined the surface like artificial veins. The once smooth rock was pitted and rugged, scarred by the winds of each past season. Beyond the boulders were a still quietness, not many adventurers roamed the woods. Compared to the bustling Kobold Forest, it was night and day.


    While the Gray Stone Forest was almost devoid of activities now, it had its glamorous days. When it first debuted, Ye Chen had swarmed here along with other adventurers, combing this ruins-like area for treasure. Then, the area was brimming with life, movement and noise. While the Stone Wolves were like an unbeatable boss to the lower levelled, ill-equipped adventurers, they had no fear. The number of adventurers far surpassed the wolves. With strength in numbers, their only worry would be that there were no more wolves to hunt!


    The Gray Stone Forest had an incredible backstory. It had a legend. From the mouths of various NPCs, the adventurers had gathered that a massive treasure was hiding in the sprawling woods. After catching wind of the potential mission, everyone rushed over in a storm.


    In the early days of the game, such tantalizing news had dramatic effects. Upon completing this legendary mission, the benefits of getting the rewards early were unmistakably humongous.


    The event crashed the forums. Almost every single adventurer was following the current development of the explorations within the Gray Stone Forest. Owing to the rumours and legends, adventurers reported without fail daily.


    Five years have passed since then. In this period, Ye Chen had not heard of anyone completing any question or mission with rich rewards. Even then, Ye Chen believed that there were still adventurers here searching for the unfound treasure.


    Perhaps someone had completed the mission with some mind-boggling methods or triggered a special event on pure luck. Whether the mission truly existed, only those who had kept mum about their benefits knew.


    In his previous visit, Ye Chen had done a thorough analysis of the Gray Stone Forest. Now, after 4 long years, he had not only forgotten most of these findings, but the developers may have also made adjustments to this not-so-popular location. After purchasing the shoes, Ye Chen still went onto the forums, digging out the hand-drawn maps of Gray Stone Forest done by other adventurers, making a comparison to his memories.


    Other than for the special missions, the game system did not provide any maps. All of the regional maps of the forums were drawn by the passionate adventurers. In the past, these maps could be considered secret documents of the guilds. Now, the low-level regional maps could be easily found on the forums. Seeing that there were not many differences, Ye Chen immediately headed for the Gray Stone Forest.


    In his mind, Ye Chen had decided on the central region of the Gray Stone Forest as his training area. There, he could find suitably tall boulders and the monsters regularly spawned, saving him the trouble of gathering them together. It was an efficient training location.


    "OI! That Botanist there! Don''t come over here! Go elsewhere! The Warring Dragon Guild has reserved the entire region for training. If you don''t want to die, go elsewhere!"


    As he proceeded to the central forest region, two parties appeared in front of him. They were all well-equipped, probably around Level 19 or 20. With their level and skill, killing the Stone Wolves was as easy as crushing paper.


    The Warring Dragon Guild trains here? Odd, something is definitely off!


    Others may have bought that blatant lie, but not Ye Chen.


    The Gray Stone Forest was far from suitable as a training ground for regular adventurers. If the Warring Dragon Guild wanted to train, they could easily terrorize and monopolize other more efficient areas. There was utterly no need to come to such a remote and ill-suited area.


    "What are you doing? Scram! We, the Warring Dragon Guild, are not something a freaking Botanist can fight with!" Seeing the hesitation in Ye Chen, another party member hollered.


    With the 5-level difference, there would be a Level Suppression. However, with the Single Transplantation and the Illusions of Time, this bigot would be grilled within seconds. Then with his new shoes, he could easily make his grand escape. However, Ye Chen was not so rash, he had long grown out of that immaturity. His eyes glanced contemptuously onto that fella, sizing him up.


    Just a Level 19 idiot. With a cold snort, he turned and left.


    His aim was to level up and train. Acting in a fit of rage and killing this man would force him to relook for a training ground. Leaving the wastage of time aside, dealing with the Warring Dragon Guild would be a massive pain in the ass.


    "BITCH! What are you looking at?!" The fearsome Adventurer felt the ice-cold look and the condescending smirk. Immediately, he screamed and raised the bow in his hands. In the next instant, an arrow was slicing through the air in a beeline onto Ye Chen''s back.


    A devilish smirk surfaced onto the Adventurer''s face. He could not wait to see how Ye Chen could not retaliate despite suffering the sneak attack. Alas, with an intricate and timely sidestep, Ye Chen dodged it. The arrow brushed across his shoulders, not even grazing a millimetre onto his clothing.


    "What the¡­ How did this guy do that?"


    Surprise and confusion washed over the two parties'' faces. This Botanist, he dodged the sneak attack without even turning back to take a look?


    "Fuck! I don''t believe that you will be lucky again!" While it may seem like a matter of luck, it was a tough mouthful of embarrassment and humiliation for the archer to swallow. Once again, he aimed and pulled his bow.


    "Hunter! Enough! Don''t forget the orders we received!" When their leader saw Ye Chen''s reaction, he immediately stopped the archer. Ye Chen had continued walking away without even turning back after the blatant aggression. The sirens in the leader''s heart had begun blaring deafeningly. He could tell that this man was not so simple.


    "TCH! Count yourself lucky!" Very unwillingly, the archer out down his bow as he hissed through his teeth.


    ...


    The Warring Dragon Guild must have received some form of a mission in this place¡­


    Without a doubt, the levelling training was fake. Then, the only possibility left was a mission. The only question that remained was, what sort of mission?


    In any case, it had no relation to him. Attempting to ruin a mission attempt for others was not easy. What''s more, most of the missions were fixed and ruining it was impossible. Ye Chen had no time or energy to waste on such trivial, immature antics, minding his own business.


    Now, he had to worry about his new training location. Fortunately, the Gray Stone Forest had several decent spawn points. Before coming here, he had already made plans for change if other adventurers were using his desired spot. He arrived at another area, far from the Warring Dragon Guild.


    "Single Transplantation!"


    Ye Chen observed the density and monster density of the region and climbed onto a two-meter tall boulder and transplanted the Durian Bomb Tree that he had prepared beforehand. He did not begin his assault on the beasts immediately. Instead, he ran to a Stone Wolve on the outer edges of the forest.


    Pulling monsters was a skill of its own, especially for the fast-moving beast like the Stone Wolves. Even if the additional 5 points of Movement Speed, Ye Chen was still a tad slower than these beasts. If more wolves were chasing after him, utilizing natural obstacles to slow them down would increase in difficulty. In the worst-case scenario, they could catch up to him, reducing him to a mere pile of bones within seconds.


    Under such circumstances, pulling the monsters from the outside inwards was a wiser decision.


    The area around Ye Chen was cloaked in silence. From within the shadows, the gentle rustlings of the lurking wolves were deafening, Sweeping across, the traces of the countless beasts were prominent.


    Ye Chen could not remember the aggression zone of this monster that he fought years ago. However, after pulling one or two of them, his memories returned. Once he regained this understanding, pulling them towards him was a piece of cake. For the further ones, he had even just sent a beam of Withering Light, attracting the aggression.


    About thirty seconds later, Ye Chen was already pulling fourteen or fifteen Stone Wolves on his back. With deep wheezing breath, he dashed at his top speed back towards the durian bomb tree!


    Fourteen or fifteen monsters was already a massive problem, much less the Stone Wolves. Even the classic combination of Mage, Priest, and Knight party would never dare to pull so many monsters at once. This number of monsters was enough to cause a total annihilation of the party!


    But this was Ye Chen. He was not like any Tom, Dick, or Harry!


    "Illusions of Time!"


    Gray glowing rays encircled the Durian Bomb Tree. Immediately, a torrential downpour of durians welcomed the incoming beasts. One after another, sounds of explosions resounded as dense clouds of dust engulfed the forest.


    "Haha, this amount of experience! DAMN"


    The DPS of the Durian Bomb Tree was incredibly astounding under the effects of the Illusions of Time. Even with the Stone Wolves'' 1000HP, they were almost instantaneously killed. Together with the dissipating dust when the wolves died, tons of experience floated in front of Ye Chen''s eyes!

 Chapter 26：Restricted Regional-Type Mission

    For an ordinary levelling team, if one were to come to the Gray Stone Forest to level up and kill six or seven monsters, the experience was pretty ample. If one were able to kill eight or nine monsters, the experience would definitely leave one grinning from ear-to-ear. Now that Ye Chen alone had taken two teams'' worth of experience, his experience was shooting up like a rocket taking off into space.


    This long-lost sensation of his experience soaring made Ye Chen, a person who already liked levelling, feel even more refreshed.


    Ye Chen attracted 14 or 15 Stone Wolves at a time. Approximately ten were directly killed by the Durian Bomb Tree that was boosted by the "Illusions of Time". At the same time, the remaining few coming in from behind finally arrived and wanted to attack Ye Chen. But Ye Chen only led them a few rounds around under the stone pillars, and they were quickly aggroed by the Durian Bomb Tree. Then he circled around the stone pillar innocently, and he hollered excitedly at the Durian Bomb Tree from time to time.


    "Carry on!"


    After completely getting rid of the aggro from the last few Stone Wolves, Ye Chen kept running towards the Stone Wolves on the other side of the other stone pillars.


    According to Ye Chen''s plan, he found two stone pillars separated by a certain distance and transplanted a Durian Bomb Tree over. After he finished bombing one area, he directly ran over to the other pillar, killing the waves of monsters in rotation. However, there were several stone pillars where it was unsuitable for the plants to be transplanted. Take, for example, the pillar in front of him. Though he could choose to transplant a Durian Bomb Tree over, however, the distance would become too far apart, and it would take a lot of time to cover the distance.


    And the number of Stone Wolves was much higher than what Ye Chen had recalled. Ye Chen''s memories regarding this place were only limited to remembering having droves of people swarming the site at that time and unable to see a single monster at all. Thus, the idea of simultaneously killing the areas at once popped into his mind.


    In actuality, because his speed was still half a step slower than that of the Stone Wolf, Ye Chen couldn''t afford to attract too many monsters. Otherwise, it would quickly become too dangerous. After some observation, Ye Chen decided to divide the monsters around the stone pillar into two semicircles. The dozen or so monsters just now were the monsters in the semicircle on the left. On the other hand, the monsters he was about to lure would be in the semicircle on the right.


    If it weren''t for the fact that the ceiling area of these stone pillars in the Gray Stone Forest being too narrow, making it impossible to plant two Durian Bomb Trees at the same time, Ye Chen would have simply transplanted another Durian Bomb Tree to the top, expediting the killing process.


    However, the speed of killing monsters was actually quite abnormal now. Although Ye Chen still had some regrets, he didn''t pay much attention to them but merely focused on attracting the monsters.


    However, the cooldown of Illusions of Time was still one minute. Ye Chen obviously had no way to use the skill every time to speed up the Durian Bomb Tree''s damage output and quickly kill the Stone Wolves.


    "Single Transplantation!"


    However, Ye Chen had some countermeasures and transplanted another Durian Bomb Tree to an area more than three meters away from the stone pillar. Then he took another group of Stone Wolves and ran to the stone pillar.


    The stone pillars were only so big. Hence, Ye Chen dared not take them to wander around too much under the stone pillars. Otherwise, he would fall prey to the wolves as soon as he lagged behind. Ye Chen led the pack of Stone Wolves and charged towards the other stone pillar, making them suffer a round of bombardment from the Durian Bomb Tree situated at the top of the stone pillar.


    Some of the Stone Wolves attacked by the Durian Bomb Tree suffered critical damage, and their aggro was pulled over by the Durian Bomb Tree. They circled under the stone pillar, while for those less heavily injured, they still followed behind Ye Chen, and Ye Chen led these Stone Wolves to the other Durian Bomb Tree.


    When he first lured these monsters, Ye Chen had already taken this situation into consideration, so there were two more monsters on the left semicircle, while a total of twelve to thirteen monsters were on the right side. Among these numbers, six or seven were dragged away by the Durian Bomb Tree on the stone pillar. At the same time, the remaining half followed Ye Chen to another Durian Bomb Tree.


    Leading the remaining pack of Stone Wolves, Ye Chen ran half a circle around the Durian Bomb Tree on the ground before running back to the stone pillar.


    Judging from the probability rate of the Durian Bomb Tree on the stone pillar, Ye Chen estimated that the aggro of about two to three would be pulled away by the Durian Bomb Tree on the ground. And the reality was as what Ye Chen predicted, out of the six Stone Wolves following him, three were dragged away by the Durian Bomb Tree on the ground.


    Although a Botanist had various shortcomings, the plants themselves have a large HP pool, high Defense, and HP recovery characteristics. Typically, it was not a problem for a plant to resist two monsters of the same level. Of course, the plant will also be significantly damaged. It was certainly not a sustainable solution if the plants were not allowed to rest and to recover HP.


    As a super-rare plant species, the Durian Bomb Tree did not only have a frighteningly high Attack, but all its other attributes were higher than ordinary plants. However, the Stone Wolf was five levels higher than Ye Chen, and its Attack was even higher than monsters of the same level. Under the siege of the three Stone Wolves, the Durian Bomb Tree would definitely be unable to resist.


    So after verifying the number of monsters pulled by the Durian Bomb Tree on the ground, the moment he had the chance, a Withering Light struck the head of a Stone Wolf that was just pulled away by the Durian Bomb Tree. The Stone Wolf immediately discarded its aggro towards the Durian Bomb Tree and rushed towards Ye Chen.


    This was a unique way of pulling aggro that the Botanist had. It was called "priority hatred". In the priority hatred state, as long as the Botanist used skills to actively attack the monster that had its aggro pulled by the plant, the monster''s aggro would immediately transfer back to the Botanist.


    Priority hatred mainly existed to protect the plants of the Botanist. If there was no priority hatred, the life of a Botanist would only be more laborious.


    However, priority hatred could only take effect once every ten seconds, and it was even an automatic effect. Many novice Botanists who turned on priority hatred but forgot to close it were often killed without even knowing why. They would then go to the forum to scold the developers for being fools for designing such a stupid system.


    After going one round in this manner, when Ye Chen circled back to the stone pillar with four Stone Wolves in tow, several of the Stone Wolves surrounding the stone pillar were already killed by the Durian Bomb Tree. Ye Chen simply encircled the stone pillar twice, and followed the aggro of his four Stone Wolves was quickly pulled by the Durian Bomb Tree.


    Afterwards, Ye Chen finally switched off the priority hatred function and attacked the two Stone Wolves of the grounded Durian Bomb Tree with Withering Light.


    As the rumbling explosions continued unceasingly, more than a dozen Stone Wolves quickly collapsed on the ground. Only slightly more than half the HP of the Durian Bomb Tree on the ground was shaved off in the end.


    "What a petty monster!"


    There were almost a total of thirty monsters killed after his efforts, but when Ye Chen cleaned up the battlefield, he only picked up less than one hundred copper coins.


    Looking at the dozens of copper coins, Ye Chen felt a painful aching in his heart, wondering whether it was necessary to continue wasting time here.


    But mosquitoes were still meat even if they were small, and it should be enough to buy a loaf of bread after going a few more rounds¡­


    And¡­ the time cycle was just right. When Ye Chen finished picking up the copper coins, the monsters on the left side of the stone pillar began to refresh one after another!


    "Great!" Ye Chen beamed.


    This way, he could basically achieve seamless mobbing, and the efficiency of his monster hunting would be maximised!


    The newly refreshed monster on the left was brought back by him, who was incomparably familiar with the route. The Illusions of Time had cooled down by now as well. Using the Illusions of Time, this time Ye Chen did not even need to dispatch the Durian Bomb Tree on the ground and quickly cleared the left semicircle worth of monsters.


    When this wave of monsters was annihilated, the HP of the Durian Bomb Tree on the ground was restored to nearly 90%. The monsters on the right also began refreshing one after another, and Ye Chen dashed towards them again.


    Although the item drops were not very stellar, Ye Chen''s experience went up at a crazy pace. Within two hours, the white light of symbolising Ye Chen''s level up suddenly flashed!


    Level Up!


    The amount of experience that others typically needed to spend 10 hours to acquire, he got it in less than two hours!


    "Haha, with this speed, I''m truly invincible!"


    Although he already had some understanding of the rate that the Durian Bomb Tree killed monsters, Ye Chen still did not expect that after owning the Durian Bomb Tree, his levelling speed would be boosted to such a perverted extent!


    After Level 15, one was now able to pick a deputy profession. However, Ye Chen was beside himself with joy right now, and not in a hurry to acquire the deputy Profession. Tonight, he would go crazy here, consecutively rising several levels, and enjoy the thrill of this abnormal levelling speed!


    After tasting the sweet nectar of levelling, Ye Chen was even more motivated in killing monsters. On the other hand, after the two Durian Bomb Trees massacred a large number of Stone Wolves, they were promoted to Level 2 one after another, each of their attributes increasing drastically. The rate of killing monsters became even simpler and faster. When luring the monsters, Ye Chen directly used Withering Light to attract a few more distant Stone Wolves over.


    Another hour passed, and Ye Chen''s experience soared horrifyingly by more than 30% of his experience bar. As long as he was given another two hours, he could immediately rise another level!


    [System Prompt: An adventurer in your area map has triggered a Restricted Regional-type Mission. The mission is about to begin. Will you accept the mission?]


    Ye Chen was still luring monsters at that point. When he received the prompt from this system, his heart suddenly gave a violent thump!


    Restricted Regional-type Mission?


    It must be the Warring Dragon Guild! In that instant, Ye Chen could only think of such a possibility!

 Chapter 27：Stone Tribe’s Totem

    Regional-Type Missions, as the name suggested, happened within a constricted region of space. When the Regional-Type Mission was triggered, any adventurer within the area would be able to join in. Restricted Regional-Type Missions were even more unique. Once the mission began, the entire area of space would be barred. Other than the adventurers involved in the mission, no other adventurer will be allowed into the area during the mission duration. As such, the Restricted Regional-Type Missions were usually short, ending within a few hours.


    At the same time, if the adventurer chose not to partake in the Restricted Regional-Type Mission, he would be evicted and disallowed from re-entering until the mission was over.


    There were two modes of participation in the Restricted Regional-Type Mission, cooperative or confrontational. In this case, the cooperative way would require the adventurer to assist the Warring Dragon Guild to complete their mission. The Confrontational way would be to disrupt the execution of their plans.


    Either way, there would not be a loss for me. The biggest loss would be not accepting the mission and getting evicted from here.


    While the number of adventurers levelling in the Gray Stone Forest was small, they still existed. At this moment, a majority of them were still in utter confusion of the situation. Ye Chen, on the other hand, had already made up his mind. Naturally, he was accepting the mission. If he chose the cooperative side, he would practically reap a considerable benefit for free.


    However, the rewards were far more lucrative for the Confrontational mode. It was definitely worth a risk. That was especially so as the Restricted Regional-Type Mission would automatically evict any players who were more than 3 levels above the level of the region. In other words, there were no adventurers above Level 22 within Gray Stone Forest now. With his current character''s attributes, he could definitely put up a fight against the remaining adventurers.


    "Confirm Mission!"


    [System Notice: You have accepted a Restricted Regional-Type Mission.


    "Stone Tribe''s Totem"


    Mission Attribute: Restricted Regional-Type Mission, Confrontational Mode]


    [Mission Description: The Gray Stone Forest is the slumbering ground of the ancient Stone Tribe. However, there are people in the modern world wishing to lay their hands onto the Stone Tribe''s Totem! The Stone Tribe''s Totem lies in slumber in the most central region of the Stone Tribe''s Altar. These evil wrongdoers have activated a magic circle, attempting to extract the totem from its deep slumber! The totem is our tribe''s pride and glory, it must not be tainted! Destroy the magic circle, protect the Stone Tribe''s Totem!


    Mission Rewards: When the faction you belong to succeeds, you will receive a massive experience bonus. If the faction destroys the magic circle successfully, you will receive an additional professional skill!


    Time Remaining: 4h 59m 59s


    Mission Recommendations: The number of enemies and their strength is top-notch. We, the Stone Tribe, have seen this coming and are prepared for this even if we are already annihilated. We left some items behind. Go find it and strengthen yourself! Link up with the allies and destroy the magic circle at once!]


    Ye Chen opened the Mission Log, sweeping his eyes across it briefly.


    The bonus reward is actually an additional professional skill!?


    Ye Chen''s eye shone brightly. Now he was actually interested!


    If the rewards were equipment, Ye Chen would be indifferent. For Level 10 equipment, even if the attributes were reliable, he had to eliminate them by the time he reached Level 40 to 50. On the other hand, skills were lifelong investments, usable throughout.


    Moreover, the skill rewards from related tribal missions tended to be related or had some slight relations to the tribe. These skills would undoubtedly be rare. Previously, Ye Chen had even believed that the Durian Bomb Tree was a reward from such missions.


    With the emergence of a rare skill as the reward, this mission had to be successful, or at least adequately attempted at the very least!


    Swiftly clearing the wave of Stone Wolves he had pulled, Ye Chen read the Mission Log detailedly once again. It was not the clearest about the details. Within the Gray Stone Forest, the more intelligent adventurers had already leapt onto the forums. At the same time, the rest was still staring blankly at the text description.


    From the encounter with the archer, Ye Chen knew that the opponents were the Warring Dragon Guild. From the Mission Log, he too inferred some useful information.


    "There is no doubt that the opponent is the Warring Dragon Guild. The question is, how much do they know about this mission. If they knew that the mission had an opposing force, they would have made all the preparations they needed. Then, destroying the magic circle would be completely impossible¡­ No, that is unlikely¡­ This type of mission would be hidden all the way until someone triggers it. In any case, the Warring Dragon Guild still came prepared for this. Not only do they have an advantage in their numbers, their equipment and level are also higher. Accomplishing this mission would really be tough¡­"


    As Ye Chen read the Mission Log, he weighed his options and success rates silently.


    "All that''s left are just some details¡­" Ye Chen looked at a Stone Wolf in the distance. Without hesitation, he stepped right into his aggression zone. However, the Stone Wolf remained unaffected, motionlessly and indifferently staying at its own spot. However, when Ye Chen blasted a beam of Withering Light into it, it flashed the razor-sharp teeth and pounced menacingly.


    "As I thought to be the side with the Stone Tribe negates the Stone Wolf''s aggression. I should probably use this to my advantage¡­"


    Standing underneath the Durian Bomb Tree, Ye Chen completely ignored the incoming Stone Wolf as he pondered about his plan.


    "The items that the tribe prepared would definitely be designed for this mission with decent attributes. Then again, over-reliance would not be ideal. Instead, finding suitable party members would be the most critical."


    In the past, Ye Chen had participated in Restricted Regional-Type Missions before. The game system would balance the strength of both sides with specific equipment with decent attributes. However, it would not be overwhelmingly powerful. Thinking that a single adventurer could face a thousand men alone with the Equipment Set was just a pipe dream.


    However, increasing strength and combat capability with the equipment set were definite. In typical situations, this equipment set would allow the adventurer to face two to three opponents in combat without issues. Still, a skilled and robust team was undoubtedly more important than finding the special equipment.


    However, in the current situation, it was far more challenging to find a reliable team member than to find equipment.


    Really, how did the situation reverse? Thinking of this, Ye Chen laughed wryly in his heart.


    The vast majority of Restricted Regional-Type Missions, whether they were cooperative or confrontational, had never been short of people. Alas, this Gray Stone Forest was literally devoid of any human activities. Trying to build a reliable team amongst these pitifully small numbers of people was seemingly impossible.


    "Guess I can only check out the situation first."


    Shaking his head, Ye Chen sighed. He decided to be preemptive, standing here and thinking any longer would be a waste of time.


    "Single transplantation."


    He moved the Durian Bomb Tree on the stone pillar into the forest. The best way to hide a tree was amongst other trees. Then, Ye Chen turned towards the outer edge of the Gray Stone Forest.


    Needless to say, the Warring Dragon Guild was not foreign to Restricted Regional-Type Missions. For this mission, they would mobilize massive amounts of manpower, securing their advantage in terms of numbers. Most likely, they would comb the entire forest and wipe out the confrontational-side adventurers before any alliance could be formed and then destroy the special items prepared for the opposing side.


    Furthermore, death within a Restricted Regional-Type Mission would cause the adventurer to be evicted, pulling the curtains on the mission attempt!


    Unless the Warring Dragon Guild had a dominating lead in numbers by several folds, they would never camp at the Stone Tribe Altar. With the unpredictable strength of the Mission''s Special Equipment, camping at the altar posed too big of a risk. No one knew what unusual items would pop out. If the Confrontational Party got their hands on these items and teamed up, even a wild charge without real leadership could potentially break the defense of the Warring Dragon Guild.


    Considering the depth of experience that the Warring Dragon Guild possessed, there was no way they were unaware of the unpredictabilities of these missions. As the saying goes, the best defense is a good offense. Tearing off the enemy when they were still an infant in the cradle was the best option!


    ...


    "Per Mission Plan, Platoon 1 follow me to defend, 2, 3 and 4 will split into the previously briefed groups. Two groups will form one team. Each team will patrol the assigned areas, speedily fish out the other adventurers in the Gray Stone Forest and kill them! Do not let a single one escape. All right, now move! We can only accept success for this mission! The entire guild is watching!"


    Within the central region of Gray Stone Forest, a middle-aged man stood. He was plump, with a slight beer belly. As he spoke, his voice was not domineering or loud, but a certain sense of comforting confidence resonated within his subordinates. He was standing on an old stone altar. While it may be a relic of the past now, the regal glory it once had could not be hidden by the weather-beaten, dilapidated appearance. Looking beside the man, a giant crystal hovered in mid-air. Its bright shine illuminated the surroundings, shedding a gentle, glimmer onto the people gathered below it.


    "Yes, Boss!" At his command, the members of the Warring Dragon Guild around him responded one after another. Under the leadership of each team''s captain, they dispersed.


    "Warring Dragon Guild really deserves the reputation. They actually accurately spotted half of the mission!"


    Luo Cheng looked at the scattered members of the Warring Dragon Guild in front of him and couldn''t help but lament in admiration.


    "The mission should be exposed on the forum by now. This mission, we cannot fail!"


    Folding his arms back, Luo Cheng looked at the huge crystal shining in front of him. His eyes were gleaming, his black, steady pupils glistening with his firm resolve for success.


    Just as Luo Cheng thought, adventurers had broken the news of a new Restricted Regional-Type Missions within the Gray Stone Forest on the forums.

 Chapter 28："Elite Squad"

    The Gray Stone Forest was still quite famous among the low-level maps. Although many adventurers have not been to the Gray Stone Forest in person, the name of the Gray Stone Forest was almost universally known. After all, there were only so many NPCs one was able to interact with at the beginning phases of the game, so it was difficult to avoid finding out. Now that they heard that a mission had been triggered at the Gray Stone Forest, adventurers who saw the forum post were eager to find out what was happening.


    "Why is it a Restricted Regional-Type Mission? I''m not that far away from the Gray Stone Forest!"


    Learning that it was actually a Restricted Regional-Type Mission, many adventurers were disappointed, and even more lamented in despair.


    "It was actually a mission triggered by the Warring Dragon Guild. Its reputation as the top Guild in the Oriental Region is truly well-deserving."


    Within the forum post exposing all the details, it not only described the task about the Stone Tribe''s Totem in detail but also from the appearance of the Warring Dragon Guild in the Gray Stone Forest, it speculated that the mission trigger was the Warring Dragon Guild.


    "The mission may not necessarily be triggered by the Warring Dragon Guild, it is just speculation."


    Although the Warring Dragon Guild was the top Guild in the Oriental Region, it was not without opponents, and far from having a monopoly. Obviously, other guilds did not want to give this limelight to the Warring Dragon Guild without any challenge.


    "Thank you, adventurers, for your attention. The Restricted Regional-Type Mission triggered by the Gray Stone Forest is triggered by the Warring Dragon Guild. This mission is the first quest of an Independent World Quest Chain. The Warring Dragon Guild has made ample preparations for this mission, and we believe that this task will be completed soon."


    However, the Warring Dragon Guild will miss not this excellent opportunity for free publicity. After the post garnered a lot of attention on the forums, it immediately showed up and directly admitted that this mission was indeed triggered by them.


    "It''s actually an Independent World Quest Chain? Fuck your Grandma, who can stumble upon such dog-shit luck?!"


    Adventurers actually didn''t pay too much attention to who triggered the mission. Still, the post issued by the Warring Dragon Guild representative spokesperson gave a crucial piece of information.


    Independent World Quest Chain tasks were divided into multiple rounds of independent missions. The results of the previous round of missions had little effect on the next series of missions, but they affected the final rewards. As long as a certain number of rounds were completed, one would expect generous remunerations. If every single round of tasks was completed, the rewards would reach the maximum, and the rewards would be so bountiful that it would drive anyone crazy!


    Judging from the mission description of the Stone Tribe''s Totem given by the post leaking the news, this Independent World Quest Chain was still rather arduous. Otherwise, it would not be classified as a Restricted Regional-Type Mission, and the reward of the opposing side would not be so generous!


    As the opponent of the Dragon War Guild, winning meant an exceptionally rare skill!


    The rewards had left many adventurers of the corresponding level feeling regretful, lamenting why they did not have such good luck. But when these adventurers remembered that the opponents were the amply-prepared Warring Dragon Guild, their mentality gradually regained their balance.


    "Playing against the Warring Dragon Guild is just a waste of time."


    "Exactly!"


    ...


    With a sour grapes'' mentality, many adventurers took to the forums with various salty posts, while Ye Chen continued to wander around in the Gray Stone Forest alone.


    Ye Chen was unable to find any of the quest materials. However, as Ye Chen turned around a big boulder, he discovered that behind it, there hid some people who gave off the impression that they were shadily doing something not meant to be done in public. That woman did look sort of familiar though¡­


    "Ahem. I didn''t see anything. I didn''t see a man and a woman secretly hiding behind a stone. I didn''t see a woman and a man hiding behind a stone. Please carry on!" Ye Chen saw that the two looked at him in shock as though they wanted to initiate PK, and he immediately touched the back of the head embarrassedly. He hurriedly backed off and turned to leave.


    These two people were not members of the Warring Dragon Guild. In this confrontation mission, the enemies were clad in an attackable reddish overlay, and Ye Chen did not want to be overly nosy.


    Ye Chen wanted to leave, but the woman actually stretched out her hand and pulled Ye Chen back!


    What the hell, what the hell?! Ye Chen couldn''t figure it out at all.


    He didn''t mind three adventurers, four adventurers, five adventurers, or something. When he was still a rash youth, he had frantically fantasized about such a scene. But it must be at least him being the only male and the other party being a female. As for two males and one female, that was too disgusting to even contemplate.


    Ye Chen''s face turned stiff, and he wanted to sternly reject them and lecture them on how wrong this kind of beastly behaviour was!


    "Don''t go out, the people from Warring Dragon will chase up to us soon!" But before Ye Chen could start disciplining the two, the woman spoke.


    "Oh, so that''s the case." Ye Chen suddenly nodded, as if enlightened.


    "Otherwise, what do you think it is?!" The woman shot a cold glare towards Ye Chen, her eyes extremely unkind!


    "I thought you were having an affair," Ye Chen nodded and answered honestly.


    "YOU¡­!"


    "Brother, you are a good person."


    The female''s eyes suddenly blazed with fury, but the young male adventurer nestled on the other side looked over gratefully.


    "No need for thanks, no need for thanks," Ye Chen said modestly, glancing at this poor fellow. This guy must have been in love with this woman, but this woman must have paid no heed to his advances. Hence, this guy got great psychological satisfaction from Ye Chen''s sentence.


    This woman¡­ was wearing a pitch-dark robe with her long black hair tied behind her head. No wonder she looked a bit familiar from his hurried glance. Wasn''t she the Queen of the Night who was utterly trounced by him once in the Hero Arena?


    No wonder this man would fall in love with her. With the devilish figure of the Queen of the Night''s entrancing curves, her uniquely lustrous hair and cold face that gave people the forbidden sensation of wanting to be conquered, to the youths brimming with impulsiveness, few could bear the temptation.


    But how could the Queen of the Night appear in such a place? To say that it was a coincidence, then it was really a coincidence.


    And she was actually holding a black magic wand that could only be equipped at Level 16. Obviously, her level had risen to Level 16 or even higher. In the mere two days since he last saw her, her Level had soared by four levels compared to the time in the Hero Arena. Her levelling speed was too freakish.


    "Night, the team is already lacking in people. Although a Botanist has no damage output, his character is quite good, let''s tag up with him to complete the mission," the young male adventurer said to the Queen of the Night.


    The first impression of a person was really too important! As Ye Chen listened to the young male adventurer''s words, he couldn''t help feel this deeply.


    Ye Chen merely said something pleasing to the youth''s ear, and he gave the evaluation of Ye Chen having a "good character"!


    The Queen of the Night listened to this guy''s words and couldn''t help being speechless for a while. But she had a deep understanding of Ye Chen''s strength and not bothering rebuking the youth, she directly added Ye Chen to the team.


    "Hello, hello, welcome to join our elite squad set up specifically to destroy the Warring Dragon Guild. My name is Dharma Master Summum Bonum, but you can just call me Dharma."


    Ye Chen joined the team, and the young male adventurer immediately expressed his warm welcome.


    Listening to the brain-dead name of this guy, Ye Chen already understood why the Queen of Night ignored him.


    Regardless of appearance and other factors, this game ID alone gave female adventurers a psychological barrier.


    What was wrong with picking any other names? Why did he actually get a name that smelled like a monk?


    The most important thing for a woman was dignity, but if she were to boast of her boyfriend to others, and when others heard it, their only response would be: "Wow, your boyfriend is a monk!"


    He could estimate that as soon as the woman heard this, she would immediately turn around and dump the guy.


    If one were to want to woo beauties in the game, one should at least have a majestic game ID, or at the very least, a profound name that nobody could understand!


    However, this idea of cringey thought merely flashed in Ye Chen''s brain. Ye Chen cared more about the "elite squad" that Dharma mentioned. If there really was an elite squad, that would save him the time to find a team. It couldn''t be better!


    "An elite squad set up specifically to destroy the Warring Dragon Guild... What about the rest of the elite members?"


    Ye Chen looked around, but he did not see anywhere the elites could be hiding. He then looked at the team members and counted. One, two, three, yep, he didn''t count wrongly! Including him, there were a total of three people!


    "We just fought with the people from Warring Dragon once, and the rest all died! Fortunately, Night and I ran quickly and survived!" Dharma happily boasted, but as Ye Chen listened, sweat instantly matted his forehead. A profuse amount of sweat, Lushan waterfall amount of sweat!


    Almost entirely wiped out in one battle, this team was indeed "elite" enough!

 Chapter 29：A Sensational Ambush

    "We suffered a sneak attack from the Warring Dragon Guild." The Queen of the Night injected a simple explanation.


    Ye Chen nodded. If the Queen was in the party, even if the adventurers were not elite, there was no way they were mediocre. For them to be almost completely annihilated, the only possible scenario would be a sneak attack.


    "You all caught wind that the Warring Dragon Guild was coming here for a mission?" after some thought, Ye Chen asked.


    "I heard some news, although uncertain, from a friend. I have some personal feud with Warring Dragon Guild, so I just came to wait here anyway. And also level a little within the Gray Stone Forest. Lucky for me, the Warring Dragon Guild did come in the end. But, their numbers were too big. We could not even get close, much less disrupt their mission. When the mission was triggered, we were about to find the special equipment, but they found us first and attacked." Dharma sighed


    "They''re coming!" in an undertone, she said. The Queen''s eyes narrowed as several silhouettes rustled about within the forest.


    "You plan on ambushing their Priest from here?" looking at the enlarging figures of the Warring Dragon Guild members, Ye Chen asked.


    If they chose to hide and escape, choosing this rock as a cover was plain ridiculous.


    "That''s right, the Warring Dragon Guild formed their teams with two groups in each. If we don''t take out their Priest first, killing the others would be too difficult. Both the Queen and I are equipped with speed-boosting shoes. We can run like a rabbit who''s tail got stepped on after killing their Priest. Then, we toy with the rest till they die!" With a devilish smirk, Dharma laid out their cunning plan.


    "Good thinking. But are you sure you can kill the Priest with the two of them looking out for each other?" Sceptical about the possibilities of success, Ye Chen probed further.


    Level 20 was a turning point for the Priests. As long as their equipment were not too shoddy, and they consciously chose some HP boosting equipment, their HP could easily cross 400 points. While the Queen of the Night had changed to slightly better staff, and her attack power increased by a tad, Ye Chen was still doubtful about the effectiveness of her attacks on the Priests. After all, Priests generally had high spiritual attributes, and their Magic Defense would be rock solid. Even if the Queen was a Spatial-Type Mage with the highest magic attack, she would face difficulties. Most likely, a single hit from her would only deal 120+ damage.


    On the other hand, Dharma was an Archer at Level 18. With the Sniper skill, he could deal heavy blows onto the low Defense Priests. However, owing to his lower level, the damage would only be around 170. As such, unless the Priest had a staggeringly low HP or the duo''s luck was astronomical, they would never kill the Priest in one blow.


    "Ugh¡­ you never know till you try!" Diffidently, Dharma turned and looked away. He had also considered the impossibilities of their plan. However, their success rate felt impossibly possible. He was not a veteran like Ye Chen, knowing the data and skills inside out.


    "I learned the skill, Void Ripples." This one sentence jolted Ye Chen''s attention.


    Void Ripples was a rare skill that all Spatial-Type Mages craved. The area of attack and lethality were both absurdly high. With this, it indeed turned the tables. They had a chance to kill the Priest now!


    As for how the Queen learned the ultra-rare skill, Ye Chen had an inkling. Most likely, it had to do with her long time spent within the arena. When he was on the forums, he had conveniently searched up some details about this skilled Spatial-Type Mage. From his findings, he knew that she had spent an incredible amount of time within the arena and was pretty perplexed. Now, all his questions cleared up.


    "Dharma, do you have any AoE skills?" Ye Chen glanced at the Archer. If he had an AoE skill, wiping off both teams from the region would be a walk in the park.


    Heaving a deep sigh, Dharma replied, "Nope. Arrow Rain is a skill limited to Archers above Level 40." He was highly discouraged. Arrow Rain was critical for a beginner Archer, being one of the most essential AoE skills. However, he had to more than double his level before he could get his hands on it.


    "I see, follow my orders later." Hearing it, a plan had surfaced within Ye Chen''s mind.


    Dharma was alright with that arrangement. Firstly, Ye Chen was his senior by at least two years. Secondly, Dharma had sensed a firm and grounded confidence from Ye Chen''s mannerisms as they spoke.


    More surprisingly, the Queen did not voice any objections, and it was perplexing to Dharma. Mostly, the Queen lived up to her name. A lady of little words, always wearing an emotionless expression with frost-filled eyes. She was pompous and supercilious in nature yet, this ice-cold Queen did not reject Ye Chen''s self-assumed leadership.


    "That''s it!" A sudden realization dawned upon Dharma. "The Queen had accepted Page of Lingering Dust into the party without question. Could it be that they were already acquainted beforehand?"


    Yet, their interactions were still unnatural and awkward, utterly opposite from friendly.


    "Focus, they''re coming!"


    At this time, tons of questions swelled within Dharma. However, the enemy was fast-approaching. With a deep breath, he buried his thoughts and focused his mind on surviving this potentially fatal battle.


    The two Warring Dragon Guild teams were neither fast nor slow, steadily approaching while keeping close together.


    Before Level 25, most professions would not gain any AoE skills. Keeping close together was generally safe and allowed them to watch their backs mutually.


    Ye Chen saw their sardine-packed formation and secretly rejoiced. Although his Durian Bomb Tree was very potent, it was still a challenge to take down twelve people with only three men. If these people were just a little more scattered, his Durian Bomb Tree would most probably only kill one, at most two of the Warring Dragon Guild members during the ambush. But now, the Warring Dragon Guild teams were so close together. When the Durian Bomb Tree rained the bombs upon them, it could quickly destroy three to five of them! The trio squatted behind the stone, peeking through the grass on the stone''s edge. They had confirmed that two teams had entered their attack range.


    "Shall we attack?" Dharma glanced at Ye Chen. All three of them were considered long-range attackers. Ambushing from afar followed by a tactical retreat with sporadic assaults was a go-to method.


    "Don''t be hasty. Wait for me to attack first. Queen, you launch your attack on the coordinates that i give you. Dharma, prepare to snipe. You will attack the adventurers that I point out to you." The side of Ye Chen''s lips curled into a sinister grin. Ahead of them, there were two towering pillars on the glistening green pasture. The Warring Dragon Guild and the stone pillars were just two meters apart.


    Tracing their line of movement, they would definitely cross the two pillars, as if they were a stone gate! If they really did, things would get awfully exciting!


    As Ye Chen thought of the possibilities, his breathing hastened, and his grin grew on its own accord. Adrenaline was coursing through every fibre of his body, overwhelming his mind. He could already taste it, the intoxicating sweetness of wiping out tens of men. That feeling was uncomparable to the gratification of killing just one man.


    "Awesome¡­ they really are going to pass through death''s gate!" Ye Chen had to suppress himself, controlling the evil cackle that almost escaped from his mouth.


    "Queen, when I signal to you, immediately attack around (2224, 1897, 3340)." Ye Chen dropped his instructions quickly to the Queen.


    "Alright." While she was confused, the Queen did not question.


    "What about me, what about me?" Watching the approaching Warring Dragon Guild members, anxiety was fluttering within Dharma.


    "Get the ones with the lowest health. Listen to my command and be accurate. If you miss, someone will escape." Ye Chen explained carefully, preventing this overly pumped guy from carpet bombing. The levels of the three of them were not high. These attacks were their only means to victory. A single mistake would be a precious opportunity wasted and a chance of escape given away to the enemy.


    "Wrong aim will lead to an escape? What is this guy talking about?" Dharma listened to Ye Chen''s order and was utterly puzzled. But before he could question, Ye Chen''s voice pierced through the silence.


    "Single Transplantation! Illusions of Time!" Hearing the loud yells, Dharma turned, and his jaws immediately dropped.


    A humongous tree he had never seen before sprang to life at the center of the stone gate. Its enormous canopy cast a massive shadow over the Warring Dragon Guild team. Yellowish-green thorned durians came upon the Warring Dragon Guild team like a downpour, erupting into a sea of explosions upon impact. Instantly, patches of crimson numbers and several huge MISS dotted the area.


    The twelve members of the Warring Dragon Guild were all between Level 18 and 21. With the effects of the Level Suppressions, Ye Chen''s Durian Bomb Tree had a considerable miss rate of 10% to 30%. When bombing so many targets at once, the Level Suppression''s effects were visible. Even so, in that short moment, three adventurers with lower HP were obliterated, dissipating into a ball of white light.


    "FUCK! AN AMBUSH! What abomination is this fucking tree! Retreat! RETREAT!" In the distance, the Warring Dragon Guild members who had just crossed the stone gate immediately broke into a sprint, running for their lives, away from the Durian Bomb Tree''s assaults.


    The most significant disadvantage of plants, when compared to humans, was the immobility and inflexibility. Although Warring Dragon Guild suffered a devastating ambush, with at least ten of them taking enormous damage, all of them had already launched into a speedy retreat, less the trio who died under the first wave of bombs.


    However, underestimating the Durian Bomb Tree would not be wise. With the sprawling canopy, the attack range of the Durian Bomb Tree was far from small. During their retreat, two adventurers who were close to the Durian Bomb Tree could not escape their fate. They too turned into white light as their knees fell on the ground. If it was not for the level suppression, there would probably be another two fatalities.


    "Queen, attack!" There was no time to grumble about the goddamn Level Suppression. Ye Chen quickly yelled within the party channel, signalling the start of phase 2 of their plan.


    The Queen had already prepared herself. With a swing of the staff, a gray ripple suddenly emerged from behind the stone gate, right in the direction of the remaining seven people''s retreat!

 Chapter 30： Another Squad

    Void ripples spread out in the space like a wave spreading across a surface. The attack range not being broad as the skill level was too low was the only weakness of this skill, but the damage was absolutely stunning.


    The Durian Bomb Tree caused considerable damage and confusion to the two teams of the Warring Dragon Guild. The Void Ripple silently appeared at this time. Although the attack range of the skill was not large, it was more than enough to deal with the scenario at hand. The remaining seven adventurers of the Warring Dragon Guild were frantically running away, but still densely packed together. The Queen of the Night''s Void Ripple was like a massive shock wave, traversing across their bodies!


    -187! -179! -126! MISS!


    Several immense damage values nearly two hundred surged from the heads of the several retreating figures!


    From the previous attack by the Durian Bomb Tree, out of the two Priests, one Priest was directly killed by the sneak attack, while the HP of the other was bordering the brink of death. Although he had similarly drunk a bottle of HP recovery potions like the adventurers around him, however for a Level 20 potion that only provided recovery of 30 HP per second, it proved to have no effect at all.


    Once the Void Ripples were out, except for the adventurers that the attack had missed, the remaining were all obliterated in a flash, including the remaining Priest. They all turned into white light and collapsed to the ground!


    Five more deaths!


    There were only two remaining!


    "Dharma, attack the Archer on the left!"


    As soon as the damage values of the Void Ripple popped up, Ye Chen, who had clearly seen everything that happened immediately shouted.


    "Okay!"


    Ye Chen and the Queen of the Night only used one skill respectively, and they almost wiped out the opponents. For Dharma Master Summum Bonum, who had not seen this scene before, his blood was boiling feverishly with excitement. If it weren''t for Ye Chen''s instructions beforehand, he would have long made a move as well. At this time, when Ye Chen''s voice sounded, the arrow that he had already nocked shot forward blindingly with a loud TWANG!


    BOOM!


    His arrow was akin to a meteor, drawing a rapid, straight arc as it whistled through the air, and slammed into the surviving Archer who hadn''t had time to run far away.


    -344!


    Tremendous critical damage floated above his head, and Dharma''s arrow was lucky enough to hit critical damage. The Archer fell to the ground helplessly. His HP being so low, even with critical damage, his death would still be without a shadow of a doubt.


    "Spatial Totem Pole!" Ye Chen shouted again, and the Queen of the Night waved her staff. A one-meter high, black-and-white fusion totem pole appeared in front of the last Warrior adventurer.


    This Warrior adventurer was terrified, the only thought filling his mind was that of running away. How could he ever imagine that such a thing would suddenly appear in front of him, and ram straight into his body?


    Another hundred points of damage floated above his head, but the Warrior was still alive. Except for the Knight profession, the HP of Warrior adventurers was higher than that of other professions!


    "Withering Light!"


    "Double Consecutive Shots!"


    "Spatial Fissure!"


    However, the Warrior didn''t have time to rejoice that his HP gauge was high before the skills of Ye Chen and the other two smashed onto his body. The Warrior could only shed tears of despair as he fell to the ground tragically.


    "Haha, so many items dropped!"


    The two teams died cleanly without a trace, and a lot of potions and equipment exploded on the grass in front of them. The Dharma brat rushed forward excitedly.


    This was not because of the excellent quality of the equipment that was dropped, but purely due to the adrenaline from this fierce sneak attack that made him so excited. The loot in front gave him a great sense of accomplishment!


    "HAHA, this young master''s name is Dharma Master Summum Bonum! Remember my name well, and come at me anytime you want to take revenge!"


    The bodies of the twelve adventurers of the Warring Dragon Guild laid on the ground, but they still existed in Soul-state. They didn''t even see the enemy''s faces but were wiped out in an instant. If they were resurrected like that, then they would really have died with grievances.


    And as Dharma looked at the fluttering souls, he laughed proudly, as though not afraid of death at all.


    "It''s that guy, how is it possible?"


    The two teams came here to pursue Dharma and Night, so obviously they recognized Dharma. But now, when they saw Dharma running out, they all couldn''t believe their eyes, shouting frantically on their team channel.


    A few moments ago, in a simple sneak attack, they had wiped out the four people on this guy''s team. If it weren''t for the remaining two reacting quickly enough and someone from the team delaying them, they might have completely wiped the guy''s team out.


    But now, why was it just a few minutes later, the situation would suddenly completely reverse, and the sneak attack will conversely wipe them all out instead?


    "There is another person! That guy, isn''t he a Botanist? They must have enlisted the help of a very powerful Botanist!"


    The captain leading the two teams frowned and looked at the stone where Dharma had run out from, but there was no one else who came out from behind the stone.


    "Xiao Tian, I want you to resurrect immediately and send the news back to the Regiment Head. Ask them to send reinforcements over!"


    Although Ye Chen didn''t show his face, the captain didn''t hesitate and immediately gave the order.


    Adventurers in the Soul-state cannot receive or send private chat messages, and could only communicate with teammates who were also in the Soul-state. The adventurer named Xiao Tian dutifully listened to the orders and immediately chose to return to the city to resurrect.


    "Dharma, immediately pick up all the valuable equipment and leave. Someone will be coming over soon." Seeing that someone had been resurrected, Ye Chen looked at Dharma and barked out the instructions.


    Dharma was still very excited now, but he hadn''t completely lost his wits yet. Listening to Ye Chen''s words, he quickly glanced around, picking up several pieces of equipment, and rushed back to the stone.


    Under the cover of the stone, the three retreated in full speed, only leaving behind the ambiguous guise of mysterious assailants to these clueless members of the Warring Dragon Guild.


    "What? Both of your teams were wiped?"


    Both teams were part of the four regiments that the Warring Dragon Guild dispatched to complete the mission. The Head of the Fourth Regiment was shocked when receiving the news from Xiao Tian.


    Only after the two teams were entirely destroyed could they send back messages. Didn''t this mean that the other party had gathered a considerable number of people?


    "How many people did the other party gather?" feeling that things have gotten slightly dangerous, the Head of the Fourth Regiment asked anxiously.


    Not allowing the enemy to gather was the key to completing this mission. He had to verify how many enemies there were, and inform Luo Cheng of the situation, letting Luo Cheng make a decision.


    "Well, it seems there were only three people¡­" Xiao Tian said a little squeakily. Twelve people being wiped out by a trio was really not a glorious thing to boast about.


    "Three people? How can the three of them wipe out your twelve people? Did the twelve of you just stand still and wait for the other to kill you?" The Head of the Fourth Regiment immediately flew into a rage at this ridiculous piece of news.


    "They have two incredibly powerful ranged skills," Xiao Tian hastily explained.


    "Ranged skills?" The Head of the Fourth Regiment froze before his gaze sharpened. "Tell me the details."


    Xiao Tian hurriedly relayed the incident, and as the Head of the Fourth Regiment heard the story, his face became more and more rigid.


    "Why are there two such powerful individuals here? The people from your two teams will stay in the city first. There may be a need to interrogate you if we have questions later." After the Head of the Fourth Regiment instructed him, he hastily turned around to contact Luo Cheng.


    Two teams were destroyed, and this time by a mere three people?


    Luo Cheng, with a slightly rotund figure, stood next to a large crystal that was gradually emitting azure light, and his eyes flickered.


    Just a while back, the Head of the Third Regiment sent a similar message. Two teams in the three regiments were wiped out by a formidable team at lightning speed. Luo Cheng had just commanded the Third Regiment to increase their patrol in that area. Now, the Fourth Regiment had reported even graver news than the Third Regiment!


    What exactly is going on? In the ??Gray Stone Forest area, there would be very few adventurers coming here, and that was even more so for powerful adventurers. They won''t bother coming all the way here just to hunt mobs to level up. But the sudden appearance of two formidable enemy squads was no mere coincidence. If you wanted to dismiss it as so, there were no reasons to justify yourself.


    With the masterful skills displayed by these two teams, it was faster to level up anywhere else other than in Gray Stone Forest. In that case, did both teams come here for the mission?


    Luo Cheng sighed lightly. A game was just a game in the end. Trying to keep a secret was always the most difficult to achieve. The details about the mission would ultimately be leaked.


    But what disturbed Luo Cheng the most was that the areas where the two incidents occurred were close to each other. If these two teams were to unite their forces, the situation would become rather dire!


    "The Third and Fourth Regiments will increase the patrol of the two areas. Once the enemy is located, don''t rush to attack! Quickly contact the nearby guild members and launch a coordinated assault! At the same time, the Assassins of every regiment are to spread out and find the enemy!"


    The mission was not going as smoothly as expected, but Luo Cheng did not seem flustered.


    No matter how powerful the enemy was, there were only Level-20ish adventurers, after all, and they only had so many skills. After finding out the details of the opponents, it would definitely not be difficult to deal with them. After all, Luo Cheng had an absolute number advantage on this side. He did not believe that these two teams could go against the heavens and defy them!

 Chapter 31：Contact

    The three of them quickly retreated from the battle zone. Only then, Dharma whipped out their spoils of battle, preparing to split it. "They dropped four equipment, Archer, Mage, Priest and Knight, one each. The Archer and Mage equipment are both silver tier, the other two are Iron Tier."


    "The two of you can have the mage and archer equipment, I will take the remaining two. Agreeable?"


    "Alright." The Queen of the Night and Dharma nodded.


    The trio didn''t care too much about the equipment loot. It was all only around Level 10 and not worth much money.


    "Eh, Boss Dust, have you met Queen before?" Having seen the prowess of Ye Chen''s leadership, Dharma was thoroughly convinced of Ye Chen''s abilities, calling him Boss naturally. Now that they had split the loot equally, he could not help but find the answers to the questions he had.


    "Hm, we met once and learnt of each other''s names. Not friends, though."


    "Wah! Only met once and she is so obedient? Wow, as expected of you, Boss!" Hearing of this, Dharma could already see himself prostrating in front of Ye Chen.


    "Boss! Boss, what are we going to do now? Hunt more Warring Dragon Guild members?" Dharma asked on the party channel.


    "Don''t be hasty and overconfident. The success of our ambush is partly because of luck. Now, the Warring Dragon Guild knows all of our moves and would not be stupid enough to cram together again. Trying to kill them quickly like before would not be wise. Let''s go find some equipment instead. If we are lucky, we can even find some that come with skills and maybe another two to three members. That will make killing the Warring Dragon Guild a lot easier." Ye Chen shook his head. Their levels were too low, limiting their skills to everything that they had used. Now that the enemy learned more about them, their defenses would be much higher. Leaving aside the efficiency, their battles would be more prolonged, and if enemy reinforcements arrived in that time, they would be in danger.


    As such, the most important thing for the three currently would be to find the mission equipment and recruit more party members. If they could assemble a party of six, Ye Chen had solid confidence in ending a battle against twelve Warring Dragon Guild members quickly.


    As Ye Chen spoke, his staff quivered. With Single Transplantation, he transplanted the Durian Bomb Tree used for fighting a while ago into the middle of several trees. He camouflaged it in a dense patch of forest, preventing the Warring Dragon Guild from killing his precious weapon. One Durian Bomb Tree was equivalent to one less seed. According to his usage of two trees a day, the seeds on hand could only last for less than a month.


    "There seems to be a chest in front." Dharma pointed to the forest ahead.


    "Let''s go take a look." Within the Boundless World, Archers had a more extended range of sight. Moreover, Dharma was equipped with a Vision +5 silver necklace, further enhancing his sight. Ye Chen had no doubt of the accuracy of Dharma''s sight. He and Queen silently followed behind.


    "There are monsters defending it." As they approached, a grayish stone chest could be seen. However, a towering two meters tall, Stone Bear stood guard beside it. From the Stone Bear, a dominating aura radiated, especially so with its glistening razor-sharp teeth. Seeing the fearsome bear, Dharma''s expression drained of colour. This Stone Bear was practically a mini Boss, and more importantly, they never encountered such a monster. It''s abilities were utterly unknown to them.


    "No worries, just jump in and attack." Ye Chen also saw the beast. However, he knew that the monsters defending the chest would not have their abilities heavily discounted when facing Adventurers from the same camp. Only when the Warring Dragon Guild attempted to destroy the chest would the Stone Bear turn into a knotty opponent. With the strength of one team, this bear would most likely be unbeatable.


    While Dharma was sceptical, he proceeded according to Ye Chen''s instructions.


    With their combined strength, the results were just as Ye Chen anticipated. The seemingly menacing Stone Bear merely roared a few times and pounced towards them. Before it could even reach the three of them, it collapsed onto the ground, drained of life.


    On the spot where the Stone Bear used to be, a stone key dropped. Picking it up, Ye Chen unlocked the chest.


    "What did we get?" Dharma was curious and rushed forward beside Ye Chen. This being his first Restricted Regional-type Mission, he was curious about everything.


    "Low level HP Scroll." Ye Chen took out a deep red scroll. It was really simple in design, nothing fanciful, very obviously a low-quality product.


    [HP Scroll (Elementary): After use, the user will experience an increase of 10% HP (minimally 50 HP), lasting for 3 minutes. The effect cannot be overlapped with the other HP scroll.]


    "Good stuff." But when Dharma saw it, his eyes lit up with excitement.


    "Nice, let''s keep looking."


    Ye Chen nodded, 50 HP was not much, but at their level, it could be a life and death difference. It would allow low-level adventurers to bear one more attack, maybe even turn the tables.


    Having collected their first chest, Ye Chen led the other two, carefully combing through Gray Stone Forest for more. The process was lightened majorly with Dharma''s super long-distance vision, broadening their searching vision. In fact, many of the chests were spotted by Dharma from a distance. If not for him, they would have brushed by many of them without noticing.


    In the next two chests, they found two mission-specific HP potions. It would regenerate 50 HP for the next 10 seconds upon use, proving to be a precious life saviour. Within the search process, they also spotted twoWarring Dragon Guild teams far away.


    As Ye Chen suspected, the two teams were not tightly packed together anymore. Now, the Durian Bomb Tree attacks would at most envelop three men. However, they were not as spread out as Ye Chen would have thought. In his mind, he had imagined the Warring Dragon Guild teams to have a much wider gap between each man.


    Perplexed, Ye Chen thought of the many possibilities within his mind. "Could it be, they are also cautious of ambushes from other Adventurers?"


    Currently, there were no benefits of taking out another two teams. It would only expose themselves further and attract unneeded attention. Moreover, Warring Dragon Guild had already put up further precautions, killing them would not be as easy as before. As such, the party avoided Warring Dragon Guild teams as far as possible, while searching for more chests.


    "Stone Tribe''s Ritual Necklace, finally, a proper piece of equipment. Come, Queen, you wear this."


    At their fourth chest, the trio finally found a piece of Mage-type equipment. Giving the necklace a quick sizing up, Ye Chen tossed it to the Queen.


    [Stone Tribe''s Ritual Necklace: A necklace passed down in the Stone Tribe, wore during Rituals. A high-quality product.


    Attributes: Magic Attack +3, Spirit +2, Minimum Level 10.


    Profession Lock: Only equippable by adventurers in the mission "Stone Tribe''s Totem".


    Additional Skill: None]


    The attributes of the special equipment were within Ye Chen''s prediction. Similarly, the equipment was not specific to any profession, as expected of Restricted Regional-type Missions. Mostly, these special equipment would only be split into magic and physical. As long as they were found, anyone could equip them.


    This necklace boosted the magic attack of the wearer substantially, perfect for the Queen. While Ye Chen also had the Withering Light as a Magic Attack, the buff from the necklace was insufficient to make a huge difference.


    The three adventurers continued their conquest for more treasure chests, specifically around the periphery of the Gray Stone Forest''s central region. Even with their heightened caution, the three met several Warring Dragon Guild teams within an hour. Fortunately, they avoided much unnecessary fighting with Dharma as their early warning system.


    Still, deep ridges formed on Ye Chen''s forehead.


    Within this short hour, each of them gained at least three new equipment. Yet, they did not even meet a single Adventurer in the same camp as them. There was only one possibility, the Warring Dragon Guild had wiped the others off this region.


    Of course. Hope was always present. The adventurers may have gathered together and hidden in some other area. But, this chance was close to a pipe dream.


    "Boss, someone is fighting over there!" suddenly, Dharma exclaimed.


    "Quick, let''s go over!" Ye Chen''s attention jolted straight up.


    An hour had already passed, he had to find some way to strengthen their party and kill as much of the Warring Dragon Guild as possible. Or else, all of the elite equipment they had gathered would be for nigh.


    At their top speed, the three of them bolted to the white-hot battleground. The battle was nearing its end, and the situation was extremely shocking.

 Chapter 32：Purple Olive

    The battle had already entered the final stages. On the grass patch in front of a stone laid ten corpses, all of them from the Warring Dragon Guild. The remaining three members of the Warring Dragon Guild struggled to resist with their respective skills. Still, the situation was already not optimistic, and soon one more adventurer fell to the ground. With only two adventurers remaining, they were further deprived of their ability to resist, unable even to flee. Twelve people had suffered the fate of complete obliteration!


    And all this was actually achieved by a small team of six!


    "Amazing!" Dharma exclaimed in surprise.


    Although they didn''t witness the whole process, during the last siege of the final three Warring Dragon Guild members, the members of this team all displayed shrewdness and flexibility in their positioning. Their attacks were extremely purposeful, and everyone, even the female Priestess at the back who seemed like she was casually adding HP, gave off a capable vibe.


    "Boss Dust, what should we do?" Dharma glanced towards Ye Chen. As the saying goes, one mountain cannot hold two tigers. Although they could be said to be from the same camp, only the team that successfully cleared the mission would get the truly lucrative rewards. For the sake of an infinitely sparse skill book, killing adventurers from the same camp was nothing special.


    "Let''s talk about it after we head over." However, Ye Chen was still rather nonchalant. In this kind of mission, it was not impossible to kill adventurers in the same camp. However, after killing adventurers in the same camp, the entire attribute of their team would be reduced by 20%, unless the opponents was an undercover team sent out by the Warring Dragon Guild. Else, until the very last moment, he did not have to worry about what the team would do to them.


    Moreover, as far as the current situation was concerned, it was necessary to unite this team of remarkable strength to thwart the mission of the Warring Dragon Guild. If one had too many concerns and suspicions, then they would be doomed for failure before they even began.


    Of course, the most important thing was that Ye Chen was not at all afraid of this team!


    The three quickly walked towards the team. Among the adventurers of the team, some saw the three walking over, and they all looked over.


    The Queen of the Night followed behind them. As her frigid face caught sight of the female Priestess in the opposing team, she couldn''t help but frown, but it quickly regained its emotionless facade.


    "Yo, isn''t this our great beauty Night? What a coincidence it is, meeting you in this place, we are really destined to cross paths!"


    The two teams gradually approached each other, and Ye Chen and Dharma slowly got a more definite look of the other team''s composition. The team consists of five men and one woman, three Assassins, one Warrior, one Archer, plus a female Priestess. Standing in front of the other few, the slightly suave-looking male Archer should be the captain of the team, but the most conspicuous member was the female Priestess.


    Under the special visual effects of the game, the Priestess''s Robe would give the female Priestess who wore them a slightly saintly and holy aura. Within the game, countless female adventurers picked the Priestess profession for the sole purpose of acquiring the Priestess''s beautiful garments. But the female Priestess in front of their eyes had an ample buxom, a slender waist, and perky buttocks. Her phoenix-like eyes were like limpid pools of water. From time to time, her eyebrows gave an alluring glint, and as she was clad in the robes of the Priest, she gave off a holy yet temptingly wild vibe. At the sight of the Priestess, Dharma could not help but stare goggle-eyed.


    "Beauty, Boss Dust! It''s a top beauty!" Dharma excitedly spammed his private chat with Ye Chen. Being able to meet a seductive beauty in such a place, Lady Luck was really smiling down on him!


    "Yep, it''s a beauty." Ye Chen nodded. The woman indeed had a bewitching appearance. For a kid like a Dharma, Ye Chen was afraid that he would be hopelessly enthralled by the woman''s charm and be wrapped around her fingers.


    But the first sentence when the female Priestess saw the trio left Ye Chen with a strange feeling. This woman seemed to know the Queen of the Night, and that kind of sour tone she adopted also showed what background the two had with each other.


    "Night, you are acquainted with that beauty, why not introduce me to her?" Dharma had also heard the weird greeting, but lust had overcome half of his soul now. He just cared about the fact that the Queen of the Night knew this beautiful woman, but did not hear the sour undertone of the female Priestess.


    "I do not know her," the Queen of the Night only said coldly, as if she really didn''t know the woman in front of her.


    But what left Ye Chen and Dharma sweating profusely was that the Queen of the Night did not type those words on the team channel but on the public channel instead. It seemed as though her words were not directed towards them, but to the woman on the opposite side.


    "YOU¡­!" When the female Priestess heard it, she nearly suffocated on her fury. She opened her mouth, seeming to want to give a vicious tongue-lashing, but for some reason, she didn''t say anything in the end.


    "Queen of the Night, what do you mean by that?!" At the same moment, the voice of the female Priestess rang out in the private chat channel with the Queen of the Night.


    "Who are you?" However, the Queen of the Night still gave this bland reply.


    "Purple Olive¡­ Don''t play me as a fool!" Purple Olive almost pounced on Night in overflowing anger.


    "Oh, come to think of it, we were in the same team in Newbie Village."


    "Hmph! This young lady is too lazy to care about you. What are you doing? How come you are still at Level 16, even though I am at level 20?! Also, which of the two is the man you hooked?" Purple Olive magnanimously said.


    "I don''t indulge in poor tastes like you."


    "What poor taste? All these men are so silly, I just have to move my fingers, and they''ll gather at my doorstep like drooling pugs. As for this rich young master on my side, he didn''t even manage to touch my hand, but he already showered me with all sorts of equipment and skills, hehe!" Purple Olive proudly boasted.


    "You better be careful not to count your chickens before they hatch." The Queen of the Night no longer feigned ignorance of Purple Olive and said in a faintly frigid tone.


    "What''s there to be afraid of? It''s just a game! Oh Night, you should just learn from my example. With our dazzling beauty, if we form a team together, we will undoubtedly attract the attention of countless people in the game! The game is only starting to heat up right now, and it''s garnering more and more attention now. By the time we establish ourselves, our individual values will have skyrocketed and we can do whatever we want! If the game becomes popular worldwide, who knows, we may even become global stars if we are not careful!" Purple Olive''s words of persuasion enticingly hovered around the Queen of the Night''s ears.


    "As I said before, I''m not interested in it. You should go find someone else, there are more beautiful people out there than me." The voice of the Queen of the Night was still as frigid as an iceberg. Purple Olive''s words seemed like they were about to charm the heavens, but Night remained wholly unmoved.


    "There''s no one else! Even if they look decent, they don''t possess such a refined temperament like you! There can only be the two of us! If we team up, we will become famous for sure!" Purple Olive agitatedly urged. Her eyes will never deceive her, but this icy beauty showed no loopholes at all!


    "Olive, is this Mage beauty your friend?" When the slightly suave-looking male Archer saw the Queen of the Night, his eyes lit up, and he asked Purple Olive with a smile.


    Hmph! This stinky, two-timing bastard! Purple Olive heard the words and snorted inwardly. When this guy first laid his eyes on her, he reacted just as he did now!


    "Well, things are like this ..." Purple Olive quickly whispered a few words to the male Archer, and after that, the expression on the male Archer''s face slightly changed.


    He looked at Ye Chen and the other two, before apologetically saying to Ye Chen, "These three ladies and gentlemen, I''m genuinely sorry. I can guess at your intentions to cooperate with us against the Warring Dragon Guild. It''s really embarrassing to say, but we have no plan to share the skill book rewards with others, and we think that you won''t be much help anyway. The bunch from Warring Dragon should be here any moment, so we''ll be making a move first. Good luck!"


    After the male Archer finished his sentences, he immediately turned around with Purple Olive and the others and left without even looking back.


    "Boss Dust, what exactly is the meaning of that?" Things were far too sudden. Dharma would never have imagined that the moment the two sides had neared each other, before they could even say anything, the other party would just leave like that.


    "Who knows? But that guy is right. It''s not safe here, let''s leave here first." Ye Chen could figure out some piece of the puzzle, knowing that the matter was definitely related to Purple Olive. However, he didn''t know what exactly Purple Olive said to the male Archer.


    "Night, I''ll go over to find you later!"


    The meeting of the two elite squads didn''t seem to cause any ripples and thus passed with little fanfare. However, as Ye Chen took Dharma and the Queen of the Night to leave the area, Purple Olive quietly sent a message to the Queen of the Night.


    ...


    "Haha, Boss, this bow is so formidable!"


    It was not long after they were separated from the Purple Olive and others. The three had found another treasure chest. A stone bow was revealed as the treasure chest opened up. Dharma looked at the properties of the bow and couldn''t help but shout excitedly.


    Stone Tribe Armor-breaking Bow: Attack 33-52, Strength +10, 20% chance to proc the Armour-Breaking effect, ignoring target''s Defense!


    After acquiring the bow, Dharma could not wait for even a second longer and hurriedly swapped his equipment. Staring at the sudden drastic increase in his attack power, a wave of excitement swept through him.


    However, at this moment, an unprecedented piece of news in the faction channel popped up at the same time in front of the three!

 Chapter 33：The Last Party

    [Faction Channel: To all my comrades who accepted the mission, "Stone Tribe''s Totem". I am Just Like Yesterday, a fellow comrade in the same faction as you. Now, I have another 45 companions gathered by my side. We have defeated 45 Warring Dragon Guild members in the past hour and accumulated several pieces of equipment within the past hour. Despite our condensed strength, the manpower of the Warring Dragon Guild teams we meet heightens by every passing second. It had become the harsh truth that a party with low manpower does not stand a chance against the Warring Dragon Guild. Henceforth, we need to come together and complete this mission together!


    My dearest comrades, if you are interested in completing this mission, come to the coordinates (7559, 6361, 2104) within half an hour. We will win this together as one!]


    "A faction channel speaker?" Ye Chen''s eyes widened at the message. A faction channel speaker was incredibly rare within the restricted region missions for both factions.


    However, this news shed light on the little opposition from the Warring Dragon Guild that Ye Chen''s party met with in the last hour. On the other end of the forest, a fearsome power had gathered together, forcing the Warring Dragon Guild to shift a more vigorous defense over, resulting in an inevitable lapse of security on Ye Chen''s side.


    "Boss, what are we gonna do?" Immediately, Dharma looked to Ye Chen for instructions. From the Faction Channel, the other party was formidable. Liaising with them and coordinating an attack, breaking through Warring Dragon Guild''s defenses and seizing a victory seemed like a plausible plan.


    That was unexpected. Dharma failed to understand that decision. "Why? Don''t we need party members?"


    "Huh? Dharma, ever thought of the possibilities of spies within our faction?" Ye Chen''s eyes narrowed onto Dharma as he snorted coldly.


    "No¡­" That thought sent a sharp cold chill rushing down Dharma''s spine. This was a huge problem.


    "This man, Yesterday, just revealed his own location. There are only two possibilities. This pig escaped his sty, or he wields incredible power and wants to lure the Warring Dragon Guild over, ambush them, and clinch victory in one swoop. Either way, we would be sitting ducks, waiting for death if we are to go."


    Ye Chen''s glanced in the same direction as Yesterday''s coordinates raptly as he explained. If he was a party member that Ye Chen had found personally, there could be some hints or message encrypted in this move. But now, going over was suicidal.


    "Boss, like you said, we really cannot take this bait¡­ but¡­ shouldn''t we contact him and ask him of his plans first? We can decide after rtha¡­" Dharma nodded vigorously, then another idea struck him.


    "You can try to add him as a friend, but I''m confident that he would say that he never thought of such a scenario." A crooked smile lifted Ye Chen''s lips as he turned away.


    "Really?" Sceptical, Dharma actually added Yesterday as a friend.


    Not long later, Dharma walked to Ye Chen, his face flushed with respect and awe. "Boss, it is really as you suspected. Yesterday really claimed that he never thought of the scenario. He told us to not go and that he would escape too. Boss, teach me, how did you see this coming?"


    "Simple. If he is really an idiot, then he really didn''t see this coming, But if he needed a scapegoat as bait, he would not risk telling you his plans for fear that we are Warring Dragon Guild''s members."


    Eureka descended upon Dharma. He scratched his head. "Then what shall we do now?"


    "Relying on Yesterday''s plan is plain stupid. Let''s find more treasure chests, and think about the plan along the way." With a big stride, Ye Chen moved on. Naturally, Dharma followed along like a little sidekick. The Queen of the Night didn''t even question, silently walking behind.


    "Boss, a Perception Jewel! Good stuff!" Once again, Dharma proved his worth. From afar, he spotted another chest and opened in. Unbelievably, inside was a Perception Jewel!


    While this was the lowest quality Perception Jewel, it was more than enough for the party. It could reveal the location of any adventurer within a 20 meter radius under the effects of a Level 1 Stealth Skill.


    "FUCK!" Ye Chen received the Perception Jewel from Dharma and scrutinized his surroundings. With a loud curse, he swung his staff. Right behind the three of them, the Durian Bomb Tree sprung up. Quickly following, a symphony of explosions boomed. Then, a loud thud of an assassin''s body.


    "Quickly, we are getting out of here!"


    Without further ado, Ye Chen launched into a breakneck sprint into the central region of Gray Stone Forest. Since the beginning of the mission, Ye Chen had been uber careful about any assassins stalking the party. Below Level 20, he had no means of detecting their presence other than through equipment. Along the way, he frequently changed their movement direction, preventing the ambush of assassins, especially when they were not aware of the latter''s presence.


    In these circumstances, Ye Chen knew that the Warring Dragon Guild would not bring too many assassins. However, they were still dangerous considering their minuscule sized force compared to Warring Dragon Guild. If they did not so timely gain the Perception Jewel, it would have no doubt been a tragedy for them.


    The three of them resumed their search for the treasure chests. With each find, more and more equipment was gained. Scrolls were common; such as the Speed Scroll with 3 Movement Speed buff for 1 minute, the Attack Scroll with 15% attack boost, as well as the Defense and Magic Defense Scroll. The most significant and most satisfying find for Ye Chen was the Cooldown Reduction Scroll.


    Amongst the many scrolls they found, there was only one scroll that completely removed cooldown time, as long as it was less than three minutes. In short, if Ye Chen used it, it would allow him to carry out two transplants at once!


    "Boss, I tried to get in touch with Just like Yesterday. There''s no response from him¡­"


    More than 40 minutes had passed since Just like Yesterday sent the message in the faction channel. Owing to Dharma''s idleness and boredom, he had attempted to make contact again. Alas, there was no response.


    There was only one possibility for this: Yesterday was killed and transported back to the city and went offline.


    "Hmph, it would be weirder if you could reach him. Don''t overthink about it! From now on, if we see anyone from the Warring Dragon Guild, we kill them."


    The tide was not in their favour now. Most likely, any adventurer in the same faction as they were were already killed. However, Ye Chen was not a man of weak resilience. He would fight to his last breath. Otherwise, he would never have spent three long years on that life-sapping, boring 999 fragments collection mission!


    "Boss, someone is approaching¡­ WAH! It''s that gorgeous Priestess!" The three of them quickly set their plans and escaped from the spot they were at. Not long later, the enchanting figure of a Priestess caught Dharma''s attention.


    "Huh? That woman?" Hearing that, Ye Chen''s forehead puckered.


    "Queen, any possibility that this Priestess is a spy of the Warring Dragon Guild?" Quickly, Ye Chen dropped the Queen of the Night a private message.


    "No." A simple one-word response.


    "Thank God! I finally found you all. My party was completely annihilated!" Not waiting for any welcoming gestures from Ye Chen''s party, Purple Olive ran forward and stared with glistening puppy eyes at Dharma and Ye Chen. Her face was pale, stricken with fear, like a damsel in distress.


    "They are dead, then why are you alive?" Perplexed, Dharma''s eyes narrowed on the pitiful girl.


    Usually, in a team PK, the Priest would always be the first target. For the Priest to be the only survivor in a battle, even a fresh greenhorn like Dharma found it suspicious.


    "Oh, I run fast. Once I saw that we were outnumbered, I escaped out of fear. Ah¡­ it was so scary¡­" With a proud mischievous smile, Olive''s eyes became a single slit.


    "Oh, I see¡­" Those rosy cheeks and her saccharin sweet smile trapped Dharma in an inescapable daze.


    "Join the party first." During the conversation, Ye Chen had learned Purple Olive''s name and sent her a party request.


    While he was not sure of the plots this cunning woman had, having a Priestess on the party would not be a bad idea. Moreover, Ye Chen was not sure if he would ever be able to find another Priest with this gigantic Gray Stone Forest.


    [System Notice: Congratulations, your party is the last surviving party in the Confrontational Faction. As encouragement, all of your attributes would be boosted by 20%]


    The instant Purple Olive accepted the request, this same message had everyone''s faces turn sullen.


    Never had they expected, the four of them would be the last ones.

 Chapter 34：Boss And Turning Point

    [System Notice: Only one team remains in the enemy camp. The team has received a 20% bonus to all attributes, please take caution!]


    While Ye Chen and his team received the system prompt, all the members of the Warring Dragon Guild in the Gray Stone Forest also received a system prompt.


    "Haha, a group of smart alecks who think we haven''t caught wind of what they were thinking of. In the end, didn''t they still get completely wiped by us?" The head of the Fourth Regiment looked at the system prompt and laughed scornfully.


    "Boss Luo is the most formidable, after all. He managed to see through all their plans. Otherwise, things will not be going so smoothly." The head of the Third Regiment looked towards Luo Cheng. When these regiment commanders had learned that an unfamiliar person would be directing the four regiments a few days back, they were still harboring some resentment, but now all of their grievances had vanished.


    "However, that Just Like Yesterday is only just so-so. Wasn''t he still found out as a spy in the end? Else, we could have dealt with the last team as well." The head of the Fourth Regiment sighed regretfully.


    "The final team is the trio who killed your two teams?" The head of the Third Regiment asked this question a little solemnly.


    The trio not only boasted of formidable fighting prowess, but they were quite intelligent as well. They did not rush to their deaths after hearing the faction channel broadcast. Otherwise, the Warring Dragon Guild could have eliminated the last of their worries and just wait for the completion of the mission with a peace of mind.


    "Yes, amongst those three, we can only dig up some information about the Queen of the Night on the forum. She is a fairly powerful figure, but according to the information given by the two teams who died, the most powerful one amongst them was a Botanist called Page Of Lingering Dust. But strangely, there is no news about this guy on the forum," the head of the Fourth Regiment said with a weird expression. He was curious as to how such a powerful guy would suddenly pop out from seemingly nowhere.


    "Boss Luo, what should we do next?"


    Luo Cheng walked over at this time. The heads of the Third and Fourth Regiment, as well as the heads of the First and Second Regiments not far away, all looked over.


    "Regiment Head Crazed Wind, according to the report of your subordinates, you mentioned that there was a female Priestess who managed to escape?" Luo Cheng thoughtfully glanced towards the Head of the First Regiment, Stygian Crazed Wind.


    "Yes, I have no idea what was going on with the female Priestess. As soon as the battle started, she completely ignored the life and death of the members of her team and ran away alone. Otherwise, the annihilation of that team would be much more tedious," Stygian Crazed Wind thought back to the matter and replied perplexedly.


    "The female Priestess and the other three were not on the same team. Now the system notice indicated that there is only one team left, so she must have joined up with them." Luo Cheng pondered slightly, and as the four heads around him heard the words, and their faces all displayed startled expressions.


    They all heard about the formidableness of the team of three. However, the biggest weakness of the team was that there was no Priest. Now they had the addition of this crucial role, not to mention the 20% increase in all their attributes. This meant that even if three teams were jointly sent out to deal with the remaining rebels, they might not necessarily prove to be their opponents.


    After more than two hours of confrontation, nearly 100 people had died on their side, leaving behind only more than 300 people. Assuming they were divided into groups of three teams, with 18 people comprising each group. After deducting the remaining members guarding the central area, only 10 groups could be sent out to search for the rebels in the end. Furthermore, the number of members on the teams could be said to be extraordinarily pitiful. In the vast expanse of the Gray Stone Forest, trying to find a single team was akin to trying to find a needle in a haystack.


    Not to mention, even a group of three teams may not be able to fight against that team of four!


    Thinking of this, the four Regiment Heads all looked towards Luo Cheng. Since Luo Cheng mentioned the problem of the female Priestess, then the problem which they only thought of now must have been within Luo Cheng''s expectations a long time ago.


    "Order all members to return. Only those guarding the central area are to stay put at their positions. Pay no heed to that team." Luo Cheng seemed to have an idea, and as he looked at the quiet woods in the distance, his eyes gleamed with cold light.


    As long as the team was not invincible, no matter what type of superb equipment and weapons they get, if they dared to appear here, there would be no path of retreat for them!


    ...


    "Boss, what should we do now¡­? Only the four of us are left." Dharma was extremely depressed. He didn''t want the mission to fail, but logic dictated that their mission was doomed to end here.


    There was only one team left. Even if the opponent did nothing and just waited for them to come home, they won''t be able to break the magic array that so many people were guarding.


    Ye Chen also felt like he was at his wit''s end. If they continued like this, it would only prove to be a waste of time. He knew better than Dharma and others that the materials given by the system would not allow them to triumph over hundreds of opponents. Even if all their attributes had been increased by 20%, there would not be much change in the situation.


    The other party was the Warring Dragon Guild. They will certainly understand this logic and choose to defend until the end of the mission. If Ye Chen and his team continued to stay here, he was afraid that wanting to kill a few more members of the Warring Dragon Guild and looting a few more pieces of equipment would become an impossible dream.


    "Dharma, what is that white shadow?" Ye Chen''s eyes twitched slightly and scrunched into a squint, looking at a blurry white shadow in the distance.


    "Boss, your eyesight is so powerful. That is a Stone Wolf, but his body is much larger than the average Stone Wolf, so it should be the Wolf King Boss!"


    Ye Chen''s keen eye left Dharma feeling astonishment. Ye Chen''s profession did not provide any bonuses to Perception. Nor was he wearing any equipment that increased his Perception.


    A Wolf King Boss? Interesting!


    "We still have a chance." Looked at the terrain around his eyes, Ye Chen laughed.


    "We still have a chance?" Purple Olive, who had just joined the team, stared at Ye Chen with surprise.


    This situation did not seem like it had any hopes of a reversal.


    "Yeah, what do you want us to do? Boss, hurry up and say it!" Dharma shouted excitedly, and there was not a hint of doubt in him about Ye Chen''s words.


    "Let''s go over first and see what''s happening around the Boss." Ye Chen waved his hand and walked to the front of the Wolf King Boss.


    Curious as to his intentions, all three followed closely behind.


    In front of them was a verdant grass patch with several messy shrubs. Ye Chen carefully observed and confirmed that there were no stones in the vicinity where the Durian Bomb Tree could be transplanted on.


    "Oi, you over there, if you can''t do it, then don''t waste everyone''s time. And, this guy is a Boss after all. No matter how garbage the Boss is, we still shouldn''t be able to deal with it." Purple Olive couldn''t help her snarky comments and rudely rebuked Ye Chen.


    Dharma and the Queen of the Night also noticed Ye Chen''s ridiculous notion of ??wanting to engage the Boss and cast doubtful looks at him.


    With the strength of the four added up, although they boast above-average combat potential, all of their Professions were the kind that had an ultra-low Defense. The Attack of the Stone Wolves in the Gray Stone Forest was already quite high, let alone the Wolf King Boss! With two attacks¡­ no, maybe even with just one hit, it could decimate them in an instant!


    "Hehehe, others may not be able to fight it, but we would have no problem! We will not only kill this Boss but also use it to kill all the people in the Warring Dragon Guild!" Ye Chen grinned with a confident smile hanging off the edge of his lips.


    "Let''s return to our previous position first. I will share with you guys our strategy." Ye Chen turned and walked back carefreely.


    "Big Brother Dust, just tell us now! I can''t wait any longer." At this time, Purple Olive, whose appetite was whetted by Ye Chen''s words, twisted her perky bottom alluringly and sauntered over to Ye Chen''s side. She tightly hugged Ye Chen''s arm and coyly whined.


    "The chest has good elasticity." Feeling that his elbow pressing into Purple Olive''s chest, Ye Chen swept a glance at Purple Olive''s arching chest and praised.


    "Hmph! What a boring man." As Purple Olive looked at Ye Chen''s eyes, she realized that there was no point in trying to seduce this guy and coldly harrumphed. Letting go of his arm, she then stepped to the side


    "Single Transplantation." Walking to the base of a stone column, before the blank stares of several people, Ye Chen''s staff waved, directly transplanting a Durian Bomb Tree to the top of the stone in one fell swoop.


    "How could this be?" The three people looked at the Durian Bomb Tree above the stone, and shock filled their eyes.


    Looking at the gently-swaying, earthy-colored durians on the Durian Bomb Tree, which seemed as though they were about to fall at any moment, all three realized the method behind killing the Boss.


    "Killing the Boss is an extremely straightforward matter as long as we could lure the Boss over. The question is how to use this Boss to kill all the Warring Dragon bunch," Ye Chen slowly spoke as he stood under the stone.

 Chapter 35：The Aggression Chain

    "Tch! Tell us what we need to do!" Purple Olive rolled her eyes at Ye Chen as she snorted. Ever since years ago, she had been in the position of toying and teasing the others'' emotions, yet now, Ye Chen was the one toying with her heart. This sensation, simply unpleasant and annoying.


    "Little girl, don''t be anxious. Haste does not bring success. This secret is known by little players within the game. Even if you want to know it, we need to first bring the Boss over. Otherwise, being unable to test out the newfound knowledge will just plague your nightly sleep for the rest of eternity! AHAHA!" Ye Chen glanced back and smirked.


    "You¡­!" Purple Olive took deep breaths, forcing down her exploding urge to slap this man who neither listened to reason nor bow to force.


    "Hm, back to business. Luring the Boss over is seriously tough. Our speed is at most, the same as the Stone Wolves. The Boss is probably about Level 22 and so is the King of the Stone Wolves. Its speed will only be faster than its minions. While we have the Speed Scrolls, it will only boost our speed by 3 points at best. We would still be significantly slower than this giant. Over such a long distance, luring it over with just one person is suicidal." Seriousness wiped away the playfulness from a second ago as Ye Chen discussed the most substantial possibility of success. Immediately, the other three gathered around him.


    This was obvious, and the party agreed with the method.


    "I have a concrete plan for the rally order. Purple Olive, you are first, then Dharma and Queen. I will assist from the side. If anyone fails to get the aggro, I will pull it from the side. However, we only have one chance, if we fail to pass it even with my help, it will be obliteration for us."


    A dense blanket of pressure crashed onto everyone at those words.


    Ye Chen swept his gaze across the others. "Understood? Let''s get to work then. Remember, use all of the effective scrolls. It would be collected back by the system at the end of this anyway."


    Suddenly, Purple Olive interjected, "I can use Skin Toughening."


    "Skin Toughening? That''s a great defensive skill. Just pile it all on!" Ye Chen nodded. In the Boundless World, the Priest profession offered several defensive skills: Harden, Skin Toughening, Iron Defense, and more. All of these skills beefed up an adventurer''s Defense. However, their effects were slightly different.


    The Iron Defense added the most Defense. However, it would lower the adventurer''s Movement Speed. Harden had intermediate Defense effects but would make the adventurer immune to some status effects. The Skin Toughening increased Defense slightly by strengthening the skin. When under attack, it would negate some of the damage and upon healing, increase the regeneration effects.


    As Purple Olive''s staff waved, glistening light spiralled around the entire party. As the light dissipated, they all could tell that their Defenses had increased by 12 points. Having done their preparation, everyone got into position. Turning to face the members behind her, Purple Olive took a deep breath. She consecutively activated her scrolls: HP, Defense Blessing ,and Speed. Then her palms gripped tightly on her staff and pointed it at the giant Stone Wolf right in front of her.


    "Holy Bullet!" Before the blinding ball of holy light even landed on the Boss, Purple Olive turned and ran.


    Just a few steps later, the attack landed, bringing single digit damage. However, the aggression was successfully pulled. A hoarse, thundering roar boomed through the area.


    "RAWR!" With a loud bellow, the Stone Wolf King''s menacing aura rippled violently from his limbs. Like an arrow leaving the bow, its body flashed and charged towards Purple Olive.


    Behind everyone, a wave of cold shiver washed over Ye Chen.


    "The Boss is moving faster than we expected! Dharma, move forward by ten steps. Queen, by twenty-three steps. No more, no less! Quick! This is our last chance!" Seeing the astonishing speed, Ye Chen decisively made his decision, rushing forward while giving the instructions.


    Initially, he had planned to lure the Boss with just the three of them. But now, he needed to join into the fray. Without hesitation, Dharma and Queen went along with the plan hastily.


    "Dharma, snipe now!"


    As Ye Chen moved, his eyes remained glued on the Boss. In just a few steps, the Boss would be right above Purple Olive.


    Dharma had long been prepared. With a quick aim, his arms pulled back. In a flash, an arrow sliced through the air.


    -77!


    A loud thud sounded. Along with it, a crimson number floated above the Boss. The massive gray head whipped and fixed onto the archer. The reddish-black pupils glistened with killing intent, sending pressure surging through Dharma. As rage overtook the Boss''s mind, all thoughts of Purple Olive were extinguished, as it pounced towards Dharma!


    "Queen, Void Ripples!"


    Dharma immediately ran for his life, wheezing hard as his heart thumped faster and faster.


    Not long later, Ye Chen quickly yelled for the Queen to attack.


    With a firm nod, she raised her staff firmly and waved. Gray ripples suddenly emerged between the Boss and Dharma!


    MISS!


    Alas, unexpected accidents always occur when one least expects them! The pressure of the Level Suppression kicked in hard. The Boss was Level 22 but the Queen of the Night was only Level 16!


    The inexperienced showed Queen''s paling face. Panic, fear and regrets pumped through with that colossal mistake she made.


    However, the Level Suppression was all in Ye Chen''s plan.


    "Don''t panic, Spatial Totem Pole! If you miss again, then use the Spatial Fissure. Just keep trying, we still have time!" As long as the Stone Wolf King was still a distance away from Dharma, the Queen could miss once, even twice!


    Ye Chen''s voice forcefully tugged the Queen out of her panic. Her hands fidgeted and gripped tightly on her staff as she launched her second attack, "Spatial Totem Pole!" A massive pillar of aggression shot out from the ground between the predator and the prey, sending an uppercut straight into the Boss''s chin.


    -132!


    This time, she was right on target, dealing massive damage, successfully pulling the aggression onto herself.


    "Single Transplantation!"


    The Queen sprinted ahead of the Boss, luring it towards Ye Chen. Ye Chen quickly transplanted the Durian Bomb Tree right behind the Queen, blocking the path of the Stone Wolf King.


    "Illusions of Time!" As the Boss closed into the Durian Bomb Tree, Ye Chen began his attack. Immediately, the Durian Bomb Tree ballooned in size, raining exploding durians one after another.


    Within the blinding rays of the explosions, many crimson numbers of more than 100 damage surfaced, together with equally high numbers of misses. Within an instant, the aggressions had been transferred onto Ye Chen.


    Enraged further, the Boss ruthlessly pounded forward, slamming into the gigantic tree. In one swoop, close to 400 damage was dealt.


    From a distance, Ye Chen was not going to wait for another lethal swing from the Boss. He activated a magic scroll and shot a sparkling ray onto the Boss, pulling the priority aggression onto himself.


    "Withering Light!" A dismal 10 damage was dealt, but still, he pulled the aggression successfully.


    Ye Chen was just a few steps from the stone pillar that the Durian Bomb Tree was on. He quickly ran below the pillar, awaiting the Boss. While he may be confident and sure of what he was doing, the overwhelming trepidation still plagued the Queen.


    After losing to Ye Chen, she had gone onto the forums to analyze the attributes and perks of a Botanist, She knew, once a botanist activated the priority aggression, the affected monsters would not have the aggression deterred to anyone else within a short period. In other words, Ye Chen would suffer minimally two to three attacks from the Boss.


    With every step, the hoarse roared, like the rumbling of chains in the gallows, reverberated through the forest. The distance between the Boss and Ye Chen was closing quickly. However, Ye Chen was still calm as still water, not a trace of panic or fear to be found on his face. He only used the only cooldown scroll he had to finish the cooldown of the Illusions of Time. When the Boss was about to leap onto the bottom of the pillar, the Illusions of Time struck again.


    Once more, a torrential downpour of explosions pelted onto the Wolf King. Alas, the scene that the Queen of the Night feared for occurred. The aggression was still on Ye Chen!


    Brushing off the bombs from the Durian Bomb Tree, the Boss viciously brandished its jaws, jumping at Ye Chen.


    At that sight, Purple Olive cupped her face in horror. Yet, with a timely swerve, Ye Chen dodged it by a hair''s width, circling to the other side of the pillar.


    As easy as it sounded, that sight was sufficient to stop Dharma''s heart as he watched. To him, Ye Chen really almost died. With the pity of Lady Luck, he dodged it.


    However, it happened again, during the Boss''s next assault. Now it was all clear. Ye Chen did not dodge by pure luck.


    After the two attacks, despite the Level Suppression and constant misses, the Wolf King suffered massive damage from the enhanced Durian Bomb Tree. Finally, the aggression was pulled away.


    Seeing the change of target, Ye Chen took a huge breath, feeling the Everest-like pressure off his shoulders.


    If he had not gotten the elite mission equipment, the bonus 20% of the total attributes from the system, the speed scroll, and utilizing the stone pillar as an obstacle, it would have been impossible to avoid the Boss''s attack when he was seven levels behind.


    Far away, Purple Olive had half-peeked through the gaps of her fingers throughout the process. Now, her eyes and her mouth were frozen wide open in an expression of stunned surprise, ooking at what happened. "This guy¡­ He''s not as simple as he seems!"

 Chapter 36： The Monster Riot

    Purple Olive was not joking when she said that she wanted to be famous in the game. Before entering the game, she had spent a lot of time conducting various research into the Boundless World. She knew that it was impossible to make it big in the game with only a beautiful face and captivating figure. At the very most, she would only be regarded as a beautiful flower vase. There was no shortage of beauties in the game, and only beauties with both looks and skills could become a hot topic and focal points of discussions.


    So, in addition to the knowledge of the game background, she also worked hard on honing her in-game skills. Her Priestess skills were not at all low in level, which was a testament to the amount of hard work she put in.


    Ye Chen directed the other three to lure the Wolf King Boss a while ago. The process could be said to be rather mundane, with nothing too surprising. Still, Purple Olive knew that if another person was to command the situation, the four people would have been decimated by now!


    "Okay, Dharma and Night, you two can rest. Purple Olive, come over."


    The Boss was already running in circles at the base of the stone pillar, but Ye Chen beckoned to Purple Olive at this time.


    "What''s up?" Purple Olive raised her guard, and cautiously asked. From her impression, men were mostly scums, with few redeeming points. Previously, she had wanted to take the path of a reality star, but all of them had tried to take advantage of her first.


    "Nonsense. Obviously, I''m telling you what to do next. Or what, are you afraid that I will devour you?" Ye Chen amusedly glanced at the woman.


    A look of embarrassment caused Purple Olive''s face to become flushed, and she hastily ran over.


    "Wolf King''s HP gauge will not hold out for long. Although there still exists the Level Suppression, the Durian Bomb Tree''s lethal damage will soon kill it. But we can''t let the Wolf King die. Otherwise, the mission will definitely fail." As Purple Olive approached, Ye Chen gestured towards the Wolf King.


    "So, what do you want me to do?" Purple Olive asked.


    "It''s very simple. When the HP of the Wolf King drops below 5%, you can add blood to it. Stop when it reaches above 10%, and continue adding when it drops below 5% again. Keep circulating like this. Anyways, the primary purpose is to not let it die."


    "Boss, can the Priest even add blood to the monster?" Dharma had been eavesdropping curiously, and after hearing the question, Purple Olive also perked up her ears, as she didn''t know that she could do so.


    "Yes, but there are two conditions to fulfill. First, the Priest''s team must be the team that dealt the most damage to the monster. Second, the monster''s aggro must be on the Priest''s team. Only when these two conditions are met can the Priest add blood to the monster. "


    Ye Chen carefully explained the method in which the Priest could help the monster to add blood. This was not a secret among the older adventurers. It was just that even when these two conditions were met, no team would be such a fool to help the monster to add blood.


    However, a long time ago, there existed such a team that added blood to not only monsters, but their target was even a Boss! That team had tormented the Boss back and forth for two or three hours that day. But then, there occurred a phenomenon that no one could ever imagine!


    "What phenomenon occurred?" Purple Olive asked urgently.


    The more one understood the Boundless World, the more quickly one would be sucked in by its charm. After listening to Ye Chen''s words, she was utterly hooked, and curiosity welled up from the depths of her heart.


    "Do you want to know? If you are curious, then try your best to add blood to the Boss." However, a sinister chuckle from Ye Chen was the only reply to her queries.


    "YOU¡­!" Purple Olive gnashed her teeth and glared at Ye Chen. Ever since she entered the game, other than the time she teamed up with the Queen of the Night, all those men were but mere puppets at her beck and call. But now she was being played for a fool by Ye Chen.


    But what else could she do? She had to do what Ye Chen said willingly.


    "Alright, don''t look at me like that, it''s really not a big deal. It''s just that if you keep adding blood to the Boss and prevent the Boss from dying, its rage will accumulate endlessly. Then the monsters in the area where the Boss is located will undergo some strange changes and turn more brutal and bloodthirsty." Ye Chen also got his fill of teasing Purple Olive and directly revealed the mystery.


    "However, in the end, the Boss became extremely perverted. The team I spoke of not only failed to kill the Boss in the end, but was utterly destroyed by the Boss and the rioting monsters. But, who knows? I wonder what top-quality items the Boss that had undergone such a drastic change would drop."


    Purple Olive had wanted to slightly forgive this teasing bastard, but she didn''t expect Ye Chen to add on the last thing "regretfully" at this time, and this caused her to grind her teeth even harder. This bastard is unforgivable!


    It was true that he solved one mystery, but in return, he dished out an even bigger one, which Purple Olive was dying to know the answer to!


    "Hurry up and get ready to add blood. The Boss''s HP would be running out soon."


    Boss''s HP plummeted rapidly. When it fell below 10%, Ye Chen "helpfully" reminded Purple Olive.


    Purple Olive truly hated herself very much at this moment. She resented herself for being so curious. Else, she could have scornfully told this guy, "Hmph, I just don''t want to replenish its HP, what are you going to do?!" But she knew that to unravel this mystery, this was the only opportunity. Such a chance would basically never appear again in the future, and there would be no medicine for regrets then!


    The HP of the Boss quickly dropped below 5%. Ye Chen issued the order for the Durian Bomb Tree to rest, and then Purple Olive gloomily waved her staff, adding blood to the Boss.


    The HP recovery speed of the Boss by itself was not slow, and with the help of Purple Olive, its HP quickly recovered by more than 10%. At this time, Ye Chen commanded the Durian Bomb Tree to resume its bombardment.


    Except for Purple Olive that was working hard to add blood, there was nothing else to do for the remaining three. Ye Chen sat on the grass, his eyes sweeping through the densely-packed woods, and he glanced towards the central area of ??the Gray Stone Forest.


    Purple Olive had many things in common with a woman he had known in the past. He couldn''t help but deliberately teased her so that she wouldn''t be too overconfident in herself and ended up in such tragic straits as that person. That woman had an ambiguous relationship with the two master adventurers in the game at the same time. But, in the end, neither of the two masters wanted her, and she vanished without a trace. As a bystander, he witnessed everything from beginning to end and could only lament regretfully.


    In the central area of ??the Gray Stone Forest, where the Warring Dragon Guild was located, come to speak of it, one of the two masters was from the Warring Dragon Guild. However, it was unknown whether that person was still with the Guild.


    But regardless of whether the man was still in the Warring Dragon Guild, in an hour''s time, everyone gathered there will be torn into shreds by the rioting mob of Stone Wolves. Moreover, due to the nature of the mission, the monsters will not actively target the four, and they will remain unscathed from the impending danger!


    The Wolf King''s HP continuously fell below 5%, but continually rose back to more than 10%. As the process was repeated over and over again, time also quietly ticked by as the neverending loop continued.


    The enormous eyes of the Wolf King gradually became increasingly crimson, and the blood vessels on the body bulged explosively, becoming noticeably more substantial than at the beginning. From time to time, the Wolf King''s head would rise towards the heavens, and let loose the bloodthirsty, frenzied howls of a crazed predator.


    "Boss, the wolves around us have changed a little!"


    The bloodthirsty howls seemed to spread farther and farther into the Gray Stone Forest. As the rage contained in the howls grew in intensity, the wolves in the Gray Stone Forest gradually began to become more and more restless.


    "Alright! Hold on for a while more, it will become effective soon!" Ye Chen encouraged menacingly.


    ...


    "Boss Luo, the surrounding Stone Wolves are displaying some abnormalities. The situation doesn''t look good."


    As for the changes in the Stone Wolves in the Gray Stone Forest, the Warring Dragon Guild could not be unaware of it. Several heads of the group had a solemn expression and broached the topic with Luo Cheng.


    This abnormal phenomenon was occurring during these extraordinary times and bode ill tidings for them.


    "Shrink the defensive parameters! If any Wolves appear, kill them on sight."


    The monsters in the Gray Stone Forest suddenly began to grow more powerful. Luo Cheng couldn''t help but feel the onset of a headache and gave the order rather helplessly.


    But it didn''t take long for the faces of the several people there to become more downcasted.


    There was more than an hour before the completion of the mission, but the surrounding Stone Wolves monsters seemed to have become more ferocious and bloodthirsty!


    "Bad news! The Wolves in the woods are no longer staying in place and are constantly running around irritably. Moreover, the range of their aggro has increased a lot!"


    More than three hundred people banded together in a defensive formation. Although the monsters had become more formidable, as long as their number was not large, the danger posed by them was not great. However, at this time, an ominous message appeared, which caused the faces of several people, including Luo Cheng, to change drastically.


    "A pack of wolves is swarming the First Regiment in masses!"


    "This is also the case for the Third Regiment!"


    "Priest, hurry up, and add blood!! Holy shit, why are these Wolves'' attacks so perverted!"


    "Fuck! Are these still Stone Wolves?"


    ...


    Immediately afterward, the sounds of mass hysteria and chaos spread across the encampment!

 Chapter 37：New Skill!

    The first white ball of light set off a wave of raging panic and horror throughout the Warring Dragon Guild. Amidst the chaos, an adventurer shouted, "Someone died!"


    "Reduce the formation size, don''t panic! Priest, remember to watch the HP closely!" The four commanders had gotten into their positions at the very first moment, personally commanding their respective platoons. Under their experienced leadership, the effects were evident. They lived up to their names as veterans of the Warring Dragon Guild, seamlessly coordinating the efforts to clear off the first wave of monsters.


    Luo Cheng stood at the commanding post behind, witnessing the mania slowly dissipate. However, there was not a strand of elation or relief. Instead, the trepidation of impending doom.


    His eyes looked into the distance. Beyond his men struggling for their lives was a dense patch of sprawling forest. There, stone wolves were unceasingly spawning, more ferocious and bloodthirsty than before. Their crimson eyes glared ferociously over, widening their jaws, showing off the razor-sharp jaws. With their low howls, like the call of a bugle, they charged over savagely.


    One, two, three¡­


    The pack of wolves arrived unwelcomed at the doorsteps of Warring Dragon Guild before the adventurers even had a break. Seeing the next wave of assailants, their faces froze.


    "Quick, block them!"


    "Priest, Priest¡­ I need a priest! The HP potions¡­ they aren''t working!"


    "God! OH MY GOD! My mana!"


    ...


    This time, it was Hell on Earth. Even with the calm leadership of the commanders, the Warring Dragon Guild defenses crumbled under the consistently frenzied assaults from the Stone Wolves.


    All of them were only barely above Level 20. Adventurers of this level had minimal skills. AOE skills were rare and limited to a handful of adventurers. As such, facing a horde of rampaging beast was more than a challenge.


    Soon, the area sparkled brightly, with white light popping out all over. With each glimmer, Luo Cheng''s expression turned more and more solemn. He knew this was the end of the line for them.


    The Warring Dragon Guild could not sustain this defense any further. The berserk Stone Wolves spawned immediately after one was killed, surrounding them in an unending stream. In other words, they were trapped.


    "Must be four remaining adventurers!" Through his clenched jaws, Luo Cheng hissed. This mission was his absolute resounding victory. At least, it was until moments ago. Never had he expected, the last party would bring fate on a divergent twist, changing the course of events so heavily, wreaking havoc in his perfect plans!


    "Even if we are to lose, the Warring Dragon Guild would not let you off so easily!"


    Around him, a sea of blinding white light had formed. Within the next minute, the Stone Wolves would break through their last line of defense, being right beside Luo Cheng. Facing his imminent death, Luo Cheng''s expression was plain as a blank canvas. Coldly, he whipped out a Magic Scroll.


    Upon activation, a pastel blue aura surged from the bottom of his feet. Swiftly, the glimmer dissipated like stardust. The scroll had completed its purpose, and so did he. Looking wistfully into the sky, Luo Cheng sighed and closed his eyes. The next moment, he was on the ground with two Stone Wolves biting on each of his shoulders.


    In a short 10 minutes, more than 300 lifeless bodies were strewn around the Stone Tribe''s Altar. Everyone, even the stealthy Assassins, could not escape the horrors of death. Three hundred bodiless souls swayed in the winds of the calm after the storm, speechlessly watching the roaming wolves. They couldn''t understand how the events took on such a downturn.


    Amidst the souls, the massive crystal still hovered in mid-air, radiating a gentle azure glow.


    ...


    "Are we done yet? I already feel like puking." Purple Olive''s face curled up from the excessing regeneration she had done for close to two hours. The biggest torture for anyone, especially for her, was repeating the same menial task over and over and over again.


    As she whined, the greyish-white Stone Wolf King, at the bottom of the pillar, displayed a radical change.


    Just like an adventurer who just drank an HP potion, the fur of the Stone Wolf King turned crimson. Like a blazing inferno, radiating a dark red aura. Its vessel popped on the surface of its skin, snaking across the body. The monolith eyes flushed red with blood, its hideous jaws pried open, viciously brandishing the sharp fangs. Without a doubt, this savage beast was more brutal than before!


    "Keep at it, just a while more. Don''t let your efforts go down the drain now!" From the looks of the other Stone Wolves, Ye Chen could guess that the Warring Dragon Guild was no more. At most, a few Assassins escaped. But, he had the Perception Jewel in his hands, these runaway Assassins posed no threat. However, precautionary measures could not be lax. He had no intentions of letting Purple Olive stop now.


    A while more was not really a short while. Only half an hour later, Ye Chen gave the green light. "Alright, time to kill the Boss!"


    Hearing that, Purple Olive slumped and crashed butt first into the ground.


    "Kill! Kill the Boss!" On the contrary, energy and adrenaline burst forth from the idle and bored witless Dharma.


    Seeing the crazed beast further losing control, the entire group of four was beyond interested to see what loot they would receive. Unceasingly, durian bombs fell mercilessly onto the crimson Boss. Explosions after explosions rang, yet the Level Suppression caused a massive miss rate of 60%.


    Should any other Tom, Dick, or Harry face this Boss, a party of four would not dare to face it head-on.


    Still, the Durian Bomb Tree dealt considerable damage. With every passing second, the HP bar of the Boss dwindled.


    At the 2 minute mark, only 2% HP was left, Just a bit more and the Boss was dead.


    Suddenly, the roaring Boss fell silent. It stopped clawing and leaping at the Durian Bomb Tree on the peak of the Stone Pillar. Eerily, its head slowly turned, facing Ye Chen and the others. In the pin-drop silence, fear and worries boomed deafeningly in their hearts. "What is happening?"


    Could it be, the Boss suddenly changed its target at this critical moment?


    That thought sent a paralyzing fear rushing down their spines. Cold sweat gathered on their palms as their hands fidgeted, gripping onto their weapons tightly.


    These enraged and buffed Boss could wipe them out in one sweep!


    "Cruel, animalistic humans. Your savage desires plague my mind even from far away! Your tyrannical brute disgusts me. As a guardian of the Wolf Tribe, I curse you! Fear us, the Curse of the Wolf Tribe!"


    Amidst the worries and anxiety, the Stone Wolf King''s HP fell to 0. At that moment, a deep, hoary voice echoed from its mouth. The contents were blatantly aggressive and unfavourable for the adventurers. Before they could react, four beams of deep red phantoms bulleted from the dying eyes of the Boss, right at Ye Chen and his party!


    Within the four of them, Ye Chen reacted the fastest. He immediately leapt from his spot. Alas, the phantom swerved in mid-air as well, permeating right into his body. Subsequently, this same message board popped up.


    [System Notice: You are under "The Curse of the Wolf Tribe!"


    The Curse of the Wolf Tribe: Originates from the guardian of the Wolf Tribe''s fury. When facing any monster with the word Wolf in its name, the curse will activate. You will suffer a lowered offence and defense abilities by 30%!]


    "Oh fuck! No, no, thank god there aren''t any high-level Wolf Monsters here." Looking at the status, Ye Chen''s eyes pried open wide, and his heart raced.


    This meant a 30% penalty on offensive and defensive abilities when facing wolf monsters. Basically, the adventurer would lose any chance of opposing the beast. But Ye Chen was still relieved. The possibility of him facing any wolf monsters in the future was no high. Also, there was bound to be a cure for this curse.


    "Boss Dust! The Boss dropped several Skill Books!"


    While Ye Chen grappled with the possibilities and deficits that the curse brought, Dharma was without care! There were plenty of monsters in the game, he just had to avoid any wolves. How simple! Instead, he was leaping with joy and excitement as he looked through the loot on the ground where the Stone Wolf King once stood.


    "Let''s take a look!"


    If the Boss did not drop decent goods, this Boss fight would absolutely be a waste!


    On the ground, there were four Skill Books and several seeds. Glancing through them, Ye Chen found it to be one Skill Book per profession.


    "Meteor Arrow Shower, good stuff. Dharma, you got lucky!"


    Meteor Arrow Shower was the enhanced version of the basic Arrow Shower skill. The damage was increased, and the area of effect was broadened. This skill was highly craved by Archers!


    "HAHAHA! Finally, I have an AOE skill!" First, a look of shocked surprise came into his face, then a peal of uncontrollable uproarious laughter. Immediately, he learned it.


    "Possession of the Saintess, Purple Olive, this is yours."


    Looking at the Priest Skill Book, Ye Chen couldn''t help but think. The system had just dropped a skill it should never have dropped to the worst choice of recipient.


    "Astral Chains¡­ Queen, this is yours then." Ye Chen could feel his heart skip a beat as he saw the Spatial-Type Mage''s skill.


    Astral Chain was the enhanced version of the Spatial Bind. Spatial Bind could only confine one adventurer at a single time. However, Astral Chains was an AOE crowd control move, highly effective and a game-changing skill.


    Seeing the extravagant skills dropped for the previous three, Ye Chen''s interest in his own was overflowing.


    With anticipation swirling in his heart, he glanced at the Botanist Skill Book.


    [Planting: Parasitic Furballs]

 Chapter 38：Bold Idea

    "Parasitic Furball? What is this?" Ye Chen had a strange expression on his face. He had never heard of a Botanist having such a peculiar skill.


    There was no requirement for learning the skill, and Ye Chen immediately clicked to learn it.


    [System Notice: You have learned the skill "Planting: Parasitic Furballs."


    Parasitic Furballs: a unique parasitic plant. It is very rare and does not belong to attack and auxiliary categories of plants. It can be planted on non-living objects.


    According to the rarity of the non-living object, the planted Parasitic Furball can decompose them and synthesize them into corresponding props.]


    "Haha, I seem to have gotten my hands on an interesting toy!" Ye Chen looked at the skill attribute of the Parasitic Furballs, and his eyes couldn''t help but shine.


    This plant was extremely fascinating. It could decompose non-living objects into props. Ye Chen just didn''t know what restrictions there were on those non-living objects that can be decomposed. Otherwise, this skill was truly wacky! But obtaining the seeds was a big issue!


    Ye Chen looked at the three Parasitic Furball seeds picked up from the Wolf King''s corpse, and a bitter smile formed on his face.


    The Botanist was deserving of its "self-torturing" title. No matter how powerful the skill was, it would be in vain if there were no seeds. If it weren''t for the Wolf King "kindly" dropping three seeds to him, this skill would be useless even if it was more formidable.


    "Haha, I love this skill so much!" At this time, the uncontained, jubilated laughter of Purple Olive floated over.


    Ye Chen looked over and saw that the shape of the equipment on Purple Olive''s body had changed completely. The Priestess''s robe, which had initially been densely covering her body, now turned into a sexy Arab costume, exposing her slender legs and flat midriff. Her bewitching countenance was now partially hidden behind a silvery-white veil, which caused this woman who was already incredibly entrancing to become more mysterious and enticing.


    Dharma''s eyes almost bulged out of his head at this sight.


    Ye Chen sighed. He should have known that this "Possession of the Saintess" should not have fallen into this woman''s hand. This was simply a disaster in the making.


    Possession of the Saintess. Ye Chen had only seen the skill being mentioned a few times in the game forum. The wondrous change in appearance caused by the usage of the skill made it the object of many female Priestess''s dreams, and the effect of the skill in itself was not weak. In fact, when used, all Priest-status skill effects are increased by 10%, and their HP and MP were increased by 10%, which made it quite OP!


    "It''s a pity, though, that it can only be used once per hour and would only last for 5 minutes each time."


    Purple Olive regretfully lamented at this time.


    "You should already be rejoicing that this skill even popped out. Stop being so greedy." Ye Chen chastised the woman, rolling his eyes.


    "Let''s head for the central area. The mission magic circle has not been destroyed yet." Not bothering to talk nonsense anymore, Ye Chen took the lead and walked forward.


    "Boss, Boss, that Purple Olive is so attractive." Dharma was practically salivating at this time. His drool almost dripped out of his mouth, and he eagerly went to find Ye Chen to share in his excited mood.


    "Go and confess to her then."


    "No, she would certainly ignore me."


    "Isn''t that good? It''ll stop you from these idle daydreams," Ye Chen curtly said. Wanting to get together with a woman like Purple Olive was a distant dream for a still-tender brat like Dharma. It was better to let his hopes die earlier.


    "Boss¡­"


    Ye Chen and Dharma were walking in front, while Purple Olive and Queen of the Night followed behind. The four walk straight towards the broken altar in the central area of ??the Gray Stone Forest.


    After the Stone Wolf King died, the Stone Wolves they met on the road gradually recovered their original appearances. As Ye Chen walked through them, these Stone Wolves ignored Ye Chen.


    "Night, look, with the skill of Possession of the Saintess, if we form a combination, the possibility of striking it famous is even greater!" Purple Olive followed closely beside the Queen of the Night, still relentlessly uttering words of persuasion and refusing to give up.


    "Mm, yeah it looks good, you look lovely. You will become famous soon." The Queen of the Night looked up and down at Purple Olives and nodded.


    "No way! Although this skill will have a temporary effect, it will gradually lose its effectiveness after a while." Purple Olive shook her head. Possession of the Saintess was not a skill unique to her. At first, although going out in the image of Saintess will draw a lot of attention, when the adventurers get used to it, they would not think too much about it. Moreover, Possession of the Saintess could only serve as an icing on the cake. Otherwise, others will definitely criticize her for only looking good due to Possession of the Saintess, which would sharply lower her personal charm.


    However, who knew what the Queen of the Night was thinking about? She didn''t pay any attention to Purple Olive''s complaints, quietly following behind Ye Chen while deep in thought.


    The broken stone altar appeared in the vision of several people. Still, the eyes of several people were soon attracted to the enormous azure crystal shining in the center of the altar.


    Under the crystal, there was a circular magic array with a radius of two meters. The magic array and the altar overlap. The huge crystal appeared to be the most crucial part of this magic array.


    "Boss, if we smash that crystal, then it will be counted as us completing the mission?"


    There were no other destructible objects on the magic circle. Even if it was Dharma, he could tell that to destroy the magic circle, one only needed to destroy the crystal.


    "Should be." Ye Chen looked up and down, knowing that there was no other possibility.


    "Then, I will destroy it immediately and try out the power of the new skill!" Dharma drew his bow, preparing to use the Meteor Arrow Shower that he had just learned but haven''t had an opportunity to use.


    "Wait a minute!" But Ye Chen looked at the huge crystal, and his eyes flickered suddenly.


    This huge crystal had never been mentioned within the game or the forums. If his guesses were correct, this crystal should be the key to clearing this Restricted Regional-Type Mission.


    And this azure crystal is obviously an inanimate object. If he were to plant a Parasitic Furball on it, what would happen?


    Once this bold idea appeared, a wave of curiosity suddenly swept over Ye Chen.


    When playing games, when encountering unknown and possibly exciting events, few people could not resist experimenting. Adding blood to the Boss and not letting the Boss die; this kind of ridiculous notion stemming from over-boredom will also appear.


    "Let me try, I want to test out the skill I just learned."


    "Boss, do you want to use Parasitic Furballs on this crystal?" Dharma was enlightened at once.


    On the way there, Dharma had inquisitively asked about the skill. Ye Chen did not bother hiding it, giving them a brief summary of the Parasitic Furball skill.


    "That''s right." Ye Chen nodded and walked towards the floating azure crystal.


    Purple Olive and the Queen of the Night overheard their conversation and followed them curiously.


    No one would be curious as to what props a Parasitic Furball could decompose this huge crystal into.


    Parasitic Furballs were not an attacking-type or auxiliary-type plant. That is to say, the Parasitic Furballs will not occupy the limit of the number of plants that the Botanist could plant. Although Ye Chen had planted two Durian Bomb Trees, he could still plant these Parasitic Furballs.


    "Parasitic Furball!" Facing the top of the crystal, Ye Chen''s staff waved lightly, and a gray-black seed appeared on the crystal!


    After a while, this gray-black seed gradually descended into the surface of the crystal. Then shortly afterward, black silk-like tendrils emerged from the bottom of the seed and penetrated into the crystal!


    Black tentacles soon appeared on the vast blue crystal body one after another. The light of the whole crystal dimmed considerably once, and cracks seemed to spread across the crystal.


    SNAP!


    Two black leaf buds sprouted from the top of the seed when a sufficient amount of the black tentacles had spread. In the middle of the leaf buds, a fluffy black grass ball gradually appeared.


    The black grass ball was initially just the size of a ping pong ball. Over time, as the light of the crystal grew darker and darker, the black grass ball ballooned up, soon reaching the size of a bowl.


    BOOM!


    When the black grass ball grew into the size of a football, crisp cracking sounds resonated. The enormous blue crystal block lost its luster and shattered into a pile of gray powder, profusely spilling onto the ground!


    At this moment, the magic circle on the ground also quietly disappeared. The black grass ball also fell on the ground from mid-air.

 Chapter 39

    "Did you hear? The Warring Dragon Guild''s Restricted Regional-Type Mission flopped! The entire guild was annihilated when there was just one opposing party left. The monsters suddenly went on an insane rampage, destroying the entire Warring Dragon Guild''s encampment! Hilarious, how did they fail so miserably in this supposedly easy task?"


    "HAHAHA! That''s such old news. Did you just hear it? Well, this time, the Warring Dragon Guild really got played big time. Wonder who is this hero that pulled this exquisite comeback¡­"


    "Probably only the superiors in the Warring Dragon Guild and the unknown party would know. HAHAHA, just hours ago, the Warring Dragon Guild spoke as if they have already won. Can''t wait to see that sad and raging face on that overconfident fella!"


    "So curious to find out who is in that party. 1 party soloing against an entire guild. That is freaking amazing!"


    "Don''t think about it. Only idiots would bring all this attention onto himself!"


    "True that¡­"


    ;...


    In this world, there were no absolute secrets. Within the game, it was even more so.


    Moments after the Warring Dragon Guild suffered their crushing defeat, their complete obliteration within Gray Stone Forest became known by one and all, taking over the forums like wildfire.


    When Ye Chen and the others moved towards the central region of the Gray Stone Forest, the forums were already flooded with discussions from all corners. If the Warring Dragon Guild had easily achieved success, there would not be much interest. But if it was a loss on their part, it was well worth all the attention.


    The outstanding man always bears the brunt of envy, the Warring Dragon Guild was not well-liked. After all, they did not gain the title of the Top Guild with just their overwhelming numbers. They were infamous for their hard, unbending techniques and rules, pulling strings under the radar and taking benefits from others.


    However, the victims could only forcibly swallow their discontent as they glared furiously as this towering power. If they chose retaliation, they would never stand on their feet again. However, their fear of Warring Dragon Guild did not extend to the forums.


    Seeing a massive defeat for the Warring Dragon Guild, several adventurers more than welcomed this news. Immediately, they were actively guessing and finding names of adventurers that could have planned the massive destruction of more than 300 members of such an elite guild.


    As the blazing rumors seared the forums, Luo Cheng led tens of Warring Dragon Guild adventurers along the wide streets of Titan Megacity.


    Looking at the Mission Journal, Luo Cheng could feel the trepidation ripping apart his pounding heart.


    While they might have been annihilated, the mission was not yet a failure. As long as the Magic Circle was still intact when the clock ticked to 0, their mission would be successful.


    It was an hour before the end of the mission, also an hour from their return to the city. Logically, the remaining four adventurers, if alive, would have a way to destroy the crystal on the altar, drawing the curtains of defeat for their mission.


    Still, such a long time had passed, but the mission was still in progress. If the last party had not destroyed the crystal, there could only be one explanation. They also died in the rampage of the beasts!


    Facing a mission of such great importance, even the steady and calm Luo Cheng could not help but pray for a fluke in his heart.


    "I wish I didn''t have to activate this scroll¡­" Looking at the scroll in his inventory, Luo Cheng took a deep breath.


    PING!


    A system prompt rang. Luo Cheng''s eyes whipped to the system message, and immediately, his face fell faster than a crashing boulder.


    Mission failed!


    There were only 40 minutes left, and the mission failed!


    However, there was more alarming news. What about the Mission Crystal?


    When the mission failed, the crystal was supposed to return to his inventory. Why, why did the message claim that the Key Mission Item disappeared, causing the mission to fail?


    Even with the long years of experience, panic and fluster was evident in Luo Cheng''s expression. Vigorously, he rubbed his eyes, and stared at the message message.


    There was no doubt, the system message was clear!


    "Bring everyone back here!" Luo Cheng''s booming voice silenced the chattering Warring Dragon Guild members behind him. ;


    Failure after a complete annihilation was a definite, why is this man erupting now?


    ;...


    The Parasitic Furball fell onto the ground, and Ye Chen bent to pick it up. Along with it, a bright and brilliant bell rang.


    [System Message: You have successfully broken the magic circle! Restricted Regional-type Mission complete!


    System Message: You have gained 350000 EXP!


    System Message: Your party has successfully broken the magic circle! You have gained a new Skill Book, Planting: Quartz Flower.


    System Message: You have obtained an item, Afterimages of the Angel!]


    As the shimmering rings of the System Messages echoed, pillars of white light glowed around the four of them.


    The EXP rewards had leveled Ye Chen instantaneously to Level 18, the Queen had even reached Level 19! Similarly, Dharma crossed Level 20 and the highest level of them, Purple Olive, also raised by 1 level to Level 21.


    Other than EXP, the four of them all received a Skill Book. For everyday adventurers, getting their hands on a Skill Book was as impossible as touching the skies. Yet, the four of them each received two Skill Books within five hours. If the other adventurers were to catch wind of this, they might go wild with jealousy.


    "Afterimages of the Angel?" Ye Chen''s eyes squinted as he looked at the last reward. While he gained a new skill, the most intriguing of the prizes was the unknown item!


    With his interest piqued, he scoured through his inventory, finding the grayyish stone sculpture of the Angel.


    The sculpture was of a beautiful female angel, clad in a flowing black dress. Yet, the enchanting lady was crucified on the cross, her limbs tied mercilessly. Behind her, her once magnificent black wings were mottled.


    [Afterimages of the Angel: The Afterimages were formed from the last-ditch attempt of "Angel of Cruelty," Solia. Right before she was sealed for eternity. Through these Afterimages, you can summon Solia to assist in your battles for a minute. The sculpture can sustain the summons for 2 times only. When the holder dies, this item will drop as loot.]


    Looking at the description, Ye Chen was wide-eyed. "This can summon an angle for battle?"


    Angels were higher beings in the Boundless World. This item was unknown, and the process of obtaining it was far from easy. Without a doubt, this is a top-tier gamechanger.


    In times of danger, this item would change the course of battle drastically.


    Just as Ye Chen was about to read the attributes of the Quartz Flower, a blinding light jolted his attention.


    More than forty players appeared all around the altar, enclosing their party of four at once.


    Ye Chen swept across these people''s equipment, and his face drained of color!


    As soon as these unwelcomed adventurers materialized, they rushed towards Ye Chen and the others aggressively!


    "Single Transplantation!"


    "Void Ripples!"


    "Meteor Arrow Shower!"


    Ye Chen, Queen, and Dharma instinctively activated their most destructive skills at once.


    The first to appear was the Durian Bomb Tree. The thunderous explosions and blinding light blindingly covered the area. Then, the grayish ripples joined into the fray. Tightly following, the bow on Dharma''s hands faced the sky shooting an arrow heavenwards. Swiftly, it morphed into streaks of meteors, raining onto the surrounding enemies.


    Three Ultimate Moves at once. If their aggressors were of similar levels, there was no way 20 to 30 of them would survive!


    Alas, they were in for a rude shock. When the vicious attacks landed, misses after misses rose on the adventurer''s heads. Even when the strikes landed, the damage was around a pathetic 10. ;


    These people were at least 10 levels higher!


    "The Mission Crystal¡­ it''s powdered?!" Amongst the sparkling light of the skills, Luo Cheng''s expression darkened as he saw the azure powder on the altar''s floor.


    "Kill them! Leave not a single one!" Again, a hoarse roar boomed from Luo Cheng!

 Chapter 40

    ¡°Haha, you trash truly don¡¯t understand life or death. Why don¡¯t you take a good look at your own levels!¡± As Luo Cheng¡¯s voice boomed, a Warrior adventurer, besieged by a three-man attack, looked at the four and laughed contemptuously. The black broadsword in his hand slashed sideways and sent a chilly, murderous light at the four!


    Ye Chen reacted the fastest, rolling down, and evading this attack. However, Dharma, the Queen of the Night, and Purple Olive all had a thousand damage values rising above their heads, and were scattered into white motes of light! Instant-Kill!


    ¡°Fuck! Their levels are too low, so those three are worth 15 ¡®crime¡¯ points! If the Guild doesn¡¯t compensate me, then I¡¯ll be losing out big-time!¡±


    After killing three adventurers, the adventurer¡¯s body suddenly turned blood-red. This was the symbol of a ¡°red-name¡± adventurer!


    In the game, as long as one carried 1 crime point, one would be considered as a red-name. If within five levels of each other, adventurers¡¯ revenge killing of the other would not increase the crime value. However, after exceeding five Levels, for every additional 5 levels of difference, maliciously killing an adventurer would add an even higher crime value. This Warrior adventurer¡¯s level should be between 45 and 50, nearly 30 levels higher than the three, causing him to get 5 crime points from each of the three¡¯s deaths.


    ¡°You deserved it! Who asked you to be so impulsive? You should have left some for the others. But then again, it¡¯s only these few low-level adventurers, is there a need for such a big battle and calling so many people over? Now a single adventurer is sufficient to massacre them.¡± Another adventurer gave a gloating smile, but at the same time, glanced at Luo Cheng with some evident dissatisfaction.


    Luo Cheng was not a member of the Warring Dragon Guild, but who knew where he managed to dig up a World Mission. He was warmly ushered in by the high-level officials and took up a senior executive position in the Titan Megacity Branch. Towards this Level 20ish foreigner, the high-level members of the Guild naturally had the notion of wanting to teach this outsider a lesson or two. If it weren¡¯t for their superiors, giving them the command to follow Luo Cheng¡¯s instructions, they absolutely wouldn¡¯t have followed Luo Cheng here.


    ¡°Don¡¯t speak nonsense. Hurry up and kill him and loot all the items from his body!¡± Luo Cheng looked at the three dead corpses and saw a skill book scattered amongst a heap of potion bottles.


    ¡°Fuck me, so many crime points. I¡¯m done! I can¡¯t kill anymore. Someone else take over!¡±


    The red-name warrior adventurer waved his hand and retreated quickly. A small amount of crime value would take 3 hours to wash off. The greater the crime value, the higher the chance of the adventurer¡¯s equipment dropping. Taking the Warrior with a crime¡¯ value of 15, if he were to carelessly die, at least two pieces of equipment would drop from his corpse. If he was extremely unlucky, it might not be surprising that he would only be left with his underwear.


    ¡°Haha, those who want to kill, hurry up and do it. After this, we can pack up and go flirt with beauties.¡±


    This group of adventurers was all in the same guild and knew each other very well. They raucously laughed when they heard the Warrior¡¯s words. Although Ye Chen had avoided the Warrior¡¯s attack, no one took a second glance at Ye Chen. He was but a puny Botanist that escaped the skin of his teeth and was entirely surrounded by them. After all, the level difference still existed!


    Medium-Sized Group Teleportation Scroll? While this group of people did not put him in their eyes, the gears in Ye Chen¡¯s brain were whirling at a breakneck pace.


    Medium-Sized Group Teleportation Scroll had a market price of 2000 gold coins, which was equivalent to the real-world currency of 2000 yuan! Was this mission so important to the Warring Dragon Guild? To the point where they were willing to spend so much manpower and resources to find him trouble even after their mission had failed?


    However, they truly arrived at the opportune time!


    Ye Chen glanced at the Afterimages of the Angel in his backpack and coldly sneered. This thing would drop after he died anyway, so it¡¯ll be a waste not to use it!


    ¡°Alright, alright, I¡¯ll do it!¡± The bunch from Warring Dragon finally decided on a candidate. He had initially planned to launch an attack, but at this time, the adventurer was surprised to see that in front of Ye Chen, a black light had suddenly torn open space and enveloped Ye Chen within it!


    ¡°There are many people with the ability to kill me! But not you, trash!¡± Ye Chen¡¯s indistinct figure appeared and vanished in the black light, but his frigid voice was clearly transmitted. As he spoke, a slender, jade-like emerged from the space rupture, followed closely by a sexy dark abdomen!


    ¡°A-Angel?!¡± The adventurers around were horrified by the sight of an alluring beauty adorned in gleaming, black armor, and had two massive black wings spouting behind her back!


    ¡°Quickly attack and kill that guy!¡± Luo Cheng shouted anxiously. What kind of guys are these?! To think they call themselves the elites of the Warring Dragon Guild!


    The adventurers were rudely awakened by his shout, and the forty or fifty people ceased their clamoring. An overwhelming amount of skills, which seemed to cover the heavens, flew towards the altar in the middle!


    This low-level punk evidently summoned an Angel through some unique props. Still, as long as the guy was killed first, the Angel would disappear without being able to launch an attack!


    ¡°Ahh, the long-lost taste of sunshine, air, flowers, and plants. Do you really have the heart to drive such a weak woman like me back to the godforsaken, gloomy place?¡±


    Solia, the black and magical Angel, looked at the flying assortments of skills and giggled, pulling Ye Chen close to her chest. The black wings on her back, which were glowing with a golden halo suddenly closed, tightly encapsulating Ye Chen and her own body within!


    Fuck! Why was this woman using so much strength?!


    Although Solia was wearing a steel helmet, the two people¡¯s bodies were tightly pressed against each other at this time, and their faces were only separated by a paper-thin distance. Ye Chen gazed at Solia¡¯s alluring, smiling face and found it hard to imagine that this woman was called an ¡°Angel of Cruelty¡±!


    The black wings, as sturdy as steel, tightly wrapped the two inside, and dozens of skills crashed against the wings, exploding with a colorful burst of light. However, the faces of all the adventurers from the Warring Dragon Guild turned pale. They witnessed that their attacks, if not displaying a giant ¡°MISS¡±, were only dealing the lowest damage point of 1!


    They could never have imagined that the scene of when Ye Chen and others attacked them would be replicated half a minute later! But this time, they were the ones suffering from it!


    ¡°Attack! Keep attacking!¡±


    However, these adventurers did not give up. As long as they kept up their assault, the moment those wings opened, the Botanist would die without a shadow of a doubt!


    ¡°How dare you use such a crude method to forcefully extract my afterimage from the ¡®Frozen Crystal¡¯? Tell me, how do you intend to take responsibility? If you unlock the seal normally, I would have been able to obtain true freedom,¡± within the black wings, Solia looked at Ye Chen and said with a smile. However, the murderous intent behind it left chills running down Ye Chen¡¯s spine.


    Responsibility? Despite the bombardment of skills outside, Ye Chen couldn¡¯t help but sweat after hearing this. When discussing responsibility with women, this was a very serious problem! Often when women say the word responsibility, things would become very complicated, and Ye Chen was convinced that this was no exception in the game!


    ¡°What responsibility?¡± Ye Chen decided to pretend to play dumb and observe the situation first.


    ¡°Haha.¡± Soria smiled suddenly and suddenly lowered her head. Her black lips slightly opened, showing pearly white teeth, and bit down on Ye Chen¡¯s neck.


    Fuck! What kind of development is this? Isn¡¯t the role reversed over here?!


    The development of the matter was far beyond Ye Chen¡¯s expectations. He didn¡¯t expect this strange female Angel to take a bite on his neck without any prior warning.


    [System Notice: You have signed a contract with Solia and accepted the mission ¡°Solia¡¯s Seal¡±!


    Solia¡¯s seal: You must find ¡°Heart of the Dark Lands¡± within one year¡¯s game time and help Solia lift the seal!]


    Ye Chen felt a slight pain in his neck, before promptly receiving a system notice and was forced to accept a mandatory task.


    But after looking at the mission, the unease in Ye Chen¡¯s heart settled down.


    One year was not short. With the current development of his character, there was more than enough time to complete this task.


    Although there was no mention of rewards in the task, Ye Chen was not worried that he would not be rewarded.


    Missions in the Boundless World would never be without rewards after asking one to complete them. The rarer the missions, the more lucrative the rewards. If he could complete this task, the rewards would definitely not be anything shabby. However, Ye Chen¡¯s only worry was what punishment would be given should he fail to complete the mission.


    ¡°Solia, this is what you meant by responsibility? Please be assured that I will help you lift the seal as soon as possible, but can you tell me if there is any punishment if the mission fails?¡±


    The mission log did not reveal any details, hence Ye Chen could only ask Solia.


    ¡°You will know then.¡± Solia smiled charmingly, but Ye Chen couldn¡¯t help but feel his scalp going numb for a while.


    ¡°Cheh, the guys outside are so noisy!¡± Feeling a slight twinge of pain in the wings on her back, Solia frowned in dissatisfaction. Her right arm suddenly raised, with her five fingers splayed out, and she grabbed at the air!


    ¡°Meteor Impact!¡± As Solia spat out the words, a colossal black stone with a radius of hundreds of meters suddenly flashed in the distant, blue sky directly above the altar!

 Chapter 41

    ¡°Fuck! What abomination is that?¡±


    An astronomical boulder materialized within the sky, blanketing the land in its massive shadow. Immediately, distress set off the mental alarms within the Warring Dragon Guild members. Whipping their heads up, they immediately saw the fiery meteor bulleting down like a mega-sized cannon. Their minds went blank, as their mouths gaped wide, yet their voices failed to form.


    The next moment, someone pulled himself together, managing to squeeze out a cry of caution, ¡°Epic-sized magic! It¡¯s a meteorite! It¡¯s coming for us! Run! NOW!¡±


    As the meteorite zoomed past the sum, the entire forest became shrouded in darkness, like a momentary eclipse. Needless to say, this boulder of death was coming straight for the Warring Dragon Guild members. The moment the realization dawned on them, not a single one had anymore care for Ye Chen. If such a majestic boulder crushed them, they would be reduced to mush. In a swarm, they ran in all directions as fast as they could.


    Within the 40 scurrying rats, the adventurer that wiped out Dharma and the others were stricken with the purest form of panic. With 15 crime points, he could lose all his assets if luck was not on his side. Right now, he only wished that he had a third leg to run with.


    ¡°Look! Something is happening over at Gray Stone Forest again!¡±


    At the same time, the adventurers had crowded the exterior of Gray Stone Forest out of curiosity of the Restricted Regional-Type Mission. At the instant the massive meteorite appeared in the sky, an uproar broke out.


    ¡°That is an Epic-Scale Meteorite Magic, not something any adventurer could achieve at the current stage. Something must be happening! Quick, we need to get over there right now!¡± The conspicuous assault caught the attention of a veteran. With his long years of experience, he knew something peculiar was happening.


    The restriction on Gray Stone Forest had just lifted. Yet, the moment it was raised, another extraordinary sight occurred. This had to be a sign of another rare mission! Driven by their curiosity, the adventurer all flooded into the forest at once.


    BOOOOM!


    Before they could even get 100 meters into the forest, the earth shook down to its core. A deafening crash reverberated through the woods, sending an unceasing ringing through their ears. Then, the residual shockwaves swept through the foliage. From the central region of the forest, a massive gust of wind rushed through, bringing the fallen leaves along, swirling vigorously, flashing by the eyes of the dumbstruck adventurers. It was as though they were being chased away from the epicenter of activity.


    Dilapidated Stone Tribe¡¯s Altar, Central Region, Gray Stone Forest.


    What used to be the battlegrounds of a white-hot battle, the venue where the final struggle of Ye Chen and his party occurred, looked nothing like the past. Now, lifeless bodies were strewn all over, with their last gasps of disbelief clearly carved onto their faces. In their final moments as fleeting souls, the Warring Dragon Guild members exchanged glances in silence.


    When the colossal meteorite with a 100-meter radius sent its divine judgment, the entire area around the altar was reduced into a sprawling crater. Not a single of the 40 members of the Warring Dragon Guild were spared. Their twisted corpses laid unceremoniously within the hole, splattered in blood, covered in powdered gray stones and collapsed forestry.


    The Epic-Scale Meteorite Magic was merciless, indisputably standing at the pinnacle of all AOE skills.


    It was probably one of the rudest assaults faced by any member of Warring Dragon Guild. From the moment they saw the beginning of the attack, they ran. Yet, despite their utmost efforts, utilizing all of the items they could manage, no one made it out alive. The instant the meteorite touched down, the blast from the shockwave was sufficient to deal with damage as severe as a few thousand, instantaneously robbing them of their lives.


    ¡°Ah, finally, some peace and quiet.¡±


    The folded monolith wings slowly displayed its regal spread, revealing Solia and Ye Chen within. The Angel faced the warm rays and closed her eyes. With her arms stretched outwards, she took a long deep breath.


    On the other hand, the devastation of the surroundings, and the macabre consequences of the Warring Dragon Guild was spine chilling for Ye Chen.


    When he heard the unknown yet domineering name of the magic from Solia¡¯s mouth, he knew the Warring Dragon Guild was not going to walk out alive. However, he had never thought that the spell would be so overwhelmingly oppressive.


    Most magic could only deal damage up to a 100-meter radius, with the damage at the edges being minimal. However, the Epic-scale Meteorite Magic could reach at least 200 to 300 meters, and Ye Chen was sure, the damage at the sides was anything but small. That thought was horrific. This one skill could bring down an entire city.


    ¡°How is it? Impressive? If it¡¯s not enough, let me know. If you unseal me, I can probably at least bring it up ten notches.¡± Solia looked at Ye Chen and flashed a confident, child-like smile.


    On the contrary, Ye Chen could only attempt awkward laughter. If she really did push it up ten notches, she would not be annihilating just a city, but a whole kingdom.


    ¡°Aw man, I really want to stay here forever, but time is limited.¡± Solia¡¯s wings fluttered, and she rose into the skies smoothly. Her eyes looked around wistfully as she lamented words with nostalgia.


    As she spoke, Solia swayed downwards, landing with a soft thud in front of Ye Chen. ¡°My time is limited. While we can still meet once more, I want to warn you now. Don¡¯t lose my sculpture. If you wish to unseal me, this sculpture is critical. If you lose it, you must find it back at all costs. Otherwise, be prepared to face the consequences.¡±


    After she spoke, she prepared to leave.


    ¡°Oi oi. Hold up. Don¡¯t you have clues about where the ¡®Heart of the Dark Lands¡¯ is at?¡±


    ¡°Clue? What¡¯s that? Is it edible? Hehe, alright I¡¯m kidding. I don¡¯t have such things. All the best to you. If you unseal me, I will be sure to reward you well.¡± With a very cold joke, Solia chuckled. Her eyes softened as she smiled at Ye Chen, walking towards him. When she stopped, Ye Chen could almost smell her light bodily scent. Then, she leaned forward, bending towards Ye Chen¡¯s face.


    Seeing that familiar movement again, Ye Chen shot back into attention, leaping backward without delay.


    ¡°TCH! What a blind man!¡± Under her breath, Solia grumbled as her attempt to bite his neck failed. Then, her bewitching body paled out, dissipating like a cloud of glitter with the winds.


    One minute was up.


    Ye Chen¡¯s eyes scanned the ruins of battle. ¡°Hm, Dharma¡¯s skill book got taken away, eh?¡±


    On the altar, only some medical supplies remained, nothing of value was left.


    When the three of them were killed, Dharma had barely touched the skill book, much less learn the skill. Then, when he was dead, the skill book dropped as loot. When Ye Chen witnessed it, he dared not rush.


    If he had done so, he probably would have died before even activating Solia¡¯s help.


    ¡°The thief who took it also died, but dropping the skill book again is unlikely¡­ whatever, I guess I will pick some items back for him as a substitute¡­¡±


    Ye Chen had a pleasant impression of the straightforward and honest personality that Dharma had. Knowing him, Dharma was probably downtrodden by this tremendous loss. But, Ye Chen had taken revenge for him, and with an additional gift of two proper equipment, he would not remain sulking for long.


    Looking at the messily strewn corpse, a sinister smirk surfaced on Ye Chen¡¯s face.


    Each member who died here was around Level 50. From that level onwards, the equipment actually held some value. For a set of decent equipment, the starting bid was 2000 to 3000 gold.


    Now all of these elites lying on the ground were defenseless like sitting ducks waiting to be looted. With that happy thought, Ye Chen skipped over with an insultingly huge smirk on his face.


    ¡°Oh wow! Level 48 Silver Equipment? That¡¯s 200 gold!¡± Ye Chen¡¯s expert eyes were sharp and decisive. From the rubble of stones and medicine, he quickly fished out a decent Silver Equipment.


    ¡°Fuck! No, no , no! Don¡¯t take my equipment!¡± As the gravedigging Ye Chen scoured through the ruins of battle, the Warring Dragon Guild members had yet to revive back in Titan Megacity. As fleeting souls, they could only sit and watch helplessly as Ye Chen reaped the spoils of battle.


    Alas, despite his pleas for mercy, Ye Chen could not see or hear anything. Ensuring that nothing of value was left, he happily whistled and sauntered to the next body.


    ¡°My Gold Equipment! Oh my lords in the good Heavens, my Gold Equipment! Just kill me now!¡± The adventurers of the Warring Dragon Guild had, in fact, died for a while already. However, the dominating magic that they were killed by had left too big of a scar on their minds. It had caused them to forget about checking their equipment on them for a while. Until Ye Chen started to turn over the bodies, cleaning the battlefield for money, they began to check the equipment in panic.


    Suddenly, a hoarse cry shrieked out.


    The words drained the Warring Dragon Guild members¡¯ faces. A Gold Equipment was worth at least a 1000 gold per piece.


    ¡°Nice, nice. Another 1800 gold!¡± Picking up the poor man¡¯s Gold Equipment with a gleeful smile, Ye Chen estimated the value. His narrowed eyes could not hide the glistening excitement rumbling within his heart.


    Then, a lifeless, grayed voice muttered amidst the commotion from the 15 crime points adventurer. ¡°I¡­ I¡­ dropped five pieces of equipment¡­¡±

 Chapter 42

    Five pieces of equipment. The moment the adventurers from the Warring Dragon Guild heard this, they all broke into a cold sweat.


    For them, who were not too rich, the types of equipment were obtained by repeatedly running Instance Dungeon, and it took a lot of time to slowly collect them one by one. But only running the Instance Dungeon would require countless hours of grinding unless one was in an extremely powerful group and if one was extremely lucky. Hence, other than following the dungeon-hunting group, there was another way, which was to slowly accumulate gold coins and buy equipment that others didn¡¯t want anymore.


    Now, the Warrior actually dropped five pieces at once. Although the guild would reimburse for some of the costs, it was impossible to compensate for five pieces at once. The Warrior did not know how long it would take to get his pieces of equipment back again.


    But the tragedy obviously did not just extend to the Warrior adventurer. The forty-odd members of the Warring Dragon Guild had all attacked Ye Chen maliciously! They were eliminated without a trace by Ye Chen¡¯s counterattack, and everyone dropped a piece of equipment without exception!


    Ye Chen¡¯s footsteps continued from one corpse to another. More than forty adventurers of the Warring Dragon Guild screamed wordlessly as Ye Chen picked one piece of equipment after another. The grin on his face couldn¡¯t grow any wider.


    ¡°Fuck me, this is so worth it!¡±


    The vicious counterattack had killed more than forty malicious attackers, and all of them had disappeared without a trace. There were more than fifty pieces of equipment lying about the ground, and all of them were at least of Silver-grade and above!


    After most Bosses in the game were killed, they will only drop a few pieces of Silver-grade equipment at most. The drop rate of Gold-grade equipment was pitifully low. With this item explosion, more than fifty pieces of Silver-grade equipment popped out, which was equivalent to the feat of killing ten Boss monsters at once!


    With every piece of equipment being calculated at a minimum rate of 200 gold coins, this time, he made a killing of 10,000 gold coins!


    If he could pick up another one or two more gold outfits, the harvest this time¡­ Ah, ah, a spring breeze seemed to be singing in his heart at the thought!


    As these happy thoughts ran through his mind, Ye Chen picked up a Level 49 Warrior Gold-grade weapon from the ground!


    ¡°I HIT THE JACKPOT!¡± His eyes narrowed into a squint due to how wide his grin was, and Ye Chen laughed boisterously.


    Weapons were the most valuable equipment in the game. This was especially so for Warrior weapons. The price was sky-high!


    Now, this seemed to be the cream of the crop, and he estimated that selling it for three thousand gold coins will not be a problem!


    Hell, selling all these pieces of equipment would garner him more money than he ever made from working on the construction site for three months. The costs for the indoor monitoring equipment game support package had drastically fallen now, so he was able to go out and have fun with two little Lolis.


    For an avid video game lover, apart from finally successfully wooing the girl of one¡¯s dream, and the two of them lovingly preparing for XXOO, there was nothing in the game that gets one¡¯s adrenaline pumping more than facing a ground filled with valuable pieces of equipment, especially when one of them was extremely valuable.


    Ye Chen was experiencing this feeling of being on cloud nine right now, and with this ecstasy driving him, the speed that he swept across the battlefield was also amazingly fast.


    Although the system would generally refresh five minutes after equipment was dropped, it only took Ye Chen less than three minutes to completely sweep his surroundings clean. It was as though a plague of locusts had descended and raided the battlefield.


    ¡°A total of fifty-four pieces of equipment, three pieces of Gold-grade, forty-seven pieces of Silver-grade, and four pieces of Black-Iron grade. Warring Dragon Guild is indeed deserving of its title of the ¡®top¡¯ guild in the game; its members¡¯ equipment are indeed excellent!¡± Counting the equipment that he picked up, Ye Chen couldn¡¯t help but exclaim with wonder.


    If it were members of any other guilds, dropping forty or fifty pieces of Black-Iron grade equipment would already be a shocking sight.


    ¡°Haha, thank you!¡± Waving ecstatically to the souls of the Warring Dragon Guild¡¯s members around, Ye Chen took out a Town Return Scroll and activated it to return to the city.


    ¡°Has everyone revived?¡± Walking out from the return point, Ye Chen flagged down a carriage, and as he walked toward the nearest warehouse, he sent a message on the team channel.


    ¡°I¡¯m back.¡±


    ¡°At the resurrection point.¡±


    ¡°Boss, the skill book I just got dropped!¡±


    The voices of several people came one after another. Dharma, in particular, wailed miserably and unhappily cried out his grievances.


    ¡°If you drop it, then just let it go. At most, we can loot it in the future. Be optimistic. Turn your thoughts to the Meteor Arrow Shower that you¡¯ve gotten today. Countless others could only dream of getting it, then you won¡¯t be so depressed. Well, let me send over a few pieces of equipment.¡± Ye Chen comforted the unlucky guy.


    ¡°That¡¯s true. Thank you, Boss!¡±


    This Dharma kid was rather straightforward. After hearing Ye Chen¡¯s words, he also felt that he actually made a lot of money. He managed to acquire a rare range-attack skill, not to mention that his level had also increased by two. When he heard that Ye Chen would be sending him equipment, he immediately buzzed with excitement.


    ¡°Cough, I have something to say first, though. The Warring Dragon Guild failed this mission and lost much of its dignity. It was even completely wiped out by me a while ago. This matter may still be spread, and I think we have already thoroughly offended the Warring Dragon Guild. According to the style of the Warring Dragon Guild, they will not let us go that easily. You three must be careful during this time.¡± Ye Chen briefly explained the current situation for the few people.


    ¡°Hmph! I am not afraid. This game is so big, what¡¯s there to be afraid of!¡± Newborn calves were not afraid of tigers. Purple Olive perfectly demonstrated this right now. After getting her hands on two skill books, she was in a fantastic mood and did not put the Warring Dragon Guild in her eyes.


    ¡°Anyway, there¡¯s nothing wrong with prudence. Don¡¯t say that I didn¡¯t remind you.¡± Ye Chen didn¡¯t say too much. At this time, it was useless to say anything. Only after she personally experienced the strength of the top guild in the game would she know that if someone could become the top guild, it indeed possessed that strength to match its lofty title. With the terrifying numbers of the Warring Dragon Guild, finding someone was not as difficult as she imagined.


    ¡°Boss, what are you going to do now?¡± Dharma asked. After seeing Ye Chen¡¯s awesomeness, this kid had made up his mind to throw in his lot with Ye Chen.


    ¡°It¡¯s almost dawn outside. I¡¯ll dispose of the equipment I picked up, then I will be going offline for an hour or two after I obtain my deputy Profession. Although I can play during the day, I can¡¯t play through the night like yesterday. What are your plans?¡± Ye Chen talked about his situation before asking again in the team.


    There were so many things happening in the Gray Stone Forest. Obviously, it was impossible to go back. This didn¡¯t just apply to the Gray Stone Forest, but having offended the Warring Dragon Guild, some of the other more popular leveling locations have to be avoided temporarily as well.


    Although, after possessing the Durian Bomb Tree skill, Ye Chen¡¯s leveling speed has dramatically increased as an early-stage Botanist. But acquiring the seeds of the Durian Bomb Tree would ultimately remain a problem unless he could find an area planting the Durian Bomb Tree, like in the Gray Stone Forest. Otherwise, by himself, the remaining forty seeds were absolutely not sufficient to sustain him. Moreover, as the levels of other hostile characters and monsters increase, the level of the Durian Bomb Tree skills could not be improved due to the lack of seeds for practice. The role of the Durian Bomb Trees would soon hit their limits.


    Before solving the limitations of the seeds, it was necessary to set up a leveling team, and the current three adventurers were excellent candidates for teammates.


    Although, at present, the prerequisite was that the three of them must not be playing casually like Xiao Ai.


    ¡°In addition to eating and going to the toilet, I¡¯m basically here all day long. Boss, whatever activities you have, be it leveling or killing monsters, you must definitely call me!¡± Dharma quickly said.


    ¡°I am in a similar situation, but I¡¯m already reserved.¡± Purple Olive¡¯s primary objective was not leveling or killing monsters. She always seemed to suffer a loss following Ye Chen¡¯s side. It appeared that she was hatching some plot to become famous.


    Although Ye Chen did not know the motivation behind Purple Olive, he had no intention of keeping her forcefully. Some things cannot be forced, after all. Moreover, the position of a Priest in the team was not essential. He just needed to find a Priest to keep the Durian Bomb Tree from dying, so that he could quickly level up.


    ¡°I¡¯m basically online all the time. Call me whenever you need me,¡± the Queen of the Night said aloofly as always.


    ¡°Well, everyone can disperse to take care of your own business. Be careful of the Warring Dragon bunch.¡± Ye Chen just left it at that and disbanded the team. At this time, the carriage also arrived at a warehouse in the Titan Megacity.


    Walking down from the carriage, Ye Chen looked at the skill rewarded from the mission, ¡°Planting: Quartz Flower.¡±


    [¡°Planting: Quartz Flower¡±: Auxiliary-type plant, Quartz flowers can be planted. When the Quartz flowers are present, all surface of all the Botanist¡¯s plants will be quartzite, and damage received will be reduced.]


    ¡°It¡¯s actually Quartz Flower, this is a pretty formidable auxiliary skill. With it, the survivability of plants will significantly increase. Unfortunately, only Botanists above Level 20 can learn auxiliary plant skills.¡± Ye Chen looked at Quartz Flower¡¯s skill description and couldn¡¯t help but feel ripples of excitement.


    For Botanists, Quartz Flowers was one of the most valuable and practical auxiliary-type plants. With the presence of quartz flowers, the life of the plants will definitely have more guarantee.


    However, the Botanist needed to at least be at Level 20 to grow auxiliary plants. The auxiliary-type plants were very different from the attack-type plants. Now Ye Chen¡¯s Level was still insufficient, and he was unable to learn the auxiliary plant skill.


    After storing Afterimages of the Angel and the skill book in the warehouse, Ye Chen retrieved the equipment that he had previously stored inside the warehouse. He picked three pieces of Silver-grade equipment and sent them to Dharma, before heading to the Trade Lobby.

 Chapter 43

    As Ye Chen walked towards the Trade Lobby, there was only one thing on his mind: the Parasitic Furball, and its unique abilities. He had just witnessed its prowess first hand, destroying the mission crystal. Not only was it reduced to dust, the Parasitic Furball even formed an ultimate item like the Afterimages of the Angels. If the other adventurers were to learn of this, there would be a massive uproar within the entire Boundless World. With the gain of the Afterimages of the Angel, Ye Chen had descended the path of no return. With the remaining two seeds of the Parasitic Furball, he could even bring out even more exciting surprises!


    If he wished to create items of high worth, he had to find unique and one-of-a-kind non-living things for the Parasitic Furball to break down.


    The instant this thought passed through his mind, an item surfaced from his memories. There was one item, very famous with the game, known by all adventurers from all walks of life.


    ¡°The Ruins of Fossils! It looks like I need to find time to make a trip down!¡±


    Glancing at the two remaining seeds in his inventory, Ye Chen¡¯s heart turned restless with excitement.


    The Ruins of Fossils was a famous city in the Oriental Region of Titan Megacity. The entire cityscape consisted of ancient ruins. Across the area, fossils and relics were a common find. However, the city would not have been so famous if not for one thing: the Mega-Fossilized Egg.


    With a staggering height of more than seven meters, a pair of gray-white fossil wings extended from the back of the egg majestically. The extraordinary appearance had piqued the interest of countless adventurers, sparking a myriad of rumors across the forums. The egg was not just a simple egg, but home to an incredible, tameable beast. The Mega-Fossilized Egg was like a chest, holding tons of rare Equipment within it. Some even claimed even more inconceivable news, that the egg kept a hidden portal, that the wings could be crafted into special flying equipment!


    All of the rumors were enticing, attracting adventurers from across the region to pay the Ruins of Fossils a visit. From them, with the mystifying of the Mega-Fossilized Egg, waves after waves of adventurers come and go through the gates of the city.


    Similarly, Ye Chen was not foreign to the mysterious fossil. Like all other adventurers, he once had a brimming interest in the Mega-Fossilized Egg. He had spent hours analyzing the fossil, attempting to excavate some novel ideas or clues.


    Alas, the similarity with the others extended beyond that He, too, failed to find any points of interest. Even so, he could tell that the Mega-Fossilized Egg was not any ordinary item.


    In the process, Ye Chen had heard news and information from the mouths of several NPCs. The Ruins of Fossils had gone through a tumultuous past, facing several threats of complete obliteration. It was due to the countless catastrophes that the city had collected so many fossils across the period. In fact, numerous cities that once stood on this location had been built and torn down.


    Over time, data about the appearance of this Mega-Fossilized Egg had been lost. Together with the city, it went through wars after wars, disasters after disasters. Despite the chaotic events, it had stood firmly and flawlessly at this same spot. Years past, and then decades flew by, scars of time built upon the infrastructure, showing the long history of the city. However, not a single bruise of chaos or wrinkle of time made it onto the Mega-Fossilized Egg.


    It was due to this that Ye Chen, like many other adventurers, held the firm belief that the Mega-Fossilized Egg was special. However, no one managed to excavate this huge fossil. Now that Ye Chen possessed the Parasitic Furball, he had to give it a try!


    There were no other items that he thought could be a better match than the Mega-Fossilized Egg!


    However, it was still not wise to act rashly, especially under a time constraint. At the moment, he had many other things to deal with. If not, he would have long been standing in front of the Mega-Fossilized Egg.


    He fixed this trip to the Ruins of the Fossils into his agenda and headed for the Trade Lobby.


    As usual, the Trade Lobb was bustling with life. Hordes of adventurers hustled about, entering the lobby while some left with bags full of new finds. Sales calls, bargains, and arguments blended into a lively cacophony of noise. From the crowd, a malicious looking Assassin approached, ¡°Brother, do you want some Poisonous Vines seeds?¡±


    ¡°No, thanks.¡± Ye Chen declined.


    The Poisonous Vine was a skill limited to Botanist above Level 25. From the Professional Tutors, the skill was available for 25 Gold. Seeds were also sold at the guild but in limited numbers. Many Botanists had to procure more from the marketplace to sustain their usage.


    However, this skill was non-essential for Ye Chen. He had a more reliable offensive plant, the Durian Bomb Tree. The seeds from the Botanist Guild would definitely be sufficient.


    ¡°Then, how about Lucky Poppy Seeds? It is super rare!!¡±


    Seeing Ye Chen¡¯s disinterest in the Poisonous Vines, the Assassin seemed to believe that Ye Chen was not interested in conventional seeds, bringing out some grayish-black seeds.


    ¡°Lucky Poppy?¡± A strand of shock flickered across Ye Chen¡¯s expression.


    This Assassin had done his research. Lucky Poppy was a rare plant, not many Botanists would own the seeds


    ¡°How many do you have? What¡¯s your price?¡±


    As a Botanist, collecting rare seeds was a must, even if they were not usable. In any case, collecting potentially valuable items was much wiser than stocking up gold within the vaults. Indeed, Ye Chen had not learned the skill, Lucky Poppy, yet. But he did not rule out the possibilities of learning it in the future. The problems of seed stock plagued him now, be it for Durian Bomb Tree or Parasitic Furball or the Quartz Flower. He had to stock up on seeds at every moment. The Botanist truly lived up to its name as a troublesome, pain-inflicting profession!


    ¡°Five for twenty, no negotiations.¡± Curtly, the Assassin, set the final deal.


    ¡°Fine, deal.¡± While the price seemed comparatively higher to other seeds, it was still reasonable. It was usual for rare seeds to fetch a high price anyways. In some sense, being a Botanist demanded a firm resolve to ¡°burn money¡± when necessary.


    As they traded, the Assassin¡¯s name drew cold sweat from Ye Chen. This brawny, malicious Assassin went by the name, Womanizer.


    ¡°Oh Brother, you are the Page of Lingering Dust?¡±


    ¡°Oh? You know me?¡± That was perplexing for Ye Chen.


    ¡°Hehe, Brother Dust, do you have any idea how famous you are now? You are already on the blacklist of Warring Dragon Guild. You better be careful on the streets.¡± Womanizer laughed.


    Realization dawned on Ye Chen. This situation was unsurprising, but the quick decision on Warring Dragon Guild¡¯s side was slightly unexpected. He had barely returned to Titan Megacity, and his status as a wanted man was already known across the entire city. ¡°Oh, I didn¡¯t know that. Thanks, Brother.¡±


    ¡°Ah, you¡¯re welcome. Still, destroying Warring Dragon Guild¡¯s important mission is an ultra-impressive feat!¡± As Womanizer spoke, his face flushed with admiration.


    ¡°Nah, we just got lucky.¡± Sweat trickled down Ye Chen¡¯s temples. He was not used to being stared at by such a brawny man with glistening eyes of respect.


    ¡°Come on, let¡¯s be friends.¡±


    Womanizer was confident in his judgment of Ye Chen, sending a friend request immediately. While Ye Chen¡¯s level was still low, it did not affect his status as an expert.


    ¡°Alright.¡± Ye Chen nodded. ¡°I still have some errands to run, let¡¯s keep in contact!¡±


    Womanizer nodded and went to other adventurers, actively promoting his goods. Bidding goodbye to Womanizer, Ye Chen walked to an empty stall.


    In the Trade Lobby, stalls could be rented for 1 Gold per hour, with an adventurer renting a maximum of 8 stalls at one time.


    As Ye Chen had many items to sell, he unhesitantly got the maximum at once. In any case, this little gold was quickly earned by just selling one item.


    Quickly, all of the items he picked up from the previous battle were marked with a price and on sale. Happy with his products, he turned and left the Trade Lobby.


    ¡°Oh my God! Who¡¯s listing so many Silver Equipment at once? God, there¡¯s even three Gold Equipment! Which guild got robbed?¡± Not long later, an adventurer discovered Ye Chen¡¯s stall. The moment the items entered his gaze, he could not hold back his gasp.


    Almost everything listed Silver tier and above, but the attributes of each Equipment were also decent. It was hard to believe that any single adventurer could own so many high tier equipment at once!


    ¡°The attributes are good, the price is also reasonable. We can¡¯t miss out on this. I need to see who wants this stuff.¡±


    Sweeping his eyes across the price markings, he found the prices lower than he imagined. Within instants, he had done free advertising for Ye Chen.


    ¡°FUCKING HELL! Isn¡¯t this the equipment that we lost?¡±


    Before the adventurer could call on his friends, another group of adventurers arrived first. By mistake, one of them opened Ye Chen¡¯s listings. As he saw the equipment names and attributes, molten magma engulfed him entirely.

 Chapter 44

    These adventurers were naturally the members of the WDG. After losing their equipment, they were naturally compensated for them immediately. Otherwise, they would not be able to do anything. They flocked to the Trade Lobby in droves, intending to acquire some random equipment to tide them over first. However, to their unexpected horror, it wasn¡¯t long after they entered that they found out that the equipment, which had been looted from them barely ten minutes ago, had appeared in the Trade Lobby. The bastard called Page of Lingering Dust certainly moved quickly! It was to the point where they had the uncontrollable urge to vomit blood!


    ¡°Fuck! Where¡¯s that bastard?¡± This group of adventurers gritted their teeth and wanted to look for Ye Chen, but after looking everywhere, they still couldn¡¯t catch a glimpse of Ye Chen¡¯s figure.


    ¡°That punk got off easy. If he is found, he must be blocked to prevent him from leaving the city gate!¡± an adventurer spat out, his words dripping with unconcealable wrath and resentment. He stared at his beloved equipment, which he dropped and was now sitting proudly on display in the booth, with bloodshot eyes.


    ¡°The equipment isn¡¯t being sold at an expensive price, do you want to buy it back?¡± After the group of people sentenced Ye Chen to death several hundreds of times in their heads, an adventurer fell silent for a while. He looked at the equipment¡¯s price and suddenly spoke.


    In order to sell these pieces of equipment quickly, Ye Chen¡¯s quoted price was slightly lower than usual. Although it was only marginally lower, the price was quite attractive for adventurers in dire need of equipment.


    At first, the group had blood rushing to their heads, and rage clouded their judgment, hence not paying much attention. However, after someone reminded them, they were stunned and realized the problem.


    To repurchase it or not?


    It seemed that if they bought it back, it would be benefiting the bastard, but if they didn¡¯t buy it, they would be suffering a loss instead. The group was stuck in a dilemma. The feeling of being robbed of their equipment and having to pay to buy it back was truly discomforting.


    ¡°Fuck! My bracer was bought by someone else!¡± But they didn¡¯t get to be conflicted for long before someone bought a piece of equipment from Ye Chen¡¯s booth.


    ¡°We¡¯ll let this kid off easy this time! Next time we¡¯ll kill him until all the items drop from his body!¡±


    ¡°Yeah!¡±


    ¡­


    With the sense of crisis that their equipment might be bought by others, the ragtag bunch no longer hesitated. Casting aside their harsh words of resentment, they quickly repurchased their equipment. The equipment in Ye Chen¡¯s booth had barely been displayed for ten minutes before being swept clean. The adventurer who had just notified his friend was slack-jawed at the scene. ¡°Holy hell, the owner of this stall is so godly! How come everything he sold was something so on-demand?¡±


    Ye Chen didn¡¯t know that in such a short period, the equipment he put up was almost sold out. At this time, he had just arrived outside the gate of a manor outside Titan Megacity.


    This was the place to apply for the Deputy Profession Landscaper. There was a female Landscaper NPC named Karma inside the manor. Ye Chen was mentored by her last time. Hence, it was easy to have a conversation with her.


    Karma was a serious middle-aged woman who paid utmost attention to etiquette. Before entering, Ye Chen first knocked on the door before pushing open the door and entering.


    Although Karma may not have heard the knock, under the conditions set by the system, if he did not knock on the door to enter, the Profession change assignment received would become incomparably difficult.


    ¡°Master Karma, I want to be a Landscaper.¡±


    Many beautiful plants decorated the manor. Ye Chen found Karma under a resplendent tree, blooming with silver leaves.


    ¡°Very good, the Landscaper is a ¡­ Damn! A dark practitioner dares to appear in front of a believer of light like me? He¡¯s really looking for death! Holy Light Prison!¡± Hearing his words, Karma turned her head, preparing to admonish this newcomer aspiring to become a Landscaper, as per her usual settings. However, when she looked at Ye Chen, a trace of suspicion flashed in her pale yellow eyes, and then she pointed towards him, crying out loudly.


    Just as Karma¡¯s voice fell, a silver staff suddenly appeared in her hand. The staff swiftly waved, and several shining cylindrical holy pillars descended to form a box around Ye Chen. Ye Chen was trapped inside!


    Fuck! What exactly is going on?! Although Ye Chen¡¯s reaction was much faster than the average adventurer, in the face of Karma, an advanced NPC of God-knows-what-level, everything he planned to do was in vain. He was immediately locked inside the Holy Light Prison.


    ¡°Accursed dark practitioner, I will let you die without a corpse today!¡± Looking at Ye Chen, Karma coldly spat out, and her staff waved again. A massive ball of holy light gradually condensed in front of her!


    Die without a corpse? Ye Chen heard her words and couldn¡¯t help a foul premonition sweeping over him!


    Under these exceptional circumstances, being killed by an NPC and being killed by an adventurer was definitely different, especially when the old woman also said he would die without a corpse. If he was killed, it would definitely not be as simple as dying, and who knows what kind of tragic, unknown losses he will suffer?!


    Is there any way to escape? Town Return Scroll?


    Impossible! He was currently in a state of battle!


    Ye Chen¡¯s brain whirled rapidly, thinking frantically on how to escape, but in the current situation, he did not have any means to escape!


    Seeing that the massive ball of holy light in front was about to fully materialize, a black light suddenly flashed on Ye Chen¡¯s neck!


    It was Solia!


    Ye Chen clearly did not carry the Afterimages of the Angel on his body, nor did he use the last summon of the Afterimages of the Angel. However, Solia still came out on her own accord!


    ¡°Hey, a light believer who dares to make an enemy of Solia? Truly overestimating your own capabilities! Break for me!¡±


    Solia, who was shrouded in darkness, glared at Karma with contempt. She coldly sneered, and her slender fingers curled into a claw, shattering the Holy Light Prison holding Ye Chen!


    ¡°A Fallen Angel with only a pitiful amount of power left that is on the verge of croaking, what¡¯s there to be afraid of! Annihilation of Light!¡±


    Karma¡¯s massive holy light projectile had condensed into an enormous glowing ball with a diameter of one meter. The staff in her hand slammed toward Solia!


    ¡°Is that so? Then, I will let you see, just how powerful this poor Fallen Angel with a pitiful amount of power is hehe!¡±


    In the face of such a giant ball of light, Solia merely nonchalantly chuckled. Her obsidian steel-like wings suddenly flared out, distorting into a shape like electricity, and shot towards the giant ball of Holy Light!


    BOOM!


    There was a faintly muffled noise, an explosion of light enveloped everything in his vision, and Ye Chen closed his eyes subconsciously!


    The intense light gradually faded away. Ye Chen rapidly opened his eyes again, but he could only stare in astonishment as Karma¡¯s incredulous eyes widened, and she collapsed onto the ground. Hadn¡¯t she died without a shadow of a doubt?!


    [System Notice: You have killed the Landscaper Karma of Titan Megacity. If the matter is detected by other NPCs, you will be exiled for half a year game-time!]


    Fuck me! Ye Chen dumbfoundedly stared at this system notice and almost spurted out blood!


    Exile was the most severe punishment that an NPC could sentence an adventurer to within the game. Only adventurers with a crime value of more than 500 points can enjoy this ¡°luxur¡± treatment. The adventurers who had experienced such treatment in the game were only a handful!


    Under exile, one was not allowed to trade with any NPC or adventurers in the game. Even the potions voluntarily dropped by adventurers or loots from dying cannot be picked up. The only way for exiled adventurers to get potions was to kill monsters! The adventurers in exile had absolutely no human rights at all, so any adventurers could attack them at will. After dying, every item in his backpack will drop, and more than half of this currently-equipped equipment would drop!


    ¡°Stupid bitch, you are the death of me!¡± Ye Chen was almost vomiting blood, and he was vilely cursing at Solia with no heed to propriety!


    ¡°How is it my fault? In the past, on the mainland, who did not know that after forming a contract with a Fallen Angel, they should not approach a believer of light within one day!¡± Solia placed her arms akimbo and righteously declared, rolling her eyes at Ye Chen.


    ¡°The present is the future of the past. The times are different, okay? Anyway, I have never heard of this!¡± Ye Chen was speechless. He was actually trolled to this miserable extent.


    ¡°How would I know that? You didn¡¯t even mention it!¡± Solia still showed no signs of repentance.


    ¡°Forget it, get out of my sight!¡± Wasting any more words on arguing was useless. Ye Chen quickly walked towards Karma¡¯s corpse.


    What¡¯s done is done. Since he already killed her, he must loot all the good stuff from this Landscaper, else he will have lost out big-time!


    ¡°Hmph! This time I can only save you because due to the residual bit of power in the contract rune when I contracted with you. But that will only let me emerge once. Today, don¡¯t approach any more believers of light, or no one can save you!¡± Solia warned, her figure disappeared.


    Ye Chen ignored her, intently searching through Karma¡¯s body.


    [System Notice: You have obtained the item ¡°Divine Sprinkler of Blessings¡±!


    Divine Sprinkler of Blessings (Legendary): A sprinkler showered blessing from God. Owned by Landscaper Karma.


    Attributes: Use this sprinkler to irrigate plants. Reduce plant growth time by 10%, reduce plant disease probability by 20%, reduce the occurrence probability of weeds by 20%, reduce the occurrence probability of pests by 20%, increase plant yield by 10%, and increase plant productivity by 10%, Botanist¡¯s planting proficiency gain increased by 10%. Every time it is fully filled with water, it can be sprinkled 50 times, and the irrigation cooling time is 12 hours. Unique item. Only dropped upon death.


    Occupation limitation: Landscaper.]


    ¡°Holy shit!¡± Ye Chen glanced at the loot, which popped out of Karma¡¯s corpse, and could no longer maintain his composure!

 Chapter 45

    That was a Landscaper¡¯s Legendary item!


    While Ye Chen was confident in his exposure and knowledge of the game, he had never seen such an overpowered and ridiculously useful secondary profession¡¯s equipment! Within the game, having secondary profession equipment with one attribute would be sufficient to be categorized as a piece of premium equipment. Yet, this Divine Sprinkler of Blessings had many additional characteristics that were utterly astounding!


    ¡°Oh my God! This one sprinkler just made the immense risk worth it!¡± Ye Chen muttered in disbelief in an undertone as his eyes struggled to digest the information it saw.


    Other than the Divine Sprinkler of Blessings, Ye Chen did not manage to loot any other items from Karma¡¯s lifeless body. Decisively, he retreated at top speed.


    The battle between Solia and Karma was vicious. With the blinding white light that was released, NPCs would be gathering within the area in no time. If his murder was unraveled, it would be the worst disaster ever for him.


    Hastily, he reached the gates of Karma¡¯s courtyard. Peeking out, he scanned the left side, then the right. Coast clear! RUN!


    Not long after Ye Chen escaped, several adventurers and NPCs rushed over.


    ¡°I cannot let this sprinkler appear in front of any NPCs. In front of an NPC, items on hand and within the inventories are essentially the same.¡± As stealthy as he could, Ye Chen dashed as far from the city center as he could while pondering his counter plan.


    Posthumously, Karma¡¯s sprinkler had become a highly controversial item. Appearing with it in front of any NPC would be equivalent to pleading guilty to the murder.


    ¡°My only choice would be to send the sprinkler to the Outfield Mailbox and keep it there¡­¡±


    The vaults were out of the question, and he would never bring a ticking time bomb along with him everywhere he went. He could only keep it at the unmanned Outfield Mailbox until he became a higher level Botanist and bought his own land. Only then can he openly use the sprinkler without the worry of being found out.


    Alas, he could not send something to himself, he had to find someone to help him.


    At that thought, Dharma surfaced in his mind.


    ¡°Boss, what¡¯s the matter?¡± The sudden call surprised Dharma.


    ¡°Are you free? Help me out a little.¡±


    ¡°Of course, just let me know what to do.¡±


    Ye Chen sent his coordinates to Dharma, and the latter came rushing over.


    Asking for Dharma¡¯s help was Ye Chen¡¯s last resort. However, he did not have any other choices at the moment. This sprinkler must not stay any longer than necessary within his inventory. Moreover, he had some faith in his judgment.


    ¡°Boss, what¡¯s the matter?¡± Before long, Dharma had arrived.


    ¡°Solia killed Karma, and I got this from her as a drop loot.¡± Without any thoughts of hiding, Ye Chen took out his dangerous loot for Dharma to see. At the same time, he recounted the incident. If he was looking for Dharma¡¯s help, there was no way he could hide this fact. As for the worry that Dharma would betray him, Ye Chen was not worried.


    ¡°WAH! THIS IS A LEGENDARY ITEM! Boss, you have to keep this, this is super useful in the Landscaping Secondary Profession!¡± The instant Dharma saw the attributes, his eyes popped open like a goldfish.


    Subtly, Ye Chen glanced at Dharma¡¯ eyes. If there were any strand of greed, he would be able to spot it now without fail.


    ¡°Indeed, but I can¡¯t bring this into the city, nor can I keep it in my inventory. I will bring you to an Outfield Mailbox, you mail it to me there.¡±


    After Dharma got over the shock, Ye Chen briefed him of the plan.


    ¡°Understood! Let¡¯s get going!¡± Seeing the unbelievably high attributes of the sprinkler, even Dharma got worried for Ye Chen.


    The Outfield Mailboxes were designed to be useful for the adventurers on a long journey. Hence, even the closest Outfield Mailbox was close to a 20-minute trip away.


    However, trouble arose just several minutes in. A group of adventurers halted in their tracks, and their expressions darkened when they saw Ye Chen and Dharma.


    ¡°Be careful, it¡¯s the Warring Dragon Guild!¡±


    On the adventurers in front of them, a distinct guild emblem could be seen. Instantly, Ye Chen recognized and could not help but to curse in his heart. What instant karma! If he was caught by them and killed now, his losses would be huge.


    ¡°Boss! They are moving really fast and are probably more than a few levels higher than us!¡± Titan Megacity was the base for many adventurers below Level 60. While Level 60 was not considered a high level, it was still too big trouble for adventurers at Ye Chen¡¯s level.


    From their movement speed, these Warring Dragon Guild members were at least Level 40!


    At this rate, the two of them were going to be caught within seconds!


    ¡°Boss, you go first, I will hold them back!¡± Knowing that the possibilities of the two of them both getting away was slim, Dharma volunteered to stay behind. While dying in a game was no big deal, Ye Chen could not ford it now! He was holding something way too precious!


    Hearing this, Ye Chen was shocked, followed by a warmth surrounding his heart. ¡°Alright, I will wait for you by the mailbox!¡±


    Dharma was only Level 20, dying would not bring about many losses. However, when Ye Chen first noticed the Warring Dragon Guild, he already had the intention of getting Dharma to slow them down. However, the latter had voiced out the same idea as him before he could!


    Both options led to the same result. However, actions did voluntarily and on command had significant differences.


    Lowering his head, Ye Chen sneaked into the forest by the road while Dharma ran away in the opposite direction. As he ran, he drew his bow, setting off a vast rain of Meteor Arrow Shower!


    ¡­¡­..


    Half an hour later, by the Outfield Mailbox in the Outskirts of Titan Megacity.


    ¡°Did you drop anything?¡±Ye Chen asked the approaching Dharma.


    ¡°Nope. If I had dropped loot again, I swear I will make a complaint to the GM!¡± Dharma shook his head and joked.


    Today, he had already dropped a precious skill book. If the system caused him to lose another piece of equipment, there was a high chance that he would curse at the system every night before he slept!


    ¡°That¡¯s good. Alright, let¡¯s trade the items now. Holding this sprinkler is bad for my heart.¡±


    Holding the traded sprinkler in his hand, Dharma sighed at the absurd attributes once more, and sent it to Ye Chen¡¯s mailbox.


    By the time the mailing was settled, the sun was already peeking through the horizons in the real world. ¡°Im going offline now, possibly not coming online again today. Regardless of what you are doing, be it leveling or missions, you need to be careful. The Warring Dragon Guild¡¯s powers are higher than you imagine. If need be, wait for me before you clash with them.¡± Before he left, Ye Chen cautioned Dharma again.


    ¡°Alright, I understand.¡± Dharma nodded.


    ¡°Also, this sprinkler. It¡¯s solely between you and me. Don¡¯t let anyone else know yet,¡± Ye Chen added in as he was about to leave.


    If this news spread out, he would have more headaches to deal with than he needed.


    ¡°Boss, don¡¯t worry. I get it.¡± Dharma confidently punched his chest.


    Seeing that, Ye Chen finally went offline with a peace of mind.


    ¡­


    The entire day was possibly the most eventful day for Titan Megacity in a long while.


    Firstly, a Restricted Regional-Type Mission, then a rarely seen rampage of monsters. This led to the demise of a mysterious party of a few hundred men from the Warring Dragon Guild. Just when the city believed that the events were over, the astronomical Epic-Scale Meteorite Magic crashed into the Gray Stone Forest.


    The storm passed after the colossal magic, bringing some peace and breathing space for the city. Adventurers had flocked to the Gray Stone Forest, attempting to make sense of the humongous crater formed from the impact of the Epic-Scale Meteorite Magic. When the image of the crater hit the forums, countless adventurers swarmed in, offering their two cents on the possible situations. Of course, the extravagant bounty that Warring Dragon Guild had placed on the few low-level adventurers did not escape the forum¡¯s keyboard warriors.


    However, another ruckus broke out. The NPC Karma was found dead in her courtyard. Several NPC guards rushed to her courtyard and attracted huge amounts of attention. Soon, the news set another blaze through the forums.


    ¡°What the heck is wrong with today? How did so much happen in one day? It¡¯s been so long since it was so busy in the city.¡±


    The forums were separated into cities and regions for ease of discussion. However, it was rare for the forums of lower-level cities like Titan Megacity to be bustling with so much commotion.


    ¡°You¡¯re right. However, who in the world killed Karma? I¡¯ve seen her fight before. Not only are her attacks vicious, but she is also a Priestess. Her healing is automatic. Unless you wipe her out in one hit, it is freaking difficult to kill her!¡±


    ¡°Which means another NPC killed her. No adventurer is strong enough to kill her in Titan.¡±


    ¡°Hehe, that¡¯s where you are wrong. From the news gathered at her courtyard, the inspectors had found out that an adventurer killed it.¡±


    ¡°What the heck? Who is so pro?¡±


    The forums were drowning in speculations, rumors, and gossip. Excitement and chatters overflowed with every reply sent in. Unbeknownst to them, all of the events were linked back to the same person, Ye Chen!

 Chapter 46

    Shortly after Ye Chen went offline, Dharma returned to the city and idled around with nothing to do. Thus he contacted the Queen of the Night. ¡°Night, let¡¯s level together and test out the new skills. We can go for breakfast after going offline.¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± The Queen of the Night was also idle. After the two met up, they headed to a monster map of level 21, Wind-chasing Plains.


    ¡°Oh right, Night, what skill book did you obtain after completing the mission?¡±


    Dharma only remembered then that the Queen of the Night should have acquired another skill book from the mission.


    ¡°Astral Form, according to the attribute description, I can pass through some types of earth and stone walls, but the specific effect is still unknown.¡±


    ¡°Wow, sounds impressive. It would be awesome if you can go through everything, Then any labyrinth related missions would be a breeze.¡± Dharma¡¯s eyes sparkled as he heard that, and he couldn¡¯t help feeling miserable over the skill book that he hadn¡¯t even had time to touch.


    The Windchasing Plains refreshed and respawned the Red-skinned Wild Boar. The two found a sparsely populated area and began hunting monsters.


    Although they labeled the hunting of monsters under the banner of leveling up, both of them were, in actuality, testing the new skills they learned. The Queen of the Night was just fine. Astral Chain was just a control skill, and there was nothing much to test. After understanding the various data and numbers from using Astral Chains, it was purely the practice of skill proficiency left, but it was different for Dharma. He desperately used the Meteor Arrow Shower over and over again. He watched arrows after arrows shot into the sky, bursting into a shower of arrows and raining down, causing massive damage to the surrounding monsters. At this scene, he couldn¡¯t help but burst into uncontrollable laughter.


    As they were hunting monsters, they were also closely watching their surroundings. Although the two specially chose a remote place where there were not too many monsters, as there were many new players in the game, occasionally some players will still pass by. Fortunately, nothing unexpected happened.


    But this tranquility did not last forever. After the two hunted for more than half an hour, the shadows of several Assassins stealthily flashed behind them!


    ¡­


    ¡°He¡¯s here! He¡¯s here! That guy is Limitless Love! He does have a slight bit of charisma and charm to him.¡± Hidden behind a tree, Purple Olive studied a male player in the middle of a team in the distance, and her phoenix-like eyes shone slightly.


    Although she temporarily was still unable to persuade the Queen of the Night, this did not hinder Purple Olive from seeking a path to fame. As for the fastest way to become famous, she already had a clear idea.


    This Limitless Love in front of her was also a shining star in the Oriental Region. This guy had continuously changed female companions in the game. Every time the woman changed, she would be incredibly eye-catching. As time passed, every time this guy swapped his female partner, it would garner many people¡¯s attention. On the forum, someone had specifically evaluated each of his female companions. Some female players who had a relationship with this guy also became famous because of this.


    As long as she managed to attract this guy¡¯s attention and appeared beside him several times, she might be able to become a hit after attracting the attention of other players!


    He¡¯s nearing!


    Okay, act according to plan!


    ¡°Possession of the Saintess!¡± Purple Olive immediately underwent an Ultraman-like transformation, and then a Holy Bullet struck a monster not far away. After the monster rushed over and knocked out most of her HP, she pretended to be wounded and pretended to be chased by the monster out of the woods!


    The timing of the Purple Olive could be said to be very accurate. Limitless Love and his team were just advancing towards this side, slightly more than ten meters away from Purple Olive. As long as one¡¯s eyes weren¡¯t blind, they could definitely see what was happening in front.


    Limitless Love was, of course, not blind. He glanced at the saint-like woman who appeared in front of him, and his eyes suddenly lit up!


    ¡°Quick! Quickly save her, don¡¯t just stand there!¡± Limitless Love rapidly shouted out commands to the several people around him. They swarmed forward like a hive of bees, killing the monster in two or three decisive blows.


    ¡°Beauty, my name is Limitless Love, but you can just call me Limitless. Are you okay?¡± Limitless Love acted like a gentleman as he approached Purple Olive, and asked with great concern. Had Purple Olive not researched the glorious past of this guy beforehand, she would certainly not be able to tell that this guy was actually a flirtatious playboy who wanted to toy with women¡¯s hearts.


    However, the plan went smoothly!


    Seeing the appearance of Limitless Love, Purple Olive couldn¡¯t help feeling a little excited. The plan was already half successful!


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, thank you for your help. Or else I¡¯ll be in grave danger.¡± Purple Olive hurriedly thanked him, her face blushed crimson, and Limitless Love was stunned by the enchanting visage.


    ¡°What¡¯s there to thank me for? I don¡¯t know if you can tell me your name so that I can add a new friend. If you face any trouble in the future, please come to look for me!¡± Limitless Love was truly glib with his words.


    It¡¯s here! Purple Olive gleefully rejoiced in her heart.


    ¡°Of course. My name is Purple Olive.¡± Suppressing her fervently-beating heart, Purple Olive reported her name. This will be her first step towards success!


    ¡°Purple Olive? Limitless Love froze before carefully scrutinizing Purple Olive¡¯s face, which was covered by a thin, silver veil.


    ¡°It¡¯s indeed her!¡± Several people around him nodded and confirmed.


    ¡­


    Ye Chen had planned to take the time to go online during the day, but he just happened to kill the NPC and loot the treasure. Recalling Solia¡¯s words, under the circumstances where it was impossible to determine which NPC was a Holy Believer, it was dangerous to come into contact with any NPC. Hence, he simply decided to not go online during the day.


    After all, he had to install the indoor monitoring equipment during the day. Moreover, for the last two months, if he hadn¡¯t been working, he would be immersed in the game every day. He hadn¡¯t spent much time playing with two little lolis. Today, he would instead take a vacation and accompany two little lolis to play for the day.


    In the morning, after having breakfast with two little lolis for a while, the indoor monitoring equipment was delivered. It took another half an hour for the equipment to be installed according to Ye Chen¡¯s requirements.


    ¡°Brother Ye, what¡¯s the use of this thing?¡± the two little lolis curiously asked while holding a device for voice chat.


    ¡°Hehe. Although Big Brother does not need to work outside in the future, I still have to do some things at home and can¡¯t stay with you all the time. You can use this thing to talk to Big Brother, and your Big Brother can also monitor your situation within the room.¡± Ye Chen squatted in front of the two little lolis and smilingly taught them how to use the device.


    The two little lolis were obviously far smarter than the average children of the same age. They learned how to use it in a moment, and Ye Chen couldn¡¯t help but gulp back his surprise.


    ¡°Big Brother isn¡¯t working in the afternoon, so we can go to the amusement park to play.¡± Ye Chen solemnly announced a piece of news that left the two little lolis dancing with joy.


    After having lunch, Ye Chen dressed up for the two little girls a little, then went to the nearby amusement park with two little lolis, who could not wait to go out.


    The two little lolis obviously had never been to an amusement park. After entering the lively main gate, two pairs of curious little black eyes started wandering in all directions.


    Seeing this, Ye Chen loosened his purse strings as well. Whenever he saw the two little lolis wanted to play something, he would directly bring them to enjoy the attraction several times.


    The two little lolis had a great time, and time passed rapidly. Soon, the evening arrived.


    ¡°Okay, let¡¯s stop here for today. Big Brother will bring you here next time.¡±


    After frenziedly accompanying the two lolis to play for the whole afternoon, even if the sturdily-built Ye Chen could not avoid feeling fatigued. If not for the past two months, where the work on the construction site made his body much more durable, he would have long collapsed from exhaustion. What made Ye Chen even more speechless was that the two little lolis had been playing all afternoon spiritedly, but was still brimming with vitality.


    Hearing Ye Chen¡¯s words, both Xiaolan and Xiaojing both nodded reluctantly, but they didn¡¯t throw a childish tantrum.


    Holding the hands of two little lolis, the three of them walked back to the rental flat. But on the road, Ye Chen looked at a notice posted on a notice board, and his footsteps paused slightly.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Big Brother?¡± The two little girls looked over with weird expressions on their faces.


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing, just a Missing Person Notice.¡± Ye Chen shook his head and continued heading back with the two lolis.


    ¡°Big Brother, don¡¯t lie to me. I know it¡¯s looking for us,¡± Xiao Jing whispered suddenly. Xiao Lan just shrugged it off, but Xiao Jing immediately identified the notice at a glance.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, the portraits are composite sketches. It doesn¡¯t look quite like you guys.¡± Ye Chen comforted.


    The two little lolis heard his words, and both of them nodded slightly. However, the worried expressions on their tiny faces did not alleviate at all.


    Back at home, the three of them had dinner. Ye Chen told the two lolis to watch TV, but he went online to check out some information.


    Although the picture on the notice was vague, Ye Chen knew that if he were to continue to linger here, it wouldn¡¯t take long before someone came knocking on his doors. If he didn¡¯t want the two little lolis to be caught, it was better to move house as soon as possible. It was better to go to a remote suburb so that even if the two little lolis occasionally go out to play, no one would notice.


    He checked the rental information in the local suburbs, and it didn¡¯t take long for Ye Chen to find that there was a perfect house for rent in the suburbs. Judging from the layout of the rooms, the house should be in a rather excellent condition. However, the rent was oddly not very expensive, only requiring two thousand a month.


    Although the rent was twice as expensive as the current flat he was renting, Ye Chen had gradually accumulated some funds from the game. He should be able to go to the exchange website immediately once the equipment was sold in the Trade Lobby. If he could sell off ten thousand gold, this was enough to cover the rent for five months. In five months, if he was unable to make more money, he might as well buy a piece of tofu and smash himself to death.


    Ye Chen decided to visit the house within the next two days and move over straight away if he judged that it was suitable.


    Twisting the voice chatting device into a necklace shape, he hung it around the necks of the two lolis, lest they lose it. Ye Chen then entered the game earlier than usual.


    It had only been ten hours since he signed the contract with Solia. It was not feasible to just continue waiting. Ye Chen intended to go online to find Dharma and level for a while.


    ¡°Boss, you are finally online!¡± Seeing that Ye Chen came online, Dharma heaved out a sigh of relief and proceeded to update him on the new proceedings.

 Chapter 47

    [System Notice: You have 1 unread message]


    At the same moment that Dharma sent some news to Ye Chen, Ye Chen received a system notice. However, he knew the details before even opening the message. It was the usual reminders from the Trade Lobby when the stall rental time was up. They were returning all of the money earned and the un-sold products by mail to the adventurer.


    As Ye Chen opened the mail, he asked Dharma, ¡°What happened?¡±


    ¡°We are at the bar, drowning ourselves in sorrow. Do you want to come over?¡± While it may sound like an invitation, Dharma¡¯s tone was needy, begging Ye Chen to go over.


    ¡°Give me the room number, I will be there shortly.¡± Having asked for the details, Ye Chen glanced at the message. ¡°Wow! It sold faster than I thought!¡±


    While the prices were slightly discounted, Ye Chen did not expect the outcome. Initially, he had thought that selling half of the items listed would already be a huge haul. However, all of the higher tier equipment was sold, leaving just a few pieces of lousy scrap metal. Unbeknownst to him, the Warring Dragon Guild was his most supportive client.


    Collecting his sales, Ye Chen returned to the city with the Town Return Scroll.


    Going to a bar was a risky business for Ye Chen. The bar was commonplace for interacting with NPCs and especially the owner. While Ye Chen could not be sure about the other NPCs, he knew that Titan Megacity¡¯s bar¡¯s boss was definitely not a Holy Believer. In the past, he had taken on a mission from him and discovered the owner¡¯s atheist stance. Not only that, but this owner had also dabbled in some shady business.


    Within the Boundless World, the bar was a drinking and entertainment area. While booking virtual rooms were slightly more costly, it would ensure that no outsiders would enter the room. When Ye Chen reached the bar, he punched in the room code and requested for entry.


    The moment he obtained access, the dull and gloomy atmosphere slammed onto Ye Chen like a suffocating blanket. Dharma, Queen, and even Purple Olive were also gathered at the table.


    ¡°All killed by the Warring Dragon Guild?¡± Seeing their sullen expressions, Ye Chen could immediately guess the problem.


    ¡°Queen and I got killed thrice¡­ Purple Olive got killed 5 times¡­¡±


    ¡°Fucking Warring Dragon Guild, they better watch out! We are implacably hostile and irreconcilable forever!!¡± With no care for her saintly, moe mask, Purple Olive roared, and bellowed uncontrollably.


    If not for the bounty on her head placed by Warring Dragon Guild, she could already be a highly famous star across the entire Oriental Region. Owing to the enormous sum her head was now worth, the money-faced, uncompassionate womanizer, Limitless Love, killed her without blinking once. After that failure, she was more cautious. Alas, she was like a walking pot of gold, conspicuous yet defenseless. She was then killed four times more, all due to this hefty compensation the Warring Dragon Guild had promised for her death!


    Hearing their tragic ending, Ye Chen could only sigh.


    In the real world, prevalent corruption within the government had incurred heavy losses for the people, while politicians reaped luxurious profits. Understandably, citizens harbored hatred for politicians and ministers. However, not many would hesitate much when the opportunity arose for them to be corrupt. Within the game, it was the same. Numerous parties and guilds hated the Warring Dragon Guild. The Warring Dragon Guild¡¯s pompousness and bigotry had rubbed adventurers off the wrong way. While the latter may dislike Warring Dragon Guild, a substantial portion was still thinking of methods to get into the Warring Dragon Guild. After all, the benefits and remuneration were fantastic. This was just like corrupt ministers in real life, colluding with influential multinational corporations for their own individual interests.


    The Warring Dragon Guild was aware of this and seized the chance. If any adventurer tipped off the Warring Dragon Guild regarding the positions of their wanted man, they would rush over. In the event of accurate news, the adventurer would be offered a spot in the Warring Dragon Guild.


    This spot in Warring Dragon Guild was highly alluring to many adventurers. They were more than willing to sacrifice another adventurer for it as long as they did not have deep-rooted feuds or were at odds with the Warring Dragon Guild.


    ¡°Boss, what do we do now?¡± Helplessly, Dharma looked to Ye Chen. Now, he honestly tasted the strength of the Top Guild in Titan Megacity.


    ¡°I need to make some preparations. Later, I will bring you all to do some leveling,¡± Ye Chen said, after some contemplation.


    ¡°Alright. We cannot afford to waste more time. We already literally wasted the entire day and even lost some EXP!¡± Dharma agreed without a thought, and so did the Queen.


    The blatant opposition and bullying from Warring Dragon Guild had sparked immense hatred and dissatisfaction within the duo. Now, their hands were fidgeting, impatiently waiting to boost their own fighting abilities.


    Ye Chen¡¯s head tilted to Purple Olive. ¡°You?¡±


    ¡°Of course I¡¯m going!¡± Stilling fuming with rage, Purple Olive snapped. She had no other choice. Her gorgeous beauty gave her away too quickly. Finding a random party to level was looking for death now!


    ¡°Great, let¡¯s go then.¡± Her agreement was perfect for Ye Chen. Leveling without a Priest was much more inefficient for a three-man party.


    Leaving the bar, Ye Chen got Dharma to go to the general stall to stock up on goods while he brought out a piece of equipment from his vaults.


    Like always, Dharma did not question and did as he was told. When he passed the items to Ye Chen, confusion was all over his face. ¡°Boss, why do we need these?¡±


    ¡°Hehe, wait, and see.¡± A mysterious smirk surfaced on Ye Chen.


    ¡°Boss, where are we going?¡±


    The three of them followed tightly behind Ye Chen to the transportation circle. Again, Dharma was perplexed. None of the lower level monster points needed the use of a transportation circle.


    ¡°Big Snowy Mountains! Transport to No. 9 Outfield Transportation Circle!¡±


    With his instructions, a bright white light engulfed the party. Titan Megacity blurred out with the light, and the next instant, the wilderness appeared in front of them.


    Sprawling land covered in fluffy white snow, flanked by long stretches of towering mountains. The Big Snowy Mountains was an area with Level 22 monsters. The location was quite a distance for Titan Megacity and required the use of the Transportation Circle for traveling. However, it would cost 10 gold. Coupled with the high HP, vicious Frost ability and threatening attack of the Ice Bear, not many adventurers were willing to pay the hefty cost to level here. Once an adventurer was frozen by the ice bear, their movement and attack plunged permanently. This would last until a Priest nullified the status¡¯s effect with the skill Dispersion. Alas, this skill was only available to the Priest after Level 25. With all of the above reasons snowballing together, the number of adventurers in the Big snowy Mountain was limited.


    Ye Chen led the party along the pathway into the Big Snowy Mountain. The closer they got to the mountains, the snow collected along the sides, thickening over the barren trees and ground. With the heightened frost, the entire party could feel the sharp tingling chill on their skin. If not for the thick coats that Dharma had got them, they would not have been able to withstand the frigid chills.


    ¡°Here will do.¡±


    Halfway up the Big Snowy Mountain, on a sprawling sloping field, Ye Chen stopped. ¡°The number of monsters here is favorable. We can pull them in in two batches, bombing them with the Durian Bomb Tree. Don¡¯t pull too much in the first wave. We need to judge their state and the damage of the Durian Bomb Tree on them first before making another decision.¡±


    Ye Chen briefed the party of his plan. They did not have a Knight with them, causing their pulling and killing strategy to be slightly different from the convention. However, they did possess advantages that regular parties did not have. Amongst the four of them, three of them had powerful AOE skills. Coupled with a skilled Priestess, their leveling would be much more efficient if done right.


    The other nodded when they heard the plan. When Ye Chen transplanted the Durian Bomb Tree, Purple Olive could enhance the attributes of the others. After this, they would begin by pulling in the monsters on the left. Facing the Ice Bears, none of them could be sure of the effectiveness of their plan. For a start, each of them only pulled three monsters along.


    Being far range attackers, pulling monsters was comparatively more straightforward. With just their basic attack with effectively no cool down, they attracted the aggression of the towering two-meter ice bears. The balls of snow-white fur charged over to each of them brimming with flame-red anger.


    Despite the massive number of monsters, the party coordinated impeccably. With their previous experience of working together, they successfully lured six monsters to each of Ye Chen trees.


    While using the Withering Light, Ye Chen watched the progress of the others while his own attack mostly did not damage the massive bears.


    He did not bother much about Purple Olive¡¯s damage. As a Priestess, her Holy Bullet barely took more HP off the monsters than his Withering Light. On the other hand, Queen and Dharma were leaps and bounds ahead, with the Queen being the highest DPS amongst the team. That was to be expected, mages were designed to deal more damage than archers, not to mention a Spatial-Type Mage.


    Holding the bears under the region of attack of the Durian Bomb Tree, Queen and Dharma individually attacked the monsters, not using their strongest AOE skill yet. The Queen¡¯s DPS was truly fearsome. If not for the fact that she had to rally between three monsters, she could have possibly killed one before it reached close enough to look at her facial features.


    Even so, by the time the three monsters reached the Durian Bomb Tree, their HP was reduced by more than half.


    Before long, the twelve monsters were under the canopy of the Durian Bomb Tree, bringing symphony of unceasing explosions.


    ¡°Illusions of Time!¡± Ye Chen cast the gray space-time warp onto the Durian Bomb Tree on the left. Beneath this tree, the monsters lured in by Queen and Dharma were gathered. Coupled with the heightened damage by the Durian Bomb Tree, the monsters soon dissipated as white light.


    Having cast his strongest buff skill, Ye Chen watched the twelve monsters closely.


    However, before he could analyze anything, Dharma cast his ultimate AOE skill. ¡°Meteor Arrow Shower!¡±


    Like a shower of shooting stars, the arrows glistened in the night sky, raining upon the Ice Bears. With each landing arrow, severe damage, at least 300 each, rose above the monsters.


    These Ice Bears were Level 22 monsters, each boasting high defense. However, the Meteor Arrow Shower lived up to its name as one of the most coveted Archer¡¯s AOE skills. Its attack prowess was shockingly high. Coupled with the boosted Durian Bomb Tree, the Ice Bear¡¯s HP plunged like a falling boulder, dying within seconds.


    As Dharma attacked the Ice Bears, Purple Olive swung her staff, adding another layer of buff onto the Durian Bomb Tree on the right. Under this status, the yellowish-green Durian Bomb Tree paled into a grayish white. The crimson damage above immediately cushioned significantly.


    This was Purple Olive¡¯s new skill, Fossilization. Amongst the skills available to the Priestess, this was definitely one of the better ones. When cast on an ally, the skin would harden, nullifying the majority of the negative statuses while boosting the ally¡¯s defense significantly! Not only that, but it could also even be cast on the enemy with adverse effects. The enemy would enter a rock-like state. Even if the skill was just at Level 1, the enemy would already be frozen for a solid two seconds, unable to move or attack!


    Of course, this skill also had many disadvantages. When dispelling the negative status of allies, the beneficial conditions would also be dismissed. Additionally, the movement speed of allies would suffer a decrease. When used on enemies, their defense would be strengthened. Resultantly, any attacks on this enemy would not deal damage unless the attacks were comparable to a Boss.


    In any case, if Fossilization was used well, it could potentially be a game-changer for the party!

 Chapter 48

    The Fossilization skill of Purple Olive descended, along with the Void Ripple, which the Queen of the Night cast. They struck the heads of the remaining six monsters, and the monster¡¯s HP suddenly dropped by another small percentile.


    The Fossilized state applied by the Purple Olive to the Durian Bomb Tree lasted for nearly six seconds before disappearing. Within six seconds, the damage received by the Durian Bomb Tree was significantly reduced. After six seconds passed, six Ice Bears had already suffered the concerted attacks of the four and collapsed to the ground.


    ¡°Very good, the strategy is basically like this. Dharma, when you want to use the Meteor Arrow Shower, please tell everyone in advance. Everyone else will not output any damage in that round. Try to restore your MP; otherwise, your MP will definitely not keep up.¡±


    ¡°Understood, boss, leave it to me!¡± Dharma nodded.


    Next, under the command of Ye Chen, the four people methodically hunted the monsters, and their experience points rose rapidly. Dharma saw his unceasingly increasing experience point, which was shooting up at a breakneck pace and let out a loud cheer. Ever since he entered the game, this was the first time he enjoyed the exhilarating feeling of his experience shooting up from hunting monsters! His feelings of depression from being killed by the Warring Dragon Guild several times during the day were soon swept away!


    Ye Chen just smiled slightly. Beside occasionally talking about some subtleties that need to be paid attention to in battle, the bulk of his time was spent on observing the data of the Durian Bomb Tree.


    Facing these Level 22 monsters, even if the team had a Priest with powerful skills such as Purple Olive, the shortcomings of the Level 1 DBT were gradually highlighted. Based on Ye Chen¡¯s estimates, if he didn¡¯t think of ways to increase the level of the skill, the Durian Bomb Tree¡¯s role will become extremely limited.


    It seemed like he had to spend some time inside the Arena.


    Ye Chen was deeply conscious of the principle of a beard well lathered is half shaved. With his current strength, to compete inside the Arena, the time required to achieve a victory will definitely be much less than before. Now he had only used the DBT skills six times in total, yet his skill proficiency had reached 3%. That was to say, he only needed 200 seeds to upgrade the DBT skills to Level 2.


    The monster hunting session proceeded very smoothly, and the experience of several people rose quickly. Ye Chen was still lacking 15% less experience before he was able to reach Level 19. Midway through the hunting session, Ye Chen temporarily left the game by turning on the offline mode, putting the two little lolis to bed before continuing to brush with several people.


    The time rapidly flew by, soon going past midnight, heralding the arrival of a new day. Ye Chen, who was hunting monsters in the Big Snowy Mountains, was utterly unaware that after midnight had passed, a few high-level Assassins appeared in the No. 9 Outfield Transportation Circle. After popping out of the teleportation array, they sprinted straight towards the Big Snowy Mountains. While there was still a long distance from the slope where the Ye Chen and the other three were, they went into stealth mode and started searching in the surrounding dense forest. They quickly found Ye Chen and his party, who were busy hunting monsters on the slope.


    ¡°Those four are so powerful, there¡¯s actually such a method to hunt Ice Bears?¡±


    The total number of Assasins was six, forming a small team. These six people were surprised when they saw the scene of four people hunting Ice Bears.


    ¡°No matter how powerful they are, they already offended our Warring Dragon Guild, and the only fate awaiting them is to delete their accounts and start from scratch!¡±


    However, one of the Assassin adventurers who looked a little haughty was sneering.


    ¡°Don¡¯t talk nonsense. Speedily kill them, then we can go to level,¡± a middle-aged Assassin with an austere face calmly said.


    ¡°Okay! I chose that Priestess chick!¡±


    ¡°The Mage is mine!¡±


    ¡°Archer, hehehe!¡±


    ¡°I guess I¡¯m only left with the Botanist!¡±


    Amongst them, four people quickly selected their respective targets. Then the six people moved, and under the stealth state, they flew towards the four people!


    ¡°KILL!¡±


    The four Assassins who chose the target moved quickly behind their respective targets, and the chilly glint of daggers flashed in the night!


    In an instant, three white lights flashed!


    ¡°Hey, there¡¯s still one alive?¡±


    The six people were all amazed. With their Levels nearing Level 50, when aiming to kill a person of Level 20, there was no possibility of missing!


    But just at the instance when the dagger stabbed down, the Botanist rolled on the ground and escaped the Assassin¡¯s sneak attack!


    ¡°Single transplantation! Illusions of Time!¡±


    As his voice sounded, a DBT appeared beside an Assassin. The Durian Bombs quickly fell to the ground and exploded!


    ¡°Incredible! As expected of the one who caused our Warring Dragon Guild to suffer a loss!¡±


    Amidst the explosion in light from the Durian Bombs, the captain of the Assassin¡¯s steady figure appeared.


    Although the DBT rained down a constant bombardment, other than a series of large MISS words, he didn¡¯t even take a single point of damage!


    DBT couldn¡¯t even break the opponent¡¯s defense!


    Ye Chen¡¯s face turned grave as he saw the sight. If he couldn¡¯t even break through the opponent¡¯s defense, what¡¯s there to talk about fighting?!


    Glancing around his surroundings again, several Assassins had surrounded him to prevent him from escaping.


    ¡°Brother, you are truly skilled, but I think it is better to retrain another character from scratch as soon as possible. To tell you the truth, you have really offended a behemoth who should never be offended this time. When Luo Cheng entered the Warring Dragon Guild, he brought along a vital mission with him. Initially, it was absolutely impossible to fail the mission, but in the end, he was utterly defeated by you. All his bitter preparations and subsequent plans have been thoroughly thwarted and thrown into disarray. He is supported by a large consortium in reality, but this time, he listed an astronomical price ordering the deletion of your accounts. Even in the Warring Dragon Guild, the rewards for killing you guys amount to three months of bonuses,¡± the Assassin looked at Ye Chen steadily and said admiringly, his tone mixed with regret.


    ¡°Captain¡­¡± A few of the Assassins around heard these words, and they all looked at the steady man, as though wanting to say something. Was there really no problem revealing these details to the enemy?


    But the steady man just waved his hand, and several people closed their mouths.


    ¡°Things are indeed not so simple as I thought.¡±


    After thwarting the Warring Dragon Guild¡¯s mission, suffering the vicious retaliation by the Warring Dragon Guild was completely within Ye Chen¡¯s expectation. However, the intensity of the revenge was clearly abnormal. The situation was much more severe than he thought.


    ¡°Thank you, Brother, for telling us. But Brother, or should I say your Warring Dragon Guild, do you think that we will just let you kill us at will because we are of such a low level? If you want us to delete our accounts, then we must delete the accounts?¡±


    Ye Chen looked at the captain of the Assassin and suddenly laughed. ¡°Oh?¡±


    The steady man looked at Ye Chen with surprise.


    HUA!


    At this time, a green light fiercely shot up from Ye Chen¡¯s hands into the sky!


    ¡°Fireworks?¡±


    The six Assassins looked at the light that appeared suddenly and felt nervous. But after carefully examining the body of the light, they were even more surprised.


    What would you do with fireworks at this time?


    BOOM!


    The six people couldn¡¯t understand it, but then, a horribly loud noise suddenly appeared in the sky!


    The loud noise was so frightening that this was no ordinary fireworks!


    Then, several people felt a sudden tremor under their feet. Then a rumbling sound descended from the top of Big Snowy Mountain!


    ¡°Avalanche!¡± The six Assassins looked up and saw a mountain of snow sweeping towards them, and their face changed suddenly!


    ¡°Haha. Brothers from the Warring Dragon Guild, if you don¡¯t hurry up and kill me, that would be letting down the precious Guild¡¯s Search Warrant that you used! What¡¯s wrong, hurry up, or the avalanche will come down, and we will be buried alive!¡± Ye Chen didn¡¯t panic at all, but he only calmly stared at the abrupt changes in several people¡¯s faces and laughed.


    ¡°He¡¯s crazy!¡± An Assassin looked at Ye Chen¡¯s maniacal laughter and gritted his teeth.


    ¡°Escape!¡± The figure of the steady middle-aged man flickered, and he madly dashed downwards. As for the other Assassins, they all ignored Ye Chen, abandoning him to rush down the mountain.


    ¡°Hey, hurry and kill me!¡± Ye Chen, the punk, was actually grinning and called out to an Assassin.


    ¡°Screw off!¡± the Assassin adventurer shouted at Ye Chen!


    They were right about to be buried alive by an avalanche and die. If he wasted time to kill this guy, he would definitely become a red-name! Only a fool would do that! No matter how lucrative the rewards Luo Cheng promised, it couldn¡¯t be worth a piece of equipment! Now that they have maliciously attacked first, they will definitely drop a piece of equipment once they die. If they were to become a red-name on top of that, who knew how many pieces would drop?!


    This time, they really suffered big!


    ¡°Cough, so boring. Don¡¯t run, everyone should sit down and chat! Don¡¯t tell me you think you can run faster than an avalanche!¡±


    Ye Chen! This guy didn¡¯t care about the Assassins adventurers¡¯ emotions at all and was talking nonsense by the side.


    As he spoke, the dense blanket of snow which seemed like it would cover the sky had collapsed down from above the heads of several people. All of them were buried under the deep layers of snow all at once!

 Chapter 49

    In Titan Megacity, the six Assassins from the Warring Dragon Guild had revived. Losing a life in a natural disaster as one of the most tragic and dumb ways to die in the Boundless World. Not only would the body go missing, but the soul would also not be ejected before revival back in the city.


    Immediately after the revival, the first thing the six of them did was to check their equipment. Soon after, a cry of despair could be heard. ¡°Oh my God, this is the worst decision I ever made. I lost two pieces of equipment to this damn Botanist!¡±


    ¡°Two? How sad¡­ I lost three! What the heck, fucking GM!¡± Just as he thought he was the most unfortunate, another Assassin cursed aloud at the GM, his eyes were glistening, with a mixture of tears and rage.


    Other than the stately leader, everyone else only lost a piece of equipment. In most Guild Bounty Hunts, a successful completion would yield the adventurer a hefty remuneration. However, any loss would not be compensated by the Guild. While they were fuming with dissatisfaction and anger, they knew they were fortunate to escape with these little losses.


    ¡°What? You all were wiped out by a Level 20 party?¡±


    Amongst the Assassins, one of them carelessly let out news on the Guild Channel. The story immediately spread throughout the Guild like an uncontrollable inferno, catching the others¡¯ attention quickly.


    Just a day prior, the poor handling of the mission by Luo Cheng in Gray Stone Forest had already tarnished the mighty name of Warring Dragon Guild in Titan Megacity. The Warring Dragon Guild reacted by placing a kill warrant on these adventurers, making this Guild Bounty Hunt Mission a center of attraction. Now, these six Assassins returned with a shameful result of being annihilated by a party that was 30 levels lower than them, putting the entire guild at a loss for words.


    ¡°We have no idea what that guy did. We only saw him release fireworks, then we were already running from a massive avalanche. The next thing we knew, we were already three feet below the snow!¡± One of the Assassins erupted in a fury, grumbling loudly. There was nothing worse than being buried alive with a baffling method by a Botanist who could not break their defense!


    Avalanche on the Big Snowy Mountain?


    This inconceivable thought sent a chilling shiver down the spines of all that heard it. Of all the potential tragedies in the game, the most dramatic ending would be to die by natural disasters. For example, walking out in the open on a stormy day. By a stroke of back luck, the lightning struck an adventurer. Even if he was at the maximum Level 120, equipped fully with Epic Equipment, there was no way he would survive! Worse yet, if there were any equipment loss, he could only curse and swear at the bad luck he had.


    As expected, several adventurers were skeptical. This scenario was baffling and inconceivable. Soon, they were questioned, ¡°is this even possible?¡±


    One of the Assassins snapped, ¡°You think we are lying? Then, how else can a Level 20 adventurer wipe us all out?¡±


    ¡°Keep it down. Man-made avalanches are possible. A very long time ago, an adventurer did make it happen.¡± Before the verbal warfare broke out, an old, hoarse voice interrupted.


    ¡­


    ¡°Man-made avalanches? Hm, this party that destroyed Luo Cheng is only Level 20?¡±


    As the unbelievable discussion entered the ears of Rage for a Woman, the Sub-Guild Master¡¯s face drained of color, turning as white as snow. Without delay, the Guild Master opened the Guild channel, confirming the news.


    ¡°I heard that the Botanist did this. We have no clue about his background, but a conventional adventurer would not know of this method or be able to make such peculiar equipment.¡± Mini Dragon was perplexed. She was one of the elders of the Titan Megacity¡¯s Sub Guild, and Rage for a Woman was the Master.


    ¡°That is definite! Making an avalanche is far from easy! Ever since the incident from years back, never did anyone else successfully make this thing occur!¡± Scanning through the Guild Channel, Rage for a Woman made her judgment firmly.


    Four years ago, something like this had occurred. At that time, the game had barely begun. Every leveling point was chock full of adventurers. Even on the Big Snowy Mountains, there were more adventurers than monsters. There was one incident that was deeply etched into her mind. An avalanche suddenly occurred, wiping out more than a thousand lives at once. That devastation, that bloodshed still plagued Rage for a Woman¡¯s mind to this day.


    ¡°Amongst the veterans, did any of them go through rebirth?¡± Rage for a Woman turned to Little Dragon, her face dark and solemn.


    ¡°How is it possible? Which one of them would reach the maximum level and look for more pain?¡± Little Dragon laughed wryly.


    ¡°Right¡­?¡± Rage for a Woman nodded and laughed awkwardly, Maybe he was too sensitive.


    ¡°What should we do now? I heard this Botanist is very skilled¡­¡±


    ¡°Even if he¡¯s skilled, he is just another adventurer. Our Warring Dragon Guild has several enemies, one more does not matter! Who does he think he is? Hmph!¡± Rage for a Woman folded his arms and snorted.


    In his mind, only those who were in the top hundred adventurers were considered threatening enemies. What could another slightly more skilled adventurer do? He was just Level 20 anyway.


    ¡°You¡¯re right¡­¡± Little Dragon attempted a smile.


    At the same time, Rage for a Woman¡¯s face twisted into a complex ball of emotions.


    ¡°What happened?¡± Naturally, Little Dragon was overwhelmed with trepidation.


    ¡°The headquarters¡­. They asked me to withdraw the warrants!¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°Wah! Boss, you are so impressive! How did you do that? I remember I just bought some ordinary fireworks¡­¡± At another revival point, Ye Chen and the others revived. Dharma was the first to revive. Immediately, he grasped onto Ye Chen¡¯s arm, pushing his face straight at Ye Chen and asked.


    ¡°Yeah! You gotta tell us!¡± All of Purple Olive¡¯s anger had dispersed, replaced by sheer admiration for Ye Chen.


    While they might have been killed again, seeing the Warring Dragon Guild¡¯s Assassins desperately dashing for lives but still getting buried under five feet of snow was sweet like saccharin.


    For them, dying on incurred EXP losses. However, it was not only so for the Warring Dragon Guild Assassins. All of them lost equipment. On top of that, the three Assassins marked by crime value even lost a staggering 20% of their EXP! For adventurers at their level, 20% of the EXP would require days of grinding to recuperate!


    In comparison, Dharma and Purple Olive had just made back all their entire day¡¯s worth of losses!


    ¡°Nothing much, I just used a special Enchanting Equipment.¡± Ye Chen smiled and took out a piece of equipment.


    ¡°Premium Enchanting Jewel: Leo¡¯s Music. An Enchanting Tool, it can give a person or equipment boosted volume. Remaining Usage: 47¡­ Boss, I am thoroughly impressed. Why do you have such peculiar equipment?¡± Dharma was dumbstruck as he read the attributes.


    This item may look extraordinary. However, Dharma could not think of another use for it other than making avalanches.


    ¡°Right? This thing is damn weird! Hey, are you some pro that went through rebirth? Otherwise, where did all this weird stuff come from?¡± Purple Olive had long been suspicious of Ye Chen. Now, he could no longer suppress his curiosity, bursting out in question.


    Hearing that straightforward question, even the Queen of the Night was piqued, turning and staring intently at Ye Chen.


    ¡°Why should I tell you?¡± Ye Chen sniggered and stared back. Right now, Purple Olive could only wish to strangle this man and end it once and for all.


    ¡°Boss, what do we do next? Go back to the mountains? But the Warring Dragon Guild seems to be using some method to find out positions¡­¡± Dharma remembered clearly. There was not a single soul around them, but the Warring Dragon Guild knew their location beforehand.


    ¡°Well, they used the Guild¡¯s Search Warrant. Within a day, they can use it on any enemy on the Guild¡¯s wanted list. Then, they will know the approximate location of that party.¡± Ye Chen sighed lightly. Using the Search Warrant would cost 1000 Gold and 1000 Guild Contribution Points. The effects of it were inconsistent. If the adventurer was traveling when the search was conducted, then 1000 Gold and the 1000 Guild Contribution Points would go down the drain. Usually, no one would use such a high-cost but low-reliability item. Yet, Ye Chen never expected Luo Cheng to have such a formidable background, allowing him to risk it.


    ¡°Boss¡­ HUH? Boss! My friend just contacted me. The Warring Dragon Guild had withdrawn us from their Wanted List.¡± Just as Dharma was about to speak, he received shocking news.


    ¡°Withdrawn us from their Wanted List?¡± Ye Chen¡¯s brows curled into a wrinkle.


    This did not fit the working style of the Warring Dragon Guild. In fact, Ye Chen was ready to give them another in two days. After that, he would hide somewhere and level up in peace. Never had he expected to be withdrawn from their Wanted List. It was perplexing that Luo Cheng, someone with an extraordinary background, would suddenly make such an illogical and fishy move!

 Chapter 50

    In actuality, Ye Chen was not too concerned about the Wanted Kill Warrant of the Warring Dragon Guild. As long as he reached Level 30, he no longer had to worry about being suppressed by adventurers of Level 20 or 30.


    There were many small towns within the Titan Megacity. When the teleportation array was sent to these small towns, one would see that behind their names, there were level suffixes enclosed in brackets. Take the town of Aiur where Ye Chen has stayed for three years. If one were to look at the town of Aiur at the teleportation array, one would see a suffix of Level 30 to 35 behind it.


    This meant that this town was the most suitable for Level 30 to 35 adventurer activity. When the adventurer¡¯s level was higher than 35, the adventurer would be judged as unsuitable for this town. Although the adventurer could still hunt monsters within this town, the experience from killing monsters will be significantly reduced, and the adventurer¡¯s skills will no longer have an effect on lower-level adventurers within the town.


    This was a measure set in place by the system to protect low-level adventurers. With this measure, low-level adventurers did not need to be threatened by opponents with disparate levels and be left helpless. However, this was only true for small towns with level suffixes. In most suburbs of larger cities, there was no level limit preventing PK.


    However, this was already sufficient for Ye Chen.


    At Level 30, Ye Chen can inherit the achievements of his previous character, and immediately complete the Epic task ¡°The Stone of Eternity.¡± At that time, when facing opponents who were merely 5 levels above him, unless the other party comes at him with hundreds of people each time, or he can¡¯t think of anything to fear!


    If the Warring Dragon Guild was really ruthless to the extent where they would pursue him to this Level 30 zone, Ye Chen was more than ready to use the Afterimage of Angels to send a giant welcome gift to the Warring Dragon Guild!


    The Warring Dragon Guild was the top-ranked guild, and there were many high-profile high crime points adventurers in the guild. These adventurers boast of immense combat potential and had superb equipment. Most of them will be hidden in the City of Glory.


    In the City of Glory, there exists the only mission NPC in the entire Oriental Region who could reduce the crime value. adventurers with a high crime value, who want to clear the crime value from their bodies earlier, could only do so in the City of Glory. The City of Glory could be said to have gathered at least 60% of the red-named adventurers in the Oriental Region. The top-ranked guilds had even gone to the extent of establishing branch guilds in the City of Glory to protect the red-named adventurers of their guilds.


    And in the City of Glory, the branches of the top guilds have a tacit understanding. No matter how their respective guilds were behaving in the outside world, as long as they did not reach the point where there were irreconcilable grievances, they would not target the red-named adventurers of the other guilds.


    These were several major guilds. In the City of Glory, they engaged each other in a massive conflict spanning over half a year. As a result, the several guilds reached a tacit agreement after suffering grievous damages. In the past three years, not a single guild had attempted to break this tacit understanding!


    The reason was very simple. Those red-named adventurers were actually the mainstay of these guilds. Their red-named statuses were mostly acquired when carrying out missions for the guild. After entering the City of Glory, they still had to engage in bitter combat. As a result, the red-named adventurers either chose to withdraw from the guild or when fighting inside the City of Glory, they die repeatedly and lose countless equipment. Even if they didn¡¯t withdraw from the guild, their fighting strength was crippled, and their combat potential wasted.


    And the most unfortunate result was not only the loss of these red-named adventurers. When the tragic encounters of those red-named adventurers were relayed back to the guild, no one in the guild would foolishly labor for the guild to the extent of acquiring a red-name.


    When every member harbored such thoughts, the guild was practically finished.


    Several big guilds suffered heavy losses during the half a year of fighting, severely damaging their foundations. Finally, the guild leaders of each guild strictly banned members of their respective guilds from fighting in the City of Glory. No matter how bitter their feuds with each other were, they were to be settled outside of the City of Glory.


    Not only that, but the major guilds also planted eyes in various parts of the City of Glory. Once any abnormal behavior was detected in anyone entering the City of Glory, they would swiftly band together against the threat.


    It was not a simple matter to lay a hand on the red-named adventurers in the City of Glory. Still, Ye Chen knew that since he possessed the Afterimages of Angel, wanting to launch a sneak attack on the members of the Warring Dragon Guild in the City of Glory was an effortless task.


    But now that the Warring Dragon Guild suddenly clammed up and even retracted their warrants, Ye Chen was taken aback. The original plan to sneak into the City of Glory was naturally canceled.


    If one were to want to sneak into the City of Glory, one had to spend a lot of time checking the location and time of the Warring Dragon Guild¡¯s members. Moreover, once the sneak attack succeeded, they would become irreconcilable enemies with the Warring Dragon Guild!


    Although Ye Chen was not afraid, things would become very troublesome, and his leveling plan will be significantly affected.


    ¡°Boss, you are too awesome! The Warring Dragon Guild must be scared shitless of you, Boss!¡± Dharma excitedly rambled. He would never have expected that after Ye Chen showed his hand, the Warring Dragon Guild would be terrified to this extent! The Boss was worthy of being called the Boss!


    ¡°Where do I have such a great power to influence the Warring Dragon Guild? There must be another reason for this,¡± Ye Chen smiled wryly and chided. This kid really did not know better.


    With Ye Chen¡¯s understanding of the Warring Dragon Guild, the situation turning out this way was definitely not because the Warring Dragon Guild feared him. The most likely reason was that someone had struck a deal with the Warring Dragon Guild executives, and forced the Titan Megacity branch to cease their pursuit.


    But who had such authority?


    This person was definitely not someone who knew him. As for Dharma¡­ If this kid knew that person of authority, then he can easily win the annual Oscar nomination! Purple Olive? It didn¡¯t seem like it. The most likely candidate was the Queen of the Night then. The Queen of the Night had only said a handful of words in the team, and Ye Chen had no idea about her background. As for Dharma and Purple Olive, they had more or less conversant.


    Take Purple Olive for example, when they were leveling in Big Snowy Mountain a while ago, she had already expressed her grand plan with great enthusiasm. Dharma had mentioned that when he had entered the game, besides playing for enjoyment, his primary purpose was to get to know a beautiful chick. Only Queen of the Night has always acted like a bystander, not saying much. As for matters pertaining to herself, she was naturally even more reluctant to divulge any details.


    However, these thoughts that would get him nowhere were something which Ye Chen did not dwell on for too long. If he could waste time thinking about this, he might as well go to level up. It was imperative to raise his level as early as possible.


    ¡°Warring Dragon Guild not searching for us anymore is the best possible outcome. At least, all of you are considered safe for now. How about it, do you want to continue leveling up?¡± Ye Chen glanced at the several people around him.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡±


    There was no objection on Dharma and the Queen of the Night¡¯s end, but there was a slight hesitation in Purple Olive¡¯s face.


    ¡°Little Olive, don¡¯t blame me for not warning you, but with your current level, it¡¯s embarrassing to even show your face outside. Tell me, what accomplishment do you think a Level 20 something Priest can achieve in the game? Could it be that you hope to solely rely on that passably pretty face of yours? Go to the forum and take a look at who all the famous female adventurers are. In addition to being beautiful, they are all unrivaled experts in the game!¡± Ye Chen looked at Purple Olive and laughed scornfully.


    ¡°You are the Little Olive! What do you mean by a passably pretty face, why don¡¯t you list me a few examples of adventurers more good looking than me?!¡± Purple Olive angrily retorted.


    ¡°Besides your chest, what else do you have that is bigger than me¡­ As for someone prettier than you, let alone the famous female adventurers on the forum, I think the Night in our team possesses much more charisma than you.¡± Ye Chen shamelessly stared at the proud and arching chest of Purple Olive and even glanced a few more times. It was indeed very enticing to the eye.


    ¡°Hmph! I¡¯ve got it, I¡¯ll just go level, okay? Are you happy now?¡± Purple Olive choked due to her overflowing rage for a while. She could only glare at Ye Chen resentfully, bitterly spitting out the words.


    Hehe, Priest acquired! Ye Chen secretly gloated. Little lass, you are still far too tender to dream of bickering with me.


    With such a great Priestess around, only a fool would choose not to use her and find another Priest!


    ¡°Okay! Let¡¯s head to Big Snowy Mountain to level up, in case the Warring Dragon Guild goes back on its word!¡± As their warrants were only just canceled, Ye Chen and the others didn¡¯t want to get into trouble at this time. They might as well go level at the Big Snowy Mountain today, it won¡¯t hinder their leveling speed by much anyway.


    The party returned to Big Snowy Mountain to level up. Within that hour, no one from the Warring Dragon Guild appeared, and Ye Chen¡¯s level swiftly rose to 19.


    ¡°Oh right, Boss, I want to train another secondary Profession, what do you suggest?¡± After engaging in the practice for a while, Dharma suddenly seemed to have remembered something and asked Ye Chen.


    ¡°Train another secondary Profession? Hmm, it¡¯s not impossible, which secondary did you practice before?¡± Ye Chen curiously asked. There was no limit to the number of secondary Professions in the game. adventurers could pick as many as they liked, but the majority of the adventurers would only pick one because, after successfully choosing a secondary Profession, the adventurer would generate an additional attribute called ¡°Stamina.¡±


    The Stamina attribute, for adventurers below Level 30, was fixed at 300 points. Every time their level was increased by 1, Stamina would increase by 10 points. Whenever adventurers use their secondary Profession skills to create secondary profession-specific items, it would consume Stamina. When the Stamina value was exhausted, they basically could only wait until the next day for the system to refresh. Hence, practicing more secondary Professions was only a waste of effort and time.


    ¡°I chose an Architect, a truly headache-inducing profession.¡± Dharma bitterly smiled.


    At first, he thought that the Architect profession would be fun, but it was exponentially difficult to practice it. Moreover, he found that if he wanted to practice this secondary Profession by himself, it was impossible without investing a vast amount of resources.


    ¡°Cough, yeah, it¡¯s better to train another secondary Profession. I suggest that you practice being a Chef. The raw materials of the Chef are not too expensive. The cooked food can also speed up the recovery of HP and MP when not fighting. It can even produce some food that increases Stamina and attributes temporarily. It is a promising and straightforward secondary Profession.¡± Ye Chen felt fat droplets of sweat rolling off his back after hearing that Dharma chose the Architect profession.


    Very few people could practice the Profession by themselves unless they were funded by major guilds!

 Chapter 51

    ¡°Alright, then I shall be a Chef then.¡± Hearing the description, Dharma made his decision. Training to be an Architect had been an awful headache for him. Before asking Ye Chen, he had already decided to give up on becoming an Architect. Now, he was finding another Profession that was as simple as possible.


    ¡°Then, what should mages like myself choose?¡± Hearing the discussion, the Queen of the Night probed further.


    ¡°Mages should choose to be a Scribe. You can create useful scrolls to cause statuses and boost attacks. Especially since you are a Spatial-Type Mage. Once your Scribe skills are high level, you can even create large-scale transportation scrolls.¡± Without much thought, Ye Chen gave a reply.


    While any Tom, Dick, and Harry could be a Scribe, specific scrolls were only available to corresponding Mage class adventurers. If other adventurers were to choose to attempt creating a transportation scroll, the success rate would be very minimal. However, the success rate of the Spatial-Type Mage Scribe was multiple folds ahead.


    ¡°Me? What about me?¡± Purple Olive immediately questioned. While she was the highest level amongst the party, she had been procrastinating on completing her secondary Profession apprentice task to date. To her, the secondary Profession hindered her progress as a Priestess. When she found information about it, she only knew it was crafting and did not probe further.


    However, now that she decided to follow this party¡¯s leveling, and to suck up to the Queen, she had to choose a secondary Profession. Otherwise, the Stamina points given daily would go to waste, delaying her progress to becoming a superstar.


    ¡°You got two choices. Either a Pharmacist or a Dancer. Training to be a Pharmacist requires large amounts of time and effort, so I recommend you to be a Dancer instead. Not only will you be dressed beautifully, but Dancer and Priestess are also complimenting Professions. You can equip the Priestess¡¯s Equipment while dancing. I bet you will look gorgeous as a Dancer!¡± Hearing the question, Ye Chen sniggered and replied.


    There were plenty of Pharmacists among the adventurers. However, actually famous and skilled Pharmacists were few. To emerge as a top-class Pharmacist, time and effort were indispensable to research the best way to produce the best potions with the lowest resistance. Most Pharmacists ended up being mediocre, only sufficient to create medicines that were similar to conventional store-bought drugs. Most likely, they would only be adequate to save money on buying potions.


    Contrary, Dancers were different. It was a Profession limited to only female adventurers. They were required to gear up with specific Dancer costumes and replicate fixed choreographies. When done well, the Dancers could enhance their allies with beneficial statuses like MP and HP recovery. If they learned up the remaining Dancer Skills, they could even heighten defense, power, and other attributes. Moreover, the choreographies of Dancers could have effects both during and outside of battle!


    In parties with Dancers, they would usually request for her to dance before a battle. This was especially useful as the status boost from a Dancer was long-lasting.


    Alas, there were always prerequisites to obtaining benefits. The replication of the choreography must be as close to the system requirements as possible. The close it was, the better the enhancements.


    Being a Dancer was simple. However, becoming a competent and professional Dancer was a grueling process. If the replication of the dance was too abysmal, there was a possibility that the dance would not have a single strand of effect. As such, there were not many adventurers who chose this route despite the high promises.


    Since Purple Olive had the intention to be a star, dance should not be a difficulty. Even if she was not perfect at it, bringing out the primary effects should not be a problem. As such, Ye Chen was proactive in convincing her to choose this lesser-known Profession.


    Still, some selfish willings were at play. After all, not many parties had the help of a Dancer. Most of the time, the boosts from the dances brought about huge conveniences. Not to mention, they could even serve as entertainment when the party was bored of killing monsters.


    ¡°Really?¡± Purple Olive¡¯s eyes lit up brightly. What a miscalculation on her part! She never knew of such an enchanting sounding Profession. If these were true, she would not even need to consider other Professions!


    ¡°Really! Really!¡± Ye Chen vigorously nodded.


    On the sidelines, Dharma was slightly freaked out. On Ye Chen¡¯s face, his full PR wide was utterly uncomfortable, even sinister. ¡°Yuck! That evil smirk!¡±


    ¡°Hmph! I will decide AFTER I check it out.¡± Still, Purple Olive was cautious. Her eyes narrowed and scrutinized Ye Chen¡¯s deceptive smirk. Then, she crossed her arms and snorted.


    ¡°What? Little Olive, why can¡¯t you trust me? I¡¯m so heartbroken!¡± Sorrow flushed over Ye Chen¡¯s face as he pouted miserably. Despite the superficial sadness, he was confident that Purple Olive would no doubt pick this Profession.


    ¡°Huh?! You think I don¡¯t know how sly you are, Mr. Fox!¡± Purple Olive stared straight into Ye Chen¡¯s eyes. ¡°Trying to deceive me? You are still a century too early for this!¡±


    ¡°Oh damn! You realized! Little Olive, you are really an intelligent one! Most people would not even know!¡± Purple Olive may have exposed his dark plots, but Ye Chen was indifferent, laughing away without a care.


    Facing the nonchalant scammer, Purple Olive could only roll her eyes till only her whites showed, hissing through her clenched jaws. ¡°Tsk. Despicable!¡±


    The shamelessness reeking from Ye Chen also left the Queen and Dharma speechless, shaking their heads as they watched.


    Settling the questions that the party had regarding Secondary Professions, the four of them continued to fight the monsters. Within the next four hours, no one from the Warring Dragon Guild disturbed their peace again. Most likely, the withdrawal of the kill warrant and bounties were right.


    ¡°In the daytime, go and complete the professional apprentice missions first. Stamina is regenerated daily. One extra day¡¯s worth of stamina makes a whole lot of difference. We are already far behind others on the skills of the Secondary Profession, we need to rush and catch up.¡±


    ¡°If the missions get boring, go to the arena and practice, grind and perfect your techniques. While the level is critical, the technique is still indispensable. Our levels would rise naturally as time passed, but the technique needed special care and attention. If we slacken on our practice, we would very quickly drop to be mediocre adventurers. When that happens, we would still be bullied by others despite our high levels. Before you go offline, send me your Forum IDs, I will collate some data and send it to you all. Read it if you are free.¡±


    As the time to go offline approached, the four of them returned to Titan Megacity with the Town Return Scroll. Ye Chen gave some suggestions.


    While they were battling the monsters, Ye Chen had been continuously watching their movements and mental awareness. Of them, the Queen was the most aware of her surroundings. Her movements were intentional and efficient, not many waste actions. Purple Olive was not bad too, but still paled in comparison with Queen. Lastly, Dharma moved without care, showing a glaring lack of practice.


    ¡°Dharma, you have to stick your head into this and work it hard. Otherwise, we would leave you behind in no time. If the Warring Dragon Guild were causing trouble for you in the future, you would suffer the same fate.¡± After some thought, Ye Chen threw in harsher encouragement for Dharma.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Boss. I will try my best to practice according to the information you gave me!¡±


    With Ye Chen¡¯s reminders, the depression from Warring Dragon Guild¡¯s constant oppressions surged back within Dharma. He immediately pounded his chest, making a firm promise.


    ¡°Good, I¡¯ll go to the forum and send you the information first.¡±


    Three of them sent their forum ID to Ye Chen, and the latter went offline. After a little searching in the forum, he dug out some technical information and sent it over swiftly. Then, he went offline.


    Not long after Ye Chen left, Dharma hurried to finish his apprenticeship as a chef. The Queen of the Night entered the Arena, and Purple Olive scoured through the forum for information on Dancers.


    It did not take long for her to flip through the relevant data. Just glancing across the costumes available, and the elegant choreographies, her heart was set.


    Before Ye Chen combined the data for her, Purple Olive had already hurried back into the game and found a Dancer NPC Instructor.


    ¡­¡­..


    ¡°Erhem! My two pretty ladies, today, will be a house visiting day! If we are lucky, we can move to a better house! Then, you can go out to play!¡± After sending the compiled data to the three of them, Ye Chen went offline and ate breakfast with the two lolis, declaring his plans to them.


    ¡°Really? YIPPEE!¡± IInstantly, adrenaline and excitement burst within them like fireworks.


    Ye Chen had always been a fast-acting and preemptive person. His heart was set on moving out, and he found his target. There was no reason to wait any further. If it was unsuitable, he could always find another option.


    Setting a cap onto each of the girls, Ye Chen brought them out. Per the data on the advertisement, he brought them along onto the district¡¯s bus.


    After half an hour, Ye Chen¡¯s eyes struggled to believe the sight in front of him. ¡°Am I in the wrong place?¡±


    This bus had brought him to a district full of villas. His head bobbed down to the address, then back at the villa. Again and again, he checked his eyes. This was really the place!

 Chapter 52

    Ye Chen had no particular impression of this district, but anyone could tell that the costs of the villa inside were very high. Ye Chen guessed that many people who came over to rent a house were scared away after a glance.


    However, Ye Chen was not an ordinary person. Since he already came here anyway, he had to go in and see it, otherwise, his time and fares would have gone to waste.


    ¡­


    An hour later, Ye Chen returned to the rental apartment and returned the keys to the rental apartment. He then packed up his items and made a beeline for the new house!


    An hour ago, when Ye Chen entered the district wanting to observe the surroundings, he found that it was a little different from what he imagined. When he entered the villa where he wanted to rent a room from, there were already a few young people who shared similar notions inside.


    Afterwards, a middle-aged fat uncle who seemed to be a housekeeper asked questions about their occupations, the time they would enter and leave the district, and whether he had any unusual hobbies, etc. But it was Ye Chen¡¯s turn to be asked, the fat uncle looked at the two lolis beside Ye Chen. He directed many questions to the two little lolis instead, leaving Ye Chen a little puzzled.


    The two little lolis were very intelligent. Although facing a foreign fat uncle, with Ye Chen beside them, their answers were clear and unambiguous. The fat housekeeper nodded again and again when hearing their answers.


    Then, the steward uncle led the others away and took Ye Chen and the two little lolis to see the owner of the villa. It was an old lady of the age of sixty or seventy. Granny Wen personally asked some questions that were a little similar to what the fat uncle had asked, before smiling and let the three move in.


    Things went so smoothly that Ye Chen felt a little confused. Still, after calming down, judging from the quiet surroundings of the villa and the lonely expression on the old lady¡¯s face, Ye Chen guessed the reason why Granny Wen was willing to rent the house to him was because of the two clever little lolis.


    However, Ye Chen didn¡¯t give too much thought about it. There was little to nitpick about the district¡¯s environment, and many villas seemed to be unoccupied. The two little lolis could play in the district to their heart¡¯s content, and nothing untoward would happen.


    Although Ye Chen didn¡¯t have many things, moving house was always a hassle. After leaving a message for several people on the line, Ye Chen was busy with moving for the entire day.


    It was not until ten o¡¯clock in the evening that Ye Chen took the two little lolis and moved into the villa to tidy up the room.


    ¡°Xiao Ye, I think you can see why I rented the house to you was not for the money. It¡¯s just that I like children and want to make the house a little more lively. In the future, if it¡¯s possible, I would like everyone to eat together and brighten up the atmosphere here. Of course, you don¡¯t need to worry about the cost of food. The food I eat here is average and doesn¡¯t need much money. I will be responsible.¡± Afterwards, Granny Wen asked the housekeeper Uncle Lee to invite three people to dinner. Before the meal, Granny Wen sighed slightly.


    ¡°It¡¯s certainly nice to have dinner together. Uncle Lee¡¯s craftsmanship is much better than mine, and saving time on cooking is more than I could ask for. But I must pay for the food expenses. Otherwise, I will have a hard time staying here.¡± Ye Chen rejected the old lady Wen¡¯s kindness. The low rental was one thing, but freeloading was something that Ye Chen can¡¯t do.


    ¡°Well, I won¡¯t force it.¡± The old lady Wen didn¡¯t say much, just smiling slightly. She understood Ye Chen¡¯s emotions.


    ¡°You said you are a professional gamer, could you be a professional adventurer in ¡®The Boundless World¡¯?¡± Old Lady Wen asked a question that left Ye Chen feeling a little surprised.


    An old lady in her 60s or 70s actually knew of ¡°The Boundless World¡±? Recalling that even Uncle Qian and the other workers in the construction site were talking about ¡®The Boundless World¡¯, Ye Chen couldn¡¯t help wondering if this game was really that popular?


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Yes, this game is very promising. Give your all in playing, it¡¯s better than a lot of work outside!¡± But then, Granny Wen¡¯s following words left Ye Chen feeling dumbfounded.


    Hearing this from the mouth of a sixty or seventy-year-old lady really gave Ye Chen a bizarre feeling!


    ¡°Oh, don¡¯t look at me with so much surprise. In fact, I know much more in certain aspects of this game than professional adventurers like you.¡± Old lady Wen noticed Ye Chen¡¯s look of astonishment and laughed.


    ¡°Oh, what do you mean by that?¡± Ye Chen curiously asked.


    An old lady of that age actually dared to proclaim that they knew more about the Boundless world than professional adventurers like him was something that Ye Chen found it hard to imagine.


    ¡°Have you heard of Virtual Financial Street? The game operators of ¡®The Boundless World¡¯ are working on building a global Virtual Financial Street. This Financial Street is based on ¡®The Boundless World¡¯. When the global gaming regions merge, Financial Street will gradually open to the public. Your adventurers can trade items on Financial Street with adventurers all around the world. Of course, this is given the prerequisite that you can get a ticket to enter Virtual Financial Street,¡± the old lady said with a knowing smile.


    As Ye Chen listened, waves of shock crashed in his heart! He could imagine the bustling scene after the Virtual Financial Street opens where adventurers from all over the world will bring together their best equipment and rare props! As long as one could give a thought to the weekend auctions in the entire Oriental Region, one could get a tiny glimpse on how busy it would be!


    This should be tightly-wrapped news, but the old lady Wen actually knows of such confidential details. Who was she exactly?


    ¡°Actually, this news is nothing secret. I only heard it from others. Of course, even though the source is from others talking about it, the authenticity of this news is not false. I think you should know that there have been many large corporate consortiums entering the Boundless World recently. In fact, many people are heading towards Virtual Financial Street. Putting an advertisement there is equivalent to placing an advertisement all over the world. Establishing a brand there is equivalent to establishing a brand across the globe.¡±


    This old lady in her sixties or seventies had not loved in vain. It was clear what kind of reaction Ye Chen would have at this time, and she smiled and explained lightly.


    Sudden realization dawned upon him.


    Recently, there have indeed been many reports that many large and small companies were entering the game. Ye Chen had merely thought that the game was booming and thus attracting these speculators and investors. So, it turned out that there was a deeper layer of relationship behind it.


    ¡­..


    After obtaining this kind of gossip from the old lady Wen, Ye Chen hurried back to the game after eating.


    Virtual Financial Street was a big cake, he absolutely could not miss this great opportunity.


    But fortunately, there was still some time for the joint global zone to be realized. Ye Chen still had time.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    ¡°I just got out of the Arena map. Night and Purple Olive should still be in battle.¡± Dharma answered as thus. Adventurers in the competitive map could not receive any news from the outside world.


    ¡°Then you can continue, I will go over to clear my mission for the secondary profession first.¡±


    Solia¡¯s influence should have been eliminated from him by now, and Ye Chen could now move freely in the city. After delaying the Profession mission for a day, he could finally proceed with it.


    In the Titan Megacity, just as how many NPC mentors were employed as full-time professional mentors, there were more than one NPC that could grant secondary Professions. Ye Chen was absolutely afraid to go near Karma¡¯s place, but he had already found another NPC, Gegil, who could appoint him as a Landscaper from the forum.


    The description of the NPC, Gegil, in the forum, was that this guy has a gloomy face and a grim expression in his eyes. He did not look like a good person at first glance.


    It was actually great if Gegil was unlike a good person, lest this guy turns out to be a Holy Believer. If Ye Chen accidentally exposed himself again, he will suffer big-time!


    Like Karma, this guy only lived outside of the Titan Megacity, located in a relatively remote forest. Ye Chen found it after quite a while of searching.


    A rather dilapidated manor appeared in front of his eyes, and Ye Chen knew that he had arrived.


    He knocked on the door before entering, finding a gray-haired old man who was bent over, trying to sort out the plants in front of him.


    ¡°Mr. Gegil, hello. I¡¯m here to apply for the Landscaper role.¡±


    The old man, Gegil, was really just as he was described on the forum. A gloomy and ominous aura draped over his body, which left those who saw them feeling uncomfortable. He must be someone with a sinister personality.


    ¡°Oh, Dark Contractor, hello. Welcome to my abode.¡± But after this gloomy character studied Ye Chen for a while, his wrinkled old face creased into a smile!

 Chapter 53

    ¡°What the¡­ can¡¯t I just finish my apprenticeship in peace?¡± A cold sweat broke out on Ye Chen¡¯s forehead. He could feel his blood gurgling in his stomach as nausea built up.


    He had waited for a good long day, rushing online excitedly to finish his mission. Yet, before he even introduced himself properly, his identity was seen through like glass. Immediately, he felt as if his blazing anticipation was doused with a pail frigid cold water!


    ¡°I think you are mistaken!¡± Ye Chen¡¯s kept his cool. His lips attempted an awkward smile as he denied the accusation.


    While admitting the truth may bring about potential benefits, the risk of being banished for half a year was looming overhead. Ye Chen knew that taking the Divine Sprinkler of Blessings was already a colossal rip-off. He dared not ask for another mile when he already received an inch. Any insatiable greed would end up in a wild goose¡¯s chase.


    ¡°Hehe, being cautious is good. Hmm, if you have any needs, then you can look for me. I¡¯ll be honest with you, the stubborn old hag, Karma, only stayed in Titan Megacity to monitor my movements.¡± Despite the denial, Gegil¡¯s expression remained dark and ominous. Suddenly, he broke out into a deep guffaw.


    ¡°Hmm, you came to be initiated as a Landscaper, right? Alright, since you are also working with the Dark Side, we can be considered as family. Let¡¯s scrap this ridiculous entry mission, just for you.¡± With a wave of his hand, a pale green glimmer surrounded Ye Chen.


    [System Notice: You have become a Landscaper Apprentice!]


    ¡°What the heck, I¡¯m being let through the backdoor? Wow, this guy really seems to be a Disciple of Darkness.¡± Seeing the ease of initiation as an apprentice, Ye Chen muttered in disbelief in his heart.


    The entry missions for Secondary Professions were simple but massively time-consuming. This was a huge factor that contributed to Ye Chen¡¯s shock when Gegil completely ignored the entry mission. Regardless, Ye Chen had no intention of pulling any more strings with this so-called Disciple of Darkness.


    His level was still too low. If he triggered any mission now, it would be unsuitable. In any case, judging from Gegil¡¯s words, it was the same if he finished the task later.


    System Notice: You have received Gegil¡¯s guidance. Planting¡¯s proficiency increased by 50%!]


    As he was deep in thought, an unexpected message board popped up.


    Lavishly generous, Gegil gifted half a level¡¯s worth of experience to Ye Chen!


    Within the Boundless World, a Botanist¡¯s Planting skill defined their standing as a Landscaper. Level 1 Planting dictated their apprenticeship, Level 2 Planting upgraded them to a Beginner Landscaper. Only then would they be permitted to own their own plot of land.


    Under normal circumstances and without stamina cost, a minimum of 20 days was necessary to reach Level 2. Now, this old man literally gifted Ye Chen a discount of 10 days!


    ¡°Haha, thank you so much, Mr. Gegil! You are such a great man!¡± Elation brightened up Ye Chen¡¯s face as he thanked Gegil profusely.


    Be it black cat, white cat, or tabby cat, as long as they caught mice, they were good cats. Similarly, an NPC was a great man as long as they benefited Ye Chen!


    ¡°Small issue! You are a benefactor that rid the world of that Old Hag. This bit of benefit is insufficient as thanks!¡± The corner of Gegil¡¯s lips lifted.


    ¡°Haha, what are you talking about, Mr. Gegil? If there¡¯s nothing else, I will make a move first.¡± Still, Ye Chen feigned ignorance. Courteously, he bowed and left.


    Gegil did not attempt to stop Ye Chen. Only when the young man¡¯s figure faded from sight, Gegil¡¯s expression fell into abyssal darkness, ¡°Hmph! What a cunning man!¡±


    ¡­


    The moment Ye Chen stepped out of Gegil¡¯s forest, he immediately returned to Titan Megacity with the Town Return Scroll. He went straight to the General Store and purchased tens of the Crystal Apple Seeds.


    From these seeds, he could grow the Crystal Apples. However, these fruits were in deficient demand. After harvesting, they could only be sold to the stores or eaten after a battle to increase HP regeneration by 3 points per second. Still, the benefits lackluster in comparison to other food items. Even the lowest iter food, plain buns, had a better regeneration boost by several folds. Other than the enticing name, Crystal Apples were just fit for sales to stores.


    For Landscapers, the amount of harvest from crops was prone to fluctuation. It was directly related to the amount of care given to the plants in the nurturing process. Considerable attention and care would naturally bring about a bountiful harvest. Conversely, lack of attention and care could lead to the death of the crops and 0 yields.


    With the punishing cost of the Crystal Apple Seeds, a single misstep could cost Ye Chen to be in deficit. Despite the high price and risk, this crop had its saving grace. The proficiency gain from nurturing Crystal Apples could revolutionize a beginner Gardner¡¯s skill proficiency!


    For Adventurers below Level 30, they were given 300 stamina points a day. A Landscaper Apprentice was also allocated 10 plots of space in the public garden. 1 plot could only house 1 crop, and each planting exhausted 10 stamina.


    The growth time of each plant was different. Conventionally, they were all significantly time-consuming. Due to the limited plot size, Landscaper Apprentices would generally not choose plants that had a longer growth time. While they were more profitable, it would lead to wastage of stamina points daily.


    Amongst the lower level crops, Crystal Apples only require 6 hours to mature. With the 300 stamina points given a day in mind, they were the perfect crop.


    Having purchased the seeds, Ye Chen hastily headed to the public garden. It was situated in the area outside of Titan Megacity¡¯s West Gate. If he rushed over now, he could get his first harvest and replant the crops before the clock struck 12.


    As long as he leveled up to a beginner Landscaper, he could procure his own private garden space where he could openly use the Divine Sprinkler of Blessings. The public garden did not seem like an ample space from the city. However, the sheer vastness of the edgeless garden washed over Ye Chen when he stepped into the gates of the area.


    The land had been separated distinctively into segments, with 10 plots each. The apprentices could choose any area they liked to plant their seeds and harvest when the crops matured. Of course, tending to their own produce was indispensable. Watering, weeding, and removing pests was part of the process. When the harvest was ready, the Adventurer had to seize the right moment. Otherwise, the mature crop would die.


    Looking across the area, there were several apprentices gathered. The flow of Adventurers was unceasing, surprisingly bustling with activity. It was quite a while before Ye Chen could find a section of land unused to plant the Crystal Apple seed. He left quickly after watering them.


    Immediately, he headed back to Titan Megacity and opened the mail from the Trade Lobby.


    Honestly, he should have collected the mail days prior. However, the Warring Dragon Guild had plagued him for the past 2 days, causing the mail to slip out of mind. When he shifted today, he finally remembered to claim his profits.


    ¡°Wow, 16770 gold? Hehe, not bad at all!¡± Tossing the unsold products back into the vaults, he listed 10000 gold at a 1 to 1 ratio with real-word currency onto the virtual trade platform.


    Trading in-game gold with money was a permitted deal. Neither was there any way to make it illegal nor did it benefit the game. To promote trading gold, the GM only discouraged trading equipment. As such, any losses due to trading of equipment would not be intervened by the GM.


    When the listing was done, Ye Chen heaved a sigh of relief.


    Now, he had 3 several choices for his next course of action. Leveling, arena duels, or exploring the Ruins of Fossils. The highly anticipated Mega Fossilised Egg was there, and he was craving to find out the effects of the Parasitic Furball on the egg. Within the 3 options, the last was the most attractive.


    However, upon further consideration, Ye Chen took a deep breath and headed to the arena. The Mega Fossilized Egg was postponed indefinitely. It would definitely be powdered like the crystal when the Parasitic Furball hinged onto the Mega Fossilised Egg. What happened after was an unanswered mystery. Facing such uncertainties, it would not be wise to act on it now at such a low level.


    Right now, bringing up the level of the Durian Bomb Tree was of higher urgency. A few days later, he would reach Level 25. If the Durian Bomb Tree could not match his level, his further progression would be hindered.


    Bringing up the level of the Durian Bomb Tree would not bring about any problem anyways.


    At the Arena, Ye Chen went up to Ed and purchased some Arena Seeds before proceeding with his battles. Arena Seeds were special items designed just for Botanists. With these seeds, the Botanist could plant any plant without using the actual seeds. However, these seeds would not bring any gain of proficiency and were rather costly at 1 gold per seed. Fortunately, Ye Chen had made a windfall with the resounding victory over Warring Dragon Guild a few days before. These losses were sustainable for his bulky wallet.


    However, this meant that Ye Chen¡¯s losses totaled 1.1 gold per battle in the arena, excluding the 10 free ones. If he partook in a few hundred fights daily, that would lead to an expenditure of a few hundred!


    At that thought, Ye Chen could feel a headache building. There was a reason for Botanists being widely infamous after all!


    However, He just had to suck it up. One victory would only bring 3 Arena points. To exchange a Durian Bomb Tree seed, he needed 50 points. That was to say, 17 victorious battles were worth a seed. If he used a real Durian Bomb Tree seed per battle, it was absolutely not enough.


    After buying the seeds, Ye Chen entered the virtual arena. He had learned his lesson the hard way the last time. Before beginning, Ye Chen restricted his spectators to only those on his good friend list. He would not want to garner too much-unwanted attention from winning too much again.


    Ye Chen was crystal clear. With the Durian Bomb Tree and Illusions of Time, most level 20 Adventurers would be wiped out before they could blink!

 Chapter 54

    After entering the Arena, Ye Chen directly launched an attack.


    He had chosen Random Battle, and the moment the battlefield opened, he planted a Durian Bomb Tree seed in advance and went straight to the center of the competition map.


    One minute later, Ye Chen approached the central area of the Arena, and there was already an adventurer standing there.


    This was a Mage adventurer. After seeing that the opponent was a Botanist, the Mage adventurer was beyond overjoyed, a smile hanging on his face. The victory was right in front of him! The Mage adventurer couldn¡¯t hold himself back and directly rushed to Ye Chen!


    The distance between the two rapidly narrowed. The Mage¡¯s attack range was greater than the Botanist, and this water-attribute Mage immediately launched an ice arrow.


    Ice-type Mages¡¯ attacks had a chance of slowing, and the Mage was obviously trying out his luck and probing the opponent¡¯s strength.


    Facing the ice arrow that was rapidly flying over, Ye Chen did not make any unnecessary actions to avoid it, striking the ice arrow directly.


    Ice Arrow had a homing function, so escape was in vain. But more importantly, Ye Chen wanted to save time and win the game at the fastest speed!


    The ice-attribute attack definitely possessed a terrifying might and a damage value of more than seventy floated above Ye Chen¡¯s head.


    The Mage saw this and could not help secretly rejoicing in his heart. He knew that this Botanist only possessed average equipment. He waved his staff again, launching another skill at Ye Chen.


    This was the ice skill ¡°Ice Edge Trail¡±, which formed a jagged path of sharp ice. If one were to pass through it, one would undoubtedly sustain damage over time, and if one were to break out of the jagged ice path, one would also receive damage.


    ¡°Haha, so stupid. How come he can¡¯t even dodge this Icy Edge Trail?¡± The Mage was surprised to see that the Botanist was actually hit by the skill. In the Arena, it was not easy to use this skill to land a hit on other adventurers. The average person would definitely avoid it if he was hit.


    ¡°Continue!¡± The Ice-type Mage saw that more than half the health of the Botanist had been shaved away, believing with three more or so skills, it would definitely finish off the opponent.


    Such an efficient and low-effort method of combat could only appear when facing a total noob like this. This was the first time that the Mage ever encountered such a situation, and it left a pleasant sensation in his heart.


    He raised his staff again and just as the Mage was ready to launch another skill, he noticed that the Botanist¡¯s staff actually moved before his!


    Then¡­ a plant which he had never ever seen before started to proliferate from the ground beneath him. It was not to his left or right, but rather grew out from right underneath him and forcefully squeezed him to one corner! He wanted to escape, but he abruptly found to his horror that his body was no longer under his control!


    This all happened in an instant. However, just as he desperately issued a command for his body to move, his character moved a little. The feeling of losing control of his body seemed like a mirage, and a deception of his senses!


    The Mage didn¡¯t care too much about it though, anxiously wanting to find somewhere to hide. It was at this moment when the loud sounds of explosions reverberated in his eardrums. Before he could even make sense of what was happening, the scenery before his eyes changed abruptly. He was booted out of the competition map and a banner displaying ¡°DEFEAT¡± flashed before his eyes!


    The entire battle, from start to end, didn¡¯t even take 70 seconds!


    ¡°Not bad, at this rate, perhaps I can finish 40 matches within an hour!¡± Ye Chen took note of the time and was pleased with his current speed. The Durian Bomb Tree that was boosted by Illusions of Time simply had too fearsome killing power.


    If it weren¡¯t for the fact that growing plants required one minute, perhaps the actual time of combat might not have even lasted 30 seconds!


    This was truly regrettable, but it couldn¡¯t be helped. Ye Chen didn¡¯t overthink it and merely started a new match.


    This time, he was matched against a Warrior. This pitiful Warrior didn¡¯t even have the chance to get close to Ye Chen before the Durian Bomb tree turned him into a vengeful ghost.


    Next¡­


    With the superhuman speed of a minute plus per match, Ye Chen started his frenzy of sweeping through the Arena matches.


    For adventurers of this level range, the number of experts was simply too scarce. The more skilled adventurers would have long ago shot past this level range. No one could interrupt Ye Chen¡¯s frenzied warpath. They couldn¡¯t escape from the devastating clutches of the Durian Bomb Tree much less cause any hints of trouble for Ye Chen.


    In a blink of an eye, over three hours had passed. At this time, Ye Chen had created a record of over 160 consecutive winning streak with his bloodthirsty killings.


    The system assigned another opponent for him again. Ye Chen planted a seed and directly headed for the center of the map. To his surprise, he saw a female adventurer who was busy dancing enticingly.


    ¡°Hehe, Beauty Little Olive, your moves aren¡¯t too bad!¡±


    The one who was dancing in the center of the map was none other than Purple Olive, who had just obtained the Secondary Profession of Dancer.


    Ye Chen stared at Purple Olive, who was clad in a fluttery, light-gray gauze-like outfit.


    Under the translucent black, gray, and black silk, Purple Olive¡¯s generous bosom was almost half-exposed, and her hips were slightly twisted into an entrancing arch. One look was enough to captivate anyone who gazed at her.


    ¡°So unlucky, how can I be matched against you¡­? What are you looking at, pervert!¡± She actually encountered Ye Chen. Purple Olive couldn¡¯t help but cursed her misfortune loudly. After forming a team with Ye Chen for two days, she knew she was not Ye Chen¡¯s opponent. And seeing Ye Chen¡¯s eyes sweeping up and down her body, Purple Olive couldn¡¯t help but flush red, and angrily hollered at him!


    It would be fine if she was seen by someone she didn¡¯t know. However, being stared at by the people around her or even the lustful gaze of Ye Chen left Purple Olive wanting to find a hole somewhere and bury her head.


    ¡°What do you mean pervert? Have a taste of my hands plucking a flower!¡± Ye Chen also had his fill of looking. Without wasting any more time on Purple Olive, he directly used Single Transplantation, transplanting the Durian Bomb Tree, and instantly killed her.


    ¡°That¡­ THAT BASTARD!!!¡± Purple Olive was left in a state of shock for a while, but after realizing that she was dead beyond the shadow of a doubt, she started cussing out at Ye Chen with murderous rage.


    She would never have expected that the bastard, who was still looking at her slightly lecherously just a while ago, would actually kill her so decisively. He didn¡¯t even say anything before doing so! That bastard was too wicked!


    The cooldown of the Dancer¡¯s dance skills was quite long. Purple Olive had just learned a dance skill that temporarily increased the HP limit, ¡°Melody of Life.¡±


    Melody of Life had a cooldown of 30 minutes. Every instance of using the dance consumed 20 stamina points. Purple Olive couldn¡¯t complete the inauguration task until the afternoon. It also took some time to practice the dance movements of the Melody of Life by following the system tutorials. Only then did she formally begin to use the skills.


    In the Arena, as soon as the Melody of Life skill went off cooldown, Purple Olive immediately put on the Dancer¡¯s costume and initiated the Melody of Life dance. This was to ensure that she used up all the stamina points for today.


    Just a while back, when she arrived at the center of the Arena, her skills had just gone off cooldown. She had just adorned the Dancer¡¯s clothes, but she didn¡¯t expect that just as she started dancing, Ye Chen would pop out from nowhere.


    But what annoyed Purple Olive most and made her want to tear out her hair in frustration was that the bastard actually killed her like that!


    ¡°Hmph! One day, I will do you in for good!¡±


    Come to think of it, ever since she was acquainted with the bastard, he would find numerous ways to bully and tease her! At this thought, Purple Olive couldn¡¯t help gnashing her teeth with murderous rage overflowing in her eyes.


    However, Ye Chen paid no heed to Purple Olive. The moment he won the match, he directly initiated the next battle.


    The four thus spent their time like this until midnight. As the clock struck 12 o¡¯clock, Ye Chen had already established a legendary record of close to 300 consecutive victories!


    Looking at the time, Ye Chen rushed towards the public garden and directly harvested the Crystal Apples, before planting a new set of seeds for the Crystal Apples. After doing so, he resold the Crystal Apples to the system store and directly contacted Dharma and the other two.


    ¡°Let¡¯s end things here for today. It¡¯s not a good solution to linger in the Arena. Now, let¡¯s go and level. When we are leveling, I want you guys to think back to your experiences in the Arena and the various possible combinations interplay between the skills. If you don¡¯t understand, just ask me, it¡¯ll be easier to make progress that way.¡±


    In fact, Ye Chen should have long taken three people to level up, but Ye Chen was simply having a ball of a time harvesting Arena Points, and unknowingly, the time arrived at midnight.


    ¡°Alright boss, let¡¯s go leveling!¡±


    The three had stayed inside the Arena for the entire day, and they all had the urge to vomit.


    The Queen of the Night was still alright and was torturing the lower-skilled adventurers most of the time. The ratio of Dharma was half to half, while Purple Olive was the one being tortured most of the time.


    But the primary purpose for Ye Chen to ask Purple Olive to enter the Arena was to let her be abused.


    Purple Olive was not a combat-oriented Priest. She had limited attack power and as for wanting her to kill someone? Unless she encountered another Priest, she would only face the fate of being killed.


    The task that Ye Chen gave Purple Olive was to face Professions other than the Priest and try to stay alive as long as possible. While entangling with the enemy, on the other hand, she would be mastering the timing and rhythm of using her various Priest skills. This was especially so in the face of melee-type enemies. How to protect herself and ensure her survival was the most important thing.


    The location they were hunting monsters was still in Big Snowy Mountain. Although it was a little far away, a key advantage was that no one else would compete for monsters with them, and was quiet enough.


    ¡°Next up, please invite our great beauty, Little Olive, to dance the Melody of Life!¡± Ye Chen the punk said with a smile, after arriving at the location where the monsters were at.


    ¡°I won¡¯t dance!¡± Purple Olive gave this guy an evil eye.


    Although she said that, after Ye Chen transplanted the two Durian Bomb Trees, Purple Olive still changed into a more exposing Dancer uniform and began to dance.


    ¡°Boss! Boss! Her dance is so alluring!¡± As Dharma watched Purple Olive twirl her sexy body amidst the snow, his saliva almost drooled out of his mouth.


    ¡°Two big perverts!¡±


    Purple Olive glared at them impolitely.


    ¡°Call me a pervert again! Be careful that I¡¯ll really become a pervert!¡± Ye Chen threatened menacingly.


    ¡°Hmph! Come, I¡¯m only afraid that you won¡¯t succeed!¡± However, Purple Olive was not intimidated at all.


    If his words were said in reality, she might still be a little frightened. But this was just a game, who was afraid of who? Purple Olives continued her dance for another three minutes. After three minutes, Ye Chen and the other four, including the two Durian Bomb Trees, had their HP limit increased by 100 points!


    ¡°Not bad!¡± Ye Chen saw the effects and couldn¡¯t help but exclaim in surprise.


    The Level 1 Dance skill, Melody of Life dance, could increase 50 to 100 points of HP if successful. The dance effect of Purple Olive actually achieved the maximum result at once, which was quite an amazing feat.


    ¡°What¡¯s there to be surprised by? I am quite proficient at dancing!¡± Purple Olive could not conceal the glee on her face and boasted proudly.


    The three of them started hunting monsters like yesterday. After deciding to ignore the life and death of the Durian Bomb Tree, Ye Chen and the other two managed to attract more Ice Bears than yesterday.


    The monsters were attracted in greater numbers. Despite this, the four of them still felt at ease when dealing with the monsters after spending a day in the Arena. The Durian Bomb Tree was not as fragile as Ye Chen¡¯s imagination and died after killing a few monsters. After all, there was still a powerful Priest called Purple Olive around.


    The experience proficiency of the four people was soaring faster than even yesterday. In the process, Ye Chen was observing the movements of the other three and gave some suggestions from time to time. For example, when was the best time to use a skill, which actions were unnecessary, the calculation of the time to ingest a potion, and etc.


    Time passed quickly, and it was almost morning in the blink of an eye. Ye Chen¡¯s level rose to Level 20 after finishing another wave of Ice Bears!

 Chapter 55

    Long before Ye Chen leveled up, Purple Olive had already reached Level 22, Dharma was already halfway through Level 21 and Queen also hit Level 21. Within the party, Ye Chen was the lowest level.


    However, the level did not signify much within the game. Most importantly, it was a milestone of a Botanist. Now, Ye Chen could plant support-type plants. Despite crossing the milestone, he did not rush back to Titan Megacity. Instead, he killed more monsters until it was time to go offline, bringing the entire party back to Titan Megacity along with him.


    One by one, the party dispersed offline. Ye Chen returned to the public garden, tending to his crops that were not worth much before heading offline.


    Conventionally, the first thing Ye Chen would do in the real world was to prepare breakfast. However, his new home came with the benefit of Uncle Lee attending to their food needs. Thinking about it, since the district was large, he could actually go for morning exercise. The human body was somewhat a consumable. Since he had time now, he should use it.


    ¡°We wanna go too!¡± Just as Ye Chen was preparing to leave, the 2 lolis popped up beside him, their rosy cheeks puffing and pouting.


    Thinking of the lack of time spent with them in the daytime, Ye Chen quickly decided to bring them along. If their 2 girls were too tired to run, he could carry them on his back. If even he was tired, they could always take a break, it was not too big of an issue.


    The district was tranquil in the morning, cooling and calming. Together with the 2 girls, Ye Chen jogged along the quiet streets, winding through the housing estates. They did not meet anyone throughout the period outside, just a few elderly people purchasing their daily groceries.


    Time flew past exceptionally quickly as they jogged and played. Soon, half an hour had passed, and it was time to return home. When they returned, Uncle Lee had already prepared their breakfast, and the household gathered together. Granny offered to read the lolis a book after the meal, taking them off Ye Chen¡¯s hands. The latter then retreated into his room, going online immediately.


    Owing to the early time, Purple Olive and Queen were not around yet. Only Dharma was present, already hitting the Arena. However, the situation was different from yesterday. He was not sweeping through his enemies anymore. On Ye Chen¡¯s instructions, the Meteor Arrow Shower was prohibited due to its overwhelming strength. Previously, Dharma would 1 hit KO his enemies by accident, leaving no room for practice and learning. In cases like this, time was wasted.


    Sealing off the Meteor Arrow Shower, Dharma¡¯s performance was tragic. Various opponents took turns at toying with him, eradicating him. Even so, Dharma stayed in the Arena, going battle after battles without any signs of stopping. That unwavering perseverance renewed Ye Chen¡¯s appraisal of Dharma.


    Getting the battleground wiped with your own face was a process that was indispensable on the route to professionalism within the game. For a greenhorn to break into the lines of pro players, they must be able to withstand the crushing defeats. Otherwise, the novice blood and attitude would stay with them no matter how powerful they got.


    Seeing his endless battles, Ye Chen left Dharma alone, heading to the Botanist Guild. This time, his aim was to unlock the support-type plants.


    As he had never chosen a professional tutor, Ye Chen could only return to Trousse. Upon paying him 30 gold, he received a mission.


    The mission was simple, he had to enter an Instance Dungeon and regenerate HP for a large patch of poisoned plants with the support-type plant, Velvetleaf. As long as half of the poisoned plants survived, his mission would be considered a success.


    The Botanist¡¯s support-type plants mostly added buffs and statuses. For the Velvetleaf, it was the most basic support-type plant. When it was present, all of the plants planted by the Botanist would continuously regenerate HP. The Quartz Flower, which he received from the Stone Tribe¡¯s Totem mission reduced the damage taken by all plants. As such, once Ye Chen could plant support-type plants, the survivability of his plants increased by leaps and bounds.


    However, nothing came without a price. When support-type plants were present, the MP of the Botanist would regularly drain and could not recover MP with potions. This mission was also a test of the Botanist control over the MP consumption. Hence, the use of potions within the dungeon was restricted. If the Botanist chose to let the Velvetleaf regenerate HP for the constant, the result of the mission would undoubtedly be a failure due to lack of MP.


    The first few Botanists of the game had it the toughest, entering a mission with unknown restrictions and numerous uncertainties. However, now that the game had been around for some time, the task was no longer as painful. Timings for uprooting the support-type plants, the correct period to utilize the support-type plants and step by step manuals to face this mission was available on the forums. Within 20 minutes, Ye Chen had breezed through this mission.


    ¡°Support-type plants play a crucial role in a Botanist¡¯s battles. Use them well, and you will become a proficient Botanist!¡± When Ye Chen returned to the Botanist¡¯s Guild, Trousse sternly reminded him.


    ¡°Mr Trousse, I understand.¡± Courteously, Ye Chen nodded and thanked him for the guidance. At the same time, he pondered if he should find the Grandmaster of Botanists to be his Professional Tutor soon. His character had been developing faster than he expected. Heading to see her now and convincing her to accept him as a disciple was a plausible choice.


    ¡°Alright, I will go over when the Durian Bomb Tree reaches Level 2!¡± Soon, Ye Chen firmly decided.


    Trousse nodded and waved his hand. Immediately, 2 notices popped up in front of Ye Chen.


    [System Notice: You have unlocked Virtual Planting Space. Current plots: 1]


    [System Notice: You obtained a skill book: Planting, Velvetleaf!]


    Seeing the gift, Ye Chen¡¯s face lit up with gratitude. Once again, he bowed and thanked Trousse.


    Now he could finally be considered a real Botanist.


    As he walked out of the Botanist Guild, Ye Chen lamented, ¡°ah, only 1 plot of Virtual Planting Space? What a shame, I need to find a staff that comes with planting space soon¡­¡±


    Support-type plants were unlike combat plants. They did not need to be planted onto the ground for it to take effect. Instead, they would be transplanted into the Virtual Planting Space. In reality, this space was around the magic staff. When planted, the Support-type plants would hover about the Botanist, following his movements.


    Without delay, Ye Chen learned the skills, Velvetleaf and Quartz Flower. Having done so, he went to the general store and bought an extravagant 300 Velvetleaf seeds. As for Quartz Flower Seeds, he had to wait till Level 30 and inherit his previous Achievement Points.


    Leaving aside the Quartz Flower, the Velvetleaf was of critical importance to a beginner Botanist. From the seeding time, the Velvetleaf only needed 3 seconds to mature. From then, at a cost of 5 MP, the plants surrounding the Botanist would recover 10 HP per second. At Level 2, the MP cost increased to 10 per second, and the recovery heightened to 25.


    With this, Ye Chen had officially finished his thorough initiation as a Botanist. There was only 1 thing left to do. Resuming the bullying of others in the Arena and stocking up on Arena Points!


    As he expected, the Durian Bomb Tree was like a nuclear bomb in the low-level Arena. With this one skill, Ye Chen massacred every single Adventurer within the Arena. To date, no one had been able to survive under this brutal assault.


    Of course, it was not solely due to the unfair attribute of the Durian Bomb Tree. The Adventurers at this stage also had a feeble defense, low HP, and a lack of life-saving skills. At the higher levels, 1 hit KO was impossible unless it was a sneak attack.


    Regardless, Ye Chen¡¯s winning streak was unhindered by anyone, surging up every second!


    Starting at 100 win streak, he rushed through his battles. By the time the sun had set, he had accumulated a staggering 800+ streak!


    Fortunately, Ye Chen had the foresight to limit his spectators to his good friends, keeping outsiders away from his viewing room. If anyone else found out that this Adventurer had already been on an 800+ win streak, this rumor would spread till every single Adventurer in Titan Megacity heard of it. With the restriction, the Adventurers only knew of a powerful Botanist and not his inconceivable yet true 800 streaks.


    However, these long victorious chain only got Ye Chen 2500 Arena Points. To level up the Durian Bomb Tree, he needed 5000 more. Only then, he could get 150 seeds, barely sufficient to level up his skill.


    With a deep sigh, he went offline to join his 2 lolis for dinner. Then, it was back to grinding again.


    Ye Chen had led his party earlier than before to the Big Snowy Mountain again. Through the night, he cut down wave after wave of monsters. When dawn arrived, almost all of them had raised another level, progressing through the levels at breakneck speed.


    Again, Ye Chen¡¯s schedule was the same. Morning exercise, breakfast, and playing with the 2 lolis. Any other time that he was involved in the activities above, he was online and seeping through the Arena.


    With the crumbling of yet another Adventurer, a system message popped up.


    [System Message: Congratulations! You have achieved 1000 consecutive victories in the Random Matching Arena Battle. You obtained the title, God of Arena!]


    [System Message: Congratulations! You have achieved 1000 consecutive victories in the Random Matching Arena Battle. You have obtained 100 Reputation Points. Current Reputation Points:120!]


    [System Message: Congratulations! You have achieved 1000 consecutive victories in the Random Matching Arena Battle. You have obtained 10 Achievement Points. Current Achievement Points :22!]


    [God of Arena (Beginner): A Honorary Title for Valiant Adventurers who achieved 1000 consecutive victories in the Arena (below Level 50)!


    Attributes: Strength + 10, Physique + 10, Agility + 10, Intelligence + 10, Spirit + 10, Movement Speed + 2, Perception + 1. in the Random Matching Arena Battles, after 10 consecutive wins, each victory would be awarded with an additional Arena Point. After 30 consecutive wins, each victory would be awarded 2 additional Arena Points. After 50 consecutive wins, each victory would be awarded 4 additional Arena Points. After 100 consecutive wins, each victory would be awarded 7 additional Arena Points!

 Chapter 56

    The title of God of Arena? Ye Chen had doubts at first, but when he examined his status more closely, he found that it was true! It was actually the God of Arena!


    Reputation and Achievement points, when receiving two such valuable attribute rewards, Ye Chen still managed to maintain his calm. After all, it was nothing too strange, but when Ye Chen saw the attribute bonuses from the title, he could not help but break into uproarious laughter!


    ¡°Fuck me, this title is so strong! I love it!¡±


    The titles within the Boundless World would more or less provide some attribute bonuses. But these attributes would mostly raise the attributes of the Strength and Physique class. If one wanted to find something rarer, at most it would increase Movement Speed.


    In the Arena, Ye Chen knew that there was another title, the King of Arena! The attributes of the elementary King of Arena were similar to the previous part of the God of Arena. All attributes would be increased by 10, 2 points of Movement Speed, and 1 point of Perception were added. However, there was no attribute of amplifying the rate of gain of Arena points!


    Ye Chen didn¡¯t know how many people in the game had gotten the title of God of Arena, but this was the first time he knew of this title! In the past, he didn¡¯t spend as much time in the Arena as he did now. He didn¡¯t expect that when bullying the other low-levelled adventurers this time and achieving a horrifying 1000-game winning streak, he would achieve such a superb title!


    With the new title, following the calculations of the new title¡¯s attribute boost, after achieving 100 consecutive victories, he would be able to get 10 Arena points!


    As compared to the 3 Arena points from each victory previously, the rate that he accumulated Arena points would more than triple!


    ¡°I¡¯m still missing 4500 points, which is 450 matches. Even if it takes a minute and a half per match, it would only take less than 12 hours¡­ Fuck me, I hit the jackpot this time!¡± Ye Chen rapidly did some calculations in his head as to how much time he needed to level up his Durian Bomb Tree with the boost from the title. The final outcome left his eyes gleaming brilliantly with joy.


    The originally tedious task which would take over a week now only required less than two days of effort!


    With the title, the seemingly distant goal of levelling up the skill was now in sight, and Ye Chen¡¯s motivation when hunting monsters shot through the roof. He once again continued his frenzied carnage!


    Moreover, to maintain his winning streak, Ye Chen played even more carefully. That way, no one could even take more than a move from Ye Chen!


    After sweeping through the Arena until the evening, Ye Chen went offline to eat and before going online again. He then called the other three to go level.


    ¡°Boss, did something good happen today?¡± The four met up, and Dharma could clearly sensed that Ye Chen was in better spirits today than usual.


    Ye Chen smiled and showed the title of the God of Arena to the three people. When the others saw, they all widened their eyes in shock.


    ¡°Boss, you are invincible! This is actually a 1000-game winning streak!¡± Dharma was immediately left in a state of admiration where he felt like prostrating on the floor!


    ¡°I really want one too. Purple Olive was also incredibly envious. If she were to manage to lay her hands upon such an awesome title, it would be hard not to be famous if she were to post about it on the forum! It was a pity that she was a Priest. Wanting to achieve a winning streak of 1000 was only something she could think about it in her dreams.


    The Queen of the Night also wanted the title. After all, the title¡¯s attribute boost was extremely attractive, equivalent to wearing an extra piece of equipment.


    However, she had been in the Arena for so long. She knew that it was not difficult to win a few dozen games in a row, but it was far too challenging to win a thousand consecutive games. She was afraid that only a demon like Ye Chen could do it.


    The few were naturally hunting monsters next, but before they started to scramble, Purple Olive routinely danced a very eye-catching ¡°provocative dance¡± for everyone. Compared with her movements yesterday, Purple Olive danced even more skillfully, letting Ye Chen and Dharma enjoy a feast for her eyes.


    For the entire night, the four hunted monsters as usual. When dawn broke, Ye Chen was above Level 22, the Queen of the Night only just hit Level 23, Dharma was halfway through Level 23, and Purple Olive was almost Level 24.


    ¡°Let¡¯s stop here for today.¡±


    Seeing that the time was about right, the four returned to the city again. Ye Chen went to the public garden, as usual, tended to the Crystal Apple Trees, and then went offline.


    In the past few days, Ye Chen¡¯s work schedule had become a lot more structured. In the morning, he would have breakfast before heading to the Arena and continue gaming inside the Arena after lunch. However, on that morning, Ye Chen no longer used the Arena-bought seeds. Instead, he bought hundreds of Durian Bomb Tree seeds from Ed and started raising his skills!


    The Durian Bomb Tree seeds were difficult to obtain, but it was an elementary task to increase skill proficiency. However, for the other skill learned by Ye Chen, the Iron-Armoured Willow, it was much more difficult to practice it. The seeds of the Iron-Armoured Willow Tree were basically worthless. These days, every time the Arena map opened, Ye Chen would plant a Durian Bomb Tree and an Iron-Armoured Willow Tree. Of course, the Iron-armoured Willow Tree was grown with regular seeds. But after thousands of battles, the power of the Armoured Willow skill had only been increased by 50%. That was to say, if he wanted to upgrade the level of his Iron-Armoured Willow skill, it had to be used at least thousands of times!


    Compared with this, the Durian Bomb Tree skill was outstanding. After Ye Chen began to use regular seeds to plant the Durian Bomb Tree. The Durian Bomb Tree skill proficiency soared rapidly in an outstandingly visual way.


    And in the Arena, no one could interrupt Ye Chen¡¯s legendary winning streak. Although the opponents engaging him in battle rose from Level 20 to Level 22, it made no difference to him. In front of the Durian Bomb Tree and Illusions of Time, those adventurers were still decimated within seconds.


    At two o¡¯clock in the afternoon, Ye Chen had already saved enough Arena points. He exchanged a total of 150 Durian Bomb Tree seeds from Ed, and coupled with the original 50, it was more than enough to upgrade the skill!


    At four o¡¯clock in the afternoon, the Durian Bomb Tree skill was successfully advanced to Level 2 by Ye Chen!


    The Durian Bomb Tree at Level 2 saw its HP soaring from 800 points at Level 1 to 2200 points, which was incredibly powerful!


    After the skill was successfully upgraded, Ye Chen then used the Arena seeds and continued to hunt for Arena points in the Arena. In the afternoon, Ye Chen converted the remaining Arena points into Durian Bomb Tree seeds before going offline to eat.


    In the evening, it was time for four people to meet up to level. After Ye Chen¡¯s Durian Bomb Tree skill was upgraded, it was naturally faster to hunt monsters. Especially when after hunting for nearly an hour, both Durian Bomb Trees were upgraded to Level 3. The Attack and Defense had greatly increased, and the damage range of the explosions has also increased significantly. Its potential for massacring monsters had grown even more horrifying!


    Hence, the four naturally lured over more monsters. From the previous twelve monsters, they had doubled the number all at once and turned it to twenty-four monsters!


    In this way, although the four people have levelled up in the past few days, their actual levelling speed had increased compared to before!


    ¡°After tonight, it¡¯s about time to adjust the hunting area to our level. We¡¯re already acquiring less experience from here.¡±


    Despite this, as the Ice Bears were only Level 22 monsters, seeing as how the levels of several people in the party was Level 23 and 24, it was not suitable to continue staying here.


    Big Snowy Mountain was a very peaceful place. Standing on the mountainside and gazing out into the distance will leave one with a relaxed and happy feeling. Ye Chen and the others were in no hurry to move away from here in the past few days, partially because it was very comfortable to hunt monsters here. But now, it seemed necessary to leave.


    No matter how beautiful the scenery was, it was not as important as levelling. Their levels were simply far too disparate as compared to the advanced adventurers.


    After finishing off a wave of monsters, the few stood on the thick layer of pristine white snow and glanced down the mountain. Distinct feelings of nostalgia could be observed in their eyes.


    This may be the last time they could look down at the scenery below. No one knew whether or not they would return here in the future.


    ¡°Hey, someone is running towards us from below! There seems to be a group of people chasing behind.¡± Dharma¡¯s eyes were as sharp as ever, and he pointed to a small black dot below.


    The little black dot was getting more and more distinct, and he turned out to be a muscular Warrior adventurer. Behind him, seven or eight adventurers were tightly chasing behind, yelling and hollering loudly.


    ¡°Boss, what should we do? The Warrior is heading straight towards us.¡±


    The three of them looked at Ye Chen. Such a matter was naturally left to Ye Chen¡¯s decision.


    ¡°Levelling takes precedence. If you don¡¯t know him, then we can forget about it.¡± Ye Chen didn¡¯t think too much. There were too many cases of killing PKs in the game, and no one could control it. If he didn¡¯t know the other party, then he was too lazy to stick his nose in the other party¡¯s matters.


    But when the Warrior below saw Ye Chen, his eyes lit up, and then he made a beeline for Ye Chen and his party.


    But just as Ye Chen and the others were almost thirty meters away, an Ice-type Mage launched an Ice Arrow, landing solidly on his back. The Warrior¡¯s speed immediately slowed down drastically.


    Desperation flooded the Warrior¡¯s eyes for a while, and then he turned sharply. The big sword in his hand slashed upwards, and a ferocious red light shot towards his pursuers!


    The red light flashed and landed on an Assassin who was approaching him quickly. The Assassin was instantaneously killed!


    However, the Warrior adventurer was only left with a sliver of HP. The adventurers who rushed up from behind the befallen Assassin cast a spell, landing solidly on the Warrior, and the Warrior collapsed to the ground.


    Despite the Warrior¡¯s death, not even a bottle of potion dropped from his body. Obviously, he had used up all the potions on his body. However, when Ye Chen looked at something that the Warrior adventurer dropped, his eyes suddenly froze!


    ¡°Kill those people!¡± Ye Chen decisively gave the order to kill!

 Chapter 57

    Dharma and the others were puzzled by the sudden firm order. They did not know what Ye Chen saw. However, their bodies sprang forward on command, based on their unwavering trust in Ye Chen¡¯s judgment.


    ¡°Boss, those four there are fighting for our loot!¡±


    By the corpse of the Warrior, several were picking up the items that were dropped. One of them saw the movements from Ye Chen¡¯s party in his peripheral vision, cautioning the entire party.


    ¡°Hmph! They¡¯re courting death. Who do they think they are stealing from? Let¡¯s teach them a lesson!¡± The leader of the opposing party was also a Warrior. His eyes scrutinized Ye Chen and the others, scoffing in disbelief.


    Ice Bears were Level 22 monsters. If they were leveling here, the adventurers would most probably be about Level 21. With this fact known, the Warrior Leader had absolute confidence that they would win. His party was about Level 28 to 29, a complete class above their opponent in terms of level and equipment!


    ¡°Kill them, let them have a taste of the prowess of the Dark Phantom Guild!¡± The Warrior waved his hand with a sinister smirk on his face. Immediately, the party raised their weapons with malicious intentions reeking from them.


    However, before they could attack, a meteor shower of arrows rained onto them like a critical blanket of befuddlement.


    ¡°FUCK! Their archer knows AOE attacks!¡± The sneak assault flinched the entire party, setting off a massive chain of panic. A Level 20 and above adventurer who knew AOE skills was definitely no commoner!


    ¡°RUN! RETREAT! NOW!¡± The Warrior Leader wielded his sword frantically, screaming at the top of his lungs. However, the shower mercilessly bulleted onto them with no sign of stopping.


    The loud voice jolted the others out from the paralyzing fear. They pulled themselves together, retreating from the arrow shower. Right as they moved, a peculiar tree sprang up in their center. A torrential downpour of spiked yellow-ish green durians ensued, engulfing them in a series of earth-shaking explosions. The speedier ones were fortunate, escaping with barely half of their life. The less fortunate ones buckled and became one with the snow.


    ¡°WHAT THE FUCK?! Who are these people? Why do they all know AOE skills?!¡± The Warrior Leader could not hold back his tongue any further. There was no reason for these pro adventurers to be at such a low-level training ground!


    ¡°Quickly get revived! Let the Guild send the stronger Adventurers, we must get our items back!¡± Seeing the approaching Ye Chen, the Warrior Leader thundered and brought his party back for the revival.


    ¡°Oh my gosh! Boss, we are so amazing!¡± Seeing the crimson snow and the dead bodies around, Dharma yelped excitedly.


    Their opponent was a complete party, yet they fell under just one skill from him and Ye Chen. That saccharin sweet bliss from the crushing eradication of the opponents was intoxicating!


    ¡°Nah, they¡¯re just too weak.¡± Ye Chen ignored Dharma and walked to the corpses. From the pile of potions, Ye Chen dug out a browning parchment scroll.


    ¡°Hehe, I knew it. It really is this! Lucky, my eyes are sharp!¡± With the scroll in hand, Ye Chen broke into a huge smile.


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± The other three crowded together out of curiosity.


    [No. 7 Ruins Entry Pass: The No.7 Ruins will open soon. Any Party Leader below Level 35 can lead his party into the Ruins for exploration. Days till the Aegda Ruins opens: 10 days 13 hours 33 minutes. The entry pass is a special item, and will be dropped as loot upon death.]


    Even if Dharma and the others were greenhorns in the game, their eyes still lit up uncontrollably at this sight.


    What was the theme of the Boundless World?


    As long as the adventurer had seen the promotional video, they would definitely know. Exploration!


    Blue skies, vast oceans, sprawling plains, towering mountains¡­ Within the Boundless World, there were endless mysteries and excitement, awaiting the adventurers to find out!


    This was not a baseless claim or fake news. The developers had ensured that the most important theme throughout the world was the unfathomable depth of the unknown. Within these unknowns, the most famous of all was the Ancient Ruins!


    Whenever an adventurer successfully explored a Ruin, their Exploration Level would increase by 1. When the Exploration Level was sufficient, they could enter some regions that were inaccessible by other Adventurers. From there, missions that were unavailable to others were unlocked. Within some particular Ruins, they also demanded that the adventurers had a sufficiently high Exploration Level.


    As such, every time the Ruins opened, a massive wave of adrenaline would sweep across the game. Everyone had their eyes set on that one Entry Pass.


    There were many ways to obtain the Entry Pass: killing monsters, killing Bosses, Guild Missions, Professional Missions, or even victories in the Arena. All of the listed activities had chances of obtaining the Entry Passes, and it was all based on luck.


    Additionally, the passes obtained from missions and the Arena were locked to the adventurer, unable to be traded or sold.


    Hence, there were many adventurers with the passes. Yet, the numbers on the trade lobby were scarce. Even if they were listed, they were sold almost instantly.


    Very obviously, the Warrior who got hunted down had got the Entry Pass as a drop item. Unluckily for him, the other adventurers caught wind of it, stalking him down. In the end, it became Ye Chen and his party, who became the unlikely winners.


    ¡°No.7 Ruins¡­ From the numbering, it¡¯s probably a new Ruin. Before we enter, we would not know what is inside. The Level Cap is at 35, we need to speed up our tempo!¡± Holding the Entry Pass, Ye Chen could feel his hands shaking from excitement.


    He had 10 days before the opening of the Ruins. They were now at Level 23 or 24. Reaching at last Level 30 in these 10 days should not be an issue. If they were to pour their entire life into this, Level 33 would not be tough either!


    Even if they were to meet a Level 35 team, they would not be at a disadvantage.


    Moreover, the Ruins Instance Dungeons were considered massive worlds. Not only were the monsters high in EXP, but the adventurers could also find rare equipment. If Lady Luck decided to smile at them, they could make huge profits too!


    ¡°Let¡¯s go. The people who dropped this would definitely be back to find this. We cannot train here anymore, let¡¯s go somewhere of a higher level.¡± Ye Chen got everyone packing to go immediately.


    The others nodded. Purple Olive and the Queen were the speediest. Within an instant, only Ye Chen and Dharma were left.


    Ye Chen¡¯s head tilted slightly as he looked at the motionless Dharma. The latter had not even taken out the Town Return Scroll. Suddenly, Dharma spoke, ¡°Boss, I have kept this question to myself for a long time. Could you quench my curiosity, please?¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡±


    ¡°Boss, I bet you were powerful last time. You spent so much time, but why did you choose to be reborn?¡± This question had been stuck within Dharma¡¯s heart for ages. Now that he had gotten it off his mind, he heaved a deep sigh of relief.


    ¡°To chase after women!¡± Majestically, Ye Chen raised his staff and looked solemnly into the night sky. Loudly, he declared his regal plans.


    ¡°Boss, that¡¯s my dream! You can¡¯t just steal my lines like this!¡± Hearing the declaration, Dharma turned sullen and shouted.


    ¡°HAHA! I¡¯m a man too!¡± Ye Chen burst into a peal of laughter and disappeared from the spot back to the city.


    ¡°Is what Boss said true?¡± Dharma was dumbfounded, standing rooted to the ground. ¡°Impossible! He must be lying to me¡±


    Dharma vigorously shook his head, refusing to believe. When he looked up, he saw that he was all alone and returned to the city in a hurry.

 Chapter 58

    ¡°Next, we will be heading to Aiur Town to level. The monsters in Aiur Town are between Level 28 to 33. Although we have to fight Level 28 monsters and suffer from a slight level suppression, the leapfrogging would garner us more experience, and it¡¯ll definitely be worth the risk. Once we reach there, we won¡¯t have to change the map, and we can level until we meet the requirements for the Ruins.¡± As the four people walked towards the teleportation array in Titan Megacity, Ye Chen introduced the small town of Aiur to the three greenhorns.


    ¡°There are only four people on our team. If we enter the Ruins, won¡¯t we be lacking two people?¡± The Queen of the Night, who had always been a woman of little words, suddenly spoke.


    Although it could be said that entering the Ruins did not require the team to be at full capacity, if there were two more people on the team, their damage output would definitely be better than if they only had four.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m thinking about this issue too. It¡¯s best to enter the Ruins with a full team, but where can we find two trustworthy adventurers of similar strength? This is a question, though. Do you guys know of anyone that fits the criteria?¡± Ye Chen said, feeling a slight headache creeping up when thinking about the issue.


    The four of them had gained a lot of benefits in the previous Restricted Regional-Type Mission. Finding ordinary adventurers just to make up the number did not make any sense. As for recruiting adventurers on the forum, they could indeed recruit skilled adventurers, but whether they could be trusted or not remained unknown. If a supreme item were to pop out, the recruited member might stab them in their backs. That would truly be a tragedy.


    ¡°If we¡¯re talking about candidates, I do have someone in mind. His Profession is an Archer, however, so I¡¯m not sure if it will work,¡± the Queen of the Night heard Ye Chen¡¯s concerns and said quietly.


    The fact that the Queen of the Night actually knew other adventurers surprised Ye Chen and others a little.


    According to the nature of the Queen of the Night, all three of them thought that, other than them, the Queen of the Night might not know anyone else.


    ¡°Of course, there¡¯s no issue. It doesn¡¯t matter if his strength is lower than ours. The most important thing is that we can trust his character.¡±


    ¡°Well, I¡¯ll contact him and see.¡± The Queen of the Night nodded in agreement.


    ¡°Boss, I have a candidate in mind too¡­¡± Just as the Queen of the Night finished her sentence, Dharma gingerly raised his hand.


    ¡­


    ¡°Haha, isn¡¯t this the monk? Why did you call me over?¡± The four of them waited for about ten minutes outside the teleportation array before seeing a hearty and robust Warrior emerging from the teleportation array. After seeing Dharma, the Warrior walked over while letting out a burst of boisterous laughter.


    ¡°Stupid Cannon, call me a monk again, and I will bring you down with me!¡± Dharma glared at the newcomer angrily.


    ¡°Haha, your username is Dharmic Master Summum Bonum, and you still won¡¯t admit to being a monk? Wasn¡¯t it because you want someone to call you a monk, hence you chose such a weird name?¡± Cannon made a face of bewilderment.


    ¡°Boss, this bastard is called Cannon, one of my friends in real-life. His strength is just so-so.¡± Dharma capitulated and bitterly introduced Cannon to Ye Chen and the others while revealing a bitter expression on his face.


    Ye Chen witnessed the interactions between the two and finally knew why Dharma was reluctant to call Cannon over.


    ¡°Fuck me! Dharma, you are so awesome, now I know why your level is so high. There are actually so beautiful teammates on your team! Why didn¡¯t you introduce them to me earlier?!¡±


    When Cannon received a message from this friend of his, he was shocked to find that Dharma, who had initially been one level lower than him, was now a level above him! Not only that, but the two beauties in the team were also really eye-catching!


    When Dharma heard Cannon¡¯s words, he immediately sunk into depression. Cannon was excellent in every way, just that he was a little too flippant. His rank had already been higher than that of Cannon a long time ago, but this guy had not discovered it until now.


    ¡°The Botanist is the captain of your team? Is he skilled?¡± Cannon glanced at Ye Chen, then asked in a private chat with Dharma.


    ¡°Who do you think you¡¯re talking about? He¡¯s MY Boss, so naturally, that shows how awesome he is! He can even kill you with one shot!¡± Dharma¡¯s spirit was revitalized, and he proudly laughed.


    ¡°Kill me in one shot? Stop boasting! Even if you had been abused by me too many times, that doesn¡¯t mean you have to recognize a boss casually and even use him to oppress me, little monk.¡± Cannon was obviously disbelieving of Dharma¡¯s words. After all, how awesome could a Botanist be?


    ¡°Call me a monk again, and I will fight you to the end!¡± Dharma furiously shouted at Cannon.


    ¡°Alright, I won¡¯t call you a monk anymore. By the way, monk, why did you ask me to come here? Hurry up and spill it, I still have something else to do.¡± Cannon nodded and carried on, totally forgetting the promise he just made. As for Dharma, he just felt like wilting in some corner, unable to even muster the energy to argue back.


    ¡°Obviously, I asked you to come here to share some benefits with you! We have a ticket for Aegda Ruin and are missing some members? Are you coming or not, hurry up and tell me if you don¡¯t want to come!¡± However, Dharma quickly explained the intention behind calling Cannon over.


    ¡°An admission ticket to the Ruins? Only a fool wouldn¡¯t go! I¡¯ll talk to the other team and tell them to ignore me in the near future.¡± Cannon immediately rolled his eyes and threw shade at the IQ of Dharma. When Dharma saw him doing that, he regretted his decision. He really shouldn¡¯t have called this guy over!


    After a while, another Archer appeared.


    The archer was contacted by the Queen of the Night. The name was Nameless Archer. According to the Queen of the Night, Nameless Archer had initially thought of a username called ¡°Nameless.¡± Unfortunately, the game servers had been open for too long, and someone else had taken that name. Hence he could only add another word behind.


    Afterward, everyone just referred to him as Nameless, which was what he preferred. This Nameless character was a bit reticent just like the Queen of the Night and seemed to be a lone wolf. He was Level 23, and he merely nodded when he saw the crowd, not saying anything else afterward.


    ¡°So that¡¯s how things are. In the period leading up to the event, other than free activities in the morning, we will be leveling together and practice our tacit understanding at the same time. Do you have any questions?¡± Ye Chen concisely explained the plan to the two new teammates.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± Cannon replied loudly.


    ¡°I¡¯m okay with it as well.¡± Nameless nodded in agreement.


    ¡°Well, now let¡¯s head for Aiur Town to level!¡±


    ¡­


    As for Aiur Town, no one knew the town as well as Ye Chen. Ye Chen took the team to an unpopulated Level 28 monster refresh point and officially started to level!


    When leveling, Ye Chen paid a little more attention to the two newly recruited members, and found that the strength of the two was indeed excellent!


    Nameless had two more skills than the average adventurer, one of them was the Explosive Arrow. The attack power of Explosive Arrow was dominating and even came with a homing ability. After striking the target, there was even a chance to knock back the target, making it one of the best PK skills that could be used at lower levels!


    Apart from Explosive Arrow, Nameless also knew Refraction Arrow!


    Refraction Arrow was also an incredibly rare skill. To some extent, Refraction Arrow was also an AOE skill.


    When using the Refraction Arrow skill, after hitting the first target, the Refraction Arrow will have a chance to refract from the target to nearby enemies. If the level of the skill was high, the probability and number of refractions would increase exponentially. Moreover, according to the skill level, each time it was refracted, the attack power of the Arrow will increase by a degree. If one was lucky, the Arrow would exhibit a terrifying power!


    As for Cannon, although his level was not high, he had learned the skills of Charge, Quake, and Sweep. The Charge skill allowed the Warrior to traverse a distance of several meters in an instant. Quake could cause the enemies within the skill range to enter a dizzy state, while greatly reducing their attack and movement speed, and Sweep was a melee-type ranged skill. The synergistic combination of these three skills would demonstrate an incredible might in close combat, which would make up for the team¡¯s lack of melee attackers.


    Ye Chen was more than satisfied with the strength of the two new teammates. As for Nameless and Cannon, after observing Ye Chen for a while, both of them revealed visible shock in their eyes.


    The two would never have thought that amongst the low-level adventurers, there would exist such a monstrous Botanist! Especially for Cannon, he could not help thinking back to Dharma¡¯s words. Just the attack power of the Durian Bomb Tree alone was enough to absolutely decimate them. This was absolutely not a lie!


    The team capacity was maxed out. Other than the Priest, everyone was capable of dishing out some serious damage. With this line-up, it was difficult for their leveling to not proceed rapidly, even if they didn¡¯t want to!


    Although the monsters were several levels higher than them, under the horrifying output of the six people, killing the monsters was as easy as chopping melons and vegetables.


    With them maintaining the monstrous leveling speed, three days passed in a flash.


    Over the past three days, Ye Chen and the others all acted separately in the morning. They either completed missions or messed around in the Arena. In the afternoon and evening, they would go on a frenzied leveling spree. After three days, the levels of several people skyrocketed to Level 27, and their rate of advancement was literally defying the heavens!


    During these three days, the forum heated up due to rumors about the No. 7 Ruins. Many people were discussing how to get their hands on the tickets. Many people who were willing to spend a sky-high price to purchase the tickets were also present in the forums.


    It was a pity that tradable tickets dropped by monsters only accounted for a small minority. Most adventurers who got their hands on such tickets were unwilling to sell them. If they sold the tickets at too high a price, no one would want them. After all, it was just an admission ticket. There was no guarantee of what one could get inside. If one was unlucky, one might even get wiped the moment one stepped in.


    Amidst the fiery commotion caused by the Ruins¡¯ appearance, three days passed, and the six members of Ye Chen¡¯s team had all hit Level 30!


    There were still four days before the Ruins opened. If the six put in a little more effort, hitting Level 33 would definitely not be a problem at all!


    He finally reached Level 30! Ye Chen looked at the value that had just risen and felt a little emotional in his heart.


    When he returned to Aiur Town later, he could, at last, inherit the Reputation and Achievement points of his previous character. He could once again take up the mission ¡°Stone of Eternity¡± and immediately get the epic item ¡°Stone of Eternity¡±!


    Thinking of this, Ye Chen couldn¡¯t help but feel a wave of fervent excitement sweeping through his heart! But it was still early, and Ye Chen was not in a hurry.


    ¡°Boss, I remember you haven¡¯t chosen a Professional Mentor yet. Would you still receive experience now?¡± Dharma asked concernedly at this time.


    ¡°I can still accumulate experience, but I won¡¯t be able to level up when it¡¯s full. I¡¯ll have to take some time during the day to complete some missions.¡± Ye Chen should have looked for that awesome Botanical master, but these days everyone had been leveling together, and time had been very tight. However, now it reached the point where doing so was necessary. Otherwise, he could no longer raise his level.


    ¡°Oh, all right then.¡± Dharma nodded, and the others continued to level.


    ¡°It really is you, Ye Chen! After disappearing for a few years, what did you come running back? Won¡¯t it be better for everyone if you just vanished forever?¡± Just as it was about time for them to go offline, a sneering voice suddenly appeared from nearby.


    ¡°Who is it?!¡± Cannon immediately launched Sweep at the origin of the voice!


    A giant MISS appeared, but a young Assassin adorned with dazzling equipment from head to toe quietly emerged from the air.


    ¡°Sk-Sky Ruinance Mythical Set!¡± Cannon glanced at the assassin¡¯s body of dazzling equipment, and his pupils shrank, murmuring incoherently to himself.


    Sky Ruinance Mythical Set, a Level 120 Mythical set, only obtainable from the Ancient Sky Ruins! Cannon had only caught a glimpse of its pictures on the forum, and it was said that no one on the forums had ever acquired the entire set. But right in front of his eyes, there was living evidence disproving that fact, and he was even clad in the entire Mythical set!

 Chapter 59

    Within the Boundless World, the equipment had several tiers. In order, they were classified into White, Bronze, Black Iron, Gold, Legendary, Mythical, and Epic. Throughout the five years of the game, only 21 Epic Equipment had appeared in the Oriental Region. Moreover, every time it spawned, the system would alert the entire region of its appearance. With every new Epic Equipment, a raging inferno of commotion would sweep across.


    Hence, in the eyes of the conventional adventurers, Mythical Equipment was already top-notch. If anyone could lay their hands upon a Legendary Equipment set, coupled with just one piece of Mythical Equipment, the eyes of surrounding Adventurers would turn green with envy.


    Yet, this man in front of the party now had an entire set of the Sky Ruinance Mythical Set!


    The Assassin turned to Ye Chen while the others were still dumbstruck by his overwhelmingly powerful equipment. He coldly laughed. ¡°Hahaha, I was so confused when the Warring Dragon Guild canceled the Guild Warrant on a few low-leveled adventurers, so I came on a search. Looks like the poor fella is you! You can change your appearance, but that gaze in your eyes can¡¯t escape!¡±


    ¡°Chen Feng, are you here to show off your Mythical Equipment? It¡¯s been years since we met, and you are as useless as ever!¡± Looking at the Assassin, Ye Chen mocked without holding back.


    ¡°Hmph! What else can you do other than these toxic words? Take a look at yourself in the mirror! Level 30, a full set of trash equipment, how pathetic! I¡¯m impressed you dare to walk out with this putrid look!¡± Chen Feng scrutinized Ye Chen, sniggering condescendingly.


    ¡°No matter how pathetic I may look, I¡¯m confident that I am at least a thousand times stronger than you are. Just wait and see, I will skin that Mythical Equipment off you one by one.¡± Despite the dominating presence of a top-tier adventurer, Ye Chen was not swayed a single bit.


    ¡°Hmph! Ye Chen, those demeaning eyes of yours never change! Four years ago, you looked at me like trash. Now, it remains the same! But, you better be careful, I am not the same as four years back. In these three years, I have been grinding my skills every day. No one can beat me! Not even you! Alas, now that I¡¯m stronger, you have become a stray puppy. Not even worthy of my revenge!¡± A hint of mania streaked across Chen Feng¡¯s eyes. The tone of his words reeked of a pungent hatred, his eyes were flaming, fueled by his immense feud with Ye Chen.


    ¡°Hehe, is that so? Dare I ask, how powerful are you now? Without your brother, can you take the Warring Dragon Guild off my hands? Without the Warring Dragon Guild that I built, can you get this Mythical Equipment by yourself? Without the Warring Dragon Guild that I built, will you even have half of the power and influence you have now? Without the Warring Dragon Guild that I built, will you be even fit to flaunt those baseless strengths in front of me?¡±


    ¡°I¡­!¡± The rapid chain of ice-cold rebuttals pierced straight at Chen Feng¡¯s heart. To all of these questions, he did not have a single answer.


    On the sidelines, Ye Chen¡¯s words left the entire party in a daze. They knew Ye Chen was a powerful adventurer before his rebirth. However, they had never expected that the top guild in the game, the Warring Dragon Guild, had its foundation laid by this man beside them!


    Concerning the founder of this mighty guild, several adventurers had tried to excavate from the information. Alas, it had always remained a mystery. Moreover, the Warring Dragon Guild had never publicly announced the name of its founder.


    The Warring Dragon Guild had started off as an inconspicuous and humble guild, clawing their way up to the pinnacle. Their data before fame, original members and founders, were unknown to the masses. Other than a part of the top executives, the other founding members were never mentioned and kept out of public knowledge.


    Who would have thought that such a tightly sealed secret would be blurted out at this time and place?! With the sudden revelation, Canon and the others could feel their eyes widen, and jaws drop. They stared at Ye Chen and Chen Feng, struggling to make sense of this sight and fact.


    While they had a thousand questions looming in their minds, they knew better than to ask now.


    These two men were staring daggers, emanating a malicious and sharp aura, keeping anyone from opening their mouths, or even inching a tad bit closer.


    ¡°The biggest strength in the game is numbers. Not using the resources at hand would be the most idiotic thing. I got this equipment with my ability to lead, they are tangible proof of my skills. What¡¯s more, even if I can¡¯t get it alone, what makes you think that you can?¡± Frigidly, Chen Feng objected.


    ¡°Of course, I can. This time, I¡¯ve come to take back what belongs to me! Even if I can¡¯t take it back, I will tear down what I¡¯ve built up with my bare hands.¡± With one firm step forward, Ye Chen¡¯s frost-filled gaze stared deep into Chen Feng¡¯s soul. It was a blatant declaration of war!


    Ye Chen¡¯s words drew a momentary silence from Chen Feng. Then, suddenly, he burst into a peal of maniacal laughter. His eyes narrowed into Ye Chen, as his lips curled into a small contemptuous grin. ¡°This must be the joke of the century!¡± Chen Feng said curtly, ¡°Come, show me how you will destroy the Warring Dragon Guild! In these three years, the Warring Dragon Guild had earned an uncountable sum of money for us brothers! But it¡¯s alright. For you, I will even bomb half of all of this money. I hope you still remember, ¡®Houseflies¡¯. Now, they are much more challenging to deal with than before!¡±


    Chen Feng¡¯s mortifying gaze swept across the others, and he snorted. He left them in cold, suffocating silence as he disappeared from the area.


    The deafening silence ensued as the others knew not how to react. Finally, Dharma stood forward, muttering in concern, ¡°Boss¡­¡±


    Ye Chen waved his hand indifferently. ¡°Let¡¯s return to Aiur Town first.¡± This place was no longer safe. If they were anywhere else, Chen Feng would have already reduced them to dust!


    ¡­


    ¡°I know you all have 1001 questions to ask. No worries, I will fill you all on it. I promise, no cliffhangers.¡± Ye Chen looked at the curious and concerned faces and attempted the best smile he could put up.


    In the previous confrontation, even the Queen¡¯s interest had been piqued. After all, this was some astronomical gossip-worthy rumor!


    Hearing how Ye Chen had seen through them like glass, their eyes averted his gaze, laughing awkwardly under their breaths. Still, they were worried Ye Chen would avoid this topic, leaving them craving for more eternally.


    ¡°It is actually a toxic yet straightforward process. Five years ago, I entered this game when it first started with a bunch of pro gamers. We founded the Warring Dragon Guild together. Since the six of us were all professionals, developing a guild was simple, even more so at the beginning of the game. The Warring Dragon Guild progressed swiftly, attracting tons of other adventurers. It was also then that Chen Feng joined in with his brother.¡±


    ¡°At that time, the guild was in full swing, its strength inflated out of control. With our inability to run, financial problems soon crept through the entire organization. If this problem was not quickly settled, the Guild would undoubtedly develop slower and even face a coup. At that time, Chen Feng and his brother stood out. They were from a businessman family. They made it clear to us and offered us an investment contract. At that time, we were getting along well and still too young. We had poured our lives into the game, and our naive mindset clouded our judgments, failing to see the abyssal trap hidden in the offer.¡±


    ¡°Chen Feng and the others silently held the contract, watching from the shadows. Only when the Warring Dragon Guild became the top guild, they suddenly stood out and sneaked a fatal strike on us all. According to a hidden clause, the Warring Dragon Guild had become their property. We even lost the characters that we played. Then, we only had three choices, stay and work for them, or leave the game forever. Of course, there was a very last resort. To delete the account and start again from scratch.¡±


    As Ye Chen spoke, beautiful memories surfaced one after another, and also the blooding boiling betrayal and coup. If not for the traitors, Chen Feng and his brother, his circumstances would have been vastly different.


    A pin-drop silence closed in on all of them as Ye Chen spoke. They had never thought that the top Guild would have such a dark past hidden behind the glamorous front.


    ¡°That¡¯s the entire history. As for the details, there is no point in talking about it. Alright, wait for me a bit.¡± Ye Chen only took them through a highly summarised version of his past, not intending to delve any deeper. After which, he headed to the vaults, and returned quickly.


    ¡°This is the entry pass to the Ruins. Take this as my last gift to all of you.¡± Ye Chen handed the precious item to the entire party.


    ¡°What is the meaning of this? You are planning to give up on us?¡± Suddenly, the silence shattered. Searing rage erupted from Purple Olive as she snapped.


    ¡°Kind of. Bringing all of you along is too risky. A party size that is this big attracts too much attention. Not only that, the Houseflies¡¯ are not ordinary people. All of you are not strong enough. You will become huge baggage that I need to carry. It¡¯s better to split early before it¡¯s too late.¡±


    Heartlessly, Ye Chen nodded. He knew Chen Feng too well. This man was narrow-minded and petty. He had immense self-inferiority and would hide the smallest of dissatisfaction for ages. He could make Mount Everest out of a molehill, using a sledgehammer to fight an ant. If it was an ordinary Guild Kill Warrant, Ye Chen could still bring the others along. Alas, now that Chen Feng had recognized him, things would not be so simple.


    The Houseflies were not as simple as Chen Feng made them sound. They were not the everyday adventurers within the Guild. They were worse than mercenaries, not just killing the adventurers, but plaguing them like leeches. Like a housefly, endlessly swarming around the victim. Their highly despicable actions had earned them the infamous title of ¡°Houseflies¡±.


    Trying to find the location of an adventurer in the game was not difficult. With Dharma and the others following him, Ye Chen would only become more prominent and traceable. In this situation, leveling would become practically impossible. Moreover, their relationship was not yet at the unbreakable stage. However, with more time, things would get even uglier.


    In light of all of these considerations, cutting it off now was the best course of action. Ye Chen had initially planned to go about this task alone. Now, he was just reverting to the initial plan.


    ¡°All right, that¡¯s that. Go into the Ruins together. WIth your current strength, you all will definitely get rewards as long as you are careful. Let¡¯s not contact each other unless absolutely necessary in the future. Hm, also, the Warring Dragon Guild will definitely find trouble for all of you. Bear with it, it will pass after some time.¡± After he spoke his last words, Ye Chen gripped a scroll in his hand and disappeared without any further explanation.


    ¡°Did he really leave like this? I misjudged you, bastard!¡± At sight, Purple Olive exploded, cursing at the empty spot where Ye Chen used to be.


    ¡°He didn¡¯t want to get us involved.¡± The Queen softly sighed as she shook her lowered head.


    ¡­


    Titan Megacity, in front of an old building.


    This place was helmed by the archaeologist Conrad. Some strange and ancient objects found in the game could be exchanged with him for some peculiar things. The mission, Stone of Eternity, was also received here at Level 30 from him.

 Chapter 60

    When he stepped into the dark hall, Ye Chen quickly walked to an old man with white hair and black glasses. He was the archaeologist, Conrad.


    ¡°Mr. Conrad, I heard that you have developed a technique to restore the Stone of Eternity. I wonder if this is the case?¡±


    Conrad was flipping through a thick archaeological codex. When Ye Chen came in, he didn¡¯t distract Conrad from his readings. However, when Ye Chen mentioned the restoration technique of the Stone of Eternity, Conrad immediately revealed a flash of excitement in his cloudy yellow eyes!


    ¡°Yes! I have been studying the Stone Of Eternity for decades. In the past days, I have finally achieved an unprecedented breakthrough. As long as I have sufficient fragments of the Stone of Eternity, I am confident of restoring the complete Stone!¡± Conrad wildly waved the codex in his hand, and excitedly cried out.


    ¡°Mr. Conrad, I am also curious about the Stone of Eternity. Maybe I would be able to find a sufficient number of fragments.¡±


    ¡°No, no, young man, you don¡¯t understand. The fragments of the Stone of Eternity can only be obtained from the Undead Angels in the Ruins of the Angels. Moreover, there¡¯s only a minuscule chance of it happening. After so many years, I have gotten my hands on a few dozen pieces. But if you want to restore the Stone of Eternity, you would need at least hundreds or thousands of pieces, but that¡¯s simply impossible to achieve!¡± Conrad heard Ye Chen¡¯s words, but the light in his eyes dimmed, and he shook his head, sighing disappointedly.


    ¡°Mr. Conrad, I wonder if 999 fragments would be enough?¡± Ye Chen suddenly thought, and he asked Conrad with a smile.


    According to standard procedure, Ye Chen had to continue grilling Conrad before Conrad would reluctantly tell him that to restore a piece of Stone of Eternity, 999 fragments were required. Conrad would then reluctantly issue a mission to gather the fragments.


    However, Ye Chen did not follow the normal flow of events and directly played the cards in his hands. He instantly poured out 999 fragments of the Stone of Eternity, which were shining with a dark red light from his backpack, piling up into a tiny mountain in front of Conrad!


    ¡°This¡­ This¡­¡± Conrad was stunned by looking at the heap of numerous Stone of Eternity Fragments, and he grew a little incoherent. ¡°It¡­ It really is the Stone of Eternity fragments, and in such abundance as well!¡±


    ¡°Young adventurer¡­ No, Mr. Page of Lingering Dust, I beseech you to entrust me with these Stone of Eternity fragments! I will definitely help you restore a complete piece of the Stone of Eternity!¡± Conrad tugged Ye Chen¡¯s clothes corner excitedly, even changing the title of address for Ye Chen!


    ¡°But, Mr. Conrad, I heard that Mr. Shaerna in Drywood City also seems to possess the skills to restore the Stone of Eternity. Furthermore, I heard that his skills are slightly better than yours.¡± Ye Chen revealed a look of conflict on his face, as though stuck in a dilemma.


    In addition to the Titan Megacity, there was another venue to do so when accepting the mission for the Stone of Eternity. It was Drywood City, which was suitable for adventurers below Level 60. Another NPC in the city, Shaerna, was an NPC with the same function as Conrad.


    ¡°Don¡¯t mention that Shaerna bastard! That guy plagiarized from me! His technique of restoring the Stone of Eternity can¡¯t be comparable to me!¡± When Ye Chen brought up the name Shaerna, Conrad immediately flew into a rage.


    ¡°Oh, how about this? I have a small tool here, which is very useful for you adventurers.¡± Conrad suddenly remembered that these adventurers were very greedy creatures. He rolled his eyes and handed a small piece of old lens to Ye Chen.


    Ye Chen was pleased and accepted it.


    [Archaeologist¡¯s Lens: When you detect irregularities in your surroundings, using this lens may bring about unexpected gains. Taking a glimpse through this lens may allow you to figure out the purpose of mysterious objects if you get something beyond your understanding. Unique Item, can only be used once a day.]


    What a weird mirror. Ye Chen didn¡¯t know what the lens was really used for. Still, from Ye Chen¡¯s experience, he knew that if he were to continue to negotiate, there was a high chance of Conrad falling out with him. Hence, Ye Chen decided to be satisfied with what he had.


    ¡°Well, then I¡¯ll be troubling Mr. Conrad. How long will it take to restore the Stone of Eternity?¡±


    ¡°Six hours, you can come to find me after six hours! I promise to give you a whole Stone of Eternity!¡±


    Conrad patted his chest and promised solemnly, and stowed away the massive pile of Stone of Eternity fragments. Leaving Ye Chen behind, he quickly ran into the room behind the hall.


    Ye Chen had been coming here for more than three years. Thus he was naturally not in a hurry to wait six more hours. Moreover, he still had many things to attend to.


    A few minutes later, Ye Chen appeared again in the small town of Aiur. Dharma and others had long disappeared from the Aiur Central Square, and Ye Chen could only let out a soft sigh.


    As the founder of the Dragon War Guild, he was very clear that if he were to continue to be with Dharma and the others, it would be putting all of them in harm¡¯s way. Shaking his head, Ye Chen threw aside his thoughts about the issue and walked to Adolf¡¯s position.


    ¡°Mr. Adolf, I am Page of Lingering Dust. I¡¯m here to retrieve the attributes of my previous character.¡±


    The surroundings of Mr. Adolf were as empty as ever. Only when Ye Chen walked over and initiated a conversation before Adolf raised his head in response.


    ¡°Oh, it turns out to be you. I didn¡¯t expect you to reach Level 30 so quickly. Well, these are the Reputation and Achievement points of your previous character. Please confirm if there are any mistakes.¡± Mr. Adolf glanced at Ye Chen and nodded slightly.


    [System Notice: You have inherited the reputation of a previous character, gaining 3640 Reputation! Current Total Reputation: 3760!]


    [System Notice: You have inherited the Achievement points of a previous character and obtained 364 Achievement points! Current Total Achievement points: 386!]


    [System Notice: You have inherited the skill proficiency of the Secondary Profession Landscaper from a previous character. The next time you harvest a crop, all the skill proficiency will be obtained at once!]


    ¡°Thank you, Mr. Adolf, there are no mistakes.¡± Ye Chen knew that there was no possibility of the system going wrong.


    More than three thousand Reputation and over three hundred Achievement points. These were all the rewards that Ye Chen had achieved from being the first to clear the weekly refresh of the Instance dungeon over the past three years. In the past three years, the weekly first clear of the Instance Dungeon Ruins of the Angels had practically been monopolized by him!


    ¡°That¡¯s good. When you grow tired of your current character, you are welcome to come again.¡± Mr. Adolf chuckled.


    ¡°I will never come back again.¡± Ye Chen smiled slightly.


    The Reputation and Attribute inheritance was completed. Next, Ye Chen returned to the Titan Megacity and reached the system Guild Hall.


    ¡°Miss Nora, I would like to establish a guild.¡±


    ¡°It takes 300 gold coins to create a guild¡­ Ah, Esteemed Mr. Dust, because your Reputation exceeds 1000, you can create a guild for free, please fill out this registration form.¡±


    The beautiful NPC had initially adopted a business-like appearance, but the Reputation value played a role this time. The beautiful NPC quickly brought over a form for him to fill in.


    Ye Chen was naturally familiar with this piece of document. He grabbed the pen by the side, filing it up in an instant, and handed it back to the beautiful NPC.


    ¡°Guild Name: Dragon Slayer¡­ Okay, congratulations, your guild has been successfully established, and you are now the Guild Leader!¡± The beautiful NPC congratulated, but when she looked up, Ye Chen had already walked out of the gates of the Guild Hall.


    This time, Ye Chen arrived at the Consulate of the City Hall.


    ¡°Admiral, I would like to spend some Achievement points and purchase some items from you.¡± Ye Chen adopted a no-nonsense attitude, directly stating his demands as he passed through the door.


    ¡°Welcome. Please take a look at our merchandise and see if there¡¯s anything you need?¡± The consul smiled politely, and a list of goods immediately appeared in front of Ye Chen.


    The items on this list were not available in ordinary stores. They could only be purchased at the consul using Achievement points.


    Ye Chen quickly scrolled down a few pages and selected several items in the Skill Books column.


    ¡°I want to buy the three Botanist Skill Books of Huayu Grass, Duckweed, and Lucky Beauty Flower. I also need 100 of Huayu Grass and Duckweed seeds, as well as 50 Lucky Beauty Flower seeds.¡±


    ¡°Thirty Achievement points for each Skill Book of Huayu Grass and Duckweed. Fifty Achievement points for the Lucky Beauty Flower Skill Book. Also, 1 Achievement point for the 100 Huayu Grass Seeds, 1 Achievement point for 100 Duckweed seeds, 1 Achievement point for 50 Lucky Beauty Flower seeds. A total of 113 Achievement points are required!¡± The consul nodded and took out the few items from the counter beside him.


    [System Notice: You spent 113 Achievement points and purchased ¡°Planting: Huayu Grass¡±, ¡°Planting: Duckweed¡±, ¡°Planting: Lucky Beauty Flower¡±, 100 Chrysanthemum Seeds, 100 Duckweed Seeds, and 50 Lucky Beauty Flower seeds! Achievement points left: 273!]