"We've already taken too much. You used up a lot of Flash Powder and scrolls during that fight, didn't you? I'm sure they weren't cheap. So here, these Fortune Gems should go to you as well," Sleepy Fox said. He already felt extremely satisfied after obtaining the Dark Gold Fighter's chestplate, so he didn't mind passing on the Fortune Gems since they weren't worth much in comparison.
Nie Yan thought for a moment and said, "If you insist, then it would be rude of me to refuse," before accepting the Fortune Gems. After all, although he already had a few in his possession, he could always use more to upgrade his gear.
"Sosil Valley opens tomorrow. Do you want to run it together?" asked Sleepy Fox as he looked at Nie Yan.
Nie Yan shook his head and replied, "No, I'm not really interested right now, but we'll see in the future."
"Ah, alright then..." Since Nie Yan wasn't willing, Sleepy Fox couldn't really force him. Thus, all he could do was sigh and lament over the fact that he couldn't bring such an exceptional Thief with him to the new dungeon.
With the new dungeon opening, Nie Yan definitely didn't want to attract too much attention to himself. Otherwise, he might really end up arousing the suspicion of others. They would wonder if he was a Game Master. How else would he already know how to beat a new dungeon that just opened?
Having completed the dungeon, Nie Yan led Sleepy Fox and the rest of the team back to Nate by taking a shortcut through some thickets.
When they arrived back at the mayor's residence, Nie Yan entered the mansion by himself, and as he stepped into the mayor's room, a cutscene began playing.
「You hand over the King Manticore's Eyes to one of the town's residents, Ross, who in turn cries out in surprise and elation. "Oh thank the heavens! This is too unbelievable! Are these really the King Manticore's Eyes? The mayor can be saved!" Ross takes the King Manticore's Eyes and grinds them into a fine powder before feeding it to the mayor, alleviating the poison in his body. You have earned the respect of Nate's inhabitants.」
「System: The Influence of all team members in Nate has increased by 6.」
「System: For your contribution in the team, you have earned 2,200 Reward Points.」
「System: Holy Empire has earned 3,300 Honour.」
「System: You have received 23,000 experience points and 12 silvers.」
Specialist dungeons always gave out generous rewards. The A.I. system in the game would evaluate each member's performance during the run and distribute their rewards accordingly. Although Nie Yan's contribution was undoubtedly the highest among the team, the other members received ample compensation as well.
Nie Yan glanced at his experience bar, Level 7 and forty-one percent of the way filled, and he couldn't help but exclaim in admiration, "I'm levelling so quickly!" He would soon surpass Sleepy Fox, who after receiving the quest rewards was merely at sixty-two percent.
There were still thirty minutes until the servers shut down. Since Nie Yan wanted to get a few things done before then, he quickly traded two Flash Powders to Sleepy Fox for a silver each and said, "Alright, I'll be taking my leave first then."
"Alright, let's contact each other some other time. Oh, wait! Other than the Flash Powder, do you have anymore of those Sheep Transformation Scrolls and Web Scrolls? If so, would you be willing to sell some to me?" Sleepy Fox asked.
"Sorry, I don't have any more on me, but I can mail you some when I resupply. It's fine if you just give me three silver per scroll," Nie Yan replied.
Nie Yan certainly didn't plan on selling these scrolls for such a low price when listing them on the marketplace.
"Deal!" Sleepy Fox readily agreed. Sheep Transformation Scrolls and Web Scrolls were extremely useful. Let alone three silver per scroll, he would still be willing if it were four or even five silver!
The rewards from this dungeon run were rather decent, especially since Nie Yan was able to obtain the Unknown Transfer Scroll. In his eyes, this was tantamount to receiving a ticket for a free chapter from the Book of Order.
Sleepy Fox was quite puzzled about one thing. Why did Nie Yan seem so uninterested in everything except for the Unknown Transfer Scroll? To the best of his knowledge, the item didn't have much use outside of certain situations. However, as curious as he might be, he knew better than to pry into another person's business.
Finished, the silhouette of Nie Yan's back gradually disappeared within the busy streets.
"Guild Leader, he wasn't willing to join our guild?" Dusk asked. He happened to overhear Nie Yan and Sleepy Fox discussing this topic in private, but he didn't learn about any of the specifics.
"Sigh… no, he wasn't willing. I even offered him a position as an Honorary Officer in the guild too. It was a role with minimum restrictions yet he still declined. He probably thinks our little temple is too small to host a deity like him! Ahh, what a pity...! I wonder how high he'll be able to climb in the future." Sleepy Fox's expression turned serious. "We definitely shouldn't make an enemy out of him."
"Yeah, it is a pity," Dusk sighed in agreement. If a player like Nie Yan were to join their guild, their influence and achievements would undoubtedly soar to new heights.
Flying Stone, who happened to be standing nearby, was left dumbstruck when he eavesdropped on their conversation. Sleepy Fox was actually willing to make him an Honorary Officer in Holy Empire? It must be understood, this was actually one of the highest ranking positions in the guild which only answered to the Guild Leader, yet Nie Yan was surprisingly uninterested! He couldn't help but feel a sense of great pity for Nie Yan. Truthfully, when speaking for himself, he didn't have any high aspirations in terms of climbing the guild's ladder. He felt membership as an Honorary Officer in Holy Empire was already quite terrific.
Seven Nights also happened to overhear the conversation, and he inwardly sighed. Now this was truly a Thief at the pinnacle. Just how long would it take for him to finally reach Nie Yan's level where the guild leader would attach such importance to him?
Nie Yan on the other hand certainly didn't feel a great sense of loss over passing up the opportunity. He casually passed through Nate's transfer point and teleported back to Calore where he proceeded to Trembling Milo's House to purchase twenty-six pouches of Flash Powder, thirty Web Scrolls, and thirty Sheep Transformation Scrolls. Finished acquiring merchandise, he sent a few of each to Sleepy Fox through the mail, then continued to the auction house.
There were quite a few players still roaming around the auction house, so he started looking around for a spot. Scanning the area, he finally found one and sat down, but only a moment later, he suddenly received a call.
「Nie Yan! It's me, Yao Yao[1]. Where are you right now?」She happened to notice Nie Yan was currently in Calore on her friends list, which was why she called him and asked.
「I'm in the auction house.」
「Ah! What a surprise~ I'm there as well! ...Wait, I see you! I'm right over here! Come over and meet me.」Yao Yao had stood up and began looking around. Eventually, her eyes came across Nie Yan who happened to be sitting by a corner. She began jumping up and down, waving for him to come over.
Yao Yao resembled a snow lotus in bloom in her pure white robes. Her sweet, pleasant smile was able to put any man's heart at ease.
Such a cheerful, beautiful young lady couldn't help but attract the attention of onlookers. The surrounding crowd completely froze in place as they were rendered dumbstruck by her brilliant smile.
Noticing the peculiar gazes of the crowd, Yao Yao finally realized how much attention she was attracting. In response, she stuck out her tongue at Nie Yan and hastily sat back down.
Nie Yan couldn't help but force out a wry smile when such a scene played out before him. He got up from his corner and began walking over to Yao Yao.
When he finally reached her side, he noticed that sitting next to her were two other girls, both around nineteen years old. One of the two was an Elementalist, and her appearance could be considered beautiful. She wore heavy makeup, revealing robes, and radiated a somewhat seductive charm. Nie Yan, however, didn't find these types of girls particularly attractive. The other girl was a Priest who resembled a pretty daughter from a humble background. Her lovely appearance gave the impression that she was naturally agreeable and pleasant, the kind who would leave others with a good opinion after a single glance.
Nie Yan activated Transcendent Insight. The Elementalist was named Feiyun Liushui (Humble Charm of Flowing Water) while the Priest was named Moon Child.
When he sat down with Yao Yao and the girls, Nie Yan sensed the jealous gazes filled with murderous intent of the players in the crowd piercing through his back, so he couldn't help but bitterly smile. There was an expression known as femme fatale; this was an example of such.
"These two are my classmates. She's called Feiyun, and this is Moon Child. They're extremely beautiful so try not to fall for them~" teased Yao Yao as she pointed at the two girls by her side and introduced them with a coy smile.
"Yao Yao, the only beauty here is you!" Moon Child pulled Yao Yao's arm and had a very gentle smile on her face.
"Nice to meet you," Nie Yan greeted Feiyun Liushui and Moon Child.
"Hello," Moon Child smiled and greeted back with a gentle nod.
[1] Yao Yao is the player the Nie Yan met in Chapter 10 when he was farming water spiders. She's the one who convinced Nie Yan to run Treant Forest.