"Jeny!"
Xia Dongyang's voice snapped Jeny out of her thoughts.
"Dad, why are you here?" Jeny asked, walking up to him and calling out obediently.
At this moment, Jeny no longer appeared arrogant.
Xia Dongyang's eyes softened with affection, "Let's go, it's time to head home."
Since Xia Dongyang had arrived by car, they didn't need to take the school bus back.
Jeny followed her father into the car, but she couldn't stop stealing glances at Marsh.
She really wanted to figure him out, to understand how he managed to reach level 7 so quickly.
Xia Dongyang noticed his daughter's gaze. "Are you competing with Marsh?"
Jeny slumped in her seat, "Yeah, I lost again. That guy is just too frustrating."
Xia Dongyang chuckled. "Do you want Dad to handle it for you?"
"Don't want to!" Jeny shot back before he could finish his sentence.
"It's my business, and I'll deal with it myself. I'm not going to lose to this idiot forever."
Her eyes burned with determination.
Xia Dongyang laughed even harder, clearly pleased. "Alright, then Dad won't interfere. But I do want to tell you that Marsh cleared the novice dungeon in 10 hours, killing all the level 8 monsters."
Jeny froze in shock. "Killed all the level 8 monsters?"
She had only reached the area with level 7 monsters, never encountering a level 8 monster herself. She thought she'd done well defeating level 7 monsters at level 5.
To think that Marsh had not only beaten the level 8 monsters but also cleared them all in just 10 hours!
In other words, if there were more level 8 monsters, Marsh would probably have reached level 8 directly.
"Is there really such a big gap between us?" Jeny couldn't help but feel a bit deflated, even though she didn't want to admit it.
Xia Dongyang nodded sagely. "Every profession has its strengths. Some are powerful early on, while others only show their full potential later. Don't let a temporary loss bother you. You still have an advantage over him."
Jeny understood what her father was saying.
Her advantage lay in her family's status, wealth, and access to resources. Whether it was items, equipment, or skills, she had no shortage of any of it.
In contrast, Marsh had no such backing and would eventually fall behind in terms of resources.
"Anyway, I won't give up. Even if he leads now, I'll surpass him in the future."
Jeny slouched for only a moment before her competitive fire flared up again.
Xia Dongyang smiled with pride. "That's the spirit. This is how you should be."
Meanwhile, on the school bus, Kevin made sure to sit next to Xia Dongyang. "I'm already level 4! I'm doing so well. It was so much fun fighting monsters with my sister; it was way more interesting than doing it alone."
Marsh looked at Kevin with a wry smile. "Where have you been? You're already level 7? How did you manage that?"
"Did you really clear all the monsters in the dungeon?"
"I worked so hard just to get to level 4, and you're already at level 7! Are you some kind of fairy?"
Kevin's voice was so loud that the entire bus could hear him.
That was when everyone else realized that Marsh had indeed reached level 7.
While most students were around level 3, with level 4 being considered impressive, Marsh had already achieved level 7.
The entire bus became lively with chatter.
Although many still felt uneasy around Marsh and his summoned skeleton warriors, the natural tendency to gravitate toward strength was evident.
Some students wanted to talk to Marsh and get to know him better, but his silent demeanor, combined with the fear of the skeleton warriors, made them hesitate.
"Quiet!" David barked sharply, and the noise on the bus immediately stopped.
Kevin rubbed his head sheepishly. "I got a little too excited there. Boss, can you take me along to level up?"
Marsh answered calmly, "If there's a chance, sure."
Kevin's face lit up with excitement. "Then it's a deal!"
The next morning, Kevin arrived at school only to find that Marsh was nowhere to be seen.
"Mr. David, where's Marsh?" Kevin asked, looking around.
David responded, "He went to the suburbs of Xihai City."
"Ah?" Kevin suddenly realized he'd been played by Marsh. No wonder Marsh had agreed so readily yesterday.
With a dramatic sigh, Kevin muttered, "Marsh, you tricked me!"
"I thought I could catch up, but now it feels like I'm just being left behind," he complained.
Meanwhile, Marsh had already made his way to the southern part of Xihai City.
The towering city wall stood tall here, separating the human settlement from the monster zone.
Beyond the city wall lay the wild monster area, where even the weakest monsters were level 10.
The monsters here were significantly stronger compared to those in the novice dungeon.
Fighting these monsters offered a chance to gain more experience and valuable materials. Some monsters might even drop weapons or equipment, which could be used or sold.
There were shops lining both sides of the street near the city gates, offering everything from blacksmith services to weapon shops, jewelry stores, armor stores, and more.
The most important establishment here was the Shenxia Empire Exchange.
The exchange, officially operated by the Shenxia Empire, had branches in major cities across the country. It allowed citizens to buy and sell equipment, materials, and other items.
You could directly sell items to the exchange or consign them for sale. Additionally, various tasks were posted at the exchange for anyone looking to complete them.
This was Marsh's first time visiting the exchange. He had only read about it in books before.
Inside the Shenxia Empire Exchange, there were hundreds of stone pillars, each half the height of a person. A magic crystal was embedded in the top of each pillar, and all transactions could be handled through these crystals.
The exchange was regarded as the pinnacle of god-level alchemy techniques.
Marsh found an empty seat and placed his hand on one of the magic crystals.
[Starting authentication…]
[Authentication successful. Marsh, citizen of the Shenxia Empire.]
[Permission granted to use the Shenxia Empire Exchange.]
[Contribution: 0]
[Permission level: 1]
---
for more Episodes visit
patreon.com/Noan994