Chapter 41

As he moved toward Taiser, Fang Yi constantly adjusted his running speed to maintain his stamina at a high level. He couldn't help but miss the high constitution and stamina of a warrior. The sky at noon was clear and cloudless, and the gentle breeze from Dragon Lake quickly dispelled the annoying heat from the exercise. Perhaps this was one of the reasons for the unprecedented number of players in the area.

Five years ago, under the pressure of his surroundings, he resolutely entered the circle of professional players. Looking back now, the days of hard work involved both hands and brains, with tears and laughter—this was the life of a professional player, enjoying luxury and also enduring the trials of life. Fang Yi looked at the outline of Taiser's city walls gradually appearing on the horizon and thought as much.

This... this is not scientific at all? Fang Yi looked speechlessly at the long, hard object on the table in front of him, feeling somewhat lost.

The bag covered in mud was a common "lucky bag" in the game, which could drop anywhere. Apart from the different names, they were essentially the same. If you had good luck, you could find some money or even green gear, but if you had bad luck, you'd only get a handful of mud. With Fang Yi's experience, he almost immediately pulled out the contents of the bag—gold bars!

A gold bar the size of a palm, worth at least a hundred gold coins, Fang Yi had already considered the contents of this bag as his action funds for the next month. But... what is this?

A palm-sized, dark material with a bright purple sheen lay on the table in front of Fang Yi. This thing felt slightly warmer than body temperature, was extremely hard, but much lighter than an iron block, similar to wood. The appraisal skill returned the message that no appraisal was needed, as its attribute was only one line: "Mysterious Material."

Fang Yi had seen Adamantine, Cold Iron, and Mithril before, but this item was none of them. Could he have obtained a material so obscure that it could only be used in very special situations? What about my money... Fang Yi thought, feeling like crying.

However, Fang Yi's troubles didn't last long because Sangren and Black Mountain Imp were online.

"Only one day, and you already have such good stuff!?" Black Mountain Imp suspiciously looked at the thief sitting in front of her, but her attention was soon drawn to the Carnivore's Chain in her hand, which she couldn't put down.

"It's from a monster that dropped during a class quest, one of a kind~" Seeing the two beautiful women, Fang Yi's mood, which had been ruined by the unknown material, gradually improved, especially with Sangren's serene and cloud-like smile, which made it hard to feel any anger.

Black Mountain Imp chattered incessantly, and Sangren occasionally joined in with a smile. Just as Fang Yi was about to interrupt their endless, pointless chatter, a burly barbarian walked into the inn and came straight to their table.

"Here's the money." The barbarian produced a money bag and completed the transaction with the carefree Black Mountain Imp, who then handed the money to Fang Yi.

"Here, ten gold coins. Next time, you must let me know if you have any good stuff~" Black Mountain Imp smiled sweetly at Fang Yi.

Fang Yi smiled and said he would, but his eyes glanced at the barbarian who had been staring at him the whole time.

The barbarian standing next to the table was a typical strength-type warrior, nearly six feet tall, wearing a dark blue leather armor that almost burst from his bulging muscles. He had distinctive chainmail armor on his hands and feet. The two-handed great axe on his back was not hidden, with a beautifully carved hard wood handle over three feet long, and the magic flames occasionally flashing on the blade indicated the high quality of the equipment.

But why are you staring at me like that? You may be very strong and prominent, but I'm not interested in men~ Fang Yi felt uneasy under the barbarian's piercing gaze and was about to make a joke when Black Mountain Imp became impatient. "Xiao Deng, what are you staring at? Is everything okay in the team?"

The barbarian warrior, called Xiao Deng, changed his expression and instantly put on a smile.

"I'm leaving, I'm leaving. By the way, Xiao Yao, does the team leader need anything else?"

"No!" Black Mountain Imp raised an eyebrow at the barbarian standing at the table, almost giving him the boot. "Xiao Deng" could only chuckle, give Fang Yi a threatening look, and turn to quickly walk out of the inn.

This guy is really interesting. If I heard correctly just now, he didn't call her "Imp," but something from real life. Could it be that Black Mountain Imp is a hidden beauty, a team flower in some adventure team? Fang Yi glanced at Sangren again; he didn't remember any high-end adventure team having two such level beauties.

While Fang Yi was lost in thought, Sangren, who had been smiling, spoke up.

"Fang Kuai, we can't do the Heart of Holy Light quest for now. Xiao Yao and I plan to join a team to farm monsters in the wild and look for a boss, while also scouting a level 15 dungeon. Do you want to join us to level up or go solo? We know a team that's quite strong, and with your skills, they would definitely want you."

Listening to Sangren's angelic voice, Fang Yi couldn't miss the underlying invitation. However, the idea of leveling up with an unfamiliar team, even with two beautiful women, was hard for him to accept. Moreover, Fang Yi always believed that while high-end teams had some advantages in treasure hunting, for leveling up, he had never encountered a team more efficient than soloing.

"I prefer to solo," though it was hard to refuse Sangren's invitation, Fang Yi decided to stick to his principles, "You two, a warrior and a priest, will definitely level up faster with a team. As a high-end rogue, soloing is the way to go."

Ignoring Black Mountain Imp's exaggerated expression of disgust, Fang Yi continued, "Besides, I've taken the Battlefield Bandage quest and plan to complete it as soon as possible. I won't have time for anything else for a while."

Sangren lightly "hmm"ed and nodded, showing no sign of disappointment. Black Mountain Imp, however, was surprised and said, "Battlefield Bandage? They say that quest is very tedious, running around killing monsters all day, and it takes a long time to complete~"

Fang Yi deliberately ignored the word "they," which carried a lot of meaning. He was interested in others' lives but never actively inquired. Black Mountain Imp also didn't say that the core members of "they" had already decided to farm the Dawnlight Sanctuary's reputation first, determined to learn the bandage healing skill as soon as possible.

High-level players are indeed similar, Black Mountain Imp thought, tearing off a piece of fresh fruit from a pomelo and blinking her eyes.