Chapter 1 Bird Doesn't Shit Eggs

Bird Doesn't Shit Eggs saw Nie Yan and quickly greeted him. He was wearing a set of silver-white alchemist robes, embroidered with golden bauhinia patterns on the collar, which were exquisitely crafted. A silver feather was pinned horizontally across it, the symbol of an Intermediate Alchemist.

"Boss, you're here," Bird Doesn't Shit Eggs said with delight.

"You advanced to Intermediate Alchemist?" Nie Yan was slightly surprised. Bird Doesn't Shit Eggs was busy with the affairs of the pharmacy every day, yet he still found time to advance.

"My proficiency as an Intermediate Alchemist is already halfway there. Only three people in the entire Starry Night Pharmacy have higher alchemist skill proficiency than me," Bird Doesn't Shit Eggs said proudly. He spent much less time than other alchemists in the store crafting potions, yet his alchemist level hadn't fallen behind. This was quite an impressive achievement.

The Potion King was finally about to explode! Maybe he would give Nie Yan a surprise sometime.

"Business looks good," Nie Yan said. The Starry Night Pharmacy was bustling with activity, with at least several hundred people inside.

"Potion sales have been particularly hot these past few days. We're making about 300 gold coins in pure profit every day. In addition, we've provided the Niu Ren Tribe with over 600 gold in potions. The three branches in Calore City have already started to become profitable, with an income of over 100 gold each day. Also, according to your instructions, we've opened branches of the Starry Night Pharmacy in a total of thirty-two locations across six cities. We've made some deals with the local big shots, and they've indicated they won't interfere with the operation of the branches for the time being. We're already recruiting alchemists. It'll probably still take some time before they become profitable," Bird Doesn't Shit Eggs gave a general overview of the Starry Night Pharmacy's situation.

Nie Yan nodded in approval and said, "Not bad." He was very satisfied with Bird Doesn't Shit Eggs' work.

"I get a high salary from the boss, so of course I have to work hard for the boss," Bird Doesn't Shit Eggs said solemnly. Because of Nie Yan, he had completely escaped his predicament. From being an alchemist apprentice kicked out of the Dark Ranger Guild, he had become a highly sought-after Intermediate Alchemist. This change in circumstances filled him with emotion and gratitude towards Nie Yan. Just a few days ago, the guild leader of the Dark Ranger Guild had come, wanting to spend a lot of money to hire him back. He had refused without hesitation. One couldn't forget their roots.

Nie Yan asked, "How many Intermediate Alchemists do we have now?"

"Eleven Intermediate Alchemists. According to my statistics, there are only about sixteen Intermediate Alchemists in the entire Calore City, and two-thirds of them are here," Bird Doesn't Shit Eggs said. Calore City was currently the area with the most players and the most active trading in the entire Greenland region. This was because, even in the entire Greenland region, the Starry Night Pharmacy was the undisputed hegemon of the potion industry! "Would you like to meet a few of the Intermediate Alchemists? They've always been wondering who their behind-the-scenes boss is."

"There's no need for now," Nie Yan said. Bird Doesn't Shit Eggs' management was very good. As long as he and the Niu Ren Tribe collected more advanced potion recipes and sent them to the Starry Night Pharmacy, the Starry Night Pharmacy would have good development. He would meet them later, when he was free and had time.

"Alright then," Bird Doesn't Shit Eggs responded with a nod.

After chatting for a while, Nie Yan left the Starry Night Pharmacy. He also withdrew the 200 gold coins belonging to him from the Assassin's Union, and went to Tesso Village to purchase a thousand shrapnel magic bombs and some mist dust. He estimated that he could level up to his heart's content in the Eternal City this time.

"Damn it, Undying Scoundrel got a Massacre Medal! Why is my luck so bad!" Tang Yao sent Nie Yan a voice message. He had been grinding for so long without getting a Massacre Medal, but Undying Scoundrel got one as soon as he went over. How could Tang Yao not be depressed?

"Maybe you haven't killed enough people. Scoundrel's kill count is over a hundred," Nie Yan said. He had finally confirmed that one could only drop a Massacre Medal after killing over a hundred people. Of course, it also had to do with luck.

"I knew I should've killed a few more people from the Triumphant Empire," Tang Yao said. At the time, his kill count wasn't far from a hundred. Thinking about it now, he had lost out big time.

"Send me the attributes of his Massacre Medal. I want to take a look," Nie Yan said. The attributes of the Massacre Medal varied depending on the class. The Massacre Medal dropped by Undying Scoundrel should be magic-based.

"Okay," Tang Yao responded and sent over the attributes of the Massacre Medal.

Massacre Medal (Special Item, Magic): Initial Grade. Can be upgraded to Intermediate Grade by killing one thousand players who are 2 levels higher than yourself.

Item Description: A wielder of the Massacre Medal can increase its level by killing people. They will also be cursed, lowering their defense.

Item Attributes: Attack +20%, Defense -20%, Will +5, Ignore Level +3, Penetrating Damage. Attached Skill: Initial Grade Elemental Blast, releases an elemental missile, dealing 3 times the user's magic attack effect. Skill cooldown is 10 minutes. Initial Grade Mana Drain, drains mana from an enemy, sixty points per second, up to a maximum of 50% of the opponent's total mana. Skill cooldown is 3 minutes.

Restrictions: Limited to personal use, bound upon pickup, cannot be traded, cannot be dropped, can be destroyed.

Only the person who dropped the Massacre Medal could use it. It was directly bound upon pickup, and other players couldn't use it.

The Massacre Medal was an accessory, occupying one accessory slot. This thing was very good, and could be considered a top-grade item in the early stages.

"What a perverted thing, 5 points of Will and Ignore Level +3, and it's penetrating damage, dealing 120% damage to light armor. It even comes with two perverted skills, especially Mana Drain. What a loss!" Tang Yao regretted it so much his intestines turned green.

The Thief's Massacre Medal was different from the magic type. Nie Yan looked at his kill count. It was definitely enough. He would go to the Scale Frog spawn point to drop a Massacre Medal first.

"You can follow the people in the guild and kill a few more players from the Triumphant Empire, and try to drop a Massacre Medal. Anyway, killing a few people from the Triumphant Empire is nothing for you. And also Asskickers United, don't let them have an easy time either. Kill them until all their guild members quit!" Nie Yan thought for a moment and said. The Massacre Medal had a considerable effect, especially the Ignore Level attribute, which was very important to Tang Yao.

If Tang Yao obtained more Ignore Level items, they could challenge higher level monsters in the future.

"That works too. Anyway, Blazing Demise won't be able to catch up to my level in the short term," Tang Yao said. This Massacre Medal was quite tempting.

"Then be careful. I'm going to drop a Massacre Medal too."

"You have enough kills?"

"I killed over one hundred and fifty in the Molten Forest!"

"You're fierce. I didn't participate, what a loss," Tang Yao complained dejectedly.

Nie Yan smiled and said, "That was for safety. We still have to do a mission." That mission that could only be done with the Angelic Rod of Judgement and the Theiving Hand, he had been planning it for a long time. Plus, he now had the Heart of Lava, so he was even more confident. It was also a fragment of a Legendary item, but it was even better than the Soggy Shadow, and he couldn't let it go. As for the quest about the Legend of the Ten Holy Knights in the Silent Gulf, he would do it when he was a higher level in the future. Going there now was basically courting death.

Nie Yan left the city and headed towards the Scale Frog spawn point.

After a while, his voice communication rang. It was Half-Asleep Fox.

"You made quite a big commotion this time. You're amazing, you buried over twenty thousand people from the Triumphant Empire in the Molten Forest," Half-Asleep Fox exclaimed in amazement. He thought that the Niu Ren Tribe would be suppressed because of the Molten Forest incident, because the advantage was completely in the hands of the Triumphant Empire. He didn't expect Nie Yan to attract a Lava Giant from somewhere and kill over twenty thousand people from the Triumphant Empire. The situation between the two sides immediately reversed. The Triumphant Empire became silent as a result, while the Niu Ren Tribe was thriving.

"Just a change of luck," Nie Yan said with a faint smile.

"This isn't just a matter of luck. I admire you, especially the part where you killed Hei Zhuo. It can be called a divine skill," Half-Asleep Fox said sincerely. He wasn't being hypocritical with his flattery. He estimated that the only Thief who could easily kill an opponent among five or six hundred people like Nie Yan was him and him alone.

"You're flattering me here, could it be that you have some ulterior motive?" Nie Yan said with a smile. Half-Asleep Fox was a cunning and treacherous fellow. He wouldn't visit the Three Treasures Hall without a reason. (idiom: wouldn't do anything without an ulterior motive).

Half-Asleep Fox's face turned red. He coughed to cover up his embarrassment and said, "I'm here to give you a friendly reminder. According to the information I've gathered, the Triumphant Empire and Radiant Sacred Flame have been making frequent moves recently. Their higher-ups have been in frequent contact, and it's said that they also have some connection with Angel Corpse over in the Saturn Empire of the Orcs. Don't underestimate the Triumphant Empire too much."

Hearing Half-Asleep Fox's words, Nie Yan frowned. He wasn't worried about Angel Corpse's side. The journey from the Saturn Empire to the Greenland Empire was long, and it was impossible for them to come over. As for Radiant Sacred Flame, it was indeed worrying. It was also a large guild that was not inferior to the Holy Roman Empire and the Triumphant Empire.

"I'm here to talk about an alliance. If the Triumphant Empire and Radiant Sacred Flame take action, we can join forces and advance and retreat together," Half-Asleep Fox said, finally getting to the main topic.

Advance and retreat together? A sly light flashed in Nie Yan's eyes and he said, "Could it be that you've had some friction with the Triumphant Empire and Radiant Sacred Flame, so you want to pull the Niu Ren Tribe into the group?"

Half-Asleep Fox's thoughts were exposed. He smiled sheepishly and said, "Just a small disagreement. The Niu Ren Tribe can't just be on the defensive all the time, right? I heard that a small fortress will be opening in a while. Is the Niu Ren Tribe not interested?"

Half-Asleep Fox's search for cooperation with Nie Yan proved that the Holy Roman Empire had begun to take the power of the Niu Ren Tribe seriously.

Nie Yan's mind whirred and he said, "I agree to cooperation between the Holy Roman Empire and the Niu Ren Tribe, but we need to come up with a specific cooperation plan."

Although the Niu Ren Tribe was on the rise, it was still weak. If it could pull in some reliable allies, it would be beneficial to the morale of the Niu Ren Tribe players and to future development.