Chapter 1
Opening his textbook, complex mathematical and physical equations came into view. Nie Yan quickly began to calculate. He discovered that after being reborn, his memory was stronger than in his previous life. Although he wasn't at the level of photographic memory, it had improved a lot. Moreover, his thinking was more sharp than before, making learning twice as effective.

Furthermore, he had made an astonishing discovery. He had been strengthening his body for so long, yet he didn't feel tired at all. After exercising, his strength had also increased slightly.

Nie Yan was very fond of his current body. As long as he replenished his nutrition, he would soon be able to rapidly grow taller like he did in his senior year of high school in his previous life. It was just that nutrient fluids were too expensive. Currently, Nie Yan couldn't afford them. The lowest grade nutrient fluid cost five hundred yuan, while the medium grade nutrient fluid sold for several thousand. His family only had two portions, and one portion had already been used.

At five o'clock in the afternoon, Nie Yan entered the game again.

When he logged back in, Nie Yan found himself surrounded by Water Spiders. All the Water Spiders nearby had respawned.

Fortunately, there was a thirty-second system protection period after logging in. He was in a state of ethereality, like a soul. He couldn't attack monsters, and monsters couldn't attack him. Nie Yan bypassed these Water Spiders and swam outwards.

After thirty seconds, Nie Yan continued to farm Water Spiders in the nearby waters. At this time, he had already collected twenty-five Fine Silks and five Rare Fine Silks in his bag.

With Nie Yan's monster-killing speed, he should be able to complete the task in about three hours.

He must earn enough money when he goes back. The next time he encounters this kind of collection task, he can purchase the task items instead of collecting them so laboriously himself.

About an hour later, Nie Yan's voice communicator rang. It was Yao Yao.

"Nie Yan, where are you?"

"I'm still farming Water Spiders. What's up?" Nie Yan asked. While chatting, he didn't stop working. He used Assassinate with his right hand, flipping over a Water Spider.

"This morning, my friends and I went to the Treant Forest."

"Oh."

"Aren't you going to ask how it went?" Yao Yao asked.

"There's no need to ask at all." Nie Yan was still very familiar with the Treant Forest dungeon. Back then, he and his friends had farmed the Treant Forest five times before they finally cleared it. Without a Shield Warrior with at least sixty defense and two hundred and twenty health, there was no chance of clearing it.

"Okay, just like you said, we were wiped out. We didn't even reach the Treant King. One of my friends wants to meet you. We're going to farm the Treant Forest again tomorrow. Can you join us?" Yao Yao asked expectantly.

"Wait until your Shield Warrior's defense goes up. I'll see if I have time. But tell your friend that if I go to the Treant Forest, I want to be the leader, and all the Thief items that drop are mine," Nie Yan said. There was a decent Thief cloak in the Treant Forest.

"You want to be the leader? Why?" Yao Yao asked.

"I don't trust anyone else to command."

"This, I have to ask. It's a bit difficult for all the Thief equipment to be yours. Our team also has a Thief," Yao Yao said with embarrassment. The team's distribution rules were that every member was equal.

"If your leader doesn't agree, then forget it," Nie Yan said. He wasn't deliberately making things difficult for Yao Yao. It was just that he particularly disliked that Thief in Yao Yao's team.

"I'll ask our leader," Yao Yao said. Nie Yan's demanding such harsh conditions made her fondness for him decrease slightly.

Yao Yao's leader was a beautiful woman named Yu Lan, a Berserker. Nie Yan's most profound impression of her was the pair of peaks on her chest. When she wore Berserker armor, they were practically bursting out. The hollowed-out armor revealed a deep cleavage. Thinking about it, he couldn't help but shudder.

However, Nie Yan didn't dare to provoke Yu Lan. Yu Lan was usually quite amiable, but if someone angered her, her temper was as fiery as that pair of peaks on her chest. He remembered one time, a player simply teased her, and Yu Lan chased him down, causing him to lose a full five levels.

Such a beauty was only to be admired from afar, not to be trifled with. Otherwise, he might end up being played.

"Also, in addition to the Thief items, the gem dropped by the Treant King must also be mine," Nie Yan said bluntly.

"We're just going to run a dungeon together! Why are you being like this!" Yao Yao stomped her foot, her eyes brimming with tears. Yesterday, when they did a task together, their cooperation was so smooth that Yao Yao thought Nie Yan was a pretty good person. She had almost considered Nie Yan a friend, but she didn't expect Nie Yan to shatter her good impression of him time and time again.

Nie Yan smiled faintly. Sometimes, explanations were unnecessary.

Yao Yao angrily hung up the voice communicator.

Nie Yan sighed softly. If he was going to run a dungeon, it was better to clarify some things beforehand to avoid disputes later.

At the Traque Town Teleportation Point, Yu Lan's team was gathering near the Teleportation Point. There were a total of nineteen people. The most conspicuous were Yu Lan, who was wearing blue swordsman armor in the center, and Yao Yao, who was wearing a white mage robe.

The crowd surrounded them like stars surrounding the moon. There were also several decent-looking women in their team, but they were completely overshadowed by Yu Lan and Yao Yao.

Yu Lan was tall and had a curvy figure with long, very sexy legs. Plus, she was also very beautiful, making her a top-notch beauty. Although she was only around twenty years old, she was full of the allure of a mature woman, especially her magnificent chest, which was extremely eye-catching.

Yao Yao was a different style. She wore a white mage robe, had a delicate oval face, and her hair was tied into a ponytail, making her look pure, beautiful, lovely, and charming.

"Yao Yao, what did he say?" Yu Lan asked when she saw Yao Yao hang up the voice communicator.

"He said that if he goes with us, he wants to be the leader, and all the Thief equipment and a gem dropped by the Treant King will be his." Yao Yao's face turned red. She had excitedly introduced Nie Yan to Yu Lan and the others, treating Nie Yan as a good friend. She didn't expect Nie Yan to be like this.

"Yao Yao, you're just too trusting. There are too many people like that. He must be a liar who has no strength and is just trying to scam equipment," a Thief next to Yao Yao said. He looked to be about twenty years old and was quite handsome.

Yao Yao wanted to defend Nie Yan, but on second thought, she puffed up her cheeks and remained silent. For some reason, she was still a little biased towards Nie Yan. Nie Yan was very strong and was definitely not trying to scam equipment. He wasn't as bad as Chen Bo said.

"That's not necessarily true. He knows that the Treant King drops gems, so he must have been to the Treant Forest and cleared it. He was able to stick with the team until the end, which means that the team he joined was not weak and had more experience than us. It's not excessive for him to ask to be the leader and take all the Thief equipment and the gem dropped by the Treant King. Since he could frankly tell Yao Yao, it proves that he has a clear conscience." Yu Lan patted Yao Yao's shoulder and said, "Yao Yao, there's no need to mind it."

Hearing Yu Lan's words, Yao Yao felt a little better, even though she was still a bit annoyed with Nie Yan. She smiled.

Seeing Yao Yao's radiant smile, Chen Bo's heart sank. For some reason, this suddenly appearing Nie Yan made him feel a sense of crisis.

"Tomorrow, we'll rent a set of Bronze equipment for the Shield Warrior. Tell him to join us in the Treant Forest tomorrow," Yu Lan said. She already had a plan.

"I don't even want to talk to him this morning. I'll talk to him again in the afternoon," Yao Yao said with a pout.

"Okay, you can contact him again in the afternoon." Yu Lan shook her head with a smile.

Nie Yan was still farming Water Spiders. His luck was good, and he had dropped three Fine Silks in a row. He checked his bag and saw that he already had twenty-nine, just one short of collecting enough.

Farming monsters in the morning still had its benefits. The drop rates of various items were higher.

Nie Yan killed a Water Spider. He reached out with his right hand and grabbed something. He picked it up and saw that it was a Thief skill book.

Skill Book: Gouge.

Skill Description: The Thief can use a dagger to cut open the enemy's skin, causing the opponent to bleed for secondary damage.

Casting Elements: Action (requires a weapon)

Skill Attributes: Grants an additional +1 bonus to the attack check when opening the wound, causing 5 damage per second for 6 seconds.

Skill Cooldown Time: Thirty seconds.

User Restriction: Thief, any faction can use.

Gouge was a follow-up basic skill that could be used after skills such as Assassinate. It comes with a tearing wound effect, causing 5 points of bleeding per second for 6 seconds.

In terms of damage, the accumulated damage of Gouge attack plus the bleeding effect was only slightly weaker than Vitals Attack, which was still quite good.

What Nie Yan needed most right now was skill books.

Nie Yan learned Gouge and turned to the next Water Spider. His voice communicator rang. It was Yao Yao. This little girl had sent a voice request again.

Nie Yan connected with Yao Yao, and the two of them didn't speak for a long time.

"Originally, I wanted to ignore you forever, but I'm generous and decided not to bother with you. Tomorrow, our team is going to farm the Treant Forest. Are you going or not?" Yao Yao pouted.

Nie Yan could imagine how cute Yao Yao's sulky expression was in his mind. He couldn't help but smile knowingly.

"I tomorrow..."

"Don't say you're busy tomorrow. Just tell me if you're coming or not."

Nie Yan was about to speak, but Yao Yao interrupted him.

"Okay, tell me what time tomorrow, and I'll definitely be there." Nie Yan smiled helplessly. He was completely subdued by this little miss.

"That's more like it. We'll call you tomorrow morning. Okay, you go ahead and do what you're doing." Yao Yao was very satisfied with Nie Yan's answer. Before Nie Yan could say anything, she hung up the voice communicator.

Hmph, little rascal, I can't handle you, Yao Yao thought triumphantly. She imagined Nie Yan's embarrassed look in her mind and couldn't help but giggle.

Hearing the beeping sound from the voice communicator, Nie Yan smiled wryly. He had to go to the Treant Forest tomorrow, so it seemed he had to speed up his progress.

With Gouge, Nie Yan's monster-killing speed was noticeably faster. An Assassinate followed by a Gouge could easily take down a Water Spider.

Ding, a crisp system prompt sound. Nie Yan leveled up to Level 3.

After a while, he collected thirty Fine Silks.

"Finally done," Nie Yan thought to himself. He swam towards the island, preparing to turn in the task.

System: Player Flying Stone has deposited one silver coin into your personal storage.

"Expert, the strategy you provided is really useful. We've already cleared the Fallen Wizard Camp. Another silver coin has been mailed to your personal storage," Stone sent a message, excitedly.

"Received. Is there anything else?" Nie Yan asked. The two silver coins from Stone had arrived, plus his recent income. He was close to having three silver coins. He could say he already had his starting capital.

"A friend of mine said that they're forming a team to go to the Okmat Muddy Swamp the day after tomorrow. Are you going or not?" Stone asked expectantly.

"I have something to do the day after tomorrow," Nie Yan said. The Okmat Muddy Swamp was still a bit difficult. The team that Stone was in could clear the Fallen Wizard Camp, so it seemed that their strength was quite good.

"Then never mind. Does the expert have a strategy for the Okmat Muddy Swamp?"

"Do you think I'm a god? The Okmat Muddy Swamp is the most difficult of the Level 3 dungeons. Do you think I can get a strategy so quickly?" Nie Yan said. He couldn't keep selling strategies for dungeons, or he would arouse suspicion. After Stone's team crashed a few times in Okmat, he would wait for the right price.

"Sorry, habitual thinking." Stone laughed awkwardly.