Chapter 19 Potion Studies

"Why do you want to study potion making?" Yaoyao asked, puzzled.

"If mages don't learn potion making, they'll definitely be poor when they reach higher levels. After all, magic potions are too expensive. Human mages have a talent that allows them to create magic potions beyond their level. It would be a waste not to learn potion making," Nie Yan said.

"Okay, I've noted the coordinates. Thanks for the advice, Nieyan."

Discovering a water spider moving ahead, Nie Yan swam toward it. About five yards away from the water spider, he suddenly stopped. The water spider in front seemed a bit different from the ordinary ones, its size was larger.

Water Spider Leader: Level 3, 120/120.

"It's a Leader monster," Nie Yan said, turning to Yaoyao.

"Can we beat it?" Yaoyao asked. Nie Yan knew more than her, and she was getting used to consulting him when she encountered problems.

"It's doable, but it'll be a bit difficult." Nie Yan looked around. The water surface was wide and open, with no terrain to take advantage of. This was the water spiders' paradise.

"If it's too dangerous, let's forget it," Yaoyao said. If she died because of it, it wouldn't be worth it. Losing a level would take at least two or three days to make up.

"Do you have any underwater breathing potions?" Nie Yan asked. Water spiders were creatures that lived on the surface of the water; they couldn't dive. This would be their fatal weakness.

"I don't have any left. I didn't prepare enough, and I used them all up before," Yaoyao said, her face reddening. She hadn't expected to consume so many underwater breathing potions along the way. If she had any, she wouldn't have been in danger. When she encountered danger, she could just dive underwater, and everything would be fine.

"I have one bottle left. Take it. Water spiders can't breathe underwater. You attack it first, and if it forces you to get close, dive immediately. I'll use crossbow bolts to shoot it from a distance and lure it away. After it's gone far enough, you can return to the surface and continue attacking. When its health is almost depleted, we'll go in together." Nie Yan pondered for a moment.

Using this method, they could slowly wear the water spider down to death.

"I didn't realize your brain was so useful," Yaoyao couldn't help but glance at Nie Yan. It was as if any problem, in Nie Yan's hands, became easy.

"When I was a kid, my IQ test was 260. This is a piece of cake," Nie Yan said, laughing, and swam to the other side.

Seeing Nie Yan's smug look, Yaoyao couldn't help but smile. This guy really shines when you give him a little bit of sunshine.

About twenty yards away from the Water Spider Leader, Nie Yan looked and, seeing it was enough, made a gesture toward Yaoyao.

Yaoyao waved her staff, and a Divine Judgement spell was cast, attacking the Water Spider Leader and reducing its health by 15 points.

As expected, Leader-level monsters had much higher defenses.

The Water Spider Leader shrieked and pounced toward Yaoyao. Before the Water Spider Leader arrived, she could attack once more and began preparing Holy Strike. A pillar of light crashed down from the sky, hitting the Water Spider Leader and reducing its health by 16 points.

After Nie Yan's crossbow was ready, he fired bolts, and *poof poof poof*, all of them hit the Water Spider Leader. Damage values of -6 floated up from the water spider's head, and then he continued to anxiously reload the crossbow.

After Yaoyao finished her Holy Strike, she saw the Water Spider Leader pounce close, and she plunged into the water.

After Yaoyao dived into the water, the Water Spider Leader had no way to deal with her.

The water spider paced anxiously on the water surface near Yaoyao.

*Poof poof poof*, three more arrows shot the Water Spider Leader, and the Water Spider Leader's attention was drawn to Nie Yan, and it pounced toward Nie Yan.

Nie Yan anxiously loaded his crossbow, but before he could finish, the Water Spider Leader had already rushed in front of him. He quickly replaced the crossbow with a dagger.

"Assassinate!"

Nie Yan struck the Water Spider Leader's abdomen with Assassinate, reducing the Water Spider Leader's health by 12 points.

The Water Spider Leader lunged, dealing over sixty points of damage to Nie Yan.

Such high attack!

If he took another hit, he would definitely die!

Nie Yan originally wanted to continue attacking for another round, but encountering such danger, he didn't dare to take the risk and dove into the water.

The Water Spider Leader missed its attack, raised a foot covered in spikes, and plunged it into the water, like an arrow, piercing Nie Yan's shoulder directly.

-32, a damage value floated up from Nie Yan's head.

The Water Spider Leader successfully landed a hit, and another foot pierced towards Nie Yan.

Nie Yan rolled in the water, and the Water Spider Leader's spiked foot brushed past Nie Yan's cheek, creating a series of bubbles.

"That was close!" Nie Yan dived deeper to get out of the Water Spider Leader's attack range. His health was only twenty points, and he wouldn't dare to confront the Water Spider Leader head-on next time.

"Holy Word!"

Taking advantage of the Water Spider Leader being distracted by Nie Yan, Yaoyao cast a powerful magic spell, reducing the Water Spider Leader's health by 27 points.

"Are you okay?" Yaoyao asked with concern, seeing two high damage values ​​float above Nie Yan's head.

"I'm fine. The Water Spider Leader's attack is too strong. Don't get attacked by it," Nie Yan said, still shaken. He had underestimated the Water Spider Leader's attack ability, which almost killed him.

"I understand," Yaoyao replied, waving her staff continuously.

Under Yaoyao's constant attacks, the Water Spider Leader's aggro shifted to Yaoyao once again, and it pounced toward Yaoyao.

"Divine Judgement! Holy Strike!"

After Yaoyao finished a round of attacks, she dived into the water again.

The Water Spider Leader paced back and forth on the water surface, and the three arrows fired by Nie Yan hit the Water Spider Leader's butt again.

Repeatedly, the Water Spider Leader's health gradually ran out. With Yaoyao's last Holy Word spell, the Water Spider Leader's health hit rock bottom, curled up, and floated on the water.

The whole process was easier than expected.

Seeing the Water Spider Leader killed, Nie Yan finally breathed a sigh of relief. Killing the water spider increased his experience by about 5%, reaching 52%.

"What did it drop?" Nie Yan asked.

"Take a look," Yaoyao placed the two items she had just picked up on the trade bar.

Fine Silk Gauntlets (Bronze): Level Requirement 0.

Attributes: Defense 2-3, Magic +3.

Weight: 1.3 pounds.

User Restriction: Mage, can be used by any faction.

Rare Fine Silk: Quantity 5 rolls, raw material.

"Do you have an appraisal skill?" Nie Yan asked. Logically speaking, the dropped equipment should be unidentified. He didn't expect Yaoyao to learn appraisal at such a low level.

"Yes, I learned the lowest-level appraisal skill," Yaoyao nodded.

"The gauntlets are yours, the rare fine silk is mine. I have a use for it," Nie Yan said. He didn't know what the difference was between the rare fine silk and the ordinary fine silk, and he didn't know if Doctor Blayvens would accept the rare fine silk.

"Okay, then I won't be polite," Yaoyao said, as she needed the gauntlets. These gauntlets added 3 magic power, which was the best attribute for mages. Placed on the market, they would be worth at least fifty or sixty copper coins. Calculating it this way, Nie Yan was at a disadvantage. She felt slightly apologetic, but thinking about how Nie Yan had taken an Assassinate skill book before, she felt at ease.

Yaoyao placed the rare fine silk on the trade bar, and both of them clicked confirm.

When trading items, the two were very close, and Nie Yan's gaze fell on Yaoyao's cheeks. Yaoyao's skin had always been very good, as white as jade porcelain, without a single flaw.

"What are you looking at?" Yaoyao asked, flustered. Being stared at by Nie Yan, a faint blush floated on her cheeks.

Seeing Yaoyao blush, Nie Yan laughed and swam towards a water spider not far away.

After grinding monsters for an afternoon, Nie Yan collected twenty-three fine silks, and Yaoyao's waterskin was filled.

"In a few days, my team is going to grind the Treant Forest in Thrak Town. There are still a few spots open. Do you want to participate?" Yaoyao asked, pretending to be casual, but in her heart, she was faintly hoping that Nie Yan would agree.

The Treant Forest was a Level 3 small dungeon, one of the basic dungeons. The difficulty of basic dungeons was often higher, and the final Treant King was very difficult to deal with. He was a sub-elite monster. If a warrior's defense wasn't sixty and health wasn't two hundred and twenty, there was no chance.

"How many people are in your team?"

"Including you, eighteen: two Shield Warriors, two Berserkers, two Holy Knights, two Thieves, three Priests, and seven Mages."

"How much defense and health does your main Shield Warrior have?" Nie Yan asked. If Yaoyao's team was an elite team, it wouldn't hurt to go. The Treant Forest dropped a lot of good stuff for Thieves.

"Fifty-three defense, two hundred and thirty health."

"The health is okay, but the defense is too low. I advise you not to go," Nie Yan said, shaking his head. The Shield Warrior was still a bit short.

"Why?" Yaoyao stared with wide eyes, looking at Nie Yan in confusion.

"The Treant King has a 2% chance of landing a critical hit, so the main Shield Warrior's defense and health must be high, and the Priest's healing must keep up. Otherwise, once a critical hit lands, the main Shield Warrior will be killed, and you'll all be doomed. Although you don't drop equipment or levels in dungeons, losing 20% of your experience is enough to be annoying."

"How do you know?"

Nie Yan smiled faintly and didn't answer.

"Although I think what you said might be right, they've been preparing for many days, so I can't just not go."

"Listen to me, tell your main Shield Warrior to get their defense to sixty before going," Nie Yan said. If Yaoyao didn't listen to the advice and went along, she would definitely lose 20% of her experience. Fortunately, 20% of the experience wasn't much, and she could recover it in less than a day.

"Defense to sixty, that would require at least a Bronze defense equipment. That's too difficult," Yaoyao shook her head. A Bronze defense equipment was five or six times more expensive than ordinary Bronze equipment, costing at least three or four silver coins. Their team didn't have that much financial power.

"Cancel if you can. If your friends insist on going, there's nothing you can do. Anyway, you only lose 20% of your experience if you die."

"Nieyan, are you telling the truth?" Yaoyao asked, her delicate eyebrows furrowed in worry.

Nie Yan nodded and swam towards a water spider next to him.

Yaoyao intuitively believed that what Nie Yan said was credible, but she was puzzled. How did Nie Yan know this? Had he been to the Treant Forest? Even if he had, it was impossible to obtain such accurate data so quickly.

"I'm done with my quest and should go back. I had a lot of fun leveling with you today, Nieyan. Add me as a friend, and I'll contact you again later," Yaoyao said, feeling a little reluctant. Nie Yan was the first male friend she had a very pleasant time with. Of course, it was only limited to male friends.

"Okay," Nie Yan replied, adding Yaoyao as a friend.

"Then I'll leave first, bye-bye," Yaoyao waved her hand and swam towards the opposite bank.

Yaoyao's figure grew farther and farther away.

Yaoyao's departure made Nie Yan feel a little melancholy, but he quickly adjusted his mood and continued to grind water spiders.

One water spider after another fell under Nie Yan's dagger.

Looking at the time, there were still three hours left before the game closed for the day. Nie Yan's voice chat rang.

"Expert, it's me," Stone sent a message.

"What's up?" Nie Yan replied, asking.

"A friend of mine wants to meet you."

"I'm very busy lately, so I don't have much time."

"My friend said that he's willing to spend two silver coins to buy the攻略 (gōnglüè, strategy guide) for the Fallen Wizard Camp."

"Did your team wipe at the wooden fence in the Fallen Wizard Camp?" Nie Yan asked. That was a very difficult checkpoint. If you didn't know the trick, it would be very difficult to pass.

"How do you know?" Stone asked, surprised. Nie Yan guessed correctly. He was even more certain that Nie Yan must have played the Fallen Wizard Camp before.

"Of course, I know. If you want the strategy guide for the Fallen Wizard Camp, you can. Transfer the money to my personal warehouse first."

The personal warehouse was equivalent to an account. Players themselves could freely deposit and withdraw, while other players could only deposit and not withdraw.

"This, I have to ask first," Stone said. He was obviously not the one in charge. After a while, he sent a message to Nie Yan: "My friend said that we can pay a deposit of one silver coin first, and if your strategy guide is indeed effective, we'll pay the other silver coin."

Nie Yan thought for a moment and said, "Okay." The other party was willing to make this deal because Nie Yan had guessed correctly several times. If they paid the money first, they would be taking a big risk. If Nie Yan was a scammer, their money would be wasted. So, they would pay half of the deposit first.

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

"The money has been transferred," Stone said. He was also a little nervous. If Nie Yan cut off the voice chat, their one silver coin would be wasted.

"There are seven Fallen Wizards at the wooden fence of the first checkpoint. Don't let the warriors try to tank. Seven Fallen Wizards firing together can't be blocked by warriors below Level 5. Have the Thief stand outside the fence under the locust tree. Use a bow and arrow to shoot the Fallen Wizard on the left. Remember, the shooting position must be correct in order to lure out exactly three Fallen Wizards. After you kill the three Fallen Wizards, the remaining four will be much easier. The second important place is next to the altar. There is a Fallen Priest there. When dealing with him, you might accidentally lure out the Fallen Wizard Leader. The Fallen Priest moves every five minutes. When he walks to the stone pillar outside the altar, have the Shield Warrior lure him, pulling him about five or six yards away, and then have the melee characters surround him. After you kill the Fallen Priest, you can kill the Fallen Wizard Leader. If there are any other problems, you can send me a message," Nie Yan said. Since he was taking their money, he would help them eliminate the problem. Anyway, it was just a small dungeon that would soon be cleared, and exchanging some information for money wasn't bad, especially since it was a full two silver coins.

"That's it?" Stone asked, stunned.

"That's it."

Such a small amount of information was worth two silver coins. Nie Yan's money was being earned too easily.

However, this method of passing the level was the summary of countless people's experiences. An ordinary team would have to wipe several times to figure it out. Thinking about it that way, the strategy guide might not be expensive.

Hu Die Lan