Chapter 1 Practicing Skills

After practicing his skills for a while, Nie Yan checked the time and realized it was time to log off.

He glanced at his skill proficiencies: Backstab (Level 6, 35%), Counterattack (Level 6, 12%), Instant Strike (Level 6, 67%), Shadowstrike Assassination (Level 6, 95%), and Spine Break (Level 8, 56%). These five free skills were all above Level 6.

Nie Yan scanned his skill bar, his gaze suddenly landing on one skill in particular. Could he train his Thieving skill in this map?

The higher the level of the Thieving skill, the greater the chance of success. Ordinary players usually only had Thieving skills below Level 3. If he could upgrade his Thieving skill to Level 6 or higher, it would be exceptionally significant for Nie Yan! The Thieving skill was attached to the Shadow of Sothoth. Ever since he bound himself to the Shadow of Sothoth, Nie Yan gained skill proficiency whenever he used Thieving.

If he could also get fifty times the skill proficiency by training Thieving in this map, he might as well try to level it up.

The time was up. Nie Yan logged off the game, turned off the gaming pod, and stepped out.

Xie Yao next to him was also emerging from her gaming pod, dressed in a pink camisole nightgown, revealing a pair of exquisite jade shoulders. The slightly tight clothing accentuated her perfect figure, her chest full and ample, making her look incredibly alluring.

"Nie Yan, today's the first day of school, isn't it?" Xie Yao's eyebrows furrowed slightly. She had suddenly remembered, almost forgetting such an important thing.

Nie Yan averted his gaze and nodded. "Yeah, we should go register."

"There's only an hour left. I'll go change." Xie Yao said, grabbing clothes and heading into the bathroom.

The sound of rustling clothes came from the bathroom. Through the frosted glass, he could sense Xie Yao removing her camisole nightgown and changing clothes. Nie Yan couldn't help but feel a surge of amorous thoughts. He chuckled self-deprecatingly and grabbed some clothes to change as well.

Inside the bathroom, Xie Yao stood barefoot on the carpet, her jade-white toes like carved white jade.

As she slipped off her camisole nightgown, Xie Yao's heart fluttered. What if Nie Yan walked in at this moment? How awkward would that be? Nie Yan would inevitably act mischievously again. She glanced back at the outside. Nie Yan seemed to be getting dressed near the bed. She breathed a sigh of relief, yet felt a faint sense of disappointment.

She was about to enter First Military Academy, a place filled with outstanding girls. Would Nie Yan be dazzled by all the beautiful sights? Thinking of this, Xie Yao couldn't help but feel a little resentful.

She looked down. Her figure, while not as stunning as Jiang Yingyu's, wasn't far off. Recently, she could clearly feel that she had become fuller than before, her skin glowing with a jade-like luster, and her breasts seemed to have grown larger as well.

Thinking of this, Xie Yao's pretty face flushed crimson. In her heart, she couldn't help but look forward to the future. She had already decided on Nie Yan, but Nie Yan always seemed so busy. After considering it for a long time, Xie Yao made a decision. The thought of what would happen tonight filled Xie Yao's heart with shyness, but also a hint of determination.

After a while, Xie Yao walked out of the bathroom, wearing a purple floral dress.

Nie Yan's gaze fell on Xie Yao, and he couldn't look away. Xie Yao wearing this purple dress gave off a dreamlike feeling.

Xie Yao twirled in place, the hem of her dress fluttering in the air.

"How is it?" Xie Yao pursed her lips and smiled, looking at Nie Yan with expectant eyes.

"Not bad." Nie Yan nodded.

The two washed up, ate breakfast, and walked out of the villa. Not far from the villa was a bus stop where they could catch a ride.

Nie Yan loved this simple life. The loneliness of his past life made him cherish this hard-earned peace even more.

The bus wasn't crowded, with only about a dozen people. Several of them were students from First Military Academy. They sat in the front, occasionally turning back to steal glances.

"Is that girl one of our school's students?"

"Seems like she just transferred. I saw her filling out forms the other day."

"Too bad she already has a boyfriend."

They whispered amongst themselves, their murmurs clearly reaching Nie Yan's ears, surprising him. His hearing was better than before. Not only his hearing, but also his strength had increased a lot after using the gaming pod, even though he had been exercising less. It had been a long time since he tested his punching power, squats, and other physical data.

The students' topic gradually shifted to Faith.

"I'm only Level 71 right now. You guys are probably about the same, right? Liu Chen's the real deal, already Level 79." One of the students, wearing a plaid shirt and a slender build, said, raising his voice a little.

Level 71 was considered pretty good at the moment. However, showing off such a level in front of someone's monstrous Level 97 was a bit like brandishing a blade before Guan Yu.

Xie Yao and Nie Yan exchanged smiles. If they randomly pulled out a student from First Military Academy, they would probably be at least Level 60 or 70. After all, they were all elites, and being below Level 70 might be embarrassing to admit. Nie Yan suddenly had a strange thought. This vast First Military Academy, with at least fifty or sixty thousand people, how many players were from the Ni Ren (Bullsh*t) Tribe? Probably quite a few. What kind of reaction would they have after seeing Nie Yan? That would be quite interesting.

Nie Yan smiled playfully, looking out the window. The scenery outside was pleasant, with dense greenery on both sides of the road.

"There's going to be a performance on the first day of school. Apparently, Jiang Yingyu is going to perform." Xie Yao looked at Nie Yan with a hint of jealousy.

"Oh." Nie Yan chuckled awkwardly. Jiang Yingyu performing seemed to have nothing to do with him.

After a while, the bus stopped at the entrance of First Military Academy. Nie Yan and Xie Yao got off the bus together. Today was the day for new student registration, and people were coming and going at the school gate, creating a constant flow. Luckily, there were no parents accompanying them, or there would definitely be even more people here.

Nie Yan and Xie Yao entered the school gate together, registered, and would have classes in a while. He guessed the first class would just be an opportunity for classmates to meet each other, with no important lessons.

"I'll take you to your classroom," Nie Yan said. Luckily, their classrooms were only in adjacent buildings.

"Okay." Xie Yao nodded.

The two walked through a tree-lined path and entered a teaching building. Each teaching building had various facilities, and each floor was equipped with a gym. The Federation placed great importance on the cultivation of the physical fitness of all its citizens. Competitive combat programs were the most important courses, even surpassing any theoretical courses.

Nie Yan took Xie Yao to her classroom and glanced inside. There were about thirty students in Xie Yao's class, mostly girls, about twenty-five or twenty-six. The boys in the class were as precious as pandas. He couldn't help but sigh, this class really was dominated by women.

After leaving Xie Yao, Nie Yan walked through the passage between the teaching buildings and headed towards his classroom.

He glanced at the sign on the door. It was indeed the Command Department, so he walked inside.

There were a total of twenty-three people in the Command Department. Including Nie Yan, there were fifteen boys, of varying ages, ranging from twenty-five or twenty-six to about twenty years old. Casually scanning the classroom, the Command Department consisted of elites selected from all over the world. As commanders of troops, proper looks were the most basic requirement. Not one of these people was ugly or deformed. The quality of the girls in the class was good, all considered passable, with several being of the mature, older sister type, wearing sexy outfits with black lace, which was quite a sight from afar.

Nie Yan mentally assessed them. He was absolutely loyal to Xie Yao, but that didn't stop him from occasionally looking at beautiful women. As long as there were no lewd thoughts in his mind, he could be at ease.

He sat down in a seat. Next to him was a boy of about twenty years old, a little thin, but very strong. It was impossible to enter First Military Academy without passing the physical fitness requirements.

"Hello, my name is Xu Yan." He smiled brightly and introduced himself. "My game ID is Molu, Level 75 Warrior, from the Ni Ren (Bullsh*t) Tribe. Hey, bro, where are you from?"

Nie Yan was speechless. This guy was from the Ni Ren (Bullsh*t) Tribe, but he didn't need to say it everywhere, did he? In just a moment, his identity information, guild affiliation, everything was leaked.

At this moment, two people from behind also crowded around.

"Hello, my name is Fei Zhe, game ID Magician, Level 71 Demon Hunter, from the Bloodfall Legacy Guild of the Satreen Empire."

"My name is Xia Tianyu, game ID Motian, Level 78 Arcane Mage, from the Divine Sword Guild." Seeing that the two people next to him were lower level than himself, Xia Tianyu couldn't help but reveal a trace of arrogance when he spoke. So far, he hadn't found anyone higher level than him. Level 78, wearing a full set of Fallen Scarlet Blaze equipment, he rarely encountered opponents.

The students of First Military Academy had a habit of introducing their ID, level, class, guild, etc., when they introduced themselves.

"I'm Nie Yan." Nie Yan hesitated for a moment before saying.

"You're Nie Yan? I'm more like Radiant Sacred Flame." Molu rolled his eyes, looking disbelieving.

Nie Yan picked up a booklet from the table and pointed to the words 'Nie Yan' on the cover.

"So it's this Nie Yan. I thought it was Crazy Thief Nie Yan." The other two revealed expressions of realization.

"Hey, Nie Yan, aren't you the guy who got first place overall? First in the physical test. I saw your data, so strong." Fei Zhe suddenly said in surprise.

Xu Yan was stunned, and then remembered. "So you're the Nie Yan who got first place overall."

Hearing this, Xia Tianyu also put away some of his arrogance. He was ranked sixth overall, not far from fifth place, which was considered excellent, but compared to Nie Yan, who was ranked first overall, he was far behind.

Nie Yan mentally assessed the three of them. Xu Yan was the kind of person who was cheerful and without scheming, Fei Zhe was somewhat introverted and shy, and Xia Tianyu was a little arrogant, but not too annoying. These three were the first classmates Nie Yan met after entering First Military Academy.

"That was just luck," Nie Yan said with a smile, glossing over the topic. He deliberately concealed the answers to questions about guilds, levels, and classes, and started talking to Xu Yan and the others about other things.

However, Xia Tianyu had some doubts in his heart, carefully examining Nie Yan. Could this guy in front of him really be Crazy Thief Nie Yan? But then he thought about it, smiled faintly. What kind of person was Crazy Thief Nie Yan? How could he be this unremarkable Nie Yan in front of him!