Chapter 1 The Tranquility Broken

The City of Eternity was as calm as usual. Dozens of mechanical puppets clustered together, wandering aimlessly through its streets. A group of people entered through the main gate, breaking the silence.

"Sun and I will lure the monsters. The rest of you just wait here and soak up the experience," Nie Yan said, sticking to their usual arrangement. He and Sun were faster and better suited for monster-luring. The warriors were okay, but the mages weren't.

"Boss, we don't have to do anything?"

"Yeah?"

"You guys can pick up the loot later," Nie Yan said, rushing toward the large group of mechanical puppets in the distance.

Sun followed close behind, only slightly slower.

"Boss, Po Tian has hidden himself on the level rankings," Xia Chong Yu Bing said, noticing the change in the rankings.

Nie Yan glanced at the level rankings. Po Tian had disappeared.

"What level was he before?"

"Level 28," Xia Chong Yu Bing replied, having caught a glimpse at the last moment.

"Level 28?" Nie Yan frowned. He hadn't expected Po Tian to level up so quickly. Guild leaders like him always had their subordinates find the fastest leveling methods. Hiding from the rankings meant he was probably pushing even harder in secret. "Whatever, it's not a big deal."

After a while, Nie Yan and Sun lured a huge swarm of mechanical puppets—three or four hundred of them—which surrounded them.

As they ran, Nie Yan and Sun tossed out area-of-effect magic bombs.

*Boom, boom, boom!* The bombs exploded, and bursts of flame engulfed the surrounding mechanical puppets. The power was astonishing.

"Boss, where did you get these things? They're so powerful!"

"Bought them from a Tesoy NPC shop," Nie Yan said.

"These things are so awesome. I'll buy some next time."

"How much does one cost?" Wu Feng, who had been silent until now, asked, pointing out the key issue. Leveling with area-of-effect magic bombs like this could get someone to Level 35 or 36 in two or three days. There must be a reason why Nie Yan and Tang Yao hadn't organized a large group of players to level here.

"One gold coin for two," Nie Yan said, tossing out another area-of-effect magic bomb. *Boom!* It landed and exploded, the flames raging.

"..." The entire team gasped.

What did one gold coin mean? Even Level 20 Gold equipment, except for a few pieces used by Shield Warriors and Priests, usually didn't sell for more than one gold. Throwing out two area-of-effect magic bombs was like throwing away a piece of Level 20 Gold equipment?

No amount of money could withstand that kind of spending!

Although this leveling method was fast, it was too expensive and not worth promoting.

Seeing Nie Yan toss out one area-of-effect magic bomb after another, the team members felt a pang of fear, as if pieces of their own flesh were being cut off. How much money was this costing!

The boss was actually spending so much money to help them level up, which moved them greatly. Many guild leaders were stingy with money and unwilling to give out guild rewards, making them unpopular. Nie Yan, on the other hand, was quite generous.

Nie Yan understood that the money was secondary. These team members would become influential figures in the future, so the money he invested now was an investment in their loyalty. As for other promising members of the guild, as long as they were willing to work for the guild, Nie Yan would find ways to help them level up as well.

The area-of-effect magic bombs were quite effective. Before long, all three or four hundred mechanical puppets had fallen. Several team members were bathed in white light.

Six of the twelve people, including Nie Yan, leveled up. Nie Yan checked his level, which had reached Level 30. He didn't need new equipment yet, so he saved the seven stat points for later, when he encountered equipment with stat requirements. As for skill points, after leveling up to 30, Nie Yan learned two new specializations: Magic Device Usage and Kicking.

Nie Yan added the Magic Device Usage specialization to the beginner level. This specialization could only be leveled to beginner for now, granting a 20% bonus to the effects of magic items. For example, the area-of-effect magic bomb would deal 120 more damage on top of its base 600 damage, greatly increasing its effectiveness and saving him a lot of bombs. He immediately maxed out Kicking. This skill was awesome. When he encountered a mage chanting a spell, he could rush up and kick them, interrupting their casting and possibly stunning them.

After Nie Yan spent his skill points, the team members had already gathered up the items dropped on the ground, and they automatically gathered the items together.

"Boss, let's put all this stuff in the guild warehouse. We didn't do anything, and the guild spent so much money on us, so we shouldn't take any of this," Sha Bu Si De Huai Dan said. He was usually carefree, but he knew that they shouldn't take these items. Selling them or putting them in the guild warehouse could help Nie Yan reduce his losses.

"We can't use these things anyway, so let's put them in the guild warehouse to enrich it," Cui Can Dao Guang said. His authority among the team members was second only to Nie Yan, so his words carried some weight.

Nie Yan nodded and said, "Put the dropped equipment and items in the guild warehouse. If you need anything, just tell Guo Huai. As for the Charging Crystal Fragments, collect them all and save them for Yao Zi."

Nie Yan and the others proceeded to a plaza within the City of Eternity, where various streets converged.

"Warriors, go lure some monsters too. Lure them all to the center of the plaza," Nie Yan said. This was the best place to grind.

Cui Can Dao Guang and the others went to lure monsters, and mechanical puppets from all directions gathered in the central plaza.

Nie Yan constantly used area-of-effect magic bombs, which exploded in waves. Mechanical puppets fell to the ground in droves. The entire plaza was littered with mechanical puppet fragments and various pieces of equipment.

The team members' levels soared, and they howled like wolves.

"Boss, this is awesome!"

"The leveling speed is so fast!"

Nie Yan checked the levels of the team members, which had soared to 26 and 27. Two people were already at Level 28.

Wu Feng, Hei Bai, and the others lured monsters even more enthusiastically, while the team members collected the items dropped on the ground.

Nie Yan checked the loot. They already had 32 Charging Crystal Fragments. Tang Yao should be able to revive the arcane sprite soon.

"Boss, what kind of equipment is this?" Xia Chong Yu Bing asked, picking up a piece of dark metal armor. The armor had an ancient design, covered with runes. It was clearly an antique with an aura of chilling coldness.

"There's another one here. It's a gauntlet," Wu Dong Qi Ji said, picking up a gauntlet in the distance.

These team members had some discerning eyes. They recognized the extraordinary nature of these items at a glance.

Nie Yan saw the armor in Xia Chong Yu Bing's hand, covered in magic-sealing runes. It had to be that item. He couldn't help but say, "It's the Eternal Set. Bring it over."

The metal armor and metal gauntlets were passed to Nie Yan, and he identified them.

Eternal Armor (Silver): Requires Level 30, Strength 270, Agility 160. Set Components: Armor, Gauntlets, Leg Guards, Pauldrons, Cape, Helmet, Metal Boots, Heavy Shield.

Item Attributes: Heavy Armor, Metal Defense, Defense 330-339, Absorbs 5% of Damage Received, Magic Resistance 10%, Health +10%. When wearing the Eternal Armor, the level requirement of other set components is reduced by 10.

Item Restriction: Shield Warriors only.

Eternal Gauntlets (Silver): Requires Level 40. Set Components: Armor, Gauntlets, Leg Guards, Pauldrons, Cape, Helmet, Metal Boots, Heavy Shield.

Item Attributes: Heavy Armor, Metal Defense, Defense 220-238, Absorbs 2% of Damage Received, Magic Resistance 3%, Health +5%.

Item Restriction: Shield Warriors only.

The Eternal Set was produced in the City of Eternity, and it was divided into Silver, Gold, and Dark Gold tiers. Gold and Dark Gold items were dropped by elites, while Silver items were dropped by these ordinary monsters. Since there were so many set components, it was difficult to collect them all. The set had extremely good attributes, better than the Level 35 Metal Storm Gold Set, making it a top-grade defensive set for Shield Warriors. Collecting a complete set granted additional attribute bonuses and included a Level 6 Life Shield. In the early stages of the game, it was excellent defensive equipment.

Defensive equipment for Shield Warriors was extremely rare, so good items were highly sought after. Guild leaders usually wouldn't hesitate to spend money on good items for Shield Warriors.

"It's your stuff. Let's see if we can collect a complete set. With the armor, we can use the other components even if they're higher level," Nie Yan said, handing the two items to Cui Can Dao Guang. If they could collect a complete set of defensive equipment for a Shield Warrior, they could withstand high-level Lords. Then, in future guild activities, Nirvana Flame could challenge Lord-level creatures above their level.

Cui Can Dao Guang looked at the attributes of the equipment and was slightly surprised. "The attributes are good. What are the set bonuses?"

"The official website has a description. The Eternal Set comes with a Level 6 Life Shield," Nie Yan said. It was this Level 6 Life Shield skill that greatly increased the value of the set. When facing a Lord-level creature going berserk, putting on a Level 6 Life Shield might allow them to survive, which was significant for the team.

"That's not bad," Cui Can Dao Guang was also tempted. Level 40 high-defense equipment that he could wear at around Level 30 was extremely tempting.

"How much are you lacking in stats?"

"I'm a little short on Agility, but not by much," Cui Can Dao Guang said.

He could make up for the lack of Agility with gems. If they could create a complete Eternal Set, an invincible Level 30 Shield Warrior would be born!

Fa Biao De Wo Niu