The Hidden Village and a Calculated Move

Lin Shenyue and the three others followed Ye Jue to this hidden mountain village. They watched him navigate, turning left and right, deftly avoiding numerous monsters. Any creatures they couldn’t bypass were swiftly eliminated by their combined efforts. After a full ten minutes of travel, they finally reached their destination.

Noticing the suspicious glances from everyone except Lin Shenyue, Ye Jue offered an awkward smile. “This is a place I stumbled upon by chance,” he explained. “Now that I think about it, it’s quite suitable.”

Though the three harbored some doubts, they could only attribute it to Ye Jue’s accidental discovery. Observing Lin Shenyue’s unsurprised expression, Xu Linglong instantly felt she had overreacted.

Ye Jue shook his head resignedly. “There are too few quests available in the village,” he continued, “but Yue’er should be able to accept more. Let’s split into groups.”

Xu Linglong immediately stepped forward and embraced Lin Shenyue. “Yue’er and I are a team,” she declared. “The three of you can form another.”

Ye Jue was somewhat speechless, yet this division seemed rather reasonable. A Berserker was, after all, a warrior, possessing more resilience than Divine Wind and Embracing the Moon, Clear Breeze. However, if he were paired with Lin Shenyue, their efficiency would undoubtedly be abysmal.

Therefore, even knowing Xu Linglong was intentionally complicating things for him, Ye Jue found himself without recourse. Though he, Divine Wind, and Embracing the Moon, Clear Breeze lacked a healer, their superior damage output and high defense allowed them to resolve battles quickly, making them a far more effective team than if Xu Linglong were to join them.

Once the groups were finalized, Xu Linglong pulled Lin Shenyue into the village. As for Ye Jue and his two companions, they could only accept the sole available quest: ‘Exterminate the Pests.’ This quest was issued by the village’s apothecary, whose shop was currently the only open establishment.

Meanwhile, thanks to Lin Shenyue’s high charm, she and Xu Linglong secured several tasks. They accepted the blacksmith’s request to gather fine iron and the tailor’s quest to collect wool. Additionally, they took on a more challenging mission from a villager: ‘Clear Out the Bandits.’

These quests were not inherently difficult, and their rewards were modest. Completing them primarily served to accumulate favor; otherwise, Ye Jue would not have bothered with such low-yield tasks.

After all, he still had many highly rewarding quests in mind. While many couldn’t be undertaken at this stage, there were still viable options. It was only unfortunate that, being wanted, he was forced to lie low for the time being.

While Lin Shenyue and her companions were busy increasing their favor and leveling up, Undying Emperor was severely reprimanding his subordinates. From the moment they lost track of those few individuals, he sensed that things were spiraling out of control.

He knew that such promising players had to be eliminated immediately. Should they be allowed to grow, even if they posed no direct threat, they would undoubtedly cause significant trouble.

‘Did they go offline?’ Undying Emperor mused inwardly, then shook his head. ‘Impossible. If they were to log off over such a minor issue, I wouldn’t need to pay them so much attention.’

After a long period of contemplation, Undying Emperor spoke in a chilling tone. “Tell the intelligence agents to intensify their search. If they fail to find them, I will make them experience my methods.”

The assistant beside him shivered at Undying Emperor’s grim voice, immediately relaying his orders. It was well known that Undying Emperor was no benevolent figure; those capable of managing a large guild were never easy to deal with.

Yet, even with his subordinates frantically searching for nearly an hour, they still found nothing. Upon hearing the news, Undying Emperor fell silent for a moment before withdrawing all his personnel.

“Guild Leader, are we no longer searching for them?” the assistant inquired.

Undying Emperor replied flatly, “How would we find them? Divine Realm is vast; if they simply hide in any corner, who could possibly locate them?” He paused, then added, “Recall most of the personnel. Keep a small contingent focused on the dungeons; I refuse to believe they won’t emerge.”

The assistant nodded in acknowledgment, passing Undying Emperor’s command down to those below.

Drunken Beauty listened to the report from her subordinates and chuckled softly. “The Undying Dynasty seems to have encountered a minor setback. However, who knows if this small trouble won’t escalate into a significant problem if it lingers?” She thought, ‘Those few individuals are clearly highly valued by Undying Emperor, so there must be something extraordinary about them. I need to pay closer attention.’

****

Setting aside the external situation, although there were no undead monsters around Azer Village, the group’s leveling speed would inevitably slow. However, their primary objective in coming here was not to level up.

Nevertheless, a collective frustration simmered within them. They knew they could visit this village at any time, but now they were being forced to come. Still, they were currently powerless to contend with such a massive guild and could only bide their time until they grew stronger.

Lin Shenyue and Xu Linglong were the first to raise the village’s favor from ‘Indifferent’ to ‘Friendly,’ granting Lin Shenyue access to most shops, while Xu Linglong gained access to some. Ye Jue and his two companions also managed to significantly boost the village’s overall favor through a tedious quest, though it hadn’t quite reached ‘Friendly,’ it was close.

As Lin Shenyue pondered her next move, she received a private message from Ye Jue.

“Yue’er, check if the shop at coordinates 335, 259 in the village has opened.”

Upon receiving the message, Lin Shenyue told Xu Linglong, “Linglong, let’s go check 335, 259 together.” It was fortunate Xu Linglong was with her, otherwise she would have been completely lost.

Following Xu Linglong to the location, they found only an ordinary shop. Upon entering, they discovered a middle-aged man sound asleep inside.

Unwilling to directly wake the man, Lin Shenyue walked straight to the counter and began to examine its contents.

The counter displayed various scrolls, but their differences were indistinguishable from their external appearance alone. After observing for a while, Xu Linglong impatiently stated, “Yue’er, just wake him up. Otherwise, who knows how long he’ll sleep?”

Lin Shenyue quickly intervened. “Linglong, let’s not. We should wait a little longer.”

Xu Linglong grumbled, “Wait? Who knows how long we’ll have to wait.”

Just then, the two suddenly heard a voice. “Young lady, one must have patience in their endeavors. Your friend, for instance, possesses far more patience than you.”

Xu Linglong gasped, turning her head to see the middle-aged man, who had been slumped over, now sitting up and smiling at them both.

Xu Linglong pouted, choosing not to respond. She understood that NPC favor was crucial in this game. She had already intended to disturb him, and saying anything wrong now could easily cause her favor to drop.

The middle-aged man, being rather amiable, did not press the matter. He looked at Lin Shenyue and asked, “Do you intend to buy anything?”

Lin Shenyue nodded. “Can I purchase items from you?”

The middle-aged man pondered for a moment before finally replying, “You may. Although your requirements haven’t been met, I find you, young lady, pleasing to the eye, so I shall consider them fulfilled.” He then glanced at Xu Linglong, chuckling, “However, this restless, impatient young lady cannot.”

Upon hearing this, Xu Linglong nearly erupted. What did he mean, a restless young lady? She merely lacked a *little* patience; was it necessary to be so cutting?

Lin Shenyue, seeing her friend on the verge of exploding, quickly pulled her back. Having spent the day with Xu Linglong, she had discovered that her best friend was straightforward and couldn’t keep things bottled up. If she hadn’t restrained Xu Linglong, her friend would likely have already confronted the man.

Holding her friend back, Lin Shenyue addressed the middle-aged man. “Sir, please don’t tease my friend. She has a very direct nature, and I apologize on her behalf if she disturbed you.”

The middle-aged man waved his hand, smiling. “I was merely joking with the young lady; you needn’t worry.”

Xu Linglong looked at the man’s unbothered expression and smiled wryly. ‘The developers have made these NPCs too human-like,’ she thought. ‘They can even joke with players.’ If he had joked with someone else, she wouldn’t have minded. But being the target of the joke herself made her a little annoyed.

The middle-aged man’s smile faded as he displayed all the scrolls he currently possessed to Lin Shenyue.

Fireball Scroll: Unleashes a fireball with 500 attack power, targeting any enemy within a 20-meter radius. Cooldown: 5 seconds. Price: 1 silver.

Ice Arrow Scroll: Unleashes an ice arrow with 500 attack power, targeting any enemy within a 20-meter radius, and reduces the target’s movement speed by 20%. Cooldown: 5 seconds. Price: 5 silver.

…

Fire Rain Scroll: Unleashes a torrent of fire within a 5×5 meter area, dealing 1500 magic damage per second to enemies within the area for 3 seconds. Cooldown: 30 seconds. Price: 100 gold.

Mist Scroll: Creates a thin mist within a 5×5 meter area, dealing 500 magic damage per second to enemies or restoring 300 health per second to allies within the area for 3 seconds. Cooldown: 30 seconds. Price: 100 gold.

Thorn Growth Scroll: Creates a thorny patch within a 5×5 meter area, dealing 1000 magic damage per second to enemies for 3 seconds, and binding all enemies within the area for 1 second. Cooldown: 30 seconds. Price: 100 gold.

…

Golden Mountain Flood: Deals 5000 magic damage per second in a frontal fan-shaped area for 3 seconds. Cooldown: 5 minutes. Price: 1 million gold.

Tornado: Deals 5000 magic damage per second to enemies within a 15×15 meter area in front for 3 seconds. Cooldown: 5 minutes. Price: 1 million gold.

…

Lin Shenyue was stunned by the sight of so many terrifying scrolls. After regaining her composure, she screenshot all the scroll information and sent it to Ye Jue, leaving the selection of scrolls to him.

Upon receiving Lin Shenyue’s message, Ye Jue couldn’t help but feel a surge of emotion. Scrolls of this caliber were rarely dropped, perhaps only by a few high-level bosses at this stage. While incredibly potent, such items were also incredibly expensive. Even if not purchased directly, the cost of having a Scrollcrafter create them was exceptionally high, a luxury only major guilds or super guilds could afford.

Their team’s funds were generally managed by Lin Shenyue, and they currently held nearly 1500 gold coins. This sum was only enough to purchase a small number of area-of-effect scrolls. As for single-target damage scrolls, they had no immediate need.

Ye Jue issued his instructions. “Purchase five Thorn Growth scrolls, five Fire Rain scrolls, and three Mist scrolls. Keep the remaining gold coins for now.”

‘I’ve prepared quite a gift for you, Undying Emperor,’ Ye Jue sneered inwardly.