"Alright, let's head back first!"
Xiao Chen wasn't very used to being alone with a female professional. He simply walked ahead, clearing monsters while searching for elite ones.
"Xiao Chen, are you hunting a BOSS alone in the level 40 monster area?"
"Yeah, I don't mind BOSS or elite monsters."
"Are you short on money?"
"Come on, who the hell isn't short on money?"
"Do you want me to heal you? With your output, we might be able to take down level 50 elite mobs."
"No need, I can handle it alone."
Xiao Chen was telling the truth; working together would only lower efficiency.
He had life-steal abilities, so in low-level monster areas, having a healer or not didn't make much difference.
If he let Liu Man help, it would not only incur an unnecessary favor but also slow down her leveling speed.
"Alright, let's head back to the city together."
Rejected, Liu Man wasn't upset.
Everyone has their own path.
On the way back, Xiao Chen couldn't help but check Liu Man's attributes.
Then, he was taken aback:
"Wait, you're a healer with over a hundred thousand HP?"
"I'm over level 60, isn't that normal?"
"Is it normal?
What tier of professional are you?"
"B-rank Priest."
"Alright, then that might be somewhat normal."
Being able to wear a full silver set and have golden weapons at level 60, she indeed had some strength.
"What's your total attribute score?"
"Fifteen thousand."
Seeing this number, Xiao Chen felt a bit more balanced.
When he reached over level 60, if he wore a silver set, he would have similar attributes.
"Let's add each other as friends."
"..."
"Is it because my tier is lower or my equipment is worse that you won't add me as a friend?"
"Not really, most of my friends are E or F-rank professionals."
It's just that most of them are no longer around, and he hasn't added more since.
On the way back to the city, Xiao Chen started dealing with items.
"Sold Stellar Dagger (Silver-grade), +2800 gold coins."
"Sold Stellar Helmet (Silver-grade), +800 gold coins."
"Sold Abyssal Magic Core (Silver-grade), +10000 gold coins."
"Sold Magic Vortex Potion Recipe (learnable by level 60 Alchemists), +12000 gold coins."
Killing a level 60 BOSS yielded a total of 25,600, which was quite substantial.
It could be said that this was the highest profit Xiao Chen had made since becoming a professional.
Xiao Chen's current total wealth: 31,056 gold.
"Liu Man, you haven't been awakened for a year, right?"
"Yeah, almost a year."
"How much gold do you have on you?"
"Over fifty thousand."
No need to say, she's also from a big family like Wang Hai.
Don't compare wealth with people like that.
"In the future, you should find a more reliable team. With your professional talent, if something happens, it would be a loss for Tiannan City."
Li Fei would probably find dealing with a professional like Liu Man very troublesome; it would be very difficult to kill her.
Ordinary professionals would be killed in a few hits.
"I still need to go out to grind monsters, but I have to deliberately hide my name."
You can't stop moving forward just because you're afraid of revenge; you still need to keep improving.
"Xiao Chen, you're right.
Becoming a professional always comes with risks. The Human Race can't keep retreating if we want to overcome our difficulties.
Compared to our ancestors, we're already much happier."
"Damn, don't elevate the conversation like that."
"Xiao Chen, I suddenly remembered, I've heard your name before."
"What? Am I that famous?"
"I'm also friends with Wang Hai."
"Alright!"
These second-generation wealthy are all in the same circle, so it's normal for them to know each other.
"For people like us, leveling up is actually easy, but opportunities for life-and-death experiences are rare.
Today, I've learned a lot.
Also, I want to sincerely thank you again."
"No need, you've already thanked me."
A level 60 BOSS, that was already very sincere.
"I have a golden necklace in my backpack. If you need it, I'll give it to you as a token of gratitude for saving my life."
A golden necklace!
"Wow, if you want to thank me again, feel free."
Golden equipment, especially a necklace, who could refuse that?
"Alright, hurry up and level up. I hope to see you at level 80 or 90."
"I definitely will, thank you so much.
If you ever need me, Xiao Chen, I'll do my best to help."
Taking a golden necklace made Xiao Chen feel a bit guilty.
In comparison, kicking her out of the team earlier seemed even more inappropriate.
Even if he hadn't kicked her out, she probably wouldn't have wanted those drops, right?
For a moment, Xiao Chen felt a bit like a jerk.
"Alright, I'm heading back to the city first.
Once I reach level 80, I'll venture out again. I refuse to believe I'll get killed again."
Professionals like Wang Zhen and Liu Mei might never reach level 80 in their lifetime.
But for Liu Man, reaching level 80 really wouldn't be too difficult.
"Miss Liu, you'll definitely become stronger and stronger."
"Why are you suddenly being so polite?"
"It's only right."
Xiao Chen was very polite, and after Liu Man left, he quickly found a secluded corner to sit down.
Actually, even in a crowded place, others couldn't see what was in his backpack.
[Glimmering Necklace, Gold-grade, Equipment Level: None
Total Attributes +100, Attack Power +20%
Effect 1: 10% chance to dodge damage.]
A very explosive bonus, with very impressive attributes.
The golden necklace's bonus was more than double that of the silver necklace.
This was something only the strong at levels 80 or 90 could possess, and its price in the marketplace was ten times that of a silver necklace.
Something worth nearly thirty thousand gold coins, just given away like that.
"Well, I did save her life!"
Thinking this way, Xiao Chen felt a bit more at ease.
Right now, Xiao Chen really needed something like this.
"With over thirty thousand gold coins left, it's time to upgrade Xiao Qiang a bit."
Today was the day Xiao Chen spent the most money.
"Two portions of Bronze-grade Undying Divine Fire, -10,000 gold."
"You obtained 80 Black Iron-grade Undying Crystal Cores, -1,600 gold."
"You obtained 100 Bronze-grade Undying Crystal Cores, -20,000 gold."
Xiao Chen was really going all out; this time, he had to upgrade Xiao Qiang properly.
[Your summoned beast has been upgraded to Silver-grade, HP +20,000, Attack +1,000]
[Your summoned beast has fused with an Undying Crystal Core, HP +200]
[Using Bronze-grade Undying Crystal Core, HP +1,000, Attack +100, Defense +50]
After a series of exaggerated notifications, Xiao Qiang's form expanded to twice its size.
Its body grew larger, yet it seemed much more agile.
[Undead Skeleton: LV55 Silver-grade.
HP: 140,000 Attack: 10,001 Defense: 1,852
Skill: Summon (Level 4) Each clone inherits 40% of the main body's attributes.
Advancement Condition: Undying Divine Fire (Silver-grade) 2]
After spending over thirty thousand gold coins, Xiao Qiang finally became somewhat formidable.
"In the future, I'll get a set of silver-grade equipment and a better weapon, and it can hold its own."
Xiao Chen also wanted to just throw Xiao Qiang into a group of monsters while grinding.
Each little skeleton had over fifty thousand HP, much thicker than the original main body's HP.
After putting on the golden necklace, Xiao Chen's overall combat power significantly increased.
"Let's go, follow me to grind level 60 mobs!"
For safety's sake, Xiao Chen didn't go back to the original place but directly teleported to the guild territory.
A month ago, he didn't dare venture too far from the Defense Tower's range with his strength, but now it was obviously different.
Returning to the guild territory again, Xiao Chen felt a sense of familiarity.
He didn't know if it was just his imagination, but this time, everyone seemed to be smiling and greeting him.
Xiao Chen didn't have many friends; did these people mistake him for someone else?
"Boss, you're back."
Hearing this title suddenly, Xiao Chen thought he might have misheard.
"Boss?"
Since when did he have anything to do with that word?
"Yeah, Boss Xiao Chen, don't be modest.
Killing a level 60 Assassin is something ordinary people can't do."
"You know about that?"
"The guild channel had a system announcement.
Zhang Fan even spammed the guild channel for a long time; everyone knows."
Hearing this, Xiao Chen felt like going crazy:
"Zhang Fan, I swear I'll never forgive you."
Isn't this just attracting hatred?
Xiao Chen quickly hid his name, level, and all his information.
"Don't worry, Zhang Fan has been muted by Chen Zhan in the guild channel."
"Good job."
"He couldn't speak in the guild channel, so he went to spam the city channel."
Now, half of Tiannan City knew that Zhang Fan had an awesome brother who killed an Assassin on the bounty list, ten levels above him.
That achievement was indeed impressive, even a bit exaggerated.
But it was just a coincidence; he was lucky to escape with his life.
Xiao Chen really didn't intend to claim the bounty; he just accidentally got a kill!
"It seems that killing a professional on the bounty list has quite an impact."
In a year, Xiao Chen hadn't talked much with his friends, and now all their avatars were flashing.
Su Ming: "As expected of someone I admire, impressive!"
Sun Jian: "Your level isn't high, but your combat power is undeniable."
Zhang Fan: "Quick, thank me, I made you famous."
Li Hailan: "Brother Xiao, you can't keep a low profile now."
Wang Zhen: "I was wondering why you weren't leveling up; turns out you were secretly doing big things."
Chen Zhan: "You've brought honor to the guild; I'll reward you with a black iron-grade skill book."
It's always the guild members who give the most practical things.
A black iron-grade skill book, you can use up to five, and what skills you awaken is entirely up to luck.
"Your attack range +10!"
Alright, this skill book might as well not be used.