Chapter Thirty: Strengthening Power

Zhao Nan had twelve gold coins of his own, and then thirty-five more dropped from the berserker Da Shan, making a total of forty-seven. At this early stage of the game, that was quite a sum—money earned from quests and monster farming was pitifully scarce. Zhao Nan’s original coins only broke out of single digits after completing a fantasy dungeon, but the berserker had almost three times as many. It seemed the “Darkness” group collected quite a bit of wealth from ordinary people; one could only wonder how many had suffered under their oppression.

Though forty-seven coins seemed plenty, the price list the girl laid out for skills made it clear it wasn’t enough. Helpless, Zhao Nan spent fifteen coins on a skill book for "Explosive Fireball," then twenty coins on a level seven mage skill, "Scorching Ray." Looking at the remaining twelve coins, he spent ten more on a level six mage skill, "Inferno Burst."

"Explosive Fireball" was an area-of-effect skill; it unleashed dozens of small fireballs within a ten-meter radius. These fireballs lacked the power of the regular ones, but made up for it in sheer numbers—a sweeping attack, ideal for farming mobs. "Scorching Ray" was a single-target attack, powerful and, once focused on the target, inflicted a three-second burn. It was suitable for fighting elite monsters and bosses.

Then there was "Inferno Burst." Its power was three times that of the regular fireball at mastery, but its drawbacks were obvious. It required a lot of mana, took eight seconds to cast, and lasted for twenty minutes.

In other words, it was like a time bomb—unsuited for real-time combat or player versus player encounters, but perfect for setting traps.

As for the key he got from Da Shan, it couldn’t be identified directly. Such items needed appraisal. The mage hall offered such services—at a staggering fee of five hundred gold coins. Zhao Nan paused, said nothing, and stored the key in his backpack.

Money came quickly, but was spent just as fast. Leaving the mage hall, Zhao Nan’s pockets were nearly empty. Yet he still lacked a staff.

He was hesitant. The money he had left wouldn’t even buy a basic staff, and although he had a top-tier one in his pack, he wasn’t high enough level to use it.

Finina had already returned the sword to Zhang Li, so she was empty-handed as well. Zhao Nan touched his nose, mocking himself, “Finina, looks like you’re following a pauper now!”

“Isn’t there a saying? 'Marry a chicken, follow the chicken; marry a dog, follow the dog'? I guess I’m just unlucky,” Finina replied with a giggle.

“Well…” Zhao Nan touched his nose again. Though they joked, earning money was a pressing matter.

“By the way, Nan, give me a gold coin.”

“Here.” Zhao Nan handed it over, even giving her the last two coins in his pack.

“Wait for me.” Finina quickly pecked his cheek and turned into the mage hall.

When she came back, a brand new mask was on her face.

Zhao Nan was puzzled, “Isn’t that unnecessary?”

Finina quietly moved close, resting her head on his shoulder, whispering, “No… This is something just for you.”

Zhao Nan paused, affectionately pulling her closer. Suddenly, his brow relaxed and he snapped his fingers. “Ah, I remembered a good place to grind levels—and maybe even earn a little money!”

“Are we going now?”

“No, first I need to buy some trinkets… By the way, Finina, are you afraid of mice?”

Zhao Nan’s hand traced gently along Finina’s waist, “Like this—things crawling all over you.”

“Stop it!” Finina pretended to strike him.

…

“You’re finally back, Xiao Yang! Why so late?”

At the gathering spot for Dongyuan High, a tall youth looked nervously at the four returning members.

Jiang Yue quickly said, “Teacher Cheng Feng, we ran into the ‘Darkness’ people, and a lot happened.”

Cheng Feng hurriedly asked, “What happened? Did they hurt you?”

“Relax, Teacher, see? We’re all fine,” Zhang Li laughed. “It was exciting! We taught the ‘Darkness’ people a lesson today, and it felt great! Ha ha.”

Cheng Feng frowned, looking at Xu Yang, “What really happened?”

Xu Yang shook his head, glancing at the three girls. Cheng Feng caught on and said, “Alright, we’ll talk about this later. You must be tired; go rest. One student leveled up their chef profession today and made lots of good food!”

“Really? I’m starving! Let’s go, let’s go!” Li Meina cheered, bouncing away.

As the three girls ran off, Cheng Feng asked, “Xiao Yang?”

Xu Yang didn’t hide anything and told him everything that happened at noon, except for Zhao Nan and Finina—he just said they were unknown players.

“Xiao Yang, you’re too reckless!” Cheng Feng said seriously, “Didn’t I warn you not to mess with the ‘Darkness’ people?”

Xu Yang replied irritably, “Should I just let people die for nothing? Living like a dog—would you really be satisfied?”

Cheng Feng forced a bitter smile, “That’s not what I meant! I just worry about you all. Xiao Yang, can’t you see how much I care?”

Xu Yang fell silent, looking weary. He sighed, “Cheng Feng, I don’t want to talk about this now.”

“Xiao Yang, I really like you!” Cheng Feng said passionately, gripping Xu Yang’s shoulder.

“Cheng Feng, you’re hurting me!” Xu Yang pulled back.

“Sorry, Xiao Yang, I didn’t mean to…”

Xu Yang shook his head, eyes downcast, “I appreciate your feelings. But I really can’t think about this now… I’m tired. Let me be alone for a while.”

“Alright.” Cheng Feng gave a bitter smile, “I guess I scared you. Go rest—I’ll bring you some food.”

“No need, I’m not hungry. Thanks.” Xu Yang replied calmly.

Watching Xu Yang’s retreating figure, Cheng Feng’s expression gradually cooled. He quickly pressed his hand to his ear.

“Zhang Li… Yes, I want to hear more about what happened today. Good, same place as always—I’ll be right over… Love you the most.”

…

Night.

Outside Dongyuan City.

At the edge of the novice map, most monsters were level seven or eight; in some spots, level nine monsters could be seen. Zhao Nan and Finina moved slowly through this dangerous area.

When the moon was high, they finally stopped. In front of them was a pitch-black cave entrance—a blend of an old railway tunnel, a mine, and tangled roots.

“The depths of Rock Forest,” Zhao Nan read the words above the entrance, “This is the place.”

Finina didn’t know what Zhao Nan planned, but just being by his side was enough.

They entered the cave, walking for about half an hour. In the darkness, aside from an oppressive stillness, strange noises echoed loudly.

Rustling.

Occasional red glints appeared.

“Zombie rats, level seven monsters,” Zhao Nan pointed at the red lights, “Those are their eyes.”

“So many… It’s terrifying,” Finina said, clinging to Zhao Nan’s arm. “You’re not planning to mess with these rats, are you?”

“Hehe, the numbers are scary, but the experience you’ll get will make you forget your fear,” Zhao Nan replied mysteriously, quickening his pace with Finina in tow.

After entering, there was a stretch of safe zone. Though countless zombie rats crowded the path, the two of them were safe.

The exit wasn’t far. Beyond it lay a grand underground structure—countless pillars and stone bridges, forming a vast hollow space. In the distance, water could be heard, and below seemed to be a subterranean river.

“From here on, it’s not safe anymore.”

Zhao Nan looked around, took several small bottles from his pack, quickly uncapped them, and mixed their contents together. A pungent odor spread.

“This is a special potion. Zombie rats won’t approach if they smell it, but if attacked, they’ll still fight back.”

After applying the potion, Zhao Nan and Finina moved quickly through the area.

Soon, they reached a massive pit—fifteen meters deep and about ten meters across. In its center was a strange, broken statue.

Under Finina’s confused gaze, Zhao Nan poured the potion around the pit’s edge, then began to climb down. Below their feet was a small platform, three meters from the top. Zhao Nan poured the rest of the potion around the platform, then climbed further down, pulling Finina along.

“Wait here. No matter what you hear, don’t leave. Don’t worry, I’ll be back soon.”

With that, Zhao Nan climbed up to the edge of the pit.