Spearfish. Another organism that liked shallow waters. About half a meter long, it had a lengthy shape and looked no different from an ordinary fish. The only difference was the mouth and nose portion of its body protruding outward, making it look like a spear, hence its name. This thing’s attack power was pretty good, but it was still a fish!

Shallow Water Spearfish

Level: 65

Attack: 405~470

Defense: 320

HP: 6000

Skills: Thrust

Introduction: Silverscale Coast’s mutated species, possesses strong attack power and fast recovery.

……

It was also a Level 65 creature but its stats were greater than the Crystal Crab’s, especially that 470 Attack. It wasn’t any inferior to my own. If an ordinary Level 50 player were to come here, the chances of them getting one-shot by it were high. When it came to me, however, with the Ghost Deity Armor and my Dark Wasp to help tank a bit, I could barely manage grinding in this place.

“Die!”

I dashed up and used my signature combo, Pardon + Desperate Gambit while my Dark Wasp used its lightning-fast Flurry. After a round of attacks, the Spearfish lost about 70% of its HP. Let me emphasize, our combined DPS was really something.

The Spearfish rose up in rebellion. Its spear-like body shot forward, taking out a chunk of my Dark Wasp’s HP!

447!

Nothing much, onward!

Several seconds later, the Spearfish softly landed in the water after a muffled shriek and dropped a shining Big Magic Stone. Seems like this mob’s more generous than the Crystal Crab!

I immediately activated my Foraging skill on the Spearfish’s carcass—

Ding~!

System Notice: Congratulations, you have foraged Fish Meat x10!

……

Nice, I got 10 Fish Meat in one go. My trip wasn’t in vain. My heart bloomed when I saw Crystal Crabs and Spearfishes all around me. It felt great. I could gather ingredients and kill crabs here to reach Level 60 and get my third class promotion. This really was a perfect leveling strategy.

I continued my grind and prioritized Spearfish. My main objective in coming to this Silverscale Coast was to gather Fish Meat anyway. The quest was just a bonus. Spearfish yielded a bit more experience than the Crystal Crabs too. My quest widget told me that I had already killed more than 800 Crystal Crabs. I only had a few to go to complete the quest.

Noon came in the blink of an eye.

Beep!

Beiming Xue sent me a message: “Time for lunch, boss!”

“Oh, got it, be right there!”

After dealing with the Crystal Crab in front of me, I retreated into the edges of the forest and took out a newly-bought tent. Like I was doing survival training in the wild, I went inside the tent and logged off.

……

I took off my helmet and went into the living room. A fragrant aroma wafted over. Food and fruit was spread across the long dining table. Sichuan, Hunan, Canton, Anhui; all kinds of random dishes were there, but they all had one thing in common—they ought to be delicious!

“Oh, what’s the occasion? Why do we have so much for lunch?” I asked.

Beiming Xue carefully took out a takeout box from a plastic bag while smiling. “Today’s a good day! A Silver-grade staff dropped when we were farming in the morning. Guess how much we sold it for!”

“How much?”

“700 gold!”

Beiming Xue giggled. “Even though gold has depreciated greatly, 700 gold could still get us around 14000 RMB. That’s why we’re celebrating!”

Du Thirteen licked his lips. “Yeah, it’s been a while since I’ve eaten meat…”

I glared at him. “Eaten meat? What kind are you talking about?”

“You know what I mean…” Du Thirteen said with some slight bitterness. “It’s been a month since I touched a girl’s hand ever since I teamed up with Lu Chen to form Bloody Mercenaries…”

I grinned. “You can go touch Mamate’s hand…”

Du Thirteen went cold. Mamate tenderly looked at Du Thirteen. “Darling…”

“Pfft…”

Gui Guzi spat out his drink.

Beiming Xue asked, “You didn’t log off even once this morning, boss. What were you doing?”

“Oh, I was farming to rank up my Foraging and Cooking skills. I need to up my money-making game!”

“Mn!”

I sat down and Beiming Xue immediately gave me a bowl of whitebait soup. “Boss, drink a little more. Your damage will increase~”

“Oh, really?” I said with a smile.

Du Thirteen’s head dropped. He was speechless. “Lil Beiming’s been here for so long but I’ve never seen her give me soup. What a difference. Is Lu Chen more handsome than I, Mamate, and Little Gui?”

Beiming Xue stuck out her not-very-developed chest. “Because he’s the boss. His DPS is high too, what about you?”

Du Thirteen: “...”

The moment she mentioned game stats, Thirteen was at a loss. It was obvious that his gaming talent was below average. As for the other members of Bloody Mercenaries, Gui Guzi and Beiming Xue were first-rate experts and even Mamate was a powerful healer. The pressure on Thirteen was huge.

However, Thirteen’s true battlefield had never been PvP in the wild but the business world and relationships. The rest of us weren’t as great as Thirteen when it came to that.

After being choked for a while, Thirteen said, “How about we go to a bar tonight? We can’t stay cooped up in the workshop all day playing games or we’ll become shut-ins!”

I nodded. “No objections.”

Gui Guzi said, “I’ve never been to a bar before…”

Mamate replied, “I’m going if everyone else is going.”

Beiming Xue’s shut-in stat wasn’t too high. She’d actually been to bars quite often. It was easy to tell from how she dressed. Beiming Xue was a fashionable girl while Gui Guzi always dressed in well-ironed western clothes, like he was going to an interview. Du Thirteen dressed like a punk while I and Mamate dressed like… uh, laborers.

Du Thirteen grinned. “Then it’s decided. We’ll have dinner at 6, go out at 7, and come back at 10. How’s that sound?”

“No problem, you’ll be in charge of things like the workshop’s outdoor activities. It’s good to forget about the game sometimes.” The way I said it sounded like I was giving Du Thirteen an organizing committee mission.

Thirteen nodded happily. “Okay, it’s settled then. I’ll tell you guys to get off at 6!”

“Alright!”

……

Having finished eating lunch, it was time to continue grinding online!

Just as I killed two Spearfish, the sound of a bell that spread throughout Floating Ice City’s domain rang from overhead—

Ding~!

System Announcement: Player “Wind Fantasy” has completed the promotion quest and successfully promoted, becoming Floating Ice City’s first Silver-rank player. Obtained the title “Silver Wanderer”, and as the first third-promotion player, obtained reward: Level +1, and reward item: “Burning War Boots”!

……

Damn, Lin Yixin got her third promotion so fast and even got some pretty good rewards!

I sent her a message: “What’re these Burning War Boots?”

She sent a reply several seconds later: “Level 60 Silver-grade boots. Good luck. Maybe the second third-promotion player would also get a Silver-grade equipment as a reward!”

“Mn, I’ll go grind now. Talk to you later!”

“Okay!”

Time quickly went by. I could forage about 5–10 Fish Meat per Spearfish. If I was lucky, Death Plunder could also get me 10 Fish Meat. As a result, ingredients gradually accumulated in my bag and replaced the potions that were there previously. I left 10 slots for Big Magic Stones and once they were filled, I didn’t bother looting anymore. 100 Fish Meat made up a stack so their value far surpassed the Big Magic Stones. That I was certain of.

I grinded all the way until 3 pm. With a “shoosh”, a golden light dropped from the sky and I reached Level 59, one level away from 60. My third promotion was near!

At this time, I had already killed enough Crystal Crabs. I thought about turning the quest in, but decided against it.. I’ll grind until 6 and then turn in my quest. It’d be a waste of leg power if I had to go back and forth.

I endured all the way until it was almost 6. I was now Level 59 37%. At this speed, I only needed 6–8 hours until I hit 60!

Beep!

Du Thirteen sent a message: “Bro, it’s time to get off. We’ll go have fun at a bar after dinner!”

“Oh, be right there!”

“Alright!”

……

It was time. I slaughtered my way through the siege of monsters as fast as I could and headed straight for the Blood Dance Alliance’s temporary camp.

I turned in the quest to Scout Captain Wandering Blade Dakara and the red-eyed high-level undead immediately burst into laughter. “Great! Brave young warrior, your strength has earned my respect. Come, here are your rewards!”

Ding~!

System Notice: Congratulations, you have completed the quest [Crystal Crab]. You have gained 37500 EXP, 400 Reputation, 5 gold, and the quest reward: "Charge"!

Hm? Charge?!

I was pleasantly surprised. I hastily opened my bag and found a green skill book inside. I quickly took it out. It really was the quest reward—Charge skill book!

Charge: Angrily charges at the enemy and stuns for 1 second. Level Requirement: 50. Class Requirement: Melee. Required Strength: 350!

……

I was covered in cold sweat when I saw the skill. So overpowered! Not only was its effect overpowered, its requirements were over the top as well. It actually required Level 50 players with 350 Strength. Good thing I was full-Strength built and my equipment also gave me some added Strength, else I really wouldn’t be able to meet those hard conditions!

Yes, learn!

Swhoosh!

The Charge skill turned into streaks of starlight, entered my body, and appeared in my skill menu!

Charge: 5–40 yard range. Cost: 20 MP. Chance to stun the target for 1 second.

It was basically an ambushing or intercepting trump card. Charge was the signature skill of the melee classes, but the book itself had to be farmed, which was why tragic warriors like Dominating Heaven Blade, Iron Pardon, and many others who had reached Level 50 still didn’t have it.

My luck’s pretty good. I’d actually gotten the book as a quest reward. Haha, my luck sure exploded today. I wonder if something good will happen when I go to the bar later~