Chapter 159:

“Ding” In the survivors’ camp, Leading Pigeon, who was discussing the trial contents and tonight’s dinner with his dormitory good sons, suddenly heard a wonderful sound. Then he looked down and found that a quest had popped up on his character interface: 【Alchemist Profession Quest: ‘The Evaluation of Apprentices’ has been triggered! Quest Content: Tris’s alchemy workshop has encountered an unprecedented crisis, but the great and beautiful Lady Tris is busy with the internal affairs of the Blood Vulture Clan and cannot extricate herself. Therefore, she hopes her alchemy apprentice can help her resolve this problem. Quest Objective: Please go to Tris’s alchemy workshop immediately and complete the preparation of 50 Blazing Gels and 50 Combustion Oils! Note! This is a collaborative quest that can be completed with other players aspiring to walk the path of an alchemist! Note! This quest can be shared with a maximum of 10 players. Quest Time Limit: 8 hours. Quest Reward: 1. Players who have already obtained the ‘Alchemist Apprentice’ profession will receive 3 Basic Alchemy Scrolls and be officially employed as an apprentice in Tris’s alchemy workshop to receive personal guidance from Grandmaster Alchemist Lady Tris. 2. Players who have not yet obtained the ‘Alchemist Apprentice’ profession will be judged on the Quality of the prepared products to determine if they are qualified for a profession change.】 “Wow!” Good Pigeon immediately let out a strange cry and showed the profession quest he received to his other good sons. Ah Yuen widened his eyes and said: “The NPC has even delegated the authority to recruit apprentices to you? Damn, this game has truly refreshed my understanding of freedom, and it even comes with a beginner profession change quest for manufacturing? I remember quite a few players wanted to get a side profession! Aren’t you going to charge a fee for this?” “Charge? Our good Pigeon would never do such a bad thing.” Good Pigeon was excitedly rubbing his hands. He opened the forum feature in the game and started editing a post. As far as he knew, very few little players had chosen a manufacturing profession so far. This was definitely a great opportunity. However, a profession like alchemist sounded like it required intelligence, so the brash melee fighters could just step aside. As soon as he posted the thread, people immediately responded. Brother Meow recommended his old buddy, and the Joy Stick group also had two people. North Forest Dog’s Paddle from the Fierce Male Fighters was very interested, and the second and third batches of little players also eagerly signed up. Good Pigeon had to set the selection criteria to Intelligence ≥ 6 to filter out quite a few people. However, what surprised him was that Lumina had also signed up. “Sister Lumina, didn’t you become a bard? And your main profession should be gunner, right?” Good Pigeon curiously asked in a private chat: “You only have one profession slot left. Are you sure you want to learn alchemy? The announcement said you could switch to an administrative profession later. Are you sure you don’t want to try that out?” “I’m not interested in becoming an official, and my squad also needs an alchemist.” Lumina was quite open-minded. As she bid farewell to a few friends and gathered towards Pigeon’s side, she said: “We’re about to put together a five-person squad. Before the next friend logs in, we need to confirm all the support roles. A bard is already a support class, so pairing with an alchemist side profession is simply perfect.” “You make a good point.” Pigeon was quite impressed by the gaming attitudes of the few members in the girls’ squad. They were casual enough, unlike Brother Meow and those cunning socialites who had to calculate every little thing even when playing a game. He quickly organized a group of people and headed towards Tris’s alchemy workshop in droves, ready to begin his “corporate slave” career in the otherworld. Meanwhile, Murphy had just managed to fob off Tris and immediately let out a breath of relief as he closed the office door. Not bad, Tris! The vampire lord thought to himself as he massaged his slightly aching brow. Not bad for a golden-rank Spirit Sovereign. Her Intelligence is truly impressive. In just half a month, she not only self-taught the players’ language but also roughly grasped the players’ current state through occasional conversations. But thinking about it, this didn’t seem to be much of a problem. Anyone who could become a golden-rank powerhouse in this world had to be exceptional, a one-in-a-million genius. Their intelligence was undoubtedly outstanding. It’s just that her curiosity was perhaps a bit too strong. “It’s a good thing that the little players’ connection to this world entirely relies on the test management system, and I’m the only node. If this were really a summoning spell, Tris would probably have happily summoned her otherworld warriors by now to act as guides for this crimson witch in the otherworld. These Spirit Mages have indeed inherited the suicidal tendencies of spellcasters across countless dimensions. “I took you from Salrokdar as well, and now the Frostfang blade is the same. Add to that my outstanding descendant Adele... I can’t help but feel that my otherworldly life seems full of fate’s malice and mockery.” “Swish” The cold blade was drawn. As Murphy’s wrist rotated, wisps of visible cold air dispersed from the two-finger-wide slender blade of this noble sword. This thing’s name wasn’t wrong! This level of extreme mastery over the cold winter spirit energy was unmatched across the entire continent, except by those Northerners who lived in the land of ice and snow and worshipped the God of the North Wind. “Count Andrei has a special Nord nobility profession, Frost Spirit Swordsman.” Murphy’s fingers lightly brushed the chilling blade as he narrowed his eyes in thought: “The Nords of the Great Wilderness have a racial affinity for manipulating winter, and it’s said that the Ket living on Greenleaf Island in the Isa Kingdom also have a certain natural spirit affinity due to the influence of the Avalon Church. So after all this, does that mean us Silan living in the heart of the continent don’t have any special talents? No! It’s not that we don’t have anything. Silan are skilled with their tongues and diplomacy, even the stubborn white silver dwarves within their borders have become their allies thanks to King Louis. Perhaps that’s a talent in itself. Maybe I should have Tris try modifying the human templates for the little players, so that even in human form, they can possess these special spirit abilities? Hmm, this should be done within at most two ‘major version updates’ to enhance the gaming experience for ordinary players. Speaking of which, the number of Black Iron Trial passers will definitely peak in a few days, so the Blood Vulture Clan’s ‘Welcoming Ceremony’ should be put on the agenda as well.” “Swish” With a flick of his wrist, Murphy performed a sword-drawing stance utterly different from the Tomb Guard Sword Arts, horizontally sweeping the cold blade in his hand before smoothly sheathing it. As he took a step back, the two thick candles placed on either side of the desk smoothly dropped onto the surface, the cuts clean and frozen, fully demonstrating the exceptional excellence of Murphy’s newly acquired “weapon” in this regard. “Time to patrol the territory!” With this thought, he sheathed the new weapon at his waist and walked out of the office with the most elegant bearing, hands clasped behind his back. At the same time, in a top floor room of Fort Crimea, the military stronghold at the southernmost point of the Transia region where the Foul Swamp, Dark Mountain Range, and Kafhoka Plains converged. The weak and haggard attendant Vesta of the Count of White Mountain was half-kneeling on the luxurious wool carpet, not daring to raise his head. He had rushed to the nearest Nordtov territory at top speed over the course of two days and one night to report the situation to this important figure of the Thorn Clan before him. He was now awaiting this lord’s decision. The room was so quiet that even a needle dropping could be heard clearly. Vesta was already weakened from his injuries, and now he could even feel his heart beating like a human’s. “So, you’re saying that the Count of Kadman has requested you to find a high-ranking member of the Thorn Clan for him?” A chilling voice came from the front. It had a hint of the characteristic rolled ‘r’ sound of the Northerners, sounding rather distinctive at first, though it also carried a certain elegance and propriety befitting a lady’s voice. But Vesta only lowered his head in greater humility. He replied in trembling tones: “Yes, grand duchess. The Count of Kadman did indeed give such an order. He emphasized that he would give the Count of White Mountain treatment befitting his status, but he only gave us three days.” “Alas, this Blood Vulture Clan really is like a hydra. Despite suffering such a heavy blow, they still have such an outstanding figure emerging to turn the tide. From your description, he sounds about the same age as Andrei. They’re just children, yet why is it that others’ children are so outstanding? It seems the so-called blood of the hero king Boris has brought no advantages to his unremarkable descendant Andrei. Truly pitiful, in every sense of the word. If only he and Angelina’s genders could be swapped, it would be perfect.” The grand duchess of the Thorn Clan stood in the highest room of Fort Crimea. She gazed towards Transia, her golden twin braids playfully draping over her shoulders from beneath the exquisite felt hat trimmed with polar bear fur. She wore a long red and white dress with distinct Nordtov court styling, carrying herself with the grace of a noble lady stepped out of a painting. Upon closer inspection, this grand duchess bore some resemblance in her features to Count Andrei of White Mountain, who had been captured by Murphy. “Now go change into something more presentable. After nightfall, you will accompany me to the Crimson Citadel to visit the Blood Vulture grand duchess.” The Thorn grand duchess waved her hand dismissively at the kneeling Vesta behind her. “But your master has erred, and he must be punished. You too. The White Mountain faction has proven its incompetence, from now on, it no longer exists, until Andrei can once again prove himself capable of leading a faction. Do you understand?”