After crossing two maps, Night Owl and his group finally arrived at the main city for Level 30 players—Sina City.
Sina City is located by the sea, offering stunning scenery with clear skies, blue ocean, white sand beaches, and refreshing sea breezes. The sound of waves crashing against rocks adds to a sense of peace and pleasure.
The streets here are paved with beautiful cobblestones, and the houses on both sides are small, charming cottages with soft pastel walls, making it feel like stepping into a fairytale world. At present, the only players here are their group, while NPCs are busy in their respective areas.
A restaurant owner stands at the door, warmly inviting passersby to come in for a taste.
It felt less like a game’s main city and more like a vacation resort.
So far, only about a dozen players had reached Level 30, and most of them were still in Theron City, grinding through challenge dungeons. Thus, aside from their team, Sina City was nearly void of other players.
“It’s rare to see a restaurant without a line! I’m going to check out what food they have!” Gu Le’s eyes lit up as he ran toward the restaurant.
“Let’s go! Let’s all go together!” Soul Chaser agreed enthusiastically.
The restaurant in Theron City was always packed, and their team had been grinding levels daily with no time for meals.
So today, with some free time, they decided to relax.
Ran Qi joined them inside, and they chose a window seat with a great view of the sea.
As expected of a Level 30 main city restaurant, the food here was more diverse than in Theron City, with options like pasta, fruit pies, and small cakes.
Since it was just a game, they could eat as much as they wanted without feeling stuffed, so Gu Le and the others simply ordered one of everything on the menu.
Having money was indeed freeing!
Ran Qi ordered a steak, which was delicious—the meat was tender and flavorful, seasoned only with salt and black pepper but tasting fresh and juicy.
“Even though we’ve been to Sina City before, it still feels incredibly beautiful!” Soul Chaser sighed as he looked out the window.
“Absolutely!” Plume Ink nodded in agreement and then looked toward Night Owl. “Boss, once we get the Guild Summoning Order, how about setting up our guild base here?”
“I agree! With Ranran’s cooking skills, we could open a restaurant at the guild base and attract tons of players, raking in a fortune!” Gu Le also raised his hands in support.
Once players reached Level 30, they could establish guilds and choose their guild bases freely. After setting up a base, guilds could expand it and upgrade it into a guild city. Guild members could open shops or buy land within the base, attracting other players to their guild city. If managed well, it could rival any main city in prosperity.
Night Owl replied, “Sounds good, but let’s get that Guild Summoning Order first before making any big plans.”
Everyone else agreed. “…Good point.”
They had already gathered the five Abyss Fragments needed to unlock the Abyss Dungeon and achieved first kills in both the Forest Cemetery and Blackstone Mine Challenge Dungeons. Now, they just needed to complete their job change quests and wait for Jiangnan’s group to join.
The job change quests weren’t complicated; they simply required players to clear a few waves of monsters assigned by the NPC in charge of their profession, after which they could complete their job change.
However, since job change quests were solo-only, the group had to temporarily disband.
“Alright, let’s go complete our quests!”
“Wait, what about brother Ran?” Plume Ink suddenly frowned.
“Oh, right! The job change quest requires fighting multiple waves of monsters, but brother Ran is a Priest—he can’t fight monsters!”
“No worries; Priests don’t need to fight for their job change quest. They just need to collect items, which I can buy from the Trading Hall.” Since Priests lacked offensive abilities (some even had only one skill), asking them to fight monsters would be unfair. Thus, their quest was modified to collect items that were dropped from small monsters, which were easily available at the Trading Hall.
Plume Ink, however, looked hesitant.
Ran Qi: “?”
“For job change, you need items dropped by Level 30 monsters. But since every Level 30 player is standing right here, do you think the Trading Hall will have what you need?”
Ran Qi: “…”
He had forgotten. This wasn’t like the game’s previous version; now, there were very few Level 30 players, even fewer doing job change quests, and no one would’ve collected Level 30 items, so they wouldn’t be available in the Trading Hall.
This realization was mildly embarrassing…
“No problem. Just let me know if you need anything, and I’ll send it to you.” Night Owl quickly saved Ran Qi from further embarrassment.
“Thanks! I really appreciate it!”
“No worries, especially since I have Xiao Hei,” Night Owl replied, reaching out to pat the sleepy little black dragon on his shoulder.
“Ji ji?” Xiao Hei blinked awake and tilted its head adorably.
“So cute!” the baby dragon instantly charmed Ran Qi as he scratched its chin. “Thanks, Xiao Hei.”
“Ji ji!” Xiao Hei chirped in response.
Knowing that Night Owl’s monster-farming skills were top-notch, everyone set off to complete their respective quests.
Ran Qi sought out Patrick, the NPC in charge of Priest advancements, who had a compassionate, sorrowful gaze as he looked out at the sea. “Dear warrior, the monsters have been growing more rampant lately. Please collect some untainted seaweed from the beach for me. Be cautious of the corrupted crabs hiding in the sand; they’re ready to attack anything that comes near their territory.”
It was essentially just a seaweed collection quest. After accepting the quest, Ran Qi sent the details to Night Owl.
[Private Message] Bai Ran: I need ten pieces of untainted seaweed, dropped by demonized crabs on the beach.
[Private Message] Night Owl: No problem; my quest is in that area too.
Confident in leaving the quest to Night Owl, Ran Qi headed to the Life Skills section. Night Owl had previously given him many crafting materials, and now was the perfect time to start making equipment. With hardly anyone around in Sina City, he could work without any concern for prying eyes.
On the way, he asked his teammates about their job change paths. Since he planned to craft gear, he wanted to tailor it to fit each of their specializations.
Night Owl planned to advance as an Elemental Mage, which came as no surprise to Ran Qi since he was practically a powerful battle mage even without the job change. Gu Le, the team’s tank, naturally chose to become a Swordsman, while the more impulsive Soul Chaser aimed to become a Ranger. Plume Ink opted to be an Archery Master, and Sword at Fleeting Time intended to specialize as a Venom Fang.
As for Ran Qi himself, he would, of course, follow his path from his previous life and become a Holy Priest—wasting all his fully-learned skill trees would be a pity otherwise!
Being at Level 30, Ran Qi could now craft Level 30 equipment, and with his maxed-out crafting skill, he could ensure that everything he made was at least Grade B, with impressive stats to boot. No material would go to waste.
He crafted a set of armor for each team member, though due to material limitations, they were individual pieces rather than full sets. However, this was enough for the Abyss Dungeon.
The Abyss Dungeon yielded numerous valuable items, like Grade A weapons, accessories, and armor pieces, as well as materials and blueprints for crafting Abyssal Sets. Once they had these, he’d make the team full sets. A fortified Grade A Abyss Set could be used up to Level 45, so they wouldn’t have to worry about replacing it anytime soon.
Since Sword at Fleeting Time and Night Owl already had purple-grade weapons, there was no need to make additional ones for them.
Ran Qi used the Grade A material [Poison Vine of the Man-Eating Flower] from their last dungeon run to create a weapon for Soul Chaser. With his area attack skills and added poison damage, his attack power would be even stronger. For Soul Chaser, he crafted a repeating crossbow, as it had a higher firing rate than a short bow and suited the Ranger class better.
As for the others, due to the lack of Grade A materials, he temporarily made them Grade B weapons. Plume Ink received a longbow with accuracy bonuses for more effective ranged attacks. For Gu Le, he crafted a longsword and a shield, and he made a staff for himself, as his old one was becoming outdated.
He then visited the alchemy area and bought a ton of materials, enchanting each of his teammates’ equipment with top-grade attack runes. For his and Gu Le’s armor, he inscribed top-grade life and defense runes, essentially arming everyone to the teeth.
Soon after, Night Owl sent over the seaweed Ran Qi needed.
[Private Chat] Night Owl: The seaweed is ready. Sent it to your mailbox.
[Private Chat] Night Owl: Also, there’s some of this—[Green Crab], [Lobster], [White Shrimp], [Clam]. Check if you need it.
[Private Chat] Bai Ran:??? You collected these?
[Private Chat] Night Owl: No, I got them while fighting monsters. Xiao Hei was playing on the beach and found a few. They’re labeled as food items, so I kept them. If you don’t need them, I’ll toss them.
[Private Chat] Bai Ran: No, no, no! I’ll take them all!
Fresh seafood like this? Definitely worth keeping!
[Private Chat] Night Owl: Alright, they’re all yours.
At that moment, Night Owl stood on a beach littered with monster corpses. He nudged the lazy little dragon on his shoulder, sunning its belly. “Your brother Bai Ran wants these ingredients. Go pick them up.”
“Ji ji!” Xiao Hei reluctantly flew up, darting around the beach in a flash, collecting all the seafood into Night Owl’s inventory.
Ran Qi quickly handed in his quest, then messaged Night Owl with his next requirement.
[Private Chat] Bai Ran: Need ten pearls from shell-type creatures by the sea.
[Private Chat] Bai Ran: And if you find any scallops or the like, bring them back too!
[Private Chat] Night Owl: … Got it.
Thinking about the incoming seafood, Ran Qi happily headed to the Cooking Area to make use of the bee larvae he’d collected from that hive.
He washed the larvae, drained them, and lined them up in a large bowl by the stove—rows of them, a bit creepy looking.
The cooking NPC nearby watched him like he was some kind of oddity…
Ran Qi bought a large pot of oil, heated it slowly, and deep-fried the larvae until they turned golden brown. He sprinkled salt and pepper on them as a finishing touch.
[System] Congratulations! You’ve developed a new food item. Please name it.
Ran Qi initially thought to name it ‘Fried Bee Larvae,’ but remembering how people felt about eating bugs, he quickly renamed it ‘Golden Delight.’
[System] Successfully named [Golden Delight]. Recipe added, and you hold recipe ownership. You may export it for sale. A system announcement will follow. Would you like to remain anonymous?
“Yes.”
[System Announcement] Congratulations to the player [Anonymous] for developing a new food item, [Golden Delight], earning 100 World Reputation Points and [Physical Exchange Coupon *1].
[World] Curly Head: A new food item from the expert chef!
[World] Cool Hands: The thumbnail shows cute, golden rounds. It loos delicious!
[World] Dudu: It not only looks good but also has great attributes ah! I can’t wait to try it qaq
[World] Pathfinder: I’m already waiting at the Trading Hall! Hurry and post it, boss!!!
[Golden Delight]
Grade: B
Description: Increases Agility by 18 for 15 minutes.
Satisfied with the stats of his fried bee larvae, Ran Qi tossed one in his mouth, and it was just as he’d hoped: crispy outside, tender and sweet inside—a delightful flavor.
He used the quick-craft option to make several batches, each with 20 pieces. Keeping 20 batches for himself, he listed the rest in the Trading Hall. Since the recipe was simple and the ingredients easy to find, he priced them at 50 silver.
Ran Qi had only hung it for less than two minutes and all the items had been sold.
Unlike past purchases, where players excitedly flaunted their new food in World Chat, everyone who bought Golden Delight sent rows of ‘…’ into the chat.
[World] Pathfinder: [Golden Delight]…
[World] Misty: [Golden Delight]…
[World] Bear Hardship with Equanimity: What’s up? Doesn’t it taste good?
[World] Sleepless Night: It tastes great, but…
[World] Big Orange: But what? Just say it already!
[World] Twilight: Hard to explain…you’ll know when you try it.
[World] Sunset Red: Stop keeping secrets! Who knows when the chef will sell more!
[World] Pathfinder: No secrets to keep—great taste, excellent craftsmanship! That’s all you need to know.
[World] Jia Tu: I mean, sure, you’re praising it, but something feels off??
