Chapter Thirty-Four: A Bountiful Harvest

Although it was only a little after seven in the morning and many players had yet to log in, the announcement that Zhang Shan had single-handedly defeated a red-grade boss sent shockwaves through the entire game.

World Channel:

“Unbelievable! One person managed to take down a red boss? Is that for real?”

“That divine equipment is terrifying.”

“I know, right? Can any equipment really be that powerful? To solo a red boss? That’s just too much.”

“Maybe he exploited another bug. This divine gear guy already got the first kill on the Wild Boar King through a glitch.”

“I don’t think so. The boss is called Priest, obviously a magic type with ranged attacks. Even if you got it stuck, what difference would it make?”

“Divine gear master, say something! Don’t keep us guessing.”

Seeing all the confusion and skepticism in the world channel, Zhang Shan thought for a moment and spent a gold coin to explain.

“No bug abuse—I used an item. When I log off later, I’ll upload the video to the forum. You’ll understand once you see it.”

“No way, what kind of item is that? Something that lets you tank a boss? Or is there some super item that can instantly kill bosses?”

“Please, hurry up and log off, upload the video, we’re begging you!”

Zhang Shan just chuckled and ignored the chatter in the world channel. He was eager to check his spoils.

He opened his backpack and immediately spotted a dazzling item—the Heroes’ Order.

Wow, he’d actually gotten it.

He called up Gale World.

“Boss, I got the Heroes’ Order. Where should I hand it over to you?”

“Return to the city. Meet me at the Civil Affairs Officer.”

“Got it.”

“Brother Six-Barrel, besides the Heroes’ Order, did anything else good drop? If there’s something I can use, save it for me—I’ll pay a good price.”

“I haven’t looked yet. There are three red-grade pieces, probably for magic users. I’ll head back to town first and check the rest later.”

As Zhang Shan began his return teleport, he noticed that the surrounding terrain had changed—the altar was gone, and the area now looked identical to the rest of Bowang Wasteland.

Perhaps the Demon Priest was a quest boss—defeating it unlocked a dungeon, and it would never respawn.

Back in the city, he teleported straight to the Civil Affairs Officer and traded the Heroes’ Order to Gale World.

“I’ll have my secretary transfer ten million to you,” Gale World said.

“Please don’t. This is a guild item. If I take your money, how will I ever fit in at the guild?”

Though the ten million was irresistible—enough for Zhang Shan to retire and never worry about money again—after these days battling together, he’d grown fond of New World and wanted to keep enjoying the game. Some principles had to be upheld: a guild was a home for everyone, and everyone should build it together—it could never be just the guild leader’s burden.

“You deserve it. If this Heroes’ Order hit the market, people would pay even more. Take the ten million as a personal reward. It was all you—you soloed the boss. We can’t just take it for free.”

“I really can’t accept it.”

“If you won’t take the money, then you’ll have to be the one to found the guild. I can’t be the leader without having contributed.”

“I don’t even know how to respond to that.”

“It’s fine. Just take what you deserve. I’ll go see if starting a guild requires anything else.”

Zhang Shan was speechless—Gale World could be so stubborn. Taking such a huge sum left him uneasy.

Enough, he thought, better not dwell on it. Time to check the other loot.

Three red-grade items, two orange, one purple, three skill books, and a mysterious material.

A tremendous haul—not only in quantity, but quality.

All the gear was level 20. The three red items were all for magic users, not one he could use himself—frustrating.

Perfect Priest’s Prayer (Red): Magic Attack 650–700, Intelligence +89, Special Effect 1: Magic Amplification, Special Effect 2: Magic Mastery, Required Level 20, Durability 100/100.

Magic Amplification: Increases magic attack by 3%.

Magic Mastery: Reduces skill cooldown by 5%.

Perfect Mind Robe (Red): Defense 200, HP +1000, Intelligence +86, Special Effect 1: Magic Resistance, Special Effect 2: Mana Affinity, Required Level 20, Durability 100/100.

Magic Resistance: Increases magic resistance, reducing magic damage by 10%.

Mana Affinity: Increases mana recovery speed by 10%.

Perfect Soul Necklace (Red): Magic Attack 300–324, Intelligence +87, Special Effect 1: Critical Strike, Special Effect 2: Magic Amplification. Required Level 20, Durability 100/100.

Critical Strike: Increases critical hit rate by 1%.

Magic Amplification: Increases magic attack by 3%.

These three pieces were truly powerful—if a magic user equipped them all, they’d rival his own divine weapon, maybe even surpass it.

He’d give them to Gale World later—after taking his money, he’d feel bad otherwise.

After seeing the red gear, the two orange items almost seemed beneath him—a battle axe and a guardian’s sword, both with decent stats but nothing compared to the red items.

The purple piece, however, was a level 20 cloak—a rare find, just what Zhang Shan needed.

The boss fight had leveled him up three times, bringing him to level 18. He’d hit 20 soon enough, just in time to equip it.

Heavenly Silkworm Cloak (Purple): HP +16,000.

A flat bonus of 16,000 health—astonishing. With this cloak, who could ever kill him? He’d be tankier than a true tank.

A purple cloak was an absolute treasure. Right now, even a blue cloak was rare—as far as he knew, only the Windchime he’d sold had one. Everyone else was still wearing green cloaks.

Of the three skill books, one was for hunters: Eagle Eye—a skill Zhang Shan had coveted for a long time.

He learned it immediately and maxed it to level ten. He had plenty of skill points, and even after maxing Eagle Eye, two skills were left over.

Eagle Eye (Passive): Level 10. Increases attack range, vision, and perception by 20%.

Simple, direct, and powerful. If he’d had this skill earlier, he wouldn’t have had to kite the boss back and forth until dawn—he could’ve finished it off by three in the morning.

With boosted range, vision, and perception, as long as he didn’t act recklessly, almost no one could kill him now.

The other two books weren’t bad either. One was a Resurrection skill—Back From the Dead, highly sought after. Zhang Shan hadn’t checked the auction house, but it would easily fetch at least a million gold.

The other was a support skill for Taoists—Summon Celestial General, which could call a celestial general to fight alongside, similar to the hunter’s Taming skill. The summoned creature would stay indefinitely.

The mysterious material was also an excellent find. Considering how he’d acquired his divine musket, it was clear that, without such mysterious metal, who knew when he’d have been able to wield a divine weapon?

A bountiful harvest, well worth a sleepless night and the use of a rare item.

Just from the name, "Rare Silence Scroll," he could tell how valuable it was. Even if he hadn’t used it on the Demon Tribe Priest, it would have come in handy eventually—a priceless item that couldn’t be bought with money.