Maximizing the Benefits from Ghost Bride Anna

In the bright candlelight, the wine in the glass shimmered with a green glow.

This is Agas's ginkgo liqueur, personally delivered by Quint a few days ago.

Originally a special supply to the Lucian Royal Family, it is one of the most precious and rarest wines in the country.

The reason the liquor is green is quite simple; one of its key ingredients is Turquoise Liquid.

After Quint delivered a professional force of two thousand men to City of Bode for war preparations, he was unceremoniously recognized as Duke Will III by King Hughes.

And just as Lister had guessed, Hughes greatly admired Quint.

After all, the Seven Great Families that Will II couldn't control are now being mobilized by Quint.

Even if he suspected there was more to the story, what mattered most to Hughes was how much of the Duchy of Will's power he could mobilize.

A more capable duke would naturally be more in his interest.

For this, Quint received many rewards from King Hughes, one of which was the ginkgo wine from Agas.

There were fewer than ten bottles of wine in total, and they are all now stored in the Merick Family's cellar; Quint himself didn't keep a single bottle.

Lister frowned slightly, picked up his wine glass, took a small sip, and the wine instantly slid down his throat.

It's very easy to drink, with a refreshing and mellow taste. You can't even taste the alcohol, but it quickly gives you a warm, slightly tipsy feeling.

The wine was fine, but the contents of the books in Lister's hands failed to satisfy him.

The information about the Galactic Federation involved in the job change quest was completely unavailable.

He could only rely on the development of the game in his mind and place his hopes on the relics of alchemical technology.

Since the Galactic Federation is a force that appears only in Act 5 in his mind, he either has to start with the alchemical ruins in Act 4, or he has to push the plot forward at a rapid pace.

After all, to register with the current civilization, one must first make contact with the Galactic Federation.

Lister suspected that the Alchemy Civilization of the previous era had some contact with the Galactic Federation, but the specifics were unknown.

During this period, among the historical records he collected from his own family and other families in the city, there were almost no written historical materials about Alchemy Civilization.

Only a very few folk tales and stories from the time of the Empire of Aixisaiya mention alchemical technology.

In fact, the current aristocratic education in the Kingdom of Lucian mostly provides a general understanding of alchemical technology and civilization.

The earliest known Empire of Aixisaiya originated from an alchemical civilization from the previous era.

But nothing else is known, except for one surviving claim: that the alchemical civilization was a "great civilization."

It was practically nonsense. As for the folk tales and stories involving Alchemy Civilization, Lister found no useful or specific information after browsing through them.

All the records and legends combined did not contain as much information about the alchemical ruins as he himself had in his mind.

Lister had at least visited the alchemical ruins in his previous life's game and knew about some of the alchemical monsters and alchemical robots there.

It seems that relying solely on the currently available information is insufficient to find a starting point for completing the mission.

Lister could only try to find a way to contact the Galactic Federation himself in the alchemical ruins.

Just as I was about to casually place the book in my hand on the table, I discovered that the table was piled high with various parchment scrolls and books, and many more had already been scattered on the floor.

Silently shaking his head, Lister called out towards the door.

Tim.

Soon, Tim, dressed in a black butler's uniform, entered from outside.

Although he wasn't particularly gifted Class Holder, under Lister's guidance, he became Class Holder, his spirit and energy completely different from before.

The longtime housekeeper Anke, officially retired yesterday. Logically, Anke could have continued to manage the Merick Family for a few more years.

However, Lister noticed that Anke had become somewhat "arrogant".

When the Merick Family was in decline, they were able to maintain their family's stability.

But now that his family has truly prospered, and as he grows older, he has become somewhat "muddled" and has secretly accepted many benefits from other families in the city.

Considering his past contributions to his family, Lister did not punish him, but instead granted him the title of lord and sent him to the countryside.

In comparison, Tim, the Anke's nephew, is indeed more to his liking at the moment.

Before he could even give the order, she had already bent down to pick up the books on the floor for Lister, and at the same time, she quickly began to categorize and arrange the books on the table.

Any new news from the city lately?

"My lord, there's no concrete new information, but there are just more and more 'adventurers' dressed in strange attire lately."

In Tim's eyes, all the players in the city of the Duchy of Will were considered Class Holder from the Adventurers' Association.

After all, their strange attire and unusual behavior indicated they were definitely not from the Duchy of Will, much less Class Holder from the Kingdom of Lucian.

Lister was fully aware of this; it was he who sent the message to Chen Shanqiang and some other players via private chat.

It is said that the Duchy of Will is the region where Count Merrick resides, and one can relearn Merrick Saber Technique from Count Merrick.

The new sword technique can be upgraded to a maximum rank of A, which is why many martial arts practitioners, especially those who are determined to use sword techniques, have been gathering there ever since they heard the news.

The skill transfer function has indeed been updated; currently, Lister can only teach players the highest level of Merrick Saber Technique, which is A-grade.

Of course, the standards also need to be revised. The original standard of 5 gold coins cannot be lowered and can only remain the same.

Lister set the standard for upgrading skills to B level as follows: Merrick Saber Technique should be upgraded to LV5.

To advance to Rank A, you need to upgrade your swordsmanship to LV10.

They've considered raising the standard to level 20 or even 30, but are worried that this might discourage many players.

Especially with the tens of millions of new players joining now, Lister can't afford to let these easy targets slip by.

He simply lowered the standard for advancing sword techniques, making it easier for players to use his Merrick Saber Technique to fight monsters and level up, while continuing to upgrade their sword techniques at the same time.

As Tim tidied up, a look of deliberation and hesitation flashed across his face, as if he had just thought of something.

After some thought, he finally spoke.

"My lord, there's been another rumor lately, but... well, this rumor hasn't been confirmed."

Tell me about it.

Lister poured himself another glass of ginkgo wine and listened idly to the rumors Tim was telling him.

"It is said that during the internal strife in the duchy before, the souls of the soldiers who died on the battlefield coalesced into a monster."

"Oh? What monster?"

Upon hearing this news, Lister immediately became interested.

He had almost wiped out all the monsters in the Duchy of Will; apart from the Frost Wolves, there really weren't any other monsters left.

And this was still inside the city; he was very curious.

"I heard it's a female ghost wearing a white wedding dress; she appeared near the battlefield and Duke Will's castle a few days ago."

"And then there was no more news. I suspect... it might be that someone in the city secretly spread the word, perhaps targeting you, sir..."

The thousand men who died on the battlefield were all killed by Lister with a single stroke.

Ordinary commoners were unaware of the inside story, but all the nobles and some powerful families knew it.

Many Class Holder, when fleeing, still called Lister "the devil."

Tim feared that the ghost was a rumor deliberately spread by someone targeting Lister, hoping to damage the reputation of the Merick Family.

It was only because there was no concrete evidence that I hesitated to report it to him.

"Rumor has it she's a female ghost? What does she look like?"

"I've heard she has a good figure, but there's nothing particularly rumored about her looks."

After thinking carefully, Tim shook his head.

A smile involuntarily appeared on Lister's face at that moment.

Could this female ghost be "Ghost Bride Anna"?

It's likely that evil spirits spawned after death and targeted Quint.

It's unclear how Quint tortured and murdered Anna, allowing his malicious obsession to give rise to a specialized monster boss.

Based on his memories from his previous life, Quint most likely didn't kill "Anna," who had become a demon, but instead lured her to stay outside the city using some unknown means.

Lister had originally considered killing "Ghost Bride Anna" to gain more experience points.

Now that players provide experience, the experience Anna can offer is practically negligible.

In his mind, it would be better to give players clues and let them repeatedly kill the enemy. The experience points they gain might even upgrade Merrick Saber Technique, which would then indirectly benefit him.

There are few monsters in the Duchy of Will to begin with, and the more Lister thought about it, the more he felt that doing this would benefit him more.

So they got right to work. Starting the next day, outside the Merick Family castle, Lister was teaching skills while issuing side quests, truly maximizing the benefits of "Anna".