Other Ways to Advance

"Mr. Hardy, please remain calm. The appraiser is on their way."

In the VIP lounge of the Transcendence Merchant Guild in Emerald District, Iron Wall City.

A Human, a Dragonkin, and a Gnome sat on soft sofas, waiting for the so-called higher-level appraiser.

They had just returned from Broken Sword Valley, and naturally, they weren't selling Divinity Shards.

The beating piece of flesh, after being struck by "Not Iaido, But Drawing Sword," had transformed into a cascade of light, merging into their bodies and bringing each of them a profit of 700 Faith.

But this didn't mean they had nothing else of value.

[Centaur Heart]

An item that increased maximum HP. In the old version of the game, some players would grind for these. A stack of 20 would fluctuate around 20,000 gold, which translated to about 50 cents for 20.

It only added 1,000 maximum HP. With the abundance of these items, every player would consume a full stack, making them not very valuable.

However, in this second playthrough, with the Alliance not yet destroyed, the description "consuming it can extend lifespan" was no longer just background flavor text.

The value of the [Centaur Heart] was naturally a different story.

While waiting, "Not Iaido, But Drawing Sword" switched to the background and opened the livestream of "Amulet Owl" to see what the players doing welfare quests were up to.

The two of them had accumulated enough experience to reach level 30 and had acquired a large Mining Mech. They weren't in a hurry to grind for experience but were more eager to find opportunities for advancement.

The three advancement paths provided by Li Li did not include the professions they wished to transfer into.

So, after some discussion, they decided to forgo the beginner welfare quests for experience points and, along with the Scholar named Hardy, came to the Transcendence Merchant Guild to purchase advancement items.

"Not Iaido, But Drawing Sword"'s target was [Swordsman] and [Fencer], while "I Don't Want to Pay Breach of Contract Fees"'s target was [Mechanic Apprentice] and [Mechanic].

If NPCs in the game wanted to advance into these professions, besides comprehending an "advancement opportunity," they could also use "advancement items."

These advancement items could be thought of as something like a "Foundation Building Pill," which greatly increased the success rate of advancing into the corresponding profession, but players were guaranteed to succeed if they used them.

According to the price catalog of the Transcendence Merchant Guild, the combined price of the four advancement items was over 40 million Alliance currency.

Keep in mind that leveling a skill from Lv1 to Lv30 at the Creator God's avatar only cost 26,285 Alliance currency, and advancement and leveling were free.

Once you had a comparison, you knew who was being reasonable.

The VIP room door opened, and the newly arrived Gnome appraiser entered alone. After a brief casual greeting with everyone, he picked up the still-beating heart on the table and began to examine it carefully.

With just a glance, the Gnome appraiser put down the box and looked closely at the three sellers, who still carried the scent of mud, and asked:

"How do you intend to sell it?"

Hardy breathed a sigh of relief and was about to speak when the Dragonkin pressed him back.

"See what you offer. If it satisfies this old man, I can produce a second and third heart," the Dragonkin said.

"What!" The Gnome appraiser's eyes widened, and he stood up from his seat. "You mean you have more Centaur Hearts?"

The Dragonkin stroked his beard and said:

"Didn't you just investigate our backgrounds? How did it go? Do you think we are easily manipulated peasants, or outsiders whose roots you can't trace?"

"This... you worry too much," the Gnome appraiser replied with a fawning smile.

Seeing that the time was right, the Dragonkin stopped playing coy and stated his price directly:

"The last auction record for a Centaur Heart was 452 years ago, with a transaction price of 700 million old Alliance currency. In this era, it will only be more valuable. Fortunately, I'm not interested in money."

"Not Iaido, But Drawing Sword" picked up the thick price catalog on the table, flipped to the page for "Transcendence Advancement Items," and tossed the catalog in front of the Gnome appraiser.

"Provide me with one of each item on this list. No need to mention the price. I know some of these advancement items can be produced by you, so it's a cost-free transaction."

"You jest. Many of the advancement items on here are unique copies," the Gnome appraiser said. "While a Centaur Heart is precious, it can only extend a mortal's lifespan by ten years. Compared to the opportunity to advance into a Transcendence profession, it falls a bit short."

"Then give me these, these, and these."

The Dragonkin pointed to the pictures in the catalog, selecting all the mass-producible advancement items as if he knew the guild's inner workings.

"I need to get approval from my superiors," the Gnome appraiser said, sweat beading on his forehead. He closed the price catalog, afraid the Dragonkin might point to another picture.

Half an hour later.

The three of them completed the barter transaction and walked out of the Transcendence Merchant Guild's lobby.

The Scholar Hardy glanced at the two strangers he had met by chance. He opened his mouth to speak, but the Gnome interrupted him:

"Do you want to come with us?"

Scholar Hardy's eyes lit up, and he immediately responded, "Go where?"

"I Don't Want to Pay Breach of Contract Fees" looked at the academy emblem on Scholar Hardy's scroll. After confirming with everyone in the group chat on the backend, he said:

"You told us before that we are the hope for saving this world because we can completely kill the monsters outside."

"So... naturally, we invite you to join the ranks of saving the world."

"I want to invite you to be the bridge between us and the academy."

Although they were not near the Plague Village, the players maintained communication and knew that other players had taken on the task of clearing the path.

After discussing in the group chat, they unanimously agreed that the next main quest would be to establish a stronghold in the Plague Village and then, using the stronghold as a center, gradually resolve the corruption issue in Broken Sword Valley.

And the players, backed by the Thirteen City Alliance, had no reason not to utilize the influence of these NPCs.

Scholar Hardy, a Silver-tier NPC and a core member of the Transcendence, had not attacked the duo out of greed on their journey, which initially proved his character.

Although he had some issues managing his lower body, causing the mother of a child, Li Yuan, to have minor complaints, this flaw was harmless.

With the newly joined Scholar Hardy, "Not Iaido, But Drawing Sword" and "I Don't Want to Pay Breach of Contract Fees" took the subway back to the spawn point's warehouse.

Sitting in a corner of the warehouse, Li Li was closing his eyes, remotely controlling "Lost His Mind" and guiding players to accept quests.

However, to the two returning players, he looked like a lonely old father waiting at home.

After secretly taking a photo, they walked up to Li Li and sought out the recently awakened avatar of the Creator God to level up, raising their levels from Lv1 to Lv10.

"Faith has turned into experience points, and Sin Value has also been updated," the Gnome said, looking at his UI. "As expected, this game's updates only take effect after touching the core AI. Is the main quest faction forcibly locked?"

He took out the advancement item for [Mechanic Apprentice], the [Gear Jelly], and prepared to complete the advancement, then level up to 30 in one go.

Just then, Li Li, who had been silent, suddenly stepped forward and asked curiously, "What is this? Can you let me see it?"

The Gnome swallowed the jelly in one gulp. "It's gone, but you can try this."

He took out a page of manuscript filled with symbols and handed it to Li Li.

Li Li took the manuscript and felt a warmth spread through his body. The manuscript then turned into a stream of light and merged into his body.

He felt the sensation and said to the three people present:

"From now on, you can come to me to advance into [Magic Apprentice]."