Chapter 41 – Vulgar Fellow

Nie Yan had a better understanding of his own strength after using the testing machines today. Although he was quite lacking compared to those expert fighters, he should still be able to handle himself if he came across unexpected circumstances.

With twenty-eight thousand dollars in reward money, Nie Yan headed to the department store to purchase ten or so tubes of nutritional supplements, which were enough to last him for the rest of the month.

Nie Yan continued exercising when he returned home. During the past few days, aside from gaming, he spent the rest of his time exercising and studying. As for other matters, he’d have to put them aside until his parents returned.

Just like this, half a day quickly passed by. It was near five in the evening and the game servers would be opening soon. Nie Yan reclined on the bed with the gaming helmet on his head.

As soon as he entered the game, he began to diligently train by grinding the surrounding Water Spiders. As several spiders met their deaths one after another by his hands, his experience bar gradually rose. He would level up shortly after ten or so mobs.

「Nie Yan, where are you right now?」Yao Yao asked Nie Yan through voice chat.

「I’m still at Lake Rando killing Water Spiders.」

「Come to the Tellak town transfer point in five minutes. We’re about to set off very soon. Bring that friend of yours over as well.」

「Alright,」Nie Yan replied.

「If that’s all, I guess we’ll meet in five minutes then.」

After disconnecting from the voice chat with Yao Yao, Nie Yan contacted Tang Yao.「Tellak town transfer point. Our team is about to head out soon. Quickly get over there.」

「This early?」Tang Yao replied in surprise. His tone contained eagerness and pleasant surprise.

「Generally, people run dungeons as early in the day as possible rather than later. Besides, it’s better to set off in the morning compared to the afternoon or evening.」

「Gotcha, I’ll head there right now,」Tang Yao replied and hurriedly prepared himself to leave.

Nie Yan checked his experience bar—Level 3, 99%. Filling up the remaining one percent would still require ten minutes of grinding at the very least. Since it appeared he didn’t have enough time, he took out a return scroll and began unravelling it. After twenty seconds and a brilliant flash of light, the scenery before his eyes shifted. He had returned to town.

「Where are you? Coordinates?」Nie Yan asked Tang Yao through voice chat.

「Hey, I can see you. I’ll come over, so stay where you are.」Tang Yao came walking over from the plaza in the distance. He was garbed from head to toe in a fiery red mage robe. It appeared especially conspicuous within the crowd and attracted the envious gazes of the surrounding players. Tang Yao had even unconsciously straightened his back and puffed out his chest.

The equipment he wore was a symbol of high honour because it represented the presence of an expert.

“So, how’d your practice at home go?” Nie Yan asked. Tang Yao appeared to be full of energy when Nie Yan gazed at him. He no longer looked like the depressed and dispirited player he remembered in his past life.

“Not bad. You’ll know in just a bit. I didn’t improve by just a small amount either! Hey, listen to this! When I logged off, that brat Wei Kai actually called me up. That guy surprisingly wanted to curry some favour with us. He even asked for your phone number. Anyway, I made him my training partner and had several dozen matches with him. That guy didn’t even win a single match!”

“You sure he didn’t just let you win?” Nie Yan asked with a smile. In his mind, he knew this was exactly Wei Kai’s style of handling affairs.

“You’re underestimating me too much. I’m actually quite skillful now, y’know? Hey, when Wei Kai called me up in the afternoon, he said you went to the Lin Family Martial Arts Facility. You didn’t go there looking for Lin Jia, did you? I really couldn’t believe it. How could you possibly like that woman? I heard she’s already slept with many guys.”

“That was back in middle school when I was still naive and young. Now, I don’t have any interest in her. I only went to the facility to test out my strength.”

“When I thought it over, I believed this was the most likely case as well. How could you possibly be attracted to Lin Jia? If you’re looking for a girl, this brother here can help introduce you to one!” Tang Yao laughed while he pat on Nie Yan’s shoulder.

“With the type of girls you’re acquainted with, it’s better if you keep them to yourself.” Nie Yan rolled his eyes at Tang Yao’s antics.

A sweet fragrance entered Nie Yan’s nose. The scent belonged to a lily perfume sold in NPC stores. It was simple, elegant, and pleasant to the nose. He knew exactly who had arrived the moment this scent entered his nose.

“All you think about is things like picking up girls all day. I knew you weren’t a good person.” Yao Yao muttered to herself.

Nie Yan knowingly smiled when he heard this voice. He turned his head and saw Yao Yao’s charming figure standing right behind him. She was dressed in a pure white mage gown. It was like mercury falling, complementing her perfect body. Her hair hung down, and the pink kerchief she had tied over her head made her appear all the more lovely.

It was as if she walked out from the canvas of a beautiful painting.

Tang Yao stared at the beautiful Yao Yao standing by Nie Yan’s side with saliva almost dripping from his mouth. He stood there with a blank expression for what seemed like half a day before elbowing Nie Yan in the side. “So beautiful! A first-rate beauty! Oh my God… Nie Yan, is this your girlfriend?”

“What are you saying? Who are you saying is his girlfriend?” Yao Yao’s eyes widened into a furious glare. She was absolutely fuming. Before her eyes, this vulgar fellow surprisingly said she was Nie Yan’s girlfriend. “Hmph! Indeed, birds of a feather do flock together…”

“Exactly, birds of a feather do flock together. Otherwise, you also wouldn’t have come here looking for us!” Nie Yan laughed while teasing Yao Yao.

“Y-you… Hmph! This magnanimous lady is going to ignore you. Senior Sister Yu Lan (Blue Feather) and the rest of them are already at the transfer point. Let’s go and meet up with them.” Since she couldn’t outwit Nie Yan, Yao Yao quickly changed the subject.

Tang Yao suddenly realized something as he watched the Nie Yan and Yao Yao bickering. What was it called again? He seemed to have forgotten. Oh, that’s right, it’s definitely this! It was a lovers' quarrel. He had seen many couples that enjoyed bickering like this before. Although Tang Yao himself was a person who was usually lecherous and full of hormones, he still held some principles. He might take away another person’s woman, but when it came to his own brother’s, he definitely wouldn’t interfere.

Tang Yao mentally gave Nie Yan’s a thumbs up and secretly whispered, “You do have some skill after all.”

Tang Yao’s mentality immediately diverged. From then on, he viewed Yao Yao as nothing more than a potential friend. Seeing this, Nie Yan couldn’t help smiling; however, he was too lazy to explain. Besides, when it came to these matters, explaining them would only make things messier.

The three began walking in the direction of the transfer point.

“Nie Yan, is this your friend? That guy has a vulgar appearance, but it looks like his equipment is pretty good. What kind of equipment is he wearing?” Yao Yao curiously asked.

Tang Yao’s cheeks were streaming with tears. Why was this beautiful woman right beside him, when describing his appearance, not using words like confident, dashing, or crushingly handsome, but instead using words like vulgar?

“Fire Chaser Set,” Nie Yan replied. He noticed Yao Yao’s hair beneath her kerchief was folded into several layers. The irregular arrangement was quite charming and revealed it was done with the utmost care.

“The Fire Chaser Set dropped from Blackflame Forest?” Yao Yao exclaimed in surprise. She knew Blackflame Forest was a much more difficult dungeon compared to Treant Forest. Only the elite teams from large guilds would enter these dungeons! After realizing this, Yao Yao couldn’t help but look at Tang Yao in a new light. Those who were able to run Blackflame Forest were definitely experts. “I never expected this wretched fatty was actually a powerful expert.”

Tang Yao had advanced from a vulgar person into a wretched fatty.

However, after Yao Yao added that he was a powerful expert, Tang Yao felt slightly better—even somewhat proud of himself. He also had somewhat of a guilty conscious. This title of “expert” was merely a forgery. When compared to genuine experts, he was still lacking by a whole grade.

“Nie Yan, my kerchief is pretty isn’t it? It was a drop I got from farming in the Radiant Ruins. It’s Holy Damage +3.” Yao Yao did a little spin. Her fluttering mage gown resembled a snow lotus in bloom as her kerchief danced in the air. To an onlooker, it was especially moving. It seemed she still held the slight temperament of a child. If she had something nice, she couldn’t help but show it off. Moreover, the displeasure she held towards Nie Yan from their prior conversation appeared to have been completely forgotten.

“Mhmm, it does look very pretty,” Nie Yan replied with a nod of his head. Yao Yao had this magical characteristic about her. She was able to let any person completely forget about their worries.

“Brother, not bad… You should make your move at the first opportunity. Otherwise, she’ll get taken away by another person and it would be too late to regret by then!”