With the fixed teams setting off towards the dark elf tribe, there were still several thousand players in the square. Some already had teams. Others were still looking.
Nie Yan browsed through the party finder, seeing if anyone needed a Thief.
Before long, Nie Yan found a party looking for a Level 100+ Thief with at least 8,000 health. The contact person was Suyo.
Few teams ever had such high requirements. Thieves were a squishy class after all. Those with 8,000 health were few and far between. "Do they have some sort of quest in the dark elf tribe that has a health requirement for Thieves?" Nie Yan rubbed his chin. His interest was piqued.
Thinking to this point, Nie Yan decided to contact Suyo.
「Where are you guys?」
「You have 8,000+ health?」Suyo asked in surprise. The voice coming from the other end was pleasant to the ear.
「Yeah,」Nie Yan replied. Thanks to his equipment and various stat bonuses, he'd already surpassed 20,000 health. This was inconceivable for ordinary players.
「Meet us at the center of the square: 392.280.280.」
Nie Yan checked his coordinates, then headed for the center of the square. As he looked around, he spotted a seven-man party. Their line-up was fairly unique, with three orc Warriors, one tauren Shaman, one elven Mage, and one elven Demon Hunter.
Nie Yan's gaze fell on the elven Demon Hunter. After using Transcendent Insight, he discovered she was Suyo, the player he had just talked to. She was in her early twenties and about 170 cm tall with a slim build. Her skin-tight, azure leather armour perfectly accentuated her breathtaking figure. It was cropped at the bottom and exposed her navel and flat, smooth stomach. On the lower half, she wore mini skirt shorts which revealed an alluring pair of slender, fair legs. She was drop dead gorgeous. Her translucent face looked as if it were carved white jade, lacking the slightest blemish. Her long, pointed ears didn't clash with her image at all. In fact, it made her appear all the more lovely. On her back, she carried an azure longbow.
Even though elf players had their appearance enhanced by 10%-30%, Nie Yan could tell Suyo was definitely a beauty in real life too. She possessed the most elf-like qualities out of all the players he had come across.
Of course, Nie Yan was only showing his appreciation. He had zero interest in her romantically. He quickly shifted his attention to the several other players. They were all over Level 110. One was even Level 120, a male elven Mage. He looked like any other male elf, an excessively pretty face, to the extent it made him look effeminate.
As for the orc Warriors and the tauren Shaman, even if they were world famous models in real life, they would still have faces as ugly as the backside of a mule.
"It's a human Thief. No wonder he has over 8,000 health. Here I thought it was an elven Thief," the elven Mage said in a contemptuous tone. The innate bonuses of humans were evenly spread. Their health and defense was a bit higher compared to elves.
Hearing the elven Mage's snide remarks, Nie Yan knitted his brows. "You guys don't want a human Thief?"
"The Cloaking stat of a human Thief is too low," the elven Mage said.
"What's your Cloaking requirement?" Nie Yan asked in an insipid tone.
"At least 300. Any Thief with less than 300 Cloaking is trash." the elven Mage glanced at Nie Yan.
Tch, only 300? Nie Yan inwardly sneered. Without the help of any stealth skills, his base Cloaking already exceeded 1,000. Although it was related to him being a Luminous Dancer, even ordinary Shadow Dancers had well over 300 Cloaking, 600 at most. If he revealed his stats, that elven Mage would probably shit himself in terror. With 1,000 Cloaking, he could sneak up and pants that elven Mage, and he wouldn't even notice.
Nie Yan couldn't be bothered to pay attention to this fellow. There was no need to reveal his Cloaking.
Suyo closely observed Nie Yan's reaction. Her large and bright eyes were deep and enchanting like sapphires.
"If you guys don't need a human Thief, I'll go find another party," Nie Yan calmly replied.
"Wait. I apologize for my friend's behaviour. He's not good with strangers. Please don't mind him. You're welcome to join our party," Suyo said with a charming smile.
"He's Violet Night. That's just the kind of person he is. Don't mind him. I'm Ronin, the team captain," an orc Warrior said. He was noticeably taller than the two other orc Warriors beside him. He gave an open and honest impression, but he also carried the air of a leader.
"Ronin, why do you want to add this human Thief? I think any random elven Thief would be much better than him." Violet Night shot Nie Yan a disdainful glance.
He really is asking for it, isn't he? Nie Yan inwardly muttered. He suddenly decided to stay. On one hand, Suyo and the Ronin piqued his interest. On the other, this Violet Night really rubbed him the wrong way. Leaving just like that without teaching him a lesson wasn't his style.
「Suyo, what do you think?」Ronin asked in a whisper.
「Definitely an expert. He seems pretty low-key too,」Suyo replied.
Ronin nodded.「I think the same. However, I don't recognize him. I doubt he's famous. I've definitely never seen him before.」
Ronin sent Nie Yan a party invite.
Ronin has invited you to a party. Do you accept?
Yes!
You have joined Ronin's party.
When Nie Yan entered the party, he hid his name.
"What should we call you?" Suyo asked, staring at Nie Yan with her bright eyes. His name was blurred out in the party window.
"Just call me Sky Origin." Nie Yan randomly made up a name.
Seeing that Nie Yan had joined their party, Violet Night showed visible annoyance. He coldly snorted, "What a faker. Trying to act all mysterious."
Everyone knew the name Nie Yan gave was fake. But there was nothing they could do if he didn't want to reveal his true identity.
Despite not showing any reaction, Ronin and Suyo were annoyed with Violet Night constantly trying to pick a fight with Nie Yan. Violet Night had a massive ego. Not to mention his one-sided infatuation for Suyo.
"Since everyone's here, let's head out," Ronin said.
"Just the eight of us?" Nie Yan asked in doubt.
"Yep. Eight is enough. However, you'll have to prepare yourself. We'll definitely meet with some road blocks. You're likely going to be stuck with the hardest job too." Ronin chuckled in a lighthearted manner.
Nie Yan stared at Ronin. His smile appeared to have a hidden meaning.
It appeared their quest was special compared to the other players. Ever since he met this party, Nie Yan felt the names Suyo and Ronin were somewhat familiar. However, he couldn't put his finger on where.
Nie Yan wasn't too knowledgeable of the famous figures of the Satreen Empire in the previous timeline. He only remembered the most famous few. Since he felt Suyo and Ronin sounded familiar, that meant they definitely weren't simple.
"When we leave town, I'll explain the quest to Sky Origin. But first, we need to make sure we're all on the same page. Even if you're dissatisfied about something, put that aside for now. If I catch anyone trying to stir trouble, don't blame me for being impolite." Ronin coldly glanced at Violet Night.
Violet Night muttered something to himself but didn't retort. He seemed to fear Ronin at least somewhat.
The eight prepared to set out. Nie Yan swept his eyes over the square. Almost everyone had already left. Those left behind were weak players that no team would accept. Most of them were here to mooch equipment and experience. If they were lucky, they would get picked up and carried by some teams. If they got the brilliant idea to form a team themselves, even other equally weak players wouldn't be interested in joining them, let alone experts.
When Violet Night saw these people, he turned his nose up to the air with a smug smile. He clearly believed himself superior to them.
After passing through the crowd, the party exited Kelun Town.
Suyo was constantly staring at Nie Yan, evoking a sense of discomfort. Only after recalling the Disguise Elixir wouldn't be so easily seen through, he relaxed a bit.
Seeing that Suyo was interested in Nie Yan, Violet Night's mood turned even worse.
"Hey. why did you come all the way here to the Satreen Empire?" Suyo asked in a casual tone.
"He probably got chased out of the Viridian Empire," Violet Night interjected.
Suyo slightly knitted her brows. She was starting to get fed up with Violet Night's behaviour.
"I picked a fight with the wrong group. So, now I'm here in the Satreen Empire until the heat dies down." Nie Yan chuckled, not bothering to retort.
"See, what did I say?" Violet Night appeared pleased with himself.
Suyo didn't believe Nie Yan's words for a second. To not even be fazed after Violet Night taunted him, she was impressed. Based on this alone, the gap between the two was clear.
Her curiosity only grew deeper. Suyo really wanted to find out Nie Yan's identity.
After leaving Kelun Town, the party passed through a dense patch of forest and arrived in an empty clearing.
"Let's take a short break here." Ronin halted his steps, then turned to Nie Yan. "We're going to scout out the dark elf tribe. Even though we don't know your identity, I feel like you're trustworthy enough. So, Suyo and I have agreed to tell you about our quest. I hope you'll be willing to help after listening. If not, please keep this a secret for us."
"C-captai-" Violet Night blurted out in shock. He didn't think Ronin was planning to reveal everything to Nie Yan.
Ronin raised his hand, cutting Violet Night off. He shot a glance over and said, "I'm the captain. My word is final."