Chapter 152 – Sparring
Zhou Ning also noticed that after roasting people in his video, Qingbai Wild Sake added a short teaser at the end:
"Wayne Sturwell's mysterious appearance in West Lin Town can't possibly be just to eye the players' measly cash and XP, right? I've uncovered a hidden storyline, which I'll release once this event ends. Stay tuned."
Seeing this, Zhou Ning couldn't help but curl his lips. "My motive really is that simple. I just want to farm leeks, that's all… With an imagination like yours, why aren't you writing novels instead?"
Still, it was a good reminder: money is easy to come by, but a good sidekick is hard to find. He might be sticking around here for a few more days. No harm in letting the guy play along while he continues farming.
Zhou Ning gave it some thought, then glanced past the crowd and locked eyes with Qingbai Wild Sake. He waved him over. "You're Qingbai Wild Sake, right? Haven't seen you in a few days. From what I just saw in your fight, you've made solid progress. I'll be around here for a few more days to take care of some things—might need a hand. You interested?"
Since Qingbai Wild Sake already had a bit of name recognition, nearby players recognized him instantly, and envy spread like wildfire.
"Looks like that WildWine09 guy who's been all over the forums lately. He already had a hidden quest before—this must be the follow-up."
"That rat-faced punk? He doesn't look like a good guy."
"Eh, luck favors fools. Nothing you can do. XB was the same way, wasn't he?"
Is it finally my turn?!
Qingbai Wild Sake's body jolted with excitement, feeling like happiness had descended out of nowhere. He nodded frantically. "Yes! Of course I'll help!"
"Good." Zhou Ning nodded approvingly. It was around 2 in the afternoon.
He casually cobbled together a fetch quest about gathering materials, with generous rewards and a simple objective—just a battlefield cleanup. It was a group mission with a cap of 50 participants, so Qingbai Wild Sake could share it with up to 49 others. The more players joined, the more XP he himself would get.
Unlike the Blood Worms, the Ice Snow-Bugs had valuable cores. They were a key ingredient in crafting Starlight Reagents, and each was worth about 3 Roshens. It'd be a shame to waste them.
Watching the eager tool… err, assistant, rally his buddies and dash off with excitement, Zhou Ning felt a little bad, but quickly got over it.
Lured by the promise of massive XP, they worked efficiently. In under two hours, they collected over 1,000 Ice Bug Cores and handed them over, each player receiving 6,000 XP as a reward.
Just as Zhou Ning expected, instead of saving their XP, they immediately spent it at his place, perfectly demonstrating the idea of "taken from the people, used for the people."
Probably due to just having finished the "Defend West Lin Town" quest, the players were in a particularly spendy mood. By the evening, Zhou Ning's XP reserves had once again broken past 2.1 million.
After issuing a follow quest to Qingbai Wild Sake—who'd been idling nearby the whole time—Zhou Ning took him back to camp. He gave Edwin a heads-up and had Wild Sake settle into a nearby empty tent. Because of the train suspensions, over 40 students couldn't make it to the expedition, so there were plenty of free tents.
Though he didn't immediately need a full-time commentator tagging along, who knew when it might come in handy in the coming days?
The camp housed roughly 300 people, including students and teachers—mostly elite students from Vick University, from freshmen to seniors. In the Alchemy Department alone, there were names like first-year Leandro Pessa and second-year Rosie Lily.
From what Zhou Ning knew, Leandro had already found out that his brother, Richard Pessa, had been killed by Zhou Ning himself. That's why Zhou hadn't been invited to Richard's funeral.
His Affinity Score confirmed as much—his formerly "close" relationship with Leandro had dropped to just above average. While things were still okay between them, the likelihood of getting Leandro's Hot-Blooded skill any time soon was slim to none.
By around 6 PM, it was still snowing. After dinner, campfires began popping up all around the site.
Following school tradition, the students gathered for routine sparring matches. The winner would be awarded one credit.
Though Zhou Ning wasn't in the mood to show off right now, he was more than happy to watch others do so—especially Leandro. He was quite curious about the guy's strength. He couldn't help but wonder: if he fought Leandro now, how would it turn out?
He picked a random spot to sit down. Qingbai Wild Sake stood behind him, buzzing with excitement. After all, it had only been a week since the game launched, and he was likely the first player to successfully infiltrate a major power. Things were just getting good. At the very least, he could whip up a full analysis post on all the combat classes.
A short while later, Rosie seemed to have finished her tasks. She was standing nearby, looking around for a seat. Zhou Ning noticed her and gave a small wave, gesturing at the empty spot beside him.
She hesitated for a few seconds but eventually came over and sat down.
At that moment, Warren Morton was sparring with a rather unfamiliar-looking student from the Warrior Department.
"Who do you think will win?" Zhou Ning asked, trying to make conversation, sensing her awkwardness.
"…Warren Morton. He's the top second-year in the Warrior Department," Rosie answered without missing a beat. "And he's also heir to the Morton family of Valor. There's almost no chance he'll lose."
Zhou Ning nodded. No wonder he'd charged that Ice Lord on the train head-on, despite knowing he couldn't win. Makes sense now.
Seems the school really is full of hidden talents. As the Child of the Plane in his previous life, Leandro was undoubtedly near max level, with elite skills across the board. Cress Bradenreiser was likely similar. Even Warren Morton, who didn't seem all that impressive at first glance, had serious background.
As Rosie predicted, Warren didn't even use his Clan Edict—just basic warrior skills were enough to easily defeat his opponent.
In the next match, Leandro Pessa crushed his opponent as well. The other guy was a fairly high-level mage, but Leandro's combat techniques were clearly more refined than the average student's. He stayed close to his opponent the entire time, constantly interrupting spellcasts with positioning and timely minor skills.
The match afterward was similarly one-sided. Without his Clan Edict, Warren Morton was no match for Leandro. The battle lasted about three minutes before Warren was decisively defeated.
From his seat, Zhou Ning could feel Leandro glance at him several times—likely wanting to challenge him. But for some reason, he never actually spoke up.
That said, Zhou Ning was genuinely curious too. He wouldn't mind a duel with Leandro, just to see where he currently stood.
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