"Hello, Director Emily, I'm here to apply for new guild equipment!"
After returning to the guild headquarters, Lucas walked straight into his vice president's office, filled out the equipment application form, and made his way down to the logistics department. There, he found Emily Frost, the logistics director.
"…Ha?!"
Hearing those all-too-familiar words, Emily nearly fell out of her chair. Her eyes widened in shock, staring at him as though she had just seen a ghost. "You… you… don't tell me you've reached Level 50 again already?!" Her tone trembled with disbelief.
It had been what—three hours since she'd last seen him? Was he secretly traveling on a light-speed ship?
Lucas coughed awkwardly, realizing at once that she had misunderstood. "Ahem… no, nothing like that." He quickly clarified. "I didn't come here to request equipment because I reached Level 50 again. This time, I just want to swap some of my current accessories for ones that provide cooldown reduction."
Emily blinked. Relief washed over her face as she leaned back in her chair. "Oh thank goodness. For a second I thought you'd somehow managed to level up again. That would've been terrifying!"
Lucas smiled faintly. "No need to panic, Director Emily. The Talent skill I awakened after my second job advancement has a powerful effect that lowers skill cooldowns. Because of that, I'd like to exchange some of my critical hit accessories for ones that boost cooldown reduction."
Emily froze mid-thought, her voice suddenly rising again. "Wait—hold on! Are you saying you've already completed your second job change?"
Apparently, she hadn't been following the guild chat group. She had no idea about his recent progress.
Lucas nodded with a calm smile. "Yes. I just cleared the second job transfer challenge successfully. Not only that, I also completed the Level 40 dungeon."
"…."
Emily fell silent, her jaw slightly slack. She stared at him, unable to process the words.
He had just reached Level 40. And in less than three hours, he had already challenged the second-level job transfer dungeon—a dungeon designed for solo players—and cleared it successfully? And then, as though that weren't enough, he had also managed to complete the brand-new Level 40 dungeon?
The efficiency was absurd. She couldn't help but feel like her entire worldview had collapsed.
"Minister Emily? Director Emily?" Lucas waved a hand in front of her blank face, trying to snap her out of her daze.
She gave him a complicated look, sighed heavily, and finally nodded. "Fine. Come with me, Vice President Lucas."
He returned her nod politely and handed over the accessories he was returning. "Here are the items I'm exchanging. Please check the stock."
Emily took them without even glancing at them and tossed them casually into the guild's inventory backpack.
Lucas blinked. "…."
This was the same Emily Frost who was known throughout the guild for her meticulous seriousness? It was almost comical. He couldn't help thinking to himself: Did I just break her spirit by moving too fast? Maybe he should really start holding back a little—for her sake.
---
The guild warehouse held only a limited amount of epic-grade equipment, but there was no shortage of rare-quality purple gear. Lucas quickly scanned through the inventory and selected a complete set of cooldown reduction accessories: a pendant, a belt, and two rings, all Level 40.
In the end, however, Lucas decided to only equip the belt and the rings, keeping his original ogre pendant. The reason was simple: the pendant didn't just offer cooldown reduction, it granted a 10% life-steal effect, which was crucial for sustaining himself in battle.
With this compromise, his total cooldown reduction effect reached 40%. This brought the cooldown of his powerful Talent skill, Shura Blood Rage, down to six minutes—less than half of its original. To achieve this, however, he had to sacrifice 15% of his critical hit rate and several dozen points of agility. It was a trade-off, but one he found worthwhile.
Lucas left the logistics department with satisfaction, thanked Emily for her help, and headed back to his vice president's office.
Once seated, he powered up his computer, logged into the Job-Changer Forum, and opened his account. Without hesitation, he began typing a brand-new post.
The content? A detailed strategy guide for the second-level solo job transfer dungeon—the Death Arena.
Lucas carefully documented everything: the types of monsters, the dungeon's unique mechanics, and the tactical approach he used to clear it. He compiled all of this into a professional-grade walkthrough and then posted it under the categories Assassin Class, Second-Level Strategies, and Single-Player Job Transfer Guides.
Of course, this wasn't charity. Viewing the full guide required a 100-yuan fee.
This was standard on the Job-Changer Forum. He had paid similar fees countless times when studying other guides. Now it was his turn to earn something back.
The best part was that this wasn't just a one-time profit. Once published, the guide would generate passive income for decades. Every new assassin who reached the second job advancement would be a potential buyer. Even if the income trickled in slowly, over time it could add up to millions.
For Lucas, this was not just business. It was also a responsibility. By sharing his strategies, he helped future job changers avoid needless detours. It was a tradition among serious professionals: to contribute back to the community.
---
After handling this, Lucas planned to head back into the wilderness to continue leveling up. He still had active double experience time, and wasting even a second of it would be a crime. With a grin, he revved up his heavy-duty motorcycle and sped out of the city, his figure vanishing into the wild in a blur of dust and engine roar.
---
Meanwhile, in the guild chat group, the topic of Lucas's earlier "metaphysical technique" still lingered.
'Zach Darnell (Elite Member): Hello everyone, your Brother Hao is back!'
'Mason (High-Level Member): Welcome back, Brother Hao!'
'Leon Graves (Ordinary Member): Welcome back, Brother Hao!'
'Gao Taihe (Ordinary Member): Welcome…'
A wave of greetings swept the chat. Everyone had been waiting for Zach to come online again.
'Alexis Lane (Elite Member): Brother Hao, what's the verdict? Did Vice President Lucas's metaphysical trick really work?'
'Claire Rivers (Elite Member): Yeah, tell us quickly! Did it pay off?'
'Chris Morgan (Middle-Level Member): We're counting on you to verify it for us!'
'Danny Quinn (Middle-Level Member): Hurry, hurry, don't leave us hanging!'
'Logan Barrett (High-Level Member): Is this metaphysics thing actually effective?'
The flood of anticipation in the chat was almost overwhelming.
Zach coughed into his mic, typing carefully:
'Zach Darnell (Elite Member): I know you're all impatient, but calm down and let me explain…'
The barrage of questions slowed, the chat quieting as everyone leaned in, waiting for his words.
Finally, Zach revealed his results.
'Zach Darnell (Elite Member): I just challenged a Level 20 dungeon on Nightmare difficulty. This was my first time attempting Nightmare. I've never tried it before—only played Hard mode a couple of times—so my situation perfectly matches the metaphysical conditions Vice President Lucas described!'
The chat exploded again with curiosity, everyone refreshing their screens to see what Zach would say next.
'Zach Darnell (Elite Member): Since this was my first-ever Nightmare dungeon run, I met the metaphysical requirements exactly. So now I'll share the verification results with you all…'
---
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