The carriage arrived as I jogged all the way, thinking things over.
However, the coachman was not there, the carriage door was locked. The hefty man inside the carriage was also gone, and the two fiery horses neighed warnings.
Peeping Immortal was too startled to approach! What's going on? Did they just abandon the carriage because of a roadblock? Wasn't their destination the Northern Fishing Port?
The group led by Peeping Immortal was about to scatter and investigate when they saw the coachman carrying the hefty man back from the coast, accompanied by two women, with the maid holding an umbrella for the lavish noblewoman.
Although Immortals always appraise the women first, this time, his gaze couldn't move away from the coachman carrying a literal mountain of flesh! How discordant this scene was, what a powerful NPC was this?
As they got closer, they saw the coachman also carrying a large bag, bulging with two dripping objects! It was apparent that something was retrieved from the shore?
Peeping Immortal couldn't help but step forward, intending to ask something, but a red light exploded in front of him— a warning from the coachman: "Move aside!"
Peeping Immortal immediately realized his friendliness level wasn't enough to converse, so he stepped back, then saw the hefty man and the two women all with faces full of joy—no doubt, the items in the bag were key!
Then, he watched helplessly as they boarded the carriage, turned the horses around, and headed back to the city.
"Report to headquarters, the targets have returned to the city, please assign city team members to monitor them citywide, I'm heading to the coast to investigate..."
"Baka, did we die for nothing in the Suburban Wolf District?"
"Headquarters received..."
...
Meanwhile, at the Divine Presence Seat headquarters, discussions were buzzing.
The Young Master, being a victim, regarded everyone as a thief: "What's in this bag must be spices! Spices of this size are hard for ordinary people to bring into the city; the gate guards would confiscate them unless a noble figure personally steps in to transport them! That's why they stopped at the coast, to meet smugglers!"
A team member immediately chimed in: "It's usually pirates colluding with nobles to smuggle! Could it be that Spice Island was discovered by pirates?"
The Young Master flinched at the thought: "Pirates are really unsolvable, but this hefty man..."
The team member hurriedly advised: "Young Master, NPCs that die will refresh and revive, you can only kill them in the storyline! These are just two spices, the smuggling will definitely continue, we just need to focus on the follow-up..."
The Young Master ground his teeth: "One day, I will take down this fat pig!"
"Report to the Young Master, a comparison of female number 1 NPC's appearance has identified her as Vivian, the lead dancer at the Harbor Night Rose Bar, female number 2 was holding an umbrella and keeping her head down, hard to compare, with over fourteen hundred female NPCs in the city having similar appearances."
The Young Master was stunned: "Just a dancer?"
The team member said: "A dancer's status isn't high and they're greedy, making it a focal entry point for missions!"
The Young Master nodded: "Then wait for her to return to the bar and hand it over to Peeping Immortal to tackle as a priority!"
Soon, the carriage sped through the PK scene outside the city gates and headed back to the city. Along the road, Divine Presence Seat player contacts monitored the carriage all the way back to the Baron's Mansion.
In the next moment, servants from the Baron's Mansion spread out, holding exquisite envelopes as they left.
The Young Master frowned: "What's this?"
A team member explained: "They are probably sending invitations for a banquet. If the bag contains precious spices, it might even be for an appraisal event."
The Young Master was indignant: "They sent out invitations as soon as the carriage returned; clearly, the invitations had been written long ago!"
Another team member reported: "A suspect-like female number 2 also appeared, also delivering invitations!"
"Prioritize tracking female number 2!"
While waiting, various tracking results came in:
"The servants are heading to the nobleman's district, knocking on doors to deliver invitations."
"They invited the president of the Sea Merchants Association, the servant returned, and went to the seafood market to purchase ingredients."
"They invited the City Lord's Mansion! The servant returned and went to the vegetable market."
"They invited the Jewelry Guild, and the maid returned, heading to the florist..."
"Female number 2 entered Fafnir the star mage's residence and did not return."
The Young Master's eyebrows twitched: "Didn't return? Surely not a regular maid... what's this star's background?"
"The City Lord Duke Fareed's most beloved youngest daughter, sent to the Golden Empire for training, she returned as an imperial cultural envoy promoting the empire's prestige; every main city has a star female mage."
The Young Master knew full well what such an envoy entailed: "No more than being an imperial-trained high-level spy to monitor her father."
...
2 AM, 2 PM in the game world.
Chun was feeling complicated as he was overcoming the last collapse point. Although he mined five stones, he didn't soar to the Grandmaster level as imagined; he was merely stuck unmovingly at Expert level 10, and it wasn't even clear if the last stone would make him a Master.
Alright, surely the expectations were too high, thinking this was an elder's shortcut made Grandmaster feel as easy to reach as a dandelion on a hillside. In reality, there were few Grandmasters among NPCs in the game world, and the tests and luck required for a Grandmaster were not something a few stones could resolve.
Finally, the last Magic Stone was found!
—— System Alert: Congratulations! You have mastered the Essence of Mining, blessed by the luck of six Magic Stones... Your Mining Technique has advanced to Master level! You have achieved: Physical Strength +3, Load +3, Luck +1! The talent skill has been boosted to "Master Mining Pickaxe Mastery."
Master Mining Pickaxe Mastery: Further reduces durability and stamina consumption when using the Mining Pickaxe, and provides additional combat effect bonuses when fighting with the Mining Pickaxe.
—— System Alert: Congratulations! You have successfully elevated a skill to Master level within two days, earning the "Three Days of Newcomer's Discount Blessing" achievement: Wisdom +2!
...
Finally, Master level! Master level means 3 points each to load and physical strength per level, and even gives a 1-point luck achievement bonus!
Chun let out a sigh of relief, reaching there was good enough! To aim high and achieve the middle, aiming for the middle to achieve lower is the norm of life, especially when this Master was a free gain.
Next, he moved the large rock back in place, returning to the lift while recovering his physical strength and waiting for news from Sherry. It must be said that these six stones combined weighed nearly 200; if his skills hadn't leveled up— in any case, he checked his attributes:
Level: Level 1. Base growth + Cleaner's every level Attack +2, Life +2, Load +2, Physical Strength +2.
Reputation: -100,000.
Attack: 22 (Cleaner profession reward +10, Whale Strength +10%)
Defense: 5.5 (Cleaner profession reward +5, Whale Strength +10%)
Attack Speed: 12.1 (Cleaner profession reward +1, Whale Strength +10%)
Movement Speed: 12.1 (Cleaner profession reward +1, Whale Strength +10%)
Life: 220 (Cleaner profession reward +100, Whale Strength +10%)
Load: 379.5 (Cleaner profession reward +50, Master Mining level 1 +53, Advanced Swimming level 10 +30, Advanced Artistic Swimming level 10 +30, Advanced Underwater Mining level 10 +30, Advanced Underwater Construction level 10 +30, Advanced Fishing level 1 +21, Basic Cooking level 1 +1, Whale Strength +10%)
Physical Strength: 379.5 (Cleaner profession reward +50...)
Wisdom: 5
Luck: 1 +? (Mystery Luck Enhancement from acquiring 6 Magic Stones)
Hunger: 41
Damage Reduction: -10 toxin corrosion damage.
...
There wasn't much improvement in combat power, but this physical load and strength were simply overwhelming! Earlier, the newcomer attributes seemed low, and the 10% lift from Whale Strength didn't seem huge, but added to this physical load, it equaled having an additional advanced skill!
Then Chun worried about the progress of the spice matter, so he went online to check for any updates, hopefully, there weren't any, but if there were—Holy Shit!
Seeing the webpage, Chun was utterly stunned, it really was the hefty man's carriage, what a commotion! This was really going to be troublesome, being Sherry's Attendant surely meant he was always by her side, if Sherry was recognized by the big shots, there'd be no escape for him either!
Amidst anxious checking, Sherry's voice came from the Attendant Badge, incredibly clear and even astounding: "Are you there?"
Holy Shit, what's happening?
Chun excitedly replied: "Beloved, I'm here! I've collected all 6 Magic Stones."