「System: Opening treasure chest... Estimated Completion: 20%... 50%...」

「Click!」The chest was unlocked.

He glanced at the key which now had its durability reduced from three to two. Not bad... I can still use this two more times. Nie Yan threw the key into his knapsack and then started to feel around the inside of the chest. Eventually, he grasped an item; it was small, round, and felt smooth inside his hand. It’s a ring! Nie Yan’s surprise echoed in his thoughts as he fished out the item from the chest.

The band had an ashy gray colour and he found it difficult to discern what material it was crafted from. Upon the setting attached to one side of the band sat an opaque white jewel adorned at the very center. Engraved on this opaque white jewel was the image of a spider. Despite its small size, the engraving was vivid and lifelike. It made it appear as though a jade white spider truly did exist within this jewel.

Silk Spinner Ring

Properties: Unidentified

“It’s a Silk Spinner Ring!” Nie Yan gasped in surprise.

The Silk Spinner Ring was a Bronze-grade accessory that could only be found in areas where spider type monsters spawned. Moreover, it was a ring that retained its usefulness all the way up to Level 60. This was due to the ring’s unique properties; it could shoot out a tough resilient thread of spider silk that adhered to most surfaces and could extend up to ten feet in length. In essence, it was the perfect treasure for scaling or jumping over obstacles such as rooftops, walls, ledges, or trees.

“What’s a Silk Spinner Ring?” Tang Yao asked in bewilderment.

Nie Yan faintly smiled and replied, “Just look at the craftsmanship. It should be at least a Silver-grade accessory.”

Although the properties of this ring were yet to be appraised, he was able to discern the grade of equipment like this just by glancing at the name.

“Oh... so it was a Silver-grade accessory? No wonder you were so excited!” Tang Yao replied as he came to a sudden realization.

From Nie Yan’s perspective, this Silk Spinner Ring was much more valuable than the Meteor skill book. This was because this ring would make him significantly more versatile, therefore he would have plenty more options to consider when working towards a specific goal. In his heart, he couldn’t help but think: Now if only I can get a hold of that jewel from the Treant King, then everything will be perfect.

“A friend of mine invited me to run the Treant Forest with her tomorrow and there’s still a few open spots. Do you want to join?”

“Sure, but... would they even agree to have me?” Tang Yao asked in a somewhat anxious tone. He and his friends had wanted to form a team and run a dungeon in the past; however, not a single team wanted them or agreed to let them join.

“No worries, you have me with you after all. Besides, your magic damage is fifty now. Such a high damage Arcane Mage... even if they wanted to find one they wouldn’t be able to. Have some confidence in yourself. You’re my brother after all!” Nie Yan smiled and patted Tang Yao on the shoulder.

“Understood! If you have any more advice to give, then please let me know now. Whatever you tell me, I’ll practice it. I don’t believe there’s anything I can’t learn!” Listening to these words, Tang Yao was in high spirits and felt touched by Nie Yan’s words.

“Well, I’ve already told you all that you need to know in regards to improving your skills. The most crucial aspect now is whether you’ve practiced enough or not. As long as you practice, improve your reaction time, and put in the effort to avoid making any large mistakes, you’ll have nothing to worry about. Try finding people to duel with early in the day to improve your skills. When you get to Level 5, I’ll find some people and we’ll form a team to run Secret Cavern. There I’ll help you grab the Arcane Mage’s Exile Disciple set. I’ll have you so satisfied, you’ll explode from happiness,” Nie Yan said. With him here, it would be difficult for Tang Yao not to become an expert—even if he didn’t want to.

“Really? Then it won’t do if I don’t make an effort!” Tang Yao was now full of motivation. In the past, he felt it didn’t matter how much he practiced his skills because in the end, he would never catch up to the people who were considered elites. However now, after listening to Nie Yan’s words, he felt a bright future lay ahead of him.

Afterward, Nie Yan gave Yao Yao a call through voice chat.

「What do you want?」Yao Yao asked in an annoyed tone. In truth, she was no longer angry at Nie Yan. When she answered the call, however, she pretended to still be angry with him.

「Do you still have any extra spaces for Treant Forest tomorrow?

」Nie Yan smiled helplessly.

「Two more open spaces.」

「I have a friend who I want to bring along. Are you guys willing to take him?」

「What level is your friend, hmm? He’s not joining just to leech experience, is he...? Cause if he is, I’ll have to ask my Senior Sister first. Also, what class does this friend of yours play?」Yao Yao answered in an abrasive tone.

「Arcane Mage.」

「Oh...? What’s his magic damage?」

「Over fifty. To be more accurate, it’s fifty-two.」

「His damage is that high!?」Yao Yao exclaimed in surprise. Her magic damage as a Holy Mage was only at thirty-seven—a number which was considered to be quite high among others at the same level. She never expected that Nie Yan’s friend would possess more magic damage than her, and by such a large margin at that.「Hold on, I’ll go ask my Senior Sister. She’ll most likely agree to it.」

For an Arcane Mage to possess such high magic damage, they definitely must’ve cleared many dungeons in the past. These people were top experts. Even if their team found one and begged them to join, they still might not necessarily agree to join. And now, one of these experts had been delivered right to their doorstep. Her senior sister would have absolutely no reason to refuse. Normally it would be quite the opposite, with Tang Yao being the one doing the refusing or accepting.

「Alright, go and ask. I’ll be waiting for your reply.

」

A few moments later, she sent a reply.「I’ve asked Big Sister Yu Lan. She agreed to let your friend join, so bring him with you when you come tomorrow morning.」

「Mhm... alright.」Nie Yan nodded his head and hung up the call.

「Doot! Doot!」

“Hello? Hello?” Yao Yao still wanted to ask Nie Yan why his friend would even want to join them. From their perspective, this kind of expert wasn’t easy to find, and they definitely weren’t someone who would casually join up with a team like theirs. However, Nie Yan had already hung up on her. The only noise she heard from the call now was the busy signal that signified that the call had ended, which ended up infuriating her to no end as she madly stamped her feet on the ground. “Hanging up on me so quickly... Now that you’ve got an expert by your side, you suddenly think you’re too good for me, is that how it is? Hmph! How infuriating!”

“So, how’d it go? Are they willing to let me join?” Tang Yao asked in an anxious tone as he fiddled with his hands.

Up until now, Tang Yao had always been someone who would join Pick-Up Groups. Occasionally he would join a group and run some common instances with them. However, he had never formed a regular party or team. The teams that were able to run Level 3 or higher instances also tended to be ones with a significant influence among the player base. Not to mention, these teams usually had fixed members. In almost all cases, there was simply no chance for an ordinary player to join. This was because if a team were to accept a weak player, that player would only hold the team back. This was why teams had harsh requirements and were particularly picky when recruiting new members. However, as long as a player met their requirements and joined their ranks, then they would easily become a part of the team. Such recruits would be called upon to join the ranks whenever the team was lacking in members.

Hence why Tang Yao waited with heated expectation when Nie Yan had hung up the call.

As a person who had also been unable to enter an elite team in the past, Nie Yan understood his feelings well. Tang Yao’s eagerness and anticipation made Nie Yan reminisce about when he had first entered a team in the past; his feelings had been about the same back then as well.

“They agreed. All you need to do is tag along with me tomorrow and you’ll be fine. Your stats alone would make any team eager to have you, so relax. After all, playing an Arcane Mage requires a significant amount of skill.”

“That’s great!” Tang Yao excitedly exclaimed. Tomorrow was going to be his first time running a high-level instance like the Treant Forest. This was an opportunity he had been yearning for even in his dreams. “Are there any requirements to this instance?”

“For this instance, there are no specific requirements for Arcane Mages. Just make sure not to draw any aggro and you’ll be fine. By the way, Treants have a fairly low resistance against fire magic, so who knows? Maybe you’ll have done the most damage by the end of tomorrow!” Nie Yan said while smiling. Meanwhile, Tang Yao was taking this matter seriously. When he recalled his first time running an instance, he didn’t fare any better...

“Did you bring any Talismans with you?"

“I’ve got five.”

“Let’s have a look at Meteor then. Cast the spell for me before we leave here in a bit.”

“Where am I going to cast it?” The surrounding area only had one or two Rock Spiders at most. Using the skill here would be too much of a waste.

“I’ll gather them up, so just get ready!” Nie Yan replied as he ran off deeper into the cave.

“Okay!” Tang Yao fished out a Talisman from his bag. He was filled with anticipation and was quite eager to find out just how powerful his new spell was.

Nie Yan continued running deeper into the cave. Whenever he encountered a Rock Spider, he would attack it once and, instead of tangling with it any further, continue on his way. After these spiders were attacked, they would chase after him. The number of spiders chasing him steadily increased until they began slowing down due to the crowding.

Nie Yan was quite nimble as he moved back and forth through the cave. The mass of twenty plus Rock Spiders following behind him as they cried out made him resemble a train.

Tang Yao was busy tidying up his knapsack when he heard the sound of activity coming from deeper within the cave. When he walked over to take a look, he discovered a deluge of twenty plus spiders surging through the passage. They appeared as though they were going to swallow up everything in their path.

“Oh... my... God...! How did you manage to aggro so many of them!?” Tang Yao cried out in alarm as he turned around and began running for dear life.