[Ding, Silver Coins -443.]
[You have obtained the Black Iron Bow.]
Xiao Chen looked at the attributes of the Black Iron Bow, getting happier the more he looked.
[Black Iron Bow, Quality: Black Iron, Equipment Level: 10
Strength +10, Agility +10, Attack +30, Range +5 meters]
Compared to that +8 broken wooden bow, this Black Iron Bow was much stronger.
With the attribute bonuses, a weapon directly added 50 attack, which was quite impressive.
[Xiao Chen: LV10 (18000)
Total Attributes: 280 Attack Power: 289, Health: 580, Defense: 36]
The health and defense were definitely still lacking, but that's just how the Archer class was—high attack, low defense, and fragile.
Alright, Xiao Chen's attack wasn't that high either.
"Agility increased quite a bit, movement speed and attack speed increased significantly."
Compared to before awakening, Xiao Chen's speed had now doubled.
With a Black Iron weapon in hand, Xiao Chen finally didn't look so shabby.
"There are only 57 Silver Coins left, can't spend them recklessly."
The entry fee for a level two dungeon was 100 Silver Coins, split among five people, each would need 20 Silver Coins.
Earning a level 10 Black Iron weapon in half a year was actually not bad.
"Next, I need to find a team for a level two dungeon."
Xiao Chen's attack power was indeed a bit weak, but with some patience, he could still find a team.
Just then, Xiao Chen saw his friend list suddenly light up.
After half a year, Sun Jian actually reached out to him.
"Could it be to take me to a dungeon?"
Sun Jian's level was already 17, he really had the strength to carry him.
"Brother Xiao, our guild has a batch of reserve members, can you help guide them?"
Sun Jian didn't want to help him level up, but wanted him to help guide others.
Business came knocking, there was nothing he couldn't do.
"Of course, no problem, the usual rules."
Sun Jian had joined a guild, which was quite rare.
Guild slots were tight, ordinary people couldn't get in.
To become a reserve member before reaching level 10, one had to be either a talented professional or an Awakened with connections.
"Brother Xiao, how long can you guide them?"
"What do you mean how long?
I'll guide as many as there are, if you have to say a time, I can guide indefinitely.
Also, don't call me Brother Xiao anymore, just call me Xiao Chen."
They were about the same age, having a level 16 strongman call him brother was inappropriate.
Having made a fortune thanks to Sun Jian before, and now getting business referrals, Xiao Chen was extremely grateful to Sun Jian.
"If there's business, leveling up later is fine too."
There were many ways to improve, the most important thing was having money.
At any time, making money was the most important.
Earning one Silver Coin per dungeon run was really sweet.
Now that Xiao Chen's attack power had increased, and with Quadruple Shot, his attack range reached 20 meters.
In terms of efficiency in killing monsters, it was much higher than before.
"Brother Xiao, from now on, guide people through one round every day until they clear nine dungeons and achieve the accomplishment."
"Every day?"
Did the guild have that many reserve members?
"Yes, recently the guild's casualties have increased significantly, and they need to replenish a large number of backup members.
By the way, Xiao Chen, do you want to join the Tianxing Guild?"
Hearing this invitation, Xiao Chen felt a bit unreal.
"Of course, I'd love to join, but can someone like me make it?"
"As long as you're level 10, they'll accept you, but the guild is survival of the fittest.
If your contribution points don't rank in the top 10,000 next month, you'll be automatically kicked out of the guild."
Tianxing Guild was ranked in the teens in Tiannan City.
A level two guild with 10,000 official members.
"Alright, please pull me in."
The type of guild didn't matter, joining first was the priority.
Perhaps, there would be more opportunities for business in the future.
If some big shot in the guild was in a good mood, they might take him along for a dungeon run.
"Alright, there are 20,000 reserve members, work hard to earn contribution points."
There were two main sources of guild contribution points: killing monsters and clearing dungeons.
The other was donating materials to the guild.
Donating materials was impossible, but he'd do his best with the dungeons.
[Ding, you have joined the Tianxing Guild.]
[Ding, your total attributes +10, attack +30]
A level two guild actually provided him with such a significant bonus, it was like leveling up several times.
No wonder people were desperate to join a guild, just this bonus was very attractive.
Not to mention, after earning guild contribution points, he could exchange them for many materials.
The Tianxing Guild had a large number of Life Class members, and some potions, food, and equipment could be exchanged for contribution points.
"Clearing a level one dungeon only earns one contribution point?"
It seemed that guild contribution points were very valuable.
"Tianxing Guild, level 2 at 90%, needs 100,000 more contribution points to level up."
Including reserve members, the Tianxing Guild had 30,000 people, who knew how long it would take to fill those 100,000 contribution points.
Calculating this progress, leveling from two to three required a million contribution points.
"The purchasing power of one contribution point is almost equivalent to one Silver Coin."
Xiao Chen discovered another way to make money.
"There are over a thousand types of potions available for exchange, one by one."
Eventually, he could graduate from all these potions.
"The first goal, Basic Strength Potion."
This potion could only be consumed ten times, with a total strength bonus of ten points.
30 contribution points could get it, just needed to clear 30 level one dungeons.
"If I had known, I would have joined a guild by any means as soon as I reached level 10."
At his current rate of earning contribution points, it was hard to rank in the top 10,000.
But he wanted to try and see where he stood.
After joining the Tianxing Guild, Xiao Chen's total attributes and total attack both broke through to 300.
His health was close to 800, and his defense had also increased significantly.
"With my current strength, I can solo a level one dungeon."
Ranged attacks had the advantage of dealing more damage.
This health could withstand a few hits, and considering his movement speed had surpassed a level one BOSS, there was no danger in clearing it.
With this strength, leading a level one dungeon was very easy.
***
In the days that followed, Xiao Chen led at least one group of people to level up every day, sometimes even two.
Many of these people were Life Class members, all backup personnel for the Tianxing Guild.
After leading them through one round of achievements, they reached level six, and then they had to find their own way to level up.
[You cleared a level one dungeon, experience +0, Copper Coins +967, kills +96, guild contribution points +1.]
Honestly, Xiao Chen was quite satisfied with these rewards, even without any experience bonus.
Daily earnings accumulated over time were very substantial.
***
A week later, Xiao Chen completed another One in a Million.
His attributes were already enough to clear a level two dungeon, but his level was too low, and he still couldn't find a team.
"If it doesn't work, should I form my own team?"
Xiao Chen, like before, started calling for people at the dungeon entrance.
Soon, people kept joining the group, but their reactions were similar.
"Wow, only level 10, I don't dare to go."
"My own strength isn't enough, can't carry you, I'm leaving."
"Brother, you should join someone else's team.
To bring a level 10, the team needs at least one big shot."
Professionals tackling level two dungeons were much more cautious, and they screened people several times when forming teams.
Honestly, Xiao Chen felt very frustrated, but he didn't want to give up and continued calling for people.
At that moment, a familiar name appeared.
[Zhang Fan has joined the team!]
[Summoner Zhang Fan, level 15.]
It was Zhang Fan, the chubby guy with a bit of a temper.
Xiao Chen and Zhang Fan had only met once, and it was under his guidance that Xiao Chen went to the Beginner Trial Grounds.
After more than half a year, they met again.
"After all this time, does he still remember me?"
Xiao Chen was thinking this when the chubby guy walked up to him:
"Not bad, kid, you're still alive."
Alright, Zhang Fan recognized him.
However, this guy still spoke in the same uncomfortable way as before.
"Brother Fan, I didn't expect you to remember me."
"Mainly because Awakened like you are rare, not even knowing about the Beginner Trial Grounds.
Your level makes it hard to find a team, right? Give me the leader, and I'll take you through the dungeon."
Hearing this, Xiao Chen was all smiles.
As long as he was willing to take him, calling him brother or even grandpa was no problem.
"Thanks, Brother Fan, you're such a good person."
"Wow, kid, you're using Black Iron weapons now?
Let me see your attributes."
"Wow, you joined a guild too?
Who am I supposed to complain to?"
Even a level 15 professional like Zhang Fan hadn't found a guild yet.
Xiao Chen remembered Sun Jian's words and said to Zhang Fan:"Brother Fan, I'll try to see if I can get you into the Tianxing Guild too?"
Sun Jian had said that reserve members could join freely.
"You have such connections?
Haha, then thank you, brother."
Soon, Zhang Fan received a response.
Sun Jian was quick, and immediately started pulling people in.
In an instant, Zhang Fan's attributes increased significantly, and his combat power improved a lot.
"That's more like it!"
Zhang Fan was very satisfied, his total attributes broke through to 600.
Xiao Chen was also a bit surprised, this chubby guy was actually a D-level talent, a one in a hundred talent.
With the chubby guy as the leader, Xiao Chen didn't need to worry about anything.
The chubby guy was much more ruthless in forming a team than Xiao Chen:
"Level two dungeon looking for strong team members, those who perform well will be directly pulled into the guild."
This guy had just joined the guild as a reserve member, and now he was pulling people into the guild?
Although it was boasting, the effect was very good.
To join the guild, many high-level players were willing to join the team.
In no time, they had gathered two ranged attackers and a healer.
"Brother Fan, aren't we getting a tank?"
The two attackers, one was a level 16 Gunslinger, the other a level 15 Mage, their output should be decent.
But could they clear a level two dungeon without a tank?
"Don't worry, my summoned beast is an Earth Bear.
It's my main summoned beast, high attack, high health, high defense, just very powerful."
Some summoned beasts could indeed be used as tanks.
Having an extra ranged attacker would greatly increase the efficiency of clearing the dungeon.
***
After entering the dungeon, Zhang Fan summoned his summoned beast.
[Earth Bear: LV15, Attack: 412, Health: 2600
Awakening Skills: Earth Guardian, Earth Power.]
Seeing the attributes of Zhang Fan's summoned beast, Xiao Chen was really envious and jealous.
The abilities of this summoned beast were not inferior to a professional of the same level.
Summoners weren't limited to contracting just one summoned beast; once their energy reached a certain level, they could have a second summoned beast.
High-level summoners were a one-man army.
Even if a summoned beast died in battle, it wouldn't really die; after the cooldown, it could be summoned again.
"How about it, brother, my summoned beast is pretty good, right?"
"Brother Fan, one word, strong!"
Zhang Fan also took out his weapon, a Black Iron level staff.
The first level two dungeon Xiao Chen tackled was called Wild Boar Forest, and it was basically the same as the first level dungeon.
Of course, the monsters' attributes had increased significantly.
[Forest Wild Boar: Level 15]
[Attack: 300]
[Health: 600 Defense: 30]
Level 15 small monsters were indeed tough, with all attributes three times that of level five small monsters.
[Forest Boar King: LV15]
[Health: 6000]
[Attack: 800]
[Skill 1: Body Reinforcement]
[Skill 2: Savage Charge]
Level two ordinary dungeons were actually basic dungeons, not very difficult.
However, these level two small monsters could clear Xiao Chen's health in two or three hits.
If it were the Boar King, it could kill Xiao Chen in one hit.
"Don't worry, after you level up a few times, the two of us can clear ordinary dungeons."
Fighting monsters five levels higher, the experience gain was actually quite fast.
"Alright, I'll try to reach level 15 as soon as possible."
Xiao Chen was just saying it casually, not taking it seriously.
Clearing a dungeon with just the two of them would be extremely difficult.
"Let's agree first, if ordinary equipment drops, everyone relies on luck.
If special items like skill books drop, we'll sell them at the marketplace and split the money."
Everyone was poor, even the most basic skill books were unaffordable.
"No problem, let's start the fight!"
"Clear all the small monsters before engaging the BOSS."
With three ranged attackers, Xiao Chen's attack was naturally the lowest.
"-481"
"-501"
"-279"
Naturally, the damage that looked the weakest was dealt by Xiao Chen.
However, his total damage wasn't low, his Quadruple Shot had a good effect.
The Mage's output was high, but to save mana, they wouldn't use their most powerful skills on small monsters.
"You have obtained Flame of the Mind, attack power +35."
Sure enough, as long as it was valuable, special treatment could be received.
No, the other two ranged attackers were also given Flame of the Mind.
[Ding, you have gained experience +30, Copper Coins +40.]
Killing a small monster gave 30 experience, which was quite a lot.
No, wait!
"To level up to 11, I need 18,000 experience, which means killing 600 monsters?"
Doesn't this mean it takes six dungeon runs to reach level 11?
Even with the BOSS experience, it would take at least four runs.
When he was leading people to level up, the first dungeon could level up two levels.
Indeed, as the level increased, the difficulty of leveling up increased significantly.
[Ding, kills +1, you have obtained Fresh Meat X1.]
Small monsters could also drop items?
It seemed that only the small monsters he killed dropped items for him.
[Fresh Meat, ordinary ingredient, can be cooked into delicious dishes.]
While still fighting small monsters, Xiao Chen quickly opened the marketplace.
"Fresh Meat, 10 Copper Coins per piece!"
This was one of the lowest-priced items in the marketplace, but Xiao Chen was not just satisfied, he was very satisfied.
It seemed he had to find every way possible to get more kills.
Every kill could earn him ten Copper Coins and increase his kill count.
Over a hundred small monsters were quickly cleared halfway.
At this moment, a light flashed on Zhang Fan.
[Level +1.]
While fighting, he had leveled up to 16.
"Awesome."
When a character leveled up, the summoned beast's level also increased.
The Earth Bear's size increased a bit, and its health increased significantly.
Occasionally, it would crit and kill a wild boar with one swipe.
"Brother Fan, having a summoned beast like this makes clearing dungeons so enjoyable."
Zhang Fan didn't even need to move, just stood at the back watching the show.
"That's because I'm lucky, many summoners are also disliked in dungeons."
This team's strength had no pressure in this dungeon, and in half an hour, only the lonely BOSS was left.
"Ranged attackers, just go all out with your output.
Healer, focus on healing the Earth Bear, and apply Flame of the Mind to it."
"Once you're ready, start."
Xiao Chen originally thought there would be some trouble fighting the BOSS.
He never expected the Earth Bear to withstand several rounds of Savage Charge.
One skill reduced damage by over a thousand, and the Earth Bear managed to hold on.
Of course, the healer's healing ability was also very strong.
Xiao Chen didn't notice that the chubby guy had already run to the teleportation point.
Seeing the Earth Bear withstand it, he breathed a sigh of relief.
"Turns out it's doable, scared me for a moment!"
If the Earth Bear couldn't handle it, he would have immediately escaped the dungeon.
Sacrificing others to save oneself was Zhang Fan's consistent way of doing things.
Using teammates to take risks was indeed wrong, but nothing went wrong this time.
"Brother Fan, what did you say?"
"I said everyone is very strong, this dungeon is a sure pass."
[Ding, kills +1, Wild Boar Tusk +1]
Unexpectedly, he managed to get the kill on the BOSS.
[Killed the Boar King, Silver Coins +4, experience +500, guild contribution points +2.]
Luck wasn't great, only a whiteboard item dropped.
Of course, a level 15 whiteboard item's bonuses were much stronger than a level 5 whiteboard item.
The equipment was pocketed by the chubby guy, Xiao Chen just didn't have the luck.
"Xiao Chen, I'll take you through three more times, get you to level 11."
"Thank you, Brother Fan, I'll definitely repay you in the future."
Xiao Chen was full of gratitude, not expecting to break through to level 11 today.
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"You brought me into the guild, it's only right for me to take you through.
Tomorrow I'm heading out of the city to grind wild monsters, I must become a formal member by next month."
Summoners indeed had a great advantage, commanding summoned beasts to fight, they could grind monsters day and night.
"Alright, once I level up a bit more, I'll head out of the city too."
Level two dungeons took longer to clear, three times in two hours.
***
After three hours, Xiao Chen finally reached level 11.
[Ding, you have gained experience +500, Silver Coins +4, guild contribution points +2]
[You have picked up Black Iron Armor.]
Hearing this announcement, Xiao Chen was so excited he almost jumped up.
A Black Iron item, he actually picked one up?
[Black Iron Armor Level: Black Iron, Equipment Level LV15.
Strength +5 +Constitution +5 Defense +10]
Strength and Constitution attributes, already quite good.
Xiao Chen immediately checked the marketplace price: 100 Silver Coins.
Without thinking, he put it up for sale.
Level 15 equipment couldn't be worn yet, better to exchange it for money quickly.
"Xiao Chen, level up quickly, don't get yourself killed."
The chubby guy left this sentence and then left the team.
Xiao Chen made a small fortune, his Silver Coins reached 200.
With money and a team, naturally, he continued to fight.
Following the chubby guy's method, Xiao Chen easily found a tank.
After grinding eight more rounds, Xiao Chen finally leveled up to 12.
A few more Black Iron items dropped later, but Xiao Chen didn't get any.
He did manage to get a level 15 whiteboard pants, exchanged for ten Silver Coins in the marketplace.
[Ding, you have cleared all ordinary level two dungeons, achievement unlocked
All attributes +2, Silver Coins +10.]
Another achievement, Xiao Chen was very satisfied.
Leveling up two levels in one day, the improvement in strength was quite noticeable.
[Xiao Chen: LV12 (24000) Total Attributes: 336, Attack: 349]
Xiao Chen checked his finances: 198 Silver Coins 625 Copper.
Clearing a dungeon, with all the earnings combined, could maintain a break-even situation.
If a special drop occurred, it would be a big windfall.
If luck was good and a Black Iron item dropped, the earnings were also good.
At level 12, he could already find a team, and with Silver Coins in hand, leveling up wouldn't be as difficult.
It was just a bit tiring, but that was nothing for Xiao Chen.
In the days that followed, Xiao Chen led people to level up in the morning and fought level two dungeons in the afternoon.
As his level increased, the experience gained from killing small monsters kept decreasing, while the experience needed to level up increased significantly.
From level 12 to 13 required 24,000 experience, needing nine dungeon runs.
From 13 to 14, Xiao Chen ran 15 times.
A month later, Xiao Chen finally reached level 15.
What made him even happier was that his wealth reached 500 Silver Coins again, a peak for Xiao Chen.
[Ding, your guild contribution point ranking is insufficient, you have been kicked out of the guild.]
The sudden announcement startled Xiao Chen.
"Oh no, I haven't exchanged my contribution points for anything yet."
Grinding day and night, he forgot to exchange for items.
[Your guild contribution points are: 240]
This was from clearing a large number of level one and two dungeons.
"Luckily, even though I'm out of the guild, the contribution points are still there."
Being kicked out of the guild, what to do now?
"Zhang Fan invites you to join the Tianxing Guild."
Seeing the sudden invitation, Xiao Chen clicked agree without thinking.
"You have joined the Tianxing Guild."
Luckily, he was kicked out but could join back immediately.
"Brother Fan, you actually became a formal member of Tianxing?"
Over the past month, the chubby guy must have earned a lot of guild contribution points.
"Look at my level, you'll know how hard I've worked."
Xiao Chen opened the character panel and saw the levels of a few friends.
Zhang Fan, Summoner, level 19.
Su Ming, Swordsman, level 22
Sun Jian, Shield Guardian level 21
These three had all gone outside the city, and their levels had increased quite quickly recently.
With a strength of over 20 levels, they were no longer considered beginner professionals.
Proofreader & Editor: Peter Pan