The attributes of the Stone Fragment are overwhelmingly powerful, with extremely high attack and attributes that are extravagantly generous!
A normal player at level 8 only has a total of 12 in their three main stats, but the Stone Fragment adds 6, 8, and 6, which is more than half of that!
After much consideration, Lu Chen decided to use it himself.
The attributes of the level 5 shoulder guard are quite average, with 8 defense points and 110 health points.
The vest, being level 1, is the main armor but only provides 4 defense points, which is still decent for low-level players.
After putting away his equipment, Lu Chen didn't feel like logging off.
"I can't grind monsters anymore, but I want to see how often Zakas respawns."
"Erzi, Sanzi, let's go rest on the hill." Lu Chen led his three underlings back to the hill to rest.
The hill offered the best view, so if any players approached, they could spot them immediately.
"Strange, there were rumors this morning of a player reaching level 5, but a whole day has passed, and I haven't seen anyone yet."
According to Lu Chen's understanding, someone should have at least reached level 6 by now, and they might come near him.
Waiting for respawns was boring, and Lu Chen didn't feel like grinding monsters, so he decided to check the official website's streaming platform.
Just as Lu Chen was about to open the official website, he suddenly noticed the three guys standing next to him, Erzi, Sanzi, and the third one.
"Hmm? Why not let them go grind some monsters?" Lu Chen thought for a moment. In their earlier cooperation, Erzi, Sanzi, and the third one performed quite well. When Lu Chen told them to attack, they attacked, and when he told them to stop, they stopped.
Moreover, there was a detail: when Erzi couldn't hold out anymore, Lu Chen told him to stop attacking, and he paused. Once Sanzi took over the aggro, Lu Chen didn't tell him to attack, but he knew to continue attacking on his own.
Lu Chen deduced that these guys had some combat skills and even a simple ability to make autonomous judgments.
Erzi, Sanzi, and the third one's strength was formidable. Unless they encountered Zakas, there was no danger here.
"I spent a lot of money recruiting these subordinates; they can't just be for grinding Zakas." The more Lu Chen thought about it, the more it made sense. He then said to his subordinates, "You three, go grind around here. Target... level 7 or 8 gnolls, take them down one by one."
"Just keep grinding, don't wander too far, and make sure to pick up any dropped equipment!"
"Pay attention to sharing the damage, and rest to recover if your health drops below 40%."
"I'll be here idling. If Zakas respawns, come and tell me, but don't fight him on your own."
"Go ahead."
Erzi, Sanzi, and the third one turned and left without a word.
Lu Chen was still a bit uneasy and quietly followed them.
He saw Erzi, Sanzi, and the third one quickly choose a level 7 gnoll. The three of them went up and beat it to death with a flurry of blows...
Lu Chen immediately received a notification.
[Killed Gnoll (Level 7), captured 65 points of Ambient Spiritual Qi, obtained 1 Tier-0 Talent Shard, and 1 0-Star Quality Evolution Point.]
"Oh, I can directly gain experience and materials!"
After the three guys took down one gnoll, they immediately started attacking a nearby level 8 Strong Gnoll, again beating it to death with a flurry of blows.
Previously, Erzi acted as the tank, but this time it was Sanzi's turn. The three cooperated well, maintaining stable aggro control.
[Killed Strong Gnoll (Level 8), captured 80 points of Ambient Spiritual Qi, obtained 1 Tier-1 Talent Shard, and 1 1-Star Quality Evolution Point.]
[Killed Gnoll (Level 7), captured 65 points of Ambient Spiritual Qi, obtained 1 Tier-0 Talent Shard, and 1 0-Star Quality Evolution Point.]
[Killed Exceptionally Strong Gnoll (Level 8), captured 90 points of Ambient Spiritual Qi, obtained 1 Tier-2 Talent Shard, and 1 2-Star Quality Evolution Point.]
...
After taking down a few, Erzi, Sanzi, and the third one's health was controlled well, now down to 40%, so they stopped to recover health and stamina.
"Wow, these three fools aren't so foolish after all; they did exactly as I instructed!"
Seeing Erzi, Sanzi, and the third one's performance, Lu Chen finally felt at ease letting them grind around on their own.
"The efficiency is higher than me fighting alone... Haha, leveling up while idling is too satisfying!" Lu Chen leaned against a tree stump and leisurely opened the official website.
Wind Chime Fairy was still streaming, with the stream showing over 13 hours of broadcast time, indicating she had been grinding all day.
She was currently grinding level 5 gnolls with her team. Lu Chen noticed their levels: four level 4s and one level 5.
A quick look at tinyurl.com/2p9emv8w will leave you more fulfilled.
"Damn, only one level up in a day?"
The squad successfully took down a level 5 gnoll, gaining 75 experience points, 15 for each member.
Lu Chen did some quick calculations.
A level 5 gnoll normally gives 50 experience points, and a team of five gets an additional 25 points, but split among five people, each only gets 15 points.
It takes 3000 experience points to level up from 4 to 5, meaning they need to kill 200 gnolls!
"Damn, that's crazy... It's still more satisfying to level up alone." Lu Chen shook his head.
However, Lu Chen soon realized how naive his thinking was.
Not to mention that at level 4, they couldn't beat level 5 gnolls, even if they could, just look at the crowd around them... Alone? No matter how professional, it's impossible to snag a monster!
"Great, we snagged another one. I was so frustrated earlier when another squad snatched two from us!" Wind Chime Fairy was thrilled, "Haha, just seven more, and I can level up! I can reach level 5 today!"
As a professional streamer, Wind Chime Fairy didn't forget to share her insights amidst her excitement.
"Did you all see our squad's operation just now? You have to calculate the health precisely, then follow commands and strike the final blow simultaneously! Of course, other squads are probably doing the same, so you might not always get the last hit, but this method has a much higher chance than hitting randomly."
"One person competing against a dozen others, especially when they're organized, is basically impossible. When playing Nine Heavens, it's best to play with friends, and if you can't, find a fixed team."
"Like us streamers, we've been teaming up from level one until now. Our coordination is very smooth now."
"Oh, you're asking why Leilei is level 5? She got lucky and found a leveling hotspot right when the game launched, snagging a lot of monsters, so she has more experience than us."
"We've all agreed that at level 10, we'll choose different classes, so everyone can see a variety of classes."
"Me? Oh, I'm actually quite torn. I want to play all nine major classes!"
"The Alchemist can reportedly transition to a Poison Master, the Spirit Tamer is super fun, allowing you to tame beasts and spirits! The Martial Artist has both melee combat and ranged archery, plus there's the Monk, Rune Array Master, Sword-Spirit Cultivator, Prophet, Puppeteer, and Demolitionist! Each of the nine major classes has an unknown path of development, and no one can say which class is the strongest right now!"
"Ah, I want to play them all! Skywalk too, why can't one person create multiple accounts! The Quantum Helmet doesn't allow others to play for you, sob, I can only play one class."
In front of the video, Lu Chen looked a bit disheartened.
Nine Heavens has nine major classes, so if he wants to kill players for reputation in the future, won't he have many opponents?