Chapter 70: The First Wandering Gunslinger Player
Experience came quickly—and went even faster. Fortunately, Zhou Ning could still rely on alchemy for a steady income of experience.
Once he reached Expert-level Alchemy, he'd be able to try obtaining a powerful divine-grade recipe, and he could even start experimenting with Devil Fruits.
Currently, he was about a third of the way to leveling up to Advanced Alchemy. Zhou Ning planned to push through within two days, though this would require the help of his "tools."
Compared to potion-making, processing herbs was undoubtedly more time-consuming. Zhou Ning's assistant duties mainly involved helping Professor Wesley handle this kind of work.
He still had plenty of Flame Oil left for crafting special bullets, so there was no urgent need to make more. At this point, producing Intelligence Potions was clearly the more efficient path to leveling up.
According to Professor Wesley's recipe, the Intelligence Potion required Gastrodia Leaves, Daisy Roots, and Golden Agave Roots. Daisy Roots were a very common herb, and Zhou Ning still had plenty in stock. The combined cost of a portion of Gastrodia Leaves and Golden Agave Root came to about 8 Roshens—not bad in terms of profit margin.
So, around noon, Zhou Ning made a special trip to the Golden Oak Herbal Shop to place an order for a batch of herbs.
Around 1 p.m., a knock came at the door.
Zhou Ning opened it to find the person he'd already lined up: Tool #1—Jinse.
"Hello, miss. You're even more punctual than I expected," Zhou Ning said in his best NPC tone.
"Hello," Jinse replied, her tone slightly reserved.
After inviting her in, Zhou Ning had her try processing the Gastrodia Leaves and Golden Agave Roots.
Herb processing was work suited to an Alchemy Apprentice. It also provided decent experience and proficiency gains, as long as the person wasn't completely clumsy. Zhou Ning planned to cultivate Jinse as his representative among the player base—someone who could become a solid support. As for XB… that guy was promising too. He'd see how things played out.
To his pleasant surprise, Jinse was impressively skillful—sorting and grinding herbs with efficient precision. She saved him a great deal of effort. As expected of a future great alchemist—truly talented!
He nodded approvingly. "Very good. I'm satisfied. Would you be willing to accept my offer and become my Alchemy Apprentice? The pay is 8 Vecktas a month, only four hours of work per day, just processing herbs for me. If your performance is good, your wages could go up. On top of that, as an employee discount, everything in my shop will be 10% off for you."
"10% off the items in your shop?" Jinse's eyes widened in surprise, her head practically spinning from the sudden wave of joy.
She nodded eagerly. "I'd love to! But I'll be leaving Darkland in a few days and won't be back for over a month. Don't worry, though—I can work for free until then!"
"It's just the end of the closed beta, right? You'll have to wait for the open beta to re-enter the game," Zhou Ning said with a knowing smile. "Very well. I appreciate your honesty. The job will be held for you."
[Wayne Sturwell's favorability toward you has increased by 12. Current level: Acquainted.]
After adjusting her favorability rating, Zhou Ning pushed a pre-prepared standard contract across the table. Watching her sign with a cheerful grin, he suddenly felt a pang of guilt, like a shady employer taking advantage of someone.
After all, even stingy old Professor Wesley wouldn't be able to hire a reliable alchemy apprentice for double the price.
Zhou Ning himself had only accepted the role because he could use the alchemy lab materials for free.
As soon as Jinse signed, her system panel notified her:
[You have become the Alchemy Apprentice of NPC Wayne Sturwell.]
[Wayne Sturwell has unlocked his private shop for you.]
Jinse immediately clicked into the shop. She'd already watched XB's stream and seen the shop inventory before, but seeing it in person was a whole different experience.
Sure enough, everything had a discount. The Stone Mask that used to cost 30 Vecktas was now only 27. The Devil Fruit that used to be 500 Vecktas was now 450. Jinse was tempted by everything.
When she flipped to the second page, her expression froze. A Knowledge Book for the hidden class [Wandering Gunslinger], which previously required 30 Vecktas and 30 Favorability Points, was now only 9 Vecktas after the discount!
This had to be a bug, right? It had to be a bug! Jinse couldn't believe her eyes. "Boss, is this Knowledge Book priced correctly?"
Zhou Ning's smile deepened. "No problem—limited-time offer."
In truth, he had already planned to reduce the price. That earlier sky-high price of 30 Vecktas had just been a placeholder while the class wasn't fully set up.
Now, with everything in place, volume sales were the better way to extract profits from players. If the entry barrier was too high, it would drive off impatient players—and then who would he sell his skills to?
Based on his past gaming experience, the closed beta had been running for nearly three days. Including the beginner quest rewards, high-level players like Jinse should have around 40 Roshens saved up. If she was smart enough, she'd probably try to pre-pay a month's wages to buy the class and still have enough left to learn a few skills.
"Limited-time offer?" Jinse was practically bug-eyed. Wasn't the protagonist losing money like crazy?!
"What should I do?" she muttered, visibly stressed. She touched her pouch—less than 4 Vecktas left. That was everything she'd scraped together after working her tail off for days. But she really wanted that Knowledge Book!
If she could change class now, she'd gain a huge lead over all other players!
Miss this chance, and who knew if such a great deal would ever return?
Then a flash of inspiration struck. Jinse hesitantly asked, "Boss… can I get an advance on one month's pay? I promise I'll work super hard."
Hook, line, and sinker. Zhou Ning smirked to himself, then pretended to deliberate. After a pause, he nodded. "I understand your situation. I agree."
Jinse, who had been bracing for rejection, was suddenly overwhelmed with emotion. He's so kind. I'm going to cry!
She immediately used the advance to purchase the [Wandering Gunslinger] Knowledge Book—and activated it.
"Do you want to change class to Wandering Gunslinger?"
"Confirm!"
…
[Player Jinse has purchased your Knowledge Book. You received 8 Vecktas.]
[Marksmanship has been learned. You gained 2,000 EXP and 9 Roshens.]
[Mozambique Drill Firing Technique has been learned. You gained 12,000 EXP and 24 Roshens.]
And just like that, the 8 Vecktas returned to Zhou Ning's hands in under ten seconds. In essence, he'd gained a free laborer, and she got a substantial in-game advantage. A textbook win-win.
Watching the money and experience roll in, Zhou Ning smiled.
He might've lured a future top-tier warrior into switching to a Gunslinger class—arguably a "scam"—but at least in his opinion, the Wandering Gunslinger wasn't weaker than other classes, especially in Season One.
As for the long-term meta… who could say?
After spending her money, Jinse was more motivated than ever. She dove into her work with renewed enthusiasm and even voluntarily extended her working hours. In just one afternoon, Zhou Ning successfully brewed 60 Intelligence Potions.
What a model employee! Zhou Ning couldn't help but marvel.
By evening, after Jinse left, Zhou Ning didn't continue brewing. He had something more important to do.
In his hand was a key he'd gotten from Elvis: Room 304 at the Green Shade Inn.
If his guess was correct, Elvis's mysterious item—the "Damian's Ordinary Mirror"—was most likely stored there.
In the later stages of the game, nearly every powerful local NPC possessed one or more "Unknown Artifacts." Zhou Ning was especially curious about this mirror that had pulled him into a mysterious space.
He headed to a nearby clothing store and spent 5 Roshens and 7 Venis on a nondescript shirt and pants. After leaving his old clothes at the store, he made his way to the Green Shade Inn, three blocks away.
Zhou Ning was no stranger to the place—it was one of Darkland's four logout points. He had even bound his rest location there once.
(TN: Sorry for the late update. This fanfic is currently on the drop list. If you would like me to continue translating it, please vote on my Patreøn.)