Chapter 350: Specialty Reward
[Randomly drawing… Your reward this time is: Specialty Reward.]
Specialty? Zhou Ning couldn't help being surprised. Talk about irony—he'd put so much effort into those chain quests hoping for a specialty reward, yet never got one. But now, when he casually completed a side quest, he actually drew one. Unbelievable!
[Please choose one of the following three specialties as your reward]
[Judgment of the Earth Goddess: Resistance to abnormal status +10%, Defense +8%, Damage against enemies under abnormal status +35%.]
[Hidden Traces: Stealth ability +45%, greatly reducing the chance of being discovered while infiltrating; Agility +8.]
[Rapid Fire: Your speed with ranged weapons is far above average. Attack speed +20%, an additional +5% when using revolvers.]
To be fair, all three were ordinary specialties—not exactly powerful, but for a freebie, still quite practical.
After some thought, Zhou Ning chose the second one. Combined with his "Phantom Thief" title, his infiltration success rate would skyrocket—essentially gaining a free Thief profession. Not to mention the extra 8 points of Agility.
The first option was tempting, but like the "Devout Acolyte," it was a specialty exclusive to the Church of the Earth Goddess—definitely a trap waiting to explode in his face. Choosing that one would probably lead straight to death.
[You have learned the specialty: Hidden Traces.]
That wrapped up all the rewards from his last time rewind. Oh—wait, not quite. During the simulation, he had also earned a rare point of Legendary Value, bringing his total to five. It seemed to have triggered some kind of panel notification, but the message had scrolled by too fast earlier and he'd missed it.
Scrolling back through the system prompts, Zhou Ning found the inconspicuous notification:
[Your Legendary Value has reached 5 points. Your fame has spread beyond the Bryston Kingdom—neighboring nations have begun to hear your name. You have obtained the Epic Title: "The Legendary."]
[The Legendary: Your EXP/Reputation/Skill Proficiency gain rate increases by 15% (3% × Legendary Value); NPC Affection gain rate +15% (3% × Legendary Value). The total EXP value of your daily quests increases to 250% (50% × Legendary Value). The maximum quest level you can issue has increased to A-rank, but rewards must match the quest level.]
"Oh?" Zhou Ning's eyes lit up with delight. The title didn't sound particularly flattering, but it lived up to the simulator's reputation—everything it produced was top-tier. Each point of Legendary Value already gave him a 5% EXP bonus; with this 15% on top, that was an extra 40% overall! Combined with his Divine Favor effect, his growth would now be even faster.
On top of that, as player levels and awareness rose, C- and D-rank quests were becoming harder to use to keep them busy. This title truly couldn't have come at a better time.
Excellent! Considering this rewind had only cost him 18 Traverse Coins, yet brought back 118 in return along with all these goodies, Zhou Ning was in a very good mood.
He smoothly opened the forum for his daily round of "spectating." The current hot topic was no longer himself, but the upcoming First Apocalypse Profession Tournament.
With the event drawing near, the renowned data analyst Xiangnan Qingtian had been updating the level and power rankings daily.
At present, the top-ranked player was Jinse, level 38.7—a representative of the Wandering Gunslinger class. She hadn't logged off for five days straight, the very definition of a grind god. People were half-joking that she might just ascend to heaven any minute.
Second place was held by Alyx, a top player from France's Cross Guild, level 37.6. As the first to advance to the Warrior class, his advantages had become increasingly apparent after level 30, pushing him ahead of the crowd.
Third was Sunken Star Beneath the Water, a man powered purely by his wallet.
Fourth and fifth were One Great Wave of Heat from the Elegy Club—who had just bought the Bird-Bird Fruit—and Quentin, a British Lightning Mage. Sixth through tenth were split evenly between Wandering Gunslingers and Meteorologists, with the remaining spot occupied by a Knight.
Zhou Ning actually knew the two Wandering Gunslingers—XB and Wrath of Thunder-Chasing Winds.
As for the Power Rankings, Xiangnan Qingtian still placed One Great Wave of Heat first, Alyx second, and Jinse third—because, honestly, a flying Wandering Gunslinger was just terrifying.
Alyx, on the other hand, earned his spot through sheer performance—despite being a melee class, his arena win rate hovered around 95%. Xiangnan Qingtian also noted that the gap between Gunslingers and Warriors wasn't large yet; the true difference would only show once they reached full level after their first profession advancement and unlocked elite specialties.
That made Zhou Ning chuckle. He remembered very clearly—when his own Wandering Gunslinger reached full advancement, he had chosen the Firearms Genius specialty, and it had been a fusion type. His damage output was absolutely monstrous.
As a professional instructor, he'd truly worked himself to the bone for these players.
...
The next morning, Zhou Ning happily tidied himself up. Today, he had an appointment with John to meet their business partner. It was going to be a busy day—after the meeting, they'd still have to continue operations. With the Professional Tournament likely starting tomorrow, this could well be his most profitable day yet.
Just as he opened the door, a postman stood outside the railing holding a letter. Upon seeing Zhou Ning, the man's eyes lit up and he broke into a smile.
"Are you the legendary Wayne Sturwell, sir? I've got a letter for you!"
Zhou Ning: …
It sounded impressive, but honestly? Kind of awkward.
He tipped the postman five Roshens, smiling politely despite the embarrassment, then opened the envelope. Inside were three 100-Vecktas bills and a letter from Darkland's First Publishing House. The editor-in-chief, Edberg, wrote enthusiastically, praising Zhou Ning's Harry Potter. The 300 Vecktas was an advance payment, and the royalty rate was 15%—the highest his position allowed. If Zhou Ning had no objections, he was asked to reply.
Zhou Ning didn't particularly care about the royalties—as long as it completed the quest, that was enough. He asked the postman to wait, went back inside, and penned a reply to Edberg before handing it back.
If all went well, that quest would be cleared soon.
Taking a carriage to the familiar Vick University, Zhou Ning found it just as he remembered—students in uniforms hurrying across campus with books in hand. Some girls waved or tried to strike up a conversation with him.
Ah, the boundless energy of youth… Zhou Ning couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
He collected quite a few love notes along the way. Today happened to be the day Magicball star Huggins was visiting Vick University for an exhibition match, and the field was packed.
Magicball was a sport similar to volleyball, extremely popular throughout the Bryston Kingdom. Players were usually wind- or fire-type magicians with strong builds. Wind and fire naturally counterbalanced each other—if the wind overpowered the fire, it snuffed it out; if weaker, it fanned the flames. The ball itself was made of special alchemical materials capable of storing and channeling wind and fire magic, providing propulsion. The rules were much like volleyball—if the ball hit the ground, went out of bounds, or wasn't properly returned, that team lost the point.
Zhou Ning wasn't interested in the game—but among the crowd, he spotted Cress Bradenreiser, that well-endowed young lady, sweating as she sold roasted sweet potatoes. As expected of the ever-thrifty Bradenreiser family, they never missed a chance to make money.
Smiling, Zhou Ning walked up to her stand and pointed at one of the sweet potatoes. "How much for this one?"
"Six Veni—" Cress began, then noticed who it was. Her eyes brightened, and she quickly corrected herself. "No, two Veni—wait, three Veni, special price for you!"
"How about twelve Veni for two, then?" Zhou Ning laughed. He hadn't expected the notoriously stingy girl to offer him a discount.
Cress had been the heroine in the original game story, with quite a major role. Zhou Ning had always wanted to recruit her into his guild—getting on her good side early certainly couldn't hurt.
After chatting with her for a bit, Zhou Ning finally took his leave and returned to his long-unvisited dorm.
John wasn't around, and his dog Polly was happily running about. Next door, the chubby Fred was still enthusiastically shouting, "My turn!" Too absorbed in his card games to even bother watching the Magicball match—he was now a fully certified card addict.