Chapter 355: Demon Hunter at Max Level
No—when more than three coincidences come together, chances are it's not a coincidence at all.
The most reasonable explanation was that the same damned little book had once again tangled itself around him. Zhou Ning was nearly driven to a nervous breakdown by it.
But what exactly was that book's goal in scheming to lead him all the way to Adam Aiden's manor?
Zhou Ning exhaled slowly. Right now, the only potential threats left were the hidden organizations lurking throughout Darkland and those eighteen charitable orphanages. Fortunately, Sherlock had promised to do his best to destroy or shut down those orphanages. Hopefully, that matter could be settled soon.
Not far ahead was his alchemy shop—still packed to the brim as always, the crowd shoulder to shoulder. Richie Burke and Boatswain Berg, were doing their best to maintain order.
Before he knew it, this place had already become the players' de facto main city. Many logged in just to idle here, looking for teammates, dungeon runs, or simply to trade—completely outrageous. Zhou Ning's plan to set up his guild base here was based on this very reason.
In fact, he had already set mirror markers both here and at home, allowing him to freely teleport between the two at any time. But since there were simply too many players around, he didn't want to expose the mirror's secret so soon, so he still chose to come by the old-fashioned way.
As he reached a nearby alley corner, he ran into Mrs. Turing, cheerfully pushing old Turing's wheelchair. Since her illness, it had been over a month since Zhou Ning had last seen her.
Apparently, the potion made from the undead and life cores had worked wonders. Compared to before, Mrs. Turing looked vibrant and full of life. With a warm smile, she greeted him, "Good afternoon, Wayne."
"Good afternoon, both of you." Zhou Ning couldn't help but feel genuinely happy for them. To him, these two weren't just cherished friends since his transmigration—they were also a couple whose enduring love he deeply admired.
Upon seeing Zhou Ning, Mr. Turing smiled broadly for the first time in ages. "Thanks to you, Larela has recovered well. We're planning to move back to Brysanna soon—a beautiful coastal town. You could say we're returning to our roots. Oh, right, I've already prepared a gift for you. Come by this evening—you won't be disappointed. Consider it a token of gratitude… and a man's kind of toy."
He gave Zhou Ning a playful wink.
"Remember not to eat before you come. I'll make a few authentic southern Bryston dishes for you," Mrs. Turing added with a cheerful laugh.
"Got it." Zhou Ning nodded with a smile—but what exactly was a "man's toy"? Surely not… that kind of toy? He'd seen similar items sold at the auction house before—alchemy-crafted ones that could vibrate on their own. The image alone was… too much to imagine.
After chatting a bit with the Turens, Zhou Ning crossed the street and arrived at his shop, ready for one last major round of profit. After this, he planned to temporarily wash his hands of direct sales and entrust all transactions to Richie Burke and Berg.
To make sure this final harvest went smoothly, Zhou Ning uploaded one last batch of high-demand goods to the shop: the Navy Six Styles and a relatively rare Devil Fruit—specifically, the Quick-Slash Fruit he had brought from the One Piece world.
Of course, the Navy Six Styles had been shamelessly renamed by Zhou Ning as the "Wayne Six Styles." Except for Moon Step and Shave, the rest were general-purpose skills that all classes could learn. Prices ranged from 50,000 to 100,000 depending on the move. As for that top-tier Devil Fruit, Zhou Ning priced it at 4,000 Vecktas, leaving it to fate to find its new owner.
Just then, Jinse had come out of a dungeon, brimming with energy as she stood in front of the shop waiting for Zhou Ning. She was just shy of reaching level 40 and planned to pull another all-nighter to get there in one go. But since "Boss Wayne" wasn't like other NPCs—too unpredictable and often disappearing for long stretches—she wanted to grab her skills first, then go grind to level 40 and join the preliminaries.
Other players looked at her with awe. The girl hadn't logged off for six straight days—an incredible feat of stamina and bladder control. She ate, drank, and… handled everything inside her dive pod, yet still looked full of energy. Her sheer vitality was awe-inspiring.
When Zhou Ning arrived, Jinse immediately rushed up and bought every available skill she could— including, but not limited to, Observation Haki and Armament Haki.
As for the Devil Fruit… she couldn't afford it yet, but she was confident she wouldn't lose to anyone else. As the protagonist's number one fangirl, she had analyzed his combat footage frame by frame, achieving an impressive 95% accuracy rate. Now she just needed to show it off.
"Wait… did the protagonist just add new stuff again?" Jinse gasped.
"Wayne Six Styles? [Moon Step], [Shave], [Tempest Kick], [Paper Art], [Iron Body], [Finger Gun]? So many amazing skills!"
"And what's this? [Quick-Slash Fruit]? You can turn any part of your body into a blade—and your skin becomes as hard as steel? Mom, I want this one!"
But then she saw the 4,000 Vecktas price tag… and deflated instantly.
After spending a fortune to learn all the skills she could, Jinse hurried off again, shouting in the guild channel: "Level 39 Wanderer Gunslinger LFG for dungeon—insane aim, insane DPS ++++!"
Zhou Ning: …
In his past life, this girl had also participated in the first professional league. He'd seen her replay—the flaming greatsword was flashy enough, but her combat strength was average at best. She'd been eliminated in the first round of the main event.
He wondered if, now that she had reached peak grinder form, she could achieve a breakthrough in this tournament.
Once it was confirmed that four of the new skills were general-purpose, not gunslinger-exclusive, countless players flocked in, surrounding Zhou Ning's shop.
They were all just as shocked as Jinse:
[Tempest Kick], [Paper Art], [Iron Body], [Finger Gun]—four general skills, each one clearly powerful in real combat. Wayne Sturwell truly was every player's best friend!
This final frenzy didn't disappoint. Business was even better than the previous days. Experience points skyrocketed like a rocket launch, and players kept pouring in.
Zhou Ning could only feel both pain and joy, adjusting into a comfortable position to let the auto-sell feature handle things.
While waiting, he took the opportunity to organize his abilities and claim two random quest rewards.
Glancing at his panel, Zhou Ning saw that his accumulated experience had reached a staggering 1.7 billion—a truly astronomical figure! A small part came from monster kills and chain quests, but the vast majority was earned by "shearing the sheep" — the players themselves. How many players had he milked dry to reach this number? He couldn't help feeling a pang of guilt.
But guilt or not, the harvest had to go on. Miss this golden window, and the profits would drop dramatically.
With that much experience, the best use was, of course, leveling up. His main class, Demon Hunter, was currently level 38 with a cap of 45. His total level sat at 65, though that included two sub-classes—so it was a bit inflated.
All he needed to do now was max out his Demon Hunter level, and his power would take another major leap forward.
Once a player's level reached 60 and beyond, leveling the main class became increasingly expensive in experience. That's why most players at that stage switched to leveling sub-classes.
But as a certified rich man, Zhou Ning didn't hesitate. He spent nearly half his experience points to boost his Demon Hunter straight from level 38 to the cap at level 45.
[Your main class [Demon Hunter] has reached Lv.39. Agility +4.5 (Expert Legendary Physique +1.5), Spirit +2.3 (Expert Legendary Physique +1.3), Stamina +2, Willpower +1, gained 3 free attribute points.]
[Your main class [Demon Hunter] has reached Lv.40. Agility +4.5 (Expert Legendary Physique +1.5), Spirit +2.3 (Expert Legendary Physique +1.3), Stamina +2, Willpower +1, gained 3 free attribute points.]
...
[Your main class [Demon Hunter] has reached Lv.45. Agility +4.5 (Expert Legendary Physique +1.5), Spirit +2.3 (Expert Legendary Physique +1.3), Stamina +2, Willpower +1, gained 3 free attribute points.]