Hearing Yang Tao's words, Wind pointed to a nearby watchtower and said, "The Waypoint is inside the watchtower, brother, why do you ask?"
Yang Tao explained, "I received the quest to kill Corpsefire from Ms. Akara earlier. I'm planning to head back and turn in the quest to claim that skill point."
Upon hearing his words, both Wind and Sia looked at him, especially Wind, whose gaze, like he was looking at a sucker, made Yang Tao uncomfortable.
"What's wrong?"
"Brother, now I believe you're a newcomer."
Wind said with a look of resignation, "Using the Waypoint in Cold Plains costs 1000 gold coins, Stony Field is 1200, Dark Wood is 1400, and so on. Do you think we like running around in the wilderness for no reason? It's because we're poor!"
"Buying potions costs money, repairing equipment costs money, identifying equipment also costs money. Don't look at me, even though I'm already level three, the two of us combined only have 500 gold coins in savings."
Yang Tao looked at Wind incredulously, "Huh? Only five hundred?"
Wind said proudly, "I'm a good man with a wife; otherwise, I wouldn't even be able to save five hundred gold coins."
Yang Tao nodded slightly and looked at Sia, asking, "Sister-in-law, it seems you manage the money… I won't talk to him anymore in the future."
Wind roared like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, "What nonsense! What kind of talk is that? I'm a rich man who always carries 9 gold coins."
Yang Tao immediately thought of the reason he had 9 gold coins:
'10 gold coins are enough to rescue a fallen woman once.'
He stood up, gave Wind a disdainful look, and said, "Wait for me, I'll be right back."
With that, he walked directly towards the watchtower.
Wind watched Yang Tao's back, already guessing what he was about to do, though he found it a bit hard to believe at the moment.
"We're all professionals, why are you so rich? Could it really be because of natural awakening?"
Sia glanced at him and said, "He is different from us. Being able to gather a full set of bright gold equipment means he has even more bright gold equipment. He didn't refuse us following him, which is an opportunity for us. After this trip to the Burial Grounds, we probably won't have any more interactions with him."
"Sometimes the difference between people is greater than the difference between a dog and you."
Hearing this, Wind looked at the Ghost Wolf sitting obediently on the ground beside him, reached out, scratched his head, and asked, "Why is the dog first?"
Sia: "..."
Even though her man was a bit foolish, she couldn't just abandon him, right? She'd just have to make do!
At least he was better than those Paladins who constantly thought about light and evil.
…
In front of the watchtower, Yang Tao was stopped by a Rogue. The young woman, though smiling, stood motionlessly in front of him:
"Sir, the watchtower cannot be entered or exited at will. May I ask what you need?"
"I'd like to use the Waypoint."
Upon hearing this, the young woman showed the same expression as Wind. After a moment, she quickly reacted and said, "Sir, please wait a moment, I'll notify Captain Flavie."
Hearing Flavie's name, Yang Tao was very surprised.
'There really is a Flavie?! That's right, Akara and Kashya exist, so there's no reason for Flavie not to exist.'
Soon, a Rogue Archer wearing leather armor and carrying a golden short bow walked out of the watchtower.
She looked to be about thirty years old, exuding a mature and capable aura, with her brown hair tied back.
To him, Flavie wasn't necessarily beautiful but had a lot of charisma, and her wheat-colored skin looked very healthy.
"Hello, do you need to use the Waypoint?"
Flavie's voice was unique, and she spoke very quickly. Yang Tao nodded slightly and said, "I'm heading back to the Rogue Encampment."
"You can, but it will cost 1000 gold coins."
"I know."
Flavie sized him up, then smiled meaningfully, "Alright, follow me."
With that, Flavie turned and walked into the watchtower, and Yang Tao followed closely behind her.
The space inside the watchtower was not large. In the very center, there was a two-by-two-square stone slab. The slab had a large cross and densely packed runes.
It looked very similar to the Waypoints in the game, but the Waypoint here was much more detailed.
Guarding the Waypoint, besides a few Rogue warriors, was a man in a wizard's robe. Seeing Yang Tao approach, he pointed to a large box nearby and said, "Just put the money in here."
Yang Tao didn't say much, directly tossing 1000 gold coins into the box.
The man in the wizard's robe nodded and said to Yang Tao, "Alright, now just step onto the teleportation array."
Hearing this, Yang Tao stepped directly onto the stone slab. The next moment, a familiar spatial fluctuation appeared, and when he came to his senses, he was already inside a tent.
"Don't just stand there, hurry and get off."
A voice sounded, and Yang Tao came to his senses, looking at a female sorceress in the tent, who was urging him to get off.
Yang Tao stepped off the teleportation array.
The female sorceress smiled at him and said, "The teleportation service is complete. Welcome back next time."
1000 gold coins, just like that?
Yang Tao walked out of the tent in a daze, suddenly feeling that if he were to place some Waystones in the Nether, he could also make a fortune.
'They charge 1000 gold coins, I'll charge 800…'
As soon as this thought popped up, Yang Tao gently slapped himself: 'No undercutting! If they charge a thousand, we should also charge a thousand!'
He glanced at his surroundings and realized that the tent with the teleportation array was very close to Akara's tent.
'Could this teleportation array also be Akara's business?'
In his wild thoughts, Yang Tao arrived at Akara's tent and called inside, "Ms. Akara!"
Soon, Akara, wearing a purple cloak, walked out of the tent.
"Mr. Yang, why have you come here?"
"I'm here to claim a skill point!"
Hearing his words, Akara, who always wore a faint smile, showed a surprised expression on her face: "You are indeed different. The power granted to me by the Blind Eye cannot see through you…"
"I hope your arrival can bring a change. Please wait a moment, I'll go get the skill book."
Akara finished speaking and turned back into the tent, but soon she came out holding a thick parchment book.
"This is the Book of Skill. Just open it and you will gain a skill point."
Yang Tao reached out and took the thick Book of Skill. The cover was entirely black, with many complex patterns embossed in gold. These patterns were now shiny from being touched, giving it a very old feel.
He opened the book, and a surge of power flew out of it, merging into his body.
His remaining skill points also changed from 0 to 1.
Yang Tao glanced at the content of the book and found that it was just some stories about the war between Heaven and the Nether.
Yang Tao could make up countless stories about this kind of thing with his eyes closed.
After closing the book and returning it to Akara, he asked curiously, "Ms. Akara, how did you know I defeated Corpsefire? What if I hadn't defeated him and had deceived you?"
Akara chuckled and said, "You are the first person to ask me that question."
"If you hadn't defeated Corpsefire, then you wouldn't have received a reward by opening this Book of Skill. It's as simple as that."