Woke Up to Find the Game I Made Came True-Chapter 41

The mercenaries present were all professionals, though uniformly, they were physical classes with relatively short psychic energy bars.

In the worldview of "Myriad Realms," professions have a hidden hierarchy of discrimination.

Generally, professions that are closer in nature to the three major schools—those with a higher "knowledge quotient"—are more powerful and respected.

For a magic-centric city like Melo City, these mercenaries, whose professions have little connection to magic and rely on combat contracts to earn a living, are undoubtedly at the bottom of the professional hierarchy within the inner city.

As for mages, they belong to the noble class. Who has ever seen a noble lord take on dangerous and laborious mercenary work? Not a single one.

When a normal player transitions into a magic-based profession, the initial title they receive is [Magic Apprentice]. Only after mastering a certain number of spells in a specific school can they be referred to as an [Elemental Mage] of that school, earning the respect of NPCs and gaining noble status.

Professions like swordsmen, axemen, and archers, which are the most common types Ye Bai is seeing, have relatively simpler transition tasks compared to magic-based professions. After transitioning, they gain a psychic energy bar and typically acquire one or two professional skills, with their attack and defense capabilities undergoing a qualitative leap compared to their pre-transition state.

The advantage of these physical professions over magic-based ones is that they are easier to develop and less costly. While magic-based professions can dominate other professions once fully developed, the difficulty and cost of reaching that stage are enough to deter most.

The process is essentially a money sink.

After transitioning, physical professions gain [Physical Penetration], allowing their basic attacks and skills to deal high damage. Their energy bar regeneration rate also compensates for the consumption. Magic-based professions, on the other hand, gain [Spell Penetration], which only boosts magical attacks.

Using magic is highly energy-intensive, and a high-intensity battle inevitably requires the consumption of energy potions.

In "Myriad Realms," all potions that provide instant recovery during combat are expensive. Magic-based players either have to spend money to buy them or take up a secondary profession like potion-making, which, once they start leveling it up, also becomes a money pit.

Once players start transitioning professions, they’ll realize that those who could afford to become mages will end up just as poor—or even poorer—after the transition.

Of course, any profession, if one can climb to the top, will undoubtedly become incredibly powerful. Different paths, same destination.

For players, choosing a profession is just a matter of preference. For NPCs, however, it’s tied to their innate talents and family background.

Ye Bai’s decision to personally select mercenaries on the spot was because the Merchant Guild’s evaluation of their strength was based on the system’s standard "Combat Power," which includes their level, number of skills, and all equipment attributes.

But for Ye Bai, equipment bonuses could be disregarded. She still had a batch of green-tier equipment obtained from Tute City, which she could temporarily lend to the mercenaries during the journey.

Sure enough, with a single scan, the attributes of all the mercenaries present were revealed.

Many "hidden gems" who were undervalued due to poor equipment were uncovered by her. Ten mercenaries, with a total daily hiring cost of 23 silver coins—only slightly more expensive than a team of draft horses.

"You, you, you... and you. You’re hired."

The ten mercenaries Ye Bai pointed to were overjoyed, happily joining the team, while the others showed disappointment and frustration but dared not make a scene, leaving regretfully.

[Mercenary 'Blaze' has +1 favorability toward you.]

[Mercenary 'Roland' has +1 favorability toward you.]

[Mercenary...]

After officially establishing the hiring relationship, perhaps due to Ye Bai’s "keen eye for talent," she gained a point of favorability from all the selected mercenaries.

Seeing this, Ye Bai’s expression shifted, and she addressed the team preparing to depart: "I still have some matters to attend to. Stay here and don’t move. I’ll return shortly, and then we’ll set off."

"Yes, ma’am."

"No problem, employer."

Two people responded to Ye Bai: one was Dennis, the leader of the draft horse team, and the other was Blaze, the strongest among the mercenaries and their chosen representative.

Resistance: 30

Set Effect - Featherlight (3/3): Increases movement speed by 40%; grants 4x jump height; grants 4x fall damage reduction.

Description: Now this is what it means to be light as a feather.

With the three-piece [Featherlight] set complete, the full effect was triggered, doubling the previous bonuses. Now, Ye Bai truly lived up to the description of being "light as a feather."

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Ye Bai’s gaze toward Dilina couldn’t help but soften: as expected of a high-level NPC, she’s both generous and trustworthy!

At the same time, the system prompt appeared again, ill-timed as ever—

[You have gained 2 points in 'Deception' proficiency.]

Ye Bai: ...Hey!

...

Seven days had passed since the last time Zhou Ya entered the inner city, and he had once again found a legitimate reason to step inside.

Over these game days, most of the special agents from the Blue Star civilization hadn’t missed a single opportunity to improve. Among them, Zhou Ya had reached the highest personal level of 15.

This time, entering the inner city wasn’t for delivering a letter but because Zhou Ya had discovered he had triggered a hidden quest!

After previously defeating an Elemental Moth in the wetlands and obtaining an item called [Universal Elemental Dust], Zhou Ya took it to the old mage NPC who had been purchasing elemental dust from him. This immediately triggered a quest. The old mage mentioned that this matter might be connected to a mad mage from many years ago.

After completing a series of quests, Zhou Ya once again had the opportunity to enter the inner city. This time, armed with a letter of introduction from the old mage, he finally walked openly into the library that had once rejected him. There, he learned more from a historian about the mad mage named Leto.

With the clues he had gathered, Zhou Ya excitedly made his way to the central square.

As he passed through the Third Avenue of the inner city, a merchant convoy transporting goods passed by him.

At first glance, Zhou Ya didn’t pay much attention, but then he suddenly stopped and turned around, his gaze falling on the figure at the head of the convoy. Riding a strong black horned horse and surrounded by a group of warriors, it was her! The very person who had tricked all the players into killing a boss for her a few days ago!

Though her equipment now looked far from disheveled—almost indistinguishable from a high-level NPC—the familiar feathered hat was unmistakable. Zhou Ya and the other players of Melo City would recognize her even if they were turned to ash.

Since that incident, Ye Bai had never appeared in the outer city of Melo City again. Whether she was shopping in any city, she only frequented the inner city stores. Players who hadn’t yet advanced their professions rarely had the chance to enter the inner city before reaching level 20, making Zhou Ya’s situation exceptionally rare.

As for the players of Tute City, the Markus Group was facing imminent collapse, and the number of players online had drastically decreased. Running into Zhou Ya in Melo City was already a stroke of incredible luck.

Zhou Ya instinctively wanted to chase after her, but he hesitated and stopped.

Ye Bai’s equipment now looked extraordinary, and she was surrounded by armed NPCs. It was clear she wasn’t someone to be trifled with, and pursuing her would only delay his hidden quest progress.

After some thought, Zhou Ya gritted his teeth and decided to let it go. His own advancement was more important.

So, Zhou Ya gave up on chasing her and instead followed the quest clues to the central square, where the statue of the Elemental Goddess stood silently.

After comparing the clues several times, he reached out and touched the hem of the goddess’s robe…

But nothing happened.

Frustrated, Zhou Ya tried several more times, but there was no sign of the quest triggering.

—Where’s the quest? Where’s my hidden quest?!

…

“Achoo!”

Ye Bai, riding her horned horse, sneezed.

Horned horses were one of the fastest means of conventional transportation in the Boundless Realm. The merchant convoy had already entered the outskirts of Melo City and, under Ye Bai’s guidance, was steadily making its way toward White Night Village.

For a long-distance journey like this, a skilled horned horse transport team naturally had spare horses for rotation. These extra horses were used by the members of the convoy, with Ye Bai and her guest Dilina riding the two strongest ones, positioned safely in the middle of the group.

As a high-level professional above level 40, Dilina’s perception was undoubtedly the sharpest in the entire convoy. As they traveled, she suddenly leaned closer to Ye Bai and whispered,

“Little one, don’t say I didn’t warn you. There are some little mice following us.”

Since joining the convoy, Dilina had taken to calling Ye Bai “little one” in a teasing tone, which sounded much more affectionate.

Hearing this, Ye Bai’s expression remained calm, clearly having already noticed. She replied to Dilina, “It’s fine. They won’t last long.”

Seeing that Ye Bai was aware of the situation, Dilina nodded slightly and said no more.

It was only natural that the convoy would encounter players as it passed through the outer city and left Melo City, heading into the wilderness. Ordinary NPC convoys might not attract much attention, but Ye Bai knew it was unlikely that she, who had recently caused a stir in the Melo City player community, would go unnoticed.

After all, she hadn’t changed her equipment, nor could she switch to the assassin robes that would mark her as a target for all factions. Under these circumstances, it wasn’t surprising that some players in the wetlands had recognized her.

The players tailing the convoy were undoubtedly calculating and wary of the convoy’s strength. However, with such a long journey ahead, Ye Bai was certain they wouldn’t be able to resist making a move.

Once they attacked the convoy, they would be labeled as “raiders.”

The unique raiding mechanic in the Boundless Realm’s trade routes meant that, aside from assassination attempts, this was another scenario where death would inevitably result in the loss of some items or equipment.

—If you’re going to rob someone, you’d better be prepared to be robbed yourself.

The last time, Ye Bai had hurriedly fled to the inner city to avoid being delayed by unnecessary trouble.

But now, on the way back to her territory, there was no longer any concern about wasting time. With Ye Bai’s strength and the ten fully advanced professionals in the convoy, the current players stood no chance.

So, Ye Bai wasn’t the least bit worried about these players with ill intentions. In fact, she was almost hoping they would make a move.