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Although he had a theory forming in his mind, now wasn’t the right time to test it. He would have to set it aside for now, because… it was time to learn the new skills.

First was Charge. It had been available since Level 20, but with everything happening lately, he hadn’t remembered to pick it up.

As expected, Starry was fully capable of learning the skill. Seeing Charge added to her skill list, Zane felt quite pleased. With Blade Dance and Icy Moon Slash, she now had three crowd control skills at her disposal!

Next came Voice of Renewal and Blink.

Both Shiu and Stupid Orange could use them after reaching Level 20. Still, as shameless as it might be, Zane knew these two skills were far more valuable when used on himself. If the Wishkeeper class couldn’t learn them, then he’d consider passing them on.

He shifted into the form of the blonde-haired girl, then took out the skill books.

‘Come to think of it, what exactly is the true role of the Wishkeeper class? It excels in both crowd control and damage output. If anything, it felt like a fusion between a Bard and a Mage.’

Just as he expected, the learning process went smoothly. The books transformed into two streaks of flowing light and settled into his skill list.

Blink had a maximum range of 40 yards, the same as Charge. Unlike Charge, however, Blink was an instant-cast skill. As long as he reacted fast enough, he could even use it to dodge an incoming Charge, a solid counter move.

The major difference between the two was that Charge came with a stun and damage component, while Blink allowed movement through normal terrain. A fair trade-off for balance.

As for Voice of Renewal, with Zane’s current magic attack stat, the healing effect reached over 1,200 HP. It was far beyond the current top-tier Priests’ single-target healing output.

That said, the cooldown was a full two minutes. In regular fights, it would help conserve potions, but in boss battles, it could only be used a couple of times. Continuous, short-cooldown healing from Priests was still absolutely essential.

Zane glanced at his friend list, Nangong had just come online. His level was 18. Zane felt a little guilty. He’d been too focused on grinding and hadn’t checked in with them much lately.

After thinking for a moment, he decided to send a message.

“Hey Nangong, you guys doing anything today?”
“Zanny? Feels like I haven’t seen you in months,” Nangong replied.
“Come on, don’t be ridiculous, we just saw each other a few days ago!”
“Can’t help it. These past few days have been nothing but nonstop grinding. But you, on the other hand… looks like you’ve become Rainflower’s number one wanted target? Ten thousand gold bounty, that’s kinda tempting,” Nangong said with a mischievous tone.
“What? This is the first I’m hearing about it.”

“It was just yesterday, right? Didn’t you guys get into a fight at Mapleblossom Grove? Rainflower might have the numbers, but they’re just a ragtag bunch. Sure, they can bully small solo teams like ours, but Nether Dawn? That’s out of their league,” Nangong recalled.

“But seriously, Zanny, that was impressive! The fact that Nether Dawn was willing to help you beat up Rainflower… Now Emberveil and Stardust are both hot topics in Wynwater City!”

“…” Rainflower really never stopped stirring up trouble. “Forget about them for now. Got any plans today?”

“Today? I was thinking of trying out the Wasteland.”

“Try what, exactly? The four of you are all physical classes and don’t even have a healer. And you want to take on Bioraptors, which specialize in physical defense?” Zane didn’t hold back at all.

“Damn! You think I don’t know that? The problem is there are barely any monsters left to grind. The mobs in Mapleblossom Grove are too low-level. The Treants are fine in terms of level, but they’re so rare it’s not worth the time. If we don’t switch to a new spot soon, we’ll fall behind the leveling curve,” Nangong said helplessly.

This was a dilemma many players were starting to face, stick with safe but low-level mobs for slow grinding, or venture into riskier territory with new monsters? New monsters brought more opportunity, but also greater danger. One misstep, and they’d lose a level, something that could take hours to recover.

“Go to Cragstone Rise instead. I’ll come with you,” Zane said.
“Cragstone Rise? Where the heck is that?”
“It’s just past the northern edge of Mapleblossom Grove. You guys have been grinding for days and still haven’t found it?”
“That forest’s huge! And one wrong turn and a Treant ambushes you. Who dares wander off? Getting one-shot would be a total loss!”
“No worries. I’ll take you there,” Zane said confidently.

***

According to the original plan, Zane was supposed to take Yoyo and the others to use the Forgotten Tower Entry Pass today. But something didn’t sit right with him. Out of curiosity, he had tried using the pass earlier. The pop-up window had indicated that a party of up to twelve players could enter.

Given Starmew’s strength as a Unique-grade pet, this pass clearly wasn’t as simple as it seemed. If he recklessly brought everyone in without preparation, there was a high risk the entire group would end up losing a level.

And with fewer than the maximum number of players, it felt like a waste. So Zane decided to help Nangong and the others level up to 20 first. By the end of the day, Shiu and his party should be able to reach Level 20 as well.

Once everyone hit Level 20, they could unlock new skills. With more crowd control, their chances of success would improve significantly.

As for party size, they would have 11 people: Shiu, Yoyo, Endless Sea, the new Priest, Nangong, Zaria, Snowy, Wanderer, plus Zane and Starry. Oh, and also Stupid Orange.

That left one open slot.

“By the way, Zanny,” Nangong said, “didn’t I mention last time that Zaria invited two priest girls to join us? They’ll be coming too.”

‘…One extra member? Sorry, Stupid Orange, looks like there’s no spot for you.’ Zane felt absolutely no guilt as he thought that.¹　

***

After grabbing breakfast, a bottle of milk and a piece of bread, he considered it done. He brought an extra portion for Shiu and left it on the table.

Around 8:30 a.m., Nangong’s group had all logged in. They must have agreed on that time in advance. Everyone was surprisingly punctual.

By contrast, Shiu and Endless Sea still hadn’t shown up. Where was that leveling enthusiasm from the past few days? Sleeping in already?

Thankfully, Yoyo was online. Zane left a few instructions with her and asked her to pass the message along later. Zane really wanted to bring her along. Lordsey’s damage output definitely rivaled some elite players. But doing that would only slow down Shiu’s group’s leveling progress, so he decided to call it off.

***

Starry had practically become a celebrity. On the streets, she often had to pull up the hood of her Gray Cloak just to avoid drawing too much attention. So when she dropped the hood and revealed her face, everyone was stunned by her beauty.

“Zanny… don’t tell me you scored a goddess like Starry in real life?” Nangong asked, half-joking and half-jealous.

‘As if! She didn’t even exist in real life!’

Zaria shot a resentful glance. “Zanny, you liar! You said you just met by chance, but it’s obvious you two are dating!”

Wanderer chuckled coldly. “Always playing the single guy in the group chat. Hah.”

Snowy looked confused. “But… they haven’t done anything. They’re just leveling together, right?”

“Ah, Snowy, you’re too innocent~” Dukeette said knowingly. That nickname suggested she had already blended in with the group. “Our team has more girls, so those two wouldn’t dare try anything.”

Wanderer and Nangong somehow caught stray bullets with that comment.

“But Emberveil and Stardust are already known on the forums as an official couple!”
“Back in Beginner Village, they were always together. That was until the third party, Endless Sea, entered the picture and complicated things.”
“A bold, forceful third party disrupted their sweet relationship, and then…”
“Dukeette!” Seraphine quickly cut her off. “You can’t say that in front of the people involved! That kind of gossip is for private chat, not right here!”

Zane stood there, dumbfounded. Who the hell was making up all this nonsense on the forums!?