Project GB is an official initiative by Re:Library.

Eleven days had passed since the game officially launched. By now, nearly every secondary profession had hit a bottleneck, with almost all of them stalled at Level 5. Alchemy was no exception.

Using Mindstone as an ingredient, alchemists could brew the Heartsteady Pill. Unfortunately, restoring just 7% HP was barely a drop in the bucket for someone on the brink of death.

After reaching Level 4 Alchemist, however, they unlocked a new medicine: Glazed Powder. Its effect surpassed the Heartsteady Pill, restoring up to 10% HP!

Well… it still wasn’t a game-changing improvement. Which was only natural. There was no way the game would introduce overly powerful consumables this early on. Otherwise, the value of Priests would plummet overnight.

“Stupid Orange, how much experience do you still need before your secondary profession levels up?” Shiu asked after wiping out the last group of monsters.

“A little over a hundred. Even if every batch turns out perfect, I’d still have to synthesize more than fifty times before leveling up… Wait, who are you calling stupid?!”

“…Zane’s been calling you that every day. I actually forgot what I used to call you.”
“It’s Orange! Orange! Don’t copy that idiot!”
“Got it, Stu… Orange.”

DumbCitrus’s face darkened with black lines. She gave up arguing and buried herself in synthesizing the new medicine.

They’d been so busy clearing dungeons and exploring new maps over the past several days that they barely had any time to level their secondary professions. Now that they finally had the chance, she intended to make the most of it.

Cragstone Rise had already been completely divided among the major guilds. Independent players could only rely on luck and hope to find an occasional Rock Golem that had spawned outside the occupied areas.

It couldn’t be helped. Although those guilds claimed they weren’t monopolizing the map, they kept players stationed there around the clock in rotating shifts. It was obvious they had no intention of giving up those resources.

Each guild occupied its own section, leaving very little for unaffiliated players. That was also why independent alchemists generally had such low profession levels.

Fortunately, DumbCitrus had already reached Level 4. Most of the ingredients required for Glazed Powder could be purchased from the general store. However… the most important ingredient, the Lycoris, remained nowhere to be found.

Only after asking Master Alchemist: Sylvia did she learn that the flower usually grew in deep, dimly lit places. In other words, the deepest parts of large caves or the edges of deep pools were the most likely places to find it.

Coincidentally, after the Adventurer Party reached Level 2, many new quests became available, one of which involved exploring a mysterious cave. It was an A-rank quest and could be shared with up to six players.

Nangong’s group was still challenging the Frostcrystal Dungeon on Easy difficulty. Rumor had it they had come within a hair’s breadth of clearing it yesterday.

After updating each other on their plans, Shiu, Dukeette, Yoyo, and DumbCitrus set out as a four-person team.

The lineup might have looked fragile and lacking in combat power, but in reality, Lordsey and the Electrobunny alone were already comparable to two average mid-tier players. On top of that, Shiu’s mixed set of Rare and Epic equipment gave him explosive burst damage that very few players could withstand.

The people from Cloud Edge weren’t so idle that they would spend every day hunting them down. After realizing Starry and Zane’s true strength, and with Windblossom insistently protecting them, they had already given up on pursuing them.

As for what Skypride himself was thinking, no one knew.

Their journey remained relatively uneventful until they reached the deepest part of the cave, where a small but dense patch of Lycoris grew together. A quick glance suggested there was enough to gather at least one full stack of materials.

Although it was called a Mysterious Cave, it was actually occupied by wandering, mindless spirits. They had frightened quite a few NPCs, which was how the quest had come into existence.

“Once we’ve gathered all these Lycoris, it should be enough to get you to Level 5,” Shiu said as he watched DumbCitrus harvest the flowers.

“Yeah. If it had been before, I’d probably need three times as much materials… But every Perfect Synthesis grants five times the experience of a normal one, and I’ve gotten the hang of it.”

“That’s great. Once you level up, Orange, you might become Wynwater City’s first Level 5 Alchemist, right?” Dukeette said with a smile.

To her surprise, DumbCitrus shook her head. “Someone already made it to Level 5.”

“Who?” Shiu asked curiously. Finding Mindstone was one thing, but Lycoris wasn’t easy to come by, let alone collecting it in such large quantities.

“Their ID was partially hidden… I saw someone post it on the forums before. After reaching Level 5 Alchemist, there’s a chance that when synthesizing medicines below Level 5, you’ll produce premium versions with additional effects.”

“What do you mean?”

“It means… you don’t have to strictly follow the recipe anymore. You can add ingredients based on your own ideas. Of course, there’s also a pretty high chance the cauldron will explode, and the most likely outcome is ending up with nothing but a pile of scrap.”

“Can I add sugar?” YoyoPink asked, tilting her head.

“Hmm… I won’t know the specifics until I reach Level 5, but I think adding something to balance out the medicinal properties should be fine.”

“Then… I want strawberry-flavored Glazed Powder!”

“Okay, okay! Leave it to yours truly!” DumbCitrus declared confidently. She then lowered her head to inspect the cauldron before saying without even turning around, “I’m about to start synthesizing, Yoyo. Could you move your hand away?”

“…” YoyoPink blinked in confusion before raising both hands. “I’m not touching anything though?”

“Huh? Then was it Dukeette?”

“Hehe… Hehehe…” Dukeette was currently grinning foolishly at the empty air, looking as though she were chatting with someone through a private call… It definitely wasn’t her.

DumbCitrus slowly turned her gaze toward Shiu.

“What are you looking at me for? I haven’t moved an inch.”

“…” She swallowed hard. “Then… who’s standing behind me?”

***

“Ahhh!” Zane let out an exaggerated scream before Starry smacked him flying straight out of the arena.

Finally… freedom. He glanced at the countdown timer. Seven minutes remained. Perfect. He had actually exceeded his own expectations!

“Windblossom, you’re up next!”

“Mm.” She nodded and was just about to leap onto the arena.

However, a nimble figure beat her to it. The newcomer wore a white cloak and wielded a blue staff. Countless strange runes were engraved across the black-and-white robes, giving them an extraordinary appearance. Judging by the design alone, the equipment had to be at least Unique-grade.

Without a doubt, it was a magic-based class.

“Looks like my timing couldn’t have been better. I just happened to stumble across something really interesting! To be honest, this is my first time seeing a player from the Light Faction since I got here,” the man remarked with a sigh.

Starry frowned, raising the Autumn Moon Sword slightly as Frenzied Blade quietly gathered momentum.

“Easy, easy!” The man hurriedly lowered both hands in a placating gesture. “Don’t worry. I’ve got private chat mode enabled, so nobody else can hear us.”

“…”

A player from the Dark Faction… She should’ve realized it sooner. Back then, Yoyo had nearly been taken to the Dark Faction as well. Could it be that getting captured allowed someone to switch factions?

That didn’t seem likely. Otherwise, hidden classes would’ve become commonplace long ago, and the forums would already be full of guides explaining how to do it.

Up to this point, Zane had only encountered two players from the Dark Faction. Without exception, both possessed hidden classes.

The Dark Swordsman, Shade. And DuskUnbroken, who appeared to be an ice-element mage.

There was no rule stating that players from opposing factions had to fight on sight, but since this guy had already jumped onto the arena, there wasn’t much left to discuss. With that thought, Starry stepped forward.

Thousand Flash Steps activated simultaneously as frost gathered along the edge of the Autumn Moon Sword.

“Icy Moon Slash!”