As the cries and angry voices of the ambushers slowly dissipated from the discreet hallway, the situation could have been said to be resolved.
"Is there anything else you need, Sir?" The NPC guard asked, clearly still a bit worried that Xu Feng might be displeased.
"No need, you've already done more than enough." Xu Feng smiled, holding a sack of pouches filled with money.
It was no wonder these ambushers were so agitated. Their wealth was no joke, and even Xu Feng began to wonder how many players they had robbed.
The bounty tag of them must have decreased and they were clever enough to wait a while until their status was clear before entering the town. Otherwise, they should have been detained immediately if they entered with a bounty tag.
There was simply no way these players were able to obtain such vast wealth with their crooked ways and greedy behavior. Hence, Xu Feng quickly determined their wealth was obtained from other players.
As the NPC guard was about to ask for leave, Xu Feng kindly gave him a silver coin as a tip.
"Don't try to refuse it. This is my thanks for saving me from earlier." Xu Feng said sternly, making it clear that he would not accept a refusal.
The guard's initial surprise melted into a grateful smile. "T-Thank you, Sir."
He accepted the tip with a bow, then ordered the other guards to exit the hallway while bidding farewell to Xu Feng.
As the guards left, Zhao Kai turned to Xu Feng, eyes wide with admiration.
"You're too cool, Brother Feng. You earned all that without lifting a finger!" He exclaimed, giving him a thumbs up.
Xu Feng chuckled, slipping the money and the items into his inventory. "It's all about knowing the right moves."
"But why tip the guard? We could've used that silver coin for more food," Zhao Kai asked, scratching his head in confusion.
From his understanding of Xu Feng, he was a through and through stingy person. To see him tipping someone, especially when it was an NPC, made him confused.
Xu Feng sighed, rubbing his temples. "Listen, don't underestimate the NPCs. They remember how you treat them. A small tip now could mean they'll save our skins later."
He then leaned in closer, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "And keep that to yourself. There's no need to enlighten others about it.
Had it been others, he would have concealed the information sternly. Though it didn't matter much since Zhao Kai simply nodded his head, seemingly unbothered by the information once he learned his intention.
"Alright, shall we start heading to the Verdant Valley?" Zhao Kai laughed cheekily, quickly changing the topic.
"Yeah, but first take this gun." Xu Feng responded and handed him a gun.
As Zhao Kai received the gun, he began to inspect its stats.
—
Ironbolt Rifle
Type: Rifle
Rarity: Uncommon (Green)
Level Requirement: 5
Attack Power: 15-25
Range: 35 meters
Accuracy: +5%
Durability: 100/100
Special Ability: Piercing Shot (Has a 10% chance to ignore 10% of the target's armor)
Description: A sturdy and reliable rifle crafted from iron.
—
"Woah, this gun is insane, but Feng, the level requirement." Zhao Kai exclaimed in joy, followed by a tinge of bitterness. The level requirement for equipping the gun was level 5, but he was nowhere close to it.
"Did you go stupid as well?" Xu Feng flicked on his forehead. "Where are we headed to now?"
"The Verdant Valley." Zhao Kai answered.
"And what's in the Verdant Valley?"
"Monsters?"
"Yes, monsters are there, so we can just level up while continuing on with the clues from the letter." Xu Feng explained, feeling an urge to punch him in the face again.
Such juicy monster experience points were naturally amazing, but with his debuff still active, he would gain peanuts. Nevertheless, it wasn't a bad idea to farm the monsters since it would be on their path anyway.
Letting Zhao Kai gain some fighting experience and learn the combat mechanics of the Divine World was beneficial. Not to mention, he could start leveling up faster to make up for the time he spent indulging himself in food.
"Anyway, now that the robbers have been apprehended, and you got a new weapon. So what's your current level?" He then proceeded to ask.
"I'm just level 3, Feng." Zhao Kai smiled embarrassingly, clearly not realizing Xu Feng himself was level 3 as well.
After all, he believed Xu Feng must have grinded a lot, especially when he had gotten a head start.
Naturally, Xu Feng wasn't going to divulge the fact that he had been hit hard by the system with a debuff due to his misdeeds.
If he did divulge it, then Xu Feng was positive Zhao Kai would definitely make fun of him and say how he deserved it.
"Not bad, at level 3, you can actually start building your skill tree." Nodding his head, Xu Feng decided to assist Zhao Kai with his character build.
Although he wasn't experienced with this kind of abnormal play style, his knowledge was still helpful in the situation.
Following his suggestion, Zhao Kai opened his skill trees that had three different branches: Marksman Skill, Vanguard Skill, and Tactical Support Skill.
The Marksman Skill specialized in enhancing range combat abilities and accuracy whereas the Vanguard Skill specialized in balancing ranged and melee combat, enhancing both offensive and defensive capabilities.
Meanwhile, Tactical Support skills specialized more in crowd control and team support abilities.
To summarize, the Tactical Support skill tree was more orientated for the tank playstyle with Vanguard Skill as the secondary priority.
However, that was only for the usual Gun Knight playstyle and did not apply to Zhao Kai, given he had clearly refused to equip the shield.
"Since you won't equip a shield, then your priority skill tree is Marksman, followed by Vanguard." Xu Feng instructed.
"First, get all the beginner skills in the Marksman category, which is Steady Aim, Rapid Fire, and Precision Strike. Next, you will get the Fortified Stance skill under the Vanguard category."
"Got it!" Zhao Kai saluted, acting as if he were a soldier listening to the commander.
Xu Feng sighed, his fingers itching to give Zhao Kai a good punch on the face again.
"Sometimes, I wonder if you're doing this on purpose," he muttered.