Chapter 150: Second-Tier Skill

Slowly letting his metal talent fade away, Ye Chen still felt a surge of excitement. Not only did this skill vastly enhance his combat power, but it also did an exceptional job of masking the brilliance of his silver-tier set. As long as he wore his cloak, even if others noticed his extraordinarily high defense, he could simply use the metal talent as an excuse. After all, as long as he kept quiet, no one would ever know the exact attributes of his metal talent. This meant he could openly wear and use the silver-tier set right here in Liesa City.

"The metal talent is indeed a formidable lost magic. Since you are willing to hand it over to the guild, aside from learning the magic yourself, you will also receive 3,000 guild contribution points. You can use these contribution points to learn second-tier advancement skills. Would you like to learn them now?" Karina's tone carried a somewhat bureaucratic tinge.

Ye Chen didn't care about the attitude of these NPCs; as long as there were benefits to be gained, it was fine. Three thousand contribution points were enough to keep average players grinding for a very long time. Even several female players working in the guild still hadn't fully learned all their second-tier skills simply because they lacked enough contribution points. Originally, Ye Chen had been worried that doing quests specifically for contribution points would waste too much time, but now everything was resolved in a single step.

"Yes, I want to learn them now," Ye Chen nodded and said.

Karina tapped her right hand into empty air, and a skill menu instantly materialized out of nowhere.

Familiar with the operational process, Ye Chen immediately stepped forward and opened the menu, where several second-tier skills instantly came into view.

First, he looked at the general skills for the Dark Priest class, of which there were two.

[Shadow Bind]: Utilizes the power of shadows to temporarily immobilize the target for a duration of 1 second. The immobilization duration increases with the skill level, up to a maximum of 6 seconds.

[Reveal Trap]: Uses dark magic to set a trap. Stealth-class players who trigger the trap will be revealed and slowed.

While not overwhelmingly powerful, these were both highly practical skills. When trained to a high level, Shadow Bind possessed a might even greater than some rare skills. In high-level duels, six seconds was more than enough to reverse life and death. The Reveal Trap was also excellent; while its utility wasn't particularly massive for ordinary Dark Priest players, it was an absolute treasure for Ye Chen. In the past, even if he could detect a rogue's location, he couldn't force them out of stealth. But with this Reveal Trap, he could pinpoint a stealthed rogue's coordinates, toss a Reveal Trap right there, and then unleash a barrage of Fireballs to annihilate them while the target was slowed.

The two skills each required 500 contribution points plus 10 gold coins. After the second-tier advancement, learning any skill was no longer free, and 10 gold coins could already be considered a bargain price.

Having directly learned those two skills, Ye Chen then looked at the exclusive skill for the Dark Arbiter, of which there was only one.

[Psychic Might]: Casts a spell on the target, increasing the target's magical attack power by 5%. The skill's potency will increase as the skill level rises.

Ye Chen had already known about this skill beforehand. It was a pity that the Stone Skin skill hadn't been unlocked yet, otherwise there should have been two skills available.

However, upon seeing the requirements for learning the skill, Ye Chen nearly popped his eyes out in shock—it actually required 2,000 contribution points plus 500 gold coins.

Outrageous, utterly outrageous. This was clearly an attempt to fleece a fat sheep, and Ye Chen felt deeply resentful. He was usually the one treating others as fat sheep to fleece, yet now he was the one forced to be fleeced. Fortunately, his trip to the Crimson Blood Witch Temple had yielded plenty of equipment and gold coins, or else his heart would truly ache to death.

There was no help for it; this was the core skill of his class, and no matter the cost, he had to learn it. Once he learned it, he would just have to kill a few more people to earn the money back. Thinking along these lines, Ye Chen felt slightly better. With a twinge of pain in his heart, he paid the 500 gold coins and directly learned Psychic Might.

*Swish.* Raising a hand, he cast Psychic Might upon himself. A faint blue glow flickered beneath his feet while his attack power simultaneously increased by several dozen points. It didn't look like much, but Ye Chen didn't underestimate it in the slightest. Once his level grew higher and his equipment became stronger, the power of this skill was bound to be astonishing. Moreover, 5% was merely the attribute at level 1; once maxed out, it would undoubtedly multiply its power by at least severalfold, becoming thoroughly overbearing by then.

Karina seemed quite satisfied with the profit of 500 gold coins, and a charming smile reappeared on her delicate face. Watching Ye Chen test out his skill, she smiled and said, "As expected of the hero who eliminated the Lich Tristis, you certainly are a decisive person. Unlike those later Dark Arbiters, who all turned pale as death upon hearing about the 2,000 contribution points and 500 gold coins and fled in panic, you are the very first person in Liesa City to learn this skill."

Ye Chen curled his lip, completely unsurprised. For solo players, 500 gold coins and 2,000 contribution points were figures as hard to reach as the heavens, and for players cultivated by major guilds, while 500 gold coins might not be an issue, gathering 2,000 contribution points was truly no easy feat. Those guys would likely need a long while before they could afford to learn this skill.

"Alright, you may leave. Come find me the next time you need a class advancement," Karina directly issued the order to dismiss him. Meanwhile, Solans reminded him from the side, "Don't forget our agreement: top three in the Five Cities Grand Tournament. Also, if you aren't fully prepared, it's best not to casually activate the Sword Demon's Proof. Otherwise, once the quest fails, you will never again have the opportunity to become a Sword Demon."

Ye Chen nodded. He would discuss this matter thoroughly with 2058 later and would definitely not rashly trigger the quest.

Walking down the stairs a few steps, he suddenly remembered that outside there was still a crowd of gossipy players waiting to gawk at him. Deciding against it, he tore open a Town Portal Scroll and teleported directly to the west side of Liesa City. Gazing into the distance, he could see the Nightflower Flowing Gold Auction House; the spoils from the Crimson Blood Witch Temple could be turned into gold coins right there.

Within a few minutes, Ye Chen had arrived right in front of the main entrance of Nightflower Flowing Gold. Although it was already two o'clock in the midnight hour, the place was still bustling with noise and excitement. On crystal billboards on both sides of the grand entrance, countless pieces of equipment stats were listed. Ye Chen glanced at them briefly and noticed they were all fine-tier equipment, while the players gathered in front of the crystal boards were clearly low-tier players looking to purchase fine-tier gear.

A few staff members of Nightflower Flowing Gold stood at the entrance, occasionally blocking players who tried to push their way inside.

"What is wrong with you Nightflower Flowing Gold folks? Is there any reason you're turning guests away? Isn't there an auction going on inside right now? I've got plenty of cash, and I want to attend the auction!" A Berserker carrying a glowing blue giant axe was pushed out by staff members directing NPC guards, and he immediately began shouting loudly in dissatisfaction, drawing the gazes of the low-tier players browsing the fine-tier equipment.

"I am sorry, but your funds are under 200 gold, so you do not qualify to enter the auction. You are welcome to browse the crystal billboards just like these players; we occasionally put up rare equipment with subpar attributes on the boards as well," the staff member dressed in white soft leather armor said with a kindly smile on his face. The players browsing the crystal boards burst into loud laughter at those words. Not even having 200 gold yet daring to call themselves rich—no wonder they were getting kicked out.

The Berserker's face flushed red, and he turned around and walked away. However, another player who had similarly been pushed out was unwilling to accept it. He yelled at the staff member who had just spoken, "His funds weren't enough, but mine are! I've got 500 gold right here in my bag, why won't you let me in either?"

"I am sorry, but according to the auction rules, participating players must enter before the start of the event; mid-session entry is not permitted," the staff member maintained his courteous smile and patiently explained.

Hearing this, that player realized that making a fuss would accomplish nothing, so he turned and left the scene as well. The remaining gathered players who had wanted to enter dispersed in disappointment, and the area in front of the grand entrance finally quieted down.

Just happening to patrol over to this area, Supervisor Liufeng nodded in satisfaction at the sight, thinking to himself that this newly recruited batch of staff members was actually quite decent—they were diligent and maintained a good service attitude. Figuring that he didn't need to worry about things here, he intended to head inside the auction hall to check out the excitement when his gaze accidentally swept across the entrance, causing him to instinctively halt his steps at the sight of a cloaked player approaching.

"Pardon me, sir, the auction has already begun and the venue is now closed. If you wish to participate in the auctions, please return tomorrow." Although the soft-leather-armored staff member blocked Ye Chen with a polite expression, a trace of impatience flashed in his eyes. He had already made things perfectly clear, so why were there still people lacking common sense like this?

Inside the doors, Liufeng's brow furrowed slightly. This operational procedure was wrong; he should have inquired about the guest's identity first. However, before Liufeng could speak, the onlookers outside the door erupted into chatter.

"Hey, look at that guy. They already said entry isn't allowed once it starts, and yet he's still trying to barge in. He's just asking to make a fool of himself."

"No kidding, and he's even wearing a cloak to hide his head and tail. He's definitely afraid of losing face and being recognized."

"That guy still isn't leaving? The NPCs are definitely going to throw him out in a minute."

Hearing the surrounding players' comments leaning in his favor, the soft-leather-armored staff member flashed a smug look. With a forced smile, just as he was about to signal the NPCs to throw this clueless player out, he saw the figure completely shrouded in the cloak suddenly extend a hand from beneath his sleeve. In that hand, he pinched a diamond token.

The expression on the soft-leather-armored staff member instantly drained of color. On his very first day joining Nightflower Flowing Gold, he had been taught that clients holding diamond tokens were absolute beings who must never be offended. Any employee who offended a diamond client would likely be fired. Furthermore, for a diamond token client, entering and exiting the venue at any time was merely a trivial matter. Following proper procedure, he should have first inquired about the visitor's identity and then taken the next step, but a night of busyness had caused him to lose his patience, leading him to neglect proper protocol. This was a severe dereliction of duty on his part. If this diamond client were to report him to higher-ups, he would likely find himself out of a job...

With this thought, cold sweat poured down the soft-leather-armored staff member. For a moment, he couldn't even speak, and could only bow repeatedly to express his apologies.

The watching players were instantly dumbfounded. How had the situation flipped in an instant? Weren't those soft-leather-armored staff supposed to call the NPC guards and throw this cloaked fellow out?

What on earth was going on?!