The Great Thief

“Ah yes,” Cold Chill realized as she began to retreat.

In fact, she did try to deal damage to the monster at the same time, but it wasn’t very effective. Eventually, she realized that moving didn’t do much for her and it was better for her to just stand still and fight.

“Don’t panic, you have to move quickly but when you step back, immediately start casting a skill. Look at the Grell; why are you looking at your feet? It’s a flat grassland, there’s nothing for you to stumble over.”

Lu Li didn’t want to be too harsh. After all, she was the future Master Alchemist, so it was best not to offend her.

However, at some points, he just couldn’t help it.

Surprisingly, Cold Chill didn’t become angry at Lu Li’s harshness. Instead, she felt like this teacher that she had acquired mere minutes ago truly felt like a proper teacher. After all, the field of traditional Chinese medicine had always been taught strictly, so she quickly found herself embracing the apprenticeship.

“Attack. Try to aim the Fireball as close to the monster as possible. Good, that’s good. Again, and don’t run. Uh…”

Lu Li picked up the Flawless Arcanite Rifle and shot the Grell, dealing with the rest of its HP and saving this dumb apprentice once again.

“Sorry master, I won’t panic next time. I told you, I was killed by this monster, so I have PTSD…”

“Apprentice, I’m about to get PTSD too.”

“I’m sorry Master. How about you lend me some money, and I will buy a Magic Staff? When I’ve made some money, I will repay you then. In fact, I can kill the Grells, but every time I do it, I need to sit down to regenerate…” Cold Chill felt aggrieved; she was just a rookie after all.

“Don’t worry about the equipment. Come on, just keep practicing,” Lu Li said as he waved his hand and began to teach his apprentice fighting skills again.

Compared to his previous NPC apprentice, Cold Chill was really dumb.

She didn’t really understand what Lu Li meant when he said not to worry about the equipment, but she followed his instructions anyway. However, she was quite curious as to how a Thief would know about a Mage’s combat techniques. It was only when a player rode over that she finally understood what Lu Li meant.

“Boss, I’m here.” It was a female Warrior – Ruling Sword’s Logistics Leader, White Bread.

“You should have just sent someone else, why did you come yourself?” Lu Li greeted White Bread and received the equipment that she had brought.

White Bread was responsible for supervising Ruling Sword’s logistics and finance. All Professional Trade Skill players ultimately reported to her. Although no one really knew her outside the guild, she was known by almost all guild members. In fact, the third executive member of the guild, other than Lu Li and Square Root 3, was not Wandering, but White Bread.

Recently, she hadn’t been feeling well, which was why Lu Li asked her to just send someone else.

“I was in the area to recruit more Trade Skill players into the guild when I heard that you had accepted an apprentice. I thought I’d come by and have a look at who was your first apprentice. I thought it would be Xin Xin,” White Bread said with a smile as she looked at Cold Chill.

“Why would I take her as an apprentice? She doesn’t have any time to play…”

Lu Li was speechless. Did they really see him as that much of a sister-con, that he would do everything with her?

“Well, I’ll leave you too it then. Oh, my name is White Bread…”

White Bread then started chatting with Cold Chill, wondering how this person managed to win the favor of the game’s number one player. However, she was quite tactful, and wasn’t a person who liked to ask about someone else’s secrets.

White Bread soon had to go. She was the busiest person in the guild, and it was difficult for her to find time to rest even while she was sick, so she couldn’t chat with Lu Li’s new apprentice for too long.

Lu Li checked the equipment before trading each piece to Cold Chill one at a time.

First, there were the five, 14-space backpacks. Many players that were over level 40 were still carrying the 12 space backpacks. Of course, Cold Chill didn’t know the value of these backpacks yet, but she was just happy about not having to worry about how she could store things in future.

Then, there was a set of alchemy tools, which other players would normally have to earn by doing quests. An average player could not usually obtain these items.

The next was a set of equipment. There were three weapons, with the first being a level 3 Green Magic Staff. It had high damage and was comparable to a Common level 10 staff sold in stores. The other two was a level 10 Steel Magic Staff and a level 20 Gold Magic Staff. Although this low-level equipment couldn’t be sold any more, there were always rich newbies who would pay for them.

There was also a lot of other equipment, all of which were exquisite.

Even Cold Chill, who knew nothing about the game, felt like something was wrong. She had entered the game to make some money and didn’t really understand the items she had, but all this in addition to the 50 gold that Lu Li had given her would add up to about 300 gold.

300 gold was a bit over 20,000 dollars. Was this a normal teacher-apprentice relationship?

“Alright, equip your weapon and I’ll continue teaching you fighting techniques.”

Cold Chill was deeply grateful, but had no idea what to say.

Not only was she grateful for the tens of thousands of dollars worth of items, but she was also grateful

towards Lu Li for teaching her. She was a rookie, not an idiot. Her master was obviously teaching her as best as he could.

Lu Li was a high-ranking player while Cold Chill was an apprentice with some talent of her own. As such, she was able to progress quite quickly, especially with the exquisite equipment in hand. As she swept through the Grells map, her level quickly rose and her technique grew better.

Lu Li taught her more in an hour than Cold Chill had learned all this time by talking to other players.

Lu Li also subtly guided her interests towards Alchemy. However, he didn’t have to try very hard as Alchemy was the in-game counterpart to Chinese Medicine in real life.

After Lu Li described the status of Alchemy Masters, she became even more determined to learn the trade.

For example, Lu Li’s friend Sesame Rice Ball, held quite a unique position in the guild. Most players that saw him would greet him as Rice Ball bro, and no one dared to offend him. Even if he sold his potions at a very low price, he still earned a lot of money. It was said that he had managed to buy a car and a house in just half a year.

After a little more than an hour, Lu Li’s goal had been achieved.

Not only had he received an apprentice, but he had also introduced her to White Bread and guided her towards learning Alchemy. Finally, he had also accepted her into the guild.

Lu Li couldn’t always be teaching this little apprentice as his time was too precious. However, he didn’t want to leave Cold Chill to her own devices, and instead asked several Mages from the guild to take turns teaching her. He also instructed some other players to collect Skill Books for her.