As an NPC, having a lot of skills is quite reasonable, right?

Moen swallowed hard.

This skill is ridiculously powerful; increasing final damage by 40% is essentially the final multiplier of the damage calculation mechanism.

If you equip a bunch of damage-boosting gear and buffs, the damage from a single hit when the target is low on health is unimaginable.

Moen is now increasingly looking forward to seeing what kind of effect the profession he gets from collecting all 5 keywords will have.

He closed the control panel and opened the forum.

Although it was late at night, the players' enthusiasm remained undiminished.

Subject: I want to join the Deep Shadow Secret Society, do any of you experts know how?

Subject: Shocking Discovery! The initial stats in this game can be rerolled! Just keep selecting "I'm a loser" when creating your character, and you have a chance to unlock the hidden talent "Late Bloomer"!

Moen couldn't help but laugh; this generation of players is truly full of talent.

He clicked on the post about the Anmi Society and replied using the ID 【Chen Jiangli】: "The Anmi Society does not accept unknowns. If you want to join, first go to Ash Furnace Alley in the south of Nohanville and find a stray cat with only three legs. Feed it a 【Bluefin Fish】 (you can buy it at the dock), and it will take you to the contact person."

After posting, Moen closed the forum with satisfaction and fell into a deep sleep.

The next morning, Ge Lin rushed upstairs with messy hair, holding a test tube with boiling dark red bubbles in his hand.

"My lord! I succeeded!"

"Following your recipe, the [Basic Berserk Potion] I made is 30% more effective than the best [Brute Force Potion] on the market! Although it has the side effect of causing exhaustion after use, this side effect is completely negligible compared to its enhancement!"

Moen took the potion, looked at the [Attack Power +15%] stat on the panel, and nodded in satisfaction.

He'll act as a mysterious figure and sell this potion; once players see its effects, they'll be more than willing to hand over their money.

But the next second, Green's face fell.

"But sir, when I went to purchase more materials this morning, I found that both 'Edelweiss' and 'Black Iron Root' were out of stock on the market."

"The owners of several herbal medicine shops all said that after I bought them yesterday, the Blood Hand Gang swept them all up overnight."

"The Blood Hand Gang?" Moen's eyes narrowed slightly.

He searched his memory.

The Blood Hands are the underground force in Nohanville, involved in smuggling, loan sharking, and protection rackets.

They usually only bully ordinary people and don't even dare to mess with slightly stronger adventurers. How dare they target him now?

"They're all birds of a feather," Moen exclaimed.

The Blood Hand Gang, these local thugs, wouldn't dare do this even if they had ten lives, without the tacit approval of the local court.

François's influence is clearly behind this.

Moen had said that he had been waiting for so long and that the old fox hadn't made a move yet, but now it seemed that he had finally made his move.

"I'll go find out what's going on." Moen adjusted his equipment.

Although [Bloodstained Frost Robe] is still on cooldown, with these newly learned skills, dealing with a group of thugs is more than enough.

After casually picking up a bartender and tipping him, Moen learned that the Bloodhands' headquarters were in the Norhamville docks.

The dock area is also an industrial area of ​​Norhanville, a place where all sorts of people mingle and the environment is harsh. The headquarters of the Blood Hand Gang is located in an old smelter here.

"Halt! What are you doing?" Two thug-looking guards blocked his way.

"Blackberry Manor, Moen." Moen didn't even look at them directly, simply stating his name casually.

The two guards exchanged a glance, but instead of making things difficult as expected, they immediately stepped aside: "So it's Mr. Moen. Boss has been waiting for you for a long time. Please come with us."

It went too smoothly, but Moen didn't stop.

Since this is a trap, let's see what dishes you've prepared.

As he walked through the dimly lit factory, Moen kept observing his surroundings.

[Thug Lv.6], [Thug Lv.7]...

Even the bald, burly man sitting in the tiger-skin chair at the very back—[Bloody Hand Buck Lv.11]—was 3 levels lower than Moen.

"Haha, Mr. Moen! I've heard so much about you!"

When Buck saw Moen come in, he immediately stood up enthusiastically.

"It's all a misunderstanding! We recently received a big order and urgently need these herbs. We didn't mean to offend you. Come, come, let's sit down and talk it over."

He gestured for him to enter, pointing to a seemingly ordinary round iron table in the center of the factory.

Moen did not sit down immediately, but looked around.

At least ten thugs armed with crossbows were hiding in the shadows all around.

"Boss Buck, since it's a misunderstanding, how about you spare some of the materials for me? I'm not an unreasonable person, I'll buy them at the original price." Moen said casually as he walked to the table, but he didn't walk all the way to the center of the round table, instead stopping three steps away from it.

"Of course, of course!" Buck laughed, but his hand quietly reached under the armrest of the chair.

"If you just sit down and have a cup of tea, everything will be fine."

Seeing his clumsy acting, Moen decided not to play along. He reached for the longsword at his waist, ready to unleash [Frosty Shadow] to launch a surprise attack and capture Buck.

However, just as his magic began to activate...

"Let's do it!"

Buck pressed the button under the armrest and suddenly yelled, then jumped backward.

At that moment, in the darkness above Moen's head, a huge steel cage fell down without warning.

Moen reacted extremely quickly, immediately preparing to unleash [Siege Stomp], attempting to use the shockwave to deflect the falling cage.

But just as his magic gathered in his feet, the iron floor beneath his feet suddenly lit up with earthen-yellow inscriptions.

A terrifying force instantly slammed him to the floor, the steel cage crashing down and trapping him inside.

[Trap: Gravitational Magnetic Field (Inscription Array)]

"Hahaha! Mr. Moen, you've made a miscalculation!"

Buck poked his head out from behind the cover, his respectful expression gone, replaced by a ferocious, maniacal laugh: "I was puzzled when I received orders not to place the cage directly above the table, but I never imagined that sir had foreseen it all!"

"The branch president also repeatedly warned me that you are very skilled and that I must not let you get close."

Moen quickly devised a strategy and tried to force open the cage using [Frosty Wind Shadow]. At that moment, a thick green mist began to gush out from the nozzles at the bottom of the cage.

[Advanced Alchemical Poison Mist: Nerve Paralysis]

Moen tried to hold his breath, but the poisonous fog could still be absorbed through his skin. He suddenly felt weak in his limbs, and all his attributes began to slowly drop.

[Status: Severe Paralysis (All attributes are slowly decreasing)]

"This is also a high-end product," Buck said proudly, standing at a safe distance.

"You don't think I'd let you in unprepared, do you? That lord went to great lengths; if I couldn't handle you, then there'd be no point in me, Bloodhand Buck, staying in this business."

"Didn't I hear you're good at fighting? Show me what you're capable of under 10x gravity and nerve paralysis!"

He waved his hand, and the dozen or so crossbowmen around him immediately surrounded him, their black crossbow bolts aimed at Moen in the cage.

Buck drew his sword and licked his lips: "Remember in your next life not to mess with the Church. It's not something an ordinary person like you with no background can afford to mess with."

"Don't worry, I won't let you die too quickly. That person said I should take my time playing with him."