Among them, the young girls only found a little Shimmering Sand in the desert. Since Vortex Amber requires a mining spot to produce and Li Ang told them to stay away from Rock Mountain, they didn’t gather any as there are no mining spots in the desert.
Red Spot Sand Brick is also only found underground and requires going to the caverns of Rock Mountain.
These are the quests for which Li Ang exchanged for materials used in Equipment Creation. He had previously taken them back and put them together with the Hunting Token.
After completing the quest, Li Ang would receive "Professional Points" from the system.
These low-level quests typically give 1 point, only quests that eliminate a large number of targets or collect Red Spot Sand Brick guarantee 2 points, totaling 17 Professional Points.
However, since Li Ang encountered a Giant Land Crocodile and had previously come across a Dragon Transformed Sand Nest Demon Worm when he first arrived on the island, both provided 4 Professional Points, making the final total 25 points.
After receiving the points, the system listed what could be done with them.
[Tip: Each Professional Point can substitute for 50 points of Professional Experience]
[Tip: Consuming 5× corresponding tier Professional Points, you can provide one session of Professional Skills guidance to team members. After guidance, cultivation speed increases by 10%—30%, lasting until tier upgrades]
The first part is easy to understand; 25 Professional Points can be exchanged for 1250 points of Professional Experience, allowing Li Ang to raise a newly learned profession from Tier One to halfway through Tier Three.
Compared to Nebis’s Professional Skill cultivation speed, this was extremely fast already.
On the way back with ALulu, halfway through the journey, Li Ang divided the quest monetary reward into three parts, giving one-third to Xiaoniu.
Hunting Tier Two to Tier Three demons’ quests vary between five hundred to a thousand Adventurer Coins.
But for something like the Sand Nest Demon Worm, the price jumps significantly, since it has entered the Transcendent Realm, thus each task pays five thousand.
ALulu received 4897 Adventurer Coins.
"Huh? So much?"
Holding a bag of high-denomination coins, ALulu’s face gradually lit up with a smile, yet she seemed at a loss for words.
Officially doing quests paid much more than her previous sweep of the underground arena.
"Yes, that was what we agreed on before."
Li Ang smiled at her: "With your ability level, as long as you’re not afraid of the sun and wind, you can already comfortably sustain yourself."
"I tend to eat a bit more." ALulu said with a silly grin on her youthful face.
She happily walked for a while, then suddenly recalled something and hastened to tell Li Ang: "Brother, you previously made Equipment for me, saying it would be offset by quest money."
She raised her little hand, holding the money bag up to Li Ang.
Li Ang said: "Look, back then it was agreed upon as a temporary partnership condition; now don’t you want to join the Star Flower Travel Corps long-term? That condition no longer applies."
"But..." A hint of doubt showed on the young girl’s pink-haired, tender face.
"Just think, did the other two ever mention anything like that?"
"They..." ALulu thought for a moment, then her face suddenly turned red, heat rising as steam emanated towards Li Ang, and the two continued walking, leaving a trail of white mist behind them.
After walking a certain distance, the young girl said: "Why do I feel like Brother Li Ang wants me to accept the equipment quite naturally?"
"Actually, this is just part of our group’s benefits."
Li Ang said: "As I am also practicing Equipment Creation, equipping you doesn’t cost extra effort."
"Even so, many people still find it hard to acquire such good equipment."
"So as long as you all work hard and contribute positively to the team, it’s enough. It proves that what I do is totally worth it."
With her head slightly lowered, Xiaoniu said earnestly, word by word:
"Brother, rest assured, what you hope for, I will accomplish."
After a moment’s thought, she added: "I will also strive to break through to the Transcendent Realm."
Li Ang smiled and said: "Good."
Continuing to walk, the horned girl curiously asked: "Uh, aren’t we going back to the inn?"
"Hmm, let’s head to the Weapon House."
"Brother’s crafting equipment again? I thought I was just here to carry things."
At the Weapon House, Li Ang sat down and began forging the Tier Four equipment for ALulu.
Between handling materials, both remained silent for a while. This pure yet sensible young girl was something Li Ang hadn’t initially realized, and he took a good look at her.
Perhaps, now’s a good time to try the Professional Skills guidance function?
This system is impressive, allowing guidance even in professions I’m not learning.
[Proceed with Professional Skills guidance? ... Confirmed, please select a recipient]
Li Ang picked ALulu, then clicked confirm.
Professional Points decreased by 15, and a stream of knowledge flowed into Li Ang’s mind, naturally showing him what to do next.
"How have things been these days?" Li Ang asked: "Are you happy?"
The pink-haired young girl, lost in her thoughts, lifted up her head, her light purple eyes brightening, nodded energetically.
She carefully chose her words: "Very happy, at times, I can hardly believe it."
"Every morning when I wake, I’m a bit scared, fearing you were just my imagination, fearful you would leave me behind suddenly."
"That won’t happen, neither from me nor from them. We need you, whether in battle or adventure."
"I believe it." ALulu repeatedly nodded: "I also need you all, I need companions."
"Since knowing you, you’ve often mentioned that."
"Yes, because my teacher told me so."
With a hint of nostalgia, ALulu’s eyes welled up, her youthful nose turning slightly red; she sniffed and said: "Just before passing away."
Half a month ago, ALulu was still in the remote locales of the Wotam Church Country at Thunder Mountain Church.
She fetched several large barrels of water from a spring in the nearby mountain forests, pouring them into the water point near the training grounds.