Donghai City, Forging Guild, top-tier forging room.

Ouyezi silently handed over the last piece of greaves, shimmering with starlight.

Gandalf took it and put it on.

In an instant, a complete star moon set bloomed with a soft and mysterious light on him, as if he had draped the entire night sky over himself.

Zhou Huai’s mind stirred, and he pulled up Gandalf’s attribute panel.

Clone Panel (Gandalf)

Profession: Unique Hidden Profession, SS-Rank Forbidden Spell Mage

Rank: LV20 (125801 / 1500000)

Health Points: 6710 / 6710

Mana Points: 15111 / 15111

Strength: 980

Agility: 886

Stamina: 891 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

Mental Energy: 2889

Magic Damage: 6087

Physical Defense: 501

Magic Resistance: 1089

Zhou Huai’s breath hitched for a moment.

This panel was already comparable to a Rank 40 or 50 professional.

The star moon set itself didn’t provide top-tier basic attribute bonuses.

But its set effects made Zhou Huai’s heart burn with excitement.

Gandalf’s passive 【Elemental Mastery】 already reduced skill cooldowns by 30%.

And the star moon set’s effect could reduce it by another 30% on top of that.

That wasn’t all.

During the two days Ouyezi spent forging, relying on his skill 【Touch of Spiritual Refinement】, he managed to roll two Advanced skill cooldown reduction affixes, each reducing cooldowns by 5%.

This meant that the total cooldown reduction reached an extremely terrifying level.

Zhou Huai quickly calculated.

The cooldown of Forbidden Spell - Meteor Shower, which was originally sixty seconds, suddenly shortened to an astonishing thirteen seconds!

The cooldown of Forbidden Spell: Thousand-Mile Ice Seal, from ninety seconds, shortened to forty seconds!

The cooldown of Arcane Barrier only required twenty-six seconds!

The enemy probably wouldn’t even break his shield before a new one was already ready.

As for the Geocentric Gravity Field, with its long one-hundred-twenty-second {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} cooldown, it now only needed fifty-two seconds!

Not only that.

The Rank 20 Gandalf also learned a new skill.

It was well known.

All combat professions would learn a ultimate skill upon reaching Rank 20.

Gandalf was no exception.

Forbidden Spell: Blazing Blade Storm: Consumes 10000 Mana points to summon several giant wind blade storms in the designated area, sweeping all hostile targets within a 2000-meter radius, continuously dealing devastating damage. Duration: 30 seconds. Cooldown: 600 seconds.

Just by looking at the skill description, it lived up to its name as an ultimate skill.

It was currently the widest-ranging, longest-lasting, and possibly highest-damaging skill Gandalf possessed.

The only drawbacks were its high mana cost and a ten-minute cooldown.

However, with the various cooldown reductions, the actual cooldown of this skill had already shortened to less than five minutes.

Truly abnormal.

Besides the set, Ouyezi also custom-crafted a brand new staff for Gandalf.

core of pyroblast (Epic ☆ ☆ ☆)

Equipment Requirement: LV20

Magic Damage + 350

Spirit + 150

Attached Skill: Split Fireball (LV1)

Effect: Consumes 200 Mana points to launch a fireball, which splits into three small fireballs upon hitting the target, dealing secondary damage to surrounding enemies. Cooldown: 10 seconds.

The staff’s attributes seemed a bit underwhelming compared to Gandalf’s current panel.

But what Zhou Huai valued was the small skill it came with.

This was a rare skill affix that Ouyezi had managed to roll through a burst of luck during forging.

It perfectly compensated for Gandalf’s lack of small skills, avoiding the awkward situation of “using a cannon to swat a fly.”

Everything was ready.

Gandalf didn’t hesitate, turning to walk out of the forging room.

Lin Wei, who was guarding the door, watched as this mysterious white-robed Mage, so grandly wearing the entire priceless Epic equipment set, swaggered away.

She was completely stunned.

That was an entire set of Epic-quality equipment!

Each piece was enough to cause a frenzy at an auction!

Great Master Ouyezi had tirelessly hammered away at it for two days and two nights!

And it was just... given away?

Without even being paid!

Lin Wei’s mind was in a complete mess.

She remembered a few days ago, that cold swordsman wearing a mask, who did the same.

He took the equipment and left as if it were his right.

Without even a word of thanks.

And Great Master Ouyezi didn't show the slightest displeasure.

What exactly was going on?

One had to know, these past few days, as Great Master Ouyezi’s reputation grew.

The disciples of various guilds and aristocratic families in Donghai City had practically worn out the threshold of the Forging Guild.

Countless people waved checks, offering millions or even tens of millions, just to have the Great Master custom-craft a piece of equipment for them.

But they were all coldly rejected by Ouyezi, on the grounds that he was “currently forging a set and had no time.”

Lin Wei had originally thought this set of equipment was for the heir of some top-tier power.

Who would have thought it would be so easily taken by a Mage of unknown origin?

She finally couldn’t help but pluck up her courage, cautiously approaching Ouyezi.

“Great... Great Master...”

Her voice was as faint as a mosquito’s buzz.

“That person just now... who was he?”

Ouyezi was about to close the forging room door when he paused.

He turned his head, his face, which Zhou Huai had made somewhat stern, showed no emotion.

“A friend.”

Concise and to the point.

After speaking, he no longer paid attention to the dumbfounded Lin Wei, and closed the heavy forging room door with a backhand.

“Bang!”

The heavy sound of the door closing made Lin Wei tremble, pulling her back from her shock.

A friend?

She stood rooted to the spot, muttering to herself.

Just... just a friend?

What kind of friend would make you give away an Epic set worth millions without batting an eye!

Lin Wei’s heart instantly felt like a spilled spice bottle, a mix of sour, sweet, bitter, spicy, and a hundred other flavors.

There was envy, jealousy, and a hint of an indescribable... yearning.

To be honest, I also want to be your friend.

If... if I could be a girlfriend, that would be even better.

As soon as this thought emerged, Lin Wei’s cheeks flushed “whoosh,” red like a ripe apple.

She shook her head vigorously, trying to shake these unrealistic fantasies out of her mind.

But Great Master Ouyezi’s focused and handsome profile, however, could not be banished.

Inside the forging room, the “clink-clank” of hammering began again.

Ouyezi had started his new round of forging.

...

On the other side.

Gandalf, having left the Forging Guild, had already arrived at the entrance of Donghai No. 1 High School.

It was bustling with people, lively and vibrant.

Several large buses, emblazoned with a unified emblem, were neatly parked in the square.

Zhou Huai controlled Gandalf, preparing to board the school bus to travel together to Jiangning City, the provincial capital of Dongning Province.