Looking at the gray-robed elder, Shi Feng truly couldn't believe his own eyes.
A Tier 4 class!
This was a genuine powerhouse standing at the very peak of the Divine Realm!
While Shi Feng stood there stunned, Water Rose quickly noticed this Tier 4 Magician as well, her eyes filled with astonishment — though a trace of disappointment soon flickered across her gaze.
Not for any other reason than this gray-robed elder's potential.
"What a pity," Water Rose couldn't help but sigh. "A Tier 4 class is certainly formidable, but with only Mythril Rank potential, they simply won't go very far down the road ahead."
Normally, Bronze Rank and Iron Rank NPCs could reach Tier 3 at most before hitting their ceiling. Mythril Rank potential was vastly superior to Bronze and Iron, but reaching Tier 4 was about the extent of it — the hope of pushing toward Tier 5 was practically nonexistent.
Tier 3 classes were becoming increasingly common these days. It wouldn't be long before the top experts of every major superpower began attempting the breakthrough to Tier 4. When that time came, the effectiveness of Tier 4 NPCs would be extremely limited, let alone Mythril Rank Tier 4 NPCs. In terms of combat power, they'd be roughly on par with a fully geared and skilled Tier 4 human expert — and even then, the advantage would be marginal at best.
"A pity?" Shi Feng heard this and simply chuckled inwardly, shaking his head without saying a word.
"Guild Leader, we're incredibly lucky this time! We actually have two Dark Gold-ranked guards — one a Guardian Knight and the other a Priest. Combined with your two guards, we could form a complete raid party to handle those high-level field bosses without worry!" Shuise Qiangwei said excitedly.
Shi Feng held the title of Baron in White River City, which granted him the authority to recruit four direct subordinates as guards. He could absolutely take two of them as direct guards, especially since Dark Gold-ranked guards were exceedingly rare — so rare that even the major superpowers didn't have any. If they did, it would be in only a handful of top factions at most.
"I'll pass on these two Dark Gold guards. Leave them for you and Qingxue to nurture. You both hold Baron titles now, so you should have spare slots for direct guards." Shi Feng shook his head. "I'll just take the gray-robed old man."
Dark Gold-ranked guards were immensely helpful to players, especially in situations where death wasn't a concern — the benefit was even greater. If they could assemble a standard four-person raid party, it would be practically a dream scenario.
However, he usually operated alone. Rather than having them follow him around, it would be far better to let Shuise Qiangwei and Bai Qingxue take them, since the two of them always operated in teams. With two Dark Gold-ranked guards accompanying them, the benefit to both their personal growth and their teams would be maximized.
"Guild Leader, that gray-robed man only has Mythril Rank potential..." Shuise Qiangwei was visibly shocked upon hearing this.
As the guild leader, he was the role model and face of the entire guild. Even if he didn't bring Dark Gold-ranked guards, he should at least bring Gold-grade guards. If he were seen with a Mythril Rank guard, even as a Tier 4 Magister, people would surely laugh.
"Mythril potential isn't that low." Shi Feng looked at Shuise Qiangwei's attempt to dissuade him and couldn't help but shake his head with an amused smile. "Not to mention he's already a Tier 4 Magister — in kingdoms and empires, he'd be a governor of a major city, a true regional power."
Zero Wing currently had over thirty Gold-grade guards, which made Mythril Rank guards seem worthless by comparison. But among the major superpowers, most only had two or three Gold-grade guards at best — some might not even have that many.
Generally, once a guard's potential reached Mythril Rank, the major superpowers would already treat them like revered ancestors, let alone a Mythril Rank guard who had already advanced to a Tier 4 class.
After all, even Mythril Rank guards only had a chance of advancing to a Tier 4 Class — it was by no means guaranteed, because advancing to Tier 4 was not only a massive watershed for players, but even for NPCs as well. Attempting to break through was extraordinarily difficult.
Gold-grade guards simply had a higher probability of advancing to a Tier 4 Class than Mythril Rank guards — and that was all. This was the same reason why so many Bronze Rank and Iron Rank personal guards, despite having reached Level 100, still hadn't advanced to a Tier 3 Class, let alone the dragon-leaping-over-the-gate achievement of a Tier 4 Class.
In truth, the odds of a Gold-grade guard advancing to Tier 4 were only around thirty percent. Dark Gold-grade guards fared a bit better, reaching roughly forty percent. Even that required continuously consuming vast quantities of resources and undergoing one challenge after another before it was even remotely achievable.