Chapter 134 – Red Name (1/2)

Chapter 134 – Red Name

Nie Yan glanced at his status bar and was disappointed to find his name branded in red. Though, now that he thought back to earlier, he was indeed the one who had drawn first blood. However, the circumstances at that time were very tense. He had no time to thoroughly consider the consequences of his actions. After all, if Night Shadow got the first attack in while he still held the Zombie King’s aggro, then he would be sandwiched between two enemies and it would without a doubt mark his death.

Sadly, there was nothing he could do about this since the system rules for player interaction were as such. Truthfully, the act of PKing, or player killing, was a form of recreation unto itself. To effortlessly dispose of an opponent while staying within the boundaries set by the game, now that was the highest level of play very few could achieve.

In his earlier predicament, it was impossible for him to yield the first attack to the enemy. As for cutting his losses and leaving, that was even more of an impossibility! However, he had to admit he did have such an urge at the back of his mind. However, in those circumstances, who would possibly submit to such humiliation!?

Though, after killing those three players, his name had been branded in a deep crimson red.

Nonetheless, it wasn’t anything so alarming that it would make him worry. In his past life, he had been branded red at least several dozen times over. In especially chaotic battles, being branded red two or three times in a single day was a fairly regular occurrence. Even though his name was branded red, based on his current gear, if other players wished to kill him, it would be as difficult as ascending the heavens. If he wanted to escape, there was no one who would be able to bar his way! This was why he wasn’t feeling the least bit anxious.

However, based on his current Influence in Calore, while his name was still branded red, he would immediately be attacked by the guards upon being spotted.

Nie Yan suddenly recalled, if his name was red, he could simply hunt Scaled Frogs!

They were especially great monsters for reducing the PKer status effect. Not to mention while under a red name, they gave increased experience and higher drop rates. Sometimes, if a player was lucky, they would drop a special present known as the Killer’s Demonic Medallion!

Perhaps there’s still some good that can come out of this.

His battle with Tangerine, Night Shadow, and Hidden Blade was a wake-up call. The two chapters from the Book of Order and the fragment of Sulgata’s Shadow were items that would benefit him greatly in the future. After all, he would receive four more stat points than the average player every five levels. However, since he had spent so much time gathering them, the rest of his gear became lacking as a result, a reminder that he needed to be faster with levelling and collecting better equipment; otherwise, he might not be so lucky in his next encounter.

After reaffirming his resolve, he examined the Level 10 Arcane Mage Staff in his hands.

Blackwind Staff (Gold)

Requirements: Level 10

Properties: Magic Power 62–68, +30 Explosion Damage, +30% damage against Beast-type monsters

Weight: 2 lb

Restrictions: Arcane Mage; can only be equipped by members of the Righteous Guardian of Order.

It turns out that woman actually had this sort of weapon! No wonder she dealt so much damage. No matter how high my defense was, it would have still been useless… I should give this staff to Tang Yao, just in time too since he’s about to hit Level 10. Then, after switching his gear, we can just leave to do the quest. But without Sacrificial Gambit, I’m not sure we can still succeed. I ought to get Tang Yao some better spells to increase our chances.

Nie Yan proceeded to examine the equipment the two other players dropped. Night Shadow dropped the Blackwing Cloak. Since it could only be equipped by Battle Thieves, Nie Yan was helpless in the matter. Meanwhile, Hidden Blade dropped a piece of Warrior armour.

Finally, he moved on to the item the Zombie King dropped which gave him a pleasant surprise.

Zombie King’s Leather Leg Guards (Gold)

Requirements: Level 10

Properties: Defense: 29–35, Resilience +12, Movement Speed +16

Weight: 2 lb

Restrictions: Thief; can be equipped by all factions.

「How are things on your side?」Nie Yan popped Tang Yao a message.

「I just hit Level 10, so I’m about to head back to Calore. Are we going to do the quest next?」Tang Yao asked. Now that he had a Rank 3 Arcane Fairy by his side, he really wanted to test it out against some stronger mobs.

「We’re having a slight change of plans. My name is red…」Nie Yan let out a forced smile as he helplessly replied.

Tang Yao was momentarily left speechless. After pulling himself together, he exclaimed,「R-red name? Did you just PK someone!?」

「Three, actually. Members of Victorious Return, they tried kill stealing an Elite from me. In the end, I finished them off.」

「Holy crap! You’re amazing! You were actually able to take on all three of them at once? What level were they? 」Tang Yao didn’t seem disappointed at all by the fact that Nie Yan was branded with a red name and had to delay their plans. On the contrary, it was actually quite the opposite; he was elated—not because Nie Yan had to delay their plans or because he was branded as a PKer, but because he had single-handedly fought three opponents at once… and won! That was an incredible feat!

「They were all Level 10.」

「Dear Lord…! Level 10!? And here I thought they were all low-level trash!」Tang Yao was given quite a shock. He knew exactly what a Level 10 player in a major guild signified. It meant they were the elites of the guild, members of the main dungeon running team, and certainly not someone like him who had relied on grinding mobs endlessly in a single area to level up! Yet this brother of his had actually managed to deal with—not one, but three such frightening existences! At a time where the vast majority of players were still levelling in low-level zones, this sort of achievement was simply inconceivable!

A lone player had PKed three members of Victorious Return’s elite team… Such a fact was still hard for him to accept.

After a moment of silence as he processed this information, he finally spoke.「Alright… I understand! Tell me where you are, and I’ll meet you there. Don’t get killed by other players in the meantime. If you do, you’ll end up dropping all your gear.」This sole matter was Tang Yao’s only worry. Though, after giving it a second thought, he believed he might have been overthinking things. With Nie Yan’s ability, the fact that he wasn’t purposefully causing trouble for other players was already a godsend for the entire community. If other players wanted to kill his brother, then they better start reconsidering their own life choices!