Chapter 168 – Entering the City With a Red Name (1/2)
Chapter 168 – Entering the City With a Red Name
Nie Yan arrived at the hollow tree where he first discovered the dark golden chest. He dropped down to one knee. Absolutely giddy with anticipation, he inserted the key into the chest.
It fit perfectly. As he turned the key, he could feel the complexity of the lock’s internal mechanisms. He feared even a Specialist Key might not be able to open it.
Opening… Estimated Completion: 1%… 10%…
A moment later, the chest opened with a light click.
After rummaging through, he noticed there were quite a few things inside. Indeed, it certainly deserved to be called a treasure chest. He took the items out to examine.
Fire Essence Extract x3
Enchanted Blackvein Gold x6
Enchanted Runestones x6
Excluding the materials, he also obtained a gem and a skill book.They were materials for the Dullahan Cavalry Crossbow which would have taken him ages to gather. He didn’t expect to be handed them right away after leaving the quest map. As for the other two materials, Fire Source Crystals and Magic Redwood Logs, though they might be expensive, they weren’t particularly hard to find, appearing every now and then in the auction house.
Gem of Darkness (9): Socketable Item
Properties: Convert 10% of Attack to Piercing Dark Damage, 1% Defense Ignore, −10% Equipment Requirements
It actually had a quality rating of 9! In the entire game, it was one of the highest quality gems! Nie Yan bitterly chuckled. Although he obtained an incredible gem, he didn’t have any pieces of equipment worthy of pairing it with. Socketing it into a low-quality piece was tantamount to throwing a beautiful bouquet of flowers into a pile of cow manure, so only something Sub-Legendary or above was suitable. It seemed he would have to wait until the Dullahan Cavalry Crossbow was successfully crafted.
He examined the skill book. His mind trembled when he read the name. It was actually a Lockpicking skill book, moreover, the best kind—Specialist Lockpicking! It had two special properties: every time he opened a chest, he had a 10% chance of receiving an additional point of proficiency and Ignore Treasure Chest Level +10.
Although Specialist Lockpicking was only at Junior-rank right now, he felt improving its proficiency wouldn’t pose a problem. After all, he knew the plenty of locations with hidden chests. At worst, he would have to set aside some time for ranking up the skill to ensure that he’d be able to access some of the higher grade chests he wished to open later on.
Nie Yan was finally ready to return to Calore when another search around the isle failed to turn up anything new. His bag was nearly filled to the brim. Were it not for him finding a second Magic Rune Bag, he would have run out of inventory space long ago.
Well, it’s time to go back. I should be fine for now… considering my Influence there is over 30.
From his bag, he took out a black garb to hide his appearance. As for his red name… he could only let it be since he had no way of veiling it.
After channeling a Return Scroll, he teleported back to Calore as a flash of light enveloped him.
Back in Calore, the area around the transfer point was full of players setting out to train, waiting for others, or looking to form groups. When Nie Yan stepped out, they all looked at him with sluggish expressions.
“What the hell? Returning with a red name…? Does this guy not want to live anymore? Hey, buddy, if you wanna die just say the word! I’ll gladly send you to the graveyard!”
“Just how many players did he kill? His name’s already so red…”
“Is he not afraid of the guards attacking him?”
Everyone cleared a path for him as he passed by, discussing in hushed tones. With his black garb and deep crimson name, he was shrouded in mystery. Though no one could make out his appearance, their first impression of him was that he was extremely dangerous!
When he swept his gaze over the crowd, they felt their hearts tighten and hastily retreated several steps further.
Even though player killing was prohibited in the city, they still felt an oppressive pressure from Nie Yan’s red name.
As a squadron of fully equipped city guards in silver armour approached, the players quickly made way for them.
“Look, they’ve come! That guy’s dead for sure…”
The crowd all wore expressions of schadenfreude. They didn’t believe for a second that he would be capable of putting up a fight. The city guards were all Level 100 Elites at least. Even the standard equipment assigned to them radiated a frightening aura.
However, what happened next shook the minds of everyone present. Their jaws dropped as they reeled back in shock.
Not only did the guards not attack, their captain even walked forward to greet him quite respectfully.
“Greetings, Sir Demon Hunter,” the guard captain said in a deferential manner.
After nodding his head, Nie Yan no longer paid attention to them. The guards were tasked with maintaining law and order. They had no real influence in Calore, so it was fine to just ignore them.
Brushing past them, he headed directly for the Asskickers United guild headquarters.