Chapter 414 - Rock Giant Stargazers (1/2)
Chapter 414 - Rock Giant Stargazers
After completing their transaction, Nie Yan and Warlance bid each other farewell, with the latter leaving first.
Nie Yan looked at the equipment in his bag, several dozen pieces that increased Night Vision, a few that increased Focus, and the rest increased Shadow Damage. The demand for Night Vision equipment on the surface was finite. Since so many pieces had been sold only a week ago, if another batch were to flood the market so soon, the equipment likely wouldn’t sell to their full potential. Additional time was required to allow players to digest. Although equipment that increased Shadow Damage wasn’t as popular on the surface, it would still sell well enough.
After sorting out his inventory, Nie Yan stood up and walked toward the tavern exit. Shortly after, the two Great Thieves also got up and left. Giving up on their pursuit of Warlance, they entered stealth to tail Nie Yan and find out his identity instead.
Nie Yan glanced at his status bar. He had been marked by Pursuit, a Spectral Thief exclusive skill that allowed the tracking of an invisible target. However, the mark would disappear if the target got more than 100 meters away.
Nie Yan looped around the area, using the 20% speed boost from Gale Step to throw off his pursuers, before he exited Ivory Village and sprinted off into the wilderness. By the time the two Great Thieves realized they had been fooled, Nie Yan was long gone. He had faded into the eternal night that shrouded the Underworld.
Nie Yan made his way through the wilderness. Every so often, he spotted players from various guilds wandering about, searching every nook and cranny for him to no avail.
Six different guilds! Looks like Fallen Angel made quite a few enemies this time. But… they still can’t catch me.
Finding a spot hidden away from view, Nie Yan ditched his black cloak and switched back to the Righteous Faction.
Nie Yan started looking for a place to level. When the Dark Portal came off cooldown in two days, he could finally return to the surface.
After grinding for a full five hours, Nie Yan found himself in a dense forested region full of Level 70+ monsters. At this moment, Bennett’s Soul floated out of the journal and appeared before him. To his surprise, it had grown bigger and brighter than before.
Bennett’s Soul drifted through the woods much faster than before. Nie Yan picked up his pace to keep up as it made a beeline toward the south.
Half an hour later, after passing through numerous maps, Nie Yan arrived in a region full of Level 100+ monster. His scalp turned numb. The monsters here could kill him with a single attack. Level 100 was a watershed like Level 50. An ordinary Level 100 monster was as strong as a Level 90 Elite. Similarly, the equipment at Level 100 became much better as well. For example, the base stats of Level 100 White-grade equipment were equivalent to that of Level 90 Gold-grade equipment. The drop rate also saw a sharp decline, about one in a few hundred. As a result, many players would find themselves stalling at this level.
Nie Yan had first-hand experience of how difficult it was to overcome this barrier. When he had reached Level 100 in his past life, even white-grade equipment cost an arm and a leg. It wasn’t until much later, as Level 100+ players grew more abundant, that prices slowly fell to more reasonable levels.
Trying to fight a Level 100+ monster with Level 50 equipment was nothing short of courting death. Take the Guardian of Order as an example, even if it was a Level 100 monster with inferior intelligence, it was still an immensely powerful existence.
Nie Yan surveyed his surroundings and spotted several Rock Giants roaming around up ahead. They were five meters tall with bulging muscles and marble-like skin, and wielded spiked clubs embedded with wolf teeth.
Nie Yan snuck up to one of the Rock Giants and activated Transcendent Insight.
Rock Giant Hunters: Level 100
Health: 110,000/110,000
Nie Yan looked up the information page for Rock Giant Hunters on the official website.
Though relatively weak for Level 100 monsters, Rock Giant Hunters couldn’t be underestimated. They possessed smart combat AI, strong defensive and offensive skills, and their attacks could stun. They could be best described as caster killers. Their stun in combination with their quick speed allowed them to jump on players in no time. Only those with at least 500 movement speed would have any hope of keeping up with them.
Nie Yan didn’t wish to tangle with these Rock Giant Hunters. But Empress Finas’ Venom Sac was too important to him. Since he was already so close to his goal, it would be a shame to turn back now.
As Bennett’s Soul flew off into the distance, Nie Yan cautiously proceeded forward. He made sure to maintain a distance of no less than 30 meters between him and any of the Rock Giant Hunters. The level discrepancy was too high. Any closer and he would likely be noticed.
Nie Yan eventually arrived at the entrance to a ravine and spotted seven Rock Giant Hunters blocking the path forward.
Bennett’s Soul flew over to Nie Yan and bounced up and down in front of his face. It seemed to be telling him that Empress Finas’ Venom Sac was in this ravine.
Nie Yan touched the rock walls to the side and noticed they were covered in a slippery substance. He couldn’t make use of the Crawler Ring. He had to think of another way.
After observing the movements of the Rock Giant Hunters, Nie Yan activated Pygmy Transformation and started making his way forward while sticking close to the wall. Before long, he was near enough to make out the full appearance of the Rock Giants. Their sinister faces and immense size, especially now that he was a third of his normal size, made them quite frightening.
Nie Yan didn’t know what the safe distance between him and the Rock Giant Hunters was while in pygmy form. He gradually neared the 30-meter mark, his body hidden in the shadows cast by the rock walls.
As the the Rock Giant Hunters patrolled around, the one closest to Nie Yan starting walking in his direction.