Chapter 3 Chanter Griffin (1/2)
”D*mned Devils, if I had a sword, you would all be dead!” The Sword Saint shouted while wielding a tattered wooden pole. To a Sword Artist, his weapon was akin to his life!
The Wind Rider Sword Saint was one of the Warrior Heroes. Every job had three heroes. The difference lied in the location in which they were guarding in the Mainland. The Wind Rider Sword Saint was one of them. After a particular natural disaster, the heroes together created a seal, and each of them contributed their powers to sustain the seal. The Wind Rider Sword Saint was an honest and upright person, and hence he contributed all of his powers.
After he lost all his powers, he went into hiding. However, the natural disasters seal showed signs of weakening, and thus he had no choice but to come out of hiding and try his best to ward off the monsters causing the natural disasters and look for a promising warrior to undergo his training. In time to come, becoming a disciple of the Sword Saint was a necessary requirement to have a job change to become a Legend.
”Whoosh~”
An Inferior Bronze Sword flew across, forming the trajectory of an arc, into the hands of the Wind Rider Sword Saint.
A sword was still a sword regardless of how inferior it was!
”Go to hell!” The Sword Saint shouted, as a sudden burst of the sword's aura immediately killed all of the Fear Devils.
Lin Jie ecstatically picked up the coins on the ground. Ten monsters dropped merely 4 bronze coins. This showed how low the drop rate for the in-game coins really was.
Lin Jie respectfully said, ”Hello, respected warrior.”
The Sword Saint kept hiding his real identity. If he had pretended to be smart and revealed his identity, his favorability points would have been reduced by 10. In the previous life, Lin Jie had naively done that and had learned his lesson for this time so this time. Unless the Sword Saint revealed the identity on his own, Lin Jie knew that he should never do so.
”Thank you, young man.” The Sword Saint was a stubborn person. As his hair drifted along with the wind, he continued, ”You saved me. I should rightfully reward you. What do you wish for?”
'There it is!' Lin Jie held his breath in sharp focus.
NPCs had their own personalities. The Sword Saint's personality was one of directness, or rather, bluntness. Take the current situation as an example, if one shyly said, ”It is only right to help you.” Then they would not have gotten anything in return.
On the other hand, if one wished for too much, they would not only not get what they wanted, their favorability points would also get deducted.
”I want to learn the way of the sword,” Lin Jie said in a serious tone.
”Sure.” The Sword Saint nodded his head and continued, ”The way of the sword lies in being agile…”
'Ding~'
—'The Anonymous Sword Artist explained to you the skills of using the sword, your attacks while equipped with a sword will now deal +3 damage. You have learned [Blade Aura Executioner]'
—'The Anonymous Swordman's favorability towards you has increased by 10 points.'
”Young man, I hope you practice diligently and may we meet again.” The Sword Saint smiled and made an elegant exit.
Lin Jie was thrilled.
In his previous life, the first player who accepted the Sword Saint's quest was also the one who had received the Heritage Cape, Ophadi Wantless. He was said to have obtained a treasure map and from there unearthed a Skill Book. But so what? It was utter trash compared to the personal coaching provided by the Sword Saint himself!
— Blade Aura Executioner: Level 1, Familiarity 0/3000. Active ability, once activated, your attacks drain 3 mana and gain the Blade Aura, increasing damage by 10%.
That ability's crux did not lie in its damage. It was a symbol of acceptance by the Sword Saint himself. Although he kept a low profile, in the eyes of an NPC, he was a hero. As long as he cast that skill, he could show off in front of powerful NPCs.
Only after waiting for the Sword Saint to leave did Lin Jie return to the Town of Meyer. The Captain respectfully bowed and said, ”Thank you, human. You have helped us rescue three of our brave soldiers.”
'Ding~'
—'You have gained 200 experience points. You have gained 30 bronze coins. You have gained 200 points of popularity from the Town of Meyer.'
—'Your favorability in the eyes of the Town of Meyer's Captain has increased by 50.'
Gaining the favor of the Captain was the biggest reward of this quest!
The favor of the NPCs influenced the attitude of other players, according to the words of the Captain of the Guards. His responsibility was to kill all the monsters in the vicinity of the Town of Meyer. After players obtained his favor, he would ensure their safety.
”War is imminent. The Guild of Light is already worn out from its defense efforts. You all will become the mainstay in the defense against the enemies from hell!” The Captain said in a serious tone. ”However, you are still too weak right now. Young man, remember, you can explore the vicinity of the Town of Meyer but please do not ever venture too deep into the Umbral Plains.”
Lin Jie nodded and left for the Town of Meyer under the pleas of the Captain of the Guards.
Lin Jie had obtained 30 bronze coins, so he headed to the equipment store.
”Hello, young adventurer.” The equipment store owner, who was a middle-aged man in his forties with a huge mustache, politely acknowledged Lin Jie. That kind of artificial intelligence had widespread applications within The New Age.
This equipment store sold magic equipment as well as engineering equipment.
Lin Jie spent 20 bronze coins and bought 5 [Simple Freeze Traps], 5 [Touch-Triggered Shackles] and [Life Powder], and even spent 8 bronze coins on a [Fire Gun] with an offense point of 1 - 2.
[Simple Freeze Trap]: You set a freeze trap, causing anyone triggering it to have 35% reduced movement speed lasting for 3 seconds. This trap is completely effective against monsters of level 3 and below.
[Touch-triggered Shackles]: Every set of touch-triggered shackles consists of 100 venomous snake eggs, which die after 30 seconds. When there are more than 20 eggs alive, the target is stunned for 1.5 seconds. This shackle is completely effective against organisms of level 5 and below.
The effective range of the fire gun was 30 yards. In The New Age, the two melee jobs, Warriors, and Bandits could use ranged weapons including the fire gun and the bow. Among them, the Bandit could also use flying daggers.
After donning his equipment, he spent a further 2 bronze coins on a bundle of 20 loaves of bread. Lin Jie spent the entirety of his quest reward of 30 bronze coins!
His destination was the place that the Captain of the Guards had said that he should never go - the Umbral Plains! The Umbral Plains lied in the west part of the Town of Meyer. The lowest leveled organism there was level 3 and the monsters there were highly aggressive. It was a place that new players should never go.
”Hey kid, do not go too deep into the Umbral Plains!” The Captain of the Guards warned Lin Jie before he left. The difference brought about by the increase in favorability points was evident.
Lin Jie headed northwest. The surrounding ground gradually turned from black to green.
—'You have entered the Umbral Plains.'
Lin Jie carefully treaded on the plains. This place spawned new level 3 Flame Demons, level 4 Fear Devils, level 4 Bare-bone Skeletons. After forging a path through those monsters, Lin Jie reached his destination— the ”Dark Servant” spawning grounds.
[Dark Servant]: Level 5 biological creature, Health Points: 250.
Dark Servants were fallen humans who willingly gave up their beliefs in order to survive. They could use [Stealth] and were one of the few monsters which used magic as their primary offense. Their damage experienced points were especially high. One Dark Servant could barely be killed by a small level 5 team.
However, that wasn't Lin Jie's target! His target was the lead chanter chanting the Bible of Darkness in numerous Dark Servant centers.
[Chanter Griffin]: Level 5 Bronze-tiered Boss, Health Points: 1100
Chanter Griffin was one of the few Bosses with a name. Bosses with a name proved that they had a past. They had much better skills and drop rates than other Bosses of the same level.
Lin Jie retrieved the Simple Freeze Trap and started assembling it. This kind of equipment was classified as something meant for new players to experience and was only effective against low-leveled monsters, and almost completely ineffective against high-leveled monsters.
Assembling the trap required one minute.
After Lin Jie assembled the Simple Freeze Trap, he retreated 30 yards and retrieved a cloth bag, containing many small snake eggs, which served as the shackles. The principles of how it worked were similar to that of making use of the heat generated by stepping on it to incubate it. The venomous snake would bite and inject venom into its target, incapacitating it.
The Touch-Triggered Shackles' effective time was very short. Although the venomous snake eggs could survive for 30 seconds, if the buried assembly lasted for more than 10 minutes, the inner parts of the venomous snake eggs would die in large batches. They would then completely lose their effectiveness.
The Life Powder was a 'fertilizer' in The New Age. Normally it was meant for farming, but it could also increase the lifespan of the venomous snake eggs and reduce the chances of death of the venomous snake. That, in turn, increased the rate of success of the incapacitating assembly.
After spending 10 minutes, Lin Jie completed setting up all of his traps. In the Dark Servant spawning grounds far away, Chanter Griffin stood there and became the target of Lin Jie's fire gun.
'Bang!'
A bullet engulfed in flames penetrated the Boss' skull and caused 1 point of damage!
The Boss got furious and charged towards Lin Jie! Lin Jie started fleeing, but the Boss had a very fast basic movement speed, which was faster than Lin Jie's by more than 30%!
'Bang!'
The Boss stepped right on the freezing traps, causing multiple ice shards to fly out and securely root its legs, which greatly reduced its movement speed! When the Boss freed itself, Lin Jie had already fled for about 20 yards.
When it once again caught up with Lin Jie due to its speed advantage, the ground sank in again! Chanter Griffin was immune towards crowd control abilities, and the same trap was ineffective when used twice in succession!
However, this time it was not the freezing traps but a group of small venomous snakes. They sank their fangs deeply into Griffin's body, causing it to be stunned instantly and unable to move. Lin Jie made use of this time to continue retreating!
After the two traps were set off, Lin Jie had already fled more than 30 yards. If he had continued retreating, the Boss would have given up its hostile intents.
Luring a prey was a skill to master.
Indeed, the Boss' movement started to become slower, and it even looked back at its own territory. Those were signs of giving up its hostile intents! Lin Jie raised his fire gun and shot a bullet once again. This time it was a critical hit!
After being repeatedly taunted by a human, the Boss became furious and its hostility stabilized!
Immediately after, the cycle of getting trapped and then freeing itself repeated until Lin Jie and the Boss gradually got near the Town of Meyer. Lin Jie noticed that the Captain of the Guards had already caught sight of him, and hence he retrieved his rusting bronze sword. He swung the sword across, exuding its Blade Aura, which burst in the Boss' chest!
-2!
Finally, the Boss caught up and shot a dark arrow, which viciously knocked Lin Jie back! He was badly damaged by 45 Health Points!
”D*mn it,” Lin Jie cursed as he noticed the blood spurting out. He retreated a few steps and ended up within 20 yards of the Captain of the Guards!
The Captain of the Guards frowned and shouted, ”Get ready!”
The guards' responsibility was to protect the town, and they would retaliate only if monsters threatened the safety of the town's residents. At the same time, Lin Jie was nearby fighting monsters and was in a precarious position.
The Captain looked at the three soldiers, whom Lin Jie had rescued, and let out a look of seriousness. He conjured a beam of holy light between his hands and cast a holy spell on Lin Jie!
+50!
[Holy Strength]: You gain 3% reduced damage from Dark-type attacks and your attacks become augmented with 2 points of Light-type damage.
Lin Jie was delighted, as his plan worked!