Chapter 8

After appraising his equipment, Nie Yan walked out, glancing down at his skill bar. There were only two skills in it: Stealth and Critical Strike.

A perfect thief is built upon a multitude of skills. A thief can do without equipment, but they absolutely cannot do without skills.

Nie Yan was well aware of the initial few spots where one could farm thief skill books, but he wouldn’t go to great lengths to farm those skill books. Any skill book that could be farmed could also be bought on the market.

Where else could he get a beginner’s rare skill book?

Nie Yan slapped his forehead. How could I have forgotten this?

For a thief, to maintain combat capability, they often choose either alchemy or bandaging. Alchemy involves making various health potions and elixirs. In battle, a health potion is equivalent to a second life. Drinking a slow recovery potion after battle can quickly restore one’s combat capability, accelerating leveling speed. Bandages, on the other hand, are less effective than instant health potions and can only be used after the battle ends.

Nie Yan knew of a place where he could learn a rare combat bandaging skill.

In the future, when his level is higher, buying intermediate or higher instant and slow recovery potions from the market would be very expensive. After all, each bottle of instant or slow recovery potion is painstakingly obtained by players, and the prices are high. Unless one is wealthy, ordinary players often can’t afford to use instant and slow recovery potions frequently.

However, Nie Yan was different. He had a large number of quick money-making methods in his head, so he didn’t have to worry about money. In the future, he could buy instant and slow recovery potions from the market, so there was no need to put effort into learning alchemy. But if he learned combat bandaging, it would greatly enhance his survival ability. After weighing the options, he made up his mind.

First, I’ll go learn combat bandaging.

Nie Yan spent two copper coins to buy two bottles of beginner underwater breathing potions from an NPC pharmacy and headed toward Rando Lake, not far from Trak Town.

Passing through several level 2 and 3 monster zones, many players were forming groups to farm monsters. They often occupied a region, with warriors and paladins, among other melee classes, pulling monsters, while mages continuously bombarded them. Some groups even brought priests, who, although they couldn’t heal yet and had weaker attacks than mages, were still very popular in groups. This was because a group that wanted to develop in the future had to build good relations with priests, as lacking a priest was like lacking an endless reserve of health.

As for thieves, they were easily left behind by groups in the early stages, but thieves were famous for their fast solo leveling. As long as they bought all the essential skills, a thief’s solo leveling speed was no less than that of a mage, so not being able to form a group was no big deal.

Leveling at various monster farming spots was quite monotonous, but they could chat and joke around, making the time pass quickly.

Nie Yan carefully navigated through these player farming zones. If players fought each other, the one who killed another would be marked in red and unable to return to the city. If killed while red, they would lose more levels and all their equipment. However, after farming monsters for a while, the red mark would disappear. Many players would take risks to get the equipment from others, even if it meant becoming red. For safety, one had to be very cautious when encountering unfamiliar people in the wild.

At the shore of Rando Lake, this was the spawning area for fishmen. It was said that fishmen were descendants of the ancient demon beast, the Naga. After countless generations, they evolved into their current form, with fish-like bodies and human limbs. Their weapons of attack were their sharp teeth and the tridents they held.

Fishmen are level 3 monsters, and there are many of them. Nearby is a fishman village, and Nie Yan had to pass through the edge of the village to enter Rando Lake, swim across, and then reach his destination.

The fishman village was situated by Rando Lake, with several hundred wooden huts scattered along the sandy shore. The village had at least three hundred fishmen, several dozen fishman leaders, and two elite fishmen. To clear this area, it would take over a thousand people.

Nie Yan was about to use Stealth to bypass the fishman village when a system announcement sounded.

Area Announcement: The Triumphant Guild will clear the area in three minutes. Players near the fishman village, please leave.

The Triumphant Guild? Nie Yan raised an eyebrow. In his previous life, he had some conflicts with the Triumphant Guild. They had a large number of members and acted arrogantly, often clearing areas. Once, one of Nie Yan’s brothers was killed by three Triumphant Guild members for not leaving the area, leading to a grudge. The Triumphant Guild pursued and killed him until he was reduced to level zero. At that time, Nie Yan and his group were weak and had to hide in the mountains for over a month to level up. Even after leveling up, they could only protect themselves and dared not confront a large guild like the Triumphant Guild.

That feeling of helplessness was unbearable.

In this life, such history would never repeat itself. This score must be settled, but not now.

Nie Yan had just entered the game and needed to accumulate capital step by step.

He ran toward the shore of Rando Lake.

Looking ahead, the green water met the blue sky, and the lake shimmered under the sunlight.

The Triumphant Guild members were nervously mobilizing. There were signs of their activity in many areas nearby, and it seemed they were preparing to attack the fishman village.

The fishman village was not a dungeon but a monster gathering point, where good items often dropped.

Nie Yan passed through a patch of low shrubs, about two hundred yards from the lake.

A fireball streaked across the sky, heading straight for Nie Yan.

A flash of fire, and Nie Yan’s vision passed through the trees, landing on an elemental mage in a red robe. It was a member of the Triumphant Guild, a level 3 elemental mage!

Mages are divided into three types: elemental mages, arcane mages, and holy mages. Elemental mages can control the elements of ice, fire, and lightning. Arcane mages can control arcane magic, and holy mages, the rarest, have the most difficult skills to master but are the strongest, capable of casting divine spells.

The fire magic of elemental mages has the highest damage among elemental spells.

By the time Nie Yan noticed the fireball, it was too late.

Boom! The fireball exploded on Nie Yan, reducing his health by twenty-two points.

System: Player Purple Flame has attacked you. You can defend yourself for 3 minutes.

When encountering a mage, one must either rush in and engage in close combat or run away quickly.

After confirming there were no other Triumphant Guild members around, Nie Yan charged at the elemental mage, Purple Flame.

Mages’ tactics involve maintaining distance from the enemy and bombarding them with spells.

Purple Flame jumped back, casting Flame Burst, another fireball, and then ran backward, trying to create distance between himself and Nie Yan.

When faced with a direct spell, players can dodge by rolling, but this would give the elemental mage the opportunity to create more distance. Nie Yan charged at the elemental mage, taking the fireball.

Boom! Another Flame Burst exploded on Nie Yan, reducing his health by twenty-seven points.

Each spell cast by Purple Flame required some casting time.

The elements of spellcasting include posture, language, materials, tools, and magical implements. Different spells require different casting elements. Some can be cast with just language, some require posture, and some need a combination of posture, language, and materials.

The casting elements and time vary for each spell.

Casting a spell is measured in syllables and gestures. One syllable is one second, and one gesture is one second. Ten syllables form a group of syllables, and ten gestures form a group of gestures. Syllables and gestures can be stacked.

The casting time for Flame Burst is two syllables and two gestures, totaling two seconds. Without learning the ability to cast while moving, casting Flame Burst requires a two-second pause.

Nie Yan took advantage of Purple Flame’s casting time to close the distance, landing a forward stab that reduced Purple Flame’s health by twenty-three points. Mages have very weak defenses.

Purple Flame leaped back and cast a Bursting Fire Ring, which spread flames in all directions.

Bursting Fire Ring can be cast with just one syllable.

At such close range, it was impossible to dodge. Nie Yan took the hit, suffering thirty-nine points of damage. He quickly took a bottle of beginner instant health potion from his belt and drank it.

Purple Flame’s movements were standard but not very smooth. Every mage gets a bit nervous when a thief gets close.

Taking advantage of the Bursting Fire Ring, he retreated.

With so many agility points, thieves excel in speed. At this moment, his speed gave him an advantage, allowing him to tightly pursue Purple Flame and land two consecutive forward stabs, reducing Purple Flame’s health by thirty-six points.

Another fireball from Purple Flame hit Nie Yan.

The casting time for spells is calculated in three-second intervals. Any spell with a casting time less than three seconds cannot be interrupted unless the caster dies. Even in close combat, Purple Flame could still counterattack Nie Yan.

With the high damage from the fireball, Nie Yan was left with twenty-five health points. Purple Flame retreated a bit, raised his staff, and began casting a spell. The fire element rapidly gathered around his staff, forming a ball.

In Purple Flame’s view, he still had fifty-one health points and was temporarily safe. Nie Yan, on the other hand, was down to twenty-five health points. One more fireball would finish him off.

As Purple Flame chanted, the fire element rapidly gathered, burning fiercely.

“Die!” Purple Flame felt he had everything under control, the fire illuminating his fierce face.

Nie Yan understood the danger. He was already close to Purple Flame, and his rage bar was full, meeting the requirements.

His dark eyes locked onto Purple Flame’s throat, and he switched his dagger to a reverse grip.

“Critical Strike!”

Nie Yan and Purple Flame passed each other, a cold light flashing across Purple Flame’s throat. A gap appeared, and blood spurted out.

System: Critical Strike completed, hit position off by 5%, causing additional damage.

-51, a damage number floated above Purple Flame’s head.

The fireball Purple Flame was casting dissipated upon his death. When a player dies, any spell they were casting is interrupted.

The tables had turned!

How is this possible!

His eyes were filled with disbelief.

Never underestimate a thief’s burst potential. Even when at a clear disadvantage, a thief is never safe, as the next moment, the one who dies might be you.

Purple Flame’s eyes dimmed, and he fell to the ground, still unable to understand how a level 2 thief could suddenly burst with such power.

The Critical Strike skill is indeed powerful.

Nie Yan sheathed his dagger, bent down, and picked up the equipment Purple Flame dropped, a level 0 bronze staff with +3 perception, which he estimated could sell for over ten copper coins.

“There’s an enemy over there, Purple Flame is dead!”

“Chase him, don’t let him get away!”

Nie Yan had killed a Triumphant Guild member, and the commotion had definitely caught the attention of nearby players. Six Triumphant Guild members surrounded him from all directions.

Nie Yan ran toward Rando Lake. His running speed was slightly faster than that of ordinary players of the same level, quickly putting some distance between him and the others.

A berserker appeared in front of Nie Yan, blocking his path.

“Want to run? Not so easy, One-Word Sword Slash!”

~~Second update for today...