Chapter 100

As the two people turned their gaze, Fang Yi finally began to recount an event that happened in the game.

In the entire Chinese region of the Forgotten Realms continent, there were two particularly prosperous areas. One was the region around the Starfall Sea, known for its trade, which included the Sword Coast. The other was the city of Waterdeep, adjacent to the Sword Coast, which was densely populated with various levels of dungeons and a plethora of legendary quest NPCs, making it a highly sought-after adventure destination for most players in the Forgotten Realms.

During the beta test, a player team was adventuring near Waterdeep. As they passed through the eastern Golden Fields, they were suddenly ambushed by a group of ferocious lions. Just as they were about to be wiped out, they were fortunate enough to be saved by a passing high-level NPC mage.

After escaping from the lions, the players naturally expressed their gratitude to the mage. Unexpectedly, they triggered a quest from the mage. The players, thinking their luck had turned, were overjoyed and followed the mage's clues deep into a tomb in the Golden Fields. However, the result was...

"What was the result?" Black Mountain Little Demon saw Fang Yi start to breathe heavily and quickly asked.

"The result was that the entire player team was wiped out and turned into skeletons. The precious gem they obtained from the quest was also taken by the lich in the tomb," Fang Yi said with a smile, glancing at the inn not far away, which still had its lights on.

"That's just because they weren't strong enough. What's so strange about that?" Black Mountain Little Demon looked at Caisang, who said this with some concern.

Caisang, seeing that Black Mountain Little Demon's attention had been diverted, also smiled. However, the observant Caisang still noticed some ominous points in Fang Yi's story and said with a light laugh, "What level were those players?"

"Hehe, Caisang, you hit the nail on the head," Fang Yi said with a mischievous smile, "On average, level 32."

"Huh? How could that be?" Caisang exclaimed in surprise at Fang Yi's answer.

Black Mountain Little Demon was still confused and, seeing that Caisang had clearly thought of something, quickly asked, "What? What?"

"A lich... One of the prerequisites for a lich's transformation ritual is that the individual must be at least max level before death," Caisang, who had also realized that the quest the players encountered was a bit suspicious, said, "Level 50."

"Ah!?" Black Mountain Little Demon's attention was completely drawn to the story, now showing great interest. She jumped in front of Fang Yi and started walking backward, her metal boots making a "clack clack" rhythm on the stone path, "Is there something wrong with the quest designer? How can a level 32 team fight a level 50 monster?"

Looking at the moonlight casting a faint white glow on the armor of the female warrior opposite him, and the priest beside him blinking her large eyes, Fang Yi felt as if he had returned to his childhood, playing in the mountains at night—how long had it been since he had quietly strolled at night?

"Actually, many veteran players know about this. The quest is automatically evolved by the system, so there's no problem. It was just one part of their quest, and the mage who saved them was actually the lich," Fang Yi said, regaining his composure and taking a deep breath, recalling the posts of the quest participants on the forum.

"The knight's team obtained a precious gem with unknown attributes from a ruin during their previous adventure. At the time, these people were actually escorting the gem back to Waterdeep. The ferocious lions they encountered along the way were summoned by the lich, whose purpose was to obstruct the team's progress. Then the lich appeared to save them and lured them to his lair."

By this time, Fang Yi and the two others had returned to the sampan and the Mossy Inn. Since it was midnight, there were few players and NPCs around, so Caisang and Black Mountain Little Demon simply sat by the window in the hall, listening to Fang Yi's story by the moonlight. Fang Yi noticed Caisang supporting her chin, looking as if she wanted to say something but held back, knowing that she had already figured out the key point of the quest.

"You're right. That lich was skilled in enchantment spells. The experience points the players received for killing the ferocious lions were all influenced by high-level enchantment spells, and the items dropped by the monsters were just some of the lich's trinkets. As for why the lich went to such lengths, it's because the lich isn't invincible," Fang Yi said, taking the juice the waiter brought and placing it in front of the two girls—only heaven knew why the inn in the Forgotten Realms had such finely processed peach juice, Fang Yi thought.

"Later, the players analyzed that the escort mission might have had a plot restriction. When the players reached the designated location, the lich event would be triggered. If the players discovered that the mage was actually a lich or if the lich directly attacked, powerful NPC allies would be summoned to help the players. However, the players did not meet either of these conditions, so they obediently played out a scene of lambs entering a tiger's den."

Black Mountain Little Demon, after listening to Fang Yi's story, pouted and looked at the round wooden beams on the ceiling of the hall, frowning, seemingly deep in thought. Caisang, who had been staring at Fang Yi for a long time, finally spoke when Fang Yi couldn't help but want to tease her with a "If you keep staring, I'll blush" kind of remark.

"Since the lich is such a high-level mage, isn't this quest unsolvable?"

"Of course it's solvable!" Fang Yi smiled confidently and wagged his finger at Caisang, "First, we don't need to worry about the lich. Veteran players in Waterdeep know that there are no ferocious lions in the Golden Fields. Besides, the game is ultimately designed for players. Apart from resistance increase spells, the illusions created by enchantment spells in the game are not as powerful as in fantasy novels and often have logical flaws."

"But we're all Monday morning quarterbacks," Fang Yi drained the oatmeal ale in his wooden cup and said with a squint, "After all, it's a legendary mage's spell. Without preparation, it's too easy to fall for it~"

"So, are you afraid that something might happen if we stay overnight at the viscount's mansion?" Black Mountain Little Demon finally spoke, understanding what Fang Yi was getting at with his roundabout way of speaking.

"Though NPCs ultimately serve the players, there's no game rule that says they're all good guys," Fang Yi and Caisang exchanged a glance and both smiled, "This is one of the selling points of 'Miracle,' whether it's good or bad, time will tell."

"Alright, you two go back to your rooms and log off to rest. I'll go back and check the situation at the viscount's mansion," Fang Yi stood up, adjusted the weapon at his waist, and tested the smoothness of the scabbard, "As for the castle, there will be opportunities in the future."

The two also stood up, said goodbye to Fang Yi, and walked up the creaking stairs to the second floor. But halfway up, Black Mountain Little Demon turned around and playfully smiled at Fang Yi, who was standing at the inn's door, "Remember what you said. We're waiting to see when you'll have a castle~"

Fang Yi was taken aback for a moment, pondering whether there was any hidden meaning in Black Mountain Little Demon's words. A second later, he realized he was overthinking it and turned to leave the inn, heading toward the viscount's mansion.

Valier, a viscount, was a significant figure in Westgate, but his mansion's guards were only around level 20. For a level 18 thief, infiltrating the mansion wasn't too difficult, which made Fang Yi wonder if the system was secretly increasing the difficulty of his quest.

After subduing the assassins at the viscount's mansion, Fang Yi completed a small step of the quest, gaining enough experience to reach level 17, 13%. The experience rewards from the chain quest were much higher than those from regular quests, which was why Fang Yi could maintain his level at the average despite his constant travels.

In stealth mode, Fang Yi roamed around the back door of the viscount's mansion, keeping an eye out for any potential second or third waves of assassins and any suspicious characters entering or leaving the mansion. After all, no one knew what kind of person Valier was, and Fang Yi didn't want to be stabbed in the back.

Fortunately, nothing unexpected happened, and the viscount's mansion remained quiet until dawn. When the agreed time arrived, Caisang and Black Mountain Little Demon met at the designated location, and Fang Yi gave them instructions before they split up to act.

Valier, dressed entirely in chainmail, his longsword resting on the ground, looked sternly at the three people before him. Our protagonist, on the other hand, calmly observed the hall's decorations, mentally calculating how much such a house would be worth in the game.

"It was the Mask of the Night," Valier's voice was slightly hoarse, and he looked tired, clearly having had a poor night's sleep.

Receiving the expected answer, Fang Yi looked up at the viscount and asked in a low voice, "What does the viscount plan to do about it?"

"I can do nothing," Valier stood up, adjusted his heavy chainmail, the clinking of metal sounding particularly loud in the quiet hall, "Even the Merchant Guild would not easily launch an attack on the Mask of the Night, as it would cause chaos in the entire city."

The Merchant Guild was essentially the actual ruler of Westgate, composed of the nobles of the most powerful merchant families, controlling half of the city—while the other half belonged to the Mask of the Night.

"I understand your situation," Fang Yi took two steps forward, looking confidently at the reluctant Valier, "I can handle this for you. The price you need to pay is just some information."

Valier's eyes lit up, and he leaned forward, staring intently at the human thief before him, "State your terms, adventurer!"

***

Fang Yi stepped out of the back door of the viscount's mansion, looked back at the sturdy stone walls, and took a deep breath. He contacted Caisang and headed toward where Turner was.

Previously, Caisang and Black Mountain Little Demon hadn't found much information on the forum. Now, they had learned some information about Viscount Valier from the old slickster and were relaying it to Fang Yi.