Chapter 2

In the afternoon, venturing into the Kalin Desert is not the best time, as all players in *Miracle* know. The taverns in the shadow of the city walls and the chilled oat beer are the wise choices under the scorching sun.

However, professional players wouldn't miss any fleeting opportunity, even if the weather doesn't seem favorable—flying sand and howling monsoons can provide excellent cover for adventurers.

Fang Yi crouched in the shadow of a giant cactus, pulling his gray cloak tighter, almost burying half his body in the hot sand, yet still feeling it wasn't enough. Stealth and ambush are the golden rules for players, but as a warrior, Fang Yi was well aware of the ineffectiveness of his clumsy hiding skills and had to be extra cautious.

In July, the Radiant Sea rarely sees the sun, with dense leaden clouds blocking the scorching rays. This was a rare piece of good news for players adventuring in the desert. Without the scorching heat, there was no 10% extra stamina consumption penalty. However, the sandstorm was quite strong. Even with a double-layered sand mask, Fang Yi still couldn't help but turn his head and spit out a mouthful of sand, cursing the game developers who designed this mission flow with all the venom he could muster.

This was the virtual world of the online game *Miracle*, at the southern edge of the Kalin Desert, just ten miles from the Radiant Sea. As a professional player, Fang Yi was fortunate enough to obtain a beta test account, allowing him to enter the game world as soon as it opened.

After the initial exploration craze, the harsh natural environment and the less rewarding regular quests made most players avoid the Kalin Desert. Fang Yi, however, was here because of a hidden quest called the *Path of Shadows*.

Today was the last day of the beta test, and this hidden quest had become the top priority in Fang Yi's plan. During the beta test, the drop rate of monsters was increased tenfold, and the challenge level of bosses was reduced by at least ten levels. The only thing that remained unchanged was the trigger rate of hidden quests. Fang Yi, who had been playing since the first day of the beta test and had reached the first-class warrior—Gladiator—was a seasoned player. However, the number of hidden quests he had triggered was shockingly low, and the *Path of Shadows* was the highest-level one among them.

The beta test was about to end, and the final reward for this quest might be out of reach, but the stage rewards for each step were still highly anticipated, making it worth the risk. The quest designers of *Miracle* were shameless and twisted, but they had one redeeming quality: the greater the risk, the greater the reward.

For this quest, Fang Yi had been traveling back and forth for half a month, which translated to over four months of in-game time. He had traveled from the distant Oup to the west, crossing thousands of miles to finally reach the desert kingdom of Kalinshan. During this time, Fang Yi had taken carriages, used high-level teleportation arrays, and even been chased for hundreds of miles by fierce monsters in the deep mountains and forests. As a short-legged warrior, the hardships were almost unbearable.

However, effort always pays off. The +2 hiding premium equipment, the *Dwarf's Blood Cloak*, and a few other small premium items he now possessed were rewards from previous stages of the quest. Otherwise, with his second-rate agility, it would have been impossible for him to be here with all his limbs intact.

Fang Yi raised his head slightly again, his gaze piercing through the swirling yellow sand to look at the monsters not far ahead—three sphinxes were gathered at the bottom of a sand pit, their seven-foot-tall bodies surrounding a blue magical barrier, their exotic weapons, giant scythes, gleaming with a cold light under their manes. Patrol guards occasionally walked around the sand pit, reminding Fang Yi of the tight security.

I must be crazy to come to the sphinx's lair to save someone, Fang Yi thought, clenching his teeth.

Fang Yi surveyed the dozens of guard corpses around the barrier, knowing that the mage trapped inside couldn't hold on much longer. In his quest list, the *Path of Shadows* was marked with a large red exclamation mark, indicating: extremely urgent!

Fang Yi narrowed his eyes, silently calculating the time, slowly and inconspicuously raising his knees, preparing to exert force. He then gently took off the *Power of Esek* from his back, gripping the double-handed axe wrapped in gray cloth. The patrol squad had just turned and moved out of the maximum detection range. Fang Yi immediately roared and activated the *Charge* skill, his figure turning into a blur as he rushed towards the trio of monsters at the bottom of the sand pit.

The sphinxes immediately detected the enemy, emitting shrill roars to alert their companions. Unfortunately, the patrol squad had just turned and was slowly moving away, and it would take at least a minute to return. To complete this quest, Fang Yi had died three times to figure out the patrol routes of the monsters in this area. With only twelve points of agility, his stealth skill was practically useless.

It all comes down to this. The *Charge* skill hit the lead sphinx accurately, putting it into a stunned state. Knowing time was short, Fang Yi immediately activated *Bloodlust*, his body radiating a dark red glow. The *Power of Esek* in his hands glowed with a brilliant white light, signaling the *Fearless Strike* skill.

The large axe, about the size of a cart wheel, whistled through the air and struck the neck of the nearest sphinx with a solid "thud." The target grunted and collapsed. Due to the stun effect from the *Charge* skill, this unfortunate sphinx took four times the damage, its health dropping below the critical line, entering a near-death state.

Seeing the blood-spewing sphinx, Fang Yi felt a surge of courage. However, as a full-strength warrior with poor agility, he was still hit by a giant scythe on the shoulder, causing a trail of blood. Enduring the intense pain, Fang Yi raised the axe handle and executed a smooth combo, sending the sphinx to the realm of the gods, if monsters could meet the creator.

At this moment, Fang Yi cursed himself for being a masochist. The pain sensation in the game could be adjusted between 10% and 60%, and to experience the game world more realistically, Fang Yi had set it to the maximum. He drew a sharp breath, his mouth almost reaching his ears, and the heroic spirit was long gone.

I hope I'm not wrong. The thought flashed through his mind as Fang Yi leaped over the sphinx's corpse, pulling out a snow-white scroll from his pocket and throwing it at the feet of the left sphinx squad leader. A burst of white frost instantly covered a six-foot radius, successfully freezing the sphinx's four paws. The monster roared in anger but was helpless against the *Frost Ring* spell, being just a high-level warrior without a class change.

Ignoring the hundreds of gold coins he had just spent, Fang Yi glanced at his health, which was now less than a third after taking a few hits. He felt lucky that the *Frost Ring* had the shortest trigger time among immobilizing spells, or he would have been dead. He dodged the giant scythe of the third sphinx, feinting with his axe, causing the sphinx to flinch, which was exactly what Fang Yi wanted.

The *Frost Ring* scroll was of low level, and the immobilization time was limited. Fang Yi had no choice but to go all out. Using the momentum of the axe, he kicked the sphinx's front leg, taking a hit from the giant scythe while the target, with only 34 points of strength, was unable to resist the full-force kick. The sphinx's leg bent, and it lost balance with a groan.

Fang Yi, not letting up, swung the *Power of Esek* at the unbalanced sphinx, and a gush of blood with a unique stench spurted out, dyeing the flying sand red.

Without the stun effect, the damage was still significant, reducing the sphinx's health by a quarter. The *Merciless Strike* effect of heavy weapons (a chance to temporarily immobilize the target when hitting the torso with a two-handed or larger weapon) also appeared, successfully putting the target into a rigid state.

Taking advantage of the one-on-one situation, Fang Yi swung his axe, quickly finishing off the sphinx. He drank a large health potion, but his health was still critically low. Looking at the remaining, lively, and towering sphinx, Fang Yi clenched his axe, knowing that in his current state, defeating the squad leader, whose combat power was twice that of a regular soldier, was a pipe dream.

With sufficient stamina, fleeing seemed the best choice, but Fang Yi had a hunch that there was still a chance. He stood still, leaning on the *Power of Esek*, squinting at the struggling sphinx.

At this moment, raindrops started to fall sparsely. Fang Yi wiped the sand from his face, turning it into a big mess. The mask he had worn on his head had long flown off during the battle.

Seeing the ice under the sphinx's feet cracking and the freezing effect disappearing, the sphinx roared three times and charged at Fang Yi. Fang Yi watched the sand kicked up by the sphinx's rapid run and the rust marks on its broken armor, thinking that the sphinx, skilled in charging, would easily finish him off. If he died, he would lose 10% of his experience, and this stage of the *Path of Shadows* would be over.

Just then, a weak voice came from the previously silent magical barrier. Although extremely weak, Fang Yi felt it was like a heavenly sound.

"Transform, Magic Wall!"

The raindrops in front of Fang Yi immediately gathered in a way that defied physics, and the sphinx, which had just reached its maximum speed, crashed into the suddenly appearing transparent wall. With a loud "thud," the squad leader was thrown back several feet, spitting blood and entering a stunned state.

The sudden turn of events left Fang Yi stunned for a moment, but he quickly stood up and instinctively threw a *Detect* spell (a chance to get information about the target monster, hidden doors, environmental details, etc.), discovering that the powerful sphinx had lost half its health from the collision. Seeing the foaming sphinx squad leader, Fang Yi felt his heart skip a beat.

However, there was no time to think. Seizing the opportunity, Fang Yi swung his gleaming axe, slicing through the sphinx's neck and cleaving into its chest, quickly gaining a substantial experience reward. Turning to look at the female mage lying on the ground, coughing up blood, Fang Yi suddenly felt a bit scared.

These three monsters were a standard squad, clearly stated in the monster guide: challenge level 35, meaning a team of at least four average 35-level adventurers was needed to win. Although Fang Yi considered himself skilled and equipped with premium items, facing three at once was only a dream.

However, the system wouldn't design an impossible quest without a reason. So far, no NPC in the quest had hinted that his strength was insufficient or suggested gathering companions or improving his abilities. Fang Yi thought that the only variable was the mage he was supposed to rescue.

Note 1: *Charge*: The warrior charges at any target within 30 feet, increasing movement speed by 200%. If successful, the target is stunned for two seconds (level 6 skill effect).

*Charge* ignores the target's evasion but can be parried or blocked. If parried or blocked but the strength difference is too large, the target will be knocked back and may suffer collision and fall damage.

Note 2: *Bloodlust*: Increases the warrior's damage by 12%, provides +11 defense, and +11 magic resistance for fifteen seconds (level 3 skill effect, 40-minute cooldown).

Note 3: *Fearless Strike*: (Exclusive to Gladiator, a warrior's advanced class) The warrior's next three effective attacks deal 17% more damage and are immune to external immobilization effects, reducing the duration of all control effects by 30%. The effect lasts for fifteen seconds (level 4 skill effect, 20-minute cooldown).

*Fearless Strike* prerequisite: Must be a Gladiator; must have at least one level of weapon specialization in the current weapon.

Note 4: In a stunned state, the target is considered "unprepared," and all defense bonuses are nullified. All attacks are guaranteed critical hits, and damage to vital points is doubled.