Chapter 23

Holding a large glass of oatmeal wine, Fang Yi made his way through the noisy crowd in the tavern, his eyes constantly scanning the surroundings. Why are the Astorian people being so secretive? This is your territory. Hope's reason was the concern that spies from the guild might discover something, so he didn't let me go to the Astorian guild's location in Tashil. Fang Yi touched his chin, wondering if the situation was already so dire.

After wandering for a long time, Fang Yi finally found Astorian's mark in a corner room. He gave the agreed-upon signal and finally met his direct superior, Karl, the Astorian contact.

"Are you the thief Hope recommended?" Looking at Karl's raised eyebrows and doubtful eyes, Fang Yi thought to himself, "You're just an 11th-level thief, what are you so arrogant about?" — As soon as he entered, Fang Yi used a detection spell. According to the old thief Hope, Karl should be the squad leader responsible for reconnaissance and eliminating the Dark Mask scouts in the Astorian guild. But the person sitting cross-legged in the chair, with a horse-like face, reeking of alcohol, and wearing a rather peculiar bright green cloak, was indeed an 11th-level NPC. No wonder he was being bullied by the Dark Mask.

"Yes, Captain Hope told me to follow your instructions before he left," Fang Yi replied with a lowered head and a respectful expression, not wanting to argue over his 8 charisma points.

"Alright, to the west of Tashil, near Jim's warehouse, there's an abandoned wine cellar. It's one of our secret bases," Karl's stern face slowly broke into a smile as he looked at Fang Yi. "We'll meet there tonight, and I'll introduce you to the members here."

Without a precise location, is this a test? Shaking his head to clear the strange image of Karl from his mind, Fang Yi immediately went to the nearest Temple of Tyr to replenish his potions. The five gold pieces from selling the longsword solved his immediate problem. Otherwise, he would have had to learn alchemy and buy herbs to make potions himself, which would have taken hours. Thinking of this, Fang Yi couldn't help but miss the charming Black Mountain Sprite and the beautiful Cai Sang.

Just as he was about to leave the city, Fang Yi's message manager beeped. Black Mountain Sprite had sent three messages: "A wave boss has respawned in the western cemetery, hurry over!" Fang Yi thought to himself, "Oh, how convenient, just what I was thinking about. Is this Tashil cemetery some hidden feng shui treasure land?"

Despite the sunny weather, the cemetery was still filled with a gloomy atmosphere. The cemetery was almost as large as half of Tashil. When Fang Yi arrived at the wave boss respawn location, there weren't many people gathered. Seeing Fang Yi, Black Mountain Sprite waved enthusiastically and added him to the group.

Fang Yi looked at the group and found there were already eleven people, including the charming Cai Sang and five priests and four paladins.

It wasn't surprising. Fang Yi had a deep dislike for undead creatures. They were immune to most negative statuses and had a drop rate that was heartbreakingly low, especially for money. Most of the people here to farm monsters were priests and paladins who had high initial attributes and learned the "Dispel Undead" skill (Note 1).

The newly respawned wave boss was a tall skeleton with a black, shiny appearance, holding a bone battle axe in its right hand and a bone shield in its left. It was wandering around in the open space between the tombs. Fang Yi politely greeted the two beauties, then stealthed and used a detection spell to gather the first-hand information.

Blackened Skeleton (Elite Undead)

Level: 14

Class: Warrior

Health: 5500

Skills: Bone Spike Armor

Skills: ???

???

Fang Yi's experience bar was already maxed out from the Holy Light Heart quest, and he had already leveled up to 9 by killing a few skeletons on the way. However, with a five-level difference, his level 2 detection spell couldn't reveal more information.

Soon, Black Mountain Sprite added three mages and a druid to the group. In any game, there are always many players who prefer ranged classes, as they are more enjoyable for both monster hunting and PvP. Only those who have formed their own combat styles stick to a fixed class, like me, Fang Yi thought to himself.

With the group complete, they immediately started the fight.

At this level, a wave boss is a challenge for a six-person team. With Fang Yi, Black Mountain Sprite, and Cai Sang's strength, the three of them could probably grind it down, but a 14th-level wave boss wouldn't be easy to take down in just a few minutes. Moreover, the wave boss respawned in a leveling area close to Tashil, and if they took too long, others would gather and form several groups.

To avoid delays, Black Mountain Sprite quickly formed a 15-person group. Now at level 13, the charm of the beautiful Cai Sang was undeniable. Once Fang Yi was in position, everyone immediately started attacking. Unlike hunting a wave boss in the deep forest, the safest approach was to quickly kill the wave boss for experience, and the loot would depend on luck.

The Blackened Skeleton was a typical warrior-type monster, with high health and thick armor, but its attacks weren't overly powerful. With six priests, at least three could still contribute to the damage. As the wave boss's health steadily decreased, everyone was relaxed and happy.

However, as the saying goes, a wave boss must have a special skill. The Blackened Skeleton gave everyone a lesson in overconfidence. While everyone was attacking, the large skeleton suddenly threw its axe, which cut through a priest standing in an open spot, instantly killing him.

Fang Yi laughed, thinking the wave boss was impatient, but then the Blackened Skeleton made a terrifying sound, reached down with its right hand, and pulled out an identical bone axe, shocking everyone. The impact of this move was even greater than the priest's death.

However, when the new axe was drawn, the wave boss's health dropped by five percent. Fang Yi quickly reminded everyone, arranging for the four paladins to equip shields and stand in front of the squishy classes, casting spells. When the wave boss used the same move again, the bone axe still moved in a straight line, but this time it hit a heavily armored paladin, preventing an instant kill. The group gradually stabilized the situation.

Fourteen people fighting a 14th-level wave boss wasn't particularly thrilling. The wave boss's health quickly dropped to zero, and it fell to the ground in a dramatic pose. Fang Yi's experience bar increased by one-fifth, and Captain Black Mountain Sprite went to loot the body. However, Fang Yi noticed something unusual about the atmosphere around them.

Unbeknownst to them, many players from the World Domination guild had gathered, and casual players were gradually moving away from the wave boss battle area, seemingly on the advice of some people. Fang Yi narrowed his eyes, observing the surroundings, and thought to himself, "I'll show you what I'm made of. This is on you."

Black Mountain Sprite finally identified the loot and posted it in the group chat, causing a wave of sighs. The reason was that only Fang Yi could wear the equipment.

Bone Waistguard (Excellent Belt)

Light Armor

Requirements: Agility 17

Weight: 2

Durability: 9

Armor: 5+1

+2 Quick Use Slots (Note 2)

Fang Yi took the equipment from Black Mountain Sprite, made an exaggerated trading gesture, and sent messages to the confused Black Mountain Sprite and Cai Sang.

What surprised Fang Yi was that a druid named Mackerel silently left the group and joined the World Domination players who had just arrived. "So there was an insider. No wonder they found us so quickly. But it's impressive how fast the World Domination players gathered," Fang Yi thought with a wry smile.

YouShangWanXia hurried to the Tashil cemetery, just in time to see Fang Yi take something from a warrior. YouShangWanXia sneered and led over thirty people to Black Mountain Sprite's group. "I'm YouShangWanXia from World Domination. Today, we and..."

YouShangWanXia was speaking to a player with his back turned, expecting him to turn around when he heard his voice. However, halfway through his sentence, he noticed the thief in front of him suddenly vanish, almost biting his tongue in surprise. "Damn, force him out!"

Note 1: Dispel Undead: All priests and paladins who do not worship evil deities have the supernatural ability to dispel undead creatures. When the spell hits an undead creature, it is immediately killed, and the priest gains full experience. The spell has a high failure rate. For every level the undead is above the caster, the spell has an additional 15% chance to fail. Undead creatures five levels above the caster are immune to this spell. When the Dispel Undead spell fails, the target undead takes significant holy damage [character level x (skill level) + character perception or charisma (whichever is higher)], which varies based on the level difference. Cooldown: 1 minute.

Note 2: When using potions in battle, if you take them directly from your backpack, there is a 1-second action time. Placing potions and special items in the quick use slots on the belt eliminates this action time, depending on the character's dexterity and the player's reaction speed. Quick use slots cannot hold weapons. The default belt that players start with has 1 quick use slot.