Chapter 41

At this moment, Rodi even felt as if he were in a dream — he had actually seen this necklace before. It was something that appeared in his equipment list when he checked his gear the day after his rebirth. Because it was a simple "white" common item, he didn't pay much attention to it, assuming it was a family heirloom of "Rodi" with no other use besides decoration.

But now, this thing actually had its own skill?

Rodi couldn't blame himself for being careless. In "Riftlands," any equipment that could release a skill was almost certainly not of "white" quality. One could say that white equipment capable of casting skills was something Rodi had only heard about in five years of playing the game; he had never personally encountered one!

What was Stealth? It was the signature skill of the advanced class "Assassin"! Moreover, the Stealth skill learned after a 10th-level job change was only level 1. A level 3 Stealth skill meant that once activated, enemies within a 6-level difference would almost certainly not detect it!

Rodi couldn't understand why this necklace could possess such a high-level Stealth skill. He examined it again and was pleasantly surprised to find that it had no casting conditions, meaning — no matter who wore it, they could activate the level 3 Stealth skill on the necklace by reciting the casting incantation!

Lifting his head, he saw that Francis and the others were already walking toward him, and the distance was less than thirty meters.

Rodi almost immediately made his decision. Without a word, he reached out to take off the necklace, casually tossing it backward while pretending to cough, covering his mouth and whispering, "Catch it, put it on!"

Sally, who was extremely tense, didn't see clearly what Rodi had thrown. In a moment of confusion, she watched the necklace fall to the ground in front of her.

"Bang!"

The sudden sound of a broken jar startled Sally. Her legs, already weak from tension, almost made her cry out. Then she realized... one of the knights in the distance had knocked over a water jar with his horse.

Rodi almost shouted "Heaven helps me" in his heart. He saw Francis and the soldiers turn to look at the broken water jar, immediately turned his head, and frantically waved for Sally to put on the necklace.

Sally didn't think twice, bent down to pick up the necklace, and hastily put it around her neck. Before she could react to why Rodi did this, she heard his voice from ahead:

"Repeat this phrase, don't ask why — 'Ol'kahla'!"

...

When Francis and the others turned their gaze back to the front, everything seemed the same as before.

Rodi tried to calm his excitement, not turning back or speaking, but instead looking at the cavalry with wide eyes, as a mercenary might after seeing a noble party, and stepped aside to let them pass. He looked up with longing at the horses and the soldiers' equipment, and then passed by them.

When Francis and Rodi were closest, they were only three meters apart. Rodi could even smell the faint perfume that nobles often wore. The other's gaze swept over him, pausing for half a second on the horn bow he carried, then moved on without any sign of suspicion, continuing forward.

This was Rodi's first direct "confrontation" with Francis. But the noble before him probably never imagined that this unremarkable mercenary was the one who had disrupted all his plans — and even less likely to believe that the Sally he was desperately searching for was now less than two meters away.

The Stealth skill had taken effect.

This skill, which only advanced assassins could use, completely concealed Sally's presence. At level 3, it was enough to make Francis, standing right in front of her, unable to detect any abnormality. Sally, standing there, holding her breath and not daring to look directly at Francis, felt the ten seconds pass like an eternity — she could see her body disappear from her field of vision, and even the shadow that the setting sun should have cast was gone...

Sally's fingers, cold with fear, gradually returned to normal. She saw Rodi walking forward as if nothing had happened, and she instinctively followed him closely. When they passed through the village entrance guarded by the guards, the guards only saw the mercenary-dressed Rodi and didn't notice Sally behind him.

And so, they managed to leave Gig Town in such a perilous manner. When Sally's Stealth skill wore off and she still hadn't reacted, Rodi, without a word, grabbed her arm and suddenly started running — they turned onto a secluded path outside the town and rushed out...

Only after completely leaving the range of Gig Town did they finally stop. They panted heavily, looking like fish out of water, and plopped down on the ground...

For a long time, neither of them said a word, and the air was filled only with the sound of their labored breathing.

The sense of relief after surviving a crisis gradually rose, and they both looked up, their eyes meeting as if by telepathy.

Rodi opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but found that Sally had already thrown her arms around him — she hugged him tightly, her arms gripping his body as if to ease the shock in her heart.

Rodi stood there like a fool, feeling as if he had been electrocuted, his mouth open like a frog that had been hit. The faint fragrance from Sally's body rushed into his nose, making his brain feel as if it had "crashed."

"It's... it's over. Really over."

Rodi didn't know how to comfort her, awkwardly and carefully patting her back. Sally soon let go, seeing his flustered and helpless expression, her panic gradually fading, and then she burst out laughing.

"Ha ha ha ha..."

As if to release the pressure in her heart, she laughed uncontrollably, without any sense of decorum.

Just as Rodi was about to remind her not to laugh too hard, Sally finally stopped, then reached out to take off the necklace.

"Here, your necklace, catch it."

Handing over the necklace that had saved her life, Sally looked at Rodi, unable to contain her curiosity, and whispered, "It seems to be a magical item. I know I would ask why you have such a thing... but I thought about it, and if you're not comfortable answering, you don't have to."

Though she didn't have any greedy intentions, there was a hint of reproach in her tone, as if she was blaming Rodi for not telling her about this trump card in advance — but in reality, Rodi was also puzzled about the origin of this item. He was just as confused and even a bit afraid of this suddenly helpful necklace.

This fear stemmed from the unknown, as this necklace seemed to fall outside Rodi's understanding of "Riftlands," making it impossible for him to determine its origin.

In "Riftlands," the classification of equipment levels was detailed and had its own naming conventions. Whether as a PVE player, a life player, or a PVP player, everyone was extremely familiar with these rules. But looking at the status of this necklace, Rodi had no idea what to make of it.

Mysterious Necklace

Unique Necklace

Usage: Cast Stealth (Level 3), lasts 60 seconds.

Activation Incantation: Ol'kahla

"This mysterious necklace seems to have endured many years, but the power once bestowed upon it has not been lost."

Cooldown: 30 minutes (28 minutes remaining).

Compared to the previous attributes, Rodi noticed an additional cooldown time, which further confirmed the necklace's uniqueness — because most magical items in the game, except for those that passively increase attributes or provide auras, had a "usage limit" for active skills.

Rodi once had a wristguard that could cast a "Spider Web Entanglement" similar to Spider-Man's, which was an excellent control skill in PVP. But after using this skill ten times, the wristguard became a common item, losing its skill.

Any item that could cast a skill infinitely was worth more than any other magical item of the same level, let alone this "Mysterious Necklace" with its highly practical Stealth skill!

In most situations, no one could imagine how useful this necklace would be for Rodi.

What kind of person was "Rodi" before Rodi was reborn into him? Recalling his memories, he was just an ordinary guy, both parents dead, living a lonely life, and earning a living in the border scout team, with no notable achievements or ambitions. So, in this case, where did this necklace come from?

Rodi looked at the simple necklace around his neck, frowning. Logically, its attribute color should have been at least blue, representing "excellent," and if the skill level were higher, it could have been marked as "epic" purple. But in reality, it was white, representing "common."

Could there be something more to this item?

The dark, metallic chain, made of an unknown material, and the pendant, a simple black triangular decoration, revealed no other information. Rodi sighed, almost to himself, "I only just found out this thing can make you invisible."

"You know the activation incantation so clearly, are you really using it for the first time?"

Sally was a girl who could grasp the key points. She wasn't an illiterate village girl but a noble girl with her own insights into magical items. The "activation incantation" was the key that allowed Rodi to keep her safe. If she had only put on the necklace without knowing how to activate the Stealth skill, she would have been in danger.

Rodi couldn't explain this, as he couldn't say, "I can directly see the equipment attributes and descriptions, and just read them out." So he just shook his head and didn't answer.