Chapter 283 – Pearl of Disguise
As more higher level maps started getting explored, more chapters from the Book of Order would be discovered. All chapter holders that had yet to complete their respective volumes would be pitted against each other until one final victor emerged!
Nie Yan, who had just obtained the Chapter of Peace, was about to start his hunt to complete yet another volume!
Every hour from now, he would be reminded of who his rivals were, and where they were.
But as the owner of the Glimpse of Darkness, Nie Yan definitely held the advantage. There was no harm in him participating in the fight for the other chapters.
Nie Yan checked his other spoils, specifically that pearl!
He rummaged through his bag and took out the pearl which was about the size of a dove egg. It glistened beautifully with a light blue radiance under the rays of the sun.
Pearl of Disguise (Dark Gold): Special Item
Disguise: Within 10 hours of killing a target (player or NPC), the user may assume their appearance for up to 30 minutes. Attacking will dispel the disguise. Can be seen through by certain skills.
Cooldown: 1 day
It really was the Pearl of Disguise!
The Pearl of Disguise was an extremely rare drop from Black Sea Devil Banmu that took up an accessory slot. It was an irreplaceable treasure to those who could take advantage of its unique ability.
It had limited use to the members of the Righteous Faction. However, over in the Evil Faction, this item was highly coveted.
The Pearl of Disguise, along with the Silk Spinner Ring, Crawler Ring, and Leaper Ring, were treasures of immense value to Nie Yan.
However, the Disguise skill had its limitations. It was pivotal Nie Yan acted with caution when using it. His Eye of Truth skill, for example, could see right through the disguise!
Nie Yan looked at the remaining two pieces of loot. One of them was a golden scroll. It was covered in runes and patterns. With a glance, he could tell these runes originated in the Dark Era. They gave off a strange and gloomy air.
It wasn’t a magic scroll but rather another type of item. Nie Yan slowly unfurled the scroll, causing a golden radiance to blossom out. After the radiance dimmed down, he discovered a fully intact map.
Several characters on the top right corner of the map were written in the Vanbiya language of the undead: “Lich King Saul’s Secret Treasure!” The eccentric brush strokes of these characters radiated a gloomy, corrosive power.
It was a Legendary-grade Hidden Treasure Map, and it was even fully intact!
It was extremely rare to find an undamaged treasure map. Normally, they would be divided into many fragments. Very few could piece together a whole map. Looking over this map, Nie Yan raised an eyebrow in surprise. He examined the drawings on the map, its mountains, plains, and rivers, as well as icons denoting the underworld. All types of scenery appeared before his eyes.
Nie Yan carefully examined the map. After some time he identified a few familiar landmarks. The mountains, plains, and rivers probably belonged to the Level 60 map, Sonier Valley. There’s actually a passage in Sonier Valley leading to the underworld? How come I’ve never heard of this before?
Lich King Saul’s hidden treasure was located in the underworld. As for where exactly it was hidden, he would have to reference back to the map once he arrived in the underworld.
Nie Yan read over a summary about Lich King Saul. He was once a pirate who collected vast amounts of wealth and treasures. Later on in his life, he became fascinated with necromancy and started learning its arts of raising the death. Gifted with immense talent, he became a powerful lich. At the last stretch of his life, he buried the treasures he had amassed and drew up a treasure map, enchanting it with an undead curse; it was the key to opening his treasure. After entering eternal sleep, some of his subordinates stole the treasure map, eager for its riches. But they fell to its curse, and the map was lost in the sands of time ever since.
Liches were known as the most powerful beings among Necromancers. Naturally, the treasures they left behind would be exceptional!
Nie Yan suddenly felt somewhat weak and lightheaded. Looking at his status, he was affected by a curse that reduced all his stats by 30%.
The effect of this curse was truly enough to frighten a person. Thankfully, this map didn’t bind to its owner. After putting it into his personal storage, it would have no effect on him at all. When he wanted to find Lich King Saul’s treasure, he could simply take it out.
Nie Yan could confirm the hunt for this treasure would be fraught with danger! This was why he decided to put it off until he was higher level.
Putting away the treasure map in his bag, Nie Yan looked at the remaining piece of loot, a Dark Gold heavy shield. It was perfect for a Fighter, with a defense of 622. However, it had a level requirement of 50. No guild member could equip it, for now.
His harvest this time around was quite fruitful. In the future, he could come here every 3 days to farm Black Sea Devil Banmu. It was tantamount to him finding an exceptional levelling spot.
The system created all kinds of unique terrains as well as various environmental objects and special items in an effort to let players think for themselves. There were endless ways to best Elites and Lords, and many of them didn’t require a large team. If a player used their head, studying the boss’ attack patterns and the environment, they could easily think of ways to outsmart and kill the boss.
Using the Crawler Ring and Silk Spinner Ring was only one of those methods. After all, a player had used the Levitation Ring to achieve the same in the previous timeline. Of course, there were many more methods.
Conviction contained countless special items, giving players plenty of room to utilize their creativity and imagination.
It was only because Nie Yan had watched so many videos in the previous timeline that he could think of all sorts of unique ways to level. If he levelled up like ordinary players, spending all day long grinding mindlessly in one spot, he would be using his time too inefficiently.
After killing Black Sea Devil Banmu, Nie Yan used a Return Scroll to teleport back to Calore. He put away the treasure map in his personal storage. Looking at the clock, there wasn’t much time left to the day.
Nie Yan went to Everlasting City for some last minute levelling before logging off.
As usual, he left for school, where he occasionally chatted with Xie Yao, building their friendship. Although they never discussed love, he had already made some good headway. For him who had the experiences of two lifetimes, these types of days were the most blissful.
The school day flew by, and before he knew it he was back at home.
As soon as Nie Yan logged back into the game, he received an update from Guo Huai. The first payment from Dragonsoar Financial Group had been deposited. It was 20,000 gold in total.
“Did the person they sent to supervise come?” Nie Yan asked. As the leader of the guild, he would naturally have to meet them.
“Yeah, she’s already here. I’ll take you to meet her.” Guo Huai led Nie Yan into the guild headquarters.
Around 40 or 50 players were scattered about in the guild headquarters.
After entering Guo Huai’s office, Nie Yan saw a woman in her 30s seated in a chair. She wore purely decorative civilian clothing. Her attire was simple, yet professional. Although she wasn’t a heaven-toppling beauty, she still exuded a mature charm.
“Hello, my name is Yu Rui. I’m the supervisor the Dragonsoar Financial Group sent over,” Yu Rui greeted with a faint smile. She extended her hand toward Nie Yan.
“Hello, I’m Asskickers United’s guild leader. It’s nice to meet you. I hope we can have a pleasant time working together,” Nie Yan politely replied as he shook Yu Rui’s hand. He previously believed Dragonsoar Financial Group would send over a middle-aged man in his 40s. Never had he expected their representative to be a woman.
Nie Yan briefed Yu Rui on the various guild affairs. She earnestly listened while recording down some details in her notes.
The three chatted a bit longer to get more familiar with one another. Like this, their cooperation down the line would go smoother.
Yu Rui was easy to get along with. She gave Nie Yan a few conditions. As long as the request wasn’t too excessive, she would accept. She didn’t have the slightest bit of arrogance that you would expect from someone belonging to such a large financial group. This allowed Nie Yan to relax. It was evident that Yu Rui’s superiors had explained a thing or two to her; otherwise, she wouldn’t treat the guild with such courtesy. With her mindset, it would be much easier to handle affairs.
Nie Yan distributed the recently received 20,000 gold between the guild members. 500 players were divided up into 25 teams, with each team receiving around 300 gold. In addition, all of them received a 20-gold horse. They were dispatched to level in Everlasting City. Their objective was to get to Level 40 as quickly as possible! Only then could they start capturing strongholds.
Nie Yan checked the level leaderboards. It had completely changed from the last time he saw it. Some people had risen up to the top, most notably the guild leader of Bloodthirst Blades. He was ranked third at Level 35. There were also a few unfamiliar names which he had never heard of. It appeared he would have to investigate them.
Tang Yao, who was Level 37, was still firmly seated at the top of the leaderboards. Ever since reviving his Arcane Fairy, he had been levelling much faster. After experiencing so much, he had also matured. He was starting to transform into a genuine expert. Even though Nie Yan wasn’t by his side guiding him, he was still able to learn and stand by himself.
Nie Yan’s unique way of thinking had begun influencing the people around him. Many of them were levelling up at an astonishing rate. Some people who had never reached their full potential in the previous timeline, after receiving Nie Yan’s guidance, were enlightened and started rapidly improving.
Under his leadership, just how many miracles would emerge from Asskickers United?
After settling the matters in the guild, Nie Yan went to meet up with Yao Yao at the Holy Shrine.
The Holy Shrine, also known as the Temple of Light, was the headquarters of the most powerful religion in the Viridian empire. Even the council members of the empire had no choice but to avoid their spears. The Holy Shrine had a very deep foundation, lasting for several eras. Every successive pope could even have an audience with god.
At the Holy Shrine, Nie Yan stood before a grand building constructed with the architecture of the Shared Era of Governance. It was about 60 meters tall and completely white. There were ancient stairs leading to the main square.
Yao Yao was currently standing on one of the stairs. Her pure white robes gave off a holy, otherworldly air. She was like a goddess from the ancient past. She looked extremely beautiful under the light of the sun. Nie Yan couldn’t help but quiver as buried feelings resurfaced in his heart.