Chapter 488 - Viper Dagger
Nie Yan continued turning in sheet music scraps to Blimer. After the 12th scrap, he received another spin on the Fate Wheel. This time he received 1,000 gold. Gold and experience, both simply couldn’t compare to flying mounts or equipment.
“Hah… I guess this just isn’t my day,” Nie Yan sighed. However, he was determined to turn in all 36 sheet music scraps. He had already used up two spins, so there was no point in turning back now.
After handing over the 17th scrap, Nie Yan heard a notification jingle. He had levelled up to Level 73.
On the 18th scrap and third spin of the Fate Wheel, Nie Yan yet again received an experience reward.
Two percent, one for a flying mount and the other for a piece of Legendary-grade equipment, the chance was simply too slim. There was no hope.
One scrap after another, the outcomes left Tang Yao and Nie Yan rapidly spiralling down into depression.
“Ah forget it, I’ll be happy with anything. There’s no need to get our hopes up,” Tang Yao comforted.
After getting four garbage spins in a row, Nie Yan’s mood had hit rock bottom. Only now did he realize how lucky Heaven Breaker was to receive a piece of Sub Legendary-grade equipment in the previous timeline.
Nie Yan spun the Fate Wheel for the fifth time without getting his hopes up. To his surprise, it stopped on the Special Item reward.
With a ding-dong sound, an item appeared in Nie Yan’s bag. He quickly inspected it.
Eye of Kirge: Special Item
Description: The eccentric Goblin Engineer Kirge used his eye to make this item. It allows the user to see through the hidden. When this item is active, movement speed is reduced by 50%.
The Eye of Kirge was suited to help the user avoid danger. It was an extremely useful magic tool.
“I got a Special Item,” Nie Yan said. He shared the Eye of Kirge’s information with Tang Yao.
Tang Yao fell silent for a moment. “This item doesn’t seem that good. Doesn’t Mana Eye do the same thing?”
Mana Eye was a Mage skill that helped the caster avoid danger. From the perspective of an ordinary player, it was probably a bit more convenient than the Eye of Kirge.
Nie Yan had his own thoughts about the Eye of Kirge.
“The Eye of Kirge is far more useful than Mana Eye.” Nie Yan smiled mysteriously. “I tried looking for this item before, but I couldn’t find it. Now that I have it, I can do a couple of amazing, world-shaking things.”
“World-shaking things? What do you mean?”
“I can kill Crazy Magic and Divine Flame in their own strongholds,” Nie Yan said, his narrowed eyes flashing with a cold light.
“You’re really planning on infiltrating their strongholds and assassinating them? How confident are you?”
“30% as a Great Thief and 50% as a Shadow Dancer. If I have a partner, 90%,” Nie Yan said. He immediately thought of Sun and King of the World. With them by his side, let alone Crazy Magic and Divine Flame, he could even assassinate Soaring Angel!
“So risky, you really are a daredevil. You sure you’ve thought it through?” Tang Yao wryly smiled. Nie Yan really was crazy, even daring to do something like this.
“Let’s wait until I advance to a Shadow Dancer,” Nie Yan laughed.
After handing over the 36th sheet music scrap, Nie Yan checked his experience bar. He was already 79% of the way to Level 74. This was rather quick. He had no idea how long he would have to grind to receive this much experience.
On the sixth and last spin, Nie Yan looked at the Fate Wheel. His heart was no longer filled with nerves. He felt this trip was already worth it after obtaining the Eye of Kirge. Whatever he received next was just a bonus. He resigned himself to fate.
Nie Yan casually spun the Fate Wheel, not even paying attention to see if he received the Luck boost from Pandora’s Box. As the wheel slowed to a halt, his eyes widened in shock. Legendary Equipment!
Nie Yan stared at the Fate Wheel in astonishment, rubbing his eyes in disbelief. But reality didn’t betray him. It really had landed on the Legendary Equipment reward. A 1% chance, and he got it!
With a ding-dong sound that rang in his head like a clap of thunder, a piece of equipment dropped into his bag. Nie Yan hurriedly checked his inventory. Tucked away in a corner was a golden coloured dagger. Its appearance was quite exotic. In a gold scaled sheath hid a blade curved like a deadly man-eating viper. The tip of the blade forked into two barbs like a pair of venomous fangs, flashing with a cold light that pierced one’s soul.
Nie Yan checked the stats of the dagger.
Kraut’s Viper Dagger (Legendary)
Description: Crafted from the corpse of a Golden Viper slain by the Thief Kraut.
Requirements: Level 70, 800 Strength, 1,000 Dexterity
Properties: Attack +1,020, +15% Poison Damage, Strength +300, Dexterity +220, Focus +30
Paralyzing Bite: Incapacitate the target with a venomous bite, leaving them unable to move or use skills for 5 seconds. Cooldown: 1 day.
Restriction: Thief; can only be equipped by a member of the Righteous Faction.
A dagger with 1,020 attack power was pretty good. Sadly it was only a Level 70 Legendary weapon. After Level 100, it would more or less become obsolete.
That said, it would take a long time for players to reach Level 100.
Nie Yan was already far ahead of the pack. Ordinary players were currently only around Level 60. Not a single one had reached Level 70 yet. A 10-level gap was quite significant. The experience difference was enormous. After all, the higher the level, the harder it became to level up.
Seeing the name Kraut, Nie Yan sank into deep thought. Kraut was one of the Eight Thieves in the Song of the Bramble Bird. He went by the name Viper, a nickname earned by slaying numerous nobles of the dragon race with his deadly poison.
Was this dagger possibly related to the ‘Seek out the Assassin’s Heart’ quest? Nie Yan pondered for a moment. Could it be that him obtaining this dagger wasn’t purely coincidence?
“I brought this dagger back from the distant Satreen Empire. When I first discovered it, it was dull like a rusty piece of metal. It wasn’t until now that it regained its brilliance. This dagger chose you. Take it, and seek out the traces of its former glory,” Blimer said.
“Bard Blimer, where should I go?” Nie Yan asked.
“Visit Orc King City. where the Eight Thieves once fought. Although the Satreen Empire occupied this land, their story still remains, passed down from generation to generation. Go look for Chief Blaise. He will give you the answers you seek,” Blimer said. It appeared he wasn’t quite willing to reveal everything.
Nie Yan knew if he wanted to get more clues out of an NPC, blindly and recklessly asking would only incur their distaste.
Nie Yan and Tang Yao glanced at each other. They had already got what they came for. It was time to leave.
The two bid Blimer farewell and left the garden.
“Do you want to have Guo Huai work on collecting more music sheet scraps?” Tang Yao asked. It was still pretty profitable turning in music sheet scraps.
“It’s too early. Right now players have no way of entering the Dolan Mountain Range,” Nie Yan replied. Players had to at least be Level 100 to start collecting Blimer’s Music Sheet Scraps.
“Then I’ll just let the others know, and have them pay attention. We can have them start collecting music sheet scraps later,” Tang Yao said.
“What are you planning to do next?” Nie Yan asked. After finishing everything, Tang Yao would probably have to get back to levelling. Else he would lose his spot on the level leaderboards.
“I’m going to stock up on consumables before heading out to level. We’ll go treasure hunting again some other time,” Tang Yao said.
“Well, I’m going to make a trip to the Thief Association,” Nie Yan said. He recalled the Thief Association still had a reward he could receive. He hoped no one had laid claim to it yet.
After bidding each other farewell, Nie Yan and Tang Yao went their separate ways.
Nie Yan headed to the Thief Association. After collecting his reward, he would have Master Jewelcrafter Paget upgrade his Special Items.
With his appearance cloaked, Nie Yan entered the Thief Association. There were many Thieves inside. In this large crowd of people, he was an unnoticeable speck of dust. No one would pay attention to him.
The recently bult main tower of the Thief Association was 50 stories high. On the top floor, one could accept rare quests. There were two ways to reach the 50th floor. One way was by taking the magic elevator. It would only take about 30 seconds to arrive. The other way was by taking the stairs. It would take at least 10 minutes to walk up these flights of stairs.
Nie Yan looked at the main tower. The magic elevator was zooming up and down. From time to time, one or two players would enter or exit. They were all busy with their own quests, wishing they could get more work down in half the time.
Nie Yan entered the main tower. However, unlike the ordinary players, he chose to take the stairs instead of the magic elevator. He walked up step by step, ascending slowly and calmly.
Through the tower’s windows, Nie Yan could see the scenery outside. It was filled with all sorts of magic buildings. Even though many of these buildings had weathered the ages, they still had their own charm. He continued going up. The top was nowhere in sight.
Players riding on the magic elevators could see Nie Yan ascending the stairs step by step like a snail. Who knew how much time he would waste climbing all 2,000+ steps!?
“Haha, look at that idiot! He’s using the stairs instead of the elevator!” a Level 61 Thief laughed.
“That guy is really dumb. He’s walking up so slowly.”
Jeering laughter came from the magic elevators. Nie Yan didn’t pay attention to them and continued walking up. His heart was calm and tranquil.
These players had no way of knowing what he was doing, and Nie Yan had no need to explain it to them. He would walk his own path. It didn’t matter what others thought.