Chapter 122 – Escape!
Nie Yan’s eyes widened in shock as notices flooded his screen. He never expected the shop to sell so much in only two days.
Over the last few days, the activity surrounding Sosil Valley, instead of lessening, had actually increased substantially! Even though the drops from the dungeon were good and the Werewolves there gave decent experience, the main reasoning behind this event was due to rumours of a new dungeon opening soon. For the sake of being better prepared when it opens, various players and guilds were feverishly gathering better equipment to improve their strength.
As a consequence, the demand for Black Phenol was greatly magnified. So, when the supply in the auction house eventually ran out, the major guilds began taking note of the Starry Night Potion Shop. Unfortunately, the Black Phenol and Black Phenol Recipes there were excessively overpriced. It was as if they were being squeezed for everything they had! However, since the owner was nowhere to be found, there was no one to negotiate with. Thus, after struggling for a long period of time, they finally caved in and began buying the shop’s goods one after another. Despite being fully aware that they were being cheated, there was nothing they could do because the only place left that had Black Phenol and Black Phenol Recipes for sale was this single shop in the middle of the slums!
Often times, this was just the way the world worked.
After summarizing two days worth of sales, he had earned another twenty-five gold!
In terms of earning money, who would be able to compete with him?
With more money in his pockets, he planned to rapidly expand his capital. After all, if he left it sitting there, its purchasing power would only slowly depreciate, because as the players gradually advanced in level, the value of in-game currency would definitely fall. Furthermore, since he had reached Level 10, it was finally possible for him to use the transfer point to teleport to other cities, allowing him to proceed to the next phase of his plan. His ambitions didn’t stop only at Calore as he planned to purchase land in other cities too, but he wouldn’t get the chance if he was late!
The competition over in-game real-estate was extremely fierce. Who would wait for others when all of these properties were being quickly eaten up?
Not to mention, his act of monopolizing the Black Phenol market also had an underlying effect. It would reduce the capital of the major guilds at least by some extent, slowing their rate of expansion while rapidly increasing his own.
Having received some good news, Nie Yan’s mood instantly took a turn for the better. He had already figured out, as well as memorized, the movements of these numerous patrolling Vampires and, simultaneously, thought out a suitable plan. Although there was one small flaw in his plan, he still resolved to give it a try.
Nie Yan stared at the darkness below and walked the route he would take in his head. Finally, he jumped off the pillar, activating Stealth the moment he came in contact with the ground before disappearing into the background.
If he wished to stay outside of the detection range of these Vampires, he needed to stay at least ten meters away from them, which was exceedingly hard as he was no longer able to overlook their position from atop the pillar. Thus, he could only madly rush forward while strictly following the route he memorized in his heart.
He was completely relying on memory. Fortunately, he was confident enough that even if he was running around in the dark or his eyes were shut, he would still more or less be able to find his way.
After traversing about fifty meters, he came to a halt and held his breath.
Only ten meters ahead of him was a group of Vampires passing by before eventually moving into the distance.
Afterwards, a group of Vampires appeared from the rear and were walking in his general direction.
Noticing this, Nie Yan rapidly sped up and hurried forward in order to avoid them. Like this, he was constantly running and stopping. After a mere hundred meters, he had already evaded over thirty groups of patrolling Vampires!
His memory, though not the best of the best, was undoubtedly excellent.
After madly rushing another thirty meters, he came to a halt once more, having finally arrived within thirty meters of the Lord-class Vampire Earls. These Earls wore brightly coloured attires and possessed fair, beautiful complexions. Their azure eyes were keenly scanning the area around them.
While maintaining his stealth, he looked past the Vampire Earls at the very top of the square stone platform where a delicate, black wooden box was placed. A mere glance instantly caused his heartbeat to race uncontrollably.
The Chapter of Freedom was nearly within reach!
As long as he was able to get ahold of it, it would belong to him. Then, he could safely teleport away with the Unknown Transfer Scroll.
Suddenly, three groups of patrolling Vampires emerged from different directions.
Nie Yan took a deep breath while trying to maintain a calm breathing pattern. The following step would be the most important. If he was able to avoid these three patrolling groups, he would have at least thirty seconds to get past the Lord-class Vampire Earls and seize the Chapter of Freedom!
However, he wasn’t fully confident whether he was in an absolutely safe spot. The reason he had taken his time staying up on that pillar for so long was because there were simply too many patrolling groups near the stone platform. Two of the patrolling groups were now extremely close to the ten-meter range, forcing him to take even more care as one wrong step would lead to him being discovered.
This was simply toying with death!
As the three groups of vampires made their patrols, they were drawing closer and closer to Nie Yan. Very soon, they would cross that ten-meter range. Seeing this scene, a huge lump emerged in his throat.
Calm down! He slowly calmed his mind as he stared at the patrolling Vampires nearby. The size of each patrolling group was fairly large. Some had several dozen in their ranks while others had over a hundred. In any case, he was clearly able to see their sinister appearances.
One group left the square followed by another. Apparently, Nie Yan’s hopes were being fulfilled.
However, at this moment, an intense shout penetrated the air, shattering the silence in the square.
Nie Yan quickly locked onto the source of the sound. A Vampire had discovered him!
Subsequently, all of the Vampires drew their attention to him, including the Vampire Earls up ahead. Upon noticing an intruder, all of them went into an uproar.
Shit, they saw me! There was not an ounce of hesitation in Nie Yan’s mind nor any to his movements. He whipped out a Basic Haste Scroll and tore it immediately. Then, with as much strength as he could muster, he sprinted towards the Chapter of Freedom. This was his final chance. If he failed to retrieve the Chapter, then he would be forced to escape with his Unknown Transfer Scroll and wait until the next opportunity arose.
It was quite possible that he would never get another chance prior to Level 20. After all, without the Unknown Transfer Scroll or something similar to save his life, he would never dare to come here to seize the Chapter of Freedom.
When the Vampire Earl’s noticed his presence, they immediately dashed forward with an extremely fast speed, seemingly leaving after-images.
In the meantime, countless Vampires began pursuing him from the rear, cutting off all paths of retreat.
A Vampire lunged forward, causing him to spin to the side to avoid it. Not daring to slow down, he made a mad dash.
Dammit… If only Flash Powder, Web Scrolls, or Sheep Transformation Scrolls were effective. If only I had Tempest Step, or Advancing Dash. If only…
However, there was no time for ifs. The present Nie Yan was only Level 10. He was no longer a Level 180 Great Thief. He could only rely on his limited set of skills to display his limits.
In the previous timeline, when he was Level 10, he was an ordinary player who couldn’t be any more mediocre. However, everything he did was completely unaverage and out of the ordinary, just like what he was doing now!
He still hadn’t reached his limit!
He was like the wind as he rapidly drew close to the Chapter of Freedom. It was only about seven meters away—so close! He already took out the Unknown Transfer Scroll and tightly held it in his hand. As long as he retrieved the Chapter of Freedom, he would scram!
The numerous hordes of Vampires in the rear were quickly left behind in his dust.
At that moment, Nie Yan suddenly noticed the two Vampire Earls just in front of him. They bore their fangs and claws as bloody streaks of light flashed toward him.
In the instant that the Earls clawed at him, he ducked his head and lunged forward, then with his right arm bracing the ground, he did a flip and dodged the Earl’s attacks.
「Hiss! Hiss!」They angrily screeched as their attacks struck empty air.
Now only three meters from the stone platform, he stared at the black wooden box containing the Chapter of Freedom and activated the Silk Spinner Ring’s ability. Soon, a web line shot into the air and stuck to the wooden box. With a hard tug, it flew into the air toward him.
Lunging forward once again, he extended his left arm and caught the box before transitioning into a roll.
He had obtained the Chapter of Freedom!
Though, the celebrations were cut short as he suddenly found himself unable to budge an inch. It was as if an invisible force had firmly bound him. In the rear, one of the Earls swiped its sharp claws toward the back of his head. It seemed, in the next moment, his brains were going to be splattered all over the ground.
However, an intense white light suddenly burst forth from Nie Yan’s palm.
As the Earl’s claws made contact with his head, unexpectedly, there was no blood or gore. The Earl paused for a moment in a daze. Since it had low intelligence, it had no idea what was happening.
Nie Yan’s entire body had turned illusory. In the next instant, he disappeared without a trace.
The Earl’s attack had missed!
When Nie Yan opened his eyes, his heart was still rapidly beating. Just a moment ago, if he had been even a millisecond… He never expected the Earls to possess Spirit Bind. Such a skill was simply too terrifying.
Spirit Bind was a skill exclusive to monsters and could be used when they were within three meters of the enemy. Upon activation, both the user and the target would be unable to move for five minutes! As long as the Earl that targeted him didn’t die, he would have been stuck there for the whole duration. Unless he had teleportation, a nullifying skill, or something along those lines, there would be no chance of escape.
Fortunately, he had activated the Unknown Transfer Scroll just in the knick of time. Otherwise, his brains would have been splattered all over the floor of the tomb.
He had re-emerged in the barren wasteland with no idea where he was. However, he could at least confirm that he was in Hems Wasteland. There was a group of Skeleton Fighters charging toward him, so he quickly sprinted away. As he ran, he was no longer able to hold back the emotions stirring in his heart and excitedly opened the box that contained the Chapter of Freedom.
A chapter from the Book of Order appeared before his eyes.
This was one of the chapters from the first volume, the Chapter of Freedom!
Nie Yan quickly examined the chapter’s properties.
-Chapter of Freedom
Description: The sixth chapter from the first volume of the Book of Order, an incomplete piece of the legendary book.
Properties: Receive 2 Dexterity and 1 skill point every 5 levels. Stealth +15, Cloak +15, Reflex +15, Strength +30
Disappear: Allows the player to stealth in the middle of combat. Has a certain probability of avoiding the enemy’s attack.
Passive: Stealth +20
Sacrificial Gambit: Sacrifice 30% of your current health for a 50% chance to deal 200% damage, 20% to deal 300% damage, or 10% chance to deal 500% damage.
Cooldown: 2 days (1/2)
Restrictions: Can only be used by a member of the Righteous Guardian of Order.
Note: Item effects are applied immediately upon entering the player’s bag.
With two chapters from the Book of Order in his bag, Nie Yan suddenly felt reinvigorated as a wave of joy and relief washed over him. Now that he had these two chapters by his side, there was simply no comparison between the current him and his former self!