Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
During this time…
Decadentdude, blackgoat, and the rest of their party were heading down a small alleyway without so much as looking back. The reason for this was that the small alleyway led directly to Tess Square, which was where they were aiming for as part of their plan.
“We can head through that small alleyway and reach Tess Square that way,” Decadentdude said. He led his companions onward while he explained, “There’s a small avenue near Tess Square where a Qingmu soldier has been left alone. We can go there, kill him first, and get our first piece of the City Guard Set!”
Due to the class (Ranger) that decadentdude had chosen, he was able to get the most information about the game during the game’s alpha testing phase (compared to the other players in his party). Thus, the party generally deferred to his leadership.
“But wait. We’re not level two yet. Are we capable of killing that soldier?” Princesskaho objected.
When she said this, the expressions on her companions’ faces turned ugly—
“D*mn it all! That soldier is a level five mob.”
“If there’s a level difference of more than three levels, our damage output may be lacking.”
The Berserker and Assassin looked very unhappy. They were melee classes, so they were the most at risk in combat. If they made a mistake here, they wouldn’t have enough time left to carry out the remainder of their plan.
If they were killed in battle, they would drop one level. They would also be burdened with the “Vulnerable” state, which would be an absolutely disastrous blow to their early game progress.
Hence, they couldn’t afford to fail here.
“D*mn it. If only the ‘Stygian Night Invasion’ hadn’t started a quarter of an hour early,” Decadentdude said through gritted teeth. “Wouldn’t we all be level two, then? If we had a quarter of an hour more to prepare, we would certainly all be level two, and xiaofei, shortspear, and the others wouldn’t have missed out on the ‘Stygian Night Invasion’!
“I don’t know who influenced the story event and messed up all our preparations!”
Within their guild, other elite players were preparing to join the “Stygian Night Invasion.” Unfortunately, when the story event inexplicably started a quarter of an hour early, those players were “left by the wayside.”
They were the only ones who remained, since they had progressed far enough to be accepted into the story event…
“Ahh, it would sure be nice if we bumped into a normal player now,” Princesskaho groaned out loud.
The main problem now was that they had arrived too late (they almost didn’t make it in time to join the “Stygian Night Invasion”), so all the Yggdmillennia players had already fled. This meant they couldn’t kill any players, and as a result, couldn’t level up—their experience level was stuck at around 90%.
In the game world of “Demon Realm,” killing an enemy player not only awarded reputation, but also some experience points.
Having said that, princesskaho would rather die than meet another player like lacuna. The guy was just trying to aggravate them, and there was nothing she could do about it. That kind of pent-up frustration was torture for her!
“We’re out of options here. Let’s just head for Tess Square first and hope that we run into some Yggdmillennia players on the way there!”
Decadentdude continued sprinting at a brisk pace as he told the others, “Oh right, that small avenue was once the haunt of the ‘assassin.’ It would be good to pay close attention when we pass by it because we might find some unexpected rewards… Eh?!”
Before Decadentdude could finish his sentence, he stopped in his tracks and stared wide-eyed at the entrance to the small alleyway—
An old beggar covered in slovenly clothes was slowly getting to his feet.
“What’s going on here?!” Decadentdude couldn’t believe his own eyes. Next to him, his companions’ eyes also grew wider, and they looked as though they had seen a ghost—
“The way he’s dressed… Isn’t that exactly how the ‘assassin’ looks?!”
“What’s happening? Why is the assassin still well and alive?!”
“The assassin in Qingmu Town was supposed to have perished with the Horticultural Priest, wasn’t he?!”
At that moment, the four top tier players began to question their own life experiences, as they felt like they had played a “fake alpha test”—The NPC that was supposed to be dead was clearly alive in front of them!
The assassins from the Stygian Night Kingdom always dressed up as beggars, so even though they had never seen Qingmu Town’s assassin before this, they were able to identify who he was.
Pitter-patter…
The old beggar walked toward them. His pace wasn’t very quick, but he made long strides.
Pitter-patter…
The repeated sound of footsteps was like the booming reverberations of bells and drums, and it shook the Stygian players at their core.
Very soon, the old beggar stopped and stood beside them. “You’ve done well,” he said. “The almighty God of the Blind shall always watch over you.”
As the words left his mouth, the four Stygian players felt a shiver run through their bodies. Then, they heard the sound of a notification—
System Notification: You have received the “Screened” effect. The effect will last for 30 minutes.
Special Effect – Screened: When you kill a player or NPC from Qingmu Town, the threat generated by your actions will be reduced, so that enemies will not prioritize you as a target. Please note that if there are no other targets around you, the enemies will still attack you.
“This special effect!”
The four players were shocked. As top tier players with a lot of experience to draw from, they realized right away that the practical uses of this special effect could rival that of the effect given by the “City Guard Set”!
Of course, the City Guard Set’s effect was applicable to a wide array of different situations, so overall, the City Guard Set’s set effect was still superior.
Even so, the “Screened” effect was extremely practical for the Stygian players, and their current environment was especially suitable for drawing out the full potential of the “Screened” effect.
While decadentdude, blackgoat, and the others were still processing this new information, the old beggar walked past them and made his way to the center of the residential district.
“Let’s follow him, quickly!”
Decadentdude was the first to react, immediately shouting excitedly. “That assassin is a key NPC. He must be linked to some kind of important story event. Let’s catch up to him quickly and activate his story event!”
Princesskaho heard what he was saying, and hurried to add:
“That’s right! That assassin isn’t dead yet, so there must be a new story event!
“The reward for killing the Qingmu soldiers is nothing compared to the one for completing a story event!
“Chase after him! We can’t let him get away!!!”
Before she could even finish what she was saying, the group had already started running and were chasing in the direction of the old beggar. However, even though the old beggar looked like he was walking slowly, in reality, his speed was much faster than it appeared. It was not long before they had followed the old beggar back to the area around the spring.
“He’s over there!” Decadentdude had the best eyesight, so he was the first to pick out the old beggar’s silhouette. His companions followed his lead and looked over.
But in the next instant, a lifeless expression surfaced on his and his companions’ faces—
The old beggar was walking over to the spring with steady, rhythmic steps. As he did so, his gaze rested on Ye Kong, who was standing in front of the spring, and there was a look of approval in his eyes.
“Very good, my dear lacuna. You’ve fulfilled your mission beautifully!”
The old beggar opened his mouth to speak again, but this time, his voice was not that of an elderly man. Instead, he had a crisp, melodious voice like that of a songbird, and it had a kind of charm that couldn’t be described.
At the same time, the old beggar’s body ignited into pure purple-colored flames. All his clothes burned to ashes, and his entire body was engulfed in fire.
Pitter-patter…
The blaze of pure purple flames started walking toward Ye Kong. With every step it took, the fire dissipated a little, and soon enough, as it stood right in front of him, the purple flames surrounding the beggar’s body were extinguished.
A beautiful young lady with dark hair and fair skin now stood before Ye Kong. A pair of horns sprouted from her forehead, a tail stretched out behind her, and a pair of bat-like wings extended from her back. These all revealed her true identity—
A succubus!
Faced with this sight, Ye Kong was unfazed. On the contrary, his lips curled, as if to say “just as I expected.” The very next moment, he bowed down to the young succubus.
“I appreciate your kind words of praise, O great succubus—
“Lady Lilith.”