Xiao Yu was delighted and wondered how long this guy had lived, considering that the era of the Erathia Empire was more than 1000 years ago.
"It was late autumn, and yellowish grass covered all of Erathia like a golden carpet. The members of our Spirit tribe lived together on the grassland northwest of Erathia. They shepherded cows and sheep, prayed to their ancestors, and worshiped the underworld god with whom they could call upon the spirits to defend their homes. In a sense, they lived peaceful lives, and they didn't try to contend with anybody. However, the muddleheaded king of the Erathia Kingdom, Esend, considered us, the members of the Spirit tribe, as a symbol of evil, and he sent his army to kill us and drive us away. As a result, members of the Spirit tribe were expelled from their own territory and were forced to migrate north. Many of them had died when they were in the Great Desert of Dyak," said the spirit wizard leisurely.
Xiao Yu had already heard of this story because it was the historical background of the game, but it had a sorrowful feeling to it when he listened to the story retold by the spirit wizard.
"My father was a powerful spirit wizard. In an effort to protect my mother and me, a one-month-old infant, he was killed during the battle by pursuing Erathia soldiers. My mother brought me into the desert where no water could be found, and she walked for a whole week while holding me in her bosom. I was saved by a few fleeing goblins, but my mother ended up staying in the desert forever. After I grew up, the goblins told me that during that week in the desert, my mother had cut her own wrists and fed me with her blood as milk so that I could survive. My mother died afterward, and the goblins then agreed to save me." The throat of the spirit wizard was a bit hoarse, and his voice trembled slightly.
Xiao Yu remained silent for a long time. He couldn't remember his family members clearly in his mind anymore. He felt warm but agitated when he heard the terms "mother" and "father, which sounded strange but also familiar.
"She was a great mom," claimed Xiao Yu in his mind. For some reason, he was struck by a bitter and sorrowful feeling.
"A few hundred years later, I became a powerful spirit wizard. I keep telling the members of our tribe that we are nourished by blood and that we must pray to our ancestors with the blood of our enemies. We have been waiting patiently all these years to return to our home territory someday and drive the invaders out of the grassland of Erathia," he proclaimed eloquently.
This was not only an oath of the spirit wizard but also a pledge of the whole tribe.
Xiao Yu vaguely felt that he was one of them. The feeling was bizarre but still tangible in a way. Perhaps, the moment he chose the Spirit tribe as his own, his fate was intermingled with theirs whether he wanted it to or not.
The spirit wizard flicked his hand slightly, and a cold glow appeared. When Xiao Yu could see the object in his hand, he saw that it was a dagger emitting a cold, glittering light.
"This is the dagger I used and kept on me when I was young. I'm giving it to you now, and I hope you won't bring disgrace to it," said the spirit wizard. Then, he tossed the dagger to Xiao Yu by unfurling his right arm.
Xiao Yu caught the dagger squarely in his hand. It was a small dagger that was delicately made. It was about one-inch wide with an exceedingly sharp blade, and the hilt of the dagger was made from some sort of white silver that full of tiny marks. It was a dagger of delicacy and might.
Escape dagger: special item; attack 32-35; to be used alongside the escape skill, indestructible. (The wielder of the dagger will be transported to a spot five meters away after the escape skill is used.)
This was a special item with decent features. Though he won't be using the escape skill often, this dagger might still be able to save his life in a dire situation.
As he held the escape dagger, he sensed a peculiar feeling in his palm, and the end of the dagger felt uneven. Xiao Yu brought the dagger close to his eyes and examined the end of the dagger, where a line of small words was carved:
For the survival and inheritance of the tribe.
"For the survival and inheritance of the tribe," muttered Xiao Yu. This was the quote of the Spirit tribe and a reflection of Xiao Yu as a member. Xiao Yu felt rather touched.
"I'll use this dagger as best I can," said Xiao Yu earnestly.
The spirit wizard took a look at Xiao Yu's waist and said casually, "As a high-level thief, he has to have the basic equipment, meaning having three daggers instead of two. The dagger in the dominant hand should be able to cause high damage, while the other ones should be a speed reduction poison dagger and a lethal poison dagger. You seem to be lacking a special waist belt for thieves."
Xiao Yu had seen the special waist belt in the NPC shop, on which the daggers could hang. The person wearing the belt could change daggers during battle at any moment. But it was rather expensive, with the regular ones costing about 10 gold coins.
"A speed reduction poison dagger and a lethal poison dagger," Xiao Yu repeated what the spirit wizard had said, lost in thought. All of a sudden, he was struck by an idea: a thief did need such equipment. First of all, a thief needed a dagger in their dominant hand that could cause high damage and could be used as the main attacking weapon. Then, a thief would need two more daggers, which could be used as accessory weapons to inflict speed reduction poison and lethal poison upon the enemy. These two daggers could also be used to launch a lethal strike at a crucial moment.
Though the spirit wizard said all this casually, it somehow inspired Xiao Yu a lot.
"Some interesting things will happen in the near future. I'll regroup my spirit army during this period. Goodbye, young member of my tribe. May the ancestors be with you," said the spirit wizard while standing up from the royal seat. He then headed toward the back of the palace.
Xiao Yu bowed in the direction of the spirit wizard who waddled with his back hunched and disappeared after rounding a corner of the underground palace.
The skeleton soldiers in golden armor around him backed up slowly to open a path for Xiao Yu. He backtracked his way out of the place.
It was much easier to get out of the ancient tomb than it was to get in. The skeleton soldiers backed up automatically when they saw Xiao Yu, causing no trouble for him.
He was exceedingly delighted because he had gained an escape dagger, which was a very good item, after completing a simple task of sending a letter.
After coming out of the ancient tomb, Xiao Yu looked at the horizon in the west and found it was getting dark. It was almost dusk. He should go back to the small town of Tabarka as soon as possible.
Reversed backstab!
Xiao Yu killed a large mountain cat on his way back. The system uttered a crisp and ear-pleasing upgrading notification. He had leveled up to level 8 now.
After checking the Level Rankings List, he found that the highest-ranking players were at level 10. There were only three of them at this level, and there were many of them at level 9.
But one's level couldn't represent one's true strength, though. What he needed to do was lay a rock-solid foundation, after which he could catch up with them later on. This is what he told himself.
"My stealth travel skill should be upgraded now, and so should the evisceration, reversed backstabbing and backstabbing skills." Xiao Yu let out a faint smile. Upgrading skills meant an improvement of strength. However, he furrowed his eyebrows when he thought of all this. It cost him five gold coins to upgrade each of his evisceration, reversed backstabbing and backstabbing skills to level 2. How much would it cost him to upgrade these skills to level 3?