Nie Yan thought Cranston was some mysterious NPC with a hidden quest. It turned out he was actually just a merchant! He felt slightly depressed when he thought of how much time he'd wasted. Cranston only started paying attention to him after he finished reading his book!
Were this real life, any merchant that dared to treat their customers this way would surely starve to death!
However, after giving it some thought, Nie Yan realized this was likely a trigger. The player had to sit through Cranston's entire sermon before they could purchase something from him.
Nie Yan found it strange he'd never heard of such an NPC in his past life.
A shop window popped up in front of Nie Yan. Cranston only had three items for sale. His eyes widened in shock. Damn! Someone actually sells these items?
The first item listed up for sale was a black crystal. It looked like a lump of coal, lacking the slightest sparkle. However, Nie Yan's heart trembled when he read the name. It was a Resurrection Crystal!
Resurrection Crystal: Revive a fallen pet. Consumed upon use.
Price: 200,000 gold
The other two items didn't lose out either.
Arcane Gem (Socketable): Increases the damage of arcane magic by 30%.
Price: 200,000 gold
Mysterious Black Egg: Found by Cranston during his prime. A powerful creature slumbers inside.
Price: 500,000 gold
None of these items were things that normal players could afford, and this was after the discount Nie Yan received from his Grand Scholar title.
"When I was still a young man, I slayed a dragon. These are the items I obtained from it…" Cranston started recounting the stories of his youth.
Nie Yan had no interest in listening to Cranston any longer. He quickly had Guo Huai transfer over the gold to him. He couldn't let this opportunity slip by, no matter what!
Before long, Nie Yan bought all three items from Cranston for 900,000 gold. Spending so much in one go was a bit painful. However, it was definitely worth it. If you put these three items up on the auction house, even 1,500,000 gold wouldn't necessarily be enough to buy them all.
Cranston continued, "After I defeated the dragon, the father of this little church offered me something. He wanted me to set on the path of a hero and become a legend. Sadly I failed to live up to his expectations. When he passed away many years later, I took over his position and have been keeping watch over this place ever since. The days flew by and before I knew it, I'd become a decrepit. I feel deeply ashamed just thinking of it. Youngster, would you be willing to fulfill this old man's wish?"
Nie Yan's heart trembled. It was a quest.
"Of course, sir Cranston. What would you like me to do?
"This is the bracelet the father gave me. It will guide you. Please, if you decide to accept this, prepare yourself mentally for this challenge." Cranston took out a plain looking silver white link and chain bracelet.
Will you accept Cranston's request?
As long as it was a quest, regardless of the difficulty, Nie Yan would accept. With his current strength, no quest was impossible for him! If he couldn't do it, no one could! Then what meaning would there be to have such a quest in the game?
Nie Yan hit yes without the slightest hesitation. As he carefully accepted the bracelet from Cranston, a notification popped up.
You have received the quest Heart of a Hero.
Nie Yan's mind trembled. Was this Heart of a Hero quest related to the Holy Spirit Heart?
Nie Yan was filled with doubts. However, after some more thought, he decided not to worry about it any further. Be it the Heart of a Hero right now or the Holy Spirit Heart required to rescue Barbarian Kelowitz, they were all shrouded in a veil of mystery. He still didn't have a real understanding of what they were.
Nie Yan wore the chain and link bracelet on his left hand, wrapping it around his middle finger. It didn't have any stats whatsoever. Many close-combat classes had this type of accessory. According to rumours, some rare bracelets would become a frightening cursed item after absorbing large amounts of blood.
With the bracelet on, Nie Yan felt an icy coldness course through his hand.
After handing out the quest to Nie Yan, Cranston seemed to age more than 10 years. He said with a feeble tone, "Wear this bracelet as you pursue the path of a hero. It will grant you miraculous power. Well, I wish you success on your journey. I'll be handing this gold over to my children. One day, just like the father of this church… Let dust turn to dust and earth return to earth. The world is me, and I am the world. Why would I be reluctant to leave?"
Cranston bid farewell to Nie Yan, then disappeared behind the church.
It seemed like the reason Nie Yan had never encountered Cranston before was that he disappeared after handing out his quest. That was probably why whenever he entered the church in the previous timeline, it was completely empty.
Seeing Cranston's figure disappearing behind the church, Nie Yan withdrew his gaze. He had no idea what he needed to do to trigger the next clue in the quest. After reading over the quest description, he decided to put it off for now. Quests that he hadn't even started yet or was stuck halfway through on were a dime-a-dozen in his quest window. He could only resolve them one at a time. This wasn't the first, nor would it be the last.
After waiting a while longer in the church, Nie Yan heard the sound of battle coming from the town entrance. He quickly stood up. Phantom Princess Ina was here!
Nie Yan walked out of the church. Activating his Crawler Ring, he quickly climbed up to the top of the roof. As he looked to see what was happening at the entrance, his eyes trembled with shock.
It wasn't playing out like he expected at all. He thought Crassus' residents and defenses were enough to deal with Phantom Princess Ina. However, she had summoned a Giant Steel Golem. It was five meters tall and covered in sharp spikes It acted as a bodyguard and stood right in front of her. Each step it took violently shook the earth.
The women in Crassus let out cries of terror. The men grabbed their weapons. Some people manned the crossbow turrets and took aim at the Giant Steel Golem.
However, their attacks had no effect. The Giant Steel Golem smashed its fist into the wall. BOOM! It instantly destroyed a portion of the wall. Several residents let out miserable cries and collapsed on the ground.
The Giant Steel Golem wreaked havoc on the town's defenses, killing residents left and right.
Phantom Princess Ina raised her staff, reanimating the fallen residents into her undead army. The number of Phantom Puppets under her control grew with each passing second. They started carrying out a massacre.
Some players didn't get a chance to flee before they were overrun by the Phantom Puppets.
Nie Yan's face turned ashen. A Level 100 Variant Lord was much more powerful than he ever imagined.
Notice: Crassus is under attack. Players, please provide assistance!
Notice: Crassus is under attack. Players, please provide assistance!
...
This bright red notification popped up for everyone in Calore.
Nie Yan didn't expect this matter to attract so much attention. He didn't know how this battle in Crassus would play out now.
The players in Calore broke out in lively discussion. Some decided to watch from the sidelines. Others immediately rushed over to Crassus for fear of missing out on the loot. Aside from Asskickers United, Holy Empire, Sapphire Shrine, and Radiant Sacred Flame, Calore was home to more than 50 other guilds both large and small. Though they were minor powers, as soon as the notifications popped up, they started dispatching their expedition teams one after another. From their experiences, this kind of event was a golden opportunity to fish up easy benefits.
Crassus' transfer area lit up as groups of players teleported over in droves. Even players from other cities had come. While they were in Calore questing, they had received the notification too.
These players surged toward the town entrance as a chaotic battle ensued. The combined strength of several thousand players gathered together wasn't to be taken lightly.
Seeing the steady stream of players flowing out of the transfer area, Nie Yan's jaw dropped in shock. A horde of players swarmed the Giant Steel Golem and Phantom Princess Ina.
Guo Huai had received the news as well. He immediately contacted Nie Yan,「Crassus was attacked by a boss monster. Should we send people over to fight for the Honour?」
It appeared this matter had caught Guo Huai's interest too. Nie Yan bitterly smiled. No one knew the person responsible for all this chaos in Crassus was him!
「Hold off for a moment. I'm at Crassus right now. I'll let you know if it's necessary,」Nie Yan said. Killing Phantom Princess Ina wouldn't be easy for players at this stage of the game. After all, she was a Level 100 Variant Lord.
「Huh, how are you there already!?」
「Because I'm the one who caused this whole mess...」Nie Yan recounted everything from the beginning.
「I see… Well, I heard Crassus is pretty lively right now. Everyone's there, including some of our old enemies like Bloodfiends and Angel Corps. Even God Executioner Sword and Penumbra Empire are participating,」Guo Huai said. It was a real fiesta. Since intercity travel was fairly easy now, many players from other large guilds would come to Calore to level and do quests. Asskickers United's players were the same, frequently travelling to other cities. The fact that outsiders were joining in on the fun wasn't strange at all.
「I'll give them my regards. Tell Bladelight and the others to continue exploring Griffon Woodlands. Don't bother with things here,」Nie Yan concluded. Even if Asskickers United sent over a team, they likely wouldn't be able to snatch up any appreciable benefits. It simply wasn't worth their time. He alone was enough.
At this moment, a 1,000-player expedition team emerged from the transfer area and hurried over toward the town entrance.
Nie Yan swept his eyes over the group and noticed a few familiar faces—Thieves from Bloodfiends! They huddled together and discussed something before disappearing into stealth.
As a fellow Thief, Nie Yan more-or-less knew what they were up to. Events like these absolutely wouldn't have them missing. They wouldn't participate in the defense of the town. However, once Phantom Princess Ina died, they would definitely be part of the group fighting over the loot. Thieves had an innate advantage when it came to snatching up drops.
A large crowd had gathered outside of Crassus. Some players surrounded Phantom Princess Ina while others dealt with the Giant Steel Golem and Phantom Puppets. Even though the battle looked hectic, everyone played their role.
There was always Honour to be earned when participating in a town defense. So, these players were quite motivated. Even the weakest among them were at least Level 70. Those who were low level wouldn't dare to come to a high level place like Crassus.
Particle effects exploded in the air. Players were dying left and right. However, they had managed to kill a few of the Phantom Puppets, which dropped high quality equipment and gems. They immediately made a mad scramble for the loot.
"Woo hoo! I snagged a Dark Gold-grade sword!"
"I got a Blaze Gem!"
...
The excited cries of some players only added to the frenzy.
"Everyone, kill the Giant Steel Golem and Phantom Princess Ina! I bet they'll drop Sub Legendary or even Legendary-grade equipment!"
The crowd's excitement boiled to a fever pitch as hordes of Warriors rushed forward. Phantom Princess Ina waved her staff, sending a wave of frost sweeping out and covering everything within a 50-meter radius. The Warriors were instantly stopped in their tracks.
"Shit, I'm frozen! I can't move!"
"Mages, don't let up! Priests and Paladins, quickly cast Holy Warmth!"
Among the crowd, a Warrior clad in silver armour was leading 2,000 others in attacking Phantom Princess Ina. Seeing this figure, Nie Yan's eyebrows jumped in surprise. He didn't expect to meet an old acquaintance here. It was Splendid Star, the guild leader of Splendid Temple.
Nie Yan had met Splendid Star back when the Guardian Of Order attacked Link Town.
It seemed like a lively event such as fighting over a boss couldn't have him missing!
When the two first met, Nie Yan was still a nameless solo player. Now he was the guild leader of Asskickers United, Nirvana Flame, an existence who ruled over Calore. Even Splendid Star himself would sigh at how things turned out.
Even though Splendid Temple had seen remarkable growth, they could only be counted as a mid-tier guild in Calore. They couldn't hold a candle to a colossus like Asskickers United. Thanks to the little bit of friendship Splendid Star had with Nie Yan and Sleepy Fox, they had always maintained a cordial relationship with Asskickers United and Holy Empire.
"It's about time I joined in on the fun... Let's dish out some payback, and do some catching up with an old friend." Nie Yan leaped off the top of the church.