Nie Yan checked his quest window. Scrolling down, there really were far too many to count: gathering the chapters of the Book of Order, completing the Tyrant Abak Set, obtaining the Assassin's Heart, attaining Spirituality, removing the final seal from Zennarde's Sword and save War God Kelo, defeating Cerberus to free the imprisoned Ten Holy Paladins, and a whole bunch of other less important quests. Anyone would be busy beyond belief trying to deal with all these quests. Now, he had received yet another quest item.
Nie Yan worked on these quests every day, steadily making progress as he analyzed every clue he found. The rewards were well worth the effort. If he completed all of them, he estimated no one could rival him for a long time to come.
At present, of the small number of Masters out there, there was no lack of peak experts. However, not a single one of them could compare to Nie Yan in terms of gear quality. This was just one of the reasons why Nie Yan remained undefeated. But if he wanted to keep it that way, he'd have to put in even more effort than others.
Nie Yan entered the transfer point and teleported to Grin Town. This was a town located in the middle of a desert. According to his quest marker, the Lost City of Barthe had sunk somewhere around here. In any case, there was no harm in checking this place out.
After arriving in Grin Town, the Holy Stone in his bag started emitting a milky white light. Nie Yan was gobsmacked. It couldn't be this coincidental right? While searching for the Lost City, he just so happened to come across another piece of the Tyrant Abak Set.
Based on the reaction of the Holy Stone, the piece of the Tyrant Abak Set was nearby. In fact, it seemed it might even be somewhere within the town!
It was likely in the hands of an NPC. That was convenient. This would save Nie Yan a lot of time and effort.
A notification popped up.
Find Blacksmith Kesa.
Nie Yan faintly smiled. The system even told him exactly who to go to.
Nie Yan walked around the town. It was much nicer here compared to the other desert towns he'd visited. With several hundred buildings it was quite big. Some residents rode camels packed with goods back into town, giving it a lively feeling.
There were no players here, probably because the maps around Grin Town were fairly high. Before Level 160, few would dare to come here.
Nie Yan followed the Holy Stone's lead and entered a dark and damp alley. An awful smell came from the sewage drain on the ground.
Nie Yan could sense a faint dark and ghastly aura in the surroundings.
"Is there a monster here…? No, that can't be. I'm still in the middle of the town. Must be something else…" Nie Yan muttered.
However, Nie Yan still took precautions and entered stealth.
After passing through one winding alleyway after another, Nie Yan arrived in front of a shabby house. A sign with the words Kesa's Smithery hung on the door.
KLANG! KLANG! KLANG! A clear hammering sound rang out.
This house was practically falling apart, but it was where the quest marker pointed him to.
Nie Yan pushed open the door and walked inside. An old NPC was stooped over an iron forge, beating a red hot iron ingot with his hammer.
This room was about three by five meters in size. There were all sorts of sparkling equipment hanging on the walls.
Nie Yan glanced around the room before settling his gaze on a dagger hanging on the wall. It was curved like a viper's fang, and it emitted a stifling killing intent. The sharp blade flickered under the light of the furnace's flames.
There were many daggers here, but none could compare to this one.
It was the other dagger in the Tyrant Abak Set, Abak's Slaughter Edge!
Seeing this dagger, Nie Yan's face lit up in elation. He didn't expect to find it so quickly!
This was the sixth piece of the Tyrant Abak Set he found. He was only two pieces away from completing the set.
"Hello, Blacksmith Kesa." Nie Yan walked over to the old man.
Kesa turned his head away from his forge and looked over.
Nie Yan got a good look at Kesa. He was a short and burly old man. Judging by his old and haggard face covered with wrinkles, he was somewhere in his sixties.
"It's an honour to meet you, Great Prophet," Kesa said with a flattering smile.
"I'd like to buy something from you," Nie Yan said. The Slaughter Edge was hanging right on the wall. However, he couldn't forcefully seize it, or it would negatively affect his reputation.
"Of course, of course. Everything here is for sale," Kesa replied, observing Nie Yan with crafty eyes. Who knew what he was thinking.
"I want to buy that dagger." Nie Yan pointed at the Slaughter Edge. He sensed Kesa was different from normal NPCs. But he didn't think Kesa would try to pull any tricks. What was he going to do? Take the dagger and run?
Seeing Nie Yan point at the Slaughter Edge, Kesa's eyes narrowed into thin slits. He feigned a hesitant tone and said, "Great Prophet… this is the best weapon in my shop. It's extremely expensive."
"How much do you want for it?" Nie Yan asked, coldly gazing at Kesa. With his financial ability, there was nothing he couldn't buy.
"100,000 gold…" Kesa carefully paid attention to Nie Yan's expression, then continued, "Of course, that only covers part of the bill. I also want 10 Azure Gems, 10 Viridian Gems, 10 Dusk Gems, 10 Silvermoon Gems, 10 Crimson Blood Gems…"
Kesa listed off more than 60 different gems, and he wanted 10 of each. Though some were relatively ordinary and cheap, many would cost Nie Yan an arm and a leg. Speaking in terms of money, it'd cost about 600,000 gold in total.
"That's all," Kesa said.
"If I give you 100,000 gold and all the gems you mentioned, you'll sell me the dagger?" Nie Yan asked. Kesa's shifty-eyed appearance didn't really invoke a sense of confidence.
"Of course." Kesa nodded.
If it were an ordinary player, regardless of whether or not they could pay the 100,000 gold, finding these gems alone would prove incredibly difficult. However, this wasn't the case for Nie Yan. Half a million gold was no sweat off his back.
"I want this written down in a contract. If I gather these things and you go back on your side of the deal, you'll spend the remainder of your days locked up in Orc King City's prison," Nie Yan said.
Kesa trembled before letting out an awkward laugh. "Of course, of course. I'll sign your contract."
Kesa was an unscrupulous fellow. NPC or player, he would cheat anyone he could. However, he didn't dare to pull any tricks with Nie Yan. The foresight of jail was plenty of a deterrent.
Nie Yan wrote up a contract, which the two signed with their fingerprints.
Nie Yan sent word to Guo Huai. Before long, 20 players set out to start collecting the gems while the rest were withdrawn from the guild treasury. In less than five minutes, all 60 different types of gems had been gathered. A person came over to deliver them.
What efficiency! This was the advantage of being a guild leader. When Nie Yan encountered a difficult task, he didn't need to do anything himself. He could just hand it over to those below him, and it would get done immediately.
Nie Yan put the 100,000 gold and 60 different gems in the trade window. Kesa was dumbstruck. He didn't expect Nie Yan to gather everything so quickly. If he knew this earlier, he would've asked for more. He revealed a hesitant expression.
"You aren't thinking about going back on your word, are you? Don't forget our contract." Nie Yan waved the contract in his hand.
Kesa immediately hung his head in defeat. He took the Slaughter Edge from the wall and placed it in the trade window.
Trade successful!
You have received Abak's Slaughter Edge.
Nie Yan couldn't help but get excited. The Slaughter Edge was his! He had six pieces of the Tyrant Abak Set. Only two more pieces to go to complete the set!
The Slaughter Edge looked similar to the Bloody Dagger, only that the colour was a bit different.
Nie Yan examined the Slaughter Edge's properties.
Abak's Slaughter Edge (Legendary): Unequippable
Requirements: 1,500 Strength, 1,200 Dexterity, Level 180
Description: This item can only be worn by the owner of the Glimpse of Darkness. It is only equippable when the owner has gathered the full set. Abak held strength in high regard. Only the powerful can become tyrants. Eliminate all traitors!
Properties: Attack +2300, Armour Break +25%, Strength +700, Dexterity +320, All Stats +100, Ignore Level, Chaos Damage. Attacks inflict the following curses: Rank 16 Agony, Rank 16 Bleed, and Rank 16 Poison.
Set Completion: 6/8
Note: Automatically bound to the owner of Volume I of the Book of Order; cannot be traded or dropped.
The Slaughter Edge's properties were slightly different from that of the Bloody Dagger. The former inflicted Agony, Bleed, and Poison while the latter inflicted Exhaust, Fate Lock, and Thorns.
After putting away the Slaughter Edge in his bag, Nie Yan was in high spirits. He could already imagine himself wearing the Tyrant Abak Set at Level 150.
Suddenly, a cold wind blew past, causing Nie Yan to feel a chill run down his spine.
Kesa was currently carrying the large pile of gems with greed-filled eyes. Suddenly, he started wailing out in extreme pain. His bones erupted from his body, growing larger and larger. His clothes were ripped to shreds. He quickly filled the entire shop. BOOM! His head broke through the roof.
Nie Yan hurriedly fled outside. Looking back, an enormous five-meter tall demonic beast appeared before his eyes. This fellow clearly wasn't Kesa anymore.
Half of Kesa's face transformed into the appearance of Phantom Princess Ina. Meanwhile, the lower half of his body transformed into that of an octopus, writhing with countless black tentacles.
Shit! It's Phantom Princess Ina again!
Nie Yan quickly hid far away. He inspected her with Transcendent Insight. She was a Level 150 Variant Lord!
Why did she have to become stronger every time they met!?
A Level 150 Variant Lord wasn't something Nie Yan could deal with.