Chapter 72: The Noble NPC
The four of them took the ten gold coins they had scraped together to the Tiefling Exchange and bought the [Mysterious Invitation].
When Singo handed the shiny gold coins to the Tiefling merchant, Mantou's expression was extremely pained. He thought to himself: How many pieces of equipment could you buy with that? You spendthrift!
The invitation in their hands felt heavy.
Their group went to the rented small house and eagerly opened the invitation.
The paper inside had a pale yellow pattern, thin and seemingly no different from ordinary paper, but the words on it were formed by burning flames, flickering incessantly.
There was only a brief sentence on it—
[You will meet the most noble one here.]
"Is it that big of a deal?"
"Looks like we didn't bet wrong this time; at least it's worth it."
Looking at the small words on the invitation, Mantou was full of anticipation.
Singo remained calm: "I told you already, the quest items you get by spending so much money will definitely yield considerable returns."
Born Battle Maniac chuckled: "Come on, stand properly; I'm about to use it."
"Okay."
[Confirm to use [Mysterious Invitation]!]
Suddenly, the space in front of the four of them rippled, then gradually twisted and cracked, forming a door-shaped spatial rift. Flames burned around the fissure, like the "door frame" of this dimensional gate.
"Damn, a portal? So high-end?"
Mantou exclaimed.
Up to now in the game, no magic class had developed teleportation skills. Mages who couldn't learn anything without scrolls didn't even count, and even the current so-called "true spellcasters," the Sorcerers, didn't have such high-end abilities.
Summer Night Autumn Rain and Born Battle Maniac were naturally overjoyed; even Singo, who usually wore a scowl, showed a trace of excitement.
But he still reminded: "The item description says that behind the door may be danger or reward, so we must be fully prepared."
"Indeed, it'd be bad if we got wiped out after going in."
Mantou nodded.
"Blessing!"
Summer Night Autumn Rain waved her wooden staff, beams of light descended, bathing everyone.
This divine spell grants the recipient advantage on attack and saving throw checks, considered the all-purpose spell for priests in the early stages.
"Healing Potion, Poison Resistance Potion, Wyvern Venom, Slick Oil, Precision Oil..."
Singo took out one item after another from his backpack, introducing them like treasures. Soon, these items piled up like a small hill.
"Where did you get so many things?" Mantou couldn't help but ask.
In this resource-scarce early stage, many newbie players couldn't even put together a basic set of equipment and couldn't even defeat the big goose raised by the Tiefling aunt next door, yet Singo had accumulated so much.
"Watch more, practice more, grind more."
Singo said lightly.
Mantou finally understood the extraordinary aspects of these top professional players. In this regard, he had to admit defeat—referring to showing off.
After applying oil to their weapons and armor, placing potions in their backpacks to deal with various situations, and making a series of preparations, Singo was finally ready to go. However, he looked very bloated at the moment, worthy of the dreams of min-maxers and the nightmares of those who value appearance.
"Let's go."
"Alright."
The four stepped into the mysterious flaming portal.
A heatwave rushed towards them, seemingly leaving marks on everyone's face.
"Damn, why is it so dark?"
"Where is this?"
"Feels a bit hot."
"Autumn Rain, cast a Light spell; we can't see."
"Okay."
Summer Night Autumn Rain raised her wooden staff and began casting a divine spell.
"Light!"
The end of the wooden staff emitted a faint glow.
Although the light was weak, it was enough for the four to barely see their surroundings.
They found themselves in a dark, narrow rocky tunnel. The air inside the tunnel was inexplicably stuffy, and there was nothing around except for hard rock walls. The passage led into unknown darkness.
"What should we do? Should we keep going?"
The narrow rocky tunnel made Mantou feel a bit oppressed; even with the Light spell, he couldn't feel at ease.
Singo gritted his teeth and said fiercely, "We're already here; we can't just go back. Let's go all in!"
They cautiously walked along the passage.
Finally, the four seemed to exit the tunnel, and the space in front of them opened up significantly.
"This should be it."
"Everyone stay alert; report any findings."
But the Light spell could no longer reach the cave walls; all around was darkness. In the vast, gloomy cave, sounds occasionally echoed, making everyone even more nervous, cold sweat dripping.
Suddenly, an unknown light appeared, followed by more lights.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
With the sound of flames igniting in the air, hundreds of exquisitely crafted dragon-headed oil lamps along the cave walls lit up in succession, illuminating the surrounding darkness and allowing the four to see the full view of the spacious cave.
Waves of heat rushed towards them.
A wide road suddenly appeared before them, flanked by blazing flames.
And at the end of the road stood a man.
He had black hair and golden eyes, with delicate features. In the depths of his dark golden pupils, flames burned fiercely, exuding a trace of innate arrogance. On both sides of his face, faint crimson scales appeared, and long, bone-white dragon horns grew on his forehead.
He wore a dark red, luxurious robe inlaid with gold thread patterns over his tall body, exuding a noble and irresistible unique aura.
Summer Night Autumn Rain couldn't help but blush and sighed, "Ah, the official model is so handsome."
Mantou complained, "Damn, why is this NPC so damn handsome? Almost catching up to me."
Summer Night Autumn Rain couldn't help rolling her eyes.
Singo urged, "Mantou, quickly cast Detect; we must have encountered an important character."
"Oh, okay."
Mantou responded instinctively, then skillfully pulled up the panel.
[Mysterious Draconic Bloodline Sorcerer - Cassius]
Affiliation: [Ember Nest]
Basic Abilities: ???
Challenge Level: ??? (Extremely Dangerous!)
Favorability: -5 (Mild Dislike)
Mantou then realized and couldn't help cursing, "Damn you, Singo, you tricked me again; the favorability dropped!"
Hearing his nickname, Singo still wore his usual expressionless face: "Everyone will remember your sacrifice. So, Mantou, what did you see?"
Mantou shook his head: "Can't see anything; all the info is unknown."
Singo clenched his fists and said excitedly, "Great! We've really found him."
"From my observation, only the [Oathbreaker Sword - Medrolash] in Baator City had an unseen challenge level. Others like the Captain of the Guards, Damacus, had visible challenge levels. We are the first to find this second important NPC; we can definitely—"
However, a calm male voice suddenly came from afar, interrupting his enthusiastic speech.
"Dear invited guests, casting detection upon meeting might be impolite, don't you think?"
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