Blade of Tyranny

Both Warsong and Dancing Phoenix logged on to the game earlier than Nie Fan did. They went in succession to Tajit V//illage to claim their Honor rewards and were not unhappy to be promoted as Second-class Citizens, claiming the second and third places.

However, they were all left astonished when they saw Nie Fan’s rank at the top.

He had actually earned the title of Brave Warrior!

Even if Nie Fan had indeed slain numerous Elites and Minibosses, there was no way he could have gained so much Honor from that alone! It was up to nine times the points they gained, and it was certainly hard to imagine how anyone could get over two thousand Honor!

The only possibility was that Nie Fan had kept on farming the Black Nymphs after they logged out yesterday, although there was telling if he lasted until the end.

What happened after they left the game was now therefore a mystery. However, they wouldn’t ask about it if Nie Fan wouldn’t tell, since sticking your nose in a friend’s private affairs only ever made them cautious, and ruined the existing harmony.

They were also envious since it was said that Brave Warriors could purchase a complete set of Level 25 Cyan Bronze equipment. Both Warsong and Dancing Phoenix only had one or two items of those grade at the moment, much less the other normal players. Moreover, aside from that full set of equipment, Nie Fan also now possessed a Level 25 Dark Enchanted Bronze weapon, and those items would mean that there was going to be some time before anyone in Tajit Village could surpass him.

Nonetheless, Nie Fan had displayed his ability sufficiently that both Phoenix Down Studios and Bloodbath Studios were interested in recruiting him. Still, he was not interested in joining them, and they could only withdraw and pursue the next best thing: a partnership.

***

Sometime later.

“Big sis, I just received some news. It turns out that Dark Night is from Tempest Wings!” Dust messaged Dancing Phoenix even as she arranged the various information she collected.

“Tempest Wings?” Dancing Phoenix’s brows knitted, surprised that Tempest Wings would have such a top player. “Why haven’t I heard of such a person in their team before?”

“He must be new. It looks like he’s just a fringe member and Tempest Wings are not aware of his achievements… but they would know soon.”

“Just a fringe member?” Dancing Phoenix was speechless. She was convinced that Heavenly Left Hand must be blind to keep Nie Fan a fringe member given his ability. Having such a great player was often a very delicate matter for any studio, since it would be a huge loss for them if the player switched sides.

And here Heavenly Left Hand was, keeping such a player as a fringe member.

“We have to bring Dark Night to our side before Tempest Wings catches on.”

“Yes, but it seems that he’s not too willing to leave, or he could have transferred somewhere else already with his ability. That said, there’s also news saying that there are people in Tempest Wings don’t want him there!”

“Try to dig up more information. Let’s take our time before coming to a decision.” Dancing Phoenix replied.

After all, Phoenix Down Studios were extraordinarily effective in gathering information. Most of them were beauties whose good looks were ever advantageous for loosening tongues, with many players who were trying to court them blindly

***

On the other hand, Warsong did not receive such news. He had already decided that it would be enough to work together more often with Nie Fan, and that Bloodbath Studios could simply forget about adding him to their ranks—they were too small a group to accommodate him, and would probably be unable to afford him even if their invitation was accepted.

Even so, Warsong would probably lose his mind if he found out that Nie Fan was merely a fringe member in Tempest Wings. Warsong himself would offer Nie Fan his place as chairman if Nie Fan was willing to join them, and it would not necessarily be difficult to make him a shareholder either!

Meanwhile, Nie Fan sold off several items dropped from Black Nymphs to Warsong and Dancing Phoenix as soon as he came online, earning over seventeen thousand bronze coins. He had actually managed to get seven Level 25 Copper items, and he kept two aside for Xue Yu and Suyue while selling off the rest, getting rich in no time at all.

Afterwards, he spent little over three thousand bronze coins with the Soulbinder, keeping Assala’s Judgement to himself when his system rang with a notification.

[System: You have received a new quest, ‘Assala’s Call’.]

[Please head to the Dark Portal.]

Nie Fan lifted his brow at the notification.

The Dark Portal? It must be that place!

His expression changed when he immediately thought of one particular spot, but soon decided to save it for later after some thought.

After all, he could do many things with seventeen thousand bronze coins. Anything could wait after he bought a few more Skill Tomes.

“Want to buy Druid Skill Tomes: Sealmorph, Falconmorph, Tear, Lunge, Ram Willbreaker Howl…”

Shouting for more wouldn’t hurt regardless if he could get any.

“I have Sealmorph here. How much are you offering?” A Warrior replied to Nie Fan’s message—Sealmorph was Morphing skill that wasn’t meant for combat as it only provides faster swimming and the ability to dive. Given that it was not quite on par with other skills such as Cheetahmorph, it wasn’t really expensive.

“Six hundred bronze coins.” Nie Fan replied with a rate slightly higher than the typical market price.

However, that Warrior made a double-take when he saw Nie Fan’s name and appeared very surprised. “Are you the Dark Night?”

“Is there a problem?” Nie Fan frowned. It appears that he was now famous Tajit Village, even if that wasn’t what he wanted.

“Top it up a little. Seven hundred bronze coins.” The Warrior asked for a higher price despite knowing that Nie Fan’s offer was already generous. He thought that Nie Fan must be rich, and might not care too much about that little bit of money.

“Six hundred, take it or leave it.” Nie Fan replied and said no more. He certainly could see through the Warrior, and while he wouldn’t mind a few hundred coins, he was not willing to be butchered for no reason at all.

The Warrior attempted to bargain, but without a reply from Nie Fan after trying a few more times, he helplessly agreed to the deal… although the reality was that Nie Fan could still get another Sealmorph Skill Tome easily somewhere else even if he did not buy it from the Warrior.

“Alright, six hundred it is.”

Nie Fan paid the six hundred bronze coins and soon got his hands on the Skill Tome, and took a look at the stats: he would move at 200% of his usual speed in Sealmorph and gain the ability to breathe underwater, although his Defense would decrease by 30%. It lasts ten minutes just like Cheetahmorph, and its cooldown period was one hour.

Although it was not made for fighting, the Sealmorph was still a necessity for Druids since they wouldn’t need potions before going underwater like most players, not to mention that they would swim far faster.

With the Skill Tome finally in hand, Nie fan could not hold back his excitement despite having kept stoic while bargaining. Cheetahmorph was to others a mundane support skill which could occasionally be used when feeling, but to Nie Fan it had monumental value, allowing him to access places previously denied to him.

With a flick of his right hand, he learned Cheetahmorph and added another skill to his skill bar.

Now, Nie Fan’s plan for a system of skills was slowly taking shape: Plant-type skills will be used for farming monsters, while Morphing skills would be used during close-ranged battles.

He could clearly feel that he was becoming stronger bit by bit.