Chương 25: Obsessed Assassin

As always, we first checked if any frostfang feathers or fire seeds were listed in the auction house. If they were expensive, we wouldn't pay for them, but it never hurt to check. And by knowing which player was selling them, we could possibly track them to see where they'd hunted them. To our surprise, neither item had ever been listed for the auction for any price.

"So," Veyra said as we entered our room in the same tavern.

"Nobody has ever obtained either of these items. Or at least, if someone has them, they're saving them."

"Any deductions on their location so far?" I asked.

"Any hints from the lore?"

"They drop from the Ray Dragon event for sure," Veyra said.

"If either item was from the base game, someone would have them. Hopefully they're not boss drops. Those would take weeks to farm. You only got a single one of those from Rathax, right?"

"Yeah, if those are the drop rates, the Wizard's Tower will be discovered first."

"I don't have time to get stuck on this for weeks either." Veyra turned to me with hopeful eyes.

"You've explored the map. Are there any frost or lava areas?" I summoned my map from my inventory—a map that was much more revealed than any other player's—and laid it out on the table. Seeing just how much of it was revealed, an amused smile appeared on Veyra's face. She got closer and examined the map.

"Huh? So you weren't kidding about your exploration. You said this took a week?"

"A bit over a week," I said.

"I almost failed to pay rent that month after exploring so much." And I was five days late… We studied the map. Around 70% of it was revealed—the remaining being either unreachable by foot, or just genuinely so difficult that even with my strategies, I couldn't just walk in without dying. The biomes that my map revealed weren't very colorful. The event mostly consisted of dead inhabitable wilderness and mountainscapes, but the shade of gloom differed from place to place.

To the east was a crimson red forest filled with poison, because of course every event needed a poison area. The mushroom villages were scattered across the mountains, seen on the map as shrouded and misty spots of pure gloom. The most colorful part of the map was near the Wizard's Tower at the western edge. The ground itself glimmered in a rainbow glow. Not a fairy-land type of colorful, but the type of rainbow of steel burning at just the right temperature.

"What's this place?" Veyra asked, referring to the area.

"Your map only shows its perimeter?"

"I tried to sneak in and find a village there," I said.

"But the average monster level was 390, and the ground literally burned my boots. I can't say what's up in that area."

"Hopefully not the fire seeds, if that's a hot area," Veyra said. Her eyes panned to the eastern side of the map.

"Looks like it's snowing at the peaks of the mountains. What monsters spawned up here?"

"Just trolls, shamans, and more stone wyverns," I said.

"That was a fairly basic area. It had a few dungeons, though. We might have to start looking into those."

"You didn't explore dungeons too, right?" she said, though her eyes were hopeful, as if she hoped I had.

"I dropped teleportation stones inside every dungeon I found," I said.

"Exploring inside is useless for me though. Sneaking to the boss doesn't really give any reward unless I kill the boss, which I can't, considering I'm solo against level three hundred bosses. I just found the dungeons to follow the top guilds' quest progression better."

"So you seriously explored the whole map just so you could have an easier time assassinating people?" Veyra asked, amused.

"Professionals don't mess around," I said, sharing the grin.

"This is very useful, though," Veyra said.

"Let's start checking dungeons one by one. We'll hunt deeper in whichever dungeon looks the frostiest or fieriest. I'll pay for the teleportation stones." I nodded, and she took hold of my hand. I chose a dungeon at the top of the snowy mountains. Since we weren't teleporting into a village, the connection happened with remote teleportation stones. Those were single-use items that could be dropped anywhere on the map to teleport to later.

They cost two gold each, expensive for most, but basically free for top players. Wonderwind was quite lax with allowing fast travel to areas that the player teleporting had already explored. Teleportation stones could be stolen and interrupted if someone found them, though, but that was also beneficial to me. By checking which ones of my teleportation stones had been interrupted, I would know that someone had entered the specific dungeon.

Setting up all the stones set me back by about two hundred dollars at the start of the event, but I considered it a worthwhile investment. A few of the teleportation stones had been interrupted in random locations—most likely from top guilds sending their scouts ahead. I knew Dragrath, for example, was more than skilled enough to also sneak straight past the event. But since most top guilds progressed linearly, clearing slowly through the wilderness, most of the stones I'd set were still uninterrupted.

The stones let me teleport us straight to whichever dungeon we wanted. Holding Veyra's hand, my vision flashed, and we arrived at the next location. System pop-ups hit me right away. [You have arrived in Amor's Lair] [You are in a dungeon. Dungeon Quest available.] Dungeon Quest: Amor's Lair (S Ranked Dungeon) (Recommended average party Level: 250+) Quest Details: Unknown Completion Conditions: Investigate the dungeon and defeat its evil. Quest Reward: +10 million experience divided by contribution.

[The average monster level of this dungeon is over 70 levels above your character level.] We spawned in a mossy oversized burrow with a low ceiling. A classic cave style dungeon. Deeper, a tunnel in the ground pointed us to a grassy cavern. The grass glowed suspiciously. This place definitely had poison, or some sort of nature's magic. Traps either way. Veyra read the dungeon quest as well, and a smile crept on her cheeks.

"Right. All of these dungeons will also be empty. We won't be interrupted by top guilds. We could try to clear any one of these right now."

"Sure, we're free to mess around here, but good luck clearing anything at all," I said.

"The monsters here are level 280 and beyond."

"Soloing dungeons is one of my favourite challenges in the game," Veyra said.

"If I wasn't pressed for money, I'd spend the next few weeks in this dungeon, trying to get as deep as I can." Seeing her speak of the dungeon with such enthusiasm made me smile, even though her idea was completely inefficient.

"Let's check the next one," I said.

"This one isn't frosty at all." The previous teleportation stone was used up, so Veyra gave me a new one to replenish the one we wasted. We then teleported to the next dungeon. That was a boring crypt, and the next was another poisonous blight dungeon, which I refused to enter even if Veyra wanted to. This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. The third location, however, caught our attention. [You have arrived in Crypt Of The Portal Mage] [You are in a dungeon. Dungeon Quest available.] Dungeon Quest: Crypt Of The Portal Mage (S+ Ranked Dungeon) (Recommended average party Level: 270+) Quest Details: The Crypt Of The Portal Mage instills many secrets. Completion Conditions: Investigate the dungeon and defeat its evil. Quest Reward: +10 million experience divided by contribution. [The average monster level of this dungeon is over 150 levels above your character level.] The entrance led to a medieval dungeon with a tall, grand ceiling.

The candles of a chandelier above glowed an ominous white, but they barely offered any light, making the ceiling entirely black. Bricks from the dungeon wall occasionally slid out of their spots. They flew in the air, upward, and circled around the chandelier before they floated back down to their spots, and new bricks continued the odd movement.

"We," Veyra said with a wide grin, "are going to clear this place right now." I let out a laugh.

"It's an S+ ranked dungeon with level 360 monsters."

"Try and tell me the frostfang feathers aren't here," she said.

"This is the portal mage's crib. The portal mage was also a frost mage, and he was also related to Heywin lore wise. They must be here."

"That's true, I suppose," I said.

"Won't hurt to see what's down there. I can maybe run in and grab the ingredients if they're laying around."

"What level are you?" she asked.

"If you've just been skipping monsters, I'm guessing you're underleveled." I paused at that. I wasn't just underleveled—I was still severely underleveled. The bosses had brought me to level 208, and I now had a legendary dagger, but really, my character was still embarrassingly incomplete. Any top players would make fun of me if my character card was public. But I was also curious to learn her level.

"I'll share my full character card if you share yours," I said. Her eyebrows rose.

"Well, sure. We are guild mates now. I'll share it with you. But I'll hide my skills. I have a few secrets there." I gave her my full card, having nothing to hide, and we both examined each other's characters.

Character Name: Veyra Guild: Solo Mage (Leader) Character Level: 229 Class: Time Mage Stats: Health: 7198/7198 Mana: 220, 150/220, 150 Attack Force: 14 Spell Power: 9900 Total Cooldown Reduction: 55% (39% after scale-down balance) Defence: 150 Total Resistances Combined: 990 Monster Avoidance: 5% Perception: 51% Equipped items: Footwear: Tailored Magic Boots (Rare, Crafted, Enchanted) 20 Defence 1100 Spell Power Ring Slot One: Winds Of Time (Rare, Unique) 20% Cooldown Reduction +2 to Time Spells Sense Of The Wind (Passive): The wind sharpens your senses.

Perception increased. Ring Slot Two: Sundial Ring (Epic) 10% Cooldown Reduction +3 to Time Spells 1300 Spell Power Accessory: Pendulum of Lost Hours (Epic Event Item) 500 Spell Power Pendulum Swing (Active, Conditional): Upon dropping below 30% mana, the next spell is free of manacost.

Gloves: Casting Gloves (Rare, Crafted, Enchanted) 15% Cooldown Reduction 1500 Spell Power Weapon Slot One: Legacy Of The Portal Mage (Legendary, Unique Event Item) 1200 Spell Power 100% Mana Regeneration +5 Proficiency To All Time Spells Frozen Time (Passive): All Frost Spells share proficiency with Time Spells. Portal Mage (Active): Place up to three portals to a solid surface. Portals allow for free travel for anyone that passes through.

Casting condition: 2000 mana; the location of the portal's spawn-point must be visible to the eye. After a player enters the portal, all portals will close, and the spell goes on a six second cooldown. Weapon Slot Two: Occupied By Weapon Slot One Headwear: The Witch Hat of Annelith (Epic, Unique, Set Item) 2000 Spell Power Pretty (Passive): The unknown legend, Witch of Annelith, was known as the most stylish and helpful young witch, who used her magic for good.

Her outfit is not flashy, but those who recognize it will be overjoyed. Charisma increased. Armor: Robe Of The Grand Sorcerer (Epic, Unique) 3500 Spell Power 130 Defence 10% Cooldown Reduction Grand Sorcerer (Passive): Straight-cast spells are 20% more powerful. Wow, I thought, having read through all of her items. Her set was actually really good—way better than it looked. The robe especially—it was essentially her version of my cloak that buffed straight attacks.

Straight-casting was what the game called spells cast without system assistance, though most players called it quick-casting instead. Her other items didn't have any crazy abilities, other than her staff, of course, but her set was positively solid.

"Your hat's description isn't lying," I said.

"That's one pretty hat." The compliment seemed to pass through her ears, while she studied my character card.

"You're rocking common gear?"

"Uh…"

"You have over thirty skill points in vital strike?" she said.

"Isn't that a passive skill? Doesn't the assassin class have much more interesting skills?"

"Vital strike is overpowered," I said.

"The devs will probably nerf it soon."

"And what's with this monster avoidance obsession?" she asked.

"You literally have a goddamned quest item equipped that only gives monster avoidance! Really?"

"Monster avoidance is also overpowered," I said with a grin." You'll see. It'll probably also get nerfed when I get more famous." She eyed me suspiciously.

"Is this the gear you've been using during our guild wipes?"

"Yep," I said. I couldn't tell if she was impressed or disappointed. Bemused, perhaps.

"Poor guy. No wonder you're not fighting monsters. You'll die in one hit, and you'll do no damage. We'll have to change your set to something for monster hunting."

"No, I can assure you, monster avoidance and critical strike damage are by far the best stats in the game," I said.

"The stats are completely overpowered." She eyed me suspiciously.

"I already showed you with the Brood Mother, did I not?" I asked.

"I can hunt in the shadows, and monsters are more likely to miss since they have a harder time sensing me. Monster avoidance is op. We'll have the ingredients in under a week, just watch." I stepped down the crypt's stairs with confidence, though my promise was immediately tested when a Lost Traveler Of Time (Level 365) blasted us with the most violent discharge of time magic I'd ever felt.