The Great Thief

“My life belongs to myself…” A sigh sounded out and Lu Li suddenly discovered that a person had appeared next to the swing without him realising.

The person was wearing a hat and a large cloak that was decorated with many feathers. The face under the hat looked incredibly old, scarred with the marks of time. He held a crude-looking Staff that looked like a lump in his right hand.

“Esteemed senior, this Adventurer Elf from the Whispering Forest pays his respects,” Lu Li said, as he hurriedly stood up with one hand over his chest. This was a formal Elf greeting.

“Oh, so it’s an Elf from far away. Little fellow, the words you just said sounded very familiar.”

The elderly man supported himself using the edge of the well and sat down. He looked like nothing more than a weak old man.

“I received an Enchanting book from a Great Dwarf Master and those words were carved on the title page. The Great Master told me to come to Rattan City’s seaside to search for a great Enchanter. Esteemed senior, are you the person I came to find?” Lu Li did not reveal the true reason why he had come, instead giving himself a very good excuse.

“No, I’m not skilled in Enchanting, but she… Elf, can I have a look at your Enchanting book?” The elderly man looked up at Lu Li, with eyes full of wisdom.

Lu Li handed the book over and stood a few steps away.

“It’s her…” The elderly man stared at the words engraved on the cover of the book, as well as the words left by Aegwynn on the title page. His entire body began to fade and space began to twist as a great wave of magic overflowed from within him.

It became difficult for Lu Li to breathe, as though something had grabbed onto him by his mind. It felt like his spirit could be destroyed with a single thought.

Luckily, this change in the atmosphere disappeared as quickly as it came. In an instant, everything returned to normal. Even the flowers that had been torn from the trees were restored, as if nothing had happened to them.

If it weren’t for the sweat covering his hands, Lu Li would have believed that everything that had just happened was a hallucination.

“I’m sorry to disappoint you, Fairy, but she is gone.” The old Magician’s wizened hands stroked the cover of the book, as many complicated emotions flashed in his eyes: grief, resentment, attachment…

“That’s quite a pity. However, this Enchanting book is quite ancient and there’s much that I don’t understand in it.”

Lu Li suddenly felt some disdain for himself as he suddenly said, “You seem to really like this book. In that case, please accept it as a present from me.”

An incredibly rare and godly Trade Skill Book had been given away by Lu Li just like that.

However, Lu Li did not feel any regret. It wasn’t because the Enchanting materials were too difficult to find, but this book, Aegwnn’s relic, should have been given to her son. After all, it meant a lot more to him than to Lu Li.

“Thank you for your generosity, Elf, although, I know your motives are not pure,” Medivh said as he lightly sighed, “Because of your generosity and sincerity, I will grant one request from you.”

Lu Li did not feel any fear, but was rather relaxed. He had never thought of deceiving this prophet - all he wanted was an opportunity to talk to Medivh.

As such, he directly said, “Respected son of Aran, Guardian of Tirisfal, I would like to learn the Raven Transformation from you.”

Indeed, Lu Li wanted to fly!

“Raven Transformation?” Medivh, a human who was more powerful than demigod, was completely confused by this request.

At the start, Medivh had been attracted by the words Lu Li was reading out and had appeared out of nowhere. Later, he found out that this weak Elf had his mother’s legacy book. Finally, that Elf had actually gifted this priceless Enchanting book to him, for a simple transformation skill in return!

He didn’t ask for Atiesh, Greatstaff of the Guardian, nor did he ask for the Raven God’s Cloak or for any incredibly powerful spells…

He had asked for the Raven Transformation skill!

Was it difficult to turn into a raven? Not at all!

In a LV50 Private Instance Dungeon, players could meet a projection of the Raven God and receive a flight skill book. When Druids reached LV60, they would receive a flight-related quest. Although it was quite difficult, the majority of the Druid players would be able to receive a flight skill book. These included the Raven Transformation, the Bat Transformation and many others.

The only caveat was that it could only be obtained after reaching LV50-LV60.

If Lu Li wanted to fly now, only this elderly man in front of him could help him. Even Archdruid Malfurion Stormrage, the Lord of the Night Elves, could not teach him a flight skill so casually.

“It’s a pity that you’re not a Magician,” Medivh said as he shook his head.

Lu Li’s heart sank. In his ‘past life’, he had read some guides that said that Medivh could turn into a raven. Moreover, in order to develop this skill, it was said that Medivh had studied the Druids’ transformation skills and fought with the Raven God Anzu.

Even though Anzu was a demigod, he had been beaten black and blue by Medivh. He had been beaten so badly that Medivh was able to use the feathers he had dropped to create a Legendary grade cloak.

“I can only teach you the modified Crow Transformation. Are you still willing to exchange, Elf?” The elderly man spoke slowly. It turned out that it wasn’t that Lu Li couldn’t learn the skill, but that there were some issues involved in teaching it.

“Thank you for your generosity, Lord Magician. I am willing.”

Lu Li had no other choice: he had already given away the Enchanting book. The elderly man would probably insta-kill him if he changed his mind. In Dawn’s lore, Medivh had done many good things, but had also committed many evil deeds.

Medivh did not give him a skill book. Rather, he simply pointed towards Lu Li’s forehead and a system announcement popped up.

System: you have learned the skill Crow Transformation.

Crow Transformation (fake): Channel for 30 seconds and consume 500 HP to become a raven, allowing you to fly for a limited period of time. Flying consumes 10 HP per second and being attacked while in flight will cancel out the transformation. Level: 1/5.

This skill was quite flawed. The original skill was an instant cast, whereas this one needed to be channelled for 30 seconds. The original skill also cost nothing, whereas this one costed a base of 500 HP in addition to 10 HP per second. The original skill allowed one to fly indefinitely, whereas this one only allowed him to fly for a “limited period of time”. What was even worse was that he would fall from the sky if he was hit by anything.

As for the Level: 1/5, this was something introduced in the update.

It didn’t mean that players could not increase their Proficiency of a skill - this was still hidden. Every 2 levels, a player would receive 1 Skill Point (SP). Using SP and gold coins, the corresponding profession’s Instructor could raise the level of their skills. Of course, if one had the patience and determination, they could raise their skill levels through practice and training instead.

All in all, Lu Li was quite unhappy with this skill, but he couldn’t voice his dissatisfaction.

Medivh looked easy-going, but that was because he did not display his might. This Archmage who had been killed, then revived by his mother, could obliterate Lu Li with a sneeze.

“My transformation skill requires Mana, but you don’t have any Mana within you. As such, I could only modify the skill before giving it to you,” the elderly man said, trying to comfort him.

“I received a badge many years ago. Hopefully it can make up for the deficiencies of the skill, so I will gift it to you as well.”