The Great Thief

Mor’Ladim was definitely the strongest level 40 monster that Lu Li had seen. Even the level 45 Pirate Captain would probably be an easy victory for him; his Evil Ring buff was too strong.

If he was killed and dropped a ring, spell book, or an equip with the same special effect, that would be…

”Greetings, respected adventurer.”

Sarah Ladimore interrupted Lu Li’s day dream. He only just noticed that the female healer had walked in front of him with the long sword in her hand.

”Is she…” Lu Li’s breath paused slightly. If he couldn’t complete the Assassin League quest, then he would have to be removed from the league. There were other small factions that he could join; the Night Watchmen was a good place. Lu Li really liked their army song; it was full of passion and loyalty.

However, it was a little depressing that he had spent so much time to receive nothing in the end.

”This sword has been passed down to us from our ancestors and has been through countless battles. My father would definitely not want it in an average person’s hands. You’re a strong adventurer, so I’ll pass it to you. I hope that you’ll find a good owner for it.”

In that moment, Lu Li felt slightly ashamed for his dirty thoughts. He carefully took the long sword and said, ”In the name of Moon Goddess, the Paladin’s glory shall never fall.”

After healing, Althea’s injuries weren’t too severe. The greatest damage done was to the injured Night Watchmen. They weren’t players, so healing magic could only so much for them. The two lucky ones were fine, three were left with more serious injuries while two of them had lost their lives forever.

The Night Watchmen performed a simple funeral for them and their army rang once again around the tomb.

”The night is coming. I’ll stand to watch from this point on until death sets me apart. I’ll remain loyal as I stay on watch through life until death. I’m the piercing sword in the darkness. My life and glory all to the Night Watch. It will be so tonight and all the nights that are to come.”

Sarah Ladimore performed a holy blessing on the simple tomb so that they wouldn’t be interrupted by the undead. Althea used her long sword to engrave the tombstone.

The tombstone wrote: He watched in life and ended when death set him apart.

A cold breeze swept across the forest and the crows sang in the tombs. Lu Li suddenly understood why they refused to relocate; this was the home to the Night Watchmen.

”Elf from afar, thank you for all the things you’ve done for the Night Watchmen. May the dawn of light be with you on your journey.”

Althea gave a formal farewell to Lu Li in thanks for his participation in the battle, despite him not actually doing much.

System: You’ve received the friendship of the Night Watch Army. Experience gained, Night Town reputation earned. One skill point awarded.

System: Night Watch Emblem x100 received.

”May the Night Town remain in peace forever.” Lu Li returned the formalities and left.

He returned to Southshore and hesitated outside the inn for a bit before he entered.

Southshore was as popular as it always had been. It was a great contrast to Night Town, where players barely stayed. Lu Li sat in his old spot where no one noticed him.

Was the quest a success or a failure?

This quest, an obvious trap quest, didn’t cause him any loss. Instead, he had received the friendship of the Night Watchmen and a hundred entrance tickets to the small fraction. On top of this, he had also received a Paladin’s long sword.

Archeus (Gold): Damage 40-62, Strength +32, Agility +16, Critical Strike +12%, Special Effect: within 8 seconds after you kill an enemy who can give you experience or glory points, your next attack has a 50% critical strike chance increase. The damage dealt will be the amount of health restored to yourself. Level Requirement 35, Durability 72/72.

Without the critical strike chance, the sword would have one special effect. This didn’t seem right for its level 40 Gold grade identity.

However, there were two lines of text under the description. Lu Li had to say that luck and fate were both untraceable. If he was a Paladin, there was no way he would be able to give this sword to anyone else, even if the sword didn’t suit his playstyle.

First row of text: Morgan Ladimore’s sword.

Second row of text: Upgradable (1/3), Undead units (0/100,000 Elites)

Lu Li had always known that he wasn’t favored by Dawn; he definitely wasn’t the only one with upgradable equipment. It was easy to identify who had an upgradable equip – if someone had an equipment that they never swapped out, it would definitely be upgradeable.

Of course, there were also some players out there who had some sort of strange passion for particular equips, or had simply just changed the outer appearance of their equipment.

At first, he was slightly annoyed, but he didn’t worry too much about it. Lu Li believed that his success wasn’t built entirely on luck; he never worried about facing a challenge.

Hard work payed off and Dawn was always a fair game.

He planned to let Mu Qiu use this weapon, but it still belonged to the guild. In the future, even if Mu Qiu left, he couldn’t bring this weapon with him. He was one of the formal contestants of the guild, so he would make more money for the guild if he became stronger.

Lu Li didn’t think about tying Mu Qiu down with Ruling Sword with a single weapon.

A single person’s charisma alone wasn’t enough to bring everyone together. The same passion, the same goals and the same beliefs were the most solid foundation for the team.

”Square Root 3, what are you up to?” Lu Li quickly contacted Square Root 3 before the hostess came.

”Busy – lots of things going on. If you have something, spill. If not, don’t bother me.” Square Root 3 was probably quite busy; he didn’t bother with any chit chat.

”Thanks for the hard work. A lot of it is thanks to you that Ruling Sword is developing greatly,” Lu Li said, giving a slight compliment before moving onto the important topic. ”I have a hundred Night Watch Emblems here…”

”Night Watch Emblem? What does that do?” Square Root 3 was confused.

It wasn’t that he was uncultured – barely anyone knew about small factions at this point. Even in Lu Li’s previous life, only some people knew about small factions. At that point, the game had already been released for three years.

This was something that was more available for high-end players.

”With this, you’ll have a chance to join a small faction. After you join, there will be special quests. These special quests usually give more rewards than average quests. Most importantly, these quests will come automatically every now and then; there’s no need to find ways to trigger these quests.”

Dawn didn’t sort out their quests, so players had to sort them by themselves. Quests with extra rewards were known as special quests, while quests hidden to most people were called hidden quests.

Most quests from small factions were these types of quests. It was rare for a small faction to give out quests with average rewards.

”There are these sorts of things?” Square Root 3 wasn’t stupid; he instantly understood.

”Find some reliable Paladins, preferably those who can sign a contract with us. This small faction is most suitable for Paladins,” Lu Li said.

After a few more game updates, Night Watch Riders will be released. Paladins would have a certain chance to change their class into this new class. The new class came with amazing mobility abilities and would have great influence in guild wars.

Of course, to keep the game in balance, this class also came with its downsides.

Although a contract couldn’t restrict a player entirely, it was better than giving things out for free.

At the same time, with the friendship that Lu Li and Althea currently had, he could even make the betrayer pay a price by being kicked out of the small faction. Betrayal was one of the things that the Night Watchmen looked down on the most.