The Great Thief

Although they could both control a target by transforming them into an animal, Polymorph restored the target’s HP over time, while the Poultryizer didn’t.

This was why so many Mages disliked the skill. Once their opponent was on critical HP, Polymorph became useless because it would heal them.

Additionally, Polymorph could only be casted on Humanoid targets, while the Poultryizer could be used on a variety of races and targets including Humans, Beasts, Undead, Demons and even certain Bosses.

Lu Li looked forward to killing some Bosses with this contraption.

If he could interrupt a Boss from channeling its ultimate skill with the Poultryizer, it would basically become a toothless tiger.

Poultryizer was also instant cast, whereas Polymorph had a cast-time of 1.5 seconds.

Finally, although Polymorph had a longer duration, this would decrease with each successive cast on the same target. The Poultryizer didn’t have this restriction. If everyone in the same party had a Poultryizer, the target could be turned into a chicken indefinitely.

The downside was that it couldn’t be used in PVP, which was quite a shame.

Another disadvantage of the Poultryizer was the 5-minute cooldown after casting.

It also had a limited number of uses and the materials required for crafting one were quite expensive. One of the materials called Khorium Ore was extremely difficult to find. It rarely spawned in the wild and there were few quests where it was given as a reward.

There were only 13 pieces in the entire storage of Ruling Swords. Because of how rare these ores were, Lu Li tried whatever he could to minimize the failure rate.

He decided to complete a quest to try to obtain an Advanced Crafting Knife.

Engineers could use Crafting Knives or Wrenches to increase their success rates, similar to Crafting Hammers and using the Hearth in Blacksmithing. These were all essential items to levelling up your profession.

The quest was quite annoying, but given how rare and expensive Khorium Ore was, Lu Li felt like it was worth his time and effort.

It was called ”It’s a Secret to Everybody” and was given by an NPC nearby a lake in Un’Goro Crater.

A little broken raft bobbed up and down along the shoreline, but Lu Li had no idea why it was there. Looking at the watermark left behind on the trees, the tides had not changed.

In the little boat was an old and torn up map piece.

Everyone had different starting points and the quest locations were randomized on the map for each player.

Lu Li followed the map and dove into the lake water. He found a leather bag hidden under the sand at the bottom of the lake, which activated the quest.

After he accepted it, he was teleported out of the water.

If you declined the quest, the bag would not open and you wouldn’t be able to advance.

The quest hinted that there was a group of lost travelers in Marshal’s Refuge; perhaps an exploration in area would uncover more clues.

When Lu Li arrived at the refuge, all the clues pointed towards a Gnome with amnesia named Linken.

”I have no idea why I’m even here. No one knows. It’s a mystery to everyone. I can’t remember anything…” Linken said while scratching his head.

”Maybe there’s something in your bag that might help you remember,” Lu Li suggested.

Only Linken could open the bag – otherwise, Lu Li would never be so kind and patient with him.

Linken opened the bag and carefully examined its contents, then said with a perplexed expression, ”What you’ve brought made me remember something. My Sword! I remember now – I was on my way to strengthen it, but I forgot why I was doing that. Sorry I can’t give you more information; I really can’t remember!”

”Winterspring is a long journey. I can help you Linken; just give me the crafting knife,” Lu Li said as his eyes lit up.

”Young man, this is my Crafting Knife and I really like it, so I can’t give it to you,” Linken refused unwillingly.

”My friend, I found it for you. Without me you would’ve never seen this bag again. It probably would’ve been taken away by a Gnoll or a Forest Ogre,” Lu Li argued.

Damn it, was his Charisma really this low?

If Hachi Chan was here, Linken probably would have given the Crafting Knife to her without her even completing the quest.

”Maybe I can give this compass to you. Look, it always points towards the same direction. How interesting,” the little Gnome said as he brought out a compass to tempt Lu Li.

The knife had been underwater for so long, yet it was still shiny and radiant. It was obviously a special item.

Linken had lost his memories, but he wasn’t stupid.

”Whatever. Give me that sword then. If you like the Crafting Knife so much, you can keep it. I would’ve never thought you were such a terrible person. I should’ve never returned the bag to you,” Lu Li said, pretending to be unhappy.

”Oh no, I don’t want to give you that either.”

It was an expensive looking sword and it was in a very good condition.

”I’ll give you two options – you either give me the sword or the crafting knife. Otherwise, I take the bag away. I’m an advanced Engineer in need of a crafting knife, so I’m willing to spend some money to get it.” At this point, Lu Li wanted to stomp the Gnome to death very badly.

He couldn’t understand why female players found these midgets adorable.

”Ok, ok, I’ll agree, but first, you have to deliver the sword to Donova Snowden in Winterspring. You can find her by the hotsprings. She’ll instill the power of the springs into the sword,” Linken compromised.

”Will she agree to help you? Do I need to say or give her anything?” Lu Li asked.

”No need; the sword alone will do. If she sees the sword, she won’t decline your request. I can’t remember well, but I think I’ve done a lot of favors for her and this is her way of repaying me.”

The little Gnome was getting impatient and waved his hands, signaling for him to leave.

”So, if I bring the sword back, I get the crafting knife?” Lu Li was worried.

His charisma was too low and he had no idea whether the NPC would lie to him or not.

Linken guaranteed that the deal had been set up and assured him before he left for Winterspring.