The Great Thief

As the distractions began, the number of monsters in the camp reduced little by little. Water Fairy and Lu Li who had been lurking outside the camp looked at each other and started heading towards the middle of the camp. The game time for the day was ending in 45 minutes.

Caliph Scorpidsting looked like a 40-50 year old and had quite a gentle appearance.

He was said to have been a bard in his early years, but he had been castrated because he offended an aristocrat. In his anger, he threw away his harp and picked up an axe.

He was likely to be a quasi-Boss. After all, this quest was supposed to be completed by two players. There was no way the System would give them an actual Boss to assassinate.

“Wait a minute,” Lu Li said as he held on to Water Fairy’s arm.

Water Fairy was almost pulled out of Stealth by Lu Li and couldn’t help but stare at him angrily as she waited for him to explain himself.

Lu Li pointed at the ground and motioned for her to observe.

“Why are there footprints?’ Water Fairy asked as she suddenly realized what Lu Li was pointing to.

“If an NPC is in Stealth, they will leave foot prints. This doesn’t happen to players. There must be elite monsters that are capable of Stealth here,” Lu Li explained by typing in the party chat.

“What do we do?”

Water Fairy hadn’t realized that when she played with Lu Li, she wouldn’t bother thinking as she knew that Lu Li would give her all the answers.

“You go over there. I’ll stand here and pull all the Stealth monsters out of the camp, but first, we have to determine how many of them there are,” Lu Li said.

However, just because these Stealth monsters were outside of the camp didn’t mean that they couldn’t affect the targets inside the camp.

Lu Li moved around the area in Stealth, attempting to scout out the bodyguards. Their role was not only to protect the target, but also to act as a warning. If a fight started, they would inform the target and the rest of the camp.

The intelligence of the monsters here was not to be underestimated.

If their Boss was in danger, the monsters that had been pulled away would rush back as quickly as they could.

Lu Li walked along the left side and discovered a Stealthed target in front of him. It hadn’t noticed Lu Li, but he also hadn’t attacked it yet. Instead, he observed its movement speed before leaving to find the others.

Lu Li quickly memorized the number and locations of the Stealth units.

“I’m here,” Water Fairy said after they met up again.

“We’ll wait until they are far apart, and then focus on killing that one,” Lu Li said. He was worried about raising the alarm, so it was best to ensure that it was crowd-controlled until it died.

Ravenholdt Manor’s quest failure penalty was very high, and no one wanted to lose Reputation points within that small faction.

The two walked about in Stealth before finding a monster, then tactically used their crowd-control skills to kill it before another arrived.

“What did it drop?”

The item had been quickly picked up by Lu Li, but Water Fairy saw it.

“You can have it,” Lu Li offered as he threw the item at her.

“You’re really unlucky; you shouldn’t loot the Boss,” Water Fairy sighed as she looked at the equip in her hands. Lu Li was so unlucky that he had actually managed to find a Common equip.

It was a level 50 Elite monster – how could it possibly drop a Common item?

“Alright, you can loot it later,” Lu Li said sheepishly. The System had completely embarrassed him.

After the second elite monster died, Water Fairy looted the body. Unfortunately, she didn’t receive anything particularly good either – just a piece of dried meat covered in yellow sand. After eating it, you would gain an Attribute bonus at the cost of losing HP continuously. This could kill a player, but it was generally accepted that the loss of HP was a low price to pay.

Lu Li maintained his composure and didn’t laugh at the female tycoon, but he was the first to enter the tent.

The moment he entered the tent, he immediately wanted to retreat, but it was too late. Caliph Scorpidsting coldly stood up at his desk with his eyes fixed on Lu Li.

“How did this happen?” Water Fairy asked.

“There is a special lamp on his desk; it’s similar to the Hunter’s Flare. We should knock the lamp down,” Lu Li quickly said. He had heard about this item and knew the strategy behind it, but it was too late.

Caliph Scorpidsting was a Thief, but he was holding a crossbow and could shoot at any moment.

“Seems like a good item. Can we take it away?” Water Fairy asked.

“We’ll have to kill this guy first. Attack!” Lu Li shouted as he charged ahead.

Caliph Scorpidsting raised his hand and let an arrow loose. The first shot barely grazed Lu Li, but as the second shot struck him, he turned into a bat. By the time Lu Li had reached the Boss, he had transformed back.

“Wow, that’s pretty cool. Is it a skill or a special effect?’ Water Fairy asked in admiration.

She was often cold when interacting with others and would normally never make a fuss like this. However, neither Lu Li or Water Fairy really knew the true extent of their skills and abilities.

Enhanced Stealth: Instant Cast, hide in Stealth. The effects of Stealth are improved and will gain a further bonus when in a shadowy environment. Special Effect – Bat Transformation. After using this Special Effect, the caster will be turned into a bat and will fly a certain distance to a designated location. 2-minute cooldown.

Lu Li had been revealed by the lamp, but his Stealth had not been cancelled. After landing, he cast Cheap Shot and successfully stunned his target, then stacked his skills one after another to deal damage.

At the same time, he also explained the skill to Water Fairy.

“An Enhanced Skill!? Where did you learn to Enhance your skill?” Did you find a mentor?” Water Fairy gasped in shock.

“Garona – it turns out that she hadn’t died.”

Water Fairy was very interested in Garona’s story and wanted Lu Li to give her more information. Even her mentor, Pasonia, was curious about her.

“Get ready to take over the crowd0control. She really isn’t dead; maybe I can take you to see her next time.”

In fact, Lu Li hadn’t actually seen his mentor for a few days since becoming her apprentice. Before setting off for the next Stratholme Instance Dungeon, he intended to find her for some quests. He might even be rewarded with an Enhanced Shadowstrike.

“Enhanced skills are really strong,” Water Fairy said with a tinge of regret. “Unfortunately, my Backstab skill still hasn’t reached the required level yet, and the book has just been sitting in the warehouse.”