The Great Thief

Lu Li pretended to be shocked and took two steps back.

The others were eagerly waiting while Azure Sea Breeze raised his shield and prepared to charge in. However, he relaxed after he saw that the sculpture was falling apart.

In fact, they didn’t need to be so alert. Such a shoddy sculpture couldn’t contain a powerful being.

“Young travelers, welcome to Shadowforge City…”

The sculpture was turning into dust, but the sound was clear and unmistakable.

“I am sorry to disturb your deep sleep. We are a group of adventurers from Stormwind City.”

There was a Dwarf, an Elf and a Draenei on their team, but Lu Li didn’t mention this because it was easy to offend the Iron Dwarves.

“Oh, Stormwind City. That is a fascinating place. I am Franclorn Forgewright, son of Douglas,” the sculpture said calmly.

“Did I hear that right? This is Franclorn?” the team was buzzing with excitement.

Although not everyone was not as knowledgeable as Lu Li, they had prepared for this Instance Dungeon and knew who Franclorn Forgewright was. They knew that this city had been designed by him.

“Your name is as bright as the sun and the moon,” Lu Li praised him sincerely.

The fall of the Iron Dwarves wasn’t enough to obscure the great feat of creating this city.

“My name? Haha, the tomb of the King is more magnificent than the houses for the living. I have done many things in my life that I am satisfied with, but this is not one of them. Moreover, I hate my student the most. Fineous Darkvire is arrogant and unmotivated; he takes the work of other architects and claims it as his own. The grievances of these other architects cut straight to my heart, making it hard for me to rest…” Franclorn Forgewright ranted as he began to become worked up.

“Is there anything we can do for you?” Although Lu Li had negative Charisma, he was still the one most familiar with the available quests, especially those relating to Franclorn Forgewright.

“Kill him, and take everything back,” he said, prompting them to take back the Ironfel from Darkvire and throw it into the magma behind them. The significance of this quest wasn’t large, which meant that not many players in Dawn were actually willing to throw the Ironfel into the magma, especially given how low the drop rate was.

The reason Lu Li wanted to trigger this quest was simple – it was because Franclorn Forgewright would then give them a buff.

Because Franclorn Forgewright was Fineous Darkvire’s teacher, Darkvire still had some respect for him. With this buff, Fineous Darkvire’s attack power would be reduced by 10% until the third phase.

“We will complete this task and kill Fineous Darkvire. If we see the Ironfel, we will definitely throw it into the magma,” Lu Li promised as he bowed slightly.

If not for the previous Bracer, Lu Li might not have promised to throw the Ironfel into the magma.

He had a more exquisite Forging Hammer, but none of the others did. As such, Lu Li was okay with letting go of this quest item, and allowing the rest to decide.

However, after the business with the Epic Bracer, he no longer considered what the others thought and promised to throw the hammer into the magma. By the time they saw Ironfel’s Attributes, it would be too late to turn back. After all, they didn’t know what the consequences would be if they didn’t follow the NPCs instructions.

“Thank you, young ones,” the sculpture said as he put his hand on Lu Li’s forehead. “May your wishes come true.”

The System then prompted Lu Li that he had received a quest reward and a Forging level.

Lu Li’s other Trade Skill, Alchemy, had been left almost entirely untrained, but his Engineering and Forging had always been very strong. His Forging was particularly strong because he was using an exquisite Forging hammer, and was always crafting items for his guild.

He was already an Expert Forger, and now that he received a level, he immediately became a Master.

Progressing from Expert to Master was usually quite a torturous process. He didn’t expect Franclorn Forgewright to just put his hand on him and give it to him.

With this reward alone, he would have thrown the Ironfel anywhere without any hesitation.

The others didn’t suspect anything. They thought that it was lucky that they managed to trigger the quest. As for Franclorn Forgewright touching Lu Li’s head, they didn’t think much of that.

Now they were finally facing Fineous Darkvire.

Fineous Darkire was a Paladin with many auras. This meant that he had high attack strength, but the team was able to cope with the 10% damage reduction.

Phase one was a grind as Fineous Darkvire would use Holy Light often to heal himself.

Fortunately, these Holy Lights could be interrupted by Kicks. As such, with both Lu Li and Water Fairy, 80% of his Holy Lights were unsuccessful.

Phase two was similar – Fineous Darkvire didn’t use Holy Light, but used Seal of Reckoning instead. This applied a seal to himself and his allies, giving them some bonus HP for 30 seconds.

Because this was a continuous state that couldn’t be interrupted, phase two of Fineous Darkvire was the most difficult one.

If the team didn’t have enough attack strength, there was no way to deal any damage to him. Even with Lu Li’s had to fight for quite long to overcome his defenses.

Fortunately, Lu Li had some countermeasures.

Nightslayer Ghostface (Exquisite Dark Gold): Armor 60, Agility 55, Strength +30, Dark Field of View +30%, 2 Slots. Special Effect 1: Wild Roar. The caster roars, increasing base attack power of everyone within 30 yards by 10%. Lasts 30 seconds. 20 minute cooldown. Special Effect 2: Shadow Plunder. Randomly obtains a buff from the target. Lasts 20 minutes. 30 minute cooldown. Special Effect 3: Void Gaze, Increases the probability of finding Stealth units for 60 seconds. 20 minute cooldown. Equipment Requirement: Level 55. Durability 280/280.

Shadow Plunder: Randomly obtains a buff from the target. Lasts 20 minutes. 30 minute cooldown.

Lu Li’s T1 equipment came with a special effect. This special effect was crucial here because Fineous Darkvire only had one buff, so Lu Li was guaranteed to take it away.