Chapter 174: Confrontation

Nie Yan had become a major chest opener, opening chests mostly within level 30, mostly ordinary or silver-grade treasure chests, with very few golden chests and almost no dark golden ones. Still, many of the items he obtained were quite decent. What excited him most were several recipes, as in his opinion, each recipe meant a steady stream of income.

He personally didn’t have much demand for potions, but he used quite a few. Many monster-farming groups consumed a lot of potions to increase leveling speed or to fight stronger monsters. If the average player in Karol City used one potion per day, and 60% of those potions were produced by Starry Sky Pharmacy, how massive would that transaction volume be? No wonder even with constant upgrades and expansion, Starry Sky Pharmacy could barely accommodate the growing number of customers. Nie Yan had already started planning to open a few branch stores.

With Nie Yan acquiring high-end potion recipes, it would be extremely beneficial for the development of Starry Sky Pharmacy.

After opening chests the entire day, Nie Yan’s Lockpicking skill proficiency increased to 67 points, which was quite fast. Once the skill proficiency reached 100, he could head to higher-level maps.

He glanced at the level leaderboard. Tang Yao, who had just reached level 26, was gradually showing signs of slowing down, as the experience bonus from farming scale frogs had become minimal. But Potian was still aggressively chasing him, though he would need at least another two days to catch up.

“Let Tang Yao continue farming the Scale Frogs for another two days,” Nie Yan thought as he made his way toward the Guangming Monastery.

The Monastery of Light was a remnant from the Co-governance Era. During the Dark Age, it had been an important force in humanity’s resistance against the dragon race. Throughout its two thousand years of history, countless dragons had been purified by the Monastery of Light. Later, for unknown reasons, the monastery was abandoned and became a hideout for bandits.

As a level 30 map, its humanoid monsters were relatively difficult to deal with, but Nie Yan was determined to visit it for the Chapter of Justice.

If he could collect all six Chapters of Order and combine them, the first volume of Order would become bound, and he would no longer have to worry about losing any Chapters of Order he held.

Nie Yan passed through a rocky area. In the distance, sunlight reflected off a hillside, flashing a golden glow.

Nie Yan’s heart skipped a beat—it must be a golden chest!

So far, he had opened about forty to fifty chests, and golden chests were only one or two among them, each yielding very valuable items.

This area was a level 25 map, so the golden chest here should contain at least level 25 golden items.

Nie Yan dashed toward the hillside. The terrain was rugged; ordinary players would find it very difficult to navigate through, but for Nie Yan, it posed no challenge. His Jump, Balance, Agility, and other attributes were all very high, allowing him to leap effortlessly across the slopes as if walking on flat ground.

Jumping and climbing through the rocks for dozens of yards, he encountered a steep cliff. Nie Yan used a skill from his Ring of the Crawler, climbing up the cliff like a lizard, quickly reaching the top.

The golden chest was just ahead!

Another golden chest was within his grasp. As Nie Yan approached it, an unusual feeling arose in his heart. He immediately became alert—he sensed another thief nearby!

His sharp perception quickly pinpointed the thief’s direction. His eyes rapidly filled with bloodshot veins, turning into a pair of blood-red eyes.

True Sight!

His powerful vision swept the surroundings, but he still couldn’t spot the opponent!

True Sight only had a certain probability of revealing hidden opponents and could also fail.

As True Sight faded, Nie Yan carefully observed the surroundings, but he dared not open the golden chest now. Opening it required some time, and if a rogue struck him from behind with a sneak attack, he would surely die.

A rogue daring to come to a level 25 map to loot chests was definitely no ordinary player, but a top-tier expert.

Ordinary players usually stayed in lower-level areas. Only those highly skilled dared to venture into higher-level maps.

Nie Yan entered stealth mode, vanishing from sight as well.

Luo Nan De Qing Wa (Frog in Distress) was a professional player. Though not ranked very high on the professional player leaderboard, he was still somewhat well-known. The professional player leaderboard wasn’t solely based on PvP skills; it also required strong overall strength, including guild affiliation and financial resources. Players like Ai Qing Sha Shang (Love Hurts) and Ban Xing De Hu Li (Half-Awake Fox) were on the list. However, as a freelance player without a studio, Luo Nan De Qing Wa ranked around 200th, though his actual technical skill placed him among the top ten. His PvP skills were formidable.

In previous gaming experiences, Luo Nan De Qing Wa always chose rogue-type characters, and looting chests had become a favored hobby. Venturing into high-level maps to open chests was both thrilling and challenging. Selling the loot for some extra cash was Luo Nan De Qing Wa’s idea of happiness. Many people were willing to pay real money to buy high-level gear from him, including even some guild leaders. The equipment he sold was of quite high quality.

Luo Nan De Qing Wa had rarely seen anyone surviving in level 25 maps, usually only in parties.

As he was about to open the golden chest ahead, he saw another rogue swiftly leap up from below the cliff, eyes widening in disbelief. “What the hell? Isn’t that a cliff? How did he climb up?”

“It’s another chest collector. Making a living is tough enough, and now I’ve run into a competitor,” Luo Nan De Qing Wa thought gloomily, noting how effortlessly the opponent scaled the cliff, clearly possessing top-tier gear.

He was contemplating whether to fight for the golden chest or retreat.

The golden glow in the distance was unmistakably a golden chest! Until now, most of the chests he had opened were ordinary or silver-grade. He had encountered a few low-level golden chests, but a level 25 golden chest was an irresistible temptation!

“Kill and loot?” The thought startled Luo Nan De Qing Wa, making him scratch his head in frustration. “It’s just about making a living. No need to get too bloody.”

But watching the golden chest being opened by someone else made him feel reluctant.

As he hesitated, Nie Yan’s eyes suddenly flashed with a sharp glow, piercing as if capable of seeing through everything.

Luo Nan De Qing Wa’s heart tightened. He immediately held his breath and activated his Vanish ability, boosting his concealment by over 30 points for about two minutes.

The rogue on the opposite side seemed not to notice him, but must have sensed his approximate location. Gradually, the rogue faded from view—he had also gone into stealth! Luo Nan De Qing Wa focused intently but still couldn’t detect the rogue’s whereabouts.

A strong sense of danger told him clearly that the opponent had not left.

He couldn’t sense the opponent’s position, but the opponent’s perception ability terrified him.

“Where the hell did this guy come from? So damn good!” Luo Nan De Qing Wa raised his eyebrows, a spark of challenge igniting in his heart. He had rarely encountered worthy opponents so far. He glanced at his own skills—should the fight go poorly, escaping would be absolutely no problem.

Whoever wins gets the golden chest!

Nie Yan sensed the direction of the rogue. He glanced at his backpack, which contained two Dust of Reveal items. Using them would certainly expose the rogue’s location, but such rare items were not something he wanted to waste here.

Without them, it would be very difficult to detect the opponent’s whereabouts!

Just then, Luo Nan De Qing Wa dropped a scroll, and a brilliant light erupted.

Nie Yan was startled—it was a Scroll of Radiant Glow.

Radiant Glow could reveal rogues hidden within level 20, a basic scroll worth about one silver coin. Occasionally, one or two could be found while opening chests in lower-level areas.

Under the intense light, Nie Yan’s shadow was cast onto the ground.

A figure lunged toward Nie Yan from behind, dagger aiming for his head—Sneak Attack!

Nie Yan noticed the incoming attack and sidestepped just in time. The dagger’s sharp edge whizzed past his ear, its green blade gleaming ominously—it was coated with poison!

Fortunately, he hadn’t been hit!

Nie Yan swiftly turned and circled behind Luo Nan De Qing Wa, launching a Dazing Strike followed by a Sneak Attack. His dagger moved like lightning; within one or two seconds, his opponent could be dead.

Realizing Nie Yan had circled behind him, Luo Nan De Qing Wa initially wanted to counter with a Whirlwind Slash, but he interrupted the skill midway. He felt his entire body stiffen, unable to move—an unknown skill! Startled, he had never heard of a rogue having such a skill, and he was about to be stunned by Nie Yan. At the last moment, he activated the Shadow Cloak ability on his cloak.

Invincibility for 2 seconds!

A metallic clang rang out—Nie Yan’s strike was ineffective.

Taking advantage of this moment, Luo Nan De Qing Wa’s dagger launched a Stunning Strike at Nie Yan’s forehead.

Nie Yan’s dagger blocked the attack with perfect timing. His blade, swift as a serpent, darted toward his opponent’s head.

In an instant, the dagger was already at his face.

So fast! Luo Nan De Qing Wa activated Evasion instinctively, dodging Nie Yan’s Stunning Strike.

MISS!

The stun missed.

Luo Nan De Qing Wa consumed an Acceleration Scroll and quickly retreated, sweat pouring down his forehead. This guy’s movements were too fast, always a step ahead, forcing him into a passive position. His final evasion skill only had a certain probability of dodging an attack. Fortunately, it was a miss; if his luck had been worse…

Luo Nan De Qing Wa didn’t even want to imagine it.

At his current level, his skill set was already quite extensive, yet Nie Yan had even more.

After just a brief exchange, Luo Nan De Qing Wa realized this opponent was beyond his capability, so he quickly retreated. It wasn’t worth dying over a golden chest.

Seeing his opponent retreat dozens of yards away, Nie Yan did not pursue further. After all, it was just a golden chest—no need to fight to the death.