Chapter 733: The Eighth Character Status

How could there be something like this here? Nian Yan felt a bit surprised in his heart.

He recalled the blueprint of the Lich King Insol’s treasure, which had long been hidden in his backpack without any opportunity to use.

Insol was a very famous demon king, leaving his traces in many places across the Atlantean continent. He had once killed as many as three legendary figures.

All these had become distant history, mentioned only in fragments in some historical books.

Seeing Nian Yan’s eyes fixed on the finger bone, Vaegers explained, “This was discovered by our barbarian ancestors while exploring a swamp. It possesses a very powerful curse force and can be used as a medium for dark priests to cast curse spells, significantly enhancing the power of such curses. The terrifying power contained in this finger bone has kept generations of barbarian shamans from touching it. When the previous shaman left, he once entrusted us with a message, saying that one day someone would appear who would solve the mystery of this finger bone.”

Nian Yan looked at the price tag of the finger bone, which was just under 30,000 gold coins.

“Please give me this finger bone. Here is 30,000 gold coins,” Nian Yan said. Although it was a bit expensive, he decided to buy the finger bone.

“You really intend to buy it?” Vaegers was taken aback and looked at Nian Yan.

“Yes,” Nian Yan nodded.

“Respected Lord, if you need this finger bone, we could give it to you,” Vaegers said respectfully.

“We must abide by the rules of transactions. I am the Lord of Okolen City, and I should set an example,” Nian Yan replied. From past experiences, he knew that using power to obtain items from NPCs often led to their disdain, ultimately resulting in losses. Many similar incidents had occurred before, even involving duke-ranked players bullying NPCs and seizing their items, only to later incur the NPCs’ resentment and face assassination.

Faith’s system was designed this way. Nian Yan understood how to maintain the NPCs’ favor towards him, and the first step was to learn humility.

When Nian Yan insisted on paying, Vaegers quickly said, “Respected Lord, we praise your virtues. We are willing to accept your gold coins. However, as the Lord of this place, you are entitled to a 50% discount on all purchases here, so please take some of your coins back.”

Nian Yan thought for a moment and nodded. “Okay.”

“Please be careful. It possesses a very terrifying power,” Vaegers carefully handed the Insol finger bone to Nian Yan. His expression was very painful while holding it.

After paying 15,000 gold coins, Nian Yan received the finger bone from Vaegers.

As he grasped the finger bone, a wave of curse power surged towards him.

Fear, cold, pain—numerous negative emotions flooded in all at once.

However, immediately after, a string of words flashed through Nian Yan’s mind: justice, honesty, humility…

Some old records had mentioned before that these noble virtues could give a person powerful strength, enabling them not to fear curses anymore.

Nian Yan could clearly feel the curse power slowly fading away until it completely vanished.

System: You have obtained the finger bone of Insol.

System: You have accepted the quest, Guidance of Spirit.

Seeing these two system prompts, Nian Yan furrowed his eyebrows, unsure what the Guidance of Spirit quest entailed. He glanced at it, noticing that the quest clues were still hidden.

At this moment, the finger bone was enveloped in a soft white glow, and the curse power it contained could no longer emanate.

Vaegers looked at the Insol finger bone in astonishment, clearly seeing all the changes it underwent.

“Respected Lord, do you possess the virtues of a saint?” Vaegers asked curiously.

“What saintly virtues?” Nian Yan was puzzled. Suddenly, he thought of the string of words that had flashed through his mind earlier. Could it be those character traits? He nodded and said, “Yes.”

“May I ask which ones?” Vaegers asked excitedly.

“Justice, courage, mercy, honesty, sacrifice, perseverance, and modesty,” Nian Yan replied after checking his current character traits.

Vaegers looked at Nian Yan with an expression of disbelief and said in astonishment, “You already have seven?”

“Yes,” Nian Yan nodded.

“Respected Lord, you possess admirable virtues and noble character,” Vaegers said, crossing his hands over his chest and performing the highest barbarian salute.

“May I ask what relation this has to the finger bone of Insol?” Nian Yan brought the topic back.

“Although the finger bone of Insol contains powerful curse forces and is a treasure highly desired by dark priests, it also has some side effects. When a dark priest continuously uses the power contained within the finger bone, he may be controlled by the curse power attached to it, ultimately falling into becoming a follower of death.”

“Why didn’t you tell me all this earlier?”

“Respected Lord, I mean no harm to anyone. The old shamans of previous generations once left us ancestral teachings: sometimes, even when we know something bad will happen, it has already been arranged by the gods. No matter how hard we try to prevent it, it will inevitably occur. The more afraid we are of something, the more likely it will happen in the direction of our fears. Only by calming our hearts can everything be peaceful.”

Nian Yan listened quietly. Vaegers’ words contained some profound truths. Though Nian Yan only partially understood, he did grasp the underlying meaning, recognizing it as wisdom.

“I have learned much. They must have been admirable sages,” Nian Yan sincerely remarked.

Vaegers nodded with a smile.

“Mr. Vaegers, may I ask what the saintly virtues actually represent?” Nian Yan asked. He had always been very curious and wanted to know what those seven character traits were for.

“As for the saintly virtues, please wait patiently. The light of the gods will protect you. I can only tell you that, besides the seven you have obtained, there is one more virtue called faith, also known as spirituality. When your faith is strong enough, you will sense its presence. When you attain spirituality, come back to me, and I will tell you everything,” Vaegers said, his tone somewhat mysterious.

Spirituality? Nian Yan’s mind stirred. The quest attached to the finger bone of Insol was exactly the Guidance of Spirit.

At least now he had some clues, which was much better than aimlessly searching. Nian Yan accepted this calmly, just as Vaegers had said, only by calming his heart could everything be peaceful. Regarding these pursuits, Nian Yan was no longer in a hurry. Obtaining the eighth character trait was a matter of fortune, and losing it was part of fate; it was something that could not be forced.

“Because you possess strong willpower and noble virtues, the finger bone of Insol cannot harm you. That relieves my concern,” Vaegers said with a relieved smile.

Nian Yan looked at Vaegers. Vaegers’ peaceful demeanor gave a sense of ethereal serenity.

“Thank you for telling me all this, Priest Vaegers.”

Nian Yan put away the finger bone of Insol and bought several other good items, such as the invisible Snowstorm Totem, among others. Although these items were expensive, they were extremely useful for monster hunting or ambushing others. Besides the Snowstorm Totem, Nian Yan bought many magical woven cloths here, filling five or six backpacks. In his spare time, he could use them to make bandages and improve his bandage skill level.

Due to his Lord title, Nian Yan could enjoy a 50% discount on all these purchases.

After finishing everything, Nian Yan bid farewell to Vaegers, who escorted him all the way to the door before turning back.

Nian Yan looked up and saw that already more than thirty people had gathered at the entrance. They had obviously witnessed what had happened earlier. As Nian Yan came out, all their eyes focused on him. Their gazes were a mixture of confusion, admiration, and other emotions.

Nian Yan stepped down from the stairs.

The more than thirty people immediately surged forward, surrounding him and startling him. He instinctively gripped his dagger, suddenly remembering that he was in the city and these people probably wouldn’t be foolish enough to attack him here. Although the NPCs in Okolen City were much weaker compared to NPCs in other cities, they were still more than capable of dealing with these players.

The group showed no concern for whether they had frightened Nian Yan, each one trying to push past the others to get to the front.

“Bro, have you already reached the rank of Marquis or above?”

“Bro, can you buy items from this mysterious store? Help me purchase some stuff.”

“Help me buy five Snowstorm Totems, and I’m willing to pay a 30% premium.”

“Help me buy three Crimson Rubies, and I’m willing to pay a 50% premium.”

“Help me buy…”

These voices overlapped, creating a cacophony that made it hard for Nian Yan to know whom to listen to. However, he still clearly understood that these players wanted him to purchase items for them. This practice of proxy purchasing had long existed. Many mysterious stores had very high requirements for players, such as honor, contribution points, or titles. If players didn’t meet these requirements, they couldn’t buy items. Therefore, players came up with the idea of paying others a premium to purchase items and then resell them. Proxy purchasing was a very profitable business. A gemstone worth several thousand gold coins might have a proxy fee of dozens or even hundreds of gold coins, yet the work was simple—just buy the item from the store and sell it, with minimal risk.

Take this mysterious store, for example. The items sold here were worth at least hundreds of gold coins, some even reaching thousands or tens of thousands. A 30% premium was quite significant. The reason for such a high premium was simple: this mysterious store had very high requirements. The rank of Marquis was something ordinary players couldn’t easily achieve. So far, Nian Yan was the only one who could even speak with Priest Vaegers.