Chapter 134: Red Name

Nie Yan checked his status bar and was frustrated to find that he had become a red name. Thinking back, he was certain that he had initiated the attack. At that moment, the situation had been too urgent for him to fully consider the consequences. In such a situation, he had no choice but to attack Night Shadow first, otherwise he would surely have died!

The system’s red name rules were designed this way. To be precise, PK was just a game, and it all came down to whether players could play by the game’s rules to kill their opponents. Being able to kill opponents without becoming a red name was the highest level of mastery.

In Nie Yan’s case, it was absolutely out of the question to let the enemy strike first. Letting those three go was even more unthinkable. He admitted he had acted on impulse, but in such circumstances, who could possibly swallow their pride?

After killing three opponents, Nie Yan’s name had turned blazing red.

However, being a red name was no big deal. In his previous life, Nie Yan had been red named at least twenty or thirty times. In chaotic battles, being red named two or three times a day was even possible. In this life, with Nie Yan’s current equipment, even as a red name, it would be extremely difficult for others to kill him. If Nie Yan wanted to escape, no one could catch him! Therefore, he wasn’t worried at all.

With Nie Yan’s current reputation in Carol City, he couldn’t return to the city while being a red name. If spotted by guards, they would attack him immediately.

What should he do now? His backpack was full, and he couldn’t return to the city. Checking his status, he needed to kill 3,000 monsters to clear his red name. Killing leaders or elites would clear his red name faster.

Suddenly, Nie Yan remembered that while red named, he could go and hunt scale frogs!

Scale frogs were monsters that could clear a red name very quickly. Moreover, while red named, hunting scale frogs provided additional experience and drop rate bonuses. Sometimes, with good luck, there would even be special rewards like the “Murderous Maniac Medal”!

Perhaps being red named could turn out to be a blessing in disguise.

Through this PK encounter, Nie Yan fully realized that although he had obtained two Order Scrolls and a fragment of the Soget Shadow, his future potential was promising. After all, every five levels, he could gain four more attribute points than ordinary players. However, because he had spent too much time collecting these items, his equipment was still not good enough. He needed to quickly improve his level and equipment.

Nie Yan relaxed and looked at the attributes of the level 10 staff dropped by Orange.

Staff of Dark Wind (Epic): Required level 10.

Attributes: Attack 62-68, with an additional 30 piercing damage, 30% enhanced damage against beast-type monsters.

Restriction: Only available for arcane mages of the Light Faction who are Good and Lawful.

No wonder his opponent had such strong attacks with the Dark Wind staff. Nie Yan’s high defense had been useless. This staff could be used by Tang Yao, who could make good use of it, and switching equipment would be perfect for doing quests together. However, since he had just used his Death Defiance ability, Nie Yan wasn’t sure how to provide Tang Yao with better skills.

Looking at the other two pieces of equipment, the one dropped by Night Shadow was a Black Wing Cloak, suitable for combat rogues, so Nie Yan gave it up. There was also a piece of equipment for warriors.

As for the Ghoul King, it dropped a nice piece of equipment for Nie Yan.

Boots of the Ghoul King (Epic): Required level 10.

Attributes: Defense 29-35, +12 resilience, +16 movement speed.

Weight: 2 pounds.

User Restriction: Thieves of all factions.

Nie Yan equipped the Boots of the Ghoul King, slightly increasing his resilience and movement speed.

“How are you doing?” Nie Yan messaged Tang Yao.

“I just reached level 10 and am preparing to return to Carol City. Do you want to do quests together?” Tang Yao asked. With a level 3 arcane sprite, he was looking for stronger monsters to test its effectiveness.

“Not yet, because I’m red named,” Nie Yan replied with a bitter smile.

Upon hearing Nie Yan’s words, Tang Yao was taken aback. “Red named? Did you just PK?”

“I killed three people from Triumph. They tried to steal my kill, so I took them out.”

“Wow, you’re amazing. You took out three at once. What level were they?” Tang Yao wasn’t surprised or sorry about Nie Yan being red named. Instead, he was excited. What was so great about being red named? Taking out three players was such a cool thing!

“They were all level 10.”

“Wow, level 10. I thought they were all low-level trash.” Tang Yao was shocked. He understood what three level 10 players meant. They were elite members of major guilds, not like him who had leveled up by grinding monsters.

Taking out three elite members of the Triumph guild who were about the same level was quite impressive.

“Let’s not chat for now. Help me get these items back first, then bring me some consumables. I can’t return to the city right now,” Nie Yan said with a bitter smile.

“Okay, where are you? I’ll be there soon. Don’t get killed. If you die, you’ll lose all your equipment.” Tang Yao’s only concern was this. However, after thinking about it, he realized he was worrying unnecessarily. With Nie Yan’s strength, if he didn’t provoke others, others would be fortunate. If others wanted to kill Nie Yan, they should first consider themselves.

“I’m at the Black Gold Mine. I have a way to clear my red name by grinding monsters. First, go to the Starry Sky Pharmacy in the main city and ask Bird Not Left Egg to fund me. After buying the consumables, go to Tesoye Town and buy some Mist Dust for me.” Nie Yan explained roughly about the Starry Sky Pharmacy. Tang Yao was astonished that the Starry Sky Pharmacy, which had stirred up a storm in Carol City, was actually opened by Nie Yan. However, after thinking about it, he understood. Nie Yan probably had many secrets, but he would definitely keep them for Nie Yan.

“Mist Dust? What is that?” Tang Yao asked curiously.

“You’ll know when you get there. Bring more money. They sell it at five gold coins per set, with twenty in each set. I’ll have Bird Not Left Egg give you six gold coins.”

“Wow, what’s so expensive that it costs five gold coins for twenty pieces? That’s terrifying.” Tang Yao inhaled sharply.

“Don’t ask now. I’ll explain later.”

“Okay, I’ll go as soon as possible.”

“I’ll grind some monsters first and clear some of my red name,” Nie Yan said. He could only grind regular ghouls here for now to reduce his red name.

Following Nie Yan’s instructions, Tang Yao quickly visited several NPC shops selling consumables, including the Mist Dust in Tesoye Town, which cost five gold coins per set. Five gold coins disappeared in an instant, making Tang Yao feel the pain. Five gold coins, if exchanged for low-grade instant recovery potions, would last him three months. If exchanged for equipment, it could get him a full set of epic gear. In Nie Yan’s hands, it became twenty pieces of unknown Mist Dust. What a waste!

“I’m here. Where are you?” Tang Yao asked.

“Coordinates 23838, 23828.” Nie Yan sent Tang Yao the coordinates.

“It’s nearby. I’ll be there soon.”

After a while, Tang Yao arrived panting, with the arcane sprite closely following him.

“I’m exhausted.” Seeing Nie Yan’s red name, Tang Yao was also startled. “How can you be so red?”

“If you kill three people, you’ll be just as red,” Nie Yan replied with a bitter smile.

“You’re really fierce.” Tang Yao laughed.

“Alright, don’t gloat here. Help me take all these items back. I’ll grant you access. Put them in my personal warehouse first,” Nie Yan said.

“Aww, I have to run again.” Tang Yao said unhappily.

“My backpack is full. You can’t expect me to throw everything away, can you? There’s even a piece of epic gear that you can use.”

“Epic gear? Where?” At the mention of epic gear, Tang Yao’s eyes lit up with a green glow.

“Here.” Nie Yan threw the Staff of Dark Wind to Tang Yao.

“Awesome, this is so cool. If you had told me earlier that you had an epic staff, I would have come sooner.” Seeing the attributes of the Staff of Dark Wind, Tang Yao was delighted and immediately switched to it. “I’m at your service. I guarantee to deliver all the equipment to your personal warehouse within three minutes and return here within twenty minutes.”

“Hurry up.” Nie Yan laughed and scolded, handing over all the items to Tang Yao.

Tang Yao used a recall scroll to help Nie Yan return the items and then came back.

“Where are we going next?”

“We’re going to hunt scale frogs together. I’ll group with you.” Nie Yan sent a party invitation to Tang Yao.

System: Player Tang Yao has joined your party.

After grouping with Tang Yao, Nie Yan led him toward the scale frog spawning area.

Leaving the Black Gold Mine and heading south, they entered a deep jungle. The trees here were lush, and occasionally some bull monsters passed by.

“Stay hidden. Be careful to avoid the monsters and don’t provoke them!” Nie Yan reminded Tang Yao.

“Where are we going? Why does it feel like this place is dangerous?”

“This is the area of level 30 bull monsters, so be careful. However, these bulls are quite docile. As long as you don’t get within five yards of them, they won’t bother you.”

“Level 30 monsters.” Tang Yao’s eyes nearly popped out. Going into a level 30 monster area at this time was practically asking for death. However, after thinking about it, he didn’t say anything else. Previously, Nie Yan had taken him to the level 25 monster area of Hemus. If they could go to a level 25 monster area, then a level 30 monster area wouldn’t be much different.

Passing through layers of dense jungle, occasionally a bull monster passed by. They had sharp horns, were covered in black scales, and looked strong and tall, very imposing.

All of this made Tang Yao feel uneasy. He wasn’t like Nie Yan, who was a rogue and had a high chance of escaping even in danger. Tang Yao was a mage, wearing light armor and being slow, so if he was targeted by a high-level monster, he would be in danger.

After crossing through the territory of numerous bull monsters, Nie Yan finally reached the spawning point of the scale frogs.

Scale frogs were level 25 monsters, covered in hard scales all over their bodies. They moved slowly, but their attacks and toxins were very powerful. In his previous life, at least level 30 players in a group dared to come here.