Chapter 8: The Cost of Disregard

After appraising his equipment, Nie Yan walked outside and glanced at his skill bar. Only two skills were listed there: Stealth and Targeted Strike.

A perfect rogue is built upon countless skills. A rogue can manage without good gear, but never without skills.

Nie Yan was intimately familiar with the early spots where rogue skill books could be farmed. However, he had no intention of spending much effort farming those books since any skill book that could be obtained through farming was generally available on the market.

Where else could he find rare beginner skill books?

Nie Yan slapped his forehead. How could I have forgotten that?

For a rogue aiming to maintain continuous combat effectiveness, one often chooses between Alchemy and Bandage skills. Alchemy involves crafting various potions like health vials and elixirs. During battle, a health vial is like a second life. Drinking a slow-recovery potion after combat can quickly restore fighting capacity, accelerating leveling. Bandages, on the other hand, are somewhat inferior to instant-heal vials and can typically only be used after combat ends.

Nie Yan remembered a place where he could learn the rare Combat Bandage skill.

Later on, when his level increased, buying mid-tier or higher instant-heal or slow-recovery potions from the market would be expensive. Each potion was painstakingly farmed by players and sold at high prices, making them unaffordable for average players unless they were wealthy.

But Nie Yan was different. With numerous methods for making money in his mind, he didn’t need to worry about finances. He could easily afford potions later. Learning Alchemy wasn’t necessary. However, learning Combat Bandage could significantly improve his survival ability. After weighing the options, he made his decision.

First, he would learn Combat Bandage.

Nie Yan spent two copper coins to buy two bottles of basic underwater breathing potions from an NPC pharmacy and headed toward Randuo Lake, not far from Trak Town.

He passed through several level 2 and level 3 monster zones where many players were grouped up farming monsters. Usually, they occupied a specific area, with warriors and paladins drawing aggro while mages bombarded enemies from a distance. Some groups even included priests, even though priests had no healing abilities yet and their damage was weaker than mages, making them somewhat useless except for experience farming. However, having priests in a group was still valuable because they represented an endless supply of future healing potential.

As for rogues, early on they were often excluded from groups. However, rogues were famously fast at leveling solo. As long as they had all the essential skills, their leveling speed could rival even that of mages. Not being in a group wasn’t a big issue.

Leveling at various monster farming spots was tedious, but players could chat and joke around, making time pass quickly.

Nie Yan carefully passed through these player farming areas. Conflicts often occurred between players. Killing another player would result in being marked red and unable to return to town. Red-marked players would suffer harsher penalties if killed, including losing levels and dropping gear. However, red marks would fade after farming monsters for a while. Therefore, many players risked red marking to loot others’ gear. For safety, one must be extremely cautious when encountering unfamiliar players in the wild.

At Randuo Lake, fishmen spawned frequently. It was said that fishmen were descendants of the ancient beast Naga. After countless generations, they evolved into their current form with fish bodies and human limbs, wielding sharp teeth and tridents as weapons.

Fishmen were level 3 monsters, and there were many of them. Nearby was a fishman village. To reach his destination, Nie Yan had to pass through the village’s edge, enter Randuo Lake, and swim across.

The fishman village was situated by Randuo Lake, with hundreds of wooden huts scattered along the lakeshore. This village had at least 300 fishmen, dozens of fishman leaders, and two elite fishmen. Clearing this place would require at least a thousand players.

As Nie Yan prepared to use Stealth to bypass the fishman village, a system announcement rang out.

Area Announcement: The Triumph Guild will clear this area in three minutes. Players near the fishman village are advised to leave.

Triumph Guild? Nie Yan raised an eyebrow. In his previous life, he had some conflicts with them. The Triumph Guild was large and arrogant, often clearing areas. Once, one of Nie Yan’s companions killed three Triumph players for clearing their farming spot, sparking a feud. The Triumph Guild chased him relentlessly, vowing to wipe him back to level zero. At that time, Nie Yan and his friends were too weak to fight back and had to hide deep in the mountains for over a month, training until they were strong enough to re-emerge. Even then, they could barely defend themselves against large guilds like Triumph.

The humiliation of that time was unforgettable.

This time around, such history would never repeat itself. He would settle the score, but not now.

Nie Yan had just entered the game and still needed to accumulate resources gradually.

He headed toward Randuo Lake.

Looking ahead, the blue water met the sky. The lake shimmered under the sunlight.

The Triumph Guild members were mobilizing. Many nearby areas had seen their activity. They had arrived in large numbers, clearly planning to tackle the fishman tribe.

The fishman tribe wasn’t a dungeon but a monster settlement. These places often dropped decent loot.

Nie Yan passed through a grove of low trees, about 200 yards from the lake.

A fireball streaked across the sky, hurtling toward Nie Yan.

The flash of fire caught Nie Yan’s eye as he spotted an elemental mage in red robes. The mage was from the Triumph Guild, a level 3 Elemental Mage!

Mages were divided into Elemental Mages, Arcane Mages, and Holy Word Mages. Elemental Mages controlled the forces of ice, fire, and lightning. Arcane Mages wielded arcane magic. Holy Word Mages were the rarest, hardest to train, but the most powerful, capable of casting divine spells.

Among elemental magic, fire magic had the highest damage output.

Nie Yan noticed the fireball too late.

Boom! The fireball exploded on Nie Yan, dealing 22 damage.

System: Player Zihuo has attacked you. You may defend yourself legally for 3 minutes.

When facing a mage, one either rushed in for close combat or fled immediately.

After confirming no other Triumph members were nearby, Nie Yan charged toward the Elemental Mage, Zihuo.

Mages preferred to keep distance from enemies, bombarding them with spells.

Zihuo leapt backward, casting Fireball again, then ran to increase the distance from Nie Yan.

Players could roll to dodge incoming spells, but rolling gave the mage more time to retreat. Nie Yan charged straight through the fireball toward the mage.

Boom! Another Fireball exploded on Nie Yan, dealing 27 damage.

Zihuo needed some casting time for each spell.

Casting spells required elements like gestures, verbal components, materials, tools, and magical foci. Different spells required different combinations. Some needed only verbal components, others gestures, and some required multiple elements together.

Each spell had different casting requirements and time durations.

Casting a Fireball required two verbal syllables and two gestures, totaling two seconds. Without the ability to cast while moving, Zihuo had to pause in place for two seconds to cast.

Nie Yan used this moment to close in. He lunged forward, dealing 23 damage to Zihuo. Mages had very weak defenses.

Zihuo jumped back, casting Explosive Flame Ring, sending flames scattering.

Explosive Flame Ring required only one verbal syllable to cast.

At such close range, there was no way to dodge. Nie Yan took the hit, suffering 39 damage. He quickly pulled out a basic instant-heal potion from his belt and drank it.

Zihuo’s movements were decent but not very fluid. Every mage felt a bit nervous when forced into close combat by a rogue.

Taking advantage of the Explosive Flame Ring, Zihuo retreated.

Nie Yan had invested heavily in agility. Rogues excelled in speed, and now that advantage showed. He tightly engaged Zihuo, landing two consecutive lunges, dealing 36 damage.

Zihuo cast another fireball, hitting Nie Yan.

In Faith, each round of time was calculated as three seconds. Any spell with a casting time under three seconds couldn’t be interrupted unless the caster died. Even in close combat, Zihuo could still counterattack Nie Yan.

Under the fireball’s devastating damage, Nie Yan had only 25 health left. Zihuo retreated a distance, raising his staff to chant a spell. Flames gathered rapidly around his staff.

In Zihuo’s view, he still had 51 health left, so he was temporarily safe. Nie Yan had only 25 health left. One fireball would finish him off.

As Zihuo chanted, fire elements gathered, flames roaring.

“Die!” Zihuo felt everything was under control, the firelight illuminating his ferocious face.

Nie Yan understood the danger. He had forced himself next to Zihuo, glancing sideways at his rage meter. It was fully charged, meeting the requirement.

His pitch-black pupils locked onto Zihuo’s throat. His dagger shifted from a forward grip to a reverse grip.

“Targeted Strike!”

Nie Yan and Zihuo crossed paths. A flash of cold light sliced across Zihuo’s throat. A gash split open, blood spraying.

System: Targeted Strike completed. Attack position offset by 5%. Additional damage bonus applied.

-51, a damage number floated above Zihuo’s head.

The fireball Zihuo had been casting dissipated. Any spell being cast would be interrupted upon death.

The tide had turned!

How was this possible!

Shock and disbelief filled his eyes.

Never underestimate a rogue’s burst damage. Even if you seem to have the upper hand, don’t assume you’re safe because the next moment, you might be the one dying.

Zihuo’s eyes dimmed. He collapsed with a thud, still puzzled in death how a level 2 rogue could suddenly unleash such devastating damage.

The Targeted Strike skill indeed had impressive damage.

Nie Yan sheathed his dagger, bent down, and collected Zihuo’s dropped gear—a level 0 +3 perception bronze staff, probably worth over ten copper coins.

“There’s an enemy over there! Zihuo is dead!”

“Chase him! Don’t let him escape!”

Nie Yan had killed a Triumph Guild member, and the commotion inevitably drew attention from nearby players. Six Triumph members were now closing in from various directions.

Nie Yan sprinted toward Randuo Lake. His running speed was slightly faster than average players of the same level, quickly creating distance between himself and his pursuers.

A Swordmaster appeared ahead, blocking Nie Yan’s path.

“Want to run? Not so fast! Sword Slash in a Straight Line!”