Zhan Long

Chapter 70 - Dark Dwarves

Thanks again to all the people who pointed errors in previous chapters!

In the morning at the General Studies of Chinese Characters class.

The professor held an extremely thick book in his hands, reciting the contents from the book with modulated cadence.

“Sha sha sha…”

Beside me, the sound of continuous scribbling of pencils drifted over and outside the window, the birds chirped joyously. Leaning by the window sill, my head gradually nodded off into a nap. After a while, someone shook me and I almost knocked my head on the table. Turning around, I saw Lin Wan Er staring angrily at me, “Yesterday, what did you do?”

“I didn’t do anything. Didn’t I go with you guys to the movies?”

“Oh…”

Glancing around her table, I saw Lin Wan Er’s scribbling on her workbook, drawing a portrait resembling her Pet. It was the Tigerman in game, drawn vividly with its domineering look. Tsk tsk, the beautiful m’lady really did have a wide range of talents!

……

“It really does look like the real one!” I tilted my head and laughed.

Lin Wan Er gently smiled, “Its okay, I’m just doodling…”

Dong Cheng Yue was by Wan Er’s side, toying with her phone. After fiddling with it for a moment, she said, “Guys, big news! Just ten minutes ago, the first level 40 player appeared.”

Lin Wan Er and I said with a mysterious harmony, “Who?”

“Not telling you two…”

“…”

“Fine, its Q Sword of Fan Shu City, and our future guild leader.” Dong Cheng Yue chuckled, “I really didn’t expect Q Sword, a swordsman, to level at a faster pace than me, a mage.”

I asked, “Yue Er, what level are you at?”

“Level 38.”

“What about Wan Er?” I asked once more.

Wan Er opened her pair of charming eyes widely and stared at me. After a long time, Wan Er realized that I was referring to her. She, while looking a little uncomfortable with how I addressed her, said, “I’m currently level 39, with my experience bar at 17%. There are no classes this afternoon, so I should be able to hit level 40. But we are students, how can we compare with Q Sword…”

“Hm, Q Sword seems to be in a rush to reach level 40, I wonder what is he planning…”

Dong Cheng Yue said, “Taking the top spot in the player ranking board naturally comes with many benefits. Firstly, it spreads the player’s name far and wide. Next, it allows him to garner popularity from the other gamers, such that when he creates his own guild in the future, he doesn’t have to worry about being unable to recruit top level gamers.”

Lin Wan Er, also browsing the internet through her phone, said, “Actually, the most important thing is that at level 40, after job change, the new techniques are far stronger than our current ones. Let me see, for Swordsmen, after reaching level 40, you can learn 【Swordsmanship Specialization】, which increases sword-type damage by 25%. On top of that, you can learn either 【Flame Blade】 or 【Ice Blade】; Level 1 【Flame Blade】 increases damage by 3% whereas level 1 【Ice Blade】 increases damage by 2% and reduces the enemy’s speed.

While speaking, Lin Wan Er looked at me, “Li Xiao Yao, your job could also be considered as a swordsman, which one of the two skills are you planning on training?”

I replied immediately, “The effects of 【Ice Blade】 can reduce the enemy’s speed and can be considered as a control technique, one of the ideal skills for PK. Although 【Flame Blade】 has a high offensive power, I do not lack offensive ability. My Wind Blade can also increase by attacking power by 3%, thus offsetting the setbacks from not learning 【Flame Blade】.”

Dong Cheng Yue rubbed her hands together and giggled sinisterly, “Hee hee, today I shall also strive to reach level 40, and I shall start going on the offense!”

Lin Wan Er couldn’t help but smile, “A level 40 mage isn’t just as simple as being able to go on the offensive. There is still the 【Pillars of Ice & Fire】 which blasts away all monsters in a 5 meters radius. Only after learning 【Pillars of Ice & Fire】 can one proclaim themselves as a true qualified mage!”

“Yup, yup!” Dong Cheng Yue eyes glittered with hope.

……

After lunch, the two beauties, eager to rush their levels, excitedly ran back to their dormitory. As for me, I walked leisurely back to my sleeping room. There was no need to hurry, after all I was only at level 35, there was still quite a long way off from level 40. Today, I could probably reach level 37-38, but reaching level 40 was still an impossible task.

“Shua!”

Appearing by the side of the Dragon City, I found Beast Tamer Dalin roasting a python over a bonfire. The python was as thick as a bowl, with scales that were gray in color and it belonged under the category of Desert Snakes. Pi Pi Pa Pa, the crackling sound of the fire could be heard from where I stood. The persistent python was clinging onto its life and continuously writhing its body around. Apparently, the python did not understand what kind of person the Dalin was. Dalin, with one hand seasoning the python with pepper, was smacking the snake on its head with his other palm and shouted angrily, “Show some respect to your elders and stay still, if you continue to squirm around I’ll deep-fry you!”

I trembled at the sight. My master was really not an ordinary person.

Carrying the Jade City Sword, I walked up to him and asked, “Teacher, I have come again. Are there any quests for me?”

Dalin looked up and replied, “Oh, kid, you finally appeared! This morning, Captain Frost passed by our campsite and told me that in the Fire Stone Canyon, east of Dragon City, they sighted a group of Dark Dwarves. These detestable Dark Dwarves originally resided underground. However, due to their greedy nature, they are extremely passionate about seeking gold. Apparently, some rumor spread amongst them, saying that underneath the Dragon City, countless gold bars and precious stones can be found. Hmph, those Dark Dwarves have gathered thousands of troops in the Fire Stone Canyon, they are definitely aiming to invade us!”

While saying this, Dalin suddenly stood up and patted my shoulder, “Kid, there is no room for complaints, you are to immediately head forth to Fire Stone Canyon and punish the bunch of greedy Dark Dwarves!”

A piece of golden sheepskin appeared in front of me and on top of it, written in a large font was the word “Bounty”. Dalin looked at me with great expectations and said, “Lad, go to the Fire Stone Canyon, kill at least 2000 Dark Dwarves, and their names will be recorded on this magical scroll. On top of that, you have to kill at least one of the leaders of the Dark Dwarves, only then can the quest be considered complete!”

“Ding!”

System Notice: Received quest 【Hunting Dark Dwarves】! (Quest Grade A)

Quest Description: Head forth to Fire Stone Canyon and kill at least 2000 Dark Dwarves. On top of that, you must exterminate one or more dark dwarf leader. Great caution should be exercised since Dark Dwarves are blessed with innate magical talent and they are incomparably greedy and savage. Once caught by them, even if you possess thousands of lives, you will end up getting killed by them. Thus, just before they grab hold of you, it would be best to free your worries by stabbing yourself.

……

“Damn…”

I unconsciously grinned. I got the quest just like that, a grade A storyline quest! Given that it was a storyline quest, the rewards were bound to be shockingly bountiful and also, without doubt, the difficulty of the quest would also be unthinkably difficult. No matter, let’s slaughter our way in and then think about it later!

After fixing my equipment at the quartermaster and retrieving Indigo Sea Pills from my storage, I was ready to head off!

Walking along a familiar road, I passed through the Desolate Cloud Swamp and headed directly toward the Fire Stone Canyon. Unlike before, the levels of the players now were already considerably higher compared to a few days ago. In fact, when I was passing by the Desolate Cloud Swamp, there were quite a few parties training there. Also, at the edge of the forest, there was a new space created just for the players. It was a temporary campsite created by the Ba Huang City’s NPC scouts. Blacksmiths, pharmacists, whatever basic needs a player required could be found there. By adjusting according to the players, the NPCs of Ba Huang City were extremely intelligent and this was one of the pluses in the game.

“Hi, that level 35 big brother dressed in heavy armor? Do you want to come with us to fight the Cloud Water Snakes? We only require a heavy armor class!”

A distance away, a party was extending their hands and inviting me to join them. Such a pity that the Cloud Water Snakes no longer caught my eye, my target was the Dark Dwarves in the Fire Stone Canyon!

Shaking my head while smiling, I stepped into the shallow waters and rejected their offer, “Thanks, but I am currently on a quest and I’m heading towards another map. So, have fun and good luck!”

That guy shook his head and laughed, “Yeah, good luck to you too. The monsters in front have extremely high levels, don’t die!”

“Of course!”

With the blessings from those strangers, I stepped on the road to leveling. On my way, I found that the levels of the monsters were higher than before. Last time I came, the monsters were level 37 but now, they were replaced with level 39 monsters. Obviously, this showcased the capabilities of the AI of Destiny; the levels of the monsters would follow the majority of the gamers. As most of the gamers leveled up, the levels of the monsters changed accordingly.

Reaching the entrance to the Fire Stone Canyon, shoosh shoosh sounds became apparent, as the harsh wind blew against me. I glanced around but there were no other players to be found. On a rock far away, there were a few level 40 small devils. Given that most of the players were around the 32~34 level range, killing these monsters would be difficult for them.

Standing on the cliff, I leaped and slid into the area of the Fire Stone Canyon together with Baby Bobo. Opening my map to take a look, I realized that I had already passed by the Deep Cold Forest and coiuldn’t expect another Ice Rat to appear for me, I guess I better just proceed on with the quest. After all, leveling was the most important thing right now! On the map, towards my east, the whole region was dyed blood red and on top of that, there was a quest mark. That would probably be where the temporary camp of the Dark Dwarves was, I guess?

……

Carrying my Jade City Sword, I moved carefully towards the location indicated on the map. After walking for around 10 minutes, the land in front of me started going downwards and looking downwards, in the middle of the valley below, there was a large basin — Slayer’s Basin.

Yet another map within a map! Standing at the edge of the basin, I looked towards the horizon. I could see thick black smoke rising up and at least tens of thousands of simple and crude tents spreading out sporadically within the basin. Each and every Dark Dwarf, all possessing a beard, was busy doing something. Some were busy crafting some kind of weapon and some were stripping the skins of their hunts. More importantly, all of their names were red, indicating that they were the monsters I needed to hunt to complete my quest!

“Sha…”

My Battle Boots began to move and I slid down along the edges of the basin. At the same time, my Dawn Breastplate shone with an untainted glow. With this Dawn Breastplate from Lin Wan Er, I looked like a high level warrior.

Reaching the ground, I regained my balance and looked around. Not far away from me, there was a small tent, within it resided four Dark Dwarves. Two of them were surrounding a soup cauldron, one was stripping a wild goat of its skin and the last one was sharpening the edge of a war axe. Hu chi hu chi, the Dark Dwarf who was stripping the goat’s skin wheezed as he did the chore, commenting, “Damn it, these goat meat comes with a nasty stench, making me feel like vomiting. I prefer the taste of human girls. Last night, when we were raiding the human village, we killed all of the women after playing with them. I feel like… the prince’s way of doing things is way too violent, why can’t we bring those human girls here?”

Ga ga, the Dark Dwarf who was sharpening the war axe laughed and said, “Suo An, shut up. Don’t you dare question the prince’s way of doing things; you are too arrogant. If you don’t shut your mouth, this elder shall remove your head from your body with a swing of my axe, making you end up just like those humans!”

……

While carrying my sword, I confirmed the distance between me and the Dark Dwarves. The distance which monsters would be aggro-ed would be around 20 meters, whereas the Dark Dwarf who was removing the goat’s skin was just around 20 meters away from me. Hm, I shall start with him, otherwise a 1V4 would be too stressful!