"Huh?" Kaden's attention snapped toward the direction from which the voice had originated. With the entire raid party lying lifeless before him, it couldn't possibly be one of them. Who else was lurking in the shadows, observing their every move, just like he had done? In that case... Whoever it was, they were unlikely to be thrilled with him. Not only had he slaughtered everyone, but he had also snatched the field boss right from under their noses. Kaden swiftly commanded his imp to prepare for battle, his hand clutching the dagger tightly as he scanned his surroundings with heightened vigilance.
But to his surprise, no attack came. "Relax. I have no intention of fighting you. I've been watching the entire spectacle. Did you pick a fight with a guild for no reason? You're either an arrogant fool, or you possess the skills to back it up. And judging by the peculiar pet at your side, I'm inclined to believe it's the latter." Kaden's eyes narrowed. In the next instant, a figure cloaked in black materialized a few paces away. Determined, Kaden lunged toward the figure, but his efforts were in vain. The person was exceptionally swift, vanishing from the spot in the blink of an eye.
"Not bad. Not bad at all. A unique pet and impressive skills. I'll be keeping an eye on you." The man's voice faded into thin air as if he had never been there to begin with. A shiver ran down Kaden's spine, freezing him in place for a moment. But soon, a wide grin spread across his face. "He He. Intriguing." He stood still for a moment observing his surroundings, just in case the other player hadn't yet left the scene, but there were no other signs of movement. Kaden chuckled and decided to shake it off. The other party decided to avoid a confrontation with him, so there was nothing he could do.
He once again focused his attention on the Dark Gods guild players, more specifically, their corpses. "Wow, would you look at this!" Kaden's eyes gleamed with excitement as he surveyed the spoils of his conquest. The fallen members of the Dark Gods guild had dropped an impressive array of items, and he wasted no time in scooping them up. "Dire wolf mask, dire wolf fang necklace, dire wolf pauldron, dire wolf chestpiece, dire wolf shirt, dire wolf armguard, dire wolf gloves, dire wolf belt, dire wolf legguards, and dire wolf boots... the whole shebang!" Kaden listed off the loot with growing satisfaction.
It seemed luck was on his side today, as he managed to collect the complete fucking set of dire wolf gear! Not that a dire wolf item set had much value to begin with, but there was a special quest linked to this particular set. Kaden also knew that obtaining this set was no walk in the park. It involved countless hours of tireless hunting, gathering dire wolf pelts, and then groveling before the newbie village tailor, begging and kissing up to him just to get the items custom-made.
But now, without enduring that tedious process, Kaden held the item set in his hands! Apart from the dire wolf items, there were also a few trash-grade starter weapons dropped, which would probably give a couple of copper coins in exchange. Kaden took out his backpack from his inventory and tossed these weapons into the backpack as there wasn't enough space in the inventory for everything. With a gleeful grin plastered on his face, he then turned his attention to the main event—the loot left behind by the magnificent white wolf.
The field boss had been very generous. Kaden saw a total of five silver coins scattered around on the ground. There was also a wolf fang necklace and a pair of white boots. Kaden's eyes lit up with delight as he picked up the glittering silver coins, their weight adding a satisfying jingle to his growing fortune. But it was the wolf fang necklace that truly captivated him. The pendant was exquisitely crafted, with intricate carvings and a certain primal energy emanating from it. The pristine white boots were also eye-catching with their sleek design and impeccable craftsmanship. Kaden immediately inspected the two items.
Ding!
[White Fang Necklace]
Item Type: Neckpiece
Grade: Uncommon
Material: Wolf fang
Requirement: Level 10
Agility: +10
Special Ability: Wolf's Fury - Grants a temporary boost to attack speed for 10 seconds once per hour.
Ding!
[White Boots]
Item Type: Boots
Grade: Uncommon
Material: White wolf pelt
Requirement: Level 10
Agility: +10
Movement Speed: +5%
Special Ability: Nimble Steps - Reduces the stamina cost of evasive maneuvers by 20%.
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Two Uncommon grade items! Kaden was missing good items in these slots, so this was perfect. He quickly put on the necklace and then the boots. They fit him perfectly as if tailored to his very footsteps. He then looked at the two other neckpiece drops he had obtained from the corpses. As simple dire wolf fang necklaces, their stats were less impressive, but they were still stats, so Kaden quickly put those on as well. He also wore the dire wolf mask, dire wolf shirt, dire wolf armguard, dire wolf gloves, dire wolf belt, and dire wolf legguards, adding an item in every slot possible.
With the mix and match of the troll hide items, the white wolf items, the dire wolf items, and the multiple neck pieces, Kaden was truly a sight to see, but he did not care as his stats received a significant bump from everything. He could now challenge any mob under Level 20 confidently. Besides, the little imp next to him made him look handsome, even if he had dressed worse. Kaden plopped on the ground and patted the guy on his head, not minding the couple of exaggerated blisters.
"You did a good job. Let's see what else we gained from this fight. Ke Ke Ke" The duo grinned in unison as Kaden pulled up his system interface to take a look at all the notifications he had heard after the fight.
Player Name: Kaden Wright
Level: 13
Class: None
Race: Human
Title: Mark of the Abyss
Status: Red (1 hour)
Attributes:
Strength: 23
Agility: 23
Intelligence: 23
Stamina: 23
Free Stat Points: 20
Free Skill Points: 5
Skills: Obsidian Oath
Equipment: Troll Hide Chestpiece, Troll Hide Spaulders, White Fang Dagger, White Fang Necklace, White Boots, Dire Wolf Mask, Dire Wolf Shirt, Dire Wolf Armguard, Dire Wolf Gloves, Dire Wolf Belt, Dire Wolf Legguards, Dire Wolf Necklace, Dire Wolf Necklace
Quests: Tome of Eternal Darkness
Kaden clicked his tongue. Thanks to him getting the last hit, he got the lump sum experience points from the field boss and leveled up thrice, pushing him all the way to 13! But he also had the red status, which meant that he couldn't enter any city or other settlements for an hour. It was actually for an entire day, but since this was his first offense, it was only for an hour. "Hmmm… 14 kills for one hour. Not a bad exchange." He muttered and opened the status screen of Scrap to check the abyss imp's changes. But unlike him, the imp had only leveled up once. It looked like it was going to take a lot more experience points for the little guy to become stronger.
Kaden was a little taken aback by this as typically the pets were easier to evolve when compared to the master. The only drawback was that all the pets had a ceiling, some high and some low. But for his summoned creature, it looked like leveling it itself was going to be a chore. The question of the upper limit would come after that. "Well, at least his attack power is amazing." Kaden shrugged and closed all the screens. He was currently sharing only 20% of his experience points with the imp, so it wasn't a bad deal. He then packed up everything and left the area, resuming his journey back to the city. He stuck close to the main travel path that is often used by carriages and was also the shortest path to the city.
With the exception of wolves, not many beasts wandered to the path. Kaden encountered a few more dire wolves and some feral wolves, beasts that were slightly stronger than the dire wolves but with the help of the little imp, he cleared all the beasts rather easily. By the time the hour was up and he reached the city, the little imp finally gained a level. To Kaden's relief, it turned out not to be super difficult to level the summoned creature. He let out a sigh, checked his status screen, and then took a big breath before finally stepping into the iron-walled gates of the familiar city, Willowbrook City. He would finally be able to start the real game here.
Special Quest: The Mystery of the Willowbrook trolls
"Oh?" Kaden raised his brow. He received a quest as soon as he stepped into the city, and from the looks of it, the quest seemed to be related to the items he had received from finishing the beginner's tutorial. The damn thing was a gift that kept on giving! In very high spirits, Kaden opened the quest to take a look at the details. Usually, special quests like this were very rewarding. He was excited to look at the details of the quest and the reward. He swiped open the system screen when suddenly he felt a cold shiver run down his spine.
Kaden turned around just in time to see the two guards stationed at the city gates charge toward him with their swords unsheathed. "What the fuck? Is the red PVP mark not gone yet?" He instinctively ducked down to avoid the attack, resulting in the top of his head being grazed by the swords. Reacting swiftly, he then rolled to the side, narrowly evading another swing from the guards' swords. He scrambled to his feet and immediately started running out. Obviously, he was not foolish enough to mess with the city guards at his measly Level 13.
Though the guards stationed at the entrance were deceptively weak and only level 20. The entire city was teaming up with hidden forces much stronger than these guards. Considering that Willowbrook city was one of the main cities of the eastern kingdom, the security of the place was not to be taken lightly, and Kaden had no plans of retaliating. Thankfully, he had only just entered the city and barely taken a step inside. So he simply ran outside as fast as he could without turning back. But things were still not going his way. As Kaden sprinted away from the city gates, he could hear the shouts of the guards behind him. Even though he was already outside the gates, the guards were continuing to chase him?!
"What the hell? Why are they chasing me?" Kaden panted and heaved as he continued running. Typically for a PVP red status, the guards only chased the culprits out of the city. But in his case, they were still hunting him even though he had now entered the same forest. Unable to make heads or tails of the situation, he veered off the main road, taking a less-traveled path that led into the dense foliage. He then immediately summoned the abyss imp.
Scrap jumped into action as Kaden was already in combat. The little imp flapped its wings, struggling to keep up Kaden's speed, but it easily managed to toss out dark bolts one after another at the two guards. "Wait. Wait. Slow down." Kaden immediately warned the imp. If the health of the two guards fell below 50% then they would immediately signal for backups and also report him. He would then be hunted like a dog no matter where he went in the entire kingdom. However, fighting back right now seemed to be his only option as the guards were still chasing him even though they were now well inside the forest. What was he supposed to do now?