Chapter 48: The Witch’s Blessing

Having established two guilds in succession, Zhao Nan was taken aback. He thought to himself that Dongyuan City was about to undergo a period of upheaval. The guilds would scramble for the strongest players like starving dogs fighting over scraps.

He glanced at his experience points: just about 2,000 more were needed to reach level 15. Unfortunately, for both him and Finina, now at level 14, the highest-level monsters at the city’s outskirts were only level 10 and yielded no experience at all. The only way to advance was by completing quests.

But those quests were time-consuming and offered meager rewards. In fact, until the region was unlocked, leveling from 14 to 15 was a wall that stopped all players.

Level 15 was a crucial threshold. Once someone reached it, Dongyuan City would see the appearance of its first level-10 standard dungeon. If anyone could clear it, then the Misted Lands would partially open, ushering in a new wave of leveling fever.

Yet now, not even questing was an option for Zhao Nan and Finina. Above their heads hovered two bright red marks, as vivid as cherries.

The Mark of the Bloodthirster.

Normally, killing another player would earn you an orange-yellow marker—a yellow name. The Bloodthirster’s mark, however, only appeared after you’d killed more than ten players.

With a yellow name, you could still move about the city, though you’d attract hostile stares. But as a Bloodthirster, you were truly doomed. Not only did the locals despise you, but regular players could kill you without earning a killer’s mark themselves. If a Bloodthirster was killed, everything they carried would drop.

Bloodthirsters were, in effect, pariahs—rats scurrying across the street, hated by all.

If a Bloodthirster appeared outside the city, entry was forbidden: the gates would automatically erect an unbreakable barrier.

The only way to clear the Bloodthirster status was to wait for time to pass, letting the mark fade. But that would take a very long time. It was clear Zhao Nan had no intention of waiting idly for the mark to disappear.

Few people knew that, on the outskirts of Dongyuan City, there was a type of monster which, when slain, had a chance to drop an item that could cleanse one’s criminal status—Water Without Roots.

Though the drop rate was low, the two of them could kill monsters far faster than they could wait out the mark, and they could also use the time to practice their skills.

Once the day after tomorrow arrived, and the witch’s pet was summoned and the quest was handed in, reaching level 15 would be within reach. Zhao Nan was confident about the strategies for the level-10 dungeon; with their combined strength, it would be challenging, but possible.

Once the new region was unlocked, their activities would no longer be confined to Dongyuan City. By then, with the world so vast, even the “Bloodshadow” guild would have a hard time tracking them down.

And when he hit level 20—if he was the first to do so and completed that special quest—unless Bloodshadow had ten level-20 regular class members, or at least five hidden classes at level 20, Zhao Nan was confident he could take down the entire guild single-handedly.

Having made up their minds, the two pressed on, cutting a violent path through the monster territory.

The Mutant Ant zone—level 7 monsters. Each mutant ant was as large as a rat, lurking underground in unknown numbers.

After drinking from the Fountain of Youth and returning to the game, they gained triple recovery speed. This sharply increased their skill usage and training speed.

Two days later.

Thanks to the staggering number of mutant ants, Finina had mastered all the Sky Sword Saint skills available at this stage. Zhao Nan, having learned so many skills, could only focus on upgrading the most vital ones for now; some were still lacking.

To their surprise, Water Without Roots dropped more often than expected. Each kill earned a bit of “sin value,” and one vial could cleanse two points of sin. After using several bottles, their Bloodthirster marks vanished.

Night fell.

The full moon hung high.

It was time to turn in the quest!

Resurrection Stone… Not even level 15, and he’d already had the chance to get such a treasure. Fantasy dungeons truly were extraordinary, Zhao Nan muttered inwardly—though all the fantasy dungeons he’d heard of from now on didn’t appear until level 30 or later, still a long way off.

He held the Silver Moon Horn in his hand. When he blew it, a strange sound echoed through the mountains and forest. The two waited a moment in the safety zone, and soon, beneath the moon, a black shadow rapidly grew larger, swooping down from above.

The witch’s pet—Ozanic! As it came into view, it revealed itself as an enormous griffin, its wings spanning five meters.

Ozanic the griffin stood at the edge of the safe zone, causing all the lesser tyrants behind it to scatter.

Zhao Nan sized it up. The griffin bore a golden name above its head, its level marked with question marks, and its health bar showed… three green bands.

Three health bars!

This was the kind of status only a boss monster above level 40 would have! As the witch’s pet, it could probably slap both of them dead with a single blow.

“Are you the one who summoned me?”

The griffin’s sharp beak opened and closed, speaking in a human tongue—a voice old and female.

Zhao Nan ventured, “The Witch?”

“It is I.”

The griffin flapped its wings, stirring up a dust storm before settling down and folding its wings, sitting before the two with surprising gentleness. “I am possessing Ozanic’s body. Chosen One, have you summoned me because you found the Water of Youth?”

There was a trace of urgency in her gentle tone, her eyes shining bright. Clearly, the witch cared very much about eternal beauty.

At that moment, the system prompted him to turn in the quest.

Zhao Nan hurriedly took out the water and handed it to the “witch”—or rather, placed it in her claws.

“Excellent, it really is the Water of Youth!” The witch let out a delighted laugh… eerie and chilling, the cackle of a medieval crone that sent shivers down Zhao Nan’s spine.

“Very well, here is your reward—the Resurrection Stone!”

“Ding! Congratulations, player Zhao Nan has received Resurrection Stone x1, experience…”

The moment the stone fell into his inventory, Zhao Nan finally laid eyes on a legendary treasure. In his previous life, he’d never even had a chance to see one—he’d only heard tales. He quickly took it out to examine it.

A small, purple gem the size of an eyeball, its light subdued within.

Resurrection Stone: Active use, revives a dead target within ten seconds of death (within one level bracket).

Ten seconds…

After reading the description, Zhao Nan fell silent. The legend was beautiful, but the reality a bit cruel. It could only revive someone who had died within ten seconds?

If your main body died, it probably wouldn’t work—this was an item for use on others. The truth behind this treasure was enough to make those who died for it want to spring from their graves in frustration.

Finina, curious, took it and, after a quick glance, opened her own inventory and pulled out some strange threads.

She rapidly fixed the gem in place and looped it around Zhao Nan’s neck, smiling, “This way, I can grab it even faster!”

Zhao Nan was taken aback, then smiled as well. “And this way, I can grab it even faster too.”

Their eyes met, a deep and heartfelt look passing between them. The witch, possessing the griffin, seemed quite displeased and let out a cold snort, almost like a curse: “I hope you both have a moment to use it.”

Zhao Nan didn’t mind; any native NPC with “witch” in their title was bound to be eccentric. Never argue with such folk, and they’ll leave you alone. Unless required by the storyline, NPCs would never attack players.

They were kinder than real players—at least within the storyline.

Suddenly, the witch exclaimed, “Oh, you actually have Sister Helena’s ‘Badge of Honesty’!”

Sister? Zhao Nan turned his head, and the griffin’s huge face, as large as his own body, loomed over him, radiating immense pressure.

That old woman was actually the witch’s sister?

“Since you’ve received my sister’s blessing, I can’t be stingy. Let me think of a blessing for you. Ah, I know—how about this one! Even the Grand Duke of the Empire of Night begged me for this blessing, and I refused him. You’re in luck, Chosen One. Relax and accept my blessing!”

This griffin was a boss over level 40—just imagine how powerful the witch herself must be. What kind of blessing would she bestow? Zhao Nan couldn’t help but look forward to it.

At that moment, the griffin’s eyes shot out two golden beams of light, directly into Zhao Nan’s. An intense pain, like fire burning his eyes, made him cry out involuntarily.

“In a moment, the pain will pass, Chosen One. Use my blessing well! Hahahaha!”

Her terrifying laughter echoed as the griffin flapped its wings and soared into the night sky.

Finina hurried to support Zhao Nan, asking anxiously, “Nan, are you alright?”

He shook his head as the pain gradually faded. When he could finally open his eyes, he quickly opened his character panel to check.

A strange passive skill had appeared in his skill list.

“Unyielding Spear: Passive skill, as the name suggests, the spear never yields! Remember to replenish your protein regularly, dear!”

“…This is that annoying online-shop language!”

Zhao Nan sprang to his feet, but the griffin was already gone from the sky.

“Nan, what’s your blessing?” Finina’s eyes sparkled with curiosity.

“…Nothing much, just a blessing to boost my stamina,” Zhao Nan muttered. “Now that the Bloodthirster mark is gone, let’s head back to Dongyuan City.”

Still, Unyielding Spear… should he try it out?