The second weapon was a dagger that looked practically indistinguishable from a bull's horn. However, the moment it was held in the hand, a cool and refreshing sensation could be felt, and the cold gleam on the blade flashed for a fraction of a second.
"Ox-Splitting Blade: Level 15, Green Equipment, an incomparably sharp small knife, rumored to be forged from rare ore."
"Class Requirements: Rogue, Archer, Hunter!"
"Attack Power plus 10, Agility plus 1!"
It turned out to be a level-fifteen piece of equipment, which made it highly sought after. Especially if taken out to sell right now, it could definitely fetch a very high price.
"You're back. I heard you went running off to hunt those Dark Creatures today as well. Not bad; as a pious believer of the Light, one must have the courage and spirit to struggle against Dark Creatures." Instructor Draenei, holding a book in his hand, looked at Lixiang with great satisfaction.
Yueseyiran had sought out Draenei to turn in a quest, so Draenei naturally knew what had happened. Even though it was just a meager one hundred Slimes, this was his student's first time going out to battle Dark Creatures, so a reward was naturally in order.
He took out a grayish-yellow traveler's backpack from his person, still bearing a huge patch on it. "This is a traveler's backpack I obtained in the Elf Forest when I was young. I have no use for it anymore, so consider it your reward."
"Isn't it supposed to be fifty silver coins?" Lixiang muttered inwardly. No matter how he looked at it, this backpack wasn't worth fifty silver coins. Although dissatisfied in his heart, he still took it.
"Tattered Traveler's Backpack, Capacity: 6 slots!"
Only then did Lixiang understand. Once equipped, this backpack would provide six extra slots in addition to the base backpack. It seemed this reward wasn't bad after all. Yet he had no idea that the largest backpacks players could craft right now were only four-slot bags, and each one commanded a starting price of at least ten gold coins, with demand far exceeding supply.
"Thank you, Teacher!"
Draenei waved dismissively, walked slowly over to the bookshelf, and put the book in his hand back on the shelf before asking Lixiang, "Now that you've passed your apprenticeship, have you figured out which kind of magic you want to study?"
There were already quite a lot of Priests who had surpassed level ten. Lixiang knew that down in the first-floor lobby, there were two Light instructors specifically responsible for imparting skills. One was the so-called Holy Priest, centered around major healing. If operated well in the later stages, this kind of Priest could use healing skills to form a continuous cycle, ensuring the target didn't lose a single point of health during combat. Of course, that also depended on the opponent's level.
The second type was, of course, the Discipline Priest, who leaned toward attacks and dispelling various negative effects, making them quite popular at present.
Because *New Century* was extremely realistic, there was no such thing as stat reset. Therefore, most people chose to focus primarily on Holy Priests, or perhaps picked up one or two Discipline Priest skills if they had an abundance of skill points.
The two could be learned simultaneously. After all, anyone who truly loved combat basically chose other classes!
Draenei did not rush Lixiang. Asking this was already a veiled way of telling his beloved disciple to choose one of the two and not study both, lest he accomplish nothing.
Lixiang understood this in his heart, yet for a moment he really didn't know how to choose, and there was no one particularly knowledgeable around to ask.
"Teacher, I'd like to think about it for a few days," Lixiang said.
Draenei nodded with great understanding; this sort of thing truly couldn't be decided on a whim. "Then I'll give you a few days to think it over carefully. As it happens, I have a matter here that I need you to help me with."
"Please speak, Teacher."
"A band of thieves has appeared on the Gold-Panning Plain, and their leader, Bill, is particularly cruel and cunning. Not a single caravan targeted by them has ever left a single survivor. Go and wipe them out."
"Huh!" Lixiang glanced at his calm teacher. "Teacher, are you certain you want me to go exterminate this band of thieves?"
"Preparation time is one hour. If you want to go, gather at the palace gates; a court mage will send you over."
Since Draenei had put it that way, Lixiang had no choice but to agree.
"Quest One: Kill fifty prairie thieves!"
"Quest Two: Kill five minor thief chieftains!"
"Quest Three: Kill the bandit leader Bill!"
"Quest Difficulty: Normal!"
"Rewards: 100,000 EXP, 2 Advanced Health Recovery Potions, 50 gold coins!"
"Failure Penalty: Level drop increased by an additional 2, attribute points randomly reduced by one!"
..........................................
The main quests in *New Century* were divided into four tiers: Normal, Difficult, Elite, and Monarch. These quests could trigger at any time; the rewards were high, but the penalties for failure were also immense.
Thus far, however, not a shred of information regarding the main quests existed.
The imperial palace stood right at the very center of Sun City. Its towering and majestic architecture symbolized royal dignity, with rows upon rows of palaces merging into a massive complex. All around, guards wielding massive battle-saber and mages clad in wizard robes could be seen everywhere.
Yet this place was forever the most desolate spot. If players wanted to get any closer, they would be directly driven away by the guards, and the slightest resistance would result in instant execution; royal majesty brook no violation.
The Chief Court Mage had his eyes closed and had been waiting here for a long time. The affair on the Gold-Panning Plain had infuriated Dade greatly, yet this was currently a rather delicate period, making it impossible to deploy the imperial army for a mere tiny band of thieves. Thus, he had no choice but to hire these mercenaries whom he ordinarily held in low regard.
Five players had gradually gathered here. All five wore arrogant expressions, glancing at each other without a word.
"Can we set off yet?" one of them asked deeply of the mage. Yet this ordinary speech seemed to carry the roar of a tiger, and the words were not a question, but a command. The man speaking was formidable.
Without even lifting his eyelids, the mage simply said, "Not everyone is here, and the time hasn't arrived."
"How many people are still missing?" another asked.
The mage didn't pay him the slightest heed, yet this person did not grow angry either; he merely tightened his hands clasped behind his back.
The five looked at each other, profound astonishment in their hearts. Each of them already possessed a full set of equipment; although it looked extremely crude, it was already quite precious at this stage.
"Although this quest is rated as Normal, after all, this is our first time doing one. We might as well form a party; cooperating with each other will make the quest simpler," that person said.
None of them spoke, but they nodded silently.
"Since I proposed it, I'll take the liberty of being the team leader." As soon as the man finished speaking, the greatsword in his hand suddenly unleashed a massive sonic boom right where he stood, a powerful skill directly carving a deep sword scar into the ground.
Upon seeing such a skill, the other four players' expressions shifted slightly, especially another warrior holding a sword, whose eyes locked tightly onto the sword scar on the ground, his expression turning icy.
Once grouped together, the expressions on their faces seemed to relax somewhat.
"Everyone, state your classes. I'll go first." The deep voice brooked no refusal. "King's Return, Warrior!"
"Peak Yingzheng, Warrior!"
"Purple Lily, Archer!"
"Jianjian, Hunter!"
"Fengyun-Die, Assassin!"
The top five on the level leaderboard had actually all gathered here. The highest was King's Return at level twenty-six, while the remaining four were all level twenty-four.
None of them spoke, and the atmosphere suddenly plunged back into cold indifference. The two women and three men were currently the highest-leveled players in the game; the pride and self-esteem of the strong meant none of them would easily yield to anyone else.
In particular, Peak Yingzheng directly displayed intense hostility toward King's Return. Two warriors with roughly similar equipment, down to the exact same sword style, looked as though they had been cast from the same mold.
The remaining three lowered their heads, toying with the weapons in their hands or occasionally glancing toward the intersection.
"This God of Wealth is certainly slow," Jianjian muttered. This God of Wealth was the person ranked sixth; although his class was unknown, one figured the last missing person had to be him.
Fengyun-Die suddenly sneer and said, "Who would have thought, the fastest leveler this time around wouldn't be that leveling maniac God of War, but God of Wealth, who's always handling equipment."
Though sitting somewhat apart, Yingzheng let out a cold snort at those words and said dismissively, "This game isn't like those trash games of the past where you only lose a sliver of exp upon death—this completely drops you ten whole levels straight. That brute God of War is probably still wandering around the newbie village right now. It's no surprise that the ever-cautious God of Wealth is ranked ahead."
The rest nodded in deep agreement.