Chapter Forty-Two: The Shadow Demon Set

“Lingyue, go and draw the monsters. Big Sister, fall back quickly!” While conjuring a fireball, Ye Chen called out to Lingyue beside him. The monsters had not yet launched their vital attacks, but once they did, Sword Tilted City could easily be taken out.

Although Sword Tilted City couldn’t see the attack power of the Ghost Assassins, she could see their skills. Vital Attack was one of the more powerful basic skills for thieves, boosting damage by nearly 50%. If all three Ghost Assassins struck in one round, she could lose 400 or even 500 health points. If she was unlucky enough to suffer a critical hit, she might even be killed. Sizing up the situation quickly, Sword Tilted City didn’t try to be a hero. She leapt lightly backward, instantly leaving the three Ghost Assassins behind.

Taking advantage of the opening, Lingyue charged forward. With a sweep of her lance, she drew the aggro of all three Ghost Assassins. Compared to Sword Tilted City, the female knight, now clad in a rare set of armor, was a proper tank. With over 1800 health, she could withstand these monsters with ease.

“Attack!” With Sword Tilted City’s low command, everyone unleashed the attacks they had prepared.

Sword Tilted City locked onto a monster and unleashed the Furious Thunder Triple Slash. The ferocity of the sword maiden's strength was clear as three swift strikes took over a thousand health from the Ghost Assassin. Drunken Longing worked seamlessly with Sword Tilted City, both targeting the same enemy. After the triple slash, Drunken Longing’s Thunderfall accurately struck the Ghost Assassin, even scoring a critical hit that took nearly 2000 health. In an instant, the Ghost Assassin’s health dropped below 50.

Seeing this, Ye Chen acted in turn. A black fireball flew out and finished off the weakened Ghost Assassin.

However, aside from the three of them, the others’ attacks were clearly less potent. The two element mages, an archer, and a hunter together could only manage to take out a little over a thousand health per round from another Ghost Assassin. Still, their lower attack power had an advantage: they wouldn’t draw aggro the way Sword Tilted City’s heavy blows did.

Once Ye Chen and his two companions finished off one Ghost Assassin, they immediately rejoined the fray. With three high-damage players, the remaining assassins were quickly dispatched.

With a chime, the monsters’ bodies vanished in a flash of white light, leaving a jet-black helmet on the ground. The knightly girl picked it up at once, examined its stats, and cheered, “Ye Chen, this equipment is for you.” She shared the piece’s attributes:

[Dark Demon Helm] (Rare)

Defense: 19
Intelligence: +6
Bonus: Increases dark magic attack damage by 2%
Required Level: 21
Set Effects: Two pieces add 15 Intelligence; four pieces increase spell critical chance by 5%; five pieces boost spell critical damage by 7%.

Examining the item’s stats, Ye Chen was quietly surprised. The basic attributes weren’t outstanding, but the bonuses were perfect for a dark priest. Most importantly, the Dark Demon set was clearly part of a larger set, and its set bonuses were excellent—top-tier for spellcasters. If not for its specialized bonuses for secondary healers, Second Sister and the two element mages would have vied for it as well.

Sword Tilted City had Lingyue trade the equipment to Ye Chen and said with a soft laugh, “This really is a good place. These monsters must be getting killed for the first time, otherwise the drop rate wouldn’t be this high. We might strike it rich here, and Ye Chen, you deserve the credit.”

Smiling faintly, Sword Tilted City’s curiosity was piqued. “By the way, just now it seemed you warned me before those Ghost Assassins even revealed themselves. Can you see these stealth monsters?”

Ye Chen nodded, having already prepared his explanation. “Yes, I have a detection skill that specializes in uncovering stealth. That’s how I managed to dodge the attack from Fierce Tiger Bloodblade earlier.”

The girls all nodded in sudden understanding—Ye Chen’s explanation was perfectly reasonable, so none doubted him, not even Sword Tilted City or Drunken Longing.

From then on, Ye Chen naturally became the party’s pathfinder. With the advantage of his minimap, he could always spot the invisible Ghost Assassins ahead of time. If there were too many, he’d have the archer pull them from range. As they progressed, the women were quietly amazed by Ye Chen’s uncanny judgment.

Sword Tilted City and Drunken Longing were even more astonished. Both were well-traveled and knowledgeable, yet neither had ever heard of such a powerful anti-stealth skill. Most detection skills only passively improved perception, and usually only at close range. Occasionally there were skills able to detect stealth from afar, but even then, their success rate was low. None could match Ye Chen’s apparent 100% accuracy—any thief facing him would be in big trouble.

If Ye Chen knew their thoughts, he would have found them both hilarious and exasperating. The minimap’s capabilities weren’t nearly as powerful as they imagined; its main use was for avoiding and spotting monsters. When it came to evading thieves, its effectiveness dropped sharply. After all, even in 2058, it was impossible to mark every thief on the map—players weren’t monsters, and with every player having a unique name, marking them all would render the map unreadable.

Of course, marking three to five thieves was no problem. For example, Fierce Tiger Bloodblade—Ye Chen had already had 2058 mark him on the map, so if he tried to ambush again, it wouldn’t be so easy.

The Necromancer’s Cavern was deep and winding. After more than half an hour, they still hadn’t reached the end. But their time wasn’t wasted—Ye Chen’s experience bar had soared from 55% at level 21 to 83%, and it wouldn’t be long before he leveled up.

“There’s a fork ahead, but according to the quest, we should take the right path. The Corpse Demon Overlord is to the right,” Sword Tilted City said after dispatching another Ghost Assassin and glancing forward.

Ye Chen enlarged the minimap for a look—sure enough, the Corpse Demon Overlord was to the right. Just as he was about to nod in agreement, his eyes caught a silver dot on the map—a strange new marker. He was momentarily puzzled and quickly opened a private chat with 2058, typing: “58, what does the silver dot mean? I’ve never seen it before.”

“Oh, that! I added that for you later. The silver dot marks a silver-level chest—that is, a treasure chest. There’s usually good stuff inside. You should check it out.”