Chapter Eight: The Blackfire Staff

"Ding!" The sound of the system notification chimed in his ear: "You have completed the hidden quest assigned by Camino. Reward: Level +1, Blackfire Staff, 2 gold coins."

At the same time, two brilliant white lights enveloped Ye Chen and Lingyue, signaling their level up.

Joy lit up their faces as they exchanged glances, about to speak, when another notification suddenly rang out.

"Ding! As the first players to complete the hidden quest from Camino, you will receive a special reward!"

"Ding! Player Nightfall is granted the Advanced Attack Aura!"

"Ding! Player Rainbow Moon is granted the Advanced Attack Aura!"

The flurry of notifications left the two of them momentarily dumbfounded with happiness. When the sounds finally ceased, they eagerly checked their rewards.

[Blackfire Staff] (Rare—Blue)

Attack: 90—175

Intelligence: +9

Blackfireball Skill Level: +1

Required Level: 15

How domineering—an attack rating as high as 175, plus 9 intelligence, and equipping it instantly boosts attack. Even more astonishing, it raises the level of the Blackfireball skill. This is practically an early-game artifact.

[Advanced Attack Aura]: Increases attack power by 500—500 for one hour.

Ye Chen had prepared himself, but the knight girl was utterly stunned. She stood there, mouth rounded in shock, a bright drop of saliva trickling from the corner of her lips.

An attack boost of 500 for an entire hour—this was simply game-breaking!

Calculating her current attack, it exceeded 700 points. A single Blackfireball could deal over a thousand damage to an enemy, a figure incomparable to her former eighty or ninety attack power. With this, defeating Wild Tiger’s Roar would be like swatting a fly! She could even one-shot that idiot!

The time for vengeance had come!

All Ye Chen needed was for the System God to locate Wild Tiger’s Roar, and he could immediately find and flatten him with a single Blackfireball.

Ye Chen trembled with excitement. He hadn’t expected his chance for revenge to arrive so swiftly. Happiness had come far too suddenly, and far too soon.

Taking Lingyue by the hand, they dashed through the crowd, finally shaking off their pursuers.

"Ye Chen, this Attack Aura is insane! And this [Radiant Holy Armor]—not only is its defense astonishingly high, it even comes with a Holy Light Shield skill. Oh my god, I can’t stand it—I have to find my girls and do a dungeon run. With this gear, we’ll finally clear the Hard mode of the Blazing Abyss. I’ve been wanting to beat that level 20 dungeon forever!"

Lingyue bounced with excitement, clutching Ye Chen’s hand, her face flushed with elation.

"Heh, not interested in questing anymore? You’re a quest maniac. Can you really go without doing quests?" Ye Chen teased, watching the way her flushed face and the waves of flesh at her armor’s neckline jostled with every leap, unwittingly swallowing a mouthful of saliva.

"Hmph, what do you know? There’s a quest in the Blazing Abyss too, but you have to clear Hard mode to complete it. I always failed before because I wasn’t strong enough. This time, I know we’ll succeed!" Lingyue shook her delicate fist, resembling a cute little tiger cub.

"Heh, go ahead then. I’ve got other business. Give my regards to the girls," Ye Chen smiled, not planning to drag the knight girl into his vendetta against Wild Tiger’s Roar. After all, a man’s revenge required no help from women.

"Okay, I’m off then. Don’t worry about dinner; I’ll cook when the time comes!" The knight girl waved, skipping away into the distance.

Only after Lingyue’s figure vanished did Ye Chen slowly withdraw his gaze, his expression turning grim as he opened the System God’s dialog box.

"System God, I want to locate a player with the nickname Wild Tiger’s Roar."

"Please wait... Location complete."

Ye Chen opened the map, immediately locking onto a new red dot that had appeared.

So, by the Murloc Lake.

Wild Tiger’s Roar, just wait for me.

...

By the shore of Murloc Lake, five red-named members of the Wild Tiger Clan were besieging a massive murloc. The creature was enormous, its skin fiery red, and atop its head perched a tiny crown—a boss-level murloc, unmistakably.

"Haha, our luck’s great today. After last night’s killing spree, we didn’t dare return to the city, just wandered around this morning and stumbled on a Boss."

"Heh, no kidding. But really, we owe it all to Roar Bro. Without him tanking, we couldn’t handle the Murloc King."

"Of course! Roar Bro is mighty, Roar Bro is the best."

"Isn’t that obvious? You know, last night Roar Bro one-shotted a level 15 cleric—absolutely dominating."

Wild Tiger’s Roar listened to the flattery, a smug smile creeping onto his face, though he feigned modesty: "You exaggerate. That cleric was rubbish—his Blackfireball barely scratched me, just a rookie, not worth mentioning."

"Heh, you’re just being humble, Roar Bro. That’s because your defense is so high. If he’d hit me, I’d have lost at least a hundred HP. We rely on you to protect us!"

"Alright, enough with the bootlicking. Stay sharp—the Murloc King is nearly dead. Don’t let anything go wrong," Wild Tiger’s Roar said, putting on a show of command.

"Hey, Roar Bro, look—someone’s coming over there." The archer, whose eyesight was the best despite the encroaching dusk, couldn’t make out the newcomer’s class.

Wild Tiger’s Roar glanced back, scoffing, "No worries, just a solo player. He wouldn’t dare provoke us. If his gear’s any good, maybe we’ll take him out too—could pick up some nice loot."

"Wait, Roar Bro, isn’t that the cleric you killed with a single blow? What a coincidence!"

"Well, well, it’s that little rookie again. I’ll crush him one more time—killing him is like slaughtering a chicken. Nothing beats the thrill of a one-shot," Wild Tiger’s Roar licked his lips, not giving Ye Chen, who was slowly approaching, the slightest regard.

Strut all you want—the more arrogant you are, the worse your death will be. Laugh now, I’ll make you cry soon enough, Ye Chen thought coldly. He stood at the very edge of his attack range, not rushing in, but instead focusing his gaze on the Murloc King.

[Lake Murloc King] (Bronze BOSS)

Level: 18

HP: 9,623/80,000

What an unexpected windfall. By taking out these guys, he could not only avenge the sword strike but also snatch this boss for himself. In a way, it was fitting compensation.