Chapter 17: A-Class Mission!

"Scarlet Serpent King?" When the words reached Ye Hen's ears, he stumbled back, his face paling with shock. "That's a level-20 King-class boss! Mentor, are you sure you got that right?"

Adili smiled faintly, responding in a calm tone, "I didn't expect you to know about the Scarlet Serpent King. Though it has some cultivation, it's not too hard to kill. Realgar wine can weaken it by half. Just bring plenty of it and gather enough people, and it should be manageable."

Upon hearing that realgar wine could reduce the Scarlet Serpent King's stats by 50%, Ye Hen sighed in relief. However, the thought of facing a King-class boss still sent chills through him. King-class monsters were second only to lord-class creatures in power, and in his previous life, Ye Hen had only heard of the most powerful guilds in the Loulan Kingdom—like the Overlord Guild and Moon God Guild—daring to take on such bosses. Smaller mercenary groups wouldn't even consider going near one.

Since he had already accepted the mission, there was no turning back now. Ye Hen opened his quest log to check the details.

Quest Name: Adili's Trial

Objective: Kill the Scarlet Serpent King in the Coiled Snake Cave and retrieve its gallbladder for Adili.

Time Limit: 7 days

Difficulty: A-Class

"Damn, it really is an A-Class mission." Ye Hen chuckled ruefully, regretting his earlier boasting to Feng Huo Kuang Tao about completing an A-Class mission. Pride comes before a fall! Fortunately, he had a week to complete it; otherwise, he'd truly be in despair.

"Alright, now for your skill specialization upgrade. That'll be five silver coins—those are the rules set by the Main God," Adili said, his tone once again cold.

With no other choice, Ye Hen obediently paid the fee, upgrading his Dagger Mastery to intermediate level, and then left the earthen hut.

Intermediate Dagger Mastery: Assassin specialization skill; increases dagger weapon damage by 30%. Current mastery level: Intermediate 0%.

Seeing the 30% damage boost from his skill upgrade, Ye Hen felt a bit better. Enhancing specialization skills meant increased base damage, which formed the foundation of all skills for an Assassin. In this game, regardless of the class, if one's specialization skill level was low, even with the best gear, it would be hard to win against someone with high-level specialization skills, as such players often had superior technical skills.

After calming his mind, Ye Hen headed to the bustling streets, setting up a small stall labeled "Buying Desert Antelope Horns for 5 Copper Each." Desert Antelope, a level-6 monster, had a high drop rate for horns, and while the system store only bought them for 3 copper each, Ye Hen knew that Krim the blacksmith in town would pay 10 copper per horn.

The stall quickly attracted a crowd of players curious about his offer, and after confirming that he was indeed buying horns for 5 copper each, they eagerly sent him trade requests. In the early stages of the game, every copper counted for players. Though they didn't know why this blue-armored Assassin was offering a high price, that didn't dampen their enthusiasm.

System: You received a trade request from the player "Destined."

System: You received a trade request from the player "Silklike."

System: You received a trade request from the player "Shadowfire."

System: ...

Seeing the overwhelming response, Ye Hen was caught off guard. He had assumed that, since Desert Antelope were level-6 monsters, players with horns would be rare. This was why he only started collecting them on his second day in the game.

"Please, everyone, don't rush. One at a time. If you have horns, just tell me the quantity. Those with more will trade first." He quickly checked his remaining silver coins—about 17 left, enough to buy around 340 horns.

"Boss, buy mine first; I have 13."

"Big bro, buy mine. I have 22."

"Hey, handsome, I only have 7. Would you buy them first?"

Sweating profusely, Ye Hen began trading with them one by one. Ten minutes later, he had spent all his silver coins and ended up with 342 Desert Antelope horns in his inventory.

"I'm out of money, folks. Anyone else who wants to sell horns, come back early tomorrow!" Ye Hen clasped his hands in thanks toward the crowd and quickly walked away. If he lingered, the players who missed out on selling their horns would probably mob him.

As Ye Hen slipped away from the disgruntled crowd, he made his way around Mingsha Town and eventually found himself at the narrow yellow dirt path leading to the NPC residential area. Every town and main city in the game had an NPC district, typically far from where players usually gathered. Even six months after the game's launch in his past life, some players were unaware of this area's existence.

After passing several low earthen huts, Ye Hen arrived at Krim the blacksmith's home. Although Krim was a blacksmith, he rarely sold his crafted items to players, reserving them for the town's NPC residents. As a result, few players knew about his high-price horn purchases. Ye Hen had only stumbled upon this secret by chance in his past life.

Trading 300 horns for 30 silver coins, Ye Hen bid farewell to Krim and walked out. Although Krim bought horns, he only needed 300 per day; otherwise, Ye Hen would have been set for life.

Outside, Ye Hen didn't leave immediately. Instead, he headed deeper into the residential area, stopping in front of another, even more dilapidated hut. This hut looked older than the others, with deep grooves etched into its walls showing its age.

The hut's owner was a middle-aged man named Gruul, who had lost a leg 20 years ago fighting in a war between the Loulan Kingdom and the Ling Tian Empire. In his past life, this NPC had been Ye Hen's biggest benefactor. The golden dagger Night's Kiss had been a reward from him, though not freely given; it came in exchange for finding a rare herb, Stone Heather, to treat his worsening injury. Ye Hen had also discovered Krim's high horn prices during that time.

Looking at the hut, Ye Hen held back from entering. This quest required players to be at least level 8 to trigger, so entering now would be pointless.

"I wonder how Uncle Gruul's injury is doing." Remembering the past, Ye Hen felt an inexplicable concern for the NPC. People are not mere grass and trees; they have emotions. Ye Hen was someone who always repaid kindness. Though Gruul was just an NPC, to Ye Hen, they weren't just lines of code. They had thoughts, principles, and, in a way, were the true inhabitants of this world. The players, including himself, were outsiders.

Ye Hen stood there for a while, then finally decided not to knock on the old wooden door. After a moment, he silently left. His goal now was to level up, as much as possible, to earn Night's Kiss and increase his odds of taking down the Scarlet Serpent King in a few days. And, to eventually help Uncle Gruul heal his worsening injury.

TL Note:

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