After more than 10 failed attempts in a row, Nie Yan finally succeeded in harvesting a Red Dragon Herb. He carefully bundled up the roots and stored away the plant in his bag.
Gathering successful! You have obtained Red Dragon Herb x1. +32 skill proficiency
The skill proficiency obtained for a successful harvest depended on a number of factors, including the rank of the plant and the difficulty in harvesting it. The Red Dragon Herb was high up in all these regards. So, it was a great choice for Nie Yan to use to quickly raise his Gathering Master skill.
Nie Yan continued searching around. Apart from Red Dragon Herbs, there were many other high rank herbs growing around here. Since his Gathering Skill had reached Advanced rank, all these precious medicinal plants were there for only him to harvest.
Nie Yan hunted Rank 2 monsters while gathering various high rank medicinal plants on the side. The joy he felt from seeing his harvests made up for the monotony of the grind. He gradually made more and more progress in his quest.
The Luminous Dancer class advancement quest was taking much longer than Nie Yan expected. Half-a-month flew by in the blink of an eye.
"Looks like I'm in it for the long haul," Nie Yan muttered. He checked the level leaderboards. "Hmm, Tang Yao reached Level 90 while the rest are in the high 80s. I've still got a lot of time before people start catching up to me." After Level 90, every subsequent level up required tens of times more experience than the last. So, he wasn't the slightest bit worried about someone becoming a Shadow Dancer before him.
As Nie Yan explored the forest, he spotted a humanoid creature with wolf-like features walking among the trees. A Werewolf! His pupils constricted. Werewolves were among the toughest Rank 2 monsters he had faced so far in the Ancient World. His first encounter with a Werewolf ended with him fleeing for his dear life. Since then, he would always take the long way around whenever one entered his sight. This time, however, he had a sudden urge for battle.
Erasing all traces of his breath, Nie Yan slowly approached the Werewolf from behind.
The Werewolf was wandering around aimlessly, oblivious to the imminent threat.
Nie Yan shot forward like a loosed arrow, stabbing towards the Werewolf's spine with Zennarde's Sword.
Backbreaker!
At this moment, the Werewolf suddenly sensed something and dodged to the side, evading the attack. It let out a deep howl and lunged toward Nie Yan, swiping down with its sharp claws.
The Werewolf's claws resembled curved daggers, flickering with a sharp light.
"What quick reaction speed!" Nie Yan gasped. He quickly leaped back, avoiding the claw swipe.
The Werewolf was much faster than Nie Yan expected. It pounced forward with blinding speed and unleashed an attack so fast it was impossible to dodge. Pshhtt! Blood sprayed out into the air as a claw-shaped wound appeared on his chest.
−3,320 A damage value floated up above his head.
"Shit. I'm going to end up getting killed at this rate!" Nie Yan grunted.
Nie Yan was forced into passively defending. He suffered another attack and was left with only 30% of his health. He quickly downed an Advanced Healing Potion, restoring his health back to full.
The Werewolf was so fast it left behind a trail of afterimages. As the two fought, Nie Yan observed its footwork and couldn't help but start copying it. After which he gradually found it easier and easier to keep up with the tempo of the battle.
About a minute later, the Werewolf's health fell to less than 15%. It let out a howl and lunged forward.
As the Werewolf's claws closed in on him, flickering with a dangerous light, Nie Yan suddenly had an idea. He imagined this place was a fighting stage and the Werewolf was his opponent. He instinctively dodged the attack by leaning backwards to his side. Then anchoring one arm on the ground, he twisted his hips and threw out a powerful capoeira kick. BANG! His foot struck the Werewolf squarely on the neck.
CRAACCKK! Nie Yan heard the distinct sound of bones breaking.
His kick was filled with overwhelming destructive power.
The Werewolf let out a miserable cry. Blood sprayed out from its mouth as it was sent flying six meters through the air before crashing into a tree.
−7,323!
It was a critical hit!
The Werewolf lay lifelessly on the ground. Its agility and reflexes were certainly frightening to behold. However, its defense was pitifully frail, to the extent it couldn't even withstand a single blow from Nie Yan.
Nie Yan didn't expect his kick to be so explosively powerful, shocking even himself. He was simply indulging in his fantasy, rather than trying to deal lethal damage. What he used just now was a real-life fighting technique. His flawless execution allowed him to deal damage rivalling that of an in-game skill!
Nie Yan all the more realized just how long of a path he had ahead of him. This was simply the tip of the iceberg. He barely breached the surface in regards to his comprehension of a Shadow Dancer, a revelation that shook him to the core.
"It seems there's still a lot for me to learn..." Nie Yan dug out the Life Core from the Werewolf's head. As a purifying light cleansed the corpse, he suddenly fent an intense droning from Zennarde's Sword. Black flames flared out from the sword, sharply increasing the surrounding temperature.
Nie Yan could sense a frightening power surging out from Zennarde's Sword. He looked down and discovered the second seal had been released.
Sealed Zennarde's Sword (Godly Legendary)
Nightmare Curse of the Dead: Reduces the player's stats by 20% (Effect halved by Barbarian Kelowitz's Blessing).
Description: A godly weapon created by Kallander and imbued with the dark magic power of Dragon King Zennarde. Failing to subdue the evil energy within Zennarde's Sword will result in a fatal backlash. Six Divine Seals were placed on this sword by the God of War Kelo. (Seals: 4/6)
Properties: Attack 1,530-1,823, Critical +150, 30% chance to deal 600% Critical Damage, Ignore Level +25, Ignore Armour
Hell Execution: Chance to instantly execute an enemy when their health falls below 20%. Success rate is determined by level difference and enemy defense. Energy Cost: 50. Cooldown: 3 seconds.
Apocalyptic Extinction (Advanced): Inflict the enemy with five types of Curses: Rank 8 Exhaustion, Rank 8 Cripple, Rank 8 Disease, Rank 8 Fear, and Rank 8 Corrode. Duration: 10 minutes. Cooldown: 1 hour.
Restrictions: None
-Creator: Kallander
With the second seal released, Zennarde's Sword received another significant boost in power. It was already equal to a Level 120 Legendary-grade weapon. It was powerful beyond belief, especially with Apocalyptic Extinction rising from Junior to Advanced. Even Level 100+ Lords would be dramatically affected by five Rank 8 curses.
The black flames bathing Zennarde's Sword burned even more fiercely. As Nie Yan swung it around, it left a trail of fire that emitted an intense heat.
Nie Yan was surprised by this development. He recalled it would be a while before another seal could be released. This was probably because the creatures in the Ancient World were at a higher rank of existence compared to ordinary monsters, which was why the seals were being released at a much faster rate.
Zennarde's Sword's attack power had already reached 1,500, far surpassing that of an ordinary Level 100 dagger or shortsword. Anticipation gleamed in Nie Yan's eyes. If it was already this powerful with only two seals removed, he couldn't wait to see what it was like when all six seals were released!
As evening approached, Nie Yan checked his quest progress. He was about 55% of the way finished with Path of the Luminous Dancer 2. He was making pretty good ground.
Before long, it was time to log off. Nie Yan stepped out of the game capsule and let out a deep sigh. All day long, day after day, mindlessly grinding mobs and gathering plants in the Ancient World was exhausting.
Nie Yan and Xie Yao followed the same morning routine. After brushing their teeth, washing their faces, and eating breakfast, they got on the bus to school.
By now, practically everyone in the Top Military Academy knew Xie Yao was Nie Yan's girlfriend. They were always seen together, coming to and leaving from school. Many male students couldn't help but feel jealous of Nie Yan. Xie Yao was the perfect lover in their hearts. It was a pity she was already taken, leaving them endlessly vexed.
As Nie Yan stepped into the command faculty classroom, he heard his fellow classmates excitedly discussing something.
"What are they talking about?" Nie Yan asked. He sat down and turned to Xu Yan, Xia Tianyu, and Fei Zhe.
"A dungeon, Mysterious Cavern. Even now, Zhao Shiyu and her trash team still can't clear the thing. But they're going around bragging like they're hot stuff," Xia Tianyu replied.
The command faculty's team was only formed two or so weeks ago. The fact that they had already made it to Mysterious Cavern was quite impressive. However, compared to where Asskickers United's elites were at right now, their achievements counted for nothing.
"Nie Yan, I snagged a Level 85 Splendid Chestplate last night. It has over 800 defense! Pretty amazing, right? Right!?" Xu Yan said with a proud smile.
"Damn! Level 85 equipment already. I wish I had your luck," Fei Zhe said enviously. Xu Yan was only Level 81 right now.
"Where did you get it?" Xia Tianyu asked. He was Level 86, but he only had a single piece of Level 85 equipment on him. The rest were all level 80.
"In a dungeon run. It dropped from a Gigantis we killed. Our main tank passed up on it since he had a better chestplate already, so it ended up going to me." Xu Yan faintly smiled.
"Wow, what kind of equipment does your main tank have? I can't believe he even passed up on a chestplate like that!"
"He's Level 83 right now, but he's wearing the Level 90 Brilliant Sun Set."
"Damn! The Brilliant Sun Set! Are you kidding me!?" Xia Tianyu and Fei Zhe were struck speechless. They knew the main tank Xu Yan was talking about didn't even count as a second-rate player in Asskickers United.