Chapter 1 A Ray of Light in the Darkness

The moment the secret compartment in the wall was opened, a beam of gorgeous, seven-colored light bloomed in the darkness. Nie Yan looked inside. The dazzling light made his eyes flutter. Looking inside, the secret compartment was a mess. Many things must have been taken away by the NPCs, but many things were left behind, all sorts of gems.

Nie Yan collected these gems. He counted them carefully. Five Lucky Gemstones (1), and others that were more precious: two Tenacity Gemstones (1) and three Life Gemstones (1). Gems of quality 1 were the worst, but still very rare. Each Lucky Gemstone (1) was worth about five silver coins. As for the price of Tenacity Gemstones and Life Gemstones, it was hard to say, since no one on the market sold such things. If a gem craftsman inlaid them onto equipment, they could increase the equipment's tenacity and life attributes.

Finding a gem craftsman to spend two silver coins could create a slot in the equipment. Gold-grade equipment could have two slots, Dark-Gold grade equipment could have three slots, and Legendary-grade equipment could have five slots. Spending three more silver coins would embed the gemstone. Embedding a Tenacity Gemstone (1) could increase 5 points of tenacity, and embedding a Life Gemstone (1) could increase 50 points of life.

Due to the enormous effect of Tenacity Gemstones and Life Gemstones, various teams almost fought over them, but the production rate was extremely low, so basically there were prices but no market, and they simply couldn't be bought. Generally, Tenacity Gemstones and Life Gemstones were only worthwhile embedding on Dark-Gold grade equipment. As for Gold-grade equipment, unless that Gold-grade equipment was particularly precious, such as a shield.

I'm rich this time, Nie Yan thought. Today's harvest was quite plentiful. In any case, the travel expenses had definitely been recovered. If these gems were taken to the market, they would definitely make most people red-eyed with envy. Of course, Nie Yan would absolutely not sell them. Having so many gems allowed him to upgrade his equipment by a level! Even if he sold them, it would be after supplying himself first. If there were any left over, he would sell them to some acquaintances and friends.

These gems made Nie Yan very excited.

Putting these gems into his bag, he searched the secret compartment, confirmed that nothing was missed, and then Nie Yan closed the secret compartment and swam inside.

While swimming, Nie Yan paid attention to the surrounding stone walls at all times, but there were no other discoveries.

After swimming in the narrow waterway for more than ten minutes, Nie Yan saw a ray of light above. He swam upwards and finally poked his head out of the water. In front of him was an incomparably vast and huge space, large enough to accommodate hundreds of people. In the center was a golden coffin, about five yards long, two yards wide, and two yards high, covered with sculptures, with all kinds of exquisite dragon patterns everywhere.

Apart from this golden coffin, there was nothing else here.

There didn't seem to be any monsters here. Nie Yan leaped out of the water and walked towards the huge golden coffin. The Dark Gladiator also emerged from the water and stood not far from Nie Yan.

Shadow of Soergoth, a powerful rogue legendary item, had many historical legends. It was said that in the Age of Darkness, the city lord of Soergoth, Lord Selistot, used it. In later wars, this item was split into fragments. When players collected three fragments, the Shadow of Soergoth, with its powerful magic, would be restored to its original appearance.

This fragment was temporarily useless and could only take effect after all the fragments were collected. But the important thing was that Nie Yan knew where the other two fragments were. One of the fragments was in a level 30 map, and the other fragment was in a level 60 map. Although level 30 and level 60 were a bit far off, at least the goal was clear.

Legendary-grade item, this was something that countless players didn't even dare to think about. Since there was an opportunity to get it, Nie Yan would definitely not miss it. At worst, he would take the fragment first, and then go look for the other fragments when his level went up. From a long-term perspective, now was just laying the groundwork for the future.

Nie Yan walked towards the golden coffin. At the top of the golden coffin was a line of text carved in the Dragon language: The tomb of Lord Selistot. Those who disturb it will be punished by the Lord!

The thing Nie Yan was looking for was in this golden coffin. He had to open the golden coffin!

The fragment of the Shadow of Soergoth was within reach!

Now that he had arrived here, there was no way he would give up.

The Dark Gladiator stood beside Nie Yan, approaching the golden coffin. The green fire in its eye sockets kept jumping. It was a low-level creature without wisdom, and it didn't know what fear was. Its instinct was to protect Nie Yan.

Nie Yan glanced at the Dark Gladiator's attribute bar. After entering this space, the Dark Gladiator's attribute bar had an additional status.

Dark Pressure (??): All attributes -20%.

The Dark Gladiator's attributes had actually decreased by a full 20%.

Nie Yan had some doubts in his mind about what terrifying things were in this golden coffin. If he tried to steal a chicken only to lose the rice used to lure it, and didn't get the Shadow of Soergoth but lost himself instead, wouldn't that be too uneconomical?

In his previous life, Nie Yan had only heard rumors about the inner city pyramid of Soergoth, and his impression was not deep. He had never heard of this golden coffin.

He wondered if he could use a Return Scroll here.

Nie Yan took out a Return Scroll and looked at it. He could use the Return Scroll! Knowing that he could use the Return Scroll here, Nie Yan felt much more relaxed. At worst, he would take the item and use the Return Scroll to return to the city. No matter how bad the Dark Gladiator was, it could at least hold on for a while.

Risks and benefits coexisted. If he didn't take risks, how could he gain something for nothing?

Nie Yan made up his mind, walked to the side of the golden coffin, and groped on the golden coffin. He found a raised piece of metal. This was the mechanism to open the golden coffin! Nie Yan carefully pressed it down and quickly retreated behind the Dark Gladiator. If there was any danger, he could only rely on the Dark Gladiator to resist it.

The mechanism in the golden coffin made a terrifying turning sound. The coffin lid slowly moved away. The coffin lid rubbed against the metal below, making a sharp and ear-piercing sound, as unpleasant as a knife cutting metal.

After the coffin lid was opened, a corpse wearing heavy armor appeared in front of Nie Yan. The corpse had rotted, leaving only a skeleton. It wore a golden crown on its head, its hands clasped together in front of its chest, holding a golden longsword. It could be seen that when it was buried, its expression was solemn and dignified.

Kru metal, black candle crystal, Nie Yan glanced at the material of the equipment worn on this corpse, his heart pounding. These were all priceless things.

The equipment on this corpse was not something Nie Yan could use. These items were not light. With Nie Yan's current strength, he couldn't move them even if he used all his strength.

Nie Yan's gaze swept into the coffin. Next to the corpse was a small wooden box, which looked extremely ordinary. Placed in such a luxurious golden coffin, it seemed a little out of place. His eyes lit up. This was exactly what he wanted.

Nie Yan's heart couldn't help but speed up.

The Shadow of Soergoth, something that countless thieves coveted, was lying there quietly, within reach and easily obtained. What an exciting thing this was!