Chapter 15 The Master Imposter

Nie Yan followed the group of nobles into the hall and found Governor Cullen. The governor's hall immediately became lively, filled with the clamor of voices.

"Honorable Governor, we've caught a swindler!"

"So, Master Kexi was a fraud."

A chubby noble excitedly yanked at Kexi's long beard, pulling it off to reveal a clean, fair face. It was clearly a shifty-eyed young man in his twenties, not an old man at all!

"No, he's not Master Kexi. I've seen him before, he's that thief!" The noble paused, then realized, "So, he's not the real Master Kexi, he's an impostor!"

"That's it! Master Kexi is a kind and respected man. The equipment he makes sells for sky-high prices in many auction houses, including legendary items. There's no way he would do such a shameless thing!"

So this one was a fake. They finally understood!

"Damn impostor!" The nobles surrounded him and began to beat the fake Master Kexi, who cried out for mercy.

Governor Cullen was also furious, pointing at the fake Kexi below. "Damn swindler! Because of you, Hildelok's reputation has been severely damaged, and Master Kexi's reputation has been seriously affected. Your crimes are unforgivable. Guards, drag them into the dungeon!"

Two fully armed guards came forward, grabbed the fake Kexi and the other three middle-aged men, and dragged them out.

"Honorable Governor, this young gentleman exposed the scam." An elderly noble pointed to Nie Yan.

The nobles all agreed.

Governor Cullen walked over to Nie Yan and said, "Young man, thank you for exposing the fake Kexi and restoring Hildelok's reputation. We will severely punish those four swindlers. On behalf of all the residents of Hildelok, I thank you. Your wisdom is admirable, and this is a small token of our gratitude."

System: You have completed the quest - The Imposter Master's Scam, gaining 38297 experience points.

System: Hildelok Respect +13.

System: Gained an additional 20 Intelligence.

System: You have obtained the Solitary Leather Armor.

Nie Yan took a look. The rewards were pretty good. His experience had risen to 23% of level ten. Also, his Hildelok Respect had reached 20 points. With 20 points of Respect, he could get many discounts within Hildelok City. What made Nie Yan slightly uncomfortable was that the additional 20 points were Intelligence, not something else. Intelligence for a Thief was somewhat useless, but Intelligence did have some bonus effects on skills like lockpicking. Some special scrolls also required Intelligence to activate.

As for the Solitary Leather Armor, he checked its stats.

Solitary Leather Armor (Gold): Required Level 10.

Stats: Defense 51-57, Resilience +9, Perception +15, Agility +13.

Weight: 5 lbs.

User Restriction: Thief, All Factions can use.

It was a level 10 Gold-grade equipment. Such a reward was already very impressive in the current stage of the game. The best dungeons, unless they were Expert level, rarely dropped Gold-grade equipment. With so many rewards, plus the Eye of Truth, Nie Yan was very satisfied.

He put on the Solitary Leather Armor. The light blue leather armor had simple lines, giving it a nimble and agile feel.

He moved around in it, and it felt pretty good.

"Thank you for your generosity, Honorable Governor," Nie Yan said with a smile.

It seemed there was nothing else for Nie Yan here. He thanked Governor Cullen and then walked out of the governor's hall. Nie Yan felt much lighter and happier. He had handled that quest well. He seemed to have found the feeling he had when doing quests in his previous life. In his previous life, he had relied on this momentum to slowly catch up with the elite players from a nobody.

Nie Yan walked through the bustling streets of Hildelok City and returned to the central square teleportation array.

Another gold coin for teleportation fees made Nie Yan feel a little heartache. In the early stages, it was best to avoid intercity teleportation as much as possible. But this trip to Hildelok had been quite rewarding.

Back in Calore City, Lion King Kardo and Ogre Devourer had probably respawned. Killing Lion King Kardo and Ogre Devourer at his current level was no longer cost-effective for Nie Yan. He could get very little experience, and it would be a waste of time. The equipment they dropped was no longer up to his standards.

Nie Yan thought of Soggoth's Shadow's Steal skill. It seemed there was a quest related to the Steal skill in the early stages. He only remembered it vaguely and wasn't very clear on the details. Plus, it required Tang Yao's cooperation. Tang Yao was still leveling, so he would wait for another day.

Nie Yan planned to level up first. The most suitable level 10 monster area was the Black Gold Mine. He could farm Ghoul Leaders there, which gave a lot of experience and dropped good items. The gems and ores he could get there could be sold for a good price, and it also dropped some good level 10 equipment for Thieves.

The level of Nie Yan's equipment was still too low. Level 10 equipment was not yet available on the market. Top players who had obtained level 10 equipment mostly wouldn't sell it. Instead, they would trade it with others because they themselves also lacked level 10 equipment. It wouldn't hurt to go take a look there. He knew the approximate locations of the leader-level, sub-elite, and even elite-level monsters there.

After thinking about it, he figured he might not have enough Flash Powder, so Nie Yan bought some more, as well as Polymorph Scrolls and Webbing Scrolls. These items were effective against monsters within level 10.

After exiting the city gate, Nie Yan rushed towards the Black Gold Mine. He used an Acceleration Scroll, then activated Shadow Dance and ran wildly. Shadow Dance gave an extra 30 points of speed, like a gust of wind blowing past, quickly passing through the small path in the jungle.

There weren't many people who dared to go to the Black Gold Mine to farm monsters, but there were definitely some. Many elite players had already reached level ten or higher, with the highest being level thirteen. Also, Soth Mountain had greatly improved the equipment of Warriors, so many people dared to go to level 10 monster areas to farm.

After running for more than ten minutes, he passed through the jungle, and an endless pile of rubble appeared before Nie Yan's eyes. The stones here were all black. It was estimated that in another half a month, there would be teams bringing their guild's miners here, farming monsters and mining at the same time. The income from mining here was still very good. A novice miner could earn two silver coins a day. But right now, there weren't many people here.

Nie Yan quickly ran and jumped through the rubble, piling up on a boulder, pondering for a moment.

It seemed to be towards the east. He forgot how to get there. But he had farmed monsters here for a long time in his previous life, and he still had some impression in his head. After a while, he discovered some wandering Ghoul Miners.

Ghoul Miner: Level 10, Health 560/560.

Nie Yan didn't want to waste time with these Ghoul Miners, so he dodged them and searched for five or six minutes before finally discovering a huge Ghoul. They had some black hard armor on their backs compared to ordinary Ghouls, and their claws and teeth were also sharper.

Nie Yan used Detection on this Ghoul Miner.

Ghoul Overseer: Level 10 Leader, Health 1600/1600.

This was what he was looking for! Nie Yan entered stealth and crept towards the back of the Ghoul Overseer. The Ghoul Overseer didn't sense his approach at all. With the bonuses from the Chapter of Freedom, Soggoth's Shadow, and other equipment, Nie Yan's concealment and stealth abilities were terrifyingly high. Even monsters above level 15 might not be able to detect Nie Yan sneaking up on them.

Nie Yan stealthed to the back of the Ghoul Miner Leader, suddenly burst forth, and stabbed the Ghoul Overseer's back of the head with the sharp Blood Contract Dagger.

Muffle!

Taking advantage of the Ghoul Overseer's pause, Nie Yan used a Vital Strike and an Assassinate.

-93, -110, -107...

Nie Yan's damage was considerable. After being attacked by Nie Yan, the Ghoul Overseer turned its head back in a rage and pounced towards Nie Yan, its claws flashing with a red light.

This was a Vampire's Bloodthirst, which could greatly increase damage and have a certain lifesteal effect.

Nie Yan knew how terrifying a Vampire's attack was. Once hit, he would lose at least half his health. Currently, the only ones who could withstand the attacks of a level 10 Ghoul Overseer were probably Warriors with better equipment of the same level.

Nie Yan dodged to the side, then used a Stun, and took advantage of the Ghoul Overseer's pause to Backstab and Eviscerate, dealing more than 200 damage to the Ghoul Overseer.

The Ghoul Overseer's skin turned a strange red, and a faint red mist spread out.

This was the Ghoul Overseer's Plague. As long as one stayed near it, they would lose at least 20 health points per second. Unless there was a Priest's Dispel or Heal, even Warriors with a lot of health would be poisoned to death!

This was also why, in general, players had to cooperate with each other to take down creatures above the Leader level. Those who could solo a Leader of the same level were basically extremely perverted existences.

Nie Yan activated Rapid Retreat, quickly disengaging from the battle, and took out a Webbing Scroll from his backpack. A web fell from the sky, trapping the Ghoul Overseer inside, preventing it from moving.

Nie Yan quickly ran away, took out his crossbow, and began to shoot the Ghoul Overseer.

-21, -23, -21...

Damage values floated above the Ghoul Overseer's head.

The Ghoul Overseer struggled non-stop, finally breaking free of the web, and began to chase Nie Yan. Seeing that it was getting closer and closer, Nie Yan took out a Flash Powder. With a bang, the Flash Powder exploded with dazzling light.

The Ghoul Overseer's eyes were blinded by the bright light, and it let out a shrill scream, grabbing wildly, scratching deep marks on the nearby rocks.

Nie Yan retreated more than ten yards, and the crossbow continued to shoot. The Ghoul Overseer's health continued to drop, staggering, and finally falling to the ground.

"Done." Nie Yan smiled slightly. Although the Ghoul Overseer's experience was more than two thousand, it was nothing to him. He picked up a Warrior's Silver-grade equipment from the ground. Unfortunately, it wasn't Thief equipment. Nie Yan stood up and walked towards the next target.