Chapter 1 The Beginning

Nie Yan got up and dashed forward, clearing skeletons along the way, winding through narrow passages. Killing the skeleton mages actually increased his experience by about 2%, and he picked up quite a few items, but he hadn't had time to look at them yet.

Finally, he reached an area with little skeleton activity. It should be relatively safe here.

Nie Yan looked at the items dropped by the skeleton mages. There were twenty-seven copper coins, and two pieces of relatively poor bronze equipment.

Nie Yan was about to close the inventory when he suddenly noticed an old scroll lying quietly in the corner of his backpack. He remembered something about it, the scroll must have been dropped just now.

The grayish-yellow scroll was covered in ancient dragon runes, from which he could vaguely discern: Ancient souls, awaken from the shadows.

Scroll of Summoning, a special item that summons an ancient soul, with a certain probability of controlling it; if control is lost, it will backfire. Cannot be reused.

This thing was a rare item, a one-time use scroll. In Sogota Ancient City, the drop rate of the Scroll of Summoning was about 0.05%. If you were lucky, you could occasionally get one while killing skeletons. The soul summoned by this thing wasn't very strong, it could only barely serve as a meat shield, but in Sogota Ancient City, which was full of skeletons, Nie Yan really needed a meat shield.

However, Nie Yan's level was too low. It would be very difficult to control the summoned soul and prevent it from backfiring.

Should he use this Scroll of Summoning?

Nie Yan thought for a moment. If he could successfully control it, he would undoubtedly have an extra meat shield. If he failed, he would only lose a Scroll of Summoning.

Scanning the surroundings, the area was relatively open, and there were no monsters to interfere with him for the time being.

Nie Yan bit his thumb, and fresh blood trickled from his fingertip. He pressed his finger on the scroll, drawing a scarlet mark.

The red blood flowed on the scroll, radiating a dreamlike color.

The ancient seal on the scroll slowly started, rotating.

A black shadow appeared in front of Nie Yan, gradually solidifying into a ghost. What was summoned was a Phantom Assassin. It was in a state of stealth, holding a dark dagger in its hand.

Phantom Assassin: Level 10, Health 230/230.

The Phantom Assassin was a level 10 creature, with decent stats. Nie Yan had summoned this kind of thing when he was around level ten in his previous life. At that time, the market price of a Scroll of Summoning was about eight silver coins, which wasn't too expensive, and ordinary players could afford it. If Nie Yan were to sell the Scroll of Summoning now, he should be able to get about ten silver coins, after all, this thing was too rare.

The Phantom Assassin's combat power was quite good, and it also had three skills: Stealth, Stun, and Self-Destruct. The duration was about half an hour, after which it would automatically disappear. With a Phantom Assassin to help, Nie Yan's leveling speed would be much faster.

Having been summoned, the Phantom Assassin stood still, its icy gaze surveying the environment.

Nie Yan tried to control the Phantom Assassin, but it didn't seem to move. He tried again, and the Phantom Assassin moved.

Success? Nie Yan was overjoyed. If he had a Phantom Assassin, he would have an extra helper when dealing with skeletons.

The dagger in the Phantom Assassin's hand flashed coldly, and its body moved, actually pouncing towards Nie Yan.

Damn it, this guy backfired!

Nie Yan didn't have much hope when he summoned the Phantom Assassin, after all, his level was too low, and the Phantom Assassin was a full five levels higher than him, so it wasn't easy to control.

Once a Phantom Assassin backfired, the person who tried to summon it became its primary target.

The Phantom Assassin was immune to stun effects in its phantom state. Nie Yan quickly retreated, dodging the Phantom Assassin's attack. After a slight pause, he pounced towards the Phantom Assassin.

"Vital Strike!" Nie Yan's dagger slashed the Phantom Assassin's neck.

But the Phantom Assassin's neck quickly healed, reconnected, and it raised its dagger, pouncing on Nie Yan.

Nie Yan retreated while waving his dagger, fighting on the run. This Phantom Assassin was different from the extremely fragile skeletons. Fortunately, he summoned the Phantom Assassin, so he had extra damage against it. Even though there was a five-level difference, the attack damage wasn't too low.

-23, -25, damage numbers floated above the Phantom Assassin's head.

The Phantom Assassin's figure flickered and entered Stealth.

Nie Yan lost his target. Even if he concentrated his mind, he couldn't detect the Phantom Assassin's location. The level difference between him and the Phantom Assassin was too great, and he couldn't penetrate its stealth.

Nie Yan cautiously approached the stone wall step by step, sticking close to it to reduce the area he could be attacked from, avoiding attacks from behind.

The light and shadow beside him twisted, and a figure appeared at Nie Yan's side, its dagger striking straight at Nie Yan's head.

The Phantom Assassin also had a Stun skill. If he was hit, Nie Yan would be finished.

Seeing the Phantom Assassin's dagger coming straight at him, Nie Yan sidestepped, dodging the Phantom Assassin's attack.

Just then, the Phantom Assassin's dagger suddenly transformed into three cold lights, simultaneously hitting Nie Yan.

-52, -57, -56...

Nie Yan's health dropped sharply. He quickly retreated, dodging the Phantom Assassin's continuous attacks, running backward.

He quickly ate a bottle of Elementary Instant Health Potion, his health recovered a bit, and his right-hand dagger used Stun, stabbing the Phantom Assassin's head.

The Phantom Assassin's head was cut in half, but it quickly returned to its original state.

Taking advantage of the Phantom Assassin's head being attacked and pausing for a few seconds, Nie Yan attacked a few more times, grinding the Phantom Assassin's health down to only 30%.

The Phantom Assassin's dagger flashed like lightning, hitting Nie Yan's chest.

-76.

Critical damage!

Nie Yan was shocked. His health was only 13% left. He quickly used Hasty Retreat, retreating rapidly, and then applied a bandage to himself.

+20, +20, +20...

The Phantom Assassin pounced on Nie Yan head-on, its dagger striking straight at Nie Yan's face.

Nie Yan ducked and rolled, dodging the Phantom Assassin's attack. He quickly got up, Assassinate! The dagger slashed across the Phantom Assassin's chest, and he stumbled back several steps before stabilizing himself.

Nie Yan's Assassinate also triggered a critical hit. After taking Nie Yan's attack, the Phantom Assassin had only 5% health left.

The Phantom Assassin let out a sharp scream, turning into a scarlet color. Its body rapidly swelled, and a manic power surged out.

Nie Yan was shocked. It was Self-Destruct!

The Phantom Assassin's self-destruct was terrifying. In his previous life, when he was level ten, he lost a full 80% of his health from a Phantom Assassin's self-destruct. Now he was only level five, if he was hit, he would die instantly!

Nie Yan pounced towards the Phantom Assassin, the dagger in his hand heading straight for the Phantom Assassin's throat.

Vital Strike!

The Phantom Assassin's health reached zero. Before the Self-Destruct skill could be completed, it was interrupted. The Phantom Assassin screamed miserably, disintegrating in the air.

Huff, Nie Yan took a breath. This guy was too difficult to deal with.

Nie Yan casually glanced at the ground. The Phantom Assassin actually dropped something.

These Phantom Assassins were creatures from another plane. When they broke free of their master's control, they were no different from ordinary monsters, and they would also drop various equipment and items.

Nie Yan picked up the item dropped by the Phantom Assassin. It was actually a delicate skull, about the size of a palm, covered with delicate patterns. A ghostly green gemstone was inlaid on the skull.

Cursed Skull: Fate item.