Chapter 1 The Beginning

Nie Yan picked up the box and opened it. Inside lay a pair of broken cloth boots, exquisite and crystal clear, with wisps of magic emanating from them.

It was definitely them. Gazing at the dazzling luster of the Sogot Cloth Boots, Nie Yan almost choked.

In his previous life, Legend-grade equipment was an unattainable dream. Even fragments of Legend-grade items were priced outrageously. After being promoted to an Advanced Thief, Nie Yan had only obtained one Legend-grade item fragment, a broken breastplate for a warrior. To make a living, he had no choice but to sell it. With the money from that broken breastplate, Nie Yan bought a set of high-grade Dark Gold equipment for a Thief and acquired Lucky Gems to upgrade it to +9, with plenty of money left over.

One could imagine how valuable it was.

After Sogot’s Shadow was broken down, it transformed into the Sogot Cloth Boots, Sogot Feather, and Sogot Cloth Scroll.

Only by finding all three parts could the magic within restore them to their original state.

Sogot Cloth Boots (Legend-grade Item Fragment): Requires 130 Strength.

Item Description: Sogot’s Shadow has been divided into three parts. The cloth boots still have scattered magic and can still be used. Sogot’s Shadow Fragments: Sogot Cloth Boots, Sogot Feather, Sogot Cloth Scroll. You need to find the remaining fragments to restore it to its original form.

Attributes: Agility +30, Speed +10, Jump +10, Stealth +10, Concealment +10, Reflex +10. Comes with Level 3 Thievery skill, comes with Level 3 Shadow Dance skill, Stealth and Concealment additionally increased by 30 points, Movement Speed +30, undetectable for 6 seconds, with a certain probability of being detected after 10 seconds, in rounds.

As a fragment of a Legend-grade item, the Sogot Cloth Boots’ attributes were indeed astonishing. They increased Speed, Jump, Stealth, Concealment, and Reflex, and came with two skills, Level 3 Thievery and Level 3 Shadow Dance. Both Thievery and Shadow Dance were Level 30 skills, learnable only after Level 30. To raise Thievery and Shadow Dance to Level 3 or higher, one had to be at least Level 40.

The Thievery skill could obtain extra rewards from monsters or players, only stealing items from the target’s backpack, not their equipped items. The probability of successful thievery and the stolen items depended on the levels of both parties. The formula for calculating the success rate was quite complex, and the stolen items were usually just coins. Only in rare cases could one steal equipment or similar items. As for Shadow Dance, it was a good escape or stealth skill. Six seconds was enough time to do many things. Undetectable didn’t mean invulnerable; it only meant the opponent couldn’t see you. A round was 3 seconds, meaning that after 6 seconds, a check was made every 3 seconds. Either the opponent would find you then, or another check would occur in the next round.

“Requires 130 Strength, that’s too high.” Nie Yan frowned. His Strength was still 73 points short. Such a high Strength requirement was extremely demanding for a Thief. After all, Thieves were Agility-based classes and didn’t add much to Strength. If he put all his attribute points into Strength and none into Agility, leveling up in the future would be very difficult. Fortunately, this equipment could compensate for 30 points of Agility. “Damn, I just had 10 points of Strength deducted!”

With normal allocation, ordinary players would need to reach Level 40 or higher to gain 60 points of Strength. With good equipment, they could reach 130 points of Strength around Level 30.

Nie Yan had 10 points of Strength deducted. Otherwise, he should have been able to reach 130 points of Strength before Level 25.

He could only equip this item at Level 30. That was too slow.

“I have to find a way to increase my Strength,” Nie Yan thought. Just now, when he saw the Sogot Shadow's Level 3 Thievery, his eyes had flashed with excitement. He knew better than anyone what Level 3 Thievery could bring in the early stages.

Getting 130 points of Strength wasn't impossible. Nie Yan's mind raced. Moreover, he could do it before Level 15!

Now wasn't the time to think about that. Nie Yan put the Sogot Cloth Boots into his bag. The Dark Gladiator trembled. Nie Yan felt a sense of crisis. He shouldn't stay here long; he needed to escape!

As the thought crossed his mind, he suddenly saw a terrifying sight. In the coffin, Sairistote’s eye sockets suddenly ignited with a green flame. It was only a tiny flicker, but the flame danced incessantly.

Undoubtedly, this was a dangerous signal. The guy in the coffin was about to revive soon!

Nie Yan didn’t dare to linger. He rushed towards the entrance, only to discover that the pool at the entrance had been sealed off by rocks!

When Nie Yan opened the golden coffin, the exit had already been sealed.

Nie Yan looked at his Return Scroll. It was still usable! He had checked the Return Scroll when he arrived; this wasn’t a closed space.

At this moment, a tall figure was slowly sitting up inside the golden coffin.

There was no time. Reading the Return Scroll required a full twenty seconds!

Without another word, Nie Yan began to read the Return Scroll. A light shone from the scroll covered in ancient text, and a faint glow enveloped Nie Yan. A bright teleportation magic circle appeared around him.

Time ticked by.

Sairistote stood up in the golden coffin. He wore golden armor and held a golden giant sword, like a king.

In life, he had been a powerful lord, ruling Sogot City. After death, he was buried here and turned into an undead.

Sairistote (Undead): Level 15 Lord, Health 50000/50000.

Lord-level creatures consistently had terrifyingly high health. Nie Yan understood that even a Level 15 elite team might not be able to defeat Sairistote, let alone just him alone. If he was slow, he would definitely die here.

Three seconds, four seconds, five seconds, time slipped away quietly.

Nie Yan’s heart was extremely tense.

The green light in Sairistote’s eyes locked onto Nie Yan. A powerful, cold aura emanated from his body as he walked towards Nie Yan step by step.

With Sairistote’s attack, one swing of his sword would splatter Nie Yan with blood. There was no suspense. His health couldn’t withstand even one of its attacks. Even a Shield Warrior of the same level couldn’t.

Sairistote gradually approached. Nie Yan felt the crisis drawing near, but he couldn’t move. If he moved, the teleportation array would fail.

“Damn it, not enough time.” Nie Yan glanced out of the corner of his eye and saw the Dark Gladiator standing to the side, waiting for orders. He quickly gave the Dark Gladiator a command.

Without hesitation, the Dark Gladiator walked over and stood in front of Nie Yan, blocking him. Though its intelligence was low, it possessed an instinctive fear of Sairistote, but it was absolutely loyal to Nie Yan. In its mind, it had to protect Nie Yan, even if it meant death.