Chapter 18 Sothot's Feather

Nie Yan was positioned upstream, with currents surging past him.

He took out the Weaver's Ring, extracted a strand of spider silk, and slowly extended it. The silk, buffeted by the current, drifted forward.

The spider silk resembled seaweed, swaying in the direction of the flow.

The more silk he released, the more difficult it became to control.

Nie Yan carefully guided it, each movement deliberate.

One yard, two yards, three yards. Fortunately, the current wasn't too complex. Soon, he had released over six yards of silk. The slender thread floated gracefully in the seawater, slowly approaching Sothot's Feather in the distance.

Just as he was about to succeed, the three sirens in the distance seemed to sense something and turned their gaze in his direction.

Nie Yan quickly stopped and held his breath.

The three sirens only saw a long, thin line drifting with the current. With their limited intelligence, they couldn't possibly understand the purpose of the spider silk. They stared blankly for a moment before resuming their aimless wandering.

Seeing the sirens turn their attention away, Nie Yan breathed a sigh of relief. He was glad he hadn't attracted them.

Nie Yan continued to extend the silk. At around ten yards, it was long enough to touch Sothot's Feather.

Unable to control the silk's direction, he could only pull on the thread and hope for the best.

The spider silk drifted incessantly, nearly sticking to Sothot's Feather several times, only to be swept away by the current.

After several attempts, Nie Yan extended the silk a bit further. Driven by the current, it struck Sothot's Feather at high speed. However, it seemed the force wasn't enough. His underwater breathing time was dwindling, barely enough for ten minutes. Even if he obtained Sothot's Feather, he would still have to evade the three sirens.

He couldn't afford to waste any more time. Gauging the speed of the current, he took a deep breath, tugged the silk, and the thread slammed into Sothot's Feather, finally sticking to it.

The silk immediately straightened. Nie Yan used his hand to pluck the thread, pulling on Sothot's Feather, which tumbled around, securely entangled.

The silk tightened, gripping Sothot's Feather.

Nie Yan gave a sharp tug, and the silk quickly retracted, pulling Sothot's Feather toward him.

Just as the silk pulled Sothot's Feather, the three sirens were alerted. They emitted piercing cries, the shrill sound causing Nie Yan's eardrums to vibrate and his vision to blur.

Mental Immunity!

Sensing something amiss, Nie Yan quickly used a Mental Immunity skill, instantly clearing his head.

He was fortunate to have used Mental Immunity so quickly, or he would have died there.

The silk pulled Sothot's Feather into Nie Yan's grasp. Clutching it tightly, he had no time to place it in his bag.

A siren lunged at him, its massive trident aimed at his head.

Just as he was about to be struck, Nie Yan cast a Gnome Transformation skill, his body rapidly shrinking to about a third of its original size.

The siren's attack missed, the trident striking the coral reef with a thunderous explosion, sending shards of rock flying.

The sirens' attack power slightly changed Nie Yan’s expression. Seeing the other two sirens flanking him, he took off running, heading for the gaps between the coral. He lowered his body and squeezed into the coral.

Having shrunk in size, Nie Yan could now move freely through the narrow spaces within the coral.

The sirens, seeing Nie Yan disappear into the coral, repeatedly thrust their tridents.

Boom, boom, boom. The coral shattered into countless pieces under the trident attacks.

Nie Yan darted swiftly, racing through the coral.

Like a game of hide-and-seek, the three sirens searched for Nie Yan, but he nimbly weaved around, each of their attacks missing.

Searching for a gnome, only a third of a normal person's size, in the dense coral was incredibly difficult.

Nie Yan checked his underwater breathing time; only about six minutes remained. The sirens were still relentlessly pursuing him. He needed to pick up the pace!

Nie Yan activated Shadow Dance and cast several additional concealment skills, his figure slowly fading into the shadows of the coral.

The three sirens searched everywhere, but Nie Yan had vanished as if he had disappeared into thin air. After searching for a while, they had no choice but to return.

After about five minutes, Nie Yan had run over a hundred yards. He glanced at his inventory; he was now out of range of the space restriction. He could now use a Return Scroll.

Seeing that his underwater breathing time was about to expire, Nie Yan quickly retrieved a Return Scroll and began the channeling process.

A white light emanated from the Return Scroll.

Time ticked by, one second, two seconds, three seconds.

Nie Yan felt his breathing becoming increasingly labored. Damn it, his underwater breathing was gone. He quickly held his breath. A massive pressure crashed down on him. It was the underwater pressure. Deprived of oxygen, his consciousness began to blur. He couldn't die here. That would be too unlucky.

Suddenly, a dazzling white light erupted. The Return Scroll was activated.

Nie Yan's consciousness gradually cleared. When he opened his eyes again, he was outside the teleportation array of Calore. Due to oxygen deprivation, his body felt weak. Thankfully, he had returned alive.

He stretched, finally regaining his strength. He looked at his left hand. Sothot's Feather was still tightly bound by the Weaver's Ring spider silk.

He slowly unraveled the silk bit by bit, retrieving Sothot's Feather. He examined its properties.

Sothot's Feather: A fragment of Sothot's shadow. This feather is filled with eerie magic. The holder of this item gains +80 Strength and +120 Agility.

Ignoring Sothot's Feather's properties, he placed it in his bag, putting away the Sothot's Shadow Boots he had been wearing, placing them next to Sothot's Feather. A dazzling white light erupted, and the two items slowly merged together.

After a few seconds, the white light slowly faded away.

A pair of exquisite boots appeared before Nie Yan's eyes. The boots were entirely black, woven from fine silk threads, the design filled with flamboyant flair. The edges were covered with mysterious runes, a style from the Dark Ages. These runes represented a long and ancient history.

Legendary Sothot's Shadow Striders!

Nie Yan was a bit excited. After all this time, he had finally assembled this pair of legendary boots!