Rebirth of the Thief Who Roamed the World

The Era of Shared Governance, a splendid age that gave birth to countless dazzling talents who would go on to become legendary figures. But within the constant strife, many ultimately failed to escape the hands of fate and became nothing more than sunken bones in the river of time. Those who survived to the modern day could be counted on a single hand.

Of the people Nie Yan had met, Karsi counted as one, War God Kelo as well, and now this NPC before him too.

The general rule of thumb was the longer-lived the more powerful. The level of might these undying existences had reached wasn’t something ordinary NPCs could ever hope to attain.

Since Nie Yan had been discovered, he no longer had any reason to stay hidden. He dispelled his stealth and tried to walk over to an empty corner in the room, only to feel a powerful force pushing him back. There was a protective barrier here!

Nie Yan suddenly saw numerous incorporeal chains stretching out from the walls binding the NPC to this room.

The chains were invisible yet extremely strong.

Nie Yan carefully looked over the undead NPC with Transcendent Insight.

Necromancer Nadago (Legendary): Level 260

Health: ???/???

Nie Yan couldn’t see the NPC’s health and other stats. Nadago’s level was somewhat lower than that of Kelowitz. He evidently still hadn’t reached the realm of a god.

The Legendary staff fragment Nie Yan picked up from that Leshen earlier probably belonged to this very person!

Bennett’s soul trembled restlessly, as if it had sensed something.

The pair of flames in Nadago’s eye sockets pulsed in surprise. “So, it’s the soul of that Molelord. I actually have something on here that might interest you.” He took out a black talisman with a myriad of profound charms drawn on it.

Bennett’s soul shone brilliantly in resonance with the talisman, lighting up the entire stone room.

Nie Yan was convinced the black talisman had some sort of connection with Bennett’s Soul. Why else would it guide him here?

Nadago grinned mysteriously with a rattle of his jaw. “This is an Occult Talisman. It allows you to summon a powerful Molelord from a pocket dimension. However, the summon will just be an empty vessel. If you let this Molelord’s soul merge with it, it’ll become an unstoppable behemoth that can rampage across the battlefield!”

Nadago’s eerie cackle sent shivers down Nie Yan’s spine. It was as if he knew Nie Yan would be interested in this talisman, like a fisherman throwing out his bait.

“Can I see it?” Nie Yan finally asked after a long moment of hesitation.

To Nie Yan’s surprise, Nadago didn’t refuse. Instead, he nodded in agreement. “Sure.”

With a wave of Nadago’s fingerbone, the talisman slowly floated over to Nie Yan.

Nie Yan accepted the talisman and examined its properties.

Occult Talisman (Legendary): Special Item

Description: Summon a Level 100 Molelord with 2,000,000 health for 3 hours. Cooldown: 60 days.

What a terrifying item!

60 days! In both his lifetimes playing Conviction and browsing its forums, Nie Yan had never even heard of something with such a ridiculously long cooldown. Perhaps only an SSS-grade quest could reward such an absurd item.

At this stage of the game, a Level 100 Molelord could absolutely steamroll over any player occupied stronghold.

Nie Yan’s eyes flashed with greed. He wanted this Occult Talisman for himself. Since Nadago was an NPC from the Evil Faction, stealing from him wouldn’t be considered a crime. Nadago was the enemy!

Just as this thought crossed Nie Yan’s mind, Nadago’s jaws chattered as his eerie cackle filled the room. “Don’t even think about it. Without my permission, do you really think you can take away an item from the hands of me, a Legendary Necromancer? Even if I’ve been sealed in this damned place for almost a millennia, I can still easily snuff out your meagre life with a snap of my finger.”

Nadago dismissively flicked a finger, causing the talisman to shatter into motes of light and fade away.

Nie Yan’s right hand was jolted by the dreadful power. It turned numb and unresponsive.

This was a warning from Nadago!

It appeared things weren’t going to play out as nicely as Nie Yan had hoped.

Since Nadago was an Evil Faction NPC, Nie Yan would suffer punishment from the Righteous Faction if he accepted a quest from him. Not to mention Nadago was a dangerous figure. There was no telling Nadago wouldn’t stab him in the back afterwards, causing all his efforts to go up in smoke.

Nadago’s incorporeal chains shook as he stood up and levelled his gaze at Nie Yan. His eyes flared up, igniting a rising sense of dread in Nie Yan.

Nie Yan’s heart trembled. He forcefully calmed himself. “May I ask what you want my help with?” There was no harm in listening to the conditions of the quest first.

“It’s simple. All you have to do is follow what I say. Don’t test me. If I sense even a hint of movement from you… Oh. And don’t try to flee either, or I’ll instantly turn you into a corpse.”

Nie Yan felt a wisp of dark magic wrap around his throat, ready to end him at any time.

Nie Yan’s mind raced as he desperately sought a way to save himself and kill Nadago.

Nadago waved his staff as black obelisks erupted from the ground. Nie Yan looked around and noted seven in total. They were arranged in a strange pattern. Each of them carried a glowing white oval stone roughly the size of a fist. Nadago was bathed in their radiance as he cowered back in fear and shielded his eyes, letting out a string of curses in a language foreign to Nie Yan’s ears.

Nie Yan’s eyes shook as he noticed the stone floating on top of the obelisks resembled the Holy Stone in his bag, except these were larger and contained much more holy power. It was precisely these stones that were sealing Nadago!

Nadago waved his hand. Suddenly, the Nadago’s Staff of Curses appeared in Nie Yan’s hands. A powerful miasma gushed out from the skull at the tip, brimming with destructive power.

Nie Yan looked at the staff in his hand. He never expected the item he obtained from the Leshen would come into play this quickly.

The miasma corroded the barrier and tore open a hole. “Now then, enter,” Nadago beckoned.

Nie Yan hesitated for a moment. Right now he was a fish on the chopping block. He could only follow Nadago’s command while hoping for an opportunity to arise.

Nie Yan slowly walked forward while observing the other side’s expression. Even though Nadago’s face was a bare skull, he could still sense the change in mood.

In the instant Nie Yan stepped foot inside the barrier, he caught a trace of anxiousness flash across Nadago’s face.

Nadago was afraid!

Nie Yan confirmed he could threaten Nadago’s life after entering the barrier. Now he just needed to figure out how to kill him. With this knowledge, he calmed himself down. No good would come from being rash in this sort of situation.

Bennett’s Soul floated in front of Nie Yan and fluttered around, seemingly trying to tell him something.

Nie Yan checked his quest log.

Fate of Empress Finas

Follow the soul of Molelord Bennett and help him find out what happened to his beloved Empress Finas.

Objectives

☐ Search for Empress Finas’ Venom Sac, Occult Item: 2/3.

☐ Kill the Legendary Necromancer Nadago and take the Occult Talisman.

Sure enough, the quest objective was to kill Nadago, not save him.

“Destroy the Holy Stone toward the Stellar Fire!” Nadago shouted in a hoarse voice. The Stellar Fire was a direction which roughly pointed north-east. It was terminology used by Mages.

Nie Yan waved Nadago’s Staff of Curses and fired out a Shadow Arrow.「Bang!」The Holy Stone exploded into powder that gently fluttered to the ground.

‘“Good! Now destroy the Holy Stone toward the Stellar Water next!” Nadago ordered with an elated expression. With the first Holy Stone destroyed, he could already feel the illusory chains binding him loosening.

「Bang!」Nie Yan waved the staff again and shattered another Holy Stone.

“After a thousand years, I’ll finally get to leave this damned place. My first act will be to send that old bastard Karsi straight to hell! And then—then I’ll plunge the entire Viridan Empire into darkness and convert everyone there into my army of the unliving!” Nadago cackled hysterically, his sinister voice reverberating through the stone room.

At this moment, Bennett’s Soul absorbed the power from the fragments of the destroyed Holy Stones and released a dazzling light. Nie Yan could feel the power within Nadago’s Staff of Curses weakening. Even though he wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do, he understood the staff was crucial to progressing the quest. It was the only thing that could destroy the Holy Stones!

When Nagado momentarily lost himself in his ravings, Nie Yan took advantage of the opportunity to unsheath Zennarde’s Sword. Let’s hope this works out! He slashed down without any hesitation and chopped off the skull at the tip of the staff.

The skull let out an anguished scream before shattering on the floor. Nadago’s Staff of Curses was destroyed!