The Great Thief

”Under-leveled. I took up a quest that was beyond my abilities,” Lu Li said to himself as he rubbed the gem necklace in his hands.

What if he had waited until he was level fifty to take up the quest?

On second thought, he realized that this was a silly question. If the quest was given to him based on his current level, this meant that it could be completed by him. The assistance from Paladin Carlin was a good indicator of this.

Perhaps for Pamela, seeing her father was more than enough.

When she left, even Lu Li could sense that she was happy.

She never knew what death was; her short-lived life was spent waiting in happiness.

This was Darrowshire, the battleground for heroes of the past. Countless men fought and died here. Once upon a time, there was a little girl who waited by the doorsteps for her father’s return.

This was the Plaguelands, a place infested by the Scourge.

This was Dawn, a very interesting game.

After he tidied his thoughts, Lu Li also left Darrowshire, which had returned to its’ original form — a place where the undead wandered.

As the last ray of sunlight disappeared under the horizon, Lu Li sat on a seat in a hotel located at the Southshore. His gazed flickered along the surface of the sea and his thoughts wandered as they built a legend that consisted of the Scourge, the warriors of Darrowshire and a little girl with her doll.

”Still wine today?” A slightly lazy voice rang beside his ears.

Lu Li turned his head to see that the hostess had sat down facing him, and that a goblet of wine had already been placed in front of him.

”I want to tell you a story – the adventures of a little girl with her doll...”

The story was simple; Lu Li found that he had finished telling it before he even finished his wine. It was hard to deliver his complex emotions through mere words.

He longed for someone to hear and be touched by this story.

”Your story is quite plain compared to the story of other adventurers, and I don’t like the ending either,” the hostess said as she stood up with a smile. ”My shout for the wine today. Hopefully, you’ll bring me a happier story next time.”

After she left, Lu Li noticed a small crossbow that had been left behind.

Following this, the system announced that Lu Li had completed the quest. He received experience, reputation and an extra skill point.

Lu Li successfully reached level 33, and was now two levels higher than the second-placed player on the level rankings.

The crossbow was small, but it was delicate. The attributes were also very good; this slightly lifted Lu Li’s mood.

Crystal Protector’s Crossbow (Dark Gold): Damage 32-42. Agility +20, Strength +8. Special effect 1: Critical strike +15%. Special effect 2: Ranged attack speed +25%. Special effect 3: Slash 3. Certain chance to cause a bleeding effect, can be stacked 5 times. Level requirement 30, Durability 72/72.

A small row of text was written at the bottom of the weapon description: You have a benevolent heart.

It was a fairly decent crossbow – at least, it was better than Lu Li’s current one. It has been a long time since he had made any improvements to his ranged damage.

A benevolent heart – Lu Li could only shake his head. Anyone who saw Pamela would probably vow to themselves that they’d protect every single smile and their tiny, tiny hopes...

He only just remembered that Pamela had also given him a necklace.

Lu Li never looked at the item in detail, but seeing it reminded him of the little girl once again.

Pamela’s Gift (Dark Gold): Accuracy +30%. Damage +10%. Special effect: Pamela’s Tea. Upon activation, instantly recovers 20% of health, and regenerates 2% of health each second for the next five seconds. Cannot be interrupted, cannot be used on other targets. Cooldown 30 minutes. Level requirement 30, Durability 72/72.

Underneath the attributes was another row of text: I really miss you daddy!

The necklace was made with little rocks and a clear pendant at the end. Inside the pendant was a photo of Pamela’s smiling face that had been taken while she was being embraced by her father.

Lu Li took a good look at the little girl in the pendant and gently brushed his lips against it.

Pamela, may you grow happily in another world with your father, in a world where there’s no war and no scourge.

Besides these, the King of Ghouls had also dropped a bunch of other things. Unsurprisingly, these were all level 45 equips – one Dark Gold and two Gold grades.

The Dark Gold equip had an extra slot, but it was too hard to find another synthetic stone that reduced level requirement.

It was also an equip for healer Paladins, so it wasn’t a necessity for Ruling Sword at the moment. Darkness was probably the only one who could use it, but she had too many attachments to Glory Capital, so Lu Li couldn’t trust her entirely yet.

The King of Ghouls dropped a skill book for Death Knights, but he wasn’t able to think of anyone who might need it. He could only toss the item into the storage.

Besides the equips, his biggest reward was probably the rare material that the King of Ghouls dropped.

Dreadtusk — this was a required material for Lu Li to upgrade his Supreme Ring. It was an item that could only be dropped by boss monsters from the Scourge army and now, it was at the bottom of his bag.

Astrana currently had the most prosperous businesses in the entire game. Each guild had their own stores and properties, and some of these businesses had been established by guilds in preparation for their future.

Ruling Sword was no exception. Lu Li’s guild and his three female landlords collaborated to open a store in a decent location.

Lu Li walked out from the teleporter and arrived at the entrance to the store.

”That’d be a total of 26.35 gold coins. Our store has only just opened, so we’ll give you a discount and make that 26 gold coins for you.” Lu Xin was dressed like a little princess and was serving as a cashier for the store.

”Xin Xin, let us know whenever you want to go out and hunt monsters. I’ll keep a spot for you.” The customer had paid his money, but he was still trying to build a relationship with the girl.

He wasn’t the only player like this – each girl behind the counter had their own special traits and each of them had a pack of their own fans.

If this was in the past and someone had tried to pick up Lu Xin, there was no doubt that Lu Li would wave his fist at them and ban them from stepping within a three-meter radius of his sister.

However, he was feeling extra soft today. He didn’t get mad; he only stood on the side and watched in silence.

It was hard to regain what had been lost and missed from the past, even if you went back in time. Hence, it was important to treasure the present.

Lu Li whispered silently from the bottom of his heart: I really miss you, sister!