Chapter 47: Nightmare
“I say—” Yang Qi leaned back and said, “Is there anything else? If not, I’m going to level up first. I just reached level 47, so I need to make the most of my time to try to be the first to reach the second class change!”
“Damn! You’re already 47!” Lin Zheng was a bit surprised, then suddenly realized—he was only level 44 himself, so it was only natural that Yang Qi was three levels ahead.
“Keep it up! Aim to be the first to second class change! I’ve got your back!” Lin Zheng encouraged her, then glanced at the current rankings to see who Yang Qi’s strongest competitors were.
Red Dust Mist, level 47, Greatsword Knight
Bug, level 46, Swordsman
Changsun Yuki, level 45, Mage
Yi Ping Daoist, level 44, Duelist
Lilith, level 41, Priest
Adorable Guardian, level 40, Swordsman
Glorious Godslayer, level 39, Armored Warrior
Glorious Archmage, level 39, Mage
Moonlit Chill, level 38, Rogue
Glorious Heavy Cavalry, level 38, Greatsword Knight
...
The top ten rankings hadn’t changed much, only the order had shifted slightly. What surprised Lin Zheng the most was the player named Bug—her level had risen incredibly fast!
“Rogue, what’s the deal with this Bug? So fierce! Only one level below you!” Lin Zheng exclaimed.
“She’s a solo player!” Yang Qi replied, then thought for a moment and added, “Back in the first generation, she was one of the top solo players. But since she started playing later, her rank has always been behind mine. I didn’t expect her to be so formidable! There are rumors she might want to form a guild soon. With her influence, if she really establishes one, she’ll be a powerful competitor for us in the future.”
“Not necessarily an enemy!” Lin Zheng winked at Yang Qi with a mischievous grin. “We could find someone to charm her, then snatch her over as our guild’s queen or something. Problem solved!”
Yang Qi gave Lin Zheng a coquettish glare. “Do you think every female expert is as beautiful as me? All I know is that Bug is a woman, but what if she’s one of those infamous ‘Feng Jie’ types? Are you going to try and snatch her then?”
“No way!” Lin Zheng shrugged. “You’ll find out why later. I actually think Long Ya is pretty good—he’s a real all-rounder!”
“I just worry Bug might be too proud to look at that idiot,” Yang Qi laughed.
“If she doesn’t want him, there are backups! Tyrant, Spring Breeze, Good Man!”
At that moment, Little Cute let out a whimper: “You guys! There are three beauties right here, and you’re still thinking about hitting on other women? Disgraceful!”
“Mm!” Lin Zheng said seriously, “I believe Yuki and Lilith are beauties, but who’s the third? You can’t mean Xi Ran—that guy’s a real man!”
“Aww! That’s mean! You just know how to bully me!” Little Cute angrily pounded on Lin Zheng, making the others chuckle.
“Alright, enough messing around! Let’s level up quickly, get to the second class change, and then we can team up to farm hero tokens!” Lin Zheng gently held Little Cute’s head with a smile. Little Cute pouted, clearly not ready to give up, but Lilith pulled her aside with a laugh.
“Little Lin, I’m not joining you guys for grinding. I’ll wait until I hit level 50 first!”
“Go ahead, the sooner you reach 50, the more reputation you’ll have. That’ll help when we form a guild later,” Lin Zheng said. Then he pointed behind Yang Qi. “I wanted to ask you earlier—what are you leaning against back there?”
“Behind me?” Yang Qi blinked, not having paid attention before. She had just casually leaned on something comfortable, feeling very relaxed. If Lin Zheng hadn’t mentioned it, she wouldn’t have thought about it.
She turned around, and everyone else looked too. Soon, they recognized it: the Nightmare mount they had seen Little Cute freeze solid earlier! But why hadn’t the ice effect worn off? And Lu Feng had been dead for a while—why was his mount still here? Could it be...
The thought made Yang Qi’s heart race. Under everyone’s watchful eyes, she flipped up and mounted the horse. The instant she sat astride the Nightmare, the ice shards shattered with a “ping!” The Nightmare let out a howl that almost threw Yang Qi off, but after the scream, it stood calmly without any resistance.
Lin Zheng and the others gaped in disbelief. Could it be that Yang Qi had actually tamed the Nightmare?!
“Hahaha!” Yang Qi was as wild as an old demon, holding her Jiao Tu sword and shouting excitedly, “I’m finally a knight with a mount! Thanks to the country! Thanks to the Party! Thanks to CCTV! ...”
“Thanks your sister!” Lin Zheng stepped forward and kicked the Nightmare. “Come on, tell us what happened!”
“Hehe!” Yang Qi dismounted, her excitement barely contained. “Like you saw, I tamed the Nightmare! From now on, I’m a knight with a mount!”
Lin Zheng’s eyes widened. “We’re not blind. I’m asking how you tamed it. You’re not supposed to learn the ‘Mount Taming’ skill until second class change!”
“Can’t help it! When luck comes, it’s unstoppable!” Yang Qi said proudly. Seeing Lin Zheng raise his hand as if to scold her, she quickly added, “Wait! I’m explaining! This mount is a reward-type mount. After killing Lu Feng, it becomes unowned for 30 minutes. If a knight-class player mounts it during that time, they become its new owner!”
“No way! That’s amazing!” Lin Zheng was astonished—and relieved. If he hadn’t asked, they might have all just teleported back, wasting this incredible reward!
“Quick! Show us the mount’s stats! A dark gold boss mount can’t be bad!” Lin Zheng urged eagerly.
Yang Qi nodded, equally excited, and opened the mount’s attribute screen to display it:
Blood-Red Nightmare: Dark Gold Mount
Strength Bonus: 15%
Intelligence Bonus: 10%
Stamina Bonus: 12%
Agility Bonus: 11%
Energy Bonus: 9%
Defense +20%
Maximum Attack Cap +20%
Maximum HP +20%
Mount Stamina +200%
Maximum Movement Speed +200%
...
Mount stats always evoke envy and jealousy! Even without those extra attributes, the raw bonuses alone made non-knight players green with envy. These attribute boosts are what make knights formidable in the late game. Knights can further enhance these bonuses through skills! Non-knight players will eventually have mounts too, but they’ll only enjoy the mount’s extra attributes.
“Damn! With this mount, won’t you be tougher than an armored warrior?” Lin Zheng truly marveled. Once mounted, Yang Qi’s HP and defense soared to astonishing levels—far beyond what most armored warriors could match. In many games, knights are the frontline tanks, after all!