Chapter Five: Burying the Boss

Chapter 5: Trapping the Boss to Death

Overlapping quests? Before Lin Zheng could figure out what was going on, the old village chief spoke up. “You’ve been searching for my glasses for so long but haven’t found them. I guess that damned big thief crow must have snatched them! Here’s the deal: go defeat that big thief crow and retrieve my glasses, then the final trial will be over! But that crow is very cunning; you might not find it easily. I have some thyme here — go to the cornfield and light it up somewhere. That big thief crow will appear. Not only is it sly, but it’s fierce as well. You should use your wits to outsmart it. Go!”

A big thief crow? Just hearing the name, it sounded like a boss, though Lin Zheng had no idea what level it was. He wanted to ask the village chief more, but the old man fell silent, which frustrated Lin Zheng. Since the chief emphasized using brains over brawn, it was probably too strong to fight head-on. Lin Zheng decided to prepare thoroughly first. After some thought, he headed to the general store to buy a coil of rope before making his way to the cornfield.

Deep in the cornfield stood a crooked-necked tree, a place few players ventured. Lin Zheng chose this as the spot to trap the big thief crow. Opening his bag, he took out the rope and also remembered the medal he had nearly forgotten.

SS-Rank Medal: +10% experience gain, 80% reduction in skill learning costs at career mentors, effective while in inventory, bound to character.

A fine item. This would offset 10% of the experience absorbed by his dagger, and as Yang Qi mentioned, learning skills could be costly, so this would save him a lot. Returning the medal to his bag, Lin Zheng began planning how to deal with the big thief crow. Actually, dealing with a beast was simple — just set a trap!

Prepared with the trap, Lin Zheng took out an incense stick — the thyme the village chief mentioned.

Thyme: When lit, emits a strange aroma that lures the big thief crow. Quest item.

This was practically tailor-made to trap that crow! Lin Zheng clicked to use it, and the thyme automatically ignited. He quickly planted it where he had set the trap, then hid in the nearby corn stalks. The thyme worked perfectly. Within a minute, accompanied by a harsh cawing, a massive three-eyed crow flew over. Judging by its head, it rivaled the legendary giant eagle from the classic tales. With the players’ small arms and legs, it was truly impossible to fight it head-on.

Big Thief Crow: Level 15 Silver-tier boss. Physical attack 389–560, physical defense 250, magical defense 250, HP 15,000. Skills — Wind Slash, Shadow Strike. Leader of the big crows, a greedy thief obsessed with shiny things.

Damn, with 15,000 HP and 250 defense, Lin Zheng would have to keep fighting for ages. Without the trap, a one-on-one duel would be a death sentence! No wonder the village chief stressed using intellect. Just as the big thief crow stepped into the trap and greedily sniffed the thyme, Lin Zheng pulled the rope without hesitation! The noose instantly tightened around its feet before it could react, hoisting it into the air with a startled caw. Lin Zheng rushed out, threw the rope to snare its neck, and tied it to the crooked-necked tree, spinning it around several times. The crow was spectacularly bound to the trunk, thrashing futilely.

With the crow’s terrified eyes fixed on him, Lin Zheng grinned maliciously and slowly approached with his dagger. Inevitably, the big thief crow was stabbed to death on the tree, its prized collection spilling out begrudgingly.

The big thief crow was a true first kill, dropping plenty of loot. First, a decent amount of money — 20 gold coins! But Lin Zheng was most excited about two pieces of equipment it dropped. The first was a sword — quite a handsome piece, measuring three feet three inches long and just over an inch wide, entirely black, featuring a fierce crow motif as the guard and adorned with a blue gem at the pommel.

Black Crow Sword: Level 15 Silver-tier weapon.

Physical attack 210–316, magical attack 190–223.

Strength: +20.

Rend Level 1: 10% chance to activate, causing 100 damage per second for 5 seconds.

Greed: 5% chance to obtain an extra item on the killing blow.

Includes special skill: Shadow Strike.

“Finally got this rare beauty!” Lin Zheng stroked his chin thoughtfully. Though not as good as his dagger, this sword was a godsend early on. Selling it for real money would bring a hefty sum! But if Yang Qi found out, she’d definitely challenge him to a real fight. “Heh heh, I’ll just tease her with it for now.” With that, Lin Zheng stored the Black Crow Sword and picked up a mask — shaped like a fierce crow, covering the upper half of the face, quite cool and definitely a bit showy.

Black Crow Mask: Level 15 Silver-tier.

Physical defense 20, magical defense 20.

True Sight: When inspecting monster data, level requirement increases by 20.

Focus: Adds player’s level in intelligence.

This mask was an accessory, a rare special one, especially suitable for mage-type classes. Lin Zheng decided to keep it for himself — well, for style points!

Besides that, Lin Zheng was most thrilled to finally retrieve the damn glasses. Looking at the old reading glasses he had been hunting for the whole day, he couldn’t help but feel speechless. The old man hardly looked presbyopic — his eyesight was sharp. But hey, it was a game, and such absurd twists were to be expected.

“Heh! So they really were taken by that damned thief crow! Thank you, young man! You’re quick — defeated that crow in no time!” The old village chief cheerfully took the glasses from Lin Zheng.

“Quest complete: composite first-tier quest finished in 6 minutes 21 seconds, hit count: 0, rating: SS-grade. Reward: SS-grade special career gift pack, 50 gold coins, character level increased by 2. Congratulations, you have successfully changed your profession to Duelist!”

Fifty gold coins and a special career gift pack? Fantastic! Lin Zheng was so excited he nearly shouted. The village chief handed him a letter: “This is my letter of introduction. Take it to the profession hall in Frost Sky City and seek out the career mentor. He will teach you powerful combat techniques!”

Taking the letter, Lin Zheng knew his newbie days were over. Not easy at all! Checking the leaderboard, he was level 12, ranked several thousand places down. The highest player in Frost Sky City was already level 18! How the heck did they level up so fast? The top player’s name was “BugBug” — sounded like a girl’s name. Could it really be a female? That was impressive! Then Lin Zheng spotted Yang Qi’s name, “Red Dust Mist,” ranked sixth at level 15. Quite arrogant. Coincidentally, that was just enough to equip the Black Crow Sword. Lin Zheng maliciously created a Black Crow Sword data entry and sent it to Yang Qi, then blocked all communications and leisurely opened his gift pack.

SS-grade Special Career Gift Pack: 100% chance to receive a silver-tier career item, 30% chance for a gold-tier career item, small chance for items above gold tier, and a random career skill book.

Lin Zheng eagerly opened the pack. It shimmered with white light and vanished, leaving him with a bow and a skill book. His eyes lit up — a weapon, at least silver-tier, a good find! The bow was silver-white with mysterious, beautiful patterns, though it looked like two short swords fused together. And no bowstring? Yes, this was the Duelist’s exclusive weapon — the Blade Bow.

Broken Moon: Level 30 Gold-tier (Duelist).

Physical attack 420–550, magical attack 360–464.

Fierce: +100 physical attack, -50 physical defense.

Overwhelm Level 1: 3% chance on attack to enter Overwhelm state for 5 seconds.

Armor Break Level 2: 4% chance on attack to inflict Armor Break status, reducing enemy defense by 80% for 5 seconds.

Moon Spirit: 3% chance on attack to cause freeze strike, next attack’s ice damage increased by 5000.

A level 30 gold weapon! Lin Zheng muttered, that would take some time to reach level 30. Oh well, he had his dagger, so he’d store this in the warehouse for now. A Duelist without an exclusive weapon would look unprofessional anyway. He then checked the skill book.

Arrow Mastery: A skill only archers can learn. Increases arrow damage and allows using any item as an arrow.

This skill looked promising. Lin Zheng clicked to learn it, then checked the skills menu.

Arrow Mastery: Level 1, proficiency 0/1000, passive skill, increases arrow damage by 10%, allows using any item as an arrow.

Next level increases damage by 15%, maxing at 20 levels for 105% increase! That was a huge boost! But training it fully wouldn’t be easy, especially since Duelists rarely use archery. It would take a long time to master. Lin Zheng regretted it a bit. It was a good skill but of limited use to him. If he sold it, archers would pay big bucks. Too bad! He slapped his thigh in frustration.

Oh well, since he’d learned it, it was just another skill in his arsenal. Checking the time, it was already 3 a.m. He needed to log off and sleep; the rest could wait until tomorrow. But before that, there was one more thing to handle — otherwise, a real player duel might come up and ruin his rest. Lin Zheng opened the communication system, and a flood of call requests popped up. Just as he opened it, a new call request flashed. Lin Zheng’s only friend was Yang Qi, so these calls were all from her. He casually accepted, and after a few seconds of silence, Yang Qi’s angry roar came through!

“You bastard! Even if you want to tease me, it doesn’t have to take this long! Do you have any humanity?”

“Heh heh, you’re a pro! I always believed you could get something better than the Black Crow Sword. I trust you, buddy!” Lin Zheng chuckled. “Alright, no more teasing. Head to the Frost Sky City teleport point. I’ll come over and give you the stuff. I’m about to log off!”

Yang Qi was about to curse when she heard that and swallowed her words, excited beyond measure. The treasure sword was finally within reach! “Hurry up! I’m on my way!”

When Lin Zheng teleported to Frost Sky City, he immediately spotted a female warrior anxiously looking around, furrowing her brows. She looked worried, waiting for someone. At first glance, no one would connect this pitiful beauty with a rogue. Perverts lurked around, eyes greedily fixed on her! Although she had slightly altered her appearance, Lin Zheng instantly recognized her as Yang Qi. Lin Zheng wore a mask revealing only his mouth, making it hard to identify him. Even so, when he approached Yang Qi, she didn’t recognize him.

“Rogue!” Lin Zheng called out helplessly. This was ridiculous — he was standing right in front of her, and she still didn’t realize it was him. Yang Qi snapped to attention, “Damn! What’s with this show-off mask? Took me forever to recognize you!”

“Can I take that as jealousy?” Lin Zheng said proudly, only to receive a disdainful gesture from Yang Qi.

Yang Qi was a mix of envy and resentment. Despite being a pro, she had no decent gear and was relying on Lin Zheng, a novice, for help. Just thinking about it made her tear up. When Lin Zheng told her how he used the village chief’s thyme to trap the big thief crow, Yang Qi was nearly drooling with envy. She coveted the Black Crow Sword even more, her eyes gleaming green — scaring Lin Zheng.

“What do you know?!” Yang Qi licked her lips, green glow undiminished. “How much do you really know about Phantom Spirit’s data? There’s a lot you don’t understand. Many pieces of gear are duplicated, but some are unique — epic, legendary, and a special kind called Lord-exclusive gear. These come with boss skills. No doubt, the Black Crow Sword is one of those! The drop rate isn’t even higher than legendary gear. The fact you got one? Must be pure luck! But now! Hand it over!” Her eyes blazed with a fierce light, like a demon. Lin Zheng shivered and quickly handed over the sword.

Yang Qi was ecstatic, clutching the sword like it was a giant diamond. After polishing it for a while, she said energetically, “Let’s go, let’s go! Find a place to test this sword!”

“Test my ass. It’s so late, hurry and log off!” Lin Zheng said irritably.

“I’m too excited to sleep! You go first; I’ll probably stay up another two hours.” Even without the Black Crow Sword, Yang Qi wouldn’t sleep now. As a player who earned money through gaming, late nights were normal. Besides, this was early game — gotta level up fast.

“Alright, I’ll log off first. Don’t stay up too late. Girls shouldn’t burn the midnight oil or they’ll turn into old hags too soon.” Yang Qi nodded casually, but Lin Zheng suspected she didn’t take his advice seriously. Opening the system menu, he clicked to log out.

Exiting the game, Lin Zheng stretched lazily. It was late and quiet, only the ticking clock audible. Outside the window, though, the city was still brightly lit. Many homes still had their lights on; who knew how many were still grinding in the game? No matter — sleep was more important. Lin Zheng yawned, collapsed onto his bed, and soon drifted off.

End of Chapter 5.