Chapter 26: Ring of Fate
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Both Xue Yu and Lin Suyue were stunned when they saw Nie Fan freely change his form, vanishing from sight before turning visible again.
So that was Cheetahmorph—it appeared to be a strong skill. Thinking from certain perspectives, it would really be difficult for another player to adapt to an opponent who suddenly turns into a cheetah and change their combat style in a PK duel.
Nie Fan also tried his Phantom skill, but at Level 1 the Phantom Cheetah was merely a blurred shadow. It couldn’t move either, and would simply fade just moments later, which made it a minor diversion to confuse the enemy.
It could not be used too frequently either, since it would not surprise an opponent who eventually grew wary. That being said, it was good enough for a level one skill.
Like Xue Yu’s Sacred Lunar Shield, Morphing skills cannot be leveled through usage, but by paying a huge sum of gold to the Skill Trainer in the village after reaching player Level 30.
Meanwhile, Nie Fan dispelled his skill and assumed a human form once more. He generally understood his new skill and how to apply it, although it would be some time before he would become proficient.
After testing out the Cheetahmorph form, Nie Fan continued his wild leveling with Xue Yu and Lin Suyue. He was also now more composed in farming monsters compared to before, his state of mind now completely different with a Morphing skill was backup—he could simply cast Cheetahmorph in dangerous moments to escape.
Moreover, leveling was now 20% faster with Cheetahmorph for Nie Fan. As such, the crisp system notification rang around two hours later once more, indicating that he had reached Level 21!
Nonetheless, Nie Fan did not stop at that, and spent most of the next half hour carrying Xue Yu and Lin Suyue up to Level 21 as well.
“We’re ready,” Xue Yu smiled nonchalantly as Nie Fan looked at them then. “We’ll only drop by one level, so it’s fine.”
“We could quickly level up again after falling too. It’s nothing.” Lin Suyue grinned sweetly.
“Okay, then I’m off. I’ll send you two a message later!” Nie Fan said as he headed towards the direction of the Goblin Springs.
***
Clear water was gushing from beneath the ground at the Goblin Springs, its bottom clear and visible.
No one would have expected that those cyan ripples were full of poison.
Nie Fan crouched, scooped up the water and took a sip. He must not drink too much at once since a little too much meant death, and he needs to have a handle on the amount.
After drinking, Nie Fan’s bones began to shrink rapidly as he assumed the appearance of a Blazing Goblin. In that form, he made unusual squawking voices even when he tried to speak.
Any other player who saw him would take him for a Blazing Goblin, and not a fellow player.
Meanwhile, Nie Fan whirled around to check that he really was no different from a normal Blazing Goblin, and then darted towards the Goblin Firewalker.
The transformation was only effective for twenty minutes.
Nonetheless, Nie Fan had soon arrived at the edge of the area, although he could not help feeling nervous at the flocks of goblins nearby. He also spotted a number of Elite-class Blazing Goblin Warriors, monsters which would probably encircle him and kill him in seconds if they noticed that he had slipped into their ranks.
That was when another Blazing Goblin came to his side and casted him a few glances, his gaze showing signs of confusion and suspicion.
Nie Fan could feel that his heart was about to leap out of his chest, but could only feign calmness and kept walking forward. That Blazing Goblin watched as he left, before shaking its head and leaving as well.
It was for but a moment, but Nie Fan could feel cold sweat appearing over his back in his fright.
After passing by another crowd of Blazing Goblins and heading deeper, Nie Fan finally caught sight of the Goblin Firewalker, dressed in red helm and armor.
Hundreds of Blazing Goblins and over a dozen Elite-class Blazing Goblin warriors were here. There was no telling how much time it would take to farm them all, nor was there any hope of killing them without a group of more than thirty players above Level 30.
As he kept going forward and reached around eight yards away from the Goblin Firewalker, Nie Fan found a single wooden pillar that stood around a meter tall from the ground. A spherical bubble of light hovered on top of it, the center of which a pale-gray ring lay serenely—it looked as if it was forged from some poor grade of metal, its surface resembling a thick layer of filth. In fact, the entire ring itself appeared plain and without a single special aspect.
There was no doubt that that’s the ring all Druids dreamed of.
That being said, only goblins could reach their hands inside the bubble to take the ring. Since normal players could not get past the bubble, it would mean nothing even if they would clear away every last monster in the vicinity, not to mention that the monsters would respawn at that very same spot after a day.
It was only by drinking from the Goblin Spring and assuming a goblin form like Nie Fan did that he could reach inside the bubble.
Now, he was even closer to the Goblin Firewalker—only five yards separated them.
Perhaps it was also because he was much shorter in goblin form, but he found the Goblin Firewalker especially massive. Its body armor was akin to burning flames with red sparks occasionally popping up, not to mention that it has a fearsome visage and sharp tusks that reached down to its chin. Its fiery crimson gaze was also brimming with the color of violence, and the golden axe it was dragging behind it was even more stunning, outsizing even Nie Fan himself.
Nie Fan could not help feeling alarmed right then.
Indeed, the Goblin Firewalker seemed to take notice of the anomaly that was Nie Fan himself, and studied him from head to toe.
He paused and ceased all movement, and looked at Ring of Fate which was just nearby with the corner of his eye.
It was still lying there quietly and motionlessly. Despite it having no luster, Nie Fan sensed a lethal attraction exuding from it as if destiny was calling.
That was the very key Nie Fan would unlock his fate with!
Be that as it may, he did not reach out to take it because he simply could not get close to the ring—the Goblin Firewalker would not hesitate to smash him into a puddle with its axe if he took another step! This was the place where his father was killed, twice!
Though within reach, Nie Fan did not dare to leap into the storm. The unusual movements of the Goblin Firewalker left his heart tightening, and he is going to die here if there was a single mishap!
At the moment, the Goblin Firewalker appeared to suspect the abnormal way Nie Fan was behaving as well, its flame-red eyes appearing to be full of suspicion. After pausing for a moment, it eventually decided to take a look, and approached Nie Fan step after step.
A trace of sweat appeared over Nie Fan’s head then. He moved off to a side and tried his best to keep his distance, even as each of the Goblin Firewalker’s thunderous footsteps seemed to be stamped onto his head with a bang. Even so, he must not run, because he would expose himself immediately once he turned to flee.
He would also die a lot faster as well!