Chapter 15: Sandstorm!

An epic quest is not something that can be completed so easily. Wanting to finish one at barely over level thirty was the sort of thing only a lunatic would attempt. Morning Wind had no intention of going along with them. He flatly refused the invitation. “You go ahead and do yours. I’m heading into the desert to clear some ground first.”

With that, he ended the call and urged the psychic machine forward toward the heart of the desert. He was still not very skilled with the machine’s controls, so this trip counted as practice. It took him about half an hour before he finally grew accustomed to it and began to speed up.

Along the way there were many monsters: sand scorpions, rattlesnakes, sand worms, desert lizards, camels, and the like. Their levels ranged from thirty to forty, and the deeper he entered the inner ring of the dark desert, the higher their levels became. Now the monsters around him were fluctuating between forty and fifty, and they were densely packed. Morning Wind no longer dared to drive the machine at full speed.

Whenever he encountered an ambush or an obstacle, he had the psychic machine take to the air and bypass it. He was worried the machine might be damaged in a clash with stronger monsters, so he even used flight despite its energy cost. Energy had to be replenished with white gold coins, but he still had some on hand. If he could reach the Trial Tower and push through it, the rewards would surely be excellent.

What was that?

Suddenly the sky around him grew even darker, winds roared, and the heavens looked as though they were about to pour down a storm. In the distance, four tornadoes rolled forward, sweeping everything before them into the air and hurling monsters scattered across the landscape. After a moment, Morning Wind realized he had run into a sandstorm, a vast and terrible one.

System: You are in combat. You cannot log out.

Morning Wind put away the psychic machine. He had originally intended to log out and wait it out, but found that he could not. He had never experienced a sandstorm before, and he did not know how destructive it could be. But one thing he knew for certain: if he were buried beneath the sand, he would die; if he were blown high into the air and fell, he would die as well.

He summoned the Two-Headed Wyvern, leaped onto its back, and had it carry him away. Flying low, his field of vision widened, and he spotted a stretch of oasis ahead that seemed completely untouched by the storm. He immediately ordered the wyvern toward it. But the wyvern was too slow, while the sandstorm advanced too quickly. It seemed about to swallow both wyvern and rider alike.

Time-space shift!

A skill attached to the Magic Ring. Morning Wind dismissed the Two-Headed Wyvern and instantly shifted himself one hundred meters toward the oasis. The moment he reappeared, he used it again. After five consecutive uses, he had already put five hundred meters between himself and the sandstorm. At that point he immediately activated his flight skill and skimmed low through the air toward the oasis.

Windstep!

Just before landing, Morning Wind hurled out a Banner of Despair into the distance. After touching down, he instantly used his rescue skill to appear beside the banner, then executed a Heroic Leap to bound forty meters away. He immediately activated his speed skill and charged toward the oasis. Fortunately, before the sandstorm could arrive, Morning Wind leaped into the oasis’s barrier and escaped this natural disaster.

“Damn it! Crow, did you run into the sandstorm? Everyone in our party except me is dead.” The Dwarven Paladin sent Morning Wind a call. It seemed he, too, had just barely avoided the storm.

Morning Wind did not see Olive Terrace and the others anywhere nearby. So the sandstorm was not only here—was it raging across the rest of the dark desert as well? But how had Olive Terrace survived? Had he failed to save the others?

“I almost got swept up in it!” Morning Wind had only barely dodged disaster. If not for the Magic Ring, he would surely have been dead this time. The Time-Space Shift skill attached to the ring had saved him many times already. It was a skill that could serve both offense and defense. That was precisely why he had chosen the purple ring in the first place.

“Good. I thought your Magic Ring would be buried in the desert for good!” Olive Terrace laughed. Then he said, “About the epic quest I mentioned earlier: since the people who accepted it died, their quests failed. Now only I have it left. How about the two of us finish it together?”

“Did you kill them?” Morning Wind did not answer the question, but asked one of his own.

Olive Terrace said with complete confidence, “If I could summon a sandstorm, that Magic Ring in your hand would already be mine. How could that be?”

“Volume 1 of 3”

“Volume 2 of 3”

“That’s hard to say. I think with your abilities, you should have been able to save them. Or did you deliberately bring them in at this level, just to have them die in the dark desert and fail their quests?” Morning Wind knew Olive Terrace would resort to underhanded tactics. This fellow had so many tricks up his sleeve; saving one or two people should not have been difficult, should it?

“Crow, you really did figure me out! You really are the one who knows me best!” This time Olive Terrace did not even try to deny it. He sounded thoroughly pleased with himself. “So then, Crow, do you still dare take on the quest with me? I’ve already shared it with Stan.”

“Aren’t you afraid I’ll kill you in one move? My warrior avatar can unleash its full burst, and killing you would be very easy.” Morning Wind did not accept the quest Olive Terrace had shared. Instead, he first threw a question back at him. Olive Terrace thought himself formidable, but Morning Wind could not afford to lose momentum.

The shapeshifter alt may have had strong burst damage, but it was nothing compared to the warrior avatar’s absurd power. Olive Terrace was not especially afraid of Morning Wind, since killing him would indeed be difficult. But Morning Wind was a warrior: fierce burst, and with Shattering Throw he could strip away a paladin’s invincibility. Olive Terrace would have a hard time getting away. Morning Wind’s warrior avatar was a genuine threat to the Dwarven Paladin. Shouldn’t that make him wary?

“Crow, precisely because you’re so powerful did I bring you in for this quest. If you can kill me, I won’t hate you for it. After all, we’re all Magic Ring bearers.” Olive Terrace really was a little afraid of Morning Wind’s warrior avatar. That character was terrifying. A high-tier elf race had a huge advantage over ordinary races. If Morning Wind wanted to kill Olive Terrace, it might only take two Rending Blows to finish him.

Of course, Olive Terrace, having stolen someone else’s epic quest, was not going to give Morning Wind such an easy opening. This time, besides bringing Stan along, he had also added two more members. It was entirely to suppress Morning Wind’s warrior avatar and balance the party’s class advantages.

“Fine, I’ll do a quest first. You get busy.” Since the quest was there, Morning Wind could choose whether or not to do it. For now, however, he still needed to go to the Trial Tower and claim the reward from the highest floor first.

After accepting the quest, Morning Wind ended the call. But Olive Terrace seemed unwilling to let him go and called again. “Crow, what quest is it? Can you share it? I’ve already shared an epic quest with you, so sharing yours with me would only be fair, wouldn’t it?”

“This isn’t a quest, just a piece of information.” Morning Wind never intended to tell the Dwarven Paladin. “You shared that quest with me only to drag me into it. I’m only reluctantly on your team. You know very well that joining your party is like boarding a thief’s ship—who knows when I’d end up dead?”

“Crow, how can you say that? In a party, who lives or dies depends on each person’s ability!” The Dwarven Paladin felt that Morning Wind was no simple man. He must have already gathered some information, and information the paladin himself did not know. “How valuable is your information?”

“I can guarantee purple equipment at the very least, and perhaps even orange equipment. As for high-level troop items, race scrolls, and talent stones, those things should be included too. It all depends on whether you have the luck to get them!” Morning Wind suddenly thought that selling the information to the Dwarven Paladin might work as well. He was completely confident in his own strength and did not fear being surpassed by him.

The Dwarven Paladin felt that asking so shamelessly had been the right move after all. He clapped his hands and said excitedly, “Crow, I like quests like this. You know I’m a triple-spec build—I can tank, heal, and deal damage, and support is no problem either. The only truly tragic thing about my class is the lack of crowd control. What do you think of me? How about bringing me along?”

“Good things usually can only be claimed by one person. If I go myself, I’m sure to get the good stuff. But if you come along and snatch first place, wouldn’t I be the one losing out? Why don’t you show me something that makes me tempted? Then I might tell you.” Last time, because of the news about the assault armor fragments, Morning Wind had lost an epic refining stone and a purple piece of equipment just like that. This time, he was certainly going to squeeze Olive Terrace for something good.

Olive Terrace considered it and felt that what Morning Wind said probably made sense. “How about I give you back the epic refining stone you gave me last time?”

“Too trashy. Not worth much.” Morning Wind refused outright. One epic refining stone and he expected to buy this information? Too cheap.

When Morning Wind got ruthless, he was even more terrifying than Olive Terrace. Now that Olive Terrace was interested in his information, Morning Wind was determined to make a profit.

“How about the legendary one-handed sword that High Soaring Heaven dropped last time?” Olive Terrace went all in this time. He felt that Morning Wind, going into the dark desert alone, was definitely not there on holiday. Most likely, Morning Wind knew the location of some treasure.

He had dumped the news about Morning Wind acquiring the Fourth Treasure and killing High Soaring Heaven onto the forum, making Morning Wind far more cautious when he came out. That grudge remained in his heart. Morning Wind had originally only meant to tempt Olive Terrace a little, but he had not expected the fellow to offer a legendary one-handed sword in return. Now Morning Wind actually had something to think about.

A ninja katana would be useless to Olive Terrace unless he planned to use it as fusion material, and the failure rate for that was extremely high. Even if Olive Terrace was rich, he would not be willing to spend that kind of money. But staring at a legendary one-handed sword he could not use would be maddening. This time, Olive Terrace might as well offer it to Morning Wind and see what kind of information he could uncover.

“With the epic refining stone included, I can consider it.” Morning Wind was still not entirely satisfied. Even with a legendary one-handed sword placed right before him, he showed no interest at all.

“Fuck! Crow, you’re too greedy! No, that would leave me at too great a loss. First, I don’t even know whether your information is true, and second, I may not even get the thing. If you can get a legendary one-handed sword, you’re the one making out like a bandit.” Olive Terrace wanted nothing more than to kick Morning Wind to death. He felt this man was far too black-hearted. Wasn’t one legendary one-handed sword enough for a single piece of information?

Morning Wind remained calm. “What use is that trash legendary one-handed sword of yours? If you don’t want to know, forget it. Stop wasting my time.”

“Fine, Crow, you win!” The Dwarven Paladin was completely convinced this time. “I agree. Tell me.”

“Give me the items first.” What was the point of Olive Terrace agreeing? If he went back on his word later, who would Morning Wind cry to? This fellow could even stand by and watch a teammate die; going back on a bargain would be entirely within character.

“Crow, all my items are in storage. How am I supposed to give them to you?” Olive Terrace was actually hoping Morning Wind would tell him right away, so he could renege later. In truth, Olive Terrace did not absolutely need Morning Wind. For a legendary one-handed sword and an epic refining stone, cheating Morning Wind once would not hurt him.

“Then forget it.” Morning Wind could not be bothered with him and cut the call.

Less than three seconds later, Olive Terrace sent another request. “I’ll have someone fetch them from my storage. Then I’ll have him mail them to you. Is that okay?”

“Mail them to the mailbox of a player named Cherry Snow, game ID 19384567.” Mail them to his own mailbox? Morning Wind was not even in the main city—how was he supposed to receive them? If Olive Terrace sent something that was not the legendary one-handed sword and epic refining stone, then Morning Wind would be the one losing out.

“Fuck! Crow, do you really need to be this careful? Am I really that untrustworthy?” the Dwarven Paladin cursed.

“Very necessary. I don’t trust you much.” Morning Wind said it without hesitation.

Three minutes later, Cherry Snow contacted Morning Wind and told him she had received the ninja katana and the epic refining stone. Only then did Morning Wind accept Olive Terrace’s call again. “The information I’m about to tell you can only be known by you alone. If you sell it to anyone else, you must give me half the money. If you agree, I’ll tell you immediately. If you don’t, that’s fine too—the items will absolutely not be returned.”

“Shit! I regret this already!” Olive Terrace realized he had been played once by Morning Wind. At this point, he had no choice but to agree, otherwise the items would be gone for good. “Say it.”

“In the dark desert there is a Trial Tower. It has seven floors in total. Each time you successfully clear one floor, you may choose one item. The higher the floor, the richer the rewards. The earlier you clear it, the more reward options there are; later on, the choices may become much worse.” Morning Wind’s information was extremely simple, and just like that, he had tricked Olive Terrace out of a legendary one-handed sword and an epic refining stone.

“So that’s it? Crow, then isn’t this a race? You should worry about that. I guarantee I’ll be faster than you!” Olive Terrace felt the information was still quite valuable. After all, he was among the first batch of players entering the Trial Tower, so the rewards should be very rich. And this information could also be sold, allowing him to make a profit later.

“Since I dare to tell you, it means I won’t lose to you. By then, I think you’ll be the one taking a huge loss.” Morning Wind could not be bothered with him and, after ending the call, began to see what exactly was inside this oasis.