Chapter 28: Wishcaster
Let’s put it in the bag first.
The experience from the quest and the experience from the level 13 Gray Wolf allowed Zane to level up to level 11, while Starry was still 32% away from leveling up.
The experience needed after level 10 increased significantly, which also meant that in order to level up quickly, one had to constantly challenge high-difficulty monsters.
Zane had explored most of the areas in the city and hadn’t seen any new quests for now; it was probably due to it being the first day, and new quests might only appear tomorrow.
He glanced at the quest bar; there were only two unfinished quests, one was the team’s shared S-grade quest “Find He Xin’s Daughter,” and the other was Starry’s job change S-grade quest “Request an Audience.”
There was no clue for the search quest; with NPCs all over the street, he couldn’t possibly ask each one, right? It would be better to wait until he encountered a higher-ranked NPC to inquire. As for the job change quest… Xiin had mentioned it could be done with fine wine.
He had only checked the inn and the general store; they only had ordinary rice wine, and the higher-end ones were just Maotai and Du Kang wines, priced at hundreds of gold coins, which was beyond what he could afford at this stage.
…
“Leader, I feel that my strength is still far from enough. I hope you can give me some practical experience.” With a mindset of trying it out, Zane transformed back into a Gray Wolf and carried Starry to find the Wolf King for a quest.
“It’s good that you have this determination, but…” The Wolf King hesitated.
“Please go ahead; my pet is very strong, there’s nothing she can’t…” Zane suddenly felt pressure in his abdomen.
Don’t press! The wolf is going to die!
“Let me tell you a story, little one. This Grey Ridge Plain was originally the territory of our Gray Wolf clan. A year ago, a mysterious person in a black robe came here, using evil undead magic to summon countless skeletal soldiers, even turning our dead brethren into undead wolves. They lost their sanity, blindly executing that mysterious person’s orders.”
“At that time, I was just an ordinary Gray Wolf, and the former Wolf King was actually attacked to death! He was resurrected as an undead wolf and became that mysterious person’s mount. Strangely, afterwards, this mysterious person managed to open a secret passage and took all the undead skeletons inside. The entrance was suppressed by a tomb, with terrifying magical powers. After that, the northwest part of the Grey Ridge Plain became a forbidden area.” He swallowed hard.
“I am a witness of that battle; this matter has always been a knot in my heart. Unfortunately… I know that with my current abilities, I am simply not capable of fighting those damned undead.”
“I haven’t talked about this with other wolves in a long time. I think you have potential. If you train more, perhaps you can gain strength stronger than mine, and then… revenge won’t be so difficult.” The Wolf King’s expression was filled with sorrow, as if he had endured the hardships of the world.
“…” So the Gray Wolf storyline is this rich? “I understand now, I will be careful about that. Leader, I’ll continue practicing my taming skills, okay?”
“Yeah, go on, child!”
…
Before determining the enemy’s level, Zane didn’t dare to take the quest impulsively.
Come on, it’s been a year; who knows what that mysterious person has evolved into in the secret passage?
Moreover, this was very important information. If he hadn’t transformed into a Gray Wolf, who would have known that there was an undead army next to Yunshui City!
Lost in thought, someone called out to him.
“Fengchen Yanhua!” Who is it? Didn’t see any players around?
“It’s the Gray Wolf calling you,” Starry said.
Looking closely, indeed there was a Gray Wolf ahead.
Gray Wolf Mike (Elite)
Rarity: Black Iron grade
Level: 14
Health: 1500
Attack: 50-60
Defense: 30
Skills: Call for Companions, Dash
Description: An elite among Gray Wolves, with a high status in the pack.
“The Leader told you that thing, right?” Mike spoke.
“Are you referring to the forbidden area?” Zane asked in confusion.
“Yeah, I’m here to warn you; don’t think taming humans is something remarkable…” Mike’s tone was heavy.
A vein popped out on Starry’s forehead.
“In front of that demon, no one has any power to resist! You can only watch as you are transformed into undead and become his servant. Six months ago, I personally saw a Wishcaster go through that tomb into the secret passage and never come back!”
“…” Sounds pretty scary, and what is this Wishcaster? A hidden class?
“In any case, you must not go to the forbidden area. If you provoke the demon’s wrath, we’re all doomed!” Mike said coldly.
Is it really that terrifying? The monster attributes at the beginning of the game shouldn’t be that far off from the first-tier players. Otherwise, what’s the point of playing if there’s no hope of winning? But Zane still nodded in understanding, “Got it, I won’t go over there.” … As if!
After Mike finished speaking, he left.
There’s something off about this Mike…
Looking in the northwest direction, he hadn’t felt anything before, but now it seemed eerie over there.
“What the Wolf King said is true,” Starry said. “The power of resentment lingers; if you go there without being prepared, you might attract some trouble.”
It sounded like the fanciful musings of a middle school girl, but Zane knew that Starry indeed had this ability.
“I can hear you.” Starry’s expression was emotionless.
Orz, I was wrong!
“Looking for death? Watch my Nine Yin White Bone Claw!”
“Awwo—!”
…
“Wishcaster? Where did you hear this name from!?” Xiin suddenly slammed the table and stood up.
At present, the most familiar high-ranking NPC was the Guide; unexpectedly, she had such a big reaction upon hearing the three words.
Zane and Starry were somewhat taken aback by her reaction.
“I’m sorry… I lost my composure.” Xiin sat back down.
“It’s fine… We just overheard someone mention it,” Starry said.
“If you are so curious, I’ll share a bit,” Xiin said helplessly. “Wishcaster is not some passed-down profession; it was created by a genius girl—Alna.”
“Even at that time, it shocked the entire empire. Because, no matter who it was, as long as the corpse was properly preserved and not a natural death, it could be resurrected. Moreover, the other abilities of a Wishcaster are also quite exceptional; even the Dark Faction knows about this. Unfortunately…” Xiin sighed.
“Six months ago, Alna disappeared without a trace. Perhaps she was killed by someone jealous of her talents in the empire, or perhaps assassinated by the Dark Faction. In the past six months, these three words have gradually faded from people’s memories, and I didn’t expect someone to mention them.”
So it means… this Alna must have discovered the abnormalities of the Grey Ridge Plain and lost her life in the process?
“By the way, you mustn’t mention this to General Aijue; otherwise… you’d better pray for your own good.” Xiin took a sip of tea. “Alright, anything else?”
