Rebirth of the Thief Who Roamed the World

Rank 5 monsters such as Blazing Land Dragons and Elemental Giants inhabited this part of the forest. Nie Yan carefully avoided them as he explored more and more of the forest. After passing through a Rank 3 monster zone, he finally arrived in a zone with only Rank 1 monsters.

Nie Yan’s eyes locked onto a Dark Mammoth. It looked similar to an elephant, except it had dark fur and was noticeably larger. It had sharp, two-meter long tusks which curved forward like bull horns.

Nie Yan cautiously approached the Dark Mammoth from behind.

Transcendent Insight!

Health: 32,000/32,000

“Let’s see if I can bring this Dark Mammoth down. If I can’t even beat a Rank 1 monster, I might as well pack my bags and go home...” Nie Yan muttered. “How do I get around its size, though? Skills like Backbreaker probably won’t work.”

Nie Yan pondered for a moment. “I suppose I can just keep dodging with Shadow Steps.”

The Dark Mammoth was grazing, plucking the various grasses growing on the forest floor with its trunk and stuffing them into its mouth.

Nie Yan took out his Cavalry Crossbow. Loading it up with bolts, he took aim and pulled the trigger. Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Five bolts whizzed toward the Dark Mammoth.

Put! Put! Put!

−286

−310

−266

...

A string of damage values floated up above the Dark Mammoth’s head.

“ARROOOOUUGH!” The Dark Mammoth let out a furious cry. It immediately locked onto Nie Yan and charged toward him. It barrelled forward like a heavy tank, the ground below quaking with every step.

The Dark Mammoth swung its long tusk at Nie Yan.

Nie Yan leaped out of the way, covering three to four meters in one bound and evading the charge. As soon as his feet touched the ground, he pivoted around and pounced forward with Zennarde’s Sword raised. A streak of light flashed out. Pssht! Blood sprayed sprayed into the air as a deep laceration opened up across the Dark Mammoth’s flank. Its tough hide offered little protection against the sharpness of his blade.

“AROUGH!” The Dark Mammoth swung out its trunk.

Nie Yan leaped back and dodged the attack.

The Dark Mammoth immediately went into pursuit. Nie Yan used all sorts of methods to dodge its attacks. The shock in his eyes grew deeper as the battle went on. He discovered his movements in combat were much less restricted, allowing him to execute skills however he pleased.

“Is this the feeling of a Shadow Dancer?” Nie Yan’s eyes gleamed with excitement. Even though he hadn’t class advanced yet, his combat style was already quite close to that of a Shadow Dancer.

The Dark Mammoth suddenly stomped forward.

Nie Yan evaded the charge with Shadow Steps and swung out his right elbow at the same time. BANG! His elbow struck the Dark Mammoth squarely in the temple. It staggered several steps back, its head swaying unsteadily—a visual indicator that it was stunned.

“An ordinary elbow strike can stun?” Nie Yan’s heart shook. He gradually realized Shadow Dancers gained access to an entirely new system of combat. Even the most basic kicks, elbows, and punches could become dangerous weapons. Compared to Warriors, the attacks of Thieves didn’t have as much strength behind them. However, they were much faster and more precise!

Tragedy befell the Dark Mammoth. No matter how it charged forward or swung its tusks, it couldn’t land a single hit. On the other hand, Nie Yan’s every attack was precise and full of power. He hit the monster’s vitals over and over, causing it to stagger and sway.

Before long, the Dark Mammoth’s health fell below 3,000. It let out an enraged cry and charged at Nie Yan.

As the Dark Mammoth came closer and closer, Nie Yan took several steps back, then threw out a roundhouse kick.

Unleashing all the power in his body, Nie Yan’s foot struck the Dark Mammoth in the temple.

The Dark Mammoth staggered unsteadily before crashing to the ground. Nie Yan leaped into the air and plunged down with Zennarde’s Sword. Psssht! His blade pierced into the beast’s neck.

The Dark Mammoth let out a mournful wail before its head slumped to the ground, never to rise again.

Nie Yan checked his level. He didn’t receive any experience for this battle. However, he had comprehended a whole new realm of combat.

Searching around the corpse, it appeared the Dark Mammoth didn’t drop anything.

Nie Yan knitted his brows. “Tsk, this world is too stingy. I can’t harvest any of the materials, and the monsters here don’t give experience or drops.”

After killing the Dark Mammoth, a notification popped up.

Path of the Luminous Dancer 1:

☐ Kill 500 Rank 1 or higher monsters. (1/500)

“I’ve finally triggered the first part of the quest. 500 Rank 1 or higher monsters, huh... Seems a bit tough, but it should be doable.” Nie Yan’s eyes lit up with determination.

Nie Yan turned around and departed. After walking for a few minutes, however,, he suddenly thought of something and rushed back. He approached the Dark Mammoth’s corpse, then cracked opened its skull with Zennarde’s Sword. Digging his hand inside, he pulled out a teal coloured crystal.

“Yes! I was right! It does have a Rank 1 Life Core!”

Life Cores were much more valuable than ordinary loot drops. They could be used to strengthen a flying mount.

“Let’s collect a few more, then I’ll feed them to the Darkwing Dragon all at once.”

After removing the Life Core, the corpse quickly disappeared, purified by his Holy Spirit Imprint. The Dark Mammoth was also a creature of darkness!

Making sure he hadn’t missed anything, Nie Yan dashed away.

“I should stock up on as many Life Cores as I can. You don’t get this kind of opportunity every day!” Nie Yan planned to collect Rank 2 and Rank 3 Life Cores as well; the higher quality, the better. The Darkwing Dragon would require an enormous amount of Life Cores in the future, and this was undoubtedly the best place to acquire them!

At present, the Darkwing Dragon was only Rank 6. Yet it was already peerless among flying mounts. If he could raise it to Rank 7, Rank 8, or even higher, it would be completely invincible!

“Let’s...” Nie Yan estimated it would take him at least a week to complete the first quest. If he was slow, it might even take up to a week and a half.

Nie Yan started hunting down Rank 1 monsters with impunity, amassing more and more Life Cores. About six hours later, he already had more than 30.

Apart from Rank 1 monsters, Nie Yan also started testing himself against Rank 2 monsters. Time passed by quickly in the Ancient World.