Chapter 56 – Featherfall Jewel

Heaving one of its massive stumps into the air, the Treant King forcefully stamped on the ground.

War Trample!

「BOOM!」

Like a giant hammer striking the surface, the stump transmitted a powerful force deep into the earth which violently shook the ground. Soon, large fractures began forming on the surface, spreading to the nearby surroundings, appearing as if they would rend the entire world asunder.

Then powerful shock waves erupted from the depths, pouring volatile magical energy onto the surface.

The frontliners felt their hearts tighten as they witnessed the tyrannical might of this skill because likely then and there, they would have been instantly killed were it not for Nie Yan ordering them to retreat. Furthermore, with their absence and only the ranged units remaining, the team would certainly lack the damage necessary to finish off the boss, leading to a possible wipe as a consequence. Often times even the slightest of mistakes could reverse the outcome of a battle.

“Re-engage! The boss doesn’t have much health left. Faster everyone, faster!” Nie Yan shouted. Their next step was to simply finish off the Treant King, then everything would be fine. Besides, with so little health remaining, it couldn’t possibly do any more to reverse the situation.

“Heroic Strike!”

“Radiant Slash!”

A volley of magic poured into the sky.「Bang! Bang! Bang!」The spells blasted its body, depleting the boss of what little health it had remaining. Upon entering its death throes, the Treant King mournfully moaned as cracks began appearing all over its body. A moment later…「Boom!」An explosion rocked the area as its body splintered into pieces and fell to the ground as a pile of wood debris.

“The Treant King is dead!”

“We succeeded!”

All of the team members excitedly cheered. For a team like theirs, clearing this Specialist dungeon was simply a remarkable and unimaginable achievement.

In the exact moment they toppled the Treant King over, everyone felt like they were in a dream as if everything that happened wasn’t real. However, this dream was in fact reality, and an indescribable feeling of admiration arose in their hearts. Before meeting Nie Yan, their team hadn’t even been able to clear this dungeon on Easy difficulty. Yet while following his lead, they were able to directly beat it on Specialist difficulty—truly an inconceivable feat.

Seeing everyone’s joyous and excited expressions, Nie Yan broke into a smile because he was very much the same when he cleared a dungeon for the very first time.

Tang Yao, Yao Yao (Dark Mystery), Yu Lan (Blue Feather), and Bai Kaishui (Plain Boiled Water) were among the eight people who leveled up. Meanwhile, Nie Yan’s experience bar had risen to fifty-two percent. As one could quite easily tell, the Treant King had given an ample and generous amount of experience.

Nie Yan dug through the pile of wood debris. Despite finding two pieces of equipment, they weren’t the item he was looking for so he continued his search. He brushed aside the branches and twigs and jolted in elation when a bright blue gem entered his vision. This is exactly what I was looking for!

This gem was completely different from ordinary gems. Resembling a diamond, it was carved with many facets and blossomed with a dazzling radiance.

He quickly appraised the gem with Transcendent Insight. Featherfall Jewel… Ah, it’s the Featherfall Jewel! I finally have it in my hands…

“Two pieces of equipment and a jewel dropped. One of them is a Silver-grade hat for Arcane Mages, and the other is a Silver-grade armour for Paladins. As for the jewel, I’ll be taking it for myself,” Nie Yan announced. Even if he wanted to take the equipment, he wouldn’t have to pay money. However, the other members had to pay the rest of the team with their bid if they wanted the equipment.

At this moment, not a single person raised any objections.

The Arcane Mage hat went to Dusk for the low price of one silver and fifty coppers. Thanks to this, he didn’t come out of the trip empty-handed. The Paladin armour was taken away by Yu Lan for two silvers. Since many of the members were part of her team, and its value was divided evenly, most of the money stayed with her team and she only had to pay Dusk, Tang Yao, and Nie Yan a few coppers.

“What kind of jewel is that? Share the properties with me,” Dusk asked. He was rather curious about the jewel in Nie Yan’s hands. After all, the only reason the latter ran this Specialist dungeon was for the sake of this jewel.

Nie Yan shared the Featherfall Jewel’s properties.

Featherfall Jewel (Dark Gold): Ornament

Requirements: Level 0

Properties: Defense 8–10, Strength +7. Can be equipped with the accessory slot or embedded into jewelry slot where applicable.

Featherfall: Activate to allow the player to fall like a feather through the air. Duration: 3 minutes.

Weight: 1 lb

Restrictions: None.

Excluding rings, necklaces, and medallions, every player had five slots which players could equip accessories. Nie Yan equipped the Featherfall Jewel into one of his accessory slots.

“So it was a Dark Gold accessory! No wonder you cared about it so much!” Dusk exclaimed in surprise. The properties on this Featherfall Jewel weren’t that great but its Featherfall ability was quite rare; otherwise, it wouldn’t be classified as a Dark Gold-grade.

Through this entire run, even if they were to add up all the equipment they received up till now, it still wouldn’t be equal in value to the equipment Nie Yan obtained for himself. Some team members felt this was a little unfair; however, they quickly erased this thought and quickly got over it. Without Nie Yan, let alone clearing this Specialist dungeon, they wouldn’t have even obtained a single hair.

“How many Honour points did your team receive?” Nie Yan glanced at Yu Lan and asked.

“Around twelve hundred. Thank you,” Yu Lan looked at Nie Yan and sincerely thanked him.

“So much? Even when my team cleared Blackflame Forest, we only received eight hundred,” Dusk exclaimed in fright. He began to think Specialist difficulty truly wasn’t simple. This was merely Treant Forest. If they were to run Blackflame Forest or Agmota Muddy Wetlands on Specialist, he’d imagine the rewards would definitely be much more generous.

“You guys can head to Blackflame Forest or Fallen Shaman Camp now. If you haven’t gone to those dungeons before, you should take some time to prepare,” Nie Yan said.

“Will you come with us?” Yao Yao gazed at Nie Yan and asked.

Yu Lan and the rest also perked their ears up while waiting for Nie Yan’s reply. However, Yu Lan also understood her team’s little temple wasn’t big enough for a deity such as Nie Yan to stay in.

Nie Yan faintly smiled and said, “Like I said before, I won’t be following you guys to Blackflame forest.” He definitely wouldn’t have a pleasant time running a dungeon together with a person like Chen Bo. However, if Yu Lan and the others kicked Chen Bo out of the team, he would think it over. Even then, it was simply thinking it over. He’d have to check whether he had the free time.

“Oh…” Yao Yao felt somewhat disappointed.

“In a few days, Brother Nie is going with us to run Agmota Muddy Wetlands,” Dusk interjected. He was now thoroughly convinced of Nie Yan’s ability. Being able to run another dungeon with this expert was truly a wonderful matter for him.

Tang Yao gazed at Nie Yan with expectation in his eyes. He wanted Nie Yan to bring him along as well.

Nie Yan sent a whisper to Tang Yao.「Your skills aren’t there yet. Agmota Muddy Wetlands has very high requirements for Mages. You can practice by following Yu Lan and her group for now. Then when you’re good enough, I’ll bring you along on the harder dungeon runs.」

「Alright, I understand.」Tang Yao nodded his head. Nie Yan wouldn’t lie to him. If he did tag along for Agmota Muddy Wetlands and couldn’t keep up, he’d likely lose face for Nie Yan. He calmed himself before resolving to run a few more dungeons with Yu Lan and her team. That way he could polish up his skills.

“How about letting Tang Yao tag along with you guys for Blackflame and Fallen Shaman Camp? As for those dungeons, I can give you guys a bit of advice,” Nie Yan suggested.

Yu Lan nodded her head and said, “We’re extremely glad to have him. From now on, he’ll be part of our team.” Tang Yao’s magic damage was quite high. His contributions in this run were great as well. For this kind of person to be willing to stay on their team, she couldn’t be any happier. Moreover, with Tang Yao here, Nie Yan would definitely give them some advice instead of keeping it from them.

With the item distribution finished, besides the Uncanny Dodge skill book, the Forest Necklace, and the Featherfall Jewel, Nie Yan also received three silvers. Meanwhile, Tang Yao earned his first large profit and received roughly sixty coppers.