Dagger Specialization

After leaving the dungeon, Qin Chuan and the others went their separate ways.

Ji Xing needed to continue gathering materials. She had a heavy workload now.

Not only did she need to manufacture Destroyers, but Self-Destruct Robots, Rocket Backpacks, and Goblin Helicopters were all waiting in line as well.

For the next few days, she would be busy enough that her feet barely touched the ground.

Yingluo Yezakura, Xiao, and Jing arranged to form a party and level up together.

The three of them had met while leveling and felt that the others had good character and were worth befriending.

Yingluo Yezakura then sent Qin Chuan an application and brought the other two into the guild.

Now that they had cleared the dungeon, it was naturally time to continue leveling.

After all, a level twenty shield was sitting in Yingluo Yezakura's backpack. If he did not equip it soon, would that not waste the guild leader's goodwill?

Qin Chuan, meanwhile, planned to do some quests.

He remembered so many hidden quests. He could not let them go to waste.

Not long after they left, a six-man party arrived at the dungeon entrance.

"This dungeon's recommended level is twenty to thirty. It looks pretty difficult, so let's challenge the Normal difficulty first to warm up."

The warrior captain at the front made the suggestion.

His teammates all voiced their agreement.

People needed to keep their feet on the ground. There was nothing embarrassing about starting with Normal difficulty.

The captain stepped forward, froze in place, then let out a startled cry a moment later. "Damn, why is there an entrance fee?"

"What?"

His teammates thought they had misheard him.

They had to pay before running a dungeon? What kind of bizarre setting was that?

When they stepped forward to take a look, it turned out to be true.

What was more, they learned even more information.

The entrance fee had actually been set by a player.

That meant there was no doubt that only Peak Guild, which had activated the dungeon, had the authority to configure it.

The captain said indignantly, "Night Wanderer is already so rich, yet he's still charging money in a place like this. Isn't that way too greedy?"

The others felt the same way and decisively opened the forums to make posts complaining about it, quickly causing an uproar.

Most players felt that Night Wanderer's conduct was too ugly.

He had raked in more than two hundred million from a single auction. How could he possibly be short on this little bit of money?

Opening the dungeon for free would not cost him an arm and a leg.

However, some players looked at the issue rationally and felt that since someone had worked hard to activate the dungeon, it was perfectly reasonable to charge a small entrance fee.

Besides, they had gone to see it themselves. The ticket was actually very cheap. Whether they farmed the corresponding monsters or bought the materials directly from other players, neither was difficult.

The players split into two camps over this, and neither side could convince the other.

Qin Chuan saw the activity on the forums as well, but he did not take it to heart.

These players clearly had not suffered enough yet.

There were many undeveloped dungeons in Apocalypse, and quite a few of them, like the Booming Mine, could only be activated by clearing a special mode.

Not every first-clear party was as kind-hearted as he was and set the ticket price so low.

Some unscrupulous guilds drove their ticket prices through the roof.

In his previous life, quite a few guilds had made a fortune off the dungeons under their control.

Once the players truly encountered them, they would understand what it meant to hold their noses and accept it anyway.

Setting that matter aside, Qin Chuan had Shadow Dragon slow down.

After flying for over ten minutes, they finally reached their destination.

The ultimate reward for the quest Qin Chuan was about to undertake was the skill assassins needed most—Dagger Specialization.

When both the main hand and off-hand were equipped with daggers, it could provide additional damage.

Combined with his immense damage output, it would make him even more formidable.

Looking down from Shadow Dragon's back, he could see a small wooden cabin halfway up the mountain ahead.

A retired Assassin Instructor lived here, and his use of daggers was nothing short of masterful.

As long as assassin players passed his test, they could learn Dagger Specialization.

The test was not difficult either. They only needed to kill a level thirty monster.

The sole requirement was to kill it in one strike with a dagger.

Players at this stage did not have such high attributes, so passing the test was not easy.

But for Qin Chuan, was this even difficult?

Not at all.

He landed on level ground, put away Shadow Dragon, and called respectfully from outside the cabin, "Is Instructor Urich here?"

With a creak, the wooden door opened. An old man in worn clothes emerged, leaning on a cane and trembling with every step. His cloudy eyes were filled with confusion. "Young man, who are you looking for?"

Anyone who did not know better would definitely have been fooled by Urich's disguise.

But Qin Chuan knew the truth, so he said respectfully, "Instructor Urich, I wish to advance further on the path of the assassin. I hope you will be willing to teach me!"

The old man still wore an utterly clueless expression.

Qin Chuan felt somewhat helpless.

What players criticized Urich for most was how incredibly good the guy was at pretending. He clearly possessed tremendous strength, yet insisted on acting like an elderly man with bad legs.

After thinking for a moment, Qin Chuan removed the two daggers from his waist and waved them before Urich's eyes.

Urich immediately perked up. Tossing aside his cane, he darted over in an instant to examine them closely, clicking his tongue in praise. "Fine weapons indeed."

Qin Chuan looked amused. "Instructor Urich, why are your legs suddenly so nimble now?"

Having his secret exposed, Urich's expression remained unchanged as he replied blandly, "Young man, do not let appearances deceive you. Dressed like this, anyone would lower their guard. It is perfect for suddenly killing someone to complete a mission."

Qin Chuan looked impressed. "You're right."

Since he no longer intended to keep acting, Urich returned to normal and asked, "What did you come to see me for?"

Qin Chuan repeated himself. "Instructor Urich, I came to learn how to use daggers from you."

Approval flickered in Urich's eyes.

This young man had good judgment.

Although he had retired from his position as an Assassin Instructor, his skills remained. In his hands, daggers seemed to possess life, capable of countless dazzling tricks.

Still, the proper procedure had to be followed. Urich said seriously, "If you can pass my test, I will naturally be willing to teach you."

"Ding, you have triggered a Class Advancement Quest."

"Quest requirement: Kill any level thirty beast on the mountain with a dagger. Please note, it must be killed in one strike."

"Quest reward: Dagger Specialization."

With the quest in hand, Qin Chuan bade Urich farewell, turned, and left the cabin, heading up the mountain.

The monsters on the mountain ranged from level twenty-five to thirty-five. Most were ordinary mobs, though one or two Black Iron-rank monsters occasionally appeared.

Finding a suitable target for the quest was not difficult.

The difficult part was killing it in one strike.

Fortunately, the quest did not restrict him to using only Normal Attacks. Killing the target with a skill would also count as completing the quest.

Of course, for Qin Chuan, a level thirty monster only had a little over ten thousand health. He did not need to use any skills at all. The damage from Ambush Strike alone was enough to complete the quest.

As he pondered this, a Mottled Tiger darted past him.

Since Qin Chuan was in stealth, the tiger did not notice him and continued madly chasing its prey.

Yet before it had taken more than two steps, its vision went black. Its body rolled across the ground, and it ceased breathing.

"Ding, conditions met. Quest complete. Please return to Instructor Urich to submit the quest."

Qin Chuan emerged from the shadows with a trace of loneliness on his face.

How lonely it was to be invincible.