Outwitting NPCs

Most people who entered this room would immediately assume that the person in the chair was Idith.

But it was not.

That was merely one of Idith's subordinates.

Idith had been using Shadow Stealth beneath the oil lamp, observing everyone who entered the room.

When she saw Qin Chuan speaking in her direction, Idith was somewhat surprised.

This Otherworlder seemed to know her very well.

Or was it merely a coincidence?

With that thought, Idith decided to observe him a while longer.

Although she was an assassin class instructor, she was not a mindless robot. She possessed a degree of independent thought and would respond differently based on a player's performance.

Qin Chuan had come prepared and spoke again. "Instructor Idith, I brought a letter from Instructor Leihuao. Don't you want to see what Uncle Lei wrote, young lady of the City Lord?"

Swish.

Thud.

A gleaming dagger appeared in the head of the figure in the chair. Its body slid limply to the floor, twitched a few times, and then fell still.

Qin Chuan remained perfectly calm.

Idith was famous for killing without batting an eye. Forget that the NPC in the chair was only her subordinate—even her own father, the City Lord of Beli City, had ultimately been killed by Idith.

Calling her ruthless did not even begin to cover it.

"Where did you learn those things?"

A woman's voice came from beneath the oil lamp. Then, the figure concealed within the cloak emerged, with only her eyes exposed as she stared at Qin Chuan with open hostility.

Qin Chuan smiled. "There are no absolutely secret messages in this world. Only the dead can keep secrets, isn't that right?"

Idith nodded in agreement, walked to the table, and clapped her hands.

Two Ghost Mode maids with deathly pale faces emerged from the shadows. They dismembered and devoured the corpse on the floor, then bowed and vanished.

This was Idith's second class: Necromancer.

She had personally crafted those two maids.

Unlike players at this stage, native NPCs in Apocalypse could master multiple classes.

Of course, players could do the same in the later stages, but it required an enormous amount of effort.

Seeing that Qin Chuan showed no surprise whatsoever, Idith found this Otherworlder even more unfathomable.

But this was not the time to dwell on that. Idith extended her hand. "Where is the letter?"

Qin Chuan handed over the letter. Idith opened it and gave it a quick glance, and her eyes softened slightly.

Before she spoke, Idith sniffed lightly a few times and said in surprise, "The scent of shadow."

Qin Chuan directly activated Shadow Stealth, then canceled it.

Regret flickered in Idith's eyes as she sighed. "I once used every resource at my disposal to search for Shadow Power. I never expected it to be on you. Otherworlder, what do you want?"

Only then did Qin Chuan finally relax.

He had passed Idith's test, at least for now.

Who would believe that he had to outwit an NPC?

Ordinary players would probably not bother with such trouble. They would simply come directly to Idith to receive their class advancement quest.

But Qin Chuan had spent ten years in Apocalypse. He knew this damn game could not be judged by common sense.

If he wanted to go further in Apocalypse, he had to prepare from the very beginning.

Steadying himself, Qin Chuan said, "I want to advance my class."

Idith immediately put on a businesslike expression and said flatly, "I have several options. Which one do you want?"

"Ding, you have triggered a class advancement selection quest. Please choose carefully."

"Difficulty One: Kill 20 Frenzied Centaurs. Reward: Common Tier weapon *1, attribute growth +1, Agility growth +2"

"Difficulty Two: Kill 100 Frenzied Centaurs alone within half an hour. Reward: Black Iron tier weapon *1, Black Iron tier armor *1, attribute growth +2, Agility growth +4"

"Difficulty Three: Kill the Centaur Chieftain alone. Reward: Silver Tier weapon *1, attribute growth +3, Agility growth +6"

"Special Difficulty: Assassinate the owner of the Wild Arena and escape unharmed. Reward: Gold Grade custom skill book *1, attribute growth +5, Agility growth +10"

When players reached level ten and completed their first class advancement, they received different bonus attribute points upon leveling up depending on the difficulty.

Before level ten, players gained +1 to secondary attributes and +2 to their primary attribute when leveling up.

After class advancement, additional attributes would be added on top of the original gains.

Taking Difficulty One as an example, after completing the quest, leveling up would grant +2 to secondary attributes and +4 to Agility.

And so on.

The same applied to other classes.

The highest difficulty ordinary players could receive was Difficulty Three.

But Qin Chuan was different. He could trigger the hidden difficulty.

Not only because of his Shadow Assassin class, but also because he had passed Idith's test.

Qin Chuan replied calmly, "I've always liked challenging high difficulties. I choose to kill Ironhook Jack."

The owner of the Wild Arena had once been a pirate. He lost one hand in battle and had an iron hook welded in its place, earning him the nickname Ironhook Jack.

The reason the special quest required killing him was because there was a conflict between him and Idith.

In a sense, it was a special kind of settling personal scores through official means.

"Please note: once Special Difficulty has been accepted, it cannot be abandoned. Do you confirm your choice?"

"Yes."

"Ding, you have accepted the Special Difficulty class advancement quest. Please complete it as soon as possible and break through the level cap."

At that moment, Idith also returned to normal and said approvingly, "I knew the inheritor of Shadow Power would not disappoint me. Then I shall await your good news here."

After saying that, she assumed a posture that clearly dismissed him.

"Ding, quest updated."

"Leihuao's letter quest has merged and synchronized with the advancement quest."

Just as I expected.

After Idith finished reading the letter, she crushed it into powder. Then she did not mention it again, clearly having no intention of giving any additional reward.

Fortunately, Qin Chuan had already anticipated this.

Otherwise, the Special Difficulty advancement quest would not have rewarded a Gold Grade skill book.

At most, it would have been Silver Tier.

The two quests had merged into one, increasing the rewards.

But it had also increased the difficulty.

As the owner of the Wild Arena, Ironhook Jack not only kept countless thugs under his command, but his own strength was also formidable. Otherwise, he could not have kept control of the place.

If Qin Chuan remembered correctly, he was a level 20 Gold Grade BOSS.

Thinking of this, Qin Chuan looked at the information above Idith's head.

[Idith, Assassin Instructor, Level: ???]

As expected of a class instructor recognized by Apocalypse, this woman was simply unfathomable.

It was only because she had no intention of attacking that Qin Chuan had not been sent to the Respawn Point the instant he entered the room.

After accepting the quest, Qin Chuan did not leave immediately. Instead, he asked, "I want to learn Dual Wielding. Where should I go?"

Idith replied, "There is a weapon master in the tavern. You can learn it from him."

After a pause, Idith took out a seal. "Take my seal with you. He will teach you for free."

That was the benefit of earning recognition!

Normally, learning the Dual Wielding skill would cost at least fifty silver coins.

He had saved money.

Qin Chuan took the seal and headed downstairs, where he found the so-called weapon master.

But the sloppy beggar before him, hiding in a corner and picking at his toes, seemed to be a hundred thousand miles away from the weapon master Qin Chuan had imagined.