Chapter 1 The Treasure Trove

Faint footsteps came from the direction of the treasure room entrance. The mine slave Igerlin was already inside!

Nie Yan anxiously worked on opening the treasure chest, the progress inching forward bit by bit. He glanced at it; it was nearly 60% complete, which was quite fast.

The mine slave Igerlin relentlessly searched for Nie Yan's trail in each stone chamber, its six arms constantly brandishing weapons, hacking at the walls of the stone chambers or the piles of coins. A terrifying sound echoed from the corridor, sending chills down one's spine.

Faster, faster! Nie Yan thought impatiently. If the mine slave Igerlin arrived, he would miss out on this sub-legendary treasure chest.

70%... 72%... 75%...

The mine slave Igerlin was getting closer and closer to Nie Yan's stone chamber along the corridor, only a dozen yards or so away from the entrance. With a "click," Nie Yan opened the sub-legendary treasure chest!

Success!

Nie Yan quickly reached into the treasure chest, rummaging around for a moment. He pulled out a silver-gray cloak, the Abak Destroyer Cloak he had been searching for!

Nie Yan didn't have time to check the stats of the Abak Destroyer Cloak. He put the cloak into his backpack, then reached into the treasure chest again, pulling out a black giant egg, as big as a washbasin, completely black, without a trace of impurities, and crystal clear.

Discovering it was a giant egg, Nie Yan's heart skipped a beat. It was a pet egg!

Usually, pets that hatched from eggs were very likely to be flying mounts. He wondered what this giant egg would hatch into.

Nie Yan put the pet egg into his backpack and searched the treasure chest again for a moment, but found nothing else.

At this moment, the mine slave Igerlin had arrived at the entrance of the stone chamber. It spotted Nie Yan and immediately swung the scythe in its hand fiercely, hacking at Nie Yan.

Having gotten what he wanted, Nie Yan naturally ran as fast as he could. He pulled a random teleport scroll out of his backpack and crushed it without saying a word. A flash of light appeared.

The mine slave Igerlin's scythe struck the spot where Nie Yan had just been, but Nie Yan had disappeared without a trace.

Nie Yan teleported to a jungle in the wilderness. He hid in a corner, took out a city return scroll, chanted a spell, and returned to Calore, finally safe.

Nie Yan looked at his loot, taking out the Abak Destroyer Cloak. Nie Yan had already seen the design of this Destroyer Cloak on Shadow Thief, a silver-gray cloak emitting a dim, obscure light. It felt weightless in his hand. Nie Yan checked the cloak's stats.

Abak Destroyer Cloak: Requirements: 1500 Strength, 1200 Agility, Level 180 (Cannot be used)

Item Description: Only those who hold the Shadow Thief of the Chapter of Order can wear the Abak Tyrant component. A full set is required to wear it. Abak worships strength. Only sufficient strength can maintain tyranny. Death to rebels!

Item Stats: Defense +522, Evasion +20, Stealth +300, Strength +700, Agility +320, All Stats +100. When attacked, there is a 50% chance to absorb 20% of the damage and a 20% chance to absorb 50% of the damage. Set component 1/8.

This item is bound to the player holding the first volume of the Chapter of Order, cannot be traded, and cannot be dropped.

The stats of the Abak Destroyer Cloak were obviously very strong. It and the other components could form a powerful level 180 legendary set. If he could collect them all, this set would be absolutely unique.

Although he couldn't wear it yet, it gave Nie Yan a wonderful expectation. If he leveled up to 180 and wore this set, it would be awesome.

Back then, when Nie Yan reached level 180, he was just a grand thief, unable to become a Shadow Dancer. The equipment he wore was a set of level 160 dark gold equipment that he had painstakingly obtained. Nie Yan had spent three full months constantly running dungeons with a team to get that set. In his circle of brothers and friends, anyone who got a sub-legendary piece of equipment, or even a fragment of legendary equipment, would be envied to death. At that time, sub-legendary equipment was called god-tier equipment by players, let alone legendary equipment. As for legendary sets, they were only legends.

Nie Yan had already collected three pieces of the Abak set: the Abak Seal Hand, the Abak Bloody Dagger, and the Abak Destroyer Cloak he had just obtained. He had already collected three of the eight pieces. He might be able to collect the entire set before he reached level 180.

Leveling up to 180, wearing a set of Abak legendary equipment, and riding the Darkwing Dragon flying mount was Nie Yan's goal. If he could really achieve it, he would be the undisputed number one player in the game.

Nie Yan went to the Starry Sky Pharmacy and found a laboratory. He took out the giant egg he had just obtained and carefully observed it to see if he could tell what kind of creature it was, but he gained nothing. Helpless, he could only put the pet egg away. It seemed he would have to find a pet appraiser to take a look.

Nie Yan, wearing the Shadow Walker, walked towards the central square of Calore. The pet appraiser was located on the edge of the central square.

The central square of Calore was bustling with noise. Many people were shouting for a group, and teams of players who had successfully formed a group left the central square one after another.

As Nie Yan walked along the way, the calls were endless. Suddenly, a familiar voice entered Nie Yan's ears.

"Looking for a group for the Dark Swamp, requiring level 60 to 65 arcane mages, 1200+ spell damage."

Nie Yan looked in the direction of the voice. Several familiar figures came into Nie Yan's view. It was Zhai Hao and his friends, a total of fifteen or sixteen people. Nie Yan's eyes scanned the group. There were several acquaintances around Zhai Hao, including five or six beautiful women. Several of them were in the same class as Nie Yan, and there were three others named Mo Tao, Mo An, and Mo Yan. Seeing these three people, Nie Yan's heart sank.

In his previous life, Nie Yan had teamed up with Mo Tao, Mo An, and Mo Yan. He had met them through Zhai Hao. Mo Tao, Mo An, and Mo Yan were three siblings who were a bit mean. At that time, Nie Yan, Zhai Hao, Li Rui, and others were lower level than Mo Tao, Mo An, and Mo Yan, and their equipment was not as good as theirs. When they teamed up to run dungeons, they would often be scolded by them. They were also foul-mouthed, often using words like garbage. Later, Zhai Hao, Li Rui, and Nie Yan could no longer tolerate it and left the team, forming their own group. Later, they heard that Mo Tao, Mo An, and Mo Yan had joined the Triumphant Empire and became members of the Triumphant Empire. Nie Yan, Zhai Hao, and others had no further contact with them. It was said that they had become the supervisors of a fortress in the Triumphant Empire, earning a very generous income every month, which was naturally beyond the reach of Nie Yan, Zhai Hao, and others. They disdained associating with Nie Yan, Zhai Hao, and others, and would give them a disdainful look if they happened to meet.

Nie Yan didn't want to see Mo Tao, Mo An, and Mo Yan, but Zhai Hao and Li Rui were there, so he still had to go and see them. He hadn't been to school for many days. Zhai Hao knew that he and Nie Yan were not from the same world and didn't bother Nie Yan. If things continued like this, if Nie Yan didn't take the initiative to contact them, Zhai Hao, Li Rui, and these other good brothers from his previous life would gradually drift away from Nie Yan and eventually become strangers.

Nie Yan was not an ungrateful person. He couldn't forget these old brothers just because he was successful in this life.

"If we're going to the Dark Swamp, we'll have to get some antidote potions. Who's paying for those?" Zhai Hao asked, looking at the group. Although they had gathered this group of people, there were still quite a few problems if they wanted to go to the Dark Swamp.

"Of course, you guys are. Mo An and I are level 65, and Mo Yan is level 64. With our equipment, we could have gone to the Golden City Underground Mine a long time ago. We're accompanying you to the Dark Swamp to give Zhai Hao some face," Mo Tao said, sounding impatient.

"It's been half an hour, and we still haven't formed a team. Screw it," Mo An said, looking at the time.

Mo Tao and Mo An were about the same age as Zhai Hao and his friends. They were cousins and attended Hua University High School, but they were in Class 1, an elite class with better grades. People in that class were usually somewhat arrogant. What had been bothering them recently was that a Nie Yan had suddenly emerged in Zhai Hao and Li Rui's class and stolen their limelight.

As for Mo Yan, she was about sixteen or seventeen years old, passable looking, with fair skin, but a bit short. Like Mo Tao and Mo An, she was a mage.

"If it weren't for Sister Yingyu being here, we would have left a long time ago," Mo Yan said in a spoiled voice.

Zhai Hao thought for a moment and gritted his teeth, saying, "I'll pay for it."

"We're paying for it? All the magic equipment goes to them. What's in it for us?" Li Rui whispered to Zhai Hao, feeling indignant.

"Regardless of whether there's anything in it for us, we can't run the Dark Swamp dungeon without someone to lead us. Without them, where are we going to find high spell damage mages?" Zhai Hao whispered back to Li Rui. He was also a bit helpless. They needed someone to guide them through the Dark Swamp so they could form their own group. Reluctantly, they could only invite these few deities over.

Although they knew Nie Yan, they couldn't use Nie Yan's name everywhere. Zhai Hao and Li Rui had never told anyone that they were familiar with Nie Yan, so only a few people knew about it.

"The money for the antidote potions shouldn't be paid by Zhai Hao alone. Let's help pitch in some money," a tall, charming beauty said from the side.

"Yingyu, you're joking. How could we let you girls chip in?" Zhai Hao quickly declined.

Seeing Jiang Yingyu say this, Mo Tao and Mo An's expressions were slightly awkward.

"Don't you know Mad Rogue Nie Yan? If he came over, wouldn't everything be solved?" Mo Tao changed the subject.

"Yeah, why not use such a big backer?" Mo An said with a smile that wasn't a smile. He had heard Li Rui say that he and Zhai Hao knew Mad Rogue Nie Yan, but he didn't believe it at all. You know Mad Rogue Nie Yan? I know Archangel, too. It's a joke.