Chapter 13: The Boss Is Running a Scam
What the heck?
Staring at the player kneeling on one knee before him in a pledge of loyalty, Xia Er was completely dumbfounded.
What kind of trick was this?
He stepped back a few paces and warily scanned the surroundings, on guard against any other players who might be lurking nearby.
Seeing this, Li Shen's excitement surged even higher.
Look at that.
What a cautious Boss — this level of intelligence practically screamed hidden side quests. Li Shen refused to believe there weren't any.
He quickly lowered his head and declared his loyalty once more: "Great Lord Xia Er, please grant my request. I possess the same strength as your second-in-command, and I can infiltrate the adventurer camp to bring you firsthand intelligence at any time."
Xia Er: ....
I have the Oracle Forum for that — why would I need you?
After confirming there were no other players lurking in the area, Xia Er began to think.
Why was this guy suddenly trying to curry favor...?
He had killed Li Shen twice already. By all logic, Li Shen should be itching to kill him and turn his materials into weapons — so why was this happening instead?
Hiss...
Wait a moment.
Xia Er seemed to have figured something out.
Could it be that this guy had mistaken him for one of those NPCs with special hidden side quests?
Looking at the eager expression on Li Shen's face, Xia Er felt fairly certain he had arrived at the right answer.
Well, well, well...
Free labor delivered right to his door — he'd be a fool not to use it. He had just unlocked a skill specialization that needed someone to run errands anyway.
Xia Er pretended to mull it over for a moment, then extended his hand and slowly helped Li Shen to his feet: "You are an adventurer; I am a monster. Given that we are in opposing factions, how can you expect me to trust you on words alone?"
"You need to do something to prove your loyalty."
Hearing this, Li Shen could no longer suppress the smile spreading across his face — the corners of his mouth were harder to hold down than the bolt on an AK.
It worked!
He hadn't been directly admitted into the domain yet, but at the very least the other party had issued him a prerequisite quest!
He took a deep breath and said eagerly: "Lord Xia Er, just give the order — I will see it done."
Xia Er spoke in an unhurried tone: "Have you ever been to the territory under the Lust Witch's jurisdiction?"
Li Shen nodded. "I have."
"Good."
"In that region, if I recall correctly, there is a place called the [Charm Dungeon]. I need a strand of a Bewitching Soul."
[The Undead Archmage Xia Er has assigned you a quest.]
[Accept?]
[Accept!]
Reading the pop-up text, Li Shen raised his head and patted his chest: "Understood, Lord Xia Er! I will obtain that item as quickly as possible!"
With that, he turned and left the Undead Territory without a backward glance.
Once he was gone, Avril, who had been watching from the sidelines, stepped forward with a curious expression: "Lord Xia Er, what was that all about?"
Xia Er replied: "Nothing much — just took in a loyal hound."
Avril hesitated: "Lord Xia Er, the Witches forbid monsters from having any dealings with adventurers. And adventurers are very cunning — won't this cause problems...?"
Xia Er shook his head: "It's fine. I know what I'm doing."
"Go gather all the worthless junk in the domain and bring it to me. I have a use for it."
* * *
Stepping out of the Undead Territory, Li Shen's heart was racing with excitement.
The comeback plan from a catastrophic start — Step One, successfully initiated!
His deduction had been right all along. This boss carried a deeply hidden side quest.
Hidden this well, the rewards must be extraordinary...
"Phew..."
He took a deep breath to rein in his excitement and turned his gaze to the quest log.
[Charm Dungeon...]
If he remembered correctly, that was roughly a level 25–30 instance — a bit challenging for his current level.
"Should I call for backup?"
The thought surfaced for a split second before Li Shen immediately dismissed it.
No.
During the beta, some richly rewarding side quests weren't exclusive — he had seen plenty of players come to blows over a single side quest.
Better to take it one step at a time on his own.
The instance was a little tough, but not unmanageable, and what he needed wasn't even a boss-tier drop.
Back in the starter village, he re-equipped his stored gear and weapons, then without hesitation stepped through the teleportation gate leading to the Lust Witch's territory.
[Confirm cross-server transfer to — Lust Zone?]
[Yes.]
[Please pay 1 mid-grade Magic Crystal.]
After paying the fee, a halo of light washed over him, and when he opened his eyes again, Li Shen had arrived in the domain controlled by the Lust Witch.
In Oracle, there were seven Witches in total, and the territory controlled by each Witch was divided into its own separate server. Players could freely transfer between servers, but were required to pay a fee at the teleportation array based on their level and strength.
"I wonder what the overall player level looks like on this server..."
He walked out of the teleportation array.
Inside the starter village, players bustled about, each with different information displayed above their heads.
[Player: Dongfeng No. 37]
[Level: 27]
[Class: Warrior]
[Player: Steve]
[Level: 29]
[Class: Mage]
Hiss...
After a quick glance at a few players, Li Shen had to admit — he was genuinely surprised.
Why was the overall level in this starter village so high?
Back in the server under the Witch of Pride, the average level of players in the starter village hovered around 15 — roughly the point where they had just completed their job change.
But the players in the Lust Zone hadn't just done their job change — some were already close to their class advancement.
After asking around at the tavern, Li Shen understood why.
Due to the unique trait of this server's Witch, [Lust], every domain was packed with an abnormally high number of monsters, and the map was the largest of all servers — leveling speed here was extraordinarily fast.
Many top-tier players from other servers came here specifically to grind experience, which made the overall level appear exceptionally high.
"It didn't look like this during the beta either — the studio made changes without saying a word..."
After a few grumbles, Li Shen stocked up on some recovery potions and immediately set off for the [Charm Dungeon].
It was an instance that heavily favored the Mage class, as the monsters primarily dealt magic damage. After finding a few other solo players to form a party with, Li Shen began his grinding session.
[You have slain the monster — Charm Worm]
[EXP +122]
[You have slain the monster — Succubus]
[EXP +200]
[Item dropped — Tainted Soul]
In any RPG, grinding monsters was an incredibly tedious and repetitive process.
One hour passed.
Level up by 1. No Bewitching Soul in the drops. Li Shen's mood remained relatively stable.
Three hours passed.
Level up by 1. One rare material, one blue-quality piece of equipment. Li Shen's patience was beginning to fray.
Seven hours passed...
Staring at his inventory packed full of equipment and materials, Li Shen had completely lost it.
His hands were aching — why hadn't it dropped yet?!
Was his luck really that terrible?!
After cleaving a Succubus in two with a Charged Slash, a wisp of deep purple, pure soul finally appeared before his eyes.
[Item dropped — Bewitching Soul]