Various items were spread out on the table.
The man, with a pipe in his mouth, picked up a dagger and said:
“This is a tactical camouflage dagger.”
“What does it do?” Shen Ye asked.
“It’s coated with a special poison. Just a lick will put someone into a state of false death,” the man explained, exhaling a puff of smoke.
“It’s particularly suited for assassins on the battlefield.”
He tossed the dagger over.
Shen Ye caught it and examined it, noticing small inscriptions on the hilt:
“Manufacture date: May 15, 978;
Expiration date: May 16, 980.”
“The poison is freshly produced, with a full two years of effectiveness. If you have trouble sleeping at night, just take a lick—it’ll ensure a deep sleep and have you refreshed the next day,” the man added.
Shen Ye set the dagger down, shrugging. “Got anything else?”
“Not enough to deal with battlefield situations? Then take a look at this—”
The man whistled.
A loud neigh came from outside, and a gray warhorse raced into the tent, snorting as it stopped beside the man.
The man patted the horse’s flank.
The horse let out a mournful cry, then collapsed to the ground, lying perfectly still, eyes wide open.
“A horse that can play dead,” the man introduced.
“Is the horse a set with the dagger?” Shen Ye asked.
“Good eye!” The man looked at him in surprise, nodding in approval.
Enough already. How is this considered insight?
Shen Ye sighed. “Do you have any nightmare crystals? I want to learn a skill.”
“Don’t be hasty. Look at this first,” the man said.
On the table lay a pair of black sunglasses.
Shen Ye raised an eyebrow.
Sunglasses? This is supposed to be a fantasy world!
“What is this? How does it work?” he asked.
The man picked up the sunglasses with a dramatic flair, lowering his voice.
“These glasses use light-penetrating lenses embedded with shadow crystals. Anyone wearing them can see through clothing to locate hidden valuables and treasures.”
“Wouldn’t that also see through clothes entirely?” Shen Ye asked skeptically.
“What are you thinking? This version only shows where treasures are hidden,” the man clarified.
He handed the sunglasses to Shen Ye, who put them on. Instantly, faint glimmers of light appeared in various parts of the tent.
Inscribed on the bottom of the lenses were small words:
“—Seeing everything will only harm you.”
Beneath this line was an even smaller inscription:
“Add two more gold coins for an upgrade.”
Shen Ye asked directly, “What happens if I pay two extra coins?”
The man grinned.
“Upgrade to the VIP version, and you’ll see more details—like a person’s basic stats, profession, age, hobbies, and even gossip.”
“Where do you get this information?” Shen Ye asked.
“The Brotherhood has always specialized in intelligence gathering.”
“Not bad.”
“So, do you want this?”
“No, I’ll take the nightmare crystal this time. I’ll come back for this later.”
“Fair enough.”
The man retrieved two nightmare crystals from a small leather pouch and placed them gently on the table.
“Given the intensity of recent battles, supply is tight. I only have these two skills available. Choose one.”
Pointing to the left crystal, he said:
“Basic ‘Hemorrhage’—a technique that causes the target to bleed profusely. It works with knives, swords, daggers, and other weapons.”
He then pointed to the right crystal:
“Basic ‘Frostwind’—a kick technique designed to knock enemies and their weapons away.”
“Have you learned these before? Which one do you lack?”
I lack both.
Shen Ye silently contemplated, his gaze shifting between the two crystals. He fell into thought.
Suddenly—
A voice whispered in his mind:
“Choose ‘Frostwind.'”
Shen Ye’s heart skipped a beat.
That voice—
It was the same one that had guided him before and gifted him the dagger.
It had told him that it needed him to grow stronger to free it from the depths of the nightmare world.
In any case—
For now, it was helping him.
“I’ll take ‘Frostwind,'” Shen Ye said.
“Good. It’s yours.” The man gestured.
Shen Ye grabbed the crystal from the table and clenched it tightly.
The crystal shattered instantly.
A faint silvery mist enveloped him, lingering for a few seconds before dissipating.
Countless memories of rigorous leg training flooded Shen Ye’s mind.
It was as if he had been mastering kick techniques from a young age, capable of sweeping away enemies and obstacles with precision and power.
“Thank you,” Shen Ye said.
“Come back anytime to turn in more tasks,” the man replied, tossing him a small pouch of gold.
“‘Frostwind’ is just a basic skill, but the value of your task reward is much higher. I’ve added gold to make up the difference.”
“Ah, thanks—but I’ve always been a bit uneducated in language and writing. Could you teach me a bit?” Shen Ye asked.
“That’s easy.”
The man placed another small nightmare crystal on the table.
“Four races’ languages and scripts, just one gold coin.”
“Much appreciated.”
Shen Ye immediately paid, crushed the language crystal, and absorbed its knowledge.
Once the process was complete, he stepped out of the tent.
At that moment—
The voice from the void returned to his ears:
“Next, you need to find a way to acquire the Undead Clan’s ‘Shadow Veil’ and the Beast King’s Clan’s ‘Thunder Claw.'”
Shen Ye glanced around, found a secluded grove, and asked softly:
“Why do I need those two skills?”
“Because they are not techniques native to this world,” the voice said. “I can’t explain further now, but once you acquire them and combine them with your ‘Moonlit Deer Step’ and ‘Frost Wind,’ you’ll naturally understand.”
“Are you watching me all the time?” Shen Ye asked.
“Not at all—I’m asleep most of the time. Work hard, gather them quickly… You’ll uncover the real… se… cret…”
The voice faded, breaking into fragments and finally disappearing.
Shen Ye stood silently for a long while.
—Learning skills can reveal secrets?
In his previous life, he’d never heard of such an absurd notion.
“Hey, big skeleton, did you hear that just now?” Shen Ye asked.
“Hear what?” the big skeleton replied in confusion.
“You didn’t hear anything?”
“I just saw you talking to yourself like a fool,” the skeleton retorted.
“…Can you acquire skills from the Undead Clan?” Shen Ye asked.
The big skeleton grumbled impatiently, “I told you before, our clan’s skills require soul fire to activate. You—”
“Shadow Veil,” Shen Ye interrupted directly.
“Huh? How do you know about that skill?” The skeleton seemed surprised.
“Do you have it or not? I need it now,” Shen Ye said.
“We do, but it’s just a basic illusion spell. It’s not very useful—requires some agility and mental power to cast,” the skeleton admitted.
The ring stirred, and a pale nightmare crystal appeared in Shen Ye’s hand.
Crack.
Shen Ye crushed it without hesitation. A mist emerged from the shattered crystal and entered his body.
“Shadow Veil.”
“Requires 3 mental power, 5 agility.”
“Description: Releases a shadowy illusion to confuse your opponent.”
Shen Ye, who currently had 7 attribute points, allocated 3 to mental power, bringing it to 3.9, and the remaining 4 to agility, increasing it to 6.9.
Now the conditions were met!
After a moment of focus, his body suddenly shuddered—
A shadowy figure emerged from him, darting forward like a living entity.
So this was Shadow Veil.
…It seemed like it was good for startling people, but not much else.
“You really like garbage spells like this?” the skeleton sneered.
“Mind your business,” Shen Ye retorted.
“I don’t care. I just thought you’d have better taste in spell selection, but clearly, I was mistaken,” the skeleton taunted.
“Yeah, says the one who broke their teeth on a turtle and now talks like the wind whistles through a crack,” Shen Ye shot back.
The skeleton fell silent.
Shen Ye felt both triumphant and at ease, shifting his focus back to his plans.
The voice surely wouldn’t deceive him about something like this.
—Teaching him a useless skill served no purpose.
Now he had Moonlit Deer Step, Frost Wind, and Shadow Veil, leaving only Thunder Claw.
He was curious to see what would happen once he gathered all the skills.
Shen Ye left the grove and headed toward the military camp.
After a while, two knights on horseback spotted him from afar, dashing over.
“Finally, we’ve found you!”
“Yes, The Boy Who Cheats Death!”
Shen Ye’s mouth twitched.
Was there any way to eliminate this soon-to-be nickname?
As if responding to his thoughts, faint light gathered on his retinas, forming a line of text:
“An unformed title requires continued public recognition to solidify.”
“To reject the title, you have two options:”
“1. Become a hermit and fade from people’s memories, causing the title to naturally disappear over time.”
“2. Perform actions completely contradictory to the meaning of the title, leading others to abandon their old perceptions, and the title will change accordingly.”
Shen Ye nodded silently.
Good. After dealing with the current situation, he’d vanish for a while, and the problem would resolve itself.
The knights dismounted. One held a palm-sized box, while the other carried a letter.
“Congratulations! For your bravery, Prince Norton has awarded you a Medal of Valor.”
“And this recommendation letter as well.”
Shen Ye dumbfoundedly accepted the box and letter.
How…
How did he end up with a Medal of Valor?
