Chapter 586 - The Seventh Character Property
Edminson snored faintly. It seemed like he was deep asleep.
Nie Yan started getting anxious. He didn’t know how long it would take for Edminson to wake up.
Was he going to be standing next to this old man all day?
A few minutes later, Nie Yan started growing restless. His time was still precious. He could’ve gained quite a bit of experience from grinding by now.
“I should just wake him up…” Nie Yan muttered. He stepped forward, only to have a pungent stench waft up his nose. He reeled back with a frown. It smelled like dirty socks that hadn’t been washed in months.
It wasn’t strange that most players didn’t hold a favourable opinion of Edminson.
Edminson looked like a homeless beggar. It was a wonder why the Royal Library would hire this NPC as an overseer.
Nie Yan grimaced. This stench was really too foul. “I should just get my business with him over with, so I can leave quickly.” He was about to nudge Edminson awake, when he thought of something and retreated back.
Every NPC in Conviction had their own unique background. It wasn’t wise to judge a book by its cover. After all, as a master of over 200 languages, Edminson’s status in the Viridian Empire could possibly be even higher than his. Waking up Edminson like this might lead to unforeseen repercussions.
Nie Yan hesitated. He knew too little about Edminson to take the risk.
Nie Yan self reflected. One couldn’t be rude to any NPC in Conviction. This was the most basic quality of a top-ranked player. Every NPC, no matter how lowly or weak, had the chance of giving you amazing rewards. Many opportunities might be missed simply because you were rude or acted indifferently.
Nie Yan returned to his original spot and continued to wait. At this moment, his state of mind was much calmer than before.
Nie Yan’s impatience gradually faded away. He couldn’t help but chuckle to himself. Even after returning to the past, he still hadn’t fully learned how to wait.
The clock slowly ticked away, 10 minutes, 15 minutes...
Nie Yan was just about to leave and return an hour later, when Edminson drowsily opened his eyes. He stretched out his limbs with a lazy yawn, whereupon he happened to notice Nie Yan and jolted to his feet.
“S-s-sir Nirvana Flame! How can I help you?” Edminson greeted. He was trembling ever so faintly, exposing the nervousness in his heart.
The status between the two of them was far too great. Nie Yan was a Grand Scholar, Devil Slayer, and more. Meanwhile, Edminson was merely the overseer in the Royal Library. He didn’t have a noble title. Even an ordinary citizen could bully him.
Edminson didn’t dare to show Nie Yan any disrespect.
Seeing this, Nie Yan confirmed Edminson didn’t have any status in the Viridian Empire.
“Hello, it’s my pleasure to make your acquaintance Language Master Edminson. It’s like this. I need your help with a few things,” Nie Yan said. Even though Edminson didn’t hold a high position, Nie Yan’s tone was still fairly polite.
“O-of course! First let me express my deepest apologies. You’ve been waiting here for quite some time, haven’t you? If you require my services, I’ll do my best to satisfy,” Edminson said. He behaved no different from an ordinary citizen, fearing those with a higher status and choosing his words carefully.
Most players probably wouldn’t treat such a timid NPC kindly. However, Nie Yan didn’t show any contempt. He gently smiled and said, “Language Master Edminson, I’d like you to help me identify these characters.” He rummaged through his bag and pulled out the Record of Seals. It had all sorts of cryptic tadpole-shaped characters written on it.
Nie Yan’s humbleness moved Edminson. Ever since he had become the overseer in the language section of the Royal Library, no one else had treated him so politely. In fact, most abused him like he was their slave. He eventually learned to put up with the humiliation. However, Nie Yan treated him with respect. His eyes became red as he accepted the Record of Seals with shaky hands.
“Sir Nirvana Flame, these are characters written in Elwin. This is the language of an ancient tribe from the Cold Desolate Plateau. One of their more notable creations is Pandora’s Box. This Record of Seals is actually a crafting recipe,” Edminson explained.
“Recipe?” Nie Yan’s heart trembled.
“Indeed. Let me look up some reference material, so I can help translate this for you. I’ll be right back.”
“Alright. Thank you very much.” Nie Yan nodded.
Edminson glanced at Nie Yan in appreciation, then walked over to the bookshelves. He poked through the shelves before taking out a few books.
Seeing Edminson’s reaction, Nie Yan self reflected. In the future, even if he encountered an NPC with a lowly position, he would still treat them kindly. Given his current status, if he acted amiable and approachable, wouldn’t those NPCs do their best to help him?
At this moment, Nie Yan felt something different. He opened up his character window and discovered a new property—Humble.
Humbleness was to treat even those below you with fairness.
Nie Yan was startled. He didn’t expect to receive a reward like this.
He looked through all his character properties. He had a total of seven: Just, Brave, Benevolent, Sincere, Selfless, Unwavering, and Humble.
Nie Yan wondered how many more were left, and what sort of reward he would receive for collecting them all.
He couldn’t help but guess. These character properties were extremely mysterious. He really didn’t know what lay ahead. He always stumbled upon them by accident. Who knew what he would have to do to obtain the next one. He could only leave it up to fate.
As Nie Yan was lost in his thoughts, Edminson returned with a stack of thick, heavy books. He placed the Record of Seals down on a desk, then started translating by matching the characters.
After receiving a new character property, Nie Yan’s mood greatly improved. He felt some gratitude toward Edminson. If it weren’t for this old man, he wouldn’t have received this opportunity. All that waiting actually paid off.
Edminson translated the Record of Seals character by character. Nie Yan looked at the translation in progress. It really was a crafting recipe!
By combining a specific combination of 130 rare gems, including a Bright Beryl, Sky Gem, and the Record of Seals, one could craft a Magic Orb called the Orb of Seals.
It was a Magic Orb!
Nie Yan could hardly contain his excitement. At this stage of the game, likely no one had even heard of Magic Orbs yet. These items didn’t start appearing in the previous timeline until players had reached Level 150. They were items that existed in rumours, only falling slightly behind Godly Legendaries in terms of rarity. They were off-hand items for Magisters. Every Magister was only permitted one. Paired with a staff, they could display frightening destructive potential.
Some Magic Orbs could channel powerful spells. Others could sharply increase the user’s magic power. If a Magister got their hands on a Magic Orb, they could increase their strength severalfold. In the previous timeline, the number of people with Magic Orbs could be counted on one’s hands.
“Sir Nirvana Flame, here's the complete translation.” Edminson respectfully handed back the Record of Seals.
“Thank you, Language Master Edminson. You’ve been a great help to me,” Nie Yan said.
“You’re an esteemed person. To be able to help you is my greatest honour,” Edminson replied sincerely.
Nie Yan smiled. He glanced at the gems listed on the Record of Seals. He needed to gather them quickly, so he could see the might of a Magic Orb for himself. He looked forward to seeing that day. Even the most ordinary Magic Orbs possessed great power. This was common knowledge among players of the previous timeline.
Nie Yan didn’t need to learn a new language to have the Record of Seals translated. This had saved him quite a bit of money. Learning this kind of obscure language required a great deal of time and gold while he would possibly never use it again in his life. It simply wasn't worth it.
Nie Yan bid farewell to Edminson, then left the Royal Library. Checking the clock, it was about time to log off.
He had Guo Huai start gathering the gems required for the Record of Seals. On top of that, he issued out a gathering request in the Union of Assassins.
If Nie Yan had an item he needed to find, the Union of Assassins was one of the first places he would go. It currently had a total of 110,000 professional players. Expert players were aplenty. Having them help him find something couldn’t be simpler. All he had to do was pay the right price!
Bird also frequented the Union of Assassins. The rare potion materials he acquired were very helpful to the Alchemists of the Starry Night Potion Shop.
The Union of Assassins was an extremely powerful tool. Nie Yan was always thinking of new ways to make better use of it.
Just as Nie Yan was about to log out, Guo Huai sent word that Soaring Angel had been assassinated by Shadow Killer. Angel Corps was in a state of upheaval. Both them and the Century Financial Group dispatched people from all over to hunt him down. Besides this, all of Darkness Immortal switched sides to the Century Financial Group. Shadow Killer had become a stray dog.
Nie Yan wasn’t the least bit surprised that Shadow Killer had succeeded in assassinating Soaring Angel. After all, he was on par with King of the World and Sun. Add this to the fact that Angel Corps hadn’t taken any precautions against him, Soaring Angel’s death was to be expected. Since he dared to assassinate Soaring Angel, it meant he had severed all ties with the Century Financial Group. With their resources, turning Darkness Immortal against him was a simple matter.
Shadow Killer had actually kept his end of the bargain. He completed the first of three promised assassinations. A feeling of admiration sprouted in Nie Yan’s heart. Shadow Killer was a true man of his word!