Chapter Eight: The Arrival of the New Staff

Shen Ce was standing very close to Xylos, and when he looked into those soul-captivating eyes, he found himself momentarily at a loss for words. He hesitated for a long while, feeling as if Xylos’s eyes were a bottomless abyss, dark and unfathomable. No, it seemed… it seemed those irises weren’t entirely black, but a deep shade of violet—so dark that the true color was almost impossible to discern. Shen Ce scrutinized them closely, suspecting he was mistaken, for in "Heaven’s Dominion," only demons possessed violet eyes. Yet, this territory was firmly under the dominion of the God of Light, and creatures of the demonic sort hailed from lands far away. What player would expend so much time and effort to come here and oppose this realm?

“What are you looking at?” Xylos’s sudden voice shattered Shen Ce’s train of thought. There was a fatal allure to his tone; once someone fell into it, they would be utterly unable to extricate themselves.

Awakening abruptly at the sound of that unmistakable voice, Shen Ce felt intensely embarrassed and shook his head. They were standing so close that Xylos’s words seemed to brush right against his ear, and Shen Ce could even feel the other’s heated breath. He was not accustomed to such intimate conversations and immediately stepped back, putting a comfortable distance between them. “Nothing in particular. Are you here for a quest?”

Xylos’s gaze remained fixed on Shen Ce, his lips parting slightly though he said nothing, his eyes hinting at some deeper meaning.

The strange feeling in Shen Ce’s heart grew stronger. He glanced around at the nearby purple-horned rhinos and added, “Are you here to hunt Simon’s Horn as well?”

Xylos nodded slowly. The corner of his mouth curved into a faint smile as his eyes swept over the ring on Shen Ce’s hand. “Indeed. My quest is already more than halfway done.”

Shen Ce acknowledged this with a murmur, his expression complicated. He was not fond of socializing and could not think how to carry the conversation forward. “Simon’s Horn is tough to get. We could try teaming up. I’m logging off now to grab some food; you take your time.”

For some reason, Shen Ce felt that Xylos was more inscrutable than any player he had ever met. Moreover, there was a dangerous aura about him—not merely a threat of physical might, but something deeper. Perhaps it would be best to keep his distance from someone like that.

With a flash of white light, Shen Ce vanished from the spot. The masked man in the silver cloak glanced thoughtfully at the place Shen Ce had logged off. “Team up… log off…”

When Shen Ce logged in again, Xylos was nowhere to be seen. He was surprised—had Xylos really managed to gather all the necessary Simon’s Horns in such a short time? Assassins were known for weak area attacks, so their monster-killing speed shouldn’t be that fast.

Thus, Shen Ce spent the rest of the afternoon until nightfall battling purple-horned rhinos alone on the Frostleaf Plains. At last, he collected all ten Simon’s Horns and filled the final ten percent of his experience bar, successfully advancing to level 25. As Shui Linglong had said, his attribute panel now included a new stat: Faith, though it was only at 100 for now.

Having completed his quest, Shen Ce returned directly to Lingshui City to report to Master Hatar, the old dwarf. The dwarf squinted at him, “Back again? Did you find all ten Simon’s Horns?”

Shen Ce respectfully handed over the horns he’d collected. Hatar set down his hammer, snorted twice, and a look of surprise flashed across his face. “Didn’t expect you to be so quick, kid.”

Hatar took the ten Simon’s Horns, but then his eyes suddenly widened as he stared at Shen Ce’s left hand. “Why is the black aura on your ring getting worse? Did you meet anyone strange before you came?”

Shen Ce was taken aback. He looked at the ring on his left index finger; it didn’t appear to be shrouded in any black aura as Hatar described—just that the engravings seemed deeper than before. Shen Ce frowned. “I spent the whole day doing your quest, didn’t meet anyone.”

But as he spoke, a sudden realization struck him, and a tall, lean figure with enigmatic, dangerous eyes flashed through his mind.

Could it be that Xylos was truly a demon? Considering Xylos’s peculiar behavior and attire, Shen Ce suddenly thought he didn’t seem like a player at all—more like an NPC. After all, what player would be so carefree as to forgo potions and equipment? But if he was a demon NPC, according to the system settings, he would attack any player from the Light faction, not help him. The thought gave Shen Ce a headache.

Hatar, seeing Shen Ce’s contemplative look, curled his lip with obvious disbelief and muttered, “If you won’t say, fine, I don’t want to hear it anyway. Getting mixed up with demons—brave for a little priest like you. I’m about to forge a staff. Are you giving it to me or not?”

Shen Ce nodded awkwardly and handed over his wooden staff. Suddenly, he remembered the purple-horned rhinoceros king’s horn he’d looted and quickly took one out to show the old dwarf. “Master Hatar, I found this during the quest. It’s quite similar to Simon’s Horn. Can it be used for forging as well?”

The moment the old dwarf saw the deep purple horn, his eyes lit up. He snatched it greedily, like a starving man finally getting meat. “This is a treasure. Do you have any more?”

Shen Ce was speechless at the dwarf’s almost money-grabbing speed, but regardless, the item still belonged to him. He took out the other purple horn from his bag and waved it in front of the old dwarf. “I only got two in total.”

The old dwarf’s eyes gleamed like a wolf’s. Rubbing his hands, he chuckled, “These horns can be used to enhance your staff’s spirit, and the effect will be even better. One is more than enough. How about letting me have the other?”

Shen Ce gazed at the old dwarf, his voice calm. “What’s in it for me?”

“Priests these days are so greedy! Isn’t it enough that I’m reforging your staff for free?” The old dwarf’s face darkened, erupting in rage.

Shen Ce propped his chin with one hand, his tone unhurried. “I can afford the reforging fee. If you’re unwilling, I’ll find someone else. Lingshui City has more than one blacksmith.”

“No one’s as skilled as I am!”

“Your skill is excellent, but I’m not limited to you alone.”

Hatar was left fuming, his wrinkles bunching together as he was stung by Shen Ce’s reply. After a long moment, he relented. “Fine, we’ll compromise. You give me one horn, I’ll waive the forging fee and help you mask the black aura on your ring. I can’t remove the curse, but as a low-level priest, wearing something like that in the Light realm is asking for trouble.”

Shen Ce couldn’t help but smile at the old dwarf’s defeat. The proposal was reasonable, so he nodded. “Let’s do as you say.”

The old dwarf cheered, proudly snatching the other horn from Shen Ce’s hand. “Wait here. Inlaying a staff is a simple matter for me.” With that, the old dwarf hurried off to the forge on his short legs.

He stripped off his shirt, baring his upper body as he hammered away at the anvil. Though he looked frail and small, his arms were surprisingly strong. From time to time, he tossed various forging materials into the furnace, sweat pouring down his dark face in great drops, glowing in the firelight.

The entire workshop grew stiflingly hot. Though Shen Ce was just watching, the heat was nearly unbearable. He quietly cast “Blessing of the Goddess of Light” on himself and immediately felt much better.

The old dwarf worked the bellows slowly, soon tossing the rhinoceros king’s purple horn into the furnace. Before long, the horn glowed red hot. He retrieved it and pounded it flat until it was as thin as paper.

Shen Ce’s secondary profession was herbalism, not smithing, so he didn’t understand the process. The old dwarf’s eyes sparkled with excitement as he wiped the sweat from his face with sooty hands, then threw Shen Ce’s staff onto the anvil.

Shen Ce winced at the rough treatment; after all, the staff was made of wood, not metal, and it was a miracle it didn’t break.

The old dwarf picked up the staff and carefully adhered the sheets of purple horn to the top, coating it like a layer of amethyst. What happened next startled Shen Ce even more—the old dwarf tossed the entire staff into the furnace!

The staff was made of wood—wouldn’t it burn? Shen Ce was speechless but remained silent, not wishing to interrupt.

Sweat streaming, the old dwarf muttered incantations in the dwarven tongue, unintelligible to Shen Ce. After a lengthy chant, a blazing staff leapt from the flames!

The old dwarf snatched it with his bare hands, light streaming from his palms. The staff emitted white smoke, shedding its red hue and turning a deep purple.

“It’s done!” The old dwarf beamed, jubilant as a child. “Look!”

Shen Ce hurried to take the staff and was astonished by its attributes—Purplehorn Staff, Grade C equipment, Priest-only, +100 magic attack, +5% magic resistance, +5% spell chant speed.

Grade C equipment! Shen Ce had expected, at best, a top-tier Grade D staff. He never imagined a Grade C would emerge—what a delightful surprise.

He bowed deeply to the old dwarf. “Thank you.”

Hatar, seeing Shen Ce’s satisfaction, laughed uproariously. “Of course! Now show me your left hand.”

Shen Ce paused for half a second before realizing the dwarf meant to conceal the ring’s aura. He immediately held out his hand. The old dwarf recited a string of incantations, and the ring on Shen Ce’s index finger flashed, then returned to normal, seemingly unchanged.

“All done. The ring’s dark aura is hidden now. You can go; I’ve no time to entertain you.” The old dwarf raised his chin haughtily, dismissing Shen Ce.

Shen Ce smiled faintly. After another word of thanks, he left the workshop. He had barely taken two steps when the system announced, “Attention: ‘Heaven’s Dominion’ will undergo an imminent update. Please log off promptly. If you do not log out within five minutes, the system will force you offline. We apologize for the inconvenience.”

Such a sudden update puzzled Shen Ce. Normally, the game company would give at least a day’s notice. As expected, the world channel was flooded with questions and complaints—some players were already cursing. Shen Ce searched for useful information but found none, and finally logged out half a minute before the system forced him offline.