Chapter 3: Defying Fate Attributes

Luo Yong exchanged a hundred gold coins at the trading post, then checked into an inn.

In the relative seclusion of his room, his taut nerves finally relaxed. He ate something, lay down on the bed, and soon fell sound asleep.

Knock, knock, knock!

Someone rapped on Luo Yong’s door. By this time, he was already awake, though he had no idea how long he’d slept. In any case, he felt refreshed, his body well-rested and filled with energy.

Knock, knock, knock!

“Who is it? Don’t you have any consideration? Knocking so loudly at the crack of dawn!” Luo Yong grumbled lazily, rolling over in bed, not wanting to move at all.

“Brother Luo Yong, are you there? It’s urgent!” came a stranger’s voice from outside.

Luo Yong hugged his blanket, too lazy to reply.

Knock, knock, knock!

The knocking grew more insistent.

Irritated, Luo Yong got up and opened the door. He stared blankly and asked, “What is it?”

Standing outside was a pudgy man with a somewhat sly smile. He chuckled, rubbing his hands together. “Well, there’s a quest. I’d like to invite you to join…”

“I’m really not in the mood for a quest today.” Luo Yong brushed him off and slammed the door shut, locking it with a click.

The fat man stood there, speechless.

“It’s a level 3 quest—not hard. The same one you completed before. The reward is an enchantment on a piece of equipment of your choice!”

Whoosh! Luo Yong appeared at the door in an instant, squinting at the fat man. “Level 3 quest?”

The fat man nodded.

“Easy?”

“Yeah, especially… easy!”

“I completed it before?”

“That’s right! The one with the spiked burrow rats!”

“But my reward was just gloves and an empty coin pouch.”

“That’s different! That was the entry quest for getting into the city. No matter what you chose, the reward was the same. Once you’re in the camp, it’s different,” the fat man explained.

“Where’s the quest? I’ll go accept it!” Luo Yong perked up, clearly eager.

“Wait, brother, don’t rush. I’ve already accepted the quest. Let’s do it together—each of us completes a share, and then…”

“And why should I do the quest with you?” Luo Yong eyed him up and down, then suddenly exclaimed, “Are you plotting something?!”

The fat man was lost for words.

“Are you sure this guy is reliable? He’s only level 3…” Luo Yong glanced around and saw a small group not far away: two young men and a young woman, none looking very old.

“My name is Matthew,” said one, stepping forward. “I’m a melee warrior, level 5.” He pushed the fat man aside and pointed to the others. “He’s Fenton, a level 4 Dream Archer—his arrows fly like a dream. She’s Rita, a level 4 Plant Catalyst. As for this fat guy…”

“My name is Donald. I’m a gourmet connoisseur and a gem appraiser!” the fat man chimed in.

“He’s our tank!” Fenton interrupted.

Rita burst into unrestrained laughter.

“His class is Mana Guardian, level 3. To put it simply, he’s just a tank.”

The group laughed again, leaving Donald awkwardly grinning along.

“My name is Donald Gell, but everyone just calls me Fatty…”

“I’m Luo Yong, a Magic Swordsman, level 3.” Luo Yong locked his room, turned, and headed out. “Enough with introductions—let’s get to the quest!”

He strode out of the inn without looking back. None of the others followed immediately.

“That guy’s only level 3, and his class seems like a joke. Are we really teaming up with him?” Fenton asked, watching Luo Yong’s retreating figure.

Matthew turned to Donald, his imposing stature like a wall. “Fatty, is your information reliable?”

Rita, equally doubtful, added, “Did he really complete two level 3 quests alone?”

“And survived the beast tide… Could he have just run away?”

“There’s no mistake!” Donald insisted, recalling how he’d seen Luo Yong exchange a green gem for a hundred gold coins.

“Fine, let’s catch up to him. And while we’re at it, let’s do the Skeleton Monster quest—the reward’s tempting!” Matthew said.

By the time the group left the inn, Luo Yong was nowhere to be seen.

“Where’d he go?”

“Maybe he went to do the quest alone?”

“Let’s find him!” Matthew took the lead, with Fenton and Rita following. Donald trudged along at the rear, somewhat dejected.

They finally found Luo Yong outside the camp, wrapping up ten freshly hunted spiked burrow rats in a tarp.

The four of them were dumbstruck.

“L-L-Luo Yong, how did you do that?” Donald stammered.

Luo Yong, holding his bundle in one hand and a sharpened stick in the other, glanced around. Spotting another spiked burrow rat nearby, he signaled for silence and crept toward it.

The rat noticed Luo Yong’s approach but didn’t react aggressively. Instead, it watched Matthew’s group in the distance.

Whoosh! Luo Yong stabbed with his stick. Green liquid oozed out; the rat struggled briefly, then went still.

Fenton rubbed his eyes. “I blinked just now—I didn’t see how he did that.”

Rita was equally incredulous. “Spiked burrow rats are extremely timid and never stray far from their burrows. They’re so alert that most people can’t get close…”

Luo Yong merely shrugged, as if to say that was just how he did things, then prepared to head back to camp alone.

“Oh, by the way, where do I turn in this quest?”

“Over at the—”

“Wait!” Matthew clamped a hand over Donald’s mouth. “The Skeleton Monster quest grants an instant level up. Luo Yong, want to do it together?”

“Yeah, let’s go together!” Fenton quickly agreed.

Rita looked at Luo Yong with hope in her eyes.

“We’ll see…” Luo Yong replied noncommittally. “I still want to know where to turn in the rat quest, but I can ask when I get back.”

“Hey—” Donald tried to say more, but Matthew stopped him.

Back at camp, after asking around, Luo Yong found the turn-in location for the spiked burrow rat quest.

The blacksmith’s shop.

Unlike ordinary blacksmiths, this one could enchant equipment.

After turning in the quest, the blacksmith asked Luo Yong what item he wanted enchanted.

Luo Yong pondered for a long time. Enchanting added attributes to equipment, the effects were somewhat random, and there was a chance of raising the gear’s quality.

“Tsk, I was too hasty… This quest is a bit underwhelming,” Luo Yong muttered as his excitement faded. He took off his left glove and handed it over. “Just enchant this glove.”

Clang!

Without a care for what he was enchanting, the blacksmith swung his hammer, did his work, and tossed the glove back as if discarding rubbish.

Luo Yong caught the glove and put it on, then froze in surprise.

Once a mere white-grade item, his glove now bore a special attribute: Set Auto-Matching.

“This is incredible!” Luo Yong had heard of this rare ability before—no matter the original quality, if worn with green gear, it would match green stats; with blue gear, blue stats; even legendary or divine gear, it would adapt!

For example, with Luo Yong’s Camouflage Blade, the glove would become a Camouflage Glove.

“I’m a Magic Swordsman now, so the glove should be…” Sure enough, under his disguise effect, the glove’s name changed to Magic Glove.

Humming a tune, Luo Yong left camp and saw the four-person team in the distance, struggling with the Skeleton Monster quest.

There were five level 3 skeleton monsters. Matthew, the warrior, held off two alone. Fatty Donald used a magic shield to block one; Rita summoned plants to entangle the legs of two others; Fenton nocked his bow, firing away, but arrows did little against the undead.

Skeleton monsters always moved in packs of five. If attacked, they’d go berserk, increasing both offense and speed—a tough fight head-on. Of course, against high-level adventurers, skeleton monsters were nothing, but for Matthew’s group, taking down all five would come at a cost—at least some injuries.

Matthew, level 5 and wielding a great sword, could handle one skeleton with effort and two with difficulty—three or more was out of the question.

Luo Yong circled behind the skeletons near Donald, picked up a stone, and hurled it.

Crack! A skeleton monster collapsed. Donald’s shield bounced outwards, nearly hitting Luo Yong.

“Whoa!” Luo Yong quickly retreated. “It’s dangerous being near you—better keep my distance!”

Donald was stunned, but Matthew’s shout snapped him out of it: “Get over here and help!”

Donald rushed over, and with the stalemate broken, the four quickly finished off the remaining skeletons.

“So, what do you think?” Matthew, breathing heavily, pointed to his teammates. “Not bad, right? If you join, each of us can hold off one skeleton—I can quickly take down one, then…”

“Catch your breath first, and watch this… Just don’t get too close!” Luo Yong strode off in search of another group of skeletons, with Matthew’s team following at a distance.

Luo Yong soon found another group—five skeleton monsters.

Matthew’s group watched from afar.

“Does he really not need our help?”

“Don’t worry, he’s done this quest solo before.”

Luo Yong approached the skeletons, tripped one, and started smashing with stones…

When all five skeletons lay defeated, Matthew’s team stood gaping, jaws almost hitting the ground.

“What’s going on? Why didn’t the skeletons attack him?” Rita exclaimed.

“Their weakness is their backs, but normally you can’t get behind them!”

“What’s he picking up?” Matthew asked.

“Probably quest items. Maybe he smashed them too hard and they’re hard to find.”

“No, what he just picked up looks like…”

“A gem!” All four gasped in unison.

In Luo Yong’s hand gleamed a blue gemstone.