The Great Thief
chapter-25

“The art of Enchanting has been on the decline,” the old Dwarf said dejectedly, as if Lu Li’s words caused him to remember something sad.

“No way, there are lots of people who know about Enchanting. There’ll be more and more Enchanters in the future. Don’t worry maestro, you won’t be lonely,” Lu Li said.

“Those Enchanters,” Qum said as he shook his head, “They have blasphemed Enchanting, and blasphemed our Ancestors.”

Lu Li had no idea what Qum was saying. In his ‘past life’, he liked to read guides, but none of them could explain this Dwarf’s inexplicable words. However, his experience in games told him that this was an opportunity!

“Maestro, I can’t quite understand what you’re saying. I am but a young Elf, and do not know much.”

Perhaps it was because Qum had been holding all of this within him for so long, and upon seeing Lu Li’s respectful attitude, he replied, “The history of Enchanting started with a Magician in the ancient times, and has been developed for tens of thousands of years… modern Magicians strive for efficiency, and try to minimise materials used while maximising their effects. But they’re wrong. As the quality of materials go down, Enchanting will become more and more worthless…”

“The glory of Enchanting has been instead covered with dust and dirt. What a pity.” Lu Li didn’t really know what to say in response.

In the olden times, the materials used for Enchanting were far too valuable, so Enchanting was a very limited discipline. As time passed, Magicians researched how to use lower grade materials or less materials, causing Enchanting to become more widespread and popular.

There were advantages and disadvantages to both approaches, but to Qum, those modern Magicians had ruined Enchanting.

Young Elf, thank you for listening to my story. When one grows old, it’s hard to see from a new perspective.” Qum was indeed quite old. Although Dwarves had quite a long lifespan, even they were not immortal.

“It was my honour. You are a great and respectable Enchanter.” Lu Li sincerely said.

Even in his ‘past life’, Lu Li had never even heard of an Enchanter being able to raise an equipment’s grade simply by Enchanting.

“The river of time has washed away the past; I wonder how many Enchanters there are who also stick to the olden ways. Elf, are you willing to follow my path and continue walking down it for me?” The Dwarf’s eyes were filled with a slight look of helplessness and hope. Lu Li wasn’t someone he was extremely satisfied in, but there were no other options available to him.

Who would have thought that things would have turned out like this? Lu Li came here simply to Enchant his Dagger, but now he had been presented with a rare opportunity.

A rare Trade Skill!

If he said no, he would definitely be a fool. Of course he was extremely willing! “That would be my honour. I am willing to devote my life to this path.”

This seemed to move the old Dwarf and the last trace of hesitation in his eyes vanished. Qum limped into one of the inner rooms of the smith. When he came back, he was holding an incredibly thick and ancient-looking book.

“A Lord Magician gave this Enchanting book to my ancestor, and it was passed down to me. Now, I will pass it to you, Elf. I hope that you will take good care of it.” He passed the ancient book to Lu Li and instantly looked like the burden on his shoulders had been greatly eased.

System: You have received Aegywnn’s Tome (Special). With this book, you can learn the ancient discipline of Enchanting.

The book was very old, but it was not torn or missing any pages. The title page was quite plain, and there was a small string of words in the bottom right corner.

My life belongs to myself, and I make all my decisions willingly and freely. I have never been controlled by anyone; not even gods can do so! I lower my head to others out of respect and admiration, but never out of subservience! – Magna Aegwynn.

What a domineering quote!

Aegywnn… Aegwynn… Lu Li’s mind was blown.

He had guessed that it was some grandmaster who wrote this Enchanting book, but he never would have thought that it was actually Aegwynn.

Aegywnn was called the most powerful Magician and was the Guardian of Tirisfal. She had protected this continent by killing monsters and demons. Together with the Blue Dragonflight, she defeated the strongest Boss in Dawn- the Dark Titan Sargeras, who was described to be the source of all evil. She then sealed his corpse under the Abyss.

Within the players’ hearts, this female Magician was the pinnacle of all existence.

Grand and majestic!

However, Aegywnn decided that she did not want to continue being controlled by the Tirisfal Council and wanted to pass on her power to alter generations. As such, she chose a man- Nielas Aran, the genius court Conjurer. They gave birth to an even greater son- Medivh!

This Aegywnn’s Tome didn’t have any stats, and apart from Enchanting offered nothing else. Nevertheless, it was worthy of its name.

Of course, when Lu Li opened this Enchanting book, what he saw was not only powerful Enchanting formulae, but also lists of required materials that shocked him. He completely understood why the ancient ways of Enchanting had been abandoned.

It was a pity that he was not a Magician- if he was, he could have maximised the potential of this incredible book.

Who would have thought that the Novice Village in the Moon Shadow Valley held so many secrets.

In actuality, there were many secrets hidden in Dawn. Every race had powerful heroes who had left behind secrets to be found in various villages.

Lu Li knew that he did not have much of a lead on other people, and that there were definitely other players who also had incredible equipment and items.

However, he knew more than others, and put in more effort!

After saying goodbye to the Dwarf Qum, Lu Li left the smith and handed in the Collection quest for the Silver Leaved Grass.

As expected, the reward was the Alchemy Skill. This skill was important for any player, and especially essential for any solo Thief.

This was because Alchemy had a branch called Poisons. This allowed players to create poisons which could be applied on Daggers, causing them to deal extra damage. Some poisons could even apply Debuffs, such as lowering Movement Speed, Paralysing the enemy, lowering the effect of healing, etc.

From morning until night, Lu Li had been online for over 12 hours. He hadn’t eaten or rested, and was completely worn out.

After learning the Alchemy skill, Lu Li planned to log off, but the World Announcement suddenly shone out with a chain of gold letters.

System: Under the leadership of player Indifference, Capcoman, Yew, Still Water Flowing and Hunderhunch have set a new record for Spider Lair (Elite level). Current record: 1 hour 12 minutes 32 seconds!