Chapter 239 - Chapter of Virtue

Nie Yan seemed to melt entirely into the darkness as he spied at the white elves’ every move. As he did so, he also noticed a complete absence of any creature, save for them and himself.

He waited patiently in the shadows as he searched the forums for terms like “Hidden Realm of Moonlight” and “traitors.” Every now and then, he’d stumble on some background information about the quest—but, of course, it was only background information. The task of finding the specific details of the quest still fell onto the players’ shoulders.

The Hidden Realm of Moonlight was a region created by the ancient white elves to seal away demons. With the power of the Stone of Moonlight, the white elves distorted spacetime and created an entirely new dimension space.

There were white elves that had traces of dark elf and human bloodlines due to intermarriage during the Era of Shared Governance. Their greed and violence betrayed the beliefs of the elves’ Moonlight Goddess, and some had even become demons—ruthless killing machines that murdered even their own.

The white elves were forced to expend large amounts of energy to deal with these deviated elves and seal them within the Stone of Moonlight.

Let me see if there’s anything on Sonia Moonlight Woodlands.

Sonia Moonlight Woodlands: Long ago, Sonia was the queen of the white elves within the territory of Calore. Her kindness and gentleness deceived the white elves at this division and led them astray, slowly turning them into bandits. At first, the progress was very slow, but when the demon buried deep within herself awakened, everything took a turn for the worse. She became vicious, bloodthirsty, and even slaughtered the elders residing in a village. The remaining white elves had no choice but to seal Sonia into the Stone of Moonlight.

Amid the changes that inevitably came with time, several hundred years passed by in the blink of an eye.

Demonification was a transformation of sorts. The ancient legends spoke of a demon hidden within the hearts of every living being on the Atlanta continent. If one’s faith were swayed to the point they lost their footing, that demon would engulf their soul and turn them into powerful demons.

Elites and Lords after Demonification were much more powerful than their predecessors. They all held immense power far more terrifying than Super Variants.

Don’t tell me... there’s a Demonified Elite or Lord in this map? Maybe even Queen Sonia herself?

Nie Yan’s gaze found its way back into the tent, once again onto the Chapter of Virtue.

Perhaps there was a special way to trigger a quest—starting a conversation with the white elves up ahead for instance—but he did not want to risk it. His eyes were fixed on the colourful page hovering silently in the air, and a fiery desire burned ablaze in Nie Yan’s mind...

I have to take it

!

With the Cloak of Void, it would be a breeze to snatch the Chapter of Virtue past those white elf mages.

The first volume would essentially be complete the moment he got his hands on it, and the fabled item would be his forever!

But then, Nie Yan slid his gaze to the young lady sleeping nearby; she was probably Elf Queen Sonia—a Demonified Lord!

Nie Yan immediately weighed the potential benefits and losses of the attempt.

Snatching the Chapter of Virtue would awaken Elf Queen Sonia, and any form of teleportation was barred within the Hidden Realm of Moonlight. The sole thing awaiting him would be death.

Nie Yan glimpsed at the red name practically glaring at him, courtesy of 327 player kills. Such an intense colour implied he’d lose a minimum of ten levels if he died.

He wore a smile tinged with a hint of regret as he thought,

I should have gotten rid of this red name before coming here!

His eyes remained locked on the Chapter of Virtue so close ahead while his mind briefly struggled with the decision.

Should I go for it?

Soon, however, he made his choice.

Quests? Who cares! I’ll care after taking the Chapter of Virtue. Levels? Who cares! I’ll grind them back up later!

Nie Yan crept toward the tent, beyond the five white elf mages. As he neared them, one of them pricked his ear and quivered slightly, as if he felt something.

Without hesitation, Nie Yan activated the Cloak of Void. The effect of stealth soared threefold, and in turn his speed was cut in half.

The white elf mage didn’t spot anything out of the ordinary and returned to his earlier conversation.

Enhanced with greater stealth, Nie Yan inched toward the white elf mages. Finally, he could make out their words.

“I don’t know how much longer the Chapter of Virtue can maintain its holy power,” Traitor Kasa said as he glanced toward the tent. “But more than anything, I hope Queen Sonia can continue to rest as peacefully as she is now.” His apprehension still remained from the time the queen had been awakened.

“We have to find the Water of Purification. It’s the only thing that can remove our Queen’s seal, and help us break out of the Hidden Realm of Moonlight.”

Traitor Zira sighed, shaking his head. “It’s simply impossible to find the Water of Purification with our power. It’s in the Dark Ravine, and unless we find a human Great Mage... but then again, they would kill her.”

“We can only hope for a miracle to happen,” said Traitor Kasa.

The conversation closely resembled a quest initiation of some sort, but nonetheless it brought Nie Yan quite a bit of information. If he were to follow the standard procedure of the questline, he would have to ask for the quest from the five white elf mages and complete it before he could safely leave with the Chapter of Virtue. One of the conditions of the quest was clearly to find the Water of Purification!

The quest sounded rather difficult even without the resurrection of a Demonified Lord. With it? The risk was far too great.

If any other player came here, they would have no choice but to follow the quest line. They would only be able to retrieve the Chapter of Virtue after completing the entire quest. Otherwise, even if they managed to grab it, they would get killed without even having a chance to escape. However, Nie Yan already had the other five chapters of Volume I of the Book of Order. Once he got his hands on the Chapter of Virtue, he could finally combine the six chapters into the complete Volume I. When that happened, it would automatically be bound to him. He could completely skip the quest line. What did a single death matter?

So long as he retrieved the Chapter of Virtue, it would all be worth it!

Nie Yan took a detour around the white elves while creeping towards the tent. As he snuck into the tent, his nose was immediately assaulted by a strong flowery fragrance, which was strong enough to shake his mind. He scanned around the tent before stopping in front of a female white elf reclined on a bed, whereupon he held his breath.

She was beautiful in a distinctly inhuman way. Her alluring cheekbones made her seem like the statue of a siren, lacking any trace of imperfection. Her pointy ears were the icing on the cake of her charm, mesmerizing all who saw her. Further down was an image that made one’s blood boil. She wore only a chestpiece and a skirt, both woven from tree vines. Her clothes, which were of a type exclusively worn by White Elves, revealed vast expanses of snowy white skin. Her crystal-smooth skin emitted a luster unique to jade-skinned beauties.

Nie Yan inspected her with Transcendent Insight.

White Elf Sonia (Demonified Lord): Level 35

Health: 120,000/120,000

It was just as he predicted, a powerful Demonified Lord!

Nie Yan withdrew his gaze after a brief look. No matter how beautiful an NPC was, it was still just a game, to say nothing of the fact that Sonia was a Demonified Lord-class boss. A person with a mature mind would never lose their head over such a thing.

The Chapter of Virtue was almost within reach. Nie Yan could practically feel the intense magic radiating off of it.

Such divine power! Such powerful magic!

Nie Yan readied himself to flee the moment the Chapter of Virtue was his, before reaching for it. When his outstretched hand touched the sheet, it slowly retracted its brilliant radiance. The now ordinary-looking sheet fell into Nie Yan’s hand.

Nie Yan quickly scanned the properties of the Chapter of Virtue.

-Chapter of Virtue

Description: The second chapter of Volume I of the Book of Order. A fragment of a Legendary item. Whoever shall possess this chapter will receive the inheritance of the God of Light. Your mission is to spread the glory of light!

Properties: Receive 2 Intelligence and 1 mastery point every 5 levels. Focus +15, Willpower +15, Resilience +16, Jump +15, Reflex +15, Movement Speed +16.

Decree of Reckoning: Invoke the magical power in your surroundings to attack the opponent, dealing (3x Magic Power + 2x Focus + Willpower) as magic damage. Cooldown: 10 days (1/10)

God’s Judgment: Grants Magic Power +200%, +500 health, and a magic barrier that absorbs 60% of all incoming damage. Cooldown: 10 days (1/10)

Restrictions: Can only be bound by a member of the Righteous Guardian of Order.

Note: Item effects are applied immediately upon entering the player’s inventory.

The Chapter of Virtue was only second to the Chapter of Justice. Decree of Reckoning was a skill that was guaranteed to kill the opponent, and God’s Judgement was even more powerful. The only flaw was that the cooldowns of these two skills were extremely long.

Sonia awoke the moment Nie Yan grabbed hold of the Chapter of Virtue. A baleful, demonic aura flooded out of her body, and her eyes were pitch-black as though a demon had taken possession of her body.

Nie Yan’s chest tightened in alarm.She was awakening! Without delay, he stuffed the Chapter of Virtue away into his bag, then bolted out of the tent.

The further away he got from here, the better. He didn’t know if he could even escape the Hidden Realm of Moonlight!

Just at this moment, the five white elves cried out in alarm.

“A despicable bastard! That Thief snatched away the Chapter of Virtue!”

“Kill him!”

The five white elves searched for Nie Yan’s whereabout. They were prepared to surround and kill him, but his Cloak of Void allowed him to completely avoid their detection as he fled from the campsite. Red clouds gathered in the sky up ahead, then scorching hot balls of fire rained down.

As soon as Nie Yan noticed something was off, he halted his footsteps before going around, safely avoiding this large area-of-effect spell.

「Bang! Bang! Bang!」Fireballs poured down from the sky, causing embers to fly everywhere.

Nie Yan fled into the endless wilderness at top speed before disappearing into the darkness. He understood that the danger was far from over because he didn’t know where the exit was, nor could he use any teleportation items!

Just as this moment, the chapters from the Book of Order in his bag let out a faint radiance and began resonating with each other

Do you wish to merge the Chapter of Justice, Chapter of Virtue, Chapter of Courage, Chapter of Wisdom, Chapter of Harmony, and Chapter of Freedom into the Volume I of the Book of Order?

“Yes!”

Nie Yan pressed confirm without the slightest hesitation, causing a blinding radiance to blossom outward. It was as though the sun had emerged in this realm of endless night. He quickly averted his eyes.

The first volume of the Book of Order was now complete! Nie Yan couldn’t help but get excited!