Chapter 55: No One’s Hands Are Clean
Anse paced back and forth in the room, occasionally trying to open Nolnos’s character card.
More than half an hour passed.
Nolnos finally opened his eyes, leaped out, and ran and jumped wildly in the garden like he was frolicking, the flowers and plants battered as if by a storm, with broken flowers and branches scattered everywhere in disarray.
“Stop quickly!” Anse’s mind went blank for a moment, and he hurriedly used telepathy to call him to stop.
Nolnos looked puzzled, raised his head to look at the figure by the window, his big eyes blinking innocently.
“Sigh—” Anse sighed, already prepared to pay compensation.
From the first day he learned Nolnos’s alignment, he knew he would eventually cause trouble. Fortunately, this time it was just some flowers and plants; the moon elf probably wouldn’t be so petty… right.
He sat back in the chair and pulled up Nolnos’s character card.
【Name: Nolnos】
「Level」: 1
「Experience」: 132/900
「Life」: 46
「Armor Class」: 14
Attributes have changed noticeably: life increased to 46, armor class increased by 1, intelligence and charisma each increased by 1.
High life, thick armor, it should be the monster template.
He also gained a spell-like ability: 「Resistance」, twice per day, casting attribute is charisma.
The spell effect grants resistance to one damage type for one minute, such as blunt attack, piercing attack, cold, flame, corrosion, etc., reducing damage by 1d41-4） points.
Additionally, 「Fey Step」 teleport distance increased by 60 feet18 meters）, up 50%, more practical.
“Not bad, not bad!” Anse was very satisfied.
Nolnos’s size grew slightly larger, overall strength definitely stronger, though many improvements haven’t reached the level to trigger attribute changes.
The only downside is that leveling up is relatively difficult; a human professional needs only 300 experience to reach level 2, Nolnos needs 900, and as a mount, he rarely has direct opportunities to kill enemies.
“As long as he can level up.”
He didn’t ask for too much, just hoped Nolnos could accompany him for a longer time; he grew too fast, teammates and companions couldn’t keep up, their roles becoming smaller and smaller.
This was unavoidable; geniuses are always lonely, his starting point was many people’s endpoint.
At this time, some commotion had arisen in the garden below.
Dara was very bold, intercepting Nolnos alone, hands on hips, standing in front of him loudly scolding.
Nolnos tilted his head, occasionally snorting, neither refuting nor taking it to heart.
The scene was amusing: a frail female elf standing before a massive behemoth weighing tons, stark contrast, huge difference.
Anse smiled faintly: “Brat, go handle it, we’ll compensate at the stated price.”
“Alright.” Brat’s face fell, a bit reluctant to face Dara.
“Right, today’s battle damaged quite a few civilian houses; after you’re done, help me give some compensation.”
“Sure, I was just thinking about that.” Brat waved his hand and hurried downstairs.
“Finn, you and Greyhawk keep eyes on 【Conch】, tell me immediately of any situation, I’m going to meditate for a bit.” Anse instructed.
“Mm.”
Before meditating, Anse first charged the spell storing ring: two scorching rays plus one magic missile, totaling exactly fifth circle.
This magical item was very useful, greatly shortening casting time and increasing firepower density.
——
“A bunch of useless trash!” An angry and suppressed voice squeezed out through gritted teeth, carrying a bone-chilling coldness.
This was a room without windows, only two oil lamps lit on the walls, casting light on several solemn figures in the room.
“Money not yet earned, ship nearly burned… heh, thanks to you, I’m about to become the family laughingstock…” The man wore a strange smile, terrifying in the dim light, “Hawkins, this idea was yours, how do you explain it?”
“This was entirely an execution issue with 【Conch】.” A red-haired man braced himself and stood forward, “I’d greased everything, it was all smooth, but they had to stir up trouble and rob that half-elf…”
“You know shit!” Another short man, soaked through, couldn’t help interrupting him, “All you do is sit back and enjoy, spending money but not earning it; do you know how much those two sorcerers are worth?”
“So you admit you got greedy for money and disregarded the big picture?” The red-haired man snorted coldly.
“Disregarded the big picture? That person had a holy aura, bound to be faking his departure; I acted for the long term, and the later battle proved my judgment! I was covering for you; this plan was utterly stupid…”
“Heh, no plan is perfect; as the executor, you should have foreseen these risks…”
“Shut up! Tell me how to foresee, I’m not a prophet…”
“Enough!” A hoarse voice rang out, instantly quieting the room, “Sir, I know this person; he’s called Anse, dragonblood sorcerer, from Baldur’s Gate, faith in the God of Justice, extremely close with the paladins of the Church of the Final Hope.
He’s also the one who killed the captain of the elite slave-hunting team; the Holy Grail should be on him…”
“Oh.” The lead man slowly sat down, a hint of interest on his face, “He’s an elite professional?”
“No, but this guy’s abnormal, completely unaffected by magic net instability, a bit like those blue-robed lunatics… The slave-hunting team probably fell into an undead trap by accident; the other side just picked up a bargain…”
“What about that group of undead?”
“Unclear, but footprints suggest they headed toward Baldur’s Gate.”
“Spread this news quickly, let that warband and the paladins prepare.” The man’s eyes held some disgust.
They wanted live people, undead wanted dead ones; the two sides were natural opposites. Slave business required long-term development, undead were shit-stirrers, despised by all.
“Yes.”
“Speak up, how should we handle this situation?” He looked at the soaked short man, “Ramas, you’re the captain, you speak!”
“Sir, the ship can’t be fixed for a while, but we can use ocean currents to drift farther, find a place to drop anchor, and tow the ship away under cover of night.” Ramas was confident nothing would happen during the day.
Officials and powerful fleets could guess who was behind 【Conch】; even with grudges, they wouldn’t rashly attack—that was tantamount to war.
Many forces publicly banned slave trade, but secretly engaged in plenty of shady dealings.
Nahshival trafficking slaves wasn’t a big deal to many. Baldur’s Gate started as pirates; no one should laugh at anyone.
“Do as you say, repair 【Conch】 a bit, then head straight to Snowfall Island, stay away from Silver Scale Bay for now.”
“Yes.”
“As for that dragonblood sorcerer, delegate to the shadow thieves, deal with him quickly, retrieve the Holy Grail.”
“I’ll arrange it immediately.”
Notes:
1. Monster life:
Total life = HD quantity × HD + HD quantity × constitution adjustment value.
For example, a monster with constitution 16+3 adjustment value） and 4d10large） HD has 4d10+12 life, in the 16-52 range.
2. Character card
【Name: Nolnos】
「Race」: Feylarge）
「Level」: 1
「Experience」: 132/900
「Life」: 46
「Armor Class」: 14
「Alignment」: Chaotic Neutral
【Strength: 18】
【Dexterity: 14】
【Constitution: 16】
【Intelligence: 7】
【Wisdom: 11】
【Charisma: 14】
「Life Link」: When the owner or mount recovers life, the other also recovers the same amount of life. Life link breaks beyond two meters.
【Fey Bloodline】: Fey mount won’t fall asleep due to magical effects, has advantage against charm or mind-affecting spells.
「Otherworldly Smite」: Fey mount attacks deal 2+1d81-8） psychic damage.
「Fey Step」: Mount teleports with owner to any spot within 180 feet54 meters）, once per day.
「Spellcasting」: Nolnos casts the following spells without material components and using charisma as casting attributespell save DC15）.
Resistance, twice per day.
