Chapter 367 - Animorph Necklace
Nie Yan ducked out of the Bloodthirsty Thief’s vision. Getting close to the chest wasn’t a problem, but snatching away the loot inside without being noticed? Now that would prove difficult.
It’s impossible. Should I just give up? But that’s not my style! Nie Yan mulled over this dilemma for quite some time. If I want to reach the underground prison behind the throne, I’ll have to sneak past the Bloodthirsty Thief anyway. How about I try my luck with the chest on the way back?
The chest was woven from strips of bamboo. The furnishings here really were crude.
Given furniture here behaves like it does in reality... Nie Yan suddenly thought of something. The Bloodthirsty Thief is only 20 meters away. It’ll definitely notice if the chest’s lid is flipped open. But what if the lid isn’t moved? Is there another way to loot the things inside that chest?
As Nie Yan racked his brain over the problem, the Bloodthirsty Thief sensed something and turned in his direction.
Nie Yan quickly ducked behind the pillar.
After what felt like an eternity, the Bloodthirsty Thief finally withdrew its gaze and continued patrolling near the throne.
Nie Yan broke out in a cold sweat. The Bloodthirsty Thief’s perception was too frightening. He was more than 30 meters away, but they still detected his presence. He feared the Bloodthirsty Thief would close the gap in an instant if he touched the chest.
A light bulb suddenly lit up in Nie Yan’s mind as his lips parted into a delighted smile. He equipped the Pygmy Ring and activated Pygmy Transformation. His body rapidly shrunk to a third of its original size as everything in his surroundings appeared much larger, including the Bloodthirsty Thief.
Nie Yan who was still in stealth looked just like a small child. He started making his way to the chest.
The bamboo wicker chest appeared enormous to the pygmy-sized Nie Yan. He just happened to be the same height as the chest.
After transforming into a pygmy, Nie Yan’s cloaking ability far surpassed normal, making him extremely difficult to detect. He went completely unnoticed while making his way from the pillar to the chest.
Nie Yan arrived in front of the chest. It was placed in the corner but not directly against the wall, leaving a one-meter gap.
Nie Yan squeezed into the gap behind the chest, where he was completely hidden from view thanks to his shrunken stature.
There were also advantages to being small!
Nie Yan recalled an interesting anecdote related to the Pygmy Ring. The goblin Mages from the Demon Tribe in the Underworld highly prized this item. It allowed them to shrink down from their already diminutive size, about one-third that of an ordinary player, to only eight inches. They would scurry around the battlefield, bombarding the enemy frontline with magic. Since they were so small, it was nearly impossible to catch them. This was the most shameless and unrivalled tactic of the goblins.
As for what other clever uses the Pygmy Ring had, this required further investigation.
Many special items in Conviction were shrouded in a cloud of mystery. Only someone with a rich imagination could hope of putting them to full use.
The Bloodthirsty Thief gazed at the chest for a moment before turning away.
Nie Yan noticed that the Bloodthirsty Thief would look this way every 3 minutes. It was crucial that he didn’t make any movements during this time, lest he be caught.
Nie Yan tried pushing the box. It was quite heavy, indicating there were many items stored inside.
Nie Yan sat down in the nook behind the chest. No one could see him. He took out Zennarde’s Sword and started making an incision into the chest.
Things like furniture could be altered and damaged!
Zennarde’s Sword easily cut through the bamboo, reaching a layer of wood. Of course the wood offered little to no resistance, and was cut through just the same. This was when he reached a layer of dark steel.
Another layer! This chest is thick! Nie Yan puckered his lips. He was fooled by the outer appearance of the chest!
He wondered if Zennarde’s Sword could cut through steel. It was a godly weapon, after all.
Nie Yan tried making a cut in the steel but only left behind a small nick roughly half a centimeter in size.
Even though it was only a tiny bit, Nie Yan confirmed he could cut through the metal layer of the chest!
For the first time Nie Yan felt like an actual thief as he tried looting treasure!
Once three minutes passed, Nie Yan stopped what he was doing and held his breath.
The Bloodthirsty Thief looked over at the chest, which appeared completely fine. It couldn’t see the damaged parts of the chest, nor Nie Yan who was hiding behind the chest.
After a while, the Bloodthirsty Thief looked elsewhere.
Nie Yan relaxed his breathing and continued his work. He completely cut away the bamboo wickerwork and wood, leaving the shavings on the ground beside him. All that remained between him and the loot inside the chest was the layer of steel. He used Zennarde’s Sword to start nicking away.
Metal was pretty hard, so Nie Yan was having some trouble cutting through it. However, he was still cutting away tiny metal shavings with Zennarde’s Sword.
Nie Yan dropped what he was doing every three minutes. After six minutes, he finally opened up a hole, where a single gold coin tumbled out. In the instant it hit the ground and made a light ding, he quickly grabbed it in his hand.
However, the sound still rang out.
When the Bloodthirsty Thief heard the sound, it immediately started walking over towards the chest.
Nie Yan who was hidden behind the chest felt his nerves stretched taut. If he was discovered by the Bloodthirsty Thief, he would lose the opportunity to loot the chest. His only choice would be to escape with an Unknown Transfer Scroll!
Unless absolutely necessary Nie Yan refused to leave! He curled up his body, trying to make it as small as possible.
The Bloodthirsty Thief gradually approached, stopping at six meters away from the chest. It carefully examined the area around the chest.
Nie Yan could feel the Bloodthirsty Thief’s sharp gaze sweep over him. He forcefully calmed himself and held his breath.
The Bloodthirsty Thief stood there for a long time. The chest completely blocked Nie Yan from view.
With the Bloodthirsty Thief’s rudimentary intelligence, it probably recognized no normal person could fit in the gap behind the chest.
After failing to discover anything, the Bloodthirsty Thief turned around and returned to a passive state.
Sensing the Bloodthirsty Thief’s footsteps getting farther and farther away, Nie Yan breathed a sigh of relief. His stretched taut nerves started relaxing. He continued using Zennarde’s Sword to expand the hole in the chest as one gold coin after another tumbled out and fell into his bag.
One gold coin, two gold coins...
Gold coins flowed out of the chest like a mountain spring directly into Nie Yan’s bag.
Before long, Nie Yan finally opened up a hole about two inches in diameter, allowing him to reach inside with his hand. He started fishing around the chest for items. At first it was only gold, handful after handful being stuffed in his bag.
Nie Yan obtained more than 3,000 gold from the chest. As he fished around some more, he felt a round object that appeared to be a jewel.
He took the object out to examine it. It was indeed a sparkling jewel.
It emitted a golden radiance and was slightly translucent.
It was a Radiant Gemstone!
Nie Yan’s hand trembled. A normal gem wouldn’t warrant such an intense reaction! He had experienced many things in Conviction, with hundreds of thousands of gold passing through his hands. However, this Radiant Gemstone made him feel incredibly excited.
This item was pretty common at Level 70–80, selling for around several thousand gold. But right now it didn’t exist in the marketplace! Even if someone offered 20,000 gold, he still wouldn't be willing to sell it!
Nie Yan wondered if there were more of them in the chest. He continued feeling around, fishing out one item after another until he had completely emptied one corner of the chest.
Nie Yan made the hole in the chest big enough for him to fit through. Once he was inside, he didn’t hesitate to loot everything there. He obtained a total of 7,000 gold, 5 Radiant Gemstones, and a necklace.
Looking at the Necklace’s properties, Nie Yan’s heart trembled. It was another special item!
Animorph Necklace (Dark Gold): Special Item
Description: Transform into a selected animal and gain additional stats and abilities for 5 minutes. You are unable to attack while transformed. Getting attacked will break the transformation. Cooldown: 1 day.
For example, a cheetah would grant additional Dexterity, a bear would grant additional Strength, and a seagull would grant the ability to fly.
Nie Yan thought for a moment and selected a lynx which would increase his jumping ability.
Nie Yan chose a lynx because it was relatively small, agile, and good at evading danger. His jumping ability would be increased by 300%, meaning he could cover a distance of nine meters in a single leap and jump as high as five meters in the air.
This kind of item had a large variety of uses. But very few people could use them to their utmost potential.
Nie Yan recalled Tang Yao had a similar item. However, the animal he selected was a seagull. Since the chosen animal was different, the function was naturally different too.
After selecting the lynx, Nie Yan checked the necklace’s stats again.
Animorph Necklace (Dark Gold): Special Item
Description: Transform into a lynx and receive Dexterity +300% and Jump +300% for 5 minutes. You are unable to attack while transformed. Getting attacked will break the transformation. Cooldown: 1 day.
Restriction: Nirvana Flame.
Note: This item cannot be traded.