Rebirth of the Thief Who Roamed the World

Nie Yan’s mind flashed with countless possibilities. Just what requirement did he fail to fulfill? Could it be that he first had to wipe out all the Umbra Demon Kings for the quest to be considered complete?

But how could that be it? It was simply impossible for him, or any other player, to take out so many Umbra Demon Kings!

As Nie Yan gave up all hope, Kalenna floated up above his shoulder and waved her staff. A white light enveloped his body, alleviating the pressure.

Guardian Barrier!

Nie Yan breathed a sigh of relief. He glanced at Kalenna. If it wasn’t for her, he’d be done for.

After carefully checking the area up ahead for any traps, Nie Yan walked toward the throne.

This mysterious metal throne actually belonged to the Death God!

The throne was without its lord. According to legend, the Death God and the God of Light had killed each other in mutual destruction. Nie Yan shifted his gaze down to the small black box sitting next to the throne on the floor. It was made out of wood and bore no special engravings. It couldn’t look any more ordinary.

Nie Yan wondered what was inside the box. He picked it up. There was no lock, but he could sense a strange energy coming from within.

Nie Yan carefully opened the box and discovered a black skull inside. His heart trembled violently. It was about the same size as a human’s, and gave off a black shine, as if it were made out of crystal. Inserted in the middle of its forehead was a large crimson jewel. Though most terrifying were the eyeballs that still filled its eye sockets. As they shifted around, its jaw unhinged and let out an eerie cackle.

Sure enough, it was the Death God’s Skull, the item Nie Yan came to Hell for!

“Got it!” Nie Yan closed the box. He was just about to leave when he discovered he couldn’t use his Unknown Transfer Scroll.

A violent tremor suddenly shook the entire hall. Frightening cracks spread out through the walls. This whole place was going down!

Nie Yan fled toward the exit! He had to escape before thinking about anything else!

Using all his speed boosting skills, Nie Yan streaked across the narrow passageway like a bolt of lightning.

BANG! BANG! BANG! Nie Yan heard the walls collapsing behind him.

As Nie Yan exited the pyramid tower, he saw the Umbra Demon Kings running away in the distance. They seemed terrified by something to the point they didn’t even bother looking at him. He felt an odd sense of relief and fear welling up.

Several dozens of kilometers away, far into the horizon, an enormous pillar of light descended from the sky. It pierced through the boundless darkness.

It was the portal to the outside!

Nie Yan’s heart was filled with elation. Even though the appointed time for the portal hadn’t arrived yet, his quest was completed. So, Archangel Tallod had opened the portal early for him.

Nie Yan sprinted for half a kilometer before feeling the earth violently quake below him. The mountain behind him collapsed as an unrivalled creature crawled out. It was a titanic skeletal monster!

This monster was over 100 meters tall. Compared to this creature, the Umbra Demon Kings were nothing more than ants. It could easily squash them to bits with one foot!

Nie Yan inspected the creature with Transcendent Insight.

The Bone Emperor climbed out of the collapsed mountain and locked onto the fleeing Nie Yan. It let out a world-shaking roar.

Nie Yan felt his soul leaving his body. Just the roar of the Bone Emperor alone threatened to send him flying!

Nie Yan sensed an ice-cold gaze lock onto him, causing his body to shiver violently from head to toe. He couldn’t help but curse uncontrollably. What kind of frightening boss was this? Who could possibly deal with it, when escaping from under its watch was already impossibly difficult?

What kind of difficulty rating would this quest have? An SSSSS-rating?

What Nie Yan didn’t know was that this quest was originally never this difficult. However, with the release of the Chaos Temple and Sword of the War God, the system upped this quest’s difficulty. There was no way he could possibly complete it at this difficulty.

For the first part of Hell, unless a player was Level 200+, they wouldn’t stand much of a chance against the Level 180 Elites and Lords. When it came to the Level 210 Demonified Lords, perhaps even Level 220 players wouldn’t be enough to kill them.

Nie Yan reaching this point and obtaining the Death God’s Skull was nothing short of a miracle.

Under the gaze of the Bone Emperor, Nie Yan lost all will to resist. Angering a Level 300 Lord was no different from committing suicide. He couldn’t even run away as he wasn’t nearly fast enough.

There were at least 90 gigantic flying creatures circling in the sky. So, trying to escape by summoning the Spectre Dragon wasn’t an option either.

Nie Yan was ready to give up, when a light bulb lit up in his head. With his current strength, facing the Bone Emperor spelt absolute death. However, he wasn’t completely helpless. He still had two Kelo Stones!

Nie Yan fetched a Kelo Stone from his bag and crushed it.

The Bone Emperor was about to kill Nie Yan with its first attack, when a presence even more powerful than it swept out. It halted its steps in shock.

The hulking figure of War God Kelo appeared in front of Nie Yan. He originally worried Kelo might not be able to enter Hell. However, after seeing him, he breathed a sigh of relief. He was finally safe.

“Hello, War God Kelo,” Nie Yan greeted. The Bone Emperor stood some distance away, frozen in fear.

War God Kelo’s gaze fell on Nie Yan, then on the Bone Emperor. He faintly smiled. “Long time no see, young lad. It looks like you need my help?”

“Yes, sir!” Nie Yan nodded vigorously.

“I can’t help you complete a quest, but your quest only requires you to obtain the Death God’s Skull. It doesn’t include defeating this bag of bones. Alright, I will help you take it down. Hurry up, leave,” War God Kelo said.

Nie Yan recalled War God Kelo had said something about this before. Fortunately, his quest was merely to retrieve the Death God’s Skull, and it was already in his hands. This could be considered a loophole. Hell was an actual map, and not a special quest instance. So, since Nie Yan had already finished the quest, War God Kelo could come to his side and help him deal with this monster that chased after him because of the quest.

Nie Yan relaxed. As he left the Bone Emperor to War God Kelo, he sprinted toward the distant portal. He wouldn’t gain any experience from War God Kelo killing the Bone Emperor anyway, nor would he receive any drops. So, there was no point in staying.

A loud clashing sound broke out behind him. With War God Kelo’s strength, defeating the Bone Emperor would be simple. Nie Yan didn’t bother looking back. He stepped into the portal and disappeared with a flash of light.

When Nie Yan opened his eyes again, he was outside the Gates of Hell.

“Youngster, I’m truly surprised. You actually retrieved the Death God’s Skull,” Archangel Tallod said in astonishment.

Nie Yan couldn’t help but roll his eyes. Thinking about their previous exchange, no wonder he was offered the choice to simply hand over the Death God’s Edge and leave. Instead, he foolishly jumped right into Hell and almost lost his life!

Nevertheless, Nie Yan had profited immensely from disaster. If he hadn’t entered Hell, he wouldn’t have gained so many levels in such a short amount of time, nor would he have obtained the two Shattered Divinities.

Especially this last point lightened Nie Yan’s mood.

“Archangel Tallod, this is the Death God’s Skull you asked me to retrieve,” Nie Yan said, handing over the skull.

Archangel Tallod accepted the black box, whereupon his hands lit up with a pure white flame. A shrill cry rang out as the box and its contents were rendered into ash, disappearing into the wind.

Three rays of light fell over Nie Yan. Apart from the title, there was also the experience reward! Nie Yan couldn’t help but become excited. Since this was basically a god-level mission, the experience reward couldn’t possibly be small! He had levelled up three whole times!

If Nie Yan were to gain three levels in a row at Level 150, he wouldn’t be too excited. Now, however, he was already level 193! With these three levels, he jumped directly to level 196!

This quest reward put him one large stride forward to Level 200.

Nie Yan glanced at the Great Hell Judge title. It was a Tier 3 Temple of Light title, superseding the Adjudicator of Light title. This title even surpassed Great Prophet and was on the same footing as Supreme Pontiff!

What an amazing title! When Nie Yan completed the Book of Order, he could summon an Archangel. He wondered how strong the Archangel would be. Would it reach the Legendary realm?

Apart from these bonuses, there was also one more pleasant surprise. Kalenna’s strongest defensive magic, her Guardian Barrier, was finally unlocked! He could freely use it now!

A title that didn’t lose out to the Chairman of the Dark Council, an unrivalled defensive magic, and about to become a Legend. If he were to challenge Plenty after completing this last part, how much of a chance would he have?

Nie Yan felt he was already strong enough. However, he couldn’t guarantee Plenty didn’t have some kind of trump card. Since he had already reached this point, he needed to thoroughly crush Plenty and wipe away any traces of his ambition!