The Great Thief

Because of Genomeregan, the little gnome pushed on no matter how difficult it was.

Her efforts were not like that of a child.

A country being destoryed tended to force their people to mature ahead of time. Lu Li listened as she constantly muttered the word Gnomeregan before helplessly sighing, “Shoni, take a break. We have to find the next set of monsters.”

Shoni was levelling up very quickly and would soon be at level 5.

Lu Li didn’t know if the NPC could be brought into an Instance Dungeon. Otherwise, the Spider’s Nest would be an excellent option to continue levelling.

It was not only a good place for the little Gnome, but also for Lu Li. The EXP he was gaining was still lower than if he trained himself, but the prestige he gained from each monster was unlike anything else.

Before taking her to the Instance Dungeon, Lu Li had to prepare her.

The monsters in the Instance Dungeon were much stronger than those in the wild and they were going to face Bosses. If Lu Li didn’t take care, Shoni might actually die. This was especially bad because NPCs couldn’t be revived.

The first thing to take care of was her weapon. Lu Li wasn’t sure if it was because she was his apprentice, but she could now use player equipment.

Lu Li scoured the Exchange Hall for a while and found two level 5 Steel Weapons.

It’s not that he didn’t want to buy some Silver items, but they were now impossible to find. When they were at level 5, they were still using Common items.

Lu Li continued to look for other equipment, and gave the ones he found to her. According to his teachings, a Thief needed to be very familiar with their weapons. They had to know their weight, length, cutting edge and even their shimmer.

Shoni was very pleased with her new weapons.

As an ally of the Dwarves, the Gnomes had some proficiency in Crafting though they were not nearly as skilled.

While he was searching for leather clothing, Lu Li surprisingly found a level 5 Silver leather armor.

This Armor provided ample Defense and, more importantly, it came with good damage reduction effects. As long as it was used well, Shoni wouldn’t be one-shot, even if she was attacked by the Boss. If Lu Li was there with her, then there was no chance that any monster would have a second chance to attack to finish her off.

However, the price was a little high; it was actually listed for 20 gold coins. The seller was either crazy or was out to trick someone.

Lu Li bought it anyway without hesitation; this was the benefit of not having to worry about money.

After wearing her new clothes, the little Gnome was even happier. For a short time, she even forgot about Gnomeregan and reverted back to being a child.

Her Steel Grade Hat was 2 gold, the Steel Grade Bracers were 1.3 gold…

Lu Li had spent quite a bit of money to purchase the whole set, which was far more than most players had at level 5. Even the 20 gold item alone would have brought a significant amount of attention.

After all, even Tycoons who wanted exquisite equipment wouldn’t spend overspend by so much.

At their current levels and given their matching professions, clearing the Spider Nest at Nightmare Difficulty wouldn’t be too difficult. They just needed to have strong weapons so that the Instance Dungeon could be farmed efficiently.

Lu Li even found a Ring and Necklace for the little Gnome.

This cost was not going to be easy to recover – even level 50 quests didn’t reward more than a dozen gold coins at a time and it was doubtful that they would find any good equipment.

“Let’s go. I’ll take you into an Instance Dungeon,” Lu Li said as he led Shoni away with a beaming expression.

“But I haven’t become an adult yet, right?”

“Of course you have; you’re doing well!”

“No, what are you thinking of? I mean I am still not an adult and I can’t choose a combat career.”

The adulthood that she was referring to was part of the rules in the game. According to the rules, children under the age of 14 couldn’t choose a combat profession, and while under the age of 12 couldn’t even choose Trade profession.

Although the players who had first entered the Novice Village had long since left, the Novice Village was still very lively. Even more so than when Lu Li entered the game.

The combination of Lu Li and Shoni attracted a lot of attention. Lu Li hadn’t taken off his bandana, but even though the other players didn’t know who he was, they still followed him around.

Lu Li took the small Gnome out of the safe area and watched as she chased some monsters in the mountains.

Once she began slacking off, he would whisper ‘Gnomeregan’ to her, which would refresh her attitude. This ensured that Lu Li was also consistently gaining EXP and prestige.

Right now, it was just like training a pet as he was just idling and watching.

However, as they slowly approached the spider’s lair, Lu Li was surrounded before he could even react.

Lu Li was already nervous and was just about lash out to kill them all. Fortunately, he quickly understood what these players wanted and resisted the urge.

“Sorry, I won’t be taking anyone,” Lu Li apologized as he held onto the little Gnome and quickly sped up, leaving behind a group of players watching and crying out to him.

It was rare that a strong player would come to do this Instance Dungeon, because it wouldn’t give them any EXP.

The market was in short supply, so the appearance of Lu Li had likely caused the group to gather there. Moreover, he only had one person with him, so there were three other positions to be filled.

However, they were all left speechless when they discovered that he wouldn’t even take one of them.

Didn’t he know that going into an Instance Dungeon with a full party granted a bonus?

Of course Lu Li knew, but he just didn’t want to reveal his secrets. He just preferred not to take anyone else.

Since the last System update, advanced players could enter low-level Instance Dungeons. Lu Li let out a sigh of relief when he saw that the little Gnome had followed him.

Shoni entered the black hold that was the spider’s nest with some fear, but after hearing Lu Li’s voice, she remembered that her master with her.

“Wait, I will pull the monsters first so you can fight them one at a time. Okay?” Lu Li asked as he patted the little Gnome’s head.

Although there were only two monsters, Lu Li still couldn’t let her take any risks. He had borrowed a Ring from Azure Sea Breeze that had mediocre attributes, but a low cooldown Aggro-generating skill. This way, he could easily attract the monsters onto himself.

Of course, Lu Li didn’t always pull the monsters for the Gnome. His goal was to train her fighting ability after all.

Only the aggro of the spider was taken by Lu Li; he hadn’t actually dealt any damage to them. As such, when Shoni attacked one of them, it turned around to start fighting her.

So Lu Li, while continuing to pull the other spider, began to teach her more fighting techniques.