The Great Thief

Water Fairy thought about Lu Li’s two daggers and changed her mind.

"I still want to walk in front; there’s no reason why I can’t do it. Lu Li, you’re such a chauvinist."

She was still gritting her teeth as she spoke, imagining how she could punish Lu Li.

"I have two equips here that provide bonus stealth attributes. Let’s swap first, then you can walk in front." Lu Li gave up and decided to let Water Fairy walk in front.

As daylight had already begun to slip away, campfires rose within the campsite. Alongside the spitting flames, the aroma of the venison travelled within the air.

"Keep up. I’ll engage and you can follow up after I finish my set of skills. We’ll take extra precautions," Water Fairy said to Lu Li, who stood behind her.

Lu Li agreed; he had no objections.

Water Fairy wasn’t a newbie; she didn’t simply pick any single target to engage. As long as they hadn’t entered the range of the monsters, the monsters wouldn’t care about them.

The two Thieves walked freely around the campsite; they didn’t run across any scouts in Stealth mode.

They had previously imagined the place to be on full alert with scouts and guards everywhere...

"Why is the defense so slack?" Water Fairy wasn’t satisfied. It felt as if she had wasted her efforts over nothing.

"There’s a limit to how hard these quests can be."

This was a quest that Lu Li received after he bribed the hostess. The Syndicates in this area most likely consisted of recruits; it was almost impossible for them to contain any higher ranks.

Water Fairy explored around the ruins for some distance and locked onto a Syndicate Mage who had been singled out. It appeared as if he was gathering.

She slowly approached, light on her foot, footsteps almost silent.

The Syndicate Mage, who had been gathering some Earthroot, felt something. He quickly swung around, his staff already risen in mid-air.

This was to be expected from a level 35 monster. With a five-level advantage, it didn’t matter how much precaution Water Fairy took.

However, Water Fairy was a famous Thief. The proud girl wanted to show Lu Li that she, too, was capable. Her body bent forward and with the speed of lightning, she stabbed her dagger into the Syndicate Mage’s brain.

The Syndicate Mage paused as a row of damage text floated above the top of his head.

Lu Li had to admit that Water Fairy’s gear was impressive indeed.

Although she didn’t have as many Gold equips as Lu Li, her gear consisted mainly of level 30 Silvers.

"Level 35 elite – it’s going to be a bit troublesome. 3, 2, 1, your turn!"

Lu Li instantly casted Premeditation and Cheap Shot. The Syndicate Mage, who was supposed to have regained his consciousness, was stunned again. With the great teamwork between the two, the poor Syndicate Mage never got to see his murderers.

Lu Li looted the corpse. The system stated that he received some coins, Silk Cloth and a Syndicate Emblem.

"What’s this?" Water Fairy was curious.

Although she usually looked cold, there was a still feminine side to her.

"Quest item." Lu Li didn’t try to keep any secrets and he handed the Syndicate Emblem to her.

"So this is the thing that caused my reputation to drop..." Water Fairy studied the item for a bit; her tone wasn’t too happy.

Lu Li checked the system record and found that the system had deducted his Syndicate reputation by five points. The Ravenholdt Reputation increased it by one point, so this was a one-to-five trade. It was no wonder why Water Fairy wasn’t happy.

Lu Li didn’t care about the deduction of his Syndicate reputation. From the moment he had joined the Ravenholdt Manor, the Syndicates were destined to become his enemies.

It’s a shame that these monsters weren’t easy to kill, or else they’d make a good way for him to gain reputation.

"The Syndicate isn’t a good organization with a bright future. Their reputation isn’t very useful; you didn’t lose much," Lu Li said, trying to make up an excuse.

Every faction was bound to have their own use. A player’s reputation would be the deciding factor on how these factions treated them.

"As if I’d believe you. What are Syndicates?" Water Fairy felt as if she had jumped into Lu Li’s trap, but she was the one who had agreed to the task, so she didn’t complain.

Water Fairy wasn’t the type to consider too far ahead.

"Just a bunch of bandits," Lu Li explained. "Their members mostly consist of exiled Alterac nobles and their current leader is Duke Fakures. Right now, they’re occupying areas of the Alterac Mountains and hills of Hillsbrad."

"Bandits?" Water Fairy didn’t believe him.

"There’s no need for me to lie to you. These people took back their ancestors’ territory through battles, assassinations, lies and theft." From the perspective of the Assassin League, Lu Li felt the need to demonstrate his disdain. "They only fight for their own cause. If someone is capable of helping them to achieve their final goal, they’d also consider working together. "

The ‘working together’ mentioned here referred to the quests that players received.

"Working together would only happen if your reputation wasn’t negative," Water Fairy said. "What’s this Ravenholdt Manor?"

"You have so many questions," Lu Li sighed. He didn’t enjoy talking to smart people. Why was this woman always capable of grasping the main point?

"I’m doing quests for you; I should have the right to know some details," Water Fairy said, pretending that she had been wronged.

Wow, and now she actually enjoys faking it.

They were doing quests together after all, so he still gave her some details about Ravenholdt Manor.

"So you’re already a part of a small faction!" Water Fairy exclaimed in shock.

People like her, who had some sort of background to support them, had their own ways of receiving information. It was no secret for them that there were other small factions available to join apart from the two main factions.

The main factions existed to create conflict, while the small factions gave opportunity.

"I’m only ahead by a bit." Lu Li wasn’t being modest; small factions weren’t hard to join. There would be plenty more people who would join small factions in the future.

"It’s more than a bit," Water Fairy said, getting closer. "Name your price. Can you tell me how to join the Ravenholdt Manor, since we’re allies?"

She wasn’t entirely certain about their alliance before, but now, she felt more and more confident in it.

"It’s just luck..." Lu Li was about to decline out of habit, but he knew better this time from his past experience. Not to mention, they were also allies as well.

"You should think twice before you lie. Do you really believe in luck?" Water Fairy shot back, clearly displaying that she was unimpressed with her expression.

There was no denying that she was a real beauty; her expressions were pretty from any angle.

"You know, there are a lot of small factions out there. What if I chose a bad one? Good things usually don’t show up at the start..." Lu Li replied, wanting to lessen his competition.

The available quests for each small faction were set, which meant that resources were limited.