The Great Thief

Lu Li didn’t follow the advice of the article, which instructed him to kill this NPC who was supposed to die in a few months’ time.

Instead, he stood before Gabriel Cresso and took out the military tags. He was neither excited nor afraid that he had experienced killing so many soldiers.

“Oh, Elf, your strength is beyond my expectations.”

Gabriel Cresso took Lu Li’s quest items with a complex look on his face. There didn’t appear to be any joy in hearing about the death of his enemies.

“Please let me ask, do you recognize any of these people from back when you were farming them?” Lu Li inquired. He didn’t know whether the NPC would understand the word ‘farm’.

Despite being unsure of how the system would deal with this, Gabriel Cresso understood Lu Li’s meaning. He replied without hesitation, “Of course not, they have already died. Once they’re dead there’s no coming back.”

“Please let me ask another question. Do you know any of the people on these tags? One of them says: Lisa, I don’t want to die, I still want to touch your face.”

“What?” Gabriel Cresso’s expression suddenly changed.

His hands began to tremble and he dropped the ten tags onto the ground. He then looked through them one by one, before he found one that sounded familiar.

Ivan Farris

Rank: 9th Lieutenant

Hometown: Western Wilderness

The last row of small print: Lisa, I don’t want to die, I still want to touch your face.

“Ivan...”

Gabriel Cresso’s expression drooped. He was already on the verge of death, but now he looked a dozen years older. If it weren’t for his chest moving up and down, he would be no different to a corpse.

He couldn’t help but reminisce about Ivan Farris, the one who he grew up with.

They used to fish together in the small river and catch rabbits in the wilderness. They would lurk about in the moonlight, trying to catch a wild boar that was trampling the wheat. In the end, they were chased away by the angry wild boar.

He had fancied a girl called Lisa. So, on the day of his enlistment, he engraved Lisa’s name on his military tag.

Ivan Farris was like his own brother and now, he was dead because of him.

The article that Lu Li had read in his previous life described this quest in great detail.

Gabriel Cresso’s heart would be full of hatred when he sent players to kill the soldiers in Sentinel Ridge.

This quest was also very well-known because its reward was very worthwhile.

It seemed like most people tended to enjoy a similar kind of story – one that involved justice and evil, or revenge and choice.

Dawn’s quest system was far from conventional. As long as a conversation was going in the right direction, it could trigger the quest, but eventually, it would come to an end.

When he saw Ivan Farris’ military tag, Gabriel Cresso’s quest came to an end.

He was facing the reality of what he had done in the name of his belief.

Gabriel Cresso had reason to take revenge, but his vengeance had blinded his heart from seeing the difference between justice and evil.

Without seeking vengeance, he didn’t have any other reason to live.

“My condolences,” Lu Li said, as he bent over. He was a little sympathetic, but also a little happy. Although the situation in the Western Wilderness had gotten out of control, with the Sentinel Ridge post being almost meaningless, not every soldier there deserved to be killed.

“Elf, you did the right thing!” Gabriel Cresso looked up with ferocity in his eyes.

“Respected Warrior, please do not taint your honor.”

Lu Li remained calm. He knew how to deal with NPCs.

Sure enough, Gabriel Cresso once again returned to his gloomy demeanor. He sluggishly stroked his chest and saluted Lu Li, saying, “I’m sorry. I’m really sorry. I was blinded by hatred, but now it’s over.”

“You are a respectable Warrior,” Lu Li said.

If he could choose, he would have preferred an alternative outcome.

However, he couldn’t think of any way to avoid this tragedy. Gabriel Cresso’s mission would later become very popular and the Sentinel Ridge would become a bloody land. Thousands of soldiers would be assassinated by the players.

“This is the reward for the quest; it is something I learned in the army. If you can’t use it, then you can give it to your friends. You definitely have some friends, just like Ivan and I...”

Gabriel Cresso handed Lu Li a book. The system then prompted him that he had completed the quest.

Lu Li didn’t want to hang around for any longer; he gave a word of thanks turned to leave.

Surprisingly, Gabriel Cresso called to him again.

“Elf, I’m thinking of going to the front. I will probably die there.”

“Oh, that is a fitting Warrior’s end.”

Even Lu Li didn’t understand why he was still talking. Wasn’t the quest over?

“I’m not afraid of death, because it will bring me relief. But there are some things I cannot reconcile.” Gabriel Cresso pleadingly looked at Lu Li and asked, “For the sake of the great Mage Medivh, can you help me with one of my wishes?”

Medivh was a human who had led the Coalition to defeat Archimonde and protect the Night Elves’ Tree of Life. Even the most arrogant wizard was in awe of him.

A quest?

Lu Li paused before turning around and saying, “Of course I would be happy to help you.”

A quest necessarily meant there was a reward. This was a universal truth in all games. Lu Li didn’t have any reason to refuse.

“I was born into a family of blacksmiths. My grandfather learned this skill from Ironforge. Even those who were from Ironforge considered my grandfather a great blacksmith...”

Gabriel Cresso was very talkative. He would always add a little extra to his own story.

“Unfortunately, I am unable to appreciate the older ways,” Lu Li sighed pretentiously. He had already told him that the wild soldiers had killed his whole family. There was no way that his grandfather had survived by some miracle, so Lu Li couldn’t work out why he was being given this information.

“My grandfather was such a good blacksmith that there no one in this wilderness that didn’t know his name. Even some of the nobles would send for him to craft their weapons.”

Gabriel Cresso remembered where he was going with his story and continued, “They had hoped that I would also become a blacksmith and live safely.”

Lu Li was indifferent to what Cresso had said; he wasn’t really invested int the story.

“I didn’t want to become a blacksmith because I liked fighting.”

Gabriel Cresso’s eyes were suddenly filled with sadness.

“The skills of the Cresso cannot be lost. Elf, are you willing to help me pass them down?”