From Player To Npc

Chapter 130: The search for the artifact

It seemed like Shingi and Volig had the upper hand, which would be the case if Snow Rogue weren't over Level 60.

To pass level 60, one needed to pass some tests for his or her class that not everyone could, but the rewards worth it.

She summoned another pair of daggers, but this time they were typical Enchanted ones but still were of substantial power.

The Golems out there were very busy fighting everyone and barely keeping up, and Shingi had to drink an MP Regeneration potion after his last attack to keep boosting them and healing them. If the people outside dealt with his Golems before he defeated Snow Rogue, he didn't think he had a chance of winning.

He also sent a quick message to Price, but he couldn't tell him everything in that short of time.

Shingi looked towards Volig to check how he was and then charged towards Snow Rogue.

He barely heard a chuckle from her as he readied her daggers.

As he got on her and started his attack, he noticed she was faster than before, and he was getting close to keep up with her barely.

He didn't detect her enabling any Enchantments or her daggers to affect her like that.

She kept dodging his attacks but never countered, even if she had a few chances.

Shingi jumped to the side as another figure appeared behind him and almost cut him with a dagger, but just cut off part of his clothes.

The figure was identical to Snow Rogue on everything like they were the same person.

Shingi's senses didn't detect it as an Illusion, and he couldn't see any difference between them. They even had the same wound he did to her just a few moments ago.

This meant only one thing; she was using an Artifact.

His detection Skills were at Master Rank, so only a few things that a mortal could do could escape them, but she didn't show signs of doing any of those. So the only explanation he could come out with was her having an Artifact allowing her to either create an Illusion of herself or an actual clone.

Both were possible, but since he could see that both could physically affect their surroundings, he was confident that this was an actual clone of her from the moment she enabled it; that's why it had the same wound.

Shingi had heard of items like that. He knew that they increased some stats of its user when activated, which in this case,  seemed to be her AGI.

He had to find what this artifact was, and the obvious answer was one or both of her daggers, but he quickly erased that thought.

He was familiar with those daggers, as they weren't too rare but difficult to get to, mainly because NPC shops at big towns sold them for many coins. But if one had the coins, he or she could have them.

The two figures started attacking Shingi and completely ignoring Volig, even when he attacked one of them, but he was too slow for them.

Shingi had to change to a defensive stance as he kept searching for that artifact, and he soon didn't know who was the real one as their speed kept increasing.

Her wound was also closing and became fast enough to hit with some of her attacks.

Fortunately, Shingi had increased the defense of his clothes, and they were absolving part of the attack, but not all of it as he was losing chunks of his HP.

If he didn't deal with her speed or the artifact, he was as good as dead. He could tell that she didn't try to keep him alive and was going for lethal blows.

His MP was low because of his Golems, so that he couldn't cast his FEAR Spell, and escaping was not an option this time.

He had to enable his Breaking Limit State, or he wouldn't be able to keep up with those two, but it would give him just a few seconds if her speed kept increasing at this rate.

But then a roar was heard, and everyone remembered one person they completely forgot; the bear named Winestone.

Fire mana started surrounding his entire body as they turned into flames and the flames into magma.

He grew in size, being a little bigger than what a full-grown bear was supposed to be.

As this transformation was over in a few seconds, Winestone opened his mouth, and it released flames towards the two Snow Rogues.

They both easily avoided this attack, but Winestone piqued their interest. It wasn't every day one could see a magma bear.

Winestone charged towards them, and one could feel the incredible heat emitting from his body.

Shingi, for a moment, remembered his battle with the Dragon in one of the last battles he had in the Tower but soon snapped out of it as he continued fighting.

Winestone wasn't too fast, especially in his new large form, but his tactics were masterful enough to keep busy at least one of the Snow Rogues giving Shingi some chances to deal some damage.

But her regeneration and increase of her speed was still something that they couldn't stop and would turn the battle against them, but soon finally found what he looked for.

He thought the artifact was on her and that she enabled it after hitting her, but it wasn't the case.

Something of that power would take time to enable its effect, and she probably used it before he finished his attack, but it took effect after it.

That meant it was something she was in contact with but didn't need to be anymore but stay in a range of it.

Shing charged towards them as he did something he had never done before. He recast HASTE on himself while he was still under its effect. This time he used one charge of the spell he had stored at his new ring.

He had to focus more on keeping them both enabled; that's why he also enabled Blessing of Beliss's active effect as a boosted INT would help.

So with his current speed momentarily being again more than them, he moved as fast as lightning, leaving afterimages behind him and moving to interrupt them from going forward.

They soon noticed why as Winestone got in front of their throne and was ready to breathe fire on it.

This was her artifact, and she enabled its effect when she stood up from it but took some time till it took effect.

If it got destroyed, that would cause her clone to disappear. Also, a backlash would hit her depending on how long she was using its effect.

They tried to pass Shingi, but he used everything he used to stop her, even if he lost some big chunks of HP in the process.

He had used another message he had stored in the Ring, which was of Mizuneko, and it was an Air based Spell called SILENT MESSAGE, which allowed him to tell Winestone to burn the throne.

Shingi knew that the flames of Winestone were magical in nature, so they could damage it enough to at least disrupt its effect if not destroying it. And fortunately, he was right.

She was close to cut his neck as both figures fell to their knees.

One figure turned black and disappeared as it became a shadow on the ground, and then the shadow also moved into the other's shadow.

The real Snow Rogue looked towards Shingi with pure hatred in her eyes before she passed out as the backslash fully hit her.

Shingi and Volig helped Winestone destroy the throne, as they didn't want it for themselves, and they couldn't store it at their Spatial Rings. Specially crafted Rings were needed for that to happen.

Shingi had bought some of those rings, but he had given them to his students for the artifacts they had, and he waited for Jax's men to bring one more for him. But they were difficult and took time to be made.

Volig couldn't make one as he couldn't make spatial-related Enchantments, and even Zhen didn't know how to make one. Only a few people in all the Kingdoms knew how to make some, and they weren't taking orders from just anyone.

Shingi concentrated on his Golems and strengthened them as much as possible as he gave some HP Regeneration potion to him and Winestone before they got outside to finish this battle.

Fortunately, the rest weren't as high level as Snow Rogue, but they weren't too far from her. But Shingi and his group took care of them before his double HASTE was over.

When the duration of his first one was over, his body got weakened enough to throw his focus on the second one, and this caused a backlash to him that made him almost passed out. But he used everything he had to keep himself up, even if they had dealt with every enemy.

He didn't know where they would respawn, but he could tell this wasn't their respawn point, but just a temporary camp of theirs.

They found the cart that brought them here, and its driver was in the carriage trying to hide.

He was an NPC and didn't seem to have a class of his, but Shingi could tell that the tattoo he detected was an enslaving one, which made him follow their orders.

But since nobody with authority to control him was around, he was free to act as he wanted, but he seemed too scared to run away, even if he had a carriage at his disposal.

"You better get us back to our place and hurry because I am hungry, and you don't have enough meat."[Winestone]

Winestone, at this point, was at his standard form, but the driver saw his magma form while Winestone was fighting.

His entire body was shaking as he quickly sat in the driver's seat and waited for them to get in the carriage, which they did in a hurry as first they helped Winestone get in.

The driver then started making their way back to town by making the horses go as fast as possible.

He was afraid of Snow Rogue and the rest of her Guild, but he now was more fearful of the three individuals who had dealt with them.

Quickly the fear got replaced by a less dark feeling.

Hope.