Chapter 169: Cursed Item
The sky gradually darkened.
The merchant ship did not stop; this river was relatively safe, and the helmsman was an experienced one. Barring any accidents, it would take about a day and a half to reach Shipwreck Bay, where the river led to the sea. Next door, sounds arose again at night; the couple seemed to have good stamina, changing positions as they engaged in their activities. Soren’s expression remained calm as he quietly waited for the right moment, occasionally aware of the movements outside.
Stealing was not advisable.
The targets were right in the room, and in such a small space, it would be troublesome for anyone who wasn’t a Legendary Wanderer. Moreover, there was still a way to go, and if they discovered something had been stolen, it could cause unnecessary trouble. Soren was a person who disliked trouble, so sometimes he could be quite ruthless, especially since the targets did not appear to be good people. If he were to act, he had to be quick because there were other sailors in the cabin, and guards on the deck.
These were all unexpected factors; they certainly did not want any incidents on the ship.
Time passed little by little.
Soren patiently awaited midnight; the couple next door had engaged in their activities three times and seemed to be somewhat fatigued.
He even heard the man snoring.
Occasionally, merchant guards patrolled past outside, roughly every hour, mainly to check the cargo in the cabin, as it was quite valuable. The sailors worked in shifts, and there was a large area below filled with hammocks, the kind suspended by nets at both ends. Both shifts of sailors worked through the night, and Soren basically hadn’t gone out today. No one had disturbed him either, as people knew that wizards had rather peculiar tempers.
Food was located in the kitchen area, and guests needed to help themselves.
If no one went to get it, generally, no one would bring food over, as this was a merchant ship and not a passenger ship.
Soren lightly tapped his fingers on the table, calculating the patrol timing.
The merchant guards would appear once every ten minutes, their footsteps comprising three people who occasionally talked a bit. They soon went down to the cabin below, making a slight round before heading back up to the deck. Soren narrowed his eyes slightly, waiting for the footsteps to fade away before turning to grab his clothes. He slowly drew out his curved blade, not the legendary one from the Frozen Kingdom, but the original one he had, as the legendary curved blade would be too conspicuous.
Creak!
Soren gently opened the door, the sound so minimal that it did not disturb anyone.
His figure blended into the darkness. His stealth ability rendered him completely invisible in the shadows. He cautiously approached next door and produced a set of lock-picking tools. He was quite skilled in his old profession, and after a small stretch, he heard a faint click; he had already picked the lock on the door. The people inside did not wake up and appeared to be sleeping heavily. They had been at it for quite some time.
Soren gently pushed the door open.
His hand was steady, careful not to make any noise. His night vision ability allowed him to see everything inside; the sight was quite lascivious.
The woman’s long dress lay strewn on the floor along with several small trinkets.
Weapons lay by the foot of the bed.
The other party should also be adventurers, but they appeared to be warriors, as the man’s muscles were well-defined and remarkably pronounced. The woman curled up in the corner of the bed had fiery red hair and a fair back. Her full hips, ample chest, and long, strong legs made her look quite attractive; she was likely also a professionist. Soren noticed the calluses on her palm, closer to her thumb. His wealth of experience told him that she was adept at using short weapons.
In the room, there were only the sounds of breathing and the man’s occasional snoring.
Creak.
Soren quietly closed the door, then stealthily moved forward. In an instant, he struck like lightning with the curved blade, plunging it directly into the man’s heart. Initially, he intended to knock the two unconscious, but the man, being a warrior, likely had a very high toughness save. Soren’s strength probably couldn’t match his, and the risk of alarming others was too high. The cold light flashed in Soren’s eyes as he decisively stabbed the man to d*ath, then swiftly seized the woman’s throat.
Bang!
A slight impact sound echoed.
Though the sound was a bit abrupt, it did not disturb the sailors below.
The woman opened her eyes in an instant, trying to scream, her striking face full of terror. But with Soren choking her throat tightly, she could not make a sound and could only kick her legs against the ship’s floor. The noise made Soren’s brows furrow; he was about to say something, but he swallowed his words back. With a twist of his wrist, accompanied by a crisp snap, he broke the woman’s neck.
A faint smell of bl**d arose.
Soren frowned as he covered the bl**d, then stacked the two corpses together.
Some people were very sensitive to the smell of bl**d, so it was best to handle it a bit to prevent the smell from becoming too overwhelming.
A line of data appeared:
“Backstab activated!…”
“Dealt 85 points of piercing damage to the target!… Target dead!…”
“Extracting soul energy, gained 550 points of killing experience.”
“Chokehold activated!… ”
“Dealt 24 points of bruising damage to the target!… Target’s neck broken!… Triggered d*ath check!… Target’s toughness save failed!… Target died directly!…”
“Extracting soul energy, gained 350 points of killing experience.”
The man died from Soren’s kn*fe piercing his heart, essentially initiating a backstab that resulted in immediate d*ath. The woman fell victim to the chokehold attack, resulting in bruising damage, but because her throat was broken, she died from the d*ath save check. Neither of them had a high profession level, probably only around the second tier, making them easy for Soren to deal with. He didn’t even use any skills; it was merely a normal attack that took down both of them.
This led him to lower his expectations regarding extraordinary items; it was unlikely they would find anything good from two such individuals unless they had an extraordinary stroke of luck.
Soren began to search the room.
He found many small trinkets; these two had almost no extraordinary gear, just some very ordinary military-grade items. However, he quickly discovered a special item: a rather large cloak, dark red in color, looking very striking and feeling smooth to the touch, akin to silk. This should be the extraordinary item they spoke of.
Soren attempted to identify the item, quickly seeing a line of data:
“Item Type: Mourning Cloak of the Moku River [Water Spirit Cloak +2]
Item Level: [Second Tier Legendary Item]
Item Description: This is a cursed special cloak. Ordinary water spirit cloaks are made from the hair of water spirits, but this one was crafted from the skin of a certain water spirit born in a river called the Moku. The whole production process was very bloody and cruel; the creator brutally skinned a high-tier water spirit and then wove it into this legendary equipment using her hair. Compared to ordinary water spirit cloaks, this equipment is more powerful, but it also carries the curse of the wandering souls.
Equipment Requirements: Constitution 12 and above.
Equipment Effects: Charisma +2, maximum increase to 25 points.
Equipment Special Effect: [Charm Humans] Once per day, this legendary equipment can charm humans once daily without any casting action, instantly casting a charm human spell with spell-like abilities.
Equipment Special Effect: [Frenzied Succubus] Once every three days, this legendary equipment can activate a frenzied charm once every three days without any casting action, instantly casting a frenzied charm spell with spell-like abilities.”
………………
Legendary equipment?
A hint of surprise appeared on Soren’s face.
The water spirit cloak was a relatively rare extraordinary equipment since water spirits, like treants, are beautiful beings known as embodiments of nature. Treants are somewhat more common, as many legendary wizards like to use treants as their servants or bedwarmers. Water spirits are much rarer; they are embodiments of rivers with many special extraordinary abilities, making it difficult even for wizards to find them.
Both types of beings belong to unique supernatural life forms with innate charm magic abilities.
Treants, water spirits, succubi, and lust demons are four kinds of beings with innate extraordinary charm; their adult charm is 20 points, having instantaneous special charm spells. Ordinary water spirit cloaks are woven from their hair and then enchanted with special magic, generally increasing charisma by 1 point, or occasionally adding additional spell effects. This item before him was evidently crafted with special methods, somewhat akin to a human skin cloak, not only using the hair of the water spirit but also stripping off its skin to create it.
No wonder it carries the curse of the water spirit!
This item reminded Soren of the human skin cloak in the Abyss, which was also a legendary piece of equipment, giving +3 charisma to evil faction beings.
Wearing such a cloak indeed requires a certain psychological fortitude.
Soren initially rejected the human skin magic armor for that reason, ultimately settling for a legendary dragon skin armor, which felt less burdensome psychologically. He lightly caressed the cloak with his fingers and seemed to sense something intuitively—a sound of wailing illusions, confirming that the curse of the wandering souls was indeed entwined with it. If his perception were higher, he might feel even more and could potentially communicate with the souls bound to it.
Soren quickly stored the legendary cloak away.
Then he began to handle the corpses; by tomorrow, they would reach Shipwreck Bay, and he needed to ensure they were not discovered upon arrival.
As for what would happen afterward, he cared little, as he had already left.
……………… (To be continued ~^~)
