The lady did not blame Sheng Sheng at all. She simply stood there silently, tears streaming down her face.
Sheng Sheng, who had always responded better to softness than force, felt a rare twinge of guilt. She scratched her head and said, "Sorry… my methods were a bit rough."
Inwardly, Sheng Sheng figured that the reward for this quest would probably be reduced.
In Earth OL, even if players accepted the same quest, the final rewards could vary depending on their favorability with the quest NPC.
But to Sheng Sheng's surprise, after listening to her explanation, although Miralda still looked gloomy, the reward she handed over didn't seem to be docked much at all.
[System]: Congratulations on completing Miralda's commission. Rewards obtained: Sharp Dagger x1, Copper Coins x20, EXP 200.
In the original novel, the female lead ultimately received a green-quality weapon. The weapon Sheng Sheng received was also green quality.
The difference was that the female lead got a staff, while Sheng Sheng received a dagger.
In this game, equipment was divided into six tiers from lowest to highest: White, Green, Blue, Red, Purple, and Legendary.
Legendary-tier weapons were extremely rare—true "divine weapons." Even in the late stages of the game, only one or two players ever possessed one. In the original novel, aside from the male and female leads, the only other holder was the top assassin on the leaderboard, [Yuling].
That dagger was described in detail in the original story—because the female lead had been instantly killed by it.
Just thinking about that weapon's stats made Sheng Sheng drool. The attack power, the bonus attributes—any squishy class wouldn't survive even a single basic attack.
Unfortunately, that weapon wouldn't appear until the late game.
Sheng Sheng sighed softly and tightened her grip on the dagger. The game had just launched, and while green-quality gear wasn't high-end, it was more than enough to get through the beginner phase.
Far better than the white, shop-made weapons those players outside the forest were still using.
Equipment Name: Sharp Dagger [Green Equipment]
Class Requirement: None
Attributes: Strength +5, Agility +2
Description: A carefully tempered piece of equipment, the proud work of Old Hansen from the blacksmith shop.
Sheng Sheng tried swinging the dagger—it felt fairly comfortable. Still, she decided she would replace it after the beginner phase.
—In real life, the most she'd ever done with a knife was kill chickens, ducks, or fish. Suddenly using one to slash people was… difficult.
Not because she couldn't bring herself to do it, but because she worried that getting too used to it in-game might carry over into reality.
This wasn't baseless worry—she had a record.
Once, after being deeply immersed in a wuxia game, she encountered a ferocious dog blocking her path and barking wildly. Her first reaction was to draw a sword and shout, "Azure Dragon Emerges from the Water!"
The looks passersby gave her that day remained a lifelong psychological shadow.
…
After testing the dagger for a while, Sheng Sheng noticed Miralda trying to move her unconscious daughter into the house. NPCs had stamina limits, so adhering to principles of harmony and kindness, Sheng Sheng lent a hand.
Once her daughter was placed on the bed, Miralda finally showed a smile.
Seeing this, Sheng Sheng seized the opportunity and probed, "Will you take care of this one too?"
She nudged the black-haired, red-eyed man beside her with her toe.
Miralda's expression changed immediately. She clearly held no goodwill toward the strange man who had abducted her daughter. If not for the fact that his human form was indeed good-looking, he might have already received a beating.
Miralda said, "Dear adventurer, our town does not shelter such strangers. Please return him to where he came from."
Sheng Sheng translated the NPC's meaning internally—where this thing came from, throw it back there.
She rubbed her nose and added, "Are you sure? This is a dark creature."
Ordinary NPCs couldn't identify boss-level dark creatures. Earlier, Sheng Sheng had only given a vague explanation, but now she patiently spoke the black dragon's full name.
According to the game's setting, normal civilians on this continent deeply despised dark creatures. As long as Miralda was mentally sound, she wouldn't ignore a black dragon.
What followed unfolded exactly as Sheng Sheng expected.
When the name [Dark Reaper – Black Dragon Beskarn] was spoken, Miralda's expression became extremely complex. Sheng Sheng observed fear, panic, and deep revulsion. But when Miralda looked back at Sheng Sheng, those emotions turned into reverence.
Miralda said, "Respected adventurer, you are truly a fearless hero, to have captured such a vicious criminal. You deserve praise from all the world…"
Sheng Sheng felt nothing about the flattery. What caught her attention was the change in Miralda's form of address.
The system promptly announced it.
[System]: Miralda's favorability toward you has reached Reverence.
Sheng Sheng: "…"
The reverence of an ordinary town NPC was clearly of limited value.
Still unwilling to give up, Sheng Sheng maintained her smile and asked, "It's only a black dragon. Do you have a way to deal with it? As you know, we adventurers are brave, but our equipment is severely lacking. If possible, I'd like to turn this black dragon into—"
Miralda's eyes widened in disbelief. "You want to make equipment out of this black dragon?!"
Sheng Sheng smiled gently, her tone leaving no room for doubt. "Of course. The dragon race is valuable from head to toe. I happen to be short on a set of leather armor and a weapon that suits me."
Miralda: "…"
Sheng Sheng said calmly, "If you can't handle it, I'll think of another way."
"Wait!" Seeing Sheng Sheng start dragging the black dragon away, Miralda hurriedly said, "Respected adventurer, please… please wait a moment. I believe the great Priest Charlie should be able to handle this matter."
Sheng Sheng raised an eyebrow and waited in place.
About five minutes later, Miralda returned with someone wearing a white priest's robe.
It was an elderly man who looked to be in his sixties, with a kindly smile. He was far calmer than Miralda—even upon seeing the black dragon, his expression barely changed. Only when he looked at Sheng Sheng did his eyes carry a hint of amazement, as if he couldn't understand how she had captured a black dragon without a scratch.
Sheng Sheng also examined the old man.
Compared to NPCs, players could be considered cheaters in certain ways. At most, the old man could tell that Sheng Sheng was a novice adventurer—but Sheng Sheng could see all of his details clearly.
Name: Charlie Edelman
Class: Priest
Level: 60
Sheng Sheng didn't pay much attention to HP or MP—they were just large numbers to her at this stage.
What caught her attention was the "Class" field.
The original female lead was also a healer, but her status panel simply showed "Priest," later changing to "Holy Priest" after advancement.
Was this an NPC-exclusive class?
While Sheng Sheng pondered, the subject of her scrutiny stepped forward.
"Brave adventurer, thank you deeply for capturing this black dragon. If he had continued to lurk in the forest, he would certainly have caused immense damage to the town."
As expected of the "great priest" Miralda mentioned, Charlie seemed to recognize the black dragon's identity at a glance, showing no doubt.
But that wasn't what Sheng Sheng wanted. She wanted equipment and weapons.
In fact, if Sheng Sheng had been able to deal with the black dragon herself, she wouldn't have wasted so much time here—she had already tested it when she first obtained the dagger.
One stab into the black dragon.
[System]: Black Dragon Beskarn HP -1
Two to three seconds later…
[System]: Black Dragon Beskarn HP +23
She was dealing less damage than it regenerated.
Although the black dragon had only a thin sliver of HP left, that sliver converted into concrete numbers when attacked. Sheng Sheng had counted—it was a nine-digit figure.
Sheng Sheng: At that moment, I smashed my abacus.
Charlie clearly already knew the full story from Miralda. He didn't object to Sheng Sheng's desire for equipment.
But he changed the subject.
"Black Dragon Beskarn is a legendary dark creature, beyond our ability to handle. The dark aura on him is extremely dense. Even if forged into equipment or weapons, a young adventurer would be unable to wield them and would instead risk being eroded by the dark power."
Charlie was clearly experienced. Before Sheng Sheng could voice dissatisfaction, he continued, "However, brave adventurer, if you are willing, you may entrust the black dragon to me. I will use secret rites to send him to the [Sacred Hall]. In return, a brave and wise adventurer like yourself will receive generous rewards."