reincarnation of the strongest sword god

Chapter 13 - Blackie’s Good Luck

The Kobold within the smoke was hit, 21 damage appearing above his head.

The Kobold became furious after being inexplicably attacked. Like a searchlight, the Kobold looked around in all directions with his blood red eyes. Such an action had also caused the other Kobolds to start being on guard.

Within the forest, Blackie’s heartbeat kept on speeding up. He was extremely panicked.

Although the Kobolds looked to be Level 2, their Attributes 100% belonged to a Level 4. Drinking the Black Steel Beer allowed a player to become drunk, significantly increasing the player’s courage. As a result, all enemies seen by the player would have their Levels reduced by 2. However, this would not reduce the Kobolds’ Attributes.

If these Kobolds came rushing at them, only death awaited Shi Feng and Blackie.

Yet, Blackie’s worries were for naught.

The attacked Kobold looked at its surroundings. However, it did not discover any enemies. After whining for a bit, it returned to its original state. The other Kobolds also stopped paying attention to their deranged companion as they continued walking about.

“Relax. They won’t attack us as long as you maintain a 30-yard distance.” Shi Feng clapped Blackie’s shoulders as he confidently commented.

He had been planning all this ahead of time. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have spent that much money buying all those items.

Blackie became even more courageous after Shi Feng’s encouragement. He continuously chanted curses and shot out Dark Arrows.

The Kobold only had 420 HP, and it couldn’t withstand Blackie’s bombardment at all. After receiving more than twenty Dark Arrows, it breathed its final breath. Meanwhile, the other Kobolds by its side did not show any reaction at all.

Blackie became excited when he saw the first Kobold fall.

He had killed a monster 4 levels higher. Although the EXP was shared due to being in a two-man party, the amount of EXP he received was still plenty. His experience had risen by 5% within an instant.

This meant that Blackie would level up after killing 20 Kobolds. He was even safe and unharmed. If the monsters did not disappear completely, their leveling speed would be terrifying. With such a great way of leveling, they would be able to rise even to Level 6 very effectively. Blackie now understood why Shi Feng was so confident. Even if they had wasted several hours from traveling, being able to grind on monsters here was definitely worth it.

After a while, the group of twenty or so Kobolds in front of the mine’s entrance was cleared out completely

Blackie had also raised to Level 1. After he equipped the Blackwood Staff and added all his Free Ability Points into Intelligence, his damage was increased by a large leap. He could now take away 45 HP from the Kobolds in a single hit.

Meanwhile, the group of Kobolds had dropped 12 Copper Coins and a Level 3 Common Cloth Armor. There were also 5 pieces of Meteorite Ore. Blackie’s luck was quite good.

According to what Shi Feng had known, the drop rate of Meteorite Ore from the Kobolds was not high; only one would drop out of ten of them. Nearly 1000 Kobolds needed to be killed to obtain 100 pieces of Meteorite Ore. Now, however, just a group Kobolds had given them 5 pieces of Meteorite Ore.

After storing the drops, Shi Feng went on to lure more monsters. With the advantage of his 16 Agility, Shi Feng’s speed was faster than the Kobolds. Within moments, he had lured over 30 Kobolds. He also maintained the distance of around 20-yards, but not exceeding 25-yards. When he had lured all the Kobolds into the smoke cloud, Shi Feng increased his speed abruptly. He quickly distanced himself over 25-yards from the Kobolds, causing them to lose their target. After losing their target, the Kobolds stood on the spot in a daze.

Blackie who stood over 30 yards away took the chance to attack.

The group of over 30 Kobolds took less than ten minutes to be cleared. They dropped another 21 Coppers and 6 pieces of Meteorite Ore. Shi Feng and Blackie’s experience also greatly increased.

In such a way, Shi Feng continued luring monsters while Blackie continued dealing damage. Although the process felt mechanical and boring, Blackie was not complaining one tiny bit. On the contrary, he became even more vigorous with each kill. He wished he could just kill all day without resting.

After an hour, Blackie’s level had also risen to Level 2. His Dark Arrow rose to Level 3, and his damage went from more than 40 to more than 60. Such a rocket-like leveling speed made him speechlessly happy, giving him even more motivation to aim for Level 3.

Their Kobold-killing efficiency also increased by quite a bit with Blackie’s greatly improved damage. The only downside was the increase in MP consumption following the Dark Arrow’s level up. Fortunately, there was the Magic Water that Shi Feng had bought. With it, Blackie could fully regenerate his MP before Shi Feng had lured a new group of monsters, allowing him to deal damage without pause.

Meanwhile, Shi Feng was observing Blackie’s condition while he lured a suitable number of Kobolds. Other than that, he was just picking up the loot. The number of Copper Coins and Meteorite Ore were steadily increasing.

After another hour of Blackie’s effort, they had managed to collect 73 pieces of Meteorite Ore, 6 pieces of Common Equipment, and 264 Coppers. They would be able to gather the remaining Meteorite Ore if they grinded for another hour.

The system notification rang out just at this moment.

System: Player Lonely Snow has sent you 10 Coppers.

Subsequently, Shi Feng received a communication request. The person contacting him was Lonely Snow.

“You are?” Shi Feng had just finished luring a group of monsters. Since he had nothing to do, he accepted the call request.

“Hello, Brother Expert. I’m Lonely Snow. We met before at the Town Hall, and you’ve even pointed me to a grinding spot. That place was just too great. There wasn’t anybody stealing mobs from me, and I could also easily handle them. I’m already Level 2 now. I’ve also looted a lot of materials and Copper coins. I’ve already mailed you the 10 Coppers. I wonder if you’ve received it.” Lonely Snow was extremely excited. Previously, he was worried that this expert would not bother with him any longer. This was because experts were usually very proud; they wouldn’t even look at minor characters like him. Lonely Snow had earned over 60 Coppers from that treasured location he purchased. His level had even risen to Level 2, leading the other players by quite a lot. Spending 20 Coppers for this were definitely worth it.

“So it was you. I’ve received the 10 Coppers.” Shi Feng only remembered about it after being reminded. Indeed there was such a matter. However, that was when he needed the money to kill the Town Mayor a little earlier, so he had just casually given out some pointers. He didn’t really mind regarding the remaining 10 Coppers.

“Brother Expert, the Level 2 Dungeon [Deathly Forest] has already been opened, so I wanted to invite you to dive into the Dungeon. My friends are all veterans, and they’re all Level 2 now. They will definitely not drag you down. Of course, all Swordsman Equipment obtained from the Dungeon will belong to you. Do you perhaps have the time?” Lonely Snow was slightly nervous. Experts usually disdained bringing along other people, especially rookie newbies. It was the reason why Lonely Snow mentioned that there were Level 2 veterans in the party; he was afraid Shi Feng would just outright reject him.

Deathly Forest?

Shi Feng had a deep impression of this Dungeon. As long as the number of Level 2 players in Red Leaf Town reaches a certain amount, the first Level 2 Dungeon in Red Leaf Town, [Deathly Forest] would be opened.

Along with the Deathly Forest’s opening, players of God’s Domain were made known to the difficulty of Dungeons. Deathly Forest was only conquered after many players had reached Level 4 or 5.

Meanwhile, Deathly Forest’s true purpose was to increase the number of skills a player could possess. The monsters within the dungeon mainly dropped the basic skill books for every Job. However, the most precious item within the Dungeon was the forging design. Only the Final Boss, Werewolf Felot dropped it with a very low probability.

Shi Feng was very interested in this forging design. If he could learn it, then he would be able to further progress in his plans.

“Fine. However, I have a condition of my own. I will be bringing a Cursemancer, so all Cursemancer and Swordsman equipment will belong to me. Also, I want all materials and design papers that the Boss drops. If you all are willing to agree to this condition then I can go with you.” Shi Feng had just casually asked for the majority of the profits. However, he did not feel anything wrong with it.

“This……” Lonely Snow started sweating all over after hearing Shi Feng’s condition. As expected, an expert’s asking price was definitely high. However, when Lonely Snow considered the strengths of a Beta Tester, he still reluctantly agreed, “Alright then, I agree. I’ll tell it to the others. Expert, when will you be free to come?”

“We’ll meet at the Dungeon’s entrance in another two or so hours.” Shi Feng estimated Blackie’s killing speed. In over an hour, they would definitely be able to finish gathering the 100 pieces of Meteorite Ore.

“That’s good. Then I’ll start preparing over here. I’ll see you at the Dungeon’s entrance, Brother Expert.” Lonely Snow ended the call, a heavy weight being freed from him.

At this moment, there were three other people standing beside Lonely Snow. Every one of them was Level 2.

“What did that expert say?” a handsome Ranger asked.

Lonely Snow explained it to them word for word.

“What dog’s fart expert? He’s just here to take advantage and rip off equipment from us. What’s the point of inviting him? If we add another two damage dealers, we can enter the Dungeon all the same.” a Shield Warrior angrily cursed.

The male Cleric standing at a side curled his lips, saying in a bad mood, “Then he’s saying that all mage-class equipment belongs to his friend.”

Lonely Snow advised, “That person is a real expert. He’s also a Beta Tester. He definitely has a deep understanding of the Dungeon. He might even be able to guide us through it. Don’t you all want to clear the Deathly Forest?”

“So, what if he’s a Beta Tester? He just had an extra month of experience in God’s Domain and a rough understanding of it. Besides, the data has long been changed after the game’s official release. Even if he knew a lot about the Deathly Forest, how much use could there be?” The Shield Warrior asked in disdain. He felt that those Beta Testers were only lucky. Their actual skills and strength might not even be comparable to them.

“We’ll see how it goes after they arrive. If it’s no good, then by that time there will be a lot more Level 2 players. It won’t be too late, even if we find someone else by then.” The leading Ranger said.

After hearing this Ranger speak, the others nodded their heads in agreement.

At this moment, there was a flash of light in Dark Moon Valley.

Shi Feng had finally raised to Level 3. Unfortunately, the leaderboard for levels had yet to be opened. Otherwise, he would definitely be ranked first on Red Leaf Town’s leaderboard for levels.

“Finally Level 3.” Shi Feng hurriedly added 4 attribute points towards Agility, letting his Agility reach 20 points.

System: Player’s Agility has reached 20 points. Activating Agility Hidden Basic Skill [Fast And Nimble].

[Fast And Nimble] (Active)

When activated, possess a body exceeding the normal man.

Body’s degree of freedom is completely released.

Shi Feng suddenly felt a gush of strength from his entire body. He also felt his body becoming unspeakably agile. His five senses also received a great improvement. These improvements allowed Shi Feng to better exert his body's potential.

Besides Shi Feng reaching Level 3, the last Kobold that Blackie killed had unexpectedly dropped a Level 1 Bronze Equipment: Warboots.

Shi Feng couldn’t help but admire Blackie’s luck. Common monsters of Level 1 to 3 would not drop any Bronze Equipment. The drop rate of Bronze Equipment from Level 4 wild monsters was one out of ten thousand. Yet Blackie had actually got it; his luck was just heaven defying.

“Brother Feng, what are the attributes? Let me see as well!” Blackie said so excitedly.

“The Warboots’ attributes are quite good.” Shi Feng displayed the attributes.

[Recruit’s Warboots] (Bronze Rank, Plate Armor)

Level 1

Equipment Requirement: Strength 6

Defense +8

Strength +1, Endurance +1

Movement Speed +1

Durability 20/20

“This is too great. With this equipment, Brother Feng’s speed would become even faster,” Blackie happily said. Before, it was only him who obtained a Bronze Equipment. It had troubled him to no end. Now that Shi Feng had one as well, his heart became relieved as he said, “Brother Feng, how many Meteorite Ore are we still missing?”

“Not many. Just 4 more pieces. We’ll be okay after another wave.” Shi Feng looked into his bag. Unknowingly, there were already 96 pieces of Meteorite Ores in his bag. If someone else had come here to grind, they might have needed five to six hours to obtain this many. Luckily, there was Blackie. They had gathered most of it after just killing a few hundred Kobolds.

Just when Shi Feng was about to lure more monsters, his keen senses detected three blurry figures were closing in from behind Blackie.

“Blackie, dodge quickly!”

Shi Feng yelled as he pulled out his Novice Sword. With lightning speed, Shi Feng rushed over.

Blackie remained ignorant of the situation. He was still stuck being happy, unaware of the things approaching him.

“Only finding out now? You’re too late. He’ll be the first one.”

Three figures suddenly appeared. They were three Assassin players, and one of them was Quiet Wolf, the person who was killed before. A mage being simultaneously ambushed by three Assassins would die, without question. There would be no suspense to it, even if Blackie was 1 level higher than them.

Chapter 13 - Blackie’s Good Luck

The Kobold within the smoke was hit, 21 damage appearing above his head.

The Kobold became furious after being inexplicably attacked. Like a searchlight, the Kobold looked around in all directions with his blood red eyes. Such an action had also caused the other Kobolds to start being on guard.

Within the forest, Blackie’s heartbeat kept on speeding up. He was extremely panicked.

Although the Kobolds looked to be Level 2, their Attributes 100% belonged to a Level 4. Drinking the Black Steel Beer allowed a player to become drunk, significantly increasing the player’s courage. As a result, all enemies seen by the player would have their Levels reduced by 2. However, this would not reduce the Kobolds’ Attributes.

If these Kobolds came rushing at them, only death awaited Shi Feng and Blackie.

Yet, Blackie’s worries were for naught.

The attacked Kobold looked at its surroundings. However, it did not discover any enemies. After whining for a bit, it returned to its original state. The other Kobolds also stopped paying attention to their deranged companion as they continued walking about.

“Relax. They won’t attack us as long as you maintain a 30-yard distance.” Shi Feng clapped Blackie’s shoulders as he confidently commented.

He had been planning all this ahead of time. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have spent that much money buying all those items.

Blackie became even more courageous after Shi Feng’s encouragement. He continuously chanted curses and shot out Dark Arrows.

The Kobold only had 420 HP, and it couldn’t withstand Blackie’s bombardment at all. After receiving more than twenty Dark Arrows, it breathed its final breath. Meanwhile, the other Kobolds by its side did not show any reaction at all.

Blackie became excited when he saw the first Kobold fall.

He had killed a monster 4 levels higher. Although the EXP was shared due to being in a two-man party, the amount of EXP he received was still plenty. His experience had risen by 5% within an instant.

This meant that Blackie would level up after killing 20 Kobolds. He was even safe and unharmed. If the monsters did not disappear completely, their leveling speed would be terrifying. With such a great way of leveling, they would be able to rise even to Level 6 very effectively. Blackie now understood why Shi Feng was so confident. Even if they had wasted several hours from traveling, being able to grind on monsters here was definitely worth it.

After a while, the group of twenty or so Kobolds in front of the mine’s entrance was cleared out completely

Blackie had also raised to Level 1. After he equipped the Blackwood Staff and added all his Free Ability Points into Intelligence, his damage was increased by a large leap. He could now take away 45 HP from the Kobolds in a single hit.

Meanwhile, the group of Kobolds had dropped 12 Copper Coins and a Level 3 Common Cloth Armor. There were also 5 pieces of Meteorite Ore. Blackie’s luck was quite good.

According to what Shi Feng had known, the drop rate of Meteorite Ore from the Kobolds was not high; only one would drop out of ten of them. Nearly 1000 Kobolds needed to be killed to obtain 100 pieces of Meteorite Ore. Now, however, just a group Kobolds had given them 5 pieces of Meteorite Ore.

After storing the drops, Shi Feng went on to lure more monsters. With the advantage of his 16 Agility, Shi Feng’s speed was faster than the Kobolds. Within moments, he had lured over 30 Kobolds. He also maintained the distance of around 20-yards, but not exceeding 25-yards. When he had lured all the Kobolds into the smoke cloud, Shi Feng increased his speed abruptly. He quickly distanced himself over 25-yards from the Kobolds, causing them to lose their target. After losing their target, the Kobolds stood on the spot in a daze.

Blackie who stood over 30 yards away took the chance to attack.

The group of over 30 Kobolds took less than ten minutes to be cleared. They dropped another 21 Coppers and 6 pieces of Meteorite Ore. Shi Feng and Blackie’s experience also greatly increased.

In such a way, Shi Feng continued luring monsters while Blackie continued dealing damage. Although the process felt mechanical and boring, Blackie was not complaining one tiny bit. On the contrary, he became even more vigorous with each kill. He wished he could just kill all day without resting.

After an hour, Blackie’s level had also risen to Level 2. His Dark Arrow rose to Level 3, and his damage went from more than 40 to more than 60. Such a rocket-like leveling speed made him speechlessly happy, giving him even more motivation to aim for Level 3.

Their Kobold-killing efficiency also increased by quite a bit with Blackie’s greatly improved damage. The only downside was the increase in MP consumption following the Dark Arrow’s level up. Fortunately, there was the Magic Water that Shi Feng had bought. With it, Blackie could fully regenerate his MP before Shi Feng had lured a new group of monsters, allowing him to deal damage without pause.

Meanwhile, Shi Feng was observing Blackie’s condition while he lured a suitable number of Kobolds. Other than that, he was just picking up the loot. The number of Copper Coins and Meteorite Ore were steadily increasing.

After another hour of Blackie’s effort, they had managed to collect 73 pieces of Meteorite Ore, 6 pieces of Common Equipment, and 264 Coppers. They would be able to gather the remaining Meteorite Ore if they grinded for another hour.

The system notification rang out just at this moment.

System: Player Lonely Snow has sent you 10 Coppers.

Subsequently, Shi Feng received a communication request. The person contacting him was Lonely Snow.

“You are?” Shi Feng had just finished luring a group of monsters. Since he had nothing to do, he accepted the call request.

“Hello, Brother Expert. I’m Lonely Snow. We met before at the Town Hall, and you’ve even pointed me to a grinding spot. That place was just too great. There wasn’t anybody stealing mobs from me, and I could also easily handle them. I’m already Level 2 now. I’ve also looted a lot of materials and Copper coins. I’ve already mailed you the 10 Coppers. I wonder if you’ve received it.” Lonely Snow was extremely excited. Previously, he was worried that this expert would not bother with him any longer. This was because experts were usually very proud; they wouldn’t even look at minor characters like him. Lonely Snow had earned over 60 Coppers from that treasured location he purchased. His level had even risen to Level 2, leading the other players by quite a lot. Spending 20 Coppers for this were definitely worth it.

“So it was you. I’ve received the 10 Coppers.” Shi Feng only remembered about it after being reminded. Indeed there was such a matter. However, that was when he needed the money to kill the Town Mayor a little earlier, so he had just casually given out some pointers. He didn’t really mind regarding the remaining 10 Coppers.

“Brother Expert, the Level 2 Dungeon [Deathly Forest] has already been opened, so I wanted to invite you to dive into the Dungeon. My friends are all veterans, and they’re all Level 2 now. They will definitely not drag you down. Of course, all Swordsman Equipment obtained from the Dungeon will belong to you. Do you perhaps have the time?” Lonely Snow was slightly nervous. Experts usually disdained bringing along other people, especially rookie newbies. It was the reason why Lonely Snow mentioned that there were Level 2 veterans in the party; he was afraid Shi Feng would just outright reject him.

Deathly Forest?

Shi Feng had a deep impression of this Dungeon. As long as the number of Level 2 players in Red Leaf Town reaches a certain amount, the first Level 2 Dungeon in Red Leaf Town, [Deathly Forest] would be opened.

Along with the Deathly Forest’s opening, players of God’s Domain were made known to the difficulty of Dungeons. Deathly Forest was only conquered after many players had reached Level 4 or 5.

Meanwhile, Deathly Forest’s true purpose was to increase the number of skills a player could possess. The monsters within the dungeon mainly dropped the basic skill books for every Job. However, the most precious item within the Dungeon was the forging design. Only the Final Boss, Werewolf Felot dropped it with a very low probability.

Shi Feng was very interested in this forging design. If he could learn it, then he would be able to further progress in his plans.

“Fine. However, I have a condition of my own. I will be bringing a Cursemancer, so all Cursemancer and Swordsman equipment will belong to me. Also, I want all materials and design papers that the Boss drops. If you all are willing to agree to this condition then I can go with you.” Shi Feng had just casually asked for the majority of the profits. However, he did not feel anything wrong with it.

“This……” Lonely Snow started sweating all over after hearing Shi Feng’s condition. As expected, an expert’s asking price was definitely high. However, when Lonely Snow considered the strengths of a Beta Tester, he still reluctantly agreed, “Alright then, I agree. I’ll tell it to the others. Expert, when will you be free to come?”

“We’ll meet at the Dungeon’s entrance in another two or so hours.” Shi Feng estimated Blackie’s killing speed. In over an hour, they would definitely be able to finish gathering the 100 pieces of Meteorite Ore.

“That’s good. Then I’ll start preparing over here. I’ll see you at the Dungeon’s entrance, Brother Expert.” Lonely Snow ended the call, a heavy weight being freed from him.

At this moment, there were three other people standing beside Lonely Snow. Every one of them was Level 2.

“What did that expert say?” a handsome Ranger asked.

Lonely Snow explained it to them word for word.

“What dog’s fart expert? He’s just here to take advantage and rip off equipment from us. What’s the point of inviting him? If we add another two damage dealers, we can enter the Dungeon all the same.” a Shield Warrior angrily cursed.

The male Cleric standing at a side curled his lips, saying in a bad mood, “Then he’s saying that all mage-class equipment belongs to his friend.”

Lonely Snow advised, “That person is a real expert. He’s also a Beta Tester. He definitely has a deep understanding of the Dungeon. He might even be able to guide us through it. Don’t you all want to clear the Deathly Forest?”

“So, what if he’s a Beta Tester? He just had an extra month of experience in God’s Domain and a rough understanding of it. Besides, the data has long been changed after the game’s official release. Even if he knew a lot about the Deathly Forest, how much use could there be?” The Shield Warrior asked in disdain. He felt that those Beta Testers were only lucky. Their actual skills and strength might not even be comparable to them.

“We’ll see how it goes after they arrive. If it’s no good, then by that time there will be a lot more Level 2 players. It won’t be too late, even if we find someone else by then.” The leading Ranger said.

After hearing this Ranger speak, the others nodded their heads in agreement.

At this moment, there was a flash of light in Dark Moon Valley.

Shi Feng had finally raised to Level 3. Unfortunately, the leaderboard for levels had yet to be opened. Otherwise, he would definitely be ranked first on Red Leaf Town’s leaderboard for levels.

“Finally Level 3.” Shi Feng hurriedly added 4 attribute points towards Agility, letting his Agility reach 20 points.

System: Player’s Agility has reached 20 points. Activating Agility Hidden Basic Skill [Fast And Nimble].

[Fast And Nimble] (Active)

When activated, possess a body exceeding the normal man.

Body’s degree of freedom is completely released.

Shi Feng suddenly felt a gush of strength from his entire body. He also felt his body becoming unspeakably agile. His five senses also received a great improvement. These improvements allowed Shi Feng to better exert his body's potential.

Besides Shi Feng reaching Level 3, the last Kobold that Blackie killed had unexpectedly dropped a Level 1 Bronze Equipment: Warboots.

Shi Feng couldn’t help but admire Blackie’s luck. Common monsters of Level 1 to 3 would not drop any Bronze Equipment. The drop rate of Bronze Equipment from Level 4 wild monsters was one out of ten thousand. Yet Blackie had actually got it; his luck was just heaven defying.

“Brother Feng, what are the attributes? Let me see as well!” Blackie said so excitedly.

“The Warboots’ attributes are quite good.” Shi Feng displayed the attributes.

[Recruit’s Warboots] (Bronze Rank, Plate Armor)

Level 1

Equipment Requirement: Strength 6

Defense +8

Strength +1, Endurance +1

Movement Speed +1

Durability 20/20

“This is too great. With this equipment, Brother Feng’s speed would become even faster,” Blackie happily said. Before, it was only him who obtained a Bronze Equipment. It had troubled him to no end. Now that Shi Feng had one as well, his heart became relieved as he said, “Brother Feng, how many Meteorite Ore are we still missing?”

“Not many. Just 4 more pieces. We’ll be okay after another wave.” Shi Feng looked into his bag. Unknowingly, there were already 96 pieces of Meteorite Ores in his bag. If someone else had come here to grind, they might have needed five to six hours to obtain this many. Luckily, there was Blackie. They had gathered most of it after just killing a few hundred Kobolds.

Just when Shi Feng was about to lure more monsters, his keen senses detected three blurry figures were closing in from behind Blackie.

“Blackie, dodge quickly!”

Shi Feng yelled as he pulled out his Novice Sword. With lightning speed, Shi Feng rushed over.

Blackie remained ignorant of the situation. He was still stuck being happy, unaware of the things approaching him.

“Only finding out now? You’re too late. He’ll be the first one.”

Three figures suddenly appeared. They were three Assassin players, and one of them was Quiet Wolf, the person who was killed before. A mage being simultaneously ambushed by three Assassins would die, without question. There would be no suspense to it, even if Blackie was 1 level higher than them.