In the early morning, a thin mist lingered beneath the dark canopy of the Black Forest.
It should have been a bleak and oppressive wasteland.
Instead, the atmosphere was completely ruined by the energetic clang, clang of stones being smashed together.
“Old Lu, what kind of monstrosity have you made?”
“A spiked club?
Your aesthetic sense has truly regressed all the way back to the Stone Age.”
Ji Luo complained at the sweating Lu Ziye beside her while tightly wrapping vines around a sharpened piece of flint.
“What the hell do you know!”
[Passing Pure Love God of War] wiped the sweat from his forehead and proudly raised the arm-thick black ironwood club in his hand.
At the front of the large wooden club, he had tightly bound more than a dozen sharp fragments of flint together with vines and resin.
The result looked like an abstract wooden club suffering from a severe case of acne.
[Item: Fragmented Stone Spiked Club]
[Type: Crude Self-Made Blunt Weapon]
[Lethality: Low]
[Effect: Striking the head has a chance to cause slight dizziness.]
[Evaluation: Although its appearance is difficult to describe, smashing it against someone’s skull will definitely give them physical amnesia.]
Passing Pure Love God of War proudly tossed his white hair.
“This move of mine is called the Great Fortune Skull-Breaker.
One hit, and they’ll be gone before they even realize it!”
Nearby, Bigshot had already finished sharpening a rough stone axe, while Maluo was frantically grinding away at his stone spear.
One had to admit that Maluo truly possessed a talent for researching questionable combat tactics.
He had deliberately ground the tip of his stone spear extremely thin and long, even giving it a slight barb.
Ji Luo’s eyelids twitched when she saw it.
“Maluo, what’s with the shape of your spear?
Why does it look so…
sinister?”
Maluo gave a sly chuckle and rolled his eyes.
“This is called targeted tactical application.
Today, your boy is going to carry forward the Local Necrosis Build!”
“Alright, enough nonsense.
Let’s move!”
Ji Luo hoisted the freshly made [Flint Spear] onto her shoulder and led the group into the withered grass south of the Black Forest.
They were now making their way eastward along the forest’s edge.
The terrain here was relatively open.
Half-meter-tall withered yellow grass grew all over the black mud, providing them with excellent cover.
The five players hunched over and stepped carefully through the soft earth, looking like a gang of street punks searching the wilderness for abandoned electric scooters.
“Stop!
Cargo ahead!”
Ji Luo, who was leading the way, suddenly raised a hand before lowering herself.
Everyone immediately crouched down.
Through the gaps in the withered grass, they could see two swaying figures standing beside a dried-up stream about thirty meters away.
[Target: Tier 0 Corrupted Villager]
[Type: Wandering]
“Two!
Just enough for us to split the loot!”
Passing Pure Love God of War licked his lips, his eyes flashing with anticipation.
“Maluo, aren’t you still forty experience points away from leveling up?”
“We’ll take the lead.
We’ll leave the finishing blows on both monsters to you!”
Maluo was moved to tears.
“Old Lu, is that really true?
Why are you suddenly being so generous?
Didn’t you want to choke me to death last night?”
“Cut the crap.
Hurry up and level so we can see what skills the Ash Apostle actually unlocks.”
“If you learn a skill, our monster-grinding efficiency might improve!”
Passing Pure Love God of War gave him a shove.
“Hurry up.
Stick to the plan!”
With that, Passing Pure Love God of War grabbed his acne-covered spiked club and charged out of the grass.
The two dazed Corrupted Villagers heard the commotion.
They turned their heads.
The first thing they saw was a white-haired, muscular man charging straight at them like an out-of-control truck.
“Off you go!”
Passing Pure Love God of War leaped into the air, gripped his spiked club with both hands, and brought it crashing down onto the forehead of one of the monsters.
Bang!
Stone fragments and rotten flesh scattered as the monster was smashed directly into the ground.
“Old Lu, nice club!
I’ll handle the other one!”
Bigshot rushed out from the side, his honest-looking square face carrying a ferocious grin.
He lunged forward like a wrestler, wrapped his thick arms around the other monster’s neck, and forcefully pinned it to the ground.
“Take this!”
Ji Luo’s spear shot forward like a venomous snake striking from its hole, accurately piercing the restrained monster’s chest and stirring up foul-smelling black fluid.
Compared to the chaotic brawling that had nearly gotten them killed on their first day, their teamwork had clearly undergone a qualitative transformation.
“Maluo!
Your turn!
Take both kills!”
Passing Pure Love God of War shouted while keeping the monster pinned beneath his spiked club.
“Coming, coming!”
Maluo hunched over and trotted around to the rear of the monster pinned beneath Bigshot.
He took a deep breath.
Then he aimed the specially barbed stone spear in his hands at the monster’s rear and roared:
“Taste my brother’s ultimate move—Chrysanthemum-Breaching Strike!”
Splat!
“Aaaargh!”
The Corrupted Villager released a miserable, shrill scream.
Although it no longer possessed the consciousness of a living human, the combination of physical and psychological damage still caused its body to twitch violently.
“Holy shit, Maluo.
Your fighting style is downright perverted!”
Ji Luo watched from the side, unable to stop herself from drawing a sharp breath.
“Who cares if it’s perverted?
As long as it works!”
Maluo pulled out the stone spear.
Then he immediately stabbed again.
The final blow completely emptied the monster’s remaining health.
He then casually thrust his spear into the other monster, which had been left dazed beneath Bigshot.
[Killed Tier 0 Corrupted Villager.
Experience +10.
Ash Coins +2.]
[Killed Tier 0 Corrupted Villager.
Experience +10.
Ash Coins +2.]
Out in the desolate wilderness surrounding the Black Forest, the five-person squad became a group of tireless scavengers.
Find the target.
Draw its aggro.
Suppress it physically.
Then let Maluo deliver the finishing blow.
The entire process gradually became smoother, and their teamwork grew increasingly synchronized.
Before they knew it, the time had passed ten in the morning.
As the two Tier 0 monsters dissolved into black liquid and dissipated, two streams of white light once again flowed into Maluo’s body.
[System Prompt: Experience reached 100/100.]
[Congratulations!
You have advanced to: Tier 1 Ash Apostle (Lv.1)!]
Boom!
As the system notification appeared, Maluo’s thin and sneaky-looking body suddenly erupted into pale-gray flames without warning.
Countless ash particles carrying dark-red sparks emerged from the void.
They swirled around him like a divine blessing, enveloping his entire body before slowly seeping into his limbs and bones.
“Holy shit!
These special effects are absolutely insane!”
Passing Pure Love God of War stared at him while clutching his spiked club, practically drooling with envy.
“Why does this look like a Super Saiyan transformation?!
I’m so jealous!”
Ji Luo and Kindergarten Boss likewise stared at Maluo with undisguised envy.
In traditional online games, leveling up usually meant nothing more than a flash of yellow light around the character.
But Awakening of the Ancient Gods was on another level.
It directly gave the player a deeply immersive baptism, almost like a divine miracle descending upon them.
The gray light gradually dispersed.
Maluo was still the same sneaky-looking Maluo.
But at this moment, the aura surrounding him had clearly undergone a subtle transformation.