In the withered grass on the outskirts of the Black Forest, the five-player squad, all of whom had just reached Level 1, had become so inflated with confidence that they had practically forgotten who they were.
[Passing Pure Love God of War] closed his eyes, feeling the surging dark-gray energy within his body.
He slapped his thighs excitedly.
“Brothers, do you feel it?”
“This is power!
This is the confidence of a mage!”
He impatiently extended his right hand and silently activated his skill.
A ball of black smoke condensed in his palm, instantly transforming into a missile wrapped in sparks.
With a casual flick of his hand—
“Boom!”
A patch of withered grass nearby was blasted into a charred, shallow crater.
“Although the power isn’t particularly impressive yet, the blinding effect and explosion sound alone make this a genuinely practical divine skill!”
[Passing Pure Love God of War]’s eyes lit up.
Jiahao, meanwhile, had embarked on an entirely different path of no return.
This guy didn’t test the missile at all.
Instead, he formed hand seals with both hands and solemnly activated [Ash Shaping].
Under everyone’s bewildered gazes, the ashes on the ground spread along his fingertips and climbed toward his face.
They forcibly condensed into the outline of a retro British-style gold-rimmed monocle over his right eye.
Jiahao adjusted the ash monocle, the corners of his mouth curling into an arrogant smile.
“While people my age are still studying how to fight monsters, I’ve already begun exploring the deep connection between this game’s character customization system and its skill system.”
“This monocle perfectly completes the final piece of my temperament.”
“It’s just…
you guys understand, right?”
“Plop.”
Before he could maintain his cool demeanor for even two seconds, his mental power ran dry.
The ash monocle immediately collapsed into a pile of black ash.
It smeared itself all over Jiahao’s face, instantly transforming him into a coal miner who had just crawled out of a mine.
“Hahaha!
Jiahao, your temperament has fallen to the ground!
Hurry up and pick it up!”
Maluo mercilessly mocked him.
“Alright, stop fooling around.”
[Ji Luo] looked up at the sky.
The scarlet waning moon had already begun peeking over the horizon, while the surrounding mist was gradually growing colder.
“Save your mental power.
Our current strength may be decent, but the nighttime world isn’t something we can afford to take lightly.”
“If you don’t want to encounter the monster Maluo ran into yesterday, everyone get ready to head back early.”
Everyone nodded, gathered the day’s loot, and prepared to return.
However, just as they followed the dried-up stream and were about to pass the edge of the Abandoned Village—
“Crack…
Crack…”
A teeth-grating sound of chewing drifted toward them on the night wind.
The five instantly became alert.
They crouched down and hid behind a broken wall, cautiously poking their heads out to look.
Near the dry well at the entrance of the Abandoned Village, a huge black shadow was sprawled on the ground, frantically gnawing on the corpse of someone wearing an unfamiliar robe.
The monster stood more than two meters tall, its entire body covered in a hard carapace.
Six sharp arthropods protruded from its back, while foul-smelling green acid dripped from its ferocious mouthparts.
“Holy shit, it’s that thing!”
[Passing Pure Love God of War] recognized it immediately.
Wasn’t this the [Crypt Lurker] that had wiped out their entire team and forced them to use up their free revivals just five minutes into the game yesterday?
“Talk about enemies meeting on a narrow road.”
Maluo licked his lips, a fierce glint flashing through his narrowed eyes.
Yesterday, this thing had cut him in half at the waist.
“Old Ji, should we do it?”
[Big Boss] gripped the stone axe in his hand and turned toward [Ji Luo].
Although his voice sounded honest and simple-minded, his eyes gleamed with the gambler’s characteristic recklessness.
[Ji Luo]’s mind raced.
This monster was at the peak of Tier 1.
Yesterday, they had been Tier 0 and had been completely crushed.
But today, all five of them were Tier 1 Ash Apostles.
Not only had their physical attributes increased dramatically, but more importantly, every one of them had learned new skills.
“The blinding effect of [Ash Missile], combined with the enhancement possibilities of [Ash Shaping]…”
[Ji Luo] gritted her teeth.
“Do it!
Wealth and honor are found in danger!”
“If we take down this elite monster, we’ll make a fortune tonight!”
“Great fortune is coming!”
Once their tactical commander made the decision, [Passing Pure Love God of War] stopped pretending to be cautious.
Dragging his spiked mace behind him, he howled and leaped out from behind the broken wall.
Hearing the commotion, the feeding [Crypt Lurker] abruptly turned its head.
When its enormous compound eyes locked onto the familiar humans wearing nothing but oversized shorts, it visibly froze for a moment.
Weren’t these perverts chopped into pieces by it yesterday?
Why were they alive and kicking again?
But the monster’s logic was extremely simple.
Whether they had died before or not didn’t matter.
As long as they entered its territory, they were all food!
“Hiss!!”
The [Crypt Lurker] released a shrill hiss.
Its six arthropods suddenly kicked against the ground, sending its massive body—resembling a speeding dump truck—hurtling toward [Passing Pure Love God of War] with a foul gust of wind.
“The speed is still this fast!”
[Passing Pure Love God of War]’s pupils contracted.
“Do it!”
[Ji Luo] shouted.
Just as the monster was about to collide with Lu Ziye—
Maluo, Jiahao, and [Ji Luo] simultaneously raised their hands from the rear.
All three aimed at the monster’s enormous compound eyes and launched their [Ash Missile]s at the same time!
“Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Whoosh!”
Three black smoke missiles wrapped in orange-red sparks traced graceful arcs through the air and struck the [Crypt Lurker]’s head with pinpoint accuracy.
“Boom!
Boom!
Boom!”
Three explosions erupted simultaneously, accompanied by thick clouds of black smoke!
The monster’s densely packed compound eyes were instantly bombarded by the scorching ash.
It let out a scream several times more miserable than before.
Its charging trajectory immediately went awry.
Its six legs clawed frantically at the ground as it staggered blindly, completely losing its ability to see for nearly five seconds.
“Take advantage of its blindness!
Finish it!”
[Passing Pure Love God of War] sidestepped the monster’s wild thrashing, swung his mace in a full circle, and smashed it viciously into one of the monster’s joints.
“Crack!”
The crisp sound of shattering carapace rang out.
But an elite monster was still an elite monster.
Even blinded, its instinctive counterattacks remained deadly.
Its sharp forelimbs swept horizontally like enormous sickles toward [Passing Pure Love God of War]’s waist.
“Don’t even think about it!”
At the critical moment, [Big Boss] charged forward.
He didn’t use his weapon.
Instead, he slammed both hands onto the ground and roared:
“[Ash Shaping]!”
The black mud and ashes beneath him surged violently, instantly condensing into a half-meter-thick black ash shield in front of [Passing Pure Love God of War].
“Bang!”
The monster’s forelimbs slammed into the shield.
Although the ash barrier shattered with a roar after holding for less than two seconds, [Big Boss] was also knocked backward by the recoil, coughing up a mouthful of blood.
But those two seconds were enough.
[Passing Pure Love God of War] completed a rolling dodge and escaped the attack.
“Old Ji!
It’s up to you!”
Maluo shouted from the rear.
“Coming!”
[Ji Luo] stepped onto the collapsed stone mill nearby and leaped high into the air.
While still airborne, she immediately emptied the remaining mental power within her body.
A layer of rapidly rotating pitch-black ash instantly wrapped around the ordinary stone spear in her hand.
The spear transformed into an extremely penetrating—
[Ash Spiral Spear]!
“Drop dead!”
Using the force of her descent, [Ji Luo] thrust the spear fiercely toward the center of the monster’s compound eyes, where its defenses were weakest.
“Squish!”
The Ash Spiral Spear pierced through the monster’s defenses like a hot knife through butter, driving straight through its eye socket and embedding itself deep inside its walnut-sized brain.
The [Crypt Lurker]’s enormous body suddenly stiffened.
Its six arthropods twitched wildly in the air several times.
Then—
“Boom!”
Its massive body crashed to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.
A moment later, its body rapidly dissolved, transforming into a pool of foul-smelling, dark-green viscous slurry.