“Holy shit!”
In the distance, a player lying prone behind a dune with a recording device suddenly sprang to his feet.
“He killed it! He actually killed it just like that?!”
A Level 7 elite monster was, at the current stage of the game, practically equivalent to a dungeon boss. Even a well coordinated professional squad equipped with top tier gear would struggle to bring one down, let alone a single player.
And yet, no matter how unbelievable it seemed, the footage captured by his recorder clearly documented the impossible scene before him.
A Martial Artist from the sewers.
One man.
One sword.
Fighting completely alone.
And he had single handedly slain a Level 7 humanoid elite monster.
Just who in the world was this guy?
Suppressing the tremor in his chest, he saw the Martial Artist in the distance beginning to sort through the loot. He immediately got to his feet and moved closer.
According to the game’s settings, player IDs were hidden by default. To view another player’s name, one had to use the universal skill Investigate. However, the target would also receive a notification informing them that someone was inspecting them.
The distance between them was far beyond the skill’s effective range. Even with his recording lens zoomed to the maximum, all he could make out was a blurry silhouette.
So he decided to move closer and use Investigate to see the player’s ID.
He had only taken two steps when an unusual disturbance came from behind him.
Turning around, he saw a gigantic centipede erupting from the scorching sand. Its massive mandibles opened wide as it lunged straight toward him.
“!!”
Despair instantly flooded his heart.
As a Hidden One, a life class profession, he possessed virtually no combat ability. The monsters on this map were also much higher level than him. Once targeted, survival was almost impossible.
In panic, he instinctively shouted toward Yin Huaichen’s direction.
“Help!”
The giant centipede that had emerged from underground made short work of him.
Within moments, he was sent straight back to the respawn point.
“Hel-”
Somewhere in the distance, Yin Huaichen vaguely thought he heard something.
He lifted his head slightly, raising a hand to shield his eyes from the sunlight as he glanced toward the direction the voice seemed to have come from.
He saw nothing.
…Probably just his imagination.
Yin Huaichen didn’t dwell on it and turned his attention back to the loot before him.
That final strike had been a gamble.
But it had also been one he was absolutely confident in.
Although his highest completion rate before this had only been ninety percent, making his damage insufficient to kill Chi Bantu, at that moment he hadn’t thought about anything else.
There had only been that desperate, all or nothing sword strike.
When lives were wagered against lives, the braver fighter prevailed.
Before the sword had even landed, he already knew he had won.
A Level 7 elite monster was indeed difficult to deal with.
Although Yin Huaichen had secured victory with a ninety three percent completion rate on that final attack, the battle itself had been unimaginably dangerous.
If not for the success of the first two ambushes and his ability to seize the brief opening that appeared, the overwhelming difference in attributes between them would have left him with little chance of victory.
Risk and reward always went hand in hand.
And the rewards dropped by Chi Bantu were extraordinarily generous.
The first reward was experience.
Along the way here, he had casually cleared a few scattered monsters, bringing his experience to roughly twenty percent into Level 3.
After killing Chi Bantu, not only did he receive the bonus experience awarded for defeating a higher level enemy but because the kill had been completed entirely solo, he enjoyed the full experience reward of the Level 7 elite monster by himself.
The result was that Yin Huaichen jumped directly to Level 6.
In addition, Chi Bantu had dropped two pieces of equipment, a skill book and a quest item.
[Broken Wind Halberd · Fragment (Purple): Sharpness +21. Core Attribute +24, Critical Hit +15, Armor Penetration +8, Deflection +8. Equipment Requirement: Level 7.]
The moment he saw the weapon, Yin Huaichen’s eyes lit up.
This was absolutely a top tier item that players could only dream of obtaining at the current stage.
Purple grade equipment was already exceedingly rare and among all equipment categories, weapons were the most valuable.
Every increase in equipment quality granted an additional affix.
The Fierce Gauntlets he had obtained from the Ferocious Monster were Green grade equipment. This Broken Wind Halberd was two grades higher, naturally possessing two extra attribute lines.
Unfortunately…
It was a halberd.
And Yin Huaichen couldn’t use it.
Hmm…
Should he consider switching to a halberd build?
After giving the matter serious thought, he ultimately dismissed the idea.
If he switched to a halberd, he would have to leave Azure Abyss Sword Sect and join a sect specializing in halberd techniques.
That would make it impossible to continue Gu Xingxiu’s quest.
Of course, remaining in Azure Abyss Sword Sect was also an option.
The freedom within Eternal Universe was exceptionally high. Although Yin Huaichen currently used a sword, as long as he acquired the appropriate weapon and skills, he could freely transition into another combat style. The game imposed no restrictions in that regard.
He could purchase halberd martial arts from other players.
But the cost would be substantial.
For the sake of a single early game weapon, it simply wasn’t worth it.
Better to sell it.
As for the second piece of equipment…
[Gale Bracelet (Purple): Core Attribute +18, Armor Penetration +10, Qi Sea +5, Physique +5. Rare Affix: Blood Slaughter.]
[Blood Slaughter: Attacks have a chance to inflict bleeding damage equal to 50% of the user’s Core Attribute (lasting 8 seconds).]
Yin Huaichen’s eyes widened.
A rare affix?!
Within Eternal Universe’s equipment system, aside from standard attributes such as Critical Hit, Armor Penetration and Qi Sea, equipment also had a chance of rolling rare affixes that granted unique effects.
Rare affixes were exceptionally difficult to obtain and their effects varied greatly.
But there was no doubt that the Blood Slaughter affix attached to this bracelet belonged to the highly desirable category.
Yin Huaichen quickly did the math.
After reaching Level 6, his Core Attribute stood at 27.
With the Gale Bracelet equipped, it would rise to 38.
In other words, whenever Blood Slaughter triggered, it would inflict 19 points of bleeding damage every second for 8 seconds.
That totaled 152 damage.
Don’t underestimate a mere hundred and fifty points of damage.
At this stage of the game, the universally acknowledged highest single target damage dealer was the Thunder Sound Hall Warlock.
Even with decent equipment, their long cooldown skill Heavenly Thunder Descent only dealt slightly over a hundred points of critical hit damage.
A single Blood Slaughter proc already surpassed that.
More importantly, Blood Slaughter possessed excellent scaling potential.
As his Core Attribute increased in the future, the bleeding damage would increase as well.
In other words, even if the other three ordinary affixes were complete trash, the existence of Blood Slaughter alone was enough to make this a dream piece of equipment coveted by every damage dealing class.
Yin Huaichen immediately equipped the Gale Bracelet.
His mood improved instantly.
What a haul.
[Dragon Serpent Rising Stance (White): Created by Chi Bantu, Fourth Chief of Windblade Stronghold. Adapted from the opening stance of Prison Suppressing Halberd Arts. The body bends like a dragon’s spine, shedding like a giant serpent, fierce and overwhelmingly powerful. Learning Requirement: Basic Halberd Mastery.]
The skill book was rather ordinary.
It was a White grade skill, the same quality as the three sect skills Yin Huaichen had learned from Azure Abyss Sword Sect.
However, most players were desperately lacking skills at the moment.
It should still fetch a respectable price.
After storing away the loot, he looked at the final item.
[Windblade Stronghold Token: Special Quest Item. The symbol of authority belonging to the leaders of Windblade Stronghold. Forged from black iron and stained with blood, it bears witness to Chi Bantu’s brutality and countless crimes.]
The instant he obtained the quest item, Gu Xingxiu’s commission updated accordingly.
[You encountered Chi Bantu, Fourth Chief of Windblade Stronghold, within the Sea of Sands. After a bitter battle, you emerged victorious yet there was still no sign of the Azure Abyss Sword Sect disciples.
As you examine the identity tokens belonging to various sects found on Chi Bantu’s corpse, you fall into deep thought…
Perhaps the disappearance of those disciples is inseparably connected to Windblade Stronghold.]
A special quest item?
Yin Huaichen froze briefly.
Before he could investigate further, voices drifted over from nearby.
“The coordinates should be somewhere around here.”
“Great White Shark, pull the boss when we get there. Everyone else watch your positioning. Elite monsters hit ridiculously hard. Don’t get one shot.”
“Don’t worry, Captain… Does this count as an elite first kill for us?”
“We haven’t even seen the monster yet and you’re already thinking about first kills. You’re getting ahead of yourself.”
A five man party approached while chatting amongst themselves.
Soon, they passed through several wind eroded stone pillars and came face to face with Yin Huaichen.
“There’s someone here.”
The leader was a Spirit Mechanist.
The moment he spotted the unexpected figure standing ahead, a look of surprise appeared on his face.
“…A Martial Artist?”
Why would a Martial Artist be here of all places?
Yin Huaichen likewise narrowed his eyes as he assessed the group before him.
“Don’t misunderstand, don’t misunderstand. We’re just passing through for a quest.”
Apparently sensing his caution, the Spirit Mechanist quickly waved his hands.
“It’s just that we’re looking for an elite monster. Have you been on this map long? Did you happen to see a humanoid carrying a halberd, ”
Before he could finish speaking, a teammate beside him poked his shoulder.
“Captain, look at what’s in his hand.”
The Spirit Mechanist focused his gaze.
In the Martial Artist’s hand was a black iron token.
“!!”
His mouth immediately fell open.
Wasn’t that their quest item?
Why was it in this guy’s possession?
Could it be…
“You… that thing in your hand?”
The Spirit Mechanist pointed at the token, looking completely bewildered.
“Where did you get it?”
Yin Huaichen tilted his head slightly.
“It dropped from a monster.”
“…”
The group collectively fell silent.
Anyone could tell that wasn’t the full truth.
The token only dropped from the Level 7 elite Chi Bantu.
He was alone.
Surely he wasn’t claiming he had killed Chi Bantu by himself?
…He didn’t exactly look like someone capable of that.
The Spirit Mechanist silently formed his own conclusion.
Most likely, another team had defeated Chi Bantu before they arrived and this Martial Artist had purchased the token from them.
Yin Huaichen put away the token.
“Do you need something?”
“It’s like this.”
The Spirit Mechanist hesitated before stepping forward politely.
“The token in your possession is a quest item we need. It’s very important to us. Would you be willing to sell it to us? We can offer double the market price.”
Yin Huaichen thought for a moment before shaking his head.
“No. It’s related to my quest too.”
The token was connected to the disappearance of the Azure Abyss Sword Sect disciples.
If he sold it, wouldn’t that sever the only lead he currently had?
[Player “He Shi Yue Bu Que” is investigating you.]
A system notification suddenly flashed before his eyes.
Yin Huaichen paused for a moment, then lifted his gaze toward the group standing opposite him.
One of the Warlock players offered him an awkward smile.
It was obvious that he was the one who had used the Investigate skill.
“A’Yue!”
The leading Spirit Mechanist immediately noticed what his teammate had done and scolded him.
Using Investigate on someone without warning was generally considered impolite among players. If the target happened to have a bad temper, they might even interpret it as a deliberate provocation.
The Warlock named He Shi Yue Bu Que scratched the back of his head and leaned closer to the Spirit Mechanist.
“Captain,” he whispered quietly, “this Martial Artist is Level 6…”
Level 6 already placed someone among the game’s first tier players.
Even among the popular classes known for leveling quickly, there were not many players who had managed to reach that level yet.
“Sorry, we didn’t mean any harm.”
The Spirit Mechanist’s tone carried genuine apology.
“Let me introduce myself. My name is Mu Yu. This is Great White Shark, this is He Shi Yue Bu Que and this is Fallen Leaf Wushuang…”
Mu Yu briefly introduced the members of his party before looking back at Yin Huaichen.
After hesitating for a moment, he asked cautiously,
“May I ask… are you affiliated with a gaming club?”
“No.”
Yin Huaichen answered directly.
“Then are you part of an elite guild team?”
“No.”
“Uh… then do you have a fixed party?”
“No, not that either.”
Mu Yu blinked.
“Huh?”
Was he serious?
No fixed party.
Not part of a guild’s elite team.
And yet a Martial Artist had reached Level 6 this quickly?
That sounded almost impossible.
✦ ✧ ✦
Cresvynia
[Translator]
☕ A LITTLE SOMETHING FOR THE TRANSLATOR
Coffee is technically a form of emotional support.
☕ BUY THEM A COFFEE →
✧ (づ｡•ㅅ•｡)づ ☕ ✧
✦ thank you for reading ✦
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ChaptersChapter 1 · Remember to keep a positive moodChapter 2 · Have fun playing the gameChapter 3 · Skill completion rateChapter 4 · Strange and malevolent creatures roam outside the cityChapter 5 · 90% complete!Chapter 6 · Serving the sect is my dutyChapter 7 · First meetingChapter 8 · Fang LecangChapter 9 · A prestigious and righteous sect!Chapter 10 · Kill Chi BantuChapter 11 · Spoils of warChapter 12 · We’ve made a fortune!Chapter 13 · Thunder and fire extinguish goldChapter 14 · You found it?Chapter 15 · The so called degree of freedomChapter 16 · The secrets of life and deathChapter 17 · A minor leader of the first rank.Chapter 18 · What kind of luck do you have?Chapter 19 · Let’s Do itChapter 20 · The BOSS escapedChapter 21 · “A wound to the heart is also a wound.”Chapter 22 · Good people are always blessed.Chapter 23 · The Old Man of the Valley of BonesChapter 24 · It’s me, young master!Chapter 25 · Take it slow and steadyChapter 26 · The older they get, the stingier they becomeChapter 27 · You know this person tooChapter 28 · I saw Wei Wanzhou againChapter 29 · You’d better keep having this kind of luckChapter 30 · “Password lock” crackedChapter 31 · We’ve come to punish you!Chapter 32 · A boorish country bumpkin who knows no manners.Chapter 33 · You have crossed the lineChapter 34 · Now that we’re here, do you think we can leave?Chapter 35 · A trivial skillChapter 36 · Actually, I was just kiddingChapter 37 · Upgrade mission complete, rating: SSS!Chapter 38 · AwardChapter 39 · I have always been law-abiding and law-abidingChapter 40 · Are you coming back for dinner tonight?Chapter 41 · Purple Lightning Square Seal.Chapter 42 · A money-grubberChapter 43 · BetChapter 44 · Four Continents Chamber of CommerceChapter 45 · This was my third meeting with Wei WanzhouChapter 46 · Oh, you want to hit on me.Chapter 47 · The angry drizzle has stoppedChapter 48 · Thunder SpearChapter 49 · “Are you a devil?”Chapter 50 · The Impermanent Lord!?Chapter 51 · Loot everywhere..Chapter 52 · His identity remains a mystery.Chapter 53 · Why not show yourself?Chapter 54 · He confronted Li Mingrui.Chapter 55 · Auction