Malina clenched her teeth, her eyes burning with anger as she searched for the one who had spoken out of turn.
John leaned in, remarking, “A tigress? That’s actually quite fitting.”
Malina shot him a fierce glare and changed the subject, “Level me up. Where’s Avis?”
She looked around, puzzled at not seeing Avis.
“He’s got something to do,” John replied, not offering any further explanation.
“Something to do?” Malina was skeptical. Avis was his pet; what could he possibly have to do?
“How are we supposed to get to Jade City? On foot?” She frowned slightly. The distance to Jade City was considerable, and even reaching the nearest town would take half a day.
“No need for that hassle. We’ll fly.” John manipulated the Sword of Divinity and Demons, stepping directly onto its broad blade.
Malina was taken aback, surprised that John could actually perform Sword Flight, and she couldn’t help but feel a bit envious.
“What about me?” she asked, realizing she had no means of flight.
John moved forward, leaving half of the sword’s blade exposed, indicating she should stand on it.
“You want me to get on too?” Malina hesitated. The sword was wide enough, but it would be cramped with two people standing on it, practically forcing them to be pressed against each other.
She suspected this guy was trying to take advantage of her.
John, however, grew impatient. “Do you still want me to help you level up or not?”
“You…!” Malina glared at John, gritting her teeth, and carefully stepped onto the longsword. Without any support beneath her, she felt completely unsteady.
“Hold on tight!” John’s face bore a mischievous grin as he suddenly accelerated, sending the longsword soaring skyward.
“Ah!” Malina screamed, flailing her arms before quickly wrapping them around John, her eyes squeezed shut in terror.
John felt the softness against his back, surprised at how well-endowed she was.
“sl-slow down!” Malina’s face was pale as she looked at the rapidly receding ground, swallowing nervously.
Falling from this height would surely be fatal.
“You’re not afraid of heights, are you?” John glanced back at Malina, asking curiously.
“I’m not afraid of heights,” she muttered, trying to ignore him as she instinctively scooted backward.
She had never been this close to a man before, and the feeling was overwhelmingly strange.
John noticed the softness at his back disappear, leaving him with a slight sense of loss.
But he quickly thought of a solution, manipulating the flying sword to occasionally come to abrupt halts.
“Ah…!” Malina cried out as the sudden inertia sent her crashing into him, her chest flattening against his back.
“You shameless bastard!” She knew exactly what John was up to and cursed him angrily. “Sorry, the sword’s a bit out of control,” John shamelessly replied, though his heart raced with excitement as he reveled in the moment.
Malina was furious, biting her lip as she coldly said, “I want to stand in the front.”
“Are you sure?” John turned his head, a faint smile playing on his lips, a hint of anticipation in his eyes.
Malina realized that if she stood in front, it would feel even more awkward, and without support, she would have to lean into him.
“Fine, I’ll hold onto you, but no funny business!” she coldly threatened John, reluctantly agreeing.
“That’s more like it,” John replied smugly. His voice carried an air of triumph, making Malina grit her teeth in frustration, though she had no other choice.
The flying sword sped through the air, the wind howling past their ears.
John, no longer teasing Malina, flew swiftly towards Jade City.
Gradually, Malina began to adapt to the speed. The thrill of soaring through the sky was indescribably exhilarating.
Of course, it would have been perfect if she were flying on her own, without John.
“Hey, how do ordinary people fly?” she asked loudly, pressing close against John’s back.
“Ninth-tier experts can fly unaided,” John explained. “But for mages, once they reach the seventh tier, they can learn advanced flight spells.”
“Seventh tier?” Malina couldn’t help but feel disappointed. She had just broken into the fourth tier, and the seventh seemed a long way off.
Curious, she asked, “Then how can you fly?”
John replied, “This is Sword Mastery, a class skill you can’t learn.”
“Aren’t you a mage? This doesn’t seem like a mage skill,” Malina remarked, clearly intrigued by John’s abilities. She suspected that besides being a Wrath of the Gods mage, John might have a second class.
“That’s my secret. If you want to know, trade me one of your secrets, but it has to be something I’m interested in.” John grinned mischievously.
“Get lost!” Malina snapped.
She couldn’t help but recall how John had once coaxed a secret out of her before-his methods
were despicable.
The two fell silent as the sword continued its swift flight.
John avoided entering the nearest town to use the teleportation portal. He had been blacklisted in most towns controlled by Dark Humans, and entering one would only cause unnecessary trouble.
Moreover, the sword’s flight was fast enough that there was no need to risk entering a Dark Human town.
…
Sword Flight consumed mana, and even though John’s mana consumption was reduced by 60%, continuous flight was still impossible.
He had to periodically take mana restoration potions and wait for his mana to regenerate.
After nearly a day of stop-and-go travel, they finally arrived outside the Dark Cave near Jade
City.
Jade City was a first-tier city, accessible to players who reached level 10.
Currently, Jade City was bustling with activity, filled with players level 10 and above, as well
as second-tier players around level 30 who chose to stay and level up.
The Dark Cave was full of skeleton soldiers, all level 25 and above. Many players were teaming
up to hunt skeleton soldiers and gain experience.
Seeing this, Malina frowned and asked, “You brought me here to level up?”
These skeleton monsters were weak-she could easily obliterate them with her current
power.
“I told you, I have something to take care of,” John said, not bothering to explain further as
he headed straight into the Dark Cave.
Malina frowned but followed him anyway.
The first level of the Dark Cave was crawling with level 25 skeleton soldiers, and quite a few players were grinding here to level up.
The moment John and Malina appeared, they immediately caught the attention of the players
inside.
Though they didn’t recognize John, it was clear from the gear the two were wearing that they
were high-level players.
Malina frowned again; she didn’t like being the center of attention.
John, on the other hand, seemed unfazed. He glanced at the surrounding players and
announced, “Everyone, clear out. This area is off-limits now.”
As he spoke, he cast Hellfire, triggering a Spell Combo that engulfed the entire first level of
the cave in terrifying flames.
“Holy crap!” the players around them cursed, scrambling to get out of the way.
The attack was an area-of-effect skill, indiscriminately targeting everything in its range. Thankfully, John hadn’t directly targeted the players, but a few unlucky ones were caught in the blast, turning into white light as they were sent back to Jade City for Resurrection.
In an instant, the skeleton monsters on the first level were wiped out. The players were stunned, only now realizing what had just happened.
“Is this what he meant by clearing the area?”
“Unbelievable! Just because he’s high-level, he thinks he can do whatever he wants?”
“This is outrageous! We just found a good spot to grind, and now we have to wait for the
monsters to respawn!”
…
The crowd glared at John, shouting in protest.
Malina took a step back, standing off to the side with a look of amusement on her face.
John, however, remained unbothered. “Everyone, to make up for your loss, you can have all
the loot.”
The players instantly fell silent, their attention drawn to the pile of loot scattered on the
ground.
They couldn’t help but be puzzled. Most of these skeletons were ordinary monsters, so how
could they drop anything valuable?
“Dammit! I saw that gear first-it’s mine!”
“Like hell it is! Whoever grabs it first gets it!”
“A skill stone-mine!”
…
The crowd’s attention was entirely consumed by the loot, and they even started fighting over
it.
“Let’s go,” John said, ignoring the players as he led Malina to the second level of the cave.
A few players watched them leave, whispering among themselves.
“Did any of you notice? That guy looked kind of familiar.”
“What’s so strange about that? He’s obviously a high-level player power-leveling his
girlfriend.”
“Tsk tsk, did you see those long legs in stockings? Unreal!”
“I’ve decided. I’m going to level up hard and find myself a girl like that!”
“With your looks, not even the strength of a Godslayer would save you.”
“Godslayer? Wait, that guy just now looked like the Godslayer!”
“Are you kidding? Why would the Godslayer be here?”
“No way! I just asked the teammate who got one-shotted. It really was the Godslayer!”
“No way!” “Godslayer, wait for me! I can wear stockings too. No, I can wear nothing at all…”
A few innocent-looking girls went wild, abandoning their teammates and plunging into the
second level of the Dark Cave.
…
John had no idea what was happening on the first level of the cave.
When he reached the second level, he followed the same routine: one spell cleared the entire
area, and as before, he left the loot as a reward for the players.
Most of it was second-tier weapons and gear, nothing he was interested in.
Sweeping through the cave, he quickly made his way to the fourth level.
It was here that John had once killed an Undead Mage and encountered the physical form of an
Undead Lord.
However, the altar that had been there was now gone, replaced by level 60, third-tier monsters. Quite a few players were grinding in this area-members of a guild, and some were
familiar faces.
Among them was Aron, formerly the leader of the once-famous the Wind and Cloud Guild,
now leading the Overlord Guild under the ID Unrivaled.
“Godslayer!” Aron gasped when he saw John, his face filled with terror. Realizing the
situation, he immediately shouted, “Quick, teleport back to town! If you don’t have a town
portal scroll, log out now!”
Whoosh!
No sooner had he spoken than a sky full of flames engulfed the area, instantly wiping out the
skeletons and the players alike.
John hadn’t planned to attack them, but seeing Aron so panicked, he decided to send him on
his way.
Malina, having already witnessed John’s terrifying power, couldn’t help but sigh at the sight
of such ruthless carnage. “Anyone who crosses you must be cursed with the worst luck ever!”
“Is that so?” John didn’t seem to agree, replying, “I think I’m quite friendly.”
“Yeah, right!” Malina scoffed.
As John explored the cave, her attention was drawn to the weapons and equipment scattered
on the ground-all of them top-tier, third-tier gear.
John might not care for it, but it was perfect for her Phoenix Guild. She quickly started picking
up the items.
The Dark Cave only had four levels accessible to players; to go deeper, they needed to find a hidden mechanism.
Fortunately, with the guidance of the Undead Lord, John soon unlocked the entrance to the
fifth level of the cave.
[Ding! You have discovered a hidden map: Dark Cave, Level Five.]
…