A notification flashed, and a staircase leading to the lower level appeared.
Malina leaned in curiously and asked, “Is this a new map?”
John nodded and headed toward the passage. To be safe, he activated Diamond Armor.
The two of them passed through the corridor and arrived at the fifth level of the Dark Cave.
Malina was disappointed; it was still full of skeleton monsters, but these were level 70, third- tier in strength.
The level of these monsters was still too low, but at least there were a lot of them-over ten thousand, in fact.
Moan!
Groaning and snarling, the skeleton monsters noticed the intruders and rushed forward, brandishing their weapons.
John remained calm, swinging his longsword as fire elements surged. A single Hellfire spell rained down, engulfing the skeletal horde.
Crack, crack…
Under the terrifying flames, the skeleton monsters were reduced to piles of bones on the ground.
A notification flashed.
[You have slain a level 70 skeleton monster, gaining 155 experience points.]
[Plunder talent activated, Strength +1.]
…
The experience points these weak monsters provided were pitiful.
Additionally, the activation rate of the Plunder talent wasn’t very high.
Out of over ten thousand skeletons, he had only gained about a thousand attribute points, all of which were in the four basic attributes.
Compared to monsters of the same level, the activation rate was three times lower.
The ground was littered with equipment and items.
Malina, excited and thrilled, sifted through the skeletal remains.
She thought it wasn’t bad, though the only downside was the meager experience points.
John paid her no mind, following the Undead Lord’s instructions to open the passage to the sixth level of the cave.
He glanced at Malina, who was eagerly rummaging through the loot, and didn’t rush her. After a while, Malina’s brows furrowed as she looked at the pile of loot with a displeased expression. She turned to John and said, “Godslayer, my inventory is full. Can I store the loot with you and get it later?”
John, slightly exasperated, rummaged through his belongings and quickly found a Storage Ring, tossing it to her. “This is a Storage Ring. It doesn’t boost your stats, but it gives you extra storage space and doesn’t occupy your ring slot.”
Storage Rings were rare, but John had defeated many powerful beings from various races in the world of Gods, especially those from the Dark Humans faction-almost all of them had a Storage Ring.
Everyone around him already had one, and he still had a few extras.
“A Storage Ring? Such a magical item?” Malina examined it with curiosity, her face lighting up with delight as she slipped it onto the middle finger of her left hand.
John glanced at her and added, “It costs one million gold coins or one hundred skill stones.” “Why don’t you just rob me!” Malina glared at him, playing coy. “I don’t have that!”
John hadn’t really intended to charge her, so he casually said, “Then consider it a gift. Just send me a few more photos of you in black stockings.”
Malina rolled her eyes at him, ignoring the comment as she continued rummaging through the loot.
Among the items, she found a few rare and epic pieces of gear, which made her quite happy. Before long, they finished clearing the battlefield and proceeded deeper into the sixth level of the cave.
It was still filled with weak skeleton monsters, now ranging from levels 90 to 100.
Boom!
A fireball whizzed past John, crashing into the horde of skeletons. With an explosive sound, a large group of them was instantly killed.
Malina raised her staff, a proud expression on her face. “How about that? My damage is pretty high, isn’t it?”
“Not bad,” John replied casually.
Malina’s magic damage was indeed much higher than that of other players of her level who played the same mage class.
But compared to John, it was like comparing the sky to the ground.
The surrounding skeleton horde became enraged and charged at them with furious roars.
John raised his hand, unleashing an overwhelming Hellfire that wiped out more than ten thousand skeletons in one sweep.
Malina happily scampered around, picking up the loot, thoroughly enjoying herself. John couldn’t help but comment, “What’s so great about picking up this trash gear?”
“Trash?” Malina looked up, glaring at John indignantly. “Do you think every player is like you, decked out in luxurious equipment? Even just one of these items would drive players crazy. Plus, my Phoenix Guild needs to grow and thrive-these items are essential.”
John fell silent. In this life, he had started at such a high level that he had indeed forgotten the struggles of lower-level players.
He stopped rushing Malina and instead turned to help her gather the loot, though he kept the skill stones and other valuable items for himself.
As for the third-tier weapons and gear, which he had no use for and no one around him needed, he gave them all to Malina.
Soon enough, they finished clearing the battlefield and entered the seventh level of the cave.
This was the final level, still filled with skeleton monsters, but their strength had significantly increased, ranging from level 100 to 130 in the fourth tier.
Malina again initiated the attack with her magic.
A fireball crashed down with a loud bang, flames surged, but this time, it didn’t kill the skeletons in one shot.
Her fire magic was powerful, but when facing monsters of the same level, its damage was
limited.
“Your turn,” Malina said, annoyed, as she stepped back in frustration.
“You’re wasting time,” John grumbled.
“You…!” Malina fumed, glaring daggers at John.
Boom!
Suddenly, a series of loud rumbles echoed through the cave as a massive Tremor shook the
ground.
This time, John didn’t use his Hellfire skill but opted for another area-of-effect spell, causing
a massive quake.
The skeletons stood dazed, stunned by the effect, and then took massive damage that instantly killed them, leaving their bones scattered all over the place.
[You have slain a level 100 fourth-tier skeleton monster, gaining 305 experience points.] [Plunder talent activated, Constitution +1.]
…
As notifications flashed, John noticed that the final boss of the seventh level-a fourth-tier epic skeleton warlord-had also been instantly killed, dropping a few pieces of loot.
He stepped forward to inspect the loot and found the “Undead Cave The Secret Area Scroll” that the Undead Lord had mentioned.
[Undead Cave The Secret Area: Fifth-tier Hero The Secret Area, accessible to level 200 and above fifth-tier players.]
It was another fifth-tier Hero The Secret Area, with no further details provided.
“Is this The Secret Area?” Malina came over, noticing the scroll in his hand, and said, “You promised to help me level up. You can’t leave me behind.”
“This…” John hesitated, pondering for a moment before deciding to explain the situation to
her.
After listening, Malina’s expression became a bit uneasy as she exclaimed, “I can’t believe there’s such a bizarre mechanic in the world of Gods!”
She swallowed nervously, looking at John. “So the last time you left me behind, it was to find
your girlfriend to… cure you?”
John nodded. “I can’t guarantee that it won’t happen again while we’re exploring The Secret Area. If it does, and I have to leave you behind, and you get killed by monsters, I won’t be responsible. Unless, of course, you’re willing to help me with the cure.”
“Shameless pervert!” Malina cursed, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment. She continued, “But I’m willing to take the risk.”
John, a bit unsure, asked, “So what exactly are you saying?”
Malina glared at him and coldly replied, “I’m saying I’ll go into The Secret Area with you. If
you have another episode, go find your girlfriend. There’s no way I’m helping you.”
“Such a prude,” John muttered under his breath.
Malina clearly heard him, her eye twitching as she shot him a dark look.
She silently vowed that as soon as this The Secret Area exploration was over and her level was higher, she would keep as far away from him as possible.
The entrance to the Undead Cave The Secret Area was right there, saving them a lot of time.
John immediately used the scroll, and with a ripple of Spatial power, a rift in space appeared. “Stay close,” he reminded Malina, casting Diamond Armor again before stepping through the
rift first.
Malina quickly followed.
They found themselves in a dark, eerie cavern.
Pop!
Flames flickered as Malina raised her staff, conjuring a fireball at the tip to light up the entire
cave.
Crunch!
The sound of bones cracking underfoot made Malina look around, and what she saw sent
chills down her spine.
The cave was filled with piles of bones, exuding a sinister aura, and she couldn’t help but edge
closer to John.
At this moment, John stood still, his brow furrowed in thought.
Noticing something was off, Malina panicked and quickly asked, “Are you having an episode
right now?”
She was terrified; this eerie place was worse than death itself. John glanced at her and said, “No. Wait a moment, something’s come up.”
It wasn’t the Fox Demon Curse acting up; rather, he had just received a private message from
Tracy. Star Dust: “Old man, I’ve got some intel. The Angel Race and Dark Humans are teaming up to
activate the Faction System. It seems like if they manage to get it going, they’ll be able to
openly enter the world of Gods, and it’s all aimed at you.”
Faction System?
John’s expression grew puzzled as he read Tracy’s message.
In his previous life, he had never heard of any Faction System, so he curiously asked for more
details.
Godslayer: “What’s the Faction System? How do they plan to activate it?”
Star Dust: “I’m not entirely sure on the specifics. But it requires players to activate it. Their
plan is to bolster the strength of the Mike White Family and the Azure Family. The Azure
Family has also had some powerful figures enter the world of Gods, but I haven’t encountered
them yet.”
John noticed that there were new powerful players on the level leaderboard-Toby had made the list, along with another unfamiliar name, Kent.
With a surname like Azure, this person was almost certainly from the Azure Family.
Both of these individuals had reached level 140 or higher, achieving fourth-tier strength, and
were ranked second and third on the leaderboard.
Although there was still a significant gap between them and John, their leveling speed was remarkable, undoubtedly aided by the Angel Race or Dark Humans.
John speculated that the activation of the Faction System was likely tied to a hidden quest and
wouldn’t be easy to accomplish.
However, without any leads, he couldn’t do anything to stop the Mike White Family and the
Azure Family.
Star Dust: “Old man, they’re activating the Faction System specifically to target you. The
Angel Race is particularly interested in two items you have: the Element The Secret Area key and a scroll for some place called Death Worm’s Nest.”
Death Worm’s Nest?
John recalled that this The Secret Area was a drop from the Two-Winged Angel, who had also
entered the world of Gods in player form. Before dying, the angel had even boasted about being able to locate Death Land.
Whether or not the Two-Winged Angel’s claim was true, John knew he couldn’t afford to be
careless.