Chapter 109: Only Ten Rewards
Chapter 109: Only Ten Rewards
Chen Mo still had a bit more than an hour of online time left. Returning to the Great Hall where the Ore Giant Chieftain resided, he drank a Rock Corrosion Potion, cleared the nearby small monsters, and charged at the Ore Giant Chieftain once again.
System Notification: Power of Annihilation effect triggered!
A crossbow bolt shot past. Just as Chen Mo wanted to fire the next one, a System Notification suddenly rang out.
Chen Mo froze, hardly believing his ears.
Had the Power of Annihilation effect triggered just like that?
Boom…
Ahead of him, the giant body of the Ore Giant Chieftain crumbled into a pile of rubble on the ground.
Area Announcement: “The Undeveloped Area has been successfully cleared by player ‘Silence’! Henceforth, this area will become developed! Player ‘Silence’ shall receive bountiful clearance rewards!”
System Notification: You have successfully cleared an unknown area and will receive bountiful rewards!
System Notification: Your Level increased by 1!
System Notification: You have gained 5 Honor Points!
System Notification: You have gained 100 Human Race Reputation!
System Notification: You have obtained 10 Gold Coins!
System Notification: You have obtained the weapon “Mighty Stone Crossbow”!
System Notification: You have obtained the Skill Book ‘Stone Skin’!
…
After the Area Announcement and the barrage of System Notifications, Chen Mo finally confirmed he wasn’t seeing things. The Power of Annihilation had triggered suddenly, completely catching him off guard!
Suddenly killing the Area Elite shocked even Chen Mo himself. Meanwhile, Blood War Seven Days and Bloodbattle Thousand Miles, who were still on the Mining Area Second Floor, were utterly horrified!
“Impossible! Seven Days, did you see the Area Announcement? That guy Silence killed the Area Elite all by himself! The Area Elite on Mining Area Second Floor is the Ore Giant Chieftain! It has super high Defense and insanely fast health regen! Our entire Blood War Guild couldn’t kill it even if we all went! How could that guy kill it alone?” Bloodbattle Thousand Miles immediately messaged Blood War Seven Days in disbelief.
“You didn’t misread it, and the Area Announcement can’t be wrong!” Blood War Seven Days gasped, watching the thick white mist around them rapidly thin. This was way too unbelievable. Barely ten minutes earlier, they’d been fighting that hunter called Silence and had lost nearly twenty people. And now, ten minutes later, came the news that the Ore Giant Chieftain was dead! If Blood War Seven Days hadn’t been right here on Mining Area Second Floor and seen the hunter fighting the Ore Giant Chieftain solo earlier, he’d never believe such a report even if he heard it.
“How could that kid be so strong? Impossible!” Bloodbattle Thousand Miles still refused to believe it. While the hunter was skilled and had killed over ten of them, that was solely due to exploiting the visibility advantage within the white mist. Under normal circumstances, facing their group of twenty-plus people head-on would be impossible for him. It was utterly unscientific that a single hunter could kill an Area Elite that their entire guild couldn’t defeat.
“He probably possesses a special item meant for dealing with the Ore Giant Chieftain. Otherwise, he wouldn’t dare challenge it alone,” Blood War Seven Days guessed. The idea that the hunter killed it purely by strength? Absolutely impossible!
“That guy is too bizarre. We have the numbers advantage, but his speed surpasses ours, making him uncatchable. Engaging him with fewer numbers is suicide. How do we deal with him in the future?” Though reluctant to admit it, this guy could even solo an Area Elite! His speed was terrifying, his damage frightening. Continuing to clash with someone like this would only harm the guild’s growth.
“Don’t worry, I have an idea! Isn’t that guy a Black Name? And isn’t he covered in top-tier equipment? We spread the word about his location here, and tons of players will swarm to kill him for his drops!” Blood War Seven Days sneered coldly.
“That’s a great plan!” Bloodbattle Thousand Miles’s eyes lit up.
The two promptly logged out to the Forum to post. Their threads immediately drew the attention of numerous players.
However, their news didn’t gain massive traction. After the two finished posting and returned to the Game, an even hotter piece of news exploded across the Forum!
Out in the wilds near one of the Three Major Cities, Eastern Sea City, which bordered the Miracle Sea, an ancient ghost ship drifted ashore from the Miracle Sea! The ship held numerous Treasure Chests, equipment, and items! The moment this news surfaced, it instantly overshadowed every other post on the Forum.
Upon receiving the news, most players lamented why they weren’t part of Eastern Sea City. Many people saw the ancient ghost ship. While the specifics inside remained unknown, numerous Treasure Chests were scattered around the ship’s hull, making everyone’s eyes glint with greed.
However, many players from Eastern Sea City knew that obtaining those Treasure Chests wouldn’t be easy. The ancient ghost ship could make beachfall only because that particular beach was very special. Giant Sea Beasts frequently appeared there. Given players’ current Levels and Attributes, being touched by one meant instant death.
…
Back on Mining Area Second Floor, after the Area Announcement and System Notifications echoed, Chen Mo snapped out of it, realizing he truly had killed the Ore Giant Chieftain.
“That’s not right… Why is the reward so meager? Less than what a four-player team gets! How scamming!” Chen Mo hurriedly checked his System Notifications and was shocked to find the rewards he received solo were far less than the total rewards a four-player team would get!
He was about to suspect the System made a mistake when he suddenly saw a dazzling light erupt from the Sealing Magic Array at the center of the Great Hall. The previously inactive array seemed triggered once again.
Chen Mo instantly grew wary. When he killed the Frenzied Treant earlier, this hadn’t happened.
Light pulsed across the Sealing Magic Array, and a semi-transparent, elegant figure materialized. It was the phantom of a stunning blonde beauty. Her skin was snow-white, her hair long and wavy, like gold. A luxurious black noble gown trimmed with white lace draped her figure. Her chest was ample and pronounced. Truly a voluptuous blonde beauty radiating noble elegance!
However, upon closer inspection, faint scale patterns seemed to shimmer on her snow-white skin.
“You are the human who triggered the Sealing Magic Array?” The blonde busty beauty spoke with an aloof tone, giving Chen Mo a cool, distant glance.
“That’s me. Who are you? How did you appear here?” He knew this was connected to him solo-killing the Area Elite. He wasn’t worried, just intensely curious.
“Who I am need not concern you. Humankind is too weak. The Sealing Magic Array you triggered was left by a formidable human from the past, meant to empower humankind. I pledged an oath to assist that human with one task: whenever someone triggers the array, I must grant the appropriate reward to strengthen them. Now, speak, little fellow. What reward do you desire? Level, Skill, Equipment, or Items? You may choose only one type from these four options.” The blonde busty beauty explained indifferently, her attitude dismissive of Chen Mo entirely.
Your sister calls me ‘little fellow’! Your whole family are ‘little fellows’! Chen Mo grumbled inwardly. Yet, recalling Selena, figured this busty beauty was likely another ancient crone too. Thinking of that restored his inner balance.
“Could you elaborate on the possible rewards within each category? I’d like to compare before deciding,” Chen Mo pressed quickly.
“Others could request that. But not you,” The blonde busty beauty shot him an icy glance, her tone lacking any semblance of politeness.
“Why not?” Chen Mo flared up. Your sister! Think this brother is easy to bully, huh? Don’t fall into my hands later, or I’ll definitely make you my female slave and whip you a hundred times a day!
“You don’t appear a virtuous man. Were it not for my pledge to that human champion, I wouldn’t grant you a reward at all.” She surprisingly answered him bluntly. Hearing this, Chen Mo felt tears welling up inside. Damn bear skins! So true it was: the very thing that secured his victory now hindered his gain. Had he not possessed the Heinous Crime Title, he could never have soloed the Area Elite to earn rewards. But now that the rewards were his, the grantor held that title against him, refusing to treat him favorably.
“You have ten seconds. If no choice is made by then, your reward will be forfeited!” The blonde busty beauty seemed impatient, delivering her ultimatum.
Your sister! I’ll remember you. You WILL become this brother’s slave! Chen Mo etched this blonde bombshell onto his mental Revenge List, then his mind raced: which reward to choose?
Equipment? Chen Mo discarded that idea first. The Sailor Gloves were a cautionary tale. Unless he got a Divine Artifact, even Dark Gold Equipment would become obsolete soon. Could there be a Divine Artifact prize? Not a chance! Think how many Undeveloped Areas the Game holds. If solo clearing one yielded a Divine Artifact, those artifacts would be common junk!
His second strikeout: the Level reward. He was still too low Level. Gaining a few Levels might only require half a month’s effort; not worth the reward slot. It might be consider-worthy at higher Levels, but not now.
Third option: item rewards. Chen Mo barely considered it before rejecting it. The possibilities for items were endless. With bad luck, he might score useless junk.
After much deliberation, only Skills seemed truly dependable. What he lacked most were Skills! Great Skills remained potent forever; even mediocre ones weren’t truly wasteful.
“I choose the Skill reward!” As the blonde beauty reached ‘four’ in her countdown, Chen Mo shouted.
“Fine!” The blonde busty beauty waved her hand. A sanctified glow enveloped Chen Mo.
System Notification: For solo-killing an Area Elite and clearing an unknown area, you will receive a mysterious reward!
System Notification: A random Skill on your character will be upgraded to Grandmaster Level… Random Skill selection in progress…
System Notification: Skill ‘Alchemy’ has been upgraded to Grandmaster Level!
His reward was… randomly upgrading one Skill to Grandmaster Level? Chen Mo’s eyes bulged wide. Confirming the notice, he felt pure despair! Dammit! Called it ‘silly’, called it ‘boredom’, yet he’d learned all those auxiliary life Skills anyway! Now look: an utterly neglected Skill rocketed to Grandmaster Level!
Had it been his Blasting Trap Skill… even wielding garbage weapons, he could’ve wiped out entire groups with one explosion! Such intense regret flooded Chen Mo.
Seeing the blonde beauty’s radiant form starting to fade, ready to vanish, he hastily asked, “Beautiful sister, if I solo-kill another Area Elite in the future, will I get this same reward again?”
The blonde beauty’s figure paused briefly. She then mocked him with a cold laugh, “Where would find such endless boon? My duty to that human champion demands granting rewards only… to the first ten!”