Chapter 9: Tenth-Generation Primordial | Monsters Are Coming
Monster World, Emperor's Mound Mountain Range.
Ancient Battlefield.
A skeleton wreathed in black flames wandered aimlessly. Piled high around it were heaps of remains and shattered weapons.
"To become a powerful hunter, you must first learn to conceal yourself and look for an opportunity to ambush."
"Then, lock onto your target, gather strength, strike like the wind, and kill in a single blow… Ow!"
Accompanied by Li Zheng's yell in the area voice channel, all the players pretending to be dead on the ground suddenly sprang up, morphing midair into their monster forms and pouncing on the First-Generation Primordial Monster Bonefire.
At this point, Li Zheng and his companions had all reached Level 5. Their Physical Aptitude had more than doubled compared to the start, and their body size had grown noticeably.
This was their third encounter with Bonefire.
They had been decisively defeated in the first two attempts, which only fueled their desire for victory.
Most importantly, over the past two days, they had discovered a unique mechanic in the game.
This special mechanic allowed them to kill monsters above their level.
The game had no monster reset mechanic!
In most games, monsters would reset if players left a certain range, returning to their territory and restoring all health while removing any inflicted debuffs.
But not in this game.
All damage dealt to a monster remained.
For example, the bite marks they had left during earlier fights with Bonefire had not disappeared upon respawning, when they reengaged Bonefire, the wounds were still there.
This meant they could chip away at stronger monsters over time.
Even if they could only deal 1% damage each time, a hundred battles could eventually bring the monster down.
Of course, this only worked if the monster had weak self-healing abilities.
Against monsters with strong regeneration, chipping strategies were meaningless, but against Bonefire, who had no healing ability, the tactic worked perfectly.
Compared to their first encounter, Bonefire was now covered in fang wounds, particularly on his left leg, which was nearly shattered.
These injuries had all been inflicted through their repeated chip tactics.
This time, Li Zheng and the others focused their attack on Bonefire's left leg.
Upon contact, their monster bodies ignited with black flames. Enduring the searing pain, they clung to Bonefire, tearing at his already fragile limb.
Before long, the already-cracked leg bone could take no more and crumbled completely, sending Bonefire crashing to the ground.
Seeing this, the other players, Dirt Poor and the rest, rushed in.
Black-Scaled Serpent's constricting bites, the Gargoyle's powerful punches, and the Owl-Headed Fiend's beak strikes rained down on Bonefire. Overwhelmed by the relentless assault, Bonefire could no longer hold on, his skull's black crystal core shattered, and the black flames around him extinguished.
A plume of black mist rose from Bonefire's corpse, splitting into ten parts and drifting toward the players.
As the mist touched them, its energy seeped into their bodies, and a scarlet glow swept across their skin.
Surging energy coursed through their bodies, triggering rapid growth.
The black flames that still clung to them disappeared as their bodies were reshaped and fully restored by the level-up.
At that moment, another dense cloud of smoke emerged from Bonefire's corpse, revealing a miniature silhouette of Bonefire within the swirling black mist.
One of the nearby Guide water spheres suddenly opened its mouth, sucking in Bonefire's soul imprint and instantly transferring it to the fourth cell of the Containment Wall, where it reformed into Bonefire once again.
A pale blue energy tube extended from the top of the cell, connecting to Bonefire's head and beginning to siphon Sacrificial Power continuously.
At the same time, a string of prompts echoed in the minds of Li Zheng and the others:
[Challenger Notice: First-Generation Primordial Monster Bonefire has been contained. Primordial Hunt mission complete.]
[Mission Reward 1: All participants receive 1,000 Sacrificial Power (amount affected by number of participants)]
[Mission Reward 2: All participants are granted access to unlock their second Inherited Soul Slot for free.]
"We did it! Finally!"
"Hahaha, brothers, this feels amazing, pure joy, just like the old days!"
"1,000 Sacrificial Power in one go? Way faster than farming Cursed Soldiers!"
After the cheering died down, Li Zheng turned to the floating Guide water sphere beside him and asked curiously.
"How much Sacrificial Power does it normally cost to unlock the second Inherited Soul Slot?"
[Unlocking the second Inherited Soul Slot normally requires 500 Sacrificial Power.]
"So we can embed a second soul now?"
[Correct. The function panel includes a Star Vein Embedment feature. You can now embed a second monster soul and activate a second monster form.]
Following the Guide's instructions, Li Zheng summoned the function panel.
It displayed seven options: Map, Inventory, Character Details, Star Vein Enhancement, Item Shop, Resource Sacrifice, System Settings.
Clicking on the Star Vein option, his internal vision appeared in his mind.
His spine sparkled like a galaxy in the internal view. At the very top was his human form, and embedded in the first slot below was the Black-Scaled Serpent soul.
To the right was the control panel, showing detailed Star Vein info.
[Challenger: Game Gold-Farmer]
Verified Name: Li Zheng
Star Vein Level: 2 (Next level requires 2,000 Sacrificial Power)
Star Vein Embedment Slots: 2
Embedded Monster Soul 1: Black-Scaled Serpent Lv5 (Trait: Venomous)
Embedded Monster Soul 2: None
—
To the right of the Star Vein attributes panel was a Purchase Soul button.
Upon selecting it, the screen switched to the Monster Soul Store.
Four available options appeared before Li Zheng.
Petrification (Gargoyle Form: First-Generation Primordial)
Trait: Upon activation, enter a petrified state, becoming immobile but drastically reducing all forms of damage. Effectiveness scales with physical aptitude.
Cost: 1,000 Sacrificial Power.
Dirge (Owl-Headed Fiend Form: First-Generation Primordial)
Trait: Opens perception mode, allowing detection of nearby threats (killing intent, hostility, aura, fluctuations). Duration and detection radius scale with mental strength.
Cost: 1,000 Sacrificial Power.
Venomous (Black-Scaled Serpent Form: First-Generation Primordial)
Trait: All forms of physical damage apply a poison effect, dealing continuous damage to the target. (poison potency scales with Physical Aptitude)
Cost: Already owned; cannot purchase again
Deathly Flames (Bonefire Form: First-Generation Primordial)
Trait: Consumes Mental Strength to release deathly flames controlled by consciousness. On hit, deals continuous burning and death-energy corrosion damage (Damage scales with monster level and Mental Strength)
Cost: 1,000 Sacrificial Power.
—
"Guide, what does 'First-Generation Primordial' mean in the monster soul suffix?" Li Zheng looked to the water sphere and asked.
[The Emperor conducted ten mysterious experiments when creating Primordial Monsters. Each time, a portion of his own power was split off. The first batch of primordial life orbs scattered across Monster World eventually evolved into the First-Generation Primordials. The Second Generation refers to the second batch of Primordial Lifeforms, and so on.]
[The Emperor's decomposition progressed from weak to strong. The traits of First-Generation Primordials are the weakest, and those of the Tenth Generation are the strongest. Therefore, Tenth-Generation Primordials have far higher growth potential… But potential doesn't guarantee power. Some Tenth-Generation Primordials may have low Hunt Levels, while some First-Generation ones could be extremely dangerous.]
"I see."
Having understood what the suffix meant, Li Zheng fell into thought.
At this stage, he had three options: Owl-Headed Fiend, Gargoyle, and Bonefire.
Bonefire's elemental damage didn't synergize well with the Black-Scaled Serpent's Venomous trait, so that was eliminated first.
The remaining two were the Owl-Headed Fiend, which offered utility and was a generalist trait, and the Gargoyle, which leaned toward defense.
After a brief deliberation, he decided to exit the Star Vein interface and consult with his teammates before choosing.
As the internal view faded, Li Zheng turned to his companions, only to be shocked to see Dirt Poor had already embedded his second soul and transformed into Bonefire's form, his whole body wreathed in black flames.