The beginner map in the Land of Divine Punishment capped out at level 50. Once a player reached level 50, they'd need to complete a breakthrough quest to unlock the next area.
That was Noah's ultimate goal—to hit 50 as fast as humanly possible.
There were many ways to earn experience in this world, but dungeons were king. Not only did they give out heaps of EXP, but if fortune smiled on you, they could drop rare gear and powerful items.
With more than two hours left before school ended in the real world, Noah made up his mind. He wasn't going to waste time on low-level mobs or trivial quests. He would march straight into the most dangerous dungeon on this map—the Wolf King's Valley, a level-50 instance known as a nightmare for beginners.
"That'll get me where I need to be," he muttered to himself, determination flashing in his eyes.
Curious how far off he was from leveling, he pulled up his character panel.
A moment later, his confident expression twisted into disbelief. "What the… hell?!"
The EXP bar read: 100 / 99,999,999,999.
He rubbed his eyes, blinked a few times, then even pulled a magnifying glass from his Void Pouch to double-check. Nope, it wasn't a glitch. Leveling from 1 to 2 required almost a hundred billion EXP.
"Is this… because of the Divine Fury Mage class?" he muttered, a sinking suspicion rising in his chest. Quickly, he opened the class description.
[Divine Fury Mage]: Time erases all things, yet you shall endure for eternity. This hidden class prevents level-ups through normal means. Once your EXP bar is filled, you will unlock the Path to Godhood. Completing the ascension quest grants you divine authority, making you a Celestial Law Mage.
"Holy sh*t…" Noah exhaled sharply, a mix of shock and excitement bubbling up inside him. "So this class doesn't level at all. If I max out EXP, I straight up… become a god?"
His lips curled into a wild grin. Now that… that's the kind of endgame I can get behind.
Heart pounding with anticipation, he gripped the handle of his starter sword tightly. "Then what am I waiting for? Dungeon run, here I come."
As he sprinted toward Wolf King's Valley, a sudden ripple of light ahead made him slow down. A player clad in heavy plate armor strode past, exuding the easy confidence of someone who had conquered this map a hundred times over. The level indicator above his head read Lv 50 Knight.
"Hey, buddy!" Noah called out, jogging over. "How long's the run from here to Wolf King's Valley?"
The knight gave him a quick once-over, seeing Noah's glaring. Lv 1 tag, and frowned. "Hold up… you're level one, and you're calling me 'buddy'? I'm fifty, you're a newborn, get some respect."
Noah just grinned, unfazed. "Details, details. Come on, just tell me."
The knight sighed. "Full sprint? About two hours." He squinted suspiciously. "Why are you heading there? You just spawned."
"Leveling here's too slow. Figured a dungeon might speed things up."
That earned him a bark of incredulous laughter. "Dungeon? Solo? Don't make me laugh. Wolf King's Valley is the hardest beginner dungeon there is! Even I need a full five-man squad—a proper warrior, healer, mage trio, the whole deal—to have a shot. And you think you can just waltz in there alone at level one? Dream on, kid."
"You could always come along," Noah said with mock sincerity, sending the knight a party invite.
The invite was rejected in less than a second. The knight shook his head, muttering like Noah had lost his mind. "You're gonna die before you even get close, mark my words. When you do, you'll lose EXP and get slapped with debuffs. Not worth it, kid."
Noah only smiled, nodding politely. "Thanks for the tip." Then he turned and walked away.
Behind him, the knight sneered. "Idiot," he said under his breath, already picturing Noah's corpse feeding wolves halfway to the valley.
In the Land of Divine Punishment, dying wasn't permanent—you could always respawn—but you'd lose precious experience and be slapped with a Weakened state that lasted at least an hour. The higher your level, the worse the penalty.
With the knight's warning firmly ignored, Noah opened up the game forum overlay and double-checked the fastest route. Satisfied, he broke into a steady jog toward his goal. Time was still on his side. Today's mission was simple: test the waters in the hardest dungeon available.
Suddenly, a chime rang in his ears.
[System Notice: SSS-Rank Talent – Descendant of the Gods has activated its Daily Blessing.]
You have received [Dragon Phoenix Blood x20]!
First Blessing detected. New Player Package unlocked.
Congratulations! You have obtained an SSS-Rank Weapon: Asura Blade!
Noah's eyes widened, excitement surging through him. "An SSS weapon?!"
Without a second's hesitation, he ripped open his inventory to examine the loot.
[Dragon Phoenix Blood (Advanced)]: Instantly restores 5,000 HP and heals 2,000 physical injuries. Cooldown: 15s.
He whistled low. "High-grade healing potions with added injury recovery. Market price for a regular 5,000 HP potion is about 100 gold…" He did the math in his head. One gold equaled roughly 100 yuan in real-world currency. Twenty potions meant a casual 20,000 yuan in his bag already.
Noah grinned, unable to contain his glee. SSS talents are pure gold. For a high school student like him, twenty grand was no small sum—it was enough for a high-end gaming rig and more.
He forced himself to calm down, turning to the true prize—the weapon.
[Asura Blade (SSS)]: +20 Constitution, +66 Strength, +30 Agility, +100% Critical Chance.
Type: Greatsword.
Level Requirement: 1.
Exclusive Skill – Asura Slash: Unleashes a devastating shockwave, dealing 100 (+300% Attack) damage to all enemies in a 50m radius. 30% chance to slow enemies by up to 80% for 5s. Cooldown: 20s. No mana cost.
Noah stared, mouth slightly agape. "An SSS weapon… with an exclusive skill?"
In this world, even a single S-Rank weapon was a treasure that most people would never lay eyes on. Obtaining one meant killing level 2000 bosses or paying a grandmaster blacksmith a fortune to forge it, and the average price hovered in the millions of gold, billions in real money.
SSS weapons were practically myths, only six known to exist, and none of them came with exclusive skills. The odds of that happening were astronomically low, one in ten thousand for any weapon. Yet here he was, holding one that defied all probability.
There was only one "flaw": the level requirement was 1. Most players would toss it aside once they out-leveled it.
But Noah would never out-level anything. Not until he became a god. This blade was made for him.
Grinning like a madman, he equipped the weapon. His stats surged.
[ID]: Demon-Slayer
[Level]: 1
[Class]: Divine Fury Mage (Sub-class: Warrior)
[Talents]: Tenfold Absorption (S), Otherworldly Hero (SSS), Chosen of Fate (SSS)… Void Rift (SSS)
[HP]: 5450 / 5450
[MP]: 3100 / 3100
[Attack]: 352
[Magic Power]: 290
[Defense]: 110
[Magic Defense]: 165
[Speed]: 100
[Luck]: MAX
[Charm]: MAX
[Equipment]: Asura Blade, Beginner Warrior Gear
[Skills]: Judgment Lv 1, Retribution. Lv 1, Purify Lv.. 1, Asura Slash Lv.. 1
The sheer numbers alone were enough to crush every level 50 player in existence. But Noah knew it still wouldn't be enough to solo the hardest dungeon. Not yet.
"Guess it's time to pull out another card…" he murmured, reaching into his inventory and activating another SSS talent.
[Elemental Conversion (SSS): Allows you to imbue any weapon or skill with an elemental attribute of your choice.]
A slow, confident smile curved across his lips. "With this… Wolf King's Valley won't know what hit it."