On his way to Wolf King's Valley, Noah couldn't suppress a grin tugging at the corner of his lips. The Asura Blade gleamed menacingly in his hand, but he wasn't here to admire its base stats. He had something far more broken in mind.
Stopping by the roadside, he gripped the weapon tightly and activated his SSS-tier talent: Elemental Conversion.
The Asura Blade's stats currently read: Constitution +20, Strength +66, Agility +30.
Noah's gaze locked on the Strength bonus. With a devilish smirk, he whispered, "Let's change that, shall we?"
[Conversion: Strength +66 → Constitution +66]
Confirm? → Yes.
A low hum rippled through the air as the black blade flared with blinding light. When it faded, Noah opened the weapon panel again, his heart pounding.
[Asura Blade (SSS)]: Constitution +20, Constitution +66, Agility +30.
"Ha!" He threw his head back and laughed in triumph. The raw power coursing through his body told him everything he needed to know—it worked. His Elemental Conversion wasn't just a gimmick; it was a game-breaking cheat code.
"Guess I won't be holding back, then."
If he was going to rewrite the rules, why stop halfway?
Without hesitation, he pointed the talent at the weapon's exclusive skill: Asura Slash. Originally, it dealt 100 (+300% Attack) physical damage. But Noah's mind was already dancing with possibilities. A few quick mental adjustments and the numbers shifted on the floating UI.
[Conversion: Attack scaling → Health scaling]
Confirm? → Yes.
A second surge of light washed over the blade.
[Asura Slash]: Deals 100 (+300% Max HP) physical damage to all enemies within 50m.
Noah's grin turned feral. In this world, Health Points dwarfed every other stat. Top-tier players measured their HP in tens of millions or even billions. Even ordinary high-level adventurers had health pools dozens of times higher than their attack or magic stats.
By tying damage output to HP instead of Attack, he'd effectively multiplied his potential damage tenfold—or more.
"I swear…" Noah muttered under his breath, "I'm a freaking genius."
His brain was already running wild. Why stop at one skill? He turned his wicked idea on the Divine Fury Mage's class abilities next.
First up, Judgment. It originally ignored level differences to mark an enemy, dealing 500 (+70% Magic Power) damage if the target's Intelligence was lower than his own. Noah smirked, tapping at the glowing interface floating in front of him.
[Conversion: Scaling → Health scaling. Condition: Intelligence → Luck.]
He chuckled to himself. "My Luck stat's already maxed out. There isn't a soul alive who can beat me in a luck check." With this change, Judgment became an unavoidable execution tool that always landed, no matter the opponent's level.
He did the same with Retribution, swapping magic damage scaling for health-based scaling.
Running quick numbers, he whistled low. With his current 5450 HP and a passive +50% damage bonus against demons, Retribution alone could reach a devastating 43,575 damage per cast. A critical hit would push it close to six figures.
In the beginner map, no monster would survive a single strike.
Satisfied, Noah tightened his grip on the Asura Blade. "This should be enough to tear that dungeon apart." His lips curled into a wicked smile. From now on, Attack and Magic Power were nothing but vanity stats. All he needed was more HP, more blood to burn, and his damage would scale to absurd heights. The thicker his lifebar, the harder he'd hit. And with a massive health pool, dying would be next to impossible.
After all, staying alive is the ultimate DPS.
Two hours later, Noah finally arrived at the entrance to Wolf King's Valley, slightly dusty from the long trek. The dungeon gates loomed ahead, crowded with players shouting over one another as they assembled parties.
"Looking for DPS! Knight and healer ready, need one more for a full squad!"
"Fast-clear run! Only S-rank fire mages, don't waste my time if you're trash!"
Everywhere he looked, fully geared level-50 veterans were forming teams, the air thick with competition and ambition. Noah's arrival turned heads instantly. Despite his low-level tag, his stride carried a confidence that made others instinctively step aside.
He ignored the stares and walked straight to the dungeon's NPC, but a nearby conversation caught his ear. A squad was hyping up a ranking run, aiming to set a record clear time.
In the Land of Divine Punishment, dungeons rewarded not only loot and EXP but also completion rankings. The faster the clear, the better the extra rewards. And if your team's time made the top 500 leaderboard, the game showered you with riches and rare titles.
Noah opened the historical rankings out of curiosity. The leaderboard lit up before him:
1. "Mo Wen's Squad" – 5 minutes 35 seconds (SSS Rating)
2. "Ye Zhibai's Squad" – 5 minutes 50 seconds (SSS Rating)
3. "Dugu's Squad" – 7 minutes 17 seconds (SSS Rating)
4. "Liyue Qing's Squad" – 8 minutes 36 seconds (SSS Rating)
5. "Shen Xiu's Squad" – 20 minutes 27 seconds (SS Rating)
…
10. "Xue Wuyue's Squad" – 28 minutes 09 seconds (SS Rating)
Noah let out a low whistle. "The big names don't mess around…"
The top four spots had been locked in for decades by the legendary Human Emperors, their SSS talents setting a bar no newcomer had yet surpassed. Even with this year's fresh crop of prodigies awakening their powers, none were strong enough to challenge these long-standing champions—not yet.
What caught Noah's eye, though, was the glaring absence of any solo clear records. Either no one had dared try, or those who did were too slow to make history.
"Well," he muttered with a grin, "let's change that."
He stepped forward and engaged the dungeon NPC.
[Warning: Your level is far below the dungeon's requirement. Party size below 5 members. Are you sure you want to enter Wolf King's Valley?]
Noah didn't hesitate. "Confirm."
The crowd that had been side-eyeing him finally noticed his level.
"Wait… am I seeing this right? That dude's level 1?!"
"No way. Did he walk here without getting killed?"
"Don't tell me he's trying to solo the dungeon… at level one?!"
"That's suicide. Pure suicide."
Before anyone could stop him, Noah's body dissolved into a streak of white light and vanished through the gates.
A nearby warrior's jaw dropped, his greatsword clattering to the ground with a loud clang. "H-he actually… went in!"