At the gates of the Forest Kingdom's Trial Chamber, a sudden flash of light illuminated the crowd. The entire plaza went silent for a heartbeat before erupting in chatter. The hottest name in the Land of Divine Punishment had just logged in.
Demon-Slayer.
A crisp system notification chimed in his ears.
"Notice: SSS-tier Talent [God's Descendant] activates its daily blessing!"
"Permanent Buff acquired: EXP gain +2%!"
Noah—known in-game as Demon-Slayer—landed firmly on his feet, his expression calm, though his eyes flickered with interest.
"A permanent buff? Not bad… not bad at all."
At first glance, a measly 2% boost didn't seem like much. But Noah wasn't just any player. He was a professional. In his eyes, this was nothing short of broken.
In other games, buffs like this would cost a fortune. If this were one of those penguin company games, you'd probably have to burn through a hundred grand just to get something similar, Noah thought with a smirk.
With this buff, every time he gained a million EXP, he'd earn an extra twenty thousand on top. Over time, that was astronomical. And this was permanent.
He subconsciously flicked open his EXP bar.
+1 EXP.
+1 EXP.
+1 EXP.
Notifications kept popping up one after another.
"Huh? Don't tell me… are there still players spectating my Sword Insignia run?" Noah muttered, surprised.
He didn't dwell on it. Instead, he opened his EXP tab to see just how much he had passively earned so far.
[Current EXP: 5,893,677,723 / 99,999,999,999]
"…What?"
Noah blinked. Maybe he'd clicked wrong. He closed the tab and reopened it. Same number. To be extra sure, he even enlarged the display.
[Current EXP: 5,893,677,723 / 99,999,999,999]
His eyes widened. He sucked in a sharp breath.
"Holy crap. 5.8 billion?!"
He hadn't misread. He really had passively gained nearly six billion EXP.
"That means… in less than a single day, over 5.8 billion players have spectated my run?"
The thought alone was terrifying.
All traces of gloom he'd carried instantly vanished. A grin tugged at his lips. To gain so much experience while doing nothing—it was intoxicating.
Just one night of sleep, and he woke up to a windfall that could take others years to grind.
If converted into normal player levels, 5.8 billion EXP could easily push someone up two, maybe three hundred levels. Who would believe such a thing?
Noah chuckled. "Looks like 99 billion EXP isn't that far off after all."
His blood boiled with anticipation. His path to godhood was becoming clearer with every passing second.
There was no time to waste. Straightening his gear, Noah stretched lightly before dashing out of the Trial Chamber. His destination was clear: the strongest dungeon in the Forest Kingdom, the Level 200 Dungeon—The Elf's Grave.
The grave was infamous. According to the lore of the Land of Divine Punishment, it was where both elves and dark elves buried their ancient kings after uniting against the demonic invasion centuries ago.
Noah's damage now reached terrifying tens of millions. A Level 200 dungeon was far beneath him. But he wasn't there for challenge.
He was there for the clear-time ranking rewards.
If he could secure another unique reward like the Permanent Sword Insignia, then the profits would be beyond imagination. Why grind dungeons for weeks when he could rake in EXP and rewards just by having others spectate his runs?
The map of the Forest Kingdom was several times larger than any beginner zone. For ordinary players, the journey to the Elf's Grave could take days, even without monster interference. But Noah's Swiftwind Set turned travel into a breeze. If a normal player was a tractor, then Noah was a Ferrari.
By the time the sun reached its zenith, Noah stood before the ominous gates of the Elf's Grave.
"Perfect timing," he murmured with a smile.
The plaza outside the dungeon was packed. Hundreds of players bustled about, hawking services and forming parties.
"Elf's Grave run! Need one more DPS! No Rogues! Say it three times—no rogues!"
"Windblade Guild recruiting for dungeon clears! Must be Level 200 with A-rank combat talent! Salary, housing, benefits, all included! Join us and earn a million a month!"
The shouts overlapped like a noisy market. Noah felt a wave of nostalgia. He had always loved this chaotic energy in MMOs.
Blending into the crowd, he quickly slipped past without drawing attention. He approached the dungeon NPC and pulled up the clear-time leaderboard.
First place: Ye Zhibai & Mo Wen's team — 4 minutes 12 seconds (SSS)
Second place: Solitary team — 9 minutes 43 seconds (SSS)
Third place: Li Yueqing's team — 11 minutes 15 seconds (SSS)
…
Noah scanned the list. Top ten were the same human elites as always. But this time, the dungeon difficulty was clearly higher; their times were far slower than before.
The kicker was that two of the Human Emperors had joined forces to secure first place. Their cooperation put them leagues ahead of the rest.
Noah chuckled. "Even emperors need to party up? Guess everyone has their weaknesses."
A solo clear of 4 minutes 12 seconds? That was insane. Near untouchable.
"Let's change that." Noah's eyes gleamed.
He tapped the NPC.
'Warning: Your level is far below this dungeon's recommended level. Party size insufficient. Do you still wish to enter?'
"Confirm."
In a blink, white light engulfed him.
Noah materialized inside the grave—a long, eerie tunnel stretching into darkness. Before the atmosphere could settle, Noah had already acted.
"Summon Deity—Goddess of Dawn!"
A surge of divine power shook the entire tomb.
Light blossomed as a barefoot goddess stepped gracefully onto the air, silver hair cascading like a waterfall. Her gaze was serene, her beauty otherworldly. She raised her slender hand and pointed down the endless passage.
"Perish."
BOOM!
Light burst forth like a new dawn, illuminating every inch of the grave. The air trembled violently.
In that instant, every monster within was annihilated. Noah didn't even catch a glimpse of the boss's face before notifications flooded his screen.
+32,000 EXP!
+32,000 EXP!
+46,000 EXP!
Item Acquired: Elf Skull!
…
A crisp notification followed.
"Congratulations! You have cleared the Elf's Grave Dungeon!"
The entire Land of Divine Punishment trembled as a world announcement echoed overhead.
"Player [Demon-Slayer] has solo-cleared the Elf's Grave Dungeon! Clear time: 4 seconds! Evaluation: ???"
The server exploded. Before players even processed what had happened, Noah's message appeared in the world chat:
Demon-Slayer: "Level 1 newbie, crushing demon gods with one hand. Demon Gods—dare to face me in battle?"
And just like that, he logged off.
It was the ultimate move. Show off, drop the mic, and disappear.
The challenge was set. Would the demon gods take the bait?