After lunch, Noah originally intended to return to class.
But before he could, the old principal intercepted him once again.
"Noah," the principal said with a grave expression, "lately there have been too many terrorist attacks targeting high school students. For your safety, you'll be entering the Land of Divine Punishment this afternoon right here in my office. I'll personally stand guard over you."
Noah blinked, at first at a loss for words. "Principal, isn't that… a bit much? We're still inside the school. Do you really think the Anti-Alliance Organization would dare storm in here?"
The old man's eyes were dead serious. "It's not about what I think. It's about ensuring there's not even the smallest chance of danger. In two hundred years of this school's history, you're the first student to awaken an S-rank combat talent. Until the college entrance trials are over, I won't allow anything to happen to you."
With the man being so insistent, Noah had no choice but to nod in agreement.
…
Soon, the afternoon class time arrived.
The entire third-year cohort began entering the Land of Divine Punishment, gathering at the Nasi Farm within the novice village.
Inside the principal's office, Noah gave the old man a quick nod before pressing his hand to the crystalline link.
Shua!
In the blink of an eye, the Demon-Slayer's figure emerged before the Elf Ancient Battlefield.
By now, system maintenance had long been completed. In truth, ever since Noah had slain the Minotaur General, the corrupt aura of the Demon God had already vanished from the Land of Divine Punishment. The so-called "maintenance" afterward was nothing more than the system's built-in protection mechanism—like when a computer flashes a virus warning and immediately starts a full scan.
For four long hours last night, the system had been self-checking every corner of the map, before finally repairing the broken instance of the Elf Ancient Battlefield.
"Damn, Demon-Slayer really hooked us up this time! Just by finishing the battlefield exploration, I gained an entire level. I can already pick up my breakthrough quest!"
"Hah, brother, that's nothing. The system just announced compensation for maintenance—our exploration limit for the battlefield has been increased to five times!"
"No way! That's insane. If only the Demon God would invade more often, I'd pray for maintenance every week!"
"Hahaha!"
The battlefield was packed with players, the air thick with shouting and excitement as countless high-level human warriors farmed EXP like crazy.
Listening from the sidelines, Noah couldn't help but let out a chuckle of surprise. He hadn't expected the system to actually hand out such a generous bonus.
Five full explorations of the Elf Ancient Battlefield.
"Not bad, not bad at all. This might just be the most generous system in history," Noah muttered with a grin.
For someone like him—the one who had triggered this hidden map in the first place—the rewards were far greater than for ordinary players. Not only did he receive absurd amounts of experience, but also rare attribute pills, high-grade equipment, and even god-tier skill scrolls.
Now, with five more chances ahead of him, the smile on his face grew wider and wider.
Checking his experience bar, Noah realized it had already surged by another 2.5 billion. He didn't need to think twice to know where it came from—another free bonus from the Permanent Sword Insignia dungeon clear.
His total EXP now stood at an earth-shattering 10.3 billion.
The hundred-billion milestone… was no longer that far away.
[Warning: SSS-tier Talent "Descendant of the Gods" has activated its daily blessing.]
[You have received a permanent buff: +1% HP.]
The message flashed before his eyes. A mere 1% boost to his life force wasn't much, but still, every tiny edge mattered in the long climb upward.
"All right, time to get going. Everyone's still waiting for me back in the village," he thought.
But before heading off, Noah decided he needed to prepare a little more carefully.
Blending into the crowd of players, he slipped into the Elf Ancient Battlefield unnoticed. This time, however, he didn't bother slaying monsters. Instead, he swapped into his secondary profession—warrior.
Opening up the auction house, he quickly spent 30,000 gold on a full set of Level 20 A-rank warrior gear. For him, such an amount was pocket change.
Equipping the new armor, Noah's appearance instantly transformed. He took off his Windchaser Mage set and strapped on the Tempest Greatsword Snow had once given him.
Now, he didn't look like a mage at all.
He looked like a seasoned, battle-hardened warrior.
Anyone who saw this man—masked and armored, a massive blade strapped to his back—would never link him to the infamous Demon-Slayer.
Finally, Noah pulled out another card from his deck—an SSS-tier skill.
Twin Shadows.
Shua!
Golden light flickered in front of him, and another figure materialized. A warrior doppelgänger, identical to Noah in every way—height, armor, weapon, even the faceless mask hiding his features.
Noah studied the clone carefully, and even he could find no flaw.
"Perfect. The skill says the clone lasts for four hours. That's more than enough."
He immediately adjusted the duplicate's stats, setting its level to 28.
In moments, a second Noah stood before him, brimming with strength.
His plan was simple: let the warrior clone, posing as the S-ranked "Noah" with the Frost Wrath talent, head to the novice village and rejoin his classmates. Meanwhile, his true self—the Demon-Slayer—would remain here in the Elf Ancient Battlefield, reaping the map's rewards.
It was a flawless two-pronged plan.
Of course, his eyes would never stray too far from Ethan Jiang. If that man truly dared to stir up trouble, Noah's main body would instantly arrive to deal with him. But when that moment came, the strike would come from Demon-Slayer, not from a suspiciously overpowered "student Noah."
After equipping the clone with potions, scrolls, and other essentials, Noah gave his double a final instruction.
"Go. If anything happens, call me immediately."
With that, his consciousness split, part of it flowing into the clone's body.
The warrior stretched his limbs, tested the weight of his greatsword, and gave a curt nod. "Got it. I'm on my way."
A single step carried him out of the battlefield. He crushed a teleport scroll, and his figure dissolved into radiant streams of light, reappearing amidst the bustling novice village.
…
At the Nasi Farm, nearly five hundred students from Jiangnan No. 2 High had gathered, their levels ranging from 3 to 15. The farm was packed with youth, most of them still in dull, gray novice gear, their faces glowing with youthful vanity, their appearances more polished than their stats.
At the forefront stood Ethan Jiang. Clad in sleek black armor, a silver greatsword strapped across his back, the Level 160 warrior looked every inch a towering juggernaut. His violent aura alone was enough to draw the stares of envious newbies.
Students murmured and shuffled, waiting for their missing peer. Then suddenly, light flared at the farm's heart.
"Look! Noah's here!"
"Damn, big bro Noah's back! Must've teleported straight in!"
Their voices turned into a flood of cheers.
But the moment their eyes caught his level number, the cheers turned into gasps.
"What the hell?! He's already Level 28?"
The air froze in collective shock.