Kalis closed the chat channel and leaned down to loot the Abyssal Lord's drops.
As the final boss of the Level 75 main storyline dungeon, Abyssal Lord Zalathor's loot was far more luxurious than the elite monsters in the first half of the dungeon.
It dropped not just two pieces of epic gear glowing with purple light, but also a legendary item shimmering with orange-gold radiance lying quietly in the slime.
[Abyssal Core Shard] (Legendary Item)
Effect: Contains pure abyssal energy. When equipped, it grants immunity to abyssal environmental corrosion and repulsion, allowing free entry and exit of the Abyssal Plane. The effect deactivates when stored in the inventory. Permanently bound and untradable.
Description: A condensation of the Abyssal Lord's origin energy, carrying fragments of partial abyssal laws.
The seemingly ordinary item description held hidden secrets. Kalis stroked the cold crystal and nodded thoughtfully.
The abyssal portal at the far end of the boss room was most likely the entrance to the Abyssal World, and this shard would come in handy perfectly. Even if he didn't need it for now, a legendary-quality special item still held extremely high collection value.
In addition to that, the boss also dropped two rare skill books glowing with blue light, their covers inscribed with ancient abyssal runes:
[Sword Aura Dominance]: (Rare Skill)
Class Requirement: 2nd Job Warrior
Effect: Unleash a sword aura domain, increasing the attack power of all allies within 50 meters by 6% and reducing the defense of all enemies by 6% for 35 seconds. Cooldown: 360 seconds. This effect cannot be stacked or dispelled.
[Abyssal Weaken] (Rare Skill)
Class Requirement: 2nd Job Mage
Effect: Inflict Abyssal Weaken on a single target, causing them to lose 1% of their base attack power per second for 16 seconds. Cooldown: 16 seconds. The effect can be dispelled but the status cannot be cleared.
One was a god-tier team buff skill, the other a powerful single-target debuff.
Kalis's gaze lingered on the description of [Abyssal Weaken], and a playful smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. "If I stack this with my [Ultimate Amplification] talent, wouldn't this skill be able to render the target useless outright?"
For ordinary players, this skill could stack up to 15% attack power loss within 16 seconds, and they would have to recast it after dispelling. But for Kalis, the 1% per second loss would be amplified ten thousand times to 10000% per second.
The target's attack power would plummet to a negative value instantly. Even if the weaken effect was dispelled, the 16-second duration would leave the opponent completely helpless for the entire time.
"Too bad it requires 2nd Job to learn, what a shame." Kalis sighed softly. He hadn't even completed his 1st Job Advancement yet, and there was still a long way to go before reaching the Level 100 threshold for 2nd Job.
The rest of the drops were relatively ordinary: a few pieces of Level 75 normal gear, 12 Mid-Grade Mana Restoration Potions, 8 Anti-Venom Potions, and some scattered abyssal ores.
He stored the useful items in his inventory, discarded the useless gear casually, and turned his gaze to Tavren beside him.
This middle-aged NPC, who was supposed to die in a scripted event, still had 48% of his health left. Although his face was pale, he was no longer in any life-threatening danger.
"Tavren, it's safe now. You can go back to the village and marry your sweetheart." Kalis stepped forward, his tone laced with a hint of teasing.
"Yes! Thank you so much, brave adventurer, Kalis!" Tavren's face was filled with ecstatic relief at having escaped death.
He bowed deeply to Kalis, his gratitude evident in every word. "If it weren't for your help, I would have long since become food for the abyssal monsters."
"Just saying thank you isn't enough." Kalis grinned, revealing his true intention. "Any actual reward? Like... helping me complete my job advancement?"
For him, gold coins and gear were no longer in short supply. His most urgent need right now was to complete his Mage advancement, unlocking stronger skills and attribute growth—especially the [Rock Crystal Barrier] he had been longing for.
Tavren looked shocked when he heard this. "Job advancement? With such terrifying strength, you should have already reached the 2nd Job or even the 3rd Job. How can someone with my meager skills help you advance?"
In his understanding, an adventurer who could solo a Level 75 Epic dungeon must be at least Level 50.
Their next advancement would definitely be the 3rd Job at Level 100, which was far beyond what a former miner who had abandoned his magical studies could assist with.
"Just take a look." Kalis held out his hands and voluntarily opened his basic information panel to Tavren.
NPCs had the ability to view players' basic information. Tavren stared intently, and when he saw the class label "Apprentice Mage," his eyes nearly popped out of his head. "This... this is incredible! You're still an Apprentice Mage? Then how did you defeat an Level 85 Abyssal Lord?"
"It's a long story, best not to get into it now." Kalis knew Tavren was a chatterbox and didn't want to get bogged down. He cut straight to the chase. "You said you were once a Mage. Can you help me contact someone who can preside over the advancement ceremony?"
Tavren scratched his head, looking embarrassed. "In my early years, I had to give up my Mage career and switch to mining because my family was poor and I couldn't afford the high costs of magical studies. My teacher is a powerful Magus, but I dropped out without permission back then, and he still holds a grudge against me. However, I can try to plead with him and see if he's willing to help."
"That would be greatly appreciated!" Kalis felt a surge of joy in his heart. He had finally found a lead on his job advancement.
"By the way... your teacher isn't a cleric of the Temple, is he?" Suddenly, Kalis added a question, his tone tinged with concern.
The [Eternal Hatred Curse] on him made Temple NPCs extremely hostile towards him. If Tavren's teacher was affiliated with the Temple, he would probably not only refuse to help with his advancement but also directly regard him as a heretic.
Tavren quickly shook his head. "Of course not! The Temple clerics are all legendary Grand Magi above Level 150. My teacher is only Level 135, an independent Magus who never gets involved in Temple affairs."
"That's a relief." Kalis let out a breath, the weight lifting from his shoulders. "Then please do me the favor of introducing us. I'm willing to pay any reward."
"The introduction is no problem, but my teacher has a bit of a quirky temperament," Tavren warned. "Remember to stay humble when you meet him. After I take care of the aftermath at the mine, I'll head back to Silverpeak Town. Once you're done here, you can find me at Silverpeak General Store, and we'll go together."
"Very well, it's a deal." Kalis nodded in agreement.
Tavren bowed again to express his thanks, then hurried towards the dungeon exit, clearly eager to return home.
Watching his retreating figure, a smile crossed Kalis's lips. "That chatterbox NPC was worth saving. At least I have a direction for my job advancement now."
He felt a touch of emotion. "Eternal Divine Realm" was far more complex than any previous online game. Although the NPCs here weren't extremely intelligent, they possessed strong "dynamic growth": saving Tavren unlocked a job advancement lead, whether he encountered danger or not triggered different storylines, and even hidden resources could be discovered through communication.
Treating these NPCs as real living beings might unlock more unexpected surprises.
"Maybe this isn't just a simple game after all." Kalis muttered to himself.
After all, it was created by gods, and the login method was so bizarre. Perhaps the NPCs in the game were people from another real world.
If he studied it carefully, he might even make countless earth-shaking discoveries!
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but recall the curse on him. "If ordinary NPCs like Tavren are so vivid, then Augustus, whom I killed, and its master the War God, must be even more terrifying."
Augustus's [Eternal Hatred Curse] was by no means an ordinary debuff. A Level 50 Mythic BOSS being able to unleash such a far-reaching curse suggested that the War God's forces behind it were probably even more terrifying than he had imagined.
"I acted on impulse when I killed Augustus. I'm afraid I really dug myself a huge hole."
Kalis wanted to cry but had no tears. Only now did he realize that the appearance of the Level 50 Mythic BOSS Augustus in the starting village was never intended for players to kill. It was a hidden class inheritance opportunity prepared for the "fated one." And he had not only destroyed that opportunity with his own hands but also incurred a curse.
"Sigh."
Thinking about it, he felt a sense of helplessness. But what was done was done. Regret was useless. He could only take his time to find a way to remove Augustus's curse.
Hum —!
Just as Kalis was deep in thought, the entire boss room suddenly shook violently, and gravel fell from the rock walls.
He initially thought the dungeon time limit had expired, and the system was going to forcefully teleport him out.
But when he looked up, he realized the source of the vibration wasn't the system mechanism. Instead, the distorted abyssal portal at the far end was shrinking at a visible rate, the red light at its edges dimming more and more as if it was about to close!