"You sure have a way with dealing with NPCs, huh?" On the way back to Galewind City, Lia looked at Kalis with newfound approval, her tone much softer than before.
Kalis shrugged nonchalantly. "She's just a low-level NPC. No big deal."
He'd easily taken on over twenty thousand players from the Shadow Claw Guild. Taking down a scam artist NPC was child's play in comparison.
"C'mon. Let's head to the Abyssal Realm. The dungeon cooldown should've reset by now."
The two took the teleport array in Galewind City straight back to Valorian City, then hurried toward Silverpeak Hamlet under Kalis's lead.
"Aren't we gonna ask more people to join the party?" Lia still looked a little uneasy, unable to hold back the question. "I heard the Abyssal Realm is a high-tier map. The weakest monsters there are Level 100, and Level 150+ bosses are everywhere you look."
Kalis shook his head, refusing outright. "No need. The fewer people, the better. Getting into the Abyssal Realm requires a specific item. Bringing people who don't have it would only be a hassle."
Truth be told, he would've liked to ask Lenore and Eira to come along. But their strength was nowhere near his level; they wouldn't have been much help.
Besides, entering the Abyssal Realm required an Abyssal Core Shard. Without it, not only would all your stats be severely reduced, but you'd also be repelled by the Abyssal power in no time and randomly teleported to an unknown area. He only had one Abyssal Core Shard on him right now. Killing the dungeon's final boss would drop another one—just enough for the two of them.
"Alright then." Lia knew full well that Kalis's strength was far beyond ordinary players. He alone was equivalent to an elite squad. She didn't say anything else, just followed silently behind him.
They raced forward without stopping, soon reaching Silverpeak Hamlet. With players' levels rising across the board, all kinds of hidden quests and special classes were being discovered left and right, and the overall strength of the player base was growing by leaps and bounds.
These days, the Level 60 grinding zones around Silverpeak Hamlet were packed to the brim, and even the Silverpeak Mine dungeon had plenty of players trying their hand at challenging it.
Of course, venturing inside was one thing. Actually, clearing it was a whole different story. The dungeon's second and third bosses were incredibly powerful. Even a standard Level 50 party would have to pay a hefty price to take them down with great difficulty.
The two entered Silverpeak Mine as a party. The narrow, dim mine tunnels looked exactly the same as when Kalis had first cleared the dungeon.
"Stick close." Kalis led the way with ease, moving at an incredible speed.
His skill set was far more diverse now than it had been during his first run. He didn't pause for a second the entire way, flinging small area-of-effect spells like Thunder Chain and Fireball to clear out monsters in an instant. In just three minutes, they reached the chamber of the first boss—the Umbral Lizard King.
Before Lia could even get a good look at the boss, Kalis raised his hand and unleashed a massive Fireball. A terrifying, ten-million-plus damage number exploded above the boss's head. The Umbral Lizard King didn't even have time to let out a cry of pain before it was blasted to smithereens, leaving nothing but a pile of blue and green quality gear behind.
"Ding! you have gained 156000 EXP."
The boss's EXP instantly pushed Lia up to Level 40. It wasn't until the system notification chimed that she realized they'd already taken down a boss, and she couldn't help but mutter. "This guy is seriously overpowered…"
Kalis paid no mind to her complaint, heading straight for the second floor, still maintaining his blisteringly fast, in-and-out pace. Before long, they arrived at the domain of the second boss. Four Mouldering Earth Lords—one red, one blue, one green, one purple—brandished their weapons, looking ferocious as they stared down the intruders with baleful eyes.
But Kalis didn't bat an eyelid. He unleashed Lightning Bolt, Magic Missile, Fireball, and Thunder Chain in quick succession, his movements smooth and effortless. The four bosses didn't even have a chance to trigger their shared HP mechanic before they all collapsed to the ground, turning into EXP.
Watching the steady stream of twenty to thirty million damage numbers popping up overhead, Lia was already too stunned to feel anything else. She followed Kalis like a little lackey, mindlessly picking up the gear that dropped.
The two pressed onward, reaching the third and final floor of the dungeon. Unlike Kalis's first run, there was no half-dead miner named Tavren lying on the ground to be revived and act as a guide. They'd have to find the final boss on their own.
Drawing on his precise memory, Kalis circled around the path he'd taken back then. After confirming the route was correct, he led the way straight to the final boss's chamber door. Before they even stepped inside, a familiar roar boomed out. "Foolish humans! How dare you disturb the slumber of the great Lord Zalathor! Prepare to die!"
No sooner had the words been spoken than two massive tentacles shot out from behind the door, lashing toward Kalis and Lia with deadly force.
"Watch out!" The enormous tentacles whipped through the air, reeking of brine and rot, their appearance grotesque and terrifying. Lia stumbled backward in fright, retreating twenty to thirty meters, her voice trembling slightly.
But Kalis didn't move an inch. He raised his hand and blasted a Lightning Chain straight at them.
Zap!
"Aaagh—!" Lord Zalathor howled in pain. "Damn you humans! How dare you resist me!"
Inside the boss chamber, Zalathor's colossal body thrashed violently, as if trying to extend more tentacles to attack.
Kalis activated the effect of his Swiftstep Boots, his figure darting forward in a flash. He reached the mana crystal pool in an instant, hurling a Magic Missile that dealt over ten million damage, shattering the crystal pool to pieces in one blow. Then he followed up with a Lightning Bolt, instantly killing Lord Zalathor, who'd been cut off from his energy supply.
"Aaaargh! Curse you! I'll be back!" Zalathor let out a roar of rage and despair before collapsing to the ground, dissolving into a cloud of black smoke.
"Ding! You have defeated Lord Zalathor of the Abyss. You have gained 282000 EXP."
The moment the boss fell, an Epic-tier piece of gear and a pile of blue and green items scattered across the floor. Kalis's eyes locked onto the only orange item lying on the ground—the Abyssal Core Shard. He picked it up casually and tossed it to Lia. "Let's go. Into the portal."
With that, he leaped into the portal at the back of the boss chamber, vanishing from Lia's sight.
"Th-this is way too fast…" Lia stared at the blue and green gear she didn't have time to pick up, feeling a twinge of regret. But the portal would shrink and disappear soon. She didn't dare waste any time, quickly jumping into the portal after him.
"Ding! You have entered the Abyssal Realm. All healing effects are reduced by 50%. Attack Power reduced by 10%."
The two stepped out of the portal, and the system notification chimed in their ears at the same time. Even with the Abyssal Core Shard equipped, their stats were still slightly suppressed. Without the item, the stat reduction would've been far more severe.
"So this is the Abyssal Realm? It looks just like the dungeon…" Lia looked around, finding herself still surrounded by mine tunnels, and couldn't help but grumble.
"This area is actually an extension of Silverpeak Mine that connects to the Abyss. We won't reach the true Abyssal Realm until we get out of these mines." Kalis explained.
An eerie blue-purple glow filled the tunnels. In the distance, the clanging sound of pickaxes hitting rock echoed through the silence, crystal clear.
"Adventurer! Adventurer! You're back!" Just then, a slightly hoarse voice called out from the side.
Lia turned toward the sound and saw a ragged-looking miner hurrying over. It was Colin—the same miner Kalis had promised to rescue his companions for during his first run through the dungeon.
When Colin saw Kalis, his face lit up with ecstatic joy. He rushed forward, begging desperately. "Adventurer Kalis! I knew you wouldn't abandon us! Please, save us!"
"You know this NPC?" Lia looked at Kalis in surprise.
Kalis nodded. "Met him last time I was here. They're all human miners captured by the Abyssal monsters to work as slaves. We'll take them with us if we can."
Lia nodded, then muttered softly under her breath. "They're just low-level NPCs, though. In quest-related massacres in games like this, NPCs like these usually end up dead in droves…" What she meant was that these low-level NPCs had no real use. There was no need to waste time and effort rescuing them.
But Kalis shook his head, speaking earnestly. "That's exactly why we have to save them."
Kalis felt differently about the NPCs in Eternal Realm Online than most other players did. The cowardly Tavren, the infatuated Lilith, the scam artist Denise, each and every one of these NPCs had distinct personalities, as if they were real, flesh-and-blood people.
They made him feel like he wasn't just playing a game, but interacting with a living, breathing world. That was why he didn't want to treat these vivid characters with the same utilitarian attitude he'd used when playing other games.
"C'mon. Let's go take down Lord Zerakel." Kalis said firmly. To save the miners, they first had to eliminate the Abyssal lord controlling them—Lord Zerakel.
To Kalis now, a Level 150 Legendary Boss like Zerakel was no longer a threat. He could take him down with a single spell. The only thing that gave him even a moment's pause was special bosses like the Abyssal Princess Lilith—ones who could ignore skill damage entirely.