[North of Blazing Ember City, wilderness area]
[Lv14 Fierce Tiger Mountain Forest]
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
As a young archer, clad in gleaming silver chain armor, wearing a silver crown, dignified and imposing, raised his hand and loosed his arrows—
Boom!
The enormous body of the level 14 boss monster, the Fierce Tiger King, crashed heavily to the ground ahead.
At the same time.
Splash!
A beam of golden light bathed the young man.
[Ding. Congratulations, you have reached level 13!]
[Ding. Player Dragon Soul Dusk, congratulations on advancing to second place on the Blazing Ember City level rankings.]
At this moment, the surrounding players with [Dragon Soul] IDs above their heads all congratulated the youth.
"Congratulations to the Vice Guild Leader on reaching second place on the rankings."
However, on Dragon Soul Dusk's handsome yet resolute face, there was not much joy.
Instead, a trace of disappointment flashed through his eyes.
"Only second…"
As he spoke, Dragon Soul Dusk opened WeChat and sent a message to a friend he had contacted half an hour earlier.
[Did you find out?]
[Just finished checking,] the other party replied, [Vice Guild Leader, according to your request, I found that the person with the ID Rulebound came from Novice Village No. 116, Yunbian Town. His talent grade is unknown, but back in Yunbian Town, he held the number one spot on the rankings for a long time.]
[It's said he solo-killed high-level boss monsters, completed hidden quests, and personally delivered the final blow to Yunbian Town's ultimate boss. His strength should indeed be very strong, not just empty reputation.]
Looking at Rulebound's name, ranked above his own on the leaderboard, a fighting spirit ignited in Dragon Soul Dusk's deep eyes.
[Do you have a photo?], Dragon Soul Dusk asked.
The underling said, [Yes, Vice Guild Leader, yes! Someone from their novice village snapped one. I'll send it to you.]
As he spoke, the underling sent over a photo.
And when Dragon Soul Dusk tapped it open and clearly saw the other person's face.
His heart jolted violently.
A look of disbelief surfaced in his eyes.
But gradually, that shock was replaced by intense hatred and killing intent.
"So it turns out… it's you!"
"Lin Mo!"
The next second, Dragon Soul Dusk immediately ordered the nearby Dragon Soul guild players.
"Find a way to locate Rulebound. The moment you find his position, report it to me!"
Everyone answered in unison, "Yes!"
———
[Insect Nest Underground Palace]
[First Floor]
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
In Lin Mo's hands, arrows fell like rain.
After killing countless venomous spiders.
Clatter!
At last, the tenth bottle of venom was obtained.
Lin Mo picked up the venom bottle and withdrew from the Insect Nest Underground Palace.
He found Captain of the Guard William, triggered the dialogue, and submitted the quest.
"I didn't expect you to collect so much venom from venomous spiders so quickly."
William said to Lin Mo with a look of admiration, "You truly live up to the name of a brave warrior."
"Now, please accept the reward you deserve!"
As William's words fell, by Lin Mo's ears, the system's pleasant notification sounded.
[Ding. Congratulations on completing the quest Cleanse the Insect Nest (1). Rewards obtained: EXP +40400, Silver Coins +1.01, Reputation +2, William Favorability +1, obtained equipment Venomous Battle Axe.] (Includes 1% quest reward bonus from the hidden title Player)
Previously, from killing venomous spiders, Lin Mo had already accumulated quite a bit of experience.
After receiving the generous quest rewards, Lin Mo's experience bar filled up completely.
Whoosh!
Golden light poured down from above.
[Ding. Congratulations, you have reached level 15…]
"Finally level 15," Lin Mo was thrilled.
He had waited far too long for this moment.
Before this, just to collect venom, he had slaughtered hundreds of venomous spiders.
At thirty yuan per bottle, those outrageously priced mana potions, Lin Mo had consumed a full fifty bottles. The family had been eaten into poverty. The house had been eaten away.
If this kept going, he really would not be able to hold on.
"Finally, I've waited for you!"
Lin Mo excitedly took out from his backpack the necklace he had been coveting for so long, dropped by the Spider Queen.
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[Poison Explosion Necklace] (Lv15)
— Quality: Tier 2 · Orange
— Mana: +255
— Additional Attributes: Spirit +40, Stamina +40
— Special Effect: Mana Burst (Attacks release venom on enemies. After killing a target, the corpse explodes with venom, and the venom is reclaimed to restore 25 mana to the user.)
— Class Restriction: Physical classes, universal
— Description: A poisonous necklace infused with massive amounts of venom. If you're not afraid of poison, then wear it…
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Every time Lin Mo looked at this necklace, his heart beat faster.
Counting the 40 points of Spirit, the total increase of over five hundred terrifying mana was already insane enough.
And it even came with a heaven-defying on-kill mana recovery effect.
This was simply a god-tier piece of equipment tailor-made for Lin Mo.
"As skill costs increase with level, at my current level 15, each cast of Heaven-Slaying · Seven-Star Volley costs 52 mana."
"This Mana Burst effect is equivalent to cutting my skill consumption in half."
And this was only orange quality. If Lin Mo used equipment evolution points to continue upgrading it to red or gold quality, the effect would definitely be even stronger.
Maybe each kill would restore fifty or sixty mana, practically making skills cost nothing.
However, to save a bit of mana potion cost at the expense of ruining a top-tier piece of equipment worth at least tens of thousands on the market would really be more loss than gain.
'Orange is good enough. Let's leave it at that.'
With that thought, Lin Mo immediately equipped the Poison Explosion Necklace.
Opening the status panel, he watched as his mana shot up from 112 points to a terrifying 647 points.
'Mom never has to worry again about me running out of mana while I'm out on my own.'
Gaining 40 points of Stamina even boosted his defense by over 40 points.
Aside from the Poison Explosion Necklace. The Spider Queen had also dropped another piece of equipment.
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[Poison Explosion Belt] (Lv15)
— Quality: Tier 2 · Orange
— HP: +740
— Additional Attributes: Constitution +40, Agility +40
— Special Effect: Blood Burst (Attacks release venom on enemies. After killing a target, the corpse explodes with venom, and the venom is reclaimed to restore 250 HP to the user.)
— Class Restriction: Archer, Assassin
— Description: A poisonous belt infused with massive amounts of venom. If you're not afraid of poison, then wear it…
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The necklace restores mana. The belt restores health. Eastern and Western medicine combined, a miracle doctor with deft hands.
Without a second word, Lin Mo immediately equipped the Poison Explosion Belt.
His HP stat surged from 1335 to 2675 points.
"This blood tank is an archer? Who would believe it if I said it out loud."
"I'm an archer. I'm afraid of dying. What's wrong with putting all my points into Constitution?" [T/N: This sounds like a manga title]
Even Lin Mo himself could not help but suck in a breath of cold air.
Even a level 15 knight fully specced into Constitution, with decent equipment bonuses, probably would not have as much HP as Lin Mo.
At this point, five gold pieces and three orange pieces, Lin Mo's full set of equipment was finally complete.
At this time, Lin Mo glanced at the [Venomous Battle Axe] he had just received as a quest reward.
Level 20, Tier 1, white quality was bad enough.
And it was even a warrior-only weapon.
"Ptu! Trash!"
If sold, it could still fetch several hundred later on.
But for someone like Lin Mo, who was aiming for fifty million big money, a mere few hundred was not even worth his attention.
And selling it would strengthen the enemy.
Leaving it in the bag would take up space.
Lin Mo decisively activated his SSS-grade talent, Soul Flame, and directly incinerated the Venomous Battle Axe on the spot.
A level 20, Tier 1 white item yielded 20 equipment evolution points when incinerated.
'Not bad at all.'
Immediately after, Lin Mo continued to trigger dialogue with William.
"Warrior, your strength is formidable. Do you choose to remain on the first floor of the underground palace to seek stability, or enter the second floor to pursue greater challenges?"
Lin Mo answered without hesitation, "Second floor."
William nodded, his face full of appreciation.
At the same time, Lin Mo received the quest.
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[Cleanse the Insect Nest (2)]
— Difficulty Index: 350
— Description: Please enter the second floor of the Insect Nest Underground Palace, kill venomous centipedes, and collect venom…
— Quest Progress: 0/10
— Quest Rewards: EXP +50000, Copper Coins +120, Reputation +2, William Favorability +1, one piece of level 20 Venom Set equipment (quality, slot, and class are random. The higher William's favorability level, the higher the chance of obtaining high-quality equipment)…
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The quest difficulty had increased by 15 points.
Clearly, these venomous centipedes were a bit harder to deal with than the previous venomous spiders.
Lin Mo was not worried at all.
Instead, he was full of anticipation.
Just as he was about to turn around and re-enter the Insect Nest Underground Palace.
Suddenly, a shout came from behind him.
"Rulebound!"
Hearing this somewhat familiar voice.
Lin Mo turned his head.
The face that came into view instantly made him freeze in shock…
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