Chapter 23: Lord of the Dark Forest - Bates!

If he chose to become the overlord of the Dark Forest, he could freely choose his family and race!

Family, was the equivalent that the goblin priest and goblin guard were to Geer.

Race, was the equivalent to Geer's identity: goblin race!

The second option allowed Bates to obtain a powerful skill in advance. If he used this option on [ sharp claws ], his attack power would be greatly increased. If he used it on [ resistant armor shell ], his defense would be greatly increased.

No matter which option he chose, it would immediately greatly increase Bates' strength.

The third option would increase his next evolution. Although he did not know the effect of the mock evolution, this reward would definitely greatly increase his future strength.

The last option was equipment! Equipment that he could actually use, no lower than gold grade!

Normally, in a game world, the object would be to kill other monsters to level up and gain equipment. However, Bates was a monster, and in this game, if he chose not to take the equipment option, he would never be able to use any equipment at all!

During the previous hunt, Bates had obtained a lot of magic, but could not use this on equipment, and the equipment could only be used as food in the end. They would become evolution points on his attribute panel.

Choosing the last option would immediately make up for the regret in Bates' heart. Moreover, gold-quality equipment would probably be able to raise his strength to another level immediately!

Bates sank into deep thought, as he struggled to know which one to choose.

After a long time, Bates let out a sigh.

'The equipment will eventually have to be changed, and even if it could temporarily improve my strength, as I grow, the gold equipment will be less and less useful.'

Bates placed an 'X' on the fifth option, removing it from the equation, and looked at the remaining three options.

He knew the third option had to be chosen. A reward that could greatly enhance the effect of evolution, should not be missed, as it might never be obtained again.

Therefore, the choice was between becoming the overlord of the Dark Forest, or obtaining a powerful skill in advance.

'The goblins are no longer dangerous, and the players will not appear for a while. Becoming the overlord of the Dark Forest now, means that there are no existences that can threaten me. Since my strength is enough for the time being, then...' Bates made a decision in his heart, and said, "Choose the first and third options as the reward for completing the mission!"

"Ding! You have become the overlord of the Dark Forest, and will automatically gain the aura of a lord."

"You are free to choose your family and race. If you choose to abandon your identity as the overlord of the Dark Forest, the aura of a lord, family, and race will automatically disappear. When your template is upgraded to the lord class, your aura as a lord, your family, and your race will permanently solidify."

"Ding! You can use mock evolution during your next evolution to greatly increase the intensity of your next evolution."

As the crisp sound of the system notification rang out, a shapeless aura emanated from Bates' body. This was the aura of a lord.

Any creature from the Dark Forest would be affected by the aura. Even for enemies, it would make it difficult for them to display their full strength, unless the enemy's template had also reached the level of a lord.

On Bates' status panel, the top row had also changed from 'name' to 'identity'.

[ identity ] : Lord of the Dark Forest, Bates.

Bates looked at his status panel for a while, feeling a little overwhelmed.

From now on, he was the big boss of the novice village!

When talking about the game as a whole, being a boss of a novice village was the most basic boss, but for Bates, it was a perfect beginning.

Bates was able to evolve from an extremely small ant, to a boss, in just a few short days. In the future, he had the hope of becoming top of the game world - The Great Demonic God!

Bates closed his attribute panel and started to process the other rewards.

One lord-tier template, one warrior-tier template, four elite-tier templates, and a large number of advanced and normal-tier goblin corpses accounted for a large number of experience, evolution, and gene points.

As for the other goblins, when Bates had killed Geer, they cowardly and foolishly began to flee.

After an hour, Bates had devoured the corpses of many goblins.

He had risen to level 10, and he had obtained a large number of evolution and gene points.

Bates bit the last greatsword into pieces and swallowed it. Then, he put the sword and armor Geer had dropped into his virtual backpack and prepared to leave.

He was happy to have gained a virtual backpack, it had appeared when he had chosen to become the overlord.

Since he had become a boss, there would definitely be equipment dropped, and the items that he put into his virtual backpack, could now become his own drops.

He decided to not eat Geers equipment as he'd guessed they were most likely gold-quality, and with the current sharpness of his fangs, he could not bite through that level of equipment.

Next, it was time to find his family and develop his own race!

Only when his family and race were developed, would Bates become the true big boss of the novice village!

Every boss had family and race, just like Geer's goblin tutors, goblin guards, and goblin race.

The strength of family and race also determined a boss's status in the game world, to an extent.

Of course, every boss could decide whether or not to develop family and race. If it was in another world, Bates would definitely choose not to have a family or specific race. He would eat and kill alone, constantly evolving and increasing his own strength.

However, he knew the game world, and the scariest thing about it was the players. When the game started, countless players' rewards would be from defeating bosses. Even a stronger boss than Bates would not be able to block the attacks of countless players.

Bates did not want his family and race to have to endure blocking attacks from players, but at least when they arrived, he could have his teammates attack, buying him more time.

If he could strengthen his family and race, he might be able to at least create a safe place for himself, in the world.

When it came to choosing his family and race, Bates had already made up his mind!