City of Darkness
Gentle breeze wafts by, and the vigorous grass sways with the wind.
However, within the wind, a faint, elusive scent of blood seems to confirm the turbulent past of this place.
"Rustling..."
Treading on the land marked by dried traces of blood, Jiang Han and Daniel arrived beneath the gates of the City of Shadows. Several skeletal soldiers, wielding axes and clad in tattered armor, spotted the newcomers. Immediately, they commanded, "Quickly, open the city gates to welcome them!"
"Hurry, don't let the Lord of the City wait too long!"
"The Lord has been away for several months; it's finally good to have him back."
...
The skeletal soldiers brandished their weapons, displaying great excitement.
Listening to their remarks, Jiang Han, following behind Daniel, was somewhat dumbfounded. "Mentor, are you the Lord of the City of Shadows?"
The Lord of the City!
A mere Dark Gold-level BOSS, daring to be the lord of a Level 1 main city, seems to have grown tired of living!
Jiang Han had limited knowledge about the city's levels, but according to the scant official information, there should be five levels in total: Level 4 villages, Level 3 towns, Level 2 cities, Level 1 main cities, and the highest, the essential Super Main City.
Among them, there was only one Super Main City in each global server, followed by the Level 1 main cities.
Hence, the importance of a Level 1 main city.
Under normal circumstances, a Level 1 main city should be guarded by an extremely formidable BOSS, with Dark Gold-level beings serving as cannon fodder in the earlier waves. How could a Dark Gold-level individual become the lord?
"I've only been in office for less than half a year, so not many people know," Daniel said with a certain level of pride. He puffed out his chest, showcasing his lordly demeanor to his disciple. "It's thanks to the power boost from the lord's title that I had the opportunity to break through to the Spiritual level."
"..."
Seeing his mentor's complacent appearance, Jiang Han refrained from dampening his spirits. He chuckled awkwardly and, as the city gates opened, entered alongside Daniel.
Inside the city, Jiang Han looked around with curiosity. He cast a reconnaissance spell towards the welcoming skeletal soldiers:
[Skeletal Footman] (Common Monster)
Level: ???
Life: ???
Attack: ???
Defense: ???
Skills: ???
Introduction: Evolved from deceased human soldiers, mostly due to the unresolved hatred within their hearts, they choose to return to the mortal realm as undead, confronting an unjust world...
Although unable to see their attributes, the title "Common Monster" and the term enclosed in parentheses made it seem as if the label "trash" was stamped on their faces. Jiang Han found it hard to imagine how formidable these creatures might be.
"The Deputy Lord has arrived!" one skeletal footman reminded.
Soon, the crowd of skeletal footmen, surrounding Jiang Han and Daniel, made way for a figure. A undead creature wielding a long spear and riding a skeletal horse passed through the skeletal crowd, dismounted in front of Daniel, and knelt down on one knee. "Greetings, Lord of the City!"
Jiang Han, also casting a reconnaissance spell, though the attributes were obscured by question marks, saw the title and name:
[Undead Knight·Kant] (Gold-level BOSS)
Very well, extremely well...
Jiang Han had a premonition of impending doom.
When he entered the City of Shadows, he received information about this city. One sentence stood out: the desire of the Light Camp to reclaim the City of Heavenly Light has never wavered.
Undoubtedly, although this city had been seized by the Dark Camp, it was too close to the jurisdictional territory of the Light Camp. In the future, it would undoubtedly be the first to be attacked, facing continuous assaults. However, the Dark Camp couldn't offer much support, so it was abandoned, with a mere pawn appointed as the city lord.
"No need to be polite. You've worked hard in my absence," Daniel laughed heartily, quickly helping Kant to his feet.
Kant respectfully shook his head, saying, "Lord of the City, you jest. This is within my duties."
"By the way, let me introduce you. This is my newly-acquired disciple, Jiang Han," Daniel pointed at Jiang Han, introducing him to the deputy lord.
"Hello."
Kant nodded with his skeletal head, a gesture of courtesy. "I can vaguely sense a terrifying evil aura from you. Your future prospects are boundless."
"That is indeed the case," Daniel asserted confidently. "There has never been a weak Dark Swordsman in the history of the Eternal Continent!"
Several people chatted and laughed, progressing along the main street of the main city. Eventually, they reached the war-torn City Lord's Mansion, where Kant was sent off at the mansion's entrance.
Subsequently, Daniel and Jiang Han entered the City Lord's Mansion.
"Mentor, aren't you worried?" Jiang Han felt a sense of curiosity.
Judging by Daniel's series of actions, he was no fool. It made no sense for him to be unable to distinguish reality from the game, immersed in the dream of being a city lord.
"Not worried."
Daniel shook his head. "As an Undead Mage, death is not frightening to me. Being the city lord for a short time is a rare experience, and it's a death without regrets."
Jiang Han: "..."
The way you put it, you're not afraid of death, but I haven't had enough of life yet!
"I know what you're thinking." As if aware of Jiang Han's thoughts, Daniel calmly said, "Strictly speaking, Undead Mages do not belong to the Dark Camp. Therefore, the higher-ups of the Dark Camp also have some reservations about Undead Mages. They don't want a repeat of the terror of the Undead Catastrophe."
The Undead Catastrophe?
Jiang Han was slightly astonished.
This sounded like a plot from a game a long time ago...
"On the Eternal Continent, all living beings who are still alive fear the undead and strongly reject them." Daniel chuckled. "So, I am destined to die. However, I have obtained what I wanted within this city. Next, as long as I achieve my goals, death is not frightening to me. Of course..."
He paused, looking at Jiang Han with gentle eyes. "Since I am your mentor, I won't drag you into hell. Although being the city lord may seem like a bad thing to you, before everything happens, being the city lord can still offer you some nice benefits."
Nice benefits?
Curiously, Jiang Han inquired, "Such as..."
Honestly, he hadn't expected Daniel to see everything so clearly.
But when Daniel mentioned obtaining what he wanted within the city, what were his goals exactly?
"Bright and Dark, the two major factions, are sharpening their knives, and an epic war is about to unfold. However, at this moment, they still haven't torn apart the facade, and the calm before the storm persists..."
Daniel patted Jiang Han's shoulder, speaking with a weighty tone. "Before the catastrophe begins, I will properly train you. And with my status as the city lord, I've gained many resources that can aid in your growth
."
"..."
Staring at Daniel in amazement, Jiang Han, who inexplicably accepted the role of a convenient mentor, felt a wave of emotion. He deeply sensed the true charm of gaming as the ninth art form and found it hard to distinguish between the game and reality.
Was he truly existing or just a virtual intelligence?
After pondering for a moment, Daniel issued a quest: "Recently, the area around the City of Shadows has been plagued by rodents affected by demonic energy. They frequently attack the patrolling skeletal soldiers, and their numbers are growing. Help me clean up these rodents."
"Ding! ~"
System prompt: Do you accept the quest [Clearing the Rodents] (Difficulty: C)?
"Yes!"
Without hesitation, Jiang Han accepted the quest. However, he soon voiced his doubts, "Shouldn't creatures affected by demonic energy belong to the Dark Camp?"
From the novice village until now, most of the creatures he encountered were affected by demonic energy, leading to drastic changes in their characters, making them aggressive and bloodthirsty.
The so-called demonic energy sounded extremely sinister, and it shouldn't have no connection with the Dark Camp...