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"Everyone, fall back!"

"Inferno!" With his friends already withdrawing, he wasted no time unleashing his recently acquired skill, a Super Skill! 

In an instant, a huge ball of red fire tinged with swirling purple flames around its edges, formed in his right palm. It then shot toward a creature, which looked like a giant, with a height reaching ten meters, having only one eye and blue skin.

Within seconds, the enormous fireball reached the giant. It exploded on impact, sending a powerful blast that swept through not only the giant but also the surrounding area.

Boom!

The ground trembled instantly as purple and red flames erupted from the impact point, resembling a volcanic eruption in both intensity and ferocity.

Clouds of dust billowed as nearby abandoned cars and bikes were obliterated under the fierce explosion. The windows of the nearby buildings shattered from the force.

"Nice shot, Emlyn!" His friend, Victor gives him a big thumbs-up.

"Can you just be quiet for a sec, for heaven's sake? You're badly wounded, and I can't heal you up properly if you never stop talking, hmph!" Olivia scolded Victor, her glowing green palms hovering close to his back.

"My bad, my bad," Victor laughed without any hint of guilt.

Ignoring him, Olivia turned to Emlyn, her tone playful. "Darling, your skills are as awesome as ever. You're the best!"

"You've been putting in the work too," Emlyn replied with a smile.

"Ugh, why do I, a perpetually single man, have to endure your nauseating conversation?" Victor gagged, making a mock vomit gesture.

"Then go find yourself a girlfriend already!" Olivia shot back, a mysterious glint crossed her eyes.

"I already have one in my mind, but alas, she had gotten a boyfriend." Victor shakes his head in regret.

"Then you can consider stealing her from the boyfriend." Olivia jested with a giggle. 

"Should I?" Victor tilted his head and stared at Olivia with a mysterious glint in his eyes. 

Meanwhile, Emlyn had already strode over to where the monster had fallen, eager to check for loot.

As the dust gradually settled, the scene became clearer: the ground had sunk several meters deep, forming a crater with scorch marks.

At the center of the crater lay the monster giant, its body largely intact except for a gaping hole in its chest.

Emlyn raised his eyebrows in surprise. "This giant's tougher than I thought. Except for its chest part, nothing else seems to be damaged."

"I wonder how many Fireballs or Flame Spears it would take to pierce its skin. Good thing I had gotten myself an 'Inferno' skill beforehand," Emlyn mused.

"But the 'Inferno' skill really has a major drawback. Not only does it take a lot of time to cast, but it also consumes more than a third of my mana," Emlyn assessed his condition.

It was a habit of his to always assess the battles he experienced and analyze every detail. From there, he'd then figure out where his weakness lies and try to improve that very aspect. 

As he drew closer to the monster giant, his movement abruptly halted upon seeing its single eye snap open.

With his rich battle experience, Emlyn naturally remained cautious and never let his guard down, even when facing seemingly defeated enemies.

Since the Apocalypse hit Earth seven years ago, he had witnessed countless phenomena that defied scientific explanation, things that belonged in comics, novels, movies, and other fictional works.

Such as people soaring through the sky.

A man summoning thunder.

A Woman controlling ice.

Or creatures resurrecting from the dead!

Thus, despite being taken by surprise, Emlyn almost immediately regained his senses and unleashed his best skill without any reservation.

Unlike novices who often try to conserve their mana as much as possible by relying solely on basic skills, only to expend more effort or, worse, end up dying, Emlyn opted for his ultimate skill right away.

"Inferno!"

Emlyn immediately felt dizziness cloud his brain, his vision swirling and nearly blacking out. Nonetheless, his skill was still successfully cast out after a few seconds. And due to their close proximity, Emlyn didn't need to exert effort in aiming his skill.

In that instant, another deafening blast erupted.

Boom!

The crater sank deeper as a small earthquake shook the ground, followed by another billow of smoke.

Emlyn was sent flying for several meters, stumbling across the ground before colliding with a natural dirt wall. Thanks to his excellent stats and natural fire resistance as a Pyromaniac, he avoided the worst of the damage caused by his own skill.

"Damn, how did that thing manage to resurrect? It's a giant, not some bloody undead," Emlyn couldn't help but curse.

"I bet Victor and Olivia already running to my side after hearing the explosion."

"Let's check on that giant again. If it's coming back to life, I'll bolt and regroup with Victor and Olivia first."

With his plan set, Emlyn pushed through the dust once more.

After a while, he reached the center of the crater again where he saw the monster giant's corpse. This time, its head was missing.

"Its heart was destroyed earlier, and now its head too? It should be dead, right?" Emlyn hesitantly approached.

What he saw next caused his eyes to bulge out.

There were three objects... no four of them beside the giant corpse!

These kinds of objects only appear after their holder has died, so it must mean the giant is truly dead!

Two of them were orbs with a mesmerizing violet hue, radiating not only a powerful but also an enchanting aura that immediately stirred his greed.

He recognized these orbs instantly, which was the first reason for his shock.

"Aren't these Epic-Grade Treasure Orbs?"

Epic-Grade Treasures!

Although the Apocalypse devastated Earth and caused an unimaginable death toll, surpassing even the infamous plague Covid, there were still many survivors who have lived until this moment. 

Like him, these survivors had formed their own parties, groups, or even factions.

His current party, consisting only of himself, his girlfriend, and his friend, could only be classified as a small party, far from a regular group.

As for factions, they typically comprised hundreds to thousands of survivors.

Each faction Overlord needed to possess not only great charisma and high-level skills but also at least one Epic-Grade Treasure. After all, Epic-Grade Treasures were said to possess powers capable of destroying a city.

It was undoubtedly an item coveted by most survivors!

The chance for him and his party to stumble upon such items was close to zero. 

Yet, here they were, not only finding one but two! Wasn't this luck too incredible to believe?!

After a long moment of being frozen in place, Emlyn finally managed to tear his gaze away from the treasure orbs.

"I'll discuss it first with Olivia and Victor, and see what conclusions we can reach."

After calming his racing heart and suppressing his greed, Emlyn shifted his attention to the other two objects.

One was a white orb about the size of twice of volleyball.

The other looks to be a worn-out-looking sand hourglass.

"I wonder how many stats I'll gain after consuming this giant soul? Judging by the orb's size, it should give me at least hundreds."

"As for this sand hourglass, I've never seen anything like it," Emlyn frowned. "Could it be that this isn't any magical treasure, but just an ordinary item instead?" Emlyn wondered aloud.

Subconsciously, he picked it up, but no status window appeared.

"Just as I suspected," he murmured.

It was at this moment that he heard footsteps approaching from behind. Subconsciously, he slipped the worn-out-looking hourglass into his pocket before turning around.

"Emlyn, what was that explosion?" Olivia asked, her tone filled with concern.

"Yeah, what happened?" Victor followed suit. His breath somewhat sounds ragged as if he had just performed some intense exercise. 

Glancing at her, Emlyn noticed Olivia's slightly swollen pink lips and the slight dishevelment of her blouse, with a few buttons mismatched. However, he didn't dwell on it and replied promptly, "The giant suddenly came back to life."

"What? How is that possible?" Olivia exclaimed, covering her mouth in shock. "So, did you manage to kill him for good this time?"

"Well, he should be dead for good now. Just take a look at these loots we've gained this time!" Emlyn stepped aside, allowing Olivia and Victor to inspect the giant's corpse and the treasures surrounding it.

"Wow, we actually got two treasure orbs...wait, aren't they Epic-Grade?!" Olivia's voice started slowly before rising in excitement towards the end.

"Epic-Grade?!" Victor's eyes immediately lit up. His breaths immediately became heavy as if encountering a naked beautiful woman and couldn't wait to pounce at her.

"Yeah, based on the color they're emitting, they should be Epic-Grade," Emlyn confirmed.

Olivia turned to Victor, her eyes gleaming with excitement. "Epic-Grade... Epic-Grade... With these items, we could start our own factions and rule as leaders!"

"Yeah, imagine having thousands of subordinates at our beck and call, gathering food, cooking, and serving us!" Victor added eagerly, fully embracing Olivia's enthusiasm.

Emlyn felt a sense of strangeness watching their interaction but couldn't quite pinpoint what it was.

Soon, he overheard Olivia mumbling, "But there are only two Epic-Grade Treasures here."

Emlyn responded casually, "Well, that's simple. We could assign the equipment to whoever it suits best."

Victor and Olivia exchanged secret glances before Olivia suggested. "Darling, why don't you go ahead and take a look at what we've got."

"Sure," Emlyn readily agreed.

He bent down to pick up the two violet orbs, gripping one tightly. Instantly, the orb emitted a faint flash as its shape began to shift, revealing its final form.

What emerged was a longsword, predominantly a deep blush hue with intricate runes etched along its blade. It stood at least two meters tall, clearly designed to be wielded as a two-handed greatsword. As Emlyn laid eyes on it, he felt a jolt of electricity run through his body. However, as he regained his senses, he realized it was merely an illusion.

'Just by looking at it can cause an electric sensation? Is this the power of Epic-Grade Treasure? How crazy!' 

[Thunderbolt Longsword]

[Longsword crafted with a small portion essence of Thunderbolt. Each swing carries a small chance of summoning a lightning bolt or chain lightning. If wielded during a thunderstorm, the chance of summoning either ability will increase to 50%.]

[When equipped, the user receives the following attributes: Agility +300, Strength +250, Stamina +200.]

'It's a shame this doesn't quite match my fighting style. It seems more suited for Victor. Nevertheless, since there's another one, I'll let Victor have this first to see how he handles this new treasure. I'm curious to witness the power of an Epic-Grade treasure myself.'

As the thought of passing the Thunderbolt Longsword to Victor crossed his mind, he moved to turn around, his hand outstretched with the weapon. Suddenly, a searing pain lanced through his chest, causing him to gasp in agony.

His breath caught as he looked down, disbelief flooding his senses. There, protruding from his chest, was a sword he was familiar with. 

Stunned and bewildered, his gaze shifted slowly to the side, meeting the eyes of his assailant. With trembling lips and a voice strained by pain, he stuttered, "Y-you..."