Welcome Back Old Friend
Point out any errors I made in the chapters, as I'm very lazy and sometimes can't be bothered to reread them. Also, give your opinions on something I should change or add
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Shi Feng passed through the Level 1 area, not paying any attention to the grinding players, before passing through the Level 3 area, going to the Read Leaf Forest. Hiding his presence, Shi Feng quickly ran through the area. His footsteps made no sound and his movements didn't even cause air to ripple.
He silently went past all the wolves without being noticed, all the while using Gravity Liberation to evade notice and shorten the trip. Although Shi Feng could easily slaughter them all, there was no point to it since he'll lose all the EXP once he gets the Abyssal Blade and drops back down to Level 0, so Shi Feng didn't want to waste any of his time on the mobs.
After running for over ten minutes, Shi Feng arrived at a range of mountains and hills. Several mountains stood over a hundred meters, located in the central region of Red Leaf Forest. The top of the mountains was surrounded by clouds and mist, creating a scene of immortal lands.
Shi Feng went towards a waterfall and activated Gravity Liberation to scale up the mountain. With his techniques, Shi Feng effortlessly scaled the numerous cliffs much faster than in his previous life.
When Gravity Liberation had 5 seconds remaining, Shi Feng found an empty spot of land to rest while waiting for Gravity Liberation's cooldown to end.
Not long after Shi Feng sat down, the rock wall suddenly shook. A Rock Giant appeared with bursts of roaring.
[Rock Giant] (Common Monster)
Level 5
HP 550
Not wasting any time, Shi Feng rushed towards the Rock Giant's back and slashed.
Above the Rock Giant's head, three points of damage appeared. It was a hardly mentionable damage when compared to its 550 HP. The Rock Giant also regenerated 1% of its HP every 5 seconds. That meant it would get 5.5 HP back every 5 seconds.
The Rock Giant started turning towards Shi Feng, but the latter moved and stayed at its back, using Thundering Flash.
Suddenly, a single sword light caused 4 damage, followed by another that dealt 5 damage, and the last one that dealt 7 damage.
After all three streaks of thunder hit their mark, Thundering Flash's Skill Proficiency increased by 3 points. Shi Feng followed up with a Chop, causing -8 damage and increasing Chop's Skill Proficiency by 3 points, before following up with regular attacks and causing a series of -4 damages.
Whenever the Rock Giant tried to turn, Shi Feng already started moving, easily avoiding its attack without using an Explosive Berry.
Not even a full minute had gone by before the Rock Giant finally fell.
System: Level 5 Rock Giant killed. Level difference of 4. EXP obtained increased by 400%. Obtained 120 EXP.
Shi Feng's EXP bar increased by a chunk. He was now 880 EXP away from Level 2. With him gaining such an amount of EXP from a Rock Giant, Shi Feng only needed to kill another 8 Rock Giants to reach Level 2.
Shi Feng searched the Rock Giant's body after killing it, obtaining a Bronze Ore. It was a material used to make Bronze Equipment. He also acquired a piece of Hard Stone. Subsequently, Shi Feng searched around the empty land. A few moments later he found a rare herb called Hundred Souls Flower.
Just as he got close to it, another Rock Giant spawned.
Like so, Shi Feng continued grinding EXP and Skill Proficiency while getting materials and climbing the mountain once Gravity Liberation's cooldown ended.
Following the fall of the 8th Rock Giant, Shi Feng became Level 2. He added all his Free Attribution Points into Agility, letting it reach 16 points. The Skill Proficiency for Chop had also reached 300 points, raising the skill to Level 2. Chop now increased damage by 12 points, and its cooldown was reduced by 1 second.
He looked around and spotted a cave not far ahead.
Shi Feng spotted a huge Rock Giant sleeping within the cave. Its entire body was made up of silvery rocks, different from the normal gray-colored ones.
[Shrews] (Special Elite)
Level 6
HP 900
Shi Feng rushed ahead without hesitation. He used Thundering Flash immediately, causing ray after ray of thunder to cut across Shrews' huge body.
Damages of -1, -2, -3 appeared above Shrews' head.
Even though the damage dealt by Shi Feng was negligible, Shrews still woke up from his deep slumber.
"I'll flatten you, puny human!" Shrews bellowed. The entire cave shook as Shrews stood. With giant strides, Shrews walked towards Shi Feng.
Shi Feng took out an Explosive Berry and tossed it in front of Shrews' path.
Speed was always a Rock Giant's weakness. There was no exception even for a Special Elite. Shrews only had a larger size, a stronger Attack, and more attack methods. Though his Movement Speed and Attack Speed were slightly faster, under the slowing effects of the Explosive Berry, he was still as slow as a turtle.
On the other hand, Shi Feng's Movement Speed and Attack Speed were very fast due to his 16 Agility. Shi Feng immediately circled to Shrews' back and began his fierce assault.
A series of damages appeared above Shrews' head.
-2, -2, -2, -2...
They were followed by another Chop that dealt 6 damage.
Shrews only turned around after receiving a series of attacks. It lifted its mountain-sized foot and stomped down, towards Shi Feng.
With a step, Shi Feng nimbly evaded towards Shrews' back, avoiding Shrews' sluggish attack. Shi Feng then followed up with a series of quick slashes. Although his attributes weren't high, his attacks were quick, without any excess movements.
When five seconds passed, Shrews regenerated 18 HP, leaving him with a remainder of 866 HP.
Shi Feng continued his attacks, slowly draining away Shrews' HP.
It was very dull, just avoiding and madly attacking. Dealing out strong attacks was very tiring, both physically and mentally.
With each passing second Shrew's HP continually fell.
Fifteen seconds later...
Once Thundering Flash's amplifying effect disappeared, the damage Shi Feng caused sharply reduced. Each strike of his sword only dealt 1 damage, and Chop only took away 4 HP from Shrews.
Another 5 seconds passed, and Shrews once more regenerated 18 HP, while Shi Feng had dealt around 30 damage. He'll kill the rock giant soon at this pace.
"I want to flatten you!" Shrews suddenly roared as he stomped his foot.
Suddenly, the entire cave shook. Sharp stalactites fell from the cave ceiling one after another, covering the entire cave. However, Shi Feng dodged them all easily.
Shrews revealed an exhausted expression, falling into [Fatigue] after finishing his skill, and Shi Feng quickly rushed ahead.
Thundering Flash!
Chop!
-4, -5, -6, -10.
Shi Feng took the chance to attack even more fervently.
-4, -4, -4...
Each sword strike took away 4 HP while Shrews was under both states of Fatigue and Damage Amplification.
During this weakened period, Shrews' regeneration also fell to 1%.
By the time Shrews returned to his normal state, Shi Feng had already taken away 30% of Shrews' HP.
The subsequent battle was filled with persistence. Shi Feng would repeatedly attack to make up for Shrews' regeneration. Every 30 seconds, he would deal a burst of damage with Thundering Flash. Following which, he would await Shrews' use of his big move.
As expected, Shrews would again use his big move after a period of time. Shi Feng used the opportunity to take away a little over 30% of his HP, soon dropping it to 15%, when a sudden change occurred.
Shrews' body continuously shrunk, his Attack Power and Defense reducing as well. However, his Movement Speed and Attack Speed kept increasing. This change was very disadvantageous to Shi Feng.
Although the Explosive Berry was still in effect, Shrews' attacks were becoming faster; though it didn't matter as he was nowhere near close to landing a hit on Shi Feng, who was a Half-step Beyond Domain Realm and Beyond Transcendental Realm expert.
Shi Feng activated Gravity Liberation and circled Shrews while attacking, quickly reducing the rock giant's HP to 0 before Gravity Liberation's duration even ended.
Boom!
Shrews turned into a pile of rubble.
System: [Special Elite] Shrews killed. Level difference of 4. EXP obtained increased by 400%. Obtained 940 EXP.
Shi Feng's experience bar abruptly rose by 27%, pushing him a big step closer towards Level 3.
After killing off Shrews, Shi Feng searched around in the pile of rubble.
The drops of a Special Elite were far better than a normal Elite's. Shi Feng obtained a Bronze item, a Skill Book, and 16 Copper Coins.
[Rock-Iron Shield] (Bronze Rank)
Equipment Requirement: Strength 8
Equipment Level: 5
Defense +21
Defense Rate 23%
Strength +2, Endurance +4
HP +30
The Skill Book was Parry, which Shi Feng immediately learned, before continuing to climb higher and grind while collecting materials along the way.
By the time he arrived at the peak, Shi Feng had leveled up to Level 3. Placing all of his Free Attribution Points into Agility, it reached 20, and Shi Feng unlocked [Fast and Nimble], allowing him to climb and kill even faster. Although leveling up caused him to not gain as much Skill Proficiency as before, Shi Feng still managed to level up Chop to Level 3 and Thundering Flash to Level 2.
Just as Shi Feng walked ahead a few steps...
A few blurry shadows could be seen up ahead.
At this moment, an emergency notification came from the system.
System: Player has discovered The Lost Lands. Activated Hidden Quest "Past Glory". Temporarily disabled player's communications to the outside world. Unable to leave the map until Quest is completed.
Shi Feng ran into the abandoned city and headed straight to the central tower. After arriving in a few minutes, Shi Feng went up the tower. He stood in the tower's observatory, filling his eyes with the city's scenery.
After admiring the view for a bit...
"Young adventurer, welcome to the City In The Sky."
A white-bearded, old man suddenly appeared. The old man's voice was filled with vicissitudes and wisdom.
"Hello there, and thanks for the welcome. Is there anything I can help you with?" Shi Feng turned around and smiled.
"Help?" The white-bearded elder shook his head, smiling as he said: "No, I don't need any help. I imagine you wish to become stronger. I can help you with that, but are you willing to accept a test of mine?"
"Of course, I'm willing to receive your test."
The elder nodded his head in satisfaction, gravely saying, "I'll give you three choices. The first one is the Normal difficulty. After you pass it you'll get a Mysterious-Iron Treasure Chest. The second one is the Hard difficulty, where you'll get a Secret-Silver Treasure Chest. In addition, you can get additional rewards depending on your rate of completion. The third option is the Hell difficulty, where you'll be rewarded a Fine-Gold Treasure Chest. You'll also receive additional rewards depending on your rate of completion."
"Young adventurer, which do you choose?"
"Hell." Shi Feng answered without hesitation.
"Hahaha! Young people sure are full of energy! I truly admire you, but be sure not to regret your choice." The elder disappeared after his hearty laughter.
System: Quest "Past Glory" accepted. Face off against 1000 monsters of the same level. Considered Passed after killing 500 monsters. Time limit of 4 hours. Quest failure penalty - all Attributes permanently reduced by 10 points.
Shi Feng looked at the countless Specter Warriors appearing below the tower before calmly heading to the staircase.
[Specter Warrior] (Common Monster)
Level 3
HP 300
Just as Shi Feng arrived on the staircase, the five seconds were up and every single Specter Warrior rushed the tower with wild abandon. However, the staircase was too narrow. As a result, they were blocking each other; Shi Feng only had to face 2 Specter Warriors at a time, which he could easily manage.
Shi Feng grinded Skill Proficiency points as he slaughtered the Specter Warriors with ease, before finishing them off in less than two hours.
"Not bad. Here's your reward, youngster." The elder appeared once more with a chuckle. Looking at Shi Feng, the elder took out a Fine-Gold Treasure Chest and a pitch-black longsword.
System: Quest "Past Glory" completed. Rewarding 1 Fine-Gold Treasure Chest, 1 Magic Weapon (Job-related). Obtained title "Might Of A Thousand".
[Might Of A Thousand] (Title)
When this title is in use, allies in a 30-yard radius will receive an attribute increase of 10%. Simultaneously, title user will obtain an additional effect of Strength +5 and Endurance +5.
"I've given you your reward. You can go now." The old man waved his hand after finishing his piece.
Shi Feng's vision blurred. When he opened his eyes once more, he was back in the plaza of Red Leaf Town. He quickly entered an empty alley. After making sure he was alone, Shi Feng opened the Fine-Gold Treasure Chest. Suddenly, golden rays of light leaked out from the chest, illuminating the small alley.
Shi Feng quickly retrieved all the items from the chest. The dazzling lights slowly faded away after the chest was emptied. He looked into his bag and saw the items were a Chestplate and two books, the same as before; the Sky Armor, the Book Of Forging, and the Records Of Potions.
[Sky Armor] (Plater Armor, Chestplate, Secret-Silver Rank)
Equipment Requirement: Strength 20
Equipment Level: 5
Defense +25, Strength +6, Endurance +3, Agility +3
Durability 30/30
Additional Attribute: Power Weakening. Reduce physical damage received by 15% after equipping
He then took out the Magic Weapon gained from completing the Past Glory Quest, the Abyssal Blade.
[Abyssal Blade] (Magic Weapon)
Job Requirement: Swordsman
Do you wish to bind the equipment?
"Might as well equip it now." Shi Feng said to himself before choosing to bind the Abyssal Blade to himself.
The moment the binding was finished, his levels dropped one after the other, becoming Level 0 within an instant. In another moment, however, a force of strength started flowing through his body. Shi Feng then checked the Abyssal Blade's attributes.
[Abyssal Blade] (Magic Weapon, One-handed Sword)
Attack Power 24
All Attributes +10
Attack Speed +3
Ignore Levels +5
Attacks have:
15% chance to cause 200% damage
10% chance to induce Doom Curse, reducing all stats by 30%, lasting 20 seconds
If wielder belongs to any Swordsman Job, all Skill Levels +2. Increase Free Ability Points received by 2 points for every increase in Level.
Equipment Level 0. Can be leveled up. (Devour ten Level 5 Bronze Equipment and one Level 5 Mysterious-Iron Equipment to level up to Level 5). Can be evolved (Unknown).
Additional Active Skill 1: Phantom Kill
Instantly creates a doppelganger. You can control this doppelganger. Doppelganger will have 50% of original body's Attributes and all Skills. At the same time, Doppelganger and the original body can be swapped.
Duration: 30 seconds
Cooldown: 5 minutes
Additional Active Skill 2: Abyssal Bind
Binds enemies and prevents movement, reducing Defense by 100%.
Duration: 3 seconds
Cooldown: 1 minute
Additional Active Skill 3: Nine Dragons Slash
Instantly create nine phantoms of the Abyssal Blade for the wielder to use, each phantom sword is capable of dealing up to 30% damage.
Duration: 20 seconds
Cooldown: 5 minutes
The Abyssal Blade was personally created by Master Smith Olysses, using the Black Dragon King's fangs as material. It is one of thirty-six famed swords, and it is ranked 31st. However, this sword has been cursed by the Black Dragon King. Aside from being able to provide the wielder with immense strength, there would be a Backlash after a certain period of time. If the wielder is unable to suppress the Backlash, the wielder will receive the curse of the Black Dragon King, permanently reducing All Attributes by 50%.
Unable to be dropped.
Unable to be traded.
"Welcome back old friend." Shi Feng said quietly as he held the Abyssal blade, feeling a little emotional.
After all, the Abyssal Blade had been with him from the very beginning of Shi Feng's career in God's Domain in his previous life. Although Shi Feng had replaced it at one point, he had managed to upgrade it later on to Tier 6, as well as to Legendary rank, making it comparable to the Light of Two Worlds and Solomon's Sword.
As it was more compatible with him than any other sword that he had wielded, Shi Feng had used it ever since.
Hence, it was great to have the Magic Weapon back in his hands, even if it was in its weakest form.
Shi Feng then looked at his current attributes.
Character: Ye Feng (Human)
Affiliated Kingdom: Star-Moon
Title: Might Of A Thousand
Job: Swordsman
Level: 0
HP: 460/460
Attack Power: 72
Defense: 4
Attack Speed: 10
Movement Speed: 8
Attributes: Strength 24, Agility 22, Endurance 22, Intelligence 13, Vitality 13
System: Strength has reached 20 points. Activating Hidden Basic Skill, Smashing Fists. Able to destroy Trash Weapons with bare hands.
System: Endurance has reached 20 points. Activating Hidden Basic Skill, Robust Physique.
Afterwards, Shi Feng made his way to the Trade Market in order to sell off the equipment he had acquired during his climb up the mountain.
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