Within the City of Apocalypse secret realm, Zhang Yue stood beside the Scorpion King's massive corpse, preparing to collect his spoils.
Boss monsters always had much better loot rates than regular monsters.
As Zhang Yue reached for the loot, system notifications echoed in his ears:
[Ding~ You have collected 125 copper coins.]
[Ding~ You have collected [Lord's Ring].]
[Ding~ You have collected 2 [1-Star Equipment Blueprints].]
[Ding~ You have collected 5 [Level 1 Meat Chunks].]
At that moment, a shimmering purple barrier appeared next to Zhang Yue, marking the exit from the secret realm.
Zhang Yue stepped through the barrier and left the realm.
"1.25 silver coins, and with the exchange rate of 140 per coin in the First World... that's enough for a nice hotpot."
Zhang Yue opened his inventory and pulled out a silver ring.
It was a Level 7 Lord's Ring, 1-star quality, with basic white attributes. The only benefit was an added 10 attack points, with no other special effects.
However, Zhang Yue spent 3,865 energy points to reforge the ring, upgrading its attribute from white to gold, massively increasing its value!
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[Glory · Lord's War Ring] (Lv7)
Quality: 1-Star
Attribute: Gold
Attack: +35
Bonus: Strength +3
Class Requirement: None
Effect: Penetration (Ignores 20 points of the enemy's defense)
Description: A ring forged from the Scorpion King's fangs, boasting impressive destructive power...
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The ring gave Zhang Yue a significant damage boost. The only downside was that it boosted strength instead of intelligence, but it was still powerful!
Since it was Level 7 gear, Zhang Yue decided to stash it in his inventory for now.
Next, he pulled out the most valuable item he had obtained in the secret realm: the Secret Realm Scroll.
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[Secret Realm Scroll] (Lv5)
Quality: Black Iron (Can be upgraded to Bronze by consuming 1,000 energy points)
Guaranteed Reward: +5 Silver Coins
Reward: Black Iron Bounty Quest
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Bounty quests offered far better rewards than regular quests, which was why, just moments ago, someone on the regional chat had offered 3,000 yuan to buy Zhang Yue's scroll.
But Zhang Yue knew that even a Black Iron Secret Realm Scroll was worth far more than that!
Especially since this scroll could be upgraded by consuming energy points—its potential was practically limitless in Zhang Yue's hands!
Without hesitation, Zhang Yue began upgrading the scroll.
[Ding~ 1,000 energy points consumed. Your Secret Realm Scroll has been upgraded to Bronze.]
[Ding~ 2,000 energy points consumed. Your Secret Realm Scroll has been upgraded to Silver.]
[Ding~ …]
[Ding~ 10,000 energy points consumed. Your Secret Realm Scroll has been upgraded to King-Level (Max Quality)]
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[Secret Realm Scroll] (Lv5)
Quality: King-Level
Guaranteed Reward: +1 Gold Coin
Reward: Lv5 King-Level Bounty Quest
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Although no one knew the origins of the otherworld, its comprehensive settings and rules were flawless.
For new players hoping to get help from veteran adventurers to refine low-level gear or upgrade their secret realm scrolls, it was a good idea in theory. After all, higher-level players could gather energy more easily. But this was not allowed.
There was a system rule that prohibited adventurers from refining gear or upgrading scrolls that were more than three levels below their own. This perfectly closed any loophole.
As a result, according to historical records, in over a century of the otherworld's existence, no one had ever discovered a King-Level Secret Realm Scroll in the First World.
"This Level 5 King-Level Secret Realm Scroll is probably worth over 100,000 yuan on the market!"
But to Zhang Yue, money was nothing more than dirt.
He immediately crushed the scroll.
[Ding~ You have used the Lv5 King-Level Secret Realm Scroll. +1 Gold Coin! Congratulations, you have received the King-Level Bounty Quest [Rescue the Survivor]. Complete the quest within the time limit to receive a generous reward.]
Zhang Yue opened his quest interface.
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[Rescue the Survivor] (King-Level Bounty Quest)
Difficulty: 100
Description: Darkness has engulfed the land, and monsters have awakened. Humanity is on the brink of disaster. Find the survivor, Ellie, in the First World's Nightmare Source and escort her safely to the Doomsday Town Safe Zone.
Reward: ?
Time Limit: 24 hours (Failure to complete within this time will result in permanent loss of the quest.)
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"What kind of reward will a King-Level bounty quest offer?" Zhang Yue muttered to himself, anticipation building within him.
Opening his map, he followed the quest marker to the destination: the Lv10 Berserk Forest.
On the way to the Berserk Forest, Zhang Yue farmed Level 7 and 8 Iron Armored Scorpions, steadily gaining experience.
By the time he crossed through the urban areas and arrived at the dense forest on the outskirts, he had spent about half an hour traveling. In that time, he had leveled up from Level 5 to Level 6 and was only 8% away from reaching Level 7!
"Those Level 10 berserk boars... Given my current state, I probably can't handle them solo."
Standing at the edge of the Berserk Forest, Zhang Yue analyzed his status and spoke softly to himself.
"But once I hit Level 7 and equip the Lord's War Ring, I should be ready."
With that, Zhang Yue entered the Berserk Forest.
The dense, shadowy forest was filled with massive, bristling boars that darted around, their cries echoing through the trees.
Zhang Yue used his Scout ability, only to realize he couldn't see the stats of the wild boars.
"That's right. My D-Rank Scout skill can only check monsters that are up to three levels higher than me. These boars are above that threshold."
"Looks like I forgot to upgrade the skill."
Without hesitation, Zhang Yue spent 1 million energy points to upgrade Scout from D-Rank to A-Rank!
An A-Rank Scout skill could scan monsters up to ten levels higher than the user.
He locked onto a wild boar and activated the ability:
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[Berserk Boar] (Physical-Type · Normal Monster)
Level: 10
Physical Attack: 100
Physical Defense: 68
Magic Defense: 65
HP: 720
Skills: Berserk, Charge
Description: A wild boar in a berserk state. It's not to be trifled with. Before approaching, consider whether you can withstand its 500-kilogram impact…
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"The quest NPC should be deep within this forest. Looks like I'll have to deal with you all first."
With that, Zhang Yue raised his Flame Precursor Staff and targeted the nearest Berserk Boar, initiating his attack.
Fireball!
Boom!
The blazing fireball curved through the air and struck the boar head-on.
-123!
-20 Burn!
-15 Burn!
Zhang Yue frowned slightly. The defense of these Level 10 wild boars was incredibly high.
Even with his 4 Intelligence attribute build, mythic-class mage status, a gold-tier staff, and A-Rank Fireball, he was barely scratching them.
There was only one explanation: Zhang Yue's level was still too low.
The boar, enraged by the hit, let out a deafening roar and charged toward Zhang Yue.
Zhang Yue's Level 5 Armored Scorpion would have been crushed against the Level 10 boar, so there was no point summoning it.
Instead, Zhang Yue removed the Iron "Armor · Hero's Guard" from his scorpion, equipped it himself, and prepared to face the boar alone.
Boom! Boom!
Fireball!
Zhang Yue deftly maneuvered around the boar's charges, casting his fireball spell with precision.
Several "miss" markers floated above his head as he dodged the boar's attacks, his 21 Agility significantly enhancing his reflexes.
Fireballs continued to land on the boar, causing numbers to float above its head:
-44!
-66 Critical!
-123...
Even with a 4-level difference, Zhang Yue finally managed to take down the Berserk Boar after a considerable effort.
[Ding~ You have slain a Level 10 Berserk Boar. Experience +40! Energy +100,000.]
[Ding~ Congratulations! You have triggered the Necromancer class effect [Soul Harvest]. Would you like to absorb the [Berserk Boar] as a pet?]
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