Chapter 7: Killing Dino, Plundering Talent

At this moment, John had already left the novice village.

[Ding, player Unrivaled has requested to add you as a friend]

The notification flashed, and John promptly rejected it.

Even if Aron was slow to react, he now knew he had been played.

"Time to log off and rest. I'll turn in the quest tomorrow," John checked the time and vanished on the spot.

Having stolen the Life-Sustaining Pill, half of the hidden quest was complete. Next, he needed to deal with Dino.

...

Real World.

The Imperial Capital, a luxurious villa. 

Bang bang...

The sounds of smashing and breaking echoed.

Aron was furiously destroying the items around him, seething with rage. "Godslayer, how dare you trick me!"

To develop the Wind and Cloud Guild, he had invested thirty million dollars.

Due to helping Godslayer with the quest, over two hundred elite members and more than a thousand regular members of the guild had been slaughtered.

The penalty for dying as a novice was severe, dropping players back to Level 1.

His entire thirty million dollars investment had gone down the drain.

Even worse, the hard-earned prestige of the Wind and Cloud Guild had vanished.

Aron didn't care about the money, but he couldn't swallow this humiliation.

"Matt!" Aron called coldly, looking towards the door.

The door opened, and Matt hurried in, looking distressed at the shattered porcelain on the floor.

Matt spoke, "Young Master, facial recognition didn't find any real information on Godslayer. He must have adjusted his appearance."

Aron's face turned icy. "I don't care about that. Godslayer must pay dearly, both in the game and in reality!"

Matt remained silent, waiting for Aron's instructions.

He knew Aron's character well—calculating, ruthless, and vengeful. Suffering such a significant loss, Aron wouldn't let Godslayer go.

"Two things." Aron contemplated for a moment before speaking slowly, "First, place a bounty on Godslayer in the novice village. Killing him once will earn a reward of 100,000 dollars, no limit on the number of times. Second, have Sini get close to Godslayer. Once we have his real-world information, I'll grant her freedom."

Matt lifted his head and looked at Aron, hesitant to speak.

Sini came from a family of ancient martial arts practitioners, and Aron had spent a considerable amount to control her.

Using her against Godslayer seemed excessive.

In Matt's view, Sini's value far exceeded that of Godslayer, making this plan unwise. 

However, he knew Aron's personality—once a decision was made, it wouldn't change.

"I'll arrange it immediately," Matt agreed and bowed before leaving.

Aron's expression relaxed slightly as he spread his arms, leaning back on the sofa. His face darkened with a terrifying expression as he muttered, "It's been a long time since anyone dared to provoke me like this. Godslayer, I hope you don't disappoint me! I want to torture you properly. Don't you dare quit this game until I've had my fill!"

...

The next day, John re-entered the world of Gods and learned about the bounty placed by the Wind and Cloud Guild.

A bounty of 100,000 for killing Godslayer once.

John sneered at the thought. His goal wasn't just to outsmart Aron;

revenge was only beginning.

First, he needed to complete his task.

John checked the quest details. Today marked the third day, and Dino was likely at the end of his strength. Delaying further risked losing the chance if Dino died before he could complete the task.

From Enzo, John had stolen not just the Life-Sustaining Pill but also a Mana-Suppressing Pill and two poisons.

He examined these items carefully.

[Life-Sustaining Pill: High-grade potion, can instantly heal any injury, excluding soul injuries] 

[Mana-Suppressing Pill: High-grade potion, seals internal magic, automatically lifts after three days] 

[Hundred Poison Pill: Mid-grade potion, refined from a hundred poisonous insects, extremely toxic, fatal to anyone below Level 7] 

[Bloodthirst Pill: Mid-grade potion, a failed product of refining the Qi and Blood Pill, drains life energy until death]

All four pills, except the Life-Sustaining Pill, were deadly poisons.

John suspected that Enzo specialized in poison crafting.

He had one Mana-Suppressing Pill, ten Hundred Poison Pills, and two Bloodthirst Pills. Mixing these poisons would undoubtedly be lethal for the severely injured Dino.

John carefully cut open one of the Life-Sustaining Pills, hollowing it out before grinding and mixing the Mana-Suppressing Pill, Hundred Poison Pills, and Bloodthirst Pills,

then placing the mixture inside. He resealed the pill, making sure it looked flawless.

John nodded in satisfaction, "Perfect!"

He stored the altered Life-Sustaining Pill and headed to the forest to complete the quest.

In the forest, many high-level player teams roamed.

They weren't hunting Tusked Wild Boars for leveling up but were instead on the Wind and Cloud Guild's bounty hunt for Godslayer.

John didn't want any confrontations for now, so he avoided them and headed for the hidden cave. The cave hadn't been discovered by other players.

Whew!

John entered the cave, the firelight flickering, indicating Dino had sensed his approach.

Under the firelight, Dino looked even paler and more haggard.

His eyes lit up with hope as he saw John, "Kid, you finally came. Where's the Life-Sustaining Pill?"

John stepped forward, palm open, revealing a milky white pill—the unaltered Life-Sustaining Pill.

"Life-Sustaining Pill!"

Dino's eyes gleamed as he reached out to grab it.

John quickly pulled his hand back, eyeing Dino warily, "What about my reward?"

Dino glared at John coldly.

A weak human adventurer dared to play tricks on him.

If killing John guaranteed the drop of the Life-Sustaining Pill, Dino would have acted already.

"Hmph, I keep my promises!" Dino scoffed, taking out a large black shield from his storage pouch.

A purple glow shone, the unmistakable mark of a divine artifact.

The Diamond Giant Shield, a low-grade divine artifact!

John's excitement was palpable.

Though he couldn't equip a shield, the value of such an artifact was immeasurable.

Seeing John's reaction, Dino's expression turned disdainful. He had decided that once he obtained the Life-Sustaining Pill and recovered, he would kill John.

His artifact was not something to be taken so easily.

Dino extended his hand, saying, "Give me the Life-Sustaining Pill."

John nodded, switching the pill with the tampered one in his palm without Dino noticing.

Dino grabbed the pill and swallowed it without hesitation.

John took a few steps back, his staff ready in hand.

Dino was severely injured, and the altered Life-Sustaining Pill should be lethal.

However, John feared a desperate counterattack.

As the pill took effect, Dino's face initially showed signs of recovery,

but then his expression twisted in pain. He glared at John with fury, "What did you give me, boy?"

Bang!

John didn't waste words. He swung his staff, casting Fireball and Wind Blade at Dino.

-1

-1

Dino's magic resistance was astounding, and John's attacks only dealt a minimal 1 point of damage each.

"You're courting death!" Dino roared, conjuring a fireball in his palm,

but it quickly dissipated as the Mana-Suppressing Pill took effect.

John relaxed slightly, his voice cold, "Old man, don't struggle. You're dead today!"

"Ugh!"

Dino attempted to speak but coughed up a mouthful of black blood.

The Hundred Poison Pill and Bloodthirst Pill were rapidly consuming his life force.

Already gravely wounded, he had no strength to resist.

"You'll regret this..."

In his final moments, Dino managed to utter a few words before a magical curse shot out, hitting John.

A sense of foreboding washed over John, and he knew it was too late to dodge.

[You have killed the seventh-tier Archmage Dino, gaining 330,240 experience points]

[You have reached Level 6, gaining 4 free attribute points, 1 skill point]

[You have reached Level 7, gaining 4 free attribute points, 1 skill point]

[You have reached Level 8, gaining 4 free attribute points, 1 skill point]

[You have reached Level 9, gaining 4 free attribute points, 1 skill point]

[You are affected by Dino's curse; you cannot level past 9. Current experience: 327,340/900]

[Plunder talent activated; you have acquired the divine growth talent... Wrath of the Gods!]

A series of notifications flashed. John had leveled up to 9 but could not progress further.

"Damn, I still got cursed!" John cursed, checking the curse details.

[Dino's Curse: Cursed by Archmage Dino, preventing levels above 9. Can be lifted by a seventh-tier mage or reaching 1,000 Spirit points to forcibly remove it.]

It could be lifted!

Seeing the curse details, John was elated.

Finding a seventh-tier mage in the novice village was nearly impossible.

Even if he did, they wouldn't help him remove the curse.

Alternatively, he could forcibly lift it by reaching 1,000 Spirit points.

For a Level 9 player, achieving 1,000 Spirit points seemed impossible.

But John had the advantage of his Plunder talent, which could potentially grant him Spirit points from defeating magic-wielding monsters with high Spirit attributes.

Reaching 1,000 Spirit points at Level 9 was entirely feasible for him.

John breathed a sigh of relief and checked the newly acquired talent.