Chapter 9 One Rider, Thousand Defeated

The Assassins lied, which made Eric very angry, but facing the unknown situation now, he had to calm down.

Even members of the studio might have selfish motives, definitely hiding some key discoveries to quietly grow stronger, making a fortune in silence.

There were many such people in the studio, whether they were peripheral members or core members. After a period of time, a few particularly strong individuals would always emerge, rapidly rising in status. Eric himself was like that; otherwise, he wouldn't have transitioned from a core member to the leader of the studio.

"Arriving at the Lost Land, telling outsiders that only a Mithril-tier Chest was seen, without mentioning anything else. There must be something more important hidden here than the Mithril-tier Chest. Is this the hidden task?" Eric brought up the System task interface.

The hidden task in the Lost Land was "Past Glory."

Apart from the name, nothing was known about the task content. What needs to be done was a mystery.

"Is this a region-triggered task?" Eric, with ten years of experience in Divine Realms: Legends, immediately spotted the key to this hidden task.

In Divine Realms: Legends, there were some very special tasks that could only be triggered in certain areas. Moreover, this task had no content at all; players had to find everything by themselves. After completing the task, even if the next player came here, the task wouldn't trigger again. It was a truly unique task.

But it was also a very dangerous one.

To search for a way to complete the task in an unknown area meant facing the monsters of that unknown area. Generally, the monsters in the area where such special tasks were located would be several levels higher than those in the surrounding areas, making it impossible for ordinary players to complete.

In the previous life, when triggering the task in this area with level 5 monsters, six Assassins above level 20 came here, which was how they completed the task.

"Forget it, I can't leave anyway. I might as well explore a bit. If I die, I'll just respawn back in the city." Once Eric had made up his mind, he strode forward.

Walking through the mist, soon several blurry figures appeared in front of Eric.

It was a city, a city that had been abandoned for many years. Dilapidated houses were everywhere. From the size of the city and the magnificence of the buildings, it could be inferred that this place had been very prosperous in the past, even more so than Silvervale City.

But this 'prosperous' city now did not have a soul in sight.

Quietly entering the city, Eric searched for clues to the task while observing the surroundings.

Searching for a city that could accommodate millions of people was like finding a needle in a haystack.

Eric ran through dozens of streets, entered hundreds of houses, and spent hours, yet still found no clues to the task. Divine Realms: Legends had just begun; now was the time to pull ahead, but Eric had wasted several hours. Many players were already at level 1, while Eric was still stuck at 2 with 34%.

Should he continue searching for clues or commit suicide to respawn back in the city? Eric hesitated.

"I'll search for another hour. If I don't find anything, I'll go back to the city." Eric set a time limit for himself. While such tasks were valuable, he didn't have that much time to waste. He had plenty of other tasks to complete and didn't need to waste time here.

Time passed by.

Eric arrived at the central tower of the city, once a holy place for mage professions to study magic. Now it was in ruins, even the magical crystals on the tower were shattered.

Climbing the tower and standing on the lookout platform, Eric could see the entire cityscape. If time had allowed, Eric would have surely enjoyed the view for a while.

Looking around, nothing particularly stood out.

Just as Eric was about to leave.

"Young adventurer, welcome to Sky City."

An elderly man with a white beard suddenly appeared, his voice full of wisdom and experience, startling Eric. He thought it was some kind of monster, but upon seeing the yellow marker, he breathed a sigh of relief.

Sky City?

Thinking of this famous city in Divine Realms: Legends, Eric was shocked.

Sky City was once renowned throughout the Divine Realms: Legends continent, with countless legendary professions in the city, and the sword saint Uloeita presiding over it. Even the gods had to be wary of her, but she fell in the third divine war, becoming a regret in Divine Realms: Legends.

"Respected elder, how can I assist you?" Eric asked with a formal smile.

"Assist?" The white-bearded elder shook his head, smiling, "No, I don't need assistance. I believe you want to become stronger. I can help you, but are you willing to accept my challenge?"

"Of course, I am willing to accept the challenge." Eric was relieved, realizing that the clue to the task "Past Glory" was here. No need to die and respawn back in the city, losing levels and skill proficiency.

The elder nodded in satisfaction, saying seriously, "I will give you three choices. The first is a normal difficulty, where you can obtain a Dark Iron-tier Chest upon completion. The second is a hard difficulty, where you can get a Mithril-tier Chest and, depending on completion, additional rewards. The third is hell difficulty, rewarding an Adamantine-tier Chest, with additional rewards based on completion."

"Young adventurer, which one do you choose?"

Three choices, each more difficult than the last, but the temptations were also very alluring. Six Assassins above level 10 chose the hard difficulty, obtaining the Mithril-tier Chest, but they chose to hide the additional rewards, indicating that the extra rewards were better than the Mithril-tier Chest.

After some thought, as a reborn player, Eric knew he should have some courage and be willing to take on challenges.

"Respected elder, I choose the hell difficulty." Eric was confident he could handle this difficulty, and if successful, it would be crucial for his future development.

"You are full of enthusiasm. I admire you. But don't regret your choice." The elder chuckled before disappearing without a trace.

System: Accept the task "Past Glory," face 1000 monsters of the same level, and kill 500 to pass, with a time limit of 4 hours. Failure to complete the task will result in a permanent 10-point decrease in all attributes.

Attributes were the basics of a profession. If all attributes decreased by 10 points, the character would be almost useless.

"This punishment is too harsh." Eric looked at the countless ghost warriors emerging below the tower, feeling a tingling scalp.

The countdown had begun, with 5 seconds remaining before the monsters attacked.

Ghost warriors, ordinary monsters, level 2, with 230 health points.

Dealing with one was easy, but facing a sea of ghost warriors, even Eric felt nervous.

Charging straight down would be suicidal, as he would surely be surrounded and killed. The only way was to take them on one by one.

With ample battle experience, Eric swiftly ran down the stairs, standing on the narrow staircase.

The staircase allowed at most two monsters to pass, making it the best killing point. By holding the staircase, Eric could handle two ghost warriors easily, dodging their attacks.

Thunderbolt!

Slash!

Three lightning bolts flashed, dealing great damage within a 2 x 30-foot range, instantly taking over 60 health points from each ghost warrior and inflicting 33 points with the slash.

The first ghost warrior's health was halved directly, while the remaining dozens lost a quarter of their health.

Previously, when facing higher-level monsters with high defense, the effects of Thunderbolt and Slash were significantly suppressed. Now, facing monsters of the same level, the powerful group attack damage of Thunderbolt was fully displayed.

With the damage amplification effect after Thunderbolt, Eric took down the first ghost warrior with just five strikes.

To speed up the killing, Eric activated Gravity Liberation again, boosting his attack speed.

With the damage amplification effect, he could take down one in less than 3 seconds.

Unfortunately, killing ghost warriors didn't grant experience points, but it did provide 1 point for skill proficiency.

Watching the ghost warriors fall one by one, with skill proficiency steadily increasing, Eric felt delighted.

Perhaps even the NPCs wouldn’t have expected a level 2 swordsman to use such a powerful group attack skill. He wasn't afraid of being swarmed; one-on-one combat was even easier.

If it were any other player, they might have failed the task, but Eric could complete it perfectly.

Two hours passed, and Thunderbolt's skill proficiency increased to 300 points, reaching level 2. The damage went from 130% to 135%, and the cooldown time decreased from 30 seconds to 28 seconds.

Slash also increased to 426/600, just a little more to reach level 3.

With Thunderbolt at level 2, Eric's monster clearing speed increased again. The ghost warriors fell in batches, with only about 20 left and an hour and a half remaining.

After using Thunderbolt, even the last 20 ghost warriors fell.

"Well done. Here is your reward." The elder reappeared, looking at Eric with a smile, handing him a fine gold chest and a pitch-black longsword.

System: Complete the task "Past Glory" and receive a reward of an Adamantine-tier Chest, a Demonic Weapon specific to your profession, and the title "One Man Army."

With the title "One Man Army," when using this title, all friendly attributes within a 90-foot radius increase by 10%. Additionally, the player gains an extra +5 Strength and +5 Stamina.

"The rewards have been given. You may leave now." The elder said, waving his hand lightly.

When Eric blinked, he found himself back in the square of Willowbrook Town.

Ding ding ding!

The System communication kept ringing, with Tonny requesting to communicate.

"Eric, you finally answered. Why couldn't I reach you earlier? I'm lagging behind everyone else by a level. What should I do now?" Tonny was very anxious, but despite that, he patiently spoke to Eric, showing trust in him.

Having spent more than 7 hours to divert Tonny, now the streets were full of level 1 players, while he remained at level 0. How could he bridge this gap? Going to team up with others was futile; the minimum requirement was level 1, and for a level 0 newbie like him, he was left out.

"Sorry, I was busy with a task. Come to the central square; I'll help you level up." Eric apologized sincerely.

The task had taken over 5 hours, and Divine Realms: Legends had been open for over 8 hours. Many players had already reached level 1, and professional players might even be close to level 2.

As a reborn player, Eric would find it easy to help Tonny level up. In no time, Eric could help Tonny catch up to the professional players.