Chapter 5 - CH5: The Alliance || Leveling Time

Red Leaf Town, Trade Area

Multitudes of shops decorated both sides of the streets; from smithies, and bars, to clothing shops and pharmacies. But, it hasn't been long since the launch of God's Domain, so the current trade area wasn't as lively as it should be. Most players were busy leveling up instead of enjoying what God's Domain had to offer. As a result, there was only the minority of Lifestyle players staying here. They were here to learn Auxiliary Jobs such as Enchanter, Forger, Pharmacist, Chef, Engineer, Alchemist, etc.

"Buying herbs at a high price, contact me directly if you have any."

"Buying ores; rip-offs can stay away."

"Willing to buy high ranking equipment. Price is negotiable. Willing to pay with Credits."

"Selling Common equipment, replace your Trash Equipment heeereeee!!!"

"HEY! YOU SAID THIS WAS A BRONZE RANK PIECE OF BREAD! WHAT IS THIS?!!!"

All kinds of voices spoke out everywhere. Somewhere in the distance, they were fighting over a bottle of juice. Somewhere else, a fight broke out and a Trash Rank boot flew by Shi Feng at breakneck speed. 'I guess they don't fear the Guards much huh?' thought Shi Feng, laughing. After that, Shi Feng walked to the 'Black Market' building, in the shady part of the Trade Area, right to the Gnome's Auction House. In there, Shi Feng will be partaking in the Challenge Race. But of course, as Shi Feng was a walking cheat, this will be just him claiming the Skill Book and leaving.

At the moment, several players were standing in front of the field. They were receiving the Gnomes' challenge.

"Good luck! You have to succeed this time!"

"You got this! Teach em' a lesson!"

"Good luck! Stomp those Gnomes!"

A few players were currently cheering with all their might for an Assassin player that stood on the field. Their reddened eyes made them look like addicted gamblers.

Normally, the Challenge Race would restrict a player's Attributes to 10, but he had a master plan in mind. Such a plan is only possible for the walking abomination that is Shi Feng. As he was watching the Assassin run the race, the Assassin was struck at the 20-yard mark and failed.

"Damn it all! Just a little bit more and I would've cleared it. Do you guys still have money? I'll definitely clear it the next time." The male Assassin said resolutely after reviving from the field.

A male Cleric shook his head saying, "Boss Stabbing Heart, the five of us have already given you all our money. We don't have anymore."

With a raised eyebrow, Shi Feng shifted his sight towards the Assassin. He was shocked after hearing the two words 'Stabbing Heart'. With a short and skinny stature, just like a monkey, Shi Feng could hardly believe that the 'monkey' in front of him was Stabbing Heart, the #10 ranked Assassin on Star-Moon Kingdom's Assassin Leaderboard.

Stabbing Heart was sure that using his Guild's name would shock and awe Shi Feng into lending him 5 Coppers. But he could not be more wrong.

"5 Coppers huh?"

Shi Feng could be said to be the richest player in the game right now, so 5 Coppers weren't really much for him. But he needed to establish himself as an expert so as to not appear as a pushover. Shi Feng answered flatly: "I can lend you the 5 Coppers, but you'll have to pay back 50 Coppers tomorrow."

"...fine. I'll borrow" said Stabbing Heart after a few seconds of shock and contemplation.

"Great Choice. Here, let's add each other. Remember to pay back those 50 Coppers, will you?". With that, Shi Feng walked away and left a downcast Stabbing Heart standing there. 'Ye Feng huh?'

Shi Feng reached the Administrator Counter and chose to challenge the Gold Prize Race. "That'll be 5 Gold, Esteemed Sir" said the greedy Gnome with a not so kind smile on his face. Shi Feng was then led to the start of the race.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we have a new challenger on the field. Please let us welcome this brave Swordsman." The gnome loudly announced. A short distance away, Stabbing Heart was baffled as to why this kid chose to challenge the race.

"I'll be damned. I don't know if this kid's either brave or foolish." said Stabbing Heart with an arrogant smirk.

"I'd say neither, Boss Stabbing Heart. The kid's pure dumb, through and through. You reached 20 yards. At most, this kid's going to reach 8 yards before he's out; and that's just me being generous heheh." commented the Cleric next to him.

Total time spent: 2 seconds. Estimated record time of 40 seconds for Gold Prize broken.

The surrounding area was silent. The Gnomes had ugly expressions on their faces. All of the Assassin's Alliance members, including Stabbing Heart, who were jovially discussing Shi Feng's failure at the Challenge Race, now looked pale.

"Uhh..."

"No no, thats not right..."

"No way he's a player, is he some monster disguised as a player?"

"Did he just teleport?"

Stabbing Heart felt a chill go down his spine. He thought about cheating this kid out of his 5 Copper and not paying him back, when he realized this kid, no; expert, could kill him in an instant and he would never notice. At this moment, along with Stabbing Heart, the Assassin's Alliance members had the intention to befriend this mysteriously strong expert. All of the arrogance they held before was long gone as the result of such an eye-opening event.

System: Player was the First to pass the Gold Challenge and break the record. Rewarding Player with 100 Gold Coin, Swordsman Skill [Sundering Barrage], Assassin Skill [Vicarious Haze], and Cursemancer Weapon: Sinister Apostle.

{DING!}

{Received x3 Gold}

"Sundering Barrage?. It sounds like the super-rare skill, Thundering Flash." mumbled Shi Feng. With joy in his eyes, Shi Feng checked out the new skills and weapon he received.

[Sundering Barrage]

Active Skill

Requirement: Sword

Rapidly send out ten sword lights at a distance of 30 x 4 yards. Each hit will cause 150% damage and also grant the Damage Amplification effect, amplifying the damage of your following attacks by 40% for 20 seconds.

Cooldown: 1 Minute

[Vicarious Haze]

Active Skill

Surround yourself in a layer of gray smoke. Increases Agility by 25%, and grants a 30% chance to nullify attacks.

Cooldown: 1 Minute

''Sure enough, it's many times better than Thundering Flash. And this Assassin Skill seems pretty good too. I'll save it for now' Shi Feng was already plotting for the growth of his Guild.

The staff was a Bronze Rank Level 1 item. Shi Feng instantly thought to replace Blackie's Trash-Rank Staff. This would make his strength skyrocket, placing him among the top in terms of Cursemancers. After inspecting everything, Shi Feng learned Sundering Barrage and kept the other two items in his inventory. Of course, he planned to refine them after taking care of matters here. In an instant, Stabbing Heart walked towards Shi Feng to attempt befriending him

"Excuse me, Sir Expert, here are the 5 Coppers you lent me before. I don't think I'll be challenging the race anymore. Would you like to join our Alliance?." said Stabbing Heart sincerely, handing Shi Feng his money back.

"Sir Expert? Just call me Ye Feng. I'm still too far from being called an expert. As for joining your Alliance, allow me to decline. I already have a plan for creating a Guild. But, since we have a way of contact, let me know if you ever need help. If that's all, I'll be leaving now." Shi Feng said kindly, as he walked out of the building.

Stabbing Heart, rooted on the spot, could only mindlessly nod his head. After a few seconds, he finally composed himself and decided to inform the Guild Leader of the Assassin's Alliance about this mysterious swordsman. Stabbing Heart said in his mind: 'Not an expert huh?. You're not fooling anyone, Ye Feng'. Oh, but how wrong he was.

Outside of the building, Shi Feng used the 'item refinement'. If Sundering Barrage wasn't broken before, it was getting out of hand now; the same could be said for the other two items.

Sundering Barrage now sent out 12 sword lights, the distance increased to 25 x 8 Yards, the damage increased to 175%, and the damage amplification increased to 50% for 30 seconds.

The Staff's overall strength increased by a staggering 35%. Not even Shi Feng who had come into contact with Legendary Items in the past could not believe this was still a Bronze Rank Staff. With that, Shi Feng pulled up his Map and found Blackie's dot. He instantly disappeared and appeared next to Blackie.

"Alright Blackie, time to grind"

"Perfect, Brother Feng. Let's see if we can reach Level 10 before anyone else"

"That's the plan. Before we go, I'll be picking up a treasure ċhėst and a skill book. Initially, I was planning for us to grind in a level 5 Area, but since I have a few skills and a high enough level, we can grind in a level 9 or 10 Area."

"That's okay Brother Feng. I trust you; I know what you say might sound crazy to others, but I've chosen to believe in you no matter what" said Blackie proudly.

"I appreciate that. But remember; the fact that I can teleport to previous locations without limit has to remain a secret among us. Under no circumstances should you reveal this to others. I see you as a Brother, but I still need you to swear to me you won't reveal this."

"Yes, Brother. I, Blackie, do solemnly swear to take this secret to the grave." Blackie was immensely serious about this. This would allow them to grow at a tremendous rate. With that, Shi Feng was satisfied, formed a party with Blackie, and set off to Red Leaf Forest. Surprisingly, when he arrived at the forest, the whole forest registered on the map for teleportation. He scrolled over to the Red Leaf Forest Central Region and found a few small red dots. He clicked on one of them and he found out these were the rock giants. A short distance away was a slightly bigger red dot with a white outline. This was Shrews, a rock-giant boss.

"Alright Blackie, Are you ready?"

"Ready when you are, Brother Feng" Blackie gave him a thumbs-up

[Rock Giant] (Common Monster)

Level 5

HP 550

Shi Feng focused his sword intent and directed it at the rock giant, suppressing it. It's HP decreased to a total of 467. Blackie immediately cast Dark Arrow on the Rock Giant.

-2

Shi Feng isn't one to waste time so he immediately activated 'Gravity Influence', and cast Chop and Ethereal Cross Strike on the Rock Giant. Within 1 second, Shi Feng disappeared from his position and appeared by the rock giant.

-407

-480

Two monstrous strikes immediately disintegrated the rock giant.

System: Level 5 Rock Giant killed. Level difference of 1. EXP obtained increased by 100%. Obtained 30 EXP.

{+100% EXP Bonus!} (AN: System bonus here!)

To Shi Feng, this wasn't such a notable exp gain. But to Blackie, who was still Level 0, it was outstanding. Shi Feng found 1 [Bronze Ore] and 1 [Hard Stone] by the remains of the rock giant. What was great for Shi Feng was the rate at which he received Proficiency Points. Since he accepted the Parameter Change of permanent 200% Proficiency Bonus Chance, he would always receive at least 2 Points for the respective skill. In this case, he received 5 points for Chop and 2 points for Ethereal Cross Strike.

"Brother Feng, what kind of damage is that?!" Blackie was about to collapse on the spot. He couldn't believe it. He said he would trust Shi Feng wholeheartedly, but this shook him to the core. Could a player actually do this kind of damage this early in the game?.

"Uh, let's just say my stats aren't as normal as a player of the same level. It has to do with how I got the teleportation skill. Anyway, let's continue on; we have a boss to kill, and a ċhėst to open" Shi Feng said nothing more and waved off Blackie's near descent into madness. Afterward, Shi Feng and Blackie started making their way to the boss, while effortlessly dealing with all the rock giants who stood in their way. About 30 Rock-Giants later, Shi Feng was about 1500 EXP away from Level 5. He had also obtained 23 [Hard Stones] and 21 [Bronze Ore]. Along the way, he had found 2 Hundred Souls Flowers. Unfortunately, no equipment dropped but Shi Feng was not worried. As for Blackie, he had reached Level 1, approaching Level 2, he equipped the Sinister Apostle staff. Now, Blackie could have an easier time dealing damage.

After a few minutes, they arrived upon Shrews' Cave. Suddenly, Shi Feng had an idea to help Blackie increase his Skill Proficiency. "Hey Blackie, get ready to start bombarding the Boss with Dark Arrow. Since it has a low cooldown, you'll be able to raise proficiency quite a bit." suggested Shi Feng.

"But how will we do that?. Do you have a way to contain the Boss?" Blackie was wondering what Shi Feng was up to. Shi Feng didn't respond but just smiled lightly. Next, they went into the cave and saw the silver-colored rock giant sleeping.

[Shrews] (Special Elite)

Level 6

HP 900

Before Shi Feng attacked, he focused his sword intent on Shrews. It's HP instantly dropped to 765. Shrews immediately noticed the suppression and woke up, intending to slaughter whoever woke him up. When he saw the two people facing him, he started raging and charged at them, but before he got to them, the Fear Effect from Sword Intent took effect. That resulted in Shrews stopping dead in his tracks, looking mortified.

Shi Feng wasted no time and disappeared from his spot. With one swift slash, he sliced off both of Shrews' legs, and reappeared next to Blackie.

-294

With that, Shrews could no longer move. Blackie, on the side, was grinning and started casting Dark Arrow; further boosting his Skill Proficiency. After 20 minutes, the boss collapsed and 2 items popped out of it: a shield and a skill book. Shi Feng picked up both items, learned the skill [Parry], and refined the shield without a second thought.

[Sentinel Armament](Mysterious-Iron Rank)

Equipment Requirement: Strength 14

Equipment Level: 0-6

Defense +30

Defense Rate +37%

Strength +5, Endurance +7

HP +100

Satisfied with his gains, Shi Feng and Blackie started climbing. But after 5 minutes of climbing, they noticed a few blurry shadows in the distance. Thinking they were about to get attacked by strong Assassin-like monsters, Shi Feng quickly teleported Blackie back to the Red Leaf Town. But what he saw next, surprised and irked him at the same time.

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.

"Of course, the ȧssassins lied; not that I mind.." Shi Feng mumbled with anticipation.