Frost Mound was as cold and gloomy as ever. There were bronze pillars carved with images of demons, and at the tips of the bronze pillars were bloody skulls. There were humans, orcs, and shadowfiends. Shadowfiends were a race that was naturally seductive. This race was made up of females, which was why all the shadowfiends in the game were female players.
I entered Frost Mound with my sword and went to Sentinel Leader Fark. After we talked, the burly skeletal warrior raised his arm and cackled. "Little skeleton, your growth has impressed me. It looks like you are already very strong. Alright, I will give you a very difficult mission next!"
I nodded slightly. "Come!"
Fark said, "An Undead Lord has come to Frost Mound Graveyard these past few days. He used to be a human noble knight, and now he has invaded our territory. Little skeleton, I hope you can kill him. Of course, that Undead Lord is very strong. Our camp's strongest undead swordsman, Suren, will accompany you. Go, you must first collect 40 Thorn Skeleton Fingers and give them to Suren. Only then will he help you kill Undead Lord, Cyan Rain!"
Ding ~!
System Notice: You have accepted the quest [Undead Lord?
Cyan Rain]!
[Quest Details: Head into the depths of Frost Mound Graveyard and kill 200 Thorn Skeletons. Collect 40 Thorn Skeleton Fingers and hand them to Undead Swordsman Suren. He will then accompany you to kill the powerful Undead Lord.
Cyan Rain, after you complete the quest, you will receive a very generous reward!
… …
I was very excited. Heh, an E Rank quest. This was a very high rank quest, and it was very likely to be the highest rank quest that had appeared at this stage of the game. It looked like I was going to be rich.
I entered Frost Mound Camp and traded a few potions with the NPC. Then, I repaired my equipment and got ready. Once I was ready, I set off!
I walked along the forest path and saw Gui Guzi killing mobs in the distance. His killing efficiency was very high, and he used his spear to fight the mobs head-on. He killed a skeleton in two or three hits, and then started using some kind of skill to search for more experience.
I didn't disturb him and continued to walk deeper into the graveyard. After walking for around ten minutes, the ground in front of me turned darker and smelled rancid. The graveyard finally appeared.
Ghostly figures flickered in the forest. I swept my gaze across it. It was a skeleton soldier that I had never seen before. Its bones had already mutated, and sharp barbs appeared on its bones. The barbs glowed with a green light, sending chills down my spine. What was so special about a Level 21 skeleton?
Not thinking too much, let's go!
I charged forward with my Forest Green Blade in hand. I swung my sword and hit the Bramble Skeleton's shoulder with a heavy Slayer Slash. Crack! The blade sank into the Bramble Skeleton's body.
“170！”
My attack power was as sharp as ever, shaving off a large chunk of the monster's HP in an instant. However, I also felt pain all over my body. I had actually lost 8 HP!
"Di!"
Combat Log: Your skill "Slayer Slash" has caused 170 damage to the Thorny Skeleton Soldier. Its "Thorny Bones" has caused "Reflect". You have received 8 damage!
…
F * ck!
It's Reflect?
The good news was that it only reflected 5% of the damage, which was still bearable. If it was a bit higher, around 20%, then I could just log off and go to bed. Everyone else was reading normally.
The Forest Green Blade's attack power was obviously not as high as the monsters' levels. It took me almost half a minute to kill a Level 21 Thorn Skeleton. This kind of leveling efficiency was a bit low for me.
However, Level 21 monsters gave a lot of experience. A single Thorn Skeleton caused my experience bar to rise by a visible amount. At this rate, I should be able to reach Level 20 by the end of this quest, one step away from Level 30!
After killing three Thorn Skeletons in a row, the first Thorn Skeleton Finger finally dropped. It was actually just a bone, a quest item.
I wandered through the forest, looking for lone skeletons. These monsters had high attack power, and even with my 37 Defense, it was still difficult to tank them. Usually, I had to drink a health potion to kill three skeletons. This kind of consumption rate was frightening. Thankfully, I had enough silver, and the Thorn Skeletons' drop rate was pretty good!
"Pa da!"
A skeleton died a heroic death, and a magic stone dropped. My eyes immediately widened — it was a Big Magic Stone!
That's right, it was a Big Magic Stone. I hadn't expected a high-level, common monster to drop a Big Magic Stone. The Big Magic Stone I obtained before was sold for a whopping 15 silver. That Big Magic Stone was 77, and this one was 51. Based on the ratio, I should be able to sell it for at least 10 silver. I'm rich, haha!
I put the Big Magic Stone into my bag and continued killing. About ten minutes later, my luck exploded, and another 67 Big Magic Stone dropped. This one was even more valuable!
After that, no more Big Magic Stones dropped for the next two hours. I did manage to get 4 Small Magic Stones, but Small Magic Stones weren't that valuable. Of course, I kept them all. No matter how small a mosquito's leg was, it was still meat. Money was tight at the early stages of the game, and the game didn't have a real-life currency exchange function. If I wanted silver, I could only do it offline. Everyone was a complete noob right now, so how many people had nearly a gold in their pockets like me?
It was already late at night. I continued killing mobs while scrolling through the rankings. Floating Ice City was one of the nine tier 2 cities of the China server, and it was home to the gaming elites of the Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shanghai regions. If I wanted a foothold in Floating Ice City in the future, I had to learn more about the famous people on the Heavenly Ranking.
Whoosh!
I flipped the page and a row of IDs entered my eyes. They were the top ten of Floating Ice City — 1. Wind Fantasy LV 25 Class: Light Wanderer 2. Dominating Mage God LV 23 Class: Mage 3. Dominating Knight God LV 23 Class: Magic Knight 4. Dominating Archer God LV 23 Class: Archer 5. Dominating Warrior God LV 23 Class: Warrior 6. Hot Sun LV 22 Class: Warrior 7. Gui Guzi LV 22 Class: Undead Knight 8. Roaming Dragon LV 21 Class: Magic Knight 9. Clear Perfume LV 21 Class: Archer 10. Yun Tianhe LV 21 Class: Mage...
I was dumbfounded. There was a turbulent undercurrent in Floating Ice City!
Four of the top ten were Hegemons. What was the background of this family?
It looked like this Hegemon Clan had the momentum to unify Floating Ice City...
Of course, the true experts didn't show themselves.
Gui Guzi was a leveling maniac. His sleep time was reduced to three hours a day and he was full of energy. He was still on the Heavenly Ranking despite being killed by me multiple times. He deserved the title of leveling maniac.
As for the person who caught my attention the most, it had to be Wind Fantasy. This person wasn't an ordinary wanderer, but a light wanderer. Moreover, his level was very high. He was definitely a peak expert. It was revealed on the official forums that Wind Fantasy's level was the highest in Floating Ice City. Among the nine tier 2 cities in the China server, he could be ranked in the top three!
This person was worth paying attention to. It was very likely that he would become the biggest obstacle to Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls dominating Floating Ice City!
On the Heavenly Ranking, there were four elders of Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls. Xu Yang, who was ranked first in Sun, Moon, and Stardust, was ranked sixth. This guy seemed to be grinding like crazy!
I didn't have a good impression of Xu Yang, Murong Mingyue and the other animals. Half a year ago, on He Yi's birthday, the three of them asked me to send her a "Happy Birthday" message. I got a "Day", but none of them sent it.
I could imagine how strange He Yi's eyes were when she looked at me the next day.
… …
This quest didn't require me to kill a lot of monsters, but the quest items were extraordinarily rare. It took me seven or eight hours to complete the quest. It was already the next morning, and I still needed three skeleton fingers to complete the quest.
I had killed almost all of the Thorn Skeletons around the graveyard. Among the pile of dried bones, a mighty Undead Lord stood at the center with its sword raised. It was none other than the Undead Lord Cyan Rain, who was required to be killed by the quest!
I didn't dare to kill it for now. My level had soared to 20, and I entered the Top 100 of Floating Ice City again. It took me half an hour to get two skeleton fingers. I only needed one more to call for reinforcements and ask my trainer, Undead Swordsman Suren, to help me kill the boss!
I looked at the time. It was 10: 30 in the morning, but I didn't feel tired at all. Let's continue!
… …
Shanghai, a bustling business district. Inside a conference room at the top of a unique high-rise office building.
About seven or eight elites sat on both sides of the room, discussing business. Sitting at the very end was a young woman wearing a coffee-colored uniform with the name "He Yi" on her badge.
“EVE？
It's your turn. What do you think? "a middle-aged man urged the beautiful woman.
However, He Yi was staring at the sky outside the window in a daze. Her beautiful eyes were filled with sadness.
"Eve, what do you think about this month's drop in sales?"
“EVE？”
… …
He Yi's long eyelashes slowly lowered under the gaze of a group of directors, and a stream of tears slid down her snow-white cheeks. Her red lips parted slightly, and she closed her eyes. Tears flowed down her cheeks as she said, "But Lu Chen … Lu Chen is …"