Chương 29: Anonymous Message

Gold equipment added four attributes and came with a skill effect -- the improvement was dramatic. 【Gilded War Boots -- Gold Grade, Equip Level: 80 STR +100 | AGI +100 | CON +100 | INT +100 | Movement Speed +10 Effect 1: 10% chance to evade enemy attacks. 】 No wonder Gold equipment was so expensive -- these bonuses were sweet. Armor added reflect damage. Gauntlets boosted crit rate. The helmet enhanced regeneration speed. With a full set of Gold gear equipped, Xiao Chen was completely transformed.

"You have obtained the Gilded Set bonus: HP +4, 000 | Defense +1, 000" 【 Xiao Chen: Lv84 (6, 000, 000 EXP) Total Attributes: 32, 236 | Attack: 42, 006 | HP: 102, 000 | Defense: 6, 725 Attack Range: 200m | Attack Speed: 3. 2 | Movement Speed: 43 Skill 1: 【Ninefold Shot】 Skill 2: 【Armor-Pierce Arrow Lv2】 (Damage +20%) Power Strike: 10% chance to deal double damage. 】 After buying his gear, he had a few thousand gold left. Xiao Chen transferred ten thousand to Su Ming to pay back that favor.

Another ten thousand went to Zhang Fan. That left him with twenty thousand gold.

"Promoting my Soul-Bound Weapon to Gold will take at least two million." Even a Lv100 player would struggle to scrape together that kind of money. A single Gold equipment piece only cost ten thousand gold. The Soul-Bound Weapon was incredibly powerful, but upgrading it was absurdly expensive. One level's cost was equivalent to two hundred pieces of Gold gear. Xiaoqiang couldn't afford Gold equipment, so Xiao Chen got him a set of Silver gear -- and that pretty much wiped out his savings. Xiaoqiang with 620, 000 HP?

Lv40-50 trash mobs couldn't even scratch him. Xiao Chen parked Xiaoqiang outside the guild territory where he could grind kills around the clock. Xiao Chen's fundamental power increase didn't come from gear, and it didn't come from Xiaoqiang's raw strength. It came from 【One in Ten Thousand】 feeding him a constant stream of attribute bonuses. Within the guild, Xiao Chen's level still ranked around two thousandth place. But when it came to actual combat power?

Xiao Chen figured he could now go toe-to-toe with a B-Rank player of the same level. Xiao Chen still wasn't joining guild dungeon runs. Same as always, he operated solo. But he'd built serious name recognition in the guild. Other members greeted him as a boss-level player now. Xiao Chen had killed so many bosses in that dungeon, every guild member had received massive attribute bonuses from it. 【Ninefold Shot】combined with his ridiculous attack speed meant his grinding efficiency was about to jump way up.

Xiao Chen had moved beyond the immediate guild territory. He was hunting Lv60-70 elite monsters and bosses. Even without the dungeon's EXP bonus, Lv60-70 elites still dropped decent loot. Very much worth killing. He cleared out all the Lv60-70 elites and bosses around the guild territory. Every so often, people would request to join his party -- not because of Xiao Chen, but because of Xiaoqiang. Freshly Awakened newbies desperate for EXP would join up and grind mobs near Xiaoqiang.

It was basically eleven tireless bodyguards power-leveling them, and the mobs they killed were Lv40-50. So many people requested to join that Xiao Chen eventually just handed party lead off to someone else. To boost efficiency, Xiao Chen had Xiaoqiang move to a Lv60 monster zone, which sped up the leveling even more. Every day, large numbers of guild members benefited. Xiao Chen didn't lose anything -- occasionally a Healer would toss Xiaoqiang a heal or a buff.

Eventually, the newbies didn't know who Xiao Chen was, but they absolutely knew Xiaoqiang. People farming gold for him daily, steadily increasing his kill count -- what could be better? 【One in Ten Thousand】announcements popped up regularly. On a good day, he earned over a hundred attribute points from it. The Undead World dungeon invasion had been a wake-up call for every Awakened on Blue Star. Holding the city didn't mean safety. One invasion could plunge all of Blue Star into catastrophe.

Fortunately, the strongest fighters had mostly survived. Every major guild was pushing to cultivate a new batch of Lv100+ powerhouses, and they were paying more attention to supporting new players. This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. With the defensive forces of major cities weakened, monster hordes were showing signs of resurgence. Xiao Chen spotted quite a few Lv70 bosses near the guild territory. That was not a good sign.

After Lv70 would come Lv80, then Lv100+ monsters. It meant Tiannan City's high-level defense network was thinner than before, with gaps opening in the line.

"Those big shots are probably busy clearing higher-tier dungeons." Tianxing Guild had beefed up its territory defenses -- more ranged players on rotating watch, several new defensive towers constructed. Over this period, guild members had been putting in serious effort. Current contribution points could only cover defense improvements, not territory upgrades. In the Undead World invasion battle, Tianxing Guild's performance had been solid. After the fight, Tianxing Guild's ranking had actually climbed three spots.

Not that there was much to celebrate. It wasn't that Tianxing had improved so much -- it was that the other guilds had lost too many people. Anyone who died fighting to protect Blue Star deserved respect. After exiting the dungeon, Chuan Mufeng had immediately headed into high-level monster zones. As a top-tier Assassin, he still managed solid daily kill counts. Every day, a few more Gold-grade pieces went into the guild warehouse.

He was probably running with other top Assassins, because Chuan Mufeng's level was climbing fast too.

"The top one hundred guild members by monthly contribution can claim rewards." This used to have nothing to do with Xiao Chen. But this month, he'd killed so many high-level bosses that his contribution ranked ninth. Chen Zhan sent Xiao Chen a message: "You can pick one item from the warehouse, Gold gear included." Xiao Chen was already rocking a full Gold set, so gear didn't interest him anymore.

"Boss, convert it to gold for me!"

"Don't tell me you already have Gold-grade equipment?"

"Boss, I ended up with 120k gold at the end, remember? Having Gold gear is totally normal." Nothing to hide -- he'd earned that equipment himself.

"Alright, I'll convert it at maximum value. Plus you've been carrying a lot of newbies, which counts as extra contribution. I'll give you twenty thousand gold."

"Fair and reasonable!" Show potential, and the guild would nurture you. Xiao Chen was finally experiencing this firsthand.

"Xiao Chen, the guild now has a fixed Tier-9 dungeon team. You can join anytime if you want."

"Boss, I'm not in a rush. I've already got my gear."

"Sure, you've got equipment, but there are still plenty of places to spend money. Gold gear can be enhanced, and that costs more than the gear itself. Special universal skill books can run millions per tome. If you want to boost your survivability, you'll need to buy a few eventually, right?" Xiao Chen knew there were endless things to spend on. But Chen Zhan's suggestions could wait. Right now, the priority was getting his Soul-Bound Weapon promoted -- he needed to save up two million gold first.

"So I'm planning to farm Lv70 elites and bosses solo. Taking all the drops myself means higher profits than dungeon runs, and way better efficiency."

"If you can solo Lv70 bosses, I won't stop you." With his foundation established, Xiao Chen wasn't keen on partying up anymore. Dungeon runs were too slow -- a Tier-9 dungeon could only be cleared once or twice a day. Xiao Chen wanted to fight. He wanted to grind kills nonstop. Lv50-60 bosses were solid targets. Lv70 bosses were mandatory. And in between, he could farm Lv80 trash mobs for slow but steady EXP.

"Buy some attack-boosting limited-time potions, and I might even be able to try Lv80 elites." Xiao Chen's daily loot output was still substantial -- mostly Silver gear, with the occasional Bronze piece. Averaged out, he was making two to three thousand gold per day. A year's grind would get him close to a million gold. That was his fastest money-making method. Promoting his Soul-Bound Weapon would take a hard two years of work.

Monster grinding had become part of his lifestyle, and honestly, Xiao Chen hoped it could stay this way. Day after day of triggering 【One in Ten Thousand】, the rewards piled up to more than he'd get from leveling multiple times over. Six months later, Xiao Chen hit Lv85. The pace was on the slower side, but acceptable. Half a year of grinding had pushed his total attributes up by another ten to twenty thousand. And his gold stash was approaching six hundred thousand.

"Days of grinding pass pretty quickly."

"Another year and a half to promote my weapon to Gold, then I'll go all-in on leveling." By then, his combat power would probably be comparable to an A-Rank Archer.

"I should be able to try Lv80 elites soon!" Xiao Chen woke up fired up as always. That was when he received a message from a stranger -- anonymous:"Xiao Chen. You're the one who killed Li Fei?" Over half a year had passed. Xiao Chen had almost forgotten that name entirely. The sudden message still put him on alert. Someone hiding their identity while messaging him? Not exactly a good person.

"Relax. I'm not here to avenge him."

"Listen carefully to what I'm about to tell you." Xiao Chen wasn't particularly nervous. At his current strength, he wasn't exactly afraid of someone coming after him. Even against an Assassin, he wasn't the glass cannon he used to be.

"First, let me tell you a secret. If you kill ten Awakened, you'll unlock a hidden achievement." Honestly, that kind of achievement probably did exist. But Xiao Chen wouldn't kill other Awakened just for some reward. He didn't care about those achievements anymore anyway. Killing monsters triggered 【One in Ten Thousand】 for better rewards, and his conscience stayed clean.

"Once you activate that achievement, every Awakened becomes your prey. Each one you kill gives you drops -- equipment, gold, even attributes." The first time he read that message, Xiao Chen was genuinely shocked. But the more he thought about it, the more sense it made. For the sake of unity among all Awakened, this information was deliberately suppressed. So that was why some people killed other Awakened -- there were actual benefits, and apparently significant ones. Xiao Chen finally understood.

"Li Fei was one of mine. Since you killed him, you'll take his place. I give you ten days. Use whatever methods you want -- kill ten guild members."

"If you dare defy me, I'll come for your life on the eleventh day." The guy was clearly trying to recruit Xiao Chen into his fold. If he killed guild members, there'd be no going back -- and his name would end up on the bounty board. If someone provoked Xiao Chen first, he wouldn't hesitate to retaliate. But actively targeting guild members to rob them? That wasn't something he could do.

"Killing monsters pays way better than killing people." Xiao Chen didn't take the threat seriously at all. If the guy was actually that powerful, he wouldn't be skulking around making anonymous threats. Still, Xiao Chen wasn't about to ignore this. Without a second thought, he sent messages to Chuan Mufeng, Chen Zhan, and other guild leadership:"Bosses, someone's threatening me." Please. He was one of the guild's priority cultivation targets now.

"Xiao Chen, no need to worry. Stack HP and defense."

"Those people can barely keep themselves alive right now -- they don't have time to come after you. Though it is strange. It's like you can't wipe them out no matter how many you kill, and they're getting stronger." Chen Zhan came through big-time, sending him a massive batch of Constitution-boosting items. Potion after potion Xiao Chen had never heard of. Obscure attribute items he'd never have found on his own.

"Constitution +2, 500." After consuming piles of herbs, dozens of potions, and various special items, Xiao Chen's Constitution skyrocketed. That much Constitution meant an instant +50, 000 HP and +4, 000 Defense.

"Boss, same treatment but for Strength this time."

"Don't push your luck, kid."

"I'm paying full price!" Leveling attributes one by one on his own was inefficient and he'd miss things. Getting a package deal from a big shot saved time and effort. He had money now. Spending some was fine. After blowing nearly a hundred thousand gold, Xiao Chen's Strength increased by over two thousand. 【Xiao Chen -- Total Attributes: 34, 536 | Attack: 42, 006 | HP: 142, 000 | Defense: 9, 725】 Attributes like these, with an HP pool like that, gave Xiao Chen a deep sense of security.

During the last dungeon crisis, the Planar Vault had assigned him a potion that doubled his attack power for a day. That effect had been absolutely absurd. Xiao Chen had never considered buying potions before -- they were temporary effects, so he'd always tried to save where he could. Now that he had a foundation, he was willing to invest a bit more. Epic-grade potions were way out of his budget, but Bronze-grade ones? Those he could consider.