Rogue Clan, those bloody idiots!
Zhang Yang could not help but curse. This was not some PvE fight, it was obviously two NPCs fighting against each other.
“Young warrior, please help me!” The elf girl Calina cried for help when she had noticed Zhang Yang’s presence.
“Thou shan't believe this devil, mortal!” Firebender Barr commanded with a low voice. “Leave! I command thee!”
Zhang Yang unsheathed his Beginner Sword and used <Charge> towards his target – Firebender Barr!
The reason was as plain as daylight: Calina’s name was green, belonging to the ‘Friendly’ category that could not be attacked. On the other hand, Firebender Barr had a red name, a confirmed monster! There were no choices in this matter!
Stunned!
After stunning Barr, Zhang Yang swung his sword and began a series of attack against it.
Firebender Barr recovered from the stun and furiously roared, “Foolish mortal! Thou shall pay for thy actions!” Barr made a fierce turn and gave up his attack on Calina, instead starting his attack on Zhang Yang.
He must have triggered a quest in the game’s storyline. Otherwise Barr would not have simply changed his course from Calina who had dealt more damage, to him who had only just begun attacking . This obviously did not match the aggro value!
Zhang Yang knew it was the system’s settings that had allowed only attacks towards Barr and so, there was no other way around!
While evading and counterattacking, he thought to himself, “Calina, this name seems very familiar. Where have I heard of it?”
This elf NPC must have a back story. It is impossible for an average Level 10 NPC to possess 2,000 HP and manage to deal almost 3,000 damage against a boss while only losing less than 1,500 HP herself. Her attacks must have been stronger than the boss!
Even as Zhang Yang pondered, his actions showed no signs of slowing down as he continued to deal damage to Firebender Barr.
“Mortal! That’s enough! Stand down now and I shall forgive thy insolence!”
Combined attacks from Zhang Yang and Calina had managed to bring down Barr’s HP to a mere 10%.
“There is no other way, the plot requires your death and there’s nothing I can do about it!” Zhang Yang murmured as he continued dishing out attacks.
“Damn you, mortal! Curse you! You’ve released a demon. The blood of the innocent will be in your hands!” Barr cried as it turned into a lump of ash amidst the white light. Yet, its voice echoed in the air, “Calina, the God of the Fire shall incinerate your soul!”
“Hahaha!” Calina let out a pleased and relieved laughter, “It’s been 3,000 years! 3,000 years! I, Calina, am finally free from this damned seal!”
Clumps of black fog emerged from all corners as Calina absorbed them into her body. The once delicate face of a young girl morphed into a ferocious one filled with evil aura.
“Pa! Pa! Pa! Pa!”
The sound of snapping chains rang around him, yet Zhang Yang did not see anything but the slowly widening grin on Calina’s face. Her eyes that had radiated with white rays gradually darkened and sank into an abyss.
“Hong!”
With a loud and devastating explosion, the entire sacrificial altar came crashing down. As the dust settled, Calina emerged completely different. A pair of black, bat-like wings stemmed from her back. Each wing had the length of 5 men, flapping to allow her to glide freely in the air!
“Si!”
The white sorcerer’s robe that she had been wearing began to tear itself apart, replacing itself with a half-cupped chest plate, exposing most of her breasts. Her lower half was an unbelievably short metallic skirt. Hanging on her back was a Dragon’s Bone Longbow taller than her!
The bright and lively elf girl had morphed into a devilish and sexy fallen angel in an instant!
These game designers… such fetish!
Witnessing Calina’s current appearance, Zhang Yang remembered a name. He then checked the name above her head and noticed that it had changed as well.
[Demon Lord, Calina the Fallen Wind Ranger] (God Class Boss)
Level: ???
HP: ???
A God Class Boss! The highest-ranked monster in the game!
It was her!
The background setting of ‘God’s Miracle’ was the invasion of demons and spectres with each race uniting to protect their homeland! The highest-ranked demons were the Demon Lords. There was a total of 9 generals and Calina was ranked 7th on the list!
According to the official introduction page, Calina was originally an elf hero, bearing the name ‘Wind Ranger’. In one of her battles, she was betrayed by an allied force and became filled with wrath, the Wind Ranger was lured into the dark force by the Demon King, thus falling from grace and turning into a Demon Lord.
After she had turned into a Demon Lord, she had went up against her previous brethren and war comrades, killing them mercilessly. She was eventually sealed away by the God of Fire.
Zhang Yang could only laugh. Amidst his bemusement, he had actually released a God Class Boss! This damned game company, they actually placed such a powerful boss in the Beginner Village! Were they not scared that this would escalate into a bloody mess?
With the ability of a God Class Boss, if it had unleashed just one special skill, the entire Beginner Village could have been completely annihilated!
“Puny mortal, you’ve helped me escape. Should I just kill you to thank you?” Calina flapped her wings, gliding in the air as she looked at Zhang Yang like she was looking at an ant.
“Or perhaps I should just let you suffer in regret and misery your whole life, that may be a better reward! Farewell, mortal! Enjoy your last moments in life for I, Calina, shall completely destroy this world!” Calina seemed to be thinking about something as she flapped her wings promptly and flew high into the sky, disappearing in an instant.
Hu, for the sake of the storyline, he had actually spent half a day and ended up empty-handed. Zhang Yang let out a sigh of disappointment.
“Ah, you imbecile! What have you done?!” a small, red-bearded dwarf who had sprung up out of nowhere grabbed Zhang Yang by his collar and bellowed, spraying his spittle everywhere.
[Traveler Aran Pillar] (Normal)
Level: 1
HP: 100
Green name NPC, a Friendly!
Although Zhang Yang would very much like to have this NPC slashed, it could only remain as a passing thought. He pushed the dwarf aside and did not utter a single word. This was obviously part of the plot progression but he had no interest in arguing with a system-controlled NPC.
Aran furiously pushed Zhang Yang aside and said, “Human! Absolute imbecile of a human! Did you know that you have just released a demon? One that could have brought extermination to the whole world at that!”
“She was already sealed, how did she manage to escape?”
“Ignorant mortal! Calina, she was once an elf hero, a Wind Ranger! Her bow and arrows could shoot down the stars in the night sky! An existence that rivaled God! Even the God of Fire could not kill her and could only seal her up! But her power proved to be stronger. Even with her physical body sealed, she had managed to manifest herself into an indestructible spiritual form to engage in a never-ending battle against the Fire Elementals who guarded the seal, attempting to destroy the seal to gain her freedom!” Aran sighed.
As expected from a God Class Boss, a mere thought would have already had such prowess!
“You, human! You have to fix this!” said the dwarf. “You must make haste to White Jade Castle and report this matter to Grand Magus Anthony Faylon to allow them to prepare for the impending disaster!”
“Ding! Aran Pillar has a quest for you: Disastrous News. Will you accept it? This is a Main Story Quest. Complete the quest to receive a handsome reward!”
Main Story Quest!
In comparison to a Hidden Quest, triggering a Main Story Quest was much easier. However, it was exactly because the trigger was easier that the completion difficulty was extremely high! Initially, you may be required to just run around a little and kill a few monsters but the last step or even last few steps would always require you to fight a super boss. It would be a near impossible task even with tens of thousands of players engaged!
Zhang Yang was psyched. Even though he had managed to accidentally trigger a few Hidden Quests in his previous life but because he had joined the game a little too late, he had naturally never encountered a single Main Story Quest! Yet this main quest right now, if he was eventually required to overthrow Calina, he would have to find tens of thousands players above Level 200 to join him, otherwise it would just be sending them straight to their deaths!
To achieve Level 200… it would take at least 5 years! Zhang Yang had only managed to get to Level 179 after grinding for 3 years in his previous character!
“Accept!” Zhang Yang accepted the quest. Since he did not know how long he would take before arriving at the last plot step, he might as well take it easy.
After announcing the quest, Aran promptly left the place. Zhang Yang wondered how a Level 1 NPC could roam around the field filled with Level 10 monsters so freely. Zhang Yang continued on and grinded. After half an hour, he bathed in a golden light and reached Level 9. Checking the time, he noticed that it was already past 9 PM. Zhang Yang gave it some thought and decided to reach Level 10 before disconnecting to rest.
The altar did not respawn after it was destroyed. Instead, many Fire Elementals had appeared. Main Story Quests were exclusively singular, and so, the situation where he had helped Calina escape her seal would not reoccur to other players.
Zhang Yang spent another 4 hours grinding and had finally achieved Level 10. Then, he opened his inventory and changed into the 3 Black-Steel equipment that had long sat there unused. His HP and Weapon Attack increased by a certain degree.
[Player: Zhan Yu]
Level: 10
HP: 350
Defense: 16
Strength: 60
Melee Damage: 76 – 84
Attack Interval: 2 seconds
For a tank, this amount of HP was under expectations but his Weapon Attack was absolutely wonderful, capable of generating massive aggro!
He then invested his SP gained from achieving Level 10 into the skill <Block> and the skill’s cooldown time had reduced to 8 seconds.
Zhang Yang went to the Beginner Village’s teleportation portal and was beamed to White Jade Castle as a white light. He then disconnected.
Taking off the gaming helmet, Zhang Yang made himself some supper and took a bath after finishing his meal. He then went to bed and fell into a deep sleep.
The next morning, Zhang Yang woke up at around 6 AM and worked out for an hour. He took a shower and went outside to grab some youtiao1 from a local breakfast stall. He got back home and ate it with milk.
After his breakfast, Zhang Yang was preparing to enter the game when he heard his phone ring.
“Hello–”
“Little Yang! You’re indeed amazing!” Zhang Yang could only get a hello out before his words were drowned by the caller. “I followed your instructions and picked the Hunter class! First, I killed the wolves, collected 10 pelts and later moved to the catacombs to kill some monsters. Once I reached Level 5, I handed over the coats. Haha. I burnt the midnight oil and got to Level 10!”
“Who are you?”
“Damn, you can’t even recognize your fatty bro’s voice?” Han Guang scolded jokingly. “I even took the Hunter’s Hidden Job Quest but I can’t even complete ‘Extremely Difficult’ and ‘Hard’, so I only took the ‘Average’ difficulty level and got an ‘Average’ score, obtaining a Skill Book called <Precise Shot>. Haha, this skill is totally off the charts! Still, some guy had actually gotten a ‘Perfect’ score! I felt so jealous after seeing the server announcement! I really don’t know how he did it!”
Zhang Yang smiled a little as he listened to Han Guang’s excited tone, “Alright, you should have reached the Capital by now right? Let us both go and raid a dungeon later!”
“Ugh. I’ve been playing the whole night. I can’t take it anymore, I’m going to sleep for a few hours! Little Yang, I’ll join you later in the afternoon. Wait for me! Ah right, my IGN is called ‘Slim and Handsome’, don’t forget to add me into your Friend List.”
Han Guang hung up before Zhang Yang could even reply.
“Slim and Handsome?” Zhang Yang recalled Han Guang’s size that could compare to that of two average men standing side-by-side and felt a shiver run down his spine.
Translator Notes
1 youtiao is a traditional Chinese deep-fried breadstick that is made entirely of dough. This dough, which is usually in the shape of a pair of long sticks, is deep-fried. It is quite fun and also a norm to tear the pair of sticks apart before eating each of them individually or sharing the other half with the people eating together. Youtiao is also often eaten with congee, while some prefer dipping them in soymilk or black coffee. A Google-ed description of youtiao would be the Chinese cruller, Chinese oil stick or Chinese doughnut. Another popular name for youtiao would be the Cantonese version, yauzhaguai, which could also be directly translated into oil-fried-devil. Here is a reference link for those interested: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Youtiao.
Before he had disconnected yesterday, Zhang Yang’s rank among China region’s players might not have been first but he had definitely been in the top 10! After one night though, mad level grinders had taken advantage of the fact that there were less players in the middle of the night and grinded up their levels.
Zhang Yang left the teleportation portal and reached the home of warriors. Along his way, he had spotted more than tens of Level 10 players.
Upon entering the Capital, a new feature was added to the game interface: Ranking.
There were a lot of rankings such as Player Level Ranking, Hall of Fame Ranking, First Hardcore Mode Dungeon Raid Ranking, Fastest Hardcore Mode Dungeon Raid Level Clearance Ranking and so on.
The rankings were based on regions.
‘God’s Miracle’ had divided its global players into 8 regions: China, Japan & South Korea, India, Europe, Africa, South America, North America, and Australia region. The Australian server had included a few other Asian countries such as Indonesia, Singapore and so on.
Each region had one server and each server had only one ranking. The servers of these 8 regions shared data so cross-regional wars could be implemented, resulting in an integrated gaming environment.
Currently, most of the rankings were empty. The rankings that had grabbed more attention would be the Player Level Ranking and Hall of Fame Ranking.
[Hall of Fame Ranking] (China Region)
1. Player (Name Hidden) was the first to kill a Level 15 Black-Steel Boss, the Black Panther King, in the field (Continent Calendar 9287, August 23rd).
2. Player (Name Hidden) was the first to complete the Hidden Quest with a ‘Perfect’ score (Continent Calendar 9287, August 23rd).
Zhang Yang then swiped out the Player Level Ranking and checked the current levels of the expert grinders.
[Player Level Ranking] (China Region)
1. Powerful Priest, Troll, Cryomancer, Level 11
2. Humble Gentleman, Human, Cryomancer, Level 11
3. Hunt the World, Troll, Sniper, Level 11
4. Slender Waist, Elf, Pyromancer, Level 10
5. Overlord Orders Chicken, Orc, Berserker, Level 10
6. Floating Fireball, Human, Pyromancer, Level 10
7. Frost Night, Elf, Assassin, Level 10
8. Sky Shaman, Dwarf, Guardian, Level 10
9. Don’t Hit My Face, Dwarf, Defender, Level 10
10. King of Assassin, Orc, Bandit, Level 10
As expected of Spellcasters, the master grinders in traditional games. There were already 4 of them among the top 10 Player Level Ranking! Of course, professions picked in the early stages of the game did not matter as much. The key to leveling fast was the duration spent online or having a strong support at your back. For example, a guild could have all its members deal damage to a monster until its last drop of HP then reserving the last hit for its designated player!
According to the settings of ‘God’s Miracle’, player under non-party mode who made the last hit on the monster would gain 50% EXP. Therefore, if the guild had been willing to sacrifice the interest of a portion of its players, it could easily boost the level of one or more players. Rich players could also hire others to push their levels faster.
If a guild could cultivate a high-level player who could enter the rankings, it would be advantageous to the guild’s image, achieving effective advertisement.
Zhang Yang sighed, his level was a little behind! However, it was not compulsory for him to be the top 1 in Player Level Ranking, as long as he had remained in the list. What was more important to him was the progress of the Fastest Hardcore Mode Dungeon Raid Level Clearance Ranking!
To assess the strength of a guild in ‘God’s Miracle’, the most important standard was the guild’s speed in hardcore dungeon raids. After all, there were only a few bosses in the field, and their respawning period took several days up to a whole month! The competition was fierce since there were limited bosses but numerous players. The equipment loot would never have been sufficient to go around!
A dungeon would be different. As long as players were capable, they had equal chances to defeat bosses and acquire better equipment! The chances of obtaining stronger equipment would drastically increase if a player had joined a speedy dungeon raiding guild. To most players, their decision on which guild to join would have been obvious.
Zhang Yang’s plans were: first, to use his familiarity of the game’s future trend to hoard materials and sell them to earn a fortune! Second, to strive to be the first to clear most of the hardcore mode dungeon raids, boosting his reputation to form a super guild. Third, to look for outstanding teammates and establish his own team to dominate the S-Class League, achieving his previous life’s goal!
Currently though, he did not possess much capital and thus was unable to hoard much materials to profiteer of market monopolization. That was why he had now set his eyes on dungeon clearing, the Hardcore Mode of Bangar Crypt.
Bangar Crypt was the game’s first dungeon with a Level 10 – 15 range recommendation, allowing a maximum of 10 players. All dungeons in ‘God’s Miracle’ had consisted of 3 modes: Normal, Difficult and Hardcore.
Normal Mode was fairly simple. A little grinding in the raid would have cleared the level. Obviously, the drops would be of average quality, a grade lower than those in Difficult Mode. However, it would allow common players to enjoy the excitement of fighting the boss, making it the main choice of casual players.
Difficult Mode lived up to its name of being very difficult. Even for teams in which players were already familiar with one another and had great teamwork, they would still have a hard time grinding before they were able to clear the dungeon! Going into Difficult Mode with temporarily formed party could very well equate to seeking your own death.
Hardcore Mode was even more vicious, where a minor mistake could lead the whole team to an instant death. However, the rewards were equally great. Dropped equipment were of the highest grade, Hidden Bosses that could only be found in this mode, too, had chances of dropping various Profession Recipes.
These 3 modes were not connected, that would mean that there was no need to clear Normal Mode or Difficult Mode before accessing Hardcore Mode. As long as the pre-requisite quest for the dungeon raid was completed, players could freely choose between the dungeon’s modes.
The first party to clear the Hardcore Mode Dungeon Raid would enter the First Hardcore Mode Dungeon Raid Ranking and have the news announced to the world through the server. It would have been a glorious feat. Regardless of it being an individual player or an entire guild, this announcement would still be a great declaration of valor and fame.
Fastest Hardcore Mode Dungeon Raid Ranking would then be unlocked. Record breaking players would be listed in the ranking and the server would issue a global announcement as well. There was a rule in Speed Raiding Ranking though, that if the level of any particular player in the clearing team had exceeded the dungeon level’s upper limit, the result would not be taken into account. Otherwise, it would have been meaningless to have several Level 100 players breaking the record of a Level 10 dungeon.
First Clear and Fastest Hardcore Mode Dungeon Raid would have been the core competition for all guilds in the future, bearing utmost importance!
Zhang Yang had his eyes set on the Hidden Boss of the Hardcore Mode Bangar Crypt – Momoermo. There was a chance for this boss to drop the Metal Caster’s Shield Recipe. The shield would be of Green-Copper rarity, the best-one-to-date for both Guardians and Defenders before Level 20!
He wanted to earn his first pot of gold using this recipe to accumulate even more wealth. He could then snowball his wealth into greater proportions!
Zhang Yang found a female NPC with the name tag, ‘Ani, Warrior Instructor’ at the warrior settlement. Blonde hair, blue eyes, large breasts and voluptuous hips. She was wearing a sparkling gold armor designed so sexily that it had only barely covered her chest and buttocks, revealing her alluring snow white skin.
Although all of them knew well enough that this character was an NPC, many male players had still stared lustfully at her, drooling.
Zhang Yang, too, felt that it was much more pleasing to the eye looking at this pretty lady in front of him as compared to the sharp-tongued, middle-aged Farion. He started a conversation with the NPC and learned the Level 10 Guardian skills <Shield Oath> and <Provoke>.
[Shield Oath (Passive)]: Increases Defense by using a Shield, reducing all damage by 20%. 1 Rage increase each second while in combat. All aggro points generated by your attacks increase by 20%. Requirement: Shield.
[Provoke]: Provokes a target and forces it to attack you, lasts for 2 seconds. Cooldown time: 10 seconds.
Recalling the main quest in his quest log, Zhang Yang decided to first complete the quest and see what would follow. Zhang Yang asked an NPC guard about the whereabouts of Grand Magus Anthony Faylon and went to the Magician Tower in the center of the capital.
“Warrior, you do not belong here!” 2 NPCs with sorcerer’s robes had blocked Zhang Yang’s way.
Zhang Yang said, “I have an important message for Master Anthony Faylon!”
“Is that so?” the 2 NPCs hesitated before one of them said, “Alright, Master Faylon is at the top of the Magician Tower!”
He guessed that these 2 NPCs would not have let him pass if he did not have the main quest in his quest log. Zhang Yang thought about it while he entered the Magician Tower. He went along the staircase and soon reached the top of the tower – the ninth floor.
An old man with chest-length beard was deeply engrossed in looking at a crystal ball, his back hunched and faced Zhang Yang. Speaking before Zhang Yang could even open his mouth, “Young man, I have already known the purpose of your visit!”
[The Grand Magus Anthony Faylon] (God Class Boss)
Level: ???
Hp: ???
In ‘God’s Miracle’, every capital was safeguarded by a God Class Boss. This white bearded old man would be the strongest person in White Jade Castle. In his previous life, Zhang Yang had witnessed how the old man had unleashed a formidable skill during the Demon Siege War and wiped out millions of demons, a scene that was both terrifying and impressive!
Unfortunately, this powerful grand magus would be assassinated by a demon’s assassin as part of the storyline. As he was a God Class Boss, he would never respawn after his death.
“Master Faylon, what should we do now?” Zhang Yang simply replied to keep the plot going in order to unlock the follow-up quest.
“Aih—” Faylon sighed and turned around. His face filled with despair and sympathy. “Calina was once a great hero, but… she was betrayed by the people she had sworn to protect with her life. Her soul had been suffering from the torment of betrayal, I can feel it!”
He paused before saying, “Perhaps, there is still some hope to free her soul!”
Zhang Yang’s eyes lit up. As long as he was not required to kill the God Class Boss Calina, the main quest should be much easier to complete!
“Young man, I need you to collect 3 items! After you’ve collected them, I shall be able to create a relic capable of purifying the dark force casted by the Demon King and revive Calina’s soul!” Faylon spoke in a deep voice, “This mission is very difficult. Are you willing to take on this responsibility?”
Did he even have an option? Zhang Yang nodded his head and replied immediately, “Yes master, I am willing!”
“Ding! You have accepted the quest: The Crafting Materials of a Relic! This is a Main Story Quest. Complete the quest to receive a luxurious reward!”
[The Crafting Materials of a Relic] (Difficulty: S)
Quest Description: Faylon needs you to collect 3 materials to create a powerful relic in order to purify the dark force affecting Calina! These 3 materials are the Heart of the Black Dragon, the Horn of the Mythical Unicorn, and the Book of the Damned from the spectre race.
Progress: Collect the Heart of the Black Dragon 0/1, the Horn of the Mythical Unicorn 0/1, and the Book of the Damned 0/1.
Shit, I might as well fight Calina directly! Zhang Yang cursed when he saw the materials he was required to collect.
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