"I have no idea what I'm going to find inside 'Theus City.'"
Ye Kong was on full alert as he carefully made his way to the city gate.
Because even though there were good rewards to be found in an "Illusory Realm," there was also danger lurking.
The dark-colored city gates weren't shut, but stood slightly ajar. Through the gap between the gates, Ye Kong could see that the city was empty, as though the city had been abandoned long ago.
Ye Kong carefully slipped through the gates, entering Theus City, and the first thing reflected in his eyes was the desolate city streets. Though the city was much larger than Qingmu Town, it was also very desolate.
This was an isolated city.
According to the instructions in the system notification, Ye Kong would potentially have to scour the entire city to find the clues.
Faced with these circumstances, other players, or even other large guilds, might find the task difficult.
However, to Ye Kong, it wasn't much of a problem—
"Based on the trends of the 'Age of Divine Rule,' the center of human cities was always located in the southwest, offset by an angle of 25 degrees. It symbolized the 'God of the Light of Dawn - Phoebus,' and represented the first light that shone on the world.
"The first light of dawn was also a symbol of hope. Humans living in the 'Age of Divine Rule' were all strong advocates of hope, so the important clues have to be in that direction!"
Recalling the special characteristics of the "Age of Divine Rule," Ye Kong concluded: "Looks like I need to go to that area to take a look!"
Ye Kong got his bearings, then headed toward his new target. The buildings he passed on the way were all empty, and he didn't come across any signs of life. Not long after, Ye Kong arrived at the target location.
A large clock tower, which stretched up into the clouds, stood perfectly vertical in his field of vision. As Ye Kong predicted, there were unique buildings in this direction, waiting for him to explore them.
However, the entrance at the base of the tall clock tower was surrounded by a huge pack of Skeletal Soldiers.
Deceased of Theus City - Skeletal Soldier (Level 5)
Undead, HP 100/100
"Sure enough, just as I thought, this event isn't going to be easy."
Ye Kong shook his head. The Skeletal Soldiers under the tower numbered around 50, and the area within 10 yards of the clock tower was an open square without any landforms, so players had no choice but to fight the enemy head-on.
If the skeletons swarmed, Ye Kong wouldn't be able to defend himself. He was only a level four Swordsman, and still only had newbie grey equipment (without any attribute bonuses) for a weapon. No matter how good his skills were, he couldn't do anything against a pack of level five mobs.
Even the most skilled players needed the support of equipment and levels, or they wouldn't be able to draw out their full potential.
"If I'd known this was going to happen, I could have gotten myself a better weapon before attempting this story event."
Ye Kong heaved a deep sigh.
Although he had been rebirthed, he wasn't omniscient or omnipotent. He couldn't predict every scenario.
"I just have to figure out a plan."
Ye Kong scanned his surroundings and discovered that the buildings in the vicinity were closely packed together. At the same time, around the base of the clock tower in front of him, there were many small streets and avenues, which were also flanked by tightly clustered houses.
Just then, Ye Kong had an epiphany:
"I got it!"
Ye Kong first looked for an empty house. He kicked open the front door, headed straight into the living room, found the stairs and climbed up, and quickly found his way to the attic.
After looking around for a bit, Ye Kong found the entrance to the rooftop. He flipped open the ceiling hatch, then climbed up and out. With this, he was on the top-most level of the house, commonly referred to as the "roof."
All the environments were extremely realistic, and it was the same kind of house one might find in real life.
It should be noted that the world of Demon Realm was extremely similar to the real world, perhaps too similar. Thankfully, there was a system user interface. Otherwise, players might get confused, and potentially lose their ability to differentiate what was real and what was the game.
Ye Kong stood on the rooftop and looked at the scene before him. It looked so real that he couldn't help but think—
"Is the world of Demon Realm really just a 'game'?
"Ah crap, my old bad habits have returned. I'm letting my imagination run wild again..."
The very next moment, Ye Kong shook his head, and, discarding his strange ideas, kicked off the roof hard with his feet.
Bang!
Ye Kong leapt toward the roof opposite him, and landed steadily on his feet.
Snap!
Several roof tiles cracked apart, but they managed to hold Ye Kong's weight. This brought a delighted expression to his face, as he said, "As expected, the architecture in the 'Age of Divine Rule' is a marvel. Even though these tiles have obviously aged a couple of thousands of years, they can still hold up my weight."
Having said this, Ye Kong didn't waste any more time—
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Ye Kong skipped across the closely clustered rooftops and quickly jumped to one of the rooftops closest to the clock tower.
Snap!
The instant he landed on the rooftop, Ye Kong lay down flat on the roof. As he did so, on the streets below him, a Skeletal Soldier turned its head at the sound. Then, because it didn't see anything unusual, it looked away.
"Whew, now I'm just left with the final step."
Ye Kong quietly got back up and took out the Litheness spell scroll from his backpack.
The Litheness Spell was a 0th Rank Spell, so even a level zero Magician could cast it.
Although, making a Litheness spell scroll was a different matter. The Magician player would need to reach a 1st Rank standard—which was also when their character reached level 10—to learn the technique for making the scroll for the Litheness Spell (requires the Subclass - Scroll-maker).
Regular spells in Demon Realm were divided into nine ranks. The 1st Rank corresponded to a level 10 Magician, the 2nd Rank corresponded to a level 25 Magician, the 3rd Rank corresponded to a level 50 Magician, and so on... From this, one can infer that the spells also corresponded to a certain predetermined character level.
Even then, some top tier-classes were able to lower the level requirement of a spell rank. This allowed them to use higher-ranked spells much earlier, giving them the power of a glass cannon—Though of course, these were rare exceptions, rather than the rule.
Spell scrolls differed from spells, in that even if a player wasn't of an Intelligence-type class, they could cast spells with spell scrolls. The caveat was that the spell's effect would be slightly reduced, which meant it wouldn't be as powerful as the effects an Intelligence-type class could draw out.
Fortunately for Ye Kong, the Litheness Spell was a support spell, so the effect reduction was small. He could still probably draw out about 70-80% of the full effect.
Huff~
Ye Kong activated the spell scroll, and with the sound of a breeze, he felt his body grow lighter as he gained an extra "Litheness Spell" temporary status effect.
"Thank goodness it's a support-type spell scroll."
Ye Kong tried moving his body around. "If it was an offensive-type spell scroll, I would only be able to draw out its effect at half power. Ahh, using spell scrolls is a way of playing that really burns through your funds. Just like that, I've lost a chance to make seven Silver."
At this point in time, spell scrolls weren't cheap, and support-type scrolls, in particular, were expensive. A scroll for the Litheness Spell could go for around seven Silver, which could almost buy you a piece of Black Iron Equipment.
Still, Ye Kong didn't feel the pinch. For the sake of getting the upcoming reward, one scroll was a small price to pay.
"It's time to begin."
Ye Kong sucked in a deep breath as he stared long and hard at the tall clock tower, which was more than ten meters away from him. Then, taking a few steps backward, he proceeded to charge forward, kicking off the roof in a flash—
Bang!
Ye Kong's legs propelled him several meters up in the air, and, taking the height of the roof into account, allowed him to reach a great height!
Fwah!
He traced an elegant parabolic trajectory as he vaulted off the rooftop toward the tall clock tower!
On the ground, the Skeletal Soldiers heard the noise and looked up, only to see a figure flying through the air above them—
"Uu? Uuu uu uuuu!"
"Uu uuuu uuu! Uuuuu!!!!"
The Skeletal Soldiers had no tongues, and their bizarre-sounding cries couldn't fully express the rage they were feeling. However, under their watchful gazes, the figure landed precisely on the stairway running along the outer wall of the clock tower.
Bang!
Ye Kong grabbed hold of the stairs, and with a quick flip, he was on the staircase. Then, he turned to face the Skeletal Soldiers below him, and raised a middle finger at them—
"Bony trash."
In that instant, the Skeletal Soldiers all fell silent, but immediately afterward, they burst into "angry roars"—
"Uuu uu uuuu uuu uu uuu!!!!"
As they continued to howl in anger, the Skeletal Soldiers quickened their pace with great strides, and rushed over to the entrance of the clock tower's stairway...