Chapter 66 – Soul Devourer
[Ding. You are the first person to obliterate a soul.]
[Ding. You have obtained the title 'Soul Devourer']
[Soul Devourer: When the title is equipped, undead affinity is increased by a grade]
[Ding. You have obtained both the title 'Soul Devourer' and possess SSS grade undead affinity. You are now able to enter the nether realm at will]
[Ding. Unique quest available. Devour the souls of a 100!]
[Ding. Quest Reward: Skill book]
Liam paused in his footsteps and looked at the notifications that had popped up curiously. As his eyes gazed at the few words from top to bottom, he was more shocked.
The title was a new title that was unheard of, probably because the person who got it did not want to advertise the fact that he killed someone. Irrespectively, it was useless to him.
Next was the notification about the nether realm. This was not entirely new to Liam.
After the first month, there would be an event and at that time, everyone would be able to go to this place.
But now, it looked like he could go there already before the event started! Liam clenched his fists as he already started calculating in his mind all the things that he could do there.
If everything worked out the way he wanted, he could really gain a lot of advantages there. This perk alone was extremely rewarding!
But the last one… the unique quest…
It might have been worded normally, but without a doubt, this quest was asking him to do something unspeakable.
"Devour 100 souls… that means that I have to kill 100 people?" Liam's expression only faltered for a second before returning back to its normal cold appearance.
This was completely unexpected and he had not heard of any such quest even before. However, it was a unique quest. So he was not planning to let it go.
"Yes." He muttered without any hesitation.
At the beginning of the game, every second and every minute was precious, but even then, he had wasted 5 hours dealing with a ghost of his past.
He had to do this because he didn't want what happened on the street to repeat again. He didn't waste his time moving to a new apartment with his sister just to live alongside trash again.
Trash needed to be taken out. Otherwise, it would only stink up everything. This had been his only goal. He had no idea that this would lead to something else, another unique quest at that!
What were unique quests? They were quests that gave out unimaginable rewards! They were the quests that could single-handedly raise someone to the top!
In his past life, there were even some rumors that there were only 10 such quests in the entire game.
And yet currently, Liam alone possessed two of such quests!
"A 100 people! Huuuuu!" Liam let out a deep breath and squatted on the ground, scribbling in the mid with a small twig.
Spirit pet egg… forging… perfect foundation… and now the nether realm and the new quest! There were too many things that he needed to do and not enough time.
Apart from this, there was also the prison key and the gem shard, he had obtained from Niria's lair. These were not his top priority at the moment as he was still not sure if this would amount to anything.
He had to finish all of these and then a few other checks on his list before he could implement the next phase of his plan and bring his sister into the game as well.
Liam settled his mind a bit and then once again started moving. After thinking about the various options he had, he decisively chose his first step, the spirit pet egg!
Spirit pets required a lot of attention, a long time to mature, and more importantly, a lot of resources!
Since he was going to be traveling to quite a few high-leveled areas and places with thick mana density, he decided to hatch the egg first to be more efficient.
Besides, every spirit pet was different, so even though he knew a method to hatch it, he was not 100% sure that it was going to work.
When it involved higher-tier items and pets, people generally tended to be tight-li lipped and it would have been easier if he had been someone of importance.
But Liam had only been a slave and when he broke free from that fate, he had been one of the people at the bottom, scraping for whatever he could find to become stronger.
He had scoured every single piece of information that was available at that time to see if he could somehow change his fate.
Everything he now knew was also because of this. He had worked day and night to change his place in society and now he was going to enjoy all the fruits of his labor.
Liam continued casually walking through the forests. He was still roaming around Yleka city and did not appear to be going anywhere secretive to hatch his spirit type pet egg.
After walking for a few minutes, he stopped in front of a chain of mountains. This set of hills was neither tall nor extending extensive.
There was simply a huge crater of barren land and in the midst of this were four hills, standing erect. But surprisingly, there was smoke coming out of the top.
Liam quickly jumped into the barren crater and started walking ahead. A few players were present here and there grinding lava salamanders that were crawling all over the area.
These beasts had thick hardened scales that provided them tremendous physical defense and on top of that, they also used fire magic.
Their level was also ten times higher than that of Liam's current level which was Level 15. However, he casually walked around heading deeper and deeper into the crater towards the mountains.
SSSHHIIISSS!
A lava salamander soon jumped in front of him, opening its mouth and throwing a fireball.
Chapter 67 – Did You Call Me?
"Healer! Can't you cast holy protection beforehand? This fucking fire attack hurts like my dick is on fire. Damn you!"
"Shut up! I am taking more damage than you. What the fuck are you crying for?"
"You shut up!"
Watching the tank and the damage dealer fight with each other, the healer was just about to lose her patience. "If you guys both don't shut up and stop fighting, I am going to let you both die."
The tank turned around and was about to say something when he noticed the presence of a new person. "Who the hell is that?"
He used two of his fingers to whistle loudly and waved at the solo person moving a bit ahead of them. "Dude, we are farming here. Can't you see? Get the hell out!"
Liam smiled. He had also noticed them but they would have to wait. Another opponent had already appeared in front of him.
"Hey look. The next one has spawned. He is fighting with the salamander. Let's go steal his." The bunch of players chuckled and quickly ran over.
"Idiot. Did he think that he could deal with a Level 25 salamander all by himself?"
"Even the leaderboard big shots are still hovering over Level 22 and this guy wants to take down a magical beast all by himself!"
"Ke Ke Ke. He has the balls it seems."
"Ke Ke Ke. Well, it's about to become roasted balls."
The five players slowed down their speed, wanting Liam to get injured and die first before they started attacking the beast.
Also, if they were lucky, the beast would have already been damaged a little, so it would be easier for them to finish it off.
However, just as they were about to slow down, they saw a bright flash and a crimson sword appeared on the man's hand.
And before they could clearly see anything, Liam had already slashed the lava salamander multiple times, his figure nimbly dodging the fire attacks.
Significant damage numbers floated atop the salamander and its two eyes were blinded!
"Not bad." Liam grinned. After monotonously struggling with mana control for several hours, he was now able to fuse mana with his sword attacks more easily.
It was still not quite there but he was slowly and surely getting there.
Liam continued fighting with the salamander just like how he had battled with the elite boss. He was using it as a training dummy and sparred with it while honing his own skills.
Because of the level difference, he couldn't finish it off easily and was slowly grinding it down bit by bit at the pace that he was comfortable with.
And those who were watching him could also see that clearly.
"The fuck?"
"How the hell is he freaking soloing that thing?"
"Did you see! He blinded it first! That must be the special strategy to fight lava salamanders!"
The tank looked at the person who had spoken this wise statement and then spat on his face. "Idiot. Every beast has a pair of eyes or many! What special strategy are you talking about?"
The mage quickly turned away, hiding his embarrassment. He had blurted out stupid words because he was too engrossed in the way the person was moving.
Every single move he had was accurate. He was not using any flashy spells or powerful techniques. From what they could see, all he was doing was the basic sword slashes.
And apparently, that alone was enough to take down a beast that the five of them were struggling to handle!
"Do you see his footwork? Ya, he is avoiding all the fireballs!"
"Wait, is there an attack pattern? Maybe the salamander throws a fireball every few seconds?"
The group once again started discussing and studying Liam's actions as if he was a walking battle guide.
They even forgot about their original plan of intimidating him and stealing the beast for themselves.
The fight continued for a while as the group watched Liam with their eyes peeled open.
Soon another salamander spawned at the spot where they had been fighting one and they hurried back over to it to try and imitate him.
"Mage! Aim for its eyes first!"
"Theif. Attack the head!"
"Dude, shut up. We were all watching the same thing. Just shut up and start the fight already!"
The group quickly started sending out a volley of attacks towards the lava salamander and the fight this time was much simpler. They had reduced their time spent on the beast by more than a half.
And just as they brought down the salamander to the last of its health, a sharp voice sounded nearby. "Did you call me?"
Liam had appeared right next to them silently like a ghost. The tank was so startled that he dropped his shield.
Luckily they had already almost killed the beast, so they weren't affected much and he quickly picked his shield back up to finish tanking the fight.
And to their surprise, the person was still waiting for them!
Ah… Ummm… The five looked at each other blankly before the tank finally spoke up. "Bro, are you planning to grind here?"
"Sorry. Sorry. I am only asking because we would then go somewhere else. We don't want to disturb you. He He."
All the others looked at the tank who had done a complete 180, but there were no complaints. They only gave him a silent thumbs up.
The person in front of them was obviously a strong player! It was best to not make enemies out of people like that for no apparent reason.
So one by one they all started to say flattering words to appease the expert.
However… the so-called expert did not look pleased at all. Unexpectedly, he looked disappointed for some reason.
"Did you guys really call me over just to talk about this?" Liam sighed. "Forget it. You guys carry on. Good luck.." He then turned around to leave without saying anything else.
Chapter 68 – New Pet Part1
Liam hummed lightly and wandered deeper into the crater towards the few mountains. He was in a much better mood lately as a chore that occupied a corner of his mind was taken care of.
When he went closer to the mountain, he slowed down. He could feel the temperature becoming hotter and hotter.
Liam took a deep breath and then started circling the mountains once.
The information he had about this place was that there was no entry to these mountains like a cave of sorts except one at the very top.
So he moved around searching for this cave and managed to find it after a few minutes without any issue. But the real challenge only began now.
To reach a cave of that height, there was only one way! And that was to climb the whole damn thing!
Liam rubbed his two hands and then placed his right hand in a small crevice. He then placed his left hand a bit higher in another crevice, pushing himself up.
His body casually obeyed his command, his muscles working the weight with ease. This was not really a surprise to him, but it still made him happy to do something like this casually.
It even provided a kind of release. The more he climbed the more relaxed he felt. Falling down from this height would surely mean his death, but it was still quite enjoyable.
In a few minutes, he had already climbed halfway without any issue. Liam then quickly took out a berry and tossed it into his mouth to recover some energy.
Things were about to get tricky. When he climbed up for another minute, suddenly loud screeching noises started to sound and a group of birds descended down.
"Wind rippers!" Liam muttered as he looked up. These were common aerial mobs that one had to deal with at an altitude.
The bluish grey colored birds had medium-sized bodies like that of a common dog and their feathers were sharp and metallic which gave them the name, wind rippers.
The four birds immediately started attacking Liam, surrounding him on all sides.
They did not seem to possess any special attacks but their physical strength was commendable and they drew blood quickly.
Liam was already prepared for this so he as well immediately started attacking them back.
And since he was dangling midair, he didn't plan on using this as a training opportunity. He quickly spammed some of his mage skills.
[Ice shard]
[Lightning bolt]
[Fire ball]
Damage numbers immediately began to float atop the birds and injuries on their bodies piled up. Their movements as well were disrupted, especially because of the slight freezing effect the ice shards possessed.
However, Liam was also taking equal parts of the damage. He was after all clinging to the sides of a mountain and there was only so much he could evade from that position.
But the birds were only Level 10 so the damage he was dealing was higher than the attacks coming from the other side.
Otherwise, he would have grinded a bit more and increased his level before starting this expedition.
After casting the spells a couple of times, Liam noticed that [lightning bolt] had the highest damage numbers among the three spells he had, so he spammed it more.
"Is this because I practiced it a lot more? Hmmm."
The fight continued on for a few more seconds when the birds eventually dropped dead, unable to handle the attacks any longer.
[Ding. 10 Experience points have been rewarded]
[Ding. 10 Experience points have been rewarded]
…
Two of them fell down along with the loot while the other two fell nearby landing on the mountain itself.
"Awaken." Liam quickly muttered and the dead birds once again looked alive. They flapped their bleeding wings and flew next to him, waiting for his command.
Liam nodded contently and then began climbing once again. If more birds come, he at least had these two to deal some extra damage and lighten his load.
As he once again resumed the climb and went higher, soon another issue began to crop up. The sturdy wall of the mountain became somewhat difficult to touch as the rocks were sizzling hot.
"There it is." Liam chuckled.
He grunted in pain as he took his next step but he kept pushing himself, climbing further up and faster than before.
With this speed, even with his physique, now he was starting to become out of breath.
But this couldn't be helped since the slower he was the more the rocks burned his hands. At this point, just the act of climbing started nibbling away at his health.
Adding to this, another wave of birds next appeared.
Fwooosh! Fwoosh! Fwoosh!
Their metallic wings sliced the air as they dived in to attack him. Liam paused with a bitter smile, once again beginning to spam his mage skills.
The two undead birds fought on his behalf as well, but this time apart from the attack of the birds, the hot sizzling rocks were chipping away at his health as well.
Liam knew that he couldn't afford to let this continue. He looked around and saw a bigger crevice and quickly swung himself up to hold that.
Since the holding was firm, he only needed one hand. He took out his sword from the inventory using his other hand and started slicing the birds with his crimson blade.
The tables suddenly turned and the birds were now quickly pushed back.
He easily gained the upper hand again and soon, with a very dangerous balance of losing health and dealing damage, he slashed down all the birds that were coming at him.
One by one all of them dropped dead and his 2 undead summons were still active, though one's wing was badly shredded.
[Ding. 10 Experience points have been rewarded]
[Ding. 10 Experience points have been rewarded]
…
…
"Not bad. That was so close."
Liam quickly took out a health potion from his inventory and recovered his health points as the next second another damage number showed up for him from holding the hot sizzling rock.
His hand as well was stinging with the pain of holding the scorching hot object.
"Fuck!" He switched his hands and used the other hand to hold onto the crevice and looked at the dead birds sprawled
"Awaken." Four more undead birds were summoned but since his current limit was controlling only 5 undead, one fell back down.
"Alright. Time to finish the last stretch of the climb. Huaaa" Liam sucked in a big mouthful of air and stretched his chest before sprinting upwards with a burst of energy.
He was clearly pushing his limits and for someone looking at him from the ground, it would seem like he was running up the mountain, rather than climbing it.
He focused all of his mana on his hands and his feet, moving up with the utmost strength and agility that he could muster.
This would be difficult even for him to maintain throughout the entire climb but now he could almost see the cave opening so Liam sprinted up without holding back.
By the time he reached the cave, he almost crashed into it.
However, he was not done yet as a huge bird stared back at him from inside. It was guarding a bunch of eggs near it and a silver glow covered its body.
[Twin-tailed Wind Ripper]
(Elite Boss)
Level 15
Health: 50000
This was the regular elite boss, twin-tailed wind ripper. As one of the elite bosses in this area, it was obviously a famous one and Liam was already aware of its attack patterns.
"Huff… Attack… Huff" He readily sacrificed his undead birds to catch a breath.
His vision was also blurry and his body was also feeling faint, both because of the altitude and exhaustio
not to mention the heat.
Without hesitation, he downed another health potion and then joined the fight after a few seconds. Three of his undead were already dead.
Since the undead summons was weaker than their original counterparts, it was already enough that two of them survived, probably because the elite boss was guarding its eggs while it was also trying to fight.
Liam was still surprised to see the eggs near the elite because eggs were rare, to begin with, especially that of flying pets.
Even if the pets did not transfer from the virtual game world to the real world, flying pets were still very valuable as they saved a lot of time if they were raised to be mounts.
But the previous time around, there hadn't been any news about anyone finding eggs in this cave.
"Eh? So many people hid things I see. First come first serve I guess."
Liam grinned and then unsheathed his sword to deal with the huge bird in front of him. This time there was no other restraint and he was able to finally fight freely.
Slash! Slash! Slash!
The crimson blade flashed as he danced around the bird, especially from an angle as if he was targeting the eggs.