I opened the equipment ranking list again. The Golden Bow had been replaced at the top by the Blade of Light, with a rating score nearly ten times higher than the Golden Bow and a hundred times that of the Bronze Sword in third place!
If others knew that I possessed both the only golden and silver items, I wonder what they'd think. Some might even consider jumping off a building!
I went to the warehouse manager and deposited the Blade of Light.
Looking at the time, it was 10 PM, and my stomach was empty.
So I logged off and took out the $1000 "Lodging Fee" that Emma had left me. I paid $500 for rent and went downstairs, thinking: I can't exchange in-game money yet, so I need to open a new bank account. In about a week, the game will allow linking bank accounts, and that's when I'll truly start making money. The Blade of Light aside, with my current high level, I could sell other equipment and have more than enough to live comfortably!
Downstairs, I sat in a small restaurant, ordered two dishes and a beer, then started eating and drinking alone. Outside, strangers passed by each other - only fate could bring two people together. Emma and I had such a fate, though I wasn't sure if she felt the same way.
"Emma must be having dinner with Diana now..."
I smiled, picturing the beautiful faces of the twin sisters. Meeting and knowing these stunning twins was truly a blessing. I wondered who in this world would be lucky enough to have one of them, then thought: if someone could have both, holding Emma on the left and Diana on the right, they wouldn't trade that even for immortality...
As I was daydreaming, two students entered the restaurant. They ordered fish and started chatting. One said, "I'm already level 24 and got two Iron-tier items this afternoon. My attack power is really high now!"
The other scoffed, "Pfft! Don't brag about Iron-tier. I heard a senior at our school got a level 18 Bronze-tier axe. That's impressive! If I had a weapon like that, I'd grind to level 30 tonight!"
"Dude, you're only level 13. Forget about 30! I'll help you reach 18 tonight."
"Hey, do you know that female mage, Breeze Embracing Moon? Her real-life photo was leaked online today. She's gorgeous! I heard she's from our city too!"
"Really? Which school? We should try to date her, then she could help us level up!"
"Man, you're hopeless!"
...
Listening to the students' conversation, I smiled, quickly finished my food, and gulped down my beer. Eating like this in summer was especially refreshing!
After the meal, I returned to my place. I saw the girls next door gathered around a table eating. One in a green dress smiled at me, "Hey, Silas! Want to join us for dinner?"
I shook my head, "Thanks, I just ate outside!"
I had to admit, these girls were quite attractive, dressed revealingly with shapely legs and ample chests. No wonder their business was good.
Saying goodbye to the neighbors, I closed the door and went online, amazed at how well the Ethereal Surge helmet blocked outside noise. I hadn't heard any moans or "Love You to Death" for days!
Logging in, I appeared in Twilight City. Opening the rankings, not much had changed. Breeze Embracing Moon still held first place at level 33, while I was second at 32. Below us were several Warsoul players, with Ghostflame and Dragonsoul from Swordfire at seventh and eighth, both level 30.
Checking my friends list, Violet and Diana were offline, as was Dragonsoul. Titan and Ghostflame were still online, probably testing their new Extinction set at a new grinding spot.
The equipment rankings hadn't changed much, with the Blade of Light still far ahead in first place.
It felt almost dreamlike to possess the world's top-ranked weapon. I ran to the warehouse to confirm, and seeing the gleaming Lightblade still there, I couldn't help but laugh out loud, drawing stares from players in the square.
Now, I needed to plan where to level up next.
I had browsed the forums earlier and found a high-level player's leveling spot in the western canyon of Twilight City - a huge ancient temple called the General's Tomb.
The General's Tomb was a ten-thousand-year-old temple. Legend had it that thousands of years ago, a famous general who had conquered the continent betrayed the king. Enraged, the king led a thousand sorcerers to seal the general and his loyal officers within the temple's shell. Over the long years, resentment and loneliness transformed these once-brave warriors into monsters. Millennia later, the temple had become a forbidden land.
That was all the information Ethereal Surge provided about the General's Tomb - no coordinates or monster data. Players had to explore it themselves.
However, an insider from Ethereal Surge revealed that the General's Tomb was located in a canyon west of Twilight City. It was a leveling hotspot for players between levels 30 and 60, with reportedly high drop rates. But no player had managed to find it yet - the temple seemed as elusive as a mirage.
After buying a bag full of potions, I decided to continue solo. I checked my skills:
[Basic Archery] (Intermediate): Mastery 50000/50000, No MP cost.
[Fire Arrow] (Intermediate): Mastery 50000/50000, 10 MP cost.
[Ice Arrow] (Novice): Mastery 7234/10000, 5 MP cost.
[Armor-Piercing Arrow] (Intermediate): Mastery 50000/50000, 20 MP cost.
[Thousand Blade Arrow] (Novice): Mastery 0/10000, 50 MP cost.
...
With constant use, Fire Arrow and Armor-Piercing Arrow had reached intermediate level. But as an apprentice archer, I could only upgrade skills to intermediate. After the level 40 class advancement, skill mastery could increase further to advanced level. Supposedly, there were master, grandmaster, and divine levels beyond that - the higher the level, the more powerful.
This time, besides leveling up, I needed to practice Thousand Blade Arrow and see how effective this area attack skill really was. I hoped it wasn't all flash and no substance, or I'd be frustrated.
Checking my supplies and equipment durability, I realized that dying once had halved the durability of my Crimson Flame set. Luckily, nothing had dropped. I went to the equipment repairer in Twilight City and placed my Crimson Flame set for repair. Without looking up, he said, "Repair fee: 7 gold coins."
"What? That much just for a repair?" I was shocked.
But I had no choice. Reluctantly, I paid up.
With my Crimson Flame set restored, I wasted no more time. I opened the map and headed west.
Along the way, many players had already left Twilight City, scattering in groups towards the western forests.
There were two prime leveling spots outside the city. One was Breeze Forest, spawning level 25 cursed rabbits. The other was Twilight Forest, with level 25-35 boar monsters and evil wolves. However, both spots were already crowded with players, and guilds like Arrogant Clan and Warsoul had large teams occupying the areas. Solo players had no chance there.
In the distance, two Arrogant Clan players spotted me and whispered, "Hey, isn't that Frivolous Scholar, the one the boss wants dead? Should we take him out?"
The other was alarmed, "Idiot! What can we do at level 20? He's a level 32 top-ranked player. Let's report to the boss and let him gather people to surround and kill this guy! Look at his complete set of equipment, must be worth a fortune!"
I was startled - fame truly brings trouble. After making it to the top rankings, problems started piling up.
So I immediately headed southwest towards Breeze Forest, planning to cut through there to search for the legendary General's Tomb. This way, even if Arrogant Clan's people caught up, they'd struggle to find me in the vast forest. And I could easily escape with a small town portal scroll!
After walking for about half an hour, suddenly birds flew up ahead. A few players stumbled out of the forest, all with less than half health, looking extremely worn out!
Behind them was a monster with a human body and wolf head, wielding a large sword. It exhaled a bloody mist, raised its sword high, and with a "boom" instantly killed a swordsman player!
I was shocked at its high attack power - it had taken out over half the health of a level 24 swordsman in one hit. I quickly checked the monster's attributes:
[Wolf Guardian] (Normal Monster)
Level: 28
Attack: 185-240
Defense: 80
HP: 2400
Attack Type: Normal
...
So it was a level 28 monster!
Looking at the battered team, after losing one swordsman, there were still two mages, two berserkers, and one cleric - exactly five people.
The Wolf Guardian quickly raised its sword again, slashing towards a panicked mage!