Lukas charged toward the Goblin Chieftain, who immediately swung its massive spiked club in retaliation.
Unfortunately for the Goblin Chieftain, the gap between their stats was insurmountable. Lukas' agility far surpassed its capabilities. The giant spiked club slammed into the ground, cracking it with explosive force, but Lukas had already sidestepped effortlessly, dodging the attack.
Taking advantage of the opening, Lukas unleashed a skillful leap, his blade slicing downward with precision. The strike tore a deep wound across the Goblin Chieftain's chest, green blood gushing from the gash.
The Goblin Chieftain let out a roar of agony, its cry echoing through the Goblin Forest.
Above its head, a massive red damage number appeared:
—37,428
Lukas grinned. His skill attacks consumed 19,000 mana per use, with his current mana pool of 120,000 enabling him to execute six skill attacks in succession.
Without hesitation, Lukas unleashed five more Wind Slash attacks, each landing cleanly on the massive chieftain. The creature stumbled, dazed by the ferocity of the onslaught.
In mere moments, its health plummeted by another 180,000. Lukas' mana was now depleted, forcing him to switch to normal attacks. He maintained relentless pressure, striking again and again. Within a minute, the Goblin Chieftain lost an additional 600,000 health, leaving it with a meager 80,000 remaining.
The wounded chieftain let out a furious roar as its body was enveloped in a blood-red aura. Its eyes turned crimson—it had entered Berserk Mode.
Its stats surged, doubling across the board. With renewed vigor, the chieftain swung its massive spiked club toward Lukas.
Yet even in this frenzied state, the Goblin Chieftain's enhanced attacks still couldn't break through Lukas' impenetrable defenses. The club merely glanced off his armor harmlessly.
"Is that all you've got?" Lukas taunted, smirking. By now, his mana had replenished enough to launch a finishing blow.
He unleashed three consecutive Wind Slash strikes.
—37,428
—37,428
—37,428
The Goblin Chieftain's remaining health was reduced to zero. The massive creature staggered backward, its towering frame finally collapsing with a thunderous crash. Green and yellow lights shimmered as loot spilled from its lifeless body.
...
[System Notification: You have killed the Level 9 Goblin Chieftain and earned 9,000 EXP.]
[System Notification: Congratulations! You have leveled up to Level 10 and earned 1,000 Free Attribute Points.]
[System Notification: Your Main God-Level Talent has increased the reward to 10,000 Free Attribute Points.]
...
The chat in Novice Village 18 lit up once again:
[System Notification: The Level 9 Boss, Goblin Chieftain, has been defeated by Wraith. Reward: Green-Grade Treasure Chest (Excellent) × 1, 100 Free Attribute Points.]
Despite the announcement, the village chat showed little surprise. By now, it was almost expected that Wraith would solo any boss that appeared.
"Another 9th Level Boss down. Wraith is insane. He's probably going to hit Level 10 in no time, while I'm still struggling to kill a Level 5 Boar King. Anyone want to form a team?"
"Teaming up to kill bosses splits the EXP and loot. Not worth it."
In the midst of the chatter, a user named Ancient Sentinel suddenly spammed the channel:
"Wraith, are you there? Urgent! Urgent!"
"Wraith, are you there? Urgent! Urgent!"
"Wraith, are you there? Urgent! Urgent!"
Other players responded:
"Wraith just killed a 9th Level Boss. He's probably busy sorting through loot right now."
"If it's urgent, why not just DM him instead of spamming here?"
Ancient Sentinel quickly explained:
"I've found a Contested Dungeon Token while grinding! We can challenge another novice village for control of a contested dungeon! Everyone knows what that means—if we win, Novice Village 18 will explode in growth!"
The chat immediately erupted in excitement.
"You actually found a Contested Dungeon Token?"
Everyone knew the significance of contested dungeons. Among 1,000 novice villages, only 10 would get the chance to fight for control of one. The rewards were game-changing: clearing all four dungeon modes could grant up to 8,000 free attribute points.
Victory was determined by a duel between representatives from the two competing villages. Whichever village's champion won the duel would claim the dungeon.
Ancient Sentinel emphasized:
"The token is real! We need Wraith to represent us. He's our strongest player, and our chances of winning will skyrocket if he fights for us. If we win this dungeon, our village's potential will soar!"
The chat buzzed with excitement:
"Stop chatting and get Wraith's attention! Ping him!"
"If he agrees to fight, our village is set. Wraith is unmatched!"
"@Wraith"
"@Wraith"
"@Wraith"
...
Meanwhile, Lukas remained blissfully unaware of the uproar in the village chat. His focus was entirely on the loot dropped by the Goblin Chieftain.
Among the items, one stood out: a Skill Book. Lukas' eyes lit up as he picked it up alongside a pair of boots.
Greenhide Boots (Green-Grade Excellent)
Effect: +200 Agility
But the real prize was the skill book.
[Skill: Divine Eye]
Effect: Allows the user to see through all invisibility and analyze the five primary attributes of any entity up to 100 levels higher.
Lukas was momentarily stunned. Divine Eye was a legendary skill that he had only heard of in his previous life.
The ability to see through invisibility and analyze hidden attributes was invaluable, especially in the World of Infinite Strife, where knowledge was power.
"Unbelievable," Lukas murmured. "To think I'd get this skill now…"
In the World of Infinite Strife, players could view the attributes of wild monsters for the first seven days. After that, such information would be hidden unless they possessed a detection-type skill.
Furthermore, it was impossible to analyze the attributes of other players or entities from different races, even during the novice phase.
With Divine Eye, Lukas could peer into the secrets of anyone whose level didn't exceed his by 100. The potential applications were staggering.
"This has to be the luckiest drop I've ever had," Lukas muttered, unable to suppress a grin. The rarity of Divine Eye was legendary; even god-level bosses rarely dropped it.
Equipping the Greenhide Boots and clutching the Divine Eye skill book, Lukas prepared to learn the ability. His gear was steadily improving, and now he had a skill that would give him an even greater edge.
"No wonder I couldn't get a blue-grade item before. All my luck was saved for this moment."
Lukas had no hesitation as he learned the Divine Eye skill and equipped the Forest Ring.
With the additional 50,000 mana provided by the ring, combined with his recovery talent, his battle endurance had reached a new level.
Equipped and ready, Lukas began searching through the Goblin Chieftain's encampment, knowing his true objective was still unfulfilled.
He was here to locate the Swordmaster's Tomb Map, a key to the hidden Level 7 dungeon.
He recalled from his previous life that the map had been discovered in the Chieftain's personal quarters, beneath a hidden compartment under the bed.
It didn't take long for Lukas to spot the largest and most ornate treehouse in the goblin camp. "This must be it," he muttered.
He entered and conducted a thorough search, and just as he expected, he found a Perfect Purple Chest beneath the bed.
Lukas' eyes widened, and a smile crept across his face.
"A Perfect Purple Chest... This is beyond rare!"
Chests in the novice world followed a strict hierarchy: White (Common), Green (Excellent), Blue (Superior), and Purple (Perfect).
Purple chests were considered legendary, nearly impossible to find during the early stages. Even blue chests were already coveted treasures.
The Perfect Purple Chest guaranteed at least one piece of perfect-grade equipment and even had a 1% chance of dropping Epic Gold-Grade Equipment.
Such items could dramatically increase a player's combat power, especially weapons capable of boosting attack power between 2,500 and 12,500 points.
"If I pull a weapon from this chest..." Lukas mused. "I'd be unstoppable within the first 10 levels."
Without delay, Lukas chose to open the chest.
...
[System Notification: You have opened a Perfect Purple Chest and obtained the following rewards: Forest Ring × 1, Swordmaster's Tomb Map × 1.]
...
The chest didn't yield a weapon but instead provided the Forest Ring, a piece of equipment that enhanced mana and came with an attached skill.
Curious, Lukas inspected the item:
[Forest Ring – Perfect Purple Grade]
Type: Ring
Effect: +50,000 Mana
Attached Skill: Thunderstrike
[Skill: Thunderstrike]
Effect: Consumes mana equal to your attack power to deal triple damage to the target. Cooldown: 60 seconds.
Lukas' grin widened. "This skill is incredible. Even with the cooldown, its damage multiplier is better than my Wind Slash. And the added mana pool is exactly what I needed."
He equipped the ring, tucked the Swordmaster's Tomb Map securely into his inventory, and prepared to head back to Novice Village 18.
...
As Lukas made his way through the forest, the village chat buzzed with activity.
"Still no word from Wraith! This is urgent—another village already has the contest token and is waiting to duel us. They're even mocking us now!"
Ancient Sentinel, the player who had discovered the Contest Token, grew increasingly anxious:
"Wraith hasn't responded to my messages. Maybe he's on his way back from the wilds. Let's keep pinging him until he notices."
Other players chimed in:
"If I wasn't stuck at Level 3, I'd fight those smug islanders myself!"
"They're calling us cowards now. Their representative is already Level 7. We need Wraith to shut them up!"
Reading the heated discussions, Lukas chuckled. The mention of the contest brought back memories from his past life.
In that timeline, Novice Village 18 had also obtained a Contest Token but lost the duel to the island nation's representative—a Level 7 player who had been lucky enough to open a Perfect Purple Chest, gaining a weapon that boosted his attack power by 3,000.
The loss had cost Novice Village 18 dearly. The opposing village gained access to the contested dungeon and soared ahead, eventually ranking among the top ten novice villages in the region.
"Not this time," Lukas thought with a smirk.
Switching to the village chat, he finally responded:
"I've heard about the contest. I'm on my way back. Ancient Sentinel, wait for me in the village square. I'll take care of it."
The chat erupted with cheers:
"Wraith is here! It's over for those islanders!"
"Finally! Show those Level 7 wannabes what a real pro can do."
"Wraith, you've got this. Let's put Novice Village 18 on the map!"
...
Back in the real world on Solaris.
The Noxbourne family was in turmoil.
Word had spread that the Noxbourne patriarch, Jason Noxbourne, had sent a lavish gift to the Greyson family, requesting an audience. The gesture had raised eyebrows among the Greysons, as the two families were not known to be close.
Seated at the head of the table, Marcus Greyson, patriarch of the Greyson family, reviewed the message with a frown.
"Jason claims he's here to congratulate us for producing a genius," Marcus said, looking around the table at his gathered relatives.
The Greyson elders nodded thoughtfully.
"It's clear he's talking about Cain," one elder said. "With his dual god-tier talents, it's only natural he'd attract attention. The Noxbournes must want to curry favor before Cain achieves something extraordinary in the novice world."
Another elder added, "It makes sense. Cain has been performing well. Were it not for this so-called Wraith overshadowing him, Cain might have been the one to claim the first world boss kill."
Marcus remained silent, his fingers tapping the table thoughtfully. The Greysons had no reason to doubt Jason Noxbourne's intentions, but the timing of his visit felt odd.
"I'll meet with Jason," Marcus finally said. "But keep an ear to the ground. There's more to this story than we're being told."
...
Back in Novice Village 18, Lukas arrived at the square to find Ancient Sentinel waiting anxiously.
"Glad you're here," Sentinel said, relief evident in his voice. "They're mocking us nonstop. Their representative is already Level 7. But if anyone can crush them, it's you."
Lukas smiled faintly. "Let them talk. It'll make their defeat all the more satisfying."
As the portal to the contested arena began to shimmer, Lukas stepped forward, his eyes gleaming with confidence.