Chapter Seventeen: Monster Massacre!

Jingmen Safe Zone, in the snowy plains and desert of another world, within the secret realm of the frozen canyon.

Yi Shen pressed against the wall, inching forward cautiously. Although his power had reached an exceptionally high level, he still took care to avoid unnecessary casualties. Injuries would cause blood loss and pain, and should he die, even his extraordinary talent as a mage would mean nothing—everything would be reduced to nothingness.

In the memories Yi Shen had fused with, the monsters of this world were far from fragile. Typically, a lone explorer who could face two mutated monsters of the same level simultaneously was already considered competent, if not outstanding. It was like an adult man confronting a tiger; even with weapons or other aids, there was always an element of danger. These special monsters possessed attributes no lower than his own, sometimes wielding skills, and the fatigue from battle could cause lapses in concentration.

This secret realm allowed a maximum of ten participants, and each monster here was seven or eight times stronger than explorers of the same level. Apart from intelligence and spirit, which surpassed the monsters’, Yi Shen’s other attributes were generally inferior. So, to have reached this point, Yi Shen remained vigilant, wary of being surrounded and overwhelmed.

A faint snap echoed.

Three wind elementals launched a joint attack on a lone monster. Yi Shen attached a burning bomb from behind and swiftly cast Arcane Shock. In just five or six seconds, they eliminated a special mushroom flower, earning over thirty experience points.

He repeated this method to kill several isolated monsters. Soon, ahead of him, three plant monsters and two black serpents were scattered at the fork in the cave, about thirty meters apart.

Yi Shen pondered for a moment and decided caution was best. Using wind elementals to manipulate his vantage point, he attacked both groups of monsters, herding them into a single area. He then positioned his own body strategically and cast spells on all five monsters, affixing burning bombs to each.

After these maneuvers, he summoned additional wind elementals to serve as vanguards, shielding himself from the monsters’ onslaught. Meanwhile, he began casting Arcane Shock, dealing damage to all five enemies.

A series of rapid impacts rang out.

“-78, -76, -83, -79, -98!”

“-77, -76, -73, -69, -78”

“-78, -96, -83, -69, -77…”

Arcane Shock could stack its damage. Under the influence of multi-casting, the first strike immediately maximized the damage bonus and casting speed! Arcane Shock combined with the explosive force of burning bombs, while wind elementals occasionally threw out wind shields and wind blades. Yi Shen’s field of vision was flooded with a dense cascade of damage numbers.

“Boom! Boom! Boom!”

With the conclusion of five waves of sustained damage, the burning bombs detonated one after another, unleashing new area-of-effect spells. The monsters’ health visibly plummeted. Their poison attacks had only just been blocked by the first wind elemental, and already they had collapsed, lifeless, transformed into five green-white beams of light.

Yi Shen smiled—his cautious approach had paid off. He advanced to collect the corpses, and his experience points soared. Each of these five monsters granted him nearly forty experience points, pushing his total up by almost two hundred and meeting the requirements for leveling up.

————

[Ding! You have reached level 10. Your attributes have been enhanced.]

[Strength +2, Agility +1, Intelligence +4, Endurance +2, Spirit +3]

[You have reached level 10. Your first breakthrough quest has been triggered. You must participate in the defeat of a level 10 or higher elite monster in the secret realm to raise your level cap.]

[Current quest progress: (0/1). Defeat one level 10 or higher elite monster in the secret realm.]

————

[Name: Yi Shen]

[Class: Mage]

[Level: 10 (54/Na)]

[Health: 720/720]

[Mana: 1880/1880]

[Base Attack: 41-82]

[Base Defense: 27]

[Strength: 41]

[Agility: 54]

[Constitution: 72]

[Intelligence: 188]

[Spirit: 123]

[Special Bonus: All your spells and magical effects deal and heal an extra 30 points.]

[Skills: Spell Mastery (SSS), Flame Bomb (D), Arcane Shock (E), Fireball (F), Accelerate (F), etc.]

[Talent: Mage’s Heart lv2 (13/1000)]

[Items: Health Potion (F), Mana Potion (F), etc.]

[Equipment: Staff of the Frozen Plains (E), Snowfield Tunic (F), Fine Bracers (F), Snowfield Ring, etc.]

[Contribution Points: 4331]

[Level Cap Breakthrough in Progress: Current quest progress (0/1), participate in the defeat of one level 10 or higher elite monster in the secret realm.]

————

This level-up was unlike any before. Now that Yi Shen had reached level 10, many of the items he’d been hoarding could finally be used, and the most significant improvement came from the Staff of the Frozen Plains, which he’d obtained at the entrance to the secret realm.

Now, the staff in Yi Shen’s hand not only radiated its signature chill, but also emitted a unique gleam; regardless of its attributes, its appearance alone could fetch a handsome price.

The special bonus increased the effects of Yi Shen’s spells and healing. This attribute had been discussed extensively in forum threads—essentially, it granted a fluctuating range of extra damage to spells, with the bonus growing the longer a spell was channeled. Instant-cast skills suffered some reduction, up to a maximum of 50%.

At present, Yi Shen’s only instant-cast skill was Flame Bomb, whose base damage was about 150. With this bonus, it rose to 165-170. Though this increase seemed modest—just ten points or so—if all of Yi Shen’s equipment increased spell damage, the bonuses would stack to hundreds or thousands, outstripping the original base power of his skills.

From the data panel, it was clear that with this level-up, the previous cap had been lifted, replaced with a breakthrough quest requiring him to participate in the defeat of a level 10 or higher elite monster in the secret realm.

Had he reached level 10 before slaying the giant bear, the quest would have been instantly completed. But since he gained the breakthrough quest after the kill, Yi Shen now needed to defeat another elite monster to proceed.