Chapter12-What I Have That You Don't

With the acquisition of the Ice Spear skill, John's single-target damage soared once again. 

Even the monsters in the Cemetery of the Deceased couldn't withstand his barrage of spells, akin to a machine gun's relentless fire. 

The cooldown for maxed-out basic skills was minimal, and the MP consumption was low. 

Using a rotation of Pyrokinesis, Aquakinesis, Ice Spear, and Vine Thorn, John effortlessly traversed the Cemetery of the Deceased without breaking a sweat. 

Unfortunately, he didn't encounter the dark church again before leaving the Cemetery of the Deceased. 

John surmised that it might be the Necrochurch, home to the Phantom Ruins BOSS, the Ghost Wizard. 

He had initially wanted to charge straight in to see if he could defeat this newbie dungeon's BOSS. 

But in the end, he decided against it. 

The black fog in the Cemetery of the Deceased, though not harmful, severely impaired visibility, especially at night, making it impossible to locate the church. 

John felt that searching aimlessly was a waste of time and that it was more worthwhile to hunt a few elite monsters instead, planning to try his luck again when he had more time. 

As he passed through the Cemetery of the Deceased, the black fog gradually dissipated, and the blood moon reappeared in the sky. 

Crimson moonlight poured down. Rotting zombies staggered through the ruins of the city, hunger-driven decayhounds searched for food, and giant abyssrats with blood-red eyes lurked in the corners of the debris. 

A blue glow emanated from John as he hurried towards Morgue Hospital. 

Today was destined to be out of the ordinary.

Phantom Ruins, a level 3-5 area.

"Daniel, you bastard, how dare you steal my kill! I'll fight you for this!"

A cry of indignation shattered the night's calm. 

In an open-air park, Daniel, carrying a shield, ran like the wind. Behind him, Alex, face contorted with anger, chased him with a bow in hand, shooting as he ran. 

He had brought four guards from home to level up, not even forming a party, all to hog the experience for himself. 

Just as he had finally found an elite monster and had his guards carefully whittle its HP down, Daniel, who happened to pass by, stole the kill, driving Alex to the brink of fury.

Daniel felt wronged. 

He had only meant to throw a stone to scare Alex, never expecting to accidentally steal his kill. 

Even though the two had always been at odds, Daniel felt a bit guilty; after all, such actions were truly unethical.

As he ran, Daniel called out, "Alex, do you really have to be so petty? We're classmates, after all. It's just a level 5 elite monster. I'll let you off this time, and we'll call it even, okay?"

Students from StellarSea Academy, also grinding in the area, couldn't help but laugh upon hearing this. 

Alex's words from the Awakening Square had spread throughout StellarSea Academy. 

Now, whenever students mentioned Alex, they recalled his infamous declaration. 

Daniel's reminder only turned Alex's face greener. 

Daniel had certainly played his part in spreading the tale!

"-1!" "-1!" "-1!"

... 

Daniel was enveloped in an earthen glow, arrows striking him but only inflicting negligible damage, each "-1" seeming to mock Alex in silent ridicule.

Daniel, a Rock Shield Warrior, naturally possessed high defense. 

The two were similar in class, talents, and equipment, but with Daniel having stolen his elite monster and being one level higher at level 4, Alex's vine arrows couldn't penetrate his defense. 

Realizing this, Daniel stopped running and let Alex shoot, knowing that with many StellarSea Academy students around, Alex wouldn't dare do much.

Seeing Daniel suddenly stop, Alex felt deeply insulted. 

For the first time, he found Daniel as infuriating as John! 

Was this not the height of insult?

Alex's guards exchanged bewildered looks, unsure whether to intervene. 

They knew Daniel and Alex were classmates, and with Daniel's family background not inferior to Alex's, rashly stepping in might backfire and offend the Kingsley House behind Daniel.

Just then, a blue figure swiftly passed by, stirring up a gust of wind. 

Alex's four guards were taken aback, but before they could react, the blue figure had already returned.

John glanced at the stationary Daniel and then at Alex, who was relentlessly shooting, and asked in confusion, "What are you guys doing?"

"Protect the young master!" Finally catching on, Alex's four guards quickly surrounded him. 

They were tense and on high alert upon seeing this sudden arrival, whose speed was so astonishing that they hadn't even been sure if he was human or a ghost.

John merely gave them a look, unbothered. 

Alex, startled by John's appearance, exclaimed, "You're still alive?"

It was too dark for anyone besides the four guards to notice how John had appeared. 

The rest of the students were equally surprised to see John.

Apart from Daniel, who inexplicably had confidence that John would come to no harm, the rest of the students believed John might meet his end in Phantom Ruins. 

After all, within StellarSea Academy, he was the only one who had ventured into the dungeon alone, while everyone else had formed teams. 

They had witnessed the horrors of Phantom Ruins firsthand; the place was teeming with terrifying monsters, and even those of rare class could potentially perish, let alone a regular magus like John.

Daniel boasted, "I told you John would be fine, do you believe me now?"

After exchanging greetings with Daniel, John looked at Alex as if he were looking at a fool and asked, "Why shouldn't I be alive?"

In disbelief, Alex retorted, "But how could a mere fragile magus like you survive?"

The corners of the guards' mouths twitched. 

If someone like this was considered a 'mere magus,' what did that make them? 

Keep in mind, all four guards were level 10 iron-tier awakeners, yet they hadn't been able to react when the young man passed by them. 

This incident alone spoke volumes of the youth's formidable capabilities! 

Furthermore, it seemed from the young master's words that this individual was a classmate of theirs, an awakener from the same cohort. 

And now, in just half a day, he had already achieved such strength! 

The guards exchanged glances, feeling a chill run down their spines at the thought of his rapid progression.

John subtly glanced at the guards and explained, "I borrowed some equipment and items from a friend. Why shouldn't I survive?"

With that, John revealed his gale staff, displaying its attributes for everyone to see. 

His rapid increase in strength was bound to raise some eyebrows, but inventing a fictitious friend made for an easy explanation.

One of the guards exclaimed in surprise, "It's a perfect attribute bronze-tier staff!"

Such low-level perfect quality staffs were rare, practically priceless on the market. 

Even on the rare occasion one appeared, it would be snapped up immediately. 

They also noticed that the staff was imbued with a wind-based skill.

The four guards suddenly understood why the young man had been enveloped in a green glow and moved so swiftly; he had been using an equipment skill. 

The students of StellarSea Academy looked on with envy at the attributes of the gale staff. 

Many of them hadn't even acquired a single piece of equipment yet, and here was John already wielding a perfect quality bronze-tier item. 

Truly, some people were just in a different league.

Alex snorted coldly, feigning indifference, "So what if it's a perfect quality bronze-tier weapon? Nothing to boast about. I'll get myself a silver-tier item today!"

Daniel scoffed, "You're just jealous."

John beamed, "Well, at least I have something you don't."

Alex's face flushed with anger; talking to these two was infuriating. 

He glared at John, "There are seven days left until the assessment ends. This is just a temporary lead. Don't get too smug; it's still up in the air who will come out on top. We'll see!"

John chuckled, "But for now, I'm stronger than you."

Alex's face darkened, "Is that the only line you know?"

John replied, "But for now, you're weaker than me."

Without another word, Alex turned and stormed off. 

Conversing with this person was maddening; he simply couldn't stand it any longer.