76 Beginning Of The Magic Crystal Madness
Point out any errors I made in the chapters, as I'm very lazy and sometimes can't be bothered to reread them. Also give your opinions on something I should change or add.
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Two days passed in the blink of an eye, an arduous and incredibly boring blink for our protagonist and his clone, though, as they did pretty much nothing except forge Intermediate Mana Armor Kits, with the occasional break to use Creator's Rights and make an extra Design for the kits.
After around two days, there were now over a dozen people constantly making Intermediate Mana Armor Kits, with tens of thousands of them being churned out daily; making paying back Candlelight's debt of over two and a half million Intermediate Mana Armor Kits within twenty days now quite realistic.
Seeing that the time is about right, Feng put away his things, storing some items in the Bank and taking out others, before collecting any newly made Fragmented Legendary ranked Levellume Capsules from Cocoa and pouring his EXP into them.
Although he had done plenty of things that greatly affected the progress of God's Domain on the main continent, the Dark Den wasn't directly connected to it at the moment and would not have been affected by anything he did, system updates being the one exception, so the flow there should still be relatively the same as in the previous timeline.
Thus, the timing of Blue Frost's raid on Noya shouldn't have been disturbed by much except for the second evolution happening a bit earlier than in the previous timeline, and Feng could roughly arrive there on time to make sure Blue Frost doesn't get killed by the Great Lord guardian boss, while also creating an opportunity to form a friendship with him.
But he first needed to lower his level, since he wasn't sure if being Level 99 would affect the Tier 4 Position Teleportation Scroll's effects, so Feng decided to lower it just in case, filling up multiple Levellume Capsules as he stored most of his EXP and fell to Level 32, the same as he had been in the previous timeline.
Celestina soon arrived after Feng had contacted her though the contract, planning to take her along with him for just in case purposes where he might need her assistance for something, and he retracted her body into the Spectral Animacell after helping her absorb the new souls of the creatures she had killed during this time; not forgetting to cop a feel while his hand was in position for it and piss off the Demon Empress, who hadn't stopped him even though she knew what he was gonna do due to her mind being distracted for a moment wondering if he was going to do it again.
Done with his preparations, Feng activated the Tier 4 Position Teleportation Scroll, teleporting to the Dark Den.
Suddenly, Feng transformed into a streak of white light that pierced the spatial crack that had appeared.
As a Demon's nest, the Dark Den was a carefully hidden location. Even if the armies of various kingdoms and empires tried to annihilate the Demons, they would only find minions. The true Great Demons nurtured their underlings in their nests in secret. Hence, the various kingdoms and empires throughout the continent of God's Domain had been helpless against Demons all this time.
At this moment, inside a dark cave, a spatial crack suddenly appeared near the cave's ceiling. In the next moment, a streak of light fell through the portal and landed heavily, creating a deep crater.
Surveying his surroundings, Feng noted he was in the same place as where he had arrived using the Position Teleportation Scroll in his previous life.
He also realized that he was surrounded by Demonkins. The Position Teleportation Scroll had dropped him right in the middle of a Demonkin army.
[Demonkin] (Common Monster)
Level 40
HP 10,000/10,000
Feng's sudden appearance immediately attracted the attention of many Demonkins. The Demonkins turned to Feng, one after another, their pitch-black eyes containing endless malice. Their gazes alone were enough to instill terror. Not to mention, their violent killing intent also took form, developing into a faint blood mist.
If players were caught within the blood mist's range, it would significantly dull their five senses.
In God's Domain, aside from having keen skills, one required powerful five senses to be considered an expert.
It didn't affect Feng, though, his Physique and Magic Resistance far too powerful for this mist to be capable of dulling his sharp senses that allowed Feng to scan the entire cave in an instant and determine all of the Demonkins' positions.
However, compared to the Demonkin army before him, what inconvenienced Feng more was the news brought to him by the system notifications sounding in his ears.
System: Player has discovered the Dark Den.
System: All communications with the outside world will be temporarily severed.
System: Player has been affected by the power of darkness. All Attributes decreased by 30%.
...
Line after line of system notifications rang out, but Feng ignored them and glanced at the group of Level 40 black-skinned Demonkins charging at him like a tidal wave, the Destroyer of Immortality appearing in his hand as he chose to equip it instead of the Abyssal Blade hanging from his waist.
Although the Demonkins did not have a level suppression effect on him, with this many of them, even if he used large-scale destruction spells, they would not be enough to get rid of all these monsters, so Feng opted for another option.
In the next moment, all of the Demonkins within thirty yards of Feng were all simultaneously sliced in halves, their HP bars completely emptying out.
Simultaneously, Feng's EXP soared.
There was a difference of eight Levels between Feng and the Demonkins. Even if the Demonkins were just Common Monsters, the total EXP they gave was still plenty.
Seeing that, Feng decided to take out a Levellume Capsule and store his EXP until his level decreased to 20 in order to maximize his gains.
For the next minute or so, anything that entered Slashing Domain's range was instantly killed by swordlights too fast for the Demonkins to even see, let alone react to.
Being mere Common Monsters, the Demonkins had a limited amount of intelligence, so failing to perceive any visible or obvious threats, they just continued charging forward to their doom.
With Feng's current Tier 4 Concentration, he had no problem continuously using the Tier 1 Destroyer of Immortality's Slashing Domain to slay these weak monsters by channeling a small portion of his full power, so even after eradicating all of the Demonkins that charged at him, Feng had consumed less than 10% of his total Concentration.
Erasing the Demonkin population in this cave had also caused Feng's EXP to soar by killing monsters twenty levels higher than himself, while Feng had continued to store his EXP every time that he was about to level up.
When no more monsters were left to attack him, Feng put his hands into the pockets of his Cloak and leisurely strolled towards the exit.
The instant Feng set foot in a certain narrow pathway, he suddenly felt faint danger looming over him. But Feng didn't pay it much mind and just activated Void Shield.
The instant the translucent barrier appeared around Feng's body, a clangor resounded throughout the cave.
Countless black threads had struck at Feng's body. These black threads were extremely thin. In the darkness of the cave, they were practically invisible to the naked eye.
Without glancing at the threads that were completely neutralized by Void Shield, Feng continued walking forward through the narrow passage.
Before Void Shield's duration had ended or it broke, Feng had arrived at the exit of the narrow pathway after triggering an unknown number of traps.
The instant he stepped out of the pathway, his eyes suddenly flinched.
Blinking, Feng's eyes immediately adapted to the bright environment, and he started surveying his surroundings.
Tall mountains and flowing water. White clouds dotting the sky. Lush green forests that covered everything. This place looked nothing like a Demon's abode.
Feng didn't spend much time looking around as he immediately made his way to Gloomy Valley.
Gray mist shrouded Gloomy Valley all-year round, limiting players' vision as they explored the area. Moreover, one could feel the gray mist suppressing all five of their senses while wandering the Valley.
The majority of the monsters inside Gloomy Valley were Level 40 or above Elite rank. There were also plenty of Level 40 or above Special Elites roaming around. Even the outermost region of the valley was a challenge to get through.
Meanwhile, in Gloomy Valley's inner region, the Level 40 Great Lord Noya stood guard at the gate leading to the next map. If one wished to journey to the new map, they first needed to kill Noya.
[Noya] (Demonic Great Lord)
Level 40
HP 10,000,000/10,000,000
To current players, a Level 40 Demonic Great Lord was a nightmare.
Noya was also a Gargoyle.
Among Demonic Creatures, Gargoyles ranked at the top in terms of Magic Resistance and Defense. Worse, Gargoyles possessed a massive pair of wings that enabled them to soar through the sky. If players encountered one, they would not even have the chance to escape.
Gargoyles could also attack from the sky, leaving melee players at a great disadvantage. Only ranged classes posed any threat to Gargoyles.
A black slate tablet was embedded into the towering gate that Great Lord Noya protected. A faint gray barrier also prevented anyone from reaching the gate. Meanwhile, Demonic Power filled that black slate tablet; it was none other than the Chapter of Darkness that Feng needed to obtain. It was also the core energy source for the barrier protecting the stone gate.
If one wanted to obtain the Chapter of Darkness, not only were they required to defend themselves against the Gargoyle's attacks, but they also had to break the barrier.
It was practically impossible for anyone to obtain the Chapter of Darkness without killing the Great Lord Noya. Only after defeating the Gargoyle could one attempt to break the gray barrier.
This wouldn't be a difficult task for Feng to accomplish right now, but he didn't go over and murder Noya immediately, still having to wait for Blue Frost to come and attempt to raid the gargoyle.
Since the timeline was a bit different, though, Feng wasn't sure when exactly the attack on Noya would begin, but he certainly couldn't just sit around and wait for Blue Frost to show up, which might even take a day or two.
Thus, Feng merely used the Space Helmet's Coordinate Marking skill to mark this place before leaving.
With the coordinates saved, Feng could just use Space-crossing View to check what was happening there every now and then to see if Blue Frost had come while he was elsewhere doing his own thing.
At the moment, there was still a limited amount of maps one could explore in the Dark Den until Noya is defeated and more land was opened up, so resources were limited, but there were still some things and hidden secrets Feng could look for.
Soul Crystals were something he could collect as they have plenty of uses both for the Dark Den's Shelters and for Feng himself, along with some other special items an materials that could only be found in the Dark Den, while there was also a page from the Bible of Darkness in a secret space that could be found in one of the Level 40 maps that was a Forbidden Land for current players.
Feng's goal was to obtain all of the important items from the Dark Den before any of the resident players could as well as grind for some Soul Crystals.
He soon arrived at the Level 40 map and entered the hidden space, completing the Quest there and killing everything in that place, managing to obtain the pitch-black piece of paper that he was looking for.
"Well at least that's one acquired." Looking at the tattered page in his bag, on which the words had long since become indiscernible, that still radiated a faint trace of Divine Might, while the surrounding Power of Darkness gathered around the page when he pulled it from his bag, Feng commented to himself halfheartedly, knowing that there were many more pages that needed to be collected.
Following which, up until he had used Space-crossing View to check on the situation in the Gloomy Valley several dozen times and finally saw a group of players approaching Noya just as he was about to deactivate the skill, Feng slaughtered thousands of the Dark Den's native monsters, gathering a large number of items.
Noticing the team of a hundred players with levels ranging from 28 to 29 a short distance from the massive stone gate slowly approaching, seemingly intending to raid the Great Lord, Feng used Echoport.
The sky grew darker by the minute, and it wouldn't be long before night arrived. To players, this was an extremely unfavorable situation. Ordinary players would normally hurry back to their respective Shelters at this time of day.
At this moment, this team of 100 players had already spread out and moved into formation. It was obvious that they intended to raid Noya. Only, a Level 40 Field Great Lord was not an easy opponent. Even a 500-strong team would face one ending—death.
Otherwise, District Five would not have joined hands with several other Districts in an attempt to raid Noya during the previous timeline.
Meanwhile, the crusading army, which several Shelters had organized, consisted of 1,000 players.
Of course, this did not mean that all 1,000 players would enter the battle simultaneously. Instead, they planned to use a rotational tactic, taking turns to wear out the Great Lord.
Field Bosses would grow stronger depending on the number of players within their area of influence. For a Great Lord like Noya, when that number exceeded 100, its HP, Defense, and Attack Power would increase significantly. Hence, when fighting a Field Great Lord, it was ideal to send a team of 100 players or have several teams of 100 players rotate in and out of battle. This was also the method that Guilds favored when dealing with Field Bosses.
Watching the 100 players stand before Noya, one could easily tell that they were not ordinary players based on their levels.
However, against a Level 40 Great Lord, this team was still far from enough.
"Go!"
As the leading Elementalist shouted, the twelve Elementalists that had surrounded the Gargoyle promptly unfurled the magic scrolls in their hands and began chanting.
These twelve magic scrolls seemed to be of one body as they formed a complex 12-star magic array. In the blink of an eye, this 12-star magic array enveloped the Great Lord Noya. Powerful elemental Mana continuously suppressed the Field Boss, who stood in this array's center, causing the Great Lord to release an angry bellow.
"Humans! It's you damned humans again! I'll sacrifice you all to Lord Carlo!" Despite the 12-star magic array, Noya still revealed a sinister smile.
"You can smile even in the face of death?" the leading Elementalist sneered. "Everyone, attack! With the Demon Suppressing Barrier in effect, it won't be able to display even one-tenth of its strength! The Chapter of Darkness is fated to belong to District One this time!"
Everyone nodded in agreement as they charged towards the Great Lord.
Just like the leading Elementalist had said, a Demon Suppressing Array formed by the power of twelve Elementalists was indeed powerful. Even a peerless Great Lord could only display about one-tenth of its strength while contained in this barrier. With this, their MTs could definitely tank a Level 40 Great Lord.
However, the Demon Suppressing Array required twelve Elementalists to maintain it. Moreover, the barrier took an immense toll on the Elementalists' Mana. If even one Elementalist ran out of Mana, the barrier would immediately crumble.
Normally, only teams that were extremely confident in their DPS would attempt this method. After all, after one took into account the slots for MTs and healers, there were only 70 or so slots for DPS classes on a 100-player team. Losing another 12 core damage dealers would greatly affect the team's overall damage.
Particularly, the abilities of the team's DPS were further put to the test when one considered the problem of the barrier's duration.
Following which, the six MTs of District One took turns receiving the Noya's attacks. With the rear line healers healing them, the MTs managed to stop the Gargoyle's fierce attacks easily. At the same time, the other DPS of the team also began to attack the Great Lord madly.
Fireballs, Frost Arrows, arrows... All sorts of magical and physical attacks bombarded Noya.
Although the Great Lord's strength had been suppressed, greatly weakening its Attack Power and Defense, the players of District One could not inflict enough damage. The highest damage they dealt did not even exceed -1,000.
"Damn! Why does this monster have so much Defense?!" the leading Elementalist frowned. Gritting his teeth, he shouted, "Move on to Plan B!"
Immediately, a Cursemancer began chanting an incantation.
The spell this Cursemancer was preparing to cast is the Tier 1 Curse, Dark Storm. Not only could it inflict large amounts of damage, but it could also heavily injure its target, greatly reducing the target's Defense.
When Dark Storm struck Noya, damages of over -3,000 points appeared above its head, one after another...
The Tier 1 Curse only dealt a total damage of around -10,000 points to the Great Lord. To Noya, who possessed 10,000,000 HP, this was not even a scratch.
Following which, everyone's damage abruptly soared, and many dealt over -1,000 with their attacks.
Unfortunately, the duration of Dark Storm's effect was limited. A short moment later, everyone's damage fell.
"Next!" the leading Elementalist shouted.
Another Cursemancer began chanting, similarly casting the Tier 1 Curse, Dark Storm.
In such a way, the team repeatedly cast Tier 1 Curses at Noya. Eventually, the Gargoyle's HP fell to 60%.
Suddenly, Great Lord Noya's HP decreased rapidly.
This decrease could clearly be seen with the naked eye. At this moment, Noya was losing 1% of its HP every second. This sudden decrease was even greater than the damage that the District One team managed to cause.
"Is it nighttime already?" the leading Elementalist lifted his head to look up at the gloomy sky.
The moon had already emerged.
As moonlight touched on the Great Lord, Noya began to change.
Its originally massive three-story-tall body began to shrink rapidly, and its maximum HP fell from its original 10,000,000 to 6,000,000. However, as the Gargoyle's body shrunk, its Strength continuously rose, the Great Lord's damage increasing as well.
Initially, Noya had only dealt around -2,000 to -3,000 to District One's MTs. Now, however, every attack dealt over -4,000 damage.
The MTs receiving the Great Lord's attacks had more than 8,000 HP. Before, even if they were unlucky enough to receive a critical hit from the Great Lord, they would still live. Now, however, a critical hit would definitely kill an MT.
"Take turns activating your Lifesaving Skills to tank the Boss! Healers, concentrate on the lead MT!" the leading Elementalist commanded. He had long since prepared for this.
Following which, one of the Shield Warriors activated a Tier 1 Shield Wall, reducing the damage he received by half for 20 seconds.
The damage Noya dealt instantly fell from nearly -5,000 points to just over -2,000 points.
Meanwhile, the healers at the rear began dumping heals on the Shield Warrior, easily replenishing the 2,000-plus HP the Shield Warrior lost.
However, after five seconds or so, the Shield Warrior suddenly struggled to cope with the Great Lord's attacks.
The damage Noya's attacks dealt suddenly increased from over -2,000 points to almost -4,000. If not for Shield Wall, the Shield Warrior might have lost his life instantly.
"Leader, Noya is more powerful than we thought! If its damage continues rising, our MTs won't last!" a female Cleric said hurriedly.
Since the battle had begun, the healers had not struggled to keep the team's MTs alive.
They had also specifically chosen this time to challenge Noya. Based on their previous observations, Noya's HP during daytime was simply too high. When the sun set, however, the Gargoyle's HP fell from 10,000,000 to 6,000,000, though its damage would soar in return. With their team's damage output, if Noya had 10,000,000 HP, they could defeat the Great Lord within the Demon Suppressing Barrier's duration. So, they could only give the 6,000,000 HP Noya a try.
Also, the longer Noya fought at night, the higher its damage became.
Hence, they had chosen to challenge Noya near twilight. Only, the Great Lord's damage scaling exceeded their initial estimations.
"Damn! Its damage is increasing far too quickly!" The leading Elementalist glanced at his own remaining Mana. At most, the Demon Suppressing Barrier would last a few more minutes. Currently, however, Noya still had more than 3,000,000 HP. It was impossible for their team to deal that much damage in such a short time. Gritting his teeth, he yelled, "Retreat!"
Soon, everyone began to back away from the Gargoyle in an organized retreat. The lead MT also began retreating from the barrier one step at a time.
Not only could the Demon Suppressing Barrier suppress Demonic Creatures, but it also limited a Demon's range of activity. Only, while no one repelled Noya, the Gargoyle was able to attack the barrier freely. The damage the barrier received rapidly depleted the twelve Elementalists' Mana.
By the time everyone left the barrier, Noya's eyes narrowed as it revealed a cold smile. The Gargoyle then roared.
Suddenly, Noya's body cracked, some fragments falling from its body. These fragments then transformed into more than a dozen Miniature Noyas that were as tall as a normal person.
However, these Miniature Noyas were no trivial monsters. Although each only had 200,000 HP, they were all Level 40 Chieftain ranked monsters. Immediately, these monsters bombarded the Demon Suppressing Barrier with attacks, and in just five seconds, the twelve Elementalists lost their remaining Mana. As a result, the Demon Suppressing Barrier crumbled.
These Chieftain ranked Noyas then spread their wings, soaring into the air as they chased after the withdrawing players.
For monsters capable of flight, it was child's play to chase players who fled on foot. After a short moment, the Gargoyles caught up to the escaping players of District One, engaging in a skirmish.
With one attack, these Miniature Noyas dealt over -3,000 damage to the team's MTs. As for those who weren't plate-armor classes, most were instantly killed. These Miniature Noyas' damage practically rivaled Lord ranked monsters.
"Damn! They're just Chieftains! Why are their attacks so powerful?!" a Guardian Knight shouted, complaining as he was beaten to death by three Miniature Noyas. Not even the team's healers could keep him alive.
In just a moment, the team of 100 lost seven of its members.
Meanwhile, the Great Lord Noya simply remained in front of the massive stone gate, protecting the Chapter of Darkness while watching the members of District One die one by one.
If a team of 100 had to face over a dozen Chieftains, each with an Attack Power that could rival a Lord ranked monster, the team had no chance of survival.
This Great Lord was really powerful, and it could even use the Split Skill. With this Skill, there was no point in fighting a rotational battle.
Split was a Skill that allowed a monster to split into many weaker versions of itself. If players did not kill these doppelgangers in time, these doppelgangers would become nutrients for the main body, recovering large amounts of HP. It was one of the most annoying Skills a Boss could possess.
If a Great Lord like Noya possessed this Skill, a rotational battle would be useless. It was simply impossible for a team of 100 players to defeat so many Chieftains in time. No matter how many players a team swapped, the result would not change.
However, Split was not without a weakness.
After using Split, Noya's main form would not be able to attack, making it a perfect chance to damage the Great Lord. However, the raid team needed to be able to annihilate all the doppelgangers in time. Otherwise, there was no point in attacking the main body as Noya could recover the lost HP by absorbing its doppelgangers.
However, as Noya watched Shelter One's members get slaughtered in triumph, it suddenly noticed another ant had appeared before the gray barrier.
"Despicable human! You dare think of stealing the Chapter of Darkness!" Noya bellowed at Feng, who was currently raising his hand towards the barrier.
Feng responded to the Great Lord with a sideways glance that said, "What can you do to me?"
Following which, Feng ignored Noya as he smacked down onto the barrier with his palm.
There were two methods to break a barrier. One was through deciphering, while the other was through brute-force. However, the latter method required a very high Strength. Without having a certain amount of Strength, all attacks against the barrier would be useless. It was simply impossible for players of the current level to force their way through this gray barrier. They could only think of a way to decipher it.
But this naturally didn't apply to Feng.
Cracks instantly appeared on the grey barrier's surface, spreading like a spider web across its entirety.
As Feng pressed down with a bit more force, the sound resembling that of a balloon getting popped echoed out, the grey barrier unable to endure his overwhelming strength and shattering.
At this moment, Noya could only watch helplessly in shock.
As long as its doppelgangers were still alive, Noya's main body was unable to move or attack. This was the rule of the Split Skill, and not even a Great Lord could break this rule.
"Human, you have truly angered me now!" Noya released a frightening roar.
In the next moment, the doppelgangers that had chased the members of District One collapsed, one after another.
That's right, collapsed, not absorbed.
Noya canceled Split midway through the Skill's duration. Leaping into the air, the Gargoyle flew towards Feng.
At this moment, a pitch-black scythe suddenly appeared in Noya's hand. Countless wraiths emitted ear-piercing screeches that echoed throughout the valley as they writhed on the snow-white blade of this scythe.
Arriving before Feng, Noya swung its scythe towards the despicable little ant.
The scythe transformed into a black fissure that was as fine as a hair. This fissure was a phenomenon caused due to the scythe's blade slicing apart space. It was as if space had been cut into two. This black fissure extended towards Feng.
High-ranking Bosses in God's Domain possessed very high intelligence. In a desperate situation, they were capable of carrying out actions that surpassed one's imaginations.
Forcefully canceling Split caused a massive backlash.
Initially, Noya still had over three million HP. Now, however, it only had over two million HP. Moreover, it was obvious that, overall, the Gargoyle had weakened significantly.
Turning slightly towards Noya, Feng couldn't help but question that supposed "high intelligence", though. The Great Lord had just watched him shatter the barrier in a single hit, yet it still chose to attack him.
Though, considering it was a demonic creature with absolute loyalty that had been tasked with guarding the Chapter of Darkness, it wasn't surprising that it would attempt to do its duty even when faced with an incredibly powerful opponent, doing something as desperate as cancelling Split and attacking him using its most powerful skill; and even if it would most likely result in its death.
This move was the Tier 3 Taboo Skill, Dark Annihilation, and it was a Skill known for having the highest single target Attack Power among all Tier 3 Skills. Its might could rival even that of a Tier 4 Skill. It was a frightening Skill that could only be dodged, not blocked. However, as Dark Annihilation was a very powerful Skill, its user would also receive a strong backlash that would place them in a Weakened state for a long time.
In response to the Great Lord's attack, Feng unsheathed the Pandemonium Lashblade and slashed at the incoming black fissure, the power of thunder and flames erupting from the Demon Sword.
Although Dark Annihilation couldn't be blocked, it was possible to fight against it with a skill or power that had an equal amount of strength. Only, this was completely impossible for current players to achieve, since they'd need their attacks to at least reach the Tier 4 standard in order to offset Dark Annihilation.
Tier 3 Skill, Thunder Flames Explosion!
During this time after the second system update had changed how Skill Proficiency is gained, Feng has been constantly leveling up his skills by using them while achieving incredibly high Completion Rates, and had already leveled up all of his learnt skills to their limit.
Thunder Flame Explosion could be upgraded to a maximum of Tier 3 standard, and thanks to Feng working to level it up, it has reached Tier 3 Level 9 by now and had strength at the Tier 3 Peak standard. Along with the effects of the Pandemonium Lashblade, the power Feng could display using Thunder Flame Explosion reached the Tier 4 standard.
Noya suddenly felt the space in the surroundings get compressed, making its Attack Speed and Movement Speed slow to a crawl, while flames that arrived with the sound of thunder blasted out of the ant's pitch-black sword and rushed towards the black fissures.
When the explosion collided with the fissures, resulting in the surrounding space getting cracked and shattered, the gargoyle witnessed its attack get extinguished by the flames and thunder, a portion of which continued towards it. Unable to dodge, Noya could only brace itself for impact.
In front of the power from the Tier 4 standard Thunder Flame Explosion executed with a 150% Completion Rate by Feng, Noya's Dark Annihilation, which was not a one-off Skill, was rendered useless and instantly cancelled out, the explosion skill's residue power sending the Great Lord several yards back.
This sensational scene stupefied the players of District One, who currently watched from afar.
Compared to their prior battle with Noya, Feng's exchange with the Great Lord was on an entirely different level. If Noya had used this move against them, it would have wiped them out instantly. They would not have had a chance.
"Damn! That Gargoyle had actually been toying with us!" The leading Elementalist tightly gripped his staff, feeling humiliated.
"Leader, this is weird. Why is Noya randomly attacking with explosions instead of attacking us? What's going on here?" a Level 29 Shield Warrior who hadn't been able to see Feng counterattack due to the distance along with the speed everything had happened at asked curiously while assuming the explosion was the result of Noya's skill "Has Noya gone insane?"
"That's not it. I've already used Eagle Eyes to take a look. Noya had attacked a Swordsman player," a Ranger explained.
"This Swordsman sure is dumb. He actually tried to steal the Chapter of Darkness while we fought Noya. Does he really think the Gargoyle will let him steal the Chapter so easily? If it were that simple, we would have done it long ago."
Many players on the team began ridiculing Feng's foolish actions.
"Alright, that's enough. Let's hurry and retreat. If Noya comes after us again, we will truly be finished," the leading Elementalist said.
Everyone nodded silently before escaping the valley.
Despite their ridicule, they still felt very grateful towards Feng. Just the brief battle against Noya's doppelgangers had reduced their numbers to less than 60. If things had dragged on, none of them would have walked out of here alive.
As everyone turned to leave, the Ranger who had previously used Eagle Eyes suddenly exclaimed, "Team Leader Blue Frost, that Swordsman is still alive!"
"Alive? How can this be? Not even a Shield Warrior with Protection Blessing and Shield Wall could have survived that. How could a Swordsman possibly live after that attack?" the leading Elementalist named Blue Frost could not bring himself to believe the Ranger's words.
"It's true! If you don't believe me, you can ask the other Rangers as well!" the Ranger replied, his shock clearly written all over his face.
Curious, the other Rangers also activated Eagle Eyes and looked towards the epicenter of the previous explosion as space repaired itself and the smoke disappeared. Immediately, they all found themselves tongue-tied.
When Blue Frost saw the shocked expressions on the other Rangers' faces, he had no choice but to believe it to be true.
"Who is that?" Blue Frost could not help but ask.
Against such an attack, their team of one hundred could only embrace their deaths; it was simply impossible for them to block it. Yet, this mysterious Swordsman had survived against that frightening power. In Blue Frost's memory, a person with such capabilities did not exist. Even those Mavericks he knew of were incapable of doing so.
At this moment, Feng casually walked towards Noya, who was gripping its scythe tightly while glaring at him with fear in its crimson eyes, but the gargoyle's anger burned even brighter. Ignoring its weakened body, the Great Lord swung its scythe towards Feng, adamant in reaping the Swordsman's life.
"Still not giving up?" Feng commented upon seeing Noya continue to attack in spite of having clearly seen the difference in strength between them, but he didn't mind it that much and just slashed at it with Chop.
Even if the Great Lord was in peak condition, Feng would still be able to easily slaughter it, but the current Noya had suffered two debuffs already and received the Movement Speed Reduction debuff from Thunder Flame Explosion in full. Moreover, due to Feng exceeding a 100% Skill Completion Rate, Noya's speed, which originally would have reduced to one-sixth of its normal speed, had now reduced to one-thirtieth of its original. The debuff's duration also lasted for over half a minute.
Naturally, it stood no chance at even resisting or reacting as the three silver moons combined into one and landed on its chest, the Tier 1 Level 9 Chop reaching the Tier 3 Basic standard thanks to the Pandemonium Lashblade's and Swordsmanship Great Grandmaster Title's effects and slicing all the way through the other side of Noya, a huge damage of -1,497,710 appearing above the Great Lord's head; nearly taking away all of Noya's remaining HP.
"Is he human?"
The District One players who watched from afar were stupefied, shock filling their hearts.
A player was actually capable of overwhelming a Level 40 Great Lord all by himself. If others heard of this, nobody would believe such a tale. Yet, that was exactly the situation they had just witnessed...
"Leader, who is that?" the vice-leader of the team, a beautiful Level 29 female Cleric named Evening Lotus, could not help but ask as she looked to Blue Frost.
Blue Frost was the number one player in District One. Not only were his combat techniques excellent, but he also possessed plenty of contacts. He knew a lot of experts and even a few rarely-seen Mavericks. Moreover, he had been a Beta Tester[1] of God's Domain before the game had launched.
Out of all of the players of the available Shelters, nobody was more familiar with God's Domain than Blue Frost.
"I wish to know that as well," Blue Frost replied, smiling bitterly as he shook his head. "None of the experts I know of are capable of reaching such a standard."
Just a single attack from Feng had managed to cause over -1,400,000 damage to Noya.
Feng's damage far surpassed the damage of their entire 100-man team. The difference between them was inconceivable.
Blue Frost recognized himself as one of the players standing at the top of God's Domain.
However, after experiencing Feng's power, he finally realized that there would always be a sky above the clouds.
"It would be great if we can befriend him. Such an expert will definitely be one of God's Domain's leading figures in the future. If we can become friends with him, it could massively help our District One's Shelter," Evening Lotus stated.
"Indeed. If we can recruit such an expert into our Shelter, we will become the strongest Shelter out there." Blue Frost nodded in agreement.
Their District One was only considered the top Shelter in this region. However, that was not the case when they included other regions. Currently, players could only travel to their desired destinations using their own two feet. Their range of activities could not extend past a single region. Hence, for now, exchanges between different regions were very inconvenient. However, that story would change once other forms of transportation appeared. When movement between regions became more convenient, more competition would certainly greet them. Naturally, their District One would no longer be the strongest Shelter.
If they had an expert like Feng supporting them when such a time arrived, the position of their Shelter could rise significantly.
"Leader, what are we going to do now? Leave? Or..." Evening Lotus asked.
Currently, Feng still fought a battle against Noya. If they joined the battlefield now, it would look like they were trying to take advantage of the situation. If that happened, rather than finding friendship with Feng, they would become enemies instead.
"Isn't it obvious? We wait," Blue Frost said very definitively. "Wouldn't it be a pity if we lost the chance to befriend such an impressive expert? We have the perfect opportunity to do so right now. Although he is very powerful, he must've used some sort of Berserk Skill along with an incredibly powerful Super Skill to achieve such strength. Such Berserk Skills won't have a long duration, while that attack skill most likely has a very long cooldown. If he is unable to finish off Noya and has to escape, we can lend him a helping hand. Won't it be easy to get acquainted with him that way?"
Evening Lotus nodded in agreement after hearing these words.
Mavericks were very arrogant. Normally, they did not bother with people like them. Hence, it was not easy to befriend a Maverick. However, if they sacrificed themselves to save Feng in the case he isn't able to defeat Noya, even a powerful Maverick like him would be willing to get to know them.
Hearing Blue Frost's words, the other members of the team also expressed their agreement.
It was not easy to earn the favor of a Maverick. It was especially true for a Maverick like Feng. If they could get such an expert to owe them a favor, they would not mind suffering some deaths or injuries.
Hence, everyone quickly started to prepare. If Feng turned to flee, they would move in to hinder the Great Lord.
---
Feng had no idea what was going on around him, though, nor did he care.
Noya raged. It tried to counterattack, but unfortunately for the Great Lord, Feng had long since sensed its intentions and slashed at the Gargoyle's scythe. Their collision was followed by the sound of metal heavily colliding against metal, with Noya's weapon nearly getting launched from its hand by the force of Feng's strike, having to stumble back a couple of steps.
Even without any Berserk skills activated, Feng could easily overwhelm a Great Lord in terms of attributes, so Noya would only get itself killed in a frontal confrontation, but it was no longer going to get a chance to reconsider its life choices as Feng immediately followed up by executing Sword's Orbit; Divine Providence getting activated as well.
Although Noya tried to defend with its scythe, Feng's Attack Speed was way too fast, and the Great Lord could not keep up with the stars of light that surrounded them at all.
Knowing that death was already on its doorstep, Noya's eyes suddenly glowed a bloody red. It had actually managed to break free from the Movement Speed Reduction debuff and brandished its scythe at Feng.
Every strike from the scythe seemed capable of cutting apart space itself.
This was also the last Skill in Noya's arsenal, the Tier 2 Taboo Skill, Death's Tribute. This move was a Domain Skill, and it was capable of causing horrific amounts of damage to enemies within a certain range.
Upon Death's Tribute's activation, the area 50 yards around Noya turned deathly silent. Wraiths and evil spirits began to emerge from the ground. There were also dark blades moving through the area, and anything that came into contact with these blades immediately turned into sand and dirt.
"What kind of battle is this?" Evening Lotus was shocked as she watched the battle from afar.
On one side, there was the sea of stars. On the other, the end of the world had arrived.
If players like them participated in this battle, they would die instantly, without even ash remaining of their bodies.
It wasn't at all as close as it seemed, however, with Feng not caring about Noya's last ditch desperate move in the least as all the wraiths and evil spirits, along with the dark blades of Death's Tribute got destroyed in the face of Sword's Orbit, several stars breaking through the barricades of Noya's Tier 2 Taboo Domain Skill and leaving devastating gashes on the gargoyle's steel-like skin.
Damages of tens of thousands were dealt to the Great Lord one after another, and in the blink of an eye, Noya's remaining 500,000 HP plunged to zero, frustration filling the Gargoyle's eyes as its body fell to the ground.
Meanwhile, Feng stood within the dissipating darkness completely unscathed, having broken through all of Death's Tribute's effects with overpowering strength.
"He won...?"
Blue Frost and the others, who had waited patiently a distance away, were dumbfounded. They could not bring themselves to believe what their eyes had just witnessed. A single player had actually defeated a Level 40 Great Lord, with the latter not having been able to even fight back or land a hit.
Although they had seen other Mavericks defeat the monsters serving as gatekeepers to new maps, that was in the past. The monsters those Mavericks had gone up against had merely been Lords. A Great Lord, on the other hand, was on a completely different level.
This fact had been reinforced after they witnessed Noya's ultimate move, Death's Tribute.
Everything within 50 yards of the Great Lord had turned into sand and dirt. No living creature could survive in that domain.
"Isn't that person way too powerful? He actually survived the Great Lord's ultimate move without being harmed!" A Level 29 Shield Warrior exclaimed.
Back when the Shield Warrior had received Noya's normal attack, despite having activated Shield Wall, he had still received over -4,000 damage. If he had not possessed Shield Wall's 50% Damage Reduction effect, he would have died on the spot.
Shield Warriors and Guardian Knights wielded shields. Not only could one's shield increase a player's Defense, but they also possessed a Block Rate. It was why these two classes could serve as a team's MTs.
However, Noya's Death's Tribute was not a normal attack. It was a powerful AOE Skill.
Yet, Feng had fought against the Domain Skill and came out like he had just taken a stroll through a park.
"Leader, are we still going over to meet him?" Evening Lotus asked after recovering from her stupor.
"Yes! Of course, we're going! He has just achieved such a feat, and we are the witnesses of this legend. How can we not go and congratulate him?" At this moment, Blue Frost's eyes were filled with reverence as he looked at Feng.
To them, a Great Lord was an immovable mountain. Blue Frost even had yet to hear of anyone throughout God's Domain overcoming this mountain. Yet, the man before them had easily scaled it, achieving a miracle that nobody had managed until now.
On the other side, Feng did not remain idle. After killing Noya, Feng's Level, which he had kept at 20 all this time, instantly rose past 30, but he once again poured all of it into Levellume Capsules, before picking up all of Noya's loot and collecting the Chapter of Darkness.
[Chapter of Darkness] (Dark-Gold Rank Item)
The Chapter of Darkness brims with Soul Energy. You may pass it to a Shelter's Caretaker to enhance the Shelter's power and activate a portion of the Chapter of Darkness's ability.
Feng then stored the Chapter of Darkness away and looked through Noya's drops.
With Feng having activated Divine Providence and killing the Gargoyle, a jackpot had occurred. Loot covered the ground around Noya's body that was as tall as a three-story building.
Most of the items he had picked up were pieces of Level 40 Dark-Gold Equipment, with some of them being Set Equipment pieces and weapons, while a large amount of them were rare materials. There were also a couple of rare Designs and Recipes, along with two Epic items.
Though, the only two items that piqued Feng's interest in the least were still here like in the previous timeline, being the only somewhat rare items among Noya's loot.
The first was a Teleportation Magic Array Design.
Players residing in the Dark Den might be unfamiliar with teleportation arrays as their only form of travel was by foot, but to players outside the Dark Den, they were quite familiar with the concept.
After all, when players outside the Dark Den traveled to faraway maps to grind monsters, they normally used teleportation arrays to save on travel time.
However, teleportation arrays could not teleport a player to every corner of God's Domain, as a majority of the locations in God's Domain did not possess a teleportation array. For such locations, players could only teleport to the nearest map and run the rest of the way. Even then, they would still have to waste a large amount of time.
Meanwhile, the Teleportation Magic Array Design could easily solve this problem.
As long as one paid a certain price and constructed a Teleportation Magic Array at a grinding spot, players could easily teleport to that location.
Of course, unlike the teleportation arrays one would normally find in the Teleportation Halls, which allowed teleportation between various large cities, the teleportation arrays one could construct with this forging design were the simplest version—a one-to-one teleportation array. These teleportation arrays only allowed teleportation between two locations. Even so, it was something many Guilds dreamed of obtaining.
Only, Teleportation Magic Array Designs were not that easily obtainable.
Normally, Great Lords or above dropped them. Moreover, their drop-rate was horrifically low. There was no guarantee one would obtain a design even after killing a hundred Great Lords.
On the market, a single Teleportation Magic Array Design was worth more than ten Epic items. Its value was only less than Fragmented Legendary items. However, nobody would be so foolish as to sell the Teleportation Magic Array Designs they obtained. For such a strategic-level item, not a single player would willingly trade it even if they were offered 20 or 30 Epic items.
Depending on the Level of an Epic item, there would come a time when it would lose its value. However, Teleportation Magic Array Designs would never have such a problem. In the past, even after God's Domain had been in operation for over a decade, these Forging Designs were still incomparably valuable. These were better at maintaining their value than any other item in the game.
While a piece of Epic Equipment might improve the combat power of a single player, a single Teleportation Magic Array Design could improve a Guild as a whole.
As players reached higher levels, the maps they would journey to would be much farther away from cities.
Currently, players visiting leveling maps around Level 30 could still reduce their travel time significantly by utilizing the teleportation arrays in cities. However, maps after Level 35 practically had no available arrays. Players were required to run across at least one entire map to get to their desired destinations.
Even if players did not rest and did not encounter any monsters on their journey, with players' current levels, they would require at least three hours to cross a map. Moreover, the higher level the map was, the larger it would be, which would result in longer travel times.
Hence, after players reached Level 35, it was very normal to return to cities only once every two or three days. They would return only after they had exhausted their Consumable items or when their equipment was in dire need of repair.
The second item was a Dark-Gold Mount.
Mounts were one of the means of transport in God's Domain. After all, God's Domain was massive. Not only was it laborious to travel from place to place constantly, but it would also take a huge toll on a player's body. This was where Mounts came into play.
In God's Domain, players could purchase Mounts in cities once they reached Level 40, and like equipment, Mounts were categorized into different ranks. There were Common, Bronze, Mysterious-Iron, Secret-Silver, Fine-Gold, Dark-Gold, Epic, and even Legendary rank.
Mounts of different quality possessed varying abilities. Common Mounts could only be used for transportation, and they provided an additional Movement Speed bonus of 100%. In other words, a journey that one would normally take two hours to complete would only take an hour, saving players plenty of time. As long as players reached a certain Level, they could go to cities and purchase the most common Mounts.
Bronze Mounts were slightly rarer, and not only could they be used as a means of transport, but they also possessed some offensive capabilities. They provided an additional Movement Speed bonus of 120%. Bronze Mounts could not be purchased in cities and were only available through some high-level Rare Quests, large-scale Team Dungeons, or when a player's Reputation with certain powers reached a specific level. It was extremely difficult for ordinary players to obtain Bronze Mounts.
As for Mysterious-Iron Mounts, other than having significant improvements to their offensive capabilities, they could also carry items for players, having the same capacity as a player's mobile bag. The Mounts also increased a player's Movement Speed by 150%. Such mounts could only be obtained through Super Rare Quests or large-scale Team Dungeons with a low drop-rate.
Secret-Silver Mounts were extremely rare. Not only did they possess strong offensive capabilities, but they also possessed some special Skills that could be used to assist players. They could also carry more items than Mysterious-Iron Mounts, and the Movement Speed bonus they provided was 180%. They were even rarer than multiple pieces of Dark-Gold Equipment.
Fine-Gold Mounts were as rare as a phoenix feather. Not even the Guild Leader of a large Guild would have one. A Fine-Gold Mount's strength was the equivalent of a Special Elite's of the same Level, and it provided 220% Movement Speed bonus. A Fine-Gold Mount was no less rare than two or three Epic items.
Dark-Gold Mounts were even more impressive. The Mount itself was already the equivalent of a Chieftain of the same Level. In addition, it also had special Skills that made it even stronger than an ordinary Chieftain. As for the Movement Speed bonus, a Dark-Gold Mount provided 280%.
In addition, a Dark-Gold Mount possessed significant combat power and special Skills. Overall, while out in the fields, a Dark-Gold Mount was far more useful than an Epic item.
Mounts in God's Domain were also not static. They could become stronger if nurtured properly. In the beginning, Bronze and Mysterious-Iron Mounts only possessed combat power equivalent to that of a Common Monster of the same Level. However, through careful nurturing, it was not impossible to raise their combat power to the standard of an Elite or Special Elite. Naturally, Dark-Gold Mounts had far greater potential. From the moment they were born, they were already as strong as a Chieftain of the same Level. After nurturing, they could easily become Lords or even High Lords.
Even Grand Lords have an extremely low chance of dropping Dark-Gold Mounts. The drop-rate from Great Lords should be practically zero. This could be a system reward item for killing this Great Lord gatekeeper coupled with Feng's incredible Luck.
Just as Feng finished looking through his gains, the sound of a system notification suddenly rang out by his ear.
System Announcement: God's Domain will be undergoing a system upgrade. The system upgrade will require 10 real-time hours. All players must log out of the game within 10 minutes.
"As expected, I was the cause." Feng concluded his original guess, after seeing the third system upgrade get initiated right after he had killed Noya.
Guardian monsters often served as tests the Main God's System used to collect data, and Feng just soloing a Great Lord guardian boss monster like Noya told the Main God's System that it was time for another evolution.
Moreover, the impact of the third evolution was going to be massive.
While the third evolution of the Main God System meant that the world of God's Domain was going to become even more fleshed out and realistic, it also indicated the opening of a new door.
This third evolution would send God's Domain to a whole new peak.
Not only would the demand for Magic Crystals suddenly rise, but the real world would also undergo some changes.
The largest impact would be the focus shifting from an era of physical fitness to an era of God's Domain.
After the second evolution, everyone had a vague method of testing a player's skills through their Skill Completion Rates. Players who could achieve a Skill Completion Rate of 69% or below were basic players, whereas those above 70% were considered experts. As to what standard of an expert, nobody could accurately tell. However, after the third evolution of God's Domain, this indicator would become very clear.
After the third evolution of God's Domain, the importance of Skill Completion Rate would grow, especially in battles between players. Meanwhile, the style of combat available would also become more varied. There would be field battles, survival battles, and more. Those who pursued excitement and limits would not miss this opportunity, and these future battles would allow everyone to witness a realistic world that was completely different from the one everyone was familiar with. These battles were far more exciting than the actual fighting competitions in the real world.
They were just like the real survival battle that caused a sensation to sweep across the world dozens of years ago.
In order to satisfy some of the world's top figures, some of the major powers in the real world had secretly procured death-row inmates, having them engage in battle in specified locations. The winner of such battles would not only obtain their freedom, but they would also receive a large sum of Credits. In the end, this situation had resulted in many major powers nurturing their own experts in secret and forcing them into such survival battles.
Despite major governments banning these battles on the surface, many were still conducted secretly throughout the world.
Meanwhile, after God's Domain underwent its third evolution and activated similar competitive battles, the game had immediately attracted a large number of players. In addition, due to God's Domain's combat system reaching the peak of perfection, the game had managed to replace many of the popular fighting competitions in the real world. After all, not only were fights in God's Domain without danger, but the fighters in these competitions could also improve their strength through these battles.
In addition, many of those who were disabled in the real world could obtain a complete body in God's Domain. Whether they were blind, deaf, or missing limbs, as long as one did not suffer from any brain damage or mental disabilities, they could enjoy life as experts in God's Domain.
Due to these changes, the entire world entered the era of God's Domain.
As for how one could become an expert? The Main God's System had provided a concrete answer—Skill Completion Rate.
How could one go about increasing their Skill Completion Rates?
If one relied solely on hard work and constant training, they would not experience any significant improvements. The simplest method of increasing one's Skill Completion Rate was to improve their control over their own body. Take a person's physical strength for example. In a test, an ordinary person might land a 50kg hit on the first punch and 70kg on the second punch; this was a very wide margin. Meanwhile, this margin would only grow wider in a fight against another person. However, if a person underwent training and often participated in matches against other people, the fluctuations in their strength would become practically negligible and stable. With a stable output of physical strength, one's body would not break form due to using too much or too little, thereby reducing the chances of creating weak points for one's opponent to exploit.
Many experts were even capable of achieving a level of control with which they could exert as much strength and accuracy as they wanted. For example, if they wanted to send out a punch with 90kg of force, they could do so. One could say that their physical control had already reached perfection.
The usage of Skills in God's Domain had a very high requirement of the body's movements. Hence, such training was a must.
As a result, many people began to study martial arts, learning how to control their bodies more efficiently. Due to this, places such as training centers and dojos became instantly popular again after the third evolution of God's Domain in the past.
Now that the third evolution of God's Domain was being initiated, the other Guilds and powers would definitely notice of the changes and immediately shift the core of their development towards martial arts dojos and training centers.
Although these first-rate Guilds and major powers had access to fully equipped training facilities of their own, these machines were all suited for daily exercises and maintaining physical fitness. The various powers had not particularly focused on training their members in martial arts. If they shifted their focus now, due to the inherent advantages these major powers possessed, one could just imagine how quickly they could nurture experts.
Following which, Feng searched for a safe location and prepared to log out of the game.
At this moment, the players of District One hurriedly ran over to him.
"Expert, please wait!" Blue Frost hurriedly said as he dashed up to Feng.
"Do you need something?" Feng asked calmly as he glanced at Blue Frost and the others.
"Brother Expert, please don't misunderstand. I am Blue Frost, the leader of District One's First Party. I have come here to congratulate you on your victory. Just now, I personally witnessed the moment you killed the Great Lord by yourself. You have truly earned my admiration," Blue Frost hurriedly explained, afraid that Feng would misunderstand his intentions.
In truth, he, too, knew that abruptly showing himself could cause a misunderstanding. However, if Feng logged off, he would most likely lose the opportunity to befriend Feng in the future.
"May I know how I should address Brother Expert?"
Although their team had long since discovered Feng's name through Identification Skills, as a form of courtesy, it was proper to ask.
"Ye Feng," Feng replied straightforwardly. "Brother Blue Frost's team did a good job forcing Noya to use Split. Otherwise, if Noya had not weakened itself by canceling the Skill, I would have had to spend at least another half a minute fighting in order to defeat it."
Despite him being generous and trying to give them some of the credit for the fight, even exaggerating to an extent of saying it shortened the fight by thirty seconds, when in reality it may have only cut down the fight by ten or fifteen seconds, the players from District One looked at him with blank expressions that didn't seem to appreciate his comment.
"No, no. It is because Brother Ye Feng is awesome. If not for Brother Ye Feng, our entire team would have been wiped out. If you don't mind, why don't we go get a drink? My treat. Our District One's Hundred Berry Wine is unmatched." Blue Frost didn't mind Feng's words too much and immediately offered to treat him to a drink.
"Sure." Feng promptly accepted Blue Frost's warm invitation, this having been the point of him waiting for Blue Frost and the others to show up and attempt to raid Noya, so that he could swoop in and save the day, resulting in him forging a connection with one of Zero Wing's former Branch Leaders and top experts once again.
However, as the system was going to update soon, they could only reconvene after the upgrade completed.
Feng and Blue Frost then added each other as friends. That way, they could contact each other at any time so long as both parties were online.
Inside the Dark Den, players could still communicate with other players. However, it was limited to players who also resided in the Dark Den. Communication with players outside of this area was still unavailable.
Afterwards, Feng logged off to wait for the third system evolution to end, and for the madness of every power on the Eastern Continent of God's Domain to begin when they go apeshit after realizing how much Feng had screwed them out of through their deal with the Candlelight Trading Firm.
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1. Cap. Never mentioned before or after about an actual beta tester, so I refuse to believe it.
