Chapter 654 - 416: Note from an Unknown Existence (Part 2)

Chapter 654: Chapter 416: Note from an Unknown Existence (Part 2)

The Nameless Ghost pointed to a spot about two hundred meters away where an extinguished bonfire lay. "Light that bonfire, and you will gain a miraculous, undying power."

The Ghost seemed to have more to say, but Zhou Chen didn’t wait to hear the rest. He ran directly to the bonfire, gave a small wave of his hand, and the bonfire ignited on its own, successfully activating the save point.

Zhou Chen sat by the bonfire, and options like "Rest," "Craft Artifacts," and "Adjust Equipment" immediately appeared before him. He then got up from the bonfire and returned to the Nameless Ghost.

"Ah, very good. It seems you’ve lit the bonfire." As he spoke, the Nameless Ghost held out two items, automatically transferring them to Zhou Chen.

"I suspect you’ll need these. Please, take them. No need to be polite."

—[World Map: A Gaia Map meticulously drawn by a cartographer.]

—[Horse Summoning Spirit Ring: A ring that can summon a phantom steed. The Spirit Horse possesses a miraculous power called "Triple Jump."]

—[Blood Bottle: A bottle containing Divine Power that can restore Blood Volume. Current quantity: 1.]

—[Blue Bottle: A bottle containing Divine Power that can restore Mana. Current quantity: 1.]

’These are all basic artifacts. I wonder if the others got them too...’ Zhou Chen nodded, equipped the Horse Summoning Spirit Ring, and whistled. A faint blue halo lit up beneath him, coalescing into a unicorn. He smoothly mounted it.

"Give it a name," said the Nameless Ghost.

"Hmm..." Zhou Chen thought for a moment, then suddenly pumped his fist, struck by inspiration.

"I’ll call you Bao Li."

The unicorn neighed.

"It seems to like that name."

The Nameless Ghost chuckled. "Well then, outlander, please set off on your journey with the goal of becoming the King of Gaia. If fate allows, we will meet again."

The Nameless Ghost slowly faded away and vanished.

’He seems like a pretty important NPC...’ Zhou Chen mused for a moment before opening the map.

The previously dark map was now fully revealed. His current location was called the Misty Forest, situated in the eastern region of Gaia.

"Hmm... The Magic Academy is relatively close to here. I’ll head there first, get the key to open the palace in the Valley of Miasma, and then set out from the Valley of Miasma to the Volcanic Area to find the relic."

Zhou Chen quickly formulated his plan and flicked the reins.

"Bao Li, let’s go!"

The unicorn took off, its speed like a gale. It then leaped into the air, a phantom Magic Array materializing beneath its hooves. It pushed off the array for a second jump. Immediately, another Magic Array formed, and it launched itself once more, completing a Triple Jump and soaring at least fifteen meters high.

"WOOHOO~~~" Zhou Chen cheered exhilaratingly in the rushing wind of his descent. After landing, he spurred his horse into a gallop.

On a mountaintop behind him, the Nameless Ghost materialized, watching the distant figure and murmuring to himself, "Such a vibrant outlander... I just wonder how far he will go. Will he successfully vanquish the host of Kings, or will he just fade into obscurity...?"

·

Zhou Chen rode near a group of roaming mobs. He was only half an experience bar away from LV10. The top priority was to level up so he could unlock his Extraordinary Abilities.

Less than a day had passed since the server opened, and his progress was miles ahead of everyone else’s.

After dismounting, the Spirit Horse Bao Li automatically vanished. He crouched down, moved into a patch of grass, and observed the monsters in the distance.

They were rotting humans in tattered clothes, wandering by the roadside like zombies.

’They look like trash mobs. I’ll give it a try...’ Zhou Chen took out his Magic Staff, locked onto a target, and cast the spell "Lethal Thorn."

SWISH!

A red thorn shot out and hit a living corpse. Its health bar emptied instantly, and it collapsed with a wail. A stream of light rose from the body and flew toward him, and his experience points increased slightly.

’This spell’s damage is pretty good, a one-hit kill. And the Mana cost isn’t too high...’ Zhou Chen was delighted. Increasing his Intelligence Attribute boosted his magic power and also increased his total Mana. His Mana Bar was now a full two times longer than his health bar, allowing him to cast more spells.

He proceeded to use Fireball Technique and Thorn Entanglement. Either Skill could one-shot these living corpses, and he cleaned them all up in no time.

Zhou Chen walked over to loot the bodies, picking up 201 Copper Coins and an arrow.

’These mobs are still too low-level. The rewards for killing them aren’t great. I need to find tougher monsters...’ Having made up his mind, Zhou Chen summoned the Spirit Horse Bao Li and continued toward the marked location of the Magic Academy.

「One hour later.」

"Urgh... You... damned... outlander..."

The Great Sword Knight, clad in Knight Armor corrupted by Dark Power, fell helplessly. Its body slowly faded away as a stream of light flew toward Zhou Chen.

The experience bar filled up.

LV9 → LV10!

He had obtained the last bit of experience he needed and reached Level 10.

At that moment, his originally sealed Extraordinary Abilities, Essence Armament, and Forbidden Objects were all unsealed, becoming active within his Soul once more.

However, it was impossible to make any contact between the Restricted Area and the outside world, so the Bonds Ring remained disconnected. The Prayer System was also cut off from the outside, no longer accruing Prayer Points.

Since the Prayer System’s main brain, Eva, had followed Zhou Chen, the entire system would have been paralyzed after he entered the Restricted Area. Therefore, he had made other arrangements: he had Eva create a subsystem to leave behind in the outside world to keep the Prayer System functioning normally.

When he gets out, the subsystem will merge with the main system, and all the Prayer Points earned during this time will be added to his total.

He currently had 75,042 Prayer Points, which he had accumulated over time. The main source was the group of temps he had brainwashed in North Carolina, followed by the owners of the Prayer System.

He hadn’t used many of these Prayer Points, saving them specifically to make a big splash in "Gaia."

"Eva, can you tamper with the system?" Zhou Chen asked.

[Merge Prayer System with "Gaia" Player System. Prayer Points required: 30,000 (Personal use only). Time required: 12 hours.]

"Begin," Zhou Chen made the Prayer.

[Prayer Points -30,000]

[Fusion beginning. Time remaining: 11 hours, 59 minutes, 59 seconds...]

Zhou Chen opened his "Gaia" Player panel and noticed a small line of text had appeared at the top—Fusion time remaining: 11 hours, 59 minutes, 57 seconds...

"The game recognized the system merger? Hmm... A Player’s own Extraordinary Abilities and Artifacts get ’gamified’ upon entry, so has Praying also become a special in-game mechanic?"

Zhou Chen mulled it over for a moment and decided to test it. He first added the 1 attribute point he gained from leveling up to his Intelligence, then made a Prayer: "Increase my Intelligence Points by 1."

[Prayer Points -1,000]

[Intelligence +1]

’It works, but 1,000 Prayer Points is a bit much. Not very cost-effective...’ Zhou Chen then pointed to a large rock nearby. "I wish for this rock to be pulverized."

[Prayer Points -1]

CRACK! The large rock shattered on cue, crumbling into a pile of fine dust.

’Good, the Wish Bottle works here...’ Seeing his Intelligence Points reach 30, Zhou Chen quickly equipped "Shafali’s Master Staff."

Intelligence +5, Endurance +3.

Then, with a thought, he took out a cell phone.

—Storage Artifacts could not be used in Zone 009. Simply put, the act of retrieving items from any external storage-type artifact was forbidden. But there were loopholes to exploit in the game’s Rules. While Storage Artifacts were unusable, Essence Armaments could be used freely.

Therefore, the Star Association would create large quantities of Essence Armaments for Players to bring in, developing the technology and Alchemy within "Gaia" to pave the way for future Players.

This cell phone was one such Essence Armament created by the Star Association. The moment he turned it on, it automatically connected to a signal. Even though he was in the middle of nowhere, the signal was, unbelievably, at full bars.

’God knows what kind of black-box technology the people from the Satellite City have developed over the years.’

"Hello, hello? Anyone there?"

Zhou Chen sent a message in the Player group chat, but no one responded.

His progress was just too fast. The other Players were still struggling with mobs, while he had already reached Level 10 and regained his abilities.

’Someone should show up after a while.’

Zhou Chen put away his phone, summoned the Spirit Horse Bao Li, and continued onward.

·

「Twelve hours later.」

The fusion of the Prayer System and the "Gaia" Player System was complete.

DING!

Suddenly, a notification sound chimed. The quest module popped up with a new quest—this was a module from the Prayer System, as the "Gaia" Player system didn’t have one.

[You have triggered the main quest—"King of Gaia"]

[Quest Type: Challenge]

[Quest Difficulty: Epic of the Ages]

[Time Limit: 28 days, 7 hours, 13 minutes, 21 seconds.]

[Quest Objective: Become the King of Gaia and clear Zone 009.]

[Quest Reward: 200,000 Prayer Points.]

[Note from an unknown entity:

—I pray to you from here. Please, save our World...]