Chapter 659 - 419: A Bonfire Before the Great Battle

Chapter 659: Chapter 419: A Bonfire Before the Great Battle

Leveling from 12 to 16 granted him four attribute points, all of which Zhou Chen allocated to Intelligence.

[Physical Strength: 13

Intelligence: 41

Endurance: 14

Power: 8

Agility: 14]

He was only four Intelligence points away from using the Life-taking Curse, and his high Intelligence of 41 was more than enough to learn a wide array of Magic Skills at the Magic Academy.

Zhou Chen walked over to the loot and quickly picked it up. There was only a magnificent Great Tachi and a slowly beating, pitch-black heart.

—[Silver White Sun Unrivaled Blade: A magnificent, glittering Great Tachi of exceptional sharpness. It once slew an Evil Dragon.

In the past, Laurie was one of the heroes closest to becoming the King of Gaia. One day, however, he mysteriously disappeared and was never seen again.

Weapon Skills:

Insight Slash: Step back to dodge at the perfect moment. If you successfully evade an enemy’s attack, your next attack will deal bonus damage and empower the weapon, increasing all damage dealt by 1.35 times for the next 60 seconds.

Iaido Slash: Perform a Nodachi Iaido stance, then slash forward and move behind the enemy. You are briefly invincible upon execution. If you successfully dodge an enemy’s attack, you will unleash the Silver Radiant Day Sword Qi, dealing massive damage.

Dragon Ascending Slash: Thrust forward. Upon hitting an enemy, vault off their body to leap high into the air and deliver a downward vertical slash, dealing multiple hits of high damage.

Required Attributes: Power 36, Intelligence 24, Agility 32

On Equip: Power +7]

—[Demon Dragon Heart: The heart of a Demon Dragon. It has a ferocious and terrifying appearance, exuding an aura of savage power. Even though its owner is dead, the heart continues to beat slowly.

It contains a terrifying Demonic Power. Swallowing it will allow one to transform into a dragon, but at the cost of their humanity.

Laurie was once Gaia’s most renowned Dragon Hunter Master, yet now he has become a Demon Dragon. Perhaps this is the Curse those Evil Dragons laid upon him.]

"...You... you succeeded?"

Danika’s surprised and stunned voice rang in his ears. "This is truly... incredible... Rest in peace, Laurie..."

[Wish Value +100]

’Danika and Laurie’s relationship must be complicated,’ Zhou Chen thought, his eyes on the Wish Value notification. ’If she had merely "heard of" him, she wouldn’t have given me this much Wish Value.’

Just then, Blei and Fowler, having apparently heard the commotion, came galloping over on their horses.

"What did you do?" Fowler asked, stunned.

Zhou Chen explained the whole story. As Danika had requested, he didn’t mention her to either of them.

[Wish Value +150]

[Wish Value +70]

Upon learning that the monster lurking in the Darkness was dead, both Fowler and Blei gave him some Wish Value. Fowler’s contribution was the largest; Zhou Chen figured the Dark Stalker must have truly traumatized him, making him desperate to see it dead.

"Dark Stalker... I think I’ve heard that name in my travels..." Blei stroked his chin, lost in thought. A moment later, he snapped his fingers. "I remember! A while back, I met a Wandering Hunter who told me a coastal town in northern Gaia had been destroyed by a monster. The survivors all said the Dark Stalker did it. But if Laurie was here, then it couldn’t have been him... Is there more than one Dark Stalker?"

"Never mind that for now. Why hasn’t the Academy opened its gates?" Fowler asked, looking around anxiously.

The three of them waited for more than ten minutes, but there was no sign of activity. Something was wrong. The Academy could observe the outside in real time; seeing the Darkness vanish and the crisis end, they should have lifted the lockdown by now.

’Don’t tell me something happened inside the Academy, too...’ Zhou Chen could only assume the worst. He turned to the other two. "Is there any way to get inside?"

Fowler’s expression darkened. He mulled it over for a few seconds before saying, "I know a secret passage, but it’s lined with magical traps. It’s extremely dangerous."

"I’ll try it."

’Players can revive indefinitely by reloading, which is perfect for scouting out a path.’

Fowler led them to the base of a mountain near the Magic Academy. He took out his Magic Staff and chanted a Spell. A purple light glowed from the staff, and a section of the rock face ahead of them grew illusory, eventually revealing a pitch-black cave entrance.

"This is it," Fowler said. "Just head straight through. The exit leads right into the Academy."

Zhou Chen made a manual save, then plunged into the cave without a second glance.

He had gone less than twenty meters when he heard a faint CLICK from underfoot. It was followed by a flash of fire and a thunderous BOOM.

The fragile Zhou Chen had no time to react and was killed instantly, respawning back at the cave entrance.

"We heard the explosion and saw the flash of fire," Blei said, looking Zhou Chen up and down in amazement. He clicked his tongue. "So this is an outlander’s undying miracle? Truly amazing. You just reappeared out of thin air, just like that."

Zhou Chen turned to Fowler, his face completely deadpan. "Why is your Magic Academy’s secret passage booby-trapped with high-explosive landmines?!"

"Because they work, of course," Fowler said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Oftentimes, technology is more effective than Magic. With the Satellite Cities established for so many years, Gaia has actually been a modern society for a long time now. You probably haven’t been to one of the cities yet, but the outlanders who came over the last century all said Gaia’s cities are no different from the outside world... Don’t let our old-fashioned clothes fool you. We all have cell phones and internet access."

As he spoke, he pulled a cell phone out from within his magical robes.

"..." Zhou Chen was left speechless. He simply turned and charged back into the cave.

This time, he had learned his lesson. He sprinted the whole way, relying on his speed to dodge any traps he might accidentally trigger. He soon reached a spacious cavern. Behind him, the path he had come from was suddenly shrouded in mist, and tense background music began to play.