My Dream After Having a Do Over Is To Become The Best Player (Patreon)

Chapter 9: One-Man Army

‘Those Assassins lied!’

Although Shi Feng was furious, he knew he had to remain calm in this unknown situation.

Even within the [Penumbra Studio], each member had their own selfish interests. They would certainly hide some critical discoveries for themselves to quietly grow stronger and make a fortune in silence.

There were many such people in the studio, whether they were peripheral members or core members. After some time, a few particularly strong individuals would always emerge, rapidly rising in status. Shi Feng himself was one of them; otherwise, he wouldn't have become the team leader from being a core member.

"When they came to the Lost Land, they only reported about the existence of the [Mithril—Treasure Chest] and didn't say anything else. They must have hidden something more important than the [Mithril—Treasure Chest]. Is it this Hidden Quest?" Shi Feng called up the system quest interface.

The hidden quest in the Lost Land: "Past Glory."

Other than the name, there was no content, no instructions on what to do.

"A regional trigger quest?" With his ten years of experience in God's Domain, Shi Feng immediately saw the key to this hidden quest.

In God's Domain, there were some very special quests that could only be triggered in certain regions. These quests had no content, requiring players to find their way through by themself. Once the quest was completed, even if another player came to the same place, the quest wouldn't trigger again. These were unique and very special quests.

They were also extremely dangerous.

In unknown areas, finding a way to complete the quest meant facing the monsters of that unknown region. The monsters in these special quest areas were typically several levels higher than those in surrounding areas, making it nearly impossible for ordinary players to complete.

In his previous life, six assassins over level 20 came to this level 5 monster area to complete the quest.

"No matter, I can't leave anyway. I might as well explore. At worst, I'll die and revive back in the city." Shi Feng decided and strode forward.

Walking through the misty white fog, a few blurry figures appeared in front of Shi Feng after a while.

It was a city, an abandoned city with dilapidated houses everywhere. Judging from the size and grandeur of the buildings, it was once a very prosperous place, more splendid than even White River City.

However, this once ‘prosperous’ city now had no sign of life.

Shi Feng quietly entered the city, searching for quest clues while observing his surroundings.

In a city that could accommodate millions of people, searching was like finding a needle in a haystack.

Shi Feng ran through dozens of streets, entered hundreds of houses, and spent several hours without finding any quest clues. With God's Domain just beginning, it was the prime time to create a gap. Shi Feng had wasted several hours, while many players had already reached level 1, and he was still stuck at 34% of level 2.

He was torn between continuing to search for quest clues or ending it and reviving back in the city.

"I’ll search around for one more hour. If I don't find anything, I'll return to the city." Shi Feng set a deadline for himself. Although this quest was valuable, he didn't have endless time to waste here. He had many other quests to complete and couldn't afford to get stuck here.

Time passed bit by bit.

Shi Feng reached the central tower of the city, which was once a holy place for magic users, the best place to learn magic. Now, it was in ruins, with even the magic crystals on the tower shattered.

Climbing up the tower, standing on the observation deck, the city's scenery lay before him. If not for the urgency, Shi Feng would have enjoyed it for a while.

He looked around but found nothing special.

Just as he was about to leave.

"Young adventurer, welcome to Sky City."

An old man with a white beard suddenly appeared, his voice full of wisdom and experience, startling Shi Feng. He almost thought it was a monster, but relaxed upon seeing the yellow marker.

Sky City?

Thinking of this famous city in God's Domain, Shi Feng was shocked.

Sky City was once renowned across the God's Domain continent, home to countless legendary professions, with the demi-god Sword Saint Ultima guarding it, making even gods wary. Unfortunately, it fell and disappeared in the third god war.

"Respected elder, is there anything I can help you with?" Shi Feng asked with a formulaic smile.

"Help?" The old man shook his head and smiled, "No, I don't need help. I think you want to become stronger. I can help you, but are you willing to accept my challenge?"

"Of course, I am willing to accept the challenge." Shi Feng felt relieved, knowing the quest clue for Past Glory was here. He wouldn't have to die and lose levels and skill proficiency.

The old man nodded in satisfaction and said seriously, "I'll give you three choices. The first is normal difficulty. Completing it will earn you an [Obsidian—Treasure Chest]. The second is hard difficulty, earning you a [Mithril—Treasure Chest] with additional rewards based on performance. The third is hell difficulty, rewarding you with a [Gold—Treasure Chest] and additional rewards based on performance."

"Young adventurer, which one do you choose?"

Three choices, each harder than the last but also more tempting. Six assassins over level 10 chose the hard difficulty and got a [Mithril—Treasure Chest] but hid the additional reward, indicating it was better than the chest.

Shi Feng thought for a moment. As a person who comes from the future and had experienced many trials, he should have some courage and take on challenges.

"Respected elder, I choose hell difficulty." Shi Feng was confident in handling this difficulty. If he could pass, it would significantly impact his future development.

"Hahaha, young man, you are truly full of vigor. I appreciate that, but don't regret your choice," the old man laughed heartily before vanishing into thin air.

System: Accepted quest "Past Glory." Face 1,000 monsters of the same level. Killing 500 within 4 hours is considered passing. Failure results in a permanent reduction of 10 points from all attributes.

Attributes are the foundation of a player. A reduction of 10 points in all attributes would practically ruin their character.

"This punishment is too harsh," Shi Feng muttered, feeling a chill run down his spine as he looked at the countless Spectral Warriors emerging from the base of the tower.

The countdown has begun, with 5 seconds remaining until the monsters attack.

[Spectral Warrior — LV.2 Normal Monster — HP 230/230]

Fighting one was easy, but facing a sea of Spectral Warriors made even Shi Feng nervous.

Charging straight down would be suicide; he'd be surrounded and killed. The only option was to face them one by one.

With his rich combat experience, Shi Feng quickly ran down the stairs and positioned himself in the narrow stairway.

The stairway could only accommodate two monsters at most, making it the best place to hold his ground. As long as he could guard the stairway, he could complete the quest.

The moment the 5-second countdown ended, all the Spectral Warriors went berserk, rushing into the tower and charging at Shi Feng. But the narrow stairway created a bottleneck, allowing Shi Feng to face only two at a time, easily dodging their attacks.

Tempestuous Thunderstrike! Slash!

Three streaks of lightning slashed through, causing high damage to all Spectral Warriors within a 2*10-yard range, instantly draining over 60 HP from each. The follow-up slash dealt an additional 33 points of damage.

The first Spectral Warrior’s HP was halved, while those behind lost a quarter of their health.

Against higher-level monsters with high defense, Tempestuous Thunderstrike and Slash had their effects significantly suppressed. But against same-level monsters, the powerful AOE damage of Tempestuous Thunderstrike was fully displayed.

The damage amplification effect of Tempestuous Thunderstrike allowed Shi Feng to finish off the first Spectral Warrior with just five strikes.

To speed up his kills, Shi Feng activated [Weightlessness], further boosting his attack speed.

With the damage amplification effect, he could defeat one Spectral Warrior in under three seconds.

Though killing Spectral Warriors didn't yield experience points, it did provide skill proficiency.

Watching the Spectral Warriors fall one by one and his skill proficiency continuously rise, Shi Feng couldn't help but smile.

The NPC probably never expected a level 2 swordsman to use such a powerful AOE skill, making him unafraid of mob tactics and easily dodging attacks in one-on-two situations.

If it were another player, they might fail the quest, but Shi Feng could complete it perfectly.

Two hours passed, and the proficiency of Tempestuous Thunderstrike increased to 300 points, reaching level 2. Its damage rose from 130% to 135%, and its cooldown time decreased from 30 seconds to 28 seconds.

Slash also improved to 426/600, close to reaching level 3.

With Tempestuous Thunderstrike at level 2, Shi Feng's monster-killing speed increased again, and Spectral Warriors fell in droves. Soon, only about 20 remained, with an hour and a half left.

After using Tempestuous Thunderstrike once more, the last 20 Spectral Warriors fell.

"Well done, young man. Here is your reward," the old man reappeared, smiling as he handed Shi Feng an [Gold—Treasure Chest] and a pitch-black longsword.

System: Completed quest "Past Glory." Received a [Gold—Treasure Chest], a class-specific magic weapon, and the title "One-Man Army."

Title: One-Man Army. When using this title, all allies within a 30-yard radius gain a 10% attribute boost, and the player gains an additional +5 Strength and +5 Endurance.

"I've given you the reward. You may leave now," the old man said, waving his hand.

Shi Feng's vision blurred, and when he opened his eyes again, he was back in the plaza of Red Leaf Town.

Beep, beep, beep! The system communication rang incessantly. It was Hei Zi calling.

"Brother Feng, you finally answered. I couldn't reach you before. I've fallen behind by a level. What do I do now?" Hei Zi was anxious but still patient due to his trust in Shi Feng.

It had taken him over seven hours to escape. Now, the streets were full of level 1 players, while he was still at level 0. Catching up seemed impossible, and no one would team up with a level 0 player.

"Sorry, I was on a quest. Come to the central plaza. I'll help you level up," Shi Feng apologized.

The quest had taken over five hours, and God's Domain had been active for more than eight hours. Many players were already level 1, and some professional players might even be close to level 2.

As a reborn, helping Hei Zi level up would be easy. It wouldn't take long for Hei Zi to catch up with the professional players.