As Alex logged back into Universal Descent, the familiar streets of [Bell City] materialized around him as it is where his spawn point was set after entering it.
Since the appearance of the wandering merchant and its incredible items, many people were ready to use their money to buy the fate boxes if they appeared.
Plus, Bell City was overall just a better city than Dawn City with its corrupt church.
As Alex took in his surroundings, a series of notifications filled his view.
Ding! Ding! Ding!
[You have reached level 60, thus became a tier 3 player!]
[Your experience is locked until you complete your advancement task.]
[Two classes detected: Unparalleled Mage, Apprentice Assassin]
[SSS-Rating detected for previous task and dual class. Difficulty adjusted accordingly.]
“Hm…” Alex muttered.
In opposition to your first advancement task, which you did with the altar right before Dawn City, advancement tasks from now on would have you complete quest-like tasks.
The difficulty would depend completely on your rating from your previous advancement task, as well as what the system judges you to be able to take.
All tasks are fair, and if you perform very well on a task, you will still get the maximum reward, though your next one will be much harder. freewebnσvel.cѳm
Ding!
[You will receive the hardest Tier 3 advancement task.]
“Figures,” Alex said, almost chuckling.
Ding!
[Tier 3 Advancement Task: Enter the Secret Realm ‘Source of Poison’ and defeat the boss by the same name.]
[Your rating will depend on your progress and performance inside the Secret Realm.]
[Failure will result in an F-Rating.]
With his experience temporarily locked at level 60, Alex’s main focus shifted to the new task.
For Alex, it didn’t matter much since he could still extract attribute points and items, but it would still be annoying to be stuck.
“Where is the realm?”
[Toxic Forest]
“Makes sense.”
He had never heard of such a place before, but it was just like the goblin secret area to be honest, so not surprising at all.
Alex brought up his [World Map], which now displayed a new point within the forest.
When he clicked on it, instructions appeared.
[Go there and await further instruction.]
Advancement tasks for other players might include simple objectives, like defeating a set number of monsters or retrieving an item.
But not for him—his task was to conquer a secret realm.
And since these challenges had to be completed solo, Alice couldn’t assist him.
“But this is good,” Alex grinned.
A harder task meant better rewards if he succeeded.
Just then, Alex noticed another new marker on the map within the [Dark Dungeon].
“Huh?”
Of course, fast travel points appeared from floor 1 all the way to floor 15.
But one single point had been added: [Floor 20].
This meant he could teleport there whenever he felt like it!
And also… that he could try to fight the queen whenever he wanted.
[Extraction Points: 1248/1000]
[You can level up your talent.]
“Oh, right.”
As he selected the option to level up his talent, a familiar surge of energy surrounded him, strengthening his abilities.
[Extraction Points reached, granting a new perk for your extraction talent!] Read more stories on freewebnovel
“Nice.”
This time, a new perk would be added to one of his talent effects:
…
[Extraction (SSS)]
[Talent Effect #1: Upon defeating a monster, you are able to extract an item/attribute/skill/talent/skill points from them, with a 20% chance of the prompt appearing.]
[Perk #1: Description Check, you can now check the descriptions of the items before selecting them.]
[Talent Effect #2: Defeating monsters will grant you “Extraction Points”, which you can use later on to enhance your talent or buy items.]
[Talent Effect #3: Potential Extraction; You can use this to extract the full potential of an item and thus enhance its powers.]
[Talent Effect #4: Synthesis; Combine items, skills, or abilities to create something stronger]
…
[Selecting Perk…]
Ding!
[Potential Extraction has gained a new perk: Skill Evolution!]
“…”
[Potential Extraction; Perk #1: You can now use your effect on skills to evolve them once every 3 days, for example, you can evolve “Explosive Fireball”, which is from the advanced-tier, to it’s high-tier evolution.]
[Though, do note that using potential extraction on your skills does not affect the fact you can still use it on one item every day.]
“Wow.”
This meant that once every 3 in-game days, he could evolve one skill without the need for skill points or to upgrade its level to the max!
An incredible perk.
[Next Upgrade: 248/10000 Extraction Points.]
Once the process was complete, a message popped up from Alice.
[StarPillow: HELP! I’M GETTING…]
The message cut off abruptly, but Alex could see her location on the [World Map]: she was in the boss chamber on the dungeon’s 15th floor.
“Ah, shit,” Alex muttered, immediately teleporting to the dungeon.
…
Once he appeared back inside the dungeon, he noticed that the [The Queen’s First Elite Guard] was back, and stronger since it was at NB+ now.
[The Queen’s First Elite Guard NB+ – Superior Level Boss – Tier 4]
[Level: 150]
[HP: 900,000]
“HELP!” Alice shouted, narrowly dodging a swipe from one of the guard’s massive legs.
Her agility allowed her to evade, but it was clear she couldn’t hold out for long.
Just as one of the guard’s spider legs came crashing toward her, Alex appeared, deflecting the blow with [Rending Slash].
-15,985!
His counterattack was immediate.
Enraged by the creature’s attempt to harm Alice, Alex unleashed a relentless flurry of spells and slashes.
Without summoning his undead army—saving his mana for what lay ahead—he carved through the guard’s health with unyielding fury.
Rending Slash after Rending Slash, spell after spell, he battered the beast into submission.
Within three minutes, the massive creature crumbled.
Ding!
[You have slain “Queen’s First Elite Guard NB+” and gained 17,400 experience points!]
[Extraction Talent Activated!]
[Toxic Armor Piece (Rare)]
[Description: +1000 Strength, +1000 Physical Resistance, adds resistance to poison-based attacks.]
[Spider Silk Cloak (Epic)]
[Description: Increases agility by 500 and grants 1% chance of dodging an attack.]
[Spider Guard’s Eye Necklace (Legendary)]
[Description: Boosts agility by 1,500 and reveals nearby hidden enemies.]
After a brief consideration, Alex selected the [Spider Guard’s Eye Necklace] and handed it to Alice.
“Thanks!” she exclaimed, examining the necklace. “But… it’s so… ugly.”
“Is that how you treat my gift?” Alex teased, feigning offense.
“N-No, I like it!” She hurriedly put it on, feeling the surge in agility, “W-Wow.”
It felt as though her vision was sharper, and when she looked at the entrance from which they come to this room, she could see the outlines of nearby enemies.
It was a great item if you wanted to avoid problems: perfect for her.
Though, she did wonder just how lucky Alex was to get this and shrug it off.
Once ready, Alex teleported both of them out of the dungeon and back to Bell City, where he explained his upcoming advancement task.
“Wow, so it’s another solo mission,” Alice said with a mix of worry and excitement. “Well, I’ll go grind on my own for a bit then.”
“Good idea,” Alex replied, patting her head with a grin. “You’ll need to be strong enough to handle yourself out there.”
She nodded, and before they parted ways, Alex teleported her to the dungeon entrance to make things easier.
“Give me your bow,” he ordered, and Alice listened without a hint of hesitation, placing it in Alex’s hands.
‘Potential Extraction,’ he thought as he touched the bow.
The same transformation process as always happen, changing the bow’s appearance slightly.
And when it was finished, the item became much more powerful.
[You have successfully enhanced “Bow of the Ice Queen”]
[New Mythical Item: “Glacial Requiem”]
[Glacial Requiem (Mythical): +5000 Spirit, +4000 Agility, +10000 Mana, +70% Ice Damage Boost.]
[Unique Skill: Ice Torrent – Unleash a storm of icy arrows, dealing 250% of spirit damage and applying Frostbite to all enemies within range (30-minutes cooldown)]
An incredible item.
With this, Alice should manage to level up just fine.
“Here,” he gave the bow back to her, which she accepted, then, with a focused gaze, he teleported himself directly to the [Toxic Forest].
“Alright, here we go,” he murmured, standing at the edge of the eerie, mist-filled forest.
Despite the looming challenge, a flicker of determination burned in his eyes.
[2 Days Left]
The timer was ticking, but Alex was ready to face whatever lay within.