291: Chapter 292 Sagiri: I'm going to an epic-level dungeon?

What unfolded within Lin Muyang's perception was a miraculous bond effect far exceeding his expectations. When the three Auras—'All Beings Are Equal,' 'A Fresh Start,' and 'Mountain Shatterer'—combined in a specific sequence and resonance, the result was not a simple additive effect.

Level Disguise: The Aura holder and their designated friendly units can freely adjust their recognized surface level within a certain range (minimum level 1, maximum not exceeding their true level). This adjustment only affects rule-based judgments related to level (such as entry conditions for secret realms, usage conditions for certain special items, experience gain thresholds, etc.) and does not affect actual attributes, skills, talents, or any combat capabilities.

"It can actually freely adjust surface level?" Even Lin Muyang was filled with astonishment and awe at this moment. "Such a heaven-defying bond effect, I never even thought to try combining them before... It seems my exploration of my own abilities has been too superficial."

He realized that possessing so many and such powerful God-Tier Auras was like someone sitting on a treasure mountain, yet only accustomed to using the most conspicuous pieces of gold. Those Auras that seemed peculiar in function, even somewhat strange or contradictory, might, under specific combinations, bloom with unexpected brilliance. For example, the one that refreshed the spirit and quickly restored energy, the one that enhanced endurance, or even the one that sounded a bit... improper. If these Auras were combined, might they produce something wondrous, or even comical?

However, those could be left for leisurely research later. Right now, in the Atlantis World, there were more important matters to attend to.

"With this Level Disguise effect, things become much simpler," Lin Muyang quickly clarified his thoughts. "If I discover a level 40 legendary-rank secret realm, I only need to adjust my surface level to 40 to meet the entry conditions. Once inside, facing the monsters within, I can both gain experience and crush them with my true level 100 combat power..."

This ability was practically tailor-made for his efficient resource harvesting! Coupled with the previously discovered 'Experience Resonance' bond, he could even sweep through those low-level, high-grade secret realms with his entire team at maximum efficiency without any loss, vacuuming up all the equipment, materials, skill books, and massive amounts of experience value they produced.

"It's just right that there are more and more companions around, and the Eternal Garden is getting livelier," Lin Muyang thought of the young ladies in the garden, each with their own distinct personalities yet all placing their complete trust in him. An unconscious, gentle curve touched the corner of his mouth. "This Level Disguise combined with experience duplication means I can easily cultivate any newly joined companion to a high level in an extremely short time. No more worrying about experience distribution issues."

He even thought of an even more exaggerated application scenario. For example, if he needed to level up a newcomer, he wouldn't have to start from level 1 secret realms and fight up level by level. He could directly adjust Sagiri's surface level to 99 and then take her into a high-difficulty, high-experience-yield mythical-rank secret realm. Although Sagiri's true attributes would still be level 1, under his protection and experience duplication, she could gain a terrifying amount of experience from a single secret realm trip—enough to level up dozens or even a hundred levels! Of course, the prerequisite was that she could survive, but with Lin Muyang's all-around protection for the team, that wasn't a difficult matter.

"This does solve a potential problem..." Lin Muyang's thoughts drifted to the over three hundred newly arrived Succubus Maidens in the Eternal Garden. "Elabess's sisters are not my summons, nor do they have the status of Class Transferees from Blue Star. Their own talents are probably limited. But if they could complete their class transfer ceremony on Blue Star, combined with my cultivation system..."

He seemed to see a Succubus legion, all high-level and capable of sharing a Cooperative Linkage skill library. That image, just thinking about it, was somewhat... overwhelmingly shocking. Of course, a scale of over three hundred people would indeed bring some minor management troubles, but that was a matter for later.

"The immediate priority is to first establish a firm foothold in Atlantis, find stable channels for obtaining resources from mythical-rank and sky-opening grade secret realms, and gather more high-quality equipment, skill books, and Elemental Essence to bring back," Lin Muyang set his short-term goal. With Level Disguise, his activities in Atlantis would become more flexible and covert.

About half an hour later.

The bathroom door was gently pushed open. Misty steam wafted out, carrying the faint, fresh scent of soap. Gui Wanwan, holding Sagiri's hand, emerged.

Both young ladies had changed into clean, white silk nightgowns. The soft fabric clung to their body curves. Gui Wanwan's short black hair was still damp, sticking to her smooth temples and cheeks, losing some of her usual coolness and gaining a touch of homely softness. As for Sagiri...

The thoroughly cleaned young lady seemed reborn. The accumulated grime of years was washed away, revealing skin that was fair, delicate, and seemingly fragile. Her wet silver hair was simply towel-dried, falling smoothly over her shoulders, the ends still dripping with crystalline water droplets.

Her features were exquisite: slender eyebrows, a straight and delicate nose, lips a natural cherry pink. Especially her eyes—now cleansed of numbness and fear—were like obsidian washed by spring water, clear and bright, carrying a hint of timid liveliness as they gazed curiously and uneasily at this unfamiliar and luxurious environment.

The nightgown Gui Wanwan had chosen for her seemed a bit too small, or perhaps her figure was more developed than it appeared. The silk nightgown tightly wrapped around the young girl's just-beginning-to-develop yet already shapely figure, accentuating the tempting curve of her chest, a waist so slender it seemed one could encircle it with a hand, and revealing a pair of straight, long, jade-like calves beneath the hem. Her small, delicate feet were bare on the soft carpet, ten toes slightly curled with nervousness, tinged a healthy pink.

"M-Master," Sagiri's voice was as faint as a mosquito's hum. She didn't dare look up at Lin Muyang, her hands nervously twisting the hem of her nightgown, two blushes flying to her cheeks. This nightgown was too revealing for her; the thin, soft fabric hinted at her body's contours, making her extremely uncomfortable.

"Rest for a while first; it's very safe here," Lin Muyang's gaze lingered on her for a moment before he nodded, his tone gentle. The cleaned-up Sagiri was indeed a budding beauty, but he had no mind to appreciate it at the moment. He turned to Gui Wanwan, "Xiao Wan, in a bit, I'll check if there are any secret realms near Stanro City on the surface worth tackling immediately. You stay with her, help her get used to things."

"Mm, okay, Master," Gui Wanwan replied, leading the still somewhat stiff Sagiri toward the inner bedroom, intending to find some more formal, well-fitting outdoor clothes for her to change into.

Watching the two young ladies enter the bedroom, Lin Muyang refocused his attention on the task at hand. He walked to the huge floor-to-ceiling window, overlooking the brilliantly lit city below, and said to Alice, who stood quietly beside him, "Alice, deploy more Nether Eyes. Focus on investigating the surface area directly below Stanro City and within a three-thousand-kilometer radius around it. I need to know the locations, levels, types of all secret realm and Dungeon entrances, as well as the distribution of surrounding monsters."

"Okay, Master~" Alice responded softly, walking to the window to stand side by side with Lin Muyang. She closed her eyes, her long silver eyelashes casting faint shadows on her eyelids. When she opened them again, her light blue eyes seemed to swirl with starlight.

She gracefully raised her hands, palms upward, as if holding intangible treasures. There was no incantation, no violent mana fluctuations, only extremely subtle spatial ripples Rippling out spreading from her fingertips.

One, two, ten, a hundred...

Countless semi-transparent, nearly invisible pale gray eyes, like ghosts born from the void, silently materialized around her. They were only fist-sized, their forms ethereal, with a faint Ghost Light flickering inside. Under the cover of the Divine Concealment Aura, these Nether Eyes blended seamlessly with the surroundings the moment they appeared, making them difficult to detect even for perceptive high-level Class Transferees.

As Alice willed it, these Nether Eyes, like a swarm receiving orders, instantly dispersed. They ignored physical barriers, easily penetrating the inn's walls and Stanro City's magical barriers, racing toward the vast land shrouded in eternal night below. Some went straight down, delving into the area directly beneath Stanro City; more spread out radially, covering a broader area.

Soon, through the shared vision of the Nether Eyes, a torrent of information flooded into Alice's consciousness. She efficiently organized, filtered, and synchronized it, sharing it with Lin Muyang.

Barren mountains, eerie forests, muddy swamps, deep canyons, boiling lava lakes... The surface scenery of Atlantis was bizarre and fantastical, filled with danger and primal energy. Various monstrous creatures with terrifying forms and powerful Auras inhabited, hunted, and battled within. And in these perilous places, spatial vortexes emitting different colors and intensities of spatial fluctuations were clearly visible.

"Master, receiving information..." Alice reported softly, her mind highly concentrated, processing data streams far beyond ordinary imagination. "Within a one-thousand-kilometer radius centered on Stanro City, two epic-level secret realm entrances have been detected, levels 55 and 60 respectively; one legendary-rank secret realm entrance, level 85."

"Expanding the radius to three thousand kilometers, seven epic-level secret realm entrances have been detected, levels ranging from 22 to 75; three legendary-rank secret realm entrances, levels between 80 and 120; no mythical-rank secret realm entrances detected yet; may require longer distance or more detailed search."

She paused, adding with a hint of amazement in her tone, "Master, the number and density of secret realms on the surface of this Atlantis World seem much higher than on Blue Star!"

"That's not hard to understand," Lin Muyang analyzed calmly. "In this world, epic-level and legendary-rank secret realms require top-tier Class Transferees with SS-Rank or even SSS-Rank Talents to qualify and organize teams for Strategy. A successful raid often takes a long time, weeks or even months. Atlantis has developed for hundreds of years, so the accumulated number of secret realms not cleared in time is naturally considerable."

"More importantly," his gaze grew profound, as if piercing through the clouds to see the cruel essence of this world, "the development speed of human Class Transferees seems to have gradually fallen behind the evolution rate of monsters and the refresh rate of secret realms. For a long time, humanity's control over the surface has been continuously weakening. Many secret realms, after appearing, might never wait for human strong to come and clear them before being occupied or destroyed by surrounding powerful monster tribes. Even the number of monsters dying in mutual Fighting might far exceed those killed by humans. In a sense, for this planet's monster ecology, humans might now resemble an unfriendly neighbor rather than the dominate."

This was another aspect of the Everyone is changing jobs world after hundreds of years of development. Beneath the prosperous floating cities lay a land gradually being reclaimed by wilderness and monsters, and a fragile balance between human civilization and monstrous power.

"In that case..." Lin Muyang Get back to the point, his eyes becoming sharp and determined, "once they've changed clothes, we'll set out. First, we'll clear that nearest, level 60 epic-level secret realm."

"Yes, Master," Alice nodded, continuing to control the Nether Eyes, meticulously outlining the precise coordinates of that level 60 epic-level secret realm, the distribution of surrounding monsters, and the best approach route.

Just then, the bedroom door opened again. Gui Wanwan led out Sagiri, now changed into a set of casual clothes. Sagiri was wearing a spare outfit of Feng Ling's—a red, form-fitting pair of pants suitable for movement and a red short top with subtle patterns. Though slightly loose, it accentuated her slender waist and straight long legs. She had simply tied her long hair into a high ponytail, revealing her smooth forehead and elegant neckline, losing some of her delicateness and gaining a touch of neatness. However, lingering tension remained on her face, her hands tightly clutching the hem of her clothes.

When she heard Lin Muyang's words about clearing a level 60 epic-level secret realm, her delicate frame visibly trembled. Her already fair face instantly drained of color, becoming as pale as paper.

An... epic-level secret realm?

She was only level 1! And just a Barrier Master with only an E-rank Talent, without even the lowest-level attack skill! Going to an epic-level secret realm? What difference was there between that and jumping straight into a monster's mouth? Even with these mysterious and powerful masters and sisters around, the aftershocks of battles at that level could probably easily pulverize her into dust, right?