59: The reward for slaying a god! Forum nuclear explosion!
The moment that three consecutive, server-wide announcements, sounding like divine decrees, echoed throughout every corner of *epoch*, the entire game world fell into a strange, absolute silence that lasted for ten seconds.
It was as if the minds of hundreds of millions of players had been forcefully pulled from their bodies by this earth-shattering news, suspended in a blank void.
Solo killing... a World Boss?
What kind of joke is this?!
That was Abyssal Lord Mephistopheles! The terrifying demon god whose mere arrival wiped out a joint army of hundreds of thousands of elite players!
One person? Killed him?
This was ten thousand times more absurd than pigs flying or the sun rising in the west!
However, the cold and authoritative electronic voice of the system announcement ruthlessly shattered everyone's doubts.
Following the ten seconds of silence came global pandemonium, as if billions of tons of TNT had been detonated simultaneously!
[World Channel]
"Holy crap!!!! What did I just see?! Lin Mo?! Which Lin Mo?! Is it the Lin Mo from our China server?!"
"Solo killing a World Boss?! Ahhh! My eyes! My CPU! My understanding of the game! Everything has been shattered! Someone help me up, I feel like I'm suffocating!"
"[Godslayer]... My heavens, what a monumental achievement! Since *epoch* launched, this must be the first player to receive an achievement with the word 'Slaying' in it, right? The value of this is simply astronomical!"
"Hey, above me, calm down and look at the ID! 'Lin Mo'! He didn't use Anonymous! He actually didn't use Anonymous! That mysterious powerhouse who previously hid his identity and continuously claimed the first kills for Novice Village and dungeons has finally revealed his true name!"
"It's him! It has to be him! I knew it—besides this legendary figure who appears and disappears like a phantom, who else could possess such heaven-defying strength! Starting today, I declare Lin Mo my sole idol! God Lin! The eternal God!"
"(Japanese Server) Baka! Impossible! This is absolutely impossible! How could one person kill Lord Mephitos? The China server players must have used some despicable bug! We demand an official investigation!"
"(American Server) Oh my god! Is this the mysterious power from the East? Killing a world boss alone? It's unbelievable! I must learn Chinese, I want to know everything about this player named Lin Mo!"
"(European server) This is insane! We're still tearing our hair out trying to clear the gatekeeper of an Epic-grade dungeon, and they... they've already started God Slaying? Is the game balance really okay?"
The World Channel had completely lost its mind.
Countless exclamation marks, screams, doubts, and worship flooded the entire chat window like a burst dam. The refresh rate of the messages was so fast that even the dynamic vision of top players couldn't track them.
Even more explosive than the World Channel was the official forum for *epoch*.
Within just half a minute after the announcement sounded, the forum's server instantly received ten times its normal peak traffic, collapsing with a mournful groan under the overwhelming load!
On the homepage, the only post title that managed to refresh, written in bold, blood-red font, recorded this historic moment—
[NUCLEAR EXPLOSION! The First God of *epoch* is Born! Player 'Lin Mo' Solo Kills World Boss, Achieving God Slaying and Kingship!]
... Compared to the clamor and frenzy of the outside world, the center of the Wailing Plains, near the massive abyss blasted open by [Ten Thousand Poisons Return to One], was utterly silent.
Lin Mo's figure slowly descended from mid-air.
His complexion was paper-white, completely drained of color. The pupils that had been occupied by an eerie dark green had returned to their original pitch black, though deep within his eyes lay a weariness that stemmed from his soul.
That single strike of [Ten Thousand Poisons Return to One] had almost completely drained him of all his spirit and power.
He could clearly feel that his talent, [Endless Poison Source], had entered an unprecedented state of "silence" after unleashing that world-destroying blow, like a gluttonous beast that requires a long time to digest after a massive feast.
[Notification: Your talent 'Endless Poison Source' has entered 'Sage Mode'. For the next 72 hours, you will be unable to apply any poison effects, and all Poison Class skills are temporarily sealed.]
[Notification: As compensation, your Poison Resistance and Poison Affinity will receive a permanent, significant increase upon completion of digestion.]
"Three days, huh..."
Lin Mo looked at this system notification and, instead of feeling frustrated, let out a sigh of relief.
Paying the price of being unable to use skills for just three days in exchange for a blow capable of altering the terrain and annihilating a demon god—this was a hugely profitable deal!
Moreover, the true rewards were only just beginning!
He forced himself to stay focused and opened his system log.
A series of gleaming golden system reward notifications instantly filled his entire field of vision like the most magnificent waterfall!
[Ding! Congratulations on achieving the solo first kill of the World Boss [Abyssal Lord Mephistopheles]. Your level has increased by 5!]
[Ding! You have gained 100,000 World Reputation points!]
[Ding! You have gained 500,000 Gold Coins!]
[Ding! You have obtained the Epic-grade achievement [Godslayer]. All Attributes +200, Luck +10, and you have received the Unique Title [Abyss Slaughterer]!]
[Abyss Slaughterer (Unique Title)]
[Quality: legendary grade]
[Effect 1: Damage dealt to all Demon, Abyss, and Fiend creatures is increased by 50%.]
[Effect 2: When facing Demon, Abyss, or Fiend creatures no more than 20 levels higher than you, a 'Divine Might' suppression will occur, reducing all of their attributes by 20%.]
[Effect 3: Your deeds have spread throughout the Abyss. You are remembered by countless Abyssal Lords. They... crave your soul!]
"Hiss..."
Even with Lin Mo's steady temperament, he couldn't help but gasp when he saw this string of rewards, which could only be described as utterly luxurious.
Five level ups! One hundred thousand World Reputation! Five hundred thousand Gold Coins!
These basic rewards alone were enough to make any major guild go mad with envy! Not to mention the Epic-grade achievement named [Godslayer], which directly rewarded 200 points to All Attributes and 10 points of incredibly precious Luck!
And the [Abyss Slaughterer] legendary grade title was powerful beyond reason!
The 50% damage increase and 20% attribute suppression against the three major races made him practically the natural enemy of the Demon type! Although the final effect of "being remembered by Abyssal Lords" seemed somewhat sinister, for Lin Mo, this undoubtedly meant more challenges and... opportunities!
However, this was not all!
The real prize was the World Boss drop!
Since it was a solo kill, all the spoils of war lay perfectly intact and quietly in his backpack.
Lin Mo opened his backpack with a feeling akin to reverence.
In an instant, the soaring treasure light nearly blinded his eyes!
In the first slot of the backpack, lying quietly, was a dagger with a ferocious design, completely engulfed in dark golden demonic flames... a dagger!
[demon gods fang (Dagger)]
[Quality: legendary grade]
[Equipment Level: 50]
[Attack Power: 1250-1500]
[Attributes: Strength +300, Agility +500, Stamina +250]
[Effect 1: Demon God's Bite: All your attacks will deal an additional 1% of the target's current Life as Shadow Damage (this damage cannot exceed your Attack Power).]
[Effect 2: Abyss Power: You can consume 1000 Mana points to activate the Abyss Power contained within the dagger. Your next attack will instantly teleport you behind the target and deal 300% Physical Damage. Cooldown: 60 seconds.]
[Effect 3: Godslayer's Mark: This dagger is stained with the Godslayer's glory, making it untradeable and undroppable.]
[Description: Formed from the sharpest fang of Abyssal Lord Mephistopheles, it contains terrifying power capable of tearing apart gods.]
"A legendary grade... weapon!"
Lin Mo's heart thumped violently!
An Attack Power ceiling of 1500! An additional terrifying 500 Agility! Not to mention the two incredibly overpowered special effects!
The percentage damage from [Demon God's Bite] meant that no matter how tanky the opponent was, he could deal stable and high output! And the instant-teleport Backstab from [Abyss Power] was the divine skill every Assassin dreamed of!
This dagger was powerful enough for him to use well into the late game!
Forcing down the wild excitement in his heart, Lin Mo shifted his gaze to the second item.
It was a crystal that pulsed slowly like a heart and burned with black flames.
[godhead shard of the abyss lord (Quest Item)]
[Quality: Mythical]
[Effect: ???]
[Description: A crystal containing a trace of the Abyssal Lord's primordial divinity. It seems related to some ultimate secrets of this world. It is craving... more of its kind.]
"A godhead fragment?!"
Lin Mo's pupils contracted sharply!
This name was not unfamiliar to him! When he had changed his class to the hidden profession [Shadow of Deadly Poison], his mentor had vaguely mentioned that to push his class and talent to the extreme, he needed to find the legendary "godhead fragment"!
He hadn't expected to actually get a strategic item of this caliber as a drop from a World Boss!
Although he didn't know its specific use yet, the mere word "Mythical" was enough to prove its incalculable value!
Lin Mo took a deep breath and continued looking down.
The third item was a pitch-black skill book.
[Skill Book: Demonic Shadow Clone]
[Quality: Epic]
[Learning Requirement: Assassin Class, Level 50]
[Skill Effect: Consumes 30% of Mana to create a Demonic Shadow Clone that inherits 100% of the main body's attributes but only 50% of its Life. The clone can be freely controlled and lasts for 30 seconds. Cooldown: 10 minutes.]
Another divine skill!
A clone inheriting 100% attributes! This meant that within 30 seconds, he could output double damage and double crowd control! Whether in PVP or PVE, this would be a powerful trump card capable of reversing the tide of battle!
Lin Mo immediately chose to learn it without hesitation.
Besides these three top-tier items, his backpack also held several Dark Gold grade pieces of equipment, a large pile of rare materials flashing with various colors, and a building blueprint shimmering with purple light.
[Blueprint: Alchemy Laboratory]
[Quality: Epic]
[Effect: Can be used for Guild Territory construction. Once built, guild members can research and manufacture high-grade potions within it, with a certain chance of developing unique recipes.]
"Guild..."
Lin Mo looked at the blueprint, a trace of contemplation flashing in his eyes.
After this battle, he had completely stepped out from behind the scenes and become the focus of all major powers. The hatred that guilds like Mad Dragon and Overlord bore for him was likely so deep that all the water in the world couldn't wash it away.
Moving forward, trying to remain a lone wolf as he did before would likely be extremely difficult.
Forming his own faction was now imperative!
This blueprint, along with the five hundred thousand Gold Coins, was undoubtedly a timely gift, laying the most solid foundation for his future guild.
After tallying all the spoils, Lin Mo let out a long breath.
The rewards from this battle had far exceeded his imagination.
He looked up at the players in the distance who were still watching but dared not approach an inch, a cold arc curving on his lips.
He knew that from this moment forward, the structure of *epoch* would be completely changed because of him.
And he, under the gaze of everyone, would embark on a path to godhood... a path no one had ever taken before!
He did not linger in the area, directly crushing a pre-prepared [Advanced Teleportation Scroll].
Amidst a violent spatial fluctuation, his figure transformed into a beam of white light, vanishing without a trace from beside the massive "Abyss of Poison" in the Wailing Plains.
Only the permanently altered terrain remained, along with the legendary tale that would be remembered by all players on the server for a lifetime.