102: Chapter 102 Think the BOSS is too weak? Then give it a level up!

Spatial ripples, like a punctured water film, shimmered in a deserted dark alley of the City of Origin.

Qin Ji's figure stumbled out from the Void Realm. The moment his feet touched the damp, slippery bluestone pavement, that suffocating epic rank aura finally peeled away from his senses. He casually brushed off non-existent dust from his shoulder and looked back in the direction of Magic Wolf Valley. The playful curve at the corner of his mouth hadn't diminished in the slightest from the escape.

"An eighty-level projection... I'm still a bit lacking for that now."

He opened his palm. The pitch-black [guild founding token] had already been mailed to Frenzied Blade. Now, lying in his palm was another small trinket shimmering with a strange golden light—a hidden drop he'd swiped from under the Magic Wolf King's corpse during the chaos.

[God of Wealth's Golden Abacus (Special Relic)]

[Effect: Passively triggers 'High-Interest Rate.' The total amount of gold coins in your inventory automatically increases by 1% every 24 hours.]

[Note: Money making money is the ultimate Profound Truth of capital.]

Looking at the line of unassuming text on the panel, Qin Ji's amethyst-gold pupils constricted sharply.

One percent?

It didn't sound like much, but his current liquid funds had already surpassed 1.1 million gold coins! This meant that even if he did absolutely nothing, he'd earn eleven thousand gold coins just by lying around every day!

At the current black-market exchange rate, this was practically a money-printing machine.

"Ding! Server-wide Announcement: Congratulations to player 'Frenzied Blade' for successfully establishing the server's second guild, [Berserk World]. Reward: Guild Prosperity +1000. This announcement is made to encourage all players to strive further!"

"Ding! Server-wide Announcement..."

The world channel was once again flooded by the Berserk Guild's grand gesture. Clearly, that guy hadn't wasted a single second after getting the guild founding token.

Qin Ji felt no ripple of emotion about this. He simply clicked open that high-end trading group.

[Snow Emperor (Qin Ji)]: @everyone, accepting gold coin storage services. Daily interest rate of 0.1%, deposits and withdrawals at any time, fair to all.

The moment the message went out, the group exploded.

[Asura Yi Ze]: Holy shit? Big Bro Snow Emperor, are you opening a bank? 0.1% daily interest? Are you serious?

[Startling Swan Dream Frost]: Brother Snow Emperor, isn't this illegal fundraising? But if it's you, little sister is willing to deposit a tiny bit of my dowry~

[Frenzied Blade]: Snow Emperor, 0.1% is indeed a bit low. How about we split the profits fifty-fifty? I just established a guild, facing a huge liquidity gap, and was looking for someone to finance.

Looking at the screen, Qin Ji's fingers tapped a swift reply.

[Snow Emperor]: 0.1%. Take it or leave it. No pressure.

Although Frenzied Blade had official backing, Qin Ji had no habit of conceding profits when it came to hard currency like gold coins. In this world where data was truth, gold coins were just another manifestation of power.

[Asura Yi Ze]: I'm in! I'll deposit fifty thousand! It'd just grow mold in the warehouse anyway. Might as well earn some interest with Big Bro Snow Emperor.

[Startling Swan Dream Frost]: Then I'll deposit fifty thousand too~

Watching the constant stream of transfer notifications in the background, Qin Ji closed the chat window with satisfaction.

The leeks were planted. Now, it was just a matter of waiting for them to grow themselves.

After handling the trivial matters, Qin Ji pulled out the [Level 50 Dungeon Entry Scroll].

It was time to see how many attribute points this so-called 'Hell' difficulty dungeon could provide him.

Beep beep.

His communicator buzzed. It was a message from Fatty Zhou.

"Brother Ji! I saw the announcement! Did you do something earth-shattering again? Take your little brother along! I'm stuck at level 20 and can't level up! All the monsters in the wild are getting sniped!"

Qin Ji replied: "Meet at the usual spot. Taking you to a dungeon."

...

Ten minutes later, the teleportation plaza of the City of Origin.

Fatty Zhou, panting heavily, squeezed through the crowd, his rolls of fat rippling like waves as he ran. He spotted Qin Ji standing out from the crowd immediately—there was no helping it. Even though this guy had his ID hidden, his aura of 'strangers keep away, acquaintances want to kill him' was just too unique.

"Brother Ji!" Fatty Zhou wiped his sweat, eyes shining, "Where are we going? Are we going to run that level 50 dungeon?"

"Mn." Qin Ji was concise. He directly crushed the scroll in his hand.

"Ding! You have opened the dungeon [Mutated Magic Wolf Den (LV.50)]."

"Ding! Please select difficulty: Normal, Hard, Nightmare, Hell."

Without even lifting an eyelid, Qin Ji directly locked in [Hell].

The light gate swirled, instantly swallowing the figures of the two.

...

[Current Map: Mutated Magic Wolf Den (Hell Difficulty)]

[Clear Condition: Kill the Corrupted Wolf Emperor.]

The moment they landed, a pungent odor of decay assaulted their senses.

Surrounding them was a dark, damp underground cavern. The rock walls were covered in a green, slimy moss. From the distance came faint, hair-raising low growls.

"Bro... Brother Ji," Fatty Zhou shrunk his neck, looking at the several two-headed magic wolves ahead, each the size of a calf, and swallowed hard, "This is Hell difficulty. The elite monsters here start with fifty thousand HP. Aren't we being too reckless?"

Before his words faded.

Qin Ji had already raised his hand.

No incantation. No wind-up.

A pitch-black wind blade, like a scythe of death, silently sliced through the space thirty meters ahead.

*Squelch*—!

Three elite-grade two-headed magic wolves, just about to pounce, didn't even have time to scream before their massive heads flew neatly into the air. The blood gushing from their severed necks intertwined mid-air, painting a violently abstract picture.

"-99999!"

"-99999!"

"-99999!"

Three shocking golden critical damage numbers floated up lightly.

"Ding! Killed Elite Magic Wolf. Plundered Attribute: Agility +10."

"Ding! Killed Elite Magic Wolf. Plundered Attribute: Agility +10."

Qin Ji curled his lip in disdain: "Only 10 points? They really are small fries, too stingy."

Behind him, Fatty Zhou's jaw nearly hit the floor. He looked at the fine iron sword in his hand with +50 attack power, then looked at Qin Ji, suddenly feeling like an extra NPC.

"Let's go. Stop spacing out."

Qin Ji bulldozed his way forward as if strolling through his own backyard.

Whether it was the black-iron grade magic wolves with two million HP or the bronze-grade wolf kings with thirty million HP, they were all the same before him.

Even though Hell-difficulty monsters had high dual resistances, in the face of Qin Ji's overflowing attack power, defense? What was that?

They crushed their way deep into the dungeon.

Qin Ji suddenly stopped.

In his field of view ahead appeared a treasure chest emitting a dark golden glow. It lay quietly in a recess in the rock wall, with no monsters guarding it, appearing exceptionally eerie.

"Holy shit! A dark gold treasure chest!" Fatty Zhou exclaimed, about to rush over, but was stopped by Qin Ji's hand.

"Wait."

Qin Ji stared at the chest, a flash of amusement in his eyes.

Dark gold grade?

Unworthy of his current status.

He suddenly remembered another strange entry he had just plundered from the Magic Wolf King—[Essence Alteration (Active)].

This was a bug-level skill that consumed experience points to forcibly elevate the tier of an item or creature. Although it had a high failure rate, for a gambler like Qin Ji, probability was never an issue.

"Upgrade!"

With a thought, Qin Ji shot a stream of gray data from his fingertip into the chest.

[Essence Alteration activated! Target: Dark Gold Treasure Chest.]

[Injecting essence...]

[Ding! Judgment successful! Treasure Chest tier elevated!]

*Hum*—!

The treasure chest trembled violently. Its originally dark golden shell instantly cracked, revealing the flowing, radiant purple glow of the epic rank within!

Fatty Zhou's eyes nearly popped out: "Up... upgraded?! You can play it like that?! Brother Ji, you're my godfather! An epic rank treasure chest! What kind of Divine Artifact will come out of this?!"

The corner of Qin Ji's mouth lifted. He was just about to step forward to open it.

But the next second, the System's prompt froze the smile on his face.

[Ding! Treasure chest has evolved into 'Locked epic rank Treasure Chest.']

[Opening Condition: Requires 'epic rank Master Key' or Thief class Grandmaster-level Lockpicking skill.]

*Click.*

A crisp locking sound echoed piercingly in the empty cavern.

Qin Ji: "..."

Fatty Zhou: "..."

"Dammit!"

Qin Ji couldn't help but curse. He kicked the chest. "Give me back my dark gold chest! It wasn't locked before! How did you weld the door shut just from an upgrade?!"

The chest remained motionless, as if silently mocking his greed.

"Fine. You win." Qin Ji took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the urge to smash the damn chest to pieces. "Fatty Zhou, carry this chest. We'll take it back and find that old blind man to pick the lock."

Fatty Zhou, looking utterly miserable, hoisted the dead-weight chest onto his back. The two continued deeper.

Finally, they reached the deepest part of the dungeon.

On a massive underground altar lay a giant wolf with a silver-white body. Its size was a full circle larger than the previous Magic Wolf King, radiating a chilling, heart-palpitating cold.

[Corrupted Wolf Emperor (Hell Difficulty BOSS)]

[Rank: 50]

[HP: 500,000,000]

[Skills: Frigid Domain, Rending Claw Strike, Moonlit Frenzy...]

Five hundred million HP.

For players at the current stage, this was an insurmountable mountain. Even the elite team of the Berserk Guild would have to grind for several hours, constantly worrying about a wipe.

But in Qin Ji's eyes, it was still just a slightly larger health pack.

"Only five hundred million?"

Qin Ji frowned in dissatisfaction.

Based on his experience, killing a BOSS of this level would, at most, give him 50 points in all attributes, or a slightly stronger passive skill.

The cost-effectiveness was too low.

His gaze fell once again on the [Essence Alteration] skill.

If a chest could be upgraded... could a BOSS be upgraded too?

A crazy idea sprouted in his mind.

"Brother Ji, how do we fight? Do I tank the damage?" Fatty Zhou raised his shield. Even though his legs were trembling, he resolutely stepped in front of Qin Ji.

"No need."

Qin Ji pushed Fatty Zhou aside, a smile on his face that sent shivers down the latter's spine. "Step back a bit. Don't get blood on you."

With that, he raised his right hand, aiming at the slumbering Wolf Emperor.

"Hey, big dog. Wake up. Time for a power-up."

A massive amount of experience points instantly burned, transforming into a dense, nearly tangible black energy that crazily poured into the Wolf Emperor's body.

[Essence Alteration activated! Target: Corrupted Wolf Emperor.]

[Warning! This operation is extremely dangerous! The target's strength will increase uncontrollably!]

[Continue?]

"Yes!"

*BOOM*—!!!

The slumbering Wolf Emperor's eyes snapped open. Its originally emerald-green pupils instantly turned blood-red. It threw its head back and let out a piercing howl. The fur on its body began to grow wildly. Its bones crackled and popped.

Its size visibly expanded. Its back tore open, forcibly sprouting two pitch-black, fleshy wings!

[Ding! Alteration successful! BOSS has undergone aberrant evolution!]

[Current Target: Hellfire Dragon-Wolf (Legendary Grade · Mutant)]

[Rank: 55]

[HP: ???]

[Attack Power: ???]

A terrifying shockwave swept outwards from the altar as its center, directly sending Fatty Zhou tumbling to the ground. He rolled several times before stopping.

"Ho... Holy shit!!!"

Fatty Zhou looked at the monster before him that seemed to have crawled out of Hell, his voice cracking. "Brother Ji! What did you do?! Why did it suddenly mutate?! This pressure... This is Legendary grade! We're going to die here!!"

Hell difficulty dungeons were hard enough. Now the BOSS had evolved on the spot into Legendary grade. This was literally looking for death!

However, the light in Qin Ji's eyes grew brighter.

He clearly saw that the originally golden name above the BOSS's head had now turned a deep, dark purple. This meant the rewards for killing it would increase exponentially!

"ROAR—!"

The evolved Dragon-Wolf lowered its head to look at the two insignificant ants before it, its eyes filled with human-like cruelty and mockery. It felt the surging power within its body, a pleasure strong enough to tear everything apart, making it want to howl at the sky.

It raised its giant claw, covered in Dragon scales, and slowly brought it down towards Qin Ji with destructive wind pressure.

The gesture was like swatting a fly.

"That's more like it."

Qin Ji stood at the center of the gale, his clothes flapping violently. Facing the giant claw capable of crushing a tank, he didn't dodge. Instead, he slowly drew the rusty longsword from his back.

"Only prey of this level is worthy of my sword."

The next instant.

Qin Ji moved.

Not to dodge, but to charge!

His figure left an afterimage in place. His entire being shot forward like a cannonball, meeting the sky-blotting giant claw head-on.

"Slash!"

A simple, unadorned sword strike.

No flashy skill effects, only the purest, most extreme release of power.

The moment the sword's edge met the sharp claw, time seemed to freeze for an instant.

Immediately after.

*Squelch*—!

That indestructible Dragon-scale giant claw was as fragile as tofu before the rusty longsword, instantly sliced clean through. The sword's momentum didn't diminish. It continued upward along the giant limb, cleaving through the Dragon-Wolf's forelimb, shoulder, and finally landing heavily on its ferocious head.

*BOOM*—!!!

A deafening roar erupted, powerful enough to collapse the entire cavern.

The Dragon-Wolf's massive body froze mid-air. The mockery in its eyes hadn't faded before solidifying into eternal terror.

A thin line of blood appeared, running from between its eyebrows all the way down to its tailbone.

"Ding! Killed Legendary Grade Mutant—Hellfire Dragon-Wolf!"

"Ding! Plunder talent triggered!"

"Ding! You have gained All Attributes +500!"

"Ding! You have gained Passive Skill [Dragon-Wolf Bloodline (Max HP +50%, HP Regeneration Speed +200%)]!"

"Ding! You have gained..."

Listening to the pleasant chimes in his ear, Qin Ji flicked the black blood from his sword and slowly sheathed it.

The dust settled.

On the shattered altar, Qin Ji stood with one foot planted on the Dragon-Wolf's massive head. Around him, disintegrating data points drifted like a blizzard of purple snow. He tilted his head slightly, looking at the petrified Fatty Zhou huddled in the corner. His amethyst-gold pupils shone brilliantly in the dim underground cavern, like an ancient demon god who had just awoken, coldly surveying this fragile world.