22: Chapter 22 First Kill in the Entire Server! The Shock of a Dimensional Reduction Attack

The rain of fire scattered across the sky had not yet touched the ground before it cooled into grayish-black rock debris in the air, pitter-pattering onto the scorched earth.

Qin Ji stood in the center of the ruins, stepping on the extinguished head of the Lava Colossus. As he lightly ground his sole, the hard obsidian surface let out an ear-piercing cracking sound.

"Phew..."

A cloud of turbid white air was exhaled from his mouth, instantly evaporated by the lingering high temperatures around him.

There was no sense of a thrilling, hard-fought battle, only a dullness after harvesting.

On his retina, that line of small golden words that only he could see was jumping frantically, like a greedy demon counting its spoils.

[Greedy Grasp triggered! Target determined: Silver-Rank BOSS (Mutant).]

[Plundering Source Essence data...]

[Plunder successful!]

[Obtained passive skill: Heart of Lava (LV.MAX) — Your blood will carry extremely high temperatures, granting immunity to all fire-attribute damage and dealing (Physique x 10) true burning damage per second to enemies within a 5-meter radius.]

[Obtained free attribute points: +500.]

"Five hundred points?"

Qin Ji raised an eyebrow, a hint of disdain flashing through his purple-gold pupils. Killing a Level 20 Silver BOSS gave attribute points that weren't even as much as he got from crushing five thousand ants at the entrance of the Newbie Village.

Is this the law of diminishing marginal utility?

However, the [Heart of Lava] passive was quite interesting; he wouldn't need to buy a heater in the future.

He casually closed the panel and looked ahead. Amidst the ashes of the giant beast's remains, two clusters of light were floating quietly. One was a dazzling orange, while the other was a deep purple.

"That's..."

Shadow Killer, not far away, finally found his voice. He stood up stiffly from the ground, looking at the two clusters of light, a dry swallowing sound coming from his throat. "Or... Orange gear? And purple gear?!"

At this stage, the mainstream equipment for players was still white-tier. Having a piece of green gear made one a guild elite, and blue gear was a rarity only obtained through first-recharge gift packs.

As for purple and orange gear?

Those only existed in the official website's promotional videos!

"What's all the fuss about?"

Qin Ji walked over nonchalantly and reached into the orange light.

There was no sense of a sacred ceremony; he grabbed the piece of equipment that could drive all the players on the server crazy as if he were picking out cabbages at a vegetable market.

It was a pulsating crimson core, with golden veins flowing on its surface like blood vessels, emitting heart-palpitating heat waves.

[Heart of the Earth's Fire (Special Accessory/Off-hand)]

[Grade: Orange (Epic)]

[Effect: Fire-attribute skill damage +50%, with a 30% chance to trigger "Meteor Fire Rain" when attacking.]

[Description: The crystallization of the earth's fury, only a true destroyer is worthy of possessing it.]

"For mages." Qin Ji curled his lip and casually hung the core on his waist, not even bothering to equip it, simply using it as a pendant. "It's quite bright, though; it can serve as a light bulb."

Shadow Killer's eyes twitched frantically as he watched Qin Ji's casual movements.

Using Epic-grade equipment as a light bulb?

Is this guy a demon?!

Next, Qin Ji picked up the purple gear. It was a skill book with a blood-dripping dagger drawn on the cover.

[Skill Book: Instant Hell Shadow Kill Formation]

[Class Restriction: Assassin/Thief]

[Grade: Purple (Rare)]

[Description: Become an Incarnation of shadow, performing 7 consecutive instant slashes on enemies within range; cannot be targeted during this duration.]

Qin Ji's fingers rubbed the skill book for a moment, and then he casually tossed it backward.

Smack.

The skill book hit Shadow Killer's chest with precision.

"Take it."

Shadow Killer caught the skill book in a fluster, completely dazed. He looked at the book in his hands in disbelief, then at Qin Ji's back, his voice trembling: "For... for me? This is a purple-grade skill book! It could sell for at least a hundred thousand gold coins on the market... no, it's priceless!"

"According to the distribution agreement, you have a 10% share of the proceeds."

Qin Ji didn't even look back; he was squatting on the ground using a dagger to pry out a few pieces of top-quality obsidian remaining on the giant beast. "You lured this BOSS out, so this book counts as payment for your hard work. Besides..."

He paused, stood up, and glanced sideways at Shadow Killer with the indifference and condescension characteristic of a superior.

"Since you're following me, being too weak would make me lose face."

Shadow Killer's fingers turned white from gripping the skill book so hard. He looked at the mysterious man before him, a complex emotion he couldn't describe welling up in his heart. Fear, awe, and an unprecedented... ambition.

Following this man, perhaps he really could see a different kind of scenery.

Just then, a cold System notification suddenly rang out in their ears—no, in the ears of every online player across the entire "God's Domain" server.

[Server-wide Announcement! Congratulations to player "Hidden Nickname" for successfully killing the LV.20 Silver-Rank BOSS "Vein Guardian · Lava Colossus"! As the first player on the server to solo a Silver-Rank BOSS, this announcement is made specially. Rewards: 1,000 Gold Coins, 5,000 Reputation, and the unique title 【Wallbreaker】!]

[Server-wide Announcement! Congratulations to player "Hidden Nickname" for successfully killing...]

[Server-wide Announcement! Congratulations to player "Hidden Nickname" for successfully killing...]

The announcement repeated three times, each louder than the last. The bold red font hung across the top of all players' retinas like blood, refusing to dissipate for a long time.

...

Novice Village No. 9527, Central Plaza.

This was currently the area with the highest player density. Tens of thousands of players were gathered here; some were setting up stalls to sell wolf skins they had just obtained, while others were frantically spamming the team channel looking for healers.

The noise was like boiling water.

"Buying wolf fangs! Five copper coins each, I'll take as many as you have!"

"Powerful Shield Warrior looking for a group for the Misty Forest. Only high DPS, no freeloaders!"

"Selling a LV.5 white longsword, +3 Attack, top quality! Only 50 silver coins!"

Amidst this clamor, the server-wide announcement was like a thunderclap from the heavens, instantly plunging the entire plaza into a deathly silence.

Everyone remained in their original positions, some with mouths agape, others with hands raised, staring blankly at the large red words in the sky.

A full five seconds passed.

"Holy crap?!?!"

A heart-wrenching exclamation broke the silence, and immediately after, the entire plaza erupted.

"Am I seeing things? Level 20?! A Silver BOSS?!"

"Dammit, I have to drink two potions just to fight a Level 5 wild boar, and this person actually killed a Level 20 BOSS? And soloed it?!"

"Cheating! Definitely cheating! How could anyone deal that much damage at this stage?!"

"Hidden Nickname? Who is this big shot? Why aren't they showing their face?"

In a corner of the plaza, the atmosphere between two groups of people who were about to set out was even more bizarre.

The group on the left was well-equipped, led by a burly warrior with the ID Grand Blueprint, who was the branch leader of the "Imperial Hegemony" guild, one of the top three guilds on the server.

On the right was a mage adorned with jewels, his staff encrusted with gems, ID Richest Under Heaven, clearly a tycoon who crushed people with money.

Just a minute ago, the two were at each other's throats.

"Richest Under Heaven, don't think you can do whatever you want just because you have money." Grand Blueprint sneered, his giant axe thumping heavily on the ground. "Our Dynasty Guild is determined to take the first clear of the Misty Forest. My team is full of high-level players from the closed beta, with an average level of 8. What do you have to compete with me?"

Richest Under Heaven toyed with the gold ring on his finger, wearing that smile that made people want to punch him. "Guild Leader Blueprint, don't speak too soon. I just spent three million to buy a set of Level 5 green gear. Plus, with my Money Power talent, this first clear..."

Before he could finish, the server-wide announcement slammed down.

The expressions of both men froze instantly.

Grand Blueprint's originally confident smile froze on his face, as if he had been slapped hard. His eyes widened, staring intently at the "LV.20" text, his eyeballs nearly popping out.

"Level 20... Silver BOSS..."

He moved his lips with difficulty, his voice as dry as if he were chewing sand. "We're still fighting over the first clear of a Level 5 dungeon, while someone else has already gone to solo a Level 20 BOSS?"

This feeling was like two beggars fighting over a bun, only for a billionaire in a private jet to suddenly pass by and casually drop a mountain of gold.

Dimensional suppression.

Complete and utter dimensional suppression.

"Investigate!"

Richest Under Heaven was the first to react. He abruptly pulled back his playful smile, his eyes flashing with a merchant's shrewdness and fanaticism. "Use all channels to find out who this 'Hidden Nickname' really is! If an expert of this caliber can be recruited..."

"Recruited?" Grand Blueprint sneered. Although his face was unsightly, he still had the rationality of a large guild leader. "Do you think a monster who can solo a Level 20 BOSS can be recruited by your bit of stinking money? Someone like this is either the official's 'golden child' or has mastered some core bug we don't know about."

He took a deep breath and looked at the team members behind him; their originally high morale had now plummeted to rock bottom.

"The Misty Forest plan is canceled."

"Guild Leader?" The members were stunned.

"What's the point of grinding anymore!" Grand Blueprint cursed irritably. "Hurry up and go level up for me! Also, send people to stake out various high-level maps; we must find some trace of this person. Remember, do not offend him under any circumstances. Someone like this... we can't afford to provoke."

...

Deep in the mine.

The boiling excitement of the outside world did not reach here.

Qin Ji looked at the constantly spamming friend requests and private message bombs (even though he hid his nickname, the System still notified him that someone was trying to contact the 'Wallbreaker') and impatiently turned on "Reject all messages from strangers."

The world finally became quiet.

"Let's go."

Qin Ji turned and walked toward the mine exit, his steps light.

"Where... where are we going?" Shadow Killer, still immersed in the shock from earlier, asked subconsciously.

"Back to the village to turn in the quest." Qin Ji shook the ice flame demon ore in his hand. "That old fellow Blacksmith Wang promised me something good."

At this point, he stopped and looked back at the messy battlefield.

The originally massive Lava Colossus had completely disappeared, leaving only a pile of rubble. And deep within that pile of rubble, something seemed to be faintly glowing.

Qin Ji narrowed his eyes, walked over, and bent down to pick up an inconspicuous black fragment.

The fragment was only the size of a fingernail, but it was incredibly heavy. The moment it touched Qin Ji's palm, it actually seemed to have a life of its own, slowly merging into his skin.

[Ding! Detected special item "Titan Divinity (Fragment)".]

[Greedy Grasp triggered! Forced analysis in progress...]

[Analysis failed. Current level insufficient.]

[Item has been automatically sealed in the Soul space.]

"Titan Divinity?"

The corner of Qin Ji's mouth curled into a playful arc.

It seemed this Newbie Village was much more interesting than he had imagined. He had thought it was just a pig farm for grinding attributes, but he didn't expect it to hide secrets of this level.

"Interesting."

He murmured softly, then strode toward the dark mine exit.

Shadow Killer followed closely behind, looking at the tall silhouette in front of him. The faint light from the end of the mine tunnel fell on Qin Ji, stretching his shadow very, very long, like a demon god about to step out of the abyss and rule the world.

In that shadow, Qin Ji lightly snapped his fingers.

A cluster of golden flames danced on his fingertips; it was the power of the Heart of Lava he had just plundered. The flames were reflected in his purple-gold pupils, burning silently and intensely.