"Damn it!"
Kael never imagined another player was lurking nearby. He’d counted the bodies; he was sure everyone else was dead.
Who is this guy?
Kael quickly stashed the other two chests into his inventory before turning to face the newcomer. The moment he saw the player’s ID, it all clicked.
[Nyxar]
In Kael’s previous life, this was the legendary solo thief hated by guilds and players across the globe. He'd started the game with the legacy of the Nightstrider, which granted him an advanced skill: [Phantom Step].
The skill had no duration and even provided a movement speed bonus. Most importantly, the chances of detecting someone using it were astronomically low. Kael was level 20 and Nyxar was 16, yet he'd only sensed him at the very last second when the thief got close.
Essentially, as long as Nyxar didn’t attack or loot an item, he remained completely invisible.
Kael thought he'd played the perfect ambush, but he'd walked right into someone else's.
Fuck!
Frustration burned, but Kael’s hands didn’t hesitate. He immediately drew his bow. Double Shot.
But Nyxar’s form blurred and vanished again.
Miss!
Miss!
The target was gone.
Kael drew his bow again. Phantom Barrage!
He blanketed a 15-by-15-yard area in a hail of arrows.
-2712
Nyxar’s body materialized as he collapsed to the ground. Thankfully, the treasure chest he’d stolen dropped beside him.
Without a moment's pause, Kael sprinted over and snatched it. He opened it, only to find it completely empty.
Kael froze.
Was the chest a dud to begin with? Or had Nyxar already managed to loot it?
There was no way to know. But there hadn't been a system announcement, which meant it wasn't an Ascendant-grade item. At best, it was a high-tier Legendary.
Just then, Lila and the others, who had been marveling over the Gold and Epic gear that had dropped, heard the commotion. They all turned their heads to see Kael standing over the body of a player he’d just killed.
"What's wrong, Mr. Dawnbreaker?" Hazel asked, rushing to his side and instinctively taking a defensive stance in front of him.
"It's nothing. Just a little thief," Kael said, shaking his head with a wry smile.
Who could have predicted this? He'd assumed there were only seven teams, but Nyxar must have gotten his hands on a Hidden Realm scroll from somewhere. The material loss was minor, but the disrespect was infuriating.
Kael gritted his teeth. Nyxar, you're on my list.
"Dawnbreaker, hurry up and see what's in the chests," Lila urged.
Kael nodded and retrieved the first chest from his inventory.
He opened it.
[System: You have opened Van Tassel's Secret Hoard and obtained the Ascendant item, Warp Emblem.]
A medallion. A very nice, rare equipment slot.
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Kael took out the second chest.
He opened it.
A familiar, dazzling rainbow aura exploded in front of him.
[System: You have opened Van Tassel's Secret Hoard and triggered a lucky reward! You have obtained the Ascendant item...]
Before Kael could even read the item's stats, Rena shouted, "Whoa, Dawnbreaker is on the world announcement! It's an Ascendant weapon!"
The others looked up, and sure enough.
[World Announcement]: Congratulations to player Dawnbreaker for obtaining the first Ascendant-grade weapon, [Galeharrow]! Reward: 1 Treasure Map.
[World Announcement]: Congratulations to player Dawnbreaker for obtaining the first Ascendant-grade weapon, [Galeharrow]! Reward: 1 Treasure Map.
[World Announcement]: Congratulations to player Dawnbreaker for obtaining the first Ascendant-grade weapon, [Galeharrow]! Reward: 1 Treasure Map.
The announcement blasted across the server three times, jolting players out of their late-night grind. It was 11 PM, and anyone feeling drowsy was suddenly wide awake.
"Are you kidding me?! An Ascendant weapon on day four?"
"Dude, I'm still grinding for blues in a level 10 dungeon, and this guy's getting Ascendants?"
"I'm out here killing bunnies outside the starting village, and this guy's getting world firsts… FML. Hey, stop stealing my bunny!"
"This Dawnbreaker guy is definitely using an exploit. The devs need to investigate this dude ASAP!"
"He's a hacker! He must have breached the Godpath database!"
"Hacker, my ass. You can't hack a quantum server. Learn to read, moron!"
"So just because you can't do it, it's impossible? Typical scrub mentality."
"Mr. Dawnbreaker, it's me, your long-lost sister! Add me!"
"Dawnbreaker daddy, I'm the result of that mistake you made years ago! Mom and I have been looking for you!"
"Dawnbreaker, my love, have you forgotten your first crush? Have you forgotten that stormy night we shared?"
The world channel was turning into a total soap opera.
"Haha!" Lila and the others were laughing so hard they were nearly bent over.
Rena even yelled playfully at Kael, "Mr. Dawnbreaker, it's me, your girlfriend from before you got amnesia! Haha!"
Kael just shook his head, a helpless smile on his face.
Lila, still chuckling, walked over with Rena and Starbloom. "So, Dawnbreaker, what are the stats on that Ascendant weapon?"
Kael finally had a chance to look.
[Galeharrow (Ascendant)]
Attack: +1000
Strength: +200
Agility: +200
"Those stats don't seem that great," Starbloom commented.
Lila sighed. "Bless your heart, Star. Read the whole description."
Additional Effects:
Increases Attack by (Player Level x 50).
Increases Strength by (Player Level x 10).
Increases Agility by (Player Level x 10).
Range: 40 yards
Skills:
[Splintering Arrow]: On a successful basic attack, the arrow shatters, sending two additional projectiles to strike other nearby enemies at random.
[Silkbind Shot]: Attacks have a 20% chance to ensnare the target's feet, rendering them immobile for 2 seconds.
Requirements: 200 Strength, 500 Agility
There was a reason Godpath distinguished gear of Ascendant quality and above from standard items. Besides being unique, they had two key characteristics.
First, they had no level requirement. A level 1 player could equip Galeharrow, provided they somehow met the 200 Strength and 500 Agility stats.
Second, they were scalable. Normal weapons could only be improved with external upgrades like gems. Ascendant gear grew with the player, scaling with their level, kill counts, or by having their latent seals unlocked.
Kael equipped Galeharrow. After accounting for the loss of his old Vanquisher's Longbow—which gave 20 Strength, 80 Agility, and 400 Attack—his stats shot up. He had gained a net 380 Strength, 320 Agility, and a staggering 1600 Attack.
His basic attacks now dealt over 6400 damage. Unless an opponent was decked out in two or three Legendary-tier or better pieces of armor, they wouldn't be able to survive a single shot.
"Let's split the gear," Lila said, breaking his focus. "The boss dropped seven purple pieces, four gold, and two ascendants. How about the four of us split half, and you take the other half?"
She didn't even mention the Ascendant weapon. That bow alone was worth more than everything else combined. In terms of contribution, Kael more than deserved that split.
Kael shook his head. "It's fine, you guys can split all of that. I also got this from the chests."
He produced the [Warp Emblem]. Its function was beautifully simple.
[Blink]: Instantly teleport to any visible location within 20 yards. Cooldown: 20 seconds.
Another god-tier skill.
Seeing how upfront Kael was, Lila felt a deep sense of respect. After this run, she was completely convinced of his character. For a moment, she even considered inviting him to join her guild, but her pride stopped the words from leaving her lips.
Hazel glanced around the throne room. "Mr. Dawnbreaker, how do we get out of here? Is there a Recall Stone?"
"The Recall Stone is disabled here," Kael replied. "We have to activate a one-way teleport nexus." He pointed to a button on the side of Van Tassel's throne.
"A one-way nexus?" Hazel asked. "Does that mean we can never come back?"
Kael nodded.
Lila's brow furrowed. "Can't we go back outside and farm some more mobs before we leave?"
Kael shook his head again. "No. Once the boss dies, the path into this realm is sealed permanently."
"Aww," Lila sighed in disappointment.
"Let's go." Kael pressed the button, and the teleport nexus flared to life.
The five of them reappeared in Stonehaven. Before Kael could even get his bearings, an overwhelming sense of killing intent flooded the air around them.
