Chapter 168: Checking the Harvest

Two consecutive level-up prompts popped up.

Based on an average of about 0.1% experience per monster, even with the party sharing rule, the undead I had just wiped out this time numbered no fewer than two thousand.

As for the later prompt about entering the level leaderboard, though I hadn’t expected it, I wasn’t too surprised.

After all, the highest level on the surface was only a bit over 15.

I was now more than qualified to snag a spot in the top fifty.

But I had no desire to invite unnecessary trouble, so without hesitation, I chose to hide it.

Of course, plenty of players thought the same way.

So the top spot on the leaderboard didn’t necessarily mean the true top—some leveling powerhouses might simply not have opted to go public.

Not everyone enjoyed being thrust into the public eye.

Some on the boards were the same.

But for reasons like boosting guild or studio prestige, they had no choice.

Although the chain explosion from the Group Corpse Explosion Technique had cleared more than half the central field in one go, the far side of the arena still held a fair number of undead.

Thanks to the distance and the technique’s base damage being too low.

Drawn by the damage from the Group Corpse Explosion Technique, they swarmed toward us.

Satahia had two more Group Corpse Explosion Technique scrolls left from her purchase.

Compared to the three gold coins that guy at the auction house had charged, the hidden shop’s price was far more reasonable—at 20 silver each.

That guy must have spotted the business opportunity in the hidden shop too.

But his markup was just too much of a rip-off.

Even without the magic scrolls from Lobranch’s Mage Tower, the two Group Corpse Explosion Techniques still let us finish off the remaining small half of the field.

After all, 20 silver was a hefty sum for ordinary players.

But for me, it was barely a concern.

The target in the Trial of the Radiant Chapter quest had also jumped to 27.

We’d knocked out about a quarter of the required number in one fell swoop.

Even with my careful setup, the Group Corpse Explosion Technique had hit a ton of undead.

But some factors and positions had inevitably slipped through the cracks.

We missed quite a few monsters, including that boss-level griffin carcass.

Inferior Undead Griffin [Boss Level]: Level 25, HP 13579/18000.

It hadn’t been killed by the damage from the three Group Corpse Explosion Techniques.

But the horde of undead clustered around it had still chipped away nearly a quarter of its health.

I left the boss to Kai and the others to handle.

Then I hopped down from the seating area to start a very important task—

Loot collection.

Undead drop rates weren’t high.

But with the sheer numbers, the yield was terrifying.

And it included plenty of demonized creatures and elite undead to boot.

You could tell just from the sparkling field of light in the arena’s central ground.

At least dozens of pieces of equipment lay scattered on the ground, along with a few items.

Anyone would feel their heart race at the sight.

I darted around the arena on my short little legs, scooping up every glowing bit and stuffing it straight into my backpack.

Thankfully, monster drops lasted ten minutes.

That gave me just enough time to grab everything.

Otherwise, having half of it refresh mid-scavenge would have been soul-crushing.

Seeing Kai’s group still busy with the boss, I had no urge to butt in.

Instead, I pulled the items from my backpack one by one.

I tallied them up roughly and used the All-Knowing Eye to appraise the unidentified gear.

Sixty-seven pieces of equipment in total.

Twenty-one silver.

Two gold.

Ten skill books.

And a smattering of gems and materials.

This was my full haul from entering the Mihri Ruins until now.

Undead Apostle’s Staff (Gold)

Level Requirement: 20

Type: Two-Handed Weapon

Stats: Attack 51-57, Intelligence +15, Spirit +10, Dark-type spell damage +10%, Cooldown time reduced by 10%

Restriction: Warlock, Dark Word Mage, Dark Priest

Undead Apostle’s Robe (Gold)

Level Requirement: 20

Type: Armor

Stats: Spirit +10, Constitution +12, Received magic damage constantly reduced by 15% and converted to own HP

Restriction: Warlock, Dark Word Mage, Dark Priest

Both gold pieces were from the same set.

Their stats were a solid step up from what I was wearing.

But what really caught my eye was the set bonus.

Undead Apostle Set (2/5): Grants Undead Touch skill.

Undead Touch: When casting magic, has a chance to deal extra damage and reduce the target’s all attributes by 5% for 5 minutes. Can stack up to 6 layers. Passive skill. Ineffective against elite or higher monsters.

When equipping two or more Undead Apostle items, you gain some extra attribute bonuses.

Plus, the passive skill’s trigger chance increases, up to a maximum of 40%.

In other words, with a bit of luck, two skills could slash an enemy’s stats by up to 30%.

And the skill spam from warlocks, Dark Word Mages, and Dark Priests was no joke.

Especially with all the control effects thrown in.

Paired with this set, it was basically a god-tier soloing artifact.

Not just for soloing, either.

Undead Touch didn’t limit itself to one target at a time.

It was a massive asset against groups too.

Looked like I had one more task to add to my list while I was here: farm out the rest of this set.

Then my Dark Word Mage class would finally start paying off.

Besides all that, while sorting through the loot, I also found a few pitch-black fragments.

But before I could examine them closely, Kai’s side finished off the boss-level griffin carcass.

I didn’t dwell on it.

I tossed them back into my backpack and dashed off to scavenge the rest of the drops.

The other equipment and materials were unremarkable.

But one item’s drop caught me completely off guard.

Inferior Teleportation Crystal

Use Level: None

Effect: Records the current coordinates. Maximum storage: 2. In non-combat state, use to teleport to a recorded point. Limited to a distance of 5000 yards. Cooldown: 2 hours.

Recorded Coordinates: (None), (None)

Teleportation crystals were a pretty special drop with a low spawn rate.

I hadn’t expected to snag one here.

Sure, it was the lowest tier.

But still, this thing would boost my efficiency by a huge margin.

I’d been wondering how I’d re-enter the Mihri Ruins without drawing so much undead aggro.

Now, I didn’t have to worry about that at all.