Chapter 47 - 10X EXP (3)

Leon didn’t stop. He pushed out of the Crimson Mire, diving into the deeper, uncharted territories of Sector 4.

He encountered Shadow-Stalker Panthers (Level 42) in a petrified forest. These beasts were permanently invisible to the naked eye and moved without making a single sound. For any other player, it would have been a massacre.

But Leon’s Origin Eyes saw their mana signatures burning like flares in the dark.

He played their own game. He used the Platinum-Rank Sovereign’s Mantle to blend into the darkness, and repeatedly cast Wraith-Step to teleport through the shadow plane, hunting the hunters.

He would materialize behind a Panther, his sword glowing with Corrosive and Severance effects.

Slash!

A Level 42 beast would die before it even realized it had been seen.

Ding!

[Talent Devourer: Residual Talent Energy Detected: "Shadow-Meld" (Fragments Available: 6)]

He fused the fragments directly into his Wraith-Step skill, reducing its cooldown and making his exits from the shadow plane entirely silent.

Levels continued to pour in. Level 43. Level 44. Level 45.

With every level, he gained 5 Stat Points and 2 Evolution Points. He systematically dumped his attributes into Intelligence and Constitution, ensuring his magic hit like a tactical nuke and his body could withstand the recoil.

When he reached 20 stored Evolution Points, he opened his panel while jogging between zones.

"Evolve Vitalis Mend," he commanded.

Ding!

[12 Evolution Points consumed.]

[Vitalis Mend has evolved: S → SS]

[New Role Talent: Aura of the Undying (SS)]

[Description: The user no longer needs to actively cast healing magic. The talent now projects a constant, passive aura of overwhelming vitality. The user and chosen allies within 50 feet receive massive, continuous HP regeneration, automatic cleansing of mid-tier debuffs, and the Partial Runification physical defense buff. Can still be actively focused for burst healing.]

Leon let out a breathless laugh. He was a Support Role player who didn’t even need to press a button to heal himself anymore. Between Aura of the Undying, Perfect Body, and the Leeching effect of his magic, his health bar was practically welded to the 100% mark.

Hour Ten began.

The environment completely shattered.

The petrified forest gave way to a massive, floating archipelago of shattered black rock suspended over a bottomless abyss of swirling purple energy. The Obsidian Spire. This was clearly an endgame zone for Sector 4, a place meant to be tackled by massive raids of Level 40+ Adepts at the very end of the 100-day cycle.

Leon leaped from floating island to floating island using Gale Weaver, the wind carrying him across the void.

As he landed on the central, largest island, the sky above him darkened.

[Monster Detected: Void-Tainted Gargoyle (x8)]

[Level: 45]

[Type: Elite Abyssal Construct]

[Innate Talent: Void Dive, Magic Nullification Skin]

Eight massive, winged demons made of jagged black stone descended from the sky. They didn’t just fly; they tore through the air, leaving trails of destructive void energy in their wake.

Leon raised Stormcaller’s Conduit and fired a barrage of Arcane Requiem.

The bolts struck the Gargoyles, but the damage was significantly dampened. Their Magic Nullification Skin absorbed the brunt of the spell, shedding the poison and decay before it could take deep root.

"Magic resistance," Leon noted, completely unbothered. "Fine. Let’s do this the old-fashioned way."

He stored the staff, drawing Bloodfang Edge with his right hand and keeping his left hand free.

The first Gargoyle initiated a Void Dive, folding its wings and dropping from the sky like a meteor coated in purple annihilation energy.

Leon didn’t use Wraith-Step. He wanted to test his new toy.

"Aegis of the Void."

Leon swiped his empty left hand through the air. Space itself tore open in front of him, creating a localized rift of absolute blackness. The Diamond-Rank skill activated.

The Gargoyle smashed into the Aegis at terminal velocity.

There was no sound. There was no shockwave.

The immense kinetic energy of a Level 45 Elite dropping from the sky was completely absorbed by the rift, redirected harmlessly into the shadow plane. The Gargoyle hit the barrier and stopped dead in mid-air, its momentum instantly erased, leaving it flailing in confusion.

Leon stepped out from behind the Aegis, his sword raised.

"Verlimon’s Judgment!"

He swung the blade with the full force of his Adept-tier Strength. The Platinum wind crescent, infused with the true-damage Severance Effect, sheared directly through the Gargoyle’s magic-resistant neck. The head was severed cleanly, the shockwave of the Tremor Impact shattering its torso from the inside out.

Ding!

[You have killed "Void-Tainted Gargoyle (Level 45, Elite)" and gained 115,000 experience points. (10X Multiplier Applied)]

The remaining seven Gargoyles shrieked in unison, dive-bombing him from all directions.

Leon became a whirlwind of violence. He activated Obsidian Carapace, his skin turning pitch-black as he waded into the melee. Claws that could shear through solid steel sparked uselessly against his hardened flesh.

He didn’t bother trying to dodge every strike. Aura of the Undying passively healed the minor scratches faster than they could be inflicted. Perfect Body immediately reconstructed any bruised muscle.

He used Alpha’s Roar to blast them out of the sky when they tried to retreat, grounding them.

He used Gorgon’s Decree, the pale grey light sweeping across the battlefield. The Gargoyles were already made of stone, but the deathless petrification locked their joints, freezing the void energy animating them.

Once they were grounded and frozen, he dismantled them.

Slash!

Severance Effect triggered. A Gargoyle crumbled to dust.

Slash!

Tremor Impact detonated. Another shattered into rubble.

He Wraith-Stepped directly above the remaining three, summoning Stormcaller’s Conduit back into his hand.

"You might resist magic," Leon yelled over the roar of the wind, "but let’s see how much you can take!"

He dumped over 1,000 MP into a single cast of Arcane Requiem, pushing the Gold-Rank spell past its absolute limit. The beam of poison, decay, and lightning was so massive it illuminated the entire abyss.

It slammed into the three grounded Gargoyles. Their magic resistance held for two seconds before the sheer, overwhelming volume of raw mana shattered their innate talents. The decay finally took hold, rotting their stone bodies into dust as the lightning vaporized the remains.

Ding!

[You have killed "Void-Tainted Gargoyle (Level 45, Elite)" and gained 115,000 experience points. (10X Multiplier Applied)]

...

Leon landed softly on the floating island.

He checked the countdown timer ticking in the corner of his interface.

00:14:32

Fourteen minutes left on the 10X multiplier.

He was Level 48.

He had gained twenty-one levels in eleven and a half hours. It was a pace of progression that defied every logical metric the system possessed.

"One more," Leon breathed, his chest heaving. Even with Perfect Body and his massive Constitution, the sheer mental fatigue of non-stop, high-octane combat for nearly half a day was starting to weigh on him. "One more big pull."