My happiness was as abrupt as a sudden clap of thunder on a clear day. The Gold Rank boss dropping a Dark Gold–grade item was fine, but it was actually the legendary “minor divine artifact”!

Right, these items had appeared in Heavenblessed’s forums before. Though Dark Gold–grade equipment were only high-grade items in the early game, tons of OP items were hidden among them. This Paralysis Ring was one such example. 5% chance of paralyzing the target. It was a powerful CC, and it lasted for 3 whole seconds! It was no doubt a divine item at this stage of the game!

In the vast history of gaming, there was a hugely popular game called Legend of Mir, and the Paralysis Ring there was a divine artifact that had a 20–50% chance to paralyze. This meant that if you hit 10 times, pretty much 2–5 of the hits would proc the CC. The item became the herald of the dark era, and whoever wielded it was a god among men!!

The Paralysis Ring in my hand was nerfed hard by Heavenblessed. It only had a 5% chance, but it was still pretty good in its own right. 20% chance would be too OP, and such an item should only appear once the players passed Level 120.

More importantly, this Paralysis Ring added a good amount of stats. 50 Strength, 45 Stamina, and additional 7% to melee damage. Those were the stats I needed, and this ring could totally replace my old Bloody Ring of Protection, though the latter had been given to me by Lin Yixin. It had some sentimental value… I’ll just keep it in the warehouse!

Every player could wear a ring on each hand. I took off the Bloody Ring of Protection and replaced it with the Paralysis Ring. A dark gold ring appeared on my finger and emitted a bit of demonic energy, so I decisively hid its visual effects. My hands armored by fiery wristguards looked much better.

As soon as I equipped it, my stats soared yet again—

ID: Broken Halberd Sinks Into Sand

Class: Undead Swordsman (Silver Swordsman)

Level: 73

HP: 4050

Attack: 678~1175

Defense: 900

Magic Resist: 692

Reputation: 42850

Luck: 3

……

My HP had reached the 4000 mark and my Defense was now 900. If I added the Ghost Deity Armor skill’s passive effect, I’d be a tanky ass warrior. Only a few melee players in Floating Ice City could rival me in terms of survivability. Gui Guzi with his Undying Shield active wasn’t my match either!

Pleased as hell, I chucked the other pieces of equipment into the bag. Next up was the second floor. I’d better kill all the bosses here quick and make myself scarce. I’ll let Dominating Heaven Blade and Roaming Dragon fight over this place while not telling anyone that the bosses here had already been killed. It had the same feeling as stealing watermelon on a hot summer day. I’d steal their stuff and they wouldn’t even know it. Feels so good~~

After equipping the Paralysis Ring, my confidence soared. Like a Varyag aircraft cruiser outfitted with the Aegis defense system, I felt way cooler now!

I checked out the empty staircase leading to the Devil Sealing Tower’s second floor. I glanced at the little skeleton. It was obvious that I should make it go up first in case the entrance was littered with mobs. I didn’t want to randomly die in vain.

Who would expect the little skeleton to wear a vigilant expression. It leaned against my back, showing no signs of bravery!

No choice then. My Dark Wasp shall go first!

My Dark Wasp was an honest pet. If I gave it an order, it followed it to the letter. The little helicopter flew up the stairs and I kept my eye on the pet bar. Good, still full HP. The second floor’s entrance had no monsters.

I went up the dusty staircase to the second floor. When I entered the map, I smelled a hint of lime, a smell that would frequently accompany newly-built school buildings. Of course, this was a misperception. I bet nobody had entered this ancient Devil Sealing Tower for thousands of years. Those construction workers that love to save on materials would never come to a place they could never profit from.

……

Swhoosh!

The scene before me cleared at once and the second floor map also became much clearer as well. It was a complicated corridor that eventually led to the third floor.

It was darker up front and became increasingly more dusky, until it was nearly pitch-black. Fortunately, I had the light emitted by the Purgatory Sword. The sword itself throbbed with traces of lightning, illuminating my surroundings. Tsk tsk, a high-level Outstanding weapon really is outstanding, huh!

Rustle...

A noise came from up ahead. I focused my gaze and saw a second-floor monster about 20 yards away!

It was a mob covered in poisonous spikes. It looked like a standing turtle and the spikes on its shell glowed with green light. On its front side however were disgusting spiky tentacles that wiggled like alien tentacles. In short, it’s best if I kill them fast because they were so freaking gross!

Poison Spike Devil (Elite)

Level: 78

Attack: 700~850

Defense: 450

HP: 12000

Skills: Poison Spike Protection

Introduction: A highly-toxic insect covered in spikes. It has an extremely high attack power and quick reproduction rate. After being summoned to the Devil Sealing Tower by a mysterious magic, it became the guardian of devils. It is best to not approach these filthy things, the spikes on their bodies can stab anyone.

……

Poison Spike Devil. In brief, high attack but low defense and HP. A glass cannon, so it shouldn’t be too hard to get rid of!

I dashed forward, Charge!

Whoosh!

My sword trembled as Ice Ray and Desperate Gambit fell and cut through the air!

3298!

3514!

As expected of a low-Defense mob. It only had 450, so it couldn’t withstand my Purgatory Sword’s torment. Only two strikes and nearly half of its HP was gone.

The little skeleton came up, dealing more than 4000 damage in a single thrust. Just when it was about to die, pain shot through my entire body. A few spikes struck my forehead.

Beep!

Combat Log: You have been damaged by Poison Spike Devil’s “Poison Spike Protection". You have lost 250 HP!

Combat Log: You have been damaged by Poison Spike Devil’s “Poison Spike Protection". You have lost 250 HP!

Combat Log: You have been damaged by Poison Spike Devil’s “Poison Spike Protection". You have lost 250 HP!

……

I lost 750 HP in just 3 seconds!

The Dark Wasp charged up with a sting, finally killing the Poison Spike Devil!

I was dumbfounded. Was this Poison Spike Protection an AoE DoT?[1] Each second lowered HP by 250. So good! It was even better than the Purgatory Sword’s 20% splash damage!

Only, I've never gotten the chance to test out the Purgatory Sword’s splash damage attacks. The levels of the mobs in the Devil Sealing Tower were really high. The first floor’s Devil Beetle had a paralysis attack so I couldn’t aggro entire groups of them. The second floor’s Poison Spike Devil was the same. If I completely surrounded myself with a group of Poison Spike Devils, I would die a porcupine in no more than 2 minutes.

After we killed that Poison Spike Devil, I looked into the distance. More than ten Poison Spike Devils were walking back and forth, looking like they were sleepwalking. I had to take advantage of this!.

“Pfee!”

When I whistled, my clever cutie pie quickly flew out and circled around them. As a result, around 20 Poison Spike Devils charged over together. I controlled them to fly toward the second floor entrance and it accurately flew in the only space there. Its HP was at rock bottom and it looked at me, waiting for me to recall it.

But a tragedy ensued. I was a bit too late and the Dark Wasp was immediately stabbed to death by the Poison Spike Devils’ Poison Spike Protection.

I didn’t bother watching anymore. I gave little skeleton Xinran a smile and said, “Let’s go grind!”

The little skeleton was still staring at the Dark Wasp’s corpse, as if asking me, “We’re just gonna ignore it? Aren’t you a bit too unappreciative?”

I didn’t explain. A tough life couldn’t be explained or else the little skeleton would think me despicable. In any case, the Dark Wasp could be resummoned in 10 minutes. There was no need to worry!

And so, I took the little skeleton along and I killed my way through. To be honest, even though my Dark Wasp had a 6-star Attack growth, it still couldn’t be used. Its attack power paled in comparison to the damage I and the little skeleton could dish out!

I should get another summonable pet. The Dark Wasp’s stats were still considerably strong but that only applied to normal players. It was too weak compared to a full 6-piece Dark Gold–grade equipped high-level player like me. In fact, it was no problem for me to go up against around 5 Dark Wasps!

Less and less Poison Spike Devils appeared as we pressed onward, replaced by statues that neatly lined up on both sides of the path.

I carefully kept a look out as I advanced forward. The moment I got close, I really felt some movements. Cracking noises sounded and the statue split in half. An undead warrior with ferocious features charged at me with a hooked saber in hand. It raised the hooked saber and shouted, “You dare trespass on my king’s terrority? Die!”

I sneered. “You dare despise me? Die!”

Gargoyle (Elite). Level 78. A lower attack power than the Poison Spike Devil, but its Defense and HP were much higher. I had to use absolute strength against it, else there would be a possibility of me dying.

I activated Charge!

Whoosh!

In the blink of an eye, I came before the Gargoyle and the Purgatory Sword hacked it twice, shaving off 30% or so of its HP. The little skeleton also charged up, with a Soul Devouring Spear and basic attack, deleting around 40%. Damn, our combined attack power was outrageous. Our sharp blades cut this Level 78 elite monster like it was cabbage!

The Gargoyle gave a generous amount of EXP. Coupled with how fast the little skeleton leveled, by the time 1 pm came, it had already reached Level 70. A few more days of grinding and matching my level wouldn’t be an issue.

I happily continued the slaughterfest and saw my EXP bar rise. It was a delightful process to say the least. Though it did hurt me inside when these Gargoyles dropped a ton of Big Magic Stones and I didn’t pick them up. A magic stone could allow me to make a little money but I couldn’t raise the three beautiful girls in the workshop with a bunch of rocks. Poor old me had to bear the heavy burden of throwing these magic stones away!

Right then, I heard a beep. It was a message from He Yi: “Hey, it’s afternoon already. You’re not going to log off to grab a bite?”

I thought about it, then replied: “Nah, I’m going to continue until it’s time for dinner…”

He Yi didn’t know whether to laugh or cry: “Alright, then let’s head to a buffet since you’ll be more hungry come dinner.”

“Mn!”

……

I closed the chat window and continued my killing spree!

Swhoosh!

I reached Level 74 with a flash of golden light when it was a bit past 2 pm. This place really was a super quick grinding zone!

There were only a handful of Gargoyles left within my line of sight.

However, the little skeleton revealed a vigilant expression, glaring into the distance. There was a huge stone statue there. Clearly, it had to be very strong. I understood in an instant.

Good, the Devil Sealing Tower’s second floor boss was about to appear!

1. DoT: Damage over time