-"Yaa, this feels so good! How long has it been since I last soaked in water like this? Sure enough, soaking in a tub to relax the muscles and loosen the joints is the true way!" Chen Luo sighed contentedly as he relaxed his entire body in the steaming stone pool. He had long wished to experience the refreshing sensation of bathing in a tub like this instead of having to endure standing beneath those freezing field showerheads. The warmth spreading through every joint made him completely understand why public baths and hot springs had such a powerful appeal. In such a leisurely atmosphere, anyone would want to lie back and enjoy it at least once in their lifetime.
The children were rather reserved and embarrassed at first, but when they saw Aaron and Chris boldly stepping into the pool ahead of them, the remaining three girls quickly went together to the rocky wall area on the other side to take off their equipment and gently immerse themselves in the water. In any case, before entering the main pool, all the children had already been washed by the cool magical water flowing from the Water Domain Magic Array, with all the dirt and sweat from the field completely washed away.
Relaxing in the warm water, the entire group leaned their backs against the smooth stone wall and enjoyed this rare moment of leisure. After a while, everyone began passing around the jasmine-scented soap that Chen Luo had just handed them. Seeing the soap bubbles completely disappear when they encountered the flowing water without requiring the water to be changed repeatedly, Chen Luo suddenly felt somewhat doubtful. After all, in his old world, the strict process of washing oneself before entering a communal bath had been deeply ingrained in his subconscious, making him somewhat uneasy; but after personally witnessing the marvel of magic combined with system technology, all his doubts vanished like smoke in thin air.
In the warm air filled with floral fragrance, the children gradually opened up and began chatting freely and noisily. Chen Luo did not interrupt them, merely tilting his head back in silence and listening, committing every little detail to memory. Most of the children's stories revolved around their luxurious yet eventful lives back in Asgard. The occupational habit of a veteran gamer automatically sent him into deep thought, constantly analyzing and piecing together a series of invaluable pieces of information about the Kingdom of Asgard. After all, there were certain royal secrets and noble anecdotes that ordinary players would never be able to discover without touching the main storyline, so Chen Luo simply tilted his head toward the stone ceiling and silently sketched out a map of the various factions in his mind.
Tonight's conversation was, overall, not particularly sensational. There were no political conspiracies or macroeconomic fluctuations mentioned, with the discussion mainly consisting of the children's ordinary family memories. Although somewhat mundane, for someone like Chen Luo who had experienced a brutal apocalypse, these little stories still provided a relaxing form of entertainment, much like enjoying a long-running television series.
When the bath was over, everyone felt refreshed and quickly returned to their respective activity rooms to prepare for sleep. Chen Luo did not waste any time either. He immediately opened the number of Safes he had collected that day. Just as expected, gacha luck did not always smile upon him; the few low-level Safes only yielded consumables and materials that were little more than miscellaneous scraps. The feeling of opening a few one by one really could not compare with the explosive sensation of opening a large batch of "loot boxes" at once. He secretly thought that he definitely had to find an opportunity to stockpile them and perform the feat of opening hundreds of Safes simultaneously, but clearly, the present was still not the right time.
-"It's getting late. Time to rest." Chen Luo muttered before throwing himself onto the soft mattress. The system interface continued to operate silently in the background. Although it was not constantly throwing out urgent missions or rewards, at least its stable presence gave him an absolute sense of security.
Chen Luo gradually sank into a deep sleep. In his half-conscious state, he dreamed again — a strange dream so realistic that it sent chills down his spine. In that boundless space, he encountered a familiar figure: Claude de Alteria — the Grand Elder who stood at the head of the Demi-Human City, and one of the core figures who held the fate of the Main World in his hands. However, what shocked Chen Luo was that Claude respectfully addressed him as a "Hero", while the person standing opposite him, radiating an intense aura of darkness with an extremely stern expression, was regarded as the "World Destroyer".
Chen Luo was utterly confused. Why was that person the World Destroyer? Why did this storyline not exist at all in his memories from his previous life? Throughout the fifty-year history of Infinite Jobholders, countless hidden storylines had been unlocked, yet for some mysterious reason, the player community's progress in exploring the entire world remained stuck at 15%. Hundreds of chapters of the main storyline had passed, and thousands of frames of magnificent CG animations had been deciphered, yet no one had managed to push the exploration progress beyond the 20% milestone.
As the hazy figures of the two people gradually faded into the void, Chen Luo's dream body suddenly began moving on its own. His consciousness seemed to merge with the magic book, and his hands unconsciously drew out the secret manual of the "Myriad Extremes Sword Technique", continuously executing the sword techniques and footwork contained within it. Chen Luo simply trained tirelessly in that unconscious space. Although he was somewhat awkward and stiff at first, relying on his innate combat instincts, he had already completely grasped the core introductory footwork of this supreme sword technique.
Just as Chen Luo was immersed in finding ways to coordinate the chains of moves in his mind, he suddenly woke with a start. His eyes slowly opened to greet the faint light of dawn. Although this dream no longer carried the terrifyingly violent imagery of before, it planted in his heart an extremely vague and uneasy feeling about this world. It was no longer merely the unfamiliarity of someone who had transmigrated into another world, but the anxiety of realizing that he was gradually losing control and could no longer understand the reality in which he lived.
-[Ding! Congratulations, Host, for completing Day 7's daily check-in. You have received 3 「Novice Burst Tickets」!]
-[Congratulations, Host, you have successfully unlocked the skill set 「Myriad Extremes Sword Technique - Initial Stage」. Please continue working hard in your training!]
Item Description: Greatly increases all attribute stats and outgoing damage for a short period of time. However, once the burst effect ends, the Host will enter a Weakened state (Extreme Fatigue) lasting for a full 6 hours.
After completing the daily reward collection procedure, Chen Luo went into the kitchen to prepare breakfast. Once again, it was a nutritious meal bursting with flavor, causing the demi-human children to enjoy it with immense joy and happiness. After breakfast, he took some time to check his personal skill panel. Sure enough, the system had automatically added 9 new combat skills belonging to the Myriad Extremes Sword Technique branch, but because his current attribute thresholds did not yet meet the requirements, Chen Luo could only temporarily activate and use 4 of those skills.
Just as planned yesterday, Chen Luo continued leading the children outside to the deserted streets to hunt monsters in actual combat. But this time, instead of merely standing outside as an advisor, Chen Luo directly took up his weapon and entered the formation. He understood very clearly that once they had decided to build a long-term survival combat team, the leader himself had to be a direct link holding the team together. Otherwise, the so-called "team" would merely be a collection of scattered individuals.
-"Aaron, hold the right flank! Use your shield to hold them back. Absolutely do not let the monsters break through the gaps! Chris, I'll cover you from behind this time. If you can't kill the target in one strike, immediately pull your blade back and switch targets!"
Chen Luo commanded the battlefield in a decisive voice while his figure moved with ghostlike agility, constantly appearing behind the monster hordes and delivering deadly finishing blows. Upon receiving the order, Chris no longer hesitated in the slightest. The little wolf boy unleashed his maximum speed, transforming into a gray streak as he swept past a string of targets, the poisoned blades in his hands carving out arcs of death.
-"Mana, maintain fire support from the rear line. Prioritize casting spells to eliminate any monsters attempting to approach Alice! Celes, continue holding the second line. Aaron, coordinate with Celes and alternate your taunt skills to maintain aggro. Absolutely do not let them reset their targets!"
On the battlefield, the sounds of clashing metal and magical explosions rang out one after another. Mana elegantly thrust her rapier with sharp stabs while continuously chanting and unleashing blazing Fireball spells, burning away the HP of the monsters blocking the frontline. Before the monsters could even turn around to retaliate, Aaron and Celes had already charged forward in perfect rhythm to land follow-up attacks and reclaim aggro priority, allowing the frontline to remain absolutely stable without becoming overwhelmed. At the very back, Alice remained highly focused, continuously releasing support magic to keep the entire team's HP safely above 85%. Although Chen Luo was rarely touched, the comprehensive buffs from her magic still helped him optimize every movement.
*BOOM!*
A terrifying explosion rang out as a shockwave slammed heavily into a nearby brick wall, causing Chen Luo's expression to change drastically. Broken bricks and stone fragments flew everywhere, and emerging from the smoke was the enormous figure of a Level 25 Large Zombie! Last time, Chen Luo had gone through tremendous hardship and used all kinds of schemes just to defeat one. He had never expected to be unlucky enough to encounter another mutated one in this area today. The figure that had been sent flying by the brutal blow, crashed heavily into the stone wall, and collapsed to the ground was none other than Aaron! The overwhelming force of the attack caused the bear boy to spit out a mouthful of blood before immediately losing consciousness.
That sight completely panicked Chen Luo. He roared out his orders:
-"Celes, Mana! Quickly cover Aaron and pull him back to the rear line! Chris, come with me. We're going to lure this monster away from the formation!"
At the rear line, Alice hurried over in a panic, pouring all her mana into activating the skill combination of 「Healing」 and 「Quick HP Recovery」. A gentle green light enveloped Aaron's body, helping the little boy gradually regain consciousness and open his eyes. Even so, Aaron had completely lost his ability to fight. Fortunately, the remnants of his Beast Transformation state had absorbed a fatal attack for him, but being forcibly reverted due to exhaustion had left the bear boy's entire body aching, rendering him unable to move. The remaining three girls quickly formed a protective circle around Aaron, desperately fending off wave after wave of scattered monsters while trying to eliminate as many enemies as possible.
Meanwhile, after confirming that Aaron was safe, Chen Luo and Chris immediately burst forward at full speed and charged into battle. They split up to deal with their respective groups of targets, using independent combos. Chen Luo concentrated all his firepower on controlling the Large Zombie and the surrounding ferocious Mutant Zombies, while Chris relied on his innate agility to kite and eliminate the Mutant Exploders. Chris showed neither doubt nor fear. The little wolf boy transformed into a gray shadow that flickered in and out of sight. His astonishing speed not only allowed him to easily cut down low-level monsters, but also left repeated slashing wounds laced with deadly poison across the bodies of the high-level Mutant Exploders. Although he struggled somewhat against the sudden magical explosions, the battle remained under his control.
-"Chris! When I give you the signal later, you must delay them for a short while at all costs. Keep those Exploders occupied!"
-"All right! But can you really take down that huge monster?"
-"Just keep kiting them and buy me a little time. Then you'll see the answer!"
The brief conversation from earlier suddenly echoed through Chris's mind. The little boy dodged a clawing attack while wondering what trump card Chen Luo was hiding. Chris's gaze quickly swept toward the rear line. At this moment, Alice's mana had already fallen into the red alert zone, forcing her to grit her teeth and raise the 「Full-Range Shield」 with the last few drops of mana she had left. Before he could become distracted, a terrifying explosion suddenly erupted beside Chris's ribs! Fortunately, Alice's magical barrier managed to block the poisonous explosion from an Exploder in time, saving the wolf boy from a disastrous defeat.
The situation began to grow extremely tense. Although Mana and Celes continued fighting stubbornly, the pressure from the continuously surging numbers of monsters was gradually exhausting both of them, making it difficult for them to hold out much longer. Chris was forced to divide his attention, simultaneously harassing the Mutant Exploders while constantly providing cover and swinging his blades to kill any monsters attempting to cross the line and approach the rear.
In the opposite direction, Chen Luo continuously unleashed his skills. He closed in on the Mutant Zombies and executed a continuous chain of skills he had just learned from the Myriad Extremes Sword Technique. Although this was a supreme sword technique designed for long swords, Chen Luo was using a short military knife to execute it. This bizarre combination inadvertently created a rather strange and comical fighting stance, but the effect it produced was absolutely brutal! Blade flashes shifted unpredictably as they unleashed wind-splitting magic, forcing rows of monsters to collapse amid flying flesh and blood.
However, before Chen Luo could catch his breath and clear the battlefield, a massive black shadow had already torn through the poisonous smoke and charged out. The brutal slap of the Large Zombie, accompanied by a howling gust of wind, slammed directly into Chen Luo's chest!
*BANG!*
Chen Luo was once again sent flying straight into the brick-and-stone wall. Although his Durability stat and damage resistance had improved significantly after leveling up, this brutal blow still caused his HP bar to plummet, nearly knocking him down on the spot. At the very moment he was on the verge of death, Chen Luo decisively gave Chris the signal!
Despite having just struggled to deal with the monsters surrounding Aaron, Chris immediately received the signal. The little boy gritted his teeth and burst forward at full speed, roaring as he charged straight toward the Large Zombie, repeatedly swinging his blade to taunt it and draw the attention of the giant and its minions away from Chen Luo's position.
At this critical moment, Chen Luo immediately sank into the system's consciousness space. A dazzling notification panel appeared along with an emergency suggestion: the system recommended that he temporarily release and use the divine weapon 「Myriad Extremes Divine Sword」 through the novice benefit mechanism, in exchange for consuming 1 「Novice Burst Ticket」 he had just received that morning.
-"Let's do it! There's no time to hesitate!"
Chen Luo shouted in his mind, immediately activating the 「Madness」 state and combining it with the 「Novice Burst Ticket」!
*BOOOOOOM!*
From Chen Luo's battered body, a dazzling golden light erupted, blending with a rich and brilliant purple hue as it tore through the oppressive air of the deserted streets! The berserk magical power churned so violently that Chris and the surrounding monsters were frightened into squinting their eyes tightly.
As the radiance gradually retracted, the sight of Chen Luo stepping out from the ruins left Chris completely stunned on the spot, the wolf boy's breath coming to a complete halt before the sacred majesty that pressed down upon the very space around them...