Ch 333: Lonely Spirit Ridge.

Noah returned inside Mystic Moon and resumed his crossing of the Ghastly Grounds. According to his map, he only had about one kilometer left to cross, but the monster density had become quite something, and he couldn't take on one Zombie without at least ten joining the fight.

In ten minutes, Noah killed over two hundred of them. If would be a good way to level, if those monsters didn't give significantly less Exp than the other types.

Still, since he entered the Ghastly Grounds, he had gained two levels and was now Lvl 15.

Noah finished the latest batch of Zombies and was about to walk a few meters to engage the next one, when suddenly, all the zombies turned their head in one direction, and shambled away. Some entered his aggro range, but didn't pay him any attention.

"Uh oh…" muttered Noah. "When the rats all run in one direction, you better be ahead of them."

"Is there a saying like that in your world, little master?" asked Qi Yue, her voice tinged with amusement.

"I don't know. If there isn't one, there should be. It's about time something stronger than a One-star elite shows up anyway." shrugged Noah. Aside from the crystals generated by Little Grey, he hadn't gotten any new loot worth wearing since leaving the tutorial island, and he looked forward to fighting something a bit challenging.

He could already hear heavy footsteps approaching.

One shape slowly emerged from the white fog, followed by another, and a third one. The biggest and heaviest looked like a troll from the Lord of the Rings movie, with a large cleaver in each hand. The second looked like a grim reaper with a scythe, floating a meter above ground, and the third was some kind of skeletal mage with a black robe and a bone staff.

Noah immediately used Scan on each of them.

"Dual Wielding Troll: Category: Undead. Level: 20. Class: Lord. HP: 20 500. The Underworld's lowest rank of Guards. It is cruel and bloodthirsty, and chopping the bodies of the living gives it the greatest joy. Very high attack power, 50% Dark Resistance."

"Undead Summoner: Category: Undead. Level: 20. Class: Lord. HP: 13 350. An undead summoner created by the noxious fog, able to manipulate dead bodies for their use. 70% Dark Resistance. Can summon up to three Lvl 15 to 20 two-stars Elite Undead, as well as up to six Lvl 15 to 20 two-stars Elite Undead Wolves."

"Undead Destroyer: Category: Undead. Level: 20. Class: Lord. HP: 14 500. Armed with an evil scythe made to cut down all living things in front of him. Their attacks have a significant wind-up time, but a long range and high attack power. 50% Dark Resistance."

Noah tensed as he lowered his gravity center by flexing his legs. Three Lvl 20 Lord bosses at the same time was going to be tricky. Especially when up to nine additional Elite monsters would join the fray.

The Troll advanced towards him with surprising speed for its bulk while the Summoner started an incantation, and the destroyer's scythe glowed with a black light.

Noah immediately dashed to the side, circling around to avoid the troll and to try to get out of the way of the attack he knew was coming.

An expanding crescent of black energy burst form the Destroyer's scythe as the boss slashed in his direction, and Noah memorized its width and speed, as well as its charge time.

As long as he could see it coming, he should be able to evade it.

The Troll swung its cleavers, missing him, and Noah reached the Destroyer, attacking using Full Power Strikes with each hand.

-618, -1232.

Noah jumped back to avoid a slash from the scythe, and wanted to dive in again, but the Troll was getting too close.

He would have to open the distance to separate the troll from the Destroyer and Summoner, before doing hit and runs again.

It was going to take a while…

Or maybe not… There was one thing he remembered just now. Something he had forgotten about because he had never used it so far.

Noah activated the first of the Lunar Scourge's skills, Moon Shadow. Black light burst from the Lunar Scourge on his wrist, and the monsters froze, paralyzed for five seconds.

With his attack speed and dual wielding, Noah could unleash about four attacks per second. He immediately dashed back towards the Destroyer and unleashed a flurry of Full Power Strikes.

-618, -772, -618, -618, -1232, -618…

Fortunately, the Destroyer had less armor mitigation than the Zombies, and Noah had time to kill him before the effect of Moon Shadow expired.

“*Ding* … You successfully killed a Lord “Undead Destroyer”, Fame +200, Skill points +200.”

The Undead Wolves and Undead Warriors that the Undead Summoner had manifested started running towards him, moving far faster than normal Zombies.

Noah used his Paragon skill, adding for 30 seconds a modest 10 Water-type damage to his attacks, and more importantly, his 68 Evasion rate was also added to his defense, doubling it.

Noah used the tried-and-true method of dealing with multiple enemies in video games, kiting. He made the Troll as well as the Wolves and Warriors run after him while unleashing Little Crescent Slashes, gradually whittling them down.

While he could easily evade the Undead Wolves' attacks with quick side jumps, the Undead Warriors could retaliate with their own Little Crescent Slashes. Noah could evade some by moving just barely out of range. Others, he evaded thanks to his Evasion rate. He still was hit twice, each attack shaving 154 of his HP despite his boosted Defense.

Still, Noah could unleash Little Crescent Slashes several times each second, while the Undead Warriors had a significant cooldown, and they went down under his barrage.

“*Ding* … You successfully killed a Two-stars Elite “Undead Wolf”, Fame +36, Skill points +36.”

“*Ding* … You successfully killed a Two-stars Elite “Undead Wolf”, Fame +38, Skill points +38.”

“*Ding* … You successfully killed a Two-stars Elite “Undead Wolf”, Fame +34, Skill points +34.”

“*Ding* … You successfully killed a Two-stars Elite “Undead Warrior”, Fame +40, Skill points +40.”

…

Noah didn't have time to think about the points he got from them and had to evade once again an overhead slash from two giant cleavers. The Troll had taken a few hits, but still had close to three quarters of its health left. Noah retaliated with Full Power Strikes.

-618, -618.

The Troll's furious expression suddenly became slack, and it stopped moving. Noah had been lucky, and the 2% chance to daze the target for 23 seconds had been triggered.

Noah, keeping an eye on the Undead Summoner that was starting to summon another batch of minions, unleashed Full Power Strikes one after another on the Troll, killing it.

“*Ding* … You successfully killed a Lord “Dual Wielding Troll”, Fame +200, Skill points +200.”

He didn't immediately go after the Undead Summoner, however. He wanted to see if killing the minions again would net him more Fame and SP points.

Noah drank a potion to recover his lost HP, and used the same method as before to kill the fresh wave of Undead Wolves and Undead Warriors, but they didn't give him anything.

With a shrug, he ran to the Undead Summoner. The monster could only wave his staff around when engaged in melee, and Noah had no difficulty turning it into a Dead Summoner.

“*Ding* … You successfully killed a Lord “Undead Summoner”, Fame +200, Skill points +200.”

"Ruff… Ruff." barked Little Grey, attracting Noah's attention. The happy little furball was barking its tail at the small pile of loot the Undead Destroyer had left behind. Noah had been too busy to pay attention back then, but when he walked closer, his heart skipped a beat.

There was an amber-colored orb among the potions and coins. Noah picked it carefully, turning it, and saw black lines on it, depicting the Cancer's zodiac symbol. He used Scan on it.

[Cancer Orb] Type: Orb, Grade: Mysterious God, Attributes: None: Can only be socketed on Lunar Scourge.

Effect: Physical and Magic Attacks ignore defense and all forms of damage reduction or immunity.

"Little Master has found another Orb already!" exclaimed Qi Yue, appearing by his side.

"Yes. And it's quite a good one." grinned Noah as he slotted it into the Lunar Scourge.

"They are all very good. Even the worst one would be a heaven-defying treasure for you players." chuckled Qi Yue.

Noah's heart skipped a beat again at the sight of her smile and mentally cursed that temptress for being too beautiful.

Noah slowly breathed out and looked around, ostensibly making sure no enemies were sneaking on them. Qi Yue's satisfied smile turned into a pleased smirk as she knew exactly the effect she had on him.

He drank another Fog-Resisting Potion and picked up the loot left behind by the three Lords. Most were only comparable or worse than what he was already using, but there were still three notable Gold-grade items.

[Cursed Earrings]: Category: Earring, Grade: Gold, Equipment requirements: Level 15 or above magicians. Dark earrings that have been imbued with the noxious fog. It contains powerful magic, but will gradually consume the wearer’s HP. Attributes: Magic Attack +25, Spirit +10, HP regen per second -10.

[Dark Chest Plate]: Category: Upper Garment, Grade: Gold, Equipment requirement: level 15 and above warrior. It has a strong ability to resist dark attacks. Attributes: Defense +45, strength +7, constitution+6, dark resistance +5%, immune to cursed state.

[Skeleton Gloves]: Category: Gauntlets, Grade: gold, Equipment requirements: level 15 and above any profession. Dark gloves that have an outline of a skeleton on it. Attributes: Defense +17, attack +10, hit rate +5, crit rate +3%, dark resistance +3%.

There were also a handful of silver-grade pieces of equipment, but Noah barely looked at them before stuffing them in his inventory.

The earrings were of no interest to him. The permanent HP drain far outweighed their advantages in his opinion, and they would only be useful to him when Paragon was active. He would give them to Yun Meng Xin to use or sell.

The Chest plate was only usable by Warriors, and Noah, whose unique class was closer to the rogue archetype, only expected to receive an error message when he tried equipping it. To his surprise, the game seemed to consider his hidden class close enough to that of a Warrior to allow it.

Noah, now Lvl 16 after this fight, opened his status.

Character: Noah

Level: 16

Class: Phantasmal Bladedancer

Faction: None

Fame: 3435             Money: 71 Gold 4 silver 6 copper          SP: 1860

Basic Attributes:

Strength: 87          Constitution: 33          Agility: 75          Spirit: 5

Available: 5

Innate Attributes:

Luck: 13                               Comprehension: 13

HP: 840                                 MP: 50 000 210

Physical Attack Strength: 543

Magic Attack Strength: 10

Defense: 108

Hit Rate: 100                         Dodge rate: 69

Critical Hit Rate: 23%          Pierce Rate: 100%

Attack Speed: 110%            Movement Speed: 110%

Elemental resistances:

Water: 0%          Fire: 0%          Wind: 0%          Lightning: 0%

Earth: 0%          Light: 0%          Darkness: 8%

Skills:

Scan lv 1

Full Power Strike Lvl 5

Little Crescent Slash Lvl 5

Fire of Rage Lvl 1

Heaven Wind Technique Lvl 2

Wind Step Technique Lvl 2

Sword Proficiency Lvl 1

Agility Strengthening Lvl 1

Mirage Blade Lvl 1

Peerless Jade Dance Lvl 1

Paragon Lvl 1

Noah added his five unallocated Attribute points to Constitution, as the gap between his offense and his resilience made him a bit uneasy, and he wasn't arrogant enough to think he wouldn't need some staying power.

After some thinking, he invested 1600 of his SP into Wind Step Technique.

[Wind Step Technique]: Current Level: LV3, Highest Level: LV10. SP to Upgrade to LV4: 2 400. Ancient battle technique, after practice, can greatly increase the movement speed and attack speed. Effect: +15% movement and attack speed.

Noah opened the player ranking, wanting to see where he stood, and sighed.

Rank 1          Eve                              Fame: 4860

Rank 2          Noah                           Fame: 3435

Rank 3          Luo Hao                      Fame: 2656

Rank 4          Ruo Ruo                       Fame: 1705

Rank 5          Ice Heart Demon       Fame: 1622

Rank 6          _____                                Fame: 1539

Rank 7          Sword Emperor          Fame: 1495

Rank 8          Sword God Doni         Fame: 1405

Rank 9          CuteZero                      Fame: 1352

Rank 10        Caesar                          Fame: 1295

The 1500, more or less, gap between Eve and himself that existed the last time he checked, had been reduced to… about 1400. Whoever this Eve was, she was a monster.

The item and Pet ranking were still empty, aside from Soaring Cloud and Little Grey.

"Is little master irritated by this Eve?" smiled Qi Yue.

"I do not intend to let her keep the top spot, but I am more impressed than irritated." smiled Noah.

"Hum. She clearly isn't a normal player. And she wants to kill you."

"Not really. She may intend to kill me within Mystic Moon, believing I would only lose a level, yes." shrugged Noah. "But, unless she is extraordinarily good at hiding it, I doubt she'd want to kill me. I haven't felt any killing intent from her when we met, only curiosity and a vague desire for dominance. She wants to defeat me to confirm her superiority."

"…When she realizes how strong you are, she will want to use you." nodded Qi Yue.

"I'm used to it." shrugged Noah. "She won't be the first to want things from me, and she won't be the last. Right, Qi Yue?"

Noah's pointed tone made her wince for an instant, but she almost instantly hid it with a mischievous expression.

"Is my little master thinking that this big sister is using him for some nefarious purpose?"

"I wouldn't use the word nefarious, but yes, you are definitely using me. Although I do not mind. You agreed to be my sex slave, remember?" smiled Noah. "I do not think you meant it back then, but those aren't words I intend to let you take back. In compensation, whatever your ultimate goal is, Qi Yue, as long as it doesn't go against my role as Lilith's Champion and doesn't hurt the people close to me, I will help you reach it. After all, I want my women to be happy."

Qi Yue froze for an instant. Her usual playful and seductive aura disappeared almost completely.

"…My goal is to defeat the Moon God Clan." slowly said Qi Yue. "For Ye Yue to be free from the Lunar Scourge. And maybe, if possible, to be free from it myself. But I'll be fine remaining bound to it, if that is the price I must pay for my wishes to be fulfilled."

"And I think there is more to it, Qi Yue. This desire to defeat the Moon God clan sounds more to me like a means to an end. But I am willing to humor you until the Lunar Scourge is complete." nodded Noah. "I hope that by then, this big sister of mine will trust me enough to tell me the whole truth."

He faced her for a few more seconds, trying to read more from her expression, but Qi Yue was firmly in poker face mode.

With a shrug, he turned and resumed his walk, wanting to leave the Ghastly Grounds, and Qi Yue returned inside the Lunar Scrouge without a word.

After another half-hour spent carving his way out of a horde of zombies, Noah finally came out of the white fog.

The Lonely Spirit Ridge was a large expanse of brown stone and dirt, where nothing seemed to grow. Noah could faintly hear the sound of waves crashing against the ridge, and see a glimpse of the ocean, a few kilometers in front of him. Slightly to his right, the ridge rose a little, and a castle was built on it, vaguely looking like a human skull.

Just from looking at it, Noah could feel goosebumps. The atmosphere in this place, the only sounds being made by the waves, was creepy as hell.

Noah didn't head toward that castle. Instead, he mounted his horse and started exploring the area, trying to find the Death Bloom flower.

After about ten minutes of fruitless search, Little Grey suddenly barked, and Noah followed it to the side.

Little Grey stopped in the middle of a patch of land that was significantly darker than its surroundings. When Noah dismounted and crouched beside Little Grey, the ground in front of him seemed to melt away for a second, revealing a dark hole, about a meter in diameter. A wooden ladder was inside.

“*Ding* … You have found a hidden map "Dark Passages", Fame +50.”

Noah petted Little Grey with a smile, then descended, ready to fight whatever would be down there. Hopefully, not a Celestial boss.

The hole led to a tunnel going in two directions, one towards the Ghastly Grounds, the other leading down and towards the ocean and away from the gloomy castle. They weren't straight and the visibility wasn't great in the dim tunnel, so Noah couldn't guess where they led to.

He was about take the passage down when he heard faint footsteps. Something was coming from the downward tunnel.

Noah waited, swords in hand, as the sounds became more defined. A single pair of steps, with the occasional sounds of a staff or cane hitting the ground.

The one making the sounds finally came into view, and Noah blinked as he saw that it was a living person, not an Undead. His skin was black, but his eyes were blue. He had short gray hair with a trimmed beard and mustache, and his features reminded Noah a little of the actor Morgan Freeman. He wore a ragged blue outfit, and held a short bamboo stick.

If Noah was surprised to see him, the man was completely astonished.

"Where did you come from you ghost? Who asked you to come here! Are you a low level undead who are the only ones eligible to enter into the Gates of Hades? Hrm? Wait, you seem to be breathing…"

He gave out a dramatic cry.

"Holy Shit!! You’re a living person!!"

"Yes." nodded Noah. "Same as you."

"Hey, you and I aren’t the same. I’m a living person that can open the underworld. I can't be compared to normal people… Hah! How can I have a conversation with you? What is a living person like you doing here? Don’t you know that this is the entrance to the Underworld? Wrong!! With that scary bastard around, it's more like nothing living can even come here, so how did you get here?"

The man twisted in the direction of the gloomy castle, although he couldn't see it, and muttered to himself.

"This boy must be capable to reach this place, but still, he can't oppose that bastard… Looks like that bastard wasn’t home today."

"My name is Noah. Who is this bastard you mentioned?"

The man looked Noah up and down, and smiled. "I am Qian Gun Gun, the world's greatest merchant! And the information about that bastard, is worth… 500 000 Gold!"

"What the hell? 500 000?" blurted out Noah, his eyes wide in shock.

"My prices are always fair! If that bastard ever discover that I told you his name, he will pursue me to the ends of the world.

"Fine, I won't ask about whoever this is. You said that this passage leads to the Underworld? I am searching for a Death Bloom flower. Would you happen to sell some?"

"…I can tell you the location of Death Bloom flowers, and about the Underworld, for… 50 gold coins. From what I can smell on you, you only have between 50 and 100 gold coins. You're poor as dirt! I would normally make you pay much more for this information, so consider this your good fortune!"

"I'll pay for this information." nodded Noah. He didn't care much about gold coins, when Little Grey could easily let him farm thousands per hour.

"Good." smiled Qian Gun Gun. "The Underworld is part of the world, and at the same time, is isn't."

"Like another layer on the map?" asked Noah, familiar with the notion. The Fate World had what they called 'textures', and the DxD/Bleach world had his own Underworld, Hell, Soul Society and Heaven.

"Yes, like another layer." nodded Qian Gun Gun. "It can be reached using secret passages like this one, and the noxious fog that covers the Ghastly Grounds comes from the Underworld."

"Is the Underworld the place you go after dead and wait to be reincarnated?" asked Noah.

"Reincarnation? Nononono." replied the merchant, shaking his head. "Of course not. The underworld was created by Hades, together with countless numbers of strong undead. Do you know what the undead are? Yes, the souls of the dead don’t scatter, but the death’s breath animate their dead bodies. Terrifyingly making them capable of movement. While you were getting here, you definitely would have faced many zombies."

"They are the lowest of the undead, the higher level undead can possess terrifying shapes and power. At an even higher level, they can appear like humans, with knowledge and wisdom beyond humans. Countless years ago, because of all kinds of war, the forgotten continent produced all kinds of strong and weak undead. These undead brought great disaster on forgotten island."

"Then, Hades appeared, Hades himself was an undead, and he was the strongest undead of them all. He and all of forgotten continent’s strongest undead creatures gathered together, creating a new world, and that place is known as the underworld. The underworld was the undead world, under Hades’ control, the undead weren’t allowed to harass creatures in the outside world, but living creatures were also not allowed to enter."

"As the undead of the underworld grew in number, the underworld grew stronger, becoming a terrifying force. Even the Moon Goddesses didn’t dare offend them. With the great Hades, it is said that his strength is able to compete with the top three of the Moon Goddesses, he is quite powerful.”

"Do not try to enter the Underworld, unless you wish to die. The weakest Undead there are Lvl 50."

"As for the Death Bloom flowers, that scary bastard took them all and planted them in his garden. If you do not wish to die, you better give up and leave Lonely Spirit Ridge as soon as possible, before he comes back!"

"I see." sighed Noah. Of course, it wouldn't be so easy.

"Now I'm leaving. Good luck, boy." said the merchant as he resumed his walk.

"Wait? Where can I find you again? If all goes well, I will be decently wealthy in the not-too-distant future."

"You won't be able to find me if you search for me. It will all be up to fate!" said Qian Gun Gun as he waved his hand, not turning back or stopping.

Noah sighed, considering for an instant if the quest was worth the risk. But it was.

At worst, he would lose his levels and return to Lvl 1. It would be painful, but with the help of the Lunar Scourge, his hidden class, and immediate access to Lvl 10+ monsters on the Forgotten Continent, it wouldn't take him that long to make up for it.

And he didn't think Lilith would appreciate it if he backed off now.

His decision taken, Noah shot up the ladder and mounted his horse, wanting to get it done asap. He didn't really think he would manage to enter the castle, pick up a Death Bloom flower, and leave without a confrontation with whoever this 'Scary Bastard' was, but it was worth trying.

He was half-way to the castle when Little Grey barked again, leaving his side to stop in front of a large boulder.

Not wanting to waste time wondering, Noah immediately tried to push the boulder aside. Surprisingly, the rock that looked like it weighted over a ton rolled aside without much difficulty, revealing another passage barely wide enough for him to go through, this one with a rope ladder.

“*Ding*… you have discovered a hidden, nameless area. Fame +50.”

Noah glanced at the castle, then quickly climbed down the ladder. As he did, he noticed a faint red glow coming from under him.

He reached the bottom, and followed a narrow passage, thankfully high enough for him to stand upright, and the glow grew brighter as he came closer to its source.

When the tunnel led to a small cave, and Noah saw the source of the red glow, he froze,

The glow came from a large bird, its body about a meter long, and its wings spread, with a wingspan of maybe six meters. Its beautiful feathers were a mix of gold and red, and the tail feather were particularly long and gorgeous.

It was completely immobilized, pinned against a wall of the cave by countless black threads that seemed to give out their own black light.

The bird moved an eye, staring at him as Noah came closer.

Noah used Scan on the bird and the threads, but only got an error message.

"Hey, little one." said Noah with a smile. "If I free you from those, you aren't going to try to eat me, right?"

Noah saw the bird tremble slightly, but it couldn't even open its beak.

He tentatively touched one of the black threads and tried pulling on it.

-150.

The thread didn't budge, and its mere contact seemed to drain his life.

Noah drank a HP potion, drew one of his Sand Blades, and struck the thread. He didn't expect another player in the same situation to be able to sever it. But Noah did have the Lunar Scourge, with its defense-piercing Orb. He felt some resistance, but the thread was cut.

Nodding to himself, Noah attacked the threads one after another. In a few minutes, the bird was free.

The bird moved its majestic wings a few times, watching Noah, and then, quickly trotted out of the cave, far faster than Noah could follow it.

The cave was very dim with the bird gone, and Noah almost bumped into a wall, but he made his way back to the shaft, up the rope ladder, and to the surface, wondering if freeing the bird was part of the original fiction's setting, or something Lilith had specifically arranged for him.

He was about to summon his mount and head towards the castle when a voice came from behind him.

"Whew… Big Brother, I finally caught up to you."

Noah turned, seeing a young woman coming out from behind the rock he had moved to expose the passage.

She was extremely beautiful, with long, lustrous black hair, black eyes, a fair skin, and wore an elaborate red dress. She was petite, exuded an aura of innocence and youthfulness somewhat comparable to Shuiruo, and Noah couldn't help but smile at her.

"Who are you?"

"Me?" replied the girl, pointing to herself with an arched eyebrow. "My name is Xi Ling. Big Brother can call me Ling Ling!"

"Nice to meet you, Ling Ling. My name is Noah. How did you come to this place?"

"I got lost in this place, and couldn't find the way home. Then I found big brother! Big brother, it's so scary there, could you please take me away from here?"

Noah wasn't an idiot, and was ninety percent certain the girl was the bird he had just saved, somehow taking a human form. But if she wanted to pretend, he was willing to play along.

"Then tell me, where is your home?"

The girl blinked, thought for a few seconds, then laughter with a pure and innocent expression. "Wherever Big Brother goes, that's where my home is."

Noah smiled fondly and patted her head. She closed her eyes in happiness.

"Very well, Ling Ling. You're my travel companion from now on, along with Little Grey here."

"Yes!" grinned Xi Ling, crouching to pet Little Grey, who wagged its tail at her.

Suddenly, Little Grey froze stiff and whimpered. A second later, a terrible aura pressed on Noah's shoulders like a physical force, and Xi Ling paled.

Noah turned and looked up, seeing a black cloud in the sky. It moved slowly, and against the wind.

The oppressive force Noah felt was worse than when he fought the Skull Reaper in SAO, worse than even the one he felt from Tao Tie. Its aura was not necessarily stronger than the one of the Mysterious God-grade beast he had met before, but it was far more malevolent.

"This… This must be one of the ten Fiends!" said Qi Yue in his mind.

"What is a fiend doing in a Lvl 20 area?"

"How would I know? I'm calling that big guy, but it will take a while for him to get there. Try to stall for time."

"Heeheeheehee…" came a deep, rumbling and sinister voice.

Black lightning burst from the black cloud, striking the ground twenty meters in front of Noah. The lightning didn't disappear immediately, and the cloud seemed to channel itself into it, disappearing in seconds as a shape took form on the ground. When the lightning disappeared, the shape became that of a five meters giant covered in jet black, spiky plate armor, and two malevolent red eyes peered at them from under the helmet's black visor.

"Do not use any of the Lunar Scourge's abilities!" warned Qi Yue. "This is the War Demon Beast! He has seen the Lunar Scourge before and would be able to recognize it! It would be better if you just die rather than let him discover the Lunar Scourge."

"Sure, but that girl would likely die."

"Never thought that in the short time that I left, there actually would be a reckless little lamb who would be audacious enough to come here… Heeehehehehe, you humans are such interesting little animals. In the past 10,000 years I can’t even remember how many overconfident little human trash I’ve killed. I never expected a human to come in here seeking death, and this time it’s such a little ant. This is way too funny…. Heeeehehehe, hahahaha…."

"Hey, you think I like going to this dreary place?" asked Noah. "I'm only here because I need a Death Bloom flower. Would you maybe be willing to trade for one?"

"…How amusing, an ant wanting to trade with this great me. Well then, little human, time to vanish from my sight. Coming here was the most stupid thing you’ve done in your whole life, but dying under my hands is an honor for you… Die!"

The War Demon Beast lifted his armored hand, and a small ball of black light, barely the size of a golf ball, appeared above his palm. He casually threw it at Noah, who jumped to the side, barely evading it. The ball exploded a few meters behind him, but the shockwave still reached him.

-750.

If not for Little Grey reducing any damage he took by 30%, he would have died, just like that.

Little Grey and Xi Ling had been pushed aside by the same blast, but they didn't seem significantly injured.

"Heh." snorted the War Demon Beast, already producing another black ball, the size of a baseball this time. "You can move fast, for an ant. Keep dancing for me if you can!"

He threw the fireball again as Noah hurriedly drank a Green HP potion, recovering 800 HP.

Noah was expecting to end up at 1 HP, thanks to Little Grey's skill, when a fireball made of yellow and red flames, came from his left and intercepted the black ball, devouring it in a second before disappearing.

Noah turned his head, already knowing who had thrown that fireball. As expected, it was Xi Ling. And her eyes had turned red.

The War Demon Beast looked at her with dismay.

"Who… who is it? There is only one type of power who can easily devour dark energy. However, the owner of that power couldn't possibly be here!"

Then he seemed to realize something, and stepped back in fear.

"You… You… Impossible!"

"You imprisoned me for so many years. Now you want to hurt him. I definitely won't forgive you!" spat Xi Ling.

Bright red flames suddenly surrounded her body, and her hair fluttered.

The War Demon Beast cried in fear as he stepped back further.

"No way! This can't be! How did you escape the Lord Demon King's suppression magic?"

The War Demon Beast was terrified. The owner of those flames was his most terrifying enemy and still filled him with fear even after 10 000 years.

In his fear, he lashed out.

"Go and die!" bellowed the War Demon Beast as he unleashed black lightning at Xi Ling. Noah and Little Gray were just far enough not to take damage as the black lightning impacted the flames surrounding Xi Ling, and parted to the sides like a stream of water parting around a stone. The land was ravaged as two long trenches formed, meters deep and over a hundred meters long.

Xi Ling was still standing, glaring at the War Demon Beast, but the flames around her body had been extinguished, her hair and dress becoming messy.

She looked at Noah and Little Grey and sighed in relief.

"Big brother, are you okay?"

"I am, but you do not look like you are." said Noah.

" Hahahahaha…hahahahah!!!" laughed the War Demon Beast, relief evident in his rumbling voice.

"I… I almost forgot about it! You’ve been suppressed by the Lord Demon King and us 10 Ancient Demon Beasts for over 10,000 years!! The Lord Demon King’s strength not only suppresses your body, but also slowly saps your strength! The Lord Demon King said that he only needed 20,000 years, then all your powers would be sapped away. At that time, you would have been released, then casually killed…"

"Now, although it’s only been over 10,000 years, it’s still more than enough!! After taking the hit from my previous attack, you’re completely exposed. In your current state, your strength has been used up to the point where it's only Celestial level!! If you used your strength to restrain me, you still wouldn’t have the power to defeat me! In fact… I don’t even need to use more than half my strength, to completely destroy you… hahahahaha…hahahahaha!!"

Black and red Lightning formed in the War Demon Beast's hands, forming a six-meters long spear.

"Big Brother." said Xi Ling, looking at him. "Even though, I’ve only known you for a while, but you are a very very good person. You saved me, finally giving me freedom. Even though… it was only a very very small amount of freedom, but I really am happy, and for this short period of freedom, I want to use it all to repay you… so, I’ll protect you big brother. I won’t let anything happen to big brother!"

Noah winced and her ominous words. She talked like someone about to commit suicide, and the next words she directed at the Fiend seemed to confirm it.

"War Demon Beast… in my current state… I cannot defeat you… but that doesn’t mean I can’t destroy you!"

"Destroy me? Hahahahaha…” the War Demon Beast sounded like he had heard the funniest joke on earth, and started laughing even more ferociously: “Your flames are indeed strong, stronger than anything on earth. But with your currently Celestial level strength, you aren’t even the slightest threat to me, hahahaha!"

“Really…?” Xi Ling smiled. It was a cold and mocking smile. In the depths of her eyes, there was a trace of sorrow. If she was at her peak, it would have been easy to destroy the War Demon Beast. But now, it had to be at the cost of her life… after 10,000 years of suppression, she had finally attained freedom, and after a short period of freedom, she was willing to throw herself into the abyss of death. To save the person that she met by chance and saved her, after being suppressed for 10,000 years, she was willing and would not regret it, because this was the only way to save him."

"Besides, the War Demon Beast wouldn't let her go even if she tried to flee. If she had to die, she would do it in a way that protect her benefactor and kill her hated foe.

Red plumes of flames rose from her body again, hotted and more intense. Rings of light appeared on her body, then rose into the air above her, becoming like nine miniature suns.

"Nine…Nine suns… No way!" exclaimed the War Demon Beast, once again afraid.

The light of those nine suns were like golden knives stabbing his very soul.

"Nine suns… This girl… she is related to the Golden Crow!" exclaimed Qi Yue in Noah's mind.

"If you do this, you'll die too! Are you crazy? Stop!" yelled the War Demon Beast.

"You will kill me anyway, so I am taking you with me! And it is too late to stop." gasped Xi Ling. "Under the Heavenly Wrath of the Nine Suns, become dust!"

The War Demon Beast turned and ran. But he didn't go very far before his body stiffened, paralyzed by the golden radiance of the Nine Suns. They were now high above Xi Ling's head, illuminating the entire Lonely Spirit Ridge.

Two wings of flame sprouted from Xi Ling's back, and she turned into a much larger version of the bird he had saved from the black threads, her wingspan easily reaching thirty meters. She flew into the sky and gazed gently at Noah.

With a beat of her wings, she sent a gust that blew him and Little Grey off their feet, carrying them away. When Noah touched the ground again, he was almost a kilometer away from the confrontation between Xi Ling and the War Demon Beast.

Xi Ling, surrounded by the Nine Suns, each of them shining so brightly that Noah had a hard time watching, finally unleashed her ultimate skill. The Nine Suns fell like meteors on the War Demon Beast.

The explosions were so powerful that Noah, even a kilometer away, was still blown off his feet, again.

And he heard the screams.

"Arghhhhh!!!!"

"Ahhhh…"

"ARGHHHHHHHH!!!"

The miserable screams from the War Demon Beast were evidence that he was suffering greatly, but it was still alive.

"The Flames of the Nine Suns are the demon beast clan’s worst fear." said Qi Yue. "Whenever demon beasts even think of the words ‘nine suns’, they would subconsciously begin to tremble. Thus, facing the actual Flames of the Nine Suns, even an extraordinarily power and fearless demon beast would cower in fright… to the point that it would seem like it was a powerless little ant. Their fear and terror toward the Flames of the Nine Suns was something that the other clans would never be able to experience or understand."

Noah nodded to her explanation, barely listening, and started running toward the immense crater than had just been created. It was still surrounded by golden flames, but Noah managed to slip through without touching them.

"Little Master, this is too dangerous! The War Demon Beast is still alive!"

Noah nodded, and he could see the black shape at the center of the crater, screaming and spamming as golden flames all over his body just wouldn't let themselves be extinguished.

But he was searching for Xi Ling, and he found her lying on the ground, near the crater's edge. She had returned to her human form, and Noah carefully took her in his arms.

"Is there any way to save her, Qi Yue?" asked Noah

"…Maybe." said Qi Yue, appearing beside him. "Actually, this might be the little master's good fortune. Xi Ling is dying right now because she has spent all of her life force. But from the color of her flames, she isn't a pure Golden Crow, but a hybrid between a Golden Crow and a Phoenix, or maybe a Vermillion Bird. And Phoenixes and Vermillion Birds can revive themselves, as long as they still have life force."

"Be more concise, please." cut in Noah. "Just tell me what I need to do to save her."

"Fine. You need to make her your pet and share your life force with her. Her life will be bound to you. If you die, she dies. Furthermore, she will not be able to ignore any order from you. She will forever be your slave, no matter how strong she becomes in the future."

"That's pretty unfair to her, but…" Noah's words trailed off as a notification appeared.

"*Ding*… ‘Crimson Spirit’ requests to become your pet."

Noah looked at her face, surprised to see her eyes half open. Xi Ling was conscious, although she seemed to be too weak to speak or move.

"I accept." said Noah.

Gold and red flames burst from Xi Ling and enveloped them both, but Noah didn't feel any pain. He felt a strange sensation as some kind of Soul Magic was established, using a method Noah could tell was similar to his Soul Contracts, yet different.

When the flames died down, Xi Ling had returned to her one meter long bird form and stared up at him. Noah, still supporting her weight with one hand, used the other to pet her.

"*Ding*… ‘Crimson Spirit’ has successfully become your pet, please pick a nice nickname for your ‘Crimson Spirit’."

"Xi Ling." said Noah.

"*Ding*… Pet ‘Xi Ling’ successfully named."

"*Ding*… Congratulations, you have gained the world's second Celestial grade pet. The matter has been recorded into the World Hall of Fame, the pet ranking. You have gained Fame+100, SP+100, number of possessable pets +1, simultaneously summonable pets +1 as rewards. The System will release a global announcement. Do you wish to hide your personal information?"

"I don't." shrugged Noah.

"*Ding*… Global announcement, player 'Noah' has obtained the second fairy-grade or above pet."

Pet Ranking List

Rank 1: Holy Spirit Beast          Grade: Celestial          Level: 9          Owner: Noah

Rank 2: Crimson Spirit              Grade: Celestial          Level: 0          Owner: Noah

Qi Yue nodded to him and returned inside the Lunar Scourge.

"Xi Ling, you said you wanted to be by my side." smiled Noah. "You are getting your wish, at least. The circumstances aren't ideal, but I am happy that you are alive, and thankful for what you did for me. I will take good care of you from now on, my cute Ling Ling."

Xi Ling nodded once and buried her head into her torso.

And that was when he noticed.

"Shit, I don't hear those screams anymore." cursed Noah as he looked at the crater's center.

The War Demon Beast was standing. Smoke came from every inch of his body, and his armor had melted in places, but it was still alive.

"I survived it! Now I will have my vengeance! How do you want to die? To be torn limb by limb? To be burnt by dark flames?"

Noah desperately wanted to stall for time, so he decided to do something shameful.

He set Xi Ling on the ground, walked a few steps away, and…

He started dancing.

In particular, he tried imitating John Travolta in that famous disco dance.

The War Demon Beast fell silent, watching him.

Xi Ling watched him, her bird face full of confusion.

Little Grey watched him, his little head tilted to the side.

For long, long seconds, Noah danced as none of them spoke.

And far in the distance, Noah spotted something big and green, running on the ocean's surface and leaving a great wake behind. Something coming straight at them, and fast. He didn't stare at Tao Tie for more than an instant, however, now wanting for the War Demon Beast to notice.

"What are you doing?" asked the War Demon Beast after a while.

"I asked you, what are you doing?" repeated the Fiend with growing irritation as Noah kept dancing.

"Didn't you ask me to dance for you earlier?" retorted Noah after a few more seconds.

"…Are you trying to make me spare you? How pathetic can you be even for a human?" sighed the War Demon Beast, even more confused.

"Yes, I must look pretty pathetic right now, I admit it. There's a reason for that, however, and it's not what you think." said Noah, still dancing.

"What reason?" asked the War Demon Beast.

"Yep." smirked Noah, stopping his dance. "I am only trying to keep you there long enough for that big guy to finish what Ling Ling started."

"That big guy?" blinked the Fiend. Then he felt it and turned toward Tao Tie when he was less than a kilometer away.

"You!" yelled the War Demon Beast in horror before breaking into a run. He wanted to kill the miserable ant that had just mocked him, but decided to save up his energy for fighting Tao Tie instead. He was already severely injured and wasn't sure he would manage to run!

Tao Tie didn't stop when he passed them by and chased after the War Demon Beast. The fiend tried to turn into a black cloud, but reversed it in a hurry when Tao Tie opened its mouth wide and started sucking him in, absorbing a bit of the black cloud in the process.

Noah lost them when the two Mysterious God Monsters entered the Ghastly Grounds' white fog. He still could hear the occasional great bang or crashing noise, and Noah eventually received a notification from his own system.

[User received the reward for causing the death of one of the ten fiends: The Sagittarius Orb.]

the Orb appeared in front of him, floating, and Noah grabbed it before using scan.

[Sagittarius Orb] Type: Orb, Grade: Mysterious God, Attributes: None: Can only be socketed on Lunar Scourge.

Effect: Absolute Hit. All ranged attack +50% damage. All ranged weapons have +50% range.

"Another God Orb? Where did that one come from?" asked Qi Yue, Astonished.

"I told you that my Goddess would make sure we would eventually obtain all the orbs, even if she had to drop them on my path." replied Noah as he slotted the orb into the Lunar Scourge. "This one is a reward for causing the death of a Fiend. I'll receive another when four Fiends are dead, and another at seven Fiends. Still, this orb's effects are pretty good. The ranged bonuses are wasted on me, but I don't have to worry about Hit Rate anymore."

Adding the third Mysterious God-Grade Orb also unlocked the second of the Lunar Scourge's skills.

[Moon Flare]: Lunar Scourge’s exclusive lunar skill. When cast, all targets within X meters will gain the Blindness status (X=current Lvl x 2). Lasts 5 seconds and ignores Blindness Resistance. MP Consumption: 0. Cooldown Time: 60 secs.

Tao Tie returned, its massive stride causing the earth to shake. Noah could see a few injuries on its body, but they didn't seem too serious.

Qi Yue appeared and waved at him.

"Thank you, Big Guy. We really were in trouble here."

"We are very grateful for your assistance." nodded Noah.

Tao Tie nodded, and Noah could see him examine Little Grey, then the Lunar Scourge on his wrist.

"Four pieces recovered already, and it hasn't been ten days since we met." said Tao Tie. "It seems that fate favors you. I need to go before the Moon God clan notices me. They may already have. Good luck."

With these words, Tao Tie left the area at a run, jumping off the ridge and running on the ocean's surface again.

"He's right, we shouldn't waste time." said Noah as he summoned his horse.

"Ling Ling, are you able to fly?" asked Noah.

Xi ling nodded, and took to the air, flying in circles above him. As Noah mounted his horse and headed towards the castle, he used Scan on her.

[Crimson Spirit] (Xi Ling): Type: Beast Pet, Level: LV0, Grade: Celestial, Owner: Noah. A strange beast of unknown origins.

Attributes: HP: 400, MP: 10 000, Physical Attack Strength: 100, Magic Attack Strength: 3 000, Physical Defense: 5, Hit Rate: 100, Dodge Rate: 100, Critical Hit Rate: 20%, Pierce Rate: 20%, Movement Speed: 180. +100HP, +2 000 MP, Physical Attack Power +40, Magic Attack Power +300, and +1 Defense per level.

Innate Resistances:

Water Resistance -30%, Fire Resistance +200%, Wind, Lightning, Earth, Light and Darkness Resistances +80%.

Xi Ling's stats were extremely unbalanced. She was and would remain a glass cannon, and being hit by Water-based attacks would quickly bring her down. But her mana and magic power… Oh, her magic power… Noah didn't even need to read her skills' description to know she would be a tactical nuke.

[Rootless Fire]: Current Level: Lvl 1, Highest Level: Lvl 5, Level required to upgrade to Lvl 2: Lvl 10. Passive ability. All of Crimson's Spirit's fire abilities can be cast without incantation and will ignore the target's fire resistance, unless negative. Carries a minor Destruction element.

If Noah read this correctly, it meant that Xi Ling's fire would never deliver less than 100% of its damage to its target, but that those vulnerable to fire would still take increased damage. He didn't have a clue about what the Destruction element meant and assumed that it was what made the fire from Golden Crows so dangerous to the Fiends.

[Shapeshifting]: Current Level: LV0, Highest Level: LV3, Level required to upgrade to LV1: LV30, locked, effect unknown.

This skill was likely related to Xi Ling's ability to turn into a girl, but it seemed that, as a pet, she would have to be at least Lvl 30 to be able to do it again.

[Flame Attack]: Normal Attack, cannot be upgraded. Burns all targets within a five meters range with Rootless Flame, dealing 100% of Magic Attack Power. MP Consumption: 20 points, Cooldown Time: None.

[Wild Flames]: Current level, Lvl 1, Highest level: Lvl 10. Burns all target within 30 meters in front with Rootless Flame, dealing 100% of Magic Attack Power. 30% chance to deal an additional 10 seconds burn. MP Consumption: 300 points, Cooldown Time: 5 seconds.

[Red Laser]: Current level, Lvl 1, Highest level: Lvl 10. Using the Rootless Flame to gather the sun's searing rays, create a powerful laser that attacks a single target from the sky, dealing 300% of Magic Attack Power. The target cannot evade this attack. MP Consumption: 600 points, Cooldown Time: 10 seconds.

[Burning Fire Array]: Current level, Lvl 1, Highest level: Lvl 5. Uses rootless flames to cover all directions, creating a destructive formation array of heavenly flames that burn all targets within its radius. Covers 200 meters around the caster, dealing damage equivalent to (2 000 + Magic Attack Power x 2) with a 100% chance to add a ‘Burn’ effect. Takes 5 seconds to set up the formation array and burns for 3 seconds. MP Consumption: 8 000 MP. Cooldown Time: 2 hours.

[Nine Suns Rebirth]: Cannot be upgraded. After death, the power of the Nine Suns can be used to revive Crimson Spirit. After revival, Crimson Spirit will be fully healed, but cannot use any offensive ability for one hour. The skill can be used indefinitely.

[Heavenly Wrath of the Nine Suns]: Cannot be upgraded. Using the entirety of its life force, Crimson Spirit can unleash the power of the Rootless Flame, burning everything to less than ashes. Inflicts Magic Attack Power x 9 x Current Level fire damage. Maximum range is equal to Crimson Spirit's Magic Attack Power in meters. This skill doesn't discriminate between friends and foes. After using this skill, Crimson Spirit will die permanently.

As expected, Xi Ling's skills were just as absurd as her stats. Even at level 0, she could one-shot any Lvl 20 monster under Lord-grade with her red laser, and her Wild Flames would make farming normal monsters trivial. As for her super skills…

Still, he was happy that she possessed a skill to revive herself, so he wouldn't have to worry about losing her with her low defense and HP.

Noah shook his head with a smile as he came close to the castle, looking somewhat less creepy now that Noah knew its owner was dead.

The main door was open, and Noah quickly explored the inside, but there was nothing in value, and the various rooms were essentially empty, aside from a torture chamber in the basement, and not the sexy kind of torture.

It was in the garden behind the main building that Noah found what he sought, thirty stalks of Death Bloom flowers. Noah decided to take only ten of them, as he didn't know if he might one day need more fresh flowers.

He left the castle, crossed over the Lonely Spirit Ridge, and entered the Ghastly Grounds again. While Little Grey only received Experience form eating non-undead corpses, Xi Ling gained levels just fine incinerating any zombie in sight, and Noah gained another level by the time they reached the other side.

"Great job, Ling Ling. You made this much easier and faster." grinned Noah once again when she landed on his lap to be petted again. She was already Lvl 9, and her Magic Attack Power had almost doubled. She could now one-shot most Lvl 20 Lord bosses with her Red Laser.

"It's dinner time in my world, so I'll leave this one, but I'll return very soon, Ling Ling, Little Grey." smiled Noah, and the two pets nodded.

"Little master has forgotten about me." said Qi Yue with a pouting voice.

"How could I ever forget a succubus like you. See you soon, Qi Yue, Ye Yue."

"Eheh…"

Noah logged off, returning to the real world.