Awakening：The Infinite Evolution of My Talent as a Low-Level Awakener - Chapter 304

Chapter 304: Expansion Activity: Mourning of Blood
At this moment, Sterl paused for thought but did not want to stand out. He disguised himself with a panel that resembled a flawed demigod and casually flashed to the edge of a spatial rift.

As soon as he materialized, he was met with numerous gazes directed his way. After a brief moment of hesitation, several individuals approached him, until a burly man clad in purple and gold armor rudely shoved others aside to stand next to Sterl.

“Hey there, friend?”

“If I’m not mistaken, you must possess spatial abilities or have a grasp of the Law of Space,” the muscular man observed, his keen perception easily discerning Sterl’s control over spatial forces during his teleportation.

“Our team wishes to hire you for a while to assist us in traversing between the main world and hell.”

The surrounding players echoed enthusiastically, “Join our team, friend! We are willing to offer you a piece of demigod platinum equipment!”

“I’ll match that offer! A platinum piece along with some purple gold!”

“Bro! Come with us! We were among the first to tackle demons! Joining us will maximize your rewards!”

The players were clearly excited. It was evident that individuals with the Law of Space Power were in high demand.

Sterl was slightly taken aback; it seemed that hunting demons indeed yielded significant profits. The enthusiasm of these player teams was understandable, as possessing someone who could manipulate space could help them achieve enormous gains!

However, he simply shook his head. “Sorry, but I prefer to go solo.”

With that, Sterl waved his hand—Gate of Hell!

Boom!

With a thunderous roar and the shattering of countless stones, a massive door adorned with various devilish figures rose from the ground. Without hesitation, Sterl stepped through.

Behind him, several groups of players used detection skills, and upon seeing the opportunity, their eyes lit up. Without a moment’s pause, they rushed toward the Gate of Hell, shouting, “Bro! Just borrowing this! I’ll reward you once we’re in hell!”

Although the other teams lacked similar detection skills, the rapid response of their competitors left them stunned for less than a second before they activated various speed-boosting abilities and charged toward the Gate of Hell.

When Sterl opened the Gate of Hell, he hadn’t intended to bring anyone along. However, he also did not hasten to close the door. With the speed enhancement from the demigod-level players, a total of around forty to fifty people surged through the Gate of Hell into the abyss…

Whoosh!

Sterl felt a flash of crimson light before him.

The surrounding area was markedly different from his last transit through hell. A nauseating, strange blood aura permeated everywhere, and the soil and rock layers appeared somewhat damp.

Alongside what couldn’t exactly be called a “path,” but rather large, biotic furrows carved by enormous creatures, bizarre plants grew—

Brilliant red flowers bloomed, their petals curling and snapping like claws. Some were extremely active, with dark red vines crazily attempting to ensnare nearby players, while trees that looked like jewels pulsed with flowing energy.

Sterl was soon met with prompts flashing before him—

[You have entered the layer of hell.]

[Notice: The current layer of hell is in an expansion state (clearing all hellish life will integrate this layer into the main world, and all participating players will receive rewards based on their contribution).]

[Your current expansion contribution: 0%, Overall expansion progress: 7.8%]

[Event: Mourning of Blood (Expansion Activity) has been added to your activity bar.]

“Ah?”

“This is an event officially launched by [Transcendence]??”

Sterl began to understand why the players were so fervently excited. They were willing to pay such a high price to have a space Law wielder, whose background was unknown, open a teleportation portal. They didn’t even hesitate to rush in as soon as he activated his skill.

The potential benefits from hell were simply too great. Sterl could easily deduce that events initiated by [Transcendence] would yield far greater rewards compared to the cooperative events held with the Hall of Valor.

However…

After checking the details of the expansion activity, a glimmer of understanding appeared in his eyes. To fully expand a hell layer and eliminate all the monsters wasn’t something that could be achieved overnight; it might take decades or even centuries to accomplish.

The Valor Combatants event was a short-term boon, while the expansion activity represented a long-term revenue stream. He opened the event details, which roughly explained that the Archduke of Blood had died, and a new divine-level demon was about to emerge in this layer of hell. Players could engage in rampant slaughter, seizing the hope of transformation from those demons.

Killing demons wouldn’t grant extra rewards from [Transcendence]; instead, it would contribute to their overall contribution. The contribution shop would open once the expansion progress reached fifty percent.

“Fifty percent progress to open the shop,” Sterl muttered with a sigh.

Meanwhile, a group of demigod-level players eagerly gathered around him. “Bro, reaching fifty percent isn’t actually that difficult.”

“Because as the expansion progresses, it becomes harder; there are always some demons hiding in corners that haven’t been eliminated, which stalls the progress.”

“But fifty percent is easy. You can kill the offspring left behind by the Archduke of Blood and those powerful demons causing trouble in other hell layers. Each kill can yield about 5% to 10% progress.”

“The expansion activity has only just begun, and many notable monsters are still alive. It won’t be long before the shop opens.”

The one explaining this was the previously imposing, burly man.

He couldn’t help but exclaim, “Bro, we really underestimated you.”

“Previously, when we entered hell through the chaotic spatial tunnels created by items, we were always severely injured, coming out covered in debuffs. If we were lucky, we’d only sustain light injuries.”

“But you? You arrived here without a scratch, using your teleportation abilities.”

“Impressive!”

“Bro, I feel lucky to be in your company. Here, take this.”

The burly man pulled out a small helmet.

[Antlered Halo (Platinum)]

[Rank: Demigod]

[Description…]

[Effect…]

…

Sterl accepted the helmet. While he personally didn’t care much for it—platinum rank? Garbage!—he knew that demigod platinum gear still held considerable value. After acquiring it, his mood improved a bit.

The other player teams nearby were equally enthusiastic.

“We’ve never encountered anyone with such mastery over spatial abilities before. Incredible!”

“This time, thanks to you, we can enter hell in the best possible condition. We’re already way ahead of the other teams.”

“Hey, friend, why don’t you join us? We’ll do everything we can to keep you safe!”

…

Flattery surged around him. At that moment, the players’ eyes also reflected a hint of astonishment. They had traversed spatial tunnels themselves and had seen the powers of other Spatial Array Masters, but none had managed to arrive in hell as effortlessly as this “mysterious demigod.”

They absolutely had to maintain a good relationship with this “mysterious demigod”!

With his help, their team’s efficiency in killing demons would surely surpass that of others by several levels.

Meanwhile, Sterl had also acquired several resources.

Three pieces of platinum-ranked demigod gear, along with a potion.

In total, four pieces of demigod equipment were worth quite a bit. Sterl would have to defeat 1 to 2 bosses in Heavenly Curtain Canyon to gather such resources.

As for that potion—

[Essence of Blood]

[Effect: Increases all attributes by 15 points upon consumption.]

[Usage limit: 0/1]

Sterl toyed with a test tube containing a mermaid-like creature that swam restlessly inside, radiating overwhelming life force. Without hesitation, he downed it in one gulp. With his natural divine authority, Sterl had significant resistance to various toxins, and the results from Star Insight had never been wrong.

Sterl had Purification Ripple, so he wasn’t worried about any issues with the potion. Soon, he felt a warm sensation enveloping him as the blood energy surged rapidly within his body, boosting his various attributes and additionally refining ten points of blood force. At that moment, his blood force balance reached one hundred twenty points.

As Sterl was refining the potion, the other players present watched with smiles, seemingly pleased to see their fellow from the Hall of Valor grow stronger.

“Congratulations! Your strength has improved!”

“This potion isn’t too rare, but it’s a hassle to obtain.”

Sterl felt a bit bewildered. In the past, whether he was adventuring or doing anything else, he would often find himself targeted and looked down upon. If he showcased his abilities, it would only lead to others vying for them. In the end, he had to retaliate tearfully.

But now, after revealing his demigod-level disguise, the demeanor of his compatriots from the Hall of Valor seemed excessively high-minded…

The Hall of Valor felt like a warm family…

At this moment, Sterl still bid farewell to the other players, saying, “I’d like to explore on my own for a while.”

“No problem! No problem at all!”

“This is our communication talisman. If you run into any trouble, just crush it, and we’ll come to your aid immediately. Of course, the area in this layer of hell is quite vast, so we might not make it in time. You take care.”

“This is our communication talisman; let’s watch out for each other.”

…

After a while, Sterl finally parted ways with the player team. He casually tossed aside a few communication talismans, feeling—

Though hell was dark, the light within people illuminated everything.

…

However, what Sterl didn’t know was that several player teams were gradually separating as well.

The burly man, walking along the path with his boots crunching against the soil and rock of hell, suddenly changed his expression.

“Do you think that demigod might be related to Solomon?”

“Based on my earlier sensing, that skill connecting to hell doesn’t seem to be achieved through mastery of spatial law.”

“It’s likely a skill specifically designed to enter hell.”

“But such a skill isn’t circulated among the nearby continents.”

After the burly man spoke, the other players in the team also showed thoughtful expressions.