Online Game: Starting with an SSS-Level Plundering Talent - Chapter 117

Chapter 117: Frenzied Level-Up, Skill Consumption

Land of the Abyss.

John was isolated from the outside world, unaware of what was happening beyond.

He had ventured deep into the dense forest, where the area was swarming with Abyss demons of the sixth tier and level 500 or higher, numbering in the thousands.

Among them were numerous sixth-tier epic Abyss demon leaders.

Defeating these creatures could upgrade his Wrath of the Gods talent.

With his current strength, as long as he wasn’t surrounded by those epic Abyss demon leaders, he wouldn’t be in any danger.

“I wonder how many levels I can gain by slaughtering all these Abyss demons?” John mused as he surveyed the surrounding demons. Instead of attacking immediately, he activated Sword Flight and skimmed low over their heads, drawing their attention.

The ultimate skill of his Sword of Divinity and Demons had already cooled down. He planned to gather these creatures together and obliterate them all with a single Divine Punishment.

Roar…

Roar after roar echoed as countless dark spells whistled through the air. John didn’t dare let his guard down and swiftly maneuvered through the horde on his flying sword.

By now, all the Abyss demons in the vicinity were drawn in, numbering over 30,000.

“That’s enough!” John skillfully dodged a Dark Orb attack, quickly descending while gripping the Sword of Divinity and Demons.

Whoosh…

Suddenly, a fierce wind howled, and a terrifying pressure filled the air.

The Abyss demons that had been furiously attacking John just moments ago instantly fell silent, looking up at the sky in fear.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Thunder rumbled as dark clouds gathered, making the very air seem to freeze.

“Divine Punishment!” John’s cold voice echoed as he swung down the Sword of Divinity and Demons.

Crack! Crack!

In an instant, countless electric serpents danced through the air, enveloping the Abyss demons, crackling with energy. Damage numbers flashed across the screen in droves as the Abyss demons wailed in agony.

-1,008,035

-998,244

…

John’s power had increased, and with the added bonus of a magical critical hit, his Divine Punishment attack dealt a staggering million-plus damage.

The sixth-tier Abyss demons were vaporized in an instant, with notification messages flooding in.

[You have slain a level 500 Abyss demon, gaining 17,730 experience points.]

[You have slain a level 550 Abyss demon, gaining 22,730 experience points.]

[Level up! Constitution +1, Strength +5, Spirit +5, Agility +3, Free Attribute Points +20, Skill Points +2.]

[Plunder talent activated, Spirit +1.]

[Plunder talent activated, Magic Critical Hit +1.]

…

John’s four core attributes increased by over 10,000 points, and his level shot up to 167, just 33 levels shy of his fifth advancement!

“This is absolutely exhilarating!” John exclaimed, his face beaming with excitement. At this rate, he would soon reach the ninth tier.

Of course, that would depend on whether there were enough Abyss demons and if the ultimate skill of the Sword of Divinity and Demons cooled down in time.

The area around him was now a charred wasteland, littered with scattered equipment and items. Only 13 sixth-tier epic Abyss demon leaders remained, trembling as they stared at John in terror.

They hadn’t been instantly killed by the Divine Punishment, but their health was reduced to just over 200,000.

“Die!” John’s longsword hummed as he attacked again, a dazzling sword light slicing towards the nearest Abyss demon.

Boom!

-240,100

-44,500

The Abyss demon had little health left, and with a critical hit dealing 240,000 damage plus an additional 44,000 true damage, it was instantly killed.

[You have slain an 800-level sixth-tier epic Abyss demon leader, gaining 763,000 experience points.]

[Plunder talent activated, Dark Element Affinity +1, Spirit +100, Skill Points +10.]

John had once again plundered a point of Dark Element Affinity.

He didn’t quite understand its purpose, but it seemed to only be obtained by killing sixth-tier epic Abyss leaders or higher.

“Roar!” The remaining Abyss demon leaders, finally reacting, launched an attack against him.

Several Dark Orbs whistled through the air, hurtling toward him.

John didn’t dare to take them head-on. He quickly conjured a Water Mist Clone, retreating rapidly as countless sword blades shot out, enveloping the Abyss demon leaders.

The Sword Immortal skill, Infinite Sword Array.

Splat…

Blood sprayed everywhere as the Abyss demons howled in agony. The terrifying critical damage, combined with true damage, instantly killed them.

[You have slain an 800-level sixth-tier epic Abyss demon leader, gaining 763,000 experience points.]

[Plunder talent activated, Dark Element Affinity +1, Physical Crit +1, Magic Crit +1.]

[Plunder talent activated, Dark Element Affinity +1, gained skill: Dark Descent.]

[Dark Descent: Intermediate Level 2; A dark magic area skill, enveloping the surroundings in immense dark power, weakening enemies’ base attributes by 1% and increasing dark magic damage by 1%. Consumes 1,000 mana, cooldown: 20 minutes.]

…

Notification messages flashed across the screen as John plundered another 12 points of Dark Element Affinity and acquired an intermediate dark magic skill, Dark Descent.

“Not bad at all,” he nodded in satisfaction, not in a hurry to level up, as he began to loot the battlefield.

“Hmm, someone strong?” John sensed powerful presences emerging from the depths of the forest, likely drawn by the ultimate skill, Divine Punishment.

He didn’t want to be exposed, so he quickly cleaned up the battlefield. Discarding any trashy sixth-tier high-grade equipment, he only picked up the items dropped by the sixth-tier epic Abyss demons, as well as skill stones and other valuables. Then, he swiftly flew away on his sword, skimming low to the ground.

…

Just as John left, a few powerful presences arrived.

It was those eighth-tier powerhouses.

“This is the place!” Behemoth furrowed his brow as he sensed the lingering aura around him.

“An ultimate skill? Could it be Lord Tony and Ben?” Bonnie’s expression was filled with doubt. The Abyss demons here were only of the sixth tier; there was no way two ninth-tier experts would be needed to take them down.

Let alone use such powerful ultimate skills.

Sara carefully scanned the surroundings and then spoke, “It seems that the aura of this ultimate skill isn’t very strong…”

She didn’t continue, but a suspicion began to form in her mind.

She remembered that the human had been heading in this direction to hunt Abyss demons. Could it possibly be that little guy?

“We shouldn’t speculate about ninth-tier powerhouses. Let’s head back.” Behemoth decided not to dwell on the issue and turned to leave.

“I have some matters to attend to, so I won’t be returning with you,” the three-headed black dragon said, having noticed the corpse of the two-winged black serpent king on the way here.

It was clear that the mission to kill that human had failed, and he intended to take matters into his own hands.

“Black Dragon, I’ve had some insights lately. How about we spar a little?” Bonnie spoke up, a cold gleam flashing in her hand as she immediately attacked the three-headed black dragon.

She had already guessed the black dragon’s intention—to go after John.

That human had a close connection with her dark elf clan, and she wouldn’t allow the black dragon to harm him.

“Get lost!” the three-headed black dragon snarled in frustration. His strength was nearly equal to Bonnie’s, so neither could gain the upper hand, and it would take time for their battle to reach a conclusion.

“Are you heading back?” Behemoth, uninterested in intervening, turned to ask Sara.

Sara shook her head. “The full moon is in three days. I need to go into seclusion for cultivation.”

Her cultivation method was unique, as she absorbed moonlight to train. However, the Abyss was a strange place where the moon only appeared during the full moon each month.

Transforming into her unicorn form, Sara spread her wings and flew toward a nearby mountain range.

…

John remained unaware of everything that was happening there, still wandering through the forest, hunting Abyss demons.

The Abyss was teeming with demons, ranging from the fourth to the eighth tier, making it a perfect place for leveling up.

If it weren’t for his concerns about changes in the World of Gods and the real world, he could very well stay here and train until he reached the ninth tier.

But as things stood, it seemed he would only be able to leave this place once he reached the ninth tier and comprehended the laws of dark elements.

“Sigh!” John sighed helplessly, finishing off the surrounding Abyss demons before continuing his search.

Occasionally, he encountered other powerful beings imprisoned here. He would kill the weaker ones outright, while avoiding the stronger ones for now.

These creatures were all malevolent, so their deaths at his hands were well-deserved.

[You have slain an 800-level sixth-tier epic Abyss demon leader, gaining 763,000 experience points.]

[Plunder talent activated, Dark Element Affinity +1, Skill Points +10.]

[You have successfully slain 50 sixth-tier or higher epic bosses. Wrath of the Gods talent has been upgraded to SSS level, granting a 90% reduction in skill cooldown time.]

[Next level upgrade requirement: Slay 10 first-tier or higher boss leaders.]

…

John had just slain another sixth-tier epic Abyss demon, and the notification flashed across his screen. His Wrath of the Gods talent had finally been upgraded to the SSS level.

The skill cooldown reduction had reached a staggering 90%, significantly boosting his power once again.

Oddly enough, though, the requirements for the next upgrade hadn’t increased; they had actually decreased.

Now, all he had to do was kill 10 first-tier or higher boss leaders.

This felt like an insult.

“What’s going on?” John was puzzled, unable to understand the reasoning behind it.

However, since the upgrade conditions were unlocked.

He decided to continue advancing without dwelling on it. He moved on, continuing to hunt down Abyss demons.

While sixth-tier epic Abyss demon leaders were hard to find, boss-level Abyss demons were practically everywhere.

Among every 10 Abyss demons, there was at least one boss-level demon, usually of the fourth or fifth tier.

Before long, John had met the upgrade conditions, and the notifications flashed again.

[You have successfully slain 10 first-tier or higher boss leaders. Wrath of the Gods talent upgraded: Skill cost reduced by 10%.]

[Next level upgrade requirement: Slay 20 second-tier or higher elite bosses.]

“Skill cost reduction!” John exclaimed in delight.

This was exactly what he needed. As the Wrath of the Gods talent leveled up, the biggest issue he faced was running out of mana. In every battle, he had to constantly drink mana recovery potions, yet his mana was still never enough.

He had been worried that being trapped in the Death Land without a supply of mana potions would slow down his monster-killing pace.

But to his surprise, the Wrath of the Gods talent upgrade now reduced the mana cost of his skills.

It solved his most pressing problem.

“Onward!” John was overjoyed. Slaying 20 second-tier elite bosses would still be a breeze for him.

The wails of Abyss demons echoed around him.

With his increased power, even taking down sixth-tier epic Abyss demons was no longer a challenge.

[You have successfully slain 20 second-tier or higher elite bosses. Wrath of the Gods talent upgraded: Skill cost reduced by 20%.]

[Next level upgrade requirement: Slay 30 third-tier or higher rare bosses.]

Soon, the Wrath of the Gods talent was upgraded again, reducing his skill cost by another 20%, and unlocking the next level upgrade condition.

Third-tier rare bosses were still easy prey for him.

…