Online Game: Starting with an SSS-Level Plundering Talent - Chapter 134

Chapter 134: Orcs, Refining Skeletons

John replied to Tracy.

Godslayer: “Alright, I understand. Are you safe in the City of Angels?”

Star Dust: “Don’t worry, old man, I’m perfectly safe. I’m more concerned about you. When the Faction System is activated, ninth-tier powerhouses will descend into the world of Gods.”

Godslayer: “Don’t worry, I can handle it. Just be careful, and if anything comes up, message me immediately.”

John closed the private chat and thought to himself, “Undead Lord, once I resurrect you, will you be able to deal with ninth-tier powerhouses?”

“Ninth-tier powerhouses?” The Undead Lord sounded exasperated. “Kid, can you stop causing so much trouble? If I were in my prime, taking on a ninth-tier powerhouse would be no problem. Right now, I can barely handle a seventh-tier powerhouse; otherwise, that old turtle wouldn’t have stolen my Undying and Immortal talent!”

The Undead Lord’s tone was laced with bitterness. He had already resigned himself to the fact that the Undying and Immortal talent now belonged to John.

“Seventh-tier? So you’re basically useless?” John was disappointed; his current strength allowed him to barely fight against seventh-tier powerhouses.

Afraid that John might refuse to resurrect him, the Undead Lord quickly added, “Kid, my power is only temporarily suppressed. I’ll soon regain my peak strength.”

John scoffed at this—by the time this guy was back at his peak, John would probably be strong enough to take on ninth-tier powerhouses himself. Clearly, he would need to come up with another plan.

Understanding the Undead Lord’s concern, John reassured him, “Don’t worry, I’ll still help resurrect you.”

John then turned to Malina and said, “Let’s go.”

Malina let out a sigh of relief; she had been really worried that John’s Fox Demon Curse would flare up, leaving her abandoned in this creepy place.

Crunch, crunch…

The sound of bones cracking underfoot echoed through the dark, empty cavern. They hadn’t walked far before something unexpected happened.

From the piles of shattered bones, terrifying skeletal monsters began to emerge, all of them powerful undead beings over level 200 and in the fifth tier.

Malina obediently hid behind John. She was only in the early stages of the fourth tier, far from being a match for these skeletons, and didn’t want to get in the way.

Whoosh!

An endless wave of fire erupted as John unleashed Hellfire, engulfing the entire cavern. The sound of shrieking echoed as the skeletal monsters writhed in agony before perishing in the flames.

-680034

-678800

…

The terrifying damage numbers flashed across the screen. With only 100,000 health points, these powerful skeletons stood no chance and were instantly annihilated.

[You have slain a level 210 fifth-tier skeleton monster, gaining 1590 experience points.]

[Plunder talent activated, Constitution +1.]

…

As the notifications kept coming, the ground became littered with loot.

Malina, astonished, looked at John and asked, puzzled, “How did your damage increase again?”

She noticed that John’s level had only increased by one, yet the damage from his Hellfire had significantly improved compared to when they were in the Dragonblood Treasure The Secret Area.

These skeleton monsters weren’t any weaker than elemental dragons.

John was a bit surprised—he hadn’t expected this woman to be so observant.

“Maybe it’s because fire is especially effective against these undead creatures,” he said, keeping the Plunder talent, his greatest secret, to himself.

“Is that so?” Malina looked skeptical, clearly not believing John’s explanation.

But her attention was quickly drawn to the loot scattered on the ground.

At this point, she no longer minded how creepy the skeletons were. She eagerly sifted through the broken bones to gather the loot.

These were all fifth-tier quality or better equipment. While they weren’t immediately useful, their value would skyrocket once players leveled up.

John didn’t remain idle either; he started cleaning up the battlefield, but he focused on picking up skill stones, equipment enhancement stones, and other valuable items.

“Godslayer, can I have these items too?” Malina asked him expectantly.

John thought for a moment before replying, “Take half, and keep the rest for yourself.”

He wasn’t lacking in equipment. His forces, the Flame Legion and Saint Martial Sect, were already well-equipped. The high-tier gear they had was sufficient to support players up to the seventh tier.

Still, it wouldn’t hurt to stockpile more equipment for future needs, as both the Saint Martial Sect and Flame Legion were set to continue expanding.

Soon, they finished clearing the battlefield, collecting over three thousand pieces of equipment, and then continued deeper into the cave.

As they advanced, more powerful skeletal monsters emerged from the shadows, only to be easily dealt with by John.

The further they ventured, the stronger the undead monsters became.

They even encountered wraiths that were immune to some physical damage.

But with John’s dual expertise in both physical and magical combat, he had no trouble dispatching them with ease.

“Huh?” Suddenly, the voice of the Undead Lord echoed in John’s mind. “I sense something that doesn’t belong to the undead. Kid, stop wasting time and go check it out.”

John, puzzled, asked, “Isn’t it normal for other monsters to appear in The Secret Area?”

“No. This Undead Cave was created by me to preserve one of my bodies. It should only contain undead monsters—no other life forms should be here. Go to the innermost chamber and check it out,” the Undead Lord replied, his tone filled with concern as if sensing something was wrong.

John didn’t waste any more time. He looked at Malina, who was still collecting equipment, and said, “Leave that for later; we need to check out the innermost area first.”

“Oh,” she replied, quickly storing a few more items in her Storage Ring. Though reluctant, she nodded obediently and followed closely behind John.

Sweeping through the remaining enemies, they soon reached the deepest part of the cave—a large, spacious hall.

“Orcs!” John exclaimed in surprise.

In the center of the hall, a raised platform had been set up, where a banshee and four Orcs sat in a circle, seemingly engaged in some kind of ritual.

“Damn it, they’re after my body!” The Undead Lord’s furious voice rang out in John’s mind. “Kid, kill them all!”

At that moment, the banshee noticed John and Malina, her expression puzzled. “Oh? Humans have managed to get in here?”

The lead Orc glanced at them and coldly commanded, “Don’t let those two interfere. Take care of them first.”

“Alright!” The banshee nodded, and a staff appeared in her hand. She began chanting in a low voice, “Fallen creatures, I grant you an undying soul and a powerful body. Rise again… Bone Dragon Summon!”

As she waved her staff, a strange power enveloped the surroundings.

Crack, crack…

The bones scattered on the ground began to move as if alive, fusing together to form terrifying and powerful bone dragons.

Each one was a sixth-tier boss-level entity.

“Roar!” With an enraged bellow, the bone dragons, their eye sockets flickering with soul fire, launched an attack on John and Malina.

John remained calm, wielding the Sword of Divinity and Demons, triggering a Spell Combo. An endless wave of Hellfire spread out, engulfing the bone dragons. Though formidable, they were no match for his magic.

With over 400,000 health points each, the bone dragons were annihilated before they could even get close, reduced to piles of shattered bones under the combined force of his spell crits and Spell Combo.

“Hmm? A powerful adversary!” The banshee’s expression grew serious as she witnessed this. The fact that this human could instantly kill sixth-tier boss-level bone dragons was unsettling.

She glanced at the Orcs, who were still busy with their task, and shouted angrily, “Stop the refining process! This human is strange—deal with him first.”

The lead Orc gave her a dismissive look, still full of disdain. “It’s just a human. What’s there to fear? Help us hold him off for a bit; we’re almost done with the refining.”

The banshee frowned, realizing these guys were trying to use her as cannon fodder. From the human’s earlier attack, she knew she likely couldn’t match him.

“Hmph!” With a cold snort, she stepped down from the platform, moving to the edge without any intention of fighting John.

“What’s the meaning of this, banshee?” the lead Orc growled, glaring at her.

The banshee shrugged, ignoring him, clearly enjoying the spectacle.

By this time, John and Malina had reached the platform and saw the body that the Undead Lord had left behind—a skeleton.

The skeleton was crystalline, glowing softly, as if it were a work of art.

The lead Orc noticed John staring at the skeleton and quickly spoke with a friendly smile, “Human, this is just a broken body. It’s of no use to you. The treasure of The Secret Area is with the banshee.”

He was trying to divert John’s attention and provoke him into attacking the banshee.

But John didn’t respond, instead, he asked the Undead Lord in his mind, “Is this the body you mentioned? What are these Orcs trying to do with it?”

Undead Lord: “My body was crafted from rare minerals. Those Orcs are trying to refine it into a weapon, and its quality would rival that of a low-grade divine artifact. Stop them now!”

“Comparable to a divine artifact?” John’s eyes lit up at the Undead Lord’s words.

The Undead Lord was startled and quickly added, “Kid, it’s only comparable to a divine artifact; it’s useless to you.”

“What are you thinking? I’m just curious about how you managed to use minerals to craft a body.” John was unimpressed by the skeleton body itself. What intrigued him was the idea that minerals could be used to create a body—did that mean it was possible to create life?

The Undead Lord seemed to breathe a sigh of relief and explained, “This technique is something only the Undead can achieve. Since you possess the Undying and Immortal talent, if your soul becomes strong enough, you could also use other materials to create a body. But it’s not something you’d need. The Overwhelming Battle Energy you’re cultivating is designed to enhance the physical body. At its peak, your body’s strength could even rival that of the gods.”

“Really?” John was skeptical. The Overwhelming Battle Energy had been dropped by that Fox Clan prodigy, the so-called prophesied savior, and he didn’t think it was anything particularly advanced.

He suspected that the Undead Lord was trying to dissuade him from coveting the skeleton body, deliberately making it seem less valuable.

Still conflicted about the issue, John turned his attention to the Orcs and shouted angrily, “Get lost!”

With a swing of his longsword, a blinding sword light flashed, slashing toward the four Orcs.

These guys, like the banshee, were at the peak of the sixth tier and didn’t dare to directly confront his attack.

“Human, how dare you!” the lead Orc roared in anger, forced to abandon the refining process for the skeleton.

The four Orcs scrambled down from the platform in a desperate attempt to dodge the deadly strike.