Online Game: Starting with an SSS-Level Plundering Talent - Chapter 172

Chapter 172: Complete City of Angels Map

Malina activated her artifact ring’s FireGod’s Blessing skill, resuming her barrage against the Red Armored Ant.

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With the 200% fire magic damage boost, combined with her class bonuses and the ring’s 50% damage enhancement, her fire magic finally broke through the creature’s defenses, though only managing triple-digit damage.

“Keep it up,” John called out encouragingly, standing in front of her and absorbing the Red Armored Ant’s attacks with ease.

Malina shot him a glare, her staff waving as she hurled fireball after fireball at the Red Armored Ant.

After five exhausting minutes, she finally managed to kill it.

“Godslayer, the FireGod’s Blessing only lasts for an hour. Help me lure more ants while it’s still active,” she said, wiping the sweat from her forehead.

John felt a twinge of annoyance, realizing that he had essentially become her bodyguard.

Still, with a sigh, he went off to draw more Epic Red Armored Ants, weakening them before leaving them for Malina to finish off.

This time, he lured three at once.

Malina panicked, almost getting herself killed multiple times. If it weren’t for John holding off the ants’ attacks, she would have been obliterated in seconds.

After finally taking down all three, Malina was out of breath and shaken, finally realizing the vast gap between her and John.

She sheepishly admitted, “Maybe three is too many. Let’s stick to one at a time.”

“Weakling!” John teased as he set off to lure another epic ant.

Malina glared at him but couldn’t argue with the truth.

Working together, they managed to kill ten Epic Red Armored Ants just before Malina’s FireGod’s Blessing wore off. With that, she successfully advanced to a Fifth-tier Flame Mage.

Buzz!

A surge of fire elemental energy rippled around her as her red robe billowed dramatically, giving her a slightly more refined aura.

John couldn’t help but stare at her, eventually blurting out, “Didn’t you say you only had one pair of stockings?”

Malina, now donning knee-high white stockings that exposed her smooth, pale thighs beneath her flowing red robe, looked more striking than ever. The contrast was innocent yet alluring.

With a smug smile, she replied, “This was a reward from advancing my class. Only two pairs, though—untradeable and undroppable.”

“How disappointing!” John muttered, still unable to tear his eyes away from her legs. Under his breath, he mumbled, “These legs could keep a guy entertained for three years straight!”

Malina’s face flushed with irritation as she tugged her robe down, clearly uncomfortable under his gaze. “Have you seen enough?” she snapped.

“Tsk, what’s the harm in looking? And don’t forget, you still owe me 12 more G’s worth of stockings dance videos,” John said, finally averting his gaze but not without a lingering sense of satisfaction.

Malina, now full of regret, tried a different approach. Her eyes gleamed as she suggested, “How about I just give you my worn stockings instead of the videos?”

John gave her a sharp look. “What would I even do with those? Wear them myself?!” he barked before warning, “And don’t even think about weaseling out of this deal. If you try to back out, I’ll spread the word that your college boyfriend was gay.”

“You wouldn’t dare!” Malina seethed, knowing she had no choice but to honor their agreement. Begrudgingly, she nodded in submission.

With that, the two continued exploring the cave, cutting down more Red Armored Ants as they delved deeper.

The monsters in this section of the cave were no different from those in the other three areas, ranging from sixth-tier to seventh-tier in strength.

Before long, they reached the end of the cave and encountered the final boss.

A seventh-tier legendary peak Red Armored Ant, about the size of a calf.

Whoosh!

The Red Armored Ant instantly turned into a blur, charging swiftly at the pair.

John remained calm and composed, activating his Soul Impact skill.

Buzz!

A strange ripple of energy surged forward, causing the Red Armored Ant to freeze mid-attack, its eyes glazing over as it collapsed lifelessly to the ground. Its soul had been obliterated, though its body remained completely intact.

Malina looked puzzled, studying the ant’s corpse. “Godslayer, how did you kill it? Teach me!” she asked curiously.

“You wouldn’t understand,” John replied, barely glancing at her as he turned to examine the ant’s loot.

The ant had dropped a piece of warrior armor—the Radiant Armor, which was an artifact and had excellent attributes.

However, John already had his Sentinel Armor, and this one seemed tailored for a female warrior.

He thought of Judy—she hadn’t received any artifacts last time, and this armor would suit her well.

He imagined her wearing it, looking valiant and strong.

After the Red Armored Ant’s death, another Secret Area treasure chest appeared.

[You have opened the Secret Area treasure chest. You’ve obtained: Master’s Robe Set x1, Spirit Stone x1, and City of Angels Map Fragment x1.]

John casually stashed away the seventh-tier legendary mage set.

Along with another Spirit Stone of unknown use and the final City of Angels Map Fragment.

He now had all four fragments and could combine them into a complete City of Angels Map.

[City of Angels Map: A map showing the path to the City of Angels. It can only be used from within an Elemental Secret Area.]

The map’s entrance was within the Elemental Secret Area.

Thankfully, John had previously acquired the Elemental Key from Toby of the Mike White Family.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to access it, even with the full map.

“Strange…” John muttered as he looked around the empty cave, frowning.

“What’s wrong?” Malina asked, noticing his confusion. “Is there something off here?”

“There’s no system message for clearing the Secret Area,” John replied. “These four legendary bosses aren’t the real final boss of this area.”

Malina’s eyes widened in surprise. “You think there’s a stronger enemy here?”

“Let’s search the place,” John said, wandering through the maze-like tunnels of the cave with no particular direction in mind.

Occasionally, they ran into lone Red Armored Ants, but most were just regular sixth-tier or seventh-tier creatures.

For five days, the two of them roamed the Secret Area, defeating countless monsters, but the strongest ones they found were seventh-tier epic bosses that posed little challenge.

“Forget it. Let’s get out of here,” John finally said, giving up on finding anything more.

Over the past few days, he had thoroughly swept through the entire Secret Area without uncovering anything significant.

Concerned for Tracy’s safety, he didn’t want to waste any more time. Luckily, this Death Worm’s Nest was indeed a permanent Secret Area, meaning he could return at any time.

With a thought, John led Malina out of the Secret Area and back to Phoenix City.

“Remember to shoot the video. I have something else to do, so I’m off,” John called out casually, his mind already connecting to the Abyss. He opened the portal to the Abyss and stepped through, leaving without another word.

“That bastard!” Malina cursed under her breath. She was reluctant but resigned herself to her task, logging off to start practicing her dance for the video.

…

Abyss

John arrived at the cliffside where he’d been before.

Surprisingly, Sini, Tony, and Ben were not in seclusion this time.

Tony and Ben were training Sini.

“John!” Sini noticed him first, excitedly rushing over. She proudly said, “I’ve now grasped 2% of the Laws of Darkness—my power has grown significantly.”

John nodded, smiling. “Want to spar again?”

Sini shot him a glare, immediately refusing. “You’re a freak. I’m not fighting you.”

Her defeat against John last time had shaken her confidence.

Tony turned to John, clearly still annoyed, and asked, “What do you want this time, kid?”

It was obvious that Tony was still upset about being used to hold off the Four-Winged Angels before. Even though he hadn’t been injured, his pride had taken a hit.

“Ah, congratulations, Tony, on mastering the Laws of Darkness,” John remarked, sensing the newfound power radiating from Tony.

“Compared to you two, I’m still far behind,” Tony sighed. What should have been a moment of pride was dampened by the thought of John and Sini’s abnormal talents.

John was, after all, the prophesied savior, and it was somewhat understandable for him to be exceptional.

But Sini, even as a princess of the Demon Race, had far surpassed expectations. In a few short months, she had grasped 2% of the Laws of Darkness, matching what had taken Tony thousands of years to achieve.

John didn’t linger on the topic. He cut to the point: “I came to tell you both that I’m planning to enter the City of Angels.”

“What?” Tony was visibly startled. “Kid, you’re not thinking of asking us to help you take on Elsa, are you?”

John nodded. If he encountered danger in the City of Angels, he would need Tony and Ben to step in.

Tony quickly shook his head. “Helping you is one thing, but walking into certain death? That’s not happening.”

John was puzzled. “You’ve already mastered the Laws of Darkness, and you still think you’re no match for Elsa?”

Tony’s face grew serious. “The gap between me and her is massive. Plus, she’s already refined the Gods’ Divine Core, Divine Weapon, Divine Rune, and Divine Soul. Once she reaches the tenth tier, she’ll be a demigod, maybe even a lower-tier god.”

“A demigod?” John murmured, recalling the Blood Fiend from the Orc Clan.

He is a demigod-level powerhouse. If it weren’t for the intervention of the mysterious woman in green, they would have all perished back then.

John pressed on, “What if you refined the Beast Clan’s treasure?”

Tony shook his head again. “It won’t help. I haven’t fully awakened my Tony bloodline, so even if I refined the Beast Clan’s treasure, I wouldn’t be able to fully integrate it. The power boost would be minimal. Besides, that treasure is meant for you.”

John wasn’t particularly interested in the Beast Clan’s treasure, but the conversation worried him.

Ben chimed in, his tone stern, “Godslayer, you can’t enter the City of Angels. If Elsa finds out, you’ll be dead on the spot. We won’t even have the chance to save you.”

“Sini,” John turned to her, hoping for some support, but she just stared at him, clearly reluctant to let him take such a risk.

John sighed, looking at Tony and Ben. “Is there really no other way?”

He knew he had to enter the City of Angels, not just to hunt angels and Plunder Divinity to save Tracy.

More important to stop the growing threat from the Mike White Family and Azure Family.

The leaderboards showed that Kent and Toby had already reached level 1000—seventh-tier strength.

At the rate they were progressing, they would soon reach the ninth tier. Once the world of Gods reconnected to Earth, the true disaster would begin.