Online Game: Starting with an SSS-Level Plundering Talent - Chapter 222

Chapter 222: Chapter 222: Shadow Power and Percentage-Based Damage
“Master, don’t you want to take a break?” Elsa asked with concern, noticing that John had been fighting continuously.

“No need, I’m more than fine,” John replied, brimming with fighting spirit. This kind of battle didn’t wear him out at all.

Hearing his response, Elsa’s cheeks turned bright red.

John was referring to his immense combat strength, but she couldn’t help but think of something else entirely.

Sini and Tracy both noticed Elsa’s reaction and shot John a glare.

Clearly, this angel had also had some “encounters” with him.

Around them, the constant wailing and shrieking of Hunters filled the air as the creatures were ruthlessly slaughtered. Their bodies were quickly devoured by their own kind.

These Hunters would sometimes drop items, but there was no time to pick them up amidst the chaos.

…

Unknowingly, the group had been battling for an entire day. Even though Tony and the others took turns resting, they still felt physically drained.

Even Avis had to descend to the ground. While the Hunters could fly, staying airborne meant being attacked from all sides, putting them under immense pressure.

In contrast, John showed no signs of fatigue. His longsword danced in the air as spell after spell shot out, as if his energy were boundless.

The others watched in awe, their faces full of disbelief.

Finally, Tony couldn’t hold back and asked, “Godslayer, do your skills have no cooldown or cost? You’ve been fighting continuously for an entire day.”

“More or less,” John replied nonchalantly, without further explanation. His expression remained calm as he continued to slaughter the endless waves of Hunters. Occasionally, he would even unleash his ultimate skills.

The group took shelter behind him, recovering their strength and replenishing their mana without facing any threats.

Initially, they felt a bit guilty about leaving all the fighting to John. But after witnessing his seemingly bottomless reserves of power, they accepted the situation and focused on restoring their own energy.

…

[You have slain a level 1000 seventh-tier Hunter and gained 723,520 experience points.]

[Plunder talent activated: Strength +100, Constitution +100, Skill Points +10.]

[Plunder talent activated: You have gained 0.01 units of Shadow Power, Attack Speed +1.]

[You have accumulated 100 units of Shadow Power. Normal attacks and skill attacks now inflict additional damage equal to 0.001% of the target’s maximum health.]

The notification flashed before his eyes.

John was surprised. After accumulating 100 units of Shadow Power, he had gained the same percentage-based damage ability as the Hunters.

Although the damage percentage was quite low, it was better than nothing. Besides, his most powerful attacks were based on true damage, so this minor percentage boost was just an added bonus.

He wondered if the percentage damage would increase as he gained more Shadow Power.

His Plunder talent didn’t have a high chance of obtaining Shadow Power—it only activated when he killed seventh-tier Legendary Hunters or higher, and even then, not every time.

But it was still an incredible ability nonetheless.

He had already slain more than a million Hunters, boosting his four basic attributes by over a hundred thousand points. His level had risen to 1112.

If this continued and the number of Hunters remained sufficient, he could potentially level up to the eighth tier or even the ninth tier right here.

Without slowing down, John continued his relentless slaughter of the surrounding Hunters.

At this point, Elsa and the others had nearly recovered their stamina and mana, and they rejoined the assault on the Hunters.

…

Unknowingly, they had fought for another full day and night.

Yet, instead of diminishing, the number of Hunters had increased significantly.

Moreover, their power had also escalated—from the previous seventh tier to the eighth tier—bringing their percentage-based damage up to 0.01%.

Compared to the seventh-tier Hunters, the damage output had increased tenfold.

The group started to feel the pressure.

But John remained calm and unbothered. After two days and nights of constant combat, he still showed no signs of reaching his limit.

Initially, the group had been worried that John’s stamina would deplete, and they urged him to take a break.

But now, they were completely desensitized to his seemingly inexhaustible strength. He was, without a doubt, a monster.

Tracy, watching John’s frenzied slaughter of the Hunters, blinked in curiosity. She leaned toward Sini and whispered, “Sister Sini, do you think the old man really has no limits at all?”

Sini was momentarily stunned, her face flushing red. She knew exactly what Tracy was insinuating, and she pretended to be angry, saying, “You cheeky little thing, what are you thinking about all day?”

Tracy stuck out her tongue playfully and didn’t say anything more. Occasionally, she would wave her staff, casting healing spells to replenish the group’s lost health and mana.

“Godslayer, these Hunters are getting stronger by the minute. We need to find a way to get rid of them,” Tony said gravely, alerting John. He noticed that ninth-tier Hunters had already started appearing.

He couldn’t help but feel anxious.

Even if John’s abilities had no cooldowns or mana costs, there was always a limit to his physical stamina. Yet, the Hunters seemed endless and inexhaustible. If this continued, they would eventually be overwhelmed and face certain death.

John nodded in agreement. The continuous battle was starting to take its toll on him.

Additionally, the newly appearing ninth-tier Hunters now dealt 0.1% damage based on maximum health. He wasn’t worried for himself.

But if Sini and the others got surrounded, they would be dead before they had a chance to recover their health.

He considered resurrecting Thunder and the Death Demon General, but even gods didn’t have an advantage over these Hunters.

In that scenario, John would have to protect them as well, adding to his burden rather than alleviating it.

Surveying the endless tide of Hunters around them, John made a quick decision and said, “Pick a direction, any direction, and fight our way out.”

He chose a direction and led the charge.

The others followed closely behind.

With John’s overwhelming power, the immense energy of The Power of Laws surged around him. His magic skills roared across the battlefield, furiously bombarding the surrounding Hunters.

[You have slain a level 2000 eighth-tier Hunter and gained 2,660,000 experience points.]

[Your level has increased…]

[Plunder talent activated: Shadow Power +0.01, Skill Points +10, Magic Crit +1.]

…

Notifications flashed continuously, and his level had already risen to 1130.

Eighth-tier Hunters provided significantly more experience points, and the probability of plundering Shadow Power had also increased.

At this point, he had accumulated over 500 points of Shadow Power, yet the percentage-based damage remained unchanged.

He didn’t know if Shadow Power had any other effects beyond this and wasn’t too concerned about it. Instead, he continued to focus on slaughtering the incessantly approaching Hunters around them.

The group pressed forward.

This place seemed endless, with Hunters swarming from every direction. There was nowhere to hide, no way to escape.

John moved mechanically, swinging his longsword and casting various skills with precise, unchanging rhythm.

The relentless and monotonous combat had left him somewhat numb, and his stamina was being gradually depleted.

Sini, Elsa, and the others were in even worse shape, their stamina long since exhausted. It was only due to John’s protection that nothing disastrous had happened.

“Master, there’s a gorge ahead!” Avis’s voice rang out from above, flapping his wings as he pointed excitedly toward the distant landscape.

“Let’s go!” The group’s eyes lit up, a spark of hope rekindled.

John took the lead, accelerating toward the gorge that Avis had indicated.

The gorge wasn’t particularly wide, just enough for them to maneuver within.

The steep cliffs on either side served as natural barriers, blocking the attacks of most of the Hunters. As long as they could defend against assaults from the front, back, and above, their pressure would be greatly reduced.

[You have slain a level 5000 ninth-tier Legendary Hunter and gained 18,773,000 experience points.]

[Plunder talent activated: Shadow Power +0.01, Constitution +100, Luck +1.]

[You have accumulated 1000 units of Shadow Power. Normal attacks and skill attacks now inflict additional damage equal to 0.01% of the target’s maximum health.]

…

The notifications flashed again, and with 1000 points of Shadow Power, his percentage-based health damage increased to 0.01%.

The most significant increase, however, was in his four basic attributes: strength and spirit had both broken the one million mark, while constitution and agility had also risen to over 500,000 each.

With his current strength, he could easily defeat demigod-level opponents. Even if he encountered lower-tier gods, he wouldn’t be as helpless as he was before.

But compared to mid-tier gods, there was still a considerable gap.

The greatest threat posed by mid-tier gods wasn’t from their attribute-based damage but rather from their overwhelming soul power.

If he could advance to the demigod level or further elevate his Soul Technique, he would definitely be able to slay mid-tier gods.

However, after his Soul Technique reached level 10,000, each additional level required 10,000 skill points, and every level-up only increased his power by 1 point. The cost was simply too overwhelming, so he didn’t want to continue spending skill points on it.

Roar…

Roars echoed all around as the Hunters continued to surge forward endlessly.

John stopped dwelling on this matter and refocused on combat.

…

Another three days passed.

John hadn’t rested for a single moment. After three continuous days of fighting, he was starting to feel disoriented, hanging on only through sheer willpower.

Moreover, the Hunters that were now appearing were all formidable ninth-tier ones. Without John, the rest of the group wouldn’t have been able to hold them off at all.

“John, can you still hold on? Maybe we should think of another plan,” Sini asked worriedly. With John defending them, they had occasional moments to rest, so their mental state was still relatively stable.

But John had been fighting non-stop for five days. If this continued, Sini feared something terrible might happen to him.

John furrowed his brows, his expression equally grim.

He had already slain millions of Hunters, but their numbers showed no sign of diminishing.

He suspected that the number of Hunters here, at a conservative estimate, could reach tens of billions.

At this rate, they were all going to die.

“Godslayer, why don’t you resurrect Thunder and the Death Demon General? Let those two handle the situation for a while so you can get some rest,” Tony suggested.

“Alright!” John agreed. After all this time, he’d almost forgotten about those two.

Thunder and the Death Demon General were both lower-tier gods. With the gorge providing natural protection, they should be able to hold off the Hunters for a while.

John willed it, and their corpses appeared before him. He then channeled his life force into their bodies.

He felt another wave of dizziness wash over him, nearly causing him to collapse, but he managed to stay upright through sheer force of will.

The two souls stirred, absorbing the life force and slowly awakening.

“H-Hunters!” the Death Demon General exclaimed, his face filled with fear as he looked at the never-ending wave of Hunters pouring in from all directions. “Master, did you really enter the Ancient Battlefield Ruins?”

Thunder gulped nervously, his expression equally grim.

John didn’t bother to explain and commanded, “Stop talking and help me hold these Hunters off for a while—I need to rest.”

“Understood.” The two of them quickly realized that John was not in a good state and promptly agreed. They each took a side of the gorge, bracing themselves to fend off the oncoming onslaught of Hunters.