Chapter 617: The World Level Leaderboard Opens
While Marcus and Princess Celeste were enjoying their moment together, Princess Phoenix made quick work of the freshly spawned Red Maple Flower Demon King. She struck it with Gathering, and a warm, gentle fire energy suddenly surged out of the monster.
It was completely different from the Phoenix’s usual flames. Her fire was destructive, violent, and domineering, but this flame carried a strange sense of vitality, as though it were alive and brimming with life.
Marcus and Celeste both turned toward her. A ball of red mist had appeared in Princess Phoenix’s palm, glowing with a soft, warm light.
"Stone! True Flame Cloud! My sister got a True Flame Cloud!"
Celeste immediately spread her Holy Light Wings and flew out of Marcus’s embrace.
The drop rate for True Flame Cloud was notoriously terrible. Even with a high-level Gathering skill and 50 Luck, a player would normally have to spend an entire day hunting Red Maple Flower Demons just to obtain one. Thanks to the Flower Demon King, however, they had managed to get one in only two hours.
Unfortunately, True Flame Cloud could not be kept indefinitely. If it was not used within an hour, its energy would dissipate and the cloud would disappear.
"Stone, we have to go!"
Celeste reluctantly said goodbye. She clearly did not want to leave, but the importance of the True Flame Cloud left her no choice. She and her sister used their return scrolls and flew back toward the Imperial Palace.
One True Flame Cloud could accelerate the growth of the Phoenixwood Tree by nine days. If they could apply nine clouds in succession and combine their effects with the Natural Growth Array, the tree should finally stabilize and resume growing normally.
Marcus could not help smiling at the thought. ’Heh. Once that happened, Princess Phoenix would owe him another reward.’
He waved goodbye as the two princesses disappeared into the distance, then used his own return scroll and reappeared at his mansion in Dragon’s Peak Citadel.
The mansion was empty.
His women were all in Dragon’s Roar Town, while Alana was busy in Fire Ginseng Valley, leaving the normally lively mansion strangely quiet. Marcus took the opportunity to organize his supplies, restock his Super Health Potions and the mana potions Alana had brewed for him, then prepared himself for the next task.
He still had several major quests waiting for him.
It was time to start grinding again.
Marcus headed to the city’s teleportation point and warped to the Elven Kingdom’s Forest City. After exiting through the southern gate, he summoned Blackie and mounted the powerful creature before setting off toward the southeast.
His destination was the location marked on his treasure map: Rabbit Path, the place said to be guarded by the Golden Rabbit King.
Marcus had several active quests, but most of them had reached dead ends because he had no clear leads to follow. The quest involving the Lost Roaring Tiger Squad, for example, had given him absolutely no clues.
The Valley of Ten Thousand Wolves was another problem. The entire valley was filled with Level 70 to Level 80 monsters, making it far too dangerous for him to explore at his current strength.
There was no need to rush.
He would start with what he could handle, build up his strength, and deal with the more dangerous quests later.
The Village Chief had told him that Level 50 should be enough to challenge the Golden Rabbit King, which made Rabbit Path the most suitable target for him right now.
Just thinking about the Golden Rabbit King made Marcus feel a surge of anticipation.
He had studied the treasure map countless times, so he already knew what he needed to find.
According to the map, five thick, ink-black bamboo stalks, each roughly as thick as two men, grew somewhere in God Bamboo Ridge. Once he found them, he needed to follow the path marked on the map, which would lead him into a sealed domain guarded by the Golden Rabbit King.
As for the location of God Bamboo Ridge, Silas’s map had clearly marked it. It was located far to the southeast of the Elven Kingdom, within a vast mountain range.
According to legend, a piece of divine bamboo had fallen from the heavens two thousand years ago. Almost overnight, bamboo of countless colors and varieties had sprouted across the entire mountain range. That was how God Bamboo Ridge had gotten its name.
Having Silas’s map made things much easier. Without it, Marcus would have had to rely on rumors, send messages everywhere, and search the region blindly.
God Bamboo Ridge was extremely far away. Even with Blackie running without rest, Marcus did not reach the mountain range until noon the following day.
He took to the air and flew above the ridge, carefully surveying the enormous landscape below.
An endless mountain range stretched beneath him, completely covered by bamboo of every imaginable color. Blue, black, yellow, green, red, and countless other varieties covered the mountains as far as he could see.
It was an entire world made of bamboo.
Marcus looked at the sprawling forest below and immediately felt a headache coming on.
Finding five specific black bamboo stalks in a place this enormous could take him forever.
And that was not even the worst part.
The divine bamboo’s energy had been nourishing the mountain range for two thousand years. It had not merely caused the plants to flourish. Over the centuries, it had also given rise to bamboo demons and various other monsters. The creatures that had originally inhabited the area had continued evolving under the influence of that energy.
Now, with dark creatures beginning to stir and the Demon Lord awakening, the natural energy concentrated within God Bamboo Ridge had become even more attractive to evil beings and monsters seeking a place to cultivate their strength.
What had once been a beautiful bamboo paradise had become a dangerous hunting ground.
’This is going to hurt.’
Marcus landed and began his search.
He had barely gone far when a group of blue bamboo humanoids suddenly charged toward him. Some carried swords and shields, while others wielded massive greatswords.
Marcus immediately used Insight. Level 60 Blue Iron Bamboo Tube Demons, monsters that had evolved from blue iron bamboo that had existed for centuries.
"Kill!"
Marcus summoned his pets, strengthened himself with his various buffs, and charged into the group.
As the battle began, he looked toward the seemingly endless bamboo forest stretching ahead of him and mentally prepared himself for a long grind.
He was not wrong.
For twelve straight days, Marcus fought his way through the mountain range, cutting down monsters below Level 70 while continuing his search for the five black bamboo stalks. He explored one area after another, fought through countless monsters, and repeatedly thought he had finally found the place marked on the map, only to discover that he had been mistaken.
By the twelfth day, even Marcus was beginning to lose patience.
Then, just as the system notified him that he had reached Level 56, something caught his eye in the distance.
Five enormous bamboo stalks stood together, each one thick and imposing, their surfaces glowing with an unmistakable, ink-black light.
Marcus’s eyes lit up. ’Found them.’
After twelve days of searching through this maddeningly enormous forest, he had finally found them, though he had almost given up.
But before Marcus could celebrate his discovery, a deafening system announcement suddenly rang throughout the world.
Ding!
[Attention, all players across all regions. One thousand players worldwide have reached Level 50. The World Level Leaderboard is now officially open.]