Chapter 56 -56-A System Quest Appears, Worldfall Ruins
John directly modified this piece of equipment as well, raising its attack speed bonus from 50% to 100%.
As for the final gain,
it was [War Smoke], which he had plundered from the Abyssal Wolf.
[War Smoke] (A-rank)
[Effect]: Upon activation, generates a 500×500 smoke zone centered on the user.
Enemies inside the smoke zone will be inflicted with Blind.
...
John modified this skill as well.
Its area of effect was increased from 500×500
to a full 50,000×50,000!
Once released,
it would be enough to blanket everything within a radius of fifty thousand li!
These were John’s gains this time.
After equipping the Abyssal Bracers,
he opened his personal status panel to take a look.
...
[Class]: Chrono Assassin
[Talents]: Wrath of the Raider (SSS), Absolute True Damage (SSS), Wrath Sovereign (SSS), Lord of Beasts (SSS), Dominion Lord (SSS), Universal Synthesis (SS), Heart of Thorns (S)...
[Attributes]: Strength 8986, Agility 8985, Mind 8986, Stamina 8985
[Skills]: Godshadow (SS), Sunpiercer (SS), Lightning Double (SS), Lightning Chain (SS), Annihilation of All (SS), Phantom Blink (SS), Wager Decree (S), Fall Resistance (S), War Smoke (A)...
[Equipment]: Divine Protection (S), Thousand-Faced Mask (A), Bloodfang (A), Lightning Robe (A)
[Wallet]: 705,839 gold coins, 946 silver coins, 907 copper coins
[Items]: S-rank Chest, A-rank Chest, Pass Permit, Pillage Order
...
If John’s status panel were made public,
it would probably drive every player into despair.
Other players dreamed of obtaining even a single SSS-rank talent.
He had five of them!
Not to mention his countless high-rank skills, equipment, and more.
To the players of today,
John was no different from a god.
...
Meanwhile,
at the Revival Spring in Storm City,
Link and the Alliance Leader emerged one after the other.
The Alliance Leader was still dazed,
but the moment Link came back to his senses, he instantly flew into a frenzy.
Because he heard a rapid string of system notifications.
[Warning: Because you were killed by a player from another zone, your level has been reduced by 5!]
[Warning: All your equipment has been lost!]
[Warning: All your skills have been wiped!]
[Warning: All your special items have dropped!]
[Warning: Because the player who killed you possessed Wager Decree, all your assets have been deducted, and you now owe 75,839 gold coins!]
[Warning: Until your debt is repaid, your wallet system will remain locked!]
...
These notifications rang clearly in Link’s ears.
He instantly became hysterical and began screaming at the top of his lungs.
"Damn that John!"
"I worked so hard to grind those levels, and he just cut five of them off me!"
"And all the equipment and skills I spent so long building up are gone too!"
"And that Wager Decree is worse than loan-sharking! It took every bit of money I’d managed to save, and now I’m buried in debt on top of that!"
Link had completely lost all strength.
He collapsed to the ground like a heap of mud.
After hearing his screams, the Alliance Leader beside him also snapped back to reality and hurriedly checked his own status panel.
Then—
"You bastard, John!!!"
Even the normally steady and mountain-like Alliance Leader collapsed like rotten mud, sprawled on the ground and wailing in grief.
The two figures who had once wielded overwhelming influence in Zone 4
were now twisting and crying on the ground like worms.
Everything they had was plundered by John.
Even their talents!
Most horrifying of all,
they were now burdened with nearly 70,000 gold coins of debt.
That debt was like a massive mountain,
crushing them beneath it for the rest of their lives.
"There’s no hope left for us..."
Link and the Alliance Leader looked at each other,
then broke down crying in each other’s arms.
Even when a large number of other players emerged from the Revival Spring afterward,
they had no mind to care.
At this moment, in the eyes of Link and the Alliance Leader,
the whole world had turned completely gray.
...
At this time, cries of misery could be heard all across Zone 4.
After reviving, everyone discovered that their levels had dropped by five.
Their equipment, talents, and skills were all gone.
Their wallets had even been pushed nearly 70,000 gold coins into the negative.
For players who were already poorly developed to begin with,
this was no different from being spawn-killed a hundred times in a row.
"Why? Why is all my equipment gone?!"
Some players lost control on the spot and broke down in tears.
"My A-rank talent that I worked so hard to draw—how did it suddenly disappear? How am I supposed to level up without a talent?!"
Some smashed their fists into the ground in rage.
"Damn it! I should never have gone toward the Weathered Mountains! Why did I get greedy and try to kill that monster?!"
At this moment, the vast majority of players were filled with regret.
If they had known,
they never would have gone near that demon-like figure.
He could wipe them all out with a single move.
He could even leave them owing him 70,000 gold coins.
A devilish ability like that—
there could not be many players like him in the entire server.
...
As for John, the culprit who had plunged Zone 4 into a nightmare,
he had already slaughtered every last enemy in the Weathered Mountains.
He recalled all of his clones,
preparing to see if there were any stragglers left to finish off.
At that moment,
a system notification rang out in his mind.
[Detected: Worldfall Ruins exist in this region. Quest issued!]
Hearing a prompt completely different from the game’s normal notifications,
John froze for a moment.
A surprised expression appeared on his face.
"The system actually gives quests too?"
This was the first time the system had ever issued a quest to him.
He immediately opened the system quest panel.
[Worldfall Ruins Collection Quest]
[Quest Objective]: Collect the "Worldfall Ruins" from all Zones.
[Quest Guidance I]: Go to Zone 4, coordinates (355, 577), and enter the Worldfall Ruins there.
Note: This Worldfall Ruins has a level requirement of 30.
After entering the Worldfall Ruins, you may choose to challenge or conquer it.
...
[Quest Guidance II]: Go to Zone 3, coordinates (378, 589), and enter the Worldfall Ruins there.
Note: This Worldfall Ruins has a level requirement of 40.
After entering the Worldfall Ruins, you may choose to challenge or conquer it.
...
[Quest Guidance III]: Go to Zone 2, coordinates (479, 489), and enter the Worldfall Ruins there.
Note: This Worldfall Ruins has a level requirement of 50.
After entering the Worldfall Ruins, you may choose to challenge or conquer it.
...
[Quest Note]: As remnants of civilization from the previous era of the Apocalypse world, each major region contains multiple "Worldfall Ruins."
You must collect at least three Zones’ worth of "Worldfall Ruins."
After accepting this quest, you must not die even once, otherwise the quest will be considered failed.
[Quest Reward]: 3 chances at a Fateshard draw
[Quest Duration]: Permanent