Chapter 70 -70-Challenging the First Layer of the Holy Grail Realm
[Zone-wide Announcement: Player John has placed the ruin Dragonkin Isle at coordinates (354, 356).]
[Guild Announcement: All Overlord Guild players may enter to farm monsters and gather materials!]
The two announcements came one after another.
In an instant, they set off a frenzy among the Overlord Guild members grinding monsters across the region.
Without hesitation, they all used their fastest available movement methods and rushed toward the coordinates.
When they saw the massive island suspended beside the cliff, every last one of them was stunned.
"It can actually drop dragon scales? Materials that can forge A-rank armor?"
"There’s even a chance to get Dragon Wings?"
"My god! Where did the guild leader get something this good?"
"Only three entries a day, sure—but that’s already more than enough for us to get a ton of resources!"
The players were filled with amazement as they poured onto Dragonkin Isle and began farming monsters.
...
Inside the City Lord Mansion, John had leveled up again, which meant he had unlocked further upgrades for Overlord City as well as new Special Structures.
[Spend 10,000,000 gold coins to upgrade Overlord City to Level 40.]
[New Special Structures unlocked. Please proceed to construction.]
Ten million gold coins were spent in one shot.
Overlord City jumped directly from Level 20 to Level 40.
Standing inside the City Lord Mansion, John looked out over the city.
Many buildings had already changed from their original blue stone brick into white jade brick.
The entire city now carried an atmosphere of clean elegance and understated luxury.
Its total area had tripled.
The city walls had become so high they were like a heavenly barrier.
At Level 40, Overlord City looked even more magnificent than the Skyhawk main city.
After that, John spent another two million gold coins.
One after another, he constructed two major Special Structures: the Class Advancement Guild and the Arena.
[Class Advancement Guild]
[Effect]: Can invite resident NPC projections from other main cities. Aside from their original strength, the projection and the original body can function with identical effectiveness!
[Description]: One of the most indispensable buildings for any main city. With it, players no longer need to travel long distances!
...
[Arena]
[Effect]: By spending 1 gold coin, a player can recreate any monster they have previously killed inside the arena.
Only one may be recreated per day. After killing it, the player can obtain half of that monster’s original drops!
[Description]: No need to travel far to grind monsters. The Arena allows players to hone their combat skills while also earning substantial loot!
...
Both structures could greatly improve player efficiency in class advancement and combat.
John directly set the entry requirement for both at 1,000 Legion Contribution Points per day.
He placed them respectively in the northwestern and western sections of the city.
After finishing all that, John suddenly remembered something.
"Oh right. I think there’s been a small Holy Grail sitting unused in my bag this whole time."
He immediately took it out.
[Holy Grail] (Small)
[Type]: Special Item
[Effect]: After use, you may enter the Holy Grail Trial Realm and obtain rewards upon clearing it.
[Note]: This item unlocks only when the player reaches Level 60.
...
John was a little surprised.
He had not expected that the small Holy Grail he obtained from the last world-level quest could only be unlocked after Level 60.
Fortunately, after completing the Class Advancement Quest, he had already reached Level 70.
So he used the small Holy Grail at once.
...
In an instant, his vision blurred.
When he came back to his senses, he found himself standing inside an enormous and unfathomably deep space.
All around him towered many magnificent statues.
Some held bows, some raised great swords, while others lifted staffs.
Every single statue radiated an awe-inspiring divine glow.
And at the very center—
stood a black-and-white statue of a white tiger.
[Welcome to the Holy Grail Realm. You are currently on the First Layer of the Holy Grail Realm.]
[Please defeat the First Layer Guardian to obtain the item required to enter the Second Layer.]
[A new special quest has been triggered!]
Following the prompt in his mind, John opened the new special quest.
[Holy Grail Realm First Layer Quest]
[Type]: Special
[Quest Objective]: Defeat the First Layer Guardian
[Quest Description]: The Holy Grail Realm records countless heroic souls.
Each layer houses a different slumbering spirit.
As one who has come after them, if you wish to witness the glory of your predecessors,
then defeat the guardian of each layer before proceeding to the next!]
[Quest Reward]: True Soul Guardian!
[Time Limit]: Three minutes
...
"So there’s even a time limit."
This was the first time John had encountered something like this.
But that was fine.
Time limit or no time limit, it would still be an instant kill for him.
His gaze immediately fell upon the white tiger statue at the very center.
Inwardly, he said, "Begin challenge."
At once—
the white tiger statue suddenly burst with white light.
The radiance flared, then contracted sharply.
A ferocious tiger’s roar exploded through the air.
John looked up.
The statue had already come alive.
A regal, imposing white tiger was glaring at him viciously.
John tossed a Detection skill at it.
The white tiger’s information was instantly revealed.
[White Tiger Spirit]
[Race]: Tigerkin
[Tier]: Platinum-grade
[Level]: 60
[HP]: 7,000,000 / 7,000,000
[Attack]: 40,000
[Defense]: 30,000
[Skills]: White Tiger Roar, Tiger Claw Storm, White Tiger True Form...
[Description]: The reincarnation of the strongest member of the White Tiger clan, possessing the tiger race’s peak growth talent!]
...
After reading it, John’s gaze shifted slightly.
He had not expected to run into another top-tier demon race from the Apocalypse world.
Like the dragon and phoenix races, the tiger race was also incomparably powerful.
The very fact that this spirit could appear here was proof enough of its strength.
Roar!
At that moment, a tiger’s roar shook the realm.
The white tiger’s body suddenly expanded.
In just a few breaths, it occupied more than half of the entire First Layer of the Holy Grail Realm.
White Tiger True Form!
In this state, the white tiger’s HP actually swelled from seven million to ten million.
Its attack and defense also doubled.
The gigantic white tiger released another thunderous roar.
A terrifying sonic assault crashed down upon John.
If it had been any other challenger, they might already have been crushed beyond resistance.
But John was completely unaffected.
After killing so many players, he had long since fused an S-rank talent that granted immunity to sonic attacks.
So long as the creature’s level was lower than that talent’s threshold, no sonic attack from anyone would have any effect on him.
John strolled forward at an easy pace, mocking it as he went.
"What, didn’t you eat?"
"That’s all the noise you can make?"
"I thought the guardian of the first layer would be much stronger than this."
The white tiger could clearly understand him.
Furious, it slammed down a claw.
In an instant, countless claw marks refracted through space.
It was as though the entire First Layer of the Holy Grail Realm was about to be torn apart.
But when they landed on John—
all they dealt was a dense stream of 1-point damage.
[-1] (Forced Damage)!
[-1] (Forced Damage)!
[-1] (Forced Damage)!
John’s defense had already risen above a million.
And that was not even counting his other talents that granted immunity to physical attacks.
Even with the white tiger in its true form, its attack was only 80,000.
Utterly insignificant.
And not only that—
a terrifying rebound effect appeared.
As claw after claw landed on John’s body, horrifying reflected damage numbers burst above the white tiger’s head.
[-1,000,000] (Reflected Damage)!
[-1,000,000] (Reflected Damage)!
[-1,000,000] (Reflected Damage)!