Chapter 42: The Infinite HP Exploit
Based on Liam's current damage output, he could still hold his ground—for now.
In fact, fighting three Frost Serpents at once actually accelerated his HP stacking. He was gaining twenty-seven HP per second. Even when weaving in Spiral-Draw Archery, he still managed to stack fifteen HP every second. That added up to nine hundred per minute.
His damage climbed steadily. It wasn't an explosive increase, but it was consistent.
However, the pressure mounted the moment Liam slayed the seventh Frost Serpent. Suddenly, he found himself facing four of them at once. He could already foresee the battle turning against him for one simple reason: the Frost Serpents had started spawning in pairs.
Just like the Frost-Wolf Lycans, after nine had been cleared, they began appearing two at a time. Liam’s current damage was insufficient to clear them quickly enough to keep pace. There was no way to break the stalemate if he kept fighting like this.
Liam simply stowed his weapon and waited for death.
He had already figured out a way to break the game. The Frost-Wolf Lycans were his greatest opportunity. If he utilized them correctly, he could defy the odds. He might even be able to exploit the dungeon's mechanics to stack his HP to an absurd level.
Without resisting, Liam was killed in moments despite the Life-Steal from his Blood-Thirsty Dragon Scale. These were Level 50 Bronze Bosses, after all; their damage was undeniable.
Upon his death, Liam respawned at the entrance of the dungeon. Everything had undergone a Temporal Reset.
The Frost Decree was gone. His stacked HP returned to its original baseline, and the attribute bonuses from the food he’d eaten vanished. Even his spent AP returned to his pool, showing 380 unspent points just as before.
Most notably, the durability of his damaged Purifying Jade Amulet was restored to one hundred.
A true Temporal Reset.
Liam had initially suspected death might trigger a Stat Reset, but this confirmed it was a full Temporal Reset.
"In that case, I can finally try my plan."
Liam dumped every single AP into Attack Speed, boosting the stat from 5.73 to 11.65.
The scenario played out exactly as before. The first Frost-Wolf Lycan appeared. Liam fired a Spiral-Draw Archery, knocking the beast out of the air.
But this time, he didn't follow up with Aerial Archery. He didn't even equip Tears of the Life Goddess. He simply maintained a steady stream of attacks.
A Frost-Wolf Lycan regenerated 100,000 HP per second while standing in the snow. With an Attack Speed of over eleven, Liam could deal 180,000 damage per second even without the Tears. He actually had to deliberately slow his pace to ensure the first Lycan didn't drop too quickly.
Then came the second. Then the third.
Liam cycled through Twin Shot and Triple-Arrow Volley, yet he refused to finish them off. It wasn't until the fifth Frost-Wolf Lycan appeared that he finally started focusing down the first one. For now, Quintuple Shot was his absolute limit.
A faint smirk played on Liam's lips. Everything was moving exactly according to plan.
As the first Lycan died, the sixth one spawned, keeping the total count at five. Liam maintained his Quintuple Shot, maximizing his HP stacking efficiency. He watched the timer closely, selectively killing one Lycan only when the next was about to spawn.
This was perfect. This exploit allowed his HP to skyrocket.
Each Quintuple Shot granted fifteen HP. Even while controlling his damage, his Basic Attack frequency stayed above six times per second. That was ninety HP per second.
Five thousand four hundred per minute.
324,000 HP per hour.
As his HP rose, his damage naturally increased, which would eventually hinder his stacking speed. But Liam wasn't worried about that yet. When the Lycans started spawning in pairs later on, he stuck to the same strategy, keeping exactly five of them in the field at all times.
When the final five spawned, he stopped killing them entirely.
He shifted into full-blown HP stacking mode. Since the Lycans had infinite health regeneration in the snow, Liam effectively had infinite HP stacking.
Quintuple Shot was a massive drain on his Willpower. As time passed and his damage climbed, he had to further reduce his attack frequency to avoid accidentally killing the Lycans, causing his hourly HP gains to dip.
Despite the strain, Liam gritted his teeth and held on for over seven hours. He had pushed himself to the absolute limit.
By the end of those seven hours, Liam had stacked over 1.5 million HP. When factoring in the bonuses from Tears of the Life Goddess and Barney’s passive, his actual HP gain reached two million.
Two million extra HP. Even under the 50% stat reduction of Divine Pressure, he would still have a million HP to spare. That meant every Basic Attack would deal an additional 30,000 True Damage. Even if his Attack Speed was crippled down to 3.0, he would still be dealing an extra 90,000 damage per second.
That damage was game-breaking.
Liam began to wonder if there were other secrets to uncover in the Novice Village. As he pondered, Gable appeared. He had already experienced this part of the script, so he moved through the motions with practiced ease.
"These monsters regenerate too quickly in the snow," Liam sighed during the meal. "Otherwise, I could take them down easily."
"That is true," Gable replied. "However, there is a Wandering Medic in our village. He seems to have researched a way to counter their regeneration."
Liam’s eyes lit up. Just as he suspected—the Novice Village held other rewards he hadn't unlocked yet.
"Can you introduce me to Lowen?"
Gable nodded. "Of course. You are the Hero of our village. I’m sure Lowen will be willing to help you."
Liam was slightly surprised. By triggering the encounter with Lowen, Rivers hadn't appeared. Did the Novice Village only allow for two specific rewards per run? It was hard to say for sure. He would need to keep experimenting with the dungeon's mechanics.
However, Liam already had a guess. In this village, the most valuable thing would be something that countered Divine Pressure.
He decided to try a new approach.
The plan was simple: the moment he encountered Divine Pressure, he would immediately retreat and ask for help. There was a high probability that someone in the Novice Village knew how to resist it. Otherwise, this Hell Difficulty Divine Pressure would be an impassable wall for any player. Even those with Divine Grade Innate Talents would find this dungeon impossible before their Second Advancement.
An item or buff to counter Divine Pressure was the key—likely the best hidden reward in the entire zone.
While lost in thought, Liam spotted Lowen. The man stood over 1.8 meters tall with a robust, athletic build despite his age. With his shock of white hair and long beard, he looked more like a village chief than a doctor.
"This adventurer helped us clear the Frost-Wolf Lycans," Gable explained. "He wants to head deeper, but the Frost-bound Fiends regenerate too quickly. He’s looking for a way to slow them down."
Lowen looked up, his eyes scanning Liam. After a long pause, he spoke. "Brave adventurer, your courage exceeds my expectations, but I don't believe you can handle those wretched Frost-bound Fiends. Not yet."
"Unless... you can prove yourself. Head forward and slay the Frost Serpents. I will reward you based on how many you can kill."
System Prompt: Lowen has issued a quest. Do you accept?
Quest Requirement: Slay Frost Serpents (The more, the better).
Quest Penalty: None.
Quest Reward: 1x Miasma Vial (Grievous Wound Potion) per Frost Serpent killed.
Liam cocked an eyebrow. He had found something interesting: he didn't need to clear all the serpents to return for a reward.
This meant he didn't have to fight to the death every time. The Frost Serpents likely had a fixed aggro range—specifically, the area covered by Divine Pressure. If he stepped out of that zone, would they stop chasing? It seemed highly likely.
"Don't worry. I'll do my best to take down as many as I can."
Liam took his leave. Because of his previous battles, he had finished off all the dishes that boosted Attack Speed. This time, he gained +1 Attack Speed and +6 Move Speed. The boost was staggering.
He reached the snow-covered Boundary Monolith again.
The Primordial Eastern Empire sleeps here!
Liam ignored the inscription and crossed the threshold. Divine Pressure descended instantly. He didn't panic, waiting until the first Frost Serpent emerged.
Liam began kiting, firing as he retreated. The moment he stepped back across the line of the Boundary Monolith, the Divine Pressure vanished—and the Frost Serpent disappeared with it.
"Just as I thought. My theory was right."
The Frost Serpents were also subject to the Temporal Reset. If he retreated, everything inside the boundary reset. Liam noticed that the HP he had stacked while attacking that serpent had also vanished upon crossing back.
Another Temporal Reset, though this one only affected the stats gained within the boundary.
Liam didn't step back inside immediately. Instead, he went back to Gable.
"The area ahead is suppressed by Divine Pressure. My attributes drop by fifty percent the moment I enter. Is there any way to resist it?"
Gable shook her head repeatedly. "Divine Pressure was left behind by the Divines. How could we mortals possibly stand against it?"
Liam didn't give up. He went to Lowen next, but received a similar answer. Lowen insisted there was no way to counter it.
Liam didn't believe them. The person who knew the secret had to be the Mayor or someone else he hadn't triggered yet.
At that moment, a message came in from Barney: the Nutrient Pod was ready.
Liam smiled and logged off to make the switch. This pod’s serum could sustain him for half a month without food or water.
With the Nutrient Pod, Liam's confidence soared. He could stay online for two weeks straight; there was no way he wouldn't conquer this dungeon now.
He crossed the Boundary Monolith once more. Without the Purifying Jade Amulet and under the weight of Divine Pressure, his stats plummeted. His Attack Speed and Move Speed were slashed by seventy-five percent—a crippling debuff for any player.
When the first Frost Serpent appeared, Liam didn't reach for his arrows. Instead, he activated the Tome of Mortality.
"Exactly."
A triumphant grin spread across his face. As he suspected, named mobs like Frost Serpents could still be locked onto by the Tome of Mortality. As long as they stayed within his line of sight, the Tome would drain their life.
Even with his attributes halved, his damage per second reached over 23,000, largely because the 10,000 flat damage from his gear was unaffected by Divine Pressure.
He fell into the rhythm. Launch the target airborne, then unleash a barrage of attacks. Thanks to the massive HP pool he’d stacked from the Lycans, his damage was higher than ever. Each Basic Attack hit for roughly 40,000.
That was 120,000 damage per second, plus the 23,000 from the Tome. His total DPS sat at 143,000.
In a minute, he could dish out over 8.5 million damage. By keeping the target airborne, he could deal 30 million damage in just four minutes. Even with the serpent's Unstoppable health regeneration, he could finish one off in under five minutes.
The output was terrifying. Compared to the forty minutes it took him before, he had cut the time down to an eighth of its original duration.
Liam actually reached the end of the fight faster than he’d calculated. In four and a half minutes, the Frost Serpent was on the brink of death.
He felt a devious urge. He wasn't in a hurry to kill it just yet.
He let it land.
As the serpent hit the snow, Liam went all out, stacking nine HP per second—540 per minute. He had no idea what lay further ahead, but one thing was certain: the more HP he had, the better his chances.
The second Frost Serpent appeared.
Liam frowned. The seven hours of high-intensity Quintuple Shot earlier had taken a massive toll on his Willpower. Even maintaining a Double Volley felt exhausting now.
Left with no choice, he finished off the first serpent and turned his focus toward the second.
The advance reading chapters on have reached 7 chapters. Thank you for reading!
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