Strongest Among the Heavens

A week till the opening of the next gate. Dasha stared at the request in his eyes once again.

[ Return to the White Abyss? Yes or no? ]

He could stay. He could continue to experiment and create potions.

'Or I could go back to the first gate and start farming. But if I do that, I can never go back here.'

Decisions, decisions. Raw materials were still left in the treasure chest.

He crossed his arms and thought about it. In the end, he decided it was worth burning an hour or two to explore what was here.

The fireplace crackled. Dasha took the time to gather and place materials into his inventory to learn what they were. He ended up choosing what seemed to be the rarest and most potent of stuff: a phoenix feather, a moonlit pearl, and the essence of a whispering breeze.

Through the black cauldron, he combined the elements, each one sizzling and melding with the next. The potion simmered. Its colour turned black. He bottled the elixir and—

[ Successfully crafted:

1x Potion of Shifting Shadows ]

[ HIDDEN OBJECTIVE found! ]

[ Congratulations! Gate 2 : Baba Yaga's Home

HIDDEN OBJECTIVE: Crafting the Potion of Shifting Shadows — Complete!

Receive:

15,000 XP

500,000 PP ]

[ Congratulations! You are the first player to complete the Gate 2 Hidden Objective! ]

[ Bonus Receive:

30,000 XP

500,000 PP ]

[ Level up! ]

[ Level up! ]

[ New skill learned : Ingredient Recognition ]

[ New skill learned : Basic Brewing ]

[ New skill learned : Alchemist's Precision ]

[ Congratulations on delving into the world of alchemy and potions! Receive the 'Amateur Alchemist' class! ]

'Hidden objective?' The gears spun in his head. 'If there's a hidden objective for this gate, then there's likely a hidden objective for the first. Two possibilities remain then: that killing the Slime King is the hidden objective or it's something else entirely.'

He lacked information so neither conclusion could be certain. However, he could say this: he was the strongest player in the Heavenly Games right now. By totally conquering the main, special, and hidden objectives, he gained XP and prize points no one else had. He was at the top, no doubt.

"Open status."

[ Status: Dasha Pang

Class: Amateur Martial Artist

Level: 21

HP: 175

HP/Minute: 17.5

MP: 264

MP/Minute: 33.5

Attack: 43

Defence: 36

Attributes

Strength: 39

Resilience: 35

Agility: 69

Deftness: 82

Vitality: 35

Magical Might: 33

Magical Mending: 33

Distributive Points: 33 ]

Stats-wise, he seemed to be on the right track. He farmed slimes for XP and managed to complete special and hidden objectives on top of that. He doubted anyone that was ten levels below him would be able to scratch him given his insane agility and deftness.

"Return to White Abyss."

[Return to the White Abyss? Yes or no? ]

He clicked yes.

***

[ Profile

Name: Dasha Pang

HP: 175/175

MP: 264/264

Distributive Points: 31

Prize Points: 1,040,000

Age: 28

Class: Amateur Martial Artist

Level: 22

XP to Next Level: 18,480 ]

So much XP. So many points—distributive points and Prize Points.

Dasha sat cross-legged and cross-armed in the home of Li Wei and Zhang Mei. Since it was inside the bazaar, not to mention quiet, it was the best location to relax and think. Outside, he could hear the mumblings and gossip of the busy bazaar.

The Class section was calling for attention, so he investigated.

[ Available Classes

Amateur Alchemist: Alchemy Synergy, Basic Potion Brewing ]

[ Alchemy Synergy

Type: Class

Subtype: Support

Rank: F

Gain a 10% increase in the effects of all alchemy creations. ]

[ Basic Potion Brewing

Type: Class

Subtype: Support

Rank: F

Gain a 10% success rate in potions brewed. ]

Dasha inhaled sharply. 'The Class Skills are too limited for my tastes. Open skill tree.'

Hexagons were summoned. The newly acquired class skill tree blinked and he promptly pressed it.

Amateur Alchemist: Ingredient Recognition, Basic Brewing, Alchemist's Precision, Basic Transmutation, Elemental Essence Extraction, and lastly, Elixir Synthesis. He already unlocked Ingredient Recognition, Basic Brewing, and Alchemist's Precision.

'So you don't necessarily have to unlock skills via the skill tree. You can just learn them on your own.'

The pathway was straight and without a shortcut. He toyed with the idea of becoming a master alchemist. Given the scale of the bazaar, he could likely find his own alchemist to buy potions from. The independence and potential sales sounded tempting. Especially considering the state of Li Wei and Zhang Mei's place. It was rundown and perfect to sell stuff.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

A sharp inhale. He got up and didn't bother glancing at Li Wei and Zhang Mei. He went to the counter and saw two men. The short and slightly pudgy individual knocked on the counter even as he saw him.

"So you're the newbie player who said this rut was yours." The short man looked him up and down. Still equipped in the Garbs of Death, there was no denying it. "Alright, since you're new, we'll let you off with a warning. You can't just set up shop wherever you want, there's a fee you have to pay to the landlord. This specific area is owned by us, the Sapphire Order."

Accompanying the short man was someone plain and unassuming. If it wasn't for his uniform, he would have been dull and boring. The pair collectively wore a royal blue tunic with a sapphire gem emblem, silver-lined cloak, blue trousers with silver edges, silver-accented boots, and an unused hood with silver lining. His blue gazed past him, towards the cowering couple.

"How much?" Dasha asked.

The short man tilted his head. Dasha saw a tattoo on his neck. "Huh?"

"How much is the fee?"

"Er, for this specific space, ten thousand a week."

"You have a contract on you," Dasha stated. "I'll pay."

The short man was taken aback and looked at his partner for help. "Oh, come on, Lyle! Quit daydreaming! We have an offer here! You think the boss will be okay with it?"

Lyle yawned. "Probably."

"Probably means okay," the short man declared. He summoned a parchment—the Geas of Service. "Punishment for not paying is a hundred hours of work for the Sapphire Order. Kapeesh?"

Blue letters fell onto the parchment, a deep contrast to the blood red of the Blood Contract. "My name is Bennet, no last name."

Whether that was unfair, it didn't matter. Dasha accepted.

[ A Geas of Service contract has been successfully made! ]

"You really should be careful," Bennet said. "The other big guilds aren't so nice." Then he snickered. "Not that you'll be able to pay ten thousand anyway."

So Bennet thought it was a bluff. Dasha didn't dignify him with a response. Bennett snorted and told his partner to get going. The Sapphire Order members left without another word.

On the way out, he caught a black mark. An imprinted number on the back of Lyle's hand: 17. The lettering was old style and intimidating. He thought he saw a similar tattoo on Bennett's neck.

"You two sure get quiet when things get ugly." Dasha sent them a look. Tell me, what are you so scared of?"

Li Wei and Zhang Mei looked incredibly guilty. Hiding in the back, saying nothing, getting him—the guest and newbie—to handle the presence of a guild. They were people fearful of confrontation and buckled at any sign of danger.

However, those were the kinds of people he sympathized with the most.

"There's only one thing you need to do: make me food."

"R-really?" Zhang Mei glanced at her husband. "We can do that, yes!"

Dasha closed his eyes, ready to fall asleep and see a bowl of food. Instead, there was silence and a shuffle.

"Err…but could you buy groceries?" Li Wei asked.

He let out a sound between a chuckle and a sigh.

"Fine."