Chapter 12: Shocking the World

｢Congratulations on completing: Nightingale's Cry survival mode

Time elapsed: 2:09:12

Enemies killed: 1346

Bosses killed: 45

Rounds completed: 36

Team Deaths: 0

Team Members: 0

Assessment: SSS

Reward:

4400% EXP

Epic treasure chest x2

War Maniac Pavilion Recommendation Letter

Unique Quest: Flora and Fauna｣

Draco emerged from the entrance of Nightingale Cry's dungeon while sighing with regret. That last round against the four bosses was his ceiling for now. It was not that his skills couldn't match up, but his weapons and equipment were trash.

His armor was still the basic one from the starter pack and even his rare swords weren't that great, despite their symbolic names. Dealing low damage like that tired him out to the point where his stamina got depleted and every swing after that consumed health. He only managed to deal the last hit right after his HP bottomed out. Mutual destruction.

He looked at his assessment and nodded in agreement. The rewards were definitely great and would've had him shocked on a normal day, but after all he had received so far, there was no more mental capacity for shock. At this time, Draco had accepted that as a Reincarnator, he was destined to own items that were above and beyond the norm.

Before he could even open up the description for this items, an announcement rang out.

｢Sturgehaven Kingdom Regional Announcement

Player Draco has been awarded with the title 'Battle Maniac' by the King of Sturgehaven. All Sturgehaven players receive 100% EXP｣

｢Cario Continent International Announcement

Player Draco has been awarded with the title 'Battle Maniac' by the Cario Continental Council. All Cario Continent players receive 100% EXP｣

｢Boundless System-wide Announcement

Player Draco has been awarded with the title 'Battle Maniac' by the War Maniac Pavilion. All Boundless players receive 100% EXP｣

.............

Riveting Night plunged her dagger into the throat of a wild boar that had attacked her. The beast was the size of an Ox, with an obscene amount of strength. Her rare dagger had barely been able to pierce its hide and that was only because she had the skill and precision to strike at the same spot over and over.

Sublime Notion stood a safe distance away, casting buffs on her best friend. Due to Riveting Night's insane skill, she hadn't been hit once, so Sublime Notion was able to save mana. Sublime Notion felt that her friend had been acting weird ever since they started playing this game. Riveting Night was good, but not THIS good. Her skills and movement were like something you'd see in an anime or wuxia novel.

She literally glided over the earth and in the air, her every twitch graceful and predetermined. Sublime Notion often forgot to cast buffs and just stood there watching her friend dazedly.

The moment Riveting Night downed the beast, a blaring sound echoed around them and a screen popped up in their faces.

｢Sturgehaven Kingdom Regional Announcement

Player Draco has been awarded with the title 'Battle Maniac' by the King of Sturgehaven. All Sturgehaven players receive 100% EXP｣

｢Cario Continent International Announcement

Player Draco has been awarded with the title 'Battle Maniac' by the Cario Continental Council. All Cario Continent players receive 100% EXP｣

｢Boundless System-wide Announcement

Player Draco has been awarded with the title 'Battle Maniac' by the War Maniac Pavilion. All Boundless players receive 100% EXP｣

The two were silent for a while, Sublime Notion in shock while Riveting Night was in contemplation. Both players suddenly felt a golden glow surround them as they leveled up 3 times in one go.

Riveting Night was now level 8 while Sublime Notion was level 7. They were near the level required to access the cities and operate a guild. Everyone was currently rushing to level ten to achieve the global announcement that they had been the first to hit level 10 and allowed themselves to create guilds. Meanwhile, someone had already received a global award for doing something extraordinary.

"Wow, this Draco guy must be a real god-tier expert. I wish we could meet someone like that. Hmph, if he's even good looking, I might go out with him teehee~" Sublime Notion joked while giggling.

Riveting Night turned to her friend and had a complicated look on her face. How was she supposed to explain that the one who achieved this was the same guy she looked down upon, as well as the one who led them to this goldmine?

.................

A man fully encased in black obsidian armor walked along the forest pathway stately, his armor clinking ominously. He was around Draco's height and had a compact yet muscular form, to which his armor clung tightly. Yet, he was able to move easily as if it were simply a second skin. His eyes glowed green from within his helm, giving onlookers an eerie feeling. He wielded a humongous great sword on his shoulder, with a bizarre rectangular shape.

(Author's note: His sword is like that of Cloud from FF and he looks like a cross between i.imgur.com/JKb5qpv.jpg, i.imgur.com/bKxf9xC.png and i.imgur.com/52zYVI6.jpg)

Suddenly, a blaring sound echoed around him and a screen popped up before him.

｢Sturgehaven Kingdom Regional Announcement

Player Draco has been awarded with the title 'Battle Maniac' by the King of Sturgehaven. All Sturgehaven players receive 100% EXP｣

｢Cario Continent International Announcement

Player Draco has been awarded with the title 'Battle Maniac' by the Cario Continental Council. All Cario Continent players receive 100% EXP｣

｢Boundless System-wide Announcement

Player Draco has been awarded with the title 'Battle Maniac' by the War Maniac Pavilion. All Boundless players receive 100% EXP｣

He suddenly stopped and stared at the notification without moving an inch. Whole minutes passed while he simply stared at the announcement, as if in a trance. As suddenly as he entered it, he snapped out of it and his green eyes glowed brightly.

"... Draco..." His voice was inhuman and metallic, grating on the ear.

He turned to the west, towards Sturgehaven Kingdom. After hesitating for a second, The Dark Knight decided to walk in that direction. All the while, a golden glow surrounded his body three times...

........

Draco himself was astounded. What kind of shitfest was this? He didn't want to be publicly recognized until he had a solid foundation against players. While Richmond gave him protection from NPCs, he still had his own kind to worry about, not just in the game but in the real world too.

Just when he was about to blink away and find somewhere to hole up for a bit, a golden glow surrounded him and burst out a dazzlingly light all around, gathering everyone's attention to him. His level rose crazily until it stopped at a whopping 52!!!

That was to say, he already reached the threshold for Rank 2 after just one foray into the dungeon. Draco was as baffled as those who were around him. The thing was, there were a myriad of factors going into it.

The AI only factored in equipment and weapon levels, player levels, enemy levels, rounds completed, team members who survived till the end, team members who entered in the instance and the amount of enemies and bosses killed.

The simple fact was that Draco had gone above and beyond what the AI assumed a single player could in that instance. After all, the skill required to reach just round 15 needed at least, 20 high level god-tier experts with perfect teamwork and the right weapons... all of which Draco did without and even surpassed.

As such, his rewards were multiplied exponentially until it reached where it was. Even the NPCs of the world were astounded, awarding him a Global title. Like the Lightbringer title, Draco had never heard of something like this in his past life.

Draco clenched his teeth and decided to blink again, but before he could, it was interrupted again by a blaring sound.

｢Sturgehaven Kingdom Regional Announcement

Congratulations to Player Draco for becoming the first player to reach level 10. Guilds and Cities are unlocked for level 10 players.｣

｢Cario Continent International Announcement

Congratulations to Player Draco for becoming the first player to reach level 10. Guilds and Cities are unlocked for level 10 players.｣

｢Boundless System-wide Announcement

Congratulations to Player Draco for becoming the first player to reach level 10. Guilds and Cities are unlocked for level 10 players.｣

This was less stunning to Draco, as he expected this. But for other players currently in Boundless, this was the equivalent of having a thunderbolt strike the top of your head. Most of their mental states resembled a stone that stood at the epicenter of a magnitude 9 earthquake.

Soon, various affluent individuals all made the same command to their subordinates, regardless of their current location in the world.

"Find that player called Draco and bring him back here by any means necessary!"

..............

Nakiu and Richmond were bickering when they suddenly saw a different announcement from what was displayed to players worldwide.

｢Congratulations to Mage God Richmond for having a herald achieve a world class honor! Mage God Richmond has been granted one pass into the Void Realm.｣

Richmond and Nakiu were more stunned than even the players. To players, Draco's achievements were tailored to him only and they couldn't do anything but feel envy and admiration. However, what was given to Richmond was drastically different.

The Void Realm was the nexus of Boundless. In other words, in order to access different segments of Boundless like the Wuxia section, the Superhero section, the Cyberpunk section among others, one needed to pass through such a place first. Various worlds have been created and promoted by the AI with the Western Fantasy being the most prominent and hegemonic.

However, to people who have reached the cap in one world, the only way to progress further would be to migrate onto another and start over, gathering the unique skills and abilities of that world for your own.

An example was Nakiu himself. He was a pinnacle tyrannical existence in the Xianxia world that travelled over to enhance himself. Even though he was vastly weaker than Richmond and the hidden powers, his cultivated skills from his previous world hadn't changed. That is to say, if Richmond could cast a fireball the size of a mountain in this part of the world, he could do same in another part, although with a slightly weaker effect.

Its effect for NPCs at Richmond's level was the same as receiving a divine treasure chest to players of Draco's level. Receiving a pass for doing absolutely nothing baffled Richmond and Nakiu for they knew the only reason he decided to protect that lad was his own whim. Who could've foreseen that such a windfall would occur?

Suddenly, Richmond burst into vigorous laughter. "Hahaha! I knew it was a good idea to protect that lad instead of antagonize him! Truly one reaps what they sow! Haha!"

Richmond was so pleased his eyes were forming crescents. This reward was something he had long sought after but had given up upon, hence his worldly seclusion. But upon involving himself with some random lad, he struck gold. It was almost too good to be true.

"Haha, Brother Richie, it's so good to see that your disciple is treating you well!"

Suddenly, Nakiu's voice cut into Richmond's happy time, making the latter frown warily. He viewed this fellow the same way anyone would see a spider, wary of its relaxedness and fearful of its sudden leap.

"What do you want?"

Nakiu smiled amiably and patted Richmond's back like they were best friends of old. "Since you're going elsewhere, why not let me take care of your disciple in the interim?"

Richmond felt an urge to punch this guy. Weren't you the same one who threatened to utterly destroy him just hours ago? Why the sudden change of heart?

Richmond's expression drastically changed when he made a certain realization. Of course! If the lad could bring Richmond such a boon this once, who says he can't do same or even greater later on? Nakiu was hoping to take Draco under his heraldry and have him grant benefits for no work done.

Richmond snorted unkindly and pointed to the exit of his glade. "Out with you! I need time to consider your proposal!"

"Haha, of course Brother Richie, I understand. Just let me know when you've made your decision. I can provide some things that would make it worth Brother Richmond's time!"

Nakiu heaped promises upon promises with every step he made, all of which Richmond duly ignored. What a joke! Any fool could see that Draco was a goldmine that would bring Richmond endless benefits. Why should he give him away?

Besides, he had spent countless centuries waiting for a chance to get a Void Pass, he could wait a few more. Only the heavens knew how much Draco could bring him in that time.

..........

Draco blinked into his cave hidden in the outskirts of the War of Attrition. With a sigh, he sat down and tried to parse everything that had happened through his mind. He shook his head and felt like he had really overdone it this time.

In his past life, soloing a dungeon of this level to such an extent was doable by most God-tier experts after years into Boundless. After all, they had all acclimated to the combat system and gotten familiar with monster's weakness and combat habits.

However he failed to account for how outstanding it would be for experts of this timeline. It had only been one day since Immortal Adventurers had dropped into this world, yet he had achieved such an amazing result that even the most powerful faction in the game had given him a title and recommendation letter to join them.

Sighing, Draco opened the descriptions for the rewards he received minus the epic treasure chests.

｢Battle Maniac - Special Rank

75% discount on all weapons and armor

25% discount on land and materials

Access to the Battle Stadium｣

｢War Maniac Recommendation Letter - Quest Item

Allows user to take the War Maniac Pavilion Test for the Unranked Warrior position｣

｢Flora and Fauna - Unique Quest

Description: There have been strange mutations in the environment around the Four Point Valley. Investigate and report to the Duke of Farst.

Rewards: Reputation, Gold, Epic Treasure chest｣

Draco sighed with mixed emotions. Even as a pinnacle existence in his past life, Epic treasure chests were relatively hard to come by. Yet here, he was receiving them as if they were droppings from a pigeon.

On that note, he checked his surroundings to make sure it was safe. Then he decided to get it out of the way and open the treasure chests before him.

A bright glow surrounded the cave, but didn't leak outside and light up the horizon like the Legendary Treasure Chest had done. This was why Draco could afford to open it in his hideout without much thought.

"Please be a weapon or armor. Those are what I need dearly right now!"

Suddenly, the light subsided and a screen popped up before Draco.

｢Congratulations on opening: Epic Treasure Chest x2

Reward:

Fire of War

Guinevere's Necklace｣

Draco titled his head at the items in his hand. One was a crimson ruby while the other was a necklace. He had rough idea of what the first one was, but not the second. He decided to check their item descriptions.

｢Fire of War - Fusion item

Rank: Epic

Effects:

Passive 1 - Forging Efficiency: The success rate of forging for all items is raised by 20% regardless of rank.

Active 1 - War Monger: Activating this skill allows the user to merge with the Fire of War, boosting damage by 100% for as long as there is stamina to burn. No cooldown.

Description: This is a flame that was birthed due to the presence of war, a legendary mystic flame born from the collective force of human consciousness. Ranked number 9 out of the Great Ten Mystic Flames.｣

｢Guinevere's Necklace - Ornamental Item

Rank: Epic

Effects:

Passive 1 - Regeneration: Possessing some of Guinevere's aura, this item increases health and stamina regeneration by 20%.

Active 1 - On Glory's Wings: Activating this skill allows the user to summon the Knights of the Round Table to fight for him for 1 hour (Knights have a Rank cap of Player Rank + 3). Cooldown: 7 days.

Description: This necklace was bestowed onto the Legendary Dragoness Guinevere by King Arthur, which she treasured greatly. It contains some of her aura.

Further abilities can be unlocked by sacrificing experience points. 0% of 30000% needed to upgrade to legendary rank｣