Chapter 31: Duel at the Central Gate

Ecstatic, it truly was a first kill!

"You guys too..." Zhang Ruolin looked at me and Xiaobai with excitement.

"Yeah!" I nodded. "First kill, 3 achievement points, it’s the same for everyone, right?"

"Same!"

"Splendid!"

I smiled slightly and retrieved a fist-sized energy crystal from my interdimensional storage space. This was a boss-tier energy crystal, and the probability of obtaining top-tier items from it was far higher than from ordinary energy crystal treasure chests!

With a flicker of thought, I activated the chest!

"Sizzle~~~"

Amidst a soft sound, the boss energy crystal in my palm hummed and trembled, showing continuous signs of cracking before rapidly bursting apart completely. Suddenly, a brilliant pattern appeared before my eyes.

[Congratulations, your "Boss Energy Crystal" has been successfully opened. Obtained item: "Ring of the Swarm's Will" (Quality: Blue)!]

"Hum~~~"

My mind went blank for a second. A blue ring? One had to know that blue equipment was essentially top-tier gear for version 1.0, and rings were rare equipment with extremely low drop rates. I never expected the Hard-Shelled Beetle’s energy crystal to yield such an item!

In my palm, a deep blue ring shimmered with a faint light. As I focused on it, its attributes drifted into view—

[Ring of the Swarm's Will] (Quality: Blue)
Tier: First Tier
Strength: +20
Specialty: Attack Damage +5%
Blessing: Critical Hit +2%
Blessing: Life Steal +2%
Strength Requirement: 120
……

"Holy..."

Looking at the attributes of this blue ring, my heart began to pound rapidly. I was uncontrollably excited; at this stage, this thing was absolutely an "artifact" for players.

Four attribute lines, not to mention the +20 Strength, it also added 5% damage. This was a general, comprehensive damage increase, meaning even the damage from my firearms and grenades would be boosted by 5%. It seemed like a simple stat, but the returns were exceptionally high.

Furthermore, the ring equipment slot carried two special blessings: one for critical hits and one for life steal. In "Star Abyss," the values for critical hits and life steal on blue equipment fluctuated between 1% and 2%, meaning both stats on the Ring of the Swarm's Will were maxed out—it couldn't get any better!

The only drawback was the high usage requirement; it actually required 120 Strength, which an average player might not be able to meet. Fortunately, my Power Furnace was of a high grade, and my skill levels were high, so equipping this top-tier ring was more than enough!

"Click!"

With a soft sound, the treasure was equipped.

At this moment, my experience points were enough to reach level 20, so I leveled up immediately. Checking my Power Furnace level, it had also reached level 18. Coupled with the Ring of the Swarm's Will, my character panel attributes and overall combat power surged significantly!

[Shadow Chaser] (Starry Sky Super Weapon · Sword Mastery · First Tier)
Level: 20
Attack: 110-238
Defense: 80
Health: 7900
Critical Hit: 3%
Life Steal: 2%
Damage Increase: 5%
Charisma: 0
Power: 100/100

Overall Combat Power: 554
Potential Point Allocation: Strength 203 / Agility 96 / Spirit 68.2 / Constitution 54
Achievements: 6

My combat power instantly soared to 554 points, which was absolutely second to none at the moment. The reason for such a large increase was likely due to the 2% critical hit and life steal, along with the 5% damage increase from the blue ring. These core stats provided a massive boost to overall combat power!

Just then, a "ding" sounded in my ear.

[Congratulations, you have triggered the mission "Proof of Courage" (Second-Tier Breakthrough Mission)! Mission content: Enter the breakthrough mission map and complete the NPC's instructions. Mission reward: Professional advancement to Second Tier!]

Finally, I could break through!

In "Star Abyss," the hierarchy of levels is strict. Players between levels 1-19 are considered First Tier; First Tier players can only equip First Tier gear and learn First Tier skills. To obtain stronger equipment and skills, one must advance their professional tier.

Levels 20-29 are Second Tier, 30-39 are Third Tier, and so on. As long as a player is diligent, the game system won't let you stay idle.

But that wasn't urgent. I decided to return to Creek City for a brief rest and resupply before considering starting the breakthrough mission.

I turned around and looked at Ruolin and Xiaobai. "What did you two get from your boss energy crystals? They shouldn't be bad, right?"

"Not bad," Xiaobai smiled. "I opened a pair of blue arm guards. The stats are pretty good."

Ruolin said, "My luck was average; I got a green sniper rifle. But it's not bad either; I didn't have a sniper rifle, so this fills the gap. When leveling up, I can fire seven or eight long-range shots before switching to a submachine gun for higher efficiency."

"Yeah." I nodded. "Looks like everyone had a good harvest."

"Ding Han," Xiaobai looked up at me. "What did you open?"

"Me? Well..."

I was just about to show off the blue ring when, suddenly, there was a faint "pop." A bullet drilled into Xiaobai’s chest, followed by a spray of blood erupting from his back!

"344!"

Amidst the loud noise, Xiaobai's health bar instantly dropped by nearly half, and he stumbled backward. Then, the opponent's second shot rang out!

"Take cover!"

The moment the gunshot sounded, I slammed Xiaobai to the ground, rolled backward over the hill, and pulled Ruolin down with me behind a protruding rock. In that split second, I had already pinpointed the enemy's location.

"Damn it!"

After letting go of Xiaobai, I quickly switched my primary weapon to the Wind Whisperer. I rolled into a new position and set up the gun. Through the scope, I easily found the enemy hiding in the woods about 500 meters away!

Magnified by the scope, I could even see the person's health bar and ID!

[Zuan Liberal Arts Top Scholar] (Psionicist · First Tier)
Level: 18
……

"It's people from Twilight of the Gods," I said with a calm gaze.

Xiaobai looked nervous, having just injected himself with a hemostatic agent, his face slightly pale. "Is Twilight of the Gods really going to make a move on us?"

"They already have." I frowned and opened the system, injecting 1% of my experience points, and smiled. "Friends from Twilight of the Gods, why go to such lengths? We are all players, helpless in this Star Abyss world. If we don't stand united, are we just waiting for the indigenous people to wipe us out one by one?"

Sure enough, several more stars lit up on the star chart. Two were from Ruolin and Xiaobai, and five others were from Twilight of the Gods. Besides Zuan Liberal Arts Top Scholar, there was an acquaintance—the shadow assassin who had tracked me and Ruolin in the alley of Creek City last time, named God of Mid-Lane!

"Boss Shadow Chaser, we didn't want to do this either..." Zuan Liberal Arts Top Scholar laughed. "But who told you to finish off a level 20 blue boss? To be honest, our Twilight of the Gods group has been eyeing this Hard-Shelled Beetle for days. We just finished gathering ammo and came to reap the rewards today, never expecting you guys to beat us to it."

"Shadow Chaser!" God of Mid-Lane laughed. "We're just here for the gear. Like you said, we're all players. Maybe in the real world, we could have been brothers. So, we're only after the loot, not your lives. If you, Ruolin, and Xiaobai leave behind the items from the boss energy crystal and the boss's corpse, we'll pretend nothing happened. How about that?"

"Is this open robbery?" Ruolin asked indignantly.

"We can't call it robbery; we're just taking back what belongs to us," Zuan Liberal Arts Top Scholar chuckled. "Boss Shadow Chaser, there are only three of you. Although you are high level, already 20, I'm sure you leveled up in the wilderness. There is absolutely no way you could have advanced to a Second Tier player in such a short time, so you’re no different from First Tier. We have five people here. A smart person knows how to choose, right?"

"Understood." I smiled slightly. "You Twilight of the Gods are planning to use your numbers to bully us, right?"

"Exactly!" Another player chimed in. "We're just throwing our weight around, so what? Don't waste experience points on the star chart chatting. If you don't leave the gear, you're dead. We'll kill all three of you, and the gear will drop anyway."

"Fine." I nodded. "Since we can't talk it out, let's fight."

"Bring it on! You think we're scared?!"

Two of the opponents exited the star chart one after another.

I also quickly exited the star chart. In the split second I disconnected from the chat, I pulled the bolt, aimed at the head of Zuan Liberal Arts Top Scholar as he exposed himself, and fired a fierce shot!

"Pow!"

"448!"

A large damage number flew up in the scope. Before Zuan Liberal Arts Top Scholar could lift his head, I fired three consecutive shots, all headshots!

"443!"
"409!"
"428!"

Four shots in a row, all hits. I quickly rolled, hugged the Wind Whisperer, and changed my shooting position. When I aimed with the scope again, I saw a bandage icon above Zuan Liberal Arts Top Scholar’s head—the sign of a minor injury!

Once a player is injured, their health is locked. For instance, if Zuan Liberal Arts Top Scholar's health dropped below 30%, using bandages or hemostatic agents wouldn't raise his health above 30%. He would need treatment, or high-level medical items like first aid kits, medical boxes, or even medical nanobots.

Furthermore, in an injured state, a player's overall attributes plummet, and their skills are significantly weakened. Zuan Liberal Arts Top Scholar was no longer a threat!

Next!

I aimed quickly. "Bang!" A gunshot rang out, and God of Mid-Lane’s head bloomed with blood, losing over 400 HP. He was terrified and leaped, his body entering a dark, sand-like shadow. He was trying to use the Shadow Veil skill to hide!

"Bang! Bang! Bang..."

I didn't hesitate for a second, firing three shots at the front, middle, and back of where God of Mid-Lane was moving. Level 10 Basic Shooting—ignoring recoil, it was just that overbearing!

A streak of blood sprayed, and God of Mid-Lane stumbled out of the shadows, blood gushing from his abdomen, his face pale.

After three more shots, a minor injury warning icon appeared above his head as well.

Another one down!

"Holy crap..." Xiaobai was dumbfounded. "Ding Han, how is your basic marksmanship so good? At that distance, every shot is a headshot... What level are your skills?"

"Not high, it's all talent!" I said, lying through my teeth while aiming.

At this point, the remaining players on the other side started to retaliate. But their basic shooting skills were mostly between levels 3 and 4, so their sniper accuracy at 500 meters was extremely low, barely reaching 20%.

For a moment, the surrounding rocks and mud were riddled with bullet impacts, kicking up clouds of dust.

...

In the star chart, Zuan Liberal Arts Top Scholar’s voice came through.

"Boss Shadow Chaser, forget it, forget it. We admit defeat..."