Chapter 274: The Temple Of Terra

FWOOOOOSH!

FWOOOOOSH!

[Ding! You have slain a King Tier Mantis.]

[Ding! You have received experience points!]

[Ding! You have leveled up!]

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Several system prompts flashed across Nox's retina. All around him, there were hundreds of slain beasts. Not only that, but he even received half of the shared experience points from each kill that Thirteen and Astralus made.

Right now, he was currently Level 18!

When he saw the amount of experience points needed to reach the next level, Nox wasn't bothered at all. The reason? This was just the first wave.

If he had avoided all the monsters, perhaps he could have arrived at the source of the monsters. But he had stopped a couple of times to deal with the monsters along the way. By doing this, not only was he accumulating experience points, but he was also indirectly helping the other towns in the western region.

'Usually... if it's according to the countless novels, I should get a special reward or class upgrade quest at Level 20,' Nox thought with a serious expression on his face, picking up a monster core.

There were about a thousand-plus monster cores in his Inventory, and they should be enough to upgrade all his pets by a rank. Nox felt conflicted. He didn't know if he should be angry or happy. This monster horde had probably killed hundreds, if not thousands, and yet he had greatly benefited from it as well. S~eaʀᴄh the NôvelFire.nёt website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

'I wonder how long it would have taken me to reach Level 18 and accumulate so many monster cores.'

In his thoughts, the second beast wave arrived! A slightly crazy grin spread across his face. There was a mixture of hulking beasts and giant flying insects among this wave, and most of them were even in the King Tier.

ROOOAR! ROOOAR!

The deafening roars of the beasts echoed throughout the air, a ravenous gleam shining in their eyes.

Rumble! Rumble!

The ground trembled as the tide of monsters approached. Their speed was noticeably faster, and saliva was dripping from their maws as if they couldn't wait to devour the human.

A sneer crossed Nox's face as he held out his hands, and...

BOOOOM!

A terrifying explosion occurred in the midst of the beast horde, obliterating countless monsters at once. In its wake, a dark flashbang erupted, resembling the aftermath of a nuclear explosion.

[Ding!..]

[Ding!...]

[Ding!..]

[Ding!...]

[Ding!..]

[Ding!...]

Because of the flood of notifications, Nox had no choice but to temporarily put the system offline. Though it was offline, it didn't affect his usage of skills in any way.

Nox spent the next couple of minutes retrieving all the beast cores before proceeding forward once more.

Far behind, Bridget trailed with a lazy yawn, wiping a tear from the corner of her eye. Because Nox had slowed down to deal with the beasts, Eve had finally caught up to him.

"This is starting to get boring quickly." she nutterred in a disappointed tone.

At first, it had been exciting watching Nox cut through the ranks of monsters because he had displayed a lot of flashy skills at the beginning, as if enjoying himself. However, after some time, he started using brute force, just annihilating the beasts in his path as if he wanted to get rid of them and reach his destination... wherever that was.

"I guess... it's high time I approach him," she thought and disappeared into the distance.

At the same time, when she disappeared, Zarek materialized in her previous spot.

"It will be difficult for me to carry out the mission with this annoying lady here," he whispered to no one in particular as he narrowed his eyes, staring at the backs of the two dispersing figures.

"I need to find a way to split them up." He stroked his chin with a pondering expression. "But how?"

"If I were to do anything, that woman wouldn't stand back and watch... she'd most likely attack me." Zarek's mind raced. "It seems she's using an item to restrict others from seeing her actual level."

"But I learned from the patriarch that she's one of the strongest experts in the capital, so killing her off is out of the picture."

"This brings me back to splitting them up." At that moment, Zarek's eyes widened when he noticed Bridget closing the distance between her and Nox. "It seems I'm already too late."

...

As he sped through the wildlands, Nox soon felt a presence behind him. Though the other person was trying their best to conceal their aura, because of the experience he had amassed during his travels, it was quite easy to detect this person.

"If I were you, I'd turn back," Nox warned in a cold, dark tone, not even bothering to glance at the person following closely behind him.

"If I don't, what would you do?" the voice teased with a low, pleasant chuckle that sounded like the purr of a predator toying with its prey. "Will you unleash one of your flashy explosions, boy?"

Nox noticed that there was no malice from this person, but that didn't mean he lowered his guard even for a second.

"Then don't blame me if your head gets blown off," he stated coolly.

"Is that a threat?" The woman's pleasant voice turned dark.

Without even answering, he pointed his fingertips backward, a dark, ominous shadow gathering and pulsing with life.

"It's a fact."

"Tsk, I've seen this before... would I be a fool to stand idly?" Bridget sneered as she stepped back just in time for the dark blast to fly past her. As the blast streaked by, time seemed to slow, her hair standing on end. For a fleeting moment, she truly believed she would lose her life.

Fortunately for her, thanks to her quick reflexes, she dodged the lethal attack.

Behind her, a huge explosion occurred. Bridget was slightly shocked as she glanced at the point of impact. What greeted her view was a devastating sight: several deep craters marred the ground, resembling a landscape shattered by falling meteors.

"This kid... he really could've killed me just now..." Bridget felt conflicted, and the smile on her face only grew more and more. The urge to poach this boy became stronger than ever.

Of course, Nox could tell the woman was still alive and still following him. He didn't really expect his attack to kill her in the first place.

Many might think Shadow Oblivion didn't have any downsides except for the absurd mana consumption for each attack, but Nox knew this wasn't the case.

If one possessed fast reflexes, they could avoid the attack.

But right now, this was the least of his worries. What he was most concerned about was...

"This... the trees, the overgrowth... isn't this the Luminary Forest?" A deep frown appeared on Nox's face. The more he followed the trail of the beasts, the more he realized how right he was.

And soon, he arrived right outside the cavern.