Ares had never seen god-tier equipment, nor did he know how many smelting stones it could yield.
But he figured no one would be foolish enough to smelt such valuable gear. Even selling it would fetch a hefty sum, and smelting stones weren't exactly rare. By breaking down low-level gear, one could accumulate them over time.
He gathered all the equipment and materials from the ground and stored them in his inventory. After smelting about a hundred pieces of gear, he gained roughly five hundred smelting stones.
Combined with what he already had, his total exceeded 600, occupying six inventory slots. With the various materials and ores, Ares' inventory was now filled up to 68 slots.
Compared to his 10,000-slot inventory, these 68 slots occupied just a tiny corner.
It was the first time Ares had collected materials, and he was quite intrigued, charging forward with his torch held high.
Under the torchlight, he discovered that the ghosts were semi-transparent. Upon inspection, their levels were generally around 35, with some leaders reaching 39.
Their attack power was at least double that of the outside creatures, and they seemed endless.
Ares was having a blast, cutting through them as he ventured deeper. By the time he reached the final boss, he had already upgraded his left arm, adding another 1000 points to his strength.
Now, his once-golden body had arms that matched the crystal-like texture of his sword, emitting a faint glow in the darkness.
Ares was quite pleased with this look. After all, running around all golden was a bit odd.
Now, he resembled white bones but looked much better than his initial skeletal form.
Ares decided to upgrade all his bones to crystal in the instance before heading out. He wondered if, after the crystal phase, he could grow flesh. Being human, it was strange to be running around as a skeleton.
Excited about the potential changes, Ares focused on the boss before him. It was a one-armed general clad in armor, gazing wistfully into the distance, waiting for something.
[Ancient Battlefield Human General: Titus]
The health bar didn't show numbers, just a big "100%" above the boss's head.
Ares swung his sword, slicing off five percent of the boss's health in one hit.
The aggro shifted to him, and the general's expression turned fierce. With his intact arm, he swung a massive sword at Ares.
Having learned from his encounter with the Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox, Ares, despite his increased defense, didn't want to take the hit head-on. Using his high agility, he dodged attack after attack, continuously swinging his sword.
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Ares had no skills, just the repetitive action of swinging his sword. Fortunately, with his immense attack power, it only took twenty strikes to kill the boss.
As his agility increased, so did his attack speed, reaching a terrifying level. The outside creatures were too weak for him to fully unleash his potential.
For the first time, Ares realized how long it took him to swing his sword twenty times—five seconds!
The boss barely managed a second swing before it howled in defeat, dissolving into black smoke and disappearing, leaving behind a pile of gear and materials.
The instance brightened slightly, and Ares rushed over to collect the loot, finding a level 40 S-grade piece of equipment—a shoulder guard.
A task prompt appeared on his panel.
[Collection Task: Gather the complete set of Human General Armor for a chance to synthesize SSS-grade equipment "Armor of Glory." Current Progress: 1/10]
[S-grade Shoulder Guard: Fragment of Armor of Glory, Wearable]
[Attribute: Attack Speed +40]
Ares equipped it immediately. His panel now showed an "Attack Speed" attribute, which was more than just 40 points.
He rummaged through the loot, finding only a red-named A-grade cloak among the rest, which were orange-named B-grade. The cloak added 20 points to his defense.
Compared to his stats, it was negligible, but Ares liked its tattered look, so he donned it, covering his gleaming bones. Only his skull remained partially exposed.
"I need a helmet to cover my face or boost my attributes..." Ares muttered, opening his panel.
[Name: Ares]
[Race: Human]
[Status: Skeleton]
[Identity: NPC]
[Faction Hunt: Human Players: 100]
[Reputation: Human Faction -1000, Undead Faction +1000, Demon Faction +0, Divine Faction +0, Dragon (Black Dragon) Faction -100000000]
[Note: Killing a player from a faction decreases reputation by 10. Helping a faction's players with various tasks can earn reputation points. The lower the reputation, the higher the hostility from that faction, reducing the chance of gaining experience and loot. Conversely, higher reputation increases loot chances.]
Attributes:
[Level: 7]
[Attack: 3221]
[Strength: 6442]
[Defense: 2221+20]
[Agility: 5442]
[Magic: 2221]
[Attack Speed: 151+40]
[Movement Speed: 452]
[Intelligence: 10]
[Health: ∞]
[Inventory: Available Space 68/10000]
Body Evolution:
[Crystal Bone Sword: Tier 8, 10,000,000 evolution points needed for next tier]
[Crystal Bone Right Arm: Tier 8, 10,000,000 evolution points needed for next tier]
[Crystal Bone Left Arm: Tier 8, 10,000,000 evolution points needed for next tier]
[Golden Bone Right Leg: Tier 7, 1,000,000 evolution points needed for next tier]
[Golden Bone Left Leg: Tier 7, 1,000,000 evolution points needed for next tier]
[Golden Bone Skull: Tier 7, 1,000,000 evolution points needed for next tier]
[Golden Bone Spine: Tier 7, 1,000,000 evolution points needed for next tier]
Traits:
[Talent 1: Infinite Evolution (UR Grade)]
[Infinite Evolution: Leveling efficiency decreased by 99.99%, but defeating enemies grants evolution points to enhance personal strength.]
[Talent 2: Invincible (GR Grade)]
[Invincible: Personal strength receives a boost equal to 2 raised to the power of the level.]
...
"Evolution points are so easy to farm in instances," Ares marveled.
Just then, a loudspeaker icon appeared on his panel.
[Server Announcement: [Nether Swamp] instance clear record refreshed, latest clear time: 00"24"47", cleared by: Human Ares!]
The announcement repeated three times, then remained pinned at the top of the panel with a countdown display. It would be showcased for twenty-four hours!
Ares was stunned. He had set a new record for the instance? And then what? Wasn't there supposed to be some kind of reward for breaking a record?
But the panel remained silent, offering nothing.
After waiting a bit and seeing no further developments, Ares shrugged it off and chose to exit the instance.
Outside, he found the current instance difficulty selection and chose "Hell Mode."
The scene shifted. Ares noticed something different. The light wasn't as dim, but the fog was thicker. Gray mist swirled around, engulfing Ares completely.