Chapter 1065

〈 Chapter 1065 〉 1065. Spirit’s Atlantis

“15,000 Life Points have been collected.”

As a result of staying in the blood-soaked place for an hour, I managed to gather 15,000 Life Points. Quite a number of monsters were drawn by the smell of human blood.

“Reward for completion: 30,000 AP acquired.”

‘Hmm, 30,000 AP isn’t bad at all.’

It’s disappointing that my stats didn’t increase, but there’s plenty you can do with 30,000 AP.

‘Time has passed, huh? The number of monsters lured by the scent of blood has noticeably decreased.’

I guess all the nearby ones have come and been defeated. There’s no more merit to be found here. After looking around, I moved south. No particular reason. Just following my instincts.

‘I’ve got high Luck stat, so things should work out fine.’

This area only has vague info in the setting book, so I don’t know much about it. However, I’m confident I can hold my ground against any monster that appears. I am strong now.

I heard the sound of water. I quickened my pace.

There was a wide and blue lake. It wasn’t an ordinary lake. Palms were sticking out here and there from the water.

‘Palms and a lake… somehow it feels both mismatched yet strangely fitting.’

I raised my sword.

All creatures emerging from this place share one characteristic: they are composite monsters made from two or more types fused together. Animal and animal, plant and plant, or animal and plant hybrids. That palm tree in the lake might also be some kind of monster.

‘The method to confirm is simple.’

Just check. Any creature would naturally not want to die easily.

I imbued my sword with a blue blade energy and swung it toward the distant palm tree. The blade energy flew and collided with the palm. The tree swayed violently, showing scratches on its surface.

‘A mere scratch from blade energy?’

Indeed, it’s not an ordinary palm tree.

The palm started moving toward me. The previously calm lake began to churn violently. It seems it’s angry at being attacked.

Beneath the palm was a giant blue crab. About 1.5 times larger than me, the crab jumped forward, swinging its claws at me.

A straightforward attack. Not hard to dodge. I stepped back and swung my sword.

Clang!

The sword with blade energy was deflected. There was merely a small wound on the creature’s body. Its shell is incredibly tough.

Rumble.

I summoned a bolt of lightning. The palm-crab momentarily froze after taking a direct hit. Around two seconds. Then it charged at me even more aggressively. The lightning only managed to char part of the palm.

“Astrape.”

Zzzt.

Red lightning gathered onto the tip of my sword, forming a terrifyingly glowing blade composed solely of lightning.

‘In this world, when you use skills, their power increases accordingly.’

To put it bluntly, it’s a buff.

I leaped onto the crab’s back. Due to its physical structure, its pincers can’t reach its back. The crab shook its body violently, trying to throw me off. I skillfully maintained my balance and plunged my sword into its back.

Though difficult, the blade eventually pierced through the crab’s tough shell and entered its body. Red lightning coursed through the crab’s insides. Soon after, the crab’s body went limp, and a burnt smell wafted through the air.

“700 Life Points obtained.”

700 Life Points!

More than any monster I’ve faced so far…


Body received more life points than expected.

I glanced around the lake with a smirk. Just the visible palm trees numbered 15. Here, getting 10,000 life points would be a breeze.

“So this is a goldmine. Hehe.”

•••

I wandered around, mercilessly slaying every monster in sight. Some were quite pesky, but most fell to their knees and died before my superior stats. Whenever I felt lacking, I switched my status window to celestial horse mode to deal with them.

While walking through the forest, I stopped and glared at something under a tree. There was a purple mushroom with insect legs. Pointing at the toxic mushroom bug with my index finger, a bolt of blue lightning shot out.

“Received 50 life points.”

“Collected 37,000 life points.”

“Obtained Ultimate Healing Potion.”

“Another disappointment.”

Shaking my head upon seeing the healing potion, I thought it was an expensive item but easily purchasable if you had money.

The potion was immediately consumed on the spot.

At this level, it not only restored vitality but also stamina and mana.

“Complete restoration is a trump card. Best to conserve it.”

Four hours later, I’d gathered 37,000 life points. The goal was 50,000 within the remaining two hours.

“I have plenty of time.”

Instead of small fry like the toxic mushroom bugs, I needed to target bigger monsters. That’s how I’d gather life points efficiently.

After walking for a while…

Suddenly, a putrid smell hit me. The stench of decaying corpses. Familiar yet repulsive, I furrowed my brows.

I headed toward the source of the smell. All the monsters here were unique. Perhaps there was a rotting-smelling one nearby.

My prediction proved correct. The foul odor came from a monster.

“It’s a raggedy one.”

Ragged zombie.

A zombie stitched together from multiple corpses. Among zombies, it’s especially tough to handle. Moreover, its variations are unpredictable—explosions, toxic gas emissions, etc.

“This guy’s enormous.”

Even among the ragged zombies I’ve encountered, this one ranks as one of the largest. Standing at about 10 meters tall. And unlike typical ragged zombies made of human corpses, this one was different. Various animals and plants combined to form a single organism.

“At first glance, it looks like a pile of corpses… but upon closer inspection, it’s squirming.”

Staring at the ragged zombie, I pondered whether I could take it down.

“A few slashes won’t cut it. Need firepower.”

Not just any firepower would do.

“Hold on. This is the Forest of Life? Should undead even exist here?”

Revisiting the lore.

Sector 4,344: Ragged Experiment Lab

It might sound like a place that creates ragged zombies.

But the true purpose of this lab isn’t stitching corpses together; it’s synthesizing living organisms. Strange creatures are born here, sometimes producing rare materials. The lab sells these rare materials while purchasing animals and plants from hunters and herbalists.

And challengers are here to test the strength of these synthetic beings.

“The master of this place, known as the False God, is King Ragged. Its true name is Chimera. Chimera is a living being and detests undead.”

So, the ragged zombie before me might not be undead but rather a living creature.

“If it’s alive, will my lightning work?”

If not, I can always run.

Having considered all possibilities, I unleashed a bolt of lightning at the ragged mass.

KRAAAKK! BOOM!

It wasn’t just one bolt. Lightning continued to strike repeatedly.

The ragged mass twitched. I clicked my tongue. Even after unleashing 15 consecutive bolts, the effect was minimal. Its body didn’t even catch fire.

“GROOOAAAAH…!”

A human face popped out from the chest of the ragged mass, emitting an eerie sound. Red tendrils pierced through its skin, each tipped with eyeballs. Over 10 such tentacles stared at me.

The sight was utterly revolting. Fighting back the rising nausea, I tried to deduce its identity.

“What is th-


“tentacle-shaped… It looks just like a whip.”

I think I understand why the ragged thing’s body is wriggling.

The tattered thing is merely a host. The real deal is the parasite living inside it. Since parasites are also creatures, it’s not strange for it to be in this forest.

The tattered golem moves. When its massive body over 10M tall moved, the ground shook.

“What is that parasite synthesized with?”

It was a flying insect. On the back of the tentacle-like parasite were mosquito wings attached.

The eyeball-equipped parasite flies toward me. Upon closer inspection, sharp thorn-like teeth protruded from the parasite’s body.

“Status window change.”

“The status window will be changed.”

I switch to the Celestial Demon status window. My body is overflowing with power. Just considering physical abilities, the Celestial Demon state is definitely better.

Celestial Demon Technique: Black Flame Demon Dragon.

I threw the black flame that appeared in my hand toward the tattered thing. The black flame clung to the tattered thing’s skin and began to burn.

“Gwoooaaaaaah!”

“Keeeeeeeeeek!”

“Kiiiiiiiiiiik!”

Not only the tattered thing but something else screamed. It wasn’t the parasite. There’s another creature inside the tattered body.

Bugs pour out of the tattered body. There must be over 10,000 at least. Their destination is me. I surround my whole body with black flames. Though the black flames are hot, they’re bearable.

“Damn it. Killing bugs doesn’t give any points.”

While grumbling internally, I guide the tattered thing toward the lake. Time is short. Maintaining the black flames consumes too much mana.

“The lake!”

I ran across the surface of the lake. The tattered thing fearlessly chased after me. As the tattered thing’s body approaches the center of the lake, it begins to sink below the water.

The black flames didn’t easily disappear even when they touched the water. Part of the lake bubbled violently. The black flames disappeared when the tattered thing was completely submerged.

Looking beneath the water surface, I opened my mouth in awe.

Fish with frog legs were tearing apart the tattered thing and the bugs. It was an impressive sight.

“You have obtained 17,487 Life Points.”

“You now have accumulated 54,487 Life Points.”

Finally, I surpassed the goal of 50,000 points. The tattered thing gave as many points as its repulsive appearance suggested.

Three rewards appeared one after another.

“Strength increases by 1.”

“Obtained 40,000 AP.”

“Obtained Combat Recovery (A) skill.”

“Combat Recovery.

Recovers a small amount of health, stamina, and mana during combat.

Type: Skill

Rank: A”

This was the skill I obtained upon reaching 50,000 Life Points. A satisfied smile formed on the corner of my lips. I came here to get this.

“Combat Recovery. Literally, it boosts recovery during combat. Fortunately, I obtained the skill in the Celestial Demon status window as intended.”

Combat endurance increases.

With Rank A, it allows you to maintain combat for over 30 minutes even in an exhausted state.

“I’ve achieved my goal, but there’s about an hour left. Should I hunt more? If I reach 55,000 points, there might be additional rewards.”

I sent a blade of energy into the lake, killing the fish.

“You have obtained 1 Life Point.”

I shook my head. Even if I kill 100, I barely get 100 points.

“The efficiency is terrible. It’d be better to find and kill other monsters in the forest.”

I stepped out of the lake. While wandering through the forest looking for monsters, I unexpectedly found a corpse. It was the body of one of the four challengers who had fled from me.

It was cut cleanly by something sharp.

“It looks like a sword wound?”

The body was clean, without any signs of being torn apart. The monsters here kill each other to eat. It doesn’t make sense for them to leave a dead body intact after killing a living thing.

“They must have fought among themselves.”

As I passed the corpse, I sensed movement. I glared at under a large tree. Someone was hidden in an unnaturally dark shadow.

“Come out. I know you’re there.”

I brandished my Flower Lotus Blade and released killing intent. Someone walked out from the darkness. I was surprised and opened my mouth.

“You have good senses.”

A beautiful woman with long pink hair and a pink cheongsam, Li Mei.