First Floor of the Celestial Tower (Easy)
Mission: The Ascension
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▶ SOLO MODE (10,000 × 1)
1. Kill 100 creatures — Grade F
2. Kill 1,000 creatures — Grade E
3. Kill 3,000 creatures — Grade D
4. Kill 5,000 creatures — Grade C
5. Kill 8,000 creatures — Grade B
6. Kill 9,999 creatures — Grade A
7. Kill 10,000 creatures — Grade S
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▶ GROUP MODE
Group Members: 6 (10,000 × 6)
1. Kill 600 creatures — Grade F
2. Kill 6,000 creatures — Grade E
3. Kill 18,000 creatures — Grade D
4. Kill 30,000 creatures — Grade C
5. Kill 48,000 creatures — Grade B
6. Kill 59,999 creatures — Grade A
7. Kill 60,000 creatures — Grade S
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The notification appeared on each person's panel. After reading it, everyone's mouths fell open in shock.
What the hell is this? they thought.
Just in easy mode, each person had to kill at least 10,000 creatures.
The minimum to pass the test was 100.
If easy mode was like this…
Then what about the others?
Looking at the forest, the bushes moved. Thousands of pairs of eyes shone with the reflection of the sun, turning what was once a beautiful scene into a terrifying one. Even worse: they didn't leave the forest, as if waiting for you inside.
They knew you would have to enter, whether you wanted to or not.
Imagine… thousands of blinking eyes.
Danilo and his group looked at that scene. The children were frightened.
Thousands of eyes blinking between the trees is something no one forgets.
"Stay here. Since you don't have weapons, I'll go ahead and then call you," Danilo said as he walked into the forest.
The ring on his hand transformed into a three-meter halberd.
Seeing that, Pancho was stunned. Wasn't the old man's ring supposed to be a bow? Why the hell did it turn into a halberd now?
Although the weapon's appearance was plain, not refined, when the old man held it, it still gave off an imposing and cool aura.
Danilo entered the forest.
He found a scene that could almost appear in a Disney movie…
if not for the fact that the rabbits were ugly, with gray fur, sharp teeth, red eyes, and the size of an adult dog.
Their presence completely ruined the beautiful scenery.
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Bloody Rabbit
Common — Level 1
Power: 40
Mana: 30
Strength: 4
Physique: 6
Agility: 23
Intelligence: 2
Spirit: 3
Talents:
• Bloody Bite — F
• Super Speed — C
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Danilo noticed that while he approached the forest, the rabbits simply did their rabbit things. Some entered burrows, some ate, some played. Despite their appearance, they were even kind of cute. Only their red eyes occasionally reflected sunlight.
But when he stepped inside the forest…
Everything stopped.
All the rabbits stared at him at the same time.
He froze. It was strange. Something unsettling rose inside him.
He took a few steps back, leaving the boundary of the forest.
The rabbits looked at him for a second…
Then returned to doing their rabbit things.
He realized it must be some kind of safe zone. After all… seriously, facing these rabbits — 10,000 creatures each — was extremely difficult. Especially now, at the beginning of the Celestial Path.
He crossed the boundary again, and the rabbits all stared at him.
There were thousands. The area was huge. They were everywhere. Many. Many. You could only notice them because of the reflecting eyes in the distance.
He took two more steps. The closest ones showed their fangs but didn't attack, as if threatening him, deciding whether to advance or attack. But as soon as he continued walking, several of them charged at Danilo with a speed that would be extremely terrifying for normal people.
But for Danilo, with attributes multiplied by ten and complete mastery of martial arts, the scene moved in slow motion.
The halberd in his hand transformed into a katana, because he thought the halberd would be inconvenient at that moment. He gripped it with both hands, and his solo show began.
The blade split open the skull of the one in front.
He swung to the left and sliced another one in half from the belly up.
One got too close and tried to bite him — he struck it in the eye with the hilt, grabbed its neck, and threw it toward the approaching ones, knocking them down.
With his absurd speed, every swing reaped another life.
While fighting, he felt like something was missing — something important he had forgotten. Then he remembered: he had the ability to specify drops. He activated the Monarch's Heart and was surprised that it was an active skill, not a passive one.
Above each rabbit, colors appeared — gray and white.
Three rabbits charged. He decided to test it and selected the dominant gray.
Before the front rabbit could leap, he stepped forward and cut off its legs.
It slid across the ground. Then he decapitated the other two.
Three items appeared: a rusty knife, and two un-rusted parts.
He dodged slightly to the left, and a rabbit passed behind him.
With a vertical slash, he split it in two. This time he selected white — and a brand-new item appeared.
So gray was worse than white. Now he knew what to do.
For more than three minutes, he continued the slaughter.
A panel appeared with the names of all group members:
Danilo Afonso — 220
Pacho Afonso — 0
Keala Afonso — 0
Leiliana Vermilion — 0
Mikaela Morningstar — 0
Leila Chronos — 0
Outside the forest, the other five watched the artistic carnage with mixed emotions.
Leila, Leiliana, and Michaela looked on with expectation.
Although the rabbits were weak, Danilo's relentless slaughter looked like a form of art. Coming from the world of Azaroth, this kind of scene was normal for them.
For Pancho and Keala, it was different. Growing up in a protected society, in a city, even though they were from Angola — a third-world country — they were still shielded from the cruelty of nature and the law of the jungle.
Despite the rabbits being hideous and their deaths necessary for their evolution, the scene was still nauseating for them.
Beside Danilo were piles of corpses, some still trembling before their last breath.
Keala wanted to vomit. Pancho was pale.
He had always dreamed of being like the protagonists of the novels and movies he read. Now he had the chance, and could become stronger than many of his heroes. But seeing the scene in front of his father… he believed that if it continued, he himself might eventually become a little puddle of blood.
And he discovered that creatures here don't disappear in small lights, nor give experience when they die. The corpse stays right there.
He remembered the phrase: the path to the top is filled with corpses.
He felt he was witnessing that at this very moment.
This would also be his path.
This is a new world.
A new era has begun, and if he wants to stand at the forefront, he must dirty his hands.
He slapped his own face with both hands to wake himself up.
Danilo's slaughter continued, but this time he always used the Monarch's Heart on every creature he killed. Items piled up — even pill bottles and medicinal liquids.
After more than thirteen minutes, the rabbits began to run away instead of approaching. The pile of corpses and the aura Danilo emitted had a repelling effect, and they fled.
Danilo Afonso — 1,070
On the status panel, a tab was blinking, waiting to be opened.
He clicked it.
1. Kill 600 creatures — F (Passed)