On the altar, Lin Bei glanced back at the hurriedly departing army of Survivors, narrowed his eyes, and sent out his Spirit. In a heartbeat he knew what they were planning.
They were right—he, Lin Bei, was nothing short of a bug-level existence inside this King-Level Dungeon World!
No one could change that!
In fact, he was hoping they'd contact the backers behind them and send even more experts to give him trouble.
After all, the stats he could plunder by killing Survivors were a hundred times higher than those from slaying BOSSes!
If the chance presented itself, he could raise his Combat Power to a terrifying level in a very short time!
So he didn't lift a finger to stop those Survivors from leaving.
"These people actually think my Combat Power is only around forty billion?"
"That's way too dismissive of me."
Lin Bei muttered, "Still, it works in my favor—they've underestimated my strength."
"Don't let me down, guys; whether I can sky-rocket my Combat Power in the coming days depends on you!"
Lin Bei withdrew his gaze and continued setting up the altar.
Moments later he summoned another World BOSS.
[World BOSS: Wayward Wind · Ruthless]
[Combat Power: 10.8 billion (Epic Three-Star)]
"Not bad—though weaker than the previous Thunder King, it's still Epic Three-Star. Looks like another world origin fragment is mine!"
In high Spirits Lin Bei made short work of the BOSS, gaining a world origin fragment and a mountain of resources.
His Combat Power jumped again.
[Vitality: 308.9 billion (↑44 billion) (Epic Four-Star)]
[Spirit: 146.7 billion (↑42.4 billion) (Epic Four-Star)]
[Combat Power: 227.8 billion (↑43.2 billion) (Epic Four-Star)]
"Ahh—feels great!"
Stretching, Lin Bei glanced at the remaining duration of his Super Lucky State and frowned.
An idea soon lit up his eyes.
He summoned thirty-six Death Avatars and stationed each one at a slot on the altar, ready for orders.
At his command the avatars slammed crystals into the slots—finished in a single second.
Meanwhile he took out a World BOSS challenge token and called the BOSS down.
The entire sequence—from setup to BOSS appearance—took only three fleeting seconds.
"Nice, another Epic Three-Star BOSS!"
Eyes blazing, Lin Bei branded it with a Death Mark from afar, activated Teleport, and appeared inside the huge Teleportation Array above the Abyss Sea. Before the BOSS could react he struck like lightning, ending the fight in moments.
"Third world origin fragment—secured!"
Lin Bei's lips curled as he scanned the vast deep-blue array and sensed a wisp of something eerie drifting toward him.
"This is… Curse Power?"
In an instant he recognized that unsettling sensation.
But with his lucky pendant he was immune to any curse.
So he wasn't the least bit flustered.
Instead, curiosity drove him to thread out a sliver of Spirit and let it brush against the curse energy seeping from the array.
A split second later he faintly heard an ancient, surprised voice.
"Oh? A living aura? Who are you—the same little thief from before?"
Lin Bei's head spun; a sudden wave of nausea hit him.
Just then the golden pendant at his chest glowed white, wrapping him in pure light.
In the next moment the dizziness and nausea vanished.
"Hmm? Someone actually purified my Curse Power—interesting."
Again he seemed to hear that familiar, time-worn voice, tinged now with curiosity and delight.
Lin Bei drew a deep breath; his clothes were soaked in cold sweat.
Without hesitation he Teleported away, crossing space back to the altar on the edge of the Abyss Sea.
"Damn, that was close! lucky pendant saved me—otherwise the consequences…"
Still shaken, he broke into a cold sweat at the memory.
His Spirit now exceeded 100 billion, yet a mere wisp of the other's aura had polluted his mind across space; such power was beyond anything he had ever heard of.
"This Abyss Sea… every inch of it reeks of weirdness!"
"It looks right in front of you, yet it's separated by layer upon layer of spatial barriers!"
"And the owner of that Curse Power—absolutely terrifying!"
Lin Bei muttered, "No good—I'm still too weak; right now I'm nowhere near safe!"
"Grow stronger—fast!"
"That Teleportation Array… I'd better stay away from it."
"For the sake of shaving off a few seconds I nearly walked into a death trap. My soaring strength made me cocky."
"Lesson learned."
He exhaled slowly, calming himself.
His state of mind steadied.
He resumed directing the avatars to slot crystals and summon BOSSes… In the endless darkness a colossal eye narrowed, puzzled.
"Just now… was that an illusion?"
"Why did I sense… a somewhat familiar scent?"
"And that life aura—so delicious. If I could devour it…"
"For eons no one has broken through the space barriers those gods set and entered the depths of the Abyss Sea—until now."
"Perhaps this is my chance!"
"That little thief seems able to steal my power through some special method. In that case… why not play along and lure him in?"
"Mmm… I hope he stays greedy—then it won't be long before we meet!"
...While counting his spoils Lin Bei was suddenly hit by a bone-piercing chill.
His movements froze; Spirit power swept the surrounding space.
But after a long search—nothing.
"Strange, what was that chill just now?"
Lin Bei frowned. Ever since he had changed class to War God his intuition had been spot-on.
That terrifying sensation moments ago had definitely not been an illusion!
"Damn, something filthy has its eye on me—and its strength… probably far above mine!"
"But I'm inside the King-Level Dungeon World. The rules here should protect me; even someone stronger can't beat me once they enter, right?"
"Yet that chill…"
"Wait—I've overlooked something!"
Lin Bei snapped his head up, staring at the huge deep-blue Teleportation Array above the Abyss Sea.
The dizziness and nausea from before were still vivid.
"Could it be… the owner of that Curse Power?"
"Damn, if I'm right, he must be somewhere within the Abyss Sea's space!"
"But it seems some restriction keeps him from appearing in person."
Still, that chill felt so real!
"If I keep going, sooner or later he'll lock onto me—and maybe wipe me out on the spot?"
"Right, the message from the Curse Power called me… a thief?"
"Hell, don't tell me those World BOSSes I killed are something like my Death Avatars?"
And because I can plunder stats, the power he used to craft those clones was absorbed by me and can't be reclaimed—so he hates my guts?
"Honestly, that makes a lot of sense!"
Lin Bei's mind raced; his expression was a sight to behold.
"If that's the case… should I keep going?"}]