Chapter 31: Bronze Rank

After spending over ten minutes, I finally made it back to Jinling City. Walking into the town, I found that I had slept for six hours, and now the streets were full of players.

Looks like it’s time to make some money. I haven’t earned anything in a while. Let’s first finish a quest.

I headed straight to the City Lord’s Mansion, but as soon as I arrived at the entrance, I was stopped by the guards.

“The City Lord’s Mansion is restricted, no unauthorized people allowed inside.”

“Quite proud, huh?” I muttered, then explained my purpose and pulled out the letter. The guard immediately went inside to report, and soon came out to escort me in.

Upon entering the main hall, I saw a middle-aged man sitting on the throne with a serious expression. It was obvious this must be the City Lord.

“I heard you encountered Gilroy? What happened to him?” The City Lord asked as he walked down.

“I’m sorry, he’s already dead. This is the letter he entrusted me with, to pass on to you,” I said, handing over the letter.

“Ah, it’s my fault. I should have learned more about the enemy before letting them act,” the City Lord said, his voice filled with regret, before taking the letter and reading it carefully.

After a while, the City Lord clenched his fists, his face filled with anger. He finally spoke, “Adventurer, thank you for bringing this letter. Here’s your reward.”

“Ding, quest completed. Congratulations, you’ve gained 200 reputation points and 20 gold coins.”

“Hmm, 20 gold coins. This quest’s pretty good, just running an errand and I get 20 gold coins. The City Lord is quite generous,” I thought to myself, feeling pleased.

I was about to leave when I noticed the City Lord still looked troubled. My curiosity got the better of me, so I asked, “City Lord, is there something bothering you? Maybe I can help.”

The City Lord glanced at me, his eyes lighting up for a moment, but then quickly dimming. “There is a troublesome matter, but with your current strength, you might not be up to the task.”

“No worries, City Lord. You don’t have a solution yet, right? Why not let me try? Don’t worry, I’m strong, and we adventurers don’t really die,” I said, making a final attempt. I had a feeling this task wouldn’t be simple.

It seemed my words had an effect on the City Lord. After thinking for a moment, he nodded. “Well, there’s no one better at the moment. Fine, I’ll leave this task to you. But if it turns out to be too much, don’t force it. I’ll find another way later.”

“Ding, the City Lord of Jinling has issued a quest: Go to Black Wind Village, kill the leader, and bring his head back to the City Lord. Quest duration: 3 days. Quest reward: Unknown!”

“The leader of Black Wind Village, sounds pretty tough. And the reward is unknown—does that mean he doesn’t have high hopes for me?” I thought to myself, then asked, “City Lord, what level is this leader?”

“He’s level 20, in the Silver rank!” The City Lord responded, looking serious.

“Ah?” I was stunned. Was I digging my own grave here? A level 20 Silver boss? There’s no way I can handle that right now.

“Well, whatever. Since I’ve already accepted, I’ll give it a shot. After all, it’s rare to encounter a Silver boss. Plus, I have three days. If I can’t win, I’ll just grind and level up,” I thought, determined to give it a go.

“Alright, City Lord, I’ll be off then. I’ll send news when I have it.”

“Take care, and be careful!”

Leaving the City Lord’s Mansion, I headed straight to the War God Hall. There were still quite a few players inside. The War God’s Trial is a solo challenge, but multiple players can enter at the same time. However, they won’t encounter each other. The players here were mostly watching the deeds of past War Gods, bored.

I walked straight to the War God’s Trial portal…

“Ding, would you like to challenge the War God’s Trial?”

“Yes.”

The portal opened, and I stepped inside. After a flash, I found myself in an isolated space. Soon, a ghostly figure wielding a giant axe appeared before me.

[War God Apparition] Bronze Rank

Level: 13

Health: 250,000

Physical Attack: 700

Physical Defense: 300

Magic Defense: 150

Movement Speed: 80

Skills:

Heavy Slash: Swing the giant axe down with great force, dealing 170% physical damage. Cooldown: 20 seconds.

Horizontal Sweep: Swing the giant axe in a circle, dealing 155% physical damage to all enemies within 1 meter. Cooldown: 30 seconds.

Block: Use the giant axe to block the next attack. Cooldown: 5 seconds.

This guy’s stats were comparable to the Black Bear King. However, without any crowd control abilities, his damage was quite high. But there wasn’t much pressure, so I immediately went for fast attacks, landing two strikes before quickly backing off after taking a hit.

I activated Stealth, expecting to have an easier time. But to my surprise, the War God Apparition could detect my Stealth! It wasn’t going to let me slack off. Fortunately, its attack range was short, and as long as I only hit twice, I only had to take one hit or skill, which was manageable.

After about 8 minutes, the War God Apparition fell to the ground. A moment later, I was teleported out.

“Ding, congratulations, you’ve successfully completed the challenge! Your rank has been upgraded to Bronze, gaining +20 to all attributes, and you’ve received 20 free attribute points. [War God Medal] upgraded from Black Iron to Bronze. As the first player to reach Bronze rank, you’ve received a system reward: +20 free attribute points.”

This was amazing! Upgrading my rank and improving my strength was the best reward. I looked at the free attribute points. After leveling up earlier and not allocating any points, I had a total of 60 free attribute points.

I decided to add 20 points to Dexterity and 40 points to Constitution. My defense needed a boost, and my Dexterity was already high. Now, even when facing BOSS-level monsters, their speed couldn’t compare to mine. Afterward, I checked my upgraded [War God Medal], which gave me a 20% boost to all attributes—insane!

I checked my current stats:

Name: Chen Feng
Rank: Bronze
Level: 13
Health: 2708
Mana: 540
Physical Attack: 263
Magic Attack: 84
Physical Defense: 246
Magic Defense: 216
Movement Speed: 258
Attack Speed: 54%
Critical Rate: 10%
Experience: 29,710/50,000

Attributes:

Strength: 68 (57 + 20%)

Intelligence: 42 (35 + 20%)

Constitution: 103 (86 + 20%)

Root Bone: 156 (130 + 20%)

Spirit: 42 (35 + 20%)

Dexterity: 208 (174 + 20%)

Talent: Toxin Damage 260, can stack 3 times.
Immortal Body: Increases max health by 318.

Equipment:

Weapon: [Wooden Sword] (Newbie Gear): Attack +2

Helmet: [Wolf King Helmet] Black Iron: Health +200, Defense +10, Additional: Constitution +6

Armor: [Wild Boar King Armor] Black Iron: Health +100, Defense +10, Additional: Constitution +8

Leggings: [Bear King Leggings] Black Iron: Health +300, Physical Defense +20, Magic Defense +10, Additional: Constitution +12

Belt: [Silver Wolf King Belt] Bronze: Health +300, Dual Defense +20, Additional: Constitution +10, Root Bone +10

Boots: [Black Bear King Boots] Bronze: Movement Speed +50, Physical Defense +30, Magic Defense +30, Additional: Dexterity +18, Root Bone +15

Necklace: [Silver Wolf King Necklace] Bronze: Attack +25, Critical Rate +10%, Luck +3, Additional: Strength +10, Dexterity +8

Left Bracelet: [Silver Wolf Bracelet] Whiteboard: Health +20, Attack +12, Attack Speed +1%

Right Bracelet: [Bear King Bracelet] Black Iron: Physical Attack +50, Attack Speed +6%, Additional: Dexterity +12

Left Ring: [Toad Ring] Whiteboard: Health +20, Physical Attack +8, Attack Speed +1%

Right Ring: [Silver Wolf King Ring] Bronze: Health +100, Attack +30, Attack Speed +5%, Additional: Strength +12, Constitution +10