Chapter 9 Ancient Token/ Undead Ruins

<< Hello my dear readers. Did you miss me? Enjoy the chapter!!! >>

"Your assessment is over, and make sure you keep that token with you at all costs. I don't have much time left, so I will leave you to yourself". As soon as she finished speaking, she turned into a streak of light and disappeared from his sight.

"Hehe! It was good to see you too Celeste". Ethan said with a slight smile on his lips. He wasn't really sure if he would still be assigned the same evaluator due to the fact that he came into the game earlier, but it seemed that it wasn't the case.

With the token in hand, Ethan turned around and walked towards the exit. Reverbs universe was much more than what the players actually thought it was, and the token in Ethan's hands was the proof itself.

Back when he had met Celeste for the second time in his previous life, she was already a 6th seal powerhouse. Now however, he was determined to surpass her before that happened.

Ethan arrived before the teleportation door that would lead him out of this space and into the game. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

This was it, this was finally the time for him to return. Ethan let out a small smirk as his eyes opened and all that could be seen within was sheer excitement. With one foot in front of the other, he stepped unto the teleport formation.

However, the flash of light accompanied by the slight dizziness and blurred vision didn't happen, and in its place, was a system notification.

<< Ancient token detected. You have been deemed qualified to enter the secret dungeon 'UNDEAD RUINS' >>

<< Storyline: Accept Quest to reveiw >>

<< Rewards:??????/ Death penalty: You will be barred from returning to Reverbs universe for a month >>

Ethan stood there dumbstruck for a few seconds as he took a little while for him to digest. After which, he mumbled to himself while trying his hardest to suppress his excitement.

"This is somewhat.... Unexpected. But..... Its actually the undead ruins dungeon. The first ever dungeon that ever got cleared". Ethan quickly searched his past memories for the information on the undead ruins.

The Undead Ruins was a special dungeon map that would only be available to players after reaching Level 50 and above, however that was in the later stages of the game.

By the time players reached that level, it had long since been cleared. The main point there was that it had been cleared on the same day as the opening of Reverbs Universe. It turned out that some Legendary players had actually met a requirement which enabled them to participate in a special quest.

This quest itself was related to the discovery of the undead ruins and later turned out to become the birthplace of some of the greatest players of Reverbs Universe.

Namely the 6th seal expert Bloodstorm who had obtained a one of a kind Growth Soul weapon from a Rare tier Mystery Box for successfully obtaining the first dungeon clear.

Not only did he become a 6th Seal expert, but he also joined the ranks of top experts with his name being among the top ten in the game. Thinking up to this point, Ethan's breathing grew hurried as his eyes shone with desire.

Due to a mutual agreement between the experts who had participated and gained a lot from the quest, no information about the main quest itself was released.

However, even if they all agreed not to talk about it, that didn't mean that they could stop the Game announcement that spread the news about the Bloodstorms gains.

Due to the mutual agreement, the requirements on how to gain access to the map was never revealed despite the fact that it really wouldn't be useful to the other players. However, Ethan had finally discovered the requirements.

It turns out that the requirements were actually to receive a token from the point of evaluation before entering the game.

This was really too coincidental, wasn't it?

If it were the Ethan of his past life, then forget about obtaining a token, he probably wouldn't even reach the requirements. Even if he did, there was a high possibility that he wouldn't last one minute in the ruins. However, he wasn't the same Ethan anymore.

"I accept!" He answered without even a shred of hesitation.

<< Quest issued. Player will receive synopsis upon arrival. Good luck..... You' re gonna need it >>

Ethan's vision blurred as he was immediately sent away from the teleportation platform.

The entire process felt like a second and before he knew it, his vision had returned to him again. However, the whole scenery was different and what greeted him wasn't the sight of a bustling medieval times city with chaotic players roaming from here to there either in the search of quests or other tasks.

Ethan nervously swallowed his saliva as he turned his gaze to look upwards. In the distance, what came into his line of sight was a tall and dark medieval castle that looked like it had been through a great war.

The towers of the castle had been destroyed and the entire structure was cracked and looked like it would fall apart at any minute.

And as if that wasn't enough, a thick gloomy aura permeated the air that gave others a literal sniff of the stench of death and destruction. The sky was cloudy and dark as if it would rain and the buildings were all destroyed and ruined.

Just like its name, this place really looked like an ancient ruin from the olden days.

<< You have arrived at the map 'Undead Ruins'. You are currently partaking in the Hidden Quest, 'Dark Days' and are forbidden from exiting until you either Die or the map is completed. All communications with the outside world has been cut off.... >>

"Hidden Quest huh?" Ethan exclaimed as he surveyed his surroundings. He was currently standing at the entrance of the city ruins which looked extremely unkempt and was overgrown with weeds and some tall bushes.

He sighed deeply as he contemplated his next step. Unlike his original plan, this was a completely different quest that he had never partaken of before. And not only had he not partaken of it, it was also one of the few Quests in his last life that he had no clue how to go about it.

Due to his past life experience, he could tell from the start that this quest had some special characteristics. Not only did it not provide any information about what to do or in which direction he should go, but it was also filled with extreme danger as the players were basically walking blind into uncharted territory.

Hidden quests like these were usually one time quests called special quests as they could only be activated once and would automatically disappear once the quest was completed. Meaning that no other player would be able to come back to apply for that same quest even if they fulfilled the requirements.

Players who usually encountered such situations would always tread with caution as they were basically exploring without any information and walking into the territory of unknown dangers.

This meant that they would have to deal with threats, monsters or even NPC's that they had no idea of their strength and characteristics. So to put it all in a nutshell, he was most definitely in a sticky situation.

What made it worse was the fact that unlike other virtual reality games where all the players get some sort of newbie package or beginners gift pack which usually held beginner weapons and low level equipment, Reverbs universe was the exact opposite.

If you wanted weapons or armor, you had to find a way to get it yourself as the game would not help with anything it wasn't supposed to. Not only was he dealing with unknown monsters that were probably several levels higher than him, but he was also going to do it empty handed, without any weapons or tools of any kind.

Not only was Ethan in this kind of situation, there were currently other players all over the city who were facing the same situation as him at the moment.

"Sigh! Let's explore the ruin first. Its not like a have a choice anyway". Ethan stopped hesitating and walked forward into the Ruined city. Although the whole place looked abandoned and was clearly in ruins, Ethan could vaguely see the outline of what the city was like in its glorious days as the buildings that were now in shambles were still towering over him.

Whatever this city was called or whoever governed it, it was very certain that it was very prosperous during its time.

"What could have possibly happened to cause such a wonderful land to fall into this kind of state?

Ethan moved forwards and stepped into the city. Its not like he could leave even if he wanted to. He took a deep breath and surveyed his surroundings with all his five senses which basically formed his perception stat.

It was at that moment that he realized that his ability to sense his surroundings had improved by a wide margin. Not only could he pick up more subtle details, he could also sense movements that were happening either in front of him, or behind him.

For a low level player that he currently was at the moment, this was nothing more than a heavenly ability.

"Hmm!" As he passed by a certain area, Ethan had his brows crease as a slight frown appeared on his face. Just a moment ago, he definitely felt the presence of something in the environment.

His sense of unease grew stronger as a seriously rotten odour permeated the air and assaulted his nostrils.

"Beast! Definitely an animal type monster".

For Ethan who had frequently visited one dungeon after another in the game, the smell in the air was all too familiar to him. It was the smell of a rotten carcass.

Ethan raised his guard up as the worse thing that one could do in the game was to underestimate a dungeon, especially one that he had no information about.

Rustle!

He quickly turned his head around to notice a fast shadow run between the bushes making a rustling sound.

"Yep! I was right!" Ethan said inwardly. Among low level monsters, there were quite a few that were able to hide their presence making it almost impossible for low level players to be able to sense their presence. If not for the fact that his perception stat had been maxed out, he probably wouldn't have noticed.

Ethan didn't stop his movements and kept on walking as he put up an ignorant expression on his face. He stepped past some overgrown weeds and broken tiles as he came towards a center court. He looked left and turned his head right before squatting as if he wanted to examine the floor.

However, it wasn't exactly the floor that he was examining, but more importantly, he was examining his system.

[Skills Tab]

<< Angel passive skill [ Unranked ] Infinite Mana Regeneration: Provides you with an almost inexhaustible supply of Mana >>

[ Super sonic speed/ Reflexes ( 2nd Seal Active skill) Level 1: Upon activation, your movement speed is doubled for the price of 100 MP per second and will remain active as long as Mana is infused ]

<< Second Effect: All your movements, reaction speed and reflexes are doubled as long as Mana is kept active >>

These were the two skills that he had received after assimilating with the angels source. Previously, he didn't have enough time to look at them and could only give it a passing glance, however his eyes lit up when he read the names and information of the skills.

Even after reading the info on both skills twice, he still couldn't believe his eyes. In fact, not just him, literally nobody would believe that such a godly skill existed.

What was Mana? That was basically the foundation for all mages. Not only did mortals face such a problem, even 6th seal powerhouses would face the never ending problem of Mana exhaustion after casting some of their strongest techniques.

Without hesitation, Ethan directly spent 100 Mana points and activated the Active skill, Sonic reflexes without bothering about the cost.

BOOM! A warm feeling spread throughout his limbs and Ethan suddenly felt that his whole body had become lighter. His eyes had grown sharper and even his neural responses had picked up to a frightening pace.

Name >> Neo

Level >> 0

Bloodline >> ?????

Class >> None

Health >> 225

<< Strength: 10/ Agility: 10 (+10)/ movement speed 10 (+10)/ Stamina: 10/ Defences: 10/ Mana: - / Perception: 10/ Endurance: 10 >>

( Angels Source: Assimilation... 14% )

Spiritual Power >> 50

Damage power >> 10

At that moment, Rwarh!!!!!

A black shadow dashed out of the bushes with Ethan's back as its primary target. As soon as the creature pounced from the bushes, he had already felt it from his surroundings as he had stretched his perception stat to the very limit currently.

The black shadow leaped forward as it aimed towards Ethan's completely exposed neck.

"Perfect timing!" Ethan yelled inwardly as he spun around and swung his fist with all his might. He had already been preparing himself for a sneak attack like this one and the creature that was hiding in the shadows had finally taken the bait.

WHOOSH! Ethan's fist punched out as the sound of ripping air could be heard.

His fist perfectly connected with the attacking monster and upon collision, the creature let out a shrill cry as its head burst open like a watermelon.