Heart toward darkness

In the eyes of other players, Jiang Han's demeanor was one of burgeoning ruthlessness, prompting an involuntary laughter. A chilling sensation surged within his heart.

"Darn it, he's truly a madman!"

"Chuckling... "

The sword radiance was daunting as Jiang Han showed no mercy, leaving lifeless bodies in a pool of blood. White light flickered incessantly, creating an intensely brutal scene.

-1!

-2!

MISS!

...

Of course, players' attacks were not entirely futile. Although Jiang Han could evade some attacks, he continued to sustain damage ceaselessly.

80%...60%...

Jiang Han's health bar was dropping, albeit slowly, providing a glimmer of hope for the players.

"He's only got half of his health left!" exclaimed an excited player. "No matter how powerful he is, he can't withstand the siege of hundreds or thousands. Brothers, let's..."

His words came to an abrupt halt.

"Swoosh!"

Suddenly, a radiant golden light scattered. Jiang Han felt a warm flow surging within him, restoring his state to an unprecedented peak.

Level up, level 11!

Simultaneously, his health bar was replenished.

"What the heck!"

"Is this an upgrade?" questioned a dumbfounded player. "Are you kidding me? Killing players levels you up?!"

...

Praise overflowed for a moment.

"Those with sense, quickly retreat!" To temporarily conceal the somewhat absurd situation, Jiang Han continued to explain while killing, "Do you really think I was the first to kill a boss, and the system didn't reward me?"

Having said that, he refrained from elaboration. One sentence was sufficient.

The rest could be left to their imagination.

"So that's how it is!"

Many players suddenly realized the reason behind his sudden upgrade.

Evidently, the system rewarded Jiang Han Shui for the first kill of a Bronze-level boss, probably with a rare item, such as an experience-storing bead.

The recent upgrade was likely a result of utilizing that item.

"Don't be afraid; we still have thousands of people. Killing him is more than enough. If he tells us to leave, maybe it's just a sign of insecurity!" Despite some players' skepticism, now was not the time to stop; they had to attack resolutely.

Overall, receiving rewards from the Heroes' Alliance after being killed was definitely worthwhile.

After a brief commotion, the battle continued.

In the heat of battle, Jiang Han quickly glanced at the mission requirements and found that it had changed to 537/1000, with completion already over half!

Five minutes...ten minutes...

Time passed slowly until the pleasant sound of a bell rang in his ears, bringing him back to reality from the almost one-sided slaughter.

"Ding! ~"

System Prompt: Congratulations on completing the quest [Heart Toward Darkness], gaining recognition from the Dark Faction!

Done!

Jiang Han felt relieved.

However, he chose not to leave but continued to treat the nearby players as monsters to grind.

Opportunities like this were rare, and he couldn't easily let such a good chance slip away.

"Finally, only 40% left!"

Continuously monitoring Jiang Han Shui's health, the leader of the Heroes' Alliance, Luanshi Tianxia, gritted his teeth. "Brothers, exert yourselves; victory is within sight."

Honestly, he was on the verge of vomiting.

Many players had run back to the battlefield after dying, amounting to nearly two thousand people besieging a single player. However, over a thousand of them had been killed, and the opponent was still lively.

This guy was more difficult to kill than a boss!

30%!

20%!

Jiang Han's health was still dropping!

There was no choice; with a higher level, the required experience was greater, and the players' levels were simply too low.

"Almost dead, finally almost dead!" A player who had died once and returned was excited, with a flushed face, ready to snatch equipment.

Undoubtedly, with such high attributes, regardless of which piece of equipment they grabbed, it would be a significant profit.

Think you can make me die?

Jiang Han grinned, sweeping the Bison Sword, consecutively taking down two players in front of him. The experience bar was finally filled.

"Swoosh!"

Golden light scattered, and Jiang Han's health was restored to full in the desperate expressions of his opponents.

...

For a moment, the surrounding noisy shouts ceased.

A deathly silence, like death itself, enveloped the area.

Why?

Why did this guy level up again?

Since when could player-versus-player kills lead to leveling up?

Just as they felt perplexed, angry, and frustrated, Jiang Han, who enjoyed explaining reasons, spoke again, delivering a sentence that directly caused their collapse—

"Do you really think the reward I got from the system for being the first to kill a boss was so meager?"

"I..."

Luanshi Tianxia, who was overseeing the situation, veins bulging on his forehead, turned black as if he had dipped his face in soy sauce, looking extremely unsightly.

He wanted to curse, but he didn't even have the strength to curse.

You killed a Bronze-level boss for the first time, and the reward was this generous?

"Luan Brothers, what should we do now?" a henchman asked with a mournful face.

"...Retreat!"

This word was almost squeezed out from Luanshi Tianxia's gritted teeth.

Continuing the battle was meaningless now.

The higher the opponent's level, the greater the chance of immunity to damage. Coupled with the completely incomprehensible level-up, it would only increase their losses.

"But..."

"Don't understand my words?" Luanshi Tianxia roared, "Withdraw for me!"

"Yes."

...

Soon, the news reached the ears of all players besieging Jiang Han. They immediately fled in panic, scattering like birds and beasts.

Seeing this, Jiang Han did not pursue but instead picked up some relatively valuable equipment that had dropped around him.

It's not that he didn't want to pick up more; the main issue was limited backpack space. He couldn't cram everything into his backpack.

But he didn't feel sorry either. Most of the players who came to die were only at level one or two, essentially avoiding slimes to trouble him. They hadn't dropped anything significant, as new player equipment wouldn't be destroyed.

The quest was completed, and the harvest of leveling up twice was already sufficient. Killing these low-level players for meager experience was not significant.

"I really didn't expect things to progress so smoothly." Exhaling a turbid breath, Jiang Han, looking at the continuously disappearing bodies on the ground, gradually calmed his restless heart.

Dealing with scum like the Heroes' Alliance didn't burden him psychologically.

Then, he opened the information panel and found that his infamy was still 0, confirming that killing players from different factions did not increase infamy.

"Ding! ~"

System Prompt: Your mentor is facing a crisis and is likely to die. Please support as soon as possible. If your mentor dies, you will receive a penalty of -50000 reputation from the Dark Faction!

Suddenly, a system prompt rang in Jiang Han's ears, causing his relaxed mental state to tense up once again.

"What the hell, you just transferred me to the Dark Faction, and now you're about to die?" Jiang Han was almost moved to tears.

Currently,

 he hadn't even left the novice village. If the mentor died, how would he leave the novice village? Walk out?

Without much time to consider, he hurriedly turned and ran towards the direction where the grey wolves respawned, arriving at the entrance of the valley in just a few minutes.

"Boom, boom, boom..."

The rumbling echoed, and the source of the sound was within the valley. At the same time, colorful elemental energy filled the air. Gravel accompanied by shockwaves rushed out of the valley, seemingly indicating how dangerous the internal situation was.

Taking a deep breath, Jiang Han blocked his face with his arm, enduring the impact of gravel and shockwaves, and strode into the valley, exploring deeper: "Brother, don't die."