Chapter 7: First Clear of the Secret Realm, City of Apocalypse
[Ding~ Welcome to the Level 5 Secret Realm: [City of Apocalypse]. The secret realm quest has been issued: Kill at least 30 monsters and defeat the realm guardian.]
With the system prompt ringing in his ears, Zhang Yue found himself transported to a city engulfed in smoke and rubble, like a scene from the apocalypse.
In the distance, he saw Iron Armored Scorpions wandering through the ruins of the city.
With only 9 minutes remaining before the secret realm closed, Zhang Yue wasted no time and charged forward!
Clank, clank!
Roar!
A Level 5 Iron Armored Scorpion blocked his path, snapping its pincers menacingly as it lunged toward him.
Without slowing his pace, Zhang Yue swung his Flame Precursor Staff and cast a fireball at the scorpion.
Super Fireball!
Boom!
The scorching fireball struck the Iron Armored Scorpion, triggering a massive critical hit of 311 damage, instantly wiping out its 290 HP.
The kill rewarded Zhang Yue with 15 experience points, 50,000 energy, and 3 copper coins.
With his agility stat at 19, Zhang Yue was landing a critical hit almost every third attack!
Level 5 secret realms were designed for players at or below Level 5, and all the monsters inside were at least Level 5.
As Zhang Yue moved deeper into the City of Apocalypse, he continued mowing down the Level 5 scorpions in his path.
Soon, the monsters he encountered started to level up—first to Level 6, then to Level 7.
Zhang Yue could still one-shot the Level 5 and 6 scorpions with a fireball spell and its follow-up burning damage. But the Level 7 scorpions, with their 450+ HP and thick defenses, were no longer so easy to kill.
With time running out, Zhang Yue abandoned complex movements and opted to take the hits head-on, standing his ground.
The Level 7 scorpions had 60 attack power, and with Zhang Yue's physical defense at only 18, every hit hurt.
A Charge skill (150% physical damage) from the scorpions knocked off 63 HP with one blow!
Out of options, Zhang Yue reached into his storage space and pulled out the Iron "Armor · Hero's Guard" he had originally prepared for his pet scorpion.
He put it on himself.
With the bonus from this Level 5 gold-tier defensive armor, Zhang Yue's physical defense skyrocketed from 18 to 51!
The armor's special effect Guardian (reduces incoming damage by 30) was also in play.
The next time a Level 7 scorpion used Charge on Zhang Yue, the damage indicator floating above his head read a meager -1.
Zhang Yue couldn't help but mutter, "Now that's what I'm talking about!"
In no time, he had killed 30 Iron Armored Scorpions.
Meanwhile, under Zhang Yue's care, his pet Armored Scorpion had finally reached Level 5 as well.
Zhang Yue immediately unequipped the Hero's Guard and passed it to his pet.
As a normal-grade defensive pet, the Armored Scorpion gained 10 HP, 1 defense point, and 1 attribute point with each level up.
Zhang Yue allocated all 5 of its newly earned attribute points into stamina.
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[Armored Scorpion] (Physical-Type · Normal Grade)
Owner: Zero (Bound)
Type: Defensive
Loyalty: Infinite
Level: 5 (Experience: 5/3000)
Physical Attack: 2
Physical Defense: 39
Magic Defense: 35
HP: 180
MP: 9
Skill: Iron Body (Passive, A-Rank 0/10, reduces damage taken by 30%)
Description: A defense-focused Armored Scorpion, capable of protecting its tamer by taking hits on the frontlines...
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Zhang Yue wasn't expecting his Armored Scorpion to deal any significant damage—it was there to soak up hits, nothing more.
For a normal-grade pet, its stats were quite impressive for Level 5.
During his earlier monster hunts, Zhang Yue had triggered the Soul Harvest effect twice more, capturing two additional Iron Armored Scorpions.
Now, all he needed was 8 more ordinary-grade pets, and he could upgrade his scorpion to Elite Grade!
Just as Zhang Yue summoned his pet again, a thunderous roar echoed from up ahead!
In the distance, a gigantic Iron Armored Scorpion, twice the size of the others, appeared on the street.
In this otherworld, monsters were categorized as normal monsters, elite monsters, and bosses.
This massive creature was the Scorpion King, the realm guardian of the City of Apocalypse secret realm!
Zhang Yue checked the time.
"Two minutes until the realm closes."
"Looks like I need to wrap this up quickly."
He turned to his Armored Scorpion and commanded, "Go."
Roar, roar!
With Zhang Yue's command, the Armored Scorpion charged fearlessly at the Scorpion King!
As Zhang Yue closed in on the boss, he used his Scout skill to analyze its stats.
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[Scorpion King] (Lv7 Physical-Type · Elite Boss):
Attack: 80
Physical Defense: 55
Magic Defense: 50
HP: 1240
Skills: Iron Armor, Charge
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The Scorpion King made the first move.
Charge!
Roar!
The Scorpion King accelerated, crossing over 20 meters in an instant, slamming into Zhang Yue's Armored Scorpion and sending it flying.
A red damage number floated above the scorpion's head: -22!
The Guardian effect from its armor, combined with its A-Rank Iron Body skill, had drastically reduced the damage it took.
Even a Level 7 elite boss couldn't deal significant damage to it!
Seizing the opportunity while the Scorpion King was within range, Zhang Yue swung his staff and launched his attack.
Super Fireball!
Boom!
-206 Critical Hit!
-20 Burn!
-25 Burn!
In one hit, the Scorpion King's health dropped by a fifth!
As it turned to attack Zhang Yue, the Armored Scorpion intercepted it, forcing the boss to focus its rage on the pet instead.
Clank, clank!
The Scorpion King relentlessly attacked the Armored Scorpion with its massive pincers, but each hit only dealt a measly 8 damage.
Meanwhile, with his pet holding the line, Zhang Yue unleashed his barrage of spells from the rear.
Every 3 seconds, another A-Rank fireball slammed into the Scorpion King, causing its health bar to plummet!
After six fireball spells, the Scorpion King let out one final, anguished roar before collapsing to the ground.
[Ding~ Congratulations! You have slain the Level 7 elite boss [Scorpion King]. Experience +1000! Energy +2,100,000 (multiplied by 10,000).]
Just then, a regional announcement rang out across Doomsday Town—
[Ding~ Congratulations to adventurer [Zero] for being the first to clear the Level 5 secret realm: [City of Apocalypse]! You have received 1 [Secret Realm Scroll] (Black Iron Grade).]
As soon as the announcement was made, all 3,000 players in Doomsday Town were taken aback.
The regional chat channel exploded with astonished messages:
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[Widowmaker's Night Raid] (Male, Lv2 Assassin): "Who's this 'Zero' guy? That's insane! He actually cleared a Level 5 secret realm!"
[Flowing Year] (Male, Lv2 Archer): "Everyone's only Level 1 to 3 right now, right? The boss in a Level 5 secret realm should be a Level 6 or 7 elite. How did he take it down?"
[Warrior Starry Sky] (Male, Lv3 Elite Paladin): "To the guy who cleared the secret realm—are you willing to sell your Secret Realm Scroll? I'll pay 3,000 yuan for it, cash!"
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Among those most shocked by the announcement were none other than Liu Yao, Lin Yue'er, and their guildmates, who had just exited the realm moments earlier.
"When we left, there was no one else in there!"
"The last person who entered… Could it have been him?" Liu Yao turned to Lin Yue'er in disbelief. "What was your ex's in-game name?"
Lin Yue'er shook her head, "He hid his ID, so I don't know!"
After a moment, she added, "But I'm sure of one thing: there's no way that person was Zhang Yue!"
"He's a Beast Tamer with no pets. How could he possibly clear a Level 5 secret realm?"
"You're probably right," Liu Yao said, stroking his chin thoughtfully. "He went in alone. Soloing a Level 5 secret realm is impossible."
"It seems that, after we left, some high-level guild must have entered and taken down the Scorpion King. Whoever this 'Zero' is, he's no ordinary player."
Liu Yao's eyes gleamed with ambition. "I need to track this 'Zero' down. Then I'll offer him a hefty sum and recruit him into my Supreme guild, making him work for me."
Lin Yue'er nodded in agreement, her expression showing a mix of relief and satisfaction. "Yeah, it couldn't have been Zhang Yue. A nobody like him could never achieve something like this."
But little did they know, the person they had just written off was the very one who had cleared the realm and taken down the Scorpion King.
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