15-Bountiful Rewards, Instant Riches!
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Su Mo glanced at the Z-shaped Guandao he'd stomped out of shape, inwardly cursing himself enough to want to slap his own face twice.
If he'd known gouging out its eyes would do the trick, would he have wasted his time like this?!
With maxed defense, he didn't even need to think!
What a pity—his poor blade!
But now wasn't the time to mourn his weapon—this boss still had 10,000 HP left.
Gripping the Z-shaped Guandao, Su Mo stabbed it into the other eye socket. Like an old diesel engine, he yanked the handle, and another millstone-sized eyeball plopped out.
The Fear Scarecrow, kneeling and wailing, froze mid-motion like a robot losing power, then toppled backward.
The cracked, pitch-black sky reverted to the clear brightness of when he'd first entered.
[This instance's first clear. Official grading will commence in 30 minutes.]
Su Mo blinked, then quickly pieced it together.
This instance, abandoned for decades, had never been cleared before.
Made sense—the max entry level was 10, and no one at that level could likely take down this golden boss.
Sure, it was only level 10 too, but sometimes the gap between two level 10s was bigger than between a human and a dog.
Instance grading would split it into tiers like Normal, Hard, Nightmare, and Hell.
He wondered how many tiers this one would get.
On the ground, the 100-meter Fear Scarecrow's corpse faded, leaving a dazzling golden chest in its place.
Su Mo's face lit up with glee—what would a first-clear reward be like?
Meanwhile, outside at 5-Kilometers Slope, a golden beam shot into the sky. Silver-tier powerhouses from two nearby cities all noticed.
Even the self-proclaimed prodigies who'd been debating whether Su Mo had died inside gaped in shock.
Dozens of golden lights zipped in from all directions, converging on the instance entrance in moments.
"Not a new instance emerging?"
"I think this was an abandoned instance called 5-Kilometers Slope?"
"Yeah, I recall it was too tough, so no one ever cleared it and it got left behind."
"So, this is… instance grading?"
"There's a bunch of kids down there—let's ask."
Several figures cloaked in golden light exchanged words before descending to the group of young folks below.
"Young man, what happened here earlier?"
Snapping out of their daze, the group stared at the newcomers, awestruck.
The Tianfu City Lord, the Tianlan City Lord, a Trial Hall branch elder, a Great Xia Trading House manager, the Tianfu High School vice-principal…
A lineup usually seen only on TV or phones now stood before them in the flesh.
One older guy, trembling with excitement, blurted out, "We just saw a golden light shoot up—don't know anything else!"
The golden-tier powerhouses frowned. The Tianfu City Lord eyed their levels and asked, "When did you get here?"
He'd rushed over the instant the light flared. With golden-tier speed, it didn't take long.
These kids, all level 10, would've needed at least 10 minutes from the city—meaning they were likely here already.
"We were here before."
"What for?"
"We, uh, just wanted to check out 5-Kilometers Slope."
The Tianfu City Lord and others frowned at them but didn't press. These days, with tech booming, plenty of kids pulled stunts like this for clout.
The Tianlan City Lord chimed in, "Did you notice anything unusual before?"
"Nope. We've been here half a day—nothing weird."
"Wait—no, some guy went in earlier and hasn't come out. Probably dead inside by now."
The Tianfu City Lord's brow furrowed. "Someone's in danger, and you didn't report it…?"
…
Oblivious to the outside commotion, Su Mo was drowned in a flood of system notifications.
[First Clear of 5-Kilometers Slope Instance. Achievement Unlocked: 5-Kilometers Slope Blade Saint]
[5-Kilometers Slope Blade Saint: When equipped, +3% damage with bladed weapons, +8% damage to plant-type monsters]
[Description: Once, a fierce warrior carved through 5-Kilometers Slope with a single blade, leaving no grass standing!]
[Defeated Golden Boss Fear Scarecrow. Achievement Unlocked: Scarecrow Overlord]
[Scarecrow Overlord: Summon three scarecrows to fight for you for 10 minutes]
[Description: You are the nightmare of all scarecrows—and their supreme ruler!]
[Defeated Golden Boss Fear Scarecrow. Gained 10 Free Attribute Points, Unlocked Spirit Stat]
Glancing at the alerts, Su Mo felt a twinge of disappointment—only 10 free points for a golden boss?
He'd spent a full half-hour on it!
In that time earlier, he'd farmed 600 points from small fry. Bosses just didn't pay as well as mob grinding.
But mobs had a downside: no gear drops.
Finally, he locked eyes on the golden chest still shimmering on the ground.
Stepping forward, he rubbed his hands, blew on them for luck, and popped it open. Three items floated out, glowing with cheap, five-cent rainbow effects.
[Skill Scroll: Opens to learn the skill Scarecrow's Curse]
[Scarecrow's Curse: Curse-type skill. Cast on a wide group to reduce enemy movement speed by 5%. Cast on a single target to turn them into a scarecrow for 3 seconds.]
Reading this, Su Mo wasn't exactly thrilled.
A badass like him, duking it out with bosses head-on, using a sneaky curse skill? That felt beneath him.
Shifting his gaze, he checked the second item.
[Fear Scarecrow's Scepter: Spirit +30, Fire Resistance -2%]
[Description: Thanks to a certain fierce warrior, the Fear Scarecrow never got to use its scepter before being cut down.]
Reading that, Su Mo could almost feel the 100-meter Fear Scarecrow glaring at him with lingering resentment.
This guy really held a grudge!
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