Jiang Bai couldn't help but get excited when he saw the mission.
This so-called final chapter mission was entirely beyond his expectations.
He originally thought the final chapter would just be a high-difficulty solo quest with generous rewards. But judging by the mission description, this one could actually affect the entire progress of Genesis.
"Can I get an explanation?"
After accepting the mission, Jiang Bai opened the Genesis system help menu and selected the Q&A feature.
"Not sure if the system will even answer something like this..."
He hesitated a moment, then asked: "Will this final mission to hunt the Hellhound Cerberus impact the overall game progression?"
"Yes."
The system replied bluntly, "Once the player completes the mission, the Demon Legion will invade the newbie base early. If players successfully repel the invasion, Act Two and second-tier main cities will be unlocked, accelerating game progress."
"Holy crap…"
That answer made Jiang Bai feel like fate had chosen him. He wasn't just carrying out a mission—this was a destiny.
"Then what if I hadn't triggered this round of hidden quests and couldn't take on the final chapter? How would Act Two unlock under normal conditions?"
"If the hidden quest isn't triggered, the system will launch the Demon Legion siege according to the default schedule."
"What counts as a successful defense?"
Jiang Bai pressed further.
"System does not have permission to answer that."
"…"
Jiang Bai pursed his lips. "Then what's the difference between an early invasion and the normal one? Aren't both meant to advance the game?"
"Rewards are different."
"Well, that's a relief…"
Jiang Bai let out a breath. If the rewards were the same after all that effort, wouldn't that mean he had done it all for nothing?
"Level 9, 76%. Almost level 10."
He checked his EXP bar. "Let's hit level 10 before taking on the Hellhound. I'll be more prepared."
Ten minutes later, Jiang Bai returned to the Magic Crystal Mine. Though the lighting was poor and the environment unpleasant, the monster density was high—perfect for efficient farming. More importantly, no other players were around.
He didn't get greedy, pulling groups of 20–25 monsters at a time. Each miner yielded 60 EXP, meaning one wave gave him around 8%–9% progress.
After about an hour, he finally hit level 10. He allocated 2 free stat points into Agility as usual. His [Plunder] skill granted him 2 Constitution and 1 more Agility. Most importantly, he unlocked the 7th equipment slot—his helmet.
After equipping a helmet, his stats took a massive leap forward.
[Empty City's Past Dream]
Level: 10
Reputation: 400
Class: Archer
Race: Human
Stats:
HP: 1320
Energy: 320
Physical ATK: 501–505
Magic ATK: 15
Attack Strength: 70
Defense: 118
Attributes:
Constitution: 34
Spirit: 16
Strength: 35
Intelligence: 15
Agility: 81
Skills:[Concussive Shot], [Aimed Shot], [Multi-Shot]
Titles:[I'm Strong], [Ancient Will], [First Blood]
"Pretty sure I'm the only level 10 player with over 500 attack."
Jiang Bai stared at his stats in satisfaction. "Crit rate is up to 9%. If I can hit 10%, that might trigger a breakthrough."
In truth, he was underestimating himself.
Even top players boosted by their guilds could only reach around 230 ATK in full-offense builds—and those were extremely rare. Their HP barely exceeded 400, and defense topped out around 50.
Because they went all-in on attack.
Jiang Bai, on the other hand, had both absurdly high HP and defense—possibly more than tank classes.
That's what made him terrifying.
"Well, can't help it. I've got the Plunder skill."
He crushed a Return Scroll and opened the Trade Market under the Armor section.
The results were a bit disappointing.
Level 10 armor did exist, but it was scarce and ridiculously expensive.
Most players were still around level 7. Only level 8+ monsters dropped level 10 gear. And players strong enough to farm those monsters were usually core members of top guilds. They wouldn't sell that gear publicly.
So the market had very few level 10 items—and they were priced sky-high.
Thinking it over, Jiang Bai reluctantly bought 24 pieces of level 5 armor. Thanks to the player base leveling up and equipment flooding the market, the price had dropped significantly—just 4,000 copper per piece.
Still, it cost Jiang Bai 10 full gold coins.
"No choice. I wanted to wait for level 10 armor prices to drop, but without better gear, I won't be able to handle Cerberus. And the demon invasion's coming next."
Jiang Bai believed the return on this 10-gold investment would be worthwhile.
After a bit of combining and crafting, a brand-new piece of level 5 ancient armor appeared before him.
[Wicked Corrosive Leather Armor of Gale] (Ancient)
Defense: 28
Constitution: +10
Agility: +8
Bonus Defense: +15
Gale: Increases attack speed by 10%Blessing: When attacked, 10% chance to enter "Blessing" state, recovering 0.5% max HP per second for 20 seconds
Required Level: 5
"Hot damn! It rolled the 'Gale' prefix!"
Jiang Bai was thrilled with the surprise bonus.
For archers, what's the rarest and most crucial stat?
No doubt—attack speed. It was incredibly hard to come by, and the Gale prefix had an absurdly low drop rate.
After equipping the leather armor, his defense jumped to a whopping 145. Though he lost 20 damage reduction from his old gear, the new defense more than made up for it.
Clearly, this was an offensive armor piece.
His HP dropped by 50, having lost a prior 200 HP bonus, but gaining +10% attack speed was absolutely worth it.
"Alright, time to take down the Hellhound!"
He pulled out the map from blacksmith Brent and headed out of the newbie village.
Cerberus's lair was in Nightshade Valley, within a cave of the same name. Monsters there were all level 10+, and Jiang Bai couldn't wait to test his full strength.
"You there, bro?"
On his way there, Jiang Bai saw a pop-up from "Datang Wuzui."
"Yeah, I'm here. Just say what you need."
Jiang Bai replied.
"Hehe, got something cool to show you."
Then, an item name popped into the chat:
[Explosive Shot] (S-Rank)