Chapter 436: Ultimate Darkness Barrier, Finding the Hunter
A few hours after maxing out Torrent of Lightning, Leon once again had enough to evolve another skill, the stones piling up in his inventory.
[You have consumed 250 Skill Stones...]
Ding!
[You have evolved your "Mega Darkness Barrier (Epic Lv.7)" skill into "Mega Darkness Barrier (Epic Lv.10)"]
[Your "Mega Darkness Barrier (Epic)" skill has reached its maximum level and has grown much stronger.]
[Your "Mega Darkness Barrier" skill has evolved into "Ultimate Darkness Barrier"]
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[Ultimate Darkness Barrier (Max): Summon an impenetrable shield of absolute darkness that surrounds the user, absorbing all incoming damage and even reflecting a portion back at attackers, it is always active unless broken.]
[The SSS-Level Sub-Talent directly fuels it.]
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This was in addition to the tens of thousands of attributes Leon gained, mainly in his Spirit, making all of his spells much stronger and more devastating than ever before.
After a while though, there was no more monsters in the dungeon, Leon had literally wiped them all out through his relentless assault.
Those that remained were likely simply hiding from him, sensing his overwhelming power.
’Well, they’ll respawn again, who cares,’ he thought as he marched back toward the chamber where the Frostmaw had been, ’Good day today, and more to come hopefully in the coming days.’
If Leon could keep this up for the entire two weeks, reaching 15 million combat power wouldn’t be a dream but an achievable reality.
He also needed to make sure, Violet, Celeste and Emilia were strong enough as well, sharing some of the resources with them.
’Providing them temporary equipment should be good, as well as improving their Combat Power and skills,’ he planned.
But more than anything right now, the one that Leon was the most excited about appeared when he left the Frostbite Cavern, stepping back into the cold atmosphere.
Fwoosh!
He appeared outside of the cavern, back into the frozen landscape and the notification appeared.
Ding!
[You have completed the S-Rank Quest: "Prove your Worth #1"]
[Find the "Hunter" again to continue.]
’The fuck you mean find the Hunter again?’ Leon thought, frustration building, ’I thought that he’d appear again or immediately tell me where he was...’
It was at that moment Leon realized what was happening, the true nature of the Hunter’s test.
The Hunter gave a quest to someone they considered to be worthy, then they disappeared, forcing the seeker to prove their determination by finding them.
And though it wasn’t said directly, the second quest itself was finding the Hunter once more in the entirety of this higher domain, a test of patience and resourcefulness.
’What a bunch of bullshit,’ Leon thought, shaking his head, ’But the rewards...’
The Hunter was so careful in selecting the people he wanted, which is why only a few people ever managed to get acknowledged by him throughout the ages.
And they all went on to become terrifyingly powerful beings in the Eternal Battlefield/Eternal Domain, their names spoken with reverence.
The main issue Leon had was the fact he would be wasting time to look for the Hunter, time he could spend grinding.
Or at least, that was until he opened his [World Map], hoping for a solution.
Because the moment he did and scrolled back to see the entire domain, he noticed something: another symbol, a new icon that hadn’t been there before.
It was an icon that was constantly pulsing, the letter H with some monsters surrounding it, clearly marking the Hunter’s location.
And Leon immediately realized the truth.
’Holy shit, I can see the Hunter directly from here!’ he thought, his heart racing.
He was currently near the location of the [Frostbite Cavern], while the Hunter was near [Divine Academy City], a vast distance.
For a normal person, and even Leon without the World Map, going all the way back there to find the Hunter was bordering insanity, taking days of travel.
And yet... with a small smile, Leon simply tapped the area right beside the icon on his map, selecting it as his destination.
Ding!
[Do you wish to teleport?]
"Yes!" Leon confirmed without hesitation.
Fwoosh!
Leon’s form turned into particles as he was transported to the location he had selected using the [World Map], disappearing in a flash of light.
Meanwhile, in another part of the domain, the Hunter was resting on a rocky outcropping, gazing out at the landscape.
"Well, seems like the human completed the quest," the hunter mumbled with a smile, "If he is smart and determined enough, he should be able to find me, I’ll give him a few days."
The Hunter truly didn’t care about finding anybody quickly, he could wait for as long as he wanted, as his lifespan was extremely long and he had all the time in the world.
Anyone who made even a single small mistake was enough for that person to be disqualified from his consideration.
The Hunter was ready to wait a few days in place, as he knew that there was an extremely low chance for the human to find him, given the vastness of the domain—
Fwoosh!
Before the Hunter could finish his thought, he noticed something appear beside him and quickly took his fighting stance... only to realize who was standing before him.
"What?" even the Hunter seemed confused, his eyes widening, "But..."
"Found you," Leon grinned, his voice calm and confident, "That’s the second quest completed."
The Hunter simply stared at Leon for a long moment, his expression unreadable, then he let out a low chuckle, shaking his head.
"You’re quite something, Celestial," he said, his voice filled with respect. "In all my years, I’ve never had someone find me so quickly. You used a teleportation ability, didn’t you? Rare, very rare."
"Something like that," Leon replied, keeping his answer vague.
"Very well," the Hunter nodded, his demeanor shifting to seriousness. "Your display of resourcefulness and determination has earned you the third and final quest. Are you ready to prove your true worth as a hunter? It is the most important one of them all."
"Why not?" Leon grinned, already knowing what this one would be.
Ding!
[You have received the S-Rank Quest: "Prove your Worth #3"]