Free Web NovelChapter 11: Chapter 11: A Hero’s Twilight
"Main Quest: Survive until dawn. Complete.
After a thrilling and satisfying dungeon exploration, your Level has increased to Level 3. Your Life Limit and Physical Limit have slightly increased.
Your proficiency with the Crowbar has risen a step. If you persist, you may learn a Crowbar-related Skill on your own.
Your various Attributes have grown slightly, but unfortunately have not yet met the conditions for an increase.
Dungeon Rating: Monumental Contribution (Highest Rating). Abyss Coin reward doubled. You have received six thousand Abyss Coins.
Hidden feature unlocked. When you complete incredible feats, you will obtain reputation cards to record your incredible experiences. Reputation cards will increase your reputation, which will affect the attitude of some NPCs toward you in dungeons. Friendly reminder: Having too high a reputation is not necessarily a good thing, at least not for a low-level Adventurer.
Achievements will also become reputation cards, so please do not complain about why your achievements have disappeared."
Silently calling out for his reputation cards, Duan Fei saw a book open before him, displaying the reputation cards he had obtained.
[Spiritual Radiance]: Temporarily increased Spirit Attribute by over 50 points within a single dungeon.
[Contempt for the False God]: You threatened an Evil God. The effects of any Evil God and their lackeys on you are reduced. After threatening every type of god, you will receive a special reward.
[Super God]: For a single moment, you possessed power comparable to a god’s. But why are you still alive?
After looking at his reputation cards for a moment, Duan Fei decided that the game’s balance designer should be taken out and shot.
Contempt for the False God and Super God were clearly much harder achievements to get, yet they only gave four reputation points and some resistances, which was nothing compared to Spiritual Radiance.
But regardless, Duan Fei was quite satisfied with his first dungeon run.
According to Little Fatty, the rewards in the game "Abyss" were extremely stingy, but that gave it a slow-burn charm that encouraged long-term play.
Six thousand Abyss Coins seemed like a lot, but it wouldn’t last long. Once he reached Level 10 and could go to a city, it would be gone in the blink of an eye.
In the cities, there were large markets, blacksmiths, and various Professional Skill instructors. The game didn’t truly begin until you reached a city.
’I really want to get to Level 10 soon. But it’s late now, I should log off.’
He casually sent Little Fatty a friend request, and then Duan Fei logged out.
The friend system was actually quite important. Once you were friends, the system would prioritize putting you in the same party whenever possible.
Of course, if you didn’t want to be matched, you could just change a setting.
Although he had left the dungeon, the events within it were still unfolding.
A grand awards ceremony was underway. A young man was pushed onto the stage, where he accepted a medal and trophy from the CEO of Rongge Company with a bewildered expression.
After posing for a photo with the young man, the CEO spoke. "Let us thank our very own Chen Sen. It was he who bravely charged the Evil God’s lackeys and sealed the rift. It was he who repelled the Evil God, freeing our world from its threat for the time being. This was a suicide mission, but with unparalleled courage and Spiritual Power as strong as a fortress wall, he accomplished an incredible feat."
Thunderous applause erupted. The employees of Rongge Company clapped sincerely for Chen Sen, which brought an awkward smile to his face as he raised the trophy under everyone’s gaze.
After the ceremony ended, he deliberately stayed behind and stopped the CEO.
After a moment of hesitation, Chen Sen asked, "Sir, I don’t feel like I can accept this award. I..."
"You’ve forgotten everything, haven’t you?"
"How did you know? Yes, I just volunteered to be a test subject, signed some papers, and then I don’t remember anything. I heard people say I taunted every single anomaly, even beat up a lackey of the Evil God, and even tore the rift apart! How is that possible? I’ve read the employee handbook. I know those things aren’t something a human can fight, but I..."
Patting the astonished Chen Sen on the shoulder, the CEO said, "Don’t worry about it. You deserve this. Mustering the courage to volunteer was enough to earn all your compensation. Relax, not remembering anything is a good thing. If I were you, I’d use the prize money to buy a cruise ticket and travel the world."
"Alright. Thank you for the advice, Mr. Xiao."
"You’re welcome."
Watching Chen Sen leave, the CEO let out a long sigh.
He picked up a cup of coffee, stood by the window, and looked down below.
People bustled through the city, vehicles ran nonstop. They were all enjoying their peaceful lives, unaware that their tranquility was in grave danger.
The rift had been sealed, but the seal wouldn’t last. Before long, new lackeys would appear, and a new rift would open.
"I hope the next Descender is as powerful as this one was."
With a wry smile, the CEO raised his coffee cup, toasting the unknown Descender in thanks.
After logging off, Duan Fei first opened his messaging app, then composed a long message and sent it to his childhood friend, Qing Mei.
After sending it, Duan Fei climbed straight into bed, planning to get some sleep before getting back to the game. He then discovered a tragic fact.
He couldn’t sleep at all!
Every time he closed his eyes, he would recall his experiences in the game, involuntarily replaying every little detail.
After realizing he had been tossing and turning in bed for an hour, he first checked his messages and saw she hadn’t replied yet. So, he simply put the helmet back on and re-entered the Abyss.
The familiar office, the familiar damp floor.
Looking around, Duan Fei realized his spawn point in the main game lobby was random. At least, the surrounding furnishings were completely different from before.
Entering the game for the second time, Duan Fei didn’t hesitate. He moved directly through the room and soon found a new fire door.
"Tier Three, multiplayer dungeon, apocalyptic-type, recommended game Level 1-10."
"Note: Player Attributes in this dungeon will be overwritten, and the backpack cannot be opened. However, Skill usage is not affected."
Overwritten meant that the player’s own Attributes would be nullified, replaced by the dungeon’s preset character Attributes.
However, for a rookie like Duan Fei whose Attributes hadn’t developed yet, this requirement had almost no effect.
Pushing open the fire door, Duan Fei felt a flash of white light before his eyes, followed by the sound of a nurse’s anxious cries and the whirring of machines.
An irresistible wave of drowsiness washed over him, and Duan Fei couldn’t help but close his eyes and sleep for a moment.
When he woke up, the world had changed.
The ceiling was covered in green vines, and half of the room had collapsed, making the view from the room quite open.
Trembling, he climbed out of the hospital bed. Duan Fei felt that his current body was unusually heavy, making him wonder just how long he had been lying there.
But after seeing a broken mirror in the corner of the room, Duan Fei understood why this body felt so clumsy.
In the mirror, Duan Fei was an old man.
To be more precise, he was an old man in his early seventies, dressed in a blue and white hospital gown—the kind who, if gently bumped, would lie on the ground for a very long time.
