Chapter Thirty-Five: The Ruins

"Careful!" Li Ren grabbed the Shadow, who was still moving forward, and quickly pulled him into a pile of strange rocks to hide.

Moments later, a Dark Demon Guardian, at least level 180, passed by not far from where they had just been. Had they not hidden, they would have run right into the guardian.

Given their current levels, which together didn’t even reach 180, they wouldn’t dare provoke something like that. Who knew how many more terrifying things might follow if they attracted its attention?

“That was close! What happened to you just now?” Li Ren looked at Shadow.

Shadow rubbed his brow. “Maybe it’s because we’re almost at the Dark Gate. Memories from the past came to mind, and I got a little lost in thought. Sorry about that.”

“Now, you should be able to tell me what exactly the Dark Gate is, right?” Li Ren glanced at Shadow, feeling a bit impatient.

“Hm? I thought you already knew.” Shadow sounded surprised.

“If I knew, why would I be asking you?”

“Why did the Skeleton King let you come here and even give you the Skeleton Order?”

“You… you!” Li Ren was so exasperated by this guy in front of him. It seemed that whatever illness had brought him back to the present was quite serious indeed.

The Dark Gate, to players, was nothing more than a gold-tier accessory, but for Li Ren, it was the very first artifact he needed to establish his own city. In the entire game world, there were only three Dark Gates, and of the locations Shadow knew about, this was the simplest to reach.

The ruins lay just ahead. The two of them sneaked inside. Fortunately, Shadow’s memory was accurate—within this strange ruin, located deep in the Black Soil’s inner circle, there wasn’t a single monster.

Though it was called a ruin, two more adjectives were needed: dilapidated and utterly devastated.

They reached the center of the ruins and, led by Shadow, stopped atop a battered stone slab that looked no different from the rest. Unless someone already knew the secret, no one would ever take interest in such a wretched place.

Especially considering there wasn’t even a single noteworthy monster nearby, it was even less likely anyone would come.

“This was something you discovered in your previous life. Who would have thought the ultimate artifact guarded by the Black Soil would be hidden in such a miserable place?” Shadow stared resentfully at the slab.

Imagine spending all your strength and resources defeating a formidable adversary, hoping to seize his most treasured possession, only to find out it was hidden all along in a doghouse in your own backyard—and there isn’t even a dog in it. The feeling is enough to make you want to die.

“Open, sesame!” Li Ren looked at Shadow with utter disdain as he uttered this nonsensical phrase as though he’d lost his mind. What happened next left him completely dumbfounded.

The stone slab gradually turned transparent under Shadow’s bizarre “incantation,” revealing an opening below, with a flight of stairs descending into the darkness, the end unseen.

Shadow was well aware of how ridiculous his “spell” had sounded, but reality proved him right. He shot a contemptuous glance at Li Ren, who was still dazed by his side, lifted his chin, and strode in.

Li Ren, receiving a white-eyed look, calmly followed—after all, the method to open this place was simply too strange.

Fortunately, this odd method did not disappoint them; the information Shadow brought proved true.

Descending the stairs to the very bottom of the ruin, not even the crimson hue of the blood moon could penetrate. Boundless darkness stood guard, warding off any potential intruders.

But for Li Ren and Shadow, this meant nothing.

At the lowest level, they were greeted by a field of emerald flames.

These flames, utterly without warmth, danced and flickered, driving away the thick blackness of the chamber. The two green clusters in Li Ren’s mind grew ever brighter in the glow.

He took a deep breath. Just standing here, he could feel himself gradually changing!

His experience was actually increasing, ever so slowly!

“What… what is this place?!” Li Ren was astounded.

“The Black Soil Chamber. What’s surprising you isn’t the chamber itself, but those heaps of Skeleton Soulfire.” Shadow looked upon the scene without much expression and, not waiting for Li Ren, walked inside.

“Skeleton Soulfire? What’s that?” Li Ren, ever eager to learn, pressed on.

“They’re the lifeblood of your skeleton clan. The Skeleton King wants just one, that’s all. Black Soil is actually somewhat connected to your kind. Even if you grind enough of those little minions outside, you’ll eventually accumulate one. Otherwise, do you really think he’d be so generous? Just handing you the Skeleton Order?” Shadow’s tone was tinged with scorn.

“The Skeleton King isn’t exactly a good guy, either. Take all of these. When you go back, just give him one. If you bring more, he’ll only grow suspicious.”

Li Ren didn’t know the true value of the stuff before him, but judging by his own reaction and the fact that even the Skeleton King needed him to fetch it, it was clear these were treasures.

With a grand sweep of his hand, the green flames vanished rapidly. Once he had gathered them all, he joined Shadow.

Before them sat an ordinary golden chest, already opened. Inside lay an object shaped like a key, about the size of a small door.

Pure dark energy swirled across its surface without the slightest leak.

At Shadow’s nod, Li Ren stepped forward and took the Dark Gate from the chest.

Dark Gate

Equipment Level: Gold, Accessory

Special Effects: Reduces dark magic consumption by 50%, increases attack power by 50%, automatically restores 3% of maximum mana per second.

Additional Skills:
Shadow Summon: Summon ten Dark Demon Shadow Guards with 200% of the user’s attributes for 10 minutes; cooldown: one month.
Dark Demon Shadow Charm: Deals 300% of the user's maximum mana as magic damage within a 100x100 area; cooldown: six months.

Equip Requirement: Level 220 or Intelligence 2000.

Seeing these attributes, Li Ren was utterly floored—what on earth was this thing?

If not for needing it to found a city, he might have kept it for himself right then.

Just as they stowed the Dark Gate away, the golden chest that had held it suddenly sank into the floor. The chamber trembled slightly, and out of nowhere, a small dark door appeared before them.