Chapter 180 – Cheating
"Not bad at all," Zhou Ning murmured in approval as he racked the bolt. A spent shell casing ejected from White Ivory with a crisp clink.
The half-human mammoth, like the Arrow Goddess Boudica, was an undead boss still in its weakened state. Though it had high HP and attack power, its movements were sluggish and its fighting was purely instinctual—far easier to deal with than a supernatural of the same level. With the boost from his Clan Instruction skill, it could only suffer in silence as it became a convenient source of XP.
The hammer in the mammoth's hand was probably a decent extraordinary item, but Zhou Ning wasn't interested in it. Nor did he bother looking for other loot. Instead, he narrowed his eyes and looked toward the remaining female elf.
After two days of intense combat, his remaining ammunition was almost depleted. The Clan Instruction buff had only 17 seconds left, after which it would enter a four-hour cooldown.
But he had no intention of stopping. From the last two kills, he had discovered something: the progress for the class change quest didn't seem to depend on damage contribution. Boudica had 100% of her own damage output—counted as one. The mammoth Katuwa only had 27% of its damage dealt by him, yet it also counted—just a kill steal, and still valid. It seemed all that mattered was landing the final blow.
Compared to the other two bosses, the female elf mage was in an even worse position. As a newly resurrected undead, she could only fight on instinct. And being a mage, she was ill-suited for close combat, leaving her battered and bruised from the surrounding assault.
Her only advantage was her exceptional spatial abilities. She could continuously blink to avoid damage, creating a strange sort of balance in the battle.
Zhou Ning silently observed her, using Observation Haki to track her movements. With three seconds left on Clan Instruction, he finally "saw" her next blink location. In a flash, he slid forward. His black trench coat flared behind him as both guns swung up to aim at empty ground—
"-542!"
"-1235!"
The crowd, who had just started rushing over, froze in stunned disbelief. What they saw was nearly miraculous. It looked like pure coincidence: two bullets fired at empty space, yet it was as if the elf mage blinked right into them. One after the other, both bullets pierced her body.
And then… it was over.
In a burst of good luck, the special bullets from Ebony happened to trigger the light-element effect that dealt maximum damage to undead. On top of that, a 1.9x critical hit occurred. The second bullet exploded with unprecedented power. The fire in the elf mage's eyes extinguished instantly as she collapsed.
At that exact moment, Clan Instruction ran out.
A system prompt appeared on his panel:
[You killed Elf Mage Kailin (Lv63), damage contribution: 19%, you gained 52,000 EXP!]
[Boss kills via firearms: 4/5.]
When it came to kill-stealing, Zhou Ning had never feared anyone.
After the elf mage died, she dropped an old-fashioned ring on the ground. With a casual twirl, Ebony and White Ivory vanished from his hands. Zhou Ning crouched down and picked up the ring.
It was worn and weathered, with a barely visible carved portrait. To his surprise, it was an Unknown Relic:
Unknown Relic – Traveler's Ring: Allows the wearer to consume stamina to perform short- to mid-range teleportation. However, there's also a chance of random teleportation upon being attacked.
Origin: Crafted by the alchemist Wendegoon during the age of the Four Heroes, in memory of his late father. Wendegoon carved his father's image into the ring and used his incredible alchemical skills to create it.
Effect 1: Allows mid-range teleportation—similar to a mage's Blink, but not limited to it.
Effect 2: ????
"Wendegoon again?" Zhou Ning chuckled. "Guess he really was my foster son in a past life." He felt an odd sense of affinity. Though he really wanted to keep the ring, he prided himself on being an honest man. Stealing kills was one thing—but looting gear? Not his style.
Based on Edwin's earlier promise, everyone would get to choose one item freely after the expedition. He had already decided—this ring would be his pick.
Just then, as if sensing the death of his companion, Archibald once again dropped to one knee and plunged his runed sword deep into the earth.
This time, the soil rapidly withered and decayed, as if weathered by centuries. Thin black threads spread outward from the blade.
Moments later, hordes of undead burst from the ground once more. What made everyone's skin crawl was that even Boudica, the mammoth, and the elf mage rose again, swaying as they returned to the fray.
It looked like it was time to play his trump card. Zhou Ning could only hope that his nearly-ultimate self would deliver.
He curled his lips into a smirk, opened his inventory, and selected an item he'd been saving for a long time:
[Epic Vampire – Zhou Ning Character Possession Card]
[Card activated. It will now disappear.]
In an instant, Zhou Ning's entire demeanor shifted. His gaze grew deep and ancient—he had entered the Epic Vampire state.
"You all go. Leave this to me," he said calmly.
The moment he finished speaking, he dashed straight into the swarm of undead, moving so fast he seemed to teleport.
"Wait, Sturwell!" Professor Raleigh shouted, trying to stop him, but it was too late. Zhou Ning had already plunged into the undead horde. In Raleigh's view, countless undead surged from all sides, completely engulfing Zhou Ning.
Then, with a loud snap, Zhou Ning clenched his fist. A golden ripple spread from his palm. In an instant, several nearby undead ignited and melted in the blazing wave.
The recently revived mammoth, now unarmed, instinctively attacked—rearing up to stomp Zhou Ning. But Zhou Ning didn't dodge. Instead, he reached out with his right hand and grabbed its foreleg.
Snap!
He clenched tightly and injected Ripple energy directly into the beast.
Scarlet-colored Ripple surged into it, and within moments, the three-meter tall, four-meter long mammoth ignited in flames.
Zhou Ning grabbed it with both hands and heaved it into the air. Using it like a Ripple-conducting weapon, he swung it in a wide arc. Whoosh! A shockwave burst out as undead creatures around him were flung away. Like a firework display, flames erupted in a full circle around him, oddly beautiful.
Two minutes later, he dusted the ashes from his sleeves and walked out from the sea of fallen undead, frowning as he looked toward Archibald.
Edwin was using a third Unknown Relic on Archibald. A silver pillar of light engulfed the undead commander just as he was pulling his sword from the ground—but it did little damage, only leaving some new burns on his face.
Instead of weakening him, it seemed to enrage Archibald. He stepped forward, and with a chilling wind, Edwin's ice armor and stone shield shattered layer by layer. But just then, Zhou Ning silently appeared in front of Archibald and reached for the runed sword.
Zzzzt!
Zhou Ning's arm instantly froze over, coated in thick ice—but it was quickly melted by his scorching Ripple energy.
Edwin blinked away just in time, coughing up several mouthfuls of blood. His face turned pale and haggard.
He had already done his best to stall Archibald, but the power gap between them was hopelessly wide.
Three uses of Unknown Relics, and he still hadn't inflicted any meaningful damage. Meanwhile, both he and Leandro were seriously injured—spent forces on the verge of collapse.
And now, as the hall began to shake violently, three more statues in the distance began to stir.
This time, a greatsword-wielding warrior, a female cleric, and a walrus-man were coming to life.
"You all go. I'll handle this," Zhou Ning repeated, his tone as calm as before.