"Uh… Brother Stellar, I've got one more question."
Miguel turned his gaze toward Thunderblade, brow twitching slightly. Why does this guy have so many questions?
"Go on," Miguel said flatly.
"Is this dungeon… a solo instance or a team instance?"
Miguel froze for a split second. Right… is it solo or team?
Truth was—he didn't know either.
It was a little embarrassing. In his previous life, it had taken him only a few hundred years to ascend to the divine seat in Godmaking Online, claiming a place among the gods themselves. For the following hundred thousand years, he hadn't touched the game at all. And so here he was, unsure about something as basic as this.
Seeing Miguel's blank expression, Thunderblade seemed to catch on and wisely shut his mouth.
"Ahem, it's a team dungeon. Definitely. Let's go," Miguel declared, striding forward without hesitation.
Thunderblade hurried to follow.
The forest they entered was massive, unlike the usual monster zones. The number of wild monsters here was large, but their distribution was scattered. After walking for an entire hour, the two hadn't encountered a single creature.
Another ten minutes passed before they finally stopped.
"Screee! Screee!"
Up ahead, perched on a tree branch, was a creature resembling a monkey but with fox-like features. Its beady eyes glared at them with raw hostility.
Monkeys were naturally ill-tempered, and their territorial instincts were even stronger. Seeing Miguel and Thunderblade intruding into its domain, the fox-monkey's screeches grew louder.
Thunderblade instantly cast an appraisal.
[Fox-Monkey] (Common)
Level: 6
Rank: None
HP: 300/300
Attack: 22
"Only 22 attack?" Thunderblade scoffed.
His own physical defense was just 10, but with the Pig King Shield equipped, that number soared to 45. It was, after all, loot from a world boss. A mere level 6 common monster wasn't even worth worrying about—he could probably take on an elite without much trouble.
"Screee! Screee!"
Before either of them could move, dozens more fox-monkeys poured in from all directions. In seconds, Miguel and Thunderblade were surrounded by over a hundred of them.
Miguel frowned. "Killing them one by one would be too slow. If I had an AoE skill, this fight would be over in minutes."
Thunderblade noticed the frown and puffed out his chest.
"Don't worry, Brother Stellar. These monkeys are nothing. I'll protect you with everything I've got—you won't take a single hit."
He'd seen the video of Miguel toying with the Wild Boar King and assumed Miguel's talent was all about buffing Strength and Agility. That meant his defense and constitution were probably mediocre—hence the concern over being surrounded.
What Thunderblade didn't know was that Miguel's frown had nothing to do with fear.
After sacrificing the Wild Boar King's corpse earlier, Miguel's free attribute points had reached 2437. The moment they were surrounded, he'd dumped a thousand points straight into Physical Defense.
His defense had jumped from 12 to a staggering 1012.
At that level, even a boss couldn't scratch him—let alone these little pests. And unlike other games, Godmaking Online didn't have a "forced damage" mechanic. Swarm tactics simply didn't work here.
"Screee!" One of the fox-monkeys shrieked, signaling the attack.
They lunged—some from the trees above, some charging from behind, and others rushing head-on.
Thunderblade's face tightened. He whipped out the Pig King Shield, a massive slab of bronze two meters tall and a meter wide, radiating security.
"Get behind me and the shield! They won't touch you. I swear I'll keep you safe."
"Miguel, hurry—"
"Thanks," Miguel interrupted lightly, "but I won't be needing it."
Before Thunderblade could finish his sentence, Miguel blurred out of sight, reappearing in the midst of the horde with speed too fast for Thunderblade's eyes to follow.
"Screee!"
The sudden appearance startled a fox-monkey, but emboldened by its numbers, it slashed at Miguel with claws glinting coldly in the dim light.
Clang!
"-0!"
"-0!"
"-0!"
Thunderblade froze mid-shout. Dozens of claws raked Miguel's body—none could pierce his defense.
No damage at all?!
"What kind of monster is this guy? What kind of talent did he awaken?" Thunderblade's thoughts were a mix of awe and despair.
Miguel, on the other hand, moved like lightning.
"-1087!"
"-1087!"
-2174! (Critical!)
Numbers exploded over the horde as Miguel struck, his figure weaving effortlessly between them.
Thunderblade eventually just… sat down. The fox-monkeys kept clawing at him, but he stared at the sky, hollow-eyed.
"Forget it. Compare gear, you lose. Compare people… you die. I'm done. I'll just… lie here."
He actually laid down.
Five minutes later, over eighty fox-monkeys lay lifeless at Miguel's feet. The survivors surrounding Thunderblade bolted in sheer terror, scattering into the forest.
Miguel didn't bother chasing them. Instead, he calmly collected the corpses into his storage ring. With eighty bodies, the Supreme Sacrifice would yield another five to six hundred free attribute points—not a huge haul, but definitely worth it.
He glanced over at Thunderblade, who was still dazed, and kicked him over.
Thunderblade rolled several times before snapping back to reality.
"What? What?!"
"Battle's over. Let's move."
And with that, Miguel continued forward through the forest, his expression as calm as ever. The scent of victory lingered in the air, and for anyone watching… the gap between the two players was painfully, impossibly clear.