He raced along the path for nearly two hours.
Along the way, he had already seen many teams of players leveling up. The world of Eternal Realm was vast and boundless, and Kalis was not the only lucky one.
Many elite player teams, dissatisfied with the experience gains from monsters of the same level, ventured deep into Level 42 or even Level 53 monster zones to challenge them, striving to seize the initiative in leveling up.
The monsters around Silverpeak Hamlet were between Levels 52-63. Even so, many ambitious players roamed here.
When Kalis passed by Silverpeak Mine, he also saw someone on the side quest "Heal the Injured Miners," rushing toward the mine entrance carrying a medicine box.
Since his first clear of Silverpeak Mine, it had been converted into a public experience dungeon, appearing on the world map.
Many bold players had already formed teams to explore it. But even the top-ranked elite teams on the server mostly never returned once they entered. The regular monsters in the mine had high-level magic resistance, not to mention the two terrifying bosses.
The number of people in Silverpeak Hamlet was still not dense. When Kalis entered through the main town gate, the militiamen at the entrance immediately shot him hostile glances, their eyes filled with disgust.
Kalis was already used to this and didn't bother to pay much attention, striding straight toward the general store in the town center.
From a distance, he saw Tavren sitting astride an oak-backed chair, chatting and laughing with the general store's landlady.
The landlady, named Elara, was an elegant middle-aged woman with silver-gray hair tied up in a bun. The fine lines at the corners of her eyes couldn't hide her gentle temperament, and her words carried a hint of mature charm.
"Tavren, busy chatting with your sweetheart?" Kalis pushed open the wooden door of the general store, teasing him.
"Don't talk nonsense! I'm already married!" Elara waved her hand coquettishly, a faint blush spreading across her cheeks.
When Tavren saw Kalis arriving, he coughed awkwardly and quickly stood up: "Adventurer, you're finally here! I've packed my luggage and am ready to leave at any time."
"Good." Kalis nodded in response, turning around and walking out of the store first.
Tavren also exchanged a few reluctant goodbyes with Elara. His lingering manner made Kalis can't help but wonder if there was an unspoken affection between them. After a moment, the two set off side by side, slowly leaving Silverpeak Hamlet.
"Tavren, where is your hometown? Is it far from here?" Kalis asked.
"Westvale Village, a beautiful place." A hint of nostalgia flashed in Tavren's eyes. "It's about three thousand two hundred kilometers in a straight line."
"Th-three thousand two hundred kilometers?!" Kalis almost spat out a mouthful of blood.
In the game, players' base movement speed was approximately 23 kilometers per hour, and they also needed to rest regularly to recover stamina. If they relied solely on walking, I'm afraid by the time others reached Level 100, they would still be dawdling on the road!
"Don't worry, don't worry." Tavren quickly added. "We can first return to Silverpeak Hamlet's teleportation array, go to Valorian, then pay a 25 Gold Coin teleportation fee to reach another main city, Lunaris, and then transfer to a short-distance teleportation array to get to Westvale Village. It won't take half a day."
"Thank goodness..." Kalis let out a sigh of relief.
Along the way, Tavren completely revealed his "chatterbox" nature, talking endlessly about the customs of Westvale Village, the price fluctuations in Silverpeak Hamlet, and his adventure experiences when he was young.
Kalis's ears were almost numb from listening. Several times, he could barely resist gathering Magic Missile to one-shot him.
But when he thought about relying on him to introduce the mentor for the hidden class advancement, he finally held back.
NPCs' movement speed was much slower than the players'. The journey that had taken two hours to come took a full three and a half hours to return.
During this time, the server's average level had increased by another 2-3 levels. Many players were already approaching Level 31, getting closer and closer to unlocking the threshold for the second-tier class.
Seeing Valorian's towering white rock city walls already within sight, and knowing they would enter the teleportation array in a moment, a trace of relief surged in Kalis's heart.
But suddenly, the road ahead was blocked by a group of players. All of them had the same guild prefix above their heads—Shadow Claw.
"Hehe, Kalis, didn't expect to meet you here, did you?" A sneering voice came. The speaker was Gareth, a core member of the Shadow Claw Guild.
At this moment, he was holding a shield, looking at Kalis with a playful expression.
"What do you want?" Kalis frowned, thinking to himself that something was wrong. Along the way, walking slowly with Tavren, he had encountered many players.
With the Shadow Claw Guild's power, it was not surprising that they had tracked his whereabouts.
He wasn't afraid of fighting himself, but Tavren was the key. Once an NPC was killed by a player, it would die permanently, and his hidden class advancement quest would be completely ruined.
More and more Shadow Claw Guild players gathered around. In the blink of an eye, nearly 550 players had assembled, forming a dense circle that completely blocked their retreat.
"Adventurer, they... what do they want?" Tavren also sensed that something was wrong. His face turned pale, and he grabbed Kalis's sleeve nervously.
"Hahaha!" A wild laugh came from the crowd. Vaelen pushed his way out. He was wearing a full set of Epic equipment, holding a staff glowing with faint flame light.
"Kalis, you're just a solo player, yet you dare to go against our guild?" Vaelen said loudly, his tone filled with malice. "Today, you'll pay the price! That NPC is the key to your quest, right? Perfect, he's going to die soon!"
"Dare you kill an NPC?" Kalis's expression darkened. Killing neutral NPCs in the game triggered severe penalties—not only would you be wanted by the main city and imprisoned in the dungeon, but your reputation and favorability would also decrease.
But the group in front of him clearly didn't care anymore.
"What don't we dare? It's just a few days in the dungeon!" Vaelen looked indifferent. He turned to the guild members and shouted loudly: "Brothers! Whoever can kill this NPC will get a 100,000 reward! Those who dare to go forward, step up!"
"I'll do it!"
"Count me in!"
Echoes immediately rang out from the crowd. The players' eyes shone with greedy glints. For them, the punishment of a few days in the dungeon was completely worth the temptation of 100,000.
"They want to kill me! Adventurer, save me!" Tavren trembled with fear, quickly hiding behind Kalis. But players were everywhere, and there was no place to hide.
"Damn it, what should I do?" Kalis felt a surge of anxiety in his heart.
If he himself was killed, he would at most drop a few pieces of equipment and some skill books. Although it would be a pity, he could respawn and return to the main city, and the loss would be bearable.
But once Tavren died, the Tome of the Celestial Mage he had finally obtained would become useless, and the chance for the hidden class would be gone forever!
"What to do, what to do..." Kalis's mind raced, but on the surface, he still pretended to be calm.
He sneered at Vaelen: "Vaelen, it seems that the beating I gave you in the starting village wasn't enough. You dare to come looking for death again this time?"
He must not lose in the war of words!
"Hahaha, still talking tough when you're about to die!" Vaelen laughed wildly. He raised his Flame Staff and cast a skill first: "Brothers, use your ultimate moves! Let him know who the true ruler of the server is!"
Whoosh—
A Fireball the size of a human head flew forward, carrying scorching heat, and hit Kalis square in the chest.
-612
With a full set of Epic equipment, Vaelen's attack power was far beyond that of ordinary players! Even with Kalis's over 120 Spell Defense, he still took over 600 points of serious damage—it's no wonder the Shadow Claw Guild was able to get the first clear of the Level 25 dungeon Hidden Outpost.
"Ding～ You are under malicious attack by player 'Vaelen'. Entering defense mode!"
The system notification sounded. The names of all players within 50 meters of the Shadow Claw Guild turned red, indicating they were attackable.
"Thunder Chain!"
Kalis wouldn't stand there and take a beating. He instantly gathered thunderous power. A blue chain crackling with electricity shot out, accurately hitting Vaelen before bouncing 10 more times, sweeping across the surrounding players like a power grid.
Zizizi—
-5,108,000, -4,763,000, -3,985,000...
A series of seven-digit damage numbers popped up. Vaelen, along with 11 core members beside him, was instantly killed, their bodies falling straight to the ground.
"Damn it! What the hell is this damage?!" Before Vaelen's body disappeared, his shocked curse came through the public chat, clearly stunned by the terrifying damage.
But even though he had one-shot 11 people, he couldn't stop the onslaught of nearly 550 players!
"Charge! One-shot him! Don't let him cast any more skills!" Gareth raised his shield, leading the charge toward Kalis. The players behind him surged forward like a tide. The glow of various skills intertwined, almost dyeing the sky colorful.
"It's over, I can't hold on like this..." Kalis's expression darkened. Although his Ultimate Amplification could bring ten-thousandfold damage, his skills also had cooldowns.
Moreover, there were too many enemies. Even if he one-shot 10 players per second, he would eventually be worn down. More importantly, he had to distract himself to protect Tavren behind him.
Once the players broke through his defense, Tavren would die for sure!
"I have no choice but to use that thing..."
With a troubled look, Kalis took out the purple-black necklace from his backpack.