Online game: Basic attacks increase strength; the greater the power, the more powerful it is!

Turning around and walking out of the Mercenary Guild, the morning light had already fully illuminated the streets of Dawn City.

The players' shouts and the NPCs' daily routines—everything seemed perfectly peaceful.

But Junheng knew that beneath the city's glamorous facade lay countless turbulent secrets.

He walked east along the main street for about half an hour, and the surrounding buildings gradually became low and dilapidated.

The shops on both sides of the street have changed from bright and shiny shops to second-hand shops and pawnshops with faded signs.

The number of pedestrians on the road has decreased significantly, and the few I did encounter all hurried past with their heads down and wary eyes.

This is the slums of Dawn City.

The black market is hidden even deeper within this region.

Following the markings on the map, Junheng turned into a narrow alley.

The walls on both sides of the alley were covered with moss, and the air was filled with a damp and musty smell.

After walking about a hundred meters, a rusty iron gate appeared ahead.

There were no markings on the iron gate, but an inconspicuous bronze eye pattern was embedded above the gate frame.

That's the sign of the black market, symbolizing "you can see everything here".

Junheng reached out and pushed the door, but the iron door did not budge.

He frowned slightly, about to increase the force, when suddenly a line of dark red text appeared on the iron gate.

[A new face. If you want to get in, you'll have to pay a toll of ten silver coins first.]

Jun Heng looked at the text and, instead of getting angry, smiled.

Because he found the right place.

He took out ten silver coins from his backpack and placed them in an inconspicuous groove below the iron gate.

The moment the silver coin fell into the groove, the iron gate made a dull click and slowly opened inward.

Junheng stepped inside, and the scene before him was completely different from the dilapidated alleyway outside.

A narrow street lined with all sorts of stalls and shops on both sides.

The dim, magical lanterns hung from the eaves, casting swaying shadows.

The stall was filled with all sorts of strange and unusual goods: potions that glowed with an eerie green light, scales and teeth of unknown creatures, and even a few pieces of equipment that were clearly not human.

There weren't many pedestrians on the street, but everyone was walking quickly.

The appearance of Jun Heng, an outsider, immediately attracted several subtle glances.

But he remained expressionless and walked straight down the street into the depths.

According to the information provided by Mana, Karl the Ghost is an antique shop located at the deepest part of a dark alley.

After walking about two hundred meters, the street gradually narrowed.

Finally, Junheng stopped in front of a door with a sign that read "Karl's Antique Shop".

The paint on the signboard is peeling and faded, but the lettering is still clearly legible.

The door was ajar, and a faint candlelight shone through the crack.

Jun Heng pushed the door open and entered, the hinges creaking.

The store is not very spacious and is filled with all sorts of odds and ends.

Broken statues, rusty weapons, yellowed books, dusty bottles and jars...

It's less of an antique shop and more of a giant junkyard.

Behind the counter, a thin old man was hunched over, carefully examining a bronze badge by candlelight.

He looked to be around sixty years old, with sparse, gray hair and a face covered in wrinkles.

But those eyes were unusually bright and sharp, as if they could see through all disguises.

"What would you like to order, sir?"

The old man's voice was hoarse as he asked without looking up.

"I've heard that Master Karl's craftsmanship is the best in the entire Dawn City."

Junheng walked to the counter, his tone calm.

"I would like you to make a copy of an invitation to a banquet at the city lord's mansion."

The old man paused slightly in his movements, then finally raised his head and looked at Jun Heng.

Those sharp eyes scanned Jun Heng for a moment, then he slowly spoke.

"Young man, do you know what you're saying?"

"Forging an invitation from the city lord's mansion is a serious crime."

"Once discovered, the punishment ranges from being banished from the city to being imprisoned in the dungeon."

"Of course I know."

Jun Heng smiled slightly, took out a gold coin from his backpack, and tossed it to the old man.

"But I believe in Master Karl's craftsmanship, and it's worth the risk."

Karl caught the gold coin, a meaningful smile playing on his lips.

"Young man, gold coins are a good thing, but there are some things that gold coins can't solve."

Karl flipped the gold coin between his fingers and then flicked it precisely back into Junheng's hand.

"I can definitely forge the city lord's invitation."

"But you should know that once this invitation gets out, my life will be hanging by a thread."

Jun Heng glanced at the gold coins in his hand and said calmly.

"Tell me, what do you need me to do for you?"

Upon hearing this, a look of satisfaction appeared on Karl's aged face.

"Young man, you're smart enough."

"My request is simple: help me retrieve something."

He slowly stood up, hunched over, and walked to an old cabinet.

Karl opened the cabinet door, rummaged around for a while, and pulled out a palm-sized fragment of a stone slab.

The stone slab has an ancient texture and its surface is covered with densely packed runes.

The runes had an eerie dark gold color, as if they were cast from some kind of special metal powder.

"I found this stone slab by chance during an expedition when I was young."

Karl's voice deepened as he rubbed the runes on his hand.

"It comes from an underground ruin eighty miles east of Dawn City, a place known as the 'Slumber Cave'."

"I only brought back this one fragment back then, but the slab itself... clearly has another half."

"I have studied many ancient books, but no script from any era can match the text on this."

"Therefore, I speculate that these symbols may not belong to this world."

Jun Heng's gaze fell on the fragment of the stone slab, and his pupils contracted almost imperceptibly.

The runes on it definitely don't belong to this world.

Because he knows him.

To be precise, he had seen similar script in his previous life.

That is the language of the gods.

God does exist; otherwise, there would be no such thing as interdimensional fusion.

However, these so-called gods have never actually appeared.

In the previous game, this language only gradually became known to players after the release of the fourth version, "The Legacy of the Gods".

And now, less than a week after the server opened, he has already come across clues related to the gods.

Jun Heng's heart was in turmoil, but he remained outwardly calm.

"Master Karl, from which part of the Cavern of Slumber did you find this fragment of the stone tablet?"

Jun Heng raised his head and looked at Karl calmly.

As a reborn individual, he naturally knew this location before.

But no one has ever heard of anyone obtaining a stone tablet with divine inscriptions there.

Therefore, Junheng deduced that the Cave of Slumber must contain a hidden map or instance that is extremely difficult to find.