Kill one monster, stack one poison, and I alone will poison my way across the world!

Clang.

Su Chen kicked away a piece of gravel with his toe and picked up the two objects on the ground that were shimmering with a faint black light.

Heavy Rock Greatsword (Black Iron Grade)

[Class Requirement: Warrior]

[Level Requirement: 12]

[Attributes: Strength +15, Physical Attack +2%]

……

Rough Stone-Blade Dagger (Black Iron Grade)

[Job Requirements: Assassin]

[Level Requirement: 13]

[Attributes: Agility +10, Strength +5]

……

Su Chen glanced at the attribute panel and pursed his lips.

"Two black iron white items, neither of which are usable by my class. Looks like all the luck from this first kill went to the drop rate; the quality is pathetic."

He casually tossed the two pieces of equipment into his backpack, intending to sell them to the Profession Merchant Guild for some gold coins after he left.

Without lingering, Su Chen continued clearing away the remaining stone figures around him.

Not one will be spared.

These are all based on experience.

After clearing the area, he ventured deeper into the secret realm.

"boom!"

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

"..."

Along the way, he encountered three more of the same [Silent Soul-Suppressing Pillars], as well as a large number of elite stone golems around them.

As expected, faced with the true damage from the poison stacked to nearly a thousand layers, the enhanced stone golems shrouded in the aura didn't even have a chance to get close before turning into dust amidst the overwhelming green light.

The ten-meter-tall Soul-Suppressing Pillar couldn't even withstand ten seconds, shattering into countless stones.

Su Chen's experience bar soared at an outrageous rate, and the materials in his backpack piled up higher and higher.

About an hour later, Su Chen had cleared out all the monsters he could see and reached level 12.

After adding points, his stamina reached 81.

Current toxin level: 1274

……

"The damage per second has finally exceeded 100,000."

Su Chen did a quick calculation and found that the damage per second was over 100,000.

He was fairly satisfied with the number.

He closed the panel, passed through a narrow stone forest canyon, and the view suddenly opened up before him.

This is a huge circular basin.

In the center of the basin, there are no longer ordinary rocks, but a black obsidian surface formed by the cooling of dark red magma.

At the very center of the obsidian ground, a colossal figure sat silently.

It was a giant gargoyle that was over five meters tall.

Its body is made of dark red crystals and black rocks, with huge bat-shaped stone wings folded behind it, and a pair of scarlet eyes that seem to pierce through the void.

Around it, six black stone pillars are arranged in a six-pointed star array, each topped with a flickering ball of eerie green flame.

Six green rays of light shot out from the top of the stone pillar and converged on the giant gargoyle, forming a visible, semi-transparent energy shield.

Su Chen stopped and habitually cast a [Reconnaissance] spell.

[Monster Name: King of the Silent Gargoyles (Silver-Rank BOSS)]

[Level: 15]

【Strength: 2500】

[Agility: 80]

[Stamina: 3000]

【Spirit: 100】

[Skills: Tear Claw Strike, Rockfall, Petrifying Ray]

[Special Status - Leyline Connection (Passive): While receiving energy from six [Leyline Pillars], defense is increased by 500%, attack power is increased by 500%, immunity to all control effects, and 1% of maximum health is restored per second. This status ends when all six pillars are destroyed, stamina and strength drop to normal levels, and the user is placed in a [Weakness] state for 100 seconds.]

……

Su Chen stared at the long list of attributes and status entries on the panel, his eyelids twitching uncontrollably.

"Holy crap, a Silver-level BOSS!"

"3000 stamina points! Plus a 500% defense boost and 1% health regeneration per second! You might as well just write that you don't want anyone to finish the game!"

Su Chen couldn't help but swear.

Is this the kind of boss you'd expect in a level 15 dungeon?

This special buff called "Legion Link" is absolutely disgusting.

"Defense increased by 500%, physical and magical attacks will be absolutely unable to penetrate its defenses."

"Regenerates 1% health per second..."

Su Chen quickly calculated in his mind.

In other words, if the six scattered stone pillars cannot be destroyed in a very short time to cut off its energy supply, any team facing this BOSS will not be able to deal damage as fast as it regenerates health.

"Skipping class is impossible. The mechanics are clearly written. You have to hit the pillars before you can fight the boss."

Su Chen stroked his chin and sighed, "How are we supposed to fight like this? As soon as we enter, we get half of our health depleted by the 90% damage reduction monsters outside. And when we finally see the final boss, we have to withstand its attacks to dismantle six pillars."

"Pure numerical superiority combined with torturous mechanics, it's inhuman."

but……

Su Chen's lips curled into a wicked smile.

That's from the perspective of others.

"Mechanisms? I hate following the rules the most."

Su Chen didn't even glance at the six so-called "earth vein pillars," and directly aimed the "Exploding Staff" in his hand at the Gargoyle King in the center of the basin.

"Corrosive Serpent Guard!"

Mana points deducted.

A dense array of dark purple totem poles rose up directly in front of Su Chen.

He summoned 100 snake stakes in one go.

The snake's head emerged, its scarlet forked tongue flicking in and out.

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

The dense, dark green venom sliced ​​through the air like sharp arrows, covering a distance of tens of meters, and accurately struck the semi-transparent energy shield on the surface of the Annihilation Gargoyle King.

"roar--!"

The gargoyle king, who had been sleeping, was instantly awakened and let out a deafening roar.

It suddenly spread its enormous stone wings, its scarlet eyes locking onto Su Chen.

But just as it was about to take off...

[Notification: The trait "All Things Corrode" has been triggered; the target has been afflicted with the "Very Poisonous" status!]

[Hint: The trait "God of Poison" has been triggered; the target's "Poison" stacks are full!]

The dark green toxin ignored the energy shield that supposedly boosted defense by 500%, and directly penetrated its dark red rocky body.

"-103194!"

A massive, heart-stopping white number rose up from the head of the Gargoyle King!

Su Chen's current spirit level is 81 points, and the maximum number of poison layers has reached 1274.

A burst of true damage in one second amounts to over 103,000 points!

"Click click click..."

The Gargoyle King's massive body suddenly stiffened, the rocks on its surface began to crack in large areas, and the dark red light quickly dimmed.

In that instant, a small portion of its health bar evaporated!

however.

A silver-level BOSS is a silver-level BOSS after all; with a stamina of up to 3000 points, it managed to withstand this terrifying blow that was enough to kill everything.

"roar!"

The Gargoyle King let out a piercing scream; it was not dead!

[Hint: The target's passive healing has been triggered, increasing their health by 4000.]

"Holy crap, it regenerates 4 HP per second?"

Su Chen was startled.

This means that the gargoyle now has a total of 40 health points!

The amount of health points provided by stamina varies for different creatures; one point of stamina provides 1000 health points.

The soldiers were so envious when they saw it that they cried.

At this moment, the Gargoyle King, despite being poisoned, flapped its wings and furiously pounced on Su Chen!

Su Chen looked at the giant gargoyle in mid-air, which was already bleeding but still ferocious, without the slightest panic. Instead, he showed a smile of appreciation.

"As expected of a Silver-level BOSS, it has a lot of health."

"I, Su Chen, acknowledge you as the strongest."

The voice just fell.

The time has reached the second.

"-103194!"

Another terrifying, blood-red number appeared.

The Gargoyle King's health bar dropped significantly again, but he had already plunged headlong into the Serpent Guard horde.

-28947

-26785

...

Terrifying numbers emerged.

Several snake guards were instantly killed.

"Tsk tsk, that's a pretty high attack power."

Su Chen had already hidden far away. This Gargoyle King was indeed powerful, but he didn't seem to be very intelligent.

Is the brain shared with the outside world's Murphys?

He silently counted the seconds.

The third second.

"-103194!"

Damage numbers kept popping up.

The Gargoyle King's health bar emptied in the blink of an eye.

"roar--!"

It let out a sharp roar, and its entire body soared into the air once more. Its blood-red eyes passed over the snake guards and looked directly at Su Chen.

Without further hesitation, it swooped straight down towards Su Chen.

It moved extremely fast, and in the blink of an eye it was already above Su Chen.

"Oh no! It's not that I'm afraid of Murphy being fat, it's that I'm afraid of Murphy being intelligent!"

Su Chen's eyelids twitched.

really.

Hiding behind the snake stakes to comfortably deal damage and easily whittle down the BOSS is not such an easy thing.

In this world, the more powerful a creature is, the higher its intelligence will naturally be.

However...

I'm not without solutions!

Su Chen's heart tightened, and he suddenly exerted force with his legs, activating the leg protection skill [Absolute Charge].

His body transformed into a jet-black streak and suddenly flew into the air.

The skill description states that it allows you to charge quickly in any direction.

Charging into the sky would also make sense, right?

Anyway, the coffin lid of the world's oldest ox is already too big to be closed!

"Bang!"

Su Chen delivered a knee strike to the somewhat bewildered Gargoyle King.

-9!

A pitiful number emerged.

But the Gargoyle King was momentarily distracted.

He had clearly entered a state of dizziness.

next second.

Su Chen landed steadily.

at the same time.

"-103194!"

"Bang--!"

The Gargoyle King, who was in mid-air, had just come to his senses when his entire body exploded in mid-air!

Dark red crystals and black gravel poured down like a torrential rain, crashing onto the obsidian ground with a crisp sound.

The six ley line pillars that provided the shield lost their light and collapsed the moment the BOSS died.

[Hint: Successfully defeated the Level 15 Silent Gargoyle King (Silver-tier BOSS)!]

[Hint: Gained 8250000 experience points (bonus for killing enemies above your level)]

[Hint: Triggered trait - Doom Absorption, permanently increases the maximum number of poison stacks by 1!]

Accompanied by the frantically beeping system notification sound, a dazzling golden light shot up from Su Chen's body.

[Notification: Your level has increased to 13!]

[Hint: You have gained 5 free attribute points]

"Cool!"

"That was a truly exhilarating battle."

Su Chen added a little more and breathed a sigh of relief.

This experience point is like a rocket!

In less than two hours after entering the secret realm, he leveled up three and a half levels, reaching level 13 with 46 points.

If this upgrade speed were shared in the school group, it would probably cause another medical miracle in Lao He's leg.

However, what he was even more looking forward to was the place where the BOSS died.

There, several dazzling lights were flashing.

Huge explosion!

A silver-level boss, the loot drops are definitely going to be good.

Su Chen strode forward and spotted two pieces of equipment radiating a silvery-white light among a pile of rubble and materials.

One was a dark red leather armor, and the other was a simple gray stone necklace.

Su Chen picked up the leather armor first.

【Silver-tier Dark Feather Armor】

[Job Requirements: Archer, Assassin]

[Level Requirement: 15]

[Attributes: Agility +30, Constitution +15, Physical Defense +40]

[Additional Attribute 1: Agility +5%]

[Additional Attribute 2: Movement Speed ​​Increased by 10%]

"This is good stuff, but unfortunately it's already being used by someone else."

Su Chen shook his head and threw it directly into his backpack.

This kind of top-quality silver armor could fetch an astronomical price in a merchant guild.

Then he picked up the gray stone necklace.

The necklace pendant is a miniature gargoyle head, which feels cold to the touch and exudes a heavy aura.

【Tough Gargoyle Necklace (Silver Grade)】

【Job Requirements: None (General)】

[Level Requirement: 13]

[Attributes: Stamina +25, Spirit +15]

[Additional Attribute 1: Maximum Health +10%]

[Additional Skill: Absolute Petrification (Active): Upon activation, the user will enter a [Petrified] state for 15 seconds. While petrified, the user cannot move, attack, or use any skills, but all damage taken is reduced by 99%. Cooldown: 1 hour.]

Su Chen's eyes widened as he looked at the necklace's attributes and skills.

"Holy crap, it's equipment with an additional skill!"

In this world, some equipment comes with additional skills.

Some are active skills, and some are passive skills.

Such equipment is several times more expensive than equipment of the same grade that only provides attributes.

For other professions, this necklace's skill is utterly useless, or even a suicidal skill.

Why?

Because in a rapidly changing battle, being unable to move, attack, or use skills for 15 seconds is equivalent to being a living target!

99% damage reduction sounds great, but what happens after 15 seconds if you're surrounded by a group of monsters or hit by a high-level boss's continuous damage skill?

The monsters are still there, and you still have to face them.

They might even surround you, making their own situation even more dangerous.

This skill is at most used to buy time for teammates to rescue you, or to save your life when facing an unavoidable single high-burst skill.

If you're soloing, using this skill is practically the same as waiting to die.

but!

For Su Chen, this is absolutely a divine skill!

A perfect tactical loop instantly appeared in Su Chen's mind.

"My [Corrosive Serpent Guards] are independent summons; they automatically target and attack!"

"If I encounter a top-tier boss with extremely high damage, extremely high speed, or a large-area clearing skill..."

"I could just fill the area with snake guards first, and then activate [Absolute Petrification]!"

"For those 15 seconds, I have 99% damage immunity, making me an unbreakable statue. Meanwhile, my Serpent Guard can unleash a barrage of attacks on the BOSS during those 15 seconds!"

"15 seconds is enough time to deal millions of damage!"

Su Chen couldn't help but laugh out loud.

This is like a pillow delivered to someone who's sleepy.

What were his weaknesses before?

It is precisely their own ability to survive.

Although his poison damage is high, if the enemy is fast enough to kill him before he can attack, then even the highest damage is useless.

This necklace perfectly compensates for his biggest weakness at this stage.

"It's like it was made for me!"

Satisfied, Su Chen put the [Resilient Gargoyle Necklace] around his neck without hesitation.

A surge of icy energy instantly coursed through my body.

Su Chen patted his chest in satisfaction, then swept the remaining materials and gold coins into his backpack.

This trip to the hidden realm was incredibly rewarding.

He checked his current attributes.

[Class: Poison Mage (SSS-Rank Unique Hidden)]

[Level: 13]

【Strength: 22】

[Agility: 20]

[Stamina: 137]

【Spirit: 100】

[Class-Specific Traits: All Things Corrode, God of Poison, Absorb Misfortune]

[Skills: Reconnaissance (Basic), Corrosive Serpent Guard]

[Current Toxin Level: 1275]

[Equipment: Bursting Staff (Black Iron), Heavy Black Iron Breastplate (Black Iron), Bloodthirsty Pigskin Leggings (Bronze), Summoning Ring (Black Iron), Tough Gargoyle Necklace (Silver)]

……

"I've already reached the 1275th floor. Now, even if the King of Heaven himself came, he'd have to be poisoned by me!"

Su Chen was fairly satisfied with this attribute.

Just then, a deep rumble suddenly came from the sky above the secret realm.

Cracks began to appear in the originally gray sky, and the surrounding stone pillars began to shake violently.

[System Notification: The core of this instance has been destroyed. The instance will collapse and close in 5 minutes.]

[System notification: Opening a portal for you...]

A portal radiating blue light slowly formed in front of Su Chen.

"It's time to go out."

Su Chen stretched and stepped into the portal.