CHAPTER 32: CHAPTER 32: GRINDING TO LEVEL 15, CORROSIVE CRYSTALS

Ding!

[Congratulations, you have leveled up to Level 14!]

[You have gained 5 points in all of your attributes, and 5 free points to distribute.]

---

It took around thirty minutes, but eventually Stark had killed enough monsters to push through and level up.

Along the way, he only gained 1 EP and collected 172 Lives.

Not much, but still progress.

At this point, Stark was sure more and more players were starting to realize what [Experience Decay] really was.

Some were already stuck at level 13, just like him earlier.

They’d been killing monsters nonstop, but the gains slowed down to almost nothing.

The level 11–13 monsters didn’t give enough experience anymore, which meant players had no choice but to head deeper inside the city if they wanted to keep growing.

That was the reason why the [Ruined City] was built with multiple zones in the first place. A natural filter.

’Only one more level,’ Stark grinned.

Soon, level 15.

As he walked deeper into the ruins, something caught his attention.

The name [Starfall] in his friend list lit up.

That meant she was back online.

’Some people still prioritize the real world over [Eternal Soul],’ Stark thought. ’But those who keep doing that will die when the [First Calamity] arrives.’

His thoughts flickered to Grace.

He didn’t know whether her death in his past life was because she didn’t take the game seriously... or if she had taken it seriously, but just wasn’t strong enough to survive.

After the [First Calamity], most of the world would be destroyed anyway.

From that point on, everyone would have no choice but to fully focus on [Eternal Soul].

That was also when players would start discovering the NPC towns, populated by other races besides humans.

But reaching them would take a while, so Stark pushed that thought aside.

’I should clear a zone first to push for the next level.’

Just as he thought about that—

Ding!

[Player "Starfall" has sent you a private message!]

[Starfall: I’m finally back! (ノ^∇^)]

[Starfall: You know, I didn’t want to focus on this game too much since it was too scary... but seeing you try so hard made me wanna keep going too (ㆆ ᴗ ㆆ)]

Stark grinned when he read that.

’I guess I got my answer.’

So that’s why she died before.

Grace hadn’t taken [Eternal Soul] seriously like most people.

But if she was willing to keep going now, that was a good sign.

[Starfall: I’ll try to form a team with some people, and see from there!]

[Oblivion: Good. I’ll see if I have anything to give you... for a discount.]

[Starfall: Discount?! Not even free (T⌓T)? Well, I don’t blame you, I’ll pay!]

Stark’s grin widened.

He didn’t mind helping people by giving away items he didn’t need. He had no issue with that.

But giving things away for free? That wasn’t his style.

He kept marching forward, casting spells and blasting apart the nearby monsters.

Level 11 enemies only gave around 30 exp now.

Even the level 13 ones barely gave anything worthwhile.

’I want to push deeper,’ Stark thought. ’But first, I have something else to deal with.’

At level 15, not only would he be able to equip all his gear, but he could also activate the statue near the [Ruined City]’s spawn square.

That statue wasn’t just for show, it was actually a sealed epic-rank level 17 boss.

In his past life, this statue had caused a massacre.

The moment it was summoned, the entire square transformed into a danger zone.

Anyone who stepped inside instantly faced a [Life Loss Rate] of 100.

Back then, dozens of players were wiped out in minutes.

And once the boss killed enough victims, it evolved into a legendary-rank monster.

At that point, it took waves of powerful players working together to bring it down.

That event had been the very first "wake-up call" for the entire player base.

The moment they realized just how brutal [Eternal Soul] really was.

This time, Stark planned to face the boss alone.

He couldn’t stop other players from interfering, but as long as he did the most damage, he’d get the best rewards and the experience.

And killing that boss also unlocked [Ruined City Travel], letting players move between cities.

It wasn’t a massive advantage, mostly just useful for people looking to find teammates elsewhere, but it was still worth unlocking early.

On the way, Stark encountered another [Ruined Sentinel General].

This one was backed up by a squad of normal sentinels.

But—

Sovereign Vines! Annihilating Fireball!

-25,650! -25,650! -14,910!

The lesser sentinels were instantly shredded by his vines, while the general managed to tank the first hit, only to get melted by Stark’s follow-up fireball.

When the smoke cleared, the boss was dead.

This time, the general only gave him around 2,000 experience points.

A far cry from the 20,000 it had given before.

Still, Stark pocketed 5 EP from the fight, which made it worthwhile.

Another hour passed as he hunted.

During that time, he noticed some familiar names popping up on the level rankings.

[Ghost]. [EvilDemon]. Both had hit level 14 too.

In Stark’s previous life, he hadn’t crossed paths with many of these people early on.

For example, [Ghost] had become famous later as an insanely powerful solo player.

She even had a few global announcements under her belt.

But no one ever found out what her class or talent really was. She kept everything hidden.

[EvilDemon], on the other hand... Stark had strong doubts about him dying.

The guy was most likely a ruthless lone wolf too.

The reason Stark didn’t know them before was simple: in his last life, he had spawned in the [Fourteenth Ruined City].

Completely different player base.

’Maybe these guys will handle the statue boss,’ Stark thought. ’Or maybe they’ll die. Either way... it doesn’t matter.’

Being in the [First Ruined City] meant the competition was far stronger than anywhere else.

Only the best were surviving here.

And Stark had full confidence in his own ability to stay ahead.

Not long after—

"Found one," Stark muttered, eyes narrowing.

Ahead of him was an alleyway covered in a faint silver mist.

The moment he stepped closer—

Ding!

[You are about to enter a dangerous level 15–16 zone: "Alley of Shadows"]

[Once you enter, you cannot leave unless you die.]

Zones in [Eternal Soul] came in all shapes and sizes.

Some stretched so wide they could take weeks to clear.

Others could be finished in a day, or even an hour.

Whatever the case, Stark was confident he could handle this one.

Before stepping through, he pulled open his skill panel.

’I’ve got 18 Evolution Points. Might as well burn some to make this easier.’

[Skills: Annihilating Fireball (Epic), Magic Barrier (Elite), Hand of Avarice (Legendary), Corrosive Crystal (Elite), Sovereign Vines (Legendary), Curse Flower (Legendary), Lightning Strike (Epic)]

Almost all of his skills had already been pushed up to Legendary. The weaker ones needed attention.

Ding!

[Do you wish to consume 7 Evolution Points to evolve "Corrosive Crystal"?]

"Yes."

Ding!

[You have evolved "Corrosive Crystal" (Elite) to "Corrosive Crystals" (Epic).]

[Current Evolution Points: 11.]

"Oh?" Stark tilted his head. "The only thing that changed... is that it became plural?"

[Corrosive Crystal]’s biggest weakness was always being a single-target spell.

But now, with multiple crystals... it might finally be more useful!

---

[Corrosive Crystals (Epic): Summon up to five crystals that deal 300 → 700 damage each. Applies the "Poison" status effect. 9 → 8 (4)-seconds cooldown.]

[Poison: Deals 25% → 30% of damage received for 5 seconds.]

---

"Perfect," Stark muttered.

Without hesitation, he moved on to the next skill he wanted to evolve.