BXBX NOVEL Chapter 107: Chapter107-Red Moon Secret Realm
Thus, the transaction was swiftly concluded.
By the time John exited the exchange, escorted by a cadre of its senior staff, it was already noon.
He grabbed a quick bite at a nearby commercial district before hailing a taxi back to the outer city district.
The yellow taxi sped along the highway, with the landscape receding rapidly behind.
Soon enough, John arrived back at his place of residence.
John\'s rental was situated in a nondescript apartment complex within the outer city district.
The buildings, somewhat dilapidated and covered in graffiti, bore the marks of age and neglect.
In some places, the facade was cracked, giving it the appearance of a relic from the last century.
However, the advantage was its affordability; the rent was less than three hundred federal coins a month.
Despite the frequent water and electricity outages and somewhat poor security, there were no significant drawbacks.
John navigated the dimly lit stairwell to a door wrapped securely in sheet metal.
Without producing a key, he simply fumbled in a crevice in the wall.
With a "click," the door automatically swung open.
The moment John stepped into his room, a pungent musty odor immediately assaulted his nostrils.
"Achoo!" He couldn\'t help but sneeze, rubbing his nose afterward.
The apartment, though only a few dozen square meters in size, was overall neat and tidy with everything arranged in order.
However, having not been cleaned for several days, a layer of dust had settled on the floor, and in the dim corners, it seemed a few mice scurried about.
John was already accustomed to this.
With a composed expression, he entered the room, placed his luggage on the sofa, tidied up a bit, took a shower, and then retreated to his bedroom.
Sitting on the hard bed, he took out the black "Red Moon Secret Realm Invitation."
[Item]: Red Moon Secret Realm Invitation
[Quality]: Special
[Difficulty]: Hell-level
[Description]: Use this invitation to enter the Red Moon Secret Realm. After clearing the secret realm, rewards will be granted based on your performance.
[Note]: The Red Moon Secret Realm is a Hell-level dungeon for lv15 to lv25, currently uncleared.
An extra reward is available for its first clearance.
The invitation seemed ordinary at a glance but was exceptionally valuable, as the Red Moon Secret Realm it pointed to had yet to be cleared.
Not only would the EXP and drop rates be boosted, but a substantial reward would also be granted for its first clearance.
If John could clear this secret realm, it was expected to significantly boost his strength.
John took a deep breath, adjusting himself to the best condition.
A few breaths later, when he reopened his eyes, all emotion had vanished from them, replaced by a tranquil calm.
With a thought, the black invitation in John\'s hand glimmered with a dark light.
A prompt appeared before him:
[You have activated the "Red Moon Secret Realm invitation." Do you wish to enter the hell-level secret realm "Red Moon Secret Realm"?]
Internally, John affirmed, "Enter the secret realm!"
Immediately, the invitation erupted in a surge of black light, enveloping John completely.
Without resistance, he allowed the radiance to swallow him whole.
[You have entered "Red Moon Secret Realm"!]
[Secret realm difficulty: hell-level]
[Recommended level: lv15-lv25]
...
When John opened his eyes next, he found himself on a lush, verdant island.
The endless sea stretched around him, and the sky was dominated by the familiar red moon.
Compared to the Crimson Realm, the moon\'s glow here was less harsh, more subdued, and somehow less discomforting.
Waves crashed against the coast, sending jets of spray several meters high, creating a thunderous roar akin to rolling thunder.
Standing on the edge of a cliff, John felt the cool sea breeze tussling his hair, his robes fluttering noisily.
Behind him was a sheer hundred-meter drop, the bottom strewn with oddly shaped rocks that seemed almost ominous just to gaze upon.
John, however, appeared unfazed, even leaning forward to peer down curiously.
Below, on the rocks jutting out of the sea, vague, slowly moving black dots were visible, though it was unclear what creatures they might be.
As he contemplated this, a sudden whooshing sound came from behind him.
Without looking back, John merely tilted his head slightly.
A spear, swift as the wind, brushed past his ear and disappeared from his view in the blink of an eye.
John slowly turned his head to face the assailant.
Before him stood a gaunt creature, its body bare, eyes filled with avarice as it stared at him.
Adorned with brightly colored feathers atop its head and wielding a sharp bone spear, it resembled a savage.
[Name: Desert Island Ghoul (Normal)]
[Level: lv18]
[HP: 31000]
[Strength: 235]
[Spirit: 118]
[Defense: 103]
[Speed: 115]
[Skills: Throw, Stab, Pounce…]
…
Noticing John had dodged its attack and was now observing it, the Desert Island Ghoul did not panic.
Instead, its bloodlust and greed intensified.
Gripping its spear tightly, it charged swiftly towards John.
John merely glanced at its stats and lost interest.
A creature of this level posed no threat to him at this point.
Nevertheless, every bit of experience counted, however small.
Summoning an undead staff into his hand, John tapped lightly into the void.
The air\'s temperature soared instantly, and a scorching flame emerged at the staff\'s tip, then violently expanded.
A hundred-meter-long flame serpent, wreathed in fierce flames, quickly took shape.
The Desert Island Ghoul, initially charging towards John, widened its eyes in panic, halting its advance.
But it was already too late to flee.
With a mere thought from John, the fearsome flame serpent roared as it mercilessly charged towards the ghoul.
"Boom!!!"
The serpent exploded into a skyward inferno, its intense flames illuminating the dark sky.
"-128000!"
A massive damage figure soared, instantly reducing the Desert Island Ghoul to ashes with the searing flames.
The wild shockwave and flames rapidly swept through, uprooting giant trees along the edge of the desert island.
Under the force of the massive explosion, cracks started to appear across the cliff where John stood.
"Crack, crack!"
The cracks on the ground spread quickly, reaching John in the blink of an eye.
"Boom!!!"
The cliff suddenly collapsed, plummeting into the sea with a deafening roar, raising towering waves.
With the giant Blood Wings unfurled behind him, John hovered above, unharmed by the destruction below.
[You have killed a lv18 "Desert Island Ghoul (Normal)" and gained 21,000 experience points!]
["Blood Absorption" activated, you have gained 0.3 strength attribute points!]
[You have killed a lv21 "Shark Monster (Normal)" and gained 28,000 experience points!]
["Blood Absorption" activated, you have gained 0.5 stamina attribute points!]
[You have killed a lv24 "Berserk Octopus (Elite)" and gained 42,000 experience points!]
["Blood Absorption" activated, you have gained 0.7 spirit attribute points!] ...
A series of kill notifications popped up before John.
Before he could even process what was happening, two rays of white light successively enveloped him.
[Your level has increased to lv18, you have gained 15 free attribute points!]
[Your level has increased to lv19, you have gained 15 free attribute points!]
...
Staring at the dense notifications in front of him, John was momentarily stunned.
What just happened? How did he suddenly gain so much experience?
His gaze shifted towards the fractured cliff below, and a realization dawned upon him.
It was the creatures killed by the collapsing cliff he inadvertently caused.
That explained it.
From the start, he had noticed several monsters lurking beneath the cliff but had yet to descend when the ambush occurred.
Unexpectedly, the accidental explosion and subsequent cliff collapse resulted in the deaths of numerous creatures.
It was indeed an unexpected boon.
Allocating all 30 free attribute points to intelligence, John opened his character panel for a quick review.
[Class]: All-Class Magus (god-tier)
[HP]: 29268
[MP]: 91920
[Attributes]: Strength 778, Stamina 769, Spirit 1,509, Speed 401
[Talent]: Divine Favor Tome (SSS-level)
[Skills]: Spring of Soul lv20, Blood Absorption lv20, Mana Recovery lv20
...
At this point, John\'s spirit attribute had reached 1500 points, with his damage output breaking the 100000 mark.
Coupled with various melee skills and an exceedingly vast number of skills, John felt confident in declaring himself unrivaled beneath the bronze-tier.
With that thought, John glanced down at the rubble below, where glimpses of equipment and material sparkled faintly.
Waving his staff, a powerful tornado whirled all the debris into the air, scattering countless stones skyward along with the ensnared equipment and items.
Fluttering his Wings of Blood, John darted through the debris like lightning, swiftly collecting these pieces of equipment into his storage ring.
Although some equipment and items were missed, searching for them bit by bit would be too time-consuming.
John planned to return after leveling up to collect them.
Then, John continued his journey deeper into the desolate island.