Chapter 48: The Black Dragon's Ruin

All the way back to the entrance of the Necromancer’s Cave, Ye Chen couldn’t help but feel a bit disappointed that all the monsters along the route had already been cleared out. He’d missed his chance to test the might of his new golden weapon—a real pity.

Old Skeleton Carlo was already waiting at the entrance. When he saw Ye Chen and his group return, he cheered with great excitement, shouting, “Oh, praise the great God of Darkness! You have freed me from the shackles of my soul. Come, accept the reward I have prepared for you.”

“Ding! You have completed the quest and received: 58,000 experience points, 3 gold coins, and +30 reputation.”

“Ding! As the quest leader, you have gained Carlo’s favor. As fellow Dark Priests, he will teach you a new skill.”

Ye Chen was momentarily stunned, then felt a surge of joy. It was indeed possible to gain skills from quest givers of the same class, but the odds were minuscule. He hadn’t expected his luck to be so good this time—he was actually being rewarded with a new skill. Moreover, Carlo seemed to be an extremely powerful Dark Priest; perhaps he would truly impart something extraordinary.

“Young Dark Priest, as thanks, I will teach you my latest magical creation—Black Dragon Break. It is the greatest invention of Carlo the Grand Dark Priest. You must carry it forward and let its power be known.”

“Ding! Carlo has taught you the skill—Black Dragon Break. Do you accept?”

Only a fool would refuse. Ye Chen quickly chose “yes.”

“Ding! Congratulations, you have learned the skill—Black Dragon Break.”

Hearing the notifications, Ye Chen’s heart leapt with delight. Wonderful! He had finally learned a second skill, and the name alone sounded formidable—surely, its power was astonishing.

He hurried to check his skill menu: “A devastating dark spell. The damage dealt to the target equals the amount of magic points consumed.”

Ye Chen was dumbfounded. What a scam! Casting it once would consume 1,600 mana points. Damn it—his entire pool as a level 22 support priest only totaled 1,620. That meant casting Black Dragon Break would leave him completely drained, unable to even cast a single Black Fireball afterward.

Truly, it was the power of a single strike—a skill to be reserved for emergencies, never to be used lightly. One use, and he’d be defenseless. Still, 1,600 damage was terrifyingly strong; at this stage, it could wipe out the vast majority of players in an instant.

Aside from Ye Chen, the other team members also received generous experience and gold rewards, and everyone’s faces lit up with smiles. Ling Yue, curious, asked what new skill Ye Chen had acquired, but he simply smiled and changed the subject. It wasn’t a matter of distrust—just that the fewer who knew the specifics of this skill, the better. If word got out, the skill would lose much of its deterrent value.

Now that everyone’s “red names” had been cleared, they no longer needed to hide. Jian Qingcheng and the others were off to grind and level up elsewhere, while Ye Chen needed to return to the city to complete his class advancement quest. With separate goals, it was time to part ways.

“You all go and level up; I’ll head back to town. It’s already past ten o’clock. I need to finish the class advancement quest before midnight if I want to join a dungeon run tomorrow,” Ye Chen said, pulling out a town portal scroll. Level 20 dungeons only opened the day after completing the class change quest, so if he didn’t finish by midnight, he’d have to wait an extra day—wasting precious dungeon experience.

Besides, Ye Chen had never entered a dungeon before in this world, and he was eager to see what the first Divine Descent dungeon was like.

“So, will you join us for the dungeon run tomorrow?” Ling Yue asked hopefully.

Ye Chen hesitated, then shook his head. “I’d better not. Don’t you already have fifteen people? Big Sis is going to bring those two solo girls into the studio. If I join, it would be awkward to kick someone out. Besides, I don’t have a fixed team—I’ll just find a group and get familiar with the dungeon first.”

“Little Leaf, you really do have a big-picture perspective. Ling Yue, don’t worry about him. He’s doing well enough now—it’s good for him to go and make some friends. After all, this is a studio; connections are important,” Drunken Longing said with a grin. Ye Chen agreed—having friends meant more opportunities and more support. Just like when they fought the Fierce Tiger Clan: Longteng Zhanxing couldn’t help directly, but at least he provided intelligence, which was far better than being in the dark.

“Alright, you go train, I’m heading back now,” Ye Chen said, about to tear his scroll, only to have his hand slapped by Drunken Longing, who scolded him, “Are you kidding me? It’s only a half-hour walk back. That scroll costs a gold coin—over twenty bucks! You talk about having a big-picture perspective, but do you even understand studio thrift?”

“Come on, Second Sis, I told you thirty gold coins is nothing. Why won’t you believe me? Here, let me show you my fortune.” With that, Ye Chen shared a screenshot of his gold balance with the group.

“One thousand six hundred gold? Are you serious?” Drunken Longing and the others exclaimed in unison, even Jian Qingcheng’s face filled with disbelief. The entire studio hadn’t earned that much since entering the fourth server of Divine Descent.

Ye Chen was overjoyed, savoring the stunned expressions of the girls, though he did his best to appear calm. He coughed lightly and said, “You’re shocked by that? I sold 500 gold just this morning—otherwise, it’d be over two thousand right now. So, Second Sis, do you believe me when I say thirty gold is nothing? Alright, I’m heading back.”

Watching the girls’ astonished faces, Ye Chen almost burst out laughing. But not wanting to embarrass himself, he quickly tore his town portal scroll and disappeared, laughing all the way back to town.

“Big Sis, did I see that right—Little Leaf had sixteen hundred gold in his bag?” Once Ye Chen vanished in a flash of golden light, Drunken Longing asked Jian Qingcheng blankly.

Jian Qingcheng shook her head, equally stunned. “You saw right—sixteen hundred gold. And he already sold five hundred, so it would’ve been twenty-one hundred otherwise.”

“Really? No mistake?”

“No mistake!”

“Wow!” Drunken Longing suddenly shrieked with delight. “We’ve struck it rich! Little Leaf sold five hundred gold—that’s two thousand yuan for the studio! Big Sis, can you lend me that two thousand? I want to buy a new purse.”

“No way. No embezzling studio funds! My MacBook still hasn’t been upgraded—what makes you think it’s your turn?” Jian Qingcheng refused righteously.

“Big Sis, we want bonuses! We want benefits! You and Second Sis aren’t allowed to line your own pockets!” the rest of the girls chorused, breaking into laughter together.

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