Chapter Fifty-One: The Plains of the Sorcerer and Witch

Passing by the lakeside of the Fishmen, ascending the endlessly winding Qilian Mountains, and trekking along the rugged mountain path for more than an hour, he finally crossed the highest peak. Ahead of him, an expansive plain unfolded, stretching as far as the eye could see, desolate and barren. From this vantage point, he could see small black dots moving across the plain—these were the overlords of the land: the Dark Witches.

The Dark Witches were a humanoid race, bearing a resemblance to humans, but their skin was a deep purple-red, and their appearance was exceedingly ugly. They belonged to the magical monsters, skilled in sorcery. Aside from their magical attacks, they possessed a particularly troublesome skill: the Curse Spell. Each Dark Witch, before dying, would cast a Curse Spell upon the player who killed it. The effect of this curse was not particularly powerful—only a 1% reduction in all attributes for half an hour, barely making an impact. The truly vexing aspect was that this curse could stack indefinitely. After slaying several dozen Dark Witches, a player would be severely crippled.

All this information had been gleaned by Ye Chen from 2058 during their journey. Upon learning about the Curse Spell, Ye Chen had been quite disheartened. To reach the altar deep within the plain, he would need to kill at least several hundred monsters; he would be crippled before he even got halfway, making the quest seem impossible. Fortunately, 2058 had reminded him in time: the Curse Spell was not instantaneous but required chanting. With the Silence Spell from the Mo Yan Ring, the curse could be completely avoided.

"Dark Witch, Level: 25, Health: 2300, Attack: 105, Defense: 20, Attack Mode: Magic, Skills: Black Magic Orb, Curse Spell."

Ignoring the Curse Spell, these level 25 monsters were perfect for players at this stage to grind experience. Their attack, defense, and health were all much weaker compared to other monsters of the same level. As a result, some players came here to level up. However, few experts were among them; those who trained here were either novices or those unable to compete for monsters elsewhere. To avoid excessive stacking of the Curse Spell, they would fight for a while, then stop, resulting in very low efficiency.

Ye Chen’s equipment was dazzling, even though he had disabled the glow effects; anyone with a discerning eye could tell it was no ordinary gear. As soon as he entered the edge of the monster zone, several parties training here sent him team invitations.

"Hey, brother healer, join our squad. We’ve got a tank and a healer," a gruff dwarf monk called out.

"Don’t listen to him. Tanks and healers here are just leeching experience. Join us—we’re all magic classes, an efficiency team," said an elementalist.

"Handsome brother, we’re an all-girls team with just one spot left. Want to join? We have perks!" The swordswoman, with sparkling, lively eyes, flirted.

…

At least ten parties invited Ye Chen, but he refused them all. The quest conditions forbade teaming up, and even if allowed, he wouldn’t join these players. He owed them nothing, and they would only drag him down. Ye Chen was not so generous as to carry strangers.

Seeing Ye Chen reject every invitation, many grew resentful, muttering sarcastically.

"Dressing up like some big shot, thinks he’s a pro—who does he think he is?"

"Exactly. Grinding here and still acting like a master. What master would bother with this place?"

"He really thinks he’s something special."

Ye Chen listened to the jeers around him and smiled calmly. To him, these people were pitiable—eager to curry favor with those who had good gear, but quick to turn hostile when ignored. Such people were hardly worth his attention.

Glancing at the altar’s location marked by 2058 on his minimap, Ye Chen strode deeper into the plain, soon leaving the edge zone and entering the densely packed area where Dark Witches roamed. The players he had rejected still watched him, waiting for him to make a fool of himself. Their taunts were loud enough to reach his ears.

"Let’s see how he dies cursed."

"Yeah, once he’s stacked with curses, I’ll sneak over and take him out. His gear looks nice—maybe even elite quality. I’ve never worn elite gear myself."

Ye Chen was nearly amused by their ignorance. These country bumpkins, thinking elite gear was the pinnacle and daring to target him—what kind of people were they?

Smirking coldly, Ye Chen raised his Abyss Staff, aimed at the nearest Dark Witch, and began chanting the Black Fireball spell.

Boom! The Black Fireball struck the Dark Witch, its health bar dropping sharply—minus 735. The blood-red damage number floated above its head, visible from afar.

The would-be assassin rogue, who had been watching Ye Chen for a laugh, was now startled into a shrill scream: "Impossible, impossible! Even elite weapons can’t deal that much damage!" His face was etched with terror and disbelief. Such numbers were beyond his comprehension; in his limited imagination, elite weapons were the highest tier.

Other players witnessing the scene gasped in shock, staring at Ye Chen in awe and astonishment. None of them could deal more than 300 damage, even with a critical hit.

Ye Chen, however, was dissatisfied. He had hoped to intimidate them, but his golden weapon’s first attack had only dealt minimum damage, failing to showcase his total attack power of 710.

The Dark Witch, struck, shrieked and began chanting a spell in return, launching a Black Magic Orb at Ye Chen.

Minus 33. Seeing the damage he took, Ye Chen smiled in satisfaction; the Dark Shadow set’s defense was impressive. Despite the monster’s attack exceeding one hundred, it could barely break through.

Everyone’s attention was fixed on Ye Chen, and they gasped again at the sight. The rogue screamed once more; monsters with over a hundred attack points usually caused them to lose more than a hundred health, but Ye Chen only lost a few dozen. It was obvious to anyone that his equipment was formidable. Some players who had previously spoken ill of Ye Chen now regretted it, cursing themselves for offending a master and missing their chance to latch onto his success.

Just then, Ye Chen struck the Dark Witch again, this time with full force. The blood-red damage number soared above the monster’s head, breaking a thousand.

Minus 10**.

The distant crowd was stunned, utterly dumbfounded by the damage. Many trembled in fear—over a thousand damage, enough to instantly kill them. What kind of expert was this, a veritable demigod!

Those who had mocked Ye Chen looked even more embarrassed, and the players around them began to distance themselves.

The rogue, terrified, muttered to his teammates, "My god, could that weapon he’s holding be a rare-grade item?"

The surroundings fell quiet, but as soon as he spoke, many couldn’t help but laugh at him with ridicule.

"You idiot, even with imagination you can only picture the emperor eating bread. Rare-grade weapon? Go deal a thousand damage with a rare-grade weapon, then talk! You think you could take him down? You’re not even fit to tie his shoes!" Although most here weren’t experts, there were still many veterans with keen eyes, quickly mocking the rogue.

"What a fool. Which team does this bumpkin belong to?" someone asked.

The rogue hesitated, about to introduce himself, when a crisp notification sounded in his ears—he’d been kicked from the team. His former teammates scattered like they were avoiding the plague, all wearing expressions that said they didn’t know him.

……………………………………

Today’s update is so late, the recommendations are dismal. Please recommend, please comfort me.