Chapter 280: Level Cap Lifted
From this statue of the Elven Goddess, he clearly sensed the presence of divinity. Perhaps it was precisely this trace of divinity that made Zhou Ning feel danger. If what Molly said was true, then who exactly was it that had left their divinity here?
Zhou Ning faintly felt an uneasy premonition—it was his spiritual instincts warning him. He absolutely could not expose his identity as an outsider here, or something unimaginably terrifying might happen.
At that moment, more and more residents were streaming in from the southeastern town. Their movements were stiff and sluggish. From the front of the line, where the Five-Leaf elves stood, all the way to the One-Leaf at the rear, there were conservatively two to three thousand of them, forming a long procession.
Because this world had neither sun nor moon, Zhou Ning had no way of judging the time. After silently counting up to 3,400, the procession finally stopped. A few seconds later, the church doors opened, and an elderly elf emerged. He wore a dark blue classical robe, a hood covering his head, and six leaves on his chest. Sweeping his gaze over the crowd, his presence was oppressive.
Though the face was hidden beneath the hood, Zhou Ning could feel a sharp sting as that gaze fell upon him. Clearly, it carried the weight of divine magic.
Zhou Ning: …
Instinctively, he shuffled back a step, rubbing the Traveler's Ring between his thumb and forefinger, ready to flee at any time. From this elder, he sensed a tremendous threat—at least someone above the tier of advanced professions. If it came to a one-on-one fight, Zhou Ning felt he was not, no—absolutely not—his match.
"jo-ra-da-kol-di-ya-ru."
Thankfully, the elder seemed not to notice anything unusual. His low, muffled chant was incomprehensible to Zhou Ning, but the five elves at the very front of the procession, each bearing five leaves, began to move. Silent as ever, they followed the elder into the church.
Once they had gone inside, Zhou Ning strained his ears, but heard nothing—absolute silence, deathly still. He could only assume that, like in the Elven King's tomb, an alchemy array had been set within.
"What do I do?"
On the one hand, there was the fearsome and unknown enemy. Yet he had no choice but to enter the church to explore.
Wait—hadn't he just completed the level-cap removal quest in the Elven King's tomb? He hadn't turned it in yet, had he? Then this was the time to clutch at straws and boost his strength as much as possible.
Zhou Ning quickly made his decision and opened his panel. After killing ten boss-class creatures, the quest to lift his level cap was completed. In the game, he would normally need to travel north to find an old man named Locke to turn in the quest, but thankfully that wasn't necessary here. He could simply level up directly.
He glanced at his stored experience. Previously, after maxing out his level and then spending 980,000 XP to raise Black Magic Master, his points had been depleted. But thanks to his tireless grinding these past few days, he now had a full 10.2 million experience saved.
"Finally, I can break through the version's level cap." Zhou Ning felt relieved. The game had only been open for just over a month, and he was already past level 60. He owed this to the players—since their appearance, his wealth and XP gains had skyrocketed.
With this advancement, he would now count among the strongest below the super-tier professionals. It was only the beginning, but it meant he could now contend with ordinary super-tier opponents and venture into many dangerous areas, triggering rare quests to gain powerful skills and equipment.
To truly become a super-tier professional, however, his Demon Hunter class would need to advance again—a long and arduous road.
"Level up!"
Zhou Ning poured his XP into his main class.
[Your main class [Demon Hunter] has leveled up to Lv35. Agility +4 (Legendary Physique +1), Spirit +2 (Legendary Physique +1), Stamina +2, Willpower +1, and you gain 3 free attribute points.]
[You have unlocked the level 60 cap. Your tier has slightly risen. Resistance to abnormal states has increased. When battling creatures of lower tier, you exert a minor suppressive effect. Your HP and Focus values have increased proportionally!]
In the game, this kind of tier advancement was represented exactly this way—a longer health and mana bar, increased resistance to confusion, frenzy, fear, and other statuses. Zhou Ning's HP growth had risen from 15 points in the last advancement to 20 now. He could clearly feel his body tougher, stamina greater.
Though this didn't unlock as many skills and specialties as when he had first advanced into a Demon Hunter from Wandering Gunslinger, the tier increase still provided a significant boost.
Even without system prompts, Zhou Ning could feel his senses sharper—Observation Haki's range had grown by a quarter, and the divine suppression from the Elven Goddess statue weakened slightly.
Raising Demon Hunter from Lv34 to Lv35 had cost him 1.62 million XP—still manageable. Zhou Ning continued spending heavily, pushing from Lv34 to Lv38 in one go.
[Your main class [Demon Hunter] has leveled up to Lv36. Agility +4 (Legendary Physique +1), Spirit +2 (Legendary Physique +1), Stamina +2, Willpower +1, and you gain 3 free attribute points.]
[Your main class [Demon Hunter] has leveled up to Lv37. Agility +4 (Legendary Physique +1), Spirit +2 (Legendary Physique +1), Stamina +2, Willpower +1, and you gain 3 free attribute points.]
[Your main class [Demon Hunter] has leveled up to Lv38. Agility +4 (Legendary Physique +1), Spirit +2 (Legendary Physique +1), Stamina +2, Willpower +1, and you gain 3 free attribute points.]
The next level would cost 2.39 million XP. With only 2.6 million remaining, Zhou Ning decided to hold off. Demon Hunter wouldn't be able to advance again until Lv45 anyway. Better to use the points to strengthen his skills.
Looking over his list, most of his skills were already abundant. His Armament Haki and Conqueror's Haki were both at expert level, but Observation Haki and Ripple Breathing were still only advanced. Given how cost-effective they were, he didn't hesitate—he leveled both up by one stage, then spent the rest raising Fatal Shot and Silver Bullet to expert as well.
Including the two unspent stat points, he now had 14 free attribute points, all of which he dumped into Willpower, bringing it exactly to 100. In Apocalypse, Willpower determined resistance to abnormal states and the upper limit of mental endurance. The higher it was, the stronger the resistance and the faster the learning speed. A perfect way to patch his weakness against psychic attacks.
After finishing, Zhou Ning's combat power surged again—from 14,225 to 19,220.
Name: Zhou Ning / Wayne Sturwell
Race: Human
Template: Elite NPC
Level: 65
Main Class: Demon Hunter Lv38 [38/45]
Subclasses: Linguist Lv10 [10/10] / Expert Alchemist Lv17 [17/20]
Total Level: 64
Attributes:
[Strength 37, Agility 219, Stamina 110, Willpower 100, Spirit 130, Charisma 100]
[HP: 2500/2500]
[Focus: 3280/3280]
[Combat Power: 19,220]
Legendary Rank: 3
Evaluation: You are now among the elites of the extraordinary world. In certain parts of the Kingdom of Bryston, you are already a living legend.
Not only had his strength skyrocketed, but even his evaluation had changed—likely due to the rise in his Legendary Rank. Zhou Ning had to admit, this kind of praise felt good.
Refocusing on reality, about half an hour later the church doors opened again. The elder elf reappeared.
"jo-ra-joa-kol-di-ya-ru."
Zhou Ning sharply noted the difference—this time "da" had become "joa." He must be summoning the Four-Leaf elves to enter.
And indeed, the Five-Leaf elves from earlier had not returned. Instead, more than twenty Four-Leaf elves followed the elder inside. With a creak, the church doors shut once more, and silence reclaimed the surroundings.