CHAPTER 49: CHAPTER 49: REACHING LEVEL 25, THE SECOND ADVANCEMENT TASK

A few hours had gone by since Stark had killed the [Ruined Knight] and done everything else he could inside the [Ruined City].

He spent his time just killing monsters as much as he could.

Every second counted, and until the first event began, there was no point in resting.

He fought every monster he came across, no matter how weak, and shot down everything that moved.

The experience gain wasn’t high.

Even when he went after higher-leveled monsters, it wasn’t what he’d call efficient.

But it was still enough. Enough that after hours of nonstop farming—

Ding!

[Congratulations, you have leveled up to Level 25!]

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

Stark had reached the cap. The current maximum level he could reach.

Not only that, he also gained 27 Evolution Points and 294 Lives while pushing to this level.

"Phew."

He exhaled lightly, though his expression didn’t change much.

He immediately opened up his status panel to confirm everything.

---

[ID: Oblivion]

[Class: Mage of Oblivion (Tier-1)]

[Talent: Infinite Evolution (SSS)]

[Level: 25 (Locked)]

[Lives: 3638]

[Constitution: 130 (+55)]

[Strength: 130]

[Agility: 157 (+43)]

[Spirit: 173 (+212)]

[Free Points to Allocate: 50]

[Current Evolution Points: 32]

[Skills: Fire Meteor (Mythical), Powerful Magic Barrier (Legendary), Hand of Avarice (Mythical), Plague Crystals (Legendary), Sovereign Vines (Legendary), Curse Flower (Legendary), Storm of Lightning (Legendary)]

[Prestige Points: 30]

---

The numbers were proof of his grind.

His attributes had risen well, his lives had passed three thousand, and his Evolution Points were decent too.

More importantly, every one of his skills was now sitting at legendary-rank or higher.

And on top of all that, thirty prestige points.

Way higher than he ever had at this stage in his past life.

All in all, he was satisfied.

But satisfaction didn’t change reality.

Because Stark knew better than anyone: this was only the beginning.

The [Novice Towns] were nothing more than a glorified tutorial.

The [Ruined Cities] on the other hand were basically the prologue.

Their purpose was simple: force players to grind, push them to level up, and prepare them with at least decent skills and gear before throwing them into the real world of [Eternal Soul].

Still, his level up triggered more panels.

Ding!

[Congratulations to player "Oblivion" for being the first player to reach level 25 in the "First Ruined City"!]

[You have gained 10 Prestige Points!]

And almost instantly after—

[Congratulations to player "Oblivion" for being the first player to reach level 25 in the world!]

[You have gained 15 Prestige Points!]

In just two notifications, his prestige points nearly doubled.

It was the kind of achievement that made headlines, and if this were later in the game, the whole player base would have gone crazy.

But Stark didn’t care about fame.

Prestige points were nice, but right now, they weren’t something he could immediately use. They could wait.

What mattered was the next thing.

Ding!

[Congratulations, you have reached level 25.]

[Your experience will now be locked until you complete your advancement task.]

[Depending on the rating of your advancement task, your class may evolve in different ways.]

Stark closed his eyes for a second. As expected.

At level 10, everyone had gone through the first advancement.

That one was basically a free pass, only there to force players into the [Eternal Continent].

But the second advancement? That was where the game stopped holding hands.

Usually, everyone got different advancement tasks based on their power, class and talent.

But this one wasn’t randomized, it was the same for everyone.

The way you completed it, the way you survived, and how well you performed decided your rating.

And that rating directly affected how your class evolved.

The scale went from F all the way to SSS. The higher the rating, the greater the evolution.

And in that case, the second advancement task everyone would receive is...

Ding!

[Tier-2 Advancement Task: Survive the First Calamity.]

This was the task that everyone who leveled up to level 25 would get.

It sounded simple. Just "survive."

But Stark already knew what that actually meant.

When the First Calamity arrived, ninety-five percent of humanity would be wiped out.

It meant that only those that survive will be able to go through their second class advancement.

Basically: live to get stronger, or stay locked forever.

Stark had been prepared for this.

After all, no matter how many monsters he killed now, his level was frozen at 25.

Until the [First Calamity] arrived, there was nothing else he could do but farm Evolution Points and Lives.

But now that he was at the peak of the level he could be, it meant he could perform extremely well in the events.

’It’s been less than 2 days though, so around 5 more left before the first one.’

He wasn’t planning to waste them.

But then—

Ding!

[You are tired.]

"Oh."

He stared at the panel for a moment, then let out a dry laugh.

"I guess I can take a SMALL break."

There wasn’t much for him to do in the real world.

Still, fatigue was a system mechanic, ignore it too long, and efficiency dropped.

He couldn’t level up anymore anyway, so there was no reason to push himself into exhaustion.

’I still need to deal with the [Church Sanctuary] too,’ Stark reminded himself.

With that, he was ready to log out.

But just as he was about to—

Ding!

A notification appeared, this time from the communication tab.

He frowned slightly. ’Another message from Grace?’

But when he opened the panel, it wasn’t Grace.

[Player "Ghost" has sent you a friend request!]

"Oh?"

That actually surprised him.

In his past life, Ghost had never added a single person to her list. Not one.

She fought alone. She lived alone. She succeeded alone.

And yet, here and now, she had added Starfall earlier... and now him?

Stark wasn’t sure what to think.

He didn’t know if this should make him relax or get even more cautious.

Either way—

Ding!

[You have accepted the friend request from "Ghost."]

That brought his friend list up to two. Not much, but enough.

Stark never intended to surround himself with too many people anyway.

Almost instantly, another panel appeared.

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

[Ghost: It seems that you have reached a decent milestone. We have also been doing decent as of late, I am... eager to see what you can do next.]

"...?"

Stark raised an eyebrow.

Her way of messaging was strange, almost stiff. But he shrugged it off.

Ghost had probably always been like that, even in his past life.

She didn’t know about the advancement task yet, and Stark didn’t feel the need to tell her.

She’d figure it out on her own.

He typed back quickly.

[Oblivion: Alright, be careful of that "SoulsGod" guy then.]

[Ghost: Agreed, we’ll be watching for any movements.]

He didn’t bother replying again. Because right after—

Ding!

[You are exhausted.]

"...Fine."

The system had spoken. He’d pushed long enough.

Ding!

[Do you wish to leave "Eternal Soul"?]

[Yes] [No]

"Yes."

Stark didn’t bother extracting any items or skills yet.

There was no rush, he’d be coming back soon anyway.

His body began dissolving into countless blue particles, scattering into the air until not a trace of him was left.

And just like that, Stark logged out.