Orson entered the valley and began clearing the battlefield.
On a rock encrusted with frost, a silver cross stood tall, half the height of a man, radiating holy light as it absorbed magical energy from the surroundings.
"Still alive, huh? What a stubborn cockroach," Orson muttered.
The S-tier Holy Spirit Priest class wasn't just about its absurd healing and buffing capabilities; it also came with the overpowered skill "Holy Spirit's Rebirth." When killed, the priest could sacrifice experience points to resurrect, with greater sacrifices boosting their stats upon revival.
Orson smirked, planting his foot firmly on the silver cross. "Go on, resurrect. I'll kill you as many times as it takes."
Inside the glowing cross, Wedge fumed with rage, her soul lingering in a suspended state. She hesitated, debating whether to resurrect or not.
Unlike most healers, advanced priest players often possessed decent single-target damage capabilities. However, they lacked the devastating AoE of mages or archers.
Even with her S-tier class, going up against a brute-force AoE mage like Orson wasn't just risky—it was suicidal.
She knew she couldn't beat him.
Her strength as a priest had always relied on the synergy with her powerful teammates. Alone, she was vulnerable.
Meanwhile, Orson was unbothered, looting the battlefield without a care in the world.
The Icefield Troll King dropped a Level 25 purple-grade armor piece and three low-level skill books—two for archers and one for thieves.
From Wedge, Reaver, and the rest of the SSR team, he looted over 100 gold coins. Unfortunately, none of their purple equipment dropped.
"Afraid, huh? Good. Stay down," Orson remarked coldly, pausing to glance at the silver cross.
"Orson! This isn't over!" Wedge's voice echoed from the cross in her soul state, venomous and threatening.
"Oh, it's far from over," Orson replied with a chill. "From the moment you framed me for match-fixing, you knew this day would come."
Wedge's fury subsided, replaced by grim calculation. She knew better than to foolishly resurrect under Orson's gaze.
Seconds later, the silver cross shattered, and her soul retreated to the respawn point in the distant city.
With SSR out of the way, Orson entered the Icefield Valley.
The narrow canyon was eerily quiet, devoid of monsters. The further he ventured, the narrower the path became. Just as the valley appeared to reach a dead end, Orson stopped.
"There it is," he muttered.
After some searching, he found the right spot on the ice wall. With a precise spell, he shattered the hidden barrier, revealing the dungeon entrance behind it.
"You are about to enter the Ascension Kingdom ruins."
"Warning: This is a legendary-tier dungeon. Party play is recommended."
Ignoring the system's caution, Orson stepped into the cave.
Orson had run this dungeon only a few times in his past life. Its drop rates for rare items were abysmal, and it barely yielded any coins. However, its monsters were disproportionately strong, making it unpopular with most players.
Yet, Orson knew a secret: like One Night of Terror, this dungeon had a hidden mode.
[Ascension Statues – Level 25]
[HP: 85,000/85,000]
[Attack Power: 550]
Skills: Self-Destruct, Crushing Blow
The moment Orson stepped through the arched stone gate, two guardian statues charged at him.
These statues had earned their reputation as player killers during early game content. Their stats alone were intimidating, but their Self-Destruct skill made them particularly nightmarish.
The dungeon's mechanic was brutal: if the statues' HP differed by more than 10%, the healthier one would self-destruct, dealing 10,000 damage. For most early players, this was an instant kill.
Clearing them required impeccable team coordination to balance their health pools.
Orson, however, had his own method.
He cast Quaking Stone Spikes to block one statue's path, then launched Chaotic Tides at the other. The water magic's confusion effect caused the two statues to attack each other.
To ensure the plan worked, Orson disabled his passive skill, Blazing Burn, which dealt too much damage and could unbalance their health.
Instead, he used basic attacks to chip away at both statues while carefully monitoring their HP.
Whenever a statue managed to break through the stone spikes, Orson slowed it down with Mud Swamp, a low-damage earth spell that drastically reduced the movement speed of heavy targets.
Finally, a gust of Whisper of the Wind sent the statues stumbling, perfectly complementing the mud's effects.
Four-element mages like Orson excelled in versatility, combining control and damage spells in unpredictable ways.
Minutes later, the two statues crumbled into rubble, and the sealed door creaked open.
Stepping through the gate, Orson entered a vast underground city.
Standing on a stone platform, he gazed across the sprawling ruins, taking in the intricate architecture of the once-great Ascension Kingdom.
"Legend says this was where the king led his people to ascend to divinity. Discover the truth behind the kingdom's mass ascension."
Orson scoffed. He knew the real story.
The so-called "ascension" was nothing more than the kingdom's mad king leading tens of thousands of citizens in a mass self-immolation, offering their lives as sacrifices to a powerful entity.
Ahead lay a broken bridge spanning a deep chasm. To progress, Orson would need to find a solution.
Eyeing a nearby ruined tower, he casually fired a basic attack at its base. The crumbling structure toppled onto the bridge, forming a makeshift path.
"You have disturbed the spirits of the ruins!"
The notification chimed as spectral figures swarmed from the ruins toward the bridge.
[Ascension Spirits – Level 25]
[HP: 30,000/30,000]
[Attack Power: 420]
Skills: Fearless Charge, Cursed Shackles
Orson didn't even flinch.
With a flick of his staff, he summoned The Flame Dragon, unleashing a torrent of fire.
-1,360!
-300!
-4,240!
The spirits burned to ash before they could even reach him. Their curse-debuff skills were laughably ineffective against his long-range assault.
After cutting down wave after wave of mobs, Orson suddenly stopped.
"Wait a minute… Why am I running toward the boss like some idiot?"
He chuckled at his own folly.
From his position, he had a clear view of the golden palace where the dungeon's final boss resided. The distance? Less than 3,000 meters.
With a casting range of nearly 5,000 meters, why should he bother walking over? He was practically a living turret.
Grinning, Orson began backtracking to the stone platform.
If the dungeon's bosses had any intelligence, they'd be dumbfounded. What kind of player resorts to such shameless tactics?
"Come on out, old ghost."
Standing atop the platform, Orson unleashed a barrage of spells, haphazardly aiming toward the palace.
After several fiery explosions, a deafening roar echoed through the ruins.
"Who dares disturb my rest!"
A towering shadow emerged from the palace—a skeletal dragon with a human face.
[King Mancalan of Ascension – Level 25]
[Lord-Class Creature]
[HP: 1,300,000/1,300,000]
[Attack Power: ???]
[Skills: ???]
"So this is the untouched legendary version. The boss's stats are completely unknown."
Orson's expression turned serious. In his past life, he'd only run the dungeon after SSR had cleared it, downgrading its difficulty to elite-tier.
Facing the original Lord-Class version with 1.3 million HP? This would be a challenge like no other.