After killing the Bloodied Sovereign's clone and Jiang Zhennan, Shen Hao had gained a total of 6,000 Fear Points.
Some of his schoolmates had also provided him with Fear Points, bringing his total to 6,300.
He was currently level 10. If he converted 5,000 Fear Points into experience, he could reach level 11.
But that would be far too inefficient. Leveling up would only increase some of his basic attributes, which wouldn't improve his combat power by much.
For now, he didn't need to aim for too high a level. It would be best to use Demon Power to improve his skills.
Gaze into Death couldn't be upgraded with Demon Power. Of his remaining abilities, only Immortal Body and Possession were useful.
Immortal Body was currently level 2, and raising it another level required 2,000 points of Demon Power.
Possession was currently level 1, so Shen Hao spent 1,000 points of Demon Power to raise it to level 2.
Possession's description changed.
"As long as the target feels fearful and uneasy, and your Mental Attribute is twice theirs, you can possess them.
Possession lasts longer."
The conditions for using Possession were less restrictive, and it lasted longer. That was a decent improvement.
Most importantly, it had only cost 1,000 Fear Points, making it well worth the price.
He had 5,300 Fear Points left. Shen Hao decided to spend 1,000, converting them into Demon Power and injecting it into Xiaobai's body.
The puppet had helped him a great deal, but by now she really was a little weak.
She could still deal with ordinary people easily, but against Ability Users, her abilities weren't enough.
Shen Hao decided to upgrade her.
"Current level: 1. Spend 1,000 points of Demon Power to upgrade to level 2. All attributes will increase by 50%. Each upgrade has a chance to grant a special effect."
"Your puppet has absorbed Demon Power and successfully leveled up. All puppet attributes have increased by 50%."
"Your puppet has been touched by a Demon's aura and gained a special effect.
The spirit of enemies around the puppet will gradually decline over 10 minutes. Depending on the strength of their spirit, it can be reduced by up to 1%–20%. Enemies will be more easily frightened."
The Demon's aura was interesting. Although its effect on spirit was modest, making enemies easier to frighten was useful.
He badly needed Fear Points, and this ability should help him collect them a little faster.
Shen Hao had 4,300 Fear Points left, but he didn't spend any more.
He didn't know what kind of Instance he would be matched with next, so he decided to keep them in reserve.
Three days later, Shen Hao received his reward from the Alliance Guild: 3 million yuan in total.
Jiang Zhennan's bounty was 10 million yuan. Sun Wanli had claimed the credit for the three of them, so they split the reward three ways.
Although the credit actually belonged entirely to Shen Hao, he didn't begrudge sharing it with the others.
After all, he had given up the credit in the first place. If not for Sun Wanli, he might have received nothing.
Besides that, his personnel rank in the Alliance Guild had risen to B-rank.
Normally, new Alliance Guild recruits were peripheral personnel. They weren't even D-rank members, the lowest rank, and had virtually no privileges.
But if they contributed to the Alliance Guild, their rank would rise according to their contributions, and their benefits would improve accordingly.
As a B-rank member, he could now hold a junior leadership position at an Alliance Guild branch, roughly equivalent to Xia Bing's current post.
Before entering an Instance, B-rank personnel could rent supernatural items from the Alliance Guild or buy them at a discount to improve their chances of survival.
Most of the Alliance's internal information was provided free to B-rank personnel, including some Instance guides.
There were also benefits for everyday life. If a guild member accidentally died while carrying out a guild mission or in an Instance, their family would receive additional support.
But Shen Hao had no use for that benefit. He had no family.
Still, his guild rank rising to B-rank was a great advantage, however he looked at it.
Only one thing gave Shen Hao a headache.
Sun Wanli had transferred him to the Field Operations Department, where he had become a member of Xia Bing's team.
He had joined the Alliance Guild only to infiltrate the enemy and obtain inside information, not to serve as someone's hired muscle.
His current situation went against his original purpose.
He had lodged a stern protest with Sun Wanli, but Sun Wanli said,
"If you were in the Internal Affairs Department, your guild personnel rank couldn't have risen to B-rank, so I had no choice but to transfer you to the Field Operations Department.
I did it for your sake. I didn't expect you to be unwilling, but it's too late now. You're already a B-rank guild member, and I can't transfer you back."
Sun Wanli had shifted all responsibility away from himself. Shen Hao could do nothing but accept it.
At most, he could just show up without putting in any effort on future missions.
That evening, Shen Hao finally received a notification about entering an Instance.
"You have been matched with the S-rank Instance Qingshui Village. You will enter the Instance in 24 hours. Please make preparations in advance."
He had finally been matched with an Instance. After all this time, Shen Hao had thought the system had forgotten him.
His previous Instance matches had taken only a few days. This time alone, it had taken nearly half a month.
But the fact that this Instance was S-rank really was unexpected.
Only players above level 20 could be matched with S-rank Instances, which were extremely difficult.
He was only level 10, yet he had been matched with an S-rank Instance. No one would believe him if he told them.
Perhaps this was how Demons were treated.
Shen Hao didn't tell anyone about it. After all, it was far too unusual for someone at level 10 to be matched with an S-rank Instance.
He was now a B-rank member and could access much of the Alliance Guild's internal information. He could find a guide to the S-rank Instance himself.
It would just cost quite a bit of money.
S-rank Instances and those above them were completely different from ordinary Instances. They were very special, and some people said that the places where S-rank Instances were located were real worlds.
There could be no complete guide to clearing an S-rank Instance, because an S-rank Instance could only be cleared once.
After entering an S-rank Instance, players could return to the real world through a teleportation point as long as they survived for enough days, whether or not they had completed their missions.
Although doing so wouldn't earn them more rewards, it would keep them alive.
Each person could enter the same Instance only once.
So players who returned to the real world from an S-rank Instance would write guides about their experiences and discoveries in the Instance, so that those who came after them could clear it.
S-rank Instances were extremely difficult, but as long as those who went before kept exploring and gathered enough information, they could eventually be cleared.
This time, he was facing an S-rank Instance, and his opponents were all Ability Users above level 20. They really wouldn't be easy to deal with.
Shen Hao had no choice but to take it seriously.
He opened the Alliance Guild's internal website, logged into his account, and began searching for a guide to the Qingshui Village Instance.
First, he saw an introduction to the Instance's background.
"Originally, this was a quiet little village. Its people lived and worked in peace, leading tranquil, happy lives.
Then one day, a Headless Knight appeared. Mounted on a black horse and holding a steel sword, the knight roamed through the night, beheading everyone who saw him."
A Headless Knight. Shen Hao had a vague feeling that the role he would play was very likely that of this Headless Knight.
He began browsing the Instance guide.
Knowing what the enemy would do in advance was extremely important.