Job Advancement

Coordinates: Storm Abyss front line (30.5 kilometers from the starting point)

As the ten-meter-tall [Living Flame: Ember] crashed to the ground, the terrifying heat field shrouding the canyon exit finally dissipated.

[Server Announcement: Regional roadblock cleared!]

[Front line advanced: 30.5 kilometers.]

[Gene Shop update: "Titan Blood (Diluted)" stock +3.]

"We won!!"

The cheers of fifty thousand players shook the entire canyon. The main force surged through the opening Vanguard Across the Realm's team had made, flooding deeper into the map like a burst dam.

Beside the giant's remains, Vanguard Across the Realm's elite team sat sprawled on the ground, gasping for breath.

Golden pillars of light flashed up one after another.

[Congratulations! Player "Brute Force Yields Miracles" has reached LV.10!]

[Congratulations! Player "Cloud Pomelo" has reached LV.10!]

"Haha! Level 10!"

Brute Force Yields Miracles excitedly waved his chipped Bone Hammer. "That gave us a ton of experience! And the experience bar's still moving, so we can keep leveling!"

"Level 10 is a turning point. The stat changes are huge."

Vanguard Across the Realm analyzed the situation calmly. "We have to change classes before we can level up again, so we need to finish the job advancement quests as soon as possible."

But the other two members of the team—Spirit Pivot Envoy Thunder King and Data Maniac—stared at their experience bars, stuck at LV.9 (95%), with naked envy.

"Damn it! Just five percent short!" Thunder King wailed. "Did I miss a skill cast back there?"

"That's the difference in how contribution is calculated."

"Brute Force took the most damage, and Pomelo healed the whole team. Of course their contribution was higher than yours as DPS."

Vanguard Across the Realm checked the Gene Shop's stock: 3.

After the vial he had bought, three more had just been restocked.

"Brute Force, Pomelo, you two go change classes first, then buy the medicine," Vanguard Across the Realm instructed. "Dharma King, Maniac, grind the small mobs around here to fill that last five percent, then wait for the next push."

"No problem!" Thunder King wanted the medicine badly, but he understood the need to maximize their combat strength. "There are plenty of monsters anyway. We'll catch up in no time."

"Come on. Back to town to find the NPC."

Vanguard Across the Realm watched the two of them tear up their Town Portal Scrolls. "Remember, this game has no instances. Your job advancement quests might send you somewhere even more dangerous."

Sighing Corridor — Watcher outpost.

White light flashed, and the three of them returned to the white, calcified highlands.

[Watcher Zero] still stood there alone. As Brute Force and Cloud Pomelo approached, the ghostly blue fire in his eyes flickered sharply.

"Mortal flesh has reached its limit."

Zero's voice was hoarse and commanding. "To bear greater power, you need not enter an illusory realm. The battlefield is the finest proving ground."

[Cloud Pomelo's perspective]

Zero turned to Cloud Pomelo. "Life Weaver, your power comes from sustaining life. In this lung filled with death and decay, you must prove you can snatch someone from death's grasp."

[Advancement Quest: Flower in the Dead Land (Life Sage)]

[Objective: Go to "Storm Abyss — B3 Necrotic Zone" and find a "Dying Immune Node" (friendly NPC unit). Defend the node for 10 minutes against swarms of "Corpse Beetles." The node's health must not fall below 50%.]

[Note: Other players or monsters may interfere.]

"B3 Necrotic Zone? That place is full of poison gas!"

Cloud Pomelo took a deep breath and tightened her grip on her staff. "But I can do it!"

[Brute Force Yields Miracles' perspective]

When Brute Force's turn came, the [High-Energy Amber Essence] in his pack resonated violently.

Zero fixed his gaze on him. "You... carry the scent of fire. A Divine Guard need not merely be a shield. He can also be an inferno that destroys all. But to command flame, you must first be consumed by it."

[Hidden Job Advancement Quest triggered: Flesh Furnace (Flame Prison Guard)]

[Objective: Go to "Storm Abyss — Geothermal Fissure." Without using any fire-resistance potions, jump into the "Active Magma Pool," devour the lava, and survive for 300 seconds.]

[Warning: This deals true damage. If you fail, your character will be reduced to ash and lose one level.]

"Jump into lava?"

Brute Force Yields Miracles read the quest description and grinned, flashing a mouthful of white teeth. "Now that's more like it! A real man takes lava baths!"

Coordinates: Storm Abyss — Geothermal Fissure.

This was a dangerous area on the flank of the front line. The ground was covered in cracked wounds, and scarlet "lava"—superheated tissue fluid—gushed from within.

Brute Force Yields Miracles stood beside a bubbling lava pool. Quite a few passing players had stopped to watch.

"Holy shit, what's that guy doing? Killing himself?"

"That ID's Brute Force Yields Miracles! The top Divine Guard on the server!"

Brute Force ignored the stares and glanced at Cloud Pomelo beside him.

"Pomelo, your quest location is by that withered growth over there—the Immunity Node. But over here... I'll probably need you to heal me a few times."

"Don't worry." Cloud Pomelo raised her staff. "We'll get through this together."

"Here goes!"

Brute Force Yields Miracles roared, checked the High-Energy Amber in his pack, and leaped!

Splash!

He plunged straight into the lava pool, which was several hundred degrees hot.

"Aaaah—!!!"

Even with his pain sensitivity reduced, the suffocating heat wrung a scream from him.

The health bar above his head began to plummet!

[-50!][-50!]

"Now! Swallow it!"

Brute Force endured the agony and gulped down mouthful after mouthful of scalding lava!

Red light shot skyward.

Drawn by the energy, dozens of wandering [Gelatinous Lava] (LV.8) surged toward the pool, trying to get a share.

"Monsters incoming! Hang on, Brute Force!"

Cloud Pomelo stood on the bank, healing the Immunity Node nearby while splitting her attention to cast healing spells on Brute Force in the lava.

[Life Surge!]

White gel fell into the lava and vaporized instantly, but the healing still took effect.

"Nobody's interrupting my job advancement!"

Brute Force rose from the lava. His skin was charring and peeling away, but a new black shell was forming beneath it, gleaming like flowing magma.

He threw a punch, sending up a wave of lava that scorched the attacking Gelatinous Lava to death.

"Hell yeah!!!"

Five minutes later.

Two brilliant pillars of light rose over the chaotic battlefield, drawing the eyes of players grinding levels nearby.

Brute Force Yields Miracles climbed out of the lava pool.

His appearance had changed completely. His full plate armor had become charcoal-black obsidian, with inextinguishable fire flowing through its cracks. His hands had transformed into two enormous [Lava Gauntlets], and every step he took left scorch marks behind.

[Job advancement successful: Flame Prison Guard]

Cloud Pomelo's staff had evolved into a crystal-clear [Resurrection Scepter], while a pale green aura of life circled her body.

[Job advancement successful: Life Sage]

"So this is what changing classes can do..."

Brute Force clenched his fist and punched a rock beside him.

The rock exploded, with a burst of flame for good measure.

Some versions of Safari on the iPhone may freeze. We've optimized the site, but if you still encounter this issue, try another browser, such as Google Chrome, or switch back to the default font (yes, the font is the cause). Please contact us as well, and we'll work on improving it!

"Quit showing off."

Vanguard Across the Realm walked over. "Buy the medicine."

The two immediately opened the shop and spent 3,000 Bio-Energy on two golden vials of [Titan Blood (Diluted)].

The stock dropped to 1.

"Log off after you drink it."

There was a trace of tension in Vanguard Across the Realm's voice. "Remember, whatever happens, log back on in half an hour. We'll be waiting at the A7 District front line."

"Got it!"

Blue Star, the real world. Jingdu City First People's Hospital.

Three in the morning.

Li You (Cloud Pomelo) took off her helmet, feeling as though her whole body were trembling with nerves.

It only felt that way because, paralyzed from the waist down, she could not even tremble.

A scalding current appeared inside her body out of nowhere and surged through her long-dead spine. It hurt—agonizingly—as if someone were carving her bones anew with a chisel.

Fifteen minutes later, the heat receded.

Li You lay on the bed, drenched in sweat, and tentatively tried to move her legs.

At first, nothing happened.

But just as despair was about to take hold, the big toe on her right foot curled... ever so slightly.

"..."

Sensation was returning.

Li You covered her mouth as tears poured down her face.

Three years.

Her legs were finally more than two lifeless logs.

In a cheap rental room elsewhere.

Wang Daqiang (Brute Force Yields Miracles) lay curled on the floor like a cooked shrimp.

His reaction was even more violent than Li You's. Every muscle in his body was spasming and rebuilding itself.

When he finally recovered enough to stand, his bones crackled from head to toe.

He glanced at the 50-kilogram grip trainer in the corner.

He gave it a casual squeeze.

Crack!

The handles snapped all the way together!

"Holy shit..."

Wang Daqiang stared at his hand, then at the muscle definition in the mirror, every line of it seeming to brim with explosive power.

"What the hell is this, a zombie apocalypse or a spiritual awakening?"

Half an hour later. In the game.

When Brute Force and Cloud Pomelo reappeared at the A7 District front line, Vanguard Across the Realm could sense the change in them, even through their virtual avatars.

They had the resolve of fanatics.

"Brother Feng."

Cloud Pomelo's voice was still shaking. "My toe moved."

"My back's healed, and I'm freakishly strong." Brute Force Yields Miracles clenched his lava-filled gauntlets, fire burning in his eyes. "Kill monsters and grow stronger—it's not just a slogan anymore."

Thunder King and Data Maniac, who had yet to buy the medicine, listened with quickening breaths. They wanted to charge straight into a horde of monsters and slaughter their way through it.

"Don't rush. You'll get the medicine. We all will."

Vanguard Across the Realm calmed them down, but he frowned as he looked at the long, mist-shrouded corridor of darkness ahead.

"But we have a big problem."

He pointed at the map. "We've cleared thirty kilometers, but that's nothing compared to the tens of millions of kilometers ahead. If the fifty thousand of us have to run the whole way, we'll be waiting forever just to see the final boss."

As Vanguard Across the Realm racked his brain for a solution, the sky suddenly trembled.

High-Dimensional Perspective: Titan Divine Body.

Gu Yuan watched the players gathered at the front line.

Their morale was high, but he understood how hopeless the microscopic scale made the journey. What was only a breath's distance to him was an endless march for them.

If they have to walk, they'll drop from exhaustion before my lung is cured.

Gu Yuan turned his gaze to the dense [Capillary Network] surrounding the bronchi.

Under normal circumstances, these blood vessels should have carried Red Blood Cells—the Crimson Boats—straight to the front line like an extensive subway network. But severe inflammation and necrosis had clogged every one of those microcirculation channels with metabolic waste and dead cells.

If the roads are blocked, we'll build them again.

If the blood won't flow, we'll clear the channels.

With a thought, Gu Yuan drew on his remaining divine power. A golden epic quest window appeared on every player's interface.

[Server-wide Epic Construction Campaign: Crimson Project]

[Description: Warriors, the road to the heart of the Abyss is long and treacherous. To sustain the army's expedition, we need to establish an unbroken supply line.]

[Core objective: Restart the "Crimson Channel."]

[Stage Quest One: The Big Cleanup (Clear Waste)]

Objective: Clear the "Stale Sediment" (blocked capillary entrances) along the walls of the Storm Abyss.

Required classes: Divine Guards (move boulders), Hunters (cut through hardened deposits).

Reward: 50 Bio-Energy for every ton cleared.

[Stage Quest Two: Harden the Road (Repair Tissue)]

Objective: Use Bio-Gel to harden the soft, ulcerated ground into a port where Crimson Boats can dock.

Required classes: Life Weavers (apply gel), Spirit Pivot Envoys (dry it with high heat).

Reward: Experience calculated by area completed.

[Stage Quest Three: Guide the Starboats (Restore Microcirculation)]

Objective: Guide the Crimson Boats back through the reopened "Crystal Tunnel" (capillary) to the front line.

Reward: Unlock fast-travel nodes for the entire server.

The moment the quest appeared, Vanguard Across the Realm's eyes lit up. He had been at a loss for what to do.

"The devs are launching a massive infrastructure project!"

"Reopen the routes? Does that mean we can drive those flying-saucer things straight to the front line?"

For players from the Dragon Kingdom, what could stir their blood more than building roads?

"Brothers! We've got work to do!"

Vanguard Across the Realm roared over the regional channel, his voice reaching the entire A7 War Zone.

"The system's spoken! We're building a highway! Send some people over to get laid! No, wait—to lay the road!"

"Divine Guard Corps! Put down your hammers and grab your shovels! Dig out the junk blocking the way!"

"Life Weaver Corps! Stop saving your mana and pave the ground!"

"After this, we might be able to build the Respawn Point and teleportation array right in the boss's face!"

In an instant, more than ten thousand players turned into a frenzied construction crew, especially the newcomers with limited combat power.

The battlefield, moments ago bristling with killing intent, suddenly became a construction site.

Brute Force Yields Miracles swung his Lava Gauntlets like a human tunnel-boring machine, smashing through the calcified stones clogging the blood vessels with a thunderous crash.

Cloud Pomelo led several thousand healers in hardening the muddy, rotting flesh beneath their feet into a smooth, white Bone Boulevard, as though they were pouring concrete.

Behind them, the first enormous Crimson Boat glided into the front line through the narrow tunnel they had just cleared, carried by the flow of energy-rich fluid. It gave off a soft red glow.

It was a supply shipment from the heart.

And an express train to the Abyss.

Gu Yuan watched, a faint smile tugging at his lips.

"That's more like it."

"With the road open and my blood flowing again, I'm already halfway cured."

"Next, I'll send all fifty thousand of you down that highway like cannonballs, straight into the Flame Demon's lair."