A Solitary Journey Through the Ruins

While waiting for his identity to be verified,

two of the other four security personnel guarding the gate glanced over.

Gan Ming noticed that his equipment had already revealed itself.

That was what happened once one stepped into the Fallen Zone.

His iron helmet, leather armor, leg guards, and the newly replaced Edgesteel One-Handed Sword at his waist

had all switched from Stealth to visible.

The security officer reading his information lowered his head to finish looking over the terminal screen, then raised it to examine Gan Ming.

His gaze traveled from Gan Ming's helmet to his chest armor,

lingering for a moment on the arrow hole in the lower right side of the chest armor.

Then his gaze continued down to the leg guards before finally settling on the Edgesteel One-Handed Sword at his waist.

"What level?" he asked while looking at the information on the terminal.

"Level 8."

This time, Gan Ming did not lie.

Level 8?

The security officer looked away from the terminal and examined Gan Ming again.

This time, he looked more carefully.

Gan Ming understood what the man was looking at.

Three pieces of rough gray standard-issue gear, one of them with a hole in it, paired with a green-quality one-handed sword.

That combination was indeed a little too shabby.

The security officer removed the identity card and handed it back to Gan Ming.

"Level 8, and you're coming to the Ruins Zone?"

Gan Ming took the card. "The guidance sheet says the recommended level is 1 to 20."

The security officer did not refute him.

The recommended level did indeed start at 1,

and Awakened had the right to enter any open area that met their rank requirements. Those were the rules.

He would not stop anyone.

But he had to make things clear.

"The Ruins Zone is different from the Woodland to the west."

The security officer pointed toward the iron gate behind him.

"Listen carefully."

"First, the monsters in this area become stronger after sunset."

"The exact increase varies by species, but it is roughly between fifteen and thirty percent."

"If you're not level 20 yet, you'd better return before the sun goes down."

"Of course, whether you leave or not is your own business. We won't force you."

Gan Ming nodded at that, listening carefully.

"Second, Elite Monsters exist within the Ruins Zone."

"The Elite Monsters currently on record range from level 15 to level 22."

"Elite Monsters are on a completely different level from ordinary monsters. They have more health, higher attack power, more skills, and can summon their own kind."

"If you rashly fight an elite alone, three or four ordinary monsters might suddenly surround you halfway through the battle."

"At that point, the question won't be whether you can win, but whether you can escape."

Gan Ming said nothing.

He was level 8. Did they expect him to fight a level 15 Elite Monster?

Wasn't that ridiculous?

Although the skills possessed by Elite Monsters were likely stronger than those of ordinary monsters,

and had greater Soul Snatch value,

the prerequisite was being able to beat them.

It was an opportunity, but it was also a risk.

"Third, and most importantly."

The security officer stressed the point again.

"The Ruins Zone doesn't contain only monsters. If you come into conflict with other Awakened, you bear the consequences yourselves. We will not intervene."

Gan Ming had heard those words several times today and already knew them by heart.

The two people at the Woodland entrance had said exactly the same thing.

The difference was that when those two said it, they had been rubbing their fingers together with their left hands.

When this man said it, he was simply doing his job, with no hidden implication.

"Also."

The security officer pulled up a record on the terminal.

"The Ruins Zone is an open cleansing area. There are no restrictions on killing monsters inside. Kill as many as you want."

Gan Ming had guessed that before coming here.

The Ruins Zone's invasion progress was 18%, even lower than the Woodland's.

That meant the monster density and respawn rate here had never been high to begin with.

The authorities' stance was clear: cleanse it if they could, clear it if they could. It was no longer worth preserving.

In other words, the Ruins Zone was a dangerous area that could be purged.

Awakened leveling up inside was merely incidental;

the real goal was to wear down the monsters and lower the invasion progress.

Gan Ming nodded. "Understood."

After confirming the registration was complete, the security officer put the terminal away at his waist.

This time, he did not issue a communicator.

Right, the Woodland issued communicators because it had a mandatory evacuation mechanism. They were afraid people would kill too many monsters and cleanse the area.

The Ruins Zone had no such concern. Whether he killed many or few was up to him, so there was naturally no need for a communicator.

The iron gate was pushed open from the inside.

It was just wide enough for one person to pass through.

Gan Ming stepped inside.

Bang!

The sound of the iron gate closing rang out behind him.

Gan Ming stood just inside the entrance and did not rush deeper to look for monsters.

Instead, he first familiarized himself with the terrain of the Ruins Zone.

Before him lay vast stretches of collapsed building ruins.

In the distance stood the skeletal frames of several surviving buildings, their empty window openings devoid of anything.

The ground was a mixture of cracked asphalt and broken bricks.

There were no trees, but there was more cover, and the elevation changes were greater.

Wind poured through the gaps between the ruins, making a mournful whistling sound.

This was a completely different battlefield from the Woodland.

The Woodland's combat space was flat.

There was enough room to dodge between the trees, and monster movement routes could be predicted.

The Ruins Zone was three-dimensional.

Piles of rubble, broken walls, and half-collapsed floors formed uneven cover everywhere.

Monsters could jump down from above or burrow out from underground.

For a melee fighter like him, that meant two things.

On the good side, there was plenty of cover, making it easier to avoid ranged attacks and use the terrain during battle.

On the bad side, his vision was severely restricted.

He had no idea what might be hiding around the next corner.

In the Woodland, he could at least spot monsters in advance through the gaps between the trees.

Here, a single broken wall was enough to completely hide a monster.

And there was a third point.

The security officer had said that Elite Monsters could summon companions.

In terrain filled with cover like this, monsters could be lurking everywhere.

When fighting an elite, he might not even see which direction the summoned ordinary monsters were sneaking in from.

"Once I save up 90 contribution points, I'll buy [Detection] first."

Gan Ming gripped his sword hilt and headed deeper into the ruins.

Sure enough, the Ruins Zone was much livelier than the Woodland.

That was the conclusion Gan Ming reached five minutes after entering.

Within his line of sight alone, at least seven or eight groups of Awakened were active.

Teams of three and groups of five wore all kinds of uniforms, with different guild emblems pinned to their chests or armbands.

Though the colors and patterns varied, one thing was consistent: they all belonged to organizations.

Gan Ming walked alone along the rubble-strewn road.

He wore three pieces of rough gray gear and carried a green-glowing shortsword at his waist. He had neither a uniform nor an emblem.

Sure enough, several gazes swept over from the groups ahead.

Some people looked at him twice, while others whispered something to their companions before several of them quickly moved away.

No one took the initiative to approach him.

Independent Awakened were not unheard of in the Ruins Zone, but they were not common either.

Most Awakened in this level range had already joined guilds.

Those without a guild who came to a place like this either had sufficient strength, or something was wrong with their brains or personalities.

Naturally, they classified Gan Ming as the latter.

After all, this guy was genuinely poor.

Gan Ming did not care.

His attention was entirely on the Soul-Stealing Panel.

Whenever he looked at an Awakened, the panel automatically popped up.