Chapter Seventy-Four: The Castle of Oz

Oz’s Castle.

This was Zhao Nan’s destination. It stood at the edge of the dense fog zone, towering tightly atop a cliff. Few people ever came here; even the nearest native villages were a considerable distance away. The road between them was entirely monster territory, with not a single temporary safe haven.

In order to save time, Zhao Nan went all out. Especially after obtaining the Source of Mana and the second exclusive skill of the Ancient Arcanist, “Replication,” his power had grown so formidable that even he found it hard to believe. Along the way, the path was littered with fallen monsters, far outpacing their respawn rate. Now, he was on the narrow mountain trail leading to “Oz’s Castle.” The path spiraled upward, and while no monsters appeared along the road, countless Corrosive Ravens circled the mountainside.

Level 20 Corrosive Ravens.

These creatures fed on flesh, especially human flesh. Their beaks spewed acidic saliva, with a powerful corrosive effect. Their feathers were as hard as steel and could be shot out like arrows—deadly as bolts. Without question, this was a road that could only be forced through.

Zhao Nan kept recalling everything about “Oz’s Castle.” This castle was not a dungeon, but a so-called special scene. Only at level 20 could one open the gates of “Oz’s Castle” and meet its master.

In fact, “Oz’s Castle” was the first regular avenue for players from Eastsource City to obtain pets, aside from those who had received them early through special opportunities. Corrosive Ravens didn’t delay Zhao Nan for long; they merely became experience points, though the gain was negligible for advancing to level 21.

“Ding! Player Zhao Nan meets the requirements to enter ‘Oz’s Castle.’”

The door was five meters high, a seamless slab of steel, almost without a single gap. Now, before Zhao Nan, a white pinpoint of light suddenly appeared at the center top of the gate. The light became a line, dropping straight down.

Rumbling.

Zhao Nan was able to glimpse inside the castle gate—a luxurious corridor lined with red carpet stretched into the dimness, seemingly endless. Every three meters along both sides of the hallway stood a suit of medieval knight’s armor, each holding a lance and poised as if ready to strike.

As he stepped forward, the lamps along the corridor lit up with a sudden “pop.” The flames flickered, occasionally snapping behind him, lending an oppressive atmosphere.

Zhao Nan held his breath as the massive door behind him closed automatically.

“Welcome to Oz’s world. Please choose your challenge difficulty—Easy, Normal, Hard, Nightmare, Legendary!” a mechanical voice rang out.

“Legendary,” Zhao Nan replied calmly.

The master of “Oz’s Castle,” Oz, possessed countless pet eggs. He admired the Chosen and would gift his collected pets to them—provided they passed his trial, the so-called challenge. One could attempt the challenge only once, and the results directly determined the potential of the pet received.

Zhao Nan had previously passed the Hard difficulty, but his score was mediocre and the pet he obtained was lackluster, with a maximum level of only thirty-five and no bloodline refinement. That pet had ultimately died in a dungeon challenge.

He had estimated he could pass the Nightmare difficulty this time, but after gaining the “Replication” ability, he steeled himself and opted for the highest challenge.

“May fortune be with you! If you wish to stop, crush the bead in your hand.”

With this awkward blessing, a white bead suddenly appeared in Zhao Nan’s palm.

Just then, the red-carpeted corridor echoed with a ticking sound. Beneath Zhao Nan’s feet, a round opening suddenly appeared, and his body dropped through. He took a breath—though he’d been through this before, it still made his heart race.

The fall was brief; suddenly, a strange force slowed his descent, and he landed steadily on the ground.

A ring of firelights flared before him, outlining a circle and illuminating his surroundings.

He found himself in a vast circular space, empty except for turquoise floor tiles and black ringed walls.

From above came the sound of rushing air—dozens of dark figures fell at high speed, landing on the floor with heavy thuds.

The sound continued, and when Zhao Nan counted to one hundred, it finally stopped. Squinting, he recognized the many knight armors from the corridor, all holding lances.

At this moment, pairs of blue lights flared from the helmets of the armors. Their bodies creaked and clattered as they moved, and their lances swung powerfully.

Level 20 Puppet Knights.

Blue names—every one of these one hundred knight armors was an elite monster. This was far more daunting than the Hard difficulty, not to mention Easy, which had only one elite monster. The only consolation was that the level of the Puppet Knights was still set according to the player's level, even on Legendary difficulty.

Zhao Nan quickly cast Stone Armor on himself—though replicated, this skill could not be stacked.

Just then, a giant clock appeared in the air above, its second hand ticking.

Whoosh, whoosh!

In that instant, a hundred lances thrust toward him at blinding speed!

Meteor Rain*2!!!

At level 20, the fire mage’s super mass-attack skill, Meteor Rain, was no longer exclusive to the Sighing Scepter, but had become an ability Zhao Nan could freely wield. Above his head, two enormous hexagram magic circles unfolded, unleashing a barrage of blood-red fireballs.

Around Zhao Nan, a sea of fire raged.

After level 20, every magical class gained a powerful group attack skill. Zhao Nan hadn’t yet had time to master them, but with “Replication,” even at proficiency level zero, these skills were terrifying!

The Source of Mana allowed Zhao Nan to unleash these abilities for a long time without restraint.

This was his stage alone, and he cared little for whether he shocked the world. For Zhao Nan, his sole aim was to destroy the hundred Puppet Knights before him in the shortest time possible.

Dragon Storm*2!

One by one, Puppet Knights were swept into the air, and as swathes of empty space opened up, two patches of earth appeared, matching the area of the cleared ground.

He was not only creating his own evaluation, but also fully embracing the new attack experience brought by “Replication.”

“Reduction” plus “Replication” plus the Source of Mana—Zhao Nan became a one-man wrecking machine, grinding down the Puppet Knights before him one after another.

The only pity was that monsters slain in this trial yielded no experience and dropped no items. Otherwise, a hundred level 20 elite monsters would have produced a tremendous haul. In the outside monster zone, there was no area where a hundred elite monsters coexisted.

It was unclear how much time had passed; before him lay nothing but fragments of Puppet Knight armor, and not a single one raised a lance against Zhao Nan anymore.

At that moment, all the fragments on the ground began to move slowly.

The clock overhead did not stop—

...

...

On the edge of Eastsource City’s new map, the “World’s End” guild finally paused their monster hunt and began tallying the day’s gains.

“One day already, and Zhao Nan still hasn’t returned?” Gao Mingyang loosened his collar, fanning himself.

“I’ll contact him.”

Finina was about to reach out when she suddenly received an email from Zhao Nan.

“Return to the city as soon as possible. I’ve encountered a minor situation here, but I’ll make it back before sunset tomorrow. Don’t worry.”

A situation?

Finina suddenly felt a trace of unease.