Chapter 82: Boundless Floating Light
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 82: Boundless Floating Light
After dealing with the massive chill capable of sweeping across the world, Xie Bai finally got a clear view of the ruin's overall layout.
"Hmm... not a single dungeon monster, just some insignificant mechanical traps."
Strictly speaking, as an exploration-type dungeon, the greatest threat here was the omnipresent, extreme cold.
However, that primary threat had already been casually dealt with by Xie Bai.
The remaining traps were laughably simple once the freezing mist no longer obscured her vision.
With the ruins now laid bare, Xie Bai quickly reached the central area.
There stood a massive divine corpse.
[Silent Divine Corpse]
"Hmm... is this the actual size of those True Gods?"
It was a thousand-meter-tall giant. Antlers of various sizes grew irregularly from its body, making it look like a bizarrely shaped, gargantuan tree.
This was a far cry from the images of True Gods Xie Bai had seen in the timeline.
At the very least, in that timeline, the True Gods she saw appeared somewhat human and were roughly the size of a normal person.
"Since the cold has been dealt with, this ruin isn't much of a threat anymore. By the way, can I take this corpse with me?"
With that thought, Xie Bai tried to approach the remains.
The moment her hand touched it, a prompt popped up.
[Do you wish to pick up "Silent Divine Corpse"?]
"I can actually pick up something this massive?"
Xie Bai suddenly remembered the second effect of her Greed's Blessing.
Her inventory possessed unlimited storage space.
"Is it because I have enough storage space that I can pick it up? Hmm... though a normal person's inventory definitely wouldn't be able to hold this thing."
After a moment of thought, Xie Bai checked the item information first.
[Silent Divine Corpse]
[The divine body left behind by the God of Silence. It can serve as a medium for the God of Silence's Return and is also the core that maintains the cold across the entire Northern Continent.]
"Ugh... feels like I shouldn't just take this away..."
After reading the description, Xie Bai temporarily abandoned the idea of looting it.
If she took the corpse, the Northern Continent would lose its source of cold.
While this might seem like a good thing for people in other regions—freeing them from the threat of the frost—it would be a disaster for the natives who had long since adapted to the Northern Continent's climate.
Besides, the Northern Continent was territory Xie Bai intended to take over.
If she picked up this corpse and caused the cold to dissipate, leading to the collapse of the local ecosystem, it would be a bit too "hellish" of a move.
Following the programmer's logic of "if the code runs, don't touch it," Xie Bai ultimately decided to leave this "Central Air Conditioner" of the Northern Continent alone for now.
"But other than that, I might as well take the actual dungeon reward."
With that, Xie Bai leaped to the top of the divine corpse.
Resting there was a swirling, abstract light.
[Boundless Floating Light]
[Quality: Divine Artifact]
[Type: Special Equipment]
[Requirement: Lv.100]
[All Attribute Bonus: 50 Billion]
[Boundless: Unlocks teleportation landmarks and access permissions for the entire world map. Upon entering a dungeon, automatically unlocks the dungeon map and corresponding annotations.]
[The ultimate reward for explorers, meant to encourage the first brave soul to traverse the extreme cold and reach this place.]
It was an exploration-type Divine Artifact with a level requirement of only one hundred.
In all likelihood, this was intended as an exploration reward for players.
But now, Xie Bai had obtained it in a manner that was practically cheating.
Although Xie Bai had neutralized the greatest threat within the ruins, allowing future players to pass through easily, she had also made off with the Divine Artifact that served as the final reward.
The only purpose left for this ruin was likely for future players to grind speed-run achievements.
"Then again, Divine Artifacts are unique. Even if I didn't take it, only the first player to arrive here would have enjoyed it."
Thinking this, Xie Bai lightly touched the abstract light.
The moment they made contact, the light slid up Xie Bai's arm and settled at the back of her neck, forming a white, circular symbol.
["Silent Ruins" cleared successfully. Time elapsed: 5s]
Even after the clear notification appeared, Xie Bai was in no hurry to leave the dungeon.
The moment she obtained the Boundless Floating Light, she gained a complete view of the dungeon's layout.
Hidden beneath the snow suppressed by the divine corpse was a hidden dungeon boss.
It was the only monster in this entire exploration-type dungeon.
Under normal circumstances, this would be a choice a player would face after obtaining the Boundless Floating Light.
As the first explorer to traverse the extreme cold and earn recognition, did they have the courage to actively challenge the final danger?
"For me, though, this is just going through the motions."
In the next second, Xie Bai appeared in the clearing beneath the corpse.
The moment her toes touched the snow, the Boundless Floating Light at the back of her neck flashed, awakening the guardian sleeping below.
Vroom—!
Accompanied by a thunderous roar, a massive figure dozens of meters tall burst through the layers of snow, appearing before Xie Bai.
[Ruins Guardian Lv.120]
[Disaster-grade Hidden BOSS]
[HP: 2.34 Trillion / 2.34 Trillion]
[...]
[A lost doll belonging to a certain god. After being picked up by the God of Silence, it was modified with extreme cold to become a demigod guard.]
"A modified doll?"
It was then that Xie Bai noticed the Ruins Guardian's level.
Level 120. This meant this space was not governed by the world's level limits; in a sense, it was a small, independent dimension.
Looking at the giant guardian radiating a ghostly blue aura, Xie Bai drew Funeral Rites.
Before the Ruins Guardian could even make a move, a flash of white light swept across its body.
-9.58 Trillion
-6.07 Trillion
-9.58 Trillion
After she sheathed Funeral Rites, Xie Bai looked at the guardian again.
The expected kill notification didn't appear. Instead, a phantom image of a clock suddenly manifested on the Ruins Guardian's chest.
[Damage Retention Lv.1]
[Locks damage taken within the last three seconds and reflects the space-time containing that damage back to a designated unit.]
The clock phantom had only just appeared when it suddenly shattered.
["Damage Retention" has been nullified.]
In the next instant, the damage that had been dealt slammed back into the Ruins Guardian.
Slash—!
[Killed Ruins Guardian Lv.120]
[Gluttony's Blessing: Strength +38.3 Million, Constitution +234 Million, Intelligence +10.2 Million, Agility +12.2 Million]
[Harvest Triggered: Obtained Spirit Mass * 130,000]
[Engraving Triggered: Uncrowned King has engraved the talent "Space-Time Adaptability"]
[Obtained Gold Coins * 120 Billion]
[Obtained Time Doll 2, Space-Time Fragment 2, Core of Silence * 2...]
It wasn't until the Ruins Guardian died that Xie Bai fully processed what had just happened.
"A time-type damage reflection skill?"
Looking at the dead Ruins Guardian, Xie Bai's eyes narrowed slightly.
If that attack had landed on her, she would have taken over two hundred trillion damage.
However, in the face of Xie Bai's health pool of over a quadrillion and her ridiculously thick shield bar, that amount of damage was trivial.
She was more concerned about something else.
"Why would a guardian of the Silent Ruins have time-type abilities? Even the talent is something like Space-Time Adaptability..."
Thinking of this, Xie Bai looked at the Time Doll she had just acquired.
To be precise, this doll was the true form of the Ruins Guardian she had just slain.