Heroes' Prison

Chapter 205 - 203: The Second War Soul

It seemed that the condition was absolute, requiring Level 100 to enter, and it was impossible to force it open with brute strength before then.

Huang Yi continued walking and soon discovered two more rooms, one for treasures of Level 150 and another for Level 200, but he couldn’t enter either of them, and beyond that was the end.

It looked like the Golden Holy Dragon’s treasures were divided into four tiers, and Huang Yi could only access the lowest, the Level 50 treasures, right now. He estimated that the best items were likely reserved for the last three rooms. After all, nothing earth-shattering was likely to come from Level 50 treasures, while treasures from Levels 100 and above belonged to the ranks of the Holy Domain. A powerhouse like the Golden Holy Dragon, who must be at least Level 100-200, would certainly have collected treasures befitting their status.

Since Huang Yi wasn’t at the required level yet, he couldn’t lay hands on the treasures in those three rooms. He also couldn’t control the criminals in Heroes’ Prison or make use of the corpses in the morgue; the dead bodies were of no use, as their levels had no effect. Just like his current incarnation, which was refined from a corpse over Level 100, yet its level was the same as his.

He could only wait until his level increased in the future to claim the treasures here.

Next, Huang Yi immediately committed suicide and chose to resurrect.

...

"The Second World’s annual festival is starting in three days. I’m so excited!"

"I wonder how many awards China will win this time."

"Best Newcomer is definitely going to China, it’s either Thunder God or Instakill, that’s already pre-determined. Besides, Dao Feng and his Yanhuang Legion, the Xuanyuan Clan might also win their respective awards. This year, our hopes are pretty high."

Huang Yi heard fragments of conversation as he opened his eyes. Before him lay a small town, roughly home to a couple of hundred residents, and he was on a Resurrection Platform with a Teleportation Circle below it where several players were chatting.

[System Prompt]: You have discovered Sand Dust Town, Experience Points +5000

Sand Dust Town! Huang Yi had never heard of this place before, but presumably it was closer to the Golden Holy Dragon’s treasure since resurrection occurred at the nearest location. He hadn’t resurrected in Dragon City, but here, suggesting it was closer.

Huang Yi approached the chatting players and politely asked, "Excuse me, where is this place in relation to Dragon City?"

"Go north for two days and you’ll reach it." One player pointed north, kindly cautioning, "However, that place has been besieged by an endless Skeleton Ocean for a long time, I advise you not to go there. It’s too dangerous, and now Dragon City has turned into a ruined city. Just let them fend for themselves there! No one can save them now."

"Thank you!" Huang Yi didn’t say much, simply thanked him and headed out of town.

His immediate priority was to return to the Treasure Underground Palace and close the mechanism; otherwise, others might discover the secret of the treasures if they got in.

After a while, Huang Yi noticed a Warrior Hall up ahead, which brought a smile to his face.

Now at Level 55, he was eligible to awaken his second War Soul, and he could also learn a new skill. He hadn’t found a town in the past few days, so this seemed a suitable place.

However, as an incarnation, he couldn’t learn skills or awaken his War Soul; his real body was needed for those.

Next, he controlled his incarnation to head back towards the Treasure Underground Palace while his real body made its way to this place.

...

His real body was much faster and arrived at Sand Dust Town by the afternoon.

Huang Yi’s real body went directly to the Warrior Hall in the small town, a very rudimentary single story building.

It was the afternoon, when many players were either attending class or at work, the time of lowest online activity. The Warrior Hall was empty, and only an old man sat by the entrance, leafing through some research material.

"Hello, how may I assist you?" noticing Huang Yi’s entrance, the old man immediately looked up and asked.

"I’d like to awaken my second War Soul." Huang Yi said.

"Hmm?" The old man’s cloudy eyes suddenly brightened, and he beamed with a radiant smile, "You’re going to awaken your second War Soul? This is the first time for our little town! Please come with me!" With that, he stood up and led Huang Yi to a room.

Huang Yi promptly followed. At Level 55, he ranked quite high among players, especially since the current top-ranked player Dao Feng was only Level 57. Others leveled up slowly because they were raising their War Souls, wasting many Experience Points, which hindered their levelling progress. But with the Eye of Time, Huang Yi had no issue of wasting Experience Points, allowing him to maintain a normal levelling pace.

The old man led Huang Yi to the front of a room, knocked on the door, and respectfully said, "Miss Vina, you have a visitor."

When Huang Yi heard the word "visitor," a strange feeling instantly stirred within him, almost as if he had become a client in some unsavory sense.

"Come in!" A young woman’s voice came from inside.

The old man pushed open the door and led Huang Yi inside.

The room was small, but very quiet, with not a hint of noise. The sunlight generously poured through the window, casting a bright glow over the space, where dust motes danced peacefully in the rays.

In the middle of the room’s floor, there was a magic circle, upon which a blonde woman sat cross-legged. She was dressed in a purple magic robe, her eyes closed, her expression serene as if deep in meditation.

Feeling the arrival of Huang Yi and the old man, she immediately opened her eyes, and it seemed a purple light flashed within them, revealing a vivid sharpness.

"Miss Vina, this adventurer has come to awaken his second War Soul," said the old man respectfully upon seeing the girl.

"Hmm? Awaken a second War Soul? You must be quite skilled!" The woman, named Vina, stood up, glanced at Huang Yi, and nodded in approval, "What will your second War Soul awaken as?"

"Defense!" Huang Yi uttered two words.

"You’re an attack professional, why would you awaken a defense?" Vina frowned, "That’s not a wise choice. The first War Soul you awakened was Life, which was already a misstep. Now for your second War Soul, you should choose Attack! As an attacker, only an Attack Spirit can bring out your greatest effect."

Huang Yi shook his head, firmly stating, "I’ve already decided—awaken the Defense War Soul."

This time, he had firmly set his heart on awakening the Defense War Soul, still not choosing the Attack he was adept at. According to the theoretical path of the War Souls he envisioned, only the last War Soul would be his strongest aspect—Attack.

"Fine! If you wish to waste your potential, I won’t stop you. To awaken the second War Soul, you must pay a fee of thirty thousand Gold Coins," Vina said with a nod, giving up on further persuasion.

Thirty thousand Gold Coins was a hefty sum, one that an average player might need to scrape together from all corners, but to Huang Yi, it posed no problem at all. He immediately produced three Diamond Coins from his storage ring and handed them to Vina.

Vina accepted the three Diamond Coins, extended her hand, and placed it on top of Huang Yi’s head, softly chanting a strange melody.

The melody was more eerie than the one used during the awakening of the first War Soul, sounding like a chorus of Spectral Ghosts, which, combined with the silent sunlight filtering through the window, left one feeling a trifle terrified.

About three minutes later, Huang Yi suddenly felt a surge of strange energy emanate from Vina’s hands into his body, spreading through his limbs and bones. Shortly after, he heard a System Prompt—

"[System Prompt]: You have awakened the Defense War Soul. Current layer: 0. Use Boss Crystals and Experience Points to increase the War Soul Layers."

"There! I have awakened your Defense War Soul. When you reach level 60, you can come back to the Warrior Hall to awaken your third War Soul. Of course, after reaching level 100, you can come here again for War Soul Advancement, which will offer a wide variety of War Souls, not just limited to Attack, Life, and Defense," Vina waved her hand, signaling that the session was over.

"Thank you!" Huang Yi nodded his head. He hadn’t heard of War Soul Advancement before. However, he was only slightly over level 50 now, so advancement was still far off.

"Excuse me, can I learn Rare Class Skills here?" Huang Yi inquired.

"Hmm? Are you a Rare Class Holder?" The old man was suddenly surprised, and even the mysterious Vina looked at Huang Yi curiously, her tense expression softening.

"Yes!" admitted Huang Yi.

"Ah! So this is what a Rare Class Holder looks like!" The old man scrutinized Huang Yi back and forth as if appraising a rare treasure, without mention of learning skills.

"Sorry, we cannot teleport to the Pantheon’s Mystic Realms from here, so you cannot learn Rare Class Skills. You can go to Dragon City to study; it is a large city. However, it has recently been surrounded by the Skeleton Ocean and has turned into a dead city. No one can save them now, unless a god descends," Vina said helplessly.

"Dragon City!" Huang Yi muttered the name to himself, furrowed his brow, and left the place.

...

Meanwhile, on a section of Dragon City’s wall, two people stood—one was Feng Zhi and the other the Blackmane Elder.

"Blackmane Elder, has the secret of the Soul Prelude been deciphered?" asked Feng Zhi, turning his head.

"Not yet, the score is too profound for me to comprehend. It requires someone proficient in music, but we Half-Beastmen are naturally not skilled in such things," the Blackmane Elder said with regret in his voice.

"It’s fate! We can only eliminate Qin Shiyu and seize power," Feng Zhi looked up at the sky.

The Blackmane Elder let out a sinister laugh, "It’s time we took this step. When do you plan to do it?"

"We will dispose of Qin Shiyu in three days, then spend another three days to reorganize everyone in Dragon City. Afterwards, we’ll lead everyone in breaking through. Of course, those from Dragon City will merely be cannon fodder paving our way," Feng Zhi said dispassionately, treating the rest of Dragon City’s population as expendable.