Death Notice

“Apostle 70053, your Gleaming Gold equipment ‘Ganitus Left Eye’ was consumed by demonic blood essence. Its inherent skills ‘Marking’ and ‘Radiation’ fused with the Jungle Hunter class skill ‘Detection Aura’.”

The ‘Ganitus Left Eye’ naturally possessed two equipment skills: ‘Marking’ and ‘Radiation’. The first allowed penetration vision; the second could scatter or concentrate perception beams. Combined with the ‘Detection Aura’ innate ability, this could push the scouting capability of the Jungle Hunter combat class to its absolute limit.

Qin Lun had already suspected the ‘Ganitus Left Eye’ was the eye of some humanoid creature. Now that it fused into his Law Body, it proved it.

“Apostle 70053, you have perfectly fused the Iceflame Demon and Moon Elf bloodlines… Analysis indicates 100% progress on the Legendary Hunt. You have completed the prerequisites for transforming into the hidden combat class ‘Low-Rank Demon Hunter’.”

“Apostle 70053, your Law Body attributes meet the requirements for Second Order advancement. Not currently engaged in combat. Starting immediate promotion to Second Order Professional Apostle. Combat class Jungle Hunter has advanced to Low-Rank Demon Hunter. Title: Frost.”

“Apostle 70053, Second Order advancement complete. Your Law Body attributes have been greatly improved (including improvements from bloodline fusion). Intermediate Magic Network Core upgraded to Advanced Magic Network Core.”

Apostle: Qin Lun; Code No.: 70053;

Combat Class: Low-Rank Demon Hunter; Hunter Title: Frost;

Apostle Bloodlines: Peak-Tier Moon Elf, High-Rank Iceflame Demon;

Soul Lifespan: 97/97; HP 1558, Energy Points 2150;

Explosive Power 68(-5), Agility 78(-4), Constitution 62(+7), Perception 71(+23), Mental Will 66(+28), Protection 35(+18) (Additional from Equipment in Brackets)

Bloodline Abilities: Peak Elf Whispers (fused with Moonlit Summoning), Dark Element Affinity, Wind Element Affinity, Ice Element Affinity, Wood Element Affinity, Earth Element Affinity.

Demon Hunter Innate Abilities: Demon Transformation, Demon Will, Frost Aura, Contempt.

Demon Transformation: The Apostle can stimulate the Iceflame Demon bloodline within to briefly transform into an Iceflame Demon, greatly increasing physical power, constitution, and protection. Gains the Iceflame Demon’s ice element affinity for the duration. Transformation time depends on max Energy Points. As the transformation damages the Law Body, cooldown is three natural days.

Demon Will: Iceflame Demons are high-rank beings. Possessing this bloodline grants the Apostle a hint of superior will, granting immunity to all mental control spells below S-Rank.

Frost Aura: Demon Hunters are granted specific hunter titles based on their bloodline. The Frost title passively grants the Frost Aura. This aura can defend against spell attacks; its armor potency is determined by mana value. It also weakens physical attacks.

Within the aura’s range, enemy spellcasting speed and agility are afflicted with a ‘Slow’ status. This status effect is influenced by the enemy’s ice element resistance.

Contempt: The Demon Hunter class, merging the bloodlines of Moon Elf and Iceflame Demon, is a hidden combat class of high-rank beings. Immune to frost and corrosive damage. Possesses resistance to other magic elements. However, suffers double damage from fire elements; sustains 50% extra damage from Light element attacks.

New Combat Skill: Ganitus’ Staring Aura.

Staring Aura (B-Rank Passive Skill): This skill resulted from the fusion mutation of the ‘Marking’ ability inherent in the Gleaming Gold Apostle equipment ‘Ganitus Left Eye’ and the ‘Detection Aura’ skill. Retains the penetration and beam control properties, along with all passive effects of the original Detection Aura.

This aura bypasses all obstacles, enabling a three-dimensional scan centered on the Apostle, detecting all auras and mental fluctuations within a 100-meter radius. Projects a real-time 3D visual map, clearly marking any potentially stealthed enemy targets.

Note: The aura’s effectiveness fluctuates based on the gap in Perception attributes between individuals. If the Law Body is severely damaged, the skill’s effect weakens accordingly.

Reading the line-by-line notifications on his Death Notice, Qin Lun couldn’t help but feel astonished by the sheer power of this hidden class.

The presence of these two powerful passive auras gave him a fighting chance against any opponent. Situations like the one on Toril World, where a high-rank assassin from the Zhentarim almost killed him instantly, were now a thing of the past.

The nearly 50% boost in both HP and Energy Points, coupled with the massive increases in Explosive Power, Constitution, and Protection from Demon Transformation, finally made his once frail physique tough.

The Demon Will specific to high-rank beings also compensated for the vulnerabilities in Qin Lun’s mental world. Added to the stabilizing effect of the Moonlun Chain, Qin Lun now feared nearly no mental attack or control skill – except for legendary class Forbidden Spells.

After the Second Order advancement, Qin Lun’s attributes showed: due to the Ayala Weapon Casket’s effects, his actual Explosive Power increase was minor, and Agility decreased slightly. However, Constitution, Perception, and Mental Will improved by nearly a third. Especially the latter two, when boosted by Apostle equipment, were approaching the 100-point threshold.

If he dared risk the backlash, Qin Lun could now cast the A+-Rank wood magic Tree World Descent. This peak Ninth-Tier wood magic’s highest Mental Will requirement was 85 points. With equipment bonuses, he could forcibly cast it despite the magical backlash.

Of course, his strongest capability now wasn’t Tree World Descent. It was the Clock Eye’s S-Rank skill – Wheel of Fate.

However, that skill demanded not only 100 Mental Will points but also S-Rank skill mastery. It was a Forbidden Spell Eye Technique, whose requirements seemed impossible to meet any time soon.

Whether judging by class abilities or body attributes, Qin Lun’s advancement was a qualitative leap. Compared to before, his combat ability currently had no glaring weaknesses. Even facing high-Rank Apostles at the Third Order peak like Kelly, he felt he had a fighting chance, a far cry from his previous helplessness.

What surprised him most was the Magic Network Core, which he hadn’t particularly focused on training. It also benefited greatly from this advancement, rising from Intermediate to Advanced. This meant he could store more, stronger spell skills within his Apostle Soul Mark in the future.

This was another advantage brought by the Demon Bloodline. The Demon Clan itself wasn’t purely a physical combat race; they possessed varied magical aptitudes to cast multiple elemental and psychic spells.

“Truly one of the combat class Specializations with the highest power evaluation within Second Order!” Qin Lun smiled as he withdrew his focus from the Death Notice, feeling increasingly satisfied with his initial choice.

Relying on his own judgment for his class development path without adhering to others’ experiences had caused Qin Lun difficulties both times.

The first time, he chose the Jungle Hunter, a class with relatively broad development potential. This choice wasn’t wrong, but comparatively weak in pure combat power, barely qualifying as a common profession.

Fortunately, Qin Lun excelled at concealment and leveraging situations. In each Quest World, truly unavoidable life-or-death battles demanding his last stand were rare. There were moments when the young man relied on the sacrifice of others, treading on the corpses of fellow Apostles, to navigate the most challenging period of his Initial Order.

Compared to Sentinel Disciple Hansen, Clown Grant, and others, Qin Lun had completed most of his quest worlds chiefly through his intellect. This approach secured him more opportunities than other Serial Killers but couldn’t widen the genuine power gap, as they engaged in far more direct life-and-death battles.

From Clown’s remarks, Qin Lun knew he was the first Serial Killer to advance to Second Order. Even so, reaching High Rank would likely take considerable time. But whether in one or two more quest worlds, his peers would catch up quickly, provided they survived.

“At least, I’ve finally taken the lead!” As this thought crossed his mind, even with Qin Lun’s usual composure, a small burst of pride surfaced.

People always need comparison. Qin Lun’s mindset was different from normal Apostles. Only by surpassing a few acknowledged peers – fellow Serial Killers – could he feel this sense of accomplishment.

…

After resting for about half a day, led by a guard, Qin Lun entered the bridge of the Zeppelin Airship.

The bridge of the Zeppelin Airship was quite advanced. The Captain’s seat dominated a central raised platform. Below sat a row for the Flight Officers, Weapons Officers, Radar Officers, and others. Further down was a circle of stations operated by junior officers controlling the ship’s major systems.

All control panels featured glowing touchscreens. Front and center was a large screen divided into various camera feeds. Compared to old-fashioned ships, the Zeppelin Airship emitted a distinct science-fiction atmosphere.

“Major Gerthard, glad to see your recovery is progressing so rapidly!” Upon seeing Qin Lun enter the control room, Major Montana rose from the command seat and led him to a large monitor.

“This is…?” Peering at the room displayed on the screen, Qin Lun narrowed his eyes slightly.

“Ah, these are the other five people brought onto the Zeppelin along with you,” Major Montana’s eyes flickered coldly as he smiled. “As for Ms. Lace, whom you earlier mentioned… she is currently accompanying Captain Kluge on an operation. We shall know the detailed identities of these five shortly.”

“Kluge is already moving? That guy…” Qin Lun suppressed a grimace internally. “Do you require anything from me?”

“It won’t be necessary. Captain Kluge has Captain Hans and a fully equipped team of Millennium Bug soldiers with him,” Major Montana replied confidently. “Even if the targets sense something is amiss, it will pose no problem. Actually, Ms. Lace offered another surprise. I hadn’t anticipated she was also a… Superhuman.”

“Millennium Bug?” Qin Lun had little to comment on concerning Lace, but the Major’s mention of the “Millennium Bug” piqued his interest.