Worldwide Awakening: My Soul Kinds Are Lost

When the True Magician's Health dropped to only one million, he finally entered the third phase.

Currently, no Player had ever managed to trigger this phase; the highest record was reaching the second phase, where, after the True Magician transformed, they were annihilated.

"Ants, you do not understand the greatness of the Abyss." The True Magician's voice was filled with madness as black mist began to pour from his body, enveloping his lower half. He looked like a dark version of a genie with numerous centipede-like legs growing from his back.

The next moment, his Health, which had been only one million, started to rise rapidly. Simultaneously, he unleashed a barrage of Spells.

Entering the third phase not only enhanced his strength but also granted him a wave of recovery. Wang Linchi wasn't sure how much Mana he had regained, as there was no visible sign, but his Health had restored to four million.

Damn, this spell frequency is insane! Can the Saint Master hold on? Wang Linchi continuously healed the Saint Master, uncertain of the exact situation.

His primary concern was not to expose himself. He wasn't as tough as the Saint Master. If he were struck by the spell barrage, they would likely fail the instance before he could even be saved.

This time, the True Magician's Mana was much more resilient. It wasn't depleted by the Saint Master's flurry of attacks as easily as it had been previously.

Could it be that the third phase allows for faster Mana recovery? Hearing the relentless Spells from outside, a chill crept into Wang Linchi's heart.

If that were the case, their chances of winning were slim.

Fortunately, its Health regeneration hadn't increased; otherwise, Wang Linchi would have been truly powerless to resist.

The bombardment lasted for about ten minutes. The Saint Master endured it while Wang Linchi skillfully evaded. Any other Player would have been kicked out of the instance within the first ten seconds.

"He's out of Mana again! Good news!" Wang Linchi was delighted. At least it wasn't unlimited spellcasting.

Once the True Magician ran out of Mana, the situation reverted to the Saint Master dominating him.

Wang Linchi could finally breathe a sigh of relief. He had been worried that the True Magician's Mana regeneration would be too strong.

"Hey, didn't you say you were going to show me the greatness of the Abyss? Why so quiet now?" Wang Linchi peeked out, glanced at the True Magician's Health, and taunted.

This made the True Magician even more furious. However, being a magic-user forced into physical combat and entangled by the Saint Master, he couldn't break free. Otherwise, he would have immediately rushed over to engage Wang Linchi at close range.

Still has a third of his Health left. Damn, this guy is tough, Wang Linchi grumbled. Just as he turned, he saw a fireball hurtling straight towards him.

Without hesitation, he turned to flee but wasn't fast enough to evade it completely, losing 5% of his Health.

"You bastard! Come on, keep attacking if you dare!" Wang Linchi's spirits lifted, feeling emboldened.

It seemed Wang Linchi was at a disadvantage, but in reality, he wasn't. The True Magician must have taken some time to accumulate the Mana for that Fireball Technique. Forcing him to use it now prevented him from saving it for a sneak attack later.

To Wang Linchi, no matter how high the damage, it would only be 5% of his Health. With his recovery rate, he would heal it by the next second.

The True Magician was seething with anger, itching to attack, but he was out of Mana. He had just recovered a little, only for the Saint Master to empty it again with a punch.

"Sneaking around, what kind of skill is that!" the True Magician attempted a clumsy provocation.

Wang Linchi didn't mind at all. "Against evil devils like you, there's no need for any code of chivalry. I've always ganged up on your kind."

As he relentlessly taunted and insulted the True Magician, the latter's Health dropped below five hundred thousand.

"You just wait! This isn't over between us!" Although the True Magician yearned to skin Wang Linchi alive and grind his bones, the reality was he couldn't break free from the Saint Master's relentless assault and entanglement. In fact, he was being suppressed to the point where the Saint Master was about to kill him.

So, his first instinct was to utter harsh threats and flee.

Once he escaped the Sealing Demon Formation's domain and the Saint Master's continuous attacks, he could fully recover within five minutes. Then he would return and show Wang Linchi the true meaning of cruelty.

Wings of black mist materialized on his back, and he immediately spread them, preparing to fly away.

However, the Saint Master executed a powerful leap, followed by an aerial dash and a flying charge, slamming the just-taken-flight True Magician back to the ground.

"Heh, surprised? This old man can fly too," Wang Linchi mocked.

The Saint Master usually ran on his two legs, but that didn't mean it was all he could do.

The True Magician's composure utterly shattered. You two are too despicable! Do you have to know everything?

"ARGH! You will die today!" The True Magician charged at Wang Linchi. From his expression, he wouldn't rest in peace unless he killed Wang Linchi.

But before he could take two steps, the Saint Master yanked him back.

"Come on, hit me! Try it!" Wang Linchi continued his taunts, trying to draw aggro.

This wasn't a meaningless action. As long as the enemy's attention was on him, the True Magician wouldn't have enough capacity to defend against the Saint Master's attacks, causing his Health to plummet even faster.

In layman's terms, he had lost his composure.

Being imprisoned for so long has significantly weakened his mentality and rationality. This is probably the True Magician's only weakness.

In terms of Skills and Attributes, the True Magician was indeed formidable. Under his Spell Wash the Ground, even if Players figured out and dodged the initial onslaught, few could withstand the second wave, aside from top-tier and wealthy Players.

However, even those two types of Players could only push him to the second phase, and not even the second phase where he had run out of Mana.

"Wait! Let's talk this out! We can negotiate..."

When his Health dropped to a mere 100,000, the True Magician panicked. He could neither escape nor kill Wang Linchi. Seeing he was about to be killed, his first thought was to surrender.

"Oh, don't worry. He can keep hitting you while we talk. But you better hurry, because you're running out of time," Wang Linchi said, poking his head out.

The True Magician found these words vaguely familiar, as if he had heard them somewhere before.

"I can give you..."

BAM.

[Your summon has killed...]

Before the True Magician could finish his sentence, the Saint Master killed him. It was too late. Abyss Crystals scattered everywhere.

"Ugh, if you wanted to negotiate, you should have done it earlier. You just had to wait until the last moment, and now look, you're dead," Wang Linchi commented, then began collecting the Abyss Crystals. There had to be at least ten thousand of them.

"The drop rate difference between Abyssal Demons and Demonized Creatures is huge." Wang Linchi cheerfully stuffed all the Abyss Crystals into his inventory, then turned his gaze to the True Magician.

Upon his death, the black mist dissipated, but the twisted, mutated demonic form remained.

After all, transformation into an Abyssal Demon was irreversible; even the species changes. How could he possibly revert to a human form?

"Let's pack this up." Wang Linchi quickly tossed the True Magician's corpse into his Storage Space and secured it. This was something to be taken back to the real world for research.

"That said, I've defeated the BOSS and completed the instance. Why hasn't it ended yet?"

Just as Wang Linchi was pondering this, the villagers came rushing back. Seeing the commotion had ceased, they had evidently come to check on the situation.

If Wang Linchi had won, it would be a joyous occasion for all. If the Evil Demon had won, they would have returned to fight to the death, as running would have been futile.

"Mage, have you managed to suppress the Evil Demon again?" the village chief asked tremulously.

"The Evil Demon has been vanquished. You no longer need to fear its threat," Wang Linchi responded, following the village chief's lead. There had to be some rewards or storyline elements yet to unfold.

"Your great benevolence will forever be etched in the hearts of South Ridge Village."

"Also, this is a notebook left by another Demon Suppressing Sorcerer. It was found in the old mansion, and we would like to offer it to you, Mage, as a reward," the village chief said, handing over an old, worn notebook.

[Demon Suppressing Sorcerer's Notebook]

[Type: Quest Item]

[While holding this, this instance's settlement rating will be S-rank. If the rating is S-rank, the Abyss Crystal reward will be increased by an additional 10%.]

"Then, thank you very much." After Wang Linchi pocketed the Demon Suppressing Sorcerer's Notebook, he had finally, truly cleared the instance.

The moment he cleared it, a World Announcement appeared once more.

[World Announcement: Congratulations to Player Calligraphy Linchi for successfully clearing the Abyss-level Mystery of South Ridge Village...] ×3

Subsequently, the Abyss Difficulty of the Mystery of South Ridge Village instance was permanently closed. All Players who were speedrunning it for Abyss Crystals were kicked out, leading to a considerable number of complaints against Wang Linchi on the forums.

Naturally, since their interests were affected, few people were magnanimous enough to express understanding. Not even Wang Linchi himself was that generous.