Chapter Seventy-Nine: Mission [Amber Light]

Arriving at the core necropolis, after handing in his current assignment, Liu Zong did not immediately inquire about the amber, but instead found an empty tent and collapsed into sleep. The next morning, after completing his weekly tasks, Liu Zong finally sought out the Reaper, who was in fact Teacher Zhang in disguise, and took out the amber to ask what it was.

Teacher Zhang turned the amber over in his hands, examining it thoroughly. Eventually, he too noticed the black substance inside, but whenever he tried to look more closely, the yellow glow dazzled his eyes. In the end, Teacher Zhang returned the amber to Liu Zong, saying, “This isn’t something of the undead. It’s likely an artifact from the history of this map. You should consult the Lord of the Necropolis—he might know.”

With little choice, Liu Zong headed to see the Lord of the Necropolis. At first, he had avoided this option, fearing the Lord might covet the item and simply confiscate it. Fortunately, the Lord had no such intention. Instead, upon seeing the amber, his expression turned strange, and he looked at Liu Zong, asking, “Where did you get this?”

Seeing the Lord’s face as if he’d encountered a mortal enemy, Liu Zong hesitated, but in the end, he recounted the place and manner in which he’d acquired the amber. After hearing him out, the Lord sighed, “I thought it had returned.”

Only then did the Lord explain: the amber truly was his nemesis. In ancient times, the locust-headed people, known as the Yadala Insectfolk, had no concept of death. Back then, they developed a method to seal their heroes in amber after death. When the Yadala Insectfolk needed them, they would shatter the amber by some means, releasing the hero within to resurrect and help them through crises.

However, the Yadala Insectfolk eventually discovered that while their heroes could indeed be revived, there were conditions. The resurrected heroes could not grow stronger, and they required vast amounts of fresh blood to sustain themselves. Moreover, these heroes, once returned, were unwilling to face death again. In the final great war, the Yadala Insectfolk split. Some of them came to this map, chose death, and sided with the Lord of the Necropolis, abandoning this traditional skill.

Over the years, the insectfolk who came to this map flourished and then nearly faced extinction, but none ever chose to have their corpse sealed in amber. The Lord then added, “That’s all I know about the amber. If you want to learn more, check the inn—perhaps someone there can help you.”

With that, the Lord ended the conversation. After Liu Zong left, he noticed a new quest on his task list called “Amber Light.” Judging by the string of symbols attached: the red skull indicated extreme danger; the golden circle with a five denoted a five-person elite group task; the upward-pointing arrow meant the difficulty could increase at any time; and the calendar symbol signified a long-term, continuous quest.

Based on these markers alone, Liu Zong decided to set the quest aside for now. He didn’t have the time, nor could he assemble a five-person team to tackle such an open-ended, escalating mission.

And so, Liu Zong fell back into his routine: daily, weekly, day after day, patrolling, fighting monsters, and handling the undead. Only after returning to the necropolis and completing his weekly tasks would he go topside to relax, gaze at the blue sky, and then return to fulfill his duties as an undead player.

During this period, both the Commander and the Banner Guard had advanced to Level 1, and the others were gradually filling their experience bars. Even the Lord of the Necropolis was nearing Level 1. Liu Zong had already been notified that when the Lord of the Necropolis attempted his Level 1 advancement, all available undead players would be required to attend. Since over half the players were on their second death and recuperating outside, Liu Zong couldn’t just leave.

As a result, he hadn’t even visited the inn and had nearly forgotten about the amber quest, focusing entirely on his daily and weekly missions. It wasn’t a bad thing—by dedicating himself to these tasks, his own level had risen, and he had reached Level 0 (10 stars), just two stars away from the peak of Level 0, the basic requirement for advancement.

He had also reaped many benefits: his demon-loli underling had reached Level 0 (12 stars), and thanks to his consistent command, he was close to completing the twenty-person group tasks, needing only two more pieces of equipment before advancing to the forty-person level.

All of this greatly enhanced Liu Zong’s strength. He had already replaced the weapons and gear he’d borrowed from the school with Yadala Insectfolk equipment—comparable in power but now his to keep.

Of course, other players had their own gains, some more, some less. Most saw an increase in strength, and a few had already achieved Level 0 (12 stars), ready to advance as soon as they found the time.

Fighting alongside others, Liu Zong made several new friends among the undead players. Compared to before, when only Liu Chun was close to him, this was a significant improvement. In his downtime, Liu Zong would chat with these players. Though their abilities varied, they each had unique perspectives on their paths.

Sometimes, after these discussions, Liu Zong found new ideas for his own future. He estimated that by the fifth year of the battlefield, he would reach Level 0 (12 stars). Furthermore, the materials he needed for advancement would be gathered within ten years, so by the time the battlefield ended, he would be ready to upgrade and advance his role.

By then, he would be in his thirties—already a promising talent among the players, even if his gaming identity remained unknown. For any university, such an individual was a rare genius, and being recruited would guarantee special attention and training.

Of course, Liu Zong was not alone in this ambition. Most players saw the school war as a crucial opportunity to improve themselves and had no intention of missing a single quest.