" Haha!"


    Jeremy couldn''t help butugh out loud as he looked at Ritchie, who was wearing a decayed corpse''s top.


    The outfit,bined with Ritchie''s stench, made him look more like a ghoul than the actual ghouls.


    "Hey, I kind of look like I''m cosying." Ritchie remarked, unfazed and even finding it amusing.


    Without lingering, the group continued deeper into the Death ins.


    Jeremy had already reached level 25, but needed nearly 210,000 experience points to level up further. The monsters on the outskirts of the Death ins provided too little experience. His target was the hidden boss in the core area, the only one that could give him a significant boost.


    At the moment, Kean, who topped the level leaderboard, had reached level 29, a full four levels ahead of Jeremy.


    Jeremy estimated that Kean would soon reach level 30. If Kean didn''t waste time on the second sschange, he could even reach level 32 by the end of the Sunseeker event.


    Jeremy also had to deal with the sschange goddess Janna during his second sschange, and he had no idea what trials she might set up for him.


    Therefore, he not only needed to surpass Kean in a short time but also leave some buffer for the second sschange.


    Fortunately, yers could still gain experience from killing monsters even if they couldn''t level up due to not yetpleting a sschange.


    This meant he still had a chance!


    ...


    Meanwhile, a few kilometers away from Jeremy and his group, on a hilltop.


    E and Kelvin''s team of five were besieging a level 25 elite Thorn Serpent.


    Kelvin, surrounded by lightning, swung his staff, sending a bolt of lightning crashing onto the massive body of the Thorn Serpent, shattering arge patch of its scales.


    The Thorn Serpent hissed in pain, its massive body writhing and rolling, sending dirt and grass flying everywhere, but unable to harm any of them.


    E, standing at the highest point of the hill, her silver-white hair flowing in the wind, aimed her massive sniper rifle, arcs of red electricity dancing on it. Through her blue virtual sses, a red dot moved over the Thorn Serpent''s body.


    Atst, her pupils contracted, and the red dot locked onto the serpent''s head.


    Without hesitation, she pulled the trigger.


    The sniper rifle''s muzzle erupted with a blend of lightning and me, sending a red energy beam as thick as an adult''s arm barreling out.


    "Boom!!!"


    The energy beam pierced through the Thorn Serpent''s head and even sted a terrifying crater into the hill behind it.


    The serpent copsed, and the group was enveloped in the glow of leveling up.


    Meanwhile, Tre, who was on lookout duty, witnessed Jeremy''s battle with the ghoul warriors through his binocrs.


    Lowering the binocrs, he remarked in surprise, "No wonder this kid is so cocky. He''s got some skills."


    They had just experienced the strength of an elite monster themselves. Although it wasn''t too difficult to deal with, taking one down as cleanly and efficiently as Jeremy did wasn''t easy even for them.


    Kelvin said calmly, "If I remember correctly, Jeremy is already level 25. If we were the same level as him, it wouldn''t take much effort for us to kill that monster either."


    Rafael held ady''s cigarette between his slender fingers and frowned. "If it weren''t for that guy, our levels wouldn''t be so low."


    "Captain, should I go teach them a lesson?" Ramone''s eyes gleamed with a fierce fighting spirit.


    He loved battling strong opponents, and Jeremy''s skills had earned his respect.


    Rafaelscoffed. "Even though I don''t like the guy, he did manage to surpass the captain''s fianceand top the leaderboard. He must have some skills. Be careful, or he might chop you up."


    At the mention of E''s fiance, Kean, a look of apprehension shed in Kelvin and the others'' eyes.


    Kean''s name was almost universally known in the capital, not just because he was the heir to the Kean''s family, but also due to his notoriously violent temperament. Anything that displeased him would invoke his wrathful vengeance.


    When the apocalypse struck, many thought they''d have a chance to get back at Kean.


    But no one had expected that he would awaken a terrifying SS-level ability and obtain a hidden ss, bing the strongest recognized genius among the yers.


    A few days ago, Kean had even soloed a beginner dungeon, bing the first yer in the apocalypse game to clear a dungeon.


    Those who had hoped to take revenge on him were shocked to find that the gap between them and Kean had only grownrger.


    Hearing Kean''s name, E''s expression shifted slightly, but she said nothing more. She turned and started walking deeper into the ins, saying calmly, "Forget him. The most important thing now is to level up. We''ve wasted too much time these past few days."


    The other four nodded in agreement.


    Their main goal in entering the dungeon was to quickly level up. Anyway, Jeremy couldn''t run away.


    Ultimately, aside from the Federation leaders and a few others like Benjamin, no one really took this young man seriously.


    In fact, whenever E thought about how these people had ced all their bets on Jeremy, she considered them insane.


    No matter how talented a young man might be, what the Federation and humanity needed was a hero who could bring hope.


    Even Kean, her fiancewhom she greatly disliked, seemed a hundred times more capable than Jeremy.


    It wasn''t that E wanted to belittle Jeremy.


    It''s just that an eighteen-year-old boy, no matter how remarkable or impressive, he couldn''t bear such a heavy burden.


    E shook her head.


    Instead of wasting time and resources on this boy, it would be better to find other solutions.


    That way, humanity might still have a chance to survive the increasingly brutal apocalypse.


    ...


    Meanwhile, on the Death ins.


    Adark red figure bulldozed through waves of monsters, rapidly advancing towards the core area. Behind him, Emma and the others struggled to keep up.


    Jeremy''s pupils had turned dark red, and he was enveloped in a shroud of sin mes, exuding an overwhelmingly terrifying aura.


    Moving swiftly among the monsters, his dual des cut through them like the scythes of the Grim Reaper, each strike iming a life.


    [You have killed a level 25 Terror Blossom (Normal), gaining 4519 experience points!]


    [You have killed a level 24 ins Great Wolf (Normal), gaining 4038 experience points!]


    [You have killed a level 26 Thorn Serpent (Elite), gaining 26160 experience points!]


    As a series of kill notifications appeared, Jeremy''s experience points rapidly increased, and it didn''t take long for him to reach level 26.


    Emma and the others were also leveling up quickly, with one of them glowing with golden light every so often.


    Despite being mentally prepared, it was only when Jeremy got serious that they truly understood just how terrifying his strength was.


    The path they had traversed was now littered with blood and monster corpses. Jeremy''s figure darted among the dense swarm of creatures like a phantom, each strike of his de efficiently iming the lives of one or even several monsters.


    The monsters that required theirbined effort to defeat seemed like paper under Jeremy''s dark red de, easily torn apart.


    They struggled to even track his movements, only able to see shes of his de dancing through the monsters.


    Watching Jeremy gracefully weave through the horde, they felt like they were witnessing a breathtaking stage performance.


    Jeremy''s mental strength had doubled aftering out of the Spirit World.


    This not only enhanced his skills but also greatly improved his observational and self-control abilities, allowing him to manage his power with perfect efficiency, wasting not a single ounce of energy.


    This improvement was monumental, significantly boosting Jeremy''s stamina and making his attacks faster, fiercer, and more precise.


    Jeremy understood that in battle, simple and effective moves were often more practical than shy techniques. He abandonedplicated attacks in favor of basic shes, chops, sweeps, and stabs.


    This approach greatly increased his efficiency in killing monsters.


    While the others were starting to feel the strain in their hands and feet from finishing off the monsters, Jeremy remained as energetic as ever.


    Ritchiemented, "The gap is just too wide!"


    Emma and the other two nodded silently.


    Jeremy was like a monster!


    Their abilities and sses were already considered top-notch among yers, even genius-level.


    But next to Jeremy, they felt no different from ordinary people.


    The disparity was so vast it was almost despair-inducing.


    Bonnie finally had a clear understanding of Jeremy''s capabilities and stopped deluding herself into thinking she could surpass him in the future.


    As more monsters fell, Jeremy''s body glowed with golden light once again.


    [You have reached level 27, gaining 30 free attribute points!]


    [You have gained fixed ss attributes: Strength +40, Spirit +40, Stamina +20, Agility +20!]


    At the same time, Jeremy''s movements began to slow down. It wasn''t because he was tired, but because arge stone-built settlement had appeared not far ahead.


    The Ghoul Tribe!