There's a skeleton dungeon connected to my basement.

Chapter 245, The Tree of Epic Rank

I ran wildly up the spiral staircase, with bright silver vines chasing me frantically behind me.

Running wildly inevitably makes one appear somewhat clumsy, but there's nothing that can be done about it.

Who said the jinx came true? If the Corrupted Tree Roots only needs a super combination to become a complete pseudo-epic, then fighting it is fine.

As long as the enemy he faces doesn't cross that line, Xiao Yang has nothing to fear.

But the problem now is that the silver thorn that is chasing him is an epic monster that has crossed the line.

On the side of the balcony where the corrupt priest was kneeling, Xiao Yang discovered a winding staircase leading upwards.

At the critical moment of his escape, Xiao Yang changed his mind.

"I don't want to be a frequent flyer!"

"Don't I have any pride?!"

With these fierce shouts, he began his frantic sprint toward the spiral staircase.

Of course, he wasn't really acting out of spite; a deeper reason for his decision and actions was that the Silver Thorn had completely taken over the balcony.

Even if Xiao Yang wanted to become a flying man, it would be quite difficult for him now.

As he ran, Xiao Yang soon spotted a door.

The door wasn't particularly complicated; it was quite ordinary. If there was anything unusual about it, it was that there was an iron strip embedded around the edge, making it look more sturdy.

Xiao Yang had no idea what lay behind the door.

But we can't worry about that right now.

His body slammed violently against the iron gate, and his entire figure flew into the gate.

Fortunately, the door was unlocked.

Upon entering, Xiao Yang sprang up from the ground like a carp leaping out of water, and the first thing he did was close the door.

The strange trees in the clock tower city didn't leave him with a very good impression.

The door was slammed shut.

This door, with its mere frame inlaid with iron bars, was clearly no match for the attack of the Silver Thorns.

Xiao Yang couldn't help but complain about the dungeon rules, that old sixth one.

It will only reinforce rooms that are locked and require special means or keys to open.

"Don't only make this kind of game at times like this!"

The branches of the silver thorns pierced through the door, and Xiao Yang, who was hiding in the room, dared not move at this moment.

The bright silver branches, stained with blood, still tried to find Xiao Yang, but their movements became noticeably more cautious.

They dared not make any big moves.

Soon after, the terrifying thorny branches disappeared.

Xiao Yang breathed a sigh of relief.

In fact, this silver thorn is quite special. It is not a follower of an evil god, but a normal epic-level being, which means that it is not on the same side as the evil god who polluted the city.

Since they are not on the same path, they must be in a state of confrontation with the evil god.

The nature of an evil god here means that if they are not friends or allies, they can only be enemies.

To some extent, Xiao Yang and the Silver Thorns should be in cahoots.

If you can have the help of an epic being, everything you do afterward will be much easier.

However, the situation is clearly not like that now.

Xiao Yang possesses a protective bracelet with a rare and magical sprite, a legendary artifact, and he is a nature-friendly individual.

But it was of no use to the Silver Thorns.

After bursting out of the corrupt priest's body, it launched an attack on Xiao Yang without hesitation.

With such a frenzied demeanor, cooperation was highly unlikely. Xiao Yang was lucky he wasn't beaten to death on the spot and impaled on thorns like a corrupt priest.

The reason behind this should not be hard to guess.

The name Silver Thorn also has this prefix.

"Frenzy."

After being relentlessly pursued for quite some time, Xiao Yang felt that he could roughly understand and summarize the Silver Thorns in words.

"This tree has gone mad."

No matter how friendly you are, it won't work on a madman.

After successfully escaping with his life, Xiao Yang's gaze fell on the room in front of him, where he had noticed the unusual behavior of Silver Thorn.

There seemed to be something in the room that made the silver thorn feel fear.

What is it?

Out of curiosity, Xiao Yang began to search for this information.

During the search, another effect of the magical item, the Fairy's Protection Bracelet, was activated.

[Player receives Nature's Blessing; Nature's Blessing selection in progress; selection complete.]

[Congratulations to the player who received the Blessing of Fragrance and Softness!]

Fragrant and soft! Your body begins to exude a sweet peach scent.
Introduction: I love ripe peaches the most, and this is it! I wish you all the best!

Suddenly, a notification appeared, and then Xiao Yang was inexplicably given the scent of ripe peaches, which smelled very nice, until it quickly mixed with the bloody smell on Xiao Yang.

Under the blessing of the fairy's protective bracelet, Xiao Yang's pungent bloody smell was subtly enhanced by the sweetness of peaches.

Xiao Yang's expression became very strange at this moment.

In most cases, Xiao Yang assumes that the little sprite's protective bracelet only has one passive ability.

[The elves' protection bracelet
Quality: Legend

Type: Strange Object

Effect: Automatically release a blessing spell in each battle

Additional Effect: Nature Affinity

Introduction: Only the elves' friends can receive the elves' gifts.

This fragrant and soft texture is why Xiao Yang acquiesced to it.

I wonder if it's because this strange item was given by a sprite, but its effects have also been tainted by the unreliability of those sprites. Many of the battle blessings are completely useless.

Fragrant and soft, sweet and smooth, glossy and long.

Most of the random blessings were like this. Xiao Yang felt that one of the most important reasons why his skin was getting better and better was this little elf's protective bracelet.

For example, the blessing "Sweet and Sweet" makes Xiao Yang's saliva sweet after a battle.

Smooth and radiant skin is a skincare treatment for Xiao Yang.

It's difficult to evaluate why the active effects of a legendary item are such a mess.

It's not that there are no other blessings.

Occasionally, you might even win a few blessings that actually have an effect on the battle, like winning the lottery.

For example, the Aura of Courage, Nightingale's Gaze.

However, the ratio of useful blessings to useless blessings is roughly nine to one, with useless blessings making up ninety percent and useful blessings only making up onety percent.

It's no wonder it's a blessing from the fairies; it really has the style of those unreliable little guys.

Xiao Yang now assumes that the active effect of the Little Elf's Protection Bracelet no longer exists.

What's the point of this peach-flavored blood?
No, it might still be somewhat useful.

It made the pungent, bloody smell on my body even more pleasant.

"Um……?"

Ignoring the sudden peach scent that appeared on my body.

Xiao Yang may have found the thing that Silver Thorn fears.

This is an extremely efficient and simple room, with a table, a bookcase, a bed, a trunk, and a stone slab hanging high in the center of the room.

My gaze fell on the stone slab in the center of the room.

"This should be it."

Xiao Yang saw this pattern on it.

Silver trees, a black city, and the towering figure of a goddess.

Upon arriving at the stone slab, Xiao Yang saw this sentence.

The Silver Tree embraces us like a mother.

"The Silver Tree?"

The Silver Tree is indeed very important to this city and its survivors; everything in this city is closely related to it.

But what exactly is it?

"A certain deity, a tree that steadfastly believes in the absence of eternal life, constantly stretches its branches toward the sky?"

What exactly is it?

This is probably a very important question, especially for the large dungeon I'm currently involved in.

Mythical figures have been clearly identified in the City of Clock Towers.

Plague rats, silver trees.

These two beings have been confirmed to exist in Clock Tower City.

What's worse is that both of their powers are exceptionally active, unlike those in the Skull Dungeon.

The level of power involved in the Skull Dungeon is higher.

The One Who Holds the Stars and the Goddess of Rest, and some other hidden beings.

A giant purple tentacle in the sewers, a Titan skull.

However, the Skull Dungeon is quite different from the Clock Tower City; the higher-level forces there are not very active and are rather dormant.

The two who were fighting in the Clock Tower City may not have the same high status as the One Who Holds the Stars and the Goddess of Rest, but they were both quite active.

It's hard to say which situation is more troublesome.

However, Xiao Yang was genuinely troubled.

It would have been better to arrive here a few days earlier; we wasted too much time at those bandit camps.

If I arrive earlier, before Clock Tower City is completely polluted, I might be able to break through the impasse more easily by relying on my affinity with nature.

Such a thought arose, but was quickly dispelled by Xiao Yang.

No regrets for making a move.

Never regret what has already happened.

Xiao Yang repeated this affirmatively.

In some ways, this guy is quite contradictory.

They want to maintain their humanity, but to some extent, they are too strict with themselves regarding their humanity.

Everyone experiences regret; remorse, hesitation, doubt, and fear are all natural emotions.

But Xiao Yang was actively suppressing these emotions.

There's nothing we can do about it.

In this decaying land, regret, remorse, hesitation, doubt, and fear—if one is entangled by these emotions for too long, one will go mad.

Xiao Yang wished he were a person, but if he really stripped away all these emotions, would he still be a person?
Xiao Yang found some useful things on the desk.

This room is probably the office of that rotten commander, Vitas.

The production of Life Resin is decreasing, which is a significant problem. We must expand outwards. The Great Silver Tree has sustained us long enough; we must find our own path forward.

Ms. Caroline and Master Monroe rejected the plan to expand outwards.

I know, I know they're for young men, but what about the future?

I shouldn't have agreed to this plan, but I can't argue that it's truly for the sake of Clock Tower City.

Unrest has broken out within the Silver Cult, and the Silver Thorns have begun to grow rampant.

Can those living outside the city be considered human?

Ms. Caroline may truly be a genius; her sponsorship was indeed a success.

The city has become more prosperous.

(End of this chapter)