Chapter 255: The Divine Artifact Leaderboard

Marcus had finally gotten his hands on the legendary Spring of Life.

The crystal vial rested cool and heavy in his palm, faint threads of pale green light drifting within the liquid like living mist. He was just about to examine the holy water’s attributes when Silas Vance suddenly turned toward him, his expression tightening as his gaze swept across the distant tree line.

“Listen,young man,” Silas said sharply, urgency cutting through his usual calm tone. “The four Eight-Tailed Vixen Spirits are closing in on this location. You need to take Alana and get back to the city immediately. Once you’re inside the city limits, stay there for at least an hour. After that, they’ll lose your scent and abandon the hunt.”

Alana’s face paled slightly. She stepped forward, worry written plainly across her features.

“But what about you, Grandfather?” she asked, her voice trembling despite her effort to sound steady.

Silas waved a hand dismissively, though the strain in his posture made it clear he was far from unbothered.

“Don’t worry about me. I’ve survived worse than a few angry fox spirits.” A faint, crooked smile appeared on his lips. “If I weren’t injured, I’d escort you myself. But right now I’d only slow you down. Just listen to me. Once I’ve recovered, I’ll come find you.”

Then his eyes settled firmly on Marcus.

“The Vixens are almost here,” he said quietly but firmly. “Go. Now.”

Marcus gave a short nod.

“Understood.”

There was no room for hesitation or sentimentality. The forest around them already felt colder, as if something unseen was drawing nearer through the shadows.

Marcus pulled a Town Portal Scroll from his inventory and handed it to Alana without wasting another second. As she grasped it, the faint rustle of distant movement echoed through the trees, followed by a chilling pressure in the air that seemed to seep into the bones.

The Vixen Spirits were close.

Marcus activated the scroll.

A pillar of brilliant white light erupted around them, swallowing their figures in an instant. The clearing flashed once like lightning striking the earth, and then both Marcus and Alana vanished without a trace.

Moments later, the light reappeared inside the towering walls of Marcus’s private mansion within Dragon’s Peak Citadel.

They were safe.

Back in the forest clearing, Silas Vance remained where he stood, staring at the empty space where the two had disappeared. His brows slowly drew together, and for once the old man looked genuinely shaken.

“Stonehaven… four maxed attributes.”

He muttered the words under his breath, almost as if testing whether they sounded any less absurd when spoken aloud.

“How is that even possible?”

In all of Dreamland’s long and myth-filled history, only one being had ever achieved such a feat.

The Goddess herself.

For a player to possess four fully maxed attributes was something that should not exist. It defied everything Silas knew about the structure and balance of the world.

If he had not seen it with his own eyes, he would have dismissed the idea outright.

Yet the truth was undeniable.

Silas slowly exhaled, the tension in his shoulders easing just slightly as a thoughtful expression replaced his disbelief.

“Could it be… the Prophecy?”

The words lingered in the air for a moment before he gave a quiet chuckle and shook his head, though a faint, grim smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

“If that’s the case,” he murmured, “then letting him take Alana was definitely the right call.”

He turned toward the deeper woods.

“I’d better pay a visit to a few old friends and patch myself up first. They’ll want to hear about this.”

With that, Silas slipped into the forest, his figure vanishing quickly among the towering trees as he headed toward the hidden sanctuaries where others like him still lived in secrecy.

—

’Safe at last.’

Marcus stood inside the quiet hall of his mansion and released a long, steady breath. The tension that had followed him through the forest finally began to ease.

The interior of the estate was silent, bathed in warm golden light that streamed through tall windows and reflected off polished marble floors. Compared to the deadly wilderness he had just escaped, the place felt almost surreal in its calm.

He had just stolen the Peach Blossom Soul. And, in a sense, the Vixen Queen herself.

There was no doubt the Vixen Clan would be furious as a result of what had happened. However, Marcus did not believe they would react with the same reckless rage as the Double-Headed Raven King.

Storming a major hub like Dragon’s Peak Citadel was practically impossible. Even the most powerful monster clans rarely dared challenge a fortified city full of players and NPC defenders.

No matter how angry they were, the Vixens would think twice before attempting something so suicidal.

Marcus was about to begin sorting through the items he had obtained when a familiar system notification chimed softly in his ear.

Ding!

“Congratulations, Stonehaven! You have obtained the Divine Artifacts: Asclepius’ Herbal Staff and the Hundred-Flower Cloud Robe. These items possess immense power and are classified as Top-tier Divine Artifacts within Dominion.

As such, the Divine Artifact Leaderboard has now been activated. Both items will be recorded upon it.

Would you like to display your name on the leaderboard?

Marcus raised an eyebrow slightly, then allowed a small smirk to form. So that was the reason the leaderboard had never appeared before.

It was not meant for the mediocre “artifacts” players occasionally stumbled across. Those things might have sounded impressive, but in reality they were little more than glorified equipment.

The Divine Artifact Leaderboard existed only for the true legends.

“Keep my name hidden,” Marcus said calmly, sticking to the same policy he always followed.

The moment the command left his mouth, the system’s voice thundered across the entire server.

[Attention all players! Attention all players!]

Across the world of Dominion, players froze mid-action.

Some were fighting monsters in the wilderness. Others were negotiating trades in crowded marketplaces. A few were in the middle of dungeon raids.

Every one of them paused.

System-wide announcements only occurred when something of enormous importance had happened.

[The Top-tier Divine Artifacts ’Asclepius’ Herbal Staff’ and ’Hundred-Flower Cloud Robe’ have been discovered! The Divine Artifact Leaderboard is now officially open.

All players are encouraged to strive for greatness and uncover the legendary treasures hidden throughout Dominion!]

The announcement echoed three times through the system.

In the major cities, the busy streets fell into stunned silence. The usual roar of bargaining merchants, guild recruiters shouting for members, and players arguing over prices vanished almost instantly.

For several long seconds, the entire player base seemed to inhale at once.

Then the silence shattered.

When the new leaderboard flickered to life on the enormous digital displays installed in every major plaza, the crowd erupted into chaos.

Dominion was on fire.

“Divine Artifacts?”

“Who found them?!”

“Check the leaderboard! Hurry!”

Players surged toward the displays, pushing and craning their necks as they tried to see the newly revealed rankings.

The glowing interface soon stabilized, revealing the first entries.

—

Divine Artifact Leaderboard

(Displays only Top-tier Divine Artifacts in order of discovery)

1. Asclepius’ Herbal Staff: Ancient Artifact, the sacred treasure of the Asclepius Clan.

Stats: Hidden

Owner: Hidden

2. Hundred-Flower Cloud Robe: Ancient Artifact, crafted by the Flower Tribe.

Stats: Hidden

Owner: Hidden

—

A stunned murmur spread through the crowd.

“Why are the stats hidden? I want to know what they do!” one player shouted in frustration.

“What a coward,” another scoffed. “Hiding his name like that.”

“Wait a second… they appeared at the exact same time.”

A third player leaned closer to the display, squinting.

“Don’t tell me one person got both. That’s impossible. Is the game bugged?”

For many players, the greatest thrill of Dominion was the hunt for legendary equipment. Seeing even a single top-tier item appear would have been enough to spark envy across the entire server.

But two at once? That was enough to drive people insane.

Inside the headquarters of several major guilds, the reactions were even more intense.

Guild leaders stared at the leaderboard with dark expressions. Between them, they had poured thousands of hours and millions of dollars into the game.

The very best gear their organizations possessed amounted to a handful of low-grade Mythic Artifacts.

Yet somewhere out there, a single unknown player was carrying two items that completely eclipsed everything they owned.

They knew it was not a system error.

Skynet, the AI that governed Dominion, was far too advanced for something that crude. The game had long since become a global phenomenon, and with the upcoming Nation Wars approaching, every aspect of the system was monitored by the National Gaming Commission.

If something truly suspicious had happened, major regions like the United Kingdom, Germany, or several other rival powerhouses would already be demanding an investigation.

No protests had appeared, which meant only one thing; the system was working perfectly.

Someone was simply playing the game better than everyone else.

One by one, guild masters began asking the same question. Who was this ghost?

Was the owner of these artifacts the same mysterious figure who dominated several other leaderboards?

No one had an answer.

And in that uncertainty, they slowly realized something unsettling; mystery itself was a form of power.

By hiding his identity, this unknown player had created something far more captivating than a simple username at the top of a ranking list. The entire community was now obsessed with him, endlessly speculating about who he might be and where he would appear next.

The deeper the secret remained buried, the greater the shock would be when it was finally revealed.

Meanwhile, Marcus, the man at the center of the storm, paid none of it any attention.

He simply returned to sorting through his newly acquired items, perfectly aware that when the day finally came for him to step into the spotlight, the waves he created would sweep across the entire world.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep