In the Tower of Truth, on the seventh level.
Frigid Village.
Mike observed the bustling crowd, each person's head adorned with different note.
[Bladefury, Class: Bloodrage Warrior, Level: 60 (Restricted)]
[Lightwarden, Class: Holy Speaker, Level: 60 (Restricted)]
[...]
Everyone shared one thing in common—their levels were capped at 60.
"Why restrict the level to 60?" Mike wondered as he moved forward, scanning his surroundings and gathering as much information as possible.
It didn't take long for him to understand.
The demon gods have created a boss. Under the rules of truth, beings above level 60 can't inflict damage on it?
Mike almost laughed out loud. "Are they afraid someone will steal the boss from me?"
It was almost too considerate!
While Mike wasn't worried, others were deeply concerned. Normally, if a boss was too powerful, the top human would intervene directly.
Now, with this rule in place, it effectively prevented high-level human intervention.
But defeating the boss... with Thor's current strength, it would be challenging for him to do it alone! At least, to others, it seemed nearly impossible for Thor to defeat the boss by himself.
So, they came up with a solution.
Mike looked around at the circle of level 60 participants and guessed the humans' strategy.
Those under level 200 could use a level restrictor to temporarily cap their level at 60, meeting the condition to fight the boss.
The people in front of Mike, all top students from superpower universities, were gathered to combat the boss! Among the crowd, Mike spotted a few familiar faces:
Elena, Kaelum, Anderson.
These three were heading out of the village together.
"Familiar faces... better keep my distance!" Mike thought, knowing he had other ways to gather information.
Under the influence of the Eye of Truth, the conversation between Elena and her companions automatically generated subtitles for Mike to read.
Elena: "It's a pity Charlotte went to the Abyssal Plane. If she were here, she could have been a main damage dealer!"
Kaelum: "What are you afraid of? I'm here!"
Anderson: "Aren't you the one who's been pondering how to fail classes and repeat years? This time you're here to earn credits."
Kaelum: "Look at your spirit, now's not the time to be selfish. Even if I can't manage to repeat the year, helping Thor grow is worth it."
Elena: "man, you probably don't know, but the casualty rate among those close to a Supreme Being is extremely high! Back in the day, all of Supreme Being [Morpheus]'s classmates died, only one survived..."
"....."
Mike: "Turn it off, quick! How can we eavesdrop on others talking!"
[You seemed to enjoy it quite a bit.]
Mike frowned slightly, particularly concerned about Kaelum's last remark.
"The casualty rate of Supreme Being [Morpheus]'s classmates?"
This was the first time Mike had heard about this. He wrote the line in his palm, staring at it intently.
[Elementary, Middle, High School, Universities?]
Four options appeared before Mike.
"Elementary?" "100%!"
"Middle?" "100%!"
"...."
All options returned a 100% response.
Mike fell silent, quickly realizing something was amiss.
Shadow Nine was legendary for being a close friend of Supreme Being Morpheus from childhood, the two sharing a deep bond and often seen together.
If the casualty rate of [Morpheus]'s classmates was 100%, then what was the deal with Shadow Nine?
Mike quickly wrote another line,
"What about Shadow Nine?"
[He's... barely alive.]
The topic was heavy, and Mike shook his head, not delving further. Everyone has their secrets.
Thor serves humanity, Shadow Nine protects Thor.
This was an unspoken agreement, taken for granted by both sides.
As for the secrets Shadow Nine carried, it wasn't something Mike could touch upon at the moment.
Soon, Mike received two more pieces of data from the [Eye of Truth].
"[Ares]'s classmates' death rate during university was 63%."
"[Apollo], 52%!"
Two startling figures.
This made Mike think about his own situation.
The closer one is to the protagonist, the greater the risk!
Shadow Nine once said, 'Supreme Beings always appear in the most dangerous places.'
And those who chose to follow a Supreme Being also placed their lives in jeopardy.
Clearly, the casualty rate was no secret in top universities.
Elena could mention it offhand, meaning it was common knowledge.
Mike's heart sank a bit more.
Despite this, Kaelum and others still schemed to lower their credits and repeat years, to be classmates with a future Supreme Being, regardless of the immense risks they clearly understood.
"Don't get close to a Supreme Being, or you'll end up unlucky?"
Mike scooped up a handful of snow and washed his face.
"Feeling a bit pressured."
"Let's kill a boss to relieve some stress."
In the snowy wind, a figure swiftly moved, unnoticed by others.
After a Battle Lord adept at prophecy received information about the boss, the Defense Headquarters quickly strategized.
Top superpower universities notified all students below level 200.
They could pick up a level 60 restrictor for free and voluntarily head to the seventh level of the Tower of Truth to participate in the boss extermination, earning credits based on their performance.
The vast majority, upon receiving the notification, set aside their original plans, picked up the level restrictor, and headed straight to the village on the seventh level.
If there was anything they could do on Thor's path to conquering with an SSSS-grade rating, they wouldn't hesitate!
This explained the scene Mike had witnessed earlier.
The normally deserted Frigid Village had suddenly become bustling.
And Mike's actions, in their eyes, were just ordinary.
Just another individual among many.
...
Frigid Cliff.
"Wind Spirit!"
Kaelum extended his staff, ending a long chant.
In front of him, thousands of wind element spirits scattered, searching for the boss's trace across the Frigid Cliff.
The area covered by the Frigid Cliff was vast, and exploring every cave would waste too much time.
The longer it took, the stronger the boss would become, making it more troublesome to deal with!
Kaelum's expertise in wind element spells, especially in the windy and snowy environment, was the best method for detection.
"Here, the latest mana potion."
Elena handed over a bottle of potion, which Kaelum downed in one gulp, immediately scrunching up his face and exclaiming, "Bitter, so bitter!"
"Bitter? The lab rats didn't say it was bitter when we tested it on them."
Anderson pressed his ear against the stone wall, his eyes closed, beads of sweat forming on his forehead.
"I hear it... a terrifying heartbeat..."
His face turned pale, barely able to withstand just hearing the heartbeat!
At that moment, Kaelum made a new discovery.
"Found it!"
Kaelum raised his staff. "Flight spell!"
The three of them, under the effect of the flight spell, rushed directly to the cave where the boss was located!
...
Inside the cave.
Hundreds of people were attacking a monstrously ugly, gigantic creature, the battle raging fiercely.
The monster's strength far surpassed the participants, each of its attacks severely injuring many and sweeping through the crowd.
Fortunately, the human participants coordinated well, even though it was a hastily formed team, they displayed strong fundamental skills.
Warriors held the front, Priests healed, Sorcerers buffed, and various ranged classes maximized their output.
Even without a central commander, they managed to hold their ground against the boss, exchanging blows back and forth.
Moreover, as more humans continuously arrived and joined the battle, the scales of victory would soon tip completely in humanity's favor!
Mike's figure appeared at the entrance of the cave.
Looking at the [Eye of Truth], Mike could easily find the boss's hiding place.
He glanced at the boss currently engaged in battle.
[This is a counterfeit]
[A minion derived from the final boss, even if killed, it will quickly revive]
[The final boss hidden in the cave must be killed for it to truly die]
"These demon cult guys, always using their brains for the wrong reasons!" Mike looked towards a corner of the cave, where a hidden passage was located.
The real boss was inside there!
As for the counterfeit outside, it was merely a decoy to distract and absorb attacks!
"Perfect, I was worried about standing out too much if I acted from within the crowd."
Mike slowly moved closer, occasionally using Wind Blade and other skills to harass the boss.
When he neared the corner, he triggered the hidden passage, and his figure instantly disappeared.
In the dark cave, a torch lit up.
[Why light a fire, can't you see?]
[Night vision mode activated.]
Extinguishing the torch, Mike walked through the long, dark cave, getting closer to the boss, the sound of a strong heartbeat echoing in his ears.
"Thump—"
"Thump—"