Assassin at Range: The Sniper's Lethal Power-Chapter 111 - : Have You Heard of Dark Horizon?

After receiving the black crystal and an additional five hundred gold coins, Tristan didn’t linger at the lord’s mansion. He quickly said his goodbyes and left.

Outside the mansion, Tristan found NightStalker. "I won’t be heading back to Davi City for now. You go ahead," he said.

NightStalker didn’t ask much. After a brief exchange, he headed off, determined to work on improving his skills. After all, the recent boss fight had made him realize the gap between himself and Blackshade. He knew he had to work harder if he didn’t want to fall behind.

With that, Tristan opened his map and began searching for the corresponding coordinates. The black crystal he held was linked to a dungeon, but it wasn’t located in Sonar City or Davi City. It was in another major city—Eldoria City.

Stepping into a teleportation circle, Tristan paid the small fee of two gold coins and was soon teleported to Eldoria City.

He was here for one thing: the Shadow Dragon. Tristan didn’t waste time sightseeing in the city. He left immediately and headed south.

Along the way, he encountered a fair number of players. As more players left the newbie village and began their journey through the main cities, it was clear the world was starting to fill up.

Though Tristan had made an announcement in the global server about his shop in Davi City, not everyone was interested. Some players preferred to avoid the crowded city, especially with Blackshade there. They reasoned that a city with so many players would have too much competition, so they decided to explore a different main city instead, hoping to find opportunities elsewhere.

Tristan walked for a while, but before he could reach the dungeon’s entrance, a group of figures dressed in black cloaks blocked his path.

While ordinary players might not recognize them, Tristan immediately knew who they were: Dark Horizon.

On the corner of their cloaks, there was an embroidered symbol—a bloodied handprint, the mark of Dark Horizon.

Tristan had suspected they would eventually come for him, but he didn’t expect it to be here, in Eldoria City. The news about his involvement in the Sea Tribe’s defeat had spread quickly. With the teleportation system between cities, it made sense that Dark Horizon could send agents to any of the major cities to find him.

Tristan calmed his thoughts and asked, "What’s the matter?"

He wasn’t in a rush to act; instead, he wanted to gauge their intentions first.

A figure stepped forward from the group, removing his cloak to reveal an older face. "Outsider, have you heard of Dark Horizon?" he asked.

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Tristan nodded. "The infamous secret organization of traitors, bent on wiping out humanity."

The elder’s expression twisted with anger. "The outside world has twisted and slandered the reputation of our teachings. Outsider, you’ve been deceived!"

Tristan smirked internally. He knew full well who these people were, and he wasn’t fooled by their theatrics. Dark Horizon’s reputation was well known.

Seeing that Tristan wasn’t affected, the elder’s expression shifted abruptly, his voice turning cold. "You’ve repeatedly sabotaged our plans. What is your purpose?"

The change in demeanor was so sudden that Tristan almost thought he was hallucinating.

Tristan smiled, replying, "Do I need a reason?"

The elder’s face grew vicious. "So you’ve made up your mind to oppose us." With a swift gesture, he commanded, "Kill him!"

In the next instant, a throwing knife flew at Tristan.

The elder sneered, "Do you think such trivial techniques will harm me?"

After all, they had thoroughly investigated Tristan. As an assassin, he was skilled with ranged attacks. So, the elder had brought along a cherished item—the Heartshield Mirror, an artifact designed to deflect such attacks.

But he underestimated one thing: Tristan’s damage was true damage.

The artifact could only block physical attacks, not true damage.

Before the elder could react, Tristan’s attack hit, and the elder’s health bar vanished instantly. He collapsed, dead in an instant.

The Shadow Dagger ricocheted, taking down the remaining members in the group. Toxic Blood Plague quickly finished the job, and they were all wiped out.

Tristan blinked in disbelief. "Is that it?"

These Dark Horizon members had come with such confidence, ready to deal with him. Yet, one skill was all it took to wipe them out.

Were they trying to be a joke?

Unbeknownst to Tristan, these members had come prepared. The elder had even carried an item to reduce ranged damage. However, they hadn’t anticipated that Tristan’s damage wasn’t physical. Their preparation was useless, leading to their humiliating defeat.

"System Notification: Your reputation with Dark Horizon has decreased by 500 points. Current reputation: Hatred."

Tristan dismissed the notification without a second thought. It didn’t bother him in the slightest.

He stepped forward to loot their bodies, but quickly gave up. These guys were so poor they didn’t even have ten gold coins between them.

The only item of note was the Heartshield Mirror, but it was covered in cracks and clearly unusable.

"Pathetic," Tristan muttered. "You’re so broke, yet you still try to bring about the apocalypse. No wonder Dark Horizon got wiped out by players."

With a final spit on the ground, he turned and walked away. This wasn’t something he was going to waste any more energy on.

He continued on his path, the landscape growing increasingly desolate. Even the most resilient of weeds were few and far between. The dirt beneath his feet turned from brown to black, but this wasn’t regular soil. It had been tainted by Umbra Energy.

Tristan remembered that in his past life, players had discovered the special nature of this area early on. They had even found the source—a seal. But how to break the seal was a mystery for a long time. It wasn’t until months later, when they found a clue in Sonar City, that they realized the black crystal in the city lord’s vault was the key to opening the seal, leading to this dungeon.

Tristan couldn’t help but admire the player who first uncovered that clue. Who would’ve thought the answer would lie in a completely different city?

But this was typical of ExoGenesis—the answer to many puzzles often lay far from where you expected.

Following the blackened earth, Tristan soon arrived at an area littered with jagged rocks. The air here was cold and ominous, giving off a feeling that this wasn’t a place anyone should be.

Whispers occasionally seemed to echo in his ears. But when he tried to listen closely, there was nothing to hear. After a while, players with less courage would probably start feeling uneasy.

But Tristan wasn’t scared. He casually moved among the rocks, occasionally shifting one or two stones. To open this dungeon, he needed the black crystal in his possession, but there were other steps involved.

The rocks on the ground had to be placed in specific positions to activate the hidden seal. As he moved the stones, the ground beneath him grew darker, and mist began to swirl. It looked as though the scene could be straight out of a Deathbringer event.

But Tristan wasn’t fazed. He just kept moving stones, undisturbed.

Soon, as the final stone fell into place, the ground rumbled, and a low, menacing roar echoed from beneath the earth.

The Shadow Dragon, sealed deep underground, had awakened.

"Hold on, I’m coming for you," Tristan muttered to himself, taking the black crystal and crushing it in his hand.

As the dust from the crystal scattered, glowing runes appeared beneath the ground. The tremors intensified, and the roars grew louder.

The seal was weakening. The Shadow Dragon, long imprisoned, was eager to be free.

But the dragon couldn’t help but wonder: after all these years, why had the seal suddenly started to crack today?

Who was the one causing all this commotion?

But it didn’t matter. What mattered was that it was about to be free.

"When I get out, I’m going to destroy a few cities and make those humans regret ever crossing me!" the Shadow Dragon thought to itself.