MTLNOVEL Chapter 16: Discovery
Zane stood atop Lonely Wind Cliff, gazing at the open space before him. His eyes lit up at the sight ahead.
About seven or eight meters away, a radiant portal hovered in mid-air, pulsing with faint energy waves. Occasionally, it would emit a mysterious glow, illuminating the surroundings.
"So this is why the cliff sometimes flashes with strange light."
Beneath the portal lay a treasure chest, gleaming gold—it was unmistakably a golden treasure chest!
System Notification:
Congratulations! You are the first to reach Lonely Wind Cliff. Explore the area and report the anomaly to Mayor Slate in Maple Leaf Town to receive your quest reward!
"Nice!"
Zane grinned.
Not only would he complete his quest and earn a full set of silver-tier equipment, but he had also found a golden treasure chest with unknown rewards!
A total jackpot!
After carefully confirming that no monsters were lurking around, Zane jogged toward the treasure chest.
The golden chest radiated a noble glow, incredibly enticing.
However, instead of opening it immediately, he turned his attention to the floating portal behind it.
As he focused, system information surfaced:
Gate of Judgment
Type: Dungeon
Level Requirement: None
Party Requirement: Solo / Party
Entry Ticket: Judgment Crystal (Dropped by monsters in the Maple Leaf Town region. Higher-level and rarer monsters have a greater drop rate.)
Rewards: Level 10-20 equipment, abundant experience points, currency, and completion chest.
Description: Inside the Gate of Judgment, every choice you make will be a battle between good and evil, directly influencing your final outcome.
"So it's an open-world dungeon."
Zane let out a breath of relief.
At least that meant no immediate danger—he could open the chest with confidence!
Just as he was about to do so, a new notification popped up.
System Notification:
Congratulations! You have discovered the first dungeon in the game, located atop Lonely Wind Cliff. As the first player to make this discovery, you receive a special reward:
+10 Free Attribute Points!
"Nice, ten free attribute points!"
Zane was thrilled but then had a realization.
Until now, the game had announced world-first Black Iron and Bronze Boss kills, but no announcements about dungeon first clears.
Now he understood why.
This dungeon was hidden on top of a remote cliff—who the hell would've thought to look here?!
The lack of dungeon announcements from other towns likely meant those dungeons hadn't even been discovered yet.
For now, he set aside the mystery of the dungeon and focused back on the golden chest.
Lucky Treasure Chest
Grade: Golden
Effect: Open to receive 1-2 random items.
98% chance to obtain an item matching the chest's grade.2% chance to obtain an item exceeding the chest's grade.
Description: Finding a Lucky Treasure Chest means you're one lucky adventurer!
"A true golden-tier chest!"
Zane eagerly placed his hands on it.
Open!
The chest slowly creaked open, releasing a dazzling light.
System Notification:
You have opened a golden-tier chest and obtained:
Skill Book (Tier 5) ×1, Skill Book (Tier 4) ×1
"A Tier 5 Skill Book?"
"HAHAHA! I actually hit the 2% jackpot—hell yeah!"
Golden-tier chests normally contained Tier 4 skills, so obtaining a Tier 5 meant he had pulled an item beyond the chest's grade.
Excited, Zane opened his inventory and saw two glowing skill books:
[Skill Book: True Sight Eye]
Type: Passive
Tier: 4
Effect 1: Grants True Sight, allowing the user to see invisible targets, see in the dark, and double their field of vision.
Effect 2: Hidden information in certain objects will become visible to the user.
Learning Requirement: None
[Skill Book: Clone Technique]
Type: Active
Tier: 5 (Level 1: 0/500 EXP)
Effect 1: Creates a clone identical to the user, lasting 180 seconds. The user can dismiss it at will.
Effect 2: The clone has 50% of the user's attributes, shares the user's vision, and can independently use equipment and skills.
Effect 3: The clone cannot use Clone Technique itself.
Mana Cost: 800
Cooldown: 10 minutes
Learning Requirement: None
Zane barely reacted to the True Sight Eye skill.
But the Clone Technique?
His heart pounded with excitement.
"This skill is absolutely busted for me!"
He immediately realized how game-breaking it was.
For most players, Clone Technique was just a damage booster—use it in combat, get a second fighter for three minutes, nothing crazy.
But for him?
He had the Steal skill!
With a clone, he could send it to steal while he stayed in hiding—zero risk, maximum profit!
And since the clone could use all his skills, it could also help him level up skills faster.
Even better, if Clone Technique could evolve over time, increasing the number of clones...
He could spawn an entire army of himself and rob someone clean in seconds!
Just imagine—one single mass steal, and an enemy could lose everything!
The potential of this skill was endless!
"Learn!"
Without hesitation, Zane used both skill books.
"Clone Technique!"
A surge of mana flowed out of his body.
In an instant, another Zane materialized before him—an exact copy, indistinguishable from the original.
"Feels like I just got a twin."
Zane examined his clone and began testing controls.
At first, it felt strange—he could see from both perspectives, swap between them, or manage both at once, like dual-processing two different tasks.
At first, the clone moved awkwardly, but after a few adjustments, it became as fluid as his own body.
The clone had basic autonomous movement, but if Zane manually controlled it, it could act just like a real player.
"Vanish!"
With a thought, the clone dissolved into mana.
"Alright, time to report back and claim my silver-tier equipment."
Zane was beyond satisfied and prepared to leave.
As for the Gate of Judgment dungeon, he was curious, but without a Judgment Crystal, he couldn't enter.
No rush—he had already secured his main objective.
"Wait… what's this?"
Just as he turned to leave, something odd caught his eye.
A peculiar herb was growing amidst the grass, displaying special information.
Normally, grass and shrubs in the game were just decoration. No special markers, no interactive prompts.
But now?
"Wait a second… I have True Sight Eye now!"
He suddenly realized—the passive skill was revealing hidden secrets around him!