[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-started-with-a-10-000x-multiplier-in-a-game-worl":3,"chapter-started-with-a-10-000x-multiplier-in-a-game-worl-started-with-a-10-000x-multiplier-in-a-game-worl-chapter-8":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Started with a 10,000x Multiplier in a Game World",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":20,"prevChapterSlug":21,"totalChapters":22,"novelImage":23},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":16,"volume":17,"translator":18,"content_hash":19},1136161,1466,"Chapter 8: The Tarnished Locket","started-with-a-10-000x-multiplier-in-a-game-worl-chapter-8",8,"\u003Cp>The Iron-tier chest dissolved into a burst of blue light. It left three items sitting on the muddy ground of the alleyway.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dante crouched down. His eyes scanned the loot.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The first item was a pair of heavy gauntlets. They were forged from the same jagged and dark-gray metal as the fur of the Ironfang Alpha.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Item Appraised: Ironfang Grips]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Tier: Silver]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Stats: +15 Strength, +10 Defense. Passive: Unarmed strikes have a 10% chance to cause Bleed.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a solid piece of gear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He immediately equipped it. He watched the bulky metal gauntlets seamlessly attach to his forearms.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The second item was a small leather pouch.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dante opened it and found fifty shiny silver coins. It was a massive influx of cash for a beginner zone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He tossed the pouch into his inventory without a second thought.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The third item was what caught his attention.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It wasn’t a weapon or a piece of armor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a small and incredibly tarnished silver locket attached to a broken chain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It looked completely mundane. It looked like something you would find at a cheap pawn shop on Veridia.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dante picked it up. The metal was cold.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Item Appraised: Tarnished Locket]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Tier: Lore Item (Unique)]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Description: A heavily oxidized locket bearing the crest of the old kingdom. It pulses with a faint and corrupted energy. Return it to someone who remembers the old days.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"A lore item,\" Dante muttered. He turned the locket over in his hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the Zenith Protocol, lore items were the keys to the kingdom. They didn’t offer raw stats or damage boosts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Instead, they unlocked hidden quests, secret dungeons, and unique class advancements that the general player base would never even see.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Finding one this early off a World Boss meant it was tied to something massive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Someone who remembers the old days.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dante didn’t hesitate. He knew exactly who to talk to.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He walked out of the alley and navigated his way back to the bustling central square.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The floating crystal monolith was still surrounded by a massive line of players waiting to draw their talents.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Standing next to it and completely ignored by the frantic crowd was the Outpost Elder in his flowing gray robes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dante bypassed the queue entirely. He ignored the angry shouts of players telling him to wait his turn.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He walked right up to the platform and held out the tarnished locket.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I found this in the woods,\" Dante said simply.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The head of the Outpost Elder snapped toward Dante. The blank and scripted look in the glowing white eyes of the NPC instantly vanished.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For a second, the NPC looked entirely human.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Elder reached out with a trembling hand and took the locket. He ran his thumb over the oxidized crest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The crest of the Silver Vanguard,\" the Elder whispered. His voice was thick with an emotion that shouldn’t exist in a beginner-zone guide NPC.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I have not seen this in decades. Where did you uncover this, Outworlder?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It dropped from an Ironfang Alpha,\" Dante replied.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The eyes of the Elder widened. \"The Alpha... it has returned. The corruption is spreading faster than the scouts reported.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Hidden Quest Triggered: The Whispering Chasm (Part 1)]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A massive and golden prompt appeared in the vision of Dante.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Description: The Outpost Elder recognizes the locket as belonging to a lost scout squad that ventured into a sealed and corrupted zone known as the Whispering Chasm. The corruption is leaking.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Objective: Investigate the Whispering Chasm and retrieve the primary report of the lost squad.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Recommended Level: 20+]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You possess a strength unusual for your kind, Outworlder,\" the Elder said. He looked up from the locket. His glowing eyes bore into Dante.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"If you are to brave the Chasm, you will need more than raw steel. The corruption feeds on the physical. You must cleanse it with the elements.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Elder reached into the folds of his gray robes and pulled out a small and leather-bound book.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The cover was hot to the touch. It was embossed with the symbol of a roaring flame.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He pressed the book into the hands of Dante.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Item Received: Skillbook - Ember Strike]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"May the flames guide your path,\" the Elder said solemnly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He turned away and returned to his rigid and blank-faced posture to assist the next player in the talent queue. The interaction was over.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dante walked away from the platform. He stared down at the skillbook.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He tapped the cover. The book dissolved into a stream of red light that flowed directly into his chest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Skill Learned: Ember Strike (Novice)]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Description: Coats your weapon in basic fire magic for a single strike. Deals 150% physical damage + 50 fire damage.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a standard elemental attack. Good for dealing with low-level monsters weak to fire, but otherwise unimpressive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Dante didn’t care about the base stats. He cared about the math.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He needed to test it immediately!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He walked past the crowded merchant stalls and headed for the eastern gate of the outpost. It led to the designated training yard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a large and fenced-in dirt lot filled with heavily armored wooden training dummies.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A few dozen players were currently in the yard. They awkwardly swung swords and practiced their newly drawn talents.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dante found an empty dummy in the far corner. It was away from the immediate cluster of players.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He drew the [Crimson Edge]. The red blade hummed slightly in the air.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He took a deep breath and planted his feet. He activated the skill.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Skill Executed: Ember Strike.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The moment the command registered, the 10,000x Multiplier kicked in.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Talent Activated: 10,000x Multiplier.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Registering 10,000 flawless executions.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The rush of enlightenment was violently different this time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It wasn’t just physical physics and muscle memory. It was the fundamental understanding of combustion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dante felt the exact temperature required to ignite oxygen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He understood the flow of thermal dynamics. He knew the way heat expands and devours.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His mind was flooded with ten thousand instances of manipulating raw and elemental fire.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Ember Strike has reached Adept tier.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Ember Strike has reached Master tier.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Ember Strike has reached Grandmaster tier.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The [Crimson Edge] in his hand didn’t just catch fire. It erupted!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A blinding and white-hot pillar of flame shot out from the blade. It radiated an intense heat that instantly scorched the grass at the feet of Dante.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Ember Strike has reached Zenith tier.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Skill Evolution Triggered.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Ember Strike has evolved into: Wrath of the Firebird.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dante swung the blade horizontally at the wooden dummy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn’t make contact. He was standing ten feet away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The white-hot flames detached from the blade. They expanded outward in a massive and shrieking projection.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The fire took the distinct shape of a colossal and burning phoenix with a wingspan of forty feet!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The heat wave was so intense it warped the air itself and created a localized mirage effect.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Firebird projection slammed into the training dummy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was no explosion. Just instant and absolute vaporization.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The heavy and iron-reinforced wooden dummy didn’t splinter. It just ceased to exist.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It turned into a cloud of fine gray ash that drifted lazily in the wind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The projection didn’t stop. It shrieked and washed over the heavy wooden wall behind the dummy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It instantly turned a twenty-foot section of the reinforced defense wall into smoking cinders!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The entire training yard fell dead silent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Players stopped mid-swing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A guy who had been practicing casting a tiny candle-sized fireball dropped to his knees. He stared at the massive hole in the defensive wall of the outpost in sheer terror.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dante lowered the sword.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The blade was smoking, but the high-grade metal of the [Crimson Edge] easily survived the thermal shock.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He checked the new skill description.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Wrath of the Firebird (Zenith)]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Description: Unleashes a devastating projection of primordial flame. Deals 1,000% of the Attack Power of the user as Fire Damage in a 50-foot frontal cone. Possesses a 5% chance to trigger ’Ash’, inflicting Instant Death regardless of target HP. Cooldown: 15 seconds.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dante stared at the text.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A five percent chance to instantly delete whatever he hit, attached to a massive attack.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Hey! What the hell did you do?!\" a guard NPC yelled. He sprinted across the yard toward the massive hole in the wall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dante casually sheathed the [Crimson Edge].\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Just practicing,\" Dante called out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn’t wait for the guard to reach him. He turned and walked casually toward the main gate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had his health pool. He had his massive attack. He had his target.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was time to find the Whispering Chasm.\u003C\u002Fp>",1436,"2026-06-03T12:02:18.787Z","2026-06-03T12:02:25.060Z",1,"novelbin.me","dabb92e96ee6b0c3f1ba683db9b9d46e897328b681e9a9570a0fff8af5bcd2f8","started-with-a-10-000x-multiplier-in-a-game-worl-chapter-9","started-with-a-10-000x-multiplier-in-a-game-worl-chapter-7",109,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fstarted-with-a-10-000x-multiplier-in-a-game-worl-cover.jpg"]