136: Chapter 136 Fu Hao Unlocks the Core of the Map

"Is this really the Demon World?"

Fu Hao was not the "first player overall" to set foot in the Demon World, only the "first among human players," yet he had gained a new achievement and title because of it. Amidst his joy, a sudden doubt arose in his mind: "The Five Great Guilds didn't get any first-time titles, did they?"

When the Five Great Guilds were resurrected in the Demon World, they indeed had not obtained any first-time titles, and the number of first-time titles they had acquired on this new stage of the Demon World was unusually low compared to the scale of their operations.

As a player who possessed far more first-time titles than Leonhardt, Fu Hao felt puzzled that the guild members had come away empty-handed in situations where they should have earned titles.

After entering the Demon World, Fu Hao thought of another possibility: perhaps someone else had already set foot here before the Five Great Guilds were accidentally thrown into the Demon World by him.

But the achievement for "first among human players" belonged to him; if other players existed, they were likely non-human demons—after all, only Fu Hao, holding a +10 Mystery-type item, could operate normally in the Demon World as a human; this was a reasonable deduction.

"I need to be more cautious."

The nerves that had relaxed due to the smooth progress of the quest tightened once again. Judging solely from the existence of the Experience Surge Potion, one could infer that the growth rate in the Demon World was terrifying.

What if a player used the game system to assist them in harvesting all the first-time titles and establishing a foothold as a demon? Just like how Yongyuan became the Elf King within a year, that player might already be sitting on the throne of the Demon King.

As Demon Kings, fighting NPCs and fighting players were worlds apart—players knew how to utilize the game system, and while Fu Hao knew nothing about a potential opponent, the other party might know his basic information through his live streams.

That player likely started from a human nation and, like Yongyuan, paid attention to the community and live streams. Since Fu Hao had practically dominated the community and streaming scene for the past few months, if the other party existed, it was impossible for them not to know him.

Therefore, Fu Hao needed to hide his trump cards as much as possible and use them at the most appropriate time—anyway, he already needed to be wary of the Five Great Guilds, so one more potential opponent didn't matter. But the key was:

The movements of the Five Great Guilds could be roughly grasped through live streams, but the identity and movements of the imagined player were completely unknown.

If the death penalty were still the standard 24-hour ban, Fu Hao wouldn't need to be so sensitive, but after the Five Great Guilds members died as demons, they actually were resurrected in the Demon World, a place they had never set foot in before.

If Fu Hao, being human, were to die in the Demon World, the worst-case scenario was that he might be forcibly converted into a demon. At that point, his connection with the Seven Legends and the Endel Kingdom would all vanish into thin air. Therefore, for this trip to the Demon World, he must be extremely cautious and avoid death.

However, he decided to remain vigilant against the imagined player without increasing unnecessary anxiety—perhaps such a player didn't exist at all, and even if they did, they might not necessarily be his enemy.

"Maybe they're a fan of my live stream." Thinking this way, the trip to the Demon World might be easier. The Five Great Guilds hated him to the bone and would never help him, but a player who entered the Demon World before the guilds might have the possibility of assisting him—at least the probability of hostility was lower than the former, after all, before the World Tree event, the number of Fu Hao's fans far exceeded his haters.

Thus, Fu Hao optimistically imagined: that player was his fan and would assist him in collecting artifact materials, defeating other Demon Kings, and greatly increasing his stats.

Of course, in reality, that player was not a fan, but Philip, who harbored deep resentment toward Fu Hao, but Fu Hao knew nothing about this and was currently immersed in his pleasant fantasy.

Waking up from his dream, Fu Hao began to check the effects of the newly obtained title: <Demon World Explorer> * Effects of Demon World-related titles +50%

The effect of this title was simple and brutal, but the value was so astonishing that it made Fu Hao's eyes light up: "Maybe I don't need Xiao Jin's help anymore?" He already possessed a title with a special attack against demons: <Antagonist of the Demon Race> * Final damage when attacking demons +100% * Damage received when attacked by demons reduced by 50%

Although it was limited to demons in the Demon World, the values were already exaggerated enough. Adding another 50% bonus, perhaps he could defeat the weakest Demon King on his own—at least in the future, after obtaining more titles, the boundary of "absolutely impossible" would be broken.

Next was the second new title: <Great Explorer> * When visiting places known as "lands unreachable by humans," obtain the map of that region. * Current first-time visited locations: Dwarf Kingdom, Elf Kingdom, Mondo, Dragon Continent, Demon World.

"A map... although it's nice..." Fu Hao looked at the effect, his expression somewhat subtle. Obtaining the complete map of a new region in advance was certainly good, but it didn't count as a cheat-level effect. However, when he opened the map interface, he immediately realized he was wrong:

Countless NPC names were floating on the map, moving like a colony of ants in an anthill—this was a spectacle in the otherworld. Ordinary RPG maps would mark NPC locations, but it was different here: NPCs moved around like real living creatures; for example, Helm had once left his post to follow Fu Hao. Therefore, the map of the otherworld usually did not display NPC locations.

But now, the map clearly marked the real-time locations of NPCs, and even more shockingly—among the countless green names, a white name caught his eye: "Tianma," one of the leaders of the Five Great Guilds, was currently active in the Demon World with other members, their names moving slowly like NPCs.

Although displaying NPC and player locations in human regions where war might break out was not very meaningful, in the Demon World, for Fu Hao, who needed to avoid the Five Great Guilds, this was like a glimmer of hope.

He could not only track the guild members but also search for players who might have scooped up benefits before the guilds (if they existed). After all, he firmly believed that there might be existences like Yongyuan in the Demon World as well.

A sinister smile curled up on the corners of Fu Hao's mouth as he searched for white names on the vast map.

Switching from passively taking hits to actively tracking, his excitement welled up. But soon he realized that although the number of NPCs in the Demon World was not as high as in the human world, searching for unknown player names among them was like looking for a needle in a vast ocean.

Fortunately, the activity range of the Five Great Guilds was relatively fixed, and combined with live stream information, finding their names was not difficult.

And discovering that name was entirely due to luck—not far from the guild's activity area, a name with special significance to Fu Hao appeared: "Philip."

He checked the member list of the Five Great Guilds again and confirmed that there was no one named Philip.