Modify Drop Rates

Water was the source of life, and human settlements were destined to depend on it.

As a historic city, Wind Cloud City had no shortage of water sources in the surrounding area. Thirty li to the south lay a mighty river that flowed without end, named Liangshui River for its icy waters.

Many aquatic creatures lived in Liangshui River, the most dangerous among them being a type of crab called the Aquamarine Crab.

Aquamarine Crabs were generally four-star creatures, while a few massive Crab Kings could reach five stars. Ordinarily, their shells were grayish white, but once battle began, their shells turned aquamarine and emitted freezing air that could literally freeze people stiff.

Without some real skill, no one would dare come to Liangshui River to fetch water.

Fortunately, Fan Lang had real skill, and so did Li Yunyan.

The two arrived near Liangshui River, its surging waters right before their eyes.

"We've been back for less than a day, and I already dragged you out here. You won't blame me, will you?" Fan Lang asked with a smile.

"It's fine. Let's just treat it as sightseeing," Li Yunyan said indifferently.

"Fine. We'll enjoy the view first, then kill some crabs. Aquamarine Crabs only—kill every one we find."

"You're really bloodthirsty. You truly hate demonic beasts and the demon race to the bone."

"I have no response to that. Just assume I'm bloodthirsty."

The two chatted as they walked along the riverbank, quickly finding their first target.

A patch of river sand bulged conspicuously, vaguely forming the outline of a crab. It was a full meter across, exactly matching the size of an Aquamarine Crab. A crab that large would be enough for several meals.

Fan Lang charged forward as if he had spotted a beautiful woman, without saying a word. He drew the Li Kan Sword he had just acquired and attacked the Aquamarine Crab. First, he slapped the ground and unleashed Shockwave, blasting apart the sand. With a thunderous boom, the Aquamarine Crab shot into the air before falling back onto the sand.

Several sharp flashes of sword light followed, striking from different directions. Every slash was merciless. With several swift cuts, every attack landed. Even with its shell protecting it, the Aquamarine Crab was badly wounded.

The Aquamarine Crab's savagery was provoked. Its shell instantly turned blue, and several vents on it spewed freezing air, causing the surrounding temperature to plummet. A layer of frost froze over the ground, and even the nearby river surface iced over.

Fan Lang flicked the Li Kan Sword in his hand. Blazing flames erupted from its blade, driving away the chill and minimizing its effects.

Its enormous, razor-sharp pincers snapped toward Fan Lang. Getting caught in them would be no joke. Fan Lang used exquisite footwork to evade the attack, then launched his counterattack. The flaming Li Kan Sword struck out again and again, its offensive steady and orderly.

Li Yunyan soon came over to assist him. With her help, he was like a tiger with wings.

The Aquamarine Crab's fate had been decided from the start. It quickly died beneath the combined assault of blade and sword.

Congratulations, player. You have killed 1 Aquamarine Crab and gained 1,000 Experience Points.

The Aquamarine Crab dropped 1 Azure Crab Shell and 1 Large Crab Meat.

The player has collected 1 Azure Crab Shell, a quest item. Azure Crab Shell and Shield quest completion: 1%.

Fan Lang obtained his first Azure Crab Shell.

"Come on, let's keep grinding monsters!"

Fan Lang was full of energy.

"Grinding monsters?" Li Yunyan asked in confusion. She had noticed long ago that strange words often popped out of Fan Lang's mouth.

"It means continuing to kill crabs," Fan Lang explained.

"Is that a dialect from your hometown?"

"Something like that..."

"What other dialect words does your hometown have?"

"There are plenty. If you're interested, I can teach you later."

"Sure."

"I'll teach you the first one now. If you meet a beautiful woman and want to praise her looks, you can say she's easy on the eyes. It means looking at her makes your eyes feel comfortable." Fan Lang paused, then added, "You're quite easy on the eyes yourself."

Li Yunyan received the compliment and felt inexplicably happy.

A while later, Fan Lang encountered a second Aquamarine Crab and took the opportunity to teach Li Yunyan a second "hometown dialect" phrase.

During the battle, Fan Lang circled behind the Aquamarine Crab and thrust his sword in with a squelch.

"See that? It's called chrysanthemum bursting. It means attacking from behind and dealing devastating damage to the enemy." Fan Lang taught her a rather shameless term.

"Chrysanthemum bursting... I'll give it a try too."

Li Yunyan seriously studied the dialect. She circled behind the Aquamarine Crab and immediately slashed twice, both strikes going in through the back door.

Squelch.

Squelch.

Just hearing the sound made it clear how painful it was.

In the end, that unlucky Aquamarine Crab was burst to death repeatedly, dying far more miserably than the first one.

Li Yunyan seemed to have become addicted to the feeling of chrysanthemum bursting. In the following battles, she often circled behind her enemies, landing every rear attack with perfect accuracy. She was practically becoming a little expert at it.

Watching her, Fan Lang thought, This girl has some seriously heavy tastes!

The two fought hard for several hours, killing more than a dozen Aquamarine Crabs and obtaining more than a dozen Azure Crab Shells. Their haul was not small, but Fan Lang was dissatisfied with their progress.

This wouldn't do!

If they fought them one at a time, how long would it take to gather a hundred?

The efficiency was far too low.

Fan Lang had developed a habit: whenever he encountered a problem, he started eyeing the system.

If he wanted to gather Azure Crab Shells faster, couldn't he just modify the drop rates?

Triple drop rates meant triple the efficiency!

Five times the drop rates meant five times the efficiency!

Killing one Aquamarine Crab would be equivalent to killing several, so naturally the collection would go much faster.

Moreover, this modification would be tremendously helpful in the long run. Future battle rewards would increase, helping Fan Lang strengthen himself more quickly.

He loved this feeling of forcing growth!

Sharpening the axe would not delay the chopping of wood. To finish the quest sooner and for the sake of the future, Fan Lang temporarily stopped fighting and retreated to a safe area. He claimed he needed rest, but in truth, he was about to operate on the system.

In fact, Fan Lang had considered modifying the drop rates before and had tried it in his spare time. He discovered that it was difficult, so he had put it off until now. Only at this moment did he finally resolve to conquer this problem no matter what.

One hour.

Two hours.

Three hours.

A full three hours passed before Fan Lang finally succeeded!

The drop rates in Magic Martial Era were divided into two parts: standard drop rates and rare drop rates.

Standard drop rates referred to the drop rates for ordinary items, while rare drop rates referred to the drop rates for rare items. The two were calculated separately.

Taking the Aquamarine Crab as an example, its ordinary drops were Large Crab Meat and Azure Crab Shell, while its rare drop was Magnificent Crab Roe.

Both Large Crab Meat and Azure Crab Shell had fixed drop rates. Killing an Aquamarine Crab guaranteed one of each.

Magnificent Crab Roe was different. Its drop rate was only one percent, making it very difficult to obtain.

Fan Lang modified both types of drop rates, greatly increasing them.

He modified the standard drop rate to four times its original value. Killing one enemy would yield four times the items. He modified the rare drop rate to twenty percent, which was also a considerable increase.

Sharpening the axe would not delay the chopping of wood. After modifying the drop rates, he would only need one-quarter of the time to gather all the Azure Crab Shells.

"I've rested enough! Yan'er, come kill crabs with me!" Fan Lang said excitedly.

"Can you stop calling me Yan'er?" Every time Li Yunyan heard that form of address, she felt the urge to draw her blade and chop Fan Lang down.

"No! I like that name."

"But I don't."

"I'll change it once I think of another name. Until then, that's what I'll call you."

"Do you believe I'll cut you with my blade if you keep calling me that?"

"Hahaha, you can't beat me anyway."

Fan Lang's laughter was infuriating.

Li Yunyan looked at the blade in her hand and considered whether she should burst Fan Lang's chrysanthemum—white blade in, red blade out.