Purple Equipment, Flowing Cloud Shoes

"Detected a sealable monster soul. Seal it into a card?"

A prompt echoed in Xiao Wen's ears, the Millennium Puzzle on his chest emitting a brilliant light.

Xiao Wen blinked and chose "Yes."

At the same moment, the Millennium Puzzle's light flared, bathing the entire space in a golden hue, so dazzling it was impossible to look directly at.

After a short while, the light faded, and Xiao Wen opened his eyes.

Player EXP +12480. Player EXP +12480. Player EXP +12480.

Three consecutive prompts of experience gain sounded. Where was the Bewitching Fox from before? Only an equipment item, a few potions, and some gold coins remained.

No, there was also a card!

Xiao Wen stepped forward, picked up the card, and held it before his eyes. He narrowed them, a flicker of shock flashing in his gaze.

Monster Card: [Bewitching Fox] Level 1; Beast/Dark

ATK: 500; DEF: 400

Description: A spirit fox dwelling in the Nightmare Forest, its soul sealed by the power of the Pharaoh King, making it a servant of the Pharaoh King.

"What... what in the world is going on?"

Xiao Wen's mind was a blank; he couldn't quite grasp what had happened to him.

Why could he seal the Bewitching Fox? Why could he turn it into a duel card?

Could it be... all because of this...

Xiao Wen looked down at the Millennium Puzzle, which had returned to its calm state. After careful consideration, he finally reached a conclusion.

"It seems that everything that just happened, if I'm not mistaken, must be one of the Millennium Puzzle's unknown abilities!"

"The ability to seal monster souls into cards."

Holding the card in his hand, the Millennium Puzzle on his chest glowed, and streams of information flowed into Xiao Wen's mind.

After carefully processing the information, a look of astonishment appeared on Xiao Wen's face.

Sealing monster souls into cards was indeed one of the Millennium Puzzle's inherent abilities.

However, this sealing wasn't applicable to all monsters, only to high-level monsters of Elite rank or higher, and it could only be triggered when their HP was extremely low.

In other words, the Millennium Puzzle didn't care about low-level monsters.

Monster souls sealed by the Millennium Puzzle would retain half of their original attack power, defense, and HP. They could also be summoned permanently, not counting towards Xiao Wen's daily summoning cooldown from his deck.

The degree of this attack power reduction was influenced by the monster's level; the higher the monster's tier, the less its attack and defense power would be reduced.

Furthermore, as cards sealed from souls, Xiao Wen could give them to anyone to use.

In other words, he could seal powerful monsters for low-level players to use, helping them level up.

In that instant, Xiao Wen's eyes lit up. He could see a bright financial future!

Gold coins seemed to sprout wings and fly into his pockets.

"Perhaps I can help my sister level up quickly using this method."

A thought flashed through Xiao Wen's mind. He put away the card and equipment, then turned to see that the Insect Warrior had already dealt with the remaining two Bewitching Foxes.

A faint purple light emanated from the corpses of these Bewitching Foxes, appearing somewhat dazzling.

"Purple-tier gear?"

Xiao Wen blinked and moved closer, spotting a pair of boots emitting a purple glow.

[Flowing Cloud Shoes]

Required Level: 10 Rarity: Purple Movement Speed: 20 Effect: Speed Boost: Doubles movement speed for ten seconds. Cooldown: 24 hours.

Description: Rumored to be woven from cloud silk, these boots are light and soft, allowing one to travel with the wind, greatly increasing movement speed.

"Nice find!"

A sharp glint flashed in his eyes, and his face lit up with joy, but this joy quickly vanished.

What good was great equipment?

He couldn't wear it himself.

"Oh well, I'll keep it. Maybe I can sell it for a good price."

Xiao Wen shrugged. Just as he was about to toss the equipment into his backpack, the golden light on the Millennium Puzzle flashed again. At the same time, his Duel Disk also emitted a soft glow, which intertwined with the Millennium Puzzle's light, enveloping the Flowing Cloud Shoes in Xiao Wen's hand.

The next moment, the Flowing Cloud Shoes disappeared. On the Duel Disk, an imprint of a pair of boots appeared, and Xiao Wen instantly felt much lighter all over his body.

He looked down and saw that his initial boots had already turned into Flowing Cloud Shoes.

Even the attributes on them were completely added to his character interface.

Xiao Wen slapped his thigh, a look of sudden realization on his face.

So, it wasn't that he couldn't equip gear, but rather that the Duel Disk and Millennium Puzzle simply looked down on low-level equipment.

Wearing the Flowing Cloud Shoes, Xiao Wen felt much lighter all over. His eyes shone as he looked into the depths of the Nightmare Forest, bold ideas beginning to form in his mind.

That King-tier BOSS that was evolving towards Emperor-tier, if he could seal it into a card, then...

Xiao Wen didn't dare to think further, quickly suppressing the wild thoughts in his mind.

King-tier BOSSes were not comparable to those Lord-class BOSSes.

"Insect Warrior, let's go. We'll head further in and find stronger enemies."

"Kiji kiji!"

The Insect Warrior chirped and followed Xiao Wen forward.

As they walked forward, layers of mist suddenly rose around the forest. These mists layered one upon another, so dense that visibility dropped to nothing.

Xiao Wen frowned and continued forward, slowing his pace. His eyes scanned the surroundings with great caution as the mist grew thicker.

When strange things happen, there's always a reason, especially in the forbidden ground of this Novice Village – the Nightmare Forest.

Legend had it that within the Nightmare Forest resided a phantom beast of unknown power – the Dream Eater.

Continuing forward, the dense mist around them began to thin, and Xiao Wen's vision gradually cleared.

But as his sight returned, he suddenly found himself in a patch of green grass, a stark contrast to the scenery within the Nightmare Forest.

Ding! Congratulations to player Halfway Through the Mortal World for discovering the hidden illusion map – Dream Eater's Forbidden Ground. You have been rewarded with 20 reputation points.

"Dream Eater's Forbidden Ground?"

Xiao Wen frowned, his expression unreadable.

He turned back, intending to call the Insect Warrior to continue forward, but found the Insect Warrior's eyes vacant, completely devoid of self.

"Controlled by the illusion?"

Xiao Wen raised the Duel Disk in his left hand, and the Insect Warrior immediately transformed into a streak of light and returned to the Duel Disk's deck.

"It seems I can only rely on my own strength here."

Composing himself, Xiao Wen pressed onward, his speed not slowing at all.

Thump...

Thump...

Suddenly, a dull thudding sound echoed from a distance, approaching them.

"Here it comes!"

In the distance, on the ground, a colossal figure emerged. It was a Cyclops as tall as a small mountain, carrying a tree trunk in its hand, charging towards Xiao Wen with madness in its eyes.

[Cyclops]·Elite Class

Level: 15

Attack: 2000

Defense: 2500

HP: 10000

Temperament: Frenzied

Skill: Abyss Gaze

Description: A projection of a Cyclops from ancient times, possessing a trace of the Titan God Clan's power. It was left behind in the Dream Eater's Forbidden Ground and harbors hostility towards all outsiders.