After inspecting the armor and scroll in his space, Wang Changle decided they were well worth it.
So what if he'd angered the Child of the World? He could always just stop coming back!
Armor of Toughness (Cursed)
Origin: Doomsday Roulette World
Blue: 56
Type: Armor
Note: After equipping, you cannot equip gauntlets, armguards, a chestplate, pauldrons, leg armor, or boots.
Equip Requirement: Constitution 10
Defense: 60
Durability: 150/150 (100)
Toughness: Reduces all damage taken by 15%.
Iron Armor: When taking physical damage, reduces it by a flat 10 points. (Damage below 10 is reduced to 0.)
Enchantment—Sturdy: Durability +50
Curse: Cannot be traded or gifted. (From the Child of the World, Ye Zhongming!)
Description: Stack on the thickest armor and take the hardest hits! —Ye Zhongming
Price: 8,500 Paradise Coins (This item was forged by the Child of the World and can be taken out of the world.)
The black polymer resin and black metal fused into a flexible alloy. The armor was entirely black, with faint white lines running through its metal joints.
The whole design looked like a fifteenth-century knight's armor—one of those heavily armored knights, no less!
Although he'd lost the ability to equip the other six armor pieces, this suit's defensive stats were powerful.
With percentage-based damage reduction, flat damage reduction, and such a high defense value, it would be almost impossible to hurt him without a top-tier green weapon.
However, the curse that made it impossible to trade or gift also brought the item's rating down considerably. More importantly, he couldn't equip it yet.
Profession Skill Advancement Scroll
Origin: Doomsday Roulette World
Type: Consumable
Green: 30
Effect: Unlocks a new profession skill or randomly raises one profession skill by one level.
Note: Can only be used on professions obtained from the roulette in Doomsday Roulette.
Value: 4,000 Paradise Coins (Can be taken out of the world.)
As a Life Apostle, he received no stat bonuses from his profession and had no skill proficiency. The only way to improve was by using Profession Skill Advancement Scrolls.
So far, the World Origin he'd gained in this cycle world amounted to only 4.5%. With so little World Origin, there was no way he'd get any major resources.
That was why he'd risked being killed and falling out with the Child of the World just to get this armor and the Class Advancement Scroll.
He'd have to face a Violator in his next world, so he needed more resources to deal with whatever danger might come his way!
After all, he was just an ordinary person. He had no special martial arts or combat skills. He'd survived two days of fighting on nothing but sheer grit and an information advantage.
That was why he'd set his sights on full-body armor rather than a weapon. For him, the protection it offered was far more valuable than a sharp blade.
With thoughts of the future on his mind, Wang Changle entered a broken underground well, wound around several bends, and reached a cave.
The roses were still in full bloom inside. A shaft of sunlight from the cave ceiling fell upon a quiet man's corpse.
"You're back."
Blood Rose rose from atop an enormous rat. A black crystal was embedded in its forehead, and a vine connected to the back of its head.
Given its enormous size and humanlike gaze, Wang Changle knew it was the Rat King from the original timeline, now enslaved by Blood Rose.
"Yeah. Blood Rose, I'm leaving. I came to say goodbye. I'm glad I got to have a friend like you in this world."
Wang Changle spoke, then sat down on a stone stool, looking relaxed.
"You still can't tell me where you're going?"
"Yeah, sorry. I can't tell you. But if I get the chance, I'll come back to see you. Here's what I wrote down about what's likely to happen over the next month. I hope it helps."
As Wang Changle spoke, he took the notebook of information he'd recorded out of his space.
Since this world had already been affected by him, the future might change, so he'd only written down the major events.
He also couldn't be sure whether his preparations would still matter after the timelines converged, so he'd only recorded one month's worth.
He hadn't hidden from Blood Rose that he knew how the world would unfold, but he hadn't told her about Cycle Paradise either. Blood Rose hadn't pressed him.
That was friendship. Friends could have secrets, but they didn't lie to each other.
"Okay, thank you, Changle. These are roses I've newly cultivated. I'm giving them to you. Oh, I've chosen a name for myself, too. From now on, I'll be called Wang Wei."
[Notice: You witnessed the birth of a legendary creature (Wang Wei). You slightly changed the plot of the world and gained 5% World Origin.]
[You obtained Moonlight Rose ×1]
[Moonlight Rose]
Origin: Doomsday Roulette World
Type: Item
Green: 30 (Top-tier)
Moonlight: When placed beneath the moonlight, produces one drop of Moon Dew every 12 hours. Drinking it immediately restores 20 points of mana, and increases Intelligence by 1 for 5 minutes. Remaining: 1/1
Description: A flower from the mother plant of a legendary creature.
Price: 5,000 Paradise Coins (Can be taken out of the world.)
Wang Changle gazed at the item in his hand, deeply moved. The pale-purple rose was translucent, its whole body gleaming like amethyst.
A crystal-clear droplet of water rested in its center, giving off a delicate fragrance and a dazzling, captivating glimmer.
Just from its appearance, he knew this flower couldn't have been cultivated in the ordinary way. It was beautiful, but it was also extremely useful—especially for Wang Changle.
Not only could it instantly restore mana, it could also raise his Intelligence by 1!
And after reading the description, he knew Wang Wei must have paid a considerable price to part with this flower.
Wang Changle accepted it without hesitation, then immediately drank the Moon Dew.
Green light bloomed from his hands, and a stream of green energy shot into the Rat King.
"Life Extraction" activated!
The Rat King's beady eyes saw the light enter its body, and it was about to fight back.
But countless vines instantly coiled around it, binding it like a giant bundle and leaving it unable to move.
He'd had 80 mana to begin with. With the Moon Dew's boost, he now had 90, enough to sustain the skill for over eight minutes if he used it at full strength.
[You obtained Life Essence (Beast Source) ×1]
[Life Essence (Beast Source)]
Origin: Doomsday Roulette World
Type: Consumable
Blue: 70
Effect: Rapidly restores 100% of your health for a short time and temporarily grants the skill Rat Control for 3 hours.
Description: A Life Origin containing a great deal of Life Force. (Can be modified twice.)
Price: 8,000 Paradise Coins (Can be taken out of the world.)
Wang Changle didn't stop using the skill until only 1 mana remained. The Rat King, which had been a Level 3 mutant, became a Level 2 mutant, and shrank considerably.
Feeling the power draining from its body and its weakness setting in, the Rat King wilted and lowered its head, lying submissively to one side.
"Wang Wei, this is for you. I hope it helps!"
Wang Changle offered her the Life Essence in his hand, feeling no reluctance.
He might cheat, swindle, and resort to any means necessary when dealing with outsiders, but with his friends, he preferred to repay their kindness.
A sudden pain shot through the back of Wang Changle's head. The essence fell to the ground, and his vision went black. He felt dazed and groggy.
[Teleportation complete. Hunter has returned to his exclusive space.]
[The exclusive space is an absolutely safe zone. No one can enter without the Hunter's permission.]
[Hunter has returned to Cycle Paradise. Beginning mission reward calculation.]
Derivative World: Doomsday Roulette
World Difficulty: LV8 (Infernal)
World Origin Obtained: 9.5%
Missions Completed: 1 (Main Mission: Kill "Monster Baby")
Overall Rating: S- (Because the world's difficulty exceeded Hunter LV7, the rating was raised from A to S-.)
Note: Overall ratings range from E to S+. The overall rating is calculated based on the World Origin obtained and the number of missions completed.
Beginning World Origin collection...
World Origin collection complete. Beginning reward distribution.
Rewards Obtained: 4 attribute points, 8,000 Paradise Coins (Because the world's difficulty exceeded Hunter LV7, rewards were doubled.)
Overall Rating S-. Hunter level +1, raised to LV2 (Level increases according to rating. As this was a trial world, the maximum increase was LV1.)
Settlement complete. All rewards have been automatically stored in the Hunter's brand.
[Hunter's life signs are abnormal. Preparing to activate the recovery function. This function will consume the Paradise Coins held by the Hunter. Yes/No?]
"Yes."
A beam of emerald light enveloped him. Fine energy flowed around his body, gradually healing his injuries.
In less than five seconds, the light faded. Wang Changle felt as though his body had been renewed with vitality, and his Paradise Coins had decreased by 900.
Sitting on the floor of his exclusive space, Wang Changle inspected what he'd gained in his Mark Space and couldn't help grinning. This was a pretty good haul.
Now that he had rewards, he needed to convert them into combat strength as soon as possible.
He pushed open the door, and a bustling street scene came into view. The general layout of Cycle Paradise unfolded before him.
Clusters of buildings crisscrossed one another, forming street after street. Their styles varied wildly, from tree houses to cyberpunk structures, from medieval brick buildings to Chinese-style buildings with overhanging eaves.
He looked up at the sky. There were no clouds, only a milky-white membrane.
It covered Paradise like an upside-down bowl, making him think of "Under the Dome"!
The ground beneath his feet was made of a pale-yellow gel-like substance. It was smooth and flat.
As far as the eye could see, the diverse buildings stretched endlessly into the distance.
Cycle Paradise looked huge. At least, he couldn't see where it ended.
The people on the streets were dressed just as differently. There were girls in inspector uniforms, elderly men in tailcoats, warriors clad in metal armor, and mages carrying staffs.
Looking at the bizarre scene before him, Wang Changle felt as if he'd wandered into a convention in Magic City. It was a novel feeling.
Along with the people in their outlandish costumes, there were plenty of peddlers like those at a market, each doing business from a mat on the ground. It reminded him of Panjiayuan in the capital.
"Come on, take a look! Freshly made 5% health potions, on sale!"
"Silver Scale Breastplate, white quality, only 998! Take it home with ease!"
"Black-stockinged Staff Member looking for a mage to protect me! My next world is difficulty LV3. Price negotiable!"
Watching the hawkers and the crowds along the street, and the burly man in black stockings sitting with his legs spread, Wang Changle thought, People these days were getting more outrageous by the minute.
Wang Changle curiously surveyed his surroundings and headed toward the center of Paradise. What he needed most now was to improve his attributes.
After finding a Staff Member and paying 50 Paradise Coins, he set off toward the distance.
His destination: the [Attribute Enhancement Hall]!
Before you continue