Reward Settlement
Upon returning to the stronghold, Lu Li immediately ordered the Shadow Assassin to continue monitoring the mask wearers. He then took out the Claw Ghost mask, noting that the Claw Ghost were becoming increasingly vulnerable when facing enemies. In fact, this time, when facing the Flood Dragon, they were wiped out in a single sweep, and even their masks were damaged.
In general, the reason why the Claw Ghost seems powerless is mainly due to the mismatch between the Claw Ghost and the Shadow attribute. Unlike the Shadow Assassin, whose abilities are maximized because of the extreme synergy between the Assassin and the Shadow attribute.
The Claw Ghost's main ability is to tank damage head-on, but its shadow abilities don't significantly improve its physical attributes, making it quite weak in dungeons where monsters are getting stronger. The Claw Ghost's mask floated in front of Lu Li, one of its two spiral horns at its temples broken in half.
Lu Li placed his finger on the Claw Ghost Mask, sensing its internal condition. The broken corner didn't significantly affect the mask. Lu Li mobilized the Shadow Magic within it to perfect its structure, and there were no further problems. However, the appearance couldn't be changed due to the broken corner.
Lu Li took out the Bestowal and Solidification Module, and placed another module on the Claw Ghost Mask. This module was given for completing the third stage of the mission and was related to Zhou Chu. Zhou Chu's strength was due to several factors.
First, Zhou Chu Innate Divine Strength and exceptional physical attributes.
Secondly, Zhou Chu's martial arts skills were extremely high, allowing him to make the most of his strengths.
Third, his Fearless Spirit makes him immune to most negative states, allowing him to focus on the positive.
Fourth, there's the Bane Aura Zhou Chu, which has vanished. He was omnipotent because of everyone's expectations, a protagonist-like figure.
Comparing it to Claw Ghost, firstly, its physical attributes are weak, which limits many aspects; secondly, its direct combat ability is inferior to Zhou Chu's, but not by much. And that's it. Compared to Zhou Chu, Claw Ghost is a super low-end version.
It seems that we can upgrade it now; the module in question is:
[Special Module: Soul Aura: A special module combining Zhou Chu's Bane Aura power with Fearless Spirit, capable of generating a unique aura field that strengthens all aspects of an entity.]
As the module Integration the Claw Ghost's mask, the Claw Ghost Mask also underwent some changes. The sharp teeth in its mouth became nonexistent, and black flames emerged from its empty eye sockets, making it incredibly eerie.
Another crack appeared on the Bestowal and Solidification components in his hand. It seemed that if he used them just one more time, both modules would be completely unusable. However, this wasn't a major problem. Lu Li had been keeping an eye on the shops and forums, hoping to acquire more similar modules.
Black flames emanated from the Claw Ghost Mask, and a newly born Claw Ghost appeared before Lu Li. It bowed its body to show respect to Lu Li, or rather, calling it Claw Ghost was no longer quite accurate.
The Claw Ghost's original legs transformed into Claw Ghost of drifting black smoke, making it appear as if it were floating in the air. Its entire body seemed to be shrouded in a layer of black smoke resembling flames, while its pair of jet-black claws grew even larger. It wore a mask with eyes emitting black fire, and one of the half-spiral horns on the mask became even larger after the Claw Ghost appeared, reaching a height of nearly three meters, with its head almost touching the ceiling.
Lu Li activated his Eye of Detection. Because the Claw Ghost showed no resistance to him and had a mysterious connection with him, all the data of this newborn Claw Ghost appeared before Lu Li's eyes:
[Claw Ghost?]
[Body Assessment: 2.48 + 1.42; Life Energy Derivation: 0.2]
[Soul Assessment: 2.78; Spiritual Energy Derivative: 2.56; Shadow Magic: 14.2 (Double bonus from Shadow Mask)]
[Special Abilities: (1) Shadow Aura Field: The more Shadow Magic you possess, the stronger your physical attributes become; (2) Shadow Flame Body: You are greatly immune to physical attacks, and all your attacks will be imbued with shadowflame; (3) Aura Field Suppression: A powerful field can provide strong pressure and create certain impacts.]
[Weakness: Intense light and a large amount of positive energy.]
[Monster Evaluation: Decent mid-to-close range, Shadow Aura Field still needs further development...]
"Let's attack and see?" Lu Li said, pointing to a plastic water bottle on a table inside the stronghold.
With a swing of its enormous claw, the newborn Claw Ghost unleashed a powerful force that propelled a wisp of air toward the water bottle. Due to its Shadow Flame Body, the forced air blazed with black flames, shattering the bottle into several pieces of melted plastic, and the water inside evaporated into steam.
"Not bad. From now on, you'll be called..." Lu Li thought for a moment, examined its appearance, nodded, and said, "Your appearance is somewhat like a legendary demon, and you're made of shadows, so let's call you Shadow Demon."
"Shadow Demon obeys your command," Shadow Demon said in a deep voice, before being retracted into the mask by Lu Li.
"The Claw Ghost has been upgraded, and it's time to put the upgrade of the Shadow Assassin on the agenda next." Lu Li thought that the Shadow Assassin currently has almost no ability to fight head-on, and the Assassin is only used as a scout.
At the same time, Lu Li opened his own panel and sorted out his gains:
First, clearing a dungeon grants increased privileges, but the effect is not yet apparent and there's no explanation. Then there's the 1000 Game Points awarded for clearing a dungeon.
Then, regarding the rewards from the three stages of the mission, the first stage, aside from the somewhat strange South Mountain Tiger, didn't give anything, or rather, it already gave something. Glancing at the shadow still undergoing its transformation, Lu Li silently wondered, do those beings need to pay a price to do anything they want?
In the second phase, after eliminating Yixing Flood Dragon, Lu Li gained a passive ability: the Dragon-Slaying Aura. That aura constantly lingered around Lu Li. Originally, there would be some mosquitoes in the stronghold, but since his return, those mosquitoes were either scared to death or scared away. However, the bad thing is that Lu Li can hardly control that aura now, and going out of the stronghold now makes him too conspicuous.
In the third stage, aside from the special module given by Zhou Chu, Lu Li used it on the Claw Ghost Mask, causing the Claw Ghost to evolve into Shadow Demon.
In addition to the above rewards, Lu Li also obtained an enhanced Oil-Paper Umbrella, Mutation his heart and Mutation, and Mutation himself into a semi-shadow creature. He also obtained half of the Madness Curse spell, and his melee ability and control over his shadow were greatly improved.
In addition, Lu Li took out a card, and a huge long spine bone was placed directly in the stronghold. When Lu Li completed the lottery, he actually drew the spine bone of that Flood Dragon among the five cards. The card's upgrade is that this is an excellent magical raw material.
While Lu Li sorting through his spoils, the Shadow Assassin were also summoned on the other side, each tasked with monitoring the hosts of the masks...