Bloodthirsty Enchantment, Defense Reduction? Not a Chance!

Chen Ming was naturally oblivious to what had transpired at the city border.

On the other side.

Cloud Hidden Ravine dungeon.

Time slipped away in a rush.

[Killed Twin Stone Golem (lv.7), EXP +125!]

[Obtained: Twin Stone Golem-Beast Core (lv.7)]

[Obtained: Constitution Rune Stone *1]

At a fork beneath a massive broken wall, the intense battle drew to a close.

Chen Ming stepped over the scattered rubble and pried a [Stone Heart Stamen] from the rock face.

He then set his blade aside and slumped onto the ground.

"Whew..."

The continuous, high-intensity combat had taken its toll.

Even with Chen Ming's terrifying stamina, he felt a touch of fatigue.

"I'm almost at the end of the ravine."

He looked ahead toward a narrow opening shrouded in pale blue mist.

A small path extended from the opening, leading into the deepest part of the ravine.

Taking advantage of the rest, Chen Ming checked his quest progress.

[1. Treasure Hunt: Collect 10 or more energy-attribute materials!]

[Progress: 17/10]

[2. Challenge: Successfully kill 5 or more Treasure-Guarding Exotic Beast!]

[Progress: 5/5]

"Seventeen rare resources secured."

Ten of these were rare resources devoid of elemental power, which Chen Ming had already absorbed.

The others were being kept for the time being.

Chen Ming used his mental power to scan his spiritual space.

[Vermilion Fruit]: Fire elemental power attribute type

[Wind-Breath Orchid]: Wind elemental agility attribute type

[...]

[Essence-Nurturing Fruit]: Wood elemental constitution attribute type

[Flowing Light Wood Core]: Light elemental power attribute type

He revealed a smile.

"A bountiful harvest."

He felt a sense of satisfaction, like a miser guarding his hoard.

These rare resources were worth a fortune.

If Chen Ming were willing to sell them, he could likely make a small fortune overnight.

As for the clearance objective of killing Treasure-Guarding Exotic Beast, he had reached exactly five.

Unfortunately, the beasts he encountered afterward were merely common ones, lacking any special qualities.

The loot they dropped was mediocre, consisting only of a Strength Rune Stone and a Recovery Rune Stone.

"Both conditions have been met, yet the dungeon hasn't cleared. It seems there's more ahead."

Chen Ming prepared to rest for a moment before venturing into the deepest section.

Just then, a notification popped up before his eyes.

[Grand Exam Day 2 Level Ranking: 1st Place!]

[Ranking Reward: Gold Coins *10, Tier 1 Fine Equipment *2 (Attribute Rune Stone +15, type optional), Equipment Enchantment Book *2 (type optional), Rare Resource *2 (type optional)]

"The Grand Exam rewards are here, and I'm in first place?"

Chen Ming's expression shifted slightly as he tapped to view them.

Ranking first proved that his current leveling speed had already surpassed Qin Zhixue.

"Today's rewards include two rare resources. Not bad."

Chen Ming looked pleased.

Even though he had already harvested a total of 17 in the ravine.

But who would ever complain about having too many rare resources?

The more rare resources one absorbs, the higher the level of the skill awakened upon reaching level 10.

Although he already possessed an SSS-rank 'prefabricated skill'.

The awakening skill tied to his C-rank Shield Guard profession still required a pile of rare resources to boost.

Moreover, what Chen Ming wanted most were mental-type rare resources.

He had yet to find any in this canyon.

"Hm? Gone?"

Chen Ming looked at the panel before him, his expression one of surprise.

He had just selected a Mind Crystal.

Just as he was about to continue making selections, the Mind Crystal had actually turned gray.

"Uh, was it snatched up?"

The only explanation was that this mental-type resource had already been cleared out by others.

After all, the Grand Exam rewards were open to the entire alliance.

There were millions of class-changers.

Even if only three class-changers from each city could select rare resources, that was still a significant number.

The main issue was that among the rare resources provided as rewards, the Mind Crystal was the only mental-type option.

"It seems quite a few people understand the utility of mental-type rare resources; they all know these are more precious."

To be snatched up by only the second day.

But thinking about it, it was normal.

Those who could rank in the top three of each city were almost all geniuses.

Geniuses naturally had pride and wanted to awaken more powerful skills.

And mental-type skills were undoubtedly a huge temptation.

If one could awaken an ability that the vast majority of people could not, that would be truly awesome.

That said, Chen Ming was still a bit disappointed.

Although the quantity of Mind Crystal provided was a bit stingy, at least it had been there.

He was in urgent need of mental-type rare resources right now.

"I'll just have to wait and see what comes later."

The further along it went, the better the Grand Exam rewards would be, and more precious items should appear.

Especially the final rewards.

Shaking his head, Chen Ming chose another rare resource instead.

It was a palm-sized ore emitting a bright red glow.

It was of the strength attribute, containing no elemental power.

Upon inspecting it with his mental power, Chen Ming discovered its quality was about the same as the rare resources he had harvested in the canyon.

[Strength +1!]

After absorbing the rare resource he had obtained, he began to select his equipment and empowerment books.

Currently, his entire set of equipment consisted of a common-grade Power Longblade, Fine Constitution Armor, and Agility Boots.

"I'll boost my strength and recovery attributes."

After some thought, Chen Ming decided to choose fine-quality strength and recovery equipment.

The rune stone bonus on his common longblade had already reached the +10 limit.

To continue increasing his strength, he had to switch to fine-quality equipment.

Recovery was also one of Chen Ming's more important attributes.

[Recovery Bracelet: Recovery +75!]

[Rapid Recovery (Recovery Equipment Empowerment): Passive ability, when the wearer's constitution attribute is below 50%, triggers Recovery attribute +50%! Duration: one hour, cooldown: one hour.]

After equipping the gear, he began to select his strength equipment.

[Rock-Shattering Blade: Strength +15!]

"Hm?"

While selecting a strength empowerment book, he suddenly discovered a 'good thing'.

[Bloodthirst (Strength Equipment Empowerment): Active ability, Strength attribute +50%, Defense -50%! Duration: one hour, cooldown: one hour] (Class-changers, please choose with caution!)

Chen Ming's eyes lit up.

Clearly.

This enchantment effect was purely a desperate, life-risking ability.

Constitution attributes were directly tied to a class-advancer's true vitality.

Trading defense and taking more severe damage in exchange for increased attack power.

Almost no normal class-advancer would ever do this.

So much so that in the description of this Equipment Enchantment Book, [Defense -50%] was highlighted in conspicuous red text.

It was a warning for class-advancers to act within their limits.

However, Chen Ming was different.

"Defense -50%?"

Seeing this, the corners of his mouth curled up, revealing an innocent smile.

Sorry, but his defense attribute was at a bug-level.

One could even say he didn't have such a thing as a defense attribute at all.

"What a great ability; this enchantment is perfect for me."

Chen Ming immediately chose this Equipment Enchantment Book.

[Confirm selection of this Equipment Enchantment Book?]

"Confirm."

Debuff?

It didn't exist.

Since I don't have any, how can you reduce them?

Even if you reduced it by 100%, I still wouldn't be affected in the slightest.