Ascending Dragon Is Calling

"Have you heard? A portal to an underground city has appeared in Val City!"

"What? You're not mistaken, are you?"

"You're not mistaken, it's Val City, absolutely! The New Strategy Team —no, the Skyrim Strategy Team's Lu Lu Wo— just shouted it out personally in the square with a megaphone!"

"What's the point of shouting through a megaphone?"

"Hey, you're deliberately trying to provoke me, aren't you? Come on, they've put out a video, let's go check it out!"

In the tavern, the adventurers, drunk and disoriented, dragged and tugged their way to the square.

The square was bustling with people, and a huge, eye-catching bulletin board stood tall in the center. In front of it, a bonfire, deliberately modeled after the campfire in the Zane Dungeon, was burning brightly, surrounded by railings.

Is the campfire being used as some kind of spiritual symbol?

The bulletin board here has expanded several times over the years, and it is now covered with densely packed intelligence.

However, compared to the bustling scene when the bulletin board was constantly updating when Sion first mutated, the update speed of information is now significantly slower and more detailed.

This means that the major content has been discovered, and what remains are the minor details that people need to explore further.

How detailed are they? For example, "Farron Undead Legion's right hand is more powerful than their left hand when they hit someone," and "Ghrū's hard horn will become unbalanced after it is destroyed," and so on.

It's worth noting that the left side of the bulletin board has been specially designated as a third of its area, with a new section named—

Monster Weapon Crafting Formula

The most prominent formula is written like this:

Fifteen sharp fangs of the Arzuros + two claws of the Arzuros + three pieces of the Arzuros's skull armor + a weapon of decent quality + burning incense and praying = Azure Bear series weapon!

The intelligence provider's note: Increasing the amount of fangs and claws can improve the sharpness of the Blue Bear weapon, but adding too much may cause forging failure or cause the weapon to have strange negative effects.

A quick glance at the information on this section reveals that it's all about combining different XX (monster names) with XX (monster materials) to obtain weapons or equipment.

What are these things? Why are adventurers paying more attention to them than to the Endless Reincarnation (Roguelike) game?

This is the "equipment forging system" that Gong Qiying mentioned earlier, which was set up in the Forest Area.

Specifically, there are two hidden characters in the Forest Area: the Weapon Master Felyne and the Equipment Master Felyne. They live in different Tree Hollow, and adventurers need to travel all over the map to find them.

Once found, give the materials obtained from the monster to the Felyne for forging. After a few hours, you will obtain the weapon and equipment!

Since the two cat masters were discovered, their popularity has skyrocketed, leading people to start exploring the forging formulas for equipment.

Because Felyne will accept all monster materials given by adventurers and craft them all into a weapon/equipment.

Therefore, the quantity, part, and quality of the materials provided by adventurers will affect the quality of the forged weapons and equipment.

For example, adding more fangs will increase sharpness but decrease durability, while carapace scales can increase defense but greatly increase weight.

Some might wonder, since blacksmith shops outside can also forge items using monster materials, why bother going to the Felyne where everything is uncertain?

Because the weapons and equipment they forge possess many unique Weapon Skill that adventurers find irresistible.

Specifically, recently a Weapon Skill called "Ascending Dragon" has been widely circulated among a small group of adventurers who have forged the unfamiliar weapon "Katana". What kind of magic does this weapon and Weapon Skill possess that makes its wielder unable to suppress the desire to ascend to the Ascending Dragon, and run to the Forest Area as soon as he opens his eyes every day?

Besides Ascending Dragon, other Weapon Skill such as Super Amped Element Discharge and Demonization are gradually gaining traction among adventurers, all obtained from monster equipment forged by Felyne.

There is absolutely no way that a blacksmith shop outside could forge such a Weapon Skill, and in terms of craftsmanship, Cat Cat completely surpasses the blacksmiths in Bede City.

Furthermore, there are limitations on the monster materials that can be used for forging.

After each monster is defeated, one to five glowing parts will appear on its body. Only these glowing parts can be disassembled and given to Felyne for forging.

Felyne refuse to accept any parts that don't glow, so adventurers have no choice but to take them out of the dungeon and sell them for money.

In order to obtain a monster weapon that they can use comfortably, a large number of adventurers spend their days in the Forest Area of Zane Dungeon, farming monster materials and carefully exploring how to combine them to achieve the best combination for the forged weapon and equipment. If they are not careful, they may forge useless junk.

Unfortunately, monsters in the Zane Dungeon will not reappear until the next day after they die. Ordinary Elite Monsters like the Arzuros and the Great Jagras will usually appear in two or three at random, while high-level Elite Monsters such as the Female Fire Dragon and the Nargacuga will only appear once a day, and the type is random.

However, Bazelgeuse, acting as a police officer, is always present and will never be absent!

No matter how you look at it, this equipment forging system is incredibly grindy; if it were in the Yugi, people would be furious with it.

But adventurers have plenty of time and hope. In the period when the Felyne masters were just discovered, even their failed works were worth buying.

Because these weapons and equipment look really cool; they're aesthetically pleasing even just hanging on the wall.

Some exquisite failed works have gradually become popular in the collecting circle.

Given the current popularity of the equipment forging system, Gong Qiying is also considering whether to implement an equipment upgrade mechanism, such as +1, +2, first and second job advancements, etc., and also add a system where the higher the upgrade level, the greater the probability of failure, and the equipment will be destroyed upon failure.

Forget it, forget it. If he does that, his whole family will be cursed. He can't bear such a huge karmic consequence.

"Hey, look, the Aknosom weapon has a new formula, do you want to write it down?"

"Remember my ass! Didn't we come here to see the Skyrim Strategy Team? Have you forgotten our purpose so quickly?"

"Oh, I remember now, they were right under the bulletin board, and they even put up a white cloth to display the video."

Skyrim Strategy Team is the new name for Lu Lu Wo and her "New Strategy Team".

There are many theories about why they changed their name. Some say it's because they lost to Leon, so they dropped the word "new". Others say it's because there are too many people using the name "New Strategy Team" and it's hard to distinguish them.

In short, Lu Lu Wo and her friends' name change is real. The name "Skyline" sounds quite nice, making people think of a giant dragon flying high in the sky and a snow-covered plain, and it even makes people want to roar.

Wait, why does "skyline" remind you of a snowfield?

"Look everyone, this is the terrifying monster we discovered in Lake Liurnia!"

Lu Lu Wo's voice, amplified by amplification magic, covered the entire square. In reality, she didn't need to rely on this method to attract attention, as everyone's attention was already on her.

"Because this monster was so terrifying, our investigators only dared to hide in the nearby bushes, trembling with fear. But in the spirit of professionalism, even though he was filled with fear, he insisted on raising the Image Stone and taking such a precious video for everyone. Please enjoy it while you can."

"Ring ring, ring ring"

Accompanied by the eerie and ethereal sound of bells, the sound of horses' hooves pounding the ground reached everyone's ears, each step seemingly pounding on their hearts.

The video is shot from a low angle, with large areas obscured by messy plants, leaving only a small gap at the top. However, this way of presenting the scene makes everyone stare intently at that blank space, and some people even break out in a cold sweat.

Something has emerged from the mist!

It was a emaciated body, seemingly a horse. The narrow field of vision made it impossible to see its appearance clearly, but people could clearly see a pair of equally withered feet sitting on the horse's back.

Someone was crouching on horseback, exuding an aura of evil.

"Tap, tap, tap"

The sound of horses' hooves gradually faded into the distance, seemingly signifying the end of the crisis, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

"Ring ring ring!"

The bells rang loudly, and the camera quickly shifted to the direction of the sound. But in that instant, a hideous Wraith's face crashed into them!

The video cut off, and a series of exclamations erupted from the scene, as if everyone were there.

"These guys are wasting their talents as adventurers. They're more suited to being horror movie directors. They managed to make a Wraith Rider look like a boss," Gong Qiying, who was mixed in with the crowd, took on the role of the troll. "The adventurers are really supportive. Seriously, how come a few of them fainted from fright?"

Lu Lu Wo on the stage was very satisfied with the reaction of the crowd below. She raised a megaphone that had been amplified and shouted:

"Everyone, what I just showed you was only a small part of Lake Liurnia, a terrifying small part. How about that? Were you scared?"

"You scared me so much I almost laid my eggs!" a bird- Orcs shouted in annoyance.

"Haha, getting used to fear beforehand can be very helpful for adventure," Lu Lu Wo laughed. She had a rhythm that seemed to control the whole scene, and people's emotions and reactions were all within her expectations. "But don't let fear stop you. I don't want to talk to you about anything vague like courage. I only need to say one sentence to make you willingly explore this new area."

"What is it!" someone in the crowd asked cooperatively. Gong Qiying turned around and saw it was Bei Er Tuo from the Skyrim Strategy Team.

Wow, so there's a straight man in the joke.

"That is—" Lu Lu Wo flung her cloak and shouted:

"The rewards are huge, and everyone can become a magician!"

As soon as she finished speaking, the image on the white cloth suddenly changed, and an unfamiliar adventurer appeared in the center of the screen. Who is this?

"Isn't this Wan Si? That 'stubborn rock' Wan Si who can't learn magic no matter how hard he tries. His talent seems to be even worse than the Sword Saint's."

After Bei Er Tuo shouted this out, many people in the audience "remembered" Wan Si and nodded, saying that they remembered her.

"The moment to witness a miracle has arrived!"

Lu Lu Wo raised her arm, and in the image, Wan Si took off her Sorting Hat from her head. The next second, her free hand suddenly burst into flames!

It is fire magic, without a doubt.

"This is amazing!" A new cry came from the crowd; it must have been Aisi and Aimu calling out.

"How amazing!"

When the crowd erupted in cheers as they saw Wan Si, who had never been able to learn magic, successfully use fire magic.

Even if some people aren't interested in magic, if they could learn magic by entering a new area, everyone would be willing to give it a try! It's a great opportunity to improve one's strength.

When people's emotions reached their peak, Lu Lu Wo revealed a "plan in action. jpg" smile, finally about to reveal her true purpose for performing in front of the public.

She waved her cloak, and suddenly a thick stack of booklets appeared on the stage. What could be inside?

"My dear family members, you're all blessed by Goddess of Luck today! I happen to have a brand-new 'Raya Lucaria Magic Classroom Basic Map Route' here, which teaches you step-by-step how to acquire magic. Don't miss this opportunity, as there are only 300 copies available. Otherwise, you'll become the chosen one of Lady Luck!"

Looking at the adventurers flocking to Lu Lu Wo, and then at the Skyrim Strategy Team members below the stage with expressions of "finally completing the mission."

Gong Qiying felt that these people were even more like time travelers than he was, since they had even come up with something like selling courses.

"What a bunch of geniuses! Considering how hard you've worked to bring me such a huge influx of customers, I'll have to treat you to a good meal and drinks whenever you visit the Gourmet Area."

He laughed as he spoke, the creativity of adventurers was indeed boundless, Lu Lu Wo and her gang were especially good at creating mischief.

He squeezed in and bought a booklet. The contents were quite detailed, indicating how to obtain the [Transfer Certificate] and how to use the Sorting Hat. It also pointed out the limitations of using the magic obtained from the Magical Radiance and the fact that one could permanently cultivate magic by going to Lake Liurnia.

With this group's promotion, the Val Dungeon is probably only a hair's breadth away from becoming a sensation.

Just as Gong Qiying was flipping through the booklet looking for any oversights, a rich floral fragrance suddenly wafted from beneath her feet.

Upon closer inspection, it turned out that wildflowers were growing out of the cracks in the paving stones, and the wildflowers were still growing, soon turning the square into a green oasis.

"What's going on? Who's using growth magic here? It's going to be a hassle to clean this up!" the plaza manager grumbled.

"Look there, they did it!"

Someone pointed to a spot not far away, and Gong Qiying looked in that direction.

Several figures with flowing green hair and pointed ears walked gracefully toward the crowd.

It's an elf.