"Old K? It's me. What's up?"
"Shoot, did you see the system announcement?"
"What? Did you find something important?" Too Late to Shoot perked up at once.
"Of course..." A wry chuckle came from the other end. "I was one of those three..."
"What?!" Too Late to Shoot's brows knitted tightly. "Who were the other two?" he asked, his voice low.
"One was a Warrior named Ironhead Monk. The other was a Mage named... One Leaf Windwalk."
"One Leaf Windwalk? A Mage? Are you sure you didn't misread it?" Too Late to Shoot suddenly felt as though everything he knew had been turned upside down...
"I'm sure! Absolutely! Positively!" Kawaii enunciated every word.
After a short pause, Too Late to Shoot asked, "Was it... really him?"
"What do you think?" Kawaii countered.
"He actually rolled a Mage... What level is he?"
"Level 14 right now. He should hit 15 once he turns in the quest."
"How many times did you wipe in Hell Mode?"
"Not once-unless voluntarily leaving the dungeon counts. We took down the first boss on our first try, and the second and third after two test runs each. We made four attempts to test their skills, remember? Every time, we escaped by the skin of our teeth and retreated outside the dungeon. That's why I said we never wiped."
"I see..." Too Late to Shoot's brow gradually relaxed, though there was no telling what he was thinking. His four teammates, on the other hand, had picked up a few things from the conversation. Every one of them clenched their fists, and the atmosphere grew tense.
Too Late to Shoot exchanged a few more words with Kawaii, then closed the voice chat window. Looking up at his teammates, he suddenly smiled. "What's with all of you? Feeling the sting?"
"Shoot..." Nanfeng Luan had just started to speak when Too Late to Shoot waved him off. "You've probably figured it out already. The guy competing with us for the first kill was One Leaf Windwalk, the great Ye himself. Are you satisfied with that outcome? Is it really so hard to accept?"
"I suppose it'll do." Bloodshadow cracked a joke, an exceedingly rare occurrence.
The others froze, then immediately burst out laughing. Everyone knew Bloodshadow had an "extremely long-standing" feud with certain members of the Beaconfire Team. Besides, the guy had always held himself above everyone else and kept his words brief. They had never heard him concede anything to anyone, yet here he was showing a little admiration for Ye Fengxing.
Seeing the mood lighten, Too Late to Shoot struck while the iron was hot. "All right, now that we know the truth, there's nothing to sulk about. We underestimated the competition this time. Next time, we'll pit our skills against theirs and fight it out fair and square! Sure, we're up against the great Ye, but people call us greats too. Greats against greats-brothers, we can't lose our edge before the fight even starts."
"Definitely not." Nanfeng Luan was the first to grin.
"We've got plenty of fans ourselves, after all." Lonely Big Dipper smiled and held out his hand. Nanfeng Luan immediately understood and placed his own on top.
"We can't let them down." Bai Caosheng added a hand to the pile.
"Next time, it's ours." Bloodshadow calmly stacked his hand on theirs.
"Brothers, for God Luo-victory!" Too Late to Shoot placed both palms on top and pushed down hard.
"Victory!!" Five voices suddenly united, echoing through the dense forest, breaking free of the canopy and soaring into the higher, boundless sky.
After leaving the dungeon, Ye Fengxing parted ways with Ironhead. They played different classes, after all, and their quest lines led in different directions, so for now they could only head off to their respective homes.
The three "Hell Warriors" had truly reaped a rich harvest this time. The system had directly rewarded each of them with five free attribute points and three skill points, all permanent!
On top of that, they had picked up a pile of equipment.
If Madness Mode was so difficult, why did so many people keep lining up to try it? Because the rewards were generous, of course! As for Hell Mode... it attracted the fewest players of any mode, but offered the richest rewards!
On this run, Ye Fengxing had acquired three pieces of yellow rare-quality Mage equipment. Ironhead had done even better, picking up five pieces of Warrior equipment-three yellow rare-quality pieces and two blue superior-quality pieces!
Kawaii had been the unluckiest. Only two pieces of Ranger equipment had dropped, and there was nothing he could do about it... Still, both were exceptional yellow rare-quality pieces. Showing them off would definitely dazzle everyone in sight.
At the moment, Ye Fengxing was inspecting his three yellow pieces.
Babala's Skeleton Staff (yellow rare quality): Weapon (two-handed staff) Attack: 11-15 Attack speed: 2.6 Constitution +4 Intelligence +8 Spirit +7 Equip: Increases spell power by 9. Equip: Critical strike rating +8. Use: Summons two Skeleton Guards to fight for you for 10 minutes. Cooldown: 5 minutes. Required level: 14 Rotten Ring (yellow rare quality): Ring Constitution +1 Intelligence +3 Spirit +2 Equip: Critical strike rating +3. Equip: Haste rating +2. Equip: Your attacks infect the target with a disease, dealing a total of 124 damage over the next 18 seconds. Required level: 14 Malicious Ring (yellow rare quality): Ring Constitution +1 Intelligence +3 Spirit +3 Equip: Critical strike rating +3. Equip: Hit rating +3. Equip: Your attacks have a chance to curse the target, immediately dealing 45-57 damage and a total of 55 additional damage over the next 15 seconds. Required level: 14
All three pieces were top-tier equipment for the current stage of the game, especially the two rings. Early on, trinkets like rings, necklaces, and accessories almost never dropped. Getting your hands on anything like that gave you a huge advantage! This wasn't even a question of "mine is better than yours," but rather "I have one, and you don't"...
Ye Fengxing wore the two rings with a swagger, one glittering on each hand. Both were coveted yellow rare-quality pieces, enough to make anyone green with envy!
The old Dragonkin Aston had spotted his prized pupil from afar. Smiling, he waited for Ye Fengxing to approach before speaking. "Very good. It seems you've completed the task I gave you splendidly. As for your reward, I shall... hmm..."
The old fellow caught sight of the staff on Ye Fengxing's back and froze... Normally, completing this class quest earned the player a weapon from their mentor. But Ye Fengxing was carrying Babala's Skeleton Staff, an exceptional yellow weapon! How was poor old Aston supposed to save face?
The old Dragonkin had prepared a blue staff, an incredibly powerful weapon for the early game! Carrying it around outside for a little show-off stroll would instantly draw waves of envious looks!
Unfortunately, compared with the loot from Hell Mode, that blue staff could only meekly step aside.
"Ahem... My pupil, where is your Magic Device? Take it out and let me see." Old Aston pretended to clear his throat and changed the subject.
Ye Fengxing obediently produced Eske's Precious Orb, dazzling Aston's old eyes once again.
"Very good... very good..." The old Dragonkin tugged at his beard and grumbled, "To think that brat Eske actually gave this to you... But he's just a little squirt. What does he know about appreciating treasures? He's managed to ruin a perfectly good little item. Truly, a pearl buried in dust."
"Mentor, are you saying this is a treasure?" Ye Fengxing asked tentatively.
"Of course! Could anything I, Aston, approve of be inferior? Watch. I'll show you this little thing's true form right now." With that, the old Dragonkin extended a hand. Fire flared at his fingertips, and strands of brilliant light rose like wisps of smoke... Before long, an invisible force drew the light into ribbons that shot into the orb.
The tiny orb flared with light. A flickering flame sprang from within, instantly enveloping it.
"Ding!"
System notification: Your Magic Device, Eske's Precious Orb, has been unsealed.
Ye Fengxing took a closer look, and delight welled up inside him... Hey! This old fellow really does know a thing or two! Look at this little beauty. Now that's top-tier!
Eske's Precious Orb (yellow rare quality): Magic Device Attack: 35-47 Attack speed: 2.2 Constitution +4 Intelligence +11 Spirit +8 Equip: Increases spell power by 17. Equip: Critical strike rating +10. Equip: Haste rating +7. Equip: Increases fire damage by 2%. Equip: Your attacks deal an additional 17-26 fire damage and have a chance to ignite the target, dealing a total of 88 fire damage over 15 seconds. Use: Fires a small fireball at an enemy target, dealing 150 fire damage. Cooldown: 30 seconds. Required level: 15
Magic Devices truly lived up to their reputation as a caster's bread and butter. Those stats were incredible! And Ye Fengxing's Magic Device was even more incredible than that!
Generally speaking, increasing spell power required more Intelligence. Almost all caster equipment carried Intelligence, but very little equipment granted additional SP-only weapons and Magic Devices. Staves, spellblades, and the like were all classified as weapons, but a caster's true "weapon" was their Magic Device, the most important piece of gear they wore!
Early in the game, even weapons and Magic Devices rarely granted additional SP. For level 15 equipment... probably only yellow or purple pieces could be that outrageous.
Besides, Eske's Precious Orb also granted the two combat stats of haste and critical strike rating. As for those two additional effects, they were downright absurd!
By rights, equipment with additional effects shouldn't have had high base stats, and combat stats... shouldn't have been there at all! Otherwise, if it boosted everything, wouldn't that be a little too overpowered?!
Yet Eske's Precious Orb was precisely that dominant! Like it or not, there was no denying it!
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