"It's an accident, an accident…" Tsundere Phoenix hung out her tongue in embarrassment. She continued to put an Augmenting Gem into the Enhancing Furnace and started over again.
A brilliant light cover the surface of the Enhancing Furnace, and the Augmenting Gem was about to be disintegrated…
Cancel!
Tsundere Phoenix suddenly canceled the Enhancing process. Through the observation glass of the Enhancing Furnace, it was faintly visible that the jade-like Augmenting Gem was crushed in half. A glimmer of joy flashed past Tsundere Phoenix's eyes, and she suddenly shook the Enhancing Furnace violently. The sound of the items crashing about in the furnace was heard.
Could this method really improve the success rate of Enhancing equipment?
"Human, what are you doing?" Maria was furious. She grabbed the collar of Tsundere Phoenix's clothes and lifted her up, her eyes filled with anger.
Lin Jie commented calmly, "Let go of her."
Maria gave a hoarse laughter. "Human, do you think you are qualified enough to give me orders?"
"Ssss——"
As if the air was torn, a gust of Blade Aura shot past Barbarian Maria's face. The next instant, a shallow blood mark was seen on her face.
The passersby standing around the Enhancing Furnace were shocked and hurriedly backed off a few steps. Barbarian Maria was a Level 30 Elite, and furthermore, the consequences of attacking NPCs in this city were very serious!
Maria's eyes narrowed slightly, and a few strands of white hair dropped down slowly. She loosened her grip on Tsundere Phoenix and sized up Lin Jie before giving a sinister smile. "Young man, you are good."
Tsundere Phoenix still looked rather dazed. She had been thinking about how to improve the success rate of Enhancing equipment for the longest time ever. When one idea was proven unworkable, the little loli would come up with another inspiration. Till this moment, she was experimenting with this conjecture: it seemed like one could only wait while they pressed 'Start' to the Enhancing process and then they would only know the result after the whole process 'Ended.' What actually happened 'during' the Enhancing process then? If one could control what happened during the entire Enhancing process, would it possible to increase the success rate then?
RIght at this junction, Lin Jie appeared like a savior. He had Gold grade equipment and a large number of Augmenting Gems—the perfect candidate as a sucker to let her try out her ideas!
Tsundere Phoenix had started her experiments, but she was caught by Maria.
Lin Jie silently withdrew his sword and aimed it at Maria, and Maria did not dare to move! The onlookers were shocked by this scene. How was this possible?
Tsundere Phoenix blinked her eyes and looked at this Warrior. 'Hmm…' Although he was not very handsome, he gave her a huge sense of security.
"Continue," Lin Jie gestured.
"Oh, oh…" Tsundere Phoenix broke out of her daze and continued shaking the Enhancing Furnace. As a Barbarian, Maria definitely could recognize the signature stunt of the hero—Wind Rider Sword Saint—of her race, and thus she did not dare to stop Lin Jie.
Lin Jie had expected such reactions too.
However, when Lin Jie turned back to see Tsundere Phoenix's actions, he couldn't help but crease his forehead.
'Is this her so-called Enhancing techniques? It's really… rather alarming, to be honest.'
Tsundere Phoenix looked excitedly inside the Enhancing Furnace and saw that all the powder from the crushed Augmenting Gem had covered the Wolf Soul Necklace.
One definitely needed to follow up on a victory!
After the remaining half of the Augmenting Gem was burned, jade-like colored powder floated about in the Enhancing Furnace. It was soon all absorbed by the necklace.
Ding!
The Enhancing Furnace gave off a crisp sound. Enhancement successful!
[Wolf Soul Necklace] (Gold) (Enhanced +1)
Can be used by physical jobs.
Requires: Level 10
Attack: 7-12
Strength: +3
Endurance: +3
Willpower: +5
Life-Steal: +3%
Physical Attack: +1%
Additional effect: Night View: +5%.
Weight: 0.8 pounds
The necklace's Attack power was actually increased by 2 points! For necklaces, this growth rate was considered good. Lin Jie smiled and paid a silver coin to Tsundere Phoenix, and lifted his chin to make a gesture. "Continue."
Tsundere Phoenix threw a sly look at Maria, who did not dare to retaliate. She could only stand by aside and stare helplessly as Tsundere Phoenix started the violent shaking process again…
Enhancement +2 Successful!
Enhancement +3 Successful!
The Enhancing process succeeded several times amidst the violent shaking sounds given off. In the twinkling of an eye, the necklace was being enhanced to +5!
From Enhancement +5 onwards, the failure rate of Enhancing would increase exponentially. If a piece of equipment was Enhanced to +7, once the Enhancing process continued and failed, everything gained previously would be lost! Lin Jie hurriedly shouted, "Enough, enough! You can stop now."
"No, I can still enhance it!" Tsundere Phoenix ignored Lin Jie's comments and started the Enhancing Furnace again. After a soft 'Ding,' Enhancement +6 was successful!
"Wow! Haha!" screamed the little loli excitedly. Her boobs bounced, and so did many men's eyes.
Lin Jie was shocked. 'This girl's crazy! Enhancement +5 was already very rare! If it burst now…'
He hurriedly canceled the request for Tsundere Phoenix to help him Enhance equipment, but he was a beat slower.
Just with this bit of time, the little loli had activated two Enhancement processes again—and all of them were successful!
[Wolf Soul Necklace] (Gold) (Enhanced +8)
Can be used by physical jobs.
Requires: Level 10
Attack: 21-36
Strength: +8
Endurance: +8
Willpower: +13
Life-Steal: +7%
Physical Attack: +3%
Additional effect: Night View: +10.
Hidden Attribute Revealed: Health Points +200.
Hidden Attribute Revealed: Wild Instinct activated. When your health points fall below 20%, it will conduct a judgment every 2 seconds. Successful judgment will allow you to restore 100 health points.
Weight: 0.8 pounds
Lin Jie's eyebrows twitched rapidly. 'This crazy girl actually managed to create equipment that was Enhanced +8 just by shaking the furnace violently!?'
In terms of its Attack Power, the Wolf Soul Necklace was now completely comparable to a Bronze weapon of the same level. What's more, it could still allow users to recover 200 health points!
After equipping himself with the Wolf Soul Necklace, Lin Jie's health bar officially broke through the 1,000 points mark—it was now maximumly capped off at a whopping 1,185 points! Even the powerful Shield Specialists like Inksnow from those big guilds had maximum around 800 plus points for their health bars!
"Big Brother, do throw in more Augmenting Gems and pay me, I can still continue with the Enhancement process. I will be able to help you forge an Enhanced +10 necklace. Throw more Augmenting Gems in now!" shouted the little loli excitedly. Her sparkling eyes had an excited, crazed look in them.
Lin Jie's reaction was to run off as far as possible!
'Enhance still? What if the Enhancing process fails? This is a +8 superb necklace!'
The chances of getting such a necklace were extremely minimal! Now, other than those solo players who had signed contracts with the Sky Provisions Shop, the price of Augmenting Gems sold by other people were about 18 to 35 silver coins on average. If the Enhancement process succeeded eight times, it would mean that these people had spent about 2 gold coins. Moreover, after reaching Enhancement +6 stage where the equipment's hidden attributes would be activated, the chances of Enhancing successfully would be greatly reduced. There were many examples of equipment's attributes being destroyed during the Enhancement +7 and Enhancement +8 process!
Lin Jie estimated that in the entire The New Age now, there would only be this sole piece of Enhancement +8 necklace available… correction, it's the only Enhancement +8 equipment available!
With this necklace, plans to Enhance other equipment could be temporarily put on hold. 'This Wolf Soul Necklace is way enough!' Lin Jie always believed that it was best to keep humble and not ask for more!
'Oh my, if I can get my hands on the legendary Lucky Box…' Lin Jie shook his head and calmed himself down. That would be really too much to hope for!
As she watched Lin Jie ran away from her as if she was a plague, Tsundere Phoenix stood akimbo with her hands on her waist and laughed loudly in an arrogant but still cute manner. "Wow, hahaha, I just made an Enhancement +8 necklace! Friends, those who want to enhance your equipment, queue up speedily! Successful +1 for 1 silver coin! … Oh, don't rush, don't rush! I will help you enhance your equipment, please queue up here…"
With Lin Jie's success story, the players who had been watching them by the side were instantly crazed. Each of them hurriedly passed their Augmenting Gems to her. They all dreamed of owning an Enhancement +8 equipment, which they could sell off so as to bring in cash. After which, they would be able to enjoy life comfortably…
The little loli confidently activated the Enhancing Furnace and put her hands on it, preparing to start shaking.
Bang!
Barbarian Maria's muscular hands which were full of thick calluses slammed down on the Enhancing Furnace. Her eyes narrowed as she questioned, "Little girl, what are you planning to do?"
"En-enhance equipment?" squeaked the little loli.
"Don't treat my Enhancing Furnace so roughly!" fumed Maria.
This was an easy way to make money! The hell to anyone who dared to stop them! The crowd at the scene fumed too as they cursed internally, 'Why didn't she stop the Warrior in front of us, but stopped us now instead!?'
"Wth, you menopausal old woman, go away!"
"Barbarians are plain rude, such a waste of her huge boobs."
"What boobs, those are her chest muscles! I bet she can crush stones with those, and horses can race on those hefty arms!"
Having heard the insults of the players from the alternate realms, Barbarian Maria gnawed on her sharp fangs impatiently. This was in the City of Light, which was governed by the Holy Church and Empire. She could not behave as freely as she wanted to—that was something she could do back at her home, the City of Barbarians. She looked at the crowd coldly and said forcefully, "If you want to use the Enhancing Furnace, come find me at the City of Barbarians then!"
After which, Maria suddenly lifted up the two-person high Enhancing Furnace and walked to the teleportation circle.
The strength of Barbarians was indeed inhumane!
Everyone at the scene looked at one another and could not make up their minds as to how to react.
Finally, Tsundere Phoenix clapped her hands and snorted. "Let's go then! Which of you want to Enhance your equipment? We should go together!"
One should never underestimate the appeal of a beautiful girl. Under the double temptation of having Enhanced equipment and following the cute loli, most of the players rushed to follow Tsundere Phoenix into the teleportation circle.
The scenery changed, and the desolated City of Barbarians appeared in front of their eyes. This city was filled with huge stones and looked ancient. It was a city which had long been turmoiled by war.
A gigolo-looking Priest looked around and saw a female Barbarian in the distance. He started commenting loudly about her, "It's really so uncivilized here. No wonder girls from here look so ugly."
Duang!
Right after his words, a big hammer hit the Priest's head, bringing more than 200 points of damage—a Barbarian child was holding on to an iron hammer angrily… Behind this Barbarian child, there were more than 40 Barbarian children, who had bulging muscles and were all baring their fangs.
"How dare you comment that my mother is ugly! Come, let's kill them!" The Barbarian child shouted in a childish voice. These impetuous children activated Forward Charge and started the assault, raiding all the players who had just teleported over here!
Barbarians were natural warriors. It just took a young Barbarian to tear up a Velociraptor!
The strength of these children was simply terrifying! The dozens of players who teleported over were killed by them in an instant, and their corpses were actually being guarded by them…
Fortunately, the system stepped in to intervene. The story went that the Barbarian Warriors who had been sent away for war returned, and the first thing they did was to embrace their lovely children in happiness. The joy of victory and hope of never again going to war made Maria forgive the impudent players. She resurrected them using the Sacred Drums of the Barbarians and even allowed them to regain their EXP.
This became the greatest laughing stock The New Age had for a period of time! However, no player dared to disrespect or create nuisance at the City of Barbarians again.
At this moment, there was something else going on at a dilapidated cemetery far away in another part of The New Age.
Lin Jie moved forward cautiously. This cemetery was a cemetery of a clan, the Jimlarelle family!
In the middle of the cemetery, Lin Jie took out the Engineering bomb given by Zheng Ziliang cautiously. He threw it in front of him and ran backward.
Kaboom—
The ground trembled, and broken stone fragments with huge patches of earth were blasted into the air.
A deep hole was revealed beneath the stone monument, where the coffins should have been stored.
Chapter 86: William Castle
In The New Age, there were two types of maps.
Ordinary Map: It was displayed on the players' map coordinates, and the respawned rate of monsters there was fixed. There were lesser Elite monsters, and the monsters would be refreshed indefinitely.
Unexplored Map: It was also more commonly known by players as the so-called 'Hidden map.' Such maps had accumulated a large number of creatures, treasures, missions, and plots, etc. due to the unique sedimentation mechanism of the game.
When an unexplored map had been explored for more than 70%, it could be reported to the Empire and then be converted into an ordinary map. Those who reported the map could be rewarded with honors, equipment, and even titles of nobility, depending on the rarity of the map.
Lin Jie's destination this time round was called the William Castle, also known as the Vampire Castle!
This map was a gospel-like place for the Holy Priests and the Holy Paladins!
In The New Age, the jobs which had the slowest growth rate would be these two Treatment-type jobs. 80% of their skills belonged to Treatment-type skills, and thus they could only rely on their teammates for leveling up.
On this map, the Holy Priests and Holy Paladins could maximize their potentials to the fullest, especially when they were at Levels 20 - 25!
When a Holy Priest used the Holy Light or divine spells to heal themselves, it would cause the same amount of Damage to the nearby vampires and vampire bats. Strictly speaking, as long as this Priest or Paladin had enough Healing Power and Mana, they would be able to level up to numerous levels within this Vampire Castle!
In his previous life, Lin Jie had not participated in the exploration of this map, so now every step he took must be taken with caution!
Looking into the deep hole, Lin Jie took out a fire torch and threw it down. Sharp shrieks echoed out from the cave. Several Vampire Bats flapped their wings and shot out from the cave like shots of black lightning, but they evaporated into the air as soon as they came in contact with the light.
Aligning his position, Lin Jie activated the Feather Drop Gem and jumped down into the cave.
——'You are now exploring the unexplored map, William Castle. (Note: When the exploration is more than 70%, you can report this map to the Empire in exchange for generous rewards.)'
Exploration of a map included discovering its map area, monsters, Elites, plots, and any hidden traps. It was hard to judge the extent to which a map had been explored, and it normally took three to five days, or even several months for a map to be completely explored.
The dark passageway was damp. Dripping sounds were heard and echoed in the passage. Lin Jie suddenly felt a cool touch on his nose, and before he realized it, blood-red liquid dripped down from his face.
'It's blood!'
Lin Jie looked up and saw that his face was just one cm away from a Vampire Bat, which was swooping down right at him! The fangs of the Vampire Bat curled up in a bloodthirsty arc, and its two claws held tightly onto Lin Jie's shoulders. The bat's pale yellow pupils gleamed in anticipation, and its fangs stretched out towards his neck…
Vampire Bat: Level 18, Health Points: 420.
Vampire Bats generally had very low health points, but they had two talents which rendered them almost invincible.
Vampire Guardian: When a Vampire Bat receives damage that does not kill it, 90% of the Damage received will be offset.
Vampiric Touch: Every attack by a Vampire Bat will be transformed into health points for itself.
Lin Jie's right hand was holding onto the bat's squirming body, and while he tried to push it away, its fangs tore through his neck, and blood oozed out of the wound.
-114!
-50! (Bleeding)
Lin Jie gritted his teeth and slammed the bat onto the wall. He made a cross with Broken Blade and Withered Leaf Sword and slashed them both down upon the soft body of the bat!
Weakness Exploit!
-31! (279 Attack resisted!)
-19! (171 Attack resisted!)
The Vampire Bat screeched loudly and swallowed the blood remaining at the corners of its mouth.
+164!
'Lup——'
The bat was flying towards him again at high speed. Ordinary people could hardly tell the difference between the bat and the dark surroundings!
The Wolf Soul Necklace flickered slightly, and Lin Jie's pupils were covered with a layer of pale green light. His vision became clearer. Turning Broken Blade around in his hands, his health bar was filled up in the next instant!
Blood Soul Multi-Slash!
-490!
Before he dealt out his second strike, the vampire bat was shot down and fell onto the ground.
——'You have killed the Vampire Bat, you gained 780 EXP (Over-level Kill).'
With the effect of the EXP Gem, coupled with the successful over-level kill, his EXP bar increased visibly.
Using the Night View skill attached by the Wolf Soul Necklace, Lin Jie finally managed to make out the passageway in front of him. There was a closed door at the far end of the passageway. However, the passageway was full of Vampire Bats which had their eyes closed, and they were 17 yards apart from each other.
Using the Aggro formula, Lin Jie was shocked to discover that the Aggro range of each of the Vampire Bat was 16 yards!
This meant that there was an extremely narrow path for him to tread on between the bats!
If he had not been equipped with the Night View skill, Lin Jie might have barged around the dark passageway rashly and ended up being killed by the Vampire Bats.
Lin Jie pondered for a while and started taking off his heavy armor and greaves… In the dark passageway, he stripped until he was left with thin underwear and a golden necklace hanging on his neck.
If anyone saw him now, they would be stunned at his gangster-like appearance.
'Argh, for the sake of the Sub-Legendary fragment, I shall heck care about my personal image!'
Lin Jie lifted his right foot gingerly and put his foot down on a spot between the Vampire Bats. None of the bats were alerted when his sole and toes touched the ground.
Moving his whole body over, Lin Jie calculated his route inwards silently in his mind, while his hands prepared to… no, correction: his feet prepared to step on to the next landing spot in a light manner. He tried to minimize the sounds of his breathing as he maneuvered carefully around within the group of bats.
With the help of the Wolf Soul Necklace, Lin Jie managed to gain more insights into the situation inside the passageway. One step at a time, he slowly approached the door.
Creak—
The door made a slight noise, and Lin Jie's heart tightened. Fortunately, the bats did not respond, and he rushed inside.
The Vampire Castle had the structure of an ancient European castle. In the middle of the castle, there was a huge staircase which led to four different directions.
Unlike modern castles, the residents here had fallen into a deep sleep.
Lin Jie looked around for a while, and saw that there were coffins placed all around in the castle! Those which were simpler in design belonged the servants, and those which were more elaborate should be the resting places of those who held supervisor jobs.
The crowded coffins made a shiver ran down one's spine.
Lin Jie was now at the back door of the castle—that is, the small door that servant maids would use to dispose of their garbage. There was only one erected coffin here, and a broom was placed next to it. This was where servant Vampires were positioned at before they died. After death, they would still perform their duties faithfully.
Logically thinking, as a funerary item of the Vampire Count, the Kiara Beast King Enchanted Gem would be placed in the Count's coffin. To get this gem, one would need to get to the place where the Vampire Count was resting, the master bedroom on the second level of the castle.
If one wanted to go in directly from the castle's main hall, they would definitely arouse the wrath of more than 70 undead Vampires—it would just be courting death.
Lin Jie looked up and observed the ceiling above him. He realized that he was now standing just right below the Vampire Count's secondary bedroom. 'This room should be the Countess' bedroom.'
Activating the Feather Drop Skill, Lin Jie took a leap, and he rose up by a few body's lengths, but he still couldn't reach the railings of the second level.
To make matters worse, the moment he landed on the ground, a knock was heard from the interior of the erected coffin. A servant maid Vampire floated out from the coffin. Although her skin had turned gray from all the years after her death, it still seemed supple. Vampires were known for taking great care of their appearances, after all. If not, why would film producers choose to produce the 'Twilight Saga,' but not the 'Zombie Saga'?
William Castle Servant Maid: Level 20, Health Points: 3,500
Vampires' health points were generally not high, but it was extremely difficult to take down vampires as all attacks by vampires had the additional effect of 100% Life-Steal.
The servant maid's opened her mouth, revealing its fangs. The connecting blood vessels and gums were exposed too.
Hunter's Forward Charge!
Lin Jie's pupils constricted and put on his clothes and armor as fast as possible. He took the first move and tried to gain control of the servant maid. Stabbing Broken Blade at its eyes, he activated Army Obliteration!
-215!
-220!
-198!
The servant maid's health bar decreased. She sucked at her lips, and blood was drawn from the Lin Jie's meridians, shooting directly into its mouth. She sipped on it greedily.
-95!
+95!
Mana damage was fatal to Lin Jie, who was a Warrior with only high physical Defense capabilities!
The Withered Leaf Sword slit across the servant maid's lips, and with a swift turn of its tip, it ripped off one of the vampire's fangs. Lin Jie followed up on this small victory and hit hard at the back of the vampire's head. The connecting blood vessels to the vampire's teeth protruded out and was being crushed violently.
Weakness Exploit! Blood Soul Multi-Slash!
The thick blade of Broken Blade pierced through the servant maid's body, and killed it swiftly!
"Undead Dominance, get up!"
A dim light flashed across Lin Jie's palm, and the vampire servant maid stood up again. Its lifeless eyes stared at its master.
Commanding the maid to stand under the second level's railings, Lin Jie used her as a stepping stone while he activated the Feather Drop skill again. This time round, he rose up to about five yards in the air!
'It's close now!'
Lin Jie gritted his teeth and activated the Rocket Launcher which he hung around his waist. A loud explosion was heard, following which a jet of fire sparks appeared at his abdomen area and spread outwards.
Lin Jie lost his balance and slammed onto the railings. He landed head down on the ground, and the diving-like posture made him twist his neck. It was lucky his neck did not break!
"Goblin technology sucks great time!" Lin Jie couldn't help but curse as he stood up. Fortunately, he had achieved his desired results—at least he had avoided a lot of vampires and came to the second floor.
There was another gain from this move, a treasure chest!
According to historical records, unexplored maps had not been visited by people for countless years. It would be strange if there were no treasure chests around!
'Opening of the treasure chest… 1%… 2%… 3%… 2%…'
Lin Jie waited patiently, and the treasure chest finally opened.
—'You received four silver coins.'
—'You received a Skill Book: Vampiric Touch.'
—'You received the Dark Pupils.'
—'You received a Low-level Fading Potion's recipe.'
Lin Jie checked through the treasure chest for a few more times and confirmed that there was nothing else.
Vampiric Touch was a continuous output skill for Dark Priests, and it could give them considerable Life-Steal abilities, allowing them to replenish their health points constantly. Furthermore, it could also trigger the effect of the Stealth Spell. In essence, this was quite a good skill.
The Low-level Fading Potion was one of the several life-saving potions players must have when they were in the wild. It could enable players to enter the Fading state for the next 3 seconds, reduce Movement Speed by 90%, reduce Aggro by 100%, and also reduce Damage received by 100%.
To a Potioneer, a recipe would mean lots of revenue.
The last item he got was a special item.
Dark Pupils: It can be used with necklaces and rings. Night View +5.
Lin Jie shook his head and couldn't help but let out a little laugh.
At the rate things were going, the Wolf Soul Necklace would soon become a searchlight.