Chapter Thirty-Eight: Equipment Enhancement (2)

After enhancing the first piece of equipment, Mu Rongxun placed the second on the pedestal.

[Moreno’s Lie: A lie is always more alluring than the truth!]
[Quality: Rare]
[Attribute: False Mirage. What is seen may not be real; it can create an illusion identical to the original body, possessing no attack power!]
[Passive: Attack Speed +10%]
[Passive: Movement Speed +10%]
[Passive: Casting Speed +10%]
[Passive: Cooldown Speed +10%]

This accessory was peculiar; it lacked active skills entirely, relying solely on percentage-based passives. This meant it would remain useful for a long time and would not become obsolete as he grew stronger.

Mu Rongxun began the reinforcement process. Purple equipment was not so easily improved; success was no longer guaranteed on the first attempt, and the costs were staggering. Ultimately, after nine attempts and two failures, he finally brought the gear to +5.

[+5 Moreno’s Lie: A lie is always more alluring than the truth!]
[Quality: Rare]
[Attribute: False Mirage. What is seen may not be real; it can create an illusion identical to the original body, possessing no attack power!]
[Passive: Attack Speed +10%]
[Passive: Movement Speed +10%]
[Passive: Casting Speed +10%]
[Passive: Cooldown Speed +10%]
[Reinforcement Attribute: Casting Speed +2%]
[+5 Attribute: Movement Speed +5%]

Though the cost was significant, it was a success. Next was the Aurora Bracer. The skills it carried were highly practical, greatly compensating for Mu Rongxun’s lack of a quick gap-closing method. His luck was excellent this time; he succeeded in one go without a single failure.

[+5 Aurora Bracer: A private collection of Archduchess Ephesoria, gifted to those who assisted her.]
[Quality: Rare Top-Tier]
[Attribute: All Attributes +1!]
[Skill 1: Aurora Blink. Allows teleportation within a ten-meter radius. Costs 2–10 energy per use, with a 5-second cooldown.]
[Skill 2: Aurora Ray. Releases a beam of light, consuming significant energy to inflict massive destruction!]
[Reinforcement Attribute: Aurora Ray damage increased by 10%.]
[+5 Attribute: Aurora Blink cooldown -1 second]

Among his remaining gear, the only other item worth reinforcing was his main weapon, Shadow of Slaughter. His sidearm, the Primordial Hand, could not be reinforced. He did not know why, but it was not worth dwelling on at the moment.

As his primary weapon, no amount of caution was excessive. Mu Rongxun specifically purchased Reinforcement Protection Tickets, which could prevent equipment from shattering or losing levels upon a failed reinforcement. The cost was naturally astronomical—ten thousand per (purple) ticket—but Mu Rongxun gritted his teeth and bought them.

Then began the painful, wallet-draining process. The start was smooth, reaching level five in one breath. At level six, it failed, consuming a protection ticket. At level seven, another failure, another ticket. Continuing on, Mu Rongxun burned through five protection tickets in total to reach level ten. The thought alone made his heart ache.

However, upon seeing the attributes of the Shadow of Slaughter, he finally felt happy.

[+10 Shadow of Slaughter: Blooming in death, sinking into slaughter!]
[Quality: Rare Top-Tier]
[Attribute: Absolute Sharpness]
[Passive 1: Disarm. Has a chance to disarm opponents during close-quarters combat!]
[Passive 2: Cleave! Has a chance to trigger during combat, affecting not only weapons and armor, provided the target is not five levels higher than the host!]
[Passive 3: Slaughter Evolution. Evolves through slaughter. Current level LV2, evolution value 59/1000!]
[Passive 4: Soul Rest. After a kill, Soul Rest increases by one point. Upon reaching one hundred points, the power of Soul Rest can form a shield or restore the user’s state.]
[Passive 5: Paralysis. Attacks have a chance to inflict paralysis.]
[Passive 6: Petrification. Attacks have a chance to inflict petrification!]
(Absolute Sharpness: The weapon is exceptionally sharp, increasing armor penetration.)
[Reinforcement Attribute: Sharpness +10]
[+5 Attribute: Sharpness +5]
[+7 Attribute: Sharpness +5]
[+10 Attribute: Sharpness +5]

Despite the heavy cost, Mu Rongxun felt it was worth it. Even looking at the Shadow of Slaughter now, it felt piercingly sharp. He pulled out a strand of hair and dropped it; before it even touched the blade, it was severed in two by the invisible aura of sharpness.

Although the other attributes had not changed much, Mu Rongxun knew his combat effectiveness would now rise sharply.

He frowned as he looked at the Primordial Hand on his left hand. He had never figured out the origin of this piece of equipment, but there was no doubt it was incredibly powerful. The thirteen socket slots alone elevated its value infinitely. Equipment could be socketed, but there were strict limits on the number of slots, and failed attempts could shatter the gear. In comparison, the Primordial Hand, already possessing thirteen slots, was even more precious.

Primordial Hand:
Gem 1: [Stone of Phantasy: Capable of containing various living beings at will. Currently contains the ability of a Ghoul.]
[Quality: Green]
[Skill 1: Devour. Can continuously strengthen the supported ability by devouring other creatures, feeding back to the host.]
[Skill 2: Strengthen. After using this skill, increases Constitution by 2 points for a short time.]
Gem 2: [Titan Stone: A crystallization of power from a certain creature.]
[Quality: Rare]
[Attribute: Power Burst +50%, effective only if the attribute is below 20 points.]
[Titan’s Roar: Emits a roar that intimidates enemies, causing a stun effect!]
[Titan’s Body: Defense +20%!]
Gem 3: Empty
Gem 4: Empty
...
Gem 13: Empty

After reinforcing all his equipment, Mu Rongxun looked at the remaining Paradise Coins and his mouth twitched. Money really didn't last long; in just a short while, he had spent over one hundred thousand Paradise Coins. He still had over eighty thousand left, which was enough for now.

His strength had increased, but his attributes had risen so much that his control began to slip. He immediately activated a medium-level phantom to enter a simulated combat scenario and began training. Combat was the fastest way to train.

Through death after death and battle after battle, his control over his boosted skills and attributes improved. That feeling of disharmony slowly faded. He began to adjust his fighting style, not only against melee opponents but also against other classes.

Only by diversifying one’s combat can one go further. Mu Rongxun could feel that his combat experience was still too limited, at least when facing ranged opponents. He was proficient against melee, but his experience against mages and the like was pitifully sparse.

Once he was familiar with his current state, he began randomly summoning ranged classes. Ranged classes were not just mages; they were incredibly varied. In these battles, Mu Rongxun’s eyes were truly opened. Some he could kill in one strike once he closed the distance, but others never let him get close, suppressing him from the very beginning.

There were even those who appeared to be mages but were actually tankier than warriors. Even with the armor-piercing attribute of the Shadow of Slaughter, he felt as if he were hitting a wall. Then there were Summoners, who ignored all reason and summoned thousands, using swarm tactics. With similar strength levels, he was easily overwhelmed by the sheer number of beasts. There were also Dragon Knights—nominally ranged, but even stronger in melee. With a five-meter dragon lance, a single strike from a charging dragon would send him flying; the impact was so great that even the toughest tanks couldn't withstand it, and Mu Rongxun was killed on the spot.

These humbling experiences taught him that although he had reached the highest attributes for Tier 0, he was really no match for others. He lacked active and passive skills, and his two hundred health and one hundred energy were modest compared to those who had experienced more worlds and accumulated more treasures.

With a three-world buffer, Mu Rongxun wanted to use this time to settle himself, preferably by collecting more blade techniques or various passive skills. If he had enough passive skills, the cascade of effects triggered with a single strike would be terrifying. Currently, most of his effects came from his weapons; he feared encountering a situation like the real world where equipment was restricted. Only what one truly possessed was best; external force would always be just external force.

For now, combat was his priority. Mu Rongxun spent his time in simulated combat, switching opponents repeatedly, refusing to stop until he had killed each type of enemy at least once. Although the constant switching was taxing, the training effect was excellent. He became intimately familiar with various passive effects and gained better control during the heat of battle.

After spending ten hours in the dueling arena facing numerous opponents, despite the many deaths, Mu Rongxun felt his progress was immense. At the very least, it greatly enriched his combat experience and compensated for his lack of options against ranged foes.

Aurora Blink had played a massive role, becoming an indispensable part of his combat system. However, it had a cooldown and a significant energy cost, so it couldn't be used constantly. It was necessary to prepare a few more displacement skills to make his combat style more versatile.