Chapter 8: Win-Win Trade, Strength Breakthrough
Editor: Atlas Studios
The scene outside the door could only be described with a few words.
There was a mess of corpses all over the place.
All the Strigoi had been killed by the explosion. A few Feelers were still vaguely able to find their broken bodies, and the ordinary zombies had exploded into countless pieces.
In the darkness, which was filled with the smell of coke, two crystals emitting green light and silver light quietly fell to the ground near the Feelers' corpses.
"Skill Crystals!"
Chen Gou focused on them and ran over in great joy to pick them up.
Both the Blue Wave World and the Abyssal World had a law similar to the law of physics. Only magical creatures killed by human Awakeners would drop Skill Crystals or magical items such as the Magic Origin Crystals.
This was also the origin of their identity as Apprentice Demon Hunters.
"System notification: The host has obtained a bronze-grade Skill Crystal called Corrosive Poison. You can get 100 Magic Origin Points if you offer it to the system."
"System notification: The host has obtained a silver-grade Skill Crystal called Carrion Claws. You can get 650 Magic Origin Points if you offer it to the system."
The two Skill Crystals were clearly condensed from the magical mysteries in the mutated Feelers' bodies.
Chen Gou inspected them with his mind, and information regarding the two skills immediately appeared in his mind automatically.
[Skill: Corrosive Poison]
[Origin: Abyssal World of The Strain]
[Grade: Bronze]
[Magic Attribute: Poison]
[Corrosive Poison Level-1 Attribute: Transforms magical powers into a venom that gets attached to fingernails and weapons. Can corrode an enemy's weapon or body and inflict poison damage of 10 points/second after hitting an enemy. Lasts 6 seconds and cannot be stacked. Slightly reduces movement and attack speed and can be dispelled.]
[Remark: Exclusive to the weak]
This bronze-grade skill, which was worthy of the lowest grade, didn't surprise Chen Gou in the slightest.
Not many ordinary Apprentice Demon Hunters would fancy it, let alone Chen Gou, who had the backing of the system's skill library.
An Awakener's skill slots were very precious, as they were limited.
After one was awakened, the second skill slot would only be unlocked at Level 5. Nobody would want to use a precious skill slot to learn a weak and trashy skill.
Fortunately, the silver-grade Carrion Claws looked fine.
[Skill: Carrion Claws]
[Origin: Abyssal World of The Strain]
[Grade: Silver]
[Magic Attribute: Poison]
[Carrion Claws Level-1 Attribute: Condenses the magical power into necrotic claws and significantly increases the attack and defense of the hands. Inflicts poison damage of 10 points/second when it hits an enemy and lasts 3 seconds. Damage can be stacked!]
[Remark: This skill is poisonous!]
Compared to the Corrosive Poison, the Carrion Claws were obviously superior.
Firstly, the significant increase of the attack and defense of the hands would translate into a weapon.
Although the exact number of the increase hadn't been determined yet, one would be very strong as long as the attack and defense were half as high as before the skill was launched.
Secondly, even though the duration of the poison damage was reduced, it could be stacked.
In other words, if one hit an enemy five times within three seconds, the damage inflicted would accumulate to a terrifying 50 points/second!
"Little Brother, thank you so much. We would all have died here without you."
Uncle Shi Meng walked in through the charred door with a pale face. His lower left arm had been severed, but he thankfully had not been parasitized by the bloodworms.
"I didn't expect you to be so formidable, Brother. I haven't asked what your name is yet. The skill that released sunlight should be gold grade and above, right?"
Cohan also walked over with Mantha and said with a smile, "I was ignorant. I think it would be better if you became the captain. With you leading us, I believe we would have better chances of survival."
"I'm Chen Gou. Save the captain's position for yourself. I'm used to acting alone and I have an eccentric character. It would not be beneficial to anyone if we were forced to stick together."
Chen Gou rejected Cohan's suggestion while keeping his composure. When he looked behind the three of them, he asked in astonishment, "Where's Lilagh? How come I don't see him?"
The only person missing was the yellow-faced man, who was among the four who had advanced and retreated together.
Mantha said with a sad look, "After hearing your warning, we rushed out the door with all our might. We couldn't care about anything amid that chaos. Then, we were sent flying by the impact of the explosion and couldn't see a thing.
"We didn't see Lilagh when we came back to our senses. I guess he didn't rush out in time because of the evil spirits and got blown into pieces."
Someone was dead so soon?
Chen Gou's heart flashed with a trace of empathetic sorrow.
"There was too much noise earlier. We can't stay here anymore. Let's leave quickly and each find a safe place to spend the night."
Chen Gou shook his head. He had wasted nearly a minute talking with the other three, and they had to leave the place quickly, lest they were surrounded by zombies that came over due to the loud noise.
"Wait!"
Cohan suddenly stopped Chen Gou and said solemnly, "Brother Chen Gou, can you trade that silver-grade Skill Crystal if you don't particularly need it?"
Evidently, he had seen Chen Gou picking up the crystal previously. It was easy to distinguish the grade of Skill Crystals based on the color of their flare.
Chen Gou's eyes narrowed slightly. "Why do you need the Skill Crystal?"
Cohan answered, "My Awakening Level is currently at Level 4. If I'm lucky, I should be able to advance to Level 5 in this Abyssal World. I will need a powerful skill after I obtain a new skill slot. Given my background and strength, a silver-grade Skill Crystal should be the best I can get."
Chen Gou couldn't help but feel surprised upon hearing that. Since those with an Awakened Level below Level 5 only had an innate skill, there would basically not be much of a difference in their strength.
However, based on the fact that Cohan had been able to rise to this level despite being in his early twenties and was only participating in the Abyssal Assessment now, he should have made ample preparations.
"I have a drop of Magic Spring Water here. After you take it, it will turn into a golden Magic Origin Light in your body and randomly increase a specific attribute by 1 to 10 points. I'll exchange it for your Skill Crystal. How does that sound?"
Cohan took a thumb-sized clear glass bottle that was hidden in his chest, and a drop of golden liquid could be seen floating inside under the moonlight.
He actually had such a precious magical item?
The other three, including Chen Gou, were shocked on the spot.
Magic Spring Water was said to have come from a certain mysterious Abyssal World and was considered very rare. As Cohan had explained, it could permanently increase a certain attribute of an Awakener by a few points.
It was akin to leveling up by a few levels.
Even if it was only effective the first time it was used, it was still worth a lot.
When it was compared to a silver-grade Skill Crystal, the item with the higher value would be determined by the environment and the respective needs of both parties at the time of the trade.
Clearly, Cohan, who was only one level away from Level 5, urgently needed to have a satisfying Skill Crystal.
He could learn once he leveled up, and his combat power would instantaneously and significantly increase, which would be crucial in helping him through the Abyssal Assessment this time and even achieve excellent results.
On the other hand, Chen Gou didn't care much about the silver-grade Carrion Claws. He also didn't intend to use it himself or let the Radiant Dawn use it.
Relatively speaking, he preferred the familiar skills in the system's skill library.
Therefore, this Skill Crystal would likely be offered to the system in exchange for Magic Origin Points that he would use for a lucky draw.
Compared to that scenario, a drop of Magic Origin Spring Water would be significantly more useful to him now.
Most realistically, it could help his second primary attribute break through to 10 points. He would hence reach the first critical point.
"I can exchange it! Hope to see you again!"
Chen Gou exchanged the item with Cohan and made this win-win trade.
While holding the glass bottle in his hand, Chen Gou scanned it with the system. After confirming that it was Magic Origin Spring Water, he opened the bottle and swallowed the liquid down.
The golden liquid didn't even enter his throat before it directly turned into a warm force and entered his body. It then condensed into something similar to the Magic Origin Light at the dantian.
Based on my innate skills and attributes, I will definitely be walking down the enhancement path of a Mage. Therefore, theoretically, adding points to my Intelligence can maximize my strengths.
However, this is not a game. Having other low attributes could result in a fatal flaw, especially when Strength and HP are interrelated… It's necessary to increase my Strength and raise my HP limit now!
At this thought, Chen Gou added the power of the Magic Origin Spring Water to his Strength.
"System notification: The host has used Magic Origin Spring Water. Strength has randomly increased by 4 points."
F*ck!
Chen Gou felt his heart sink. Theoretically, he could add 1 to 10 points randomly to one of his attributes, but he had ended up getting only 4 points, which was even less than average.
Most importantly, his initial Strength had been 5 points and it was stuck at 9 points after the addition of the 4 points.
Thus, Chen Gou had to use the Magic Origin Light that he had condensed after leveling up on his Strength. After adding 2 more points, he finally broke through the barrier of 10 points.
A system notification about breaking through and achieving sublimation rang out…
-- Gift
received