After setting the voice messages for his projection, Mike decided to leave the Tower of Truth matters aside. There was no time to grind for an SSSS rating on the Fifteenth Floor.
After tonight, the great battle would begin. Seizing the last opportunity, Mike needed to become as strong as possible!
He made another trip to the Trade Secret Realm, where Foreskin was still waiting for him.
“Fourth brother.”
Without wasting words, Foreskin presented two items.
“This is the skeleton of a Chaos Claw Tiger, sent by Maxen Stoneheart.”
An SSS-grade material, which Mike could use to repair Nightmare’s Breeze. The related costs had already been paid.
In his right hand, Foreskin held a redwood box. Opening a small gap, lightning flickered inside.
“The seed inside is called [Tempestseed], an SSS-grade material, priced at 150 Battle Lord merits.”
[Tempestseed] Transplant Effect: When releasing lightning damage skills, there is a 30% chance to inflict [Intimidation] on the enemy, reducing their health recovery by 50% for 15 seconds. Cooldown: 300 seconds. Each additional SSS-grade seed transplanted reduces the cooldown by 50 seconds.
“Deal.”
Mike didn’t waste time haggling. They were familiar enough that Foreskin’s prices were already the lowest.
Besides, good SSS-grade materials were hard to come by. [Tempestseed] was a perfect match for Mike’s lightning abilities. Even if it couldn’t kill enemies with high lightning resistance, the [Intimidation] effect was still valuable.
After the transaction, Mike bought some life-saving items.
“Decoy Dolls, these are good, give me a dozen.”
“Death Immunity Amulets, only one can be worn every 24 hours, I’ll take ten.”
“Battle Lord-level forbidden spell scrolls, let me see, already bought over a hundred, don’t buy too many, I’ll take all of these.”
“….”
Besides life-saving items, Mike also upgraded his equipment. He replaced his robe, boots, bracers, and gloves with a level 100 set—the Black Soul Set (five pieces).
Collecting the set triggered the Black Soul Set effect: Soul element defense +1500, soul element skill effects received -15%.
As for rings, Mike initially planned to wear twenty, reasoning that with ten fingers and ten toes, twenty rings were reasonable.
Foreskin reminded Mike that ring equipment would interfere with each other, making it impossible to wear too many. Trying to wear rings on every finger and toe would render all rings ineffective, just like with robes, gloves, and other gear.
If stacking were possible, everyone would be walking around in a hundred pieces of armor for maximum defense.
In the end, Mike compromised, wearing one ring on each hand and foot, reducing from twenty to four.
“Let me think, what else do I need…”
Mike was very concerned about the upcoming battle. Safety first.
“Do you have earplugs, mouthguards, or similar equipment?”
Mike gestured, “Such items developed into equipment should have some effect, right?”
“We do have those…”
Foreskin took out a few items. Earplugs could slightly increase defense and reduce stun and fear effects. Mouthguards, mimicking vampire and werewolf teeth, had decent armor penetration effects.
“I’ll take them all.”
Truly armed to the teeth. After buying a bunch of miscellaneous items, Mike spent another 300 Battle Lord merits.
“Finally, a bit of a sense of security.”
With that, Mike left the Trade Secret Realm and returned to the Core City of Truth, leaving a bewildered Foreskin behind.
“A bit of a sense of security?”
With all the items Thor had bought, even a Battle Soldier, no, an ordinary person, could survive in the Abyssal Plane as long as they didn’t court death! And for Thor, it was just a bit of security?
…
Back in the Core City of Truth, Mike applied for an exclusive space at the Wolf’s Den front desk.
As Star Lone Wolf, he had SS-level permissions, with each exclusive space randomly assigned and uniquely identified. However, all guaranteed absolute confidentiality.
“Your room number is [SS-009], here’s the key.”
Entering SS-009, Mike laid the Chaos Claw Tiger skeleton on the ground. With Mike’s permission, Nightmare’s Breeze pounced on it, devouring the skeleton whole.
equipment: Nightmare’s Breeze (Lv.108)
Grade: SSS
Durability: 5.716%
Attributes: Agility +5716, Strength +5716, Constitution +5716
Physical/Magic Defense: 5716
Perks:
[I’m Broken]: Please fix me, I really miss being intact
[Picky Eater]: Consuming too many similar SSS-grade materials gradually weakens their repair effects
[Three Element Mastery]: Choose any three elements, all spell effects +57.16%
[Chaos Shift]: Each spell cast has a 5% chance to trigger Chaos Shift
[Cerberus Phantom]: Summon a Cerberus Phantom (Lv.108) to fight for you. After being defeated, it needs 25 minutes to recover before it can fight again.
[Chaos Claw Tiger’s Phantom]: Summon a Chaos Claw Tiger’s Phantom (Lv.108) to fight for you. After being defeated, it needs 25 minutes to recover before it can fight again.
After devouring the entire skeleton, Nightmare’s Breeze’s repair progress doubled! Besides adding the [Chaos Claw Tiger’s Phantom] perk, it also gained a new perk: [Chaos Shift].
Chaos Shift effects include four random outcomes:
1. The enemy’s next healing skill turns into damage. frёeωebɳovel.com
2. The enemy’s next damage skill turns into healing.
3. The enemy’s next physical damage received turns into magic damage.
4. The enemy’s next magic damage received turns into physical damage.
“Looks like a skill that can bring surprises.”
Mike felt a strange sense of resonance with [Chaos Shift], as if the skill could connect with his soul.
With Nightmare’s Breeze further enhanced, Mike’s attributes skyrocketed. His current attribute panel:
ID: Thor
Talent: Eye of Truth (SSS-grade)
Level: 108
Class: Stormwalker Magus (Wind, Fire, Lightning)
HP: 284,600/284,600
MP: 516,800/516,800
Strength: 2671 (+6291)
Intelligence: 6846 (+2260)
Spirit: 5437 (+1680)
Agility: 2168 (+6034)
Constitution: 2204 (+6187)
Luck: 12
Equipment: Force of Nature (+4), Nightmare’s Breeze, Thunderclap Hammer, Black Soul Set, etc.
Skills: Wind’s Reach, Meteor Fire Rain, Lightning Phantom Form, Void Tremor, etc.
Status: Potential Unleashed, Perfect Aim, etc.
Mike’s Intelligence and Strength attributes were nearing the 10,000 mark, comparable to high-tier Battle Generals. However, Battle Generals typically had higher levels. Once he completed three class changes, his attribute panel would undergo another significant boost, with level increases bringing even more attribute gains. The further he progressed, the greater the power increase.
The minimum attribute requirement for Battle Chief tier was level 600, with all five attributes exceeding 100,000. At level 600, participants completed their fifth class change, achieving another qualitative leap.
SS-grade class templates typically had attribute panels exceeding a million at level 600. With an SSS-grade class template, Mike’s attributes would be even higher.
Putting away the attribute panel, Mike summoned the Chaos Claw Tiger.
“Meow—”
A pitch-black feline creature appeared. Cerberus also took the opportunity to come out. Mike took the chance to scold it,
“Next time I say go, you go. Rushing out on your own is useless.”
Cerberus seemed to understand somewhat. It felt like this humanized master was a bit unfamiliar. Mike continued,
“When I need you as a meat shield, I won’t hesitate. Rushing out to die for nothing, what’s the point?”
Cerberus: …
At level 108, Cerberus and the Chaos Claw Tiger were quite strong, capable of facing high-tier Battle Generals. However, against Battle Chief-level opponents, they would still be outmatched.
Sending Cerberus and the Chaos Claw Tiger back into Nightmare’s Breeze, Mike experimented with various skills and newly purchased equipment and items. During this time, he received the personal reward for his SSSS-rated conquest.
“SSSS-rated conquest of the Thirteenth Floor, reward: [Shadow of Slaughter]”
[Shadow of Slaughter]: Entities you kill leave a shadow for you to command. The shadow has 5% of the original’s attributes and lasts for ten minutes. As a permanent buff, Shadow of Slaughter is effective outside the Tower of Truth as well.
Mike had deduced a pattern. SSSS-rated conquests granted four buffs to all humans, and one personal reward to Mike.
If Mike’s reward involved a permanent buff, the collective human reward likely wouldn’t include a permanent buff. The overall reward level maintained a dynamic balance.
“It’s 6:10.”
Mike stretched and returned to his dormitory.
“Shadow Nine, good morning.”
Mike looked at the ‘motionless’ camcorder on his desk and couldn’t help but roll his eyes. The old guy was so cautious? Mike didn’t believe Shadow Nine could resist watching!
“Kid, do I need to remind you what’s happening today?”
Mike: “Yes.”
A raspy voice came from the shadow,
“Today, the demon gods will fall!”