Even as the flames dissipated, Abby, Caitlin, and the others remained enveloped in sheer astonishment.
The ground was now laden with spoils of war… from bronze coins to various items and equipment.
Given they had defeated Silver-grade BOSS, among which some were even of Gold-grade stature, how could the rewards possibly be meager?
Taking a moment to scan his surroundings, Howard, feeling no more watchful eyes upon him, promptly stepped forward to claim his hard-earned treasures.
Aisha murmured, “He’s just too powerful… What kind of skill level is this?”
“SS-level skill! It has to be at least an SS-level skill!” Glyn exclaimed in excitement. “I’ve never seen such a skill before. Could it be that Howard crafted this SS-level skill himself?”
“A self-created SS-level skill?” Caitlin’s radiant eyes instantly fixated on Howard, shimmering with intrigue.
Glyn remarked with a sense of wonder, “I remember the last time Howard unleashed a skill. In a blink, the world turned bitterly cold, and the shadow of the Winter Goddess emerged. With just a single strike, he annihilated the Extraplanar creatures!”
“What?” Aisha responded, her voice edged with surprise. “Howard has mastered other SS-level skills as well?”
From a distance, Daniel was equally taken aback by Glyn’s revelation.
Many awakened at levels 70 or even 80 might not even possess a single SS-level skill.
Yet Howard, having only awakened his talents half a month ago, had already mastered three SS-level skills.
To call him a prodigy would be an understatement.
In Daniel’s eyes, the only fitting description for Howard was nothing short of ‘phenomenal’.
“Just a few SS-level skills, what’s all the fuss about?” Hearing the chatter of the group, Howard couldn’t help but chuckle. “Instead of wasting time on this, we should be collecting the spoils of war. Look around, this hall isn’t just one level. Once we’ve gathered the loot, we should continue upstairs!”
At Howard’s words, the cheeks of Abby, Caitlin, and the others turned a subtle shade of pink. Their blush wasn’t from shyness, but rather from embarrassment!
The BOSS had fallen at Howard’s hand, yet while they stood gossiping, he was the one gathering the treasures. Their own inaction left them feeling rather sheepish.
[Ding! Congratulations to awakened Howard for obtaining the Vampire CloakX1! ]
[Ding! Congratulations to awakened Howard for obtaining bronze coinX76! ]
[Ding! Congratulations to awakened Howard for obtaining silver coinX23! ]
[Ding! Congratulations to awakened Howard for obtaining B-level skill book—Life DrainX1! ]
[Ding! Congratulations to awakened Howard for… ]
[…]
With Abby, Caitlin, and the others joining the effort to gather the spoils, it didn’t take long before the ground was swept clean of loot.
The spoils were abundant.
Apart from a smattering of Silver-grade and Bronze-grade equipment, there were materials.
However, vampires being such a rare creature, the materials they dropped were limited to Vampire Fangs and Vampire Cloaks.
These didn’t seem to be of much use, and Howard doubted they would fetch a handsome price on the market.
The real surprise lay in the skill books!
After Howard, Abby, and the others took stock of their haul, they were astonished to find that they had obtained seven B-level skill books and thirteen C-level skill books.
Particularly notable was a skill that had been dropped by a vampire BOSS—Life Drain!
This skill allowed the user to remotely drain the HP of a target, converting a portion of it into their own HP.
If the target couldn’t interrupt the skill within 3 seconds, they would even be rendered weak for a whopping 60 seconds.
It not only inflicted damage but also imposed a debilitating condition, making it incredibly versatile!
Had it not been for Abby, Caitlin, and the others being present, Howard might have considered merging Life Drain to obtain an even more potent skill.
The C-level skills that had dropped were also quite valuable. Three of them were popular skills: Wind Blade Spell, Zephyr Spell, and Radiant Rainfall.
The Wind Blade Spell was a single-target offensive skill, Zephyr Spell bestowed a movement speed boost on the awakened, while Radiant Rainfall provided group healing!
Without hesitation, Howard gave the Radiant Rainfall skill book to Aisha and claimed the Wind Blade Spell and Zephyr Spell skill books for himself.
In an instant, his own prowess experienced a noticeable boost. .𝒎
As for the remaining ten skill books, they didn’t resonate with Howard and his team.
They were either the assassin’s Stealth Skill or related to the shield bearer and knight professions.
The five decided to stash them away with the intention of selling them once they departed from the Ruins.
Even when the earnings from the sale were divided five ways, Howard was poised to make a considerable profit.
After all, he was not only the discoverer of the Ruins but also a key team member.
If he didn’t claim a significant share, both Abby and Caitlin would be the first to object.
If he didn’t take the lion’s share, neither Glyn nor Aisha would dare to claim their portion!
“The rewards from these Ruins are truly magnificent!” Aisha remarked, after mastering the Radiant Rainfall, her voice filled with awe. “I’m now even more eager to discover what ultimate prize these Ruins hold for us.” .
Hearing Aisha’s musings, Howard couldn’t help but chuckle, “Why wait in anticipation? Let’s forge ahead and claim all the treasures for ourselves! I came to the Castle of Vampires with three objectives in mind: to conquer, to burn, and to plunder!”
As his laughter faded, Howard, always leading the charge, confidently ascended the staircase.
With the allure of such bountiful spoils, Abby, Caitlin, Aisha, and Glyn were no longer burdened by fear.
They too, with smiles on their faces, quickly followed suit.
And as for Daniel? They scarcely spared him a thought. The danger had been averted, so who needed Daniel now?
Upon reaching the second floor, the group of five, led by Howard, immediately turned their attention to the walls, the eerie portraits from before still fresh in their minds.
Indeed, the hall of the second floor was no different.
The walls were adorned with numerous lifelike portraits.
This time, without a doubt, they surmised that each depicted a vampire.
Earlier, they had been unaware of this detail, which had inadvertently led them into a vampire ambush.
Having learned from their past mistake, they were naturally more cautious.
Even if these monsters possessed some level of intelligence, they were, after all, vampires.
Typically, their souls lay dormant.
As long as one didn’t venture into their attack radius, they wouldn’t be disturbed.
Even amidst the chaos of battle, as long as they stayed out of the vampires’ range, they would remain safe.
“Abby, use your bow to target the first portrait on the left. Let’s draw that vampire out!”
Howard’s gaze sharpened as he quickly gave the order.
The reach of an archer’s attack was slightly farther than that of a magus.
However, in terms of damage output, the archer was slightly inferior to the magus.
In this digitalized world, which wasn’t just a game and lacked official adjustments to balance out classes, each class had its strengths and weaknesses.
None was inherently better than the other.
Abby, always heeding Howard’s instructions, promptly nocked her arrow and aimed at the targeted portrait.
The moment the arrow’s whooshing sound rang out, the sharp projectile buried itself into the wall, eliciting a pained cry from within the portrait.
Moments later, the portrait contorted and a figure emerged straight from the wall.
Floating in mid-air, this vampire differed from the ones on the first floor.
Apart from its cloak, it wore a bow tie, and its clothing bore distinct markings and patterns.
However, Caitlin, Aisha, and Glyn remained unflustered.
A single vampire boss, given their strength, was manageable.
Their prior anxiety had only been due to the sudden appearance of hundreds of bosses all at once.
With a flick of his wand in his right hand, a blazing fireball appeared before Howard. He fixed his gaze on the vampire boss, sharing its attributes for everyone to see.
?[Vampire Viscount Nick] (BOSS)
[Level: 45]
[Grade: Gold]
[Description: A lower-class noble residing in the outer regions of the Castle of Vampires. After millennia without blood servants, they can hardly be considered nobility anymore. ]
[HP: 78000/78000]
[Attack Power: 4100– 4806]
[Defense Value: 2230]
[Skills: Life Drain, Hemotoxin, Blood Bat Strike, Blink]
“!!!”
“We faced a Silver-grade Baron before, and now it’s escalated to a Gold-grade Viscount. It seems the higher the floor or the deeper we venture into the castle, the stronger the vampire bosses become.”
The group was confident in their own strength and surely didn’t fear bosses of a higher level or grade.
On the contrary, they wished for even more high-level bosses.
After all, with Daniel by their side, even if they were ultimately outmatched, they could still conquer these ruins!
With the rousing of Vampire Viscount Nick, the battle was ignited once more.
However, in their effort to avoid alerting the other vampires, Howard and his team found themselves treading more cautiously.
It wasn’t until Howard and Glyn managed to restrain Vampire Viscount Nick that Caitlin seized her opportunity.
With a flurry of movements, her blade slashed repeatedly in quick succession, each slash radiating an aura resembling elusive phantoms, striking Nick time after time.
His health bar plummeted rapidly.
And that wasn’t even accounting for Howard’s supplemental attacks.
At this moment, Howard wielded three fundamental attack skills: Fireball, Wind Blade Spell, and Frost Arrow Spell.
Though he couldn’t unleash these skills continuously, the intervals between them were minimal, ensuring his damage output remained impressively formidable!
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