Chapter 81: The Candidates
The Guardian Gloves and the 10 Guardian Charms had quite an interesting combined effect. The strongest piece, the Silver Heart, was completely useless on its own, but with enough Guardian Charms, the Silver Heart became exceptionally powerful.
There was no rush to sell the Guardian Gloves. Su Xiao planned to use them for a while first. If they truly didn't suit him, he would consider selling them later.
After putting the gloves on his right hand, he absolutely could not use that hand to grip a blade while fighting a powerful enemy. The Guardian Gloves would most likely be destroyed.
There was still no news from the Witch. Su Xiao decided to continue waiting in the forge.
"Bai Ye, watch the forge for me. If anyone comes, chase them away."
Leaving these words, Reid headed to the back room to consult those ancient forging texts.
Su Xiao took an item from his storage space. It was only one-fifth of the Origin Stone: World. Staring at it for a moment, he seemed to see an endless sea of stars within, making one involuntarily lost in it.
[Origin Stone: World (1/5)]
Origin: Reincarnation Paradise
Type: Special Equipment
Durability: 9500/9500
Equipment Effect: World (Passive) – If the Hunter carries the Origin Stone: World, it greatly enhances the understanding of existence such as the world, nature, environment, and space.
Hint: The development speed of Blade Techniques has been greatly boosted by this effect.
Hint: The improvement speed of Heart Meditation has been greatly boosted by this effect.
Hint: The level-up speed of the Instinct ability is increased by 5 times.
Hint: Basic Passive: Recovery (Passive X) has been boosted by this effect. After the Hunter trains or fights, this ability has a chance to reach a Super-Limit level.
Hint: Carrying this item for a long time can increase the Willpower attribute.
Description: There is no clear conclusion yet on what caused such a wondrous item to be born.
Selling Price: Do not sell or lose this item. If the Hunter dies, Reincarnation Paradise will reclaim this item.
...
Even just one-fifth had this effect. If the Origin Stone: World were collected in its entirety, its effect would surely reach a terrifying degree.
Alternatively, perhaps because the Origin Stone: World was currently incomplete, its truly powerful abilities had yet to be revealed. As for collecting the complete Origin Stone: World, Su Xiao had no such thoughts at this stage. The dangers involved were too many, and it would require almost heaven-defying luck.
Su Xiao checked the items in his storage space. He still had 3 Holy Spirit-grade Divine Bones unused, which could upgrade one Epic-grade equipment to Holy Spirit-grade. This made Su Xiao hesitate, wondering which Epic-grade equipment would be most suitable to upgrade.
After some inspection, Su Xiao decided to upgrade [Killing Instinct (Epic Grade)]. This was a belt he had obtained in the One Piece world.
This equipment was very special. Su Xiao felt that even at higher ranks, this equipment would not be phased out. Most belt-type equipment came with defensive abilities, such as knockback pulses. Su Xiao didn't need that kind of ability. When he fought, he had to get close to the enemy. How could he knock them away? [Killing Instinct] was not that type of equipment.
He synthesized the three Holy Spirit-grade Divine Bones. After unequipping [Killing Instinct], Su Xiao pressed the gelatinous Holy Spirit Miracle onto it.
[Holy Spirit Miracle (Holy Spirit Grade) has been consumed.]
[Hint: Killing Instinct is being upgraded. Due to the characteristics and rarity of this equipment, it will default to a full rating after the upgrade. Estimated completion time: 16 minutes and 27 seconds.]
Seeing this prompt, Su Xiao was not surprised. The characteristic of [Killing Instinct] was exactly this. It didn't boost combat power, yet it was crucial.
While waiting, Su Xiao decided to use the 3 Golden Skill Points. He hadn't used them before because he had upgraded too many abilities in the Skill Upgrade Pod and needed time to adapt.
Consuming the 3 Golden Skill Points, Su Xiao frowned deeply. Upgrading the Azure Shadow King ability was always an unforgettable experience. After so long, he had gotten somewhat used to it.
The Cyan Steel Shadow Energy within Su Xiao's body nearly went berserk, surging through him continuously. This process lasted for nearly an hour before finally stopping.
[Azure Shadow King has been upgraded to Lv.26.]
[Azure Shadow King: Lv.26 (Ultimate Skill)]
Effect 1 (Shadow Hunt: Passive): The intensity of Cyan Steel Shadow Energy is increased. True Damage dealt is increased by 18% (increased by 9%).
Effect 2 (Azure Shadow King: Active)...
...
The pain throughout Su Xiao's body subsided. He picked up the sharkskin belt in front of him. The quality of [Killing Instinct] had been upgraded.
[Killing Instinct]
Origin: One Piece
Quality: Holy Spirit Grade
Category: Belt (Sharkskin)
Durability: 99/99 (increased by 6 points)
Equipment Requirement: True Agility 195 points or more, Willpower 102 points or more.
Equipment Effect: Instinct Activation (Special Skill) – Upon wearing this equipment, a Willpower check will be performed. If successful, the 'Instinct Activation (Passive)' effect will be activated. If failed, the 'Instinct Killing (Active)' state will be entered, lasting for 10 hours. After the 'Instinct Killing (Active)' state ends, this equipment can never be worn again.
Instinct Activation (Passive): Greatly increases the growth speed of the wearer's perception-type abilities.
Hint: Detected that the compatibility between Instinct Activation (Passive) and the Instinct ability has reached 92%. The improvement speed of the Instinct ability is increased by 3 to 45 times (45 times during combat, 24 times in dangerous environments, 3 times in safe environments).
Rating: 1000 points (Holy Spirit Grade equipment rating is 700 to 1000 points)
Description: Kill them all!
Price: Cannot be sold after wearing.
...
That's right. The purpose of [Killing Instinct] was to enhance the Instinct ability. It was important to note that the Instinct ability could not be upgraded in the Skill Upgrade Hall. Some rare scrolls and items that increased skill levels were also ineffective against the Instinct ability.
Currently, Su Xiao had two methods to improve his Instinct: [Killing Instinct] + [Origin Stone: World]. Even if Su Xiao did nothing, his Instinct improvement speed was 8 times faster than others.
Last time he met with Sha, for some unknown reason, she insisted on seeing Su Xiao's Instinct ability data. Normally, this was a major taboo, but since Su Xiao's Instinct ability was taught by Sha, there was no such concern.
After Sha checked Su Xiao's Instinct ability, her expression was complex. That look of 'envy, jealousy, and hatred' in her eyes, Su Xiao still remembered it. In the end, Sha didn't have the nerve to ask how Su Xiao had managed it.
After waiting a bit longer, the Witch finally sent a message. This was a major characteristic of the Witch. She was extremely reliable in whatever she did. Once she agreed to something, even if she suffered a loss in the process, she would complete it with tears in her heart. As for efficiency, that was not worth mentioning. It was even slower than her speech.
Leaving Reid's forge, Su Xiao arrived at the meeting point with the Witch. The Witch was dressed as usual, wearing a pointed witch's hat made of very soft fabric.
"Waited... long, huh."
The Witch winked her left eye and walked into a two-story building behind her.
Following the Witch into a side hall, there were three people in the room. A man and a woman both stood up. As for the last person, it was impossible to tell their gender, but they also stood up.
"This is An, this is Wu Mei, and the last one is You You An."
As the Witch spoke, none of the three said a word. Although the Witch occasionally got beaten up around Su Xiao, within the Travel Group, aside from a few members, the others were quite wary of her.
Suppose someone offended Gulu. Gulu would put on a cold little face and kill the offending member. If someone offended the Witch, nothing would show on the surface. She would still smile, but before long, the person who offended her would die in a bizarre 'accident'.
An was a First Rank Contractor. From the smile on his face, he was a reserve Old Yinbi.
Wu Mei was a Second Rank Contractor. From her demeanor, she was a relatively straightforward type.
Finally, the gender-indeterminate You You An was also a First Rank Contractor. He/She was standing behind the other two, clearly having been lectured by the other two members before Su Xiao arrived.
"Bai Ye, choose for yourself."
The Witch's gaze swept over the three. At this moment, she didn't know which of the three would be chosen. This was more exciting than hitting the jackpot.