Chapter 44: Overdraft
In the inner hall on the second floor of the ancient castle within the Lord's Manor, flames crackled in the fireplace. After receiving a notification, Su Xiao took a silver sealed box from his storage space. The blood patterns on its surface had vanished, indicating it was now openable.
As he opened the box, specks of silvery moonlight drifted out. Looking inside, a semi-fluid mass of metal floated within the box. This mass of semi-fluid metal was silver-gray, giving off an ancient, burned-like feel. Upon touching it, Su Xiao checked its properties.
[Silver. Moonlight (3/3 Set)]
Origin: Void · Slinthas Dwarves.
Quality: Origin Level · Set (Unique · Not Fully Awakened)
Category: Ring/Badge/Pendant.
Equipment Requirements: Silver. Moon Wolf / Shadow of Law Destruction, or passing the Wolf Trial.
Equipment Form: Not yet switched. Can choose one of three forms: "Wolf Ring," "Deep Blue Badge," or "Moon Heart Pendant."
Set Effect (Activated).
Set Effect 1, Technique Soul (Passive): The damage rank of all technique-type abilities is increased by +1, and they are imbued with one of three effects: "Sharpness," "Heavy Strike," or "Absolute Penetration."
Sharpness Effect (Triggered by Blade Masters, Sword Grandmasters, etc.): After dealing damage to an enemy with a melee weapon, the enemy's body defense is reduced by 10 points. This effect can stack up to five layers (This is a high-priority absolute reduction; even the body defense of a Supreme Strong cannot negate this reduction).
Hint: If this equipment is in "Wolf Ring" form, the defense reduction increases from 10 points to 15 points (maximum stack of 75 points).
Heavy Strike Effect (Triggered by Melee, Brawl Grandmasters, etc.): Attacking an enemy using one's own body as a weapon triggers this effect. The damage intensity of such attacks is increased by 10% to 15%.
Hint: If this equipment is in "Deep Blue Badge" form, the damage intensity bonus increases from 10% to 15%, to 15% to 23%.
Absolute Penetration Effect (Triggered by Energy, Element Grandmasters, etc.): When attacking an enemy with energy, it carries an energy penetration intensity equal to the level of this technique ability (increases energy penetration intensity by 70 points).
Hint: If this equipment is in "Moon Heart Pendant" form, the energy penetration intensity increases from 70 points to 110 points.
Set Effect 2, Abyss Warden (Passive): Your damage dealt to Abyss units is increased by 20% (This bonus is ineffective against a certain Abyss unit).
Set Effect 3, Battle Awakening (Passive): This set is in an incompletely awakened stage. Each time you fight a life-or-death battle against a powerful enemy, this set will awaken to a certain degree.
Set Effect 4, Perfect Parry (Core · Passive): Your parries with melee weapons are considered Perfect Parries. Each level of technique-type ability you possess increases the Block Correction by 1 point. Current Block Correction: 218 points.
Hint: The cooldown for Perfect Parry is 10 seconds.
Hint: Perfect Parry cannot completely resist the impact damage and energy damage from enemy attacks, but within the Block Correction range, you will definitely not have your guard broken.
Rating: 3000+++++ (Origin Level equipment rating is 1500~3000 points).
Selling Price: Unsellable after equipping.
……
The "Technique Soul" effect of Set Effect 1 is actually easy to understand. For Su Xiao, it means blade slashes reduce defense, increase the power of his straight kicks, and enhance the penetration of his Blood Smoke Cannon.
However, the form of the set can enhance these three characteristics. While the "Wolf Ring" form is good, the problem is that Su Xiao is already wearing the [Divine Judgment] ring. Everyone indeed has ten fingers, but there is only one ring equipment slot. Wearing two rings simultaneously would indeed allow both to take effect, but the key issue is the mutual interference and stability of their abilities.
No one can be sure that the characteristics of [Divine Judgment] and [Wolf Ring] won't interfere with each other. If they interfere immediately upon wearing, that's actually manageable. The fear is that they are fine when first worn, but during a life-or-death battle against a powerful enemy, they suddenly start interfering, putting Su Xiao in grave danger.
Therefore, Su Xiao chose the "Deep Blue Badge" form, which focuses on enhancing the power of his straight kicks. As he made his choice, the Moonlight Set transformed into the "Deep Blue Badge" form. This made it convenient to wear; he set it in the badge equipment slot and could hang it anywhere on his person as an accessory.
The second effect of the Moonlight Set is simple and brutal: increasing damage against Abyssal creatures. The third effect is equally practical; as long as he fights strong enemies, this item can grow.
The most powerful effect is actually Set Effect 4, "Perfect Parry." At first glance, this ability seems like just a parry bonus, but if one understands what Parry Correction, or Block Correction, is, they would certainly not think so.
The Block Correction of this ability is calculated by adding up the total levels of all Su Xiao's technique abilities: Blade Grandmaster Lv.74 + Melee Grandmaster Lv.74 + Blood Spear Grandmaster Lv.70 = 218 levels of technique ability.
To put it simply, this 218-point Block Correction means that as long as the difference in the Strength attribute between Su Xiao and his enemy does not exceed 218 points, then any melee attack or ranged single-target attack from the enemy, provided he successfully parries, will definitely not break his guard.
For example, in the previous battle against the Wolf God, as long as the Wolf God's Strength attribute did not reach a terrifying 518 points or more, Su Xiao could use his own physique, along with the protective energy derived from his technique abilities, to successfully block that powerful slash.
Even if he suffered significant impact damage, causing his health to plummet by over 20%, this was far better than being one-shot through his defense. No, the two are simply incomparable.
Of course, this kind of parry does not come from power Su Xiao conjures out of thin air or some blessing from Paradise. It comes from mobilizing all the protective energy generated by his technique-type abilities within his body, temporarily enhancing his parrying and endurance capabilities, thereby blocking attacks that would have been absolutely impossible to block before.
However, this "Perfect Parry" ability is not without its drawbacks. The protective energy derived from Su Xiao's technique abilities within his body is limited. Therefore, this ability triggers once every 10 seconds. That is, after using the protective energy, it needs a 10-second buffer to re-accumulate within Su Xiao's body to a sufficient scale for one use of "Perfect Parry."
Furthermore, this "Perfect Parry" ability also consumes stamina. But compared to the benefits it brings, these drawbacks are negligible.
Another point is that if the enemy's powerful attack is a ranged single-target ability, the judgment is not between Su Xiao and the enemy, but between Su Xiao and this "powerful ranged ability." As long as this "powerful ranged ability" does not exceed his Parry Correction range, and his parry timing is correct, he can naturally block it.
This is the characteristic of the "Perfect Parry" ability. If the timing is chosen well, it is a divine skill. But if one cannot grasp the timing, the ability's effect is minimal. However, for Su Xiao, a Grandmaster of three techniques, controlling the timing is almost too easy.
Besides this, Su Xiao has an ability derived from his True Strength attribute that also synergizes well with "Perfect Parry," namely "Perfect Counter."
"Perfect Counter (Passive): During melee combat, if you successfully parry an enemy's attack and the difference in Strength attribute with the enemy is less than 20 points, you will negate the knockback effect, reduce the received impact damage by 83%, and generate a strength rebound. This will slightly knock back the enemy while temporarily reducing the enemy's Strength attribute by 5 points. This effect lasts for 6 minutes, has no trigger cooldown, and can stack up to three times. Each stack doubles the duration."
With the "Perfect Parry" ability, when Su Xiao blocks an attack from a powerful enemy, the Strength attribute judgment for "Perfect Counter" becomes a base judgment value of 300 + 218 points, compared against the enemy's Strength attribute. As long as the difference is less than 20 points, he can counter.
If the enemy's attack intensity is too fierce, the impact damage reduction from "Perfect Counter" will inevitably decrease significantly. An 83% reduction would be unlikely, but at least a 50% reduction should be possible.
As for whether it can temporarily reduce the enemy's Strength attribute, that remains to be tested. But that's not the main point. When facing enemies with extremely fierce attacks, "Perfect Parry" + "Perfect Counter" will definitely work wonders. Coupled with Su Xiao's core combat ability being Blade Grandmaster, the combination of these two abilities gives him the audacity to face the Abyssal Greatsword in the Wolf God's hand head-on.
Besides blocking melee attacks, Su Xiao even considered blocking Sefeiliya's Light Element ultimate move. Although it would be extremely dangerous, there was a non-negligible chance of success.
After careful consideration, Su Xiao decided not to try this until he became an Absolute Strong. Sefeiliya is different from conventional Spellcasters; her Light Element ability is more like a long-range physical system, barely related to magical damage. If he failed to block it, he would be done for.
After equipping the "Moonlight Set," Su Xiao could clearly feel the protective energy derived from his technique-type abilities. This energy existed before, but he couldn't mobilize it.
Leaning back in his seat, Su Xiao began to contemplate his subsequent plans. After killing the Soul Reaper and visiting the Wolf Grave, half of his purpose in this world was achieved. The remaining two tasks were rescuing the Dwarf King and killing an Absolute Strong Spellcaster.
Regarding the competition for the "Initial Mark" fragments, there was no need to worry. He just had to wait for the clash of the titans. After consulting, Su Xiao learned that he couldn't bring the Beast Clan army to participate in the clash of titans because they couldn't enter the temporary notarization area.
The most urgent matter was rescuing the Dwarf King. Su Xiao didn't have a particularly good plan for this. The Dwarf King was in the Sea Clan main city, Yatuo Ancient City, specifically in the inner city's workshop district. The defensive strength there was terrifyingly tight.
After learning that Su Xiao's follower, Bubuteni, had arrived in this world, they had set up corresponding defensive measures. Within a few kilometers around the workshop district, invisible soul threads were laid. If anything touched these soul threads, it would be immediately corroded by soul poison and die within a short time.
This naturally wouldn't stop Bubu Wang. What actually blocked him was the Resonance Formation. Bubu Wang is most afraid of one type of attack: continuous, high-frequency attacks. There is a non-negligible chance that this would force him out of his environmental integration.
Furthermore, as the tech dog of Su Xiao's team, Bubu Wang's prolonged absence would cause many inconveniences. For example, the high-tech equipment in the team storage space was difficult for others to use.
Fortunately, there was another candidate for scouting the Sea Clan main city. Su Xiao had previously visited the Soul Library, where the administrator proxy, the little elf Popoli, mentioned something: his younger brother was very skilled at infiltration and assassination.
Who was Popoli's younger brother? Naturally, it was the Irritable Little Elf, the elf race's quality representative who could go toe-to-toe with Baha.
Su Xiao took out [Elf Will]. This full-rating, Origin-level, Charm-type equipment was truly hard to describe.
[Elf Will]
Category: Gloves (Extremely Rare)
Equipment Requirements: True Charm 230 points or more, True Intelligence 200 points or more.
Equipment Effect: Elf Contract (Core · Active), Summons a random support-type elf to assist you in battle. The assistance duration depends on your compatibility with the elf, minimum 24 natural days.
Hint: Only one little elf can be summoned at a time, and over 99% of little elves are polite and friendly.
Introduction: A reliable and friendly ally.
……
Su Xiao put it on his right hand. The leather glove was exceptionally tight, feeling almost like a medical rubber glove. Clearly, this glove was designed for those frail summoners.
Snap~
Su Xiao released the edge of the glove, equipping it successfully. The equipment's durability immediately dropped from 80 points to 78 points, and then continued to decrease at a rate of 1 point every 10 seconds. This wasn't a problem; he could take it off once the summoning was complete.
As Su Xiao activated the equipment, a spatial vortex appeared in front of him. The next second, a figure flew out from within, rolling a few times on the table, covered in foam.
This time, the Irritable Little Elf wasn't wearing leather clothes studded with metal spikes. To be precise, he wasn't wearing anything at the moment. However, his ears were still full of small earrings, and his neck and arms had tattooed marks that enhanced abilities. From his defiant expression, it was clear this little elf was not to be trifled with.
The Irritable Little Elf, Diagu, was completely bewildered after being summoned. The foam on his head hadn't even been rinsed off. He instinctively picked up a towel from the table and draped it over himself, looking somewhat flustered. Understandably, anyone who was singing a dirty song while bathing and suddenly got summoned to a strange place would be bewildered and flustered.
After a while, the Irritable Little Elf, Diagu, who was soaking in a wooden washbasin like a hot spring, let out a long sigh and asked with a hint of roguishness, "Alright, what do you want from me?"
The Irritable Little Elf, Diagu's dead-fish eyes, combined with his naturally smoky eye shadow, made him look like a misguided juvenile delinquent. It was hard to believe he was one of the princes of the Elf Kingdom.
"Go scout someone's situation. I wonder if you dare to go."
"Tch, is there any place I don't dare to go?"
The Irritable Little Elf, Diagu, crossed his legs, a hint of disdain on his face.
"This is the Wind Sea Continent. My target is in the Sea Clan main city."
Hearing Su Xiao's words, Diagu's disdain subsided a bit. He hesitated, wanting to refuse. But for so long, even if some unlucky Elf Summoner summoned him, they would end up trembling with anger and canceling the summoning spell because they couldn't out-curse him. Apart from taking assassination contracts, this was the first time a summoner had given him a task.
But going to the Sea Clan main city, specifically the most heavily guarded workshop district, was too difficult. Even for the Irritable Little Elf, Diagu, there was no absolute certainty. At most, a seventy percent success rate.
The Irritable Little Elf, Diagu, said "wait a moment" and opened a summoning channel, entering it. When he returned, he was wearing the leather clothes studded with metal spikes, had styled a Mohawk haircut, and carried a 30-centimeter-long spike gun on his back.
"I'll take this job. Let's talk about the reward."
The Irritable Little Elf, Diagu, kicked a teacup, flipping it upside down, then sat on the inverted cup's bottom, crossing his legs with a half-smile. The meaning was clear: he was inviting Baha for a spar. Baha made a middle-finger claw gesture.
"……"
Su Xiao didn't speak. He just took out a bottle of [Elf Secret Medicine] and placed it on the table.
The Irritable Little Elf, Diagu, clicked his tongue. Although he desperately wanted it, he said hypocritically, "Just this reward, and you want…"
He was about to inflate his own price, but Su Xiao took out a whole pack, twelve bottles of [Elf Secret Medicine], and placed them on the table. This made Diagu unconsciously straighten his sitting posture, but he still refused to admit defeat, saying, "Not bad, has some sincerity. Wait for my good news."
The Irritable Little Elf, Diagu, leaped from the table and was instantly outside the window. When he was over ten meters away from Su Xiao, Su Xiao noticed the little elf's aura began to blur and then disappeared.
Su Xiao naturally wouldn't place all his hopes on a little elf he was cooperating with for the first time. He had already ordered Ergin to capture the "Crystal Forest" as quickly as possible, then head towards the Sea Clan's "Ancestral Lighthouse." This would attract the attention of the Sea King and the Council of Elders, facilitating the rescue of the Dwarf King.
If there was really no opportunity, he would resort to the ultimate measure: assassinating the Sea King to draw the attention of all Sea Clan high-ranking officials, then seize the chance to rescue the Dwarf King from the workshop district.
While contemplating this, Su Xiao suddenly noticed a massive eruption of silver moonlight within his storage space. Upon checking, he found that [Silver Moon Blade] had completed its upgrade.
[Silver Moon Blade]
Origin: Overlord Creature · Silver. Moon Wolf
Quality: Overlord Level.
Category: Sub-equipment
Durability: 3/3 points.
Equipment Requirements: Using this equipment has a chance to temporarily transform into a Moon Wolf during battle (Moon Wolf transformation will be subject to energy invasion).
Hint: Due to the Hunter's personal circumstances, this effect is permanently invalid.
Equipment Effect: Moon Oath (Active), Use this blade to cut your palm. If the equipment requirements are met, you will not suffer substantial damage. For the subsequent 30 minutes, the weapon you wield will be imbued with the "Moon Blade" effect.
Moon Blade (Passive): For 30 minutes, increase weapon sharpness by 150 points, increase weapon attack power by 45 points.
Hint: Each time you imbue your weapon with the "Moon Blade" effect, your weapon will permanently gain 50 points of sharpness and 15 points of attack power.
Hint: The upper limit of this enhancement depends on the weapon being enhanced (Estimated for Dragon-Slaying Flash · Origin Level, it can permanently gain 300~450 points of sharpness and over 120 points of weapon attack power through this characteristic).
Hint: Each use of 'Moon Oath (Active)' consumes 1 point of this equipment's durability. When this equipment's durability reaches zero, it will not shatter. After being bathed in moonlight, its durability will gradually recover.
Warning: If the equipment requirements are not met, each 'Blade Cut' to imbue the Moon Blade effect will permanently reduce the user's maximum health by 5% (The Hunter is a Shadow of Law Destruction and has met this equipment's requirements).
Rating: 6000 points (Overlord Level equipment rating is 1~6000 points).
Introduction: We are willing to use moonlight to illuminate the darkest abyss for you, hoping you will be safe and sound.
Price: Unsellable.
……
Currently, Dragon-Slaying Flash has 1012 points of sharpness and 594~698 points of attack power. Normally, a weapon's sharpness is one-third of its attack power, with good ones reaching half. As for weapons where sharpness exceeds attack power, judging from the slightly puzzled look of the Demon Blacksmith last time, such weapons should be rare.
Now that [Silver Moon Blade] has reached the first-tier Overlord equipment, it can permanently enhance the sharpness of Dragon-Slaying Flash. This is undoubtedly good news. Moreover, judging from the properties, it seems that when Dragon-Slaying Flash is upgraded to a higher quality, [Silver Moon Blade]'s enhancement to it will be even greater.
Putting away [Silver Moon Blade], Su Xiao took a [Gloomy Chest] from the team storage space. This time, using the World Thunder to clear the dark creatures on Floating Light Island yielded a total of 865 [Gloomy Chests]. It was time to open them.
However, there was a problem. Su Xiao obtained these 865 [Gloomy Chests] through the World Thunder, and World Thunder is related to Luck attributes and fortune. Under normal circumstances, Su Xiao wouldn't have dropped so many [Gloomy Chests]. He borrowed the characteristics of the World Thunder to achieve this exaggerated drop rate.
Everything is relative. While obtaining this quantity of [Gloomy Chests], Su Xiao's fortune for the past day or two had been severely overdrawn. As a result, even if he used [Fate Dominator] to enhance his luck state now, it wouldn't achieve the effect of using this equipment normally. It would take a few days to recover.
Su Xiao picked up a [Gloomy Chest]. Seeing this, Bubu Wang, Amu, Baha, and Xianlulu all gathered around.
[You have opened the Gloomy Chest.]
[You have obtained Dark Stone.]
[Dark Stone]
Category: Curio.
Durability: 10/10 points.
Origin: Stone formed inside a dark creature.
Introduction: Can be thrown at enemies, thrilling and exciting.
……
Bubu Wang, Baha, and Amu all had normal expressions. Xianlulu's expression twisted. She really wanted to laugh, but was a bit afraid of Su Xiao, so she didn't dare, resulting in this funny face.
Su Xiao looked at the [Dark Stone] in his hand, knowing that his current fortune was not suitable for opening these [Gloomy Chests]. However, with his fortune over the past two days, rashly proceeding with the plan was too dangerous. It was better to figure out how to maximize the profit from these [Gloomy Chests].
Although Su Xiao couldn't open them himself, he could find someone else to do it, like Hao Mei. He had heard Hao Mei say more than once that she often bought chests to open and profited from it. Thinking about it, she must have some means in this regard.
He just contacted Hao Mei, and a few seconds later, she replied, guaranteeing that she would arrive at Mudong City via the teleportation tower within half an hour.
Hao Mei was very punctual. In less than 20 minutes, she knocked on the door of the flower room on the fourth floor of the ancient castle. Su Xiao, who was sitting cross-legged on the floor, opened his eyes.
Molei, Yueshitu, and Hao Mei entered the room one after another. Everyone was interested in opening chests.
"Bai Ye, I want a cut."
"……"
Su Xiao didn't speak. He just took out a [Gloomy Chest]. Hao Mei took the chest, used equipment to add buffs, took out various pendants, and finally, with a serious expression, opened the [Gloomy Chest] in her hand, making the opening notification public.
[Gloomy Chest opened.]
[Obtained Precipitated Glass × 1 piece.]
……
This gain made Su Xiao interested in the [Gloomy Chest]. He guessed he could get Abyss products from this thing, but he didn't expect to get Precipitated Glass. With enough Precipitated Glass, there were many good things to buy in the Abyss Shop.
"I only want the Precipitated Glass. Twenty percent of the other things go to you."
"Precipitated Glass goes to you. I want thirty percent of the other things. By the way, how many of these chests do you have…"
Before Hao Mei could finish her sentence, Su Xiao took out all 800+ [Gloomy Chests] from the team storage space, piling them into a huge heap.
"I... I'm screwed!"
Molei was shocked. She had never seen so many chests piled up together in her life.
"Alright, I take back what I said. Precipitated Glass goes to you. I'll take twenty percent of the other things."
With this quantity of chests, twenty percent of the proceeds excluding Precipitated Glass was already very generous.
Just as Hao Mei took out several more accessories to add buffs to herself, Molei picked up a [Gloomy Chest] and asked, "Can I open one?"
"……"
Su Xiao didn't speak, which was taken as tacit consent.
Molei casually opened the [Gloomy Chest]. The next second, golden light burst forth.
[Gloomy Chest opened.]
[Obtained Precipitated Glass × 12 pieces.]
[Obtained Soul Coin Pouch × 1 piece.]
……
Molei held a piece of Precipitated Glass with a normal expression, even looking at it against the light. But soon, she noticed the atmosphere was off. Looking around at the others, she said, "What are you looking at me for? It's normal for three or four chests to flash once when opening them, isn't it?"
Hearing this, Yueshitu, Hao Mei, Bubu Wang, Amu, Baha, and Xianlulu all fell into confusion. They looked at each other, then became even more confused. Su Xiao also didn't speak, because this question had truly entered his realm of ignorance.
PS: (Sunday, rest for a day to prevent old illness from recurring. Please understand, dear readers.)