Chapter 24: Profession
[The Colosseum Equipment selection has been completed. Your consciousness is synchronizing with the Colosseum body…]
A vague sensation emerged. Su Xiao felt as if everything before him was separated by a layer of frosted glass, but as his senses recovered, the scene before him quickly became clear.
The cultivation pod opened, and the inert solution drained away. Su Xiao took a deep breath. Initially, his lungs felt a stinging discomfort from the air, but after a few breaths, he felt his condition gradually recover.
Weakness, an unparalleled sense of weakness washed over him. Yet upon closer examination, it wasn't the case. Having grown accustomed to his powerful original body, entering this Colosseum body with attributes in the teens inevitably created an illusion of weakness. In reality, this body was at its peak.
A robe gradually formed. For the Void Tree's notarization, this was nothing. Su Xiao soon found himself clad in a white robe, with a golden secret technique pattern on his back. This mark represented his profession: Secret Technique Hunter.
[Your Colosseum Equipment has been formed.]
[Origin Stone: World]
Origin: Void Tree.
Category: Colosseum Equipment: Accessory.
Equipment Effect: Growth Enhancement (Passive): Body Energy +5000 points. When using a skill, there is a 15% chance to refresh the cooldown of all skills (including ultimate skills).
Tip: This trait has growth potential. For every level you increase, this ability's Body Energy bonus increases by +300 points, and the skill refresh probability increases by +0.3%.
...
[Dragon-Slaying Flash]
Origin: Void Tree.
Category: Colosseum Equipment: Accessory.
Equipment Effect: Deep Damage (Passive): The damage intensity of any damage you inflict is increased by 50%.
...
[Book of Original Sin]
Origin: Void Tree.
Category: Colosseum Equipment: Accessory.
Equipment Effect: Original Sin (Passive): Your ultimate skill is strengthened. When used, it will be imbued with one of three traits: Death, Scarlet, or Nether.
Nether Effect: The intensity of this attack is increased by 300% (this trait can be boosted by the Colosseum Equipment Dragon-Slaying Flash, increasing it to 450%).
Scarlet Effect: The attack carries an erosion effect, dealing 20% of the enemy's maximum health as True Damage over the subsequent 10 seconds, and permanently reducing their maximum health by 20% (due to the extremely high judgment of this Scarlet effect, the Void Tree's resurrection mechanism will not remove this effect for free).
Death Effect: If this attack causes the challenger's death, your level will immediately increase by lv.2 (maximum increase up to lv.50).
Tip: When you use your ultimate skill, it has a 100% chance to be imbued with one of the above effects, a 50% chance to be imbued with two effects simultaneously, and a 1% chance to be imbued with all three effects simultaneously.
...
Name: Kukulin Bai Ye.
Profession: Secret Technique Hunter (Extremely Low Compatibility).
Category: Overlord Unit.
Health: 100%.
Body Energy: 5100/5100 points.
Single Match Revives: 8/8.
Total Revives: 48/48.
Strength: 5 points.
Agility: 15 points.
Endurance: 8 points.
Intelligence: 15 points.
Charm: None.
Skill 1, Secret Technique Imprint (Passive, l): You possess a Secret Technique Imprint, allowing you to release Body Energy and crystallize it, thereby forming any weapon.
Tip: A maximum of 2% of your maximum Body Energy can be used per instance to form a crystal weapon. The attack power of the crystal weapon will be determined by the amount of Body Energy consumed (a maximum of 102 points of Body Energy can be consumed per instance to form a crystal weapon).
Skill 2, Ruthless Kill (Active, lv.1): After forming a crystal weapon, you can control it to shoot out, dealing damage to enemies within 2 to 50 meters (if the enemy is too close to you, the shooting accuracy will be greatly reduced).
Tip: Each use consumes 10 points of Body Energy. The attack intensity of this ability is boosted by Agility and Intelligence attributes.
Skill 3, Space-Rending Hound (Active, lv.1): Summon your partner, the Space-Rending Hound, to assist you in battle. It consumes 5 points of Body Energy per minute. Increasing the level of this ability will increase the overall combat power of the Space-Rending Hound.
Tip: If your partner, the Space-Rending Hound, is not dead and you dismiss it, this ability will have no cooldown. If the Space-Rending Hound dies, this ability will have a 6-hour cooldown.
Skill 4, Demon Hawk (Active, lv.1): Summon your partner, the Demon Hawk, for reconnaissance. It consumes 5 points of Body Energy per minute. The Demon Hawk does not possess combat abilities. Increasing this ability will increase the Demon Hawk's flight altitude, speed, maximum bird's-eye view range, etc.
Tip: If your partner, the Demon Hawk, is not dead and you dismiss it, this ability will have no cooldown. If the Demon Hawk dies, this ability will have a 6-hour cooldown.
Skill 5, Ultimate Secret Technique: Crystal Blaze Bloom (Active: Ultimate Skill: lv.1): Consume 10% of your maximum Body Energy to form a hidden + mimicked crystal trap bomb. It can deal attack intensity equal to the Body Energy you consumed this time (this ability consumes 510 points of Body Energy each time). The crystal explosion range is 5 meters.
This ability's attack intensity: Extremely High.
Tip: This is an ultimate skill. Each level increase requires 3 skill points. The maximum level is 10.
Tip: This ability has two detonation modes.
Detonation Method 1: You can detonate it within 500 meters. This detonation takes 2 seconds. After detonation, the enemy will immediately sense the danger.
Detonation Method 2: When an enemy steps on this crystal trap bomb, the crystal trap bomb will explode immediately.
...
After reading the skills of the Secret Technique Hunter, Su Xiao frowned for a moment. This profession encompassed Energy System, Ranged System, Summoning System, Reconnaissance System, and Trap System. It could be described as a garbage profession that gathered many advantages into one.
That's right, it was a garbage profession. This profession couldn't even execute a proper combo. The only time it was strong was when the enemy was reckless.
The Secret Technique Hunter had no survival skills, no movement speed skills. Skill 1 seemed capable of kiting melee fighters, but melee fighters always had gap-closing or speed-boosting skills. They would charge in and hit hard twice. With Su Xiao's current fragile profession, he couldn't withstand a few hits.
Logically, there shouldn't be such a garbage profession. This was actually caused by the 48 revive times resulting from his soul specialty, balanced out.
Su Xiao looked at Skill 3: Space-Rending Hound. If the summoned creature was called the Void Hound, this ability would be decent. The reason was that it was a combat-type summon, while Bubu Wang wasn't good at fighting. He was fond of eating, playing, and afraid of ghosts. So if Bubu Wang was summoned, this round of combat would be tough for Bubu.
He activated Skill 3. A teleportation array appeared on the blackened metal floor, and then Bubu Wang appeared, his body slightly smaller.
From Bubu's somewhat dazed expression, Su Xiao confirmed that it was Bubu Wang's consciousness controlling this summoned creature's body. As for Bubu's original body, it couldn't possibly enter. After all, it had followed Su Xiao's promotion to the Absolute Strong rank. Even if not a combat type, Bubu's original body had impressive attributes.
Su Xiao looked at Bubu Wang, and Bubu Wang looked back at Su Xiao. After a few seconds of staring, Bubu Wang raised his dog head, his expression clearly saying: "Master, I don't know how to fight."
Don't forget a crucial point: if Bubu Wang fought, the opponents he faced, although their body attributes weren't high, were all Absolute Strong masters controlling these bodies. Even if their body attributes were weaker than Bubu Wang's, they could still beat Bubu until he doubted his dog life.
Su Xiao activated Skill 4, and then Baha made a flashy entrance. Baha didn't have a single combat skill. What's worse, his maximum health was very low. If the roles of Bubu Wang and Baha were swapped, both of their strengths would immediately skyrocket.
Skill 1 + Skill 2 = Ranged Suicide. Bubu Wang could scout, even without skill support. Baha could provide psychological warfare + taunt to draw aggro.
After weighing this, the Secret Technique Hunter was still a garbage profession that left people dumbfounded. One might ask, how could this garbage profession be saved? The answer was: become a numerical monster.
With the boost from three Colosseum Equipment pieces, Su Xiao was now a numerical monster. He even suspected that his ultimate skill, Crystal Blaze Bloom, could kill same-level participants. No, even if they were 10 levels higher than him, he felt he could kill them, provided they stepped on Crystal Blaze Bloom.
[The first match of the Golden Colosseum is about to begin. The content of this match is: Gluttony King.]
[Within this scenario, hunger level will increase by 1000%. Once you enter a hungry state, you will lose 2% of your maximum health per minute until death.]
[Clear condition for this match: Successfully kill the Gluttony Monarch and eat a piece of its flesh.]
[Duration of this match: 36 hours.]
[As an Overlord Unit, an additional clear condition will appear: You must accumulate full Golden Power.]
[Current Golden Power: 0% (Killing Golden Units or the Gluttony Monarch can collect Golden Power).]
[Announcement: Among the 31 participants in this Golden Colosseum match, there is 1 Overlord Unit and 30 Challengers. If a Challenger successfully kills the Overlord Unit, they will immediately increase by 5 levels and successfully seize the Overlord Unit identity.]
...
Seeing this final prompt, various strategies crossed Su Xiao's mind. But upon checking, he learned that killing participants from the same faction couldn't seize the Overlord identity.
A faint feeling of hunger appeared. Noticing this, Su Xiao temporarily dismissed the summons of Bubu Wang and Baha. Before finding food in this scenario, it was better to be cautious. He stepped forward, walking out of the starting point, and saw the vast grassland outside.
With a rumble, the metal door behind him fell and locked. Then the entire building sank into the ground. The surrounding green grass spread over. The starting point that had stood here moments ago had vanished without a trace.
Su Xiao clenched his fist, then released it. His combat instincts were still there, but this body couldn't adapt. Noticing this, he began to walk forward. In the distance, a city almost swallowed by nature came into view. He was sure that was the main combat zone.
"Yahoo!"
A shout came from afar. Su Xiao focused his gaze and saw a somewhat unforgettable scene. It was four bald, muscular men. They were currently on a long grassy slope, which was at least several kilometers long.
These four came from Death Paradise. Su Xiao had seen them before on the giant stone disc. Initially, he thought of the Three Brothers of National Football. But now, he found that these four muscle men were much more fun than the Three Brothers of National Football.
The four of them grabbed each other's legs, forming a wheel shape, rolling down from the distant high slope. While making cheerful shouts, they left a trail of blood behind.
When they got near Su Xiao, the four brothers suddenly separated. But the eldest still held the second's ankle, and so on. Finally, with the eldest as the axis, they spun at high speed.
"Die, my friend!"
With a whoosh, the third brother released the fourth's legs. The fourth shot out like a cannonball, his bald head heading straight for Su Xiao. With Su Xiao's current physique, taking this hit would basically result in severe injury.
Su Xiao leaned his body back. As the wind pressure passed over, the straight-bodied fourth brother flew over him. His body leaned back until it was parallel to the ground.
When he first saw these four brothers, Su Xiao had already activated his ultimate skill, Ultimate Secret Technique: Crystal Blaze Bloom. This ability required 3 seconds to charge, showing its nature.
Now, just as the fourth brother flew over him, Su Xiao pressed the already charged ultimate skill onto the fourth brother.
Crack, crack, crack~
As the crystal spread, the fourth brother flew past with a whoosh.
Bang!
Su Xiao was knocked flying by the similarly flying third brother. His entire skeleton felt like it was about to fall apart. The pain of severely damaged internal organs spread.
The world before him became double-visioned. While flying backward, Su Xiao was violently hit again. It was the flying second brother, who punched his side ribs, causing a large patch of blood to scatter.
With a thud, Su Xiao fell to the ground. Blood spread outwards with him as the center.
Seeing this, the four brothers nearby were stunned. The fourth brother frowned and asked, "Isn't this Bai Ye? What's up with his close combat...?"
"Fourth brother, be careful. This guy is a notorious old yinbi. I'm sure there's a trick!"
The second brother spoke in a flamboyant tone. His pink tight briefs showed his style.
"Cautious."
The eldest brother looked serious. It could be seen that he was the leader of this team. Unlike the eldest brother of the Three Brothers of National Football, who was a blood brother, this eldest brother was a true, unquestioned leader.
Among these four brothers, the eldest was rigorous and serious, the second was sarcastic, the third was all muscle, just do it, and the fourth was "Wahahahaha!"
In contrast, they didn't have that flamboyant feel of the Three Brothers of National Football. Especially when the Three Brothers of National Football once posed under the moon in flamboyant purple fitness briefs, they were like a "dark force."
Previously, the Three Brothers of National Football's promotion speed had slowed down. But recently, the Three Brothers of National Football had entered their ultimate complete form, and their promotion speed skyrocketed. Moreover, these three brothers frantically bought World Keys. While others experienced one world progress, they experienced three to four mission worlds, like working overtime.
It was this ultimate complete form combined with such diligent promotion that seemed they would meet again soon. By then, the Three Brothers of National Football would show their ultimate state.
"Hiss~, Bai Ye's Colosseum body is really about to lose its breath. This..."
The second brother was full of surprise. No matter what, he couldn't believe that the famous Bai Ye's Colosseum body would be so weak in close combat.
"Anyway, a small victory," the eldest brother, though also concerned, chose not to dwell on it for now. Instead, he asked, "Fourth brother, what is that transparent thing attached to your abdomen?"
The Ultimate Secret Technique: Crystal Blaze Bloom, having not been stably released, now appeared as a transparent, irregular flat crystal, clinging to the fourth brother's abdomen, about one meter in diameter.
"I don't know. I had it after I landed."
"Hmph!"
The third brother stepped forward, retracted one hand to his side, and clenched his fist. He delivered a fast and powerful heavy cannon punch.
"No!"
The fourth brother shouted in panic. Taking this punch, he felt he would be hammered until he pissed himself.
"Don't."
"Stop!"
However, it was all too late. The third brother punched down.
Boom!
The crystal explosion showed a golden-red color. Seen from above, it was like a blooming golden-red crystal flower.
When the explosion ended, broken crystal shards drifted in the air, like embers gradually burning out. Now looking at the four brothers who had a life link, the eldest brother was bleeding all over, with dense wounds. He was standing shakily on trembling legs. The third and fourth brothers were in a dying state, lying on the ground, comically sticking their butts up.
As for the second brother, who had just killed Su Xiao and become the Overlord Unit, his damage reduction efficiency from the life link plummeted due to becoming the Overlord Unit. He couldn't withstand this hit and died on the spot.
"F*ck... f*ck me."
Even the usually calm eldest brother couldn't help but curse. It wasn't his fault. The attack power of this ability was simply too abnormal. One attack nearly took out all four brothers at once. This was even though their specialty advantage was all Tank System, with high initial health and defense. Moreover, among their 20 skills, 9 were passive defense types.
The four brothers had no healing skills. They all had self-recovery skills. The more attacks they received, the lower their health, the faster their health recovery. After a while, these three brothers got up from the ground one after another.
...
The inert solution was drained. Su Xiao, inside the small resurrection device, opened his eyes. As the hatch opened, he stepped out. The air, with a faint smell of weathered concrete, entered his nostrils. This place was the abandoned city of Ayewa, a ruined city swallowed by hunger.
This wasn't due to a lack of food, but the arrival of the hunger calamity, causing the appetite of the creatures here to reach an extreme. Civilization shattered under the impact of the most primitive desires. This place had become the territory controlled by the Gluttony King.
Standing by the window of an abandoned building, the glass and such had weathered away, leaving only an empty window frame. Green vines covered the outer walls. A giant tree had burst the top of the opposite skyscraper, filling it with cracks, like a primitive and wild giant artwork.
After the battle with those four brothers, Su Xiao confirmed that his profession was indeed not good, but his ultimate skill was very strong. Only triggering the Death effect, without attack power boost, it killed one and left the remaining three dying. If it were the Nether effect's 450% attack intensity boost, or the Scarlet effect's 20% maximum health True Damage, these four brothers would have been killed by this one ultimate skill.
Su Xiao had determined his positioning for this time: Trap Master. Kill enemies through acting, strategy, and crystal trap bombs. This Ultimate Secret Technique: Crystal Blaze Bloom had to be fixed in place to detonate better. Otherwise, there was too much luck involved. Moving with it would likely result in no explosion. The fact that it hit those four brothers this time was purely because those four guys were unlucky.
With a clear plan, Su Xiao summoned Bubu Wang and Baha. As soon as they appeared, Baha said, "Boss, let's focus on leveling up the ultimate skill this time. My skill system is pretty much useless."
"..."
Su Xiao didn't speak. Baha understood and flew off to scout the surrounding environment. Bubu Wang twitched his nose and then slipped down from the 30th floor of the ruined building. After a while, Bubu found a few bright red wild fruits, each the size of a pumpkin. The flesh was soft and fragrant.
Su Xiao observed for a moment, then shook his head and said, "These fruits are slightly poisonous."
"Woof!"
Bubu Wang barked, meaning: 'Anyway, I'm useless now. Let me try. If I can barely eat them, we'll have food.'
After a while, Bubu Wang crouched behind a concrete pillar, looking quite majestic. It seemed he had quite severe diarrhea.
Half an hour later, Baha flew back, wearing a sly, mischievous grin.
"Found a food gathering point?"
"No, but boss, I found a Void Tree-notarized recovery point in the central area of this ruined city. It's an artificial fountain in the center of a park. The circulating life liquid evaporates. As long as you sit by the fountain, you can recover health, but not Body Energy."
"Is it a safe zone?"
"No."
Hearing this answer, Su Xiao looked at the characteristics of his ultimate skill, Ultimate Secret Technique: Crystal Blaze Bloom, and then at [Origin Stone: World]'s effect of a 15% chance to refresh all skill cooldowns when using a skill (including ultimate skills). Combining these two, a plan gradually took shape.
At this moment, the 30 participants in this Golden Colosseum match still didn't know that 90% of them were about to put on a mask of pain.
ps: (Recommending a book written by my friend Purple Pig, titled "I'm Really Not a Curse Remover.")