Chapter 174: Act 108 – Luring the Serpent Out of Its Hole (Seven) (First Update)
The Golden Apple, as one of the special items at the mythical level of the past, brought forth the Apocalyptic power of gold, which unlocked the destiny talent known as “Leaves of the Golden Tree.” This Golden Tree is not the useless Golden Magic Tree that Brendel had encountered before; in fact, the true Golden Tree is a specialized term that specifically refers to the World Tree, Mana, which grows by the Abyssal Lake and beneath the pinnacle of the world. Mana can indeed be considered a source of the bloodline of gold in the world of Vaunte, and the talent granted by its leaves is a 10% increase in overall growth potential, along with a tenfold enhancement to mental power. Even in Brendel’s previous life, the young man only knew a few top Elementalists who had unlocked such a talent through quests, and before that, he could only fantasize about the Golden Apple in his dreams.
But at this moment, that opportunity lay right before him, almost within reach. All he had to do was lightly touch it, and henceforth, the power, physique, agility, will, and perception he gained from all his professions would be increased by an extra 10%. The enhancement of mental power by tenfold meant that his mana pool would double, and the exclusive passive skill “Mental Pulse” of the White Sorcerer and Elf Sorcerer would allow him to simultaneously chant three additional spells. This talent could be seen as a boon for all casting professions, especially for Elementalists who are closely tied to nature; thus, it has another name, known as the “Language of Fairies.”
This talent received a consistent S+ rating on authoritative analysis websites, although it was somewhat inferior for Brendel’s current warrior profession. However, he understood that he ultimately had to work as an Elementalist as well to complete his planned “All Professions Domination” Mage deck construction. Coupled with the characteristic of this talent providing an overall boost, it seemed particularly suitable for him.
Yet, without a moment’s hesitation, he decisively shook his head.
The Leaves of Gold may be good, but it ultimately differed from his past life. Brendel understood deeply that in this world, he only had one chance; once decided, there would be no turning back. What he pursued could only be the best, or rather, the talent that best fit his plans. In his previous life, he might not have had such an opportunity to choose, but things were different here; after losing the competition with other players, Brendel was aware that many opportunities lay before him—
And the Leaves of Gold were merely one of the seemingly beautiful options.
He had two goals:
One was the Ancient One, which granted a 10% increase in overall attributes and a 50% exemption from part-time penalties. This was an S- rated talent, but the latter property was incredibly important for him, who did not know how many professions he would take on in the future; one could even say it was invaluable.
The second was the legendary “Twinborn Collaboration.” This destiny talent was arguably one of the most legendary talents from the past “Amber Sword.” Unlike other talents rated above S, this S-level talent had only one attribute. Yet, it was precisely because of this single attribute that it stood out among many A-level talents. The attribute of Twinborn Collaboration was that it would grant the owner an exclusive ability for each of their professions. Brendel still remembered its exclusive ability for warriors—Ancient Battle Technique: Any combat skill possessed by the warrior profession would have its maximum specialization level treated as one level higher.
In the past game, a skill’s levels 1-5 were referred to as beginner, 5-10 as advanced, and after level 10 as expert. Most non-specialized skills would automatically rise to the peak of expert at level 15, while only specialized skills could increase beyond level 15, reaching the stages of Master and Grandmaster. After awakening the elements, skills benefited from elemental points, allowing a Grandmaster level skill to elevate further, though it would still max out at the “Ancient/Sanctuary” stage.
However, the only way for warriors to elevate their skills further to “Legendary” was through the exclusive ability granted by Twinborn Collaboration.
Once a skill reached the Legendary stage, even mid-level skills could rival advanced skills. Thus, there was speculation about a character who possessed an advanced skill alongside the Twinborn Collaboration talent; just how terrifying could an advanced skill be after reaching the Legendary stage? Yet, this remained a hypothesis as both advanced skills and Twinborn Collaboration were equally unattainable; even a pay-to-win warrior could not defeat such challenges, relying ultimately on the strongest force among players—the Face Fighter. However, to meet the requirements of leveraging Twinborn Collaboration while also having advanced skills that fit the elements he had awakened (necessary for investing elemental points), that perfect blend of talent would likely already exist in another world, conquering realms. Therefore, Brendel had never encountered such an individual.
And precisely because Twinborn Collaboration was so rare and powerful, it was often referred to as a pseudo-SS level destiny talent by players who, out of idleness, liked to dabble in over ten professions. It could be stated that above Twinborn Collaboration, only those few powerful titles bestowed upon players, such as “Child of Martha” or “Scourge of the Azure,” existed—powers that were only spoken of but never appeared.
Brendel was not a greedy person; he did not aspire for things he had never seen before—though he did suspect whether those talents were concocted by cunning players. However, for him, Twinborn Collaboration or even just the Ancient One was already sufficient. Moreover, he had means to acquire these two talents since, as long as someone had obtained them before, he could mimic their path to achieve the same.
Of course, the Leaves of Gold would certainly not suffice. He would absolutely not squander his one chance on something that did not truly suit him due to impatience. The last time at Buche, faced with life-and-death stakes, he chose an Undying talent, a decision he regretted deeply upon reflection. If only he had the foresight to pick Dragon’s Blood or Bloodline Will, his combat power would have been boosted by at least 20% to 30%.
“I refuse to activate it,” Brendel answered inwardly, and at that moment, he shifted his body, dodging a magic arrow composed purely of dark elements thrown by the Dark Priest.
To be honest, even if that spell hit Brendel now, it would only manage to break one or two of his bones. Moreover, given the young man’s agility, he could tell without looking that the low-ranking Dark Priest of the Black Fire Sect undoubtedly wouldn’t hit him. However, both sides were aware that the advantage of the magic arrow lay in its rapid construction speed, needing almost no chanting time. The Dark Priest merely wanted to use such a low-tier spell to force Brendel to change direction and prevent him from getting too close.
The Black Fire Sect cultists that had once surrounded the Dark Priest had mostly been killed or injured; what was left were just a dozen or so trembling Lizardman warriors. These creatures were completely irrelevant against Brendel. The Dark Priest understood this well and could only grit his teeth and rely on his own strength, even though the whole situation seemed impossible to turn around. While throwing out a second magic arrow, he inwardly cursed that damned lizard for providing inaccurate information—how on earth did those twenty-plus Silver Elves manage to kill so many? In fact, even at that moment, he had yet to realize that he had been set up from the very beginning.
Brendel was unhurried.
He thought to himself, if only you could advance a few more levels to become an Elf Sorcerer and learn the exclusive passive skill “Mental Pulse” to master dual chanting; this would really worry him, as he’d have to face magic arrows while preparing to unleash powerful spells himself. But what was the point of constantly consuming his stamina with low-level spells? Did you really think your mana could outlast my stamina?
Meanwhile, the young man noticed the green options on his retina gradually fading, soon revealing another message:
“Detected that the character has reached level 25; Bloodline talent unlocked for the second time.”
“Undying (Lv2): Player gains elemental resistance +5, physical damage reduction of 5%—”
Brendel found himself speechless at seeing this tank talent, and he simply dismissed the message to avoid disrupting his battle focus. To be honest, this talent was indeed relatively strong among tank talents, but warriors in “Amber Sword” were never meant to appear as tanks, not to mention the more diversified offensive mercenaries. He had made this choice in a moment of desperation, and now this notification seemed almost ironic.
Who would willingly stick their face out to be hit by monsters!
The separated Silver Elf Guards were currently driving the Lizardmen towards the slopes on both sides, and the Dark Priest opposite seemed to finally recognize his mistake. Brendel suddenly felt the magic arrow that had been pursuing him come to a halt. When he turned to look, he saw the Dark Priest shrouded in black smoke, clearly gathering dark elements to cast a high-tier spell. But how could Brendel afford to give him that opportunity? He was not one of those rookie players who, during their first BOSS battle, took half a day to discern the BOSS’s intentions, often missing their chance.
The young man swept his sword behind him, creating a gust of wind that knocked away several rogue Lizardmen approaching from behind. Activating his charge skill, he immediately transformed into a straight line—before the Lizardman warriors surrounding the Dark Priest could react, Brendel was already at the side of the low-ranking Dark Priest of the Black Fire Sect.
He raised his sword with all his might for a direct slash, and as black light flashed, the sword, empowered by his explosive strength, struck against a suddenly manifested shield of pitch-black energy with a resounding crash. Huh? Brendel paused slightly, realizing that the dark priest’s dry claw had extended from his robe, propping up a massive shield surrounded by spectral light. The figure concealed beneath the hood gave him a sinister smile and pointed forward, instantly shooting out a bolt of black flame—
“Magic Arrow!”
……
(PS: Yesterday in the review section, someone pointed out that Brendel’s data status had errors. I checked and found it indeed was the case. I had neglected to factor in the power bonus from the lesser Ghoul necklace, and I sincerely apologize for that.
There shouldn’t be any major issues elsewhere. As for the experience growth method, it truly isn’t linear; however, the contribution of each profession level to attributes is indeed the same.
Lastly, I must complain, those update pushers are truly detestable—I curse you all to be the 8th floor.) (To be continued. To see what happens next, please log in for more chapters and support the author, support legitimate reading!)
