Wu Shaochen gazed at the statues, each representing the fall of a War God, as he made his way to the Vortex Gate. A system prompt emerged:
"Ding, would you like to challenge the War God Secret Realm? Each player can challenge it once a day."
"What’s the point of challenging the War God Secret Realm?" Wu Shaochen asked.
Soon, information about the War God Secret Realm appeared before Wu Shaochen: "Within the War God Secret Realm, a War God Phantom corresponding to your realm will randomly manifest. Defeating the phantom is considered a successful challenge. Upon success, you will ascend to the corresponding realm, enhancing your innate potential. Each realm upgrade grants a large number of attribute points and the corresponding War God Medal. If you perform well and gain the recognition of the War God Spirit, you might even randomly comprehend a skill of the corresponding War God!"
"Oh, so this is the place to elevate one's realm." Wu Shaochen understood. Previously, he thought his talent trait was about defeating bosses not lower than his realm, with poison stacking an additional layer. He initially thought it was about levels, but it turns out it was about realms.
"But what does enhancing innate potential mean? Can talents be upgraded?" Wu Shaochen wondered. Never mind, he thought, I'll know once I try.
I've already defeated Black Iron and Bronze bosses, and I can't trigger my talent trait anymore. Let's try elevating two realms first. The first person to succeed in a challenge and elevate their realm should receive a reward.
With this in mind, Wu Shaochen chose "Yes."
The Vortex Gate opened quickly, and Wu Shaochen stepped inside, finding himself in an enclosed space, empty all around.
At this moment, a phantom formed not far ahead, resembling a Middle-aged Man, though it was hard to see clearly. Wu Shaochen cast an Insight spell:
[War God Phantom] Black Iron Tier
Level: 11
Health: 80,000
Physical Attack: 400
Physical Defense: 150
Magical Defense: 80
Speed: 60
Skill 1: Azure Slash: Slashes forward with a blade light, dealing 150% damage to targets in its path. Cooldown Time: 20 seconds.
Skill 2: Block: Blocks the next attack. Cooldown Time: 5 seconds.
That's it? Nothing more? Wu Shaochen looked at the War God Phantom's attributes and shook his head disdainfully. He thought it would be stronger. Its attributes are only slightly better than the Boar King, and it has one less skill.
But then again, the War God Hall Secret Realm can only be challenged solo. If it had skills like the Boar King, no one else would stand a chance. With these attributes, it's almost impossible for players at this stage to solo it. You'd probably need to have transferred jobs and gained some levels and equipment.
However, for Wu Shaochen, these attributes were unimpressive. To save time, he activated his speed, withstood two attacks from the phantom, applied three layers of poison, and then leisurely walked away. With a movement speed of over 100, he watched the phantom with a speed of 45, feeling like it was as slow as a snail.
With 66 points of defense and 1,750 health, Wu Shaochen withstood two attacks from the phantom without losing even half his health. After leaving combat, he regenerated 17 health per second, easily healing back to full. As for skills, the damage was manageable, and a medium Red Potion sufficed. The second skill, Block, could be annoying to others, but it was useless against him. This story is hosted at novelping dot com.
With three layers of poison, the phantom lost 69 health per second, and it was only a matter of twenty minutes before it was defeated.
As expected, twenty minutes later, the phantom fell, and the challenge was successful. Wu Shaochen was still wondering if any War God Spirit had taken notice of him when he was already transported out. Apparently, he hadn't gained the War God Spirit's recognition. Perhaps his realm was too low to trigger the War God Spirit's attention, or maybe his cautious strategy wasn't appreciated.
Back at the War God Hall, a system prompt followed immediately.
"Ding, congratulations on your successful challenge. Your realm has advanced to Black Iron Tier, granting +10 to all attributes, 10 free attribute points, and the [War God Medal] Black Iron Tier. As the first player to reach Black Iron Tier, you receive a system reward: +10 free attribute points."
"Huh, there's no server-wide announcement?" That's better; he really didn't want to be in the spotlight anymore. He was already becoming a public enemy.
"The attribute boost from realm advancement is impressive. +10 to all attributes is equivalent to 60 attribute points, plus 10 free attribute points, totaling 70 points. And this is just the lowest realm; the attribute boost will surely be higher in later realms."
It seems that besides equipment, realms are also crucial for distinguishing player strength.
He took out the [War God Medal] and glanced at it. The attributes were simple and powerful: All attributes increased by 10%. Nice, I like it.
He looked at his free attribute points, with a total of 50 unallocated points.
Wu Shaochen considered his attributes. With the Immortal Body, he didn't need to add to Physique, nor to Strength, and definitely not to Intelligence. The useful attributes for him were three: first, Agility, which was his main focus for now; second, Constitution, as he would encounter mages and magic-using monsters, and his current magical defense was too low, so Constitution was necessary; and third, Spirit, as more skills would mean his mana would eventually be insufficient, though for now, it was enough.
After considering Agility and Constitution for a while, Wu Shaochen ultimately added 20 points to Agility and 30 points to Constitution. For now, his Agility was already high, so he could ease up on it, while defense was more urgent.
With his realm elevated, points allocated, and medal equipped, Wu Shaochen's strength soared once again.
Name: Chen Feng
Realm: Black Iron Tier
Level: 11
Health: 1,910
Mana: 280
Physical Attack: 157
Magical Attack: 32
Physical Defense: 111
Magical Defense: 70
Attack Speed: 30%
Critical Rate: 10%
Experience: 2,060/30,000
Strength: 37 + 10% = 40 (rounded down)
Intelligence: 15 + 10% = 16
Physique: 62 + 10% = 68
Constitution: 55 + 10% = 60
Spirit: 15 + 10% = 16
Agility: 108 + 10% = 118
These attributes don't look like those of an 11th-level character. I've almost explored all of Jinling City and haven't encountered any NPCs that trigger quests, but it doesn't matter. Wu Shaochen wasn't expecting much. This game is primarily about monster hunting, and aside from the Novice Village, there are few quests in the Main City.
It's time to go out and hunt monsters. It's been a while since I improved my talents. He opened the map and examined it carefully, finally locking onto a plain 5 kilometers south of the South Gate, inhabited by a group of goblins. Their level was just right at 16, and continuing in that direction, there were monsters ranging from level 17 to 20.
After confirming the location, Wu Shaochen headed in that direction. With a movement speed of 142, it only took a few minutes to reach the Goblin Plains. Seeing the short and ugly goblins, Wu Shaochen immediately cast an Insight spell.
[Goblin]
Level: 16
Health: 18,000
Physical Attack: 320
Physical Defense: 130
Magical Defense: 60
Speed: 45
Skill: Heavy Strike: Swings the spiked club in its hand heavily at the target, dealing 155% physical damage.
Honestly, the attribute growth of monsters in Oracle is really high. This goblin's attack and defense surpass the Boar King's, though it has two fewer skills. But for a regular monster to have such attributes is truly annoying.
However, for Wu Shaochen now, it's a piece of cake. Activating [Speed], his movement speed exceeded 200, and his attack speed reached 80% (percentages stack additively, not multiplicatively). He applied three layers of poison, took two hits, and then ran away, poisoning three goblins in total, effectively farming them. He took on three at once, applying poison to them. With a high defense of 111, a goblin's strike only dealt 209 damage to Wu Shaochen, and their skill only dealt over 300 damage. But three was the limit, and he occasionally had to use potions.