Chapter 279: Rapidly Increasing Strength
[Melee Archer (Passive Skill): When equipped with a bow type weapon, if an enemy approaches within three meters and their presence has been detected, gain a five second physical fitness enhancement. Cooldown: ten minutes. Arrows fired while this effect is active gain increased power.]
The effect of this passive skill was clear at a glance. It existed to improve the margin for error of ranged professions. Although it could only be triggered once every ten minutes, and its effect lasted for only a short five seconds, making it unsuitable as a regular combat method, it had no negative effects. It could serve as insurance in case an enemy suddenly closed the distance.
However, the true focus this time was the defensive equipment Kato Megumi had obtained.
[Nightingale Armor (Purple Epic Quality, Provisional): Mysterious light armor created by a goddess who controls shadows and night for those chosen by her. When wearing this equipment, the user's stealth type skill effects will be greatly enhanced.]
[The Bloodstained Nightingale Bow and Nightingale Armor belong to the Nightingale Set. Nightingale Set effect activated: Any attack launched by the Player will receive the blessing of shadows and night, greatly reducing the attack's presence. Note: This blessing is a mental illusion type effect.]
"A set effect… equipment from the same set? This is the first time I've seen one."
Iwanaga Kotoko leaned over to glance at the description on Kato Megumi's phone, speaking thoughtfully.
"A bow type weapon, body armor… According to common sense, there should be at least one more piece, like an accessory. Maybe a ring, necklace, gloves, shoes, or something similar. I'm not sure how many pieces are required to complete the set. Perhaps different sets need different numbers of equipment pieces."
"Mm, but the skill and equipment I obtained this time suit me quite well."
Kato Megumi stood up from the sofa and tried equipping the Nightingale Armor from her inventory.
The next second, a layer of black mist that seemed to ripple like flowing shadow appeared around her body. It condensed into black armor with a rubber-like texture, slightly soft to the touch, its surface engraved with mysterious patterns. A cape was attached to the back, completing its quiet, shadowy appearance.
"Let me see."
Seeing Asagiri stand up and walk over to Kato Megumi, then directly reach toward the area near her neck, Yuuki Asuna's pretty face flushed as she said in embarrassment and anger,
"You… what are you doing? Are you thinking perverted thoughts again? You can even think of that with this kind of outfit?"
Hearing this, Asagiri first replied with a smile.
"First, thank you for recognizing me as Tokyo's number one Butter Shooter. Second, I wasn't thinking about that. Although the tight suit agent theme is timeless and I don't dislike it, I don't have any intention of experiencing it right now. I was looking at this."
Asagiri raised his hand and pointed below Kato Megumi's fair, delicate neck. His index finger lightly touched the smooth edge of the armor. Looking at the slightly puzzled Yuuki Asuna, he smiled and said,
"Don't you feel like this armor stops here too abruptly?"
"Now that you mention it, you're right."
Yuuki Asuna carefully observed Kato Megumi in the Nightingale Armor and nodded in agreement.
"My Armor of Flashing Light is similar to this Nightingale Armor. Both are body armor. But my Armor of Flashing Light doesn't have this awkward feeling. Looking at it this way… the Nightingale Set should also include a helmet and hand armor."
"Alright, Megumi's draw is over. Who's next?"
"I'll go."
Iwanaga Kotoko volunteered and stated the answer she had already decided on.
"In the last Dungeon, although we went through several high intensity battles in a row, my mental power wasn't overdrawn to the point of near unconsciousness. My high mental power is one reason, but more importantly, the skills I currently possess aren't strong enough. The only ability that can truly keep up with the intensity of the third stage is my ability to control Black Particles. The effects of Undead Touch and Curse Gaze are too outdated. Against enemies with high mental resistance, they have almost no effect. So this time, I only want to choose one reward, and that is an attack type skill."
When the Dungeon clearance rating was fixed, the quantity and quality of custom rewards were inversely proportional.
For example, when clearing the Ajin Dungeon, Iwanaga Kotoko had only obtained the ability to control Black Particles as a reward. However, there was no doubt that the strength of the Black Particles ability, as well as its future development potential, was enough to make it one of her signature abilities.
In comparison, basic Warlock skills like Curse Gaze, and first stage skills like Undead Touch, already seemed somewhat insufficient at this point. Even Netherworld Grip could no longer exert much effect.
Iwanaga Kotoko's mental power was very high. In other words, her mana bar was very long, but she lacked powerful finishing moves that matched it. That was simply too wasteful.
"Wait a moment."
Just as Iwanaga Kotoko was about to input the custom reward content, Asagiri suddenly spoke.
"Although Undead Touch, Curse Gaze, and Netherworld Grip are somewhat outdated in terms of strength, I think all three are quite useful abilities, and you're already used to using them. Instead of obtaining a completely new ability, wouldn't it be better to fuse and upgrade the skills you already have?"
"Fuse and upgrade, huh…"
Iwanaga Kotoko immediately understood what Asagiri meant.
"Okay, I'll try."
Iwanaga Kotoko entered her request into the eye icon APP.
The next second, dark red prompt text appeared.
[Custom reward content confirmed. Skills "Curse Gaze," "Undead Touch," and "Netherworld Grip" are beginning fusion and upgrade.]
[Reward obtained: Skill "Pale Domination." Profession "Warlock" has been promoted to the special exclusive profession "Netherworld Master."]
[Pale Domination: By consuming mental power, summon one or more pale ghostly hands. The mental power consumed increases with the number of pale ghostly hands summoned. The pale ghostly hands deal both physical and curse attribute double damage to enemies, and will extract the enemy's mental power upon contact to replenish the user.]
[When an enemy is completely controlled by the pale ghostly hands and falls into a state where they cannot move freely, maintaining eye contact with the enemy for three seconds allows the pale ghostly hands to extract the enemy's soul and obtain a portion of the enemy's memory images.]
[Note: The success or failure of the memory extraction ability depends on the enemy's mental power. The amount of memory extracted and the accuracy of the extraction depend on the user's own mental power. Regardless of whether the extraction succeeds or fails, the user will not suffer backlash or negative effects.]
[Netherworld Master: Warlock type special exclusive profession.]
[Netherworld Summon: Profession exclusive ability of "Netherworld Master." Turns the area within a hundred meter radius into the Netherworld. Within the Netherworld, the user's mental power will not be consumed at all, and their recovery ability will be greatly increased. The Netherworld can be maintained for a maximum of one minute. After one minute, the user will fall unconscious due to mental power exhaustion and will require twelve hours to regain consciousness.]
"Such powerful abilities…"
Seeing the information that appeared on Iwanaga Kotoko's phone, both Yuuki Asuna and Kato Megumi could not help but exclaim in shock.
The pale ghostly hand, which could originally only be summoned one at a time and already seemed somewhat insufficient against enemies in the current stage of Dungeons, could now be summoned in multiple numbers at once. It also retained the characteristic of Undead Touch, extracting an enemy's mental power.
Most importantly, it could even extract a portion of the enemy's memories by pulling out their soul.
This ability did not have much use in direct combat, but as long as it could successfully obtain the memories of a Black Watch member, they would gain a massive amount of important intelligence about that world.
Perhaps…
They could even discover the truth behind this game.
"Okay, then it's my turn. I want hand armor, then mental power and physical fitness enhancement…"
"No."
Asagiri interrupted Yuuki Asuna, reached out to pinch her delicate, fair cheek, and made a suggestion.
"I think it's best if you don't choose basic mental power and physical fitness enhancement this time. Choose a piece of hand armor, then upgrade one skill. Based on your rating this time, there's a possibility of red Epic grade equipment appearing."
"Red Epic grade equipment, huh…"
Yuuki Asuna's eyes flickered, revealing a cute look of anticipation like a little girl's. She nodded vigorously.
"Okay, I'll do as you say~"
Although all four members of the team received an S+ rating this time, there were still differences within S+.
Yuuki Asuna had killed multiple Black Watch members and Fire-Clad Believerss, while also helping Asagiri control the situation. Her rating should be the second highest among the four members of the team. If she gave up physical fitness and mental power enhancement, choosing only one piece of equipment and one skill upgrade, the probability of obtaining red quality equipment was very high.
Moreover, Yuuki Asuna was very clear about which skill she should upgrade.
[Custom reward content confirmed: Hand armor type equipment, upgraded passive skill: Swordsman's Resolve.]
[Reward obtained: Lionheart Gloves, Swordsman's Will.]
[Lionheart Gloves (Purple Excellent Quality): Hand armor type equipment. Its appearance and color can change according to the user's will. Wearing this equipment significantly increases the user's strength when attacking.]
"Purple quality, no red…"
Yuuki Asuna first shook her head with a slight sense of disappointment.
However, when she saw the upgraded Swordsman's Will, she immediately understood why she had only received one piece of purple quality equipment.
The true reward was this skill.
[Swordsman's Will (Passive Skill): Greatly increases the Player's physical stats when using sword type weapons. Using any type of sword skill will not place any burden on the body, and sword skill power is greatly increased.]
.....
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