The twin swords fell to the ground with a crisp clatter. The South Hero stood stunned for a few seconds before suddenly leaning back without any regard for his image, lying spread-eagle on the ground and bursting into loud laughter.
"Congratulations," Saber said, dematerializing her sword to hide it away as she offered her regards to the laughing South Hero.
The latter laughed until he was almost out of breath before finally calming down. He put away his swords and stood up. "Thank you, all three of you. I will certainly etch this kindness into my heart."
*He has a little mustache, yet he speaks so elegantly.* But Zenith could understand; when he had just broken through the threshold of life and death, he had acted much crazier than the South Hero.
Actually, the South Hero hadn't been sure if he would survive this time. He could see the future, but this time his vision had been blurry. It had stopped at the exact moment he was struck by the beam of light from the sword, and then abruptly ended.
It was truly great to be alive, and he also understood that the reason he couldn't see the future was standing right in front of him. On that elf, he could at least see some vague traces, but when facing Zenith, he truly couldn't see anything at all.
"What's with all the talking? You're quite the patient type if you don't rush to open the chest right after downing the boss."
Serie was also very curious about what exactly the "wholesome" magic items Zenith had mentioned looked like.
The group walked into the magnificent Sky City. A boundless sea of flowers surrounded the pure white domed architecture, and stained glass windows turned the sunlight into a kaleidoscope of colors. The specifically adjusted angles allowed the sunlight passing through the glass to shine perfectly onto the ornate chest in the center.
Serie looked at the treasure chest in the middle, narrowing her eyes as if a bit uncertain. She looked at Zenith, then back at the chest. "Are you sure this is wholesome?"
Zenith nodded vigorously. "To be honest, I originally thought the first person to clear the Sky City would be Frieren, so..."
"So?"
"So the most conspicuous chest in the Sky City is a mimic. You know, mimics are famous for being anti-Frieren Noble Phantasms."
Serie: "(눈_눈)".
Just how bored did someone have to be to replace the final reward with a mimic during the thrilling chest-opening phase? He really wasn't acting human, was he?
Such a minor issue naturally couldn't stump the South Hero. He bypassed the mimic, walked up to the towering statue at the back, and opened the small wooden box resting on the altar.
Inside lay a row of exquisite accessories, exuding a faint aura of mana.
Unlike the wild accessories of the Seven Curses that flaunted their power, the wondrous accessories here were much more restrained, fitting the identity of a righteous character perfectly.
Simple, direct, and without any flashy special effects—they were incredibly suitable for someone like the South Hero, who had a solid foundation and relied entirely on his swordsmanship to win.
Heart Stone Brooch: When equipped, provides a constant Regeneration I effect.
Topaz Brooch: When equipped, provides a constant Speed I effect.
Diamond Brooch: When equipped, provides a constant Resistance I effect.
In addition, there were the Peridot Brooch and Ruby Brooch, which provided constant Night Vision and Strength, respectively.
They didn't require any mana consumption. Just by wearing them, one could gain five powerful passive buffs with an infinite duration.
This was practically like adding five permanent modifiers directly to someone's status screen. He could tank, he could deal damage, and not only was he beefy, but he also had innate health regeneration.
After using the Minecraft items, Zenith could see the South Hero's health bar: 150 HP. He was tankier than an Iron Golem.
With Zenith's buffs, even if he was beaten to his last breath, he would resurrect with full health in five or six minutes.
Moreover, with the South Hero's combat prowess, Zenith highly doubted the Seven Sages of Destruction's DPS could even keep up with his health regeneration. Barring any accidents, fighting the Seven Sages of Destruction would absolutely be a flawless victory with zero chance of wiping.
"This isn't magical at all. Where does the energy to maintain the effects of these items come from?"
Seeing that Serie looked like she wanted to reach out and snatch the South Hero's things, Zenith grabbed her clothes and yanked her back. "Aren't you a bit too old to be snatching things from others? Is that really appropriate? I have plenty of these gadgets; I'll give you one to research."
Zenith rummaged through his bag. Ever since he got the Sophisticated Backpacks mod, he had accumulated a lot of random odds and ends. He dug out a Sapphire Brooch and tossed it to her.
"This one grants the wearer immunity to fire. Let me know once you figure something out about it."
Serie mechanically caught the brooch. The translucent blue gemstone didn't have a single trace of impurity. However, her attention wasn't on the brooch; her mind was just playing the words "a bit too old" on a continuous loop.
After testing out his new power, the South Hero pinned the row of brooches onto his cloak. He walked up to bid farewell to Zenith and the other two, then quickly departed on a flying monster.
He was in a hurry. His sense of justice was too strong, causing him to shoulder the entire burden of saving the world and defeating the Demon King.
But at the same time, he knew that no matter what, he would never be a match for the Demon King. Yet he still went, all to pave the way for those who would come after him.
Saber stayed in place and waited for a moment before speaking bluntly, "Master, that elf mage seems to have been hit by a petrification spell."
Perhaps this was what they called adding fuel to the fire. Serie snapped back to reality. After putting away the brooch, the mana around her body instantly surged. Staves had long lost their meaning for a mage of her caliber. Her suppressed mana was completely unleashed.
"Let's fight. True ambition means never halting in fear on the path to pursuing power. Let me see just how strong you are, you guy who can even make the Goddess look your way!"
*You're totally just holding a grudge! As expected of the grandmaster, why are you just as sensitive to the word 'old' as Frieren?*
Zenith probably didn't understand the consequences of telling a girl she was getting on in years. After all, he had been a single corporate slave before transmigrating, so it was understandable.
"See? I told you earlier we should fight! My PvP soul is burning brightly!"
Armor swap, sword drawn. The gorgeous Aether armor set looked quite flashy even in a fantasy world, as if he had draped a layer of shining blue crystal over his body.
Before he even finished speaking, dozens of mana beams surged out, simultaneously bombarding Zenith's body.
His shield broke spectacularly. Under the saturation attack, the durability of Zenith's shield was wiped out almost instantly, and then he took a faceful of pure mana.
Hellfire and dancing thunder—it was a simple and brutal mage combat style. After casting a shield on herself, she directly transformed into a firepower turret, unleashing continuous saturation strikes.
Zenith went back on his word. *Time, accelerate!* He had no choice; the magic damage was too high, and his health had bottomed out in a single exchange. He quickly scarfed down an Enchanted Golden Apple and then chugged a bunch of buff potions.
A row of max-level buffs appeared. Exactly thirty seconds passed, and he conveniently swapped to a new shield. He threw an Ender Pearl to teleport right into her face, then bonked her on the head with the hilt of his sword. Defensive magic possessed extremely high magic resistance, but the price was a glaring weakness in physical defense.
Actually, the damage from the hilt and the blade was exactly the same, but using the hilt looked a bit friendlier.
"Attacking with the hilt is underestimating me way too much."
Shield stacking, physical resistance up, magic resistance up, Repelling Armor!
Layer upon layer of different magical protections stacked heavily on top of each other. In this world, magic was constantly advancing; there was no such thing as 'the older the magic, the stronger it is'.
Even if a meteorite crashed down, this shield could block it. I guarantee it!
And then, the mille-feuille of magic shields cracked and shattered layer by layer like glass. The sword hilt bonked Serie on the head, directly making her stumble.
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