Chapter 34: Reward Settlement—Could It Get Any More Absurd?
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Time flew by.
At present, there were less than five minutes left until the rankings were finalized at six in the afternoon!
When Su Nian logged back in, he had already returned to one of the beginner villages.
The area around him was very quiet. He could not tell whether it was because the rankings were about to be finalized and many players were using these last few minutes to hunt monsters and climb the leaderboard, or because this particular beginner village simply had very few people...
Either way, he liked this kind of tranquil environment.
All around him, the only sound was the rustling of leaves stirred by the wind.
A gentle breeze brushed against his face, leaving him feeling completely relaxed.
Su Nian opened the level rankings.
[First Place: Emperor, Level 9.]
[Second Place: Slaughter All Under Heaven, Level 9.]
[Third Place: Grandpa, Level 8.]
[Fourth Place: Mad Demon, Level 8.]
[Fifth Place: One Kidney Still Lasts an Hour, Level 8.]
[Sixth Place: Snow on the Cold River, Level 8.]
[...]
[Time Remaining Until Rankings Are Finalized: 3 Minutes 57 Seconds.]
The first and second places were essentially secure.
As for Snow on the Cold River, who had claimed first place on the level rankings in his previous life...
Because of the death he had suffered yesterday, he had now been pushed out of the top five entirely.
Bright Moon Contends and Heroic Spirit Soaring had it even worse. In his previous life, both of them had at least ranked within the top ten.
But in this life, after dying, they had barely managed to break into the top fifty...
And the mastermind behind all of this...
Was currently lying on the grass beside a tree, enjoying the cool breeze and quietly waiting for the ranking rewards.
The seconds passed one by one.
Until, at a certain moment...
[Global Announcement: The battle for the Level Rankings has ended. The next ranking to be developed is—the Global Combat Power Rankings! Players, please look forward to it!]
[The Level Ranking rewards are as follows...]
[Ranked 1000–500: 200 Gold Coins and 1 Random Blue-Grade Equipment.]
[...]
[Ranked 10–4: 1,000 Gold Coins, 3 Random Blue-Grade Equipment, 20 Free Attribute Points, and 1 Random C-Grade Skill Book.]
[Ranked 3rd: 2,000 Gold Coins, 1 Random Purple-Grade Equipment, 20 Free Attribute Points, and 1 Random B-Grade Skill Book.]
[Ranked 2nd: 3,000 Gold Coins, 1 Random Purple-Grade Equipment, 25 Free Attribute Points, and 1 Random B-Grade Skill Book.]
[Ranked 1st: 5,000 Gold Coins, 1 Random Purple-Grade Equipment, 30 Free Attribute Points, and 1 Random A-Grade Skill Book.]
The instant the ranking rewards were revealed, the world channel went completely wild!
“Holy crap! Even the thousandth-place reward is two hundred gold coins and a piece of blue equipment? I’m so jealous!”
“Two hundred gold coins! That’s enough to support me for a whole month.”
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“Wouldn’t the guy in fourth place be crying himself to sleep?”
“Wait, I’m ranked nineteenth thousand three hundred. Don’t I even get a consolation prize?”
“Good heavens! The top three each get a piece of purple equipment, and first place gets five thousand gold coins plus an A-Grade Skill Book. I’m practically green with envy!”
“Drool... Purple equipment! I heard Blacksmith Wang’s hidden quest can reward you with purple equipment, but to this day, nobody knows how to obtain the Lord’s Heart...”
“Now that you mention it, I remember. I heard the owner of the Bold Wind Club is practically going insane because he can’t get the Lord’s Heart. He even said he would buy them across the entire server for ten thousand gold coins each!”
“For real? Is that guy an idiot?”
“A complete idiot!”
“Holy crap, isn’t the person above an example of how generosity can win people over?”
While the players chatted frantically, Su Nian also received his rewards from the system!
From ranking first and second, he received a total of eight thousand gold coins, two pieces of purple equipment, fifty-five free attribute points, and one random A-Grade Skill Book and one random B-Grade Skill Book!
Even Su Nian found these rewards tempting, let alone the other players.
After all, putting everything else aside...
Just the two pieces of purple equipment alone were something many players still had not obtained even by level thirty...
In any case.
After assigning all fifty-five free attribute points to attack speed, Su Nian first examined the two pieces of purple equipment.
[Battle Mage Leggings (Purple)]
[Level: 5.]
[Effect 1: Spell Power +80.]
[Effect 2: Mana Regeneration per Second +5.]
[Effect 3: Movement Speed +4.5.]
Purple-grade leggings.
This was precisely what Su Nian was lacking most at the moment!
With this, his level-nine equipment setup of four purple items and one red item was probably unprecedented and destined never to be surpassed, right?
At that thought, Su Nian immediately equipped them and looked at the next piece of purple equipment.
[Divine Wind Cloth Armor (Purple)]
[Level: 5.]
[Effect 1: Movement Speed +10.]
[Effect 2: Mana +200.]
[Effect 3: Attack Power +30.]
“Uh...”
The moment he saw this equipment, Su Nian was at a loss for words.
After equipping it, would he instantly transform into Bolt of the Divine Realm?
He had never seen effects like these before.
Still, no matter how terrible this chest armor was compared to others of the same level, it was still purple equipment!
He would not have to worry about finding a buyer for it later...
After examining the equipment, Su Nian glanced at the two skills in his inventory.
[B-Grade Skill: Rain of Arrows.]
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[A-Grade Skill: Sacred Sword.]
“Hmm. Just as expected.”
Su Nian nodded calmly. Then he decisively took the skill replacement item from his inventory and used it on the A-Grade Skill Book!
[Please select the class you wish to replace.]
“Mage.”
[Please select the type.]
“Area-of-effect damage!”
[Replacement successful!]
The words displayed on the A-Grade Skill Book in his inventory changed the next second.
[A-Grade Skill: Inferno of Heaven.]
[Inferno of Heaven: Upon activation, the area within the skill’s range will transform into a sea of flames, continuously dealing massive damage to all enemies within it. Once the skill ends, it will inflict a burning effect! (A-Grade Skill)]
[Would you like to learn this skill?]
“Learn it!”
After seeing the skill description, Su Nian immediately learned it, looking almost impatient with anticipation!
[Learning successful!]
[Skill: Inferno of Heaven (A-Grade)]
[Level: 1.]
[Area of Effect: 3 by 3 meters.]
[Mana Cost: 350.]
[Cooldown: 35 seconds.]
After learning the skill, Su Nian rose to his feet and headed straight for the area outside the beginner village where Storm Rabbits spawned.
When he arrived shortly afterward...
[Skill Cast—Inferno of Heaven.]
Storm Rabbit: “???”
The next second, waves of damage appeared.
[-369.]
[-378.]
[-400.]
Inferno of Heaven lasted for three seconds before gradually dissipating.
Ignoring the kill notifications before him, Su Nian nodded in satisfaction.
“A three-by-three-meter area, a duration of three seconds, three hundred and fifty to four hundred damage per second, plus a burning effect afterward... Is this what it means to be a true mage?”
In the early game, damage this explosive was already so absurd that absurdity itself would have opened the door and welcomed it home.
It was utterly outrageous!
But next...
There was something even more outrageous!
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