Chapter 15: Spirit Weapon Valley | Monsters Are Coming
Emperor's Mound Village, in front of the Primordial Containment Wall.
Qi Sheng stood with his eyes closed, his consciousness roaming through the real-world network, searching for suitable candidates to recruit.
Without exception, in every player group he entered, the members all treated him as a scammer.
Most would simply delete the link he posted and then kick him out of the group.
Qi Sheng had no desire to explain himself. Instead, he simply switched targets and adopted a wide-net recruitment strategy.
The fifty available slots were quickly filled, divided among players from three different groups.
Just then, the Guide's water sphere suddenly appeared.
[Boss, one of the players in this recruitment batch is a real hardcore one!]
"How hardcore?" Qi Sheng glanced at the Guide's water sphere, slightly annoyed.
[You remember how after player feedback on the pain system last time, you adjusted the initial pain setting to 10%?]
Qi Sheng had personally made that adjustment, so of course, he hadn't forgotten.
During the first recruitment, players like Li Zheng had complained that the pain feedback in the game was too realistic, making Qi Sheng realize the issue needed to be addressed.
After all, one of the reasons for players' strength was their fearlessness. Excessively realistic pain feedback contradicted that principle.
After careful consideration, he had set the default pain feedback to 10%.
The reason it wasn't 0% was because pain, in essence, was a form of bodily feedback. Keeping some degree of pain allowed players to sense changes in their condition and refine their combat skills during hunts, instead of relying purely on brute force.
[Well, this player manually adjusted the pain feedback all the way up to 100%.]
"That's definitely hardcore."
Curious, Qi Sheng's head suddenly transformed into a mass of crimson flame, the fire spreading from his head to his entire body, engulfing him in raging flames.
After switching to his Emperor's Sign form, his perspective jumped to the Guide clone accompanying this 'hardcore player.'
—
The sky was soaked in dark ink, losing all its former brightness, with only a strange crescent moon hanging in the heavens, casting mottled shadows.
Black winds howled across the land, carrying tufts of ash swirling through the air.
Crack!
A crisp bone-snapping sound rang out as Li Tie broke the arm of the Cursed Soldier in front of him. He then decisively activated Petrification, instantly coating his body in a layer of pitch-black substance that allowed him to block the attacks from two other Cursed Soldiers charging in from both sides.
Throughout his journey, Li Tie had become highly satisfied with the game's realism.
The continuous battles had helped him master the correct way to use the Gargoyle's Petrification ability.
He discovered that the game had no conventional skill cooldowns. Petrification could be activated and deactivated at any time.
The Guide explained that the game used two energy bars: Vitality and Mental Power.
Active skills consumed one of these energies.
For example, Gargoyle's Petrification consumed Vitality, while Owl-Headed Fiend's Dirge and Bonefire's black flame abilities consumed Mental Power.
Since there were no cooldowns, proper skill timing was especially critical.
Cursed Soldiers had become Li Tie's training dummies.
Petrify, release, counterattack… Each time the Cursed Soldiers attacked, Li Tie would activate Petrification to block, then release it during their openings to strike back, quickly mastering the rhythm of using Petrification.
After several exchanges, the three Cursed Soldiers blocking his path were crushed into fragments under his heavy punches.
Absorbing the energy from their deaths, Li Tie successfully reached level 4, clearly feeling his physical aptitude strengthen once again.
Picking up a broken war hammer left behind by the Cursed Soldiers, Li Tie continued heading east.
Half an hour later.
Crossing a ridge, he saw a valley before him. The ground was blanketed in thick black ash, and the smell of scorched earth stung the air.
What surprised him was that several weapons were floating mid-air at the valley entrance, drifting about as if alive.
As he advanced down the slope and entered the valley, a message appeared before his eyes:
[Challenger Notice: You have discovered the territory node scene 'Spirit Weapon Valley.']
Along with the notice, the map automatically updated, clearing the fog in his current area and revealing the golden characters 'Spirit Weapon Valley.'
Walking forward a bit more, his gaze locked onto a battle axe emitting a crimson energy glow.
[Force Savage (First-Generation Primordial)]
Hunt Level: 10
Guide Analysis: A special monster wielding Primordial Power, evolved from a portion of the Emperor's Sign's slaughter power. It possesses basic intelligence and craves battle and slaughter.
He shifted his gaze to the floating green saber next to the battle axe. Another analysis popped up:
[Shatter (First-Generation Primordial)]
Hunt Level: 10
Guide Analysis: A special monster wielding Primordial Power, evolved from a portion of the Emperor's Sign's slaughter power. It possesses basic intelligence and craves battle and slaughter.
—
One by one, Li Tie examined the attributes of the floating weapons, shocked to discover that these weapons were the highly valuable First-Generation Primordials mentioned by the Guide.
Though they were hunt level 10, Li Tie did not retreat and instead boldly approached Spirit Weapon Valley.
The floating spirit weapons reacted, swiftly surrounding him and hovering nearby.
Li Tie had expected to be attacked immediately but was surprised when they didn't strike.
The crimson battle axe in the lead trembled slightly as it floated before him, and the other four weapons retreated, clearing an open space.
"Guide, what's happening here?"
[My analysis: It's challenging you. It wants a one-on-one man-to-man fight.]
"Interesting!"
Li Tie gripped his broken war hammer, stepped forward, and swung the weapon hard at the battle axe.
Clang!
Sparks flew as metal clashed. Li Tie's war hammer shattered into pieces, metal shards scattering, while the spirit battle axe remained unscathed.
Boom!
The battle axe retaliated, unleashing a violent crimson wind as it raised high and came crashing down toward Li Tie's head.
Crack!
The remaining half of Li Tie's hammer was instantly smashed, leaving only the handle. The battle axe's downward force continued.
Petrification!
Li Tie shifted his body to the right and activated Petrification.
Ding!
He took the axe's blow directly with his shoulder, the brutal energy penetrating his body. Intense pain contorted his face into a fierce grin, his eyes gleaming with excitement.
The pain only stirred up the beast inside him.
Dropping the broken hammer handle, Li Tie deactivated Petrification and swung his fist fiercely at the battle axe.
However, to his surprise, the four other weapons suddenly shot forward, instantly piercing through his body.
[Challenger Notice: Player death. 10 sacrificial power deducted. Entering one-hour respawn cooldown!]
The notification appeared as Li Tie's vision faded into grayscale.
—
One hour later, Li Tie respawned at Emperor's Mound's respawn point.
"Guide, weren't we doing a one-on-one duel? Why did the other spirit weapons suddenly attack me?"
After a brief silence, the Guide offered an analysis:
[At that moment, you dropped your broken war hammer, after which the other spirit weapons attacked. So, the duel likely requires you to continue holding a weapon. Once you discarded your weapon, you were no longer considered a valid opponent for the spirit weapons' challenge.]
"I see."
Understanding the cause, Li Tie immediately had the urge to return to Spirit Weapon Valley for another battle.
However, the ancient battlefield's broken weapons couldn't withstand even a single attack from the spirit weapons. What he needed now was a high-quality weapon.