Thunder Staff – Normal Monster Progress: 100/100
Elite Monster Progress: 1/1
Congratulations, Task 1/6 Complete.
He put away the Thunder Staff and switched back to the Blazing Staff.
Before heading toward Safe Zone No. 2240, he thought it would be a good idea to practice and stabilize his mastery of the Blazing Staff's combat style.
--------------
Meanwhile, as night fell, most players within the safe zone had stopped hunting monsters.
After eating and drinking their fill, they either rested alone or huddled in small groups inside makeshift tents.
The magic merchant, who had been busy trading all day, finally had a rare moment of leisure.
From his sleeve, he drew out a stone engraved with six distinct emblems.
One of the symbols on the stone began to glow faintly.
"How fascinating," the magic merchant murmured.
"To create a living form from something lifeless — even a false life is, in itself, a kind of miracle…"
He put the stone away.
At that moment, a figure slowly entered the safe zone.
She was dressed in a cute, fluffy mascot costume, and walked straight toward the magic merchant.
She bought a few fruit items, then, after hesitating for a moment, gritted her teeth and purchased a special shortbow.
Nutrient Fruit (D-Rank)
A fruit rich in essential nutrients that can rapidly replenish missing bodily elements and improve physical condition.
Can only be eaten once per day — multiple consumptions have no additional effect.
Ineffective once all negative conditions are removed.
Price: 300 Ordinary Dragonfangs
Stock: 15/20
Mithril Shortbow (C-Rank)
Description: A shortbow forged from precious mithril, boasting excellent mana adaptability.
Arrows imbued with magic and fired through this bow gain greatly enhanced effects.
Mana Absorption Efficiency — High
Mana Conversion Rate — High
Enchanted Arrow Amplification — Moderate
Mithril Arrow Amplification — Extremely High
Mithril Arrow Shot Sound — Greatly Reduced
Passive – Mana Overflow:
When the Mithril Shortbow absorbs enough mana, it enters a Mana Overflow State, gaining the following bonuses:
Assisted Aiming
+30% Firing Speed
+100% Range for Enchanted Arrows
+100% Arrow Flight Speed
+100% Arrow Power
Price: 3.000 Ordinary Dragonfangs
Stock: 1/1
Zhang Shiyao had already reached Level 11.
Unlike Bai Qiu, her level gap with the Dragonfang Soldiers wasn't as large, so the number of monsters she needed to slay to level up was only about one-eighth, or even less, of what Bai Qiu required.
Luckily, her luck hadn't been bad.
Every time she killed a Dragonfang Soldier, she typically earned two ordinary Dragonfangs, and sometimes even a rare Dragonfang — the drop rate for those was about one-fifth of the normal kind.
After two days of grinding monsters, she had finally gathered just enough Dragonfangs to buy this bow and cover her daily necessities.
But… it still wasn't enough!
Yes — even the best bow was useless without good arrows.
Without proper ammunition, the weapon would never reach its full potential.
However, each Mithril Arrow cost 100 ordinary Dragonfangs, and the Mithril Quiver cost even more!
She had learned a lot from Bai Qiu.
She saw him purchasing Darksteel–series pure strength weapons that let him fully utilize his raw power advantage.
As for her — her physical strength was clearly on the weaker side.
But in terms of mana and agility, she was far superior.
And after listening to Bai Qiu's constant "lectures" about the importance of maximum mana capacity over the past two days, she realized that a shortbow suited her much better.
That was precisely this Mithril Shortbow — lightweight, discreet, not demanding much physical power, and relying primarily on magic for its damage output.
Bai Qiu had also shared his insights about using Noble Phantasms.
Their overall power, he said, was determined by the combined stats of Strength + Weapon + Mana, meaning most Noble Phantasms had power around the C-rank level.
If the weapon's grade wasn't high enough, using a Noble Phantasm even once could destroy it.
Even Bai Qiu's Darksteel Heavy Spear, if used repeatedly for Noble Phantasm activations, would wear out rapidly — and without timely repairs, it would break apart.
After all, it was only D-rank, suitable for raw power usage but not prolonged enchantment output.
Zhang Shiyao entered the Black Tower, rented a small room with Sanctum Coins, and an hour later...
Sitting on the sofa and drying her hair with a towel, Zhang Shiyao muttered to herself:
"I wonder where brother is right now... Oh right, I can just message him directly!"
"Brother, where are you?"
"I'm level 11 now."
As she idly switched between regional and cross-region chat channels, Bai Qiu finally replied.
"I'm at XXX, doing a quest."
The message was short — but even that was rare.
After all, Bai Qiu almost never spoke in chat.
Zhang Shiyao quickly checked the coordinates he sent and was stunned — he was nearly 150 kilometers away!
Zhang Shiyao: "A quest that far away? That's almost 150 kilometers! Can Brother make it back by tomorrow?"
Bai Qiu: "There's a teleportation device in the safe zone. I'll teleport back tomorrow."
Attached below was the basic information on the teleportation device...
Zhang Shiyao: "I see. Alright then… but I'm really curious, what kind of quest takes you that far? Can you tell me?"
Bai Qiu: "Screenshot of the quest panel."
Bai Qiu: "All the nearby elites are cleared out. The route I'm on has more of them."
Bai Qiu: "Video."
Zhang Shiyao read through Bai Qiu's quest information and couldn't help being shocked.
The quest required him to hunt monsters using what was considered the weakest Caster weapon in the entire version!
Even for Bai Qiu, that sounded like a tall order.
No—wait. He had already finished the Thunder Staff, and for the Blazing Staff, only one elite monster remained.
She opened the video he sent.
In it, Bai Qiu held the Blazing Staff, its tip transformed into a 60-centimeter-long fiery blade of condensed magic, making it resemble a spear.
The staff served as the spear's shaft, and the fiery blade as its head.
In the video, Bai Qiu thrust forward with the staff like a true lancer, slaying a Dragonfang Soldier several times his size — an elite Dragonfang General, no doubt!
The aura he exuded was almost the same as when he unleashed a Noble Phantasm within the Scarlet Feather Dungeon— a single strike, a clean instant kill.
Zhang Shiyao: "Wow! Brother's so cool! (๑•̀ㅂ•́)و✧"
Bai Qiu chuckled as he looked at her message.
He sent back an emoji in response, then closed the chat window and continued toward Safe Zone No. 2240.
He had already spent enormous time and energy developing both the Blazing Staff and Thunder Staff techniques.
To craft yet another staff technique before the day's end would be nearly impossible.
He decided to leave the remaining two elite monsters for tomorrow.
But before that, he planned to help Zhang Shiyao unlock her Noble Phantasm first.
Infernal Spear (D+)
Description:
Comprehended independently.
By repeatedly compressing and shaping the staff's fire-element energy, the flames are fused to the staff, turning it into a spear-like weapon.
This greatly enhances localized destructive power and burst potential, provides excellent sustained output, and includes an additional pseudo–Noble Phantasm mode.
Power: 300% → 3000%
Range: 2.2 meters
Chanting/Compression Time: 15 seconds
Cooldown: None
Mana Cost: Moderate
Modes:
Continuous Output Mode:
Sustained use of the Infernal Spear delivers continuous attacks, each hit dealing 3× the base damage of a normal Fireball spell, lasting 10 seconds.
Instant Burst Mode:
Unleash all the spear's fire-element energy in one strike, raising its power to C- rank.
Thrusting with this special attack produces a blow comparable to a Noble Phantasm, dealing 30× the base damage of a normal Fireball spell instantly.