Chapter 18 – The Priestess Statue (Seeking Favorites)

Chapter 18 – The Priestess Statue (Seeking Favorites)

What a treasure! For mages, physical defense was practically meaningless. After all, no mage in their right mind would engage in close combat with melee classes. Therefore, they valued magical defense far more. Similarly, compared to health points, mana was much more crucial. Although this piece of equipment was only Black Iron grade, it was infinitely close to Bronze grade.

In his previous life, Cheng Yang had obtained Bronze equipment before. Without a doubt, a full set of Bronze equipment would grant one incredibly overpowered attributes. However, Bronze equipment wasn’t easy to come by. Most people would be lucky to acquire a full set of Black Iron gear.

Cheng Yang immediately donned the magic robe, instantly exuding an air of mystery. Though his current outfit looked rather mismatched, Cheng Yang didn’t care. In the apocalypse, survival was what truly mattered. What did fashion matter when one’s life was at stake?

At this moment, Liu Hao and the others, hearing the commotion inside die down, cautiously entered. Seeing Cheng Yang clad in black, they were momentarily stunned.

“Did you get more loot?” Liu Hao quickly caught on.

Cheng Yang smiled, “Got lucky. A decent magic robe dropped.”

Yu Kai looked around and asked, “Yang, is the dungeon cleared?”

“Consider it done,” Cheng Yang replied. “The rewards were bountiful this time. Out of three pieces of equipment, two were Black Iron grade. Such fortune is rare outside of first clears. However, getting regular equipment from this dungeon won’t be difficult. For now, it’ll be our main source of gear.”

Yu Kai immediately asked, “Can we keep farming this dungeon?”

“Naturally not,” Cheng Yang explained. “Each person can only enter once per day, and there’s a daily limit to how many times a dungeon can be cleared. Currently, this dungeon’s normal mode can only be cleared three times a day. But this limit can increase as we accumulate more clears. There’s no rush; we’ll take it step by step.”

Liu Hao and the others nodded in understanding. They were beginning to grasp how crucial this dungeon was for Luofeng Village’s development.

Cheng Yang continued, “Alright, now it’s time to claim the greatest reward from this dungeon raid. After all, being the first in the world to clear it, we better get something extraordinary.”

The others had heard Cheng Yang mention the dungeon’s great rewards before, but they thought the three pieces of equipment were already remarkable enough. Now, hearing Cheng Yang’s words, they were overjoyed.

Cheng Yang led the way into the prayer hall, where a half-foot tall white jade statue rested on a table atop a high platform.

The statue depicted a female angel holding a staff, radiating an aura of purity and sanctity.

Cheng Yang gently picked up the statue, handling it as if it might shatter at any moment.

This was it. Although Cheng Yang had anticipated this outcome, he couldn’t help but feel exhilarated. With this, Luofeng Village’s advantage would grow even stronger. In a world where medicine no longer worked, a Priestess wasn’t just another class—it was a lifeline.

Liu Hao and the others stared at the statue, unsure of its significance. But after Cheng Yang’s explanation, their faces lit up with excitement. Liu Hao, being a seasoned gamer, understood the Priestess’s value better than most.

Liu Hao chuckled, “So we’ll have a healer now.”

Niu Bing smacked Liu Hao’s head, glaring at him. “Healer? It’s a Priestess, got it? A Priestess.”

Liu Hao, initially confused, quickly realized his mistake, recalling Pang Shan’s failed class change yesterday. He smiled wryly, knowing he deserved that smack. “Right, a Priestess. Definitely a Priestess.”

Before Liu Hao could finish, the space around them twisted, and in an instant, they found themselves back in Luofeng Village.

The villagers, who had been anxiously waiting, immediately surrounded them upon their sudden appearance near the portal.

Pang Shan was the most relieved, having been the most worried. After all, she was the only woman left behind, and the only one without a class. If anything had happened, she wouldn’t have been able to defend herself.

“Niu Bing, you’re finally back,” Pang Shan sighed in relief, clutching Niu Bing’s arm.

Niu Bing, equally relieved, patted her hand. “It’s alright. We’re back now. With Yang around, there’s no danger.”

Yu Kai chimed in, “Hey, lovebirds, stop flaunting your relationship in front of us singles, will you?”

Cheng Yang cut in, “Alright, enough chit-chat. We don’t have much time. There’s still work to be done.”

With that, Cheng Yang placed the Priestess statue on the altar. The small statue vanished, and a beam of white light erupted from the ground fifty meters away, just like when the other four main class statues had appeared.

When the light faded, a pristine statue stood there, identical to the one Cheng Yang had offered, though positioned slightly outside the main class statues.

“Pang Shan, come here to change your class,” Cheng Yang instructed.

“I can change my class now?” Pang Shan was ecstatic. After Cheng Yang’s confirmation, she rushed to the Priestess statue and followed his instructions to change her class.

Meanwhile, Cheng Yang examined the Priestess statue’s attributes. While similar to the other four main class statues, there were two key differences.

First, the number of class changes allowed. At level one, the Priestess statue could only allow five class changes. This was expected, as Cheng Yang knew from his past life that the Priestess was a semi-special class, inaccessible to most in the main cities.

Second, the statue had an additional upgradeable attribute.

Cheng Yang was certain this attribute hadn’t existed in his previous life. He pondered over it, eventually concluding that it was a reward for being the first in the world to establish a non-main class statue.

In truth, Cheng Yang’s speculation was mostly accurate. In his past life, the first non-main class statue established wasn’t a Priestess.

This additional upgradeable attribute, while increasing the difficulty of upgrading the Priestess statue, gave Luofeng Village’s Priestesses a significant advantage. Compared to this advantage, the increased difficulty was negligible.

Cheng Yang chose to upgrade the Priestess statue’s magic attack, while also upgrading the attack attributes of the other four main class statues.

After completing these upgrades, Cheng Yang opened Pang Shan’s status window.

In the early stages, Priestesses lacked offensive capabilities, relying solely on healing. Thus, they had to cooperate with other classes to progress.

However, given the high demand for Priestesses, this didn’t hinder their leveling. According to the world’s rules, as long as a Priestess healed their teammates in battle, they would receive a share of the Spirit Energy, proportional to their contribution.

After handling Pang Shan’s class change, Cheng Yang began planning their trip to Huimin Town, as the population needed for Luofeng Village’s upgrade was there.

The greatest reward from clearing the Blood Church dungeon was undoubtedly the Priestess statue. Following that were the nearly 200 Spirit Energy points each participant gained, along with an equal amount for the territory. The three pieces of equipment were the least significant.

While the equipment seemed valuable now, it would eventually become obsolete as everyone grew stronger. In contrast, Spirit Energy would remain valuable. In future trades, 200 Spirit Energy points would be worth more than the three pieces of equipment they had obtained.

It was now 8 a.m. Having rushed into the dungeon earlier, they hadn’t eaten breakfast. Before heading to Huimin Town, they needed to address their hunger.