Chapter 7 – Altered Talents (Seeking Favorites)

Chapter 7 – Altered Talents (Seeking Favorites)

At this moment, in the center of Xiangcheng City, amidst a sea of ruins, a massive dome was slowly rising, enveloping an area of two to three kilometers in radius.

As the dome expanded, all humans who witnessed this spectacle turned and fled in terror, unsure of what fate awaited them if caught within the light curtain. Those who were slower found themselves repelled upon contact with the dome, spurring them to run even faster.

Unbeknownst to the fleeing masses, four towering statues, each dozens of meters high, were gradually materializing at the center of the ruins. These statues bore an uncanny resemblance to those at Luofeng Slope, but were ten times larger. Alongside these statues stood six ancient pavilions, their purpose shrouded in mystery. At least, the people of Xiangcheng City had no clue about their significance.

…

Cheng Yang and his companions were also fleeing. The presence of a female companion significantly slowed their progress, and after four full minutes, they had only covered seven hundred meters.

Suddenly, Cheng Yang’s expression shifted as he detected subtle energy fluctuations in the air. This was a sure sign that demonized creatures were about to appear.

Sure enough, after advancing another fifty meters, a flash of light revealed a gray wolf ahead. With a howl, the beast charged straight at Cheng Yang’s group.

Niu Bing and the others were startled. The creature’s sudden appearance was unnerving, and it was a wolf – a genuine carnivore in human perception.

*Magic Missile!* Cheng Yang thought, and a white orb instantly formed at the tip of his staff, shooting towards the wolf like a bullet.

The wolf, a first-tier early-stage monster equivalent to a novice magic apprentice, was sent reeling by Cheng Yang’s attack, suffering significant head injuries.

However, the creature was vicious. Instead of fleeing, it lunged again despite its injuries.

“It’s still alive?” Niu Bing and the others were shocked. They had expected the monster to die instantly from Cheng Yang’s attack.

Cheng Yang raised his wooden staff and explained, “This is a first-tier early-stage demonized gray wolf, equivalent to a human novice warrior apprentice. They have about 30 health points. My Magic Missile only deals 9 damage, so it can’t kill in one hit.” As he spoke, another Magic Missile shot forth.

The unfortunate wolf, having barely taken a few steps, was sent flying back again.

After the initial shock, Niu Bing and the others had calmed somewhat. However, they still struggled to accept the existence of such monsters in the real world. Terms like “health points” and “damage” sounded like they belonged in a video game.

The wounded wolf howled and charged at Cheng Yang with full force. Cheng Yang quickly retreated a few steps before launching another Magic Missile, sending the wolf flying once more.

After another round of combat, the wolf fell dead, lifeless.

Suddenly, several faint light points emerged from the wolf’s corpse and entered Cheng Yang’s body. These were spirit energy points, absorbed by combatants and manifested as spirit energy values, appearing on their personal attribute panels.

While spirit energy couldn’t directly enhance human strength, its importance was immense.

First, cultivating while actively consuming spirit energy doubled or even tripled efficiency. The exact multiplier depended on the total spirit energy, not subjective decisions.

Second, spirit energy was essential for combatants to advance at the profession statues. Each advancement required a certain amount, with higher tiers demanding more.

Finally, spirit energy would become the world’s primary currency due to its tradable nature. The six ancient pavilions in the main city – a tailor shop, blacksmith, carpentry workshop, carving house, and alchemy room – would only accept spirit energy as payment.

The only regret was that being over a kilometer from their base, the slain demonized creatures couldn’t contribute to the territory’s spirit energy.

Cheng Yang wasn’t overly concerned. With demonized creatures just starting to appear, they wouldn’t come in large numbers yet. One or two posed no real threat to him.

The group pressed on, soon encountering and killing a fox-like demonized creature. By now, Cheng Yang’s mana was more than half depleted. For safety’s sake, he had to stop and meditate to recover.

Normally, mana recovery was one point per minute. Meditation or skills like Spirit Nurturing Technique could greatly accelerate this. With Level 1 Meditation, recovery was about one point every two seconds – thirty times faster than natural recovery. Cheng Yang’s Level 2 Meditation allowed him to recover two points every three seconds.

After recovering, the group set off again. With Luofeng Village base now only eight hundred meters away, Cheng Yang led them straight towards it, encountering and dispatching three more demonized creatures along the way.

These first-tier early-stage demonized creatures posed no threat to Cheng Yang, a mid-tier magic apprentice. If not for concern over Niu Bing’s safety, he could have dashed straight back to base.

As Cheng Yang reached the north gate, he found several demonized creatures surrounding the walls. Fortunately, none were at the gate itself.

The gate opened instantly, and only upon entering did Cheng Yang’s heart finally settle.

While he had rushed out without hesitation to rescue Niu Bing, he knew it had been risky. Though familiar with post-apocalyptic scenarios, unexpected variables could always arise. If they had encountered a horde of demonized creatures, he might have escaped with his speed, but Niu Bing and the others would have been in grave danger.

Boss Li came down from the wall and approached Cheng Yang. “Young man, shortly after you left, over twenty monsters appeared around the base, trying to break in. What’s going on? And what did you mean about job changes earlier…”

Cheng Yang waved his hand. “I can’t fully explain it. All I can say is that the apocalypse has come, and the world has become a game arena. To survive, we must desperately improve our strength, or face certain death.”

“What should we do then?” Boss Li asked, bewildered. After Cheng Yang left, he had become the pillar of support, with everyone looking to him for guidance. He had kept a clear head and stabilized everyone’s emotions. But now that Cheng Yang had returned, he was at a loss.

Boss Li was a sensible man. He could tell Cheng Yang knew things others didn’t, but instead of pressing for details, he deferred to Cheng Yang’s judgment.

Cheng Yang said, “Right now, your top priority is job changes. But we don’t have enough spirit energy yet, so we’ll have to wait a bit.”

With that, Cheng Yang quickly ascended the wall and began attacking the demonized creatures below without hesitation.

With Cheng Yang’s attack power, four Magic Missiles were enough to kill a demonized creature, earning him one spirit energy point while also adding one to the territory’s reserves.

After killing six demonized creatures, Cheng Yang’s personal spirit energy reached 11, and Luofeng Village’s territory spirit energy hit 10.

Cheng Yang ceased his attacks and turned to Yu Kai, who had been watching nearby. “Old Yu, come with me. You’ll change jobs first, then help me kill demonized creatures to speed things up.”

Yu Kai was slightly taken aback. “Why me first? Let Haozi go. He’s as good at games as you are.”

Cheng Yang shook his head. “He’s better suited to be a warrior, but we can’t open the gates yet, so melee combatants can’t be effective. You’re suited to be an archer, so you should go first.”

Cheng Yang remembered that in his previous life, Yu Kai had a C-grade talent: increasing ranged attack distance by 2% and physical attack by 1% with each minor advancement. This was above average among humans.

After hearing Cheng Yang’s explanation, Yu Kai didn’t argue further, trusting that Cheng Yang had his reasons.

Following Cheng Yang’s instructions, Yu Kai descended the wall and placed his hand on the archer statue. A rainbow light enveloped him, and moments later, a wooden bow appeared in his hand with a quiver of arrows at his waist.

Cheng Yang opened the territory’s attribute panel and indeed saw Yu Kai’s name under resident management. As lord, he could view any resident’s attributes.

Seeing these attributes, Cheng Yang was stunned. How did Yu Kai also have an S-grade talent? While he could explain his own altered talent as a result of rebirth, what explained Yu Kai’s?

Suddenly, a thought struck Cheng Yang. Perhaps his talent change wasn’t due to rebirth, but rather the timing of his job change. Maybe the earlier one changed jobs, the better the talent they received. Of course, Cheng Yang couldn’t be certain of this hypothesis yet and needed further verification.

Currently, both his and Yu Kai’s S-grade talents, while impressive, didn’t show dramatic effects. However, the true power of talents lay in their growth potential. At higher levels, Yu Kai’s strength would become virtually unmatched among his peers – unless, of course, his opponents possessed equally formidable talents.

PS: New book seeking recommendations and favorites…