Funny Feeling
And so, Tongqiu's next few days were spent by getting into a closer, less awkward relationship with the now official maids of his villa as well as spending some good damn time with Diana and Natalia.
With his maids now working like crazy to clean here and there with serious faces and strict schedules, the pool, the residential area and even the now completely built gym area were getting perfectly clean every now and then and ready to use, Tongqiu had finally the opportunity to watch both; a slim, pure and 'plump' body as well as a goddess with a toned, bronze-creamy skin with a golden touch; specially her incredible torso and magnificent abdomen... in a bikini.
Life is good.
In any case, his maids received quite the good amount of payment and some extra time for their breaks; after all, some of them were still quite young and had to still study or even go to school, so some little extra time wouldn't be awful. It wasn't as if they couldn't go out in their break time or free days, of course they could, but the villa was really quite big and though the necessary work all around it was a lot to do, it was merely so for the beginning. Reason being, that there were only three or so people living in such an enormous residential area, besides the previous cleaners that maintained the villa in a more or less acceptable level. Afterwards, they wouldn't need to crazily move around to have this villa impeccable and would simply need to clean it in a very well organized schedule that was invented by Itnia.
Days went by, peacefully. Tongqiu discovered by checking the forums every once in a while -really smart- that there was supposedly, a global announcement about a new area opening up for all players LV15+; with three different areas, LV15-20 outer area, LV20-25 inner area and LV25-28 core area.
There was also a hint, mention of there being another hidden yet extremely small area that will be available once all remaining requisites were met. For now though, nobody had any idea to what it was.
According to the Level Leaderboards:
[Level]
1.-Name: Hidden, Affiliation: None, Level: 30
2.-Name: Little Phoenix Maiden, Affiliation: None, Level: 28
3.-Name: Baston, Affiliation: Guerrilla Guild, Level: 27
4.-Name: Selina, Affiliation: House Sun-Breaker, Level: 27
5.-Name: Hidden, Affiliation: None, Level: 27
6.-Name: Mommy Heals You, Affiliation: None, Level: 26
7.-Name: Oco, Affiliation: Glorious Gods Sect, Level: 26
8.-Name: Yin Xiong, Affiliation: Dark immortal Sect, Level: 26
9.-Name: Tong Tao, Affiliation: Trinity Hall, Level: 25
10.-Name: Silha, Affiliation: Frozen Maiden Sect, Level: 25
It seemed as if, it was actually quite the challenge to reach LV30.
Tongqiu was, however, quite glad to see Natalia still play and even be part of one of the most popular Leaderboards of all! She was doing good, he was proud.
'Maybe it is supposed to be genuinely that difficult? I mean, I had the chance to hold onto a train of level ups but... yeah, maybe that's the case. Or... maybe there aren't any high-leveled mobs? I never truly saw a LV29-LV30 before coming down... 'here', if it is because of something, it must be that.' Tongqiu thought as he was calmly waling towards his room and put his gauntlets on, entering Rising Essence.
***
Tongqiu first stretched, then made a few runs before finally getting close to the already 'exhausted' -as if it wasn't a soul that has taken form- last Unwilling Lost Soul in the Courtyard of the Heroic Souls and rapidly killing it too, even without stacks.
*PING*... you've successfully killed a 3 Star Elite 'Unwilling Lost Soul, Archery Sage', as a reward, SP+180 and Fame+180.
*PING*... the floor's, Courtyard of the Heroic Souls, objective has been completed. [1 Star Elite Unwilling Souls: 31,410/31,410]
*PING*... the floor's, Courtyard of the Heroic Souls, objective has been completed. [2 Star Elite Unwilling Souls: 11,767/11,767]
*PING*... the floor's, Courtyard of the Heroic Souls, objective has been completed. [3 Star Elite Unwilling Souls: 3,303/3,303]
*PING*... the floor's, Courtyard of the Heroic Souls, objective has been completed. [3 Star Elite Unwilling Lost Souls: 333/333]
He had left this 'little' guy here so that he'd have an extra free day for relaxation as he knew, obviously, that he was about to face a big BOSS most likely after getting out of here. And taking into consideration that he was quite closer to being fully healed, he let his mind be prepared for whatever kind of battle he'd face, it was obvious it wouldn't be like Mortal's Terror or the likes, it may even be a Heavenly grade one, and a HIGHER leveled one at that... just of thinking about it made Tongqiu not want to live anymore, ah- if the Deserter was already so fear inducing and with an astronomical 666,000 HP at level 30... he really wasn't ready to know what was up with a LV 60 one, or even higher at that...
After killing it, Tongqiu opened his status window, something he'd long lost the thrill for doing so.
Character: Tongqiu
Race: Human — Innate Race Talents: Adaptability, Racial Reproductive Wonder, Warmonger — Race Ability: Union
Level: 30
Class: Evil Saint
Basic attributes: STR: 210, DEX: 210, LCK: 210, REC: 210, WIS: 210, INT: 210, DET: 210, Luck: 30, Charm: 30
Association: None, Money: 8,150, Fame: 1,000,000
HP: 6,370, MP: 7,900, Stamina: 8,000
Attack Power: 2,430, Magic Power: 3,690
Physical Defense: 762, Magical Defense: 762, HP Regeneration: 5, MP Regeneration: 15, Stamina Regeneration: 15
Hit Rate: 30%, Dodge Rate: 30%
Critical Hit Rate: 30%, Pierce Rate: 30%, Critical Hit Damage: 15%
Attack Speed: 130%, Movement Speed: 130%
Core Elemental Resistance: Fire: 0%, Water: 0%, Earth: 0%, Wind: 0%, Lightning: 0%
AP: 0, SP: 2,304,367
Sigh~
Taking a deep breath, Tongqiu released a deep, long, satisfied sigh after looking at the BIG numbers of his SP. His Fame also strangely capped at 1,000,000; to which the system adorably responded with 'unknown anomaly' and what-not. Whether this method of accumulating stuff and making use of it at once for the purpose of triggering superficial satisfaction was healthy or not was not something he gave a fuck about, it felt good for Tongqiu so it shouldn't be bad, right? Anyways, he then opened his skill window:
[Unparalleled Angle]: Skill: Passive, Trigger, MAX LV 20, LV: 15, SP needed for next LV: 49,152, cooldown: 0 seconds, cost: 40 mana and 80 stamina. Usually, to start an attack one needs to accumulate force, raw strength. Use this skill in the opportune moment to change the direction and angle of attack of your melee weapon without losing any strength, and with accurate precision.Additional Effect: When activated Physical Damage+14%.
[Tongqiu's Rain Showdown]: Type: AOE Active Skill, MAX LV: 20, LV: 10, SP needed for next LV: 10,240. Cooldown: 8 seconds, cost: 10 MP, 10 Stamina. Range: 0-30 meters. With Tongqiu's weapon or weapons in use, point with it towards the sky to activate this skill to create from the sky an AOE rain of attacks with the shape of the weapon or item in use (arrow, bolt, javelin) without stopping for 15 seconds. Creates around 18 of the weapon's shadows per second with damage equal to 180% of Tongqiu's Attack Power and Magic Power for each shadow.
[Combustion]: Type: Activate/Deactivate Skill, MAX LV: 10, LV: 10, SP needed for next LV: MAX, cooldown: 0.05 seconds, cost: 300 MP and 300 Stamina. Once activated, all attacks (can explode at will) have an explosive effect to it from the user's essence type. It has an AOE of 9 meters melee, 30 meters ranged. This effect can be activated and deactivated in any moment and situation, and only attacking consumes MP and stamina. Damage dealt equals to 300% Magical Power as well as 300% Physical Power.
[Battle Frenzy]: Type: Passive Skill, MAX LV: 10, LV: 10, SP needed for next LV: MAX, effect: every critical or pierce attack adds 1 stack while every critical and pierce attack adds 3 stacks; dodging an ability or attack adds 1 stack. Once in battle, the longer you keep on fighting and destroying your enemy, the more stacks you'll accumulate. Each 10 stacks grants the user physical and magical power+300. Cap of 200 stacks.
[Low-level Rising Essence!]: Type: Ultimate Skill, MAX LV: 3, LV: 0, SP needed for next LV: 100,000, cost: all your essence stored without affecting your stolen essence contributing towards your main stat. Use this skill to first create an impossible to dodge, block or negate burst of essence that dries completely the user's essence. Damage equal to that of 15,000% Physical and Magical Power. This is not even the complete version (LV0).
[Transient Divine Burst]: Type: Active/Self-Buff, MAX LV: 10, LV: 10, SP needed for next LV: MAX, cooldown: 35 seconds, cost: 15% of your total HP every 10 seconds. You've gone through arduous battle experience and comprehended a skill that has never been as flexible when it comes to melee battle empowering. Effect: Once this skill is activated, all your melee attack's type of damage are the adjoined by your Physical and Magical Power; all your basic attacks without any other skill empowering them or transforming them increases its total damage dealt by 270%, your attacks also gain a +65% chance of stunning the enemy and Critical Hit Rate+25%. All kinds of damage received are reduced by 50% and Physical and Magical Defense+50%. Duration: limitless.
This time, he would also not hold back and even upgrade the useless -for now- 'Low-level Rising Essence!' skill, he would need it for whatever was next to come at him... of course, he'd rather have it an easy way but, didn't seem like that from the beginning.
[Unparalleled Angle]: Skill: Passive, Trigger, MAX LV 20, LV: 20, SP needed for next LV: MAX, cooldown: 0 seconds, cost: 115 mana and 115 stamina. Usually, to start an attack one needs to accumulate force, raw strength. Use this skill in the opportune moment to change the direction and angle of attack of your melee weapon without losing any strength, and with accurate precision.Additional Effect: When activated Physical Damage+20% and chance to inflict Stun state+15% upon hit.
[Tongqiu's Rain Showdown]: Type: AOE Active Skill, MAX LV: 20, LV: 16, SP needed for next LV: 655,360. Cooldown: 4.5 seconds, cost: 25 MP, 25 Stamina. Range: 0-38 meters. With Tongqiu's weapon or weapons in use, point with it towards the sky to activate this skill to create from the sky an AOE rain of attacks with the shape of the weapon or item in use (arrow, bolt, javelin) without stopping for 15 seconds. Creates around 25 of the weapon's shadows per second with damage equal to 200% of Tongqiu's Attack Power and Magic Power for each shadow.
Tongqiu realized by only maxing Unparalleled Angle, how silly he had been as to upgrading them all to max referred to- really, really naïve of him. That entity back there gave him a pat in the back, not a push!
It wasn't enough to even better up all of his offensive skills, he itched to lodge a complaint right now. If that 'entity' were to hear him right now, how stupefied would it get? A couple of million SP and still not enough to satisfy that little human... 'it' would genuinely become muddled for quite a good while!
As for the expenses of SP on his skills; it took an unbelievable 1,523,712 SP, for Unparalleled Angle alone. It really went crazy as his suspicions grew increasingly intrigued this time!
Since he wasted more, much more than double of his SP on one Unparalleled Angle alone, poor little Tongqiu's Rain Showdown could barely be given 645,120 SP before he was no longer able to keep on upgrading it... it was an unexpected sad story; but Tongqiu already had some inklings towards this kind of result, so he wasn't struck dumbstruck for too much of a 'little while'.
'Hmm...' Looking through all of his skills, Tongqiu couldn't help but once again be intrigued by Unparalleled Angle, this was supposed to be a skill, a 'normal' non-class skill so, how the hell did it actually need that many SP? It isn't even that amazing, right now, Tongqiu would only use it for some extra damage here and there -and not even all the time- since his skills with certain weapons was already that good.
He could believe it at Tongqiu's Rain Showdown being hella costly but, he couldn't really accept Unparalleled Angle to be, unparalleled...
'Hmm... maybe I should just look for skill- nah, I'm not a masochist to look through endless threads about skills. I'll just fucking do one myself about Unparalleled Angle alone and see what's up, uh-uh. Let's see... here, mhm... mh hm hm hmhm~.... alright, done!' As Tongqiu went ahead and opened the forums' interface, he also stopped by every step to stop and think of how to write his thread; by the time he finished, a gate that gave one the sight of pure, blinding white sheen was once again seen as he inched closer and closer towards it.
He suddenly stopped moving forwards as he was now merely two steps from crossing through the gate. This gate was obviously made from the dark, navy blue brick-like material from that previous floor, or rather, main floor.
He had already closed the forum interface and was now staring silently and indifferently at the gate.
*PING*... your current Mental Power, is 387.
He had obviously levelled up exactly five times by the time the last few Unwilling Lost Souls were alive and as such, had his main stat increased by 5 as well. The good thing is, he no longer needed to wait too many minutes before being able to visualize his Mental Power; obviously, such a progress should be thanks to the interesting battles he has gone through during his stay at the Courtyard of the Heroic Souls. First was the no longer needing to fixedly lock his eyes on his enemies to know their status windows, now this; it gave Tongqiu a little bit of understanding and experience of some kind. This made Tongqiu feel a little proud about himself, a little.
. . .
After an unknown time had passed by, his eyes took a determined glint to themselves before he crossed the gate in one step.
***
As he stepped onto the brick-like material on the ground, Tongqiu instantly felt some changes all around him.
If there was a need to put it in words, it was somehow more... alive. It wasn't the cold-looking, spacious confined room-like enormous floor.
There was also that strange mist from before and the shadow female figure hidden withing it; and its obvious changes.
First of all, if the mist could be compared to along, serpentine river then now, it'd be akin to that of a small fraction of an ocean. It was not capable of filling even 1,000 meter radius area but it was undoubtedly much more solid and was now fluctuating endlessly. Instead of occupying more land overall, it rather chose to occupy the entire area that it occupied before; meaning, it had now the entire sky filled with such mist, and as to why...
For Tongqiu, and anyone with clear sight, was obvious to see. The previously somewhat big female shadow hiding within the mist grew exponentially since the last time he was here, it was at least 76 meters long, but, it still managed to keep its slim yet strong and powerful constitution. The only way Tongqiu could understand this was thanks to his Mental Power, and his efficient, more experienced control over it, not just simply his big amount of itself.
When Tongqiu realized that such changes were capable as long as he honed his own specialties, and realized how much of a blockhead he was on neglecting them, he felt immeasurably conscious and at fault as he also vowed to delve further into this aspect of his... in any way.
"Oh, so you've come."
Not a single other thought entered in Tongqiu's head as he was interrupted by a now cold, detached yet still girlish voice.
"Are we- do we have to face off right away? Can't we..." With his arms spread, Tongqiu put on a frowning, worried face as he asked 'her'.
Yet, his questioning was ignored and interrupted as he was met with a question of 'hers' by her cold, detached and girly voice instead: "Mn. Definitely not bad for the one who carries your profes- ah right, it should be called as 'Class' by you 'Journeyers'... You've improved but, you still need polishment. Heh, not even your greatest asset is used properly, even below the level of an ignorant apprentice of old times! How could you be this... impertinent towards such potential as your own?"
Tongqiu: (ง ͠° ͟ل͜ ͡°)ง
Even so, Tongqiu still had some questions to ask even if it was just for fun and as such, he took a still humble yet assertive stance as he once again spoke out in defiance: "I am aware of my shortcomings, I'm well aware and also know that I got many of them; but I'd also like to talk before we being, what does fairy thinks?"
With clear understanding on what he was after, the entity seemingly turned playful as its voice resounded once again: "Hmph~, how do you even know we'll fight? Are you just itching to kill me and relish on the feeling of taking out such an existence such as myself? Heeeh~, are you just provoking me, little ant?"
'Huh? Little? What's up with... agh... somehow, it got weird. Could it be 'she' doesn't like to be called young nor any synonym of it?' Deeply yet sneakily sighing, Tongqiu took a deep, short breath before speaking again.
"My lady, please! Don't misunderstand me, I'm merely here to look for the Ancient one... I take it it's only one since there was never a mention from, uh, my 'advisor'. Could it be... that is yourself?" As he went to the part where he directly confronted the entity, he took a step forward with his right foot before spreading his arms and also lifting his right eyebrow.
The entity's shadow visible flinched, then, as if she muttered 'how did you?!...' before cutting her own words off before its shadow's head turned here and there in obvious panic.
'Trying to recompose yourself, little girl? Hein!' As Tongqiu's eyes adopted a devious glint, he immediately went for another 'blow' at this little Ancient one.
"Could you tell me who you are? Your name. Your origins... your life?"
Gasp!
At the mention of his intense curiosity and interest on herself, the 'Ancient' one girlish, expectant and nervous gasp was heard in a delicate and small form, before her voice sounded out: "What do you wanna know?! Tell me!!"
'Ah, got you.' With this innocent one, Tongqiu could already look for weak spots and vulnerabilities... success!
...
