Chapter Twenty-Two: Unexpected Evolution

Chapter 22: Unexpected Evolution

"Waaah!" Xiao Meng sobbed as she threw herself into Lilith’s arms. "Sister! She’s so pitiful! Why, why was her fate designed like this? It’s just too cruel!"

"There, there, Xiao Meng, be a good girl," Lilith said, gently patting her to offer comfort. "Just think of it as watching a tragic movie. If you don’t get too emotionally invested, it won’t hurt so much!"

"But it happened right in front of my eyes!"

"Stop crying!" Lin Zheng stepped forward and patted Xiao Meng’s head. "This world is a projection of reality; tragedies happen everywhere. If you cried every time you saw one, you’d cry yourself to death!"

"Hmph! I’m not that fragile!" Xiao Meng looked at Lin Zheng stubbornly, though her eyes were still red and brimming with tears. She truly was a sentimental little girl. Lin Zheng chuckled, finding himself liking her even more.

"Done crying? Now that you’re done, we should see what equipment the boss dropped!" Lin Zheng said teasingly, which naturally earned him an eye-roll from Xiao Meng. Grinning, Lin Zheng walked over to join Yang Qi in checking the loot.

First was a sword. Its body resembled frosted crystal, exquisite beyond compare. Just by looking at it, one could tell it was an extraordinary weapon. Yang Qi lunged at it like a starving dog. Dignified lady image? What was that worth? It couldn't possibly be worth more than this treasure!

"My little darling! I’ve finally found you!" Lin Zheng sighed. This girl really had no sense of decorum. He immediately turned his head away, feigning ignorance of her existence, which made Xiao Meng giggle. Suddenly, Yang Qi let out a shrill cry.

"Ah! My precious sword! Where is my treasure!? Why is it gone?" Yang Qi wailed in heartbreak. Lin Zheng turned back to look, and—how strange! The sword Yang Qi had just picked up had vanished without a trace.

"You, did you hide it somewhere?" Lin Zheng asked, puzzled.

"Hide it your head! Why would I hide it?"

"Fair point. Given your personality, you’d definitely want to show it off."

"I despise you! I’d just let you all admire it; that’s not showing off!"

"..." The mask is off, isn't it?

"Dummy! Why don't you check your system notifications?" Lin Zheng said, speechless.

"System notifications!? Right, how did I forget that!" Yang Qi slapped her forehead and hurried to check the log. Finally, she found this line:

"The Black Crow Sword has sensed the power of the Frost Crystal Sword and is automatically absorbing it!"

"What the hell? Are you kidding me? It got eaten by the Black Crow Sword?!" Yang Qi jumped around in frustration. "I’ve never heard of a weapon that eats other gear! This is just too unreliable!"

"Dummy!" Lin Zheng looked at her with a 'hopeless case' expression. "Would a normal weapon have such a strange phenomenon? The Black Crow Sword must be special for this to happen. Why don't you check if there are any changes to it first!"

"Ah!" Yang Qi realized, hitting her head hard. "Look at my pig brain! Black Crow Sword! Black Crow Sword!" She frantically drew the sword from her waist. This time, she finally noticed the difference: a golden line had appeared along the spine of the blade, standing out vividly against the pitch-black steel. In her astonishment, she displayed the stats, and for a moment, everyone was stunned.

[Golden Crow's Jiaotu Lv.1: Level Requirement 30, Dark Gold Grade]
[Physical Attack: 650-885, Magic Attack: 650-885]
[Jiaotu’s Power: Max Attack +10%]
[Golden Crow’s Claw: Upon hitting a target, reduces target defense by 10%]
[Sun’s Fire: Attacks ignite the target, reducing current HP by 1% per second for 10 seconds. Cannot stack.]
[Three-Legged Crow: 5% chance to deal triple damage on hit.]
[Divine Strength: Increases user's Strength by an amount equal to their level.]
[Divine Body: Increases user's Constitution by an amount equal to their level.]
[Divine Speed: Increases user's Agility by an amount equal to their level.]
[Treasure Hunter: 10% chance to obtain extra items when killing monsters.]
[Attached Skills: Shadow Dash, Golden Crow Slash]
[Lore: After Yi shot down the nine suns, only Jiaotu remained among the ten Golden Crows. To avenge his brothers, Jiaotu’s soul transformed into a divine sword to assassinate Hou Yi. Alas, he failed at the final step and was sealed by Hou Yi within the bloodline of the Crow clan, gradually losing his spirit and becoming the Black Crow Sword. Absorbing weapons with special attributes will gradually restore the spirit of the Jiaotu Sword!]

"Sun! It’s actually the sun!" Lin Zheng stared at the stats, stunned. In mythology, the Golden Crows were the suns themselves!

"Dark Gold gear! Waaah! I haven't even touched a piece of Silver gear!" Xiao Meng looked on with envy. She was a swordsman, so of course she coveted such a magnificent blade.

"What does 'Lv.1' mean? Can this thing actually level up?" Lilith asked curiously.

"It must be! Look at the description—it says absorbing special weapons restores the sword's spirit. Hehe! It’ll definitely upgrade into a Heavenly Artifact in the future!" Yang Qi stroked the sword excitedly.

"Alright, enough showing off! Move aside, you don't get a share of the rest," Lin Zheng said, annoyed by Yang Qi’s antics. Ignoring her, he turned his focus to the remaining treasures. The sword was gone, but there was still a suit of armor, a pair of boots, a staff, and a skill book left on the ground. Lin Zheng picked up the armor first.

[Frost Crystal Soul Armor: Level Requirement 35, Gold Grade (Metal Armor)]
[Physical Defense: 280, Magic Defense: 250]
[Hard Ice: Physical Defense +5%, Ice Resistance +50]
[Longevity: Max HP +1200]
[Strength: Strength +20]
[Deflect: Physical damage taken reduced by 10%]

It was a powerful piece of metal armor! Everyone marveled at it. Unfortunately, it was metal armor, which meant it was useless to Lin Zheng. Only Yang Qi and Xiao Meng could use it, but Yang Qi had already 'digested' the Frost Crystal Sword, so she didn't have the nerve to fight Xiao Meng for it, despite how much she wanted it. She had to swallow her pain and give it to Xiao Meng. Xiao Meng happily accepted the armor, unable to take her eyes off it.

"Quick! See what else is left!" Urged by Lilith, Lin Zheng picked up the remaining items. The boots were merely Bronze grade—garbage, essentially. No one needed them, so Lin Zheng tossed them to Yang Qi to sell for pocket change. However, the staff made everyone gasp again.

[Frost Crystal Staff: Level Requirement 40, Gold Grade]
[Physical Attack: 560-740, Magic Attack: 660-820]
[Magic Soul: Magic Attack +7%]
[Seer: All spell skill levels +1]
[Intelligence: Intelligence +35]
[Mana Source: Max Mana +1200]
[Attached Skill: Ice Burst]

This staff was incredible! Not only was the base attack sky-high, but it also added 7% attack power and 35 Intelligence—the actual damage boost for a player would be astronomical. It even had an attached skill! If it was anything like the boss's Ice Burst Slash, it would be broken.

"What do we do? We have two mages. Lilith, Youxi, why don't you two roll for it?" Lin Zheng asked. Lilith immediately shook her head.

"I’m a healer; what do I need high attack for? This staff is so powerful, it’s best given to Youxi," Lilith said generously.

"Alright then, it goes to Youxi!" Lin Zheng nodded. He agreed that it suited Youxi best. Youxi, who wouldn't have been surprised if anyone else had jumped for joy at receiving such a staff, simply took it calmly, threw it into her inventory without a second glance, and left Lin Zheng speechless.

There was one skill book left, glowing with a golden light. Lin Zheng picked it up to check.

[Ice Sword Qi: A skill only Warriors can learn. Possesses great power and a chance to inflict a freezing effect.]

"Dammit! This is unfair, why is everything for Warriors?" Lin Zheng couldn't help but curse, while Yang Qi stared at the book with green eyes. Lin Zheng glanced at her, ignored her completely, and turned to Xiao Meng. "Xiao Meng, do you want this skill?"

"Me?" Xiao Meng was surprised, then exclaimed excitedly, "Of course I do! That skill looks so cool!"

"Alright, it's yours!" Lin Zheng gave it to her. Xiao Meng happily took the book, and Yang Qi’s eyes burned with jealousy.

"Look at you, you already have the Jiaotu Sword. Aren't its two skills enough for you to show off with!? Xiao Meng lacks powerful skills, so forget about this one," Lin Zheng said, looking at Yang Qi with disdain.

"More skills never hurt anyone! Who would complain about having too many good skills?" Yang Qi lamented. "But, you’ve got a point. Xiao Meng really does need strong skills, and this one fits her perfectly."

"Heehee! Thank you, brother!" Xiao Meng happily opened the book. The next moment, it dissolved into golden light and merged into her body, and she learned Ice Sword Qi. All that remained on the ground were gold coins. Since Lin Zheng and Lilith hadn't received any gear, they split the 200 or so gold coins equally—a tidy sum of wealth.

"Alright, loot distribution complete. Let's head to the next floor; it's getting late!"