Chapter 57: The Shadow Set

"Bang!" An explosion suddenly erupted from a section of the underground graveyard. Following the sound, Lin Zheng and the girl looked over and saw a huge black heart floating up from the blasted earth! Immediately after, a powerful suction force emanated from the heart. Instantly, the corpses of all the unjust victims on the ground flew toward the heart, fusing together into a somewhat—no, extremely disgusting giant meatball!

Soon, the meatball shifted rapidly. With two "Bang! Bang!" sounds, a pair of fat legs hit the ground, and then four plump arms split out from the meatball, holding bloody lethal weapons—two blades and two iron hooks! Finally, a ferocious head appeared, and an ugly, ear-piercing roar erupted from the giant abomination's mouth, signaling that its transformation was complete!

Giant Abomination: Level 60 Silver Boss, Physical Attack 1825-2170, Physical Defense 590, Magical Defense 525, HP 228,750. Skills—Plague, Ferocious! One of Oner's proudest creations, a monster gathered from a large number of the deceased's corpses, exceptionally ferocious!

This was the boss's data with its attributes reduced by the Ghost God. It was evident that the boss in its prime would have been extremely formidable; if not for the Ghost God, it undoubtedly would have been a bitter battle! However, reality didn't have that many "what ifs." Emerging while Lin Zheng's Ghost God status was still active could only be considered this boss's bad luck!

"I'll go up first to draw the boss's aggro. Once I've secured it, I'll tell you when to move in!" With that, Lin Zheng dashed toward the Giant Abomination. The Ghost God state still had a little over a minute left. During this time, Lin Zheng could completely ignore the boss's attacks and charge straight to its feet to unleash assaults! The Giant Abomination was massive, but its legs were very short, and its gigantic belly made Lin Zheng feel as though he were looking at a wall when he got close! The moment he rushed in front of the boss, a patch of green plague gas surrounding the boss coiled around Lin Zheng, instantly prompting a notification: "You have been infected by the plague, HP reduced by 2% per second!"

Lin Zheng's expression shifted slightly. This plague was truly troublesome, and even damage-reduction effects were useless against it. It seemed imperative to eliminate the boss as quickly as possible! Ignoring the attacks landing on his body, Lin Zheng directly disassembled the Crescent Moon. Without even using skills, he launched a frantic, unmethodical flurry of hacks straight at the boss's huge belly!

The boss roared angrily, its two large cleavers hacking endlessly at Lin Zheng. Yet, the 110% damage-reduction effect meant that the depleted HP wasn't even faster than Lin Zheng's automatic recovery! In the blink of an eye, a quarter of the boss's HP was hacked away by Lin Zheng. At this moment, Lin Zheng shouted loudly, "You can come over now, kill this guy at top speed, my Ghost God is about to wear off!"

"Swish—" Xiaomo rushed in front of the boss in an instant. Her slender sword thrust forward, and a flurry of sword images fell upon the boss, its HP plunging precipitously! Lin Zheng had still somewhat underestimated Xiaomo's single-target output. After a few consecutive piercing strikes, the boss's aggro was finally pulled over by Xiaomo. Roaring, it swung its two large blades and hacked toward Xiaomo! The attack range of those two blades was immense, arriving one after the other, inadvertently sealing off Xiaomo's dodging space!

Xiaomo's expression changed slightly, and just as she was about to figure out how to escape, she heard Lin Zheng give a furious roar. A gigantic Ghost God instantly materialized, slamming the boss flying with a single impact! After ramming the boss away, Lin Zheng didn't stop immediately. Roaring, he drove the ghostly projection forward, continuously charging into the gargantuan boss. The boss was beaten back repeatedly by the ghostly projection, damage numbers constantly floating above its head until it was violently slammed against the wall of the wizard tower by Lin Zheng. The boss's last sliver of HP was depleted by the impact, and loot clattered all over the ground!

"Phew—" Lin Zheng breathed a sigh of relief. The ghostly projection and the Ghost God state vanished simultaneously; the timing was simply perfect!

"Um..." Xiaomo walked up, casting a sideways glance at the ground, and said rather shyly, "Just now... thank you!"

"Huh!?" Lin Zheng was stunned. This proud young miss would actually say thank you? Seeming to sense Lin Zheng's thoughts, Xiaomo cast a brief glance at him and "Hmph'd—" proudly tossing her head back. Seeing this, Lin Zheng couldn't help but smile. This young miss was really quite interesting!

"Alright, Young Miss, come take a look at our spoils of war!" Lin Zheng said, holding back a smile.

"Seeing as you're treating me, fine!" Xiaomo walked over to Lin Zheng's side, putting on a gracious front. However, Lin Zheng could still see a pair of very expectant eyes on her proud face! He couldn't help but think that this was probably the first boss this young miss had ever killed! Look at that excitement! Smiling faintly under Xiaomo's anticipatory gaze, Lin Zheng picked up the two pieces of equipment dropped by the boss: a pair of leather boots and a pair of gloves.

Shadow Leather Boots: Level Requirement 55, Silver Grade.
Physical Defense 160, Magical Defense 160.
Agility: Agility +30.
Strength: Strength +35.
Nimble Hands: Attack Speed +5%.
Part of the Shadow Set...

Shadow Gloves: Level Requirement 55, Silver Grade.
Physical Defense 130, Magical Defense 130.
Brute Force: Strength +31.
Stamina: Stamina +32.
Nimble Hands: Attack Speed +4%.
Part of the Shadow Set...

It was actually a Silver-grade set! Lin Zheng was moved. This set of Shadow-series leather armor was far more powerful than the Raid Set he was currently using! The set bonuses were extremely potent: two pieces granted Physical Defense +400 and Magical Defense +400; three pieces granted Critical Strike Rate +6%; four pieces granted Attack Speed +10%; and all five pieces completed granted 30% damage reduction!

I really want them! Lin Zheng stared at the equipment and swallowed hard. However, when he looked at Xiaomo, this young miss seemed quite interested in these black leather items! He glanced at her gear again—all store-bought goods! Forget it, give them to this girl! With that thought, he handed the equipment over to Xiaomo's hands. "Take them! They're all yours!"

"All mine?!" Xiaomo was overjoyed, then asked suspiciously, "What about you then? It looks like you'll be able to use this equipment very soon!"

"The set I'm wearing is also a Silver set, it's enough for now. Look at you instead!" Saying this, Lin Zheng shook his head and clicked his tongue twice. "Dressed entirely in store-bought gear, it really lowers your grade compared to your status as a young miss!"

Xiaomo's face turned red. Then she glared at Lin Zheng and said, "I just happen to like this style of leather armor, so what!?"

"Oh? Is that so!" Lin Zheng put on an "I see" expression. "Then please give the items back to me. As you know, I'll be able to use them very soon!"

"Hmph—keep dreaming!" Xiaomo swiftly stowed the equipment into her inventory, then looked at Lin Zheng with a smug expression. "Once things are in this young miss's hands, they belong to this young miss. Want them back? No way!" Lin Zheng rolled his eyes. This young miss was truly unreasonable!

At that moment, the boss's corpse vanished, and in the spot where it had disappeared, a portal appeared—presumably the entrance leading to the next stage. Time was limited, and Lin Zheng didn't plan to banter with Xiaomo any longer. He gathered the in-game currency from the ground and stepped straight into the portal.

With a single step through the portal, in the span of a breath, the two of them had left the underground graveyard and appeared in a dimly lit, secretive chamber. This vast chamber was littered with corpse fragments and withered bones. Fortunately, they had harmony mode enabled; otherwise, the sight here would have definitely frightened Xiaomo into screaming!

"Second Stage—The Hall of Debris!"

Along with the system's feigned gloomy notification tone, the second stage of the Wizard Tower dungeon began...