Chapter 116 : Dice
Dice
Staring at the floor of the room littered with corpses, anyone with even a bit of normalcy would feel extremely uncomfortable.
However, remembering that this was just a particularly realistic game, Chen Zixuan still forcibly suppressed the nausea surging inside. He downed a bottle of mana potion and prepared for a final life-and-death struggle with the last mini-boss, austin.
In Chen Zixuan's plan, austin had to die.
Even if Austin were to surrender the batch of goods he'd taken, Chen Zixuan wouldn't spare him after spending so much time for the leap-to-kill reward.
He just didn't know yet what effects Austin's remaining skills might have.
After all, as a level 20 mini-boss, he was worth taking seriously.
To avoid any unexpected complications, Chen Zixuan decided to use every trump card at his disposal, aiming for a quick, decisive victory.
As long as he could deal more than 4,000 points of damage in an instant, austin wouldn't be able to use any skills and could be killed outright.
No hesitation!
Blood began to boil inside him, and a strangely feverish blush appeared on the girl's pale, delicate face.
Blood Burst could massively increase attack and agility in a short time. Feeling his heart pounding powerfully, Chen Zixuan immediately activated Claw Form, with Wound Tear applied to the dagger in his right hand.
In the next instant, his figure abruptly vanished from the spot.
When he reappeared, Chen Zixuan was already behind Austin. His hand, as sharp as a blade, easily tore through flesh, plunging deeply into Austin's bare back!
-769!
Receiving 4 times damage from Eviscerate, austin's physical and magical defense was also reduced by 30%.
To maximize the next round of damage, breaking defenses first was essential.
Feeling his strength rapidly draining, austin let out a miserable howl and tried desperately to escape, but the girl's razor-sharp hand only sunk deeper. Bright red blood gushed out, splattering all around.
"Die, you bastard!"
Half a second later, Chen Zixuan yanked out his blood-soaked left hand, while the black blade in his right drew a long, deep gash across Austin's back, making blood spray like an explosion.
-298!
With another wretched scream, austin's war hammer began to emit a pale glow.
He was about to use a skill.
Chen Zixuan kicked him behind the knee, spun around, and bolted to what he thought was a safe distance, then turned to unleash a crit-boosted Blood Drain and a final Silverflash Pierce at Austin whose health had already dropped below half.
-854! (magic damage)
-2624! (true damage)
Everything went perfectly according to plan.
Austin really didn't manage to use a single skill; his health bar emptied in an instant, and his massive body collapsed lifelessly to the floor, becoming a motionless corpse.
"System notification: You have killed [Hammer Gang Leader Austin] and gained 243 experience points!"
"System notification: You have completed the town quest [Black Eats Black] optional objective one — 'Assassinate the Leader,' and obtained 15 silver and 250 experience points!"
Opening his character panel, Chen Zixuan saw his experience bar for level 9 now nearly halfway full, finally letting out a slight sigh of relief after a stressful day.
Deservedly, a level-restricted quest might be tough, but its rewards were truly abundant.
Moreover, as the quest could only be accepted during night mode, the reward was not subjected to the system's anti-addiction penalty.
At this pace, after finishing the other optional task and grinding some monsters in the wilderness tomorrow, it shouldn't be long before he reached level 10.
The battle was over, now it was time to sweep the battlefield.
Straightening the hair rumpled by fighting, the girl walked directly toward Austin's corpse.
Chen Zixuan had killed level 20 elite monsters before, and as this wasn't a world-class boss, aside from a blue priest's staff and a street vendor's license, there hadn't been any breathtaking loot.
"It's still a gang leader, at least; hope it gives me something a bit more exciting..."
Squatting down slowly, Chen Zixuan began to loot.
"System notification: You have obtained the [Hammer Gang Treasure Vault Key]!"
"System notification: You have obtained 19 gold coins!"
"System notification: You have obtained [Irascible Knight's Steel Helmet] (Rare)!"
"System notification: You have obtained [Fragmented Dice of Destiny]!"
"......."
"The Fragmented Dice of Destiny...?"
Perplexed, Chen Zixuan opened his backpack to check the item's detailed description.
[Fragmented Dice of Destiny] (Single-use consumable item)
Effect: After using this item, you make a roll to randomly gain a permanent special ability. Numbers 4, 5, and 6 grant positive abilities; 1, 2, and 3 grant negative abilities. The chance for each is 50%.
Description: This die, caked with dirt and dried blood, appears to be an artifact from an ancient era, once owned by a gambler who, in his final moments, suffered great misfortune...
...
A permanent special ability?
At first, reading the skill description, Chen Zixuan was slightly happy, but upon seeing the rest, his face instantly darkened.
Though all were 'abilities', there were both good and bad sides. Using this item, there was only a 50% chance of getting a positive effect. As for the other 50%—who knew what terrible, game-ruining effect might come out?
If he was unlucky and drew a negative ability, it wouldn't be too bad if it was an active skill—he could just never use it. But given typical game design, there was a high probability negative effects would be passive, enough to ruin his whole gaming experience.
Everyone knows what happens to gamblers, right?
Although he was running low on time, Chen Zixuan was far from desperate enough to take that kind of risk.
He decisively closed the panel and stashed the die, which radiated an unmistakable aura of doom, deep in the darkest corner of his backpack.
Chen Zixuan didn't intend to use this die for now, nor did he plan to sell it.
After all, it could fetch a sky-high price; in this world, there was never a shortage of gamblers willing to risk it all for a 50% chance.
He just hoped never to find himself forced to use it.
Afterward, Chen Zixuan patiently collected loot from the rest of the corpses. Besides some unfamiliar crafting materials, he scored a few dozen silver.
Regrettably, none of these materials were useful for the Rose Maid set.
Disappointing as it was, those 200 pieces of Natural Snow Silkworm Silk would still have to be acquired.
Twisting the shiny gold key around his finger, making clear clinks as it knocked against his nail, Chen Zixuan strode out of the room. He walked along the pitch-black, empty corridor, heading downstairs toward the treasure vault.
"Strange, where did everyone in this hallway go?"
New names and items: