Chapter 606: The Lightning Violet Pearl Ring
Just as Marcus was beginning to accept that he had gotten nothing from killing the Heavenly Thunder Leopard, Princess Celeste finished sorting through the Divine Beast’s loot. She pulled out two Identification Scrolls, quickly identified the items with a swish of her hand, then walked over with a satisfied smile.
"Stone, these two items are pretty good. They dropped for you, so here."
"For me?"
"Mm-hmm."
Celeste gave him a bright smile. "If it weren’t for you, the Heavenly Thunder Leopard would have escaped. These two belong to you." She placed the items directly into his hands.
Marcus did not bother with false modesty. He grinned and accepted them. Considering how wealthy the royal palace was, these items probably meant little to the two princesses anyway. More importantly, he had earned them.
He looked down at what he had received. ’Damn.’ One Divine Artifact and one Red Artifact. ’Not bad at all.’
The Heavenly Thunder Leopard was a unique Divine Beast, and its loot certainly lived up to its status. Celeste had already identified both items, so Marcus immediately inspected them.
The first Divine Artifact was a dagger carved from one of the leopard’s fangs. Blue lightning crackled along its surface. When Marcus saw its name, he nearly laughed. It was the very weapon responsible for giving him so much trouble earlier.
—
Heavenly Thunder Drill: Purple Divine Artifact
Requirement: Level 70, Agility 100
A Divine Artifact condensed from the essence and energy of the Divine Beast Heavenly Thunder Leopard.
Effects: Attack +1100, Agility +100, Constitution +50, Movement Speed +5, Attack Speed +3. Attacks deal an additional 800 Lightning damage.
Bonuses: Critical Hit +30%, Attack +20%. Attacks carry a strong Lightning paralysis effect.
Skills:
Lightning Wreath: Summons lightning to protect the user, increasing Defense. Attacks gain additional Lightning and Critical effects.
Heavenly Thunder Piercing Strike: Instantly strikes enemies in a small area three times, with an enhanced Critical effect. Cooldown: 10 seconds.
Ultimate, Heavenly Thunder Drill: The user spins and releases a cone of rotating lightning waves toward the target. The attack contains four waves of lightning, with each wave stronger than the last, and affects enemies across a large area. Cooldown: 30 minutes.
—
It was a very good weapon, and its overall performance was not inferior to his Blackflame Ice Flower Sword.
Unfortunately, the Level 70 requirement meant he could not use it yet, and the Agility requirement made it unsuitable for him anyway.
Marcus shrugged and posted the weapon in the Mad Lion Squad chat, deliberately using it to provoke Drunkard before putting it away in his bag.
Then he looked at the second item, and his mood immediately improved. It was a Red Artifact. More importantly, it was a ring, and not just an ordinary ring. This one could be upgraded.
—
Lightning Violet Pearl Ring: Black Red Artifact
Requirement: Level 50, any class
A miraculous violet lightning pearl formed by chance in Ten-Thunder Valley from stray lightning. It fell into Red Thunder Valley, eventually giving rise to the Heavenly Thunder Leopard and the Black Locust Thunderwood.
The Heavenly Thunder Leopard was unable to completely absorb the pearl’s energy, allowing the pearl to evolve into this Red Artifact ring.
Because of the immense Lightning energy contained within it, the ring can be forged further. However, Advanced Forging and Mythic-grade materials are required.
Remaining Forging Attempts: 2/2
Effects: Strength +20, Constitution +20, Agility +20, Focus +20. Attacks deal an additional 500 Lightning damage.
Bonuses: Lightning Resistance +30%. Attacks gain an additional 20% chance to inflict Lightning paralysis.
Skill:
Lightning Teleport: Active skill. Harnesses Lightning energy to teleport through space. Maximum range: 100 meters. Cooldown: 1 hour.
—
Marcus’s eyes lit up. ’This was good.’ Not only did the ring give him the Heavenly Thunder Leopard’s signature escape skill, Lightning Teleport, but it could also be upgraded. And he could potentially forge a powerful Artifact himself. ’Hell yes.’
The only problem was that Advanced Forging and Mythic-grade materials were still beyond his reach, and that was frustrating, but there was nothing he could do about it for now. He immediately removed his Golden Artifact, the Horseshoe Ring, and replaced it with the Lightning Violet Pearl Ring. The new ring crackled faintly around his finger. ’Nice. Another escape skill.’
Marcus looked at Lightning Teleport again, and a sly grin appeared on his face. ’No. Not just another escape skill.’ Another trick he could use when someone thought they had him cornered.
"Stonehaven, here’s what you need. The Heavenly Thunder Leopard Horn."
Princess Phoenix had finished gathering materials from the corpse. With her Advanced Gathering skill, she had naturally succeeded. She walked over and handed Marcus the pair of horns she had extracted from the Divine Beast.
"Thanks." Marcus accepted the Heavenly Thunder Leopard Horn. The system notification sounded immediately.
Ding!
[Congratulations, player Stonehaven. You have obtained the Heavenly Thunder Leopard Horn. Your quest, ’The Storm That Crossed a Thousand Years,’ has been updated. According to the Dragon Emperor’s decree, you must now obtain another material, one hundred Millennium Thunder Beast Horns, and activate the Twin Wing Island teleportation array within ten days.]
Marcus grinned. "Heh heh..." ’No problem.’ He would deal with the Thunder Beast Horns first, then activate the teleportation array and claim his territory on Twin Wing Island. "Wahaha!" The thought alone was enough to make him happy.
At that moment, Princess Phoenix, who had remained mostly aloof throughout the battle, suddenly spoke.
"Stonehaven, that weapon you used to kill the Heavenly Thunder Leopard. Was it the Divine Artifact Rain of Thousand Needles?"
"Yeah."
Princess Phoenix nodded. "Stonehaven, according to the quest rules, I was supposed to kill the leopard and obtain the horn for you. Unfortunately, I couldn’t stop it from escaping, and you had to step in."
She paused for a moment before continuing. "I remember that there is a set of Shadow Needles sitting unused in the palace. I’ll have them fitted for you. Consider it compensation."
Marcus stared at her. ’Are you kidding me? There was actually compensation for this? A set of Shadow Needles from the royal palace?’ For a moment, one thought completely took over his mind. Using Rain of Thousand Needles had been the smartest decision he had ever made.
Not only had he earned Celeste’s admiration, but now Princess Phoenix was willing to compensate him for stepping in. The two princesses were clearly becoming more favorable toward him, and he had gained something valuable on top of that.
This was happiness. Marcus smiled to himself. The lesson was simple. If you have good equipment, use it when the opportunity comes. If the right moment appears, take it. There was no point leaving powerful treasures sitting in his inventory while he waited for some perfect occasion.