Chapter 156 – Advanced Lineage Crystal
As soon as Gentle Snow extended her Mana Domain, the hundred or so Gargoyle Guards guarding the passage immediately had their mobility and reaction speed slowed dramatically, their bodies behaving as if submerged inside a swamp. Their combat standards had also fallen to the Trial Tower’s fifth-floor standard. Even a first-rate expert could easily toy with the Gargoyle Guards in their current state.
Space Freezing?! Crimson Heart was greatly shocked when she saw Gentle Snow’s Mana Domain. Is she really a Berserker?
Even Cleansed Rue, who used to be a Tier 5 Divine Mage, could not release her Mana Domain in an environment with such powerful mental oppression. Yet, not only did Gentle Snow manage to use her Mana Domain, but she had also managed to execute Space Freezing with it.
This had already gone beyond surprising and reached the realm of fantasy!
It should be known that Space Freezing was an advanced method of using a Mana Domain, and it was impossible to execute without profound knowledge of Mana. The technique was so complex that only a small minority of Tier 5 magical class experts could execute it. Yet, Gentle Snow had successfully used Space Freezing despite being a Berserker.
“Let’s join in as well. She won’t be able to handle so many Gargoyle Guards by herself,” Shi Feng said when he saw that Hundred Flower Palace’s members remained in a daze. “I’ll distract the Gargoyles while the rest of you focus them down.”
The Gargoyle Guards might have had their combat standards reduced to the Trial Tower’s fifth-floor standard, but they were still Level 110 Grand Lords. A group of more than a hundred Gargoyle Guards was more than capable of wearing out a Domain Realm. If they didn’t reduce the Gargoyle Guards’ numbers quickly, even Shi Feng would be whittled to death, let alone Gentle Snow.
Meanwhile, after hearing Shi Feng’s reminder, Crimson Heart and the others promptly snapped out of their daze and began taking action.
The formation Crimson Heart and the others took was simple. Crimson Heart and Cleansed Rue would focus on dealing damage, Still Moon would focus on healing, and Rain Song would focus on guarding Gentle Snow.
Maintaining a Mana Domain while in combat was very taxing for players. There was also the ever-present mental oppression in the labyrinth. If Gentle Snow were to fight and keep her Mana Domain functioning normally in this situation, her Concentration would deplete rapidly. So, to reduce Gentle Snow’s burden, the best solution would be to have her avoid combat.
For a time, Shi Feng could be seen distracting over 90% of the Gargoyle Guards while the rest tried to target Gentle Snow. However, due to the Gargoyles’ weakened combat standards and slugging movements, none of them could get past Rain Song.
As for Crimson Heart and Cleansed Rue, they frenziedly targeted a specific Gargoyle Guard, with Shi Feng sneaking in a few blows from time to time.
The Gargoyle Guards might have 500 million HP, but the battle recovery effect did not exist in the Sealing Labyrinth. This was true for both players and monsters.
In addition, both Crimson Heart and Cleansed Rue were capable of using basic combat techniques at a masterful level, every basic combat technique they executed allowing them to deal over a million damage. If they combined their basic combat techniques with Tier 3 Skills and Spells, they could cause several million damage per attack. One could say that the two of them had thoroughly utilized their near-Tier 4 Basic Attributes.
Crimson Heart’s damage output was especially noteworthy as she executed up to four combat techniques every three seconds. She had perfectly incorporated basic combat techniques into her every move, reaching the Realms of Truth’s entry-level in the truest sense.
Under the combined attacks of Crimson Heart and Cleansed Rue, the first Gargoyle Guard fell in less than two minutes. At the same time, Gentle Snow and Hundred Flower Palace’s four members saw their experience bars increasing by a small but visible chunk.
Roughly an hour later, Gentle Snow became the first player in the party to level up, her level increasing from 103 to 104. Her leveling speed here was not the least bit slower than the grinding expedition Shi Feng held for Zero Wing’s members in the Burning Land.
As the number of Gargoyle Guards decreased, Shi Feng also got to attack more and more frequently. This, in turn, accelerated the party’s speed at killing the Gargoyle Guards.
After another two hours passed, the last of the 100-plus Gargoyle Guards collapsed and disintegrated into dust.
“Something dropped?”
When the last Gargoyle Guard disappeared, Rain Song noticed that the Grand Lord had actually dropped an item. Specifically, it was a dark-gold colored crystal that was the size of a fingernail.
Initially, Rain Song had thought that the Gargoyle Guards did not have any loot since none of the Gargoyle Guards they defeated had dropped anything. She thought that they were merely here to contribute EXP to players. She didn’t think that the last Gargoyle Guard they defeated would actually drop something.
Meanwhile, when Shi Feng saw the dark-gold crystal, a hint of excitement suddenly flashed in his calm eyes.
This Sealing Labyrinth is amazing! I didn’t think this place would drop something like this! Shi Feng couldn’t help but smile when he picked up the dark-gold crystal.
“Did something good drop, Guild Leader?” Gentle Snow asked, her curiosity piqued when she saw the excited look on Shi Feng’s face.
“It’s an Advanced Lineage Crystal,” Shi Feng said, not bothering to withhold information on the dark-gold crystal from Gentle Snow. “This is an amazing item that’s highly sought after even among Outerworld experts.”
Normally, Sealing Labyrinths would only drop the standard Lineage Crystal. Although they also had a chance of dropping Advanced Lineage Crystals, the drop-rate was abysmally low. Players were unlikely to see an Advanced Lineage Crystal drop even after looting over a hundred normal Lineage Crystals.
However, so long as an Advanced Lineage Crystal dropped, it would cause even Outerworld experts to lose their minds.
The opportunity to convert to a non-human race might not be anything special to Outerworld experts. However, the opportunity to convert to a higher creature was an entirely different story.
The “higher creature” here wasn’t referencing the standard higher races such as pure-blooded Elves and Giants. Instead, it referred to higher lifeforms with superior Life Ratings.
Take the Demidragon woman from the Tower Alliance, for example. Despite being at Tier 3, her Life Rating was already close to rivaling the Life Rating of Tier 4 human players. This was also why the Demidragon woman managed to show such extraordinary performance against the Gargoyle Guards.
Meanwhile, the Advanced Lineage Crystal was an item capable of instantly transforming a normal human player into a higher lifeform like the Demidragon.
“Can it let players become very strong?” Gentle Snow asked, an interested look appearing on her face.
“Of course. If you absorb this thing, it wouldn’t even be an exaggeration to say that you’ll become invincible among those of the same tier,” Shi Feng said, chuckling. “But absorbing this crystal requires the help of a magic array that’s constructed using a large amount of Mana Stones. If you’re interested, I can sell it to you for a member price of ten million points.”
Shi Feng was already incredibly generous with his price of ten million points.
If it were up to the Greater God’s Domain’s various powers, they’d charge their members a minimum of one top-tier Fragmented Legendary item or something of equal value for an Advanced Lineage Crystal.