Chapter 273: Radiance of Cold Crystal
For magical-type minor monsters, the high magic defense Wishcaster should be sent out.
As the transformation occurred, Cute Orange swayed the music score, continuously amplifying the battle chant, with the melodious BGM echoing in the cold, dark cave.
Zane also raised his small hand and chanted, “Wish—Blessing!” After the buff was applied, Zane’s attributes had skyrocketed by over 20%.
Naturally, the monsters wouldn’t just stand by watching.
Several ice arrows rose from the ice-blue souls and, in the next moment, changed direction, targeting the blonde girl ahead.
In addition, other deep cold crystal souls also launched their attacks.
“Guh…” Brother Shiu cleared his throat, “This first round of firepower really tests the tankiness of the tank. If it can’t withstand it, it’ll directly hit the back row!”
“With the Knight’s Guardian Shield and Steel Skin, under the dual damage reduction, it can roughly hold on. You don’t have defensive skills, so you’ll be in a tough spot…”
Before he could finish, countless ice arrows had already fallen onto Zane, who could use Blink to dodge, but if he did that, the attacks would go straight for his teammates, so he might as well try to defend.
-79
-82
-34
-107
…
At least twenty damage numbers popped up simultaneously, and even critical hits took away 100% of his health.
All together, it was only about 1200 damage.
“Looks like… it doesn’t hurt much?” Zane patted the ice arrows stuck all over him, puzzled.
“…Brother Shiu’s mouth twitched, “Why is your skin so thick?”
“Zanny is so amazing…” Youyoufen and Cute Orange said in surprise, their mouths agape.
“It seems I don’t have to keep an eye on my health bar to calculate skill cooldowns like before,” Jiangxia said, pressing his hands down as if relieved.
“It should be because I equipped several pieces of Gold Tier gear, and there’s no level suppression anymore,” Zane analyzed.
The deep cold crystal soul was a level 32 Gold Grade monster, and her own level had also reached 32, so there was no attribute suppression at the same level; it wasn’t strange that the monster couldn’t break through her defenses.
“Several pieces?” Brother Shiu was no longer calm.
“Yep, Magic Sword, Shadow Demon Pauldron, Mana Gloves, and Elemental Horn…
Just those four.
“Do you know why the seal has to die?”
“Hey, didn’t you ask me to say it!”
“Can’t you be a bit more low-key??”
“Is it my fault?!”
While being gluttonous, Zane didn’t forget to observe the monsters’ movements.
After completing the Song of the Sorrowful Rain, the deep cold crystal souls approached, flickering sporadically, while deep blue magic bursts exploded from them.
This seems to be the normal attack pattern.
-1
-2
-1
The damage was pitiful; without skill multipliers, it could only force a deduction of 1 health point.
Since there was no threat, they didn’t need to block the narrow cave entrance anymore.
Stepping out of the cramped cave, a vast empty space came into view, an astonishing area within the mountain, estimated to be about the size of a football field. Above, ice crystals hung upside down, forming a natural wonder.
Before they could take a closer look at the illusion, they took a few more hits.
Better to focus on the task at hand.
“Wish—Flame!”
A wall of flames ignited fiercely, covering the two minor monsters.
-12457
-12711
-11400
…
The damage jumped every half second, and under advantageous circumstances, the damage per second had already reached 24,000. The total health of the deep cold crystal soul was only 43,500, and in less than two seconds, it was burned down, earning experience points and coins.
On the other side, Starry found the right angle and swung the Qiu Yue Sword, releasing a sword aura that penetrated through the three minor monsters, producing three astonishing numbers:
-7916
-15728
-8240
The monsters’ health dropped dramatically.
But that wasn’t the end—taking advantage of the moment the monsters became stiff, Starry stepped to the center and unleashed a Flurry!
-20403
-19971
-20168
They even fortunately triggered the Qiu Yue Strike, leaving all three crystal souls at low health.
“Whoa, Gold Grade monsters can drop like that?” Brother Shiu was dumbfounded; he hadn’t even started attacking yet!
On the team DPS ranking, there were four glaring zeros, while Zane and Starry ranked first and second, respectively.
The low-health monsters didn’t give up resisting; they shook and condensed countless tiny ice crystals, tightly shielding their bodies.
Not only that, they stopped attacking and flew towards the surrounding cold crystals.
“Not good! They’re going to heal!!”
Thinking they could just run away after attacking? It wouldn’t be that easy!
“Wish—Vines!” The resilient branches shot out rapidly, ensnaring one of the crystal souls.
Zane was almost moved to tears; wow, it had been a long time since they’d encountered controllable monsters!
Starry also unleashed an attack, a cold gust surged, frost forming on the sword, “Ice Moon Slash!”
Clang!
The ice crystal shield cracked open with a huge fissure, but the minor monster remained safe and sound.
Still pretty tough?
Youyoufen activated her Wing Flap and grabbed hold of the third fleeing monster.
“This one can’t be killed quickly; it’s better to control it until their shield expires…”
Before the words were finished, Starry directly launched a frenzy of three consecutive slashes; one hit broke the shield, and the second executed it!
“…”
Looking at the harvested monster, Brother Shiu lamented, “This must be a glitch…”
“Aren’t these just minor gatekeeping monsters? No need to be so cautious. I checked the leaderboard; someone has soloed them before.”
“Are you kidding? Do you know how many times we were wiped by these monsters yesterday?”
“How many times?” Zane asked curiously.
Brother Shiu’s face turned red, “Less than 10 times.”
“…”
After clearing the battlefield, there was nothing aside from a pair of shiny white shoes and a few coins.
“Is the drop rate really this low?” It was a bit strange; gear aside, coins should drop in the hundreds, right?
“This is the instance setting; the drop rate is highest only during the first kill of the week, and every subsequent kill of the same monster will have a continuously decreasing drop rate. This equipment probably dropped due to your and Starry’s contributions.”
“What do you mean?”
“The drop rate is calculated based on the entire team cumulatively, meaning even if the four of us have fought these minor monsters many times, the drop rate has dropped to a very low level; since you haven’t fought them, it raises the monster’s drop rate,” Brother Shiu explained clearly.
“Then couldn’t bringing a few people who haven’t run it allow for infinite gear farming?”
“Theoretically, yes. The developers likely set it up to help casual players form better teams, but with the difficulty of this instance, it’s really hard to bring along players who slack off. Also, even the normal drop rates are incredibly low; only outdoor monsters have a slightly higher rate. Getting a Silver Tier piece is already a blessing; I can’t imagine how long it would take to complete a set.”
“Is that so…” Zane nodded, reaching out to touch the pair of shoes, their attributes surfacing as well.
Cold Crystal Shoes:
Rarity: Silver Tier
Required Level: 30
25
33
350
48
35
8%
Summons ice crystals; upon use, summons a small ice crystal to surround the user, capable of withstanding a maximum damage of 500 for 10 seconds, with a cooldown of 1 minute.
Description: The Radiance of Cold Crystal—being influenced by the power and light of cold crystals, some remnants of ancient costumes here have undergone unique changes. Pairing with similar equipment might yield astonishing discoveries.
From an attribute perspective, it’s just an ordinary Silver Tier piece; this special skill adds value, providing a 500 shield, which is quite good for a Mage who hasn’t learned the Magic Shield yet.
Moreover, it’s tailored for magic-type professions, and the Wishcaster can also use it.
Glancing at his own old Bone War Boots, well… a level 14 Black Iron piece, it was high time to switch.
Should I keep it for myself? Just as he was about to ask for everyone’s opinion, Brother Shiu suddenly looked at him with a radiant, fervent gaze.
“Don’t look at me like that; I’m not gay!” Zane hurriedly declared his innocence; it would be bad if the other girls in the party misunderstood.
However, Brother Shiu seemed to totally ignore what he said, rushing over with a fiery gaze!
“Geez!” Zane, startled, lost hold of the cold shoes, tossing them towards Brother Shiu.
They landed right in his arms.
He rubbed the pair of shoes against his face with an ecstatic expression.
“…Why does everyone seem to be acting weird?”
“Heyo!” Youyoufen couldn’t help but laugh.
“What happened yesterday?” Zane quickly asked.
“Well, it just so happened that we also dropped a piece of the Radiance of Cold Crystal armor yesterday, and didn’t expect to hit another piece today.”
“Uh… is the set effect very strong?”
“Yeah… from a certain perspective, it is indeed very powerful,” Jiangxia nodded.
