651 Sensational

Chapter 651 - Sensational

The floors of the Trial Tower were divided into three stages.

For the Trial Tower's first four floors, the difference between each stage was small. However, from the fifth floor onwards, the required combat power would increase significantly with each subsequent stage. Hence, every time a player passed a stage after reaching the fifth floor, they had to undergo a relatively long period of training to proceed further.

In the Divine Colosseum, only experts who had passed through the fourth floor would know how difficult it was to overcome each stage from the fifth floor onwards. Not to mention, Fire Dance and Violet Cloud had only recently passed the sixth floor, arriving on the seventh floor.

However, of everyone in the Divine Colosseum, the situation shocked Ghost Shadow the most.

The record he maintained so far was the middle stage of the seventh floor. In other words, both girls from Zero Wing had at least reached the seventh floor's middle stage and had performed better than he had.

He knew full well just how difficult the battles on the seventh floor were. That was no longer a challenge that an ordinary human being could tackle. Not only did the seventh floor have a relatively high requirement of one's Skill Completion Rate, but more importantly, it also required one perfect application, executing Skills as if they were executing a normal attack.

For example, if an ordinary person and a martial arts master were given identical swords, although the weapons were the same, each person's capabilities with the blade were miles apart. Similarly, the combat power each individual could display was miles apart from each other.

In this case, Skill Completion Rate was the weapon. The higher the Skill Completion Rate was, the more power the weapon could display. However, how much of that power was actually displayed still depended on the individual's application.

Ghost Shadow recognized himself as one of the top players in the virtual gaming world. He was also a talented individual. After coming into contact with God's Domain, he had continuously researched and explored ways to better integrate his Skills into his basic attacks, displaying the maximum effect of his Skills and eliminating any hindrance in battle.

Yet, now, two little girls had surpassed him so quickly. It was inconceivable.

Have they been holding back all this time? Ghost Shadow wondered.

In fact, Ghost Shadow wasn't the only one with such thoughts. Everyone wondered. There was no other explanation. Something like a breakthrough in the face of a crisis was legendary. It might be a coincidence if it were just one person, but it was impossible for two people to encounter such a coincidence at the same time.

The effect of the Hundred Berry Wine is really impressive. It's a pity that I can only get my hands on so many bottles. Relaxing in a room, Shi Feng nodded and smiled as he watched the Trial List.

Shi Feng was not surprised that every member had managed to pass the fourth floor. After all, that was the system-acknowledged standard for an ordinary expert.

After drinking the Hundred Berry Wine, a player's compatibility rate would increase significantly. Normally, the wine was capable of increasing a player's Skill Completion Rate by roughly 10%, though the effects grew weaker as one progressed. However, to Zero Wing's core members whose Skill Completion Rates hovered around 70%, their Skill Completion Rates would increase to 80% or more upon drinking the Hundred Berry Wine. Normally, one would pass through the fourth floor so long as they could maintain a stable Skill Completion Rate of 75%. Hence, it was only natural for everyone to reach the fifth floor.

Meanwhile, Fire Dance and Violet Cloud were capable of reaching 85% Completion Rate with their Skills. After drinking the Hundred Berry Wine, their Skill Completion Rates could increase to roughly 90%. Although it was only a meager increase of 5%, the power they could display with their Skills would improve by 20% or 30%.

The basic requirement for reaching the seventh floor was a Skill Completion Rate of 85%, displaying 100% of a Skill's effect. In addition, if one were capable of skillfully applying their Skills into their basic attacks, they could normally pass through the seventh floor's early stage.

Although Fire Dance and Violet Cloud might still lack actual combat experience and were not proficient with Skill application, a Skill Completion Rate of 90% would be sufficient to get them through even the middle stage and pushing them into the seventh floor's late stage. Hence, the fact that the two girls had managed to surpass a veteran top-tier expert like Ghost Shadow did not surprise Shi Feng at all.

If Ghost Shadow could achieve a 90% Completion Rate with his Skills right now, at the very minimum, he could set foot on the eighth floor.

It's unfortunate that the Hundred Berry Wine only improves a person's combat power temporarily. A person's comprehension depends on the person. Shi Feng sighed as he glanced at the remaining 110 bottles of Hundred Berry Wine in his bag.

The Hundred Berry Wine was a strategic tool in nurturing experts.

It was no wonder why the Fantasy Shrine had managed to rise to power so quickly in the past. The Hundred Berry Wine had definitely contributed to this achievement.

Shortly after every member of Zero Wing's main force passed through the Trial Tower's fourth floor, news spread at the speed of light. This reminded everyone just how powerful Zero Wing was.

Upon receiving this information, many Guilds gave up on their development in White River City, shifting their attention to other cities instead. Against Zero Wing, whose main force consisted entirely of experts who could clear the fourth floor, their Guilds stood no chance. Rather than wait for their extermination, it would be better for them to develop themselves elsewhere. Who knew? Their chances of achieving success might even be higher somewhere else.

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Meanwhile, in Heaven's Burial's Guild Residence…

"Just how did Zero Wing manage to recruit so many experts?" Flame Blood frowned upon receiving news of the Divine Colosseum's latest events.

"What happened?" a short and chubby middle-aged man beside Flame Blood asked in a low tone.

"Zero Wing just sent its main force to challenge the Trial Tower. In the end, every member has managed to reach the fifth floor. Among them, two have even surpassed Ghost Shadow's record," Flame Blood said, not showing any signs of the arrogance he usually displayed as the Commander of Heaven's Burial's main force. On the contrary, he had lowered his posture when he spoke to the chubby middle-aged man.

Although the man before Flame Blood was not adept with virtual reality games, the man's position in the real world allowed him to remove Flame Blood from Heaven's Burial easily should he ever wish to. Even the Guild Leader of Heaven's Burial, Singular Burial, had to treat this middle-aged man with great respect.

"Interesting. It seems that we won't be able to avoid a confrontation with Zero Wing if we wish to obtain this treasured land," the chubby man said as he caressed his goatee. After a moment of silence, he continued, "Since we can't beat them with numbers, let's improve the Guild's overall strength.

"Flame Blood, notify Ghost Shadow and tell him that I'll send Daybreak Fog to help out. We need to obtain the First Clear of a 100-man Dungeon as soon as possible."

"Daybreak Fog?" Flame Blood could not help his surprise at the mention of this name. "Are we giving up on Star-Moon City?"

Heaven's Burial's ambition was colossal. The Guild aimed to control all of Star-Moon Kingdom. The best way to do so was to take control of the kingdom's lifeline first—its players.

The two cities with the largest player population in the kingdom were Star-Moon City and White River City. Both also had the largest gathering of elite players. As long as Heaven's Burial took control of these two cities, controlling the rest of the kingdom was only a matter of time.

Of these two cities, Flame Blood spearheaded the White River City take-over, while Star-Moon City was spearheaded by Daybreak Fog.

If one compared these two people's fame, Daybreak Fog was superior. Flame Blood was merely one of the previous year's top ten newcomers. On the other hand, Daybreak Fog had been one of the top ten newcomers of the virtual gaming world two years ago. Afterward, she had continued to perform magnificently in many virtual reality games. her fame was only slightly inferior to the Snow Goddess, Gentle Snow, as she had made her debut roughly two years later than Gentle Snow had.

In terms of strength, Daybreak Fog ranked third within Heaven's Burial.

If they really sent Daybreak Fog to White River City as support, with her strength and her team, Heaven's Burial might actually have a chance of clearing a 100-man Team Dungeon.

After all, during this period, everyone mostly understood the difficulty of a 100-man Team Dungeon. From the experience of clearing 50-man Team Dungeons, they had thought up of plenty of strategies. Now, all they needed to do was to take action.

"White River City has become Star-Moon Kingdom's business center. The number of elite players migrating to the city increases by the day. Star-Moon City is no match in this aspect. Hence, we have to prioritize this side for now. Moreover, when comparing the difficulty of 100-man Dungeons, White River City's is easier. If we allow Zero Wing to continue developing unhindered, it will become impossible to take control of White River City in the future."

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Suddenly, Shi Feng received a communication request from a friend.

"Gentle Snow?"