46 Book 3 Chapter 42

Jason watched people mourn as if he was a spectator. He once felt like they did. That awful feeling of looting the items his companions invested countless hours obtaining. The second time felt even worse, but then there was the third, the fourth, the fifth. Eventually, your heart grew numb, and you took on a utilitarian point of view. You looted the fallen to survive.

Shenlong approached Jason, and it was clear he was forcing himself to remain calm. His voice was hoarse as he asked. "What do I do?"

Jason locked eyes with Shenlong. "Press on. That's all you can do."

Shenlong nodded as if he understood, but he remained motionless. Seeing this, Jason continued. "What did we come here for?"

"The blueprints," Shenlong responded absentmindedly, his mind lost in dark thoughts.

Jason shook his head and sat down to recover from his wounds when Shenlong didn't move. He used several skills to force most of the tier five demons to attack him, so he was physically exhausted. The only reason he survived was because of his first and only rune.

Unity - Tier 1 Rune

Passively adds the defense of your currently equipped items together, reduces it by 90%, then applies it to your equipped items and body.

Remark 1: The effect of this rune replaces the defense of your currently equipped items.

Remark 2: This rune applies to your hair, eyes, organs, and everything else considered a part of your body.

Passively reduces damage taken by 1%.

Unity was a rune he had in the past, and it served him well. Although his shield and chest, the largest defensive items he wore, had reduced defense because of the rune, his other items received a boost. Not only that, his skin, bones, organs, and vulnerable parts of his body, like his eyes, gained the defensive boost as well. Even his hair was stronger than steel now.

Unlike Shenlong and the others, Roy was able to reject his emotions and focus entirely on what needed to be done. He felt forced into a leading role upon seeing nobody take command, so he shouted. "Sam, where are you?"

Sam rested against an undead beast, caring not for the smell. Upon hearing his name, he groaned and stood up, "Over here."

Roy turned to face the scout. "Lead a team into the stronghold. Search for the blueprints; they should be a round see-through gem."

Carly and the other healers were already tending to the wounded. Perhaps because of their occupation, they didn't fall listless like the others. It was their duty to heal and mend. Roy nodded in relief upon seeing this. Now there was only one thing left. Taking a deep breath, he shouted, "Everyone, we can't stay here. Demons will investigate the fallen stronghold, remember? We need to get these blueprints back to the haven to prevent further losses during tomorrow's blood moon. Don't let our brothers and sisters' sacrifices be in vain."

"Shit," A bearded young man wiped his tears and stood. The others followed his lead and collected themselves.

Thankfully, Sam's party didn't take long. The stronghold was the size of a neighborhood, so it wasn't hard to find what they needed. Exiting the town, Sam approached Shenlong by habit, only to turn to Roy after seeing the elder's condition. "Dude, we hit the jackpot. Besides five blueprints, for some reason, the demons had a stockpile of essence."

"How much we talkin'?" Roy had high hopes after seeing Sam's excitement, and indeed, after hearing the report, it was right to say jackpot. Roy decided to announce the news to raise morale. "Guys, Sam's team here found a stockpile of essence in the stronghold. It's hard to believe, but it's even better than our loot from the blood moon last week. Although the tier one to tier three essence is almost nonexistent, we have 30,000 tier four essence, 12,000 tier five essence, 3,000 tier six essence, and 200 tier seven essence."

(Tier 4) Essence

Worth 100,000 essence.

Infuse with a concept to create a rune.

(Tier 5) Essence

Worth 1,000,000 essence.

Infuse with a concept to create a rune.

(Tier 6) Essence

Worth 10,000,000 essence.

Infuse with a concept to create a rune.

(Tier 7) Essence

Worth 100,000,000 essence.

Infuse with a concept to create a rune.

Don't dismiss the low quantity. To compare, a single tier seven essence was equivalent to a million tier one essence. Altogether the haul was worth celebrating. Indeed, the news lifted everyone's mood, making the atmosphere a bit better.

And last, the five transparent blue gems the size of a large egg. This operation, and all their losses, were for these blueprints. Roy read their information before sharing the details with everyone interested.

(Blueprint) Structure Upgrade

Increases most structures by one tier.

Remark 1: Single-use consumable.

Remark 2: Can only upgrade a structure to tier 10.

Remark 3: Higher tier structures require more to upgrade.

Two blueprints were this type. Honestly, it wasn't exactly what they were looking for. There was only one structure they owned: the mana barrier. Just remembering it falling in seconds under the demon's assault left disappointment. Thankfully, the next three blueprints were what they needed.

(Blueprint) Mana Barrier Modification - Shield Type

Changes the mode of the mana barrier to encompass the body of each defender within 1,000 feet of the structure.

Remark 1: Can be turned on or off at will by an administrator.

Remark 2: This mode can be used along with any other mode.

Remark 3: Distance increases with mana barrier tier.

With this, instead of a giant dome that was impossible to defend, the surface area of the barrier would decrease drastically. It was like having a mage's mana shield on every ascender. Better yet, if ascenders actively blocked or dodged attacks, the limited mana would be used more efficiently.

(Blueprint) Mana Barrier Modification - Energy Type

Gives the mana barrier the ability to recharge the mana of defenders within 1,000 feet of the structure.

Remark 1: Can be turned on or off at will by an administrator.

Anybody who used mana as a resource would benefit from this mode. Healers could heal more, and mages could cast more. Nothing else needed to be said.

(Blueprint) Tier 1 Mana Cannon Tower

Mana cost per shot: 1,000

Recharge time per shot: 10 seconds

Range: 2,500 feet

Blast radius: 20 feet

Mana stored: 500,000

Mana regenerated a second: 50

Remark 1: Generally, a single blast kills any tier 4 demon or below. Can wound a tier 5. Unable to harm a tier 6 or above.

Remark 2: Automatically fires at targets designated as enemies by an administrator.

Remark 3: An administrator can set which tier to target over others, among other settings.

Remark 4: Can be turned on or off at will by an administrator.

Remark 5: Can be reverted to blueprint form at any time.

An intelligent autonomous weapon. Just imagine an entire row of these babies; the ascenders wouldn't have to lift a finger. They could eat popcorn and watch from the safety of the walls as the cannons obliterated the monster horde.

With the loot gathered, Roy turned to Ebba. "The honor is all yours."

"I've been waiting," Ebba immediately commanded the undead horde to destroy the stronghold. After flattening it to the ground, the raid returned to the haven with good and bad news.