Chapter 26 - “Increase Strength”

Last time, on Apocalypse Lord: The game continues to take over the world, Lu Chuan finds an S-rank skill for Yun Ling.

This chapter has been brought to you by me and Smash10101.

Chapter 26 – Increase Strength

An abandoned factory.

A team of three was hiding behind the door, holding their breath, not daring to breathe.

Outside the door, the sound of footsteps gradually faded. The three were relieved, and collapsed to the ground.

“Old Black, what kind of place did you find! Why is there a boss here?” Of the three, the tallest youth cursed.

The middle aged man called Old Black had a black expression, and tried to defend. “I have never come in here before. How would I know what it is like in the factory?”

After a pause, his tone was discontent. “In the past, I said that I found a good leveling spot. After killing the monsters, I leveled up, and there was a chance of meat in the drops. Did you not praise me, and say that I found a good place? Now, we are trapped in the factory, and it is now all my fault…”

“Okay, let’s speak less.” The third teammate was a young person, thin and short. He was frowning deeply. “Right now, it is most important to find a way out. It is almost dark, and the outside is not safe. We need to return to camp as soon as possible.”

The tall youth was very irritated. “You think I do not know we need to return to camp? The problem is, how do we leave safely? There are seventeen wild black boars outside, one boss, and sixteen normal. We can just walk out?”

They had entered easily, and thought they had gotten a good benefit. Who knew the wild black boars had been resting in another place. There had been no monsters by the door, so they were able to get in.

When they discovered there were many monsters and a boss in the factory, their side was already at a disadvantage. Their retreat path was blocked by the boars, and they could not leave even if they wanted to.

The middle aged man ground his teeth. “We will die anyways. How about we rush, and try to see how many make it out.”

Since the game started, everyday, familiar faces had disappeared. The three of them were only a temporary team and had no friendship to speak of. In the face of a great calamity, of course they would each find their own way.

The tall youth wanted to say something, but with a loud boom, a giant hole appeared in the wall.

The boss appeared majestically in front of the players with its other boar fellows.

The tall youth immediately paled. His lips trembled, his entire body trembled, and he was unable to make a sound.

**

Several minutes later, the three players fell to the ground, dead.

A skill card and two pieces of equipment floated in the air with a white glow.

“I have advanced barbecue skill, so I will consciously choose places with beast monsters to hunt.” On the way, Lu Chuan chatted casually. “In the afternoon, I found a wild black boar heard, killed five, and the other two ran to an abandoned factory. When I followed in, not long after, I saw the S-rank skill card.”

“The cards from the start of the game can only be learned, and not taken away. If I cleaned out all the monsters, other people may have gotten it first.”

“So I did nothing, and just went straight back to camp to notify you.”

Like this, if other players wanted to get the S-rank card first, it would not be so simple.

“Very good!” Yun Ling could not help but praise.

Everyone wanted good skills. As to whether they could get them, it depended on each person’s ability.

If like this, someone else got there first, she had nothing to say.

Both of them were veterans, and familiar with the habits of the monsters. They avoided monsters when they could, and moved toward the abandoned factory as fast as they could.

In less than forty minutes, the group of six reached their destination.

After entering the factory, the first thing Yun Ling did was to lock the doors.

As she locked the doors, she said to Lu Chuan, “To avoid the boss escaping, and other people accidentally entering, we need to block all the exits.”

Lu Chuan had no objections.

The bosses all had strong territorial senses, and in their territory, they would not allow monsters from other races.

But that did not mean the boss was always alone.

Sometimes, monsters from the same race would appear beside the boss as helpers, and protect the boss.

In a situation like this, it was much harder than usual to kill the boss.

Lu Chuan and Yun Ling had added each other as friends before departing, and made a team so they exempted each other from harm. Standing in the corner, they discussed in low voices.

“Kill the normal monsters first,” Lu Chuan said. “The best case would be all normal monsters are dead. Then we can rest, recover to our best state, and then attack the boss together.”

Yun Ling nodded in agreement. “I think the same.”

While this would take longer, this was the safest way. In a real life game, there was only one life. Nothing was more important than life.

As they spoke, three wild black boars found them, and came running.

“Enwind.” Mage A tied up one of the boars.

Lu Chuan pulled out a freezing arrow, and hit the one on the right.

Yun Ling raised her shield, and blocked the third.

Guard A came close at the right time, and swung the wood stick hard.

Archer A shot to create damage.

Priest A was standing by, prepared to cast healing at any moment.

Worth a mention was that NPCs were like Yun Ling’s summons, and they were exempted from damage to each other.

Lu Chuan originally could have been accidentally damaged, but after teaming up with Yun Ling, the attacks of the NPCs could not damage him.

The dagger stabbed, the wood stick smashed, and the arrows flew. Soon, the three monsters were all killed.

After the wild black boars died, they dropped 2 x Pork Belly, and 12 x copper coins.

After a simple discussion, the pork belly was given to Lu Chuan, and they split the copper coins.

After dividing, Lu Chuan started to walk, but Yun Ling pulled him. “Wait a moment.”

Lu Chuan, “?”

[Name: Venom]

Quality: Premium

Use Effect: A portion can be applied to the dagger 3 times, increasing 5 points of offense, lasts half an hour. (3/3)

This was the item obtained from killing the Shadow Spider last time.

Yun Ling took out the venom, and carefully brushed it on the blade of the dagger.

After a while, the dagger started to glow with blue light, and increased greatly in attack power.

For the venom, 3/3 became 2/3. This meant it could be applied two more times.

“Okay, let’s go.” Yun Ling put the item away, and walked at the front to explore the way.

**

The abandoned factory took up a large area, and there were many rooms. After searching for a long time, they did not find a new target.

But they coincidentally found a skill card.

[Name: Meditation (Passive Skill)]

Quality: B-rank

Skill Effect: Spirit +2, base recovery speed: +1 MP/min.

Yun Ling had Mage A take it and learn it.

“Many players must have died here,” Lu Chuan looked around and concluded after a moment. “When we fight, we should search, and we can give the low level equipment and skills to the NPCs.”

Yun Ling said, “I know.”

The moment she saw the B-rank skill card, she realized the abandoned factory was a treasure. If she used it well, she could greatly increase the combat ability of the NPCs.

As they kept on going, they kept on getting gains along the way.

C-rank skills and white equipment were scattered everywhere. She could even see blue equipment and B-rank skills.

Yun Ling called over the NPCs, changing their equipment as needed, and learning the skills they should have.

Soon, the NPCs all had one blue and five white pieces of equipment, and each person 2-3 C-rank skills.

They were much stronger than before their departure.

Yun Ling was content. “Now, when we meet the boss, there is no need to worry.”

Lu Chuan silently followed and found it amusing.

If this was anyone else, even if they entered the abandoned factory, found the equipment and skill cards, they could not learn them all.

First, there were limited equipment and skill slots. Second, all those with any ambition would not learn 4 C-rank skills.

Then, the only way was to leave with the equipment and skill cards (the card from drops after a player’s death could be taken away) and sold to others.

While that could make a fortune, it was of limited help to increasing one’s own strength.

But Yun Ling? She was coincidentally the lord of the camp, coincidentally taking along NPCs to fight the boss, and coincidentally, her NPCs had empty slots.

So all the skill cards that were found were learned.

Loyalty was 100%. Warriors, mages, archers, and priests were a complete set of progressions. They did not pick equipment and used whatever was picked. They had all kinds of skills … Once the NPCs reached a certain scale, this would be a terrifying force.

Thinking of this, Rising Cloud Camp Official Resident — Lu Chuan suddenly smiled.

He was lucky and had found a good place.

Even after Day 10 when the camp no longer had its invincibility state, he did not need to worry about the safety of the camp.

**

The S-rank card was usually where the boss was. Due to this, Yun Ling and Lu Chuan deliberately avoided it and just moved around the outskirts.

After a round, they managed to go through the factory. They killed twelve wild black boars and could not find any more monsters alone.

The two talked and decided to attack the boss.

If this was the team that had just left the camp, this may be a difficult battle. But now, the NPCs had all shot up in power, and each of them were good fighters.

So Lu Chuan and Yun Ling did not hesitate. They ate roasted meat, and steamed buns before entering the hall where the S-rank skill card was.

The moment they stepped in, the boss and its four fellows immediately detected the existence of the players and charged.

Yun Ling took a large step forward and blocked the attacks of the monsters. She let one normal monster through for Lu Chuan and the NPCs to attack.

Arrows, wood sticks and spells came down. In a breath, a normal monster died.

Seeing this, Yun Ling turned slightly and let another normal monster over to get beat up.

When one side had the advantage, the battle progressed quickly.

In less than two minutes, all the normal monsters were dead.

After five minutes, the boss followed suit.

Yun Ling, back when the boss had been the only one remaining, had quickly gotten close to the S-rank skill card and learned the “Super Fast Recovery” skill. Then she turned back and worked with the others to fight.

When the wild black boar boss died, the items dropped all over the ground.

Guard A, Archer A, and Mage A all levelled up.

It feels like leading a team in a dungeon, Yun Ling thought.

Lu Chuan looked at the drop and asked, “Is there anything you need?”

To this, Yun Ling answered, “You pick first, and leave me the rest.”

If she did not need them, she could give them to the NCPs, or put them into the shops to sell. In any case, she could make use of them.

“Then I will not be polite.” Lu Chuan picked a purple equipment, a crystal and five pieces of pork shoulder.

[Name: Soft Armor]

Quality: Rare

Equip Effect: Stamina +10

Special Effect: -20% damage received.

[Name: Enchantment Crystal]

Material Use: Can be used to enchant equipment.

The same attributes as the one he gave Yun Ling before.

“Enchant.” Lu Chuan said silently.

In the next moment, the crystal turned to powder, and evenly spread on the soft armor.

Just as it was about to succeed, the soft armor flashed with purple light as though it was resisting. Then the powder disappeared into the air.

The system notified, [Enchantment failure.]

Lu Chuan, “……”

Yun Ling handed over the other crystal. “There are two crystals. Take this.”

“Then what about you?” Lu Chuan asked.

The boss had dropped two crystals and two purple equipment. He had wanted to split equally, but the enchantment had failed.

Yun Ling asid, “I do not know Enchantment, so I have no use for the crystal.”

“I can help you enchant,” Lu Chuan said, “After the purple shield is enchanted, you will have higher survivability.”

Yun Ling said, “… You should increase your own survivability first. In the future, you will have more chances to help me.”

Hearing this, Lu Chuan stopped refusing. He took the crystal, and used Enchantment again.

The system notified, [Enchantment success.]

[Name: Soft Armor (Enchanted)]

Quality: Rare

Equip Effect: Stamina +10

Special Effect: -20% damage received.

Enchantment Effect: Strength +5

For an archer, the attributes were just right.

“Any other needs?” Yun Ling asked.

Lu Chuan shook his head. “the rest for you.”

“Okay.” Yun Ling was also not polite.

She threw the blue equipment to the NPCs, and put the white equipment into her backpack to take back to camp, and put away all the materials.

[Name: Fish Scale Shield]

Quality: Rare

Equip Effect: Stamina +10

Special Effect: -20% damage received.

The -20% damage received would decrease the amount of damage reflected. But for a team, the more a tank could take, the better. She could rely on her teammates for damage.

Yun Ling replaced the round shield.

Now, her max HP was 550, and her base recovery speed was +12 HP/min.

Looking at the attribute window, Yun Ling was full of spirit. “Now, I am a blood tank!”