Chapter 19: The Bloody Set [Visage of the Void]
The elite monster, breathing heavily in excitement, envisioned the next few seconds.
The last prey must have been cut directly from the skull to the waist and abdomen! Delicious internal organs would fall all over the ground waiting for itself to enjoy...
However, at that moment, the Jackal Warrior realized its prey had stopped running. The target turned around, uttering two syllables, wrapped in dazzling golden light.
[Flame storm]!
Such a brilliant... shade of red!
That was the last thing the Jackal Warrior perceived.
The next second, it was engulfed and burnt by the fierce flames!
...
"A level 20 elite should drop something." Sterl said emotionlessly.
He was the player who had run the farthest, the last to be chased down.
Facing the Jackal Warrior's skill-enhanced slash, Sterl countered with a combination of Divine Descent and Flame storm.
He had used this combo once before against the members of the Blood Mist Guild, where his output had exceedingly overflowed.
And now, facing a level 20 elite monster...
Sorry, the damage was still excessively high!
The Jackal Warrior, charging head-on, was blinded by the fire in the first second and immediately veered off course, tumbling to the ground to become a torch.
Under the starlit night sky, it was extraordinarily brilliant!
Eventually, the level 20 elite monster lasted about seven or eight seconds before being burnt alive.
For others, this elite monster was a terrifying enemy or the nightmare that decimated the elite squad... But for Sterl, it was nothing more than a pebble on the roadside that could be easily kicked aside.
However, Sterl felt that annihilating a level 10 elite with a quick strike could still be excused by claiming to be a prodigy...
But instantly killing a level 20 elite in front of everyone would make the issues with him seem rather significant...
Therefore, he chose to flee initially instead of taking action.
According to Sterl's original plan, due to the presence of players entering the dungeon at the entrance of the Divine Mountain Empire, he tried his best not to reveal his strength.What if the instance mechanism required collective cooperation?
He couldn't just eliminate the elite monster and then turn around to silence the players, could he?
But the Jackal Warrior, not knowing chalk from cheese any better, killed the other players before coming after Sterl...
This sealed its fate.
Of course, Sterl's decision to act wasn't just because of the Jackal Warrior's final pursuit.
Without witnesses, Sterl would have circled back after running for a bit to take down the elite monster.
After all, killing an elite monster not only granted experience points but was also guaranteed to drop something.
At that moment, a system prompt sounded in Sterl's ears.
[You have successfully killed a level 20 elite monster, the Jackal Warrior, and gained 3000 experience points.]
"Three thousand?"
Sterl couldn't help but crack a smile.
The reason is quite straightforward. Before level 20, the experience calculation for monsters is simple: ten per level, with elite monsters granting an additional fivefold experience.
If Sterl killed a level 19 elite monster, he would receive 950 experience points.
However, at level 20, players can significantly increase their combat effectiveness through class advancement, while monsters do not require such advancement. There is a sheer cliff of difference in combat effectiveness between monsters above level 20 and those below.
Of course, it's said that equipment of Platinum grade and above comes with incredibly powerful skill effects that the next lower tiers of Gold and Silver equipment might not match.
Diamond, Legendary, and Epic quality equipment require completing extremely difficult quests or can only be found in certain specific dungeons, with their power off the charts!
They are the rare treasures that all players can only dream of obtaining.
In summary, when the quality of equipment is low, its value mainly depends on its level category. When the quality is high, each piece is invaluable, and its worth is difficult to estimate with money!
To get to the point, Sterl, put away the silver coins and equip the curved saber in his hand.
He didn't have enough intelligence at the moment, so he had to wander aimlessly in the dungeon for a while, and many level 20 monsters came to die one after another.
Sterl, who could have easily obliterated them with a Flame storm, chose instead to activate his Divine Descent and took up his newly acquired saber to hack the monsters to death.
Battle was exhilarating!
Soon, he had accumulated the ten thousand experience points needed to level up to level 10... and then some.
Another prompt sounded in Sterl's ears.
[You have successfully condensed your first Blood Essence.]
[You have unlocked the Blood Set list (partial).]
[You have unlocked the Blood Skills list (partial).]
He paused, then realized the power of the Bloody Diamond had taken effect. He hurriedly opened the two refreshed lists, looking forward to what he might find.
Sterl was not disappointed, although each list only revealed one piece of equipment and one skill.
But—
"This piece of equipment is something special..."
"This skill seems pretty useful too!" Sterl couldn't help but murmur to himself.
In the equipment list—
[Visage of the Void]
[Type: Head]
[Additional Effects: Spirit +20.]
[Equipment Level: 15.]
[Skill: Vanity of the Visage, no one can see your panel attributes through any detection skills, and you can freely edit a false set of panel attributes for others to investigate. (Warning: If the difference in strength between the two parties is too great, the Visage of the Void may be damaged.)]
[Crafting Cost: Three points of Blood Essence.]
[Crafting Materials: None.]
Seeing this...
Sterl was thrilled!
He was most concerned about his secrets being exposed. If someone discovered he possessed two SSS-tier talents, it would definitely spell trouble!
Fortunately, in [Transcendence], skills were already rare, and detection skills were even rarer... To see through someone's talents required specific skills.
But the risk objectively existed!
Sterl couldn't take the gamble. If by any chance a powerful individual with detection abilities happened to cross paths with him and became curious...
Now, if he used Blood Essence to craft the Visage of the Void, the problem would be solved... Even if those significantly more powerful attempted to probe him, at most, the equipment would be damaged.
As long as Sterl prepared a flawless set of false panel attributes in advance, he could easily deceive others.
This item was crucial for him!