Chapter 88: I'm getting it for Maxen Stoneheart

Ice Bone Dragon's Cave.

When Mike defeated the ice bone dragon and the boss entered its third phase, another mutation arose!

From the green soul fire, an eye revealed its true form, shooting a black beam directly at Mike!

In an instant, Mike had no way to avoid it. It was a death sentence; a hit was certain to be fatal!

Neither [Flame of Life] nor Guardian Angel could save Mike. In that moment, Mike's instincts screamed that he was truly in danger!

[GG]

"Damn it, you hit my eye!"

*Ding—*

The melodious sound of a Lyre echoed through the narrow cave. This sound of the Lyre was somewhat familiar. After the Lyre sounded, a dark yellow light shield materialized in front of Mike, colliding with the black beam.

Bang!!!

The shield vibrated violently, numerous cracks appearing, looking like it might collapse at any moment.

"This is... the Lyre sound I heard yesterday in the Forest of Truth!" It was this very sound of the Lyre that had delivered the Thunderclap Hammer into Mike's hands.

The eye within the green soul fire, having failed in its strike, did not continue its assault. Instead, it stared at Mike through the shield, its gaze locked on him.

Eyes, of course, cannot speak, but a voice rang out next to Mike's ear.

"I... see you."

Bang—

The sound of a timpani resonated. The green flames gradually diminished, and the eye receded into them, disappearing from sight.

Mike slowly exhaled a long breath, his forehead covered in fine beads of sweat, his entire body as if dehydrated. Even a brief eye contact with a demon god, even under the protection of Supreme Being Apollo, was an immense pressure for Mike.

[Need to change your pants?]

"Fuck off!"

Mike couldn't help but laugh dryly. Who would be so scared as to need to change their pants? That would be too embarrassing.

"However, the oppressive presence of the demon god was much stronger than I imagined."

This was still the Tower of Truth, and the power transmitted here by those eyes was only one ten-thousandth of its full strength. After being weakened twice by the Tower of Truth and Apollo, just one glance was nearly enough to kill Mike!

Although death within the Tower of Truth meant resurrection, the incident itself was already outrageous enough.

With the disappearance of the demon god's eye, the crisis was averted, the whole event lasting no more than 30 seconds.

Without the demon god's eye, the boss's third form was very weak; even a Cerberus Phantom could easily kill it. With a single Thunderclap Strike, Mike ended its life.

Having completed the kill of the boss's third form, Mike glanced at the Exploration Rate.

[Exploration Rate: 100%]

Before coming here, Mike had read the guide for the seventh layer. Killing the boss would only provide 40% of the Exploration Rate; completing tedious tasks and exploring the map were also required.

Now, Mike, having soloed a boss that shouldn't have existed, saw his Exploration Rate jump directly to 100%.

This was expected.

"Let's settle this."

After nearly five hours of battle, and an encounter with a demon god, Mike was drained both mentally and physically. At this moment, he had some suspicions that he was likely caught in some sort of scheme.

"It definitely involves Apollo, and perhaps even Shadow Nine."

Yesterday, before Mike had even entered the Tower of Truth, Apollo had stored the sound of Apollo's Lyre in the Thunderclap Hammer, saving Mike at a critical moment.

If this wasn't planned, he wouldn't believe it! Now, looking back, even the process of killing the boss seemed too simple.

Mike set these thoughts aside for the moment. If he had any questions, he could directly ask Shadow Nine later. If not, he could rely on the hints from the Eye of Truth to uncover the reasons.

In the Battle General, this was extremely rare!

Because of killing the boss, Mike unlocked the third upgrade for Force of Nature:

Equipment: Force of Nature (Lv.60)

Tier: S-level

Magic Power: 980

Attributes: Intelligence +360, Spirit +290

Perks:

[Stormbind Vengeance] Holder's Lightning damage +25%, Lightning damage received +0.5%, Wood element skills provide +30% shield/healing

[Twinborn] 10% chance to simultaneously release a Wood element skill when using a Lightning skill, and vice versa.

[Thunderstorm] 1% chance to deal double damage when using a Lightning skill!

[Fearless] Deals an additional 15% Lightning damage to enemies higher level than the holder!

[Arcanum Defense Oscillation] Holder receives a buff, alternating between 20% physical damage reduction and 20% magic damage reduction every 30 seconds

Upgrade Perks:

[Class Change]: Holder completes the second class change

Upgradeable times: 9

Upgraded times: 3

In addition to various enhancements to other perks, Mike also obtained a new perk [Arcanum Defense Oscillation] from the ice dragon.

Although the immune damage type switches every 30 seconds and cannot exist simultaneously, it was enough for Mike. A good perk for survival!

Now, having just escaped from under the gaze of the demon god, Mike's understanding of survival had risen to a new level.

[Arcanum Defense Oscillation] currently only reduces damage by 20%, but as Force of Nature continues to be upgraded, the reduction percentage will continue to increase! For Mike, it couldn't be more suitable.

Putting away the attribute panel and Force of Nature, Mike still hadn't received the personal reward from the Tower of Truth.

"Could the Tower of Truth also have delays?"

Regardless, Mike's gains from this trip were already substantial, and the rewards from the Tower of Truth couldn't escape. A flash of white light passed, and he returned to Core City of Truth first.

...

Wolf's Den.

"This round's bill is on Mr. Jhon!"

Clearly, someone had a good haul today and treated everyone to a round of drinks. Mike casually picked up two bottles of wine and headed to the office deep within Wolf's Den.

"Wait a moment!"

Nyx Valoria caught up, reminding him, "The free round only covers one bottle."

"I'm getting it for Maxen Stoneheart, is that okay?"

"Yeah... that's fine..."

Turning his back to Nyx Valoria, Mike walked on while tilting his head back to drink. When he reached the door, he had just finished both bottles.

Mike turned around and saw, coincidentally, Nyx Valoria was still behind him.

"Sorry, I need to collect the bottles."

Mike placed the two empty bottles in front of Nyx Valoria, then pushed the door open and entered.

Nyx Valoria: ...

She looked at the two empty bottles, still echoing in her ears was Mike's righteous declaration, "I'm getting it for Maxen Stoneheart."