Chapter 296 Transformation Of Lava Pillar

Exoskeleton Suit-VII (Bound)

Model number: VT-61

Grade: Mythril

Crew: 1

PERFORMANCE:

Maximum speed: 788 kmph (running), Mach 3 (flight), 346 kmph (underwater)

Energy consumption: Ether points (amount depends on actions)

Maximum operating altitude: 29284 meters from sea level.

Maximum operating depth: 10682 meters underwater.

ARMAMENT:

Assault battle Rifle (Ether) – An assault rifle with a capacity to store 300 million ether particles worth of ether energy.

Ammunition: Ether energy

Range: 965 meters

Magazine: 3 rounds (Rank-8 ether bullets); 10 rounds (Rank-7 ether bullets); 20 rounds (Rank-6 ether bullets); 50 rounds (Rank-5 ether bullets);

Rate of Fire: 100 RPM (fixed for every type of round)

*

Sniper Battle Rifle (Ether) – A single-shot sniper rifle with a capacity to store 900 million ether particles worth of ether energy.

Ammunition: Ether energy

Magazine: 1 round (low-Rank-1 to peak-Rank-8)

Range: 12430 meters

*

Attachments: Scope (60x)

Target lock-in: Yes (Assault rifle)

OTHER FEATURES:

Flight, underwater breath, enhanced vision, night vision, Resistance (9 points), and Neural link.

Description: The exoskeleton suit-VII is a durable armor made out of Mithril (82%), Adamantium (8%), and other materials. It is capable of blocking every type of attack under the 8-circle realm and powerful enough to hurt enemies under rank-8 physique (8.0-str).

SKILLS:

Active:

Nullification: The suit absorbs all types of attacks for five seconds as long as they are below the level of 10-circle (<10 str/int). Cost: 20% ether energy. CD: 180 seconds.

Energy barrier: The suit creates a defensive shield for 10 minutes, which reduces the attack power of an energy-based attack by 20%. Cost: 50% ether energy. CD: 12 hours.

Stealth mode: The user can turn invisible for 30 seconds and attack enemies from far away. However, the mode will get canceled with physical contact with anyone. Cost: 10% ether energy. CD: 15 minutes.

Elemental blast: The user can blast concentrated energy from either of his palms and destroy the opponents. Effect (1): 160% attack power (max: 9.9 int) Effect (2): Contains the attribute effect. Cost: 50% ether energy. CD: 0 seconds.

All out Burst: The battle rifle/sniper rifle absorbs the natural energy from the surroundings and shoots a concentrated beam with Rank-9 attack power (9.5-int). Cost: 100% ether energy. CD: 36 hours.

Passive/Toggle:

Flight: The user could fly like a bird in the sky with just 1 ether point/second of consumption.

Underwater breath: With the suit having the ability to automatically extract oxygen from water, the user could swim underwater without any breathing issues as long as the mask is kept on. No cost is required.

Neural Link: The user could operate the suit remotely by connecting his mind with the suit's core. Cost: Depends on the distance and time. Note: Once the suit is disconnected, it needed to be collected in person. Hence, there's a risk of losing it.

Enhanced vision: Through the inbuilt scope function in the helmet, the user can see the objects more clearly with 10x zoom. No cost is required.

Night vision: The user can see in the darkness as clearly as in the day. No cost is required.

***

"Damn, the suit is so dope. Come to think of it, this is also the first time I received a Mythril grade weapon."

Mark felt like he had underestimated the significance of luck more than ever. The maximum points of luck not only guaranteed his reward but also gave him what he needed the most.

No matter how strong he got, he was always worried about his defense. Despite raising it to more than 6 points, Mark never was settled with his fears over ambush. It is why the peak potion became too valuable to him.

As for why he didn't buy defensive skills, in Mark's eyes, only unique skills are worth being bought and each skill would cost a million credits or 5 million gold coins, which appeared to be a bit too much for him to invest in.

And now that the system practically gave him the Exo suit for free, Mark was more confident than ever in tackling the enemies even in close combat, although it is not his forte.

After returning to his tent, he took out the suit from the inventory and equipped it. The suit automatically adjusted its size to Mark's body.

From the outside, while appeared like tight-fitting wear, Mark was completely comfortable. He felt as if he didn't even wear a metallic suit of armor over his clothes at all.

At the same time, he felt feather-light and all sorts of its functions were kinda stored in his memory.

It isn't the first time he received knowledge about a bunch of things all of a sudden. When he transmigrated into Lu Zhen's body, Mark received a gush of new memories. The feeling was a bit similar.

And Mark was astounded by it. Of course, he saw its details earlier but reading about the functions and understanding it is two different things. Now, the only thing left is to experience it directly.

However, it isn't the same case for Lan Ju. The beast emperor never saw anything like it and his future sect leader appeared more like an alien organism from another world rather than a human.

As Mark was caressing the futuristic-looking weapons that came with the suit, Lan Ju commented, "You look weird. People will either get scared or attack you if you go out in that form."

"Hmm?" Mark was taken aback by the remark as he returned to reality. Due to the lack of a mirror inside the tent, he doesn't know how he looks. So, instead, he connected to Allen's vision, thereby watching himself through Allen's eyes.

"Well, he isn't wrong, I guess," Mark admitted that it looks threatening but at the same time, he was well aware that the suit's purpose is to defend and attack, not to appear like a friendly knight. Not to mention, he looks cool in this Exo suit from sci-fi movies.

Dismissing it by pressing a button on the upper part of the chest, Mark put it away in the inventory, "I can wear it once the pillar goes into the second phase. Sigh… I wonder how long I have to stay here. This damn 100 million… Hmm… wait a second. How about I make some profits? If I can sell those ether weapons to the Emperor in large numbers, then, perhaps, this waiting time would be worth it.

But, what if I complete the main quest and unlock those two weapons but the Emperor won't buy both of them? The ether pistols didn't sell for much. The Imperial palace might show interest in an ether sniper rifle, considering its maximum output is in rank 6 but what about the assault rifle?

They already have too many types of weapons and the second prince might not agree with them. Then, I would have to search for the next customer. Maybe, I can use the situation to my advantage and force Shang Fu to buy them?

Nah, selling them at auction will net me more profits. And it's not like I'm in need of mon…"

*Screeee*

A sharp noise, probably a high-pitch scream of something, rang across the region, all of a sudden.

"What the hell was that?" Mark felt goose bumps upon listening to that noise. Allen appeared to be normal.

On the other hand, Lan Ju turned serious as he spoke, "It is the signal of the transformation of the lava pillar."

"It came from there?" Mark was visibly surprised. "But, it is more than 20 kilometers away."

Lan Ju shrugged his shoulders, "If I scream out loud, it will reach even 100 kilometers. Not a big deal for beast emperors."

"Is that so?" Mark wondered for a second whether the golden-furred kitten will also be like that before his attention was grabbed by the soldier named Yu Wan, who entered the tent in hurry.

"Lord Lu…"

Before he finished his speech, Mark interrupted him, "I know. Go and inform his majesty that I'll be making my move."

The soldier bowed and exited the place while Mark opened the inventory once again as he mumbled, "The five-minute timer hasn't been over and the pillar had to transform at this moment. It looks like the luck points are at it once again."

Meanwhile, at Mt. Jizu, which is no longer a volcano but just a flattened molten rock, the glowing lava pillar was slowly transforming into a humanoid monster.

7 km away from the lava pillar, 2 o'clock direction;

A group of seven cultivators, belonging to the Ironpalm sect, were camping around. The weakest of them is at peak-7-circle and the leader of the group is at low-9-circle.

Despite staying quite close to the lava pillar, which was as hot as 3000C, they were perfectly alright.

Without any sort of tension, they were chatting regarding worldly affairs until the temperature dropped in the surroundings with the lava pillar going into the final phase of transformation.

"It has started. Now, start the preparations." The leader of the group, Yan Zhenlou, ordered the six elders of the sect. "Luo De, Zhuan Zexi, Yao Lingxin, and Ding Yu… the four of you will launch the formation as planned.

Xun Hong and Gu Ru, you are with me. Remember that our target isn't to kill the beast but to use it in taking down the others. Understood?"

It took an entire hour for the complete transformation, resulting in a giant lava golem.

5 km away from the lava pillar, 6 o'clock direction;

Here, the space was occupied by the Spirit warriors/cultivators sent by the Imperial family of the Dragon Empire (Tang Dynasty).

Originally, the group of five was led by a peak-stage legendary-realm Spirit warrior named Qiu Song but after they sensed the presence of more than one Supreme realm expert, they had to call for assistance.

And the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty sent his Supreme Commander. One of the ancestors of the Imperial family also joined him in order to have fun by battling a fellow Supreme Being.

Both of them are in 9-circle and it boosted the group's morale while sending the other forces on alert.

As the lava pillar started its transformation, the Supreme Commander of Dragon Empire, Gu Chao, gave orders to the rest, "According to our intel, this process will take roughly 60 minutes, give or take 5 to 10 minutes. I'll take care of others. All of you just focus on the monster. And remember this well. The fire seed and the corpse, everything should fall in our hands. Spare no one."

"Yes, Sir." The others placed their fists above their hearts and saluted him. On the other hand, the old man with them, Tang Clan's ancestor, Tang Jiyao let out a wide grin as he stared in the direction of Phoenix Empire's campsite, "It's been a long time since I fought against a person in my realm (peak-9-circle). This should be fun."

3 km away from the lava pillar, 10 o'clock direction;

And this is where the elders of the Church of Doom staying for the past three days. Their leader was staring at the transforming lava pillar, "Soon, the final elemental seed will fall into my hands. Once grandmaster gets freed, no force in the world will be able to stop us from bringing the ancestor…"

One hour later;

The lava pillar finally transformed into a six-eyed giant lava golem.