Chapter Ninety-Five: The Hero’s Challenge Tournament (24)
“Stop looking. Start fighting!”
Murong Shanshan had barely finished speaking when Triple Strike and Heavy Blow were already cutting in. At the same time, I reacted and unleashed the same two skills in return!
The very same skills, cast by two different people, produced utterly different results. Murong Shanshan knocked off 1,000 of my hit points, while I ripped away 1,600 of hers outright, and Frost Seal Slash went out at the same time...
A streak of white light flashed.
Murong Shanshan had actually gone down just like that?
Good heavens, what was going on? For a moment I could not make sense of it.
Why had that foolish girl not relied on her movement and control to open distance and fight me properly, but instead chosen to charge straight in? And why had she not even used her signature skill, Frost Slash? Could it be that she really was that stupid?
Of course not. The real reason was—
She had deliberately been letting me win more easily!
...
Back down at the seats, Murong Shanshan sat alone, while Lu Xuehan, Xu Lin, and Xin Yu were chatting off to one side. After thinking for a moment, I walked straight over to Murong Shanshan and sat down beside her.
“Why aren’t you off keeping company with that temptress and Coco? What are you doing over here with me?”
Murong Shanshan wore no expression at all. I could not quite read her mood, so I asked, “Shanshan, why did you let me win just now?”
Murong Shanshan glanced at me, then pouted. “In any case, I couldn’t beat you. Better to save some time and draw the prize sooner. Don’t go thinking I let you win because I fancy you. I’m not nearly that kind.”
I smiled. “If you don’t like me, then why go easy on me? Don’t tell me that five hundred thousand RMB doesn’t tempt you at all?”
“It does. Very much, in fact. With five hundred thousand, I could buy a car! But...”
Murong Shanshan’s pretty face flushed faintly, and I hurriedly asked, “But what?”
“But I just can’t stand the thought of you living with that bunch of women, that’s all!” Murong Shanshan snapped, her lovely eyes widening.
“You... aren’t you being a little too nosy?”
“I like it! The drawing is starting. Let’s see what prizes your three beautiful colleagues get!”
...
Every player outside the top thirty-two and beyond the quarterfinals received either a blue or green piece of equipment, and all of them gained one level. Among the top eight, aside from the champion and runner-up, everyone else rose two levels.
The first to go up and draw a prize was Xin Yu, the first one eliminated. Her graceful figure instantly drew everyone’s attention.
Xin Yu gently pressed the confirmation button, and her reward appeared at once—
Agile Cloak, blue-grade equipment
Defense: 44
Vitality: +32
Strength: +16
Agility: +23
Additional Effect: increases physical evasion rate by 15%
Required Level: 30
Very good. A 15 percent increase to physical evasion was outstanding. With Xin Yu’s naturally high agility as an archer, her evasion was already excellent; after this bonus, her advantage against physical attackers would become even greater. A poorly equipped swordsman or axe fighter with mediocre accuracy would hardly be able to land a hit on her, let alone kill her.
I also loved gear that boosted agility, because in the rules of Horizon of the Moon, agility not only increased movement speed, but also critical strike rate and accuracy. That was exactly why my attacks had always been impossible for anyone to miss. Strength increased attack and recovery speed; intelligence increased mana, magical attack, and mana recovery. The higher the attribute points, the stronger the character. Those were the rules of every game.
In truth, in Horizon of the Moon, the attribute points gained from leveling had gradually been overshadowed by equipment bonuses. Still, high level had its own tremendous advantages. For example, when a low-level player attacked a high-level one, the damage, hit rate, and critical strike chance would all be reduced to a certain degree. High-level players not only had an edge in PvP, they could also learn higher-level skills and raise existing skills to levels low-level players could never reach. A level-10 Heavy Blow was unquestionably stronger than a level-5 version. There was no doubt about that.
The second to draw was Ye Qiu. He stood there with impressive bearing, and I wondered what good thing he would get.
Ding!
System Notice: Congratulations to player Little Ant on a Leaf for obtaining the reward: Contract Ring!
Contract Ring, blue-grade equipment
Vitality: +28
Intelligence: +34
Agility: +33
Additional Effect: increases magical damage by 5%
Required Level: 30
Hah, still blue-grade, no purple item yet!
That was hardly surprising. According to the statistics, in the team competition over the past two days, only thirty-one purple items had appeared worldwide. In many towns, not a single purple item had surfaced at all. The odds were about the same as getting struck by lightning. Very fortunately, Lu Xuehan, Murong Shanshan, and I had all been hit by that bolt of fortune.
The third to draw was Fine, also from the TOT group. Unluckily for him, he drew a shield with mediocre attributes, which he could not even use himself. He would have to sell it for money.
The fourth draw finally belonged to Xu Lin. The beautiful female boss walked nervously onto the stage and extended her fair, delicate hand—
Ding!
System Notice: Congratulations to player Green Vegetable Flying Feather for obtaining the reward: Mind Boots!
Mind Boots, blue-grade equipment
Defense: 35
Vitality: +32
Intelligence: +34
Agility: +18
Additional Effect: increases fire magic damage by 20%
Required Level: 31
A 20 percent boost to fire magic damage suited Xu Lin perfectly, since she was a fierce woman who loved high-damage fire spells.
At last, the top four draw began. I wondered what, if anything, would make it different from the top eight draw. The first to go up was the Sealer I had just cut down!
He reached out, and the equipment came into his hand: a leather armor coat, apparently just right for him to wear.
The third from the end to go up was Lu Xuehan. Last time, she had obtained purple equipment. What would this lucky beauty get now?
Ding!
System Notice: Congratulations to player Coco Greens for obtaining the reward: Blazing Rain, skill book!
Blazing Rain: summons dark netherfire elements to burn targets within a certain area, inflicting continuous damage over time. Requires Priest level 32!
Almost everyone gasped.
At present, the number of mages with area-of-effect magic skills could be counted on one hand. Yet now even Lu Xuehan, this beautiful priest, had already obtained an AoE skill, and from the looks of it, it was a fearsome one at that. I suspected most mages now felt like dying.
After Lu Xuehan finished drawing her reward, it was finally the turn of the champion and runner-up. Murong Shanshan stood up from beside me and gave a bright little laugh.
“If I can draw purple equipment, dinner’s on me!”
I made a sweeping gesture of invitation, and Murong Shanshan immediately went up on stage. Under the gaze of countless eyes, her reward blossomed in a blaze of purple light—
Icebreaking Gauntlets, purple-grade equipment
Defense: 120
Vitality: +45
Strength: +48
Agility: +40
Additional Effect: increases ice magic resistance by 100%. When activated, dispels all ice magic skill effects. Duration: 5 minutes. Cooldown: 30 minutes.
Required Level: 33
I felt a little dizzy.
If Murong Shanshan had not been my match before, then after equipping these purple Icebreaking Gauntlets, she had become the perfect nemesis of my Frost Seal Slash. The moment I cast it, she could immediately trigger the equipment’s effect. By then, if the ice shattered and people started dropping, the scene would be far from suitable for young eyes...
I lowered my head and looked at my own hands.
Brother, it’s all on you this time! You have to pull out some outrageously powerful purple gear and put Murong Shanshan in her place!