Chapter 72: [Arcane Skill: Star Soul Rotation]
"Master, I have instructed Daphne to gather intelligence for you in the Exploration Hall." Teresa said respectfully.
"Here are the five energy essences I collected, costing 300 gold coins."
Although she was curious about why Sterl needed such items, she didn't ask any questions. She carefully ensured that no one else was around to interfere with Sterl's plans.
Teresa speculated that her master might need the energy essences to craft some equipment. She knew that Sterl had recently reached level 20 and completed his class change in the Starfall Wasteland instance. So his equipment probably wasn't fully upgraded.
As for another use of energy essences—to lower the requirements for learning an arcane skill...
Even though Teresa believed her master was destined to be invincible, the idea that Sterl might be dealing with legendary arcane skills seemed like a dream to her. It was simply unimaginable.
Sterl, on the other hand, felt a wave of excitement and a touch of gratitude as he took the pure white energy crystals from Teresa. He knew that their combined assets didn't even amount to 300 gold coins. So Teresa must have gone through considerable trouble to gather the funds.
In Sterl's eyes, the attributes of the item appeared—
[Energy Essence (Inferior)]+
[Category: Special Artifact]
[Effect: ① When used in forging equipment, this item randomly adds ten points to one of the four basic attributes.
② Consuming this item directly lowers the level requirement for learning an arcane skill by five levels.]
"Exactly what I needed!"
A flash of joy crossed Sterl's eyes. His arcane skill, Star Soul Rotation, only required a certain level to learn, and one energy essence could reduce the requirement by five levels.
Additionally, this consumable item indeed had a plus sign, indicating it could be enhanced! During his three days of leveling up, Sterl had used his evolution points on the first two days to evolve a stamina storage potion and a vigor storage potion.
He hadn't used his evolution points for today yet! Sterl nodded approvingly at Teresa. "Well done."
With a glance, Teresa obediently left the villa to him, leaving him alone.
As he watched Teresa's graceful figure fade from view, Sterl relaxed on the sofa, casually tossing the newly acquired pure white crystal.
"Evolve!" he thought to himself.
A brilliant light enveloped the crystal, transforming it. What had been a flawed, stone-like object now gleamed brightly, becoming crystal clear. It felt as smooth as jade in his hand. Just a light touch sent a cool and comfortable sensation across his skin.
The attributes of the item in Sterl's vision changed as well.
[Energy Essence (Superior)]+
[Category: Special Artifact]
[Effect: ① When used in forging equipment, this item randomly adds twenty points to one of the four basic attributes.
② Consuming this item directly lowers the level requirement for learning an arcane skill by ten levels.]
Sterl was momentarily stunned. It was the first time he had encountered a consumable item that could be enhanced multiple times.
"Items related to the legendary domain are indeed extraordinary, aren't they?" Sterl was more delighted than surprised. Each of the five energy essences only reduced the level requirement by ten, it wouldn't be enough. The fact that he could enhance them further was a great advantage!
In the following days, Sterl ventured back into the wilderness for leveling up, farming blood force and experience while slowly evolving the energy essences.
These special items could be enhanced three times in total. The final product, at perfect quality, could reduce the level requirement for learning an arcane skill by twenty-five levels.
Sterl spent a full two weeks maxing out the energy essences. During this time, he reached level 35, his Starlight Dragon reached level 34, and his blood force count hit 173.
"The efficiency is still too slow." Sterl muttered as he stood at the edge of a "jungle." What was once a dense forest was now littered with craters from meteor impacts and steaming hot crystals, resembling a wasteland.
Sterl was frustrated. The leveling efficiency was too low! Compared to the frenzied monster farming mode in the Village of Death, finding monsters in the quality leveling spots marked by the Earth human race was a slow process. Moreover, each level required exponentially more experience points.
Sterl felt that reaching level 60 and achieving his second class change was a distant dream!
After the second class change, besides the inherent attribute bonuses, Sterl could unlock another main star and gain a new skill from the Lord of the Stars class, likely of golden quality. This would be a significant transformation!
But at the current rate, Sterl felt exasperated. He had no idea when he would see the day of his second class change.
He muttered to himself as he found a giant tree in the jungle. Sterl crawled into the hollow of the tree and sat down cross-legged.
With anticipation, he began to consume the energy essences one by one. The brilliant crystals turned into liquid and flowed into his body, causing his expression to change dramatically!
At first, Sterl enjoyed the sensation. Within seconds, however, veins bulged on his skin, and he turned beet red as if he were being boiled alive. Steam rose from his body, sweat poured down, and the violent energy surged inside him, threatening to tear him apart!
He was forced to activate his "Divine Descent" state to amplify his physique, barely withstanding the turbulent energy from the essences.
Sterl wasn't surprised by this. The essence of energy allows players to learn arcane skills ahead of time by using rare items, which are originally meant for crafting equipment, as disposable items. This creates the illusion that the energy within the player has reached the required level to learn the corresponding arcane skill.
This put immense pressure on the player's physical body, and lacking sufficient constitution would be suicidal.
Fortunately, Sterl was prepared. He hadn't used his evolution points for the day yet!
"Evolution!"
[Treatment Potion] → [Life Storage Elixir].
The treatment potion, crafted by the Earth human race, was something Sterl had casually purchased earlier. This item helped players recover from injuries, similar to stamina and vigor potions.
After evolving, it turned into a [Life Storage Elixir], akin to the vigor storage elixir Sterl had evolved earlier. It could instantly restore injuries and store a large amount of life force to heal Sterl's damaged body.
After consuming the elixir, Sterl couldn't help but let out screams of pain.
It felt like his body was experiencing both extreme cold and scorching heat! On one side, the violent energy from the energy essences tore through him, subjecting his body to energy levels equivalent to nearly 160 levels! Even his Divine Descent state couldn't withstand it!
At the same time, a healing force continuously mended Sterl's shattered body, preventing him from dying instantly...
At that moment, Sterl quickly took out an arcane skill scroll and clapped his hands together.
Instantly, the scroll emitted a radiant light, and a spiritual energy surged into Sterl's mind. He vaguely felt like he had learned something, but before he could react further, he was writhing on the ground in pain.
Sterl gritted his teeth. He had to wait for the energy essence's power to dissipate on its own before he could return to normal…
...
In the jungle, countless wild monsters sensed the terrifying energy aura emanating from the giant tree and the hellish screams. They shivered in fear and quickly fled far away.
Many nearby leveling player groups also chose to retreat—this was too frightening!
In an instant, where used to be a decent leveling spot became deserted. Only the energy flames swirling around Sterl's body remained, setting the giant tree ablaze and causing the fire to spread outward until the entire jungle was engulfed in flames.
It was unknown how much time had passed, but Sterl finally regained consciousness. He slowly opened his eyes. He had already stored his equipment in his inventory. He was now completely naked—his clothes had been entirely burned away by the energy.
Sterl moved slightly and felt a sharp pain throughout his body.
"I really pushed my luck this time."
"Continue next time!" Sterl grumbled. Typically, arcane skills were learned by players who were missing a few levels but already had a legendary status at their third class change. These players used energy essences to lower the learning threshold or collected items to compensate for insufficient talent.
Only Sterl, at just over level 30, had learned an arcane skill by relying on his ability to enhance items! Even the main system of the game [Transcend] probably hadn't anticipated someone doing this!
But when Sterl looked at the newly appeared content on his interface.
[Arcane Skill: Star Soul Rotation (No Rank)]
[Effect: ① Convert experience to gain an additional 20% benefit]
[② All your attributes receive a 5% effect amplification]
[Proficiency: 0/500 (Phase Zero)]
"Totally worth it!"
He lay exhausted on the ground, but his eyes sparkled with joy! He had successfully learned the arcane skill. The 20% extra experience alone would save him a lot of time.
And the 5% attribute effect amplification, though it seemed small, was an additional multiplier! During combat calculations, it would be Sterl's maxed-out attributes from Divine Descent plus his equipment attributes, all multiplied by the 5% amplification!