Chapter 99: The Second Golden Skill [Divine Flame Drive]
Aside from the gold coins, Sterl first sifted through the equipment.
As expected, there wasn't a single piece he could use.
All the gear required a minimum level of 100, including two diamond-grade items.
Sterl casually handed all the equipment to Teresa. "Handle these for me. Just exchange them for purple gold coins."
If converted to money, including the value of the diamond-grade equipment, the total would be worth at least a thousand purple gold coins.
Sterl would instantly become quite wealthy.
After returning from The Netherworld, he could directly purchase a full set of gear according to his current level and then replace it every few levels. With ample funds, he need not worry about losses.
Teresa, holding a pile of equipment, felt her eyes well up with tears. She never expected to be entrusted with such responsibility. "Yes, Master... Lord David, I will not let you down!"
A thousand purple gold coins—frankly speaking, even Teresa's family had only accumulated a few hundred purple gold coins in liquid assets over the years.
Beside her, Daphne looked at Teresa with a hint of envy, but she understood. Her close friend always considered David in everything she did, so gaining such trust was only natural...
"Isn't this a bit too much favor?" Daphne felt a twinge of jealousy. David was being so generous. She wished she had met him first.
"I could definitely outshine Teresa! In every sense of the word!"
Sterl, unfazed by these thoughts, continued sorting through the loot. The second wave consisted of various skill books and miscellaneous items—
All blue-quality skills were handed over to Teresa for sale, while there were four purple-quality skills—
[Volcano (Purple)]
[Effect: Creates a fiery terrain that continuously erupts with high-temperature flame damage.]
[Skyfall (Purple)]
[Effect: Can be activated while airborne, rapidly accelerating the fall and causing shockwave damage.]
[Overheal (Purple)]
[Effect: Passive ability. Excess healing done to others is fully converted into a shield.]
[Life Ignite (Purple)]
[Effect: Burns life force every second to unlock potential, granting a 20% boost to all attributes.]
After some hesitation, Sterl chose to learn Overheal and Life Ignite.
Life Ignite needed no further explanation. It would significantly enhance Sterl's attribute amplification. Overheal, on the other hand, was a reinforcement of Sterl's defensive capabilities.
Sterl had healing skills from wielding the Starlight Dragon, but they could only heal others after a battle, not provide preemptive protection. With Overheal, he could now use healing spells to create shields in advance.
Sterl was somewhat disappointed that these two skills did not have an upgrade option, indicating they couldn't be leveled up. He wasn't too surprised, though.
The transformative effects of golden skills were already immensely powerful. It wouldn't be reasonable for just any skill to be upgradable.
Looking at the remaining two skill books, Sterl said casually, "These two skills aren't suitable for you. Sell them and use the money to get yourself a purple-quality skill. You can spend a bit more to find one that suits you."
He patted Teresa on the shoulder.
Sterl no longer lacked resources and felt it was time to give his loyal subordinate a small perk.
"Really? I can..." Teresa, who had previously maintained a calm and elegant demeanor, couldn't contain her excitement. Her eyes sparkled with joy and a hint of apprehension.
A purple-quality skill! Its value was immense! For many humans on Earth, some players only managed to learn one after their third class change.
Although Teresa's family background spared her such hardship, her future prospects likely involved obtaining just one purple-quality skill, and it might not even suit her talents. Moreover, she'd probably have to contribute significantly to her family before getting a chance to acquire it.
But here, Sterl casually handed her two purple-quality skill books and told her she could spend extra to find one that fit her.
In Teresa's eyes, a light of deep reverence shone as she looked at Sterl.
Teresa then felt a bit uneasy. "Master's power is growing so quickly. With such a big investment in me, can he really recoup the cost?"
Sterl, understanding her thoughts, simply patted her shoulder. "Don't worry. Our interests are aligned. The stronger you become, the better you can assist me."
"Yes, I understand!" Teresa replied, her face flushed with excitement.
Sterl continued, "The resources we'll get from this exchange will likely be substantial. If you need anything for your second class advancement, just take it from there."
"Yes, yes." Teresa nodded repeatedly, moved to tears.
Meanwhile, Daphne stood by, feeling a wave of jealousy wash over her.
It was so enviable.
She and Teresa were good friends, so she knew Teresa's situation well.
Although Teresa was very loyal, she didn't actually have much utility for David, whose power was skyrocketing. Yet, she was able to enjoy such treatment—a purple-quality skill and free access to resources.
Daphne felt extremely uncomfortable because all of this happened just because Teresa met "David" before she did.
"I will not fail your expectations." Teresa said loudly.
Sterl remained indifferent. He wasn't arrogant, but aside from his pet, the Starlight Dragon, it was unlikely that any primary star or sub-star could keep up with him.
If Teresa could remain loyal, Sterl wouldn't mind boosting her stats a few times after he ascended to godhood, allowing her to rise easily!
Finally, the three of them sorted through the items obtained from the loot orb.
In terms of items, Sterl's luck wasn't great this time. Nothing particularly valuable dropped.
The main items included—
Various recovery potions.
Sterl picked out a batch with stronger effects than those crafted by the humans on Earth and placed them in his backpack for emergencies or future use after leveling up.
Then there was a pile of miscellaneous items, materials for enhancement and crafting, as well as some scrolls that could trigger special quests.
Sterl handed all of it over to Teresa.
That's right. He didn't even care about the quest scrolls anymore.
Ordinary quests couldn't compare to the hidden rewards from mainline quests.
"You can take on any of these quest scrolls if you want, and use any materials as needed without asking me."
"You might also want to set up a contribution system. Put some of the equipment and materials on it for the players to exchange." Sterl suggested after some thought.
His words included Daphne, who looked pleasantly surprised.
"I can too??"
She was dumbfounded! Although she didn't get as much as Teresa—no free access to resources or purple-quality skills—the materials and quest scrolls were still extremely valuable!
At least, it would take Daphne over a month to get a quest scroll on her own.
She felt a bit dizzy. Ever since meeting David, her life as a player had been too smooth...
After sorting through the items, Sterl didn't linger but spoke gently, "I have another task at hand. There's an NPC from the Divine Mountain Empire waiting for me, so I'll be leaving now."
He then left the villa.
Leaving behind two beautiful girls still immersed in surprise and mixed emotions.
They stared at the several pieces of diamond equipment, the purple-quality skill books, and the plethora of materials in their hands...
"Am I dreaming? Pinch me to check." Daphne murmured.
"Ouch!!"
"You actually pinched me!"
...
Sterl walked along the road and took out a crystal.
It was the skill book for the golden-quality skill [Divine Flame Drive], thoughtfully gifted by General Constantine of the Atlantic Empire.
When Sterl found it among the loot, he had immediately slipped it into his backpack.
He didn't plan to reveal this skill to Daphne and Teresa. Sterl intended to keep [Divine Flame Drive] as a new trump card, so the fewer people who knew about it, the better.
While leaving the base, Sterl clapped his hands and learned the new golden-quality skill.
At this moment, he had 2 points of legendary status. Initially, Sterl planned to use them to unlock the third effect of Star Point Finger. But after completing the task, he figured there wouldn't be any immediate battles and decided to keep them in reserve.
Now, it was perfect timing to use these points to enhance [Divine Flame Drive]! Activating two golden skills would certainly be more cost-effective.
However, as soon as he opened the panel, Sterl's breath caught.
"Holy crap, this thing can be upgraded too!"
Sterl was astonished to see—
[Divine Flame Drive (Golden)] +
[Proficiency: Beginner (0/5000)]
[Current Status: Inactive]
[Description: The highest secret of the Atlantic Empire's royal lineage, only transferable to those with royal blood.]
[Effect: Creates a seven-colored divine flame to propel the body, greatly boosting agility, constitution, and strength, and adds divine flame augmentation to attacks. However, the acceleration caused by the divine flame makes changing direction difficult.]
[Legendary Status Enhancement:
One point of legendary status (Inactive)
Two points of legendary status (Inactive)
Four points of legendary status (Inactive)]
[Warning: Using this skill will immediately be sensed by the Atlantic royal family, triggering a pursuit.]
Sterl found that the panel for [Divine Flame Drive] had a plus sign!