Mike's transaction at the Mystic Market was like a pebble tossed into the ocean-barely making a splash. After all, the hot topic among humans these days was all about Thor!
After leaving the Trade Secret Realm, Mike finally took out the [Force of Nature] and examined it closely. This staff, which cost Mike 80,000 gold coins, was about 4 feet long, pitch black, and made from a special type of wood, which granted it enhancements from both the Lightning and Wood elements.
"Indeed, it's a top-notch staff capable of 12 upgrades!" Mike murmured appreciatively.
Equipment: Force of Nature (Lv.10)
Grade: A
Attributes: Intelligence +25, Spirit +15
Perks:
[Stormbind Vengeance]: Increases Lightning damage by 5% and Lightning damage received by 10%, enhances shield/healing from Wood element skills by 10%.
[Twinborn]: 0.1% chance to cast a Wood element skill when a Lightning element skill is used, and vice versa.
Upgrade Perk:
[Death and Rebirth]: Will be upgraded after accumulating 1 million points of Lightning damage or restoring 1 million points of Wood element healing (choices during the upgrade process will affect the final outcome).
Upgrade Limit: 12
Upgrades Completed: 0
The original price of Force of Nature was 180,000 gold coins, but the rare percentage increase in damage from [Stormbind Vengeance] significantly boosted the value of the equipment.
Of course, what Mike valued most was the potential for 12 upgrades! Each upgrade would significantly enhance the level and attributes of the equipment, with a chance to add new perks.
As for the [Twinborn] perk, it was somewhat underwhelming. Mike, having class-changed to a Stormweaver (Lightning), primarily wielded Lightning skills, with few alternatives.
The upgrade condition of [Death and Rebirth], requiring a million points of Lightning damage, was a mere trifle for Mike. Just a few charges of Charge Up followed by a Lightning Arrow would do the trick.
"Too bad, on my first day entering the Tower of Truth, I can only tackle the newbie instance," Mike sighed.
He tucked the Force of Nature back into his backpack and glanced down at the Tower of Truth mark on his arm. Under Mike's will, the mark emitted a white glow, enveloping him once
more.
In the next second, he was back in his own home.
"Phew-"
"Finally back home!" Mike exclaimed as he grabbed the water glass from the table and gulped it down in one go.
Reflecting on his first journey through the Tower of Truth, Mike felt it all seemed too surreal. Awakening an SSS-tier talent, defeating Cerberus, clearing a hidden level, achieving an SSS- tier completion, and purchasing the Force of Nature... In just a few hours, Mike's abilities had skyrocketed!
Now, even if he encountered slightly weaker Battle Soldier, he felt confident he could hold his own. Stretching his limbs, Mike could feel the changes within his body-attributes from the Tower of Truth were syncing with reality!
His basic attributes had all broken through the hundred mark, and his physical condition had strengthened more than tenfold. Mike did a quick test around the house.
Holding his breath for 20 minutes in a basin of water, Mike felt no discomfort at all; he even thought he could continue longer. Before the Tower of Truth appeared, the human world record for breath-holding was 24 minutes, a feat only achievable by a rare few.
With the enhancements from the Tower of Truth, Mike could easily smash old world records. He even ran a 100-meter dash in under 9 seconds without warming up!
Of course, the enhancements from the Tower of Truth were fair-everyone on Earth was on the same starting line, and the old world records had long been rendered obsolete and irrelevant.
Feeling the tremendous changes in his body, Mike, fresh from the Tower of Truth, was even looking forward to his next adventure there. After completing various tests in excitement, Mike took a cold shower, gradually calming down.
It was only then that he had the leisure to check out what was happening in the outside world. Turning on his phone, he was bombarded with a barrage of news headlines!
"This is way over the top," he muttered, even though he was somewhat prepared, Mike was still shocked.
On Twitter Trends, out of the top 50, 34 were about Thor!
The top trending topic was: [Could Thor be the next supreme being?].
The second was: [Defense Headquarters demolishes the fourth demon cult headquarters, kills three vice leaders!].
The third was...
"Demon cult?" Mike's finger hovered over the second trending topic and he tapped to dive deeper.
The term "demon cult" broadly referred to those human traitors who followed the demon gods, also known as heretics, betrayers, or demon god followers.
Advancing in the Tower of Truth was no easy feat; many were stuck on a certain level for life, and the higher one went, the tougher it got! But the demon gods could help them advance
further.
After the Abyssal Plane invaded Earth, the demon gods used various methods to corrupt humanity. They projected their influence, performed miracles, seduced the weak-minded, and tempted the corrupt to become their minions, to be used at their whim.
There were always those who couldn't resist the temptation and ultimately fell into the embrace of the demon gods. These individuals banded together to form the demon cults!
On Earth, besides gathering internal information about humanity, the primary function of these demon cults was to cause destruction. It's always harder to guard against an enemy
within!
They hid in every corner of society, some even in high positions, waiting for the right moment to strike. Over the past three hundred years, members of the demon cults had caused significant losses to humanity, killing many promising talents before they could fully
develop!
The most outrageous part was that these traitors operated in extreme secrecy. Sometimes, when they killed someone, they made it look like an accident, and it went undetected!
After Thor made a name for himself, the second thing the Defense Headquarters did was to intensify their crackdown on the demon cults.
Clicking into the trending news, Mike saw numerous reports. "The fourth demon cult
worships the fourth demon god, the Wrathful God of Extinction, whose totem is a green torch..." The news reported that the headquarters of the fourth demon cult had been destroyed, and three vice leaders were executed on the spot!
The cult leader, severely injured, had managed to escape at a great cost, and his whereabouts were currently unknown.
"A Battle Lord, even severely injured, is not to be underestimated," Mike sighed, feeling that all this was still way out of his league.
The demon cult members would definitely want to find Thor and take him down, even if it meant offering a hefty bounty. Correspondingly, humanity's efforts to strike against the demon cults would only intensify. The war between the two sides wouldn't cease for a
moment.
Even if Mike had the desire to fight these traitors, he lacked the strength. Currently, he hadn't even passed the Battle Soldier test-how could he worry about matters concerning Battle
Lords?
Regardless, the demon cults were always a thorn in humanity's side, those traitors who turned their blades against their own kind were the most despicable! If Mike were to reveal his identity as Thor, he would undoubtedly face relentless assassination attempts. Even without revealing his Thor identity, any standout performance by Mike could potentially make him a target. The enemy lurked in the shadows while he was exposed in the light, a challenging situation indeed.
"But it's not like there's no solution," Mike mused as he looked into the mirror.
Floating above his reflection was a note: [Aside from being handsome and possessing an SSS-
tier talent, just an ordinary guy].
Quite the accurate description.
The Eye of Truth, as an SSS-tier talent, was effective even in real life! Those demon cult rats couldn't hide from Mike; they had nowhere to run.
No matter what schemes they concocted, as soon as they came near Mike, he could easily see through their disguises. His SSS-tier talent was not only Mike's biggest secret but also his strongest trump card.