Besides the damage boost from Thunderclap Strike, Force of Nature has also been successfully upgraded!
This counts as one of Mike's major gains from this trip.
Force of the Nature can be upgraded a total of 12 times, which is why Mike paid a hefty price for it initially!
Equipment: Force of Nature (Lv.25)
Tier: S-tier
Attributes: Intelligence +80, Spirit +70
Perks:
[Stormbind Vengeance] This staff increases the holder's Lightning damage by 20%, Lightning damage taken by 1%, and boosts shield/healing from wood element skills by 25%.
[Twinborn] When casting Lightning skills, there's a 5% chance to simultaneously cast a wood element skill, and vice versa.
[Thunderstorm] When casting Lightning skills, there's a 0.1% chance to deal double damage!
[Fearless] Deals an additional 10% Lightning damage to enemies higher in level than the holder.
Upgrade Perk:
[Clash of Thunder and Lightning]: Defeating a Lightning Boss between levels 25 to 60 upgrades Force of Nature to the boss's level and randomly acquires one skill from the boss.
Upgradeable times: 10
Times upgraded: 2
"It's upgraded to S-tier equipment!"
Even though it's S-, it's still genuinely S tier equipment!
The upgrade potential of Force of Nature exceeded Mike's expectations.
Previous perks have all been enhanced to various extents.
Additionally, a new perk [Fearless] has been added, allowing for higher damage against higher-level enemies!
"This perk is awesome, it works wonders in battle!"
Due to Mike's unique status, he often faces higher-tier enemies.
With the addition of [Fearless], he now has more room to excel when facing foes.
After wrapping up the dashboard and equipment details, Mike's personal gains from this trip are nearly tallied.
Just then, the Tower of Truth's announcement rings out again.
"Settlement complete, officially issuing SSSS-tier evaluation rewards!"
"Participant Thor cleared levels three, four, five, and six with an SSSS-tier rating, rewarding all human race with the buff [Treasure Hunter]!"
"Temporary buff [Overall Enhancement], within the Tower of Truth, all attributes for the human race increase by 30%, lasts 24 hours!"
"Temporary buff [Focused Defense], within the Tower of Truth, damage taken by the human race is reduced by 20%, lasts 24 hours!"
"Temporary buff [Robust Physique], within the Tower of Truth, humans will not enter a weakened state after death when returning to Core City of Truth, lasts 24 hours."
"Temporary buff [Experience Boost], within the Tower of Truth, human race gains 15% more experience, lasts 12 hours!"
"[Treasure Hunter]: The next time you open a chest, scroll, or pot, the tier of the item increases by +1."
"Levels three, four, five, and six of the Tower of Truth are resetting, reopening in 18 hours..."
[Treasure Hunter] and [Experience Boost] are newly introduced buffs.
The other three are more like standard for an SSSS-tier rating, and with Mike clearing four levels, their duration has been extended to 24 hours!
Mike suspects that if he continues at this pace, these so-called temporary buffs might as well be permanent!
This will significantly enhance the overall strength of the human race!
As for the effect of [Treasure Hunter], it's easy to understand.
Random rewards, if forcibly increased by one tier, can lead to a significant boost!
For instance, if a human participant in the Tower of Truth obtains a bronze chest, theoretically, they would only receive a bronze-level reward.
But under the influence of [Treasure Hunter] buff, the bronze chest could yield a silver chest's reward. The reward is doubled!
Similarly, if a human participant gets a damaged magic scroll, normally, it would be worthless. Even using it as toilet paper would be uncomfortable.
However, under the [Treasure Hunter] buff, after opening, this magic scroll could transform into a random scroll with a tier 1 magic effect.
This transformation from zero to one has multiplied the value of the reward infinitely!
As for the experience boost, it's a blessing for ordinary human participants, reducing the difficulty of leveling up in the Tower of Truth!
Unfortunately, it only lasts for 12 hours, equivalent to two days of exploration in the Tower of Truth.
No worries, just find a way to extend it within two days!
Mike is confident, isn't it just an SSSS-tier rating?
Is it that hard?
He got six SSSS ratings in three days!
Is Mike proud?
Well, he's a bit proud now!
After closing the Tower of Truth's announcement, Mike sees that everything on Mine's side is also well arranged, and then he exits the instance.
A flash of white light.
Mike returns to his home, where a shadow is waiting for him.
Shadow Nine's voice sounds, somewhat listless, but still with an uncontrollable excitement, "I have a surprise for you. At 3 AM tonight, Maxen Stoneheart ambushed the fourth demon cult leader near the abandoned factory. I also took action personally, severing the enemy's head, confirming the target is dead!"
"Kid, you can go to school with peace of mind now."
After saying this, Shadow Nine falls silent, seemingly healing.
A smile just starts to form on Mike's face, but it freezes instantly.
Before him, a line of text appears, bolded in black.
[Terenas Bloodscribe is not dead]
What the fuck!
So this is the "surprise" from Shadow Nine!
[Terenas Bloodscribe is not dead]
This news is definitely not good for Mike.
When he tells Shadow Nine about it, Shadow Nine's reaction is extremely interesting.
"It's impossible, absolutely impossible!"
Shadow Nine himself is a powerful soul element practitioner, and he's certain that he has completely purified the demon cult leader's soul, leaving nothing behind.
The Eye of Truth has given a complete prompt, and Mike carefully chooses his words, then slowly says,
"Is there a possibility that he had split part of his soul in advance, and when his main body was destroyed, he used a prepared formation to sacrifice three Battle Chief-level followers to complete his own soul, thus extending his life?"
Shadow Nine: "Your guess is a bit too detailed."
Shadow Nine almost asks outright, were you spectating at the scene?
Shadow Nine falls silent for a long while, eventually having to admit, "Indeed, that's possible, and if the demon god is willing to help him, the chances of success are very high."
Soul matters are Shadow Nine's expertise, at a Battle Lord level.
He hadn't considered this before, mainly because Maxen Stoneheart's soul fluctuations were very normal, showing no signs of incompleteness.
At the same time, the method Mike mentioned only exists in theoretical possibility.
There's also a significant drawback: the completed soul of Terenas Bloodscribe, in a sense, is no longer the Terenas Bloodscribe of the past!
It's like a computer, all the CPU and GPU have been replaced, except the system is still Windows, everything else is completely different.
"Even so, the completed soul of Terenas Bloodscribe is an extremely dangerous enemy!"
The living room is filled with a murderous aura, almost dense enough to be tangible.
Shadow Nine's next words almost make Mike choke on his drink.
"I'm going to kill Maxen Stoneheart right now!"
Mike: ???
"Why would Maxen Stoneheart be to blame if Terenas Bloodscribe wasn't killed?"
Mike is puzzled by this strange logic.
What did Maxen Stoneheart do wrong?
Shadow Nine insists,
"I am a genuine Battle Lord, my word is my bond, since I initially staked Maxen Stoneheart's life as a guarantee, I must follow through!"
"Oh."
Mike's response is very bland,
"If that's the case, remember to take out the trash on your way out, throw it in the bin."
"Have a safe trip."
Shadow Nine: ...
"Aren't you going to persuade me?"
"No."
Mike has no interest in persuading him; the old man is cunning, despite his age, and he's always up to some trick. He's just saying this; he would never actually go and kill Maxen Stoneheart.
Who knew? Shadow Nine's thick-skinned nature exceeded Mike's expectations.
Shadow Nine continues along Mike's lines, "Since you say it's no longer suitable, I'll give you face, otherwise Maxen Stoneheart, that boy, definitely wouldn't see tomorrow's sun!"
Mike: What a shameless old man, I concede.
Shadow Nine adds, "Don't worry, we'll continue to track Terenas Bloodscribe's whereabouts, you don't have to worry too much. Splitting and then completing the soul in this way will cause his strength to drop significantly, at most he'll only have Battle Chief-level strength.
You don't have to worry at all, especially since you have a peak Battle Chief bodyguard living next door, although his brain doesn't work well..."
Mike: ???
He seems to have heard some strange secret.
Mike thinks to himself, "Blaze Morrow's brain doesn't work well? Could it be due to some hidden illness?"
Shadow Nine's tone becomes serious, "Terenas Bloodscribe has been reborn, he might change his appearance, hiding under another identity."
"Anyway, whatever plans he has, he won't find you, a mere student, so rest easy."
Mike rolls his eyes, "Please stop saying that, the more you say it, the more likely it is that he'll come after me!"