Chapter 52: Crimson Castle (1)
“I think that’s where we need to go,” Caelius said, staring at the crimson castle in the distance.
Vincent also gazed cautiously at it, noticing the fully open crimson gate nearby. Signs of a recent battle were evident around it.
“It seems someone reached here before us…” he murmured, causing Caelius to frown briefly before flashing a confident smile.
“It doesn’t matter—let them clear the path for us,” Caelius said, storing the ‘source compass’ back in his storage ring. He no longer needed it, as their destination was now obvious.
With a relaxed smile, he stepped forward. “Let’s go.”
His longsword clinked at his waist as he moved, and his elegant azure garments, worn beneath intricate armor, fluttered lightly.
After some time walking past several shattered primal statues, they reached the castle’s main entrance.
The doors were already wide open, signaling that someone had entered before them.
As Vincent took his first step inside, an ominous energy surged through his body, freezing him in place.
Caelius turned back, puzzled by Vincent’s sudden halt. “What’s wrong? You okay?”
Vincent shivered, shaking off the feeling with a frown. “It’s nothing. Let’s go.”
Though Caelius was slightly skeptical, he didn’t press the issue and resumed moving forward.
As they walked, Vincent couldn’t shake off the sensation he had felt. The aura was oppressive, savage, and dangerous—and oddly familiar. He suspected something deep within the Crimson Castle might be connected to him.
After several minutes traversing the castle’s halls, their group encountered their first obstacle.
A band of five humanoid figures with rat heads, each wielding rusty short swords, blocked their path.
Blackrat Man – Tier 1 (4★)
In the center stood a larger Blackrat Man wielding a heftier, corroded sword.
Blackrat Man Leader – Tier 1 (5★)
Vincent stepped forward. “Mind if I handle these? I might be less useful later.”
He was aware of his limitations. If he allowed Caelius and the others to fight these creatures, he’d lose valuable chances to gain experience points.
So, as long as they encountered weaker enemies, he intended to take them on.
Caelius gave him an approving nod, curious to observe Vincent’s combat abilities.
“Go ahead. Just shout if you need backup.”
Ignoring Caelius’ words, Vincent activated his C-rank talent: Origin Power Enhancement.
This ability amplified his force attribute by 30%, enhancing his physical strength.
He then channeled origin energy into his right arm, triggering the Stone Crusher skill, transforming his arm from elbow to fist into rock-like form.
He wasn’t done yet. He activated Fierce Strike.
A fierce crimson aura enveloped his stone arm. With precise control over his origin energy, he blurred forward, reappearing in front of the Blackrat Man Leader in an instant. The creature barely had time to react before Vincent’s powerful punch struck its abdomen, creating a gaping hole and sending a shockwave that blasted two Blackrat Men behind it into digital sparks.
With another swift step, he delivered two more crushing blows to the remaining Blackrat Men, dispatching them in seconds.
Caelius was momentarily speechless before muttering, “Impressive… quite fierce…”
His curiosity about Vincent’s background deepened, while his golden-cloaked companions remained silent.
Vincent quickly collected several origin crystals and other loot, storing them in his ring.
Talent Activated!
+500,000 experience points!
+250,000 experience points!
+250,000 experience points!
+250,000…
His experience bar filled rapidly, allowing him to upgrade other skills and items.
As they moved forward, he didn’t hesitate to enhance the skills he had just used: Stone Crusher and Fierce Strike.
Both were uncommon-grade skills. Upgrading them to Rare grade required a total of 600,000 experience points.
You have successfully upgraded Stone Crusher!
Name: Earthshaker Gauntlet
Grade: Rare
Effect: Earthshaker Gauntlet unleashes a reinforced strike, dealing an additional 150% of the user’s base physical damage. This blow weakens the target’s defenses, reducing both physical and elemental resistances by 10% for 8 seconds. When active, the user’s arm encases in dense, resilient stone, enhancing physical defense by 15% and granting a 5% chance to block incoming attacks. This form can be maintained with moderate Origin Energy.
Additional Damage: 150% of base physical damage
Defense Reduction: 10% (physical and elemental) for 8 seconds
Defense Boost: 15% (maintainable) with a 5% block chance
Duration: 30 seconds (extendable)
Cost: 35 per minute while active
Skill 1: Rock Smash
Effect: Rock Smash delivers a reinforced strike, inflicting 200% attack damage and creating an earth-energy shockwave on impact. This AoE damage affects enemies within a 3-meter radius, slowing their movement by 15% for 4 seconds.
Damage Multiplier: 200% attack damage
AoE Radius: 3 meters
Slow Effect: 15% movement speed reduction for 4 seconds
Cooldown: 8 seconds
Consumption: 30 Origin Energy
Skill 2: Stonebound Guard (New)
Effect: Stonebound Guard forms a dense rock shield, blocking up to 25% of incoming damage for 10 seconds. While active, attackers within a 2-meter radius take 50% of the user’s base physical damage as earth damage and experience a slight knockback. This skill provides effective crowd control, deterring close-range foes while absorbing damage.
Damage Reduction: 25% for 10 seconds
Counter Damage: 50% of user’s base physical damage
Knockback Radius: 2 meters
Cooldown: 12 seconds
Consumption: 40 Origin Energy
Satisfied, Vincent nodded to himself before upgrading his next skill.
You have successfully upgraded Fierce Strike!
Name: Severing Blow
Grade: Rare
Effects:
Direct Impact: Channels denser Origin Energy, delivering a powerful cleaving strike. This impact inflicts an additional 40% of the user’s base attack as pure physical force, bypassing typical defenses. This reflects the skill’s upgrade to Rare grade.
Enhanced Shockwave: A stronger shockwave radiates from the impact point, dealing 15% of the user’s base attack to nearby enemies. Knockback range increases to 3 meters, staggering foes briefly, improving crowd control.
Bleed Effect (New Skill): Inflicts a bleeding effect on the primary target, dealing 10% of the user’s base attack as damage per second for 3 seconds. This bleed effect stacks if the skill is used repeatedly on the same foe, enabling sustained high damage.
Primary Strike Range: Extends to 3 meters, improving close-combat reach.
Shockwave Radius: Expands to 6 meters from impact, increasing AoE.
Consumption: 60 Origin Energy
Cooldown: 8 seconds
“Good…” Vincent muttered, nodding in satisfaction. His remark caught Caelius’ attention.
“What’s good?”
“Oh, just pleased with my new skill’s performance.”
“That stone arm move? Impressive. Was it an uncommon-grade skill?”
Vincent nodded. He wasn’t lying—the skill he’d revealed was uncommon, but he’d since upgraded it to rare grade. He saw no reason to explain further.
With 400,000 experience points left, he decided to upgrade his Shadow Rat Summoning skill to rare grade as well.
You have successfully upgraded Shadow Rat Summoning!
Name: Umbral Rat Legion
Grade: Rare
Initial Cost: 20 Origin Energy per rat
Sustained Cost: 1 Origin Energy per rat every 5 minutes
Summon Limit: Up to 40 Umbral Rats at once
Duration: Unlimited until dismissed, destroyed, or summoner’s energy depletes
Strength: Tier 2 (1★)
Enhanced Functions:
1. Umbral Form: Umbral Rats now have a semi-ethereal form, allowing them to partially phase through solid surfaces and become invisible in deep shadows. This grants advanced stealth, making them nearly undetectable to most Tier 1 creatures and difficult for even Tier 2 (1★) foes to detect.
2. Physical Abilities: Each rat now possesses the strength, speed, and agility of a Tier 2 (1★) creature, allowing for higher damage and increased reflexes in combat while retaining agility for reconnaissance.
3. Advanced Stealth: The Umbral Rats can partially obscure their forms even in daylight, making them faintly transparent. In shadow, they’re completely invisible, undetectable to all but the highest perception skills.
4. Combat Abilities:
Venomous Bite: Delivers 5% of the user’s base attack as poison damage over 5 seconds, stacking with repeated bites. Effective for weakening larger enemies or inflicting group damage.
Shadow Claw: Their claws are now charged with Origin Energy, capable of moderate slashing damage. Bleeding wounds deal 2% of the user’s base attack per second for 3 seconds.
5. Improved Command and Feedback: The summoner’s link with the Umbral Rats is now stronger, enabling complex orders like “flank both sides” or “target weak spots.” Visual and auditory feedback is sharper, enhancing scouting effectiveness.
Additional Skill: Swarm Convergence
Effect: By spending 40 more Origin Energy, the summoner can direct all Umbral Rats to focus on a single target, delivering concentrated venom and slashing attacks. This attack inflicts 150% of the summoner’s base attack in combined poison and slashing damage over 5 seconds.
Range: Umbral Rats can converge within a 20-meter radius of the summoner, making it ideal for swift ambushes or overwhelming a target in close quarters.
Cooldown: 15 seconds after the swarm disperses.
“Oh, Tier 2 strength?!” Vincent thought, surprised as he reviewed the upgraded skill details.
Before he could fully process this new information, he sensed a distant battle, a disturbance that Caelius and the others also noticed.
“Stay alert; there’s fighting up ahead.”
Soon, they encountered a group of five armored Vyrmins engaged in battle against Blackrat Men. Near them, a group of crimson-skinned reptilian warriors fought against several 1.5-meter-long snakes.
At the rear stood an imposing 7-foot-tall Blackrat Man in heavy armor.
Blackrat Soldier – Tier 2 (2★)
“A Tier 2 primal…” Vincent muttered. Aside from the massive tortoise he’d seen with Azhara, this was his first time encountering a Tier 2 primal face-to-face.
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