Chapter Twenty-Four: The Third Attribute

Ashes truly hadn’t anticipated that the fragment of power he’d obtained from Tipsy’s place would catalyze a transformation in his abilities on a certain level.

At first, he’d thought it unreasonable to hand over the Skill Plug-In Enhancement Chip for nothing, so he’d resolved to extract a fair compensation from Tipsy. When he first saw the effect of the power fragment, he’d only planned to use it to raise the judgment rating of his Direwolf Gauntlets, making it easier to trigger the Smite effect. Yet who could have foreseen that, once inside the Forbidden Zone of Life and faced with enemies of overwhelming strength, the Smite effect of the gauntlets would become nearly useless, while the power fragment proved invaluable time and again?

Whether it was the desperate counterattack during the Nightmare Challenge or his tactical responses against the Six-Eyed Zealot, both instances had shown the true worth of the power fragment—far beyond his expectations. No wonder the chief of the Control Center, when offering enhancement advice, had insisted on keeping that seemingly unremarkable “+1 Power Judgment.”

“Don’t you think flaunting your good fortune in front of me after getting such a bargain is just asking for a beating?”

“It’s all about mutual benefit!”

“I only feel I got ripped off—and badly! I want a refund! Give me back the power fragment!”

“No can do. A deal’s a deal. We’re all adults here; we have to stick to our principles.”

“Did you care about principles when you took me for a sucker?”

“In this line of work, it all comes down to perception. Everyone gets what they can—no principles!”

“…”

Grinding her teeth, Tipsy bantered back and forth with Ashes, but she never stopped attacking the Six-Eyed Preacher. She’d learned along the way why Ashes was able to unleash such strength in dire straits, and it made her realize to her surprise that the power fragment had a hidden boost.

This inlay was something she’d come across by chance just before earning a perfect rating on her initial assessment, normal difficulty. Since she specialized in crossbows, she’d thought it useless to her and had traded it to Ashes for the enhancement chip.

But now, seeing Ashes grinning from ear to ear, Tipsy suddenly realized she’d made a huge loss. She’d felt she was being extorted at the time—after all, they were on the same side, yet this tight-fisted guy still haggled over every little thing!

Screech!

Clack, clack, clack, clack...

Watching Ashes switch to his arm shield and once again block the Six-Eyed’s divine light for her, Tipsy’s spirits deflated a bit. After firing off a critical crossbow shot, she deftly slipped behind Ashes, sighing inwardly, “Let’s just say it worked out for everyone. If I hadn’t traded it to him, we’d never have gotten this far.”

Looking at Ashes’ back, she couldn’t help but feel grateful they’d teamed up as a duo. Without him, her meager survival skills would never have carried her even this far, even on hard mode.

Tipsy threw herself back into the fight, hammering the Six-Eyed Preacher’s health down to less than thirty percent. Judging by the intervals between the Six-Eyed’s divine light attacks, she estimated they could finish him off before the next one landed. Meanwhile, a missed attack had left the Six-Eyed Zealot in a lengthy state of paralysis, rendering him harmless to her and Little Bob’s output for the foreseeable future.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Crossbow bolts flew true. With her homing technique, Tipsy could scarcely miss a moving target—let alone a stationary one bound in chains. After Little Bob’s explosive fireball left the Six-Eyed Preacher with just a sliver of health, Tipsy ended him swiftly with a final bolt.

[Notice: You participated in killing the boss-level undead “Six-Eyed Zealot” and earned a substantial amount of contribution points.]

A pair of inhuman, anguished screams rose simultaneously from ahead and behind. Preparing to turn and face the Zealot, Ashes realized that the moment the Preacher fell, his summoned creature perished as well. Even though Ashes hadn’t directly harmed the Preacher, he still received contribution points from the Zealot.

“Not bad—not a loss!”

In fact, if Ashes had switched to his Enhanced Rechargeable Baton, he could have earned points from the Preacher, too. But after withstanding two blasts of divine light and a charging slam, his shield and health were both depleted, and with the Zealot about to launch another heavy charge, Ashes prudently chose to protect Tipsy and Little Bob, sacrificing a bit himself for the team’s safe progress.

It’s worth mentioning that the deaths of these two Six-Eyed followers were peculiar: flames erupted within their bodies, consuming the Zealot along with his armor and weapon, yet the Preacher’s mask and black robe remained. The chains still bound them tightly, as if to deny the Preacher freedom even in death.

“Hey! There’s loot! Hope it’s the Bloodvine Core I need!”

With keen eyes, Tipsy spotted two items on the ground. She picked up a sparkling gem and eagerly checked its properties, raising her brows in surprise. “Strange. Bloodvine items are supposed to have only ‘Tenacity’ and ‘Frenzy’ attributes. Why is this one ‘Wisdom’?”

“Hm?” Ashes, surprised as well, took the Bloodvine Core and confirmed it was indeed “Wisdom.” What’s more, this core could instantly upgrade any corresponding mature Bloodvine item by one rank, without requiring it to devour another of its level and attribute.

“Wisdom? So there really is a Wisdom attribute for Life Cores?”

This time, the one astonished was Little Bob. He brandished his Bloodvine Necklace and said to the others, “My necklace is Wisdom-type.”

“What?” Ashes and Tipsy immediately examined the necklace and saw he was telling the truth. The mature Bloodvine Necklace enhanced occult abilities, required stricter conditions to use, but otherwise matched their own Bloodvine accessories.

Ashes couldn’t help but marvel. Throughout their journey, they’d slain countless undead and enemies, yet only “Tenacity” and “Frenzy” attributes had appeared. No contract from the Giant Tree Institute had ever mentioned a third attribute. Now, with Little Bob’s unique necklace, Ashes was compelled to ask about its origin.

“This necklace used to belong to a core member of the Giant Tree Institute. When I got it, it was already mature. I always thought only the Institute knew how to cultivate them. I never expected to encounter a Wisdom-type Bloodvine Core here.”

“Wait, does your necklace not have information binding?”

“No. It never has. I…”

“Is that so…”

Noticing Little Bob hesitate and swallow his words, Ashes realized there were secrets he wasn’t ready to share. To unravel the mystery, he’d likely have to earn Little Bob’s trust at a higher level.

Despite lingering doubts, Ashes handed the Bloodvine Core to Little Bob himself. “Good luck—you’re getting stronger, which will help all of us in what’s to come. Go ahead and use it. I’m eager to see what a fully-formed Wisdom Bloodvine can do!”

Little Bob nodded emphatically and let his necklace absorb the core, then immediately displayed its new properties for everyone.

“Wow! Innate double-effect for occult skills? Amazing! I bet that’s why the Six-Eyed’s divine light was so deadly—if it doubled the damage, no wonder he was so strong, even as a boss!”

Tipsy’s amazement was echoed by Ashes.

No matter what, Little Bob, already a walking turret, was now an upgraded version. The trio’s roles within the team were now more defined than ever. Noticing the envy in Tipsy’s eyes, Ashes felt a spark of inspiration: “If I can upgrade this girl’s Bloodvine ring as well, maybe we’ll finally get to see the true face of the Sun Staircase!”