Chapter Sixty-Four: Leaving Gear City

Chu Cheng did not linger long in Gear City. After completing his task, he returned to the docks and spent three more days fishing. On the second day, Xu Zhiyuan ran off. Having followed him around Gear City for nearly ten days, Xu simply couldn’t endure it any longer. Once he left, it was only natural for Chu Cheng to leave as well—he wasn’t truly idle enough to spend his days fishing without a care.

“This trip wasn’t bad at all!” Three exquisitely cut rare gemstones, four cut sapphires, and a gemstone recipe made for a satisfying haul. Two of the three compact sky-blue gems had already been set into his Streamlined Cloak, granting a bonus of +20 to Constitution. The cloak itself came with two slots, so there was no need to pay for additional ones. Another rare item, the Precise Heart-Piercer, had no slots, so he would need a craftsman to add one.

The academy had teachers specializing in this: regardless of an item’s quality, the first slot cost one gold, the second two gold, the third four gold—doubling each time. It’s worth noting that slotting was not a standalone profession, but rather a branch of both Smithing and Jewelcrafting. Smiths could forge weapons and equipment, so adding slots was routine. For Jewelcrafters, their cut magical gems were meant for embedding, so slotting skills were essential. There was no strict hierarchy between the two: both could perform the task.

Additionally, the Enchantment profession had a rune-engraving branch, allowing the creation of magical rune stones. These, like magical gems, could be slotted into gear to grant extra attributes. While magical gems typically provided a single, straightforward bonus—one gem for one attribute, never dual—the rune stones were more versatile, bestowing multiple attributes at once, such as Constitution and Strength, Attack and Defense, or even spell damage bonuses.

In essence, rune stones were enchantments crystallized into gemstones. Normally, equipment could only be enchanted once, but with rune stones and enough slots, multiple enchantments could be stacked, greatly enhancing the power of the gear. Naturally, if an item was slotted with a rune stone, it could not be further enchanted. Conversely, if an item was already enchanted, only regular magical gems could be slotted.

Both Enchantment and Jewelcrafting, these advanced professions, could dramatically boost one’s strength. The same set of gear, fully slotted with rare or better magical gems and enchanted, could see all attributes increased by 50%–100%, or even more—making for a drastic difference in combat power.

...

After leaving Gear City, Chu Cheng did not return directly to Crossroads Fortress or the Northern Outpost. Instead, he headed east, intending to wander the depths of the wastelands and see if he might encounter a suitable large alien tribe for action. He had already lost ten days; in about half a month, the first major event inside the instance—the Battle of Blackwater River—was set to begin. He would have to hurry back to take part.

He quickly left the city’s border checkpoint and plunged into the vast wasteland. From morning until afternoon, Chu Cheng discovered an orc tribe. After observing from a distance and confirming it was merely a medium-sized tribe, he spun two weapons in his palms and strolled out from behind the grass, leisurely approaching the tribal gates.

The orcs on the gate’s watchtower spotted him immediately. After a burst of guttural shouts, the gates opened, and a dozen or so orc warriors, all around level fifteen, charged out. The watchtower guards hurled javelins at him, but the distance was too great—he neither dodged nor was struck.

Soon, however, the orc squad closed in, and five javelins hurtled toward him. A ripple of invisible light flashed; he remained unmoved. The charging orc warriors showed no reaction, but far behind, at the wooden gates and towers some seventy or eighty meters away, a rapid series of dull thuds sounded. Five long slash marks appeared instantly on the bodies of the watchtower guards.

The orc warriors, with their limited brainpower, couldn’t comprehend why their javelins, though clearly hitting, failed to harm their enemy. Undeterred, they brandished their weapons, shouting as they charged, blades swinging down.

“Based on your perception, you will receive the following detailed combat statistics.

“Combat replay begins.

“You have received an attack from an orc warrior, dealing 52 points of slashing physical damage. Your talent absorbs 52 points of damage. You ultimately take 0 points of physical damage.

“...

“Your talent, Spatial Refraction, activates, reflecting 52 points of pure damage to the orc warriors.

“Your talent, Spatial Refraction, activates, reflecting 52 points of pure damage to the wooden gate.

“…”

Objects such as wooden gates, walls, stone barricades, or even trees could all be destroyed, just like any mechanical device. Living things had health points; non-living things had durability. Once durability was depleted, destruction followed.

In the Realm of Chaos, all attacks and defenses fell broadly into four categories.

First: Normal attacks and defenses, encompassing nearly all types—slashing, piercing, and other physical assaults. These dealt 100% damage to regular and magical armor, 10% to fortifications, and 1% to sacred armor.

Second: Magical attacks and defenses. These dealt 100% damage to regular and magical armor, 50% to fortifications, and 1% to sacred armor.

Third: Siege attacks and fortification armor—typically referring to ballistae, catapults, and solid cannonballs. These dealt 100% damage to regular, magical, and fortification armors, but only 1% to sacred armor.

Lastly: True attacks, also called pure damage. These dealt 100% damage to regular, magical, and fortification armors, and 50% to sacred armor.

“Noble pure damage!”

What would have been a formidable gate to breach was quickly reduced to splinters under the tireless efforts of a dozen orc warriors, as if it had been hacked at a thousand times. Wood chips flew everywhere. With a resounding crash, the arrow tower collapsed first, then the gate, alarming the orcs within.

As the long horn sounded, most of the orc tribe was roused, and more and more orcs surged toward the gate, only to be sent tumbling.

Chu Cheng pressed his hand against the orc warriors. With over a hundred points in Strength, he easily shoved several orcs backward, squeezing them into the gateway. More orc warriors crowded in, flailing wildly with clubs and blades.

Spatial ripples burst forth, sending bodies flying.

This time, he did not bother to control the number of orc warriors surging forward, for as his talent had leveled up, his absorption value had increased from thirty to one hundred. According to monster data, the attacks of ordinary monsters below level twenty rarely exceeded one hundred points.

In other words, ordinary monsters below level twenty could no longer pierce his defenses and were beneath his notice. The only threats in this orc tribe were the orc chieftain and a handful of level thirty elites—but even they posed only a limited danger.

With his current strength, even facing a level thirty-something elite head-on posed little difficulty.