It was finally over.
Bai Xiaodu pulled off his helmet with some effort, tossed it onto his bed, stretched lazily, and took a few quick steps to keep his legs from going numb.
For some reason, Lingxin's Affection was slowly rising again, even reaching 45.
After pondering it for a while and coming up empty, Bai Xiaodu decided to just let it go.
It was a good thing, anyway!
After taking a brief rest, Bai Xiaodu gleefully began to take stock of his spoils.
First, he pulled out the remnant sword, turning it over to examine it. He stroked it from top to bottom, stopping just short of sticking out his tongue to taste it.
It had a simple, ancient appearance. The broken blade was a cold silver-grey, and the hilt was wrapped in the hide of some unknown creature, fitting perfectly in his hand.
It looked completely unremarkable, very much like an ordinary weapon with some years on it.
It felt cold and heavy in his hand. When he brought his finger close to the sharpened edge, he felt a faint stinging pain even before making contact.
And this was just a broken piece. He couldn't begin to imagine what it would look like in its complete form.
Holding it in his hand, he gave it a gentle swing. Feeling a sudden playful urge, Bai Xiaodu abruptly raised his arm.
Swoosh.
A palm-sized piece of wood was sliced off his dilapidated wooden table as effortlessly as if it were playdough.
The movement was so smooth that Bai Xiaodu felt absolutely no resistance.
“What a sword! What an incredible sword!”
He carefully put it away. Although he wasn't quite sure of its exact purpose yet, it would certainly be highly effective in a fight.
Next was something even more heavyweight.
【Designated Enhancement】
This was a top-tier reward that others only received after completing an ascension ceremony. His system was truly resourceful to have procured such a thing.
Bai Xiaodu rubbed his hands together excitedly, eager to chant his system's full name.
【Facing the pressure of an oncoming truck, the desperate outlaw has nowhere to run! It is time for the King to descend from the heavens in a wrathful grimace!】
“Apply 【Designated Enhancement】 to 【Freezing Ray】!”
There might be better and more important skills in the future that would benefit more from this enhancement.
But what Bai Xiaodu urgently needed right now was to boost his current combat strength.
He couldn't just hoard a pile of resources like a miser and never use them.
When it came to increasing his strength, he had to be decisive!
“Come to papa, my baby!”
【Designated Enhancement in progress. 【Freezing Ray】 will simulate the 【Knowledge】 Pathway to complete its advancement...】
【Advancement successful!】
【【Freezing Ray (Proficient)】 has advanced to 【Multi-Ray (Proficient)】!】
【Multi-Ray (Proficient)】
Condenses six rays of different colors, allowing the user to shoot and damage designated targets through conscious control.
Can be fired individually or discharged in a simultaneous volley.
Depending on the color, they deal freezing, darkness, burning, poison, electric, and spiritual damage respectively.
Simultaneous hits from multiple rays do not suffer from damage decay, and their negative status effects can stack.
...
Badass.
After reading the description of the upgraded 【Freezing Ray】, only one word came to Bai Xiaodu's mind: badass.
It was a direct sixfold multiplier on top of the original, with five additional debuffs!
Pure, unadulterated power. He absolutely loved it.
Lingxin had indeed spoken the truth.
She really was a good person.
Just as 【Fire Arrow】 had become multiple arrows after being enhanced by the 【Knowledge】 Pathway, his ray had undergone a similar transformation.
Now that he had a new move, he naturally had to give it a proper test.
Bai Xiaodu's hands were itching to try it out, but he was afraid of destroying his tiny home.
So, he caught a late-night taxi to a newly opened 24-hour unmanned training hall in the city.
It was specifically designed for transcendent apprentices or low-tier transcendents to conduct skill and physical tests.
He hurriedly paid the driver with his phone.
Without looking back, Bai Xiaodu tapped his phone to pay again, selected a room, and walked in.
The lights inside were as bright as day.
Bai Xiaodu stomped on the floor of the room. He didn't know what kind of composite material it was, but it was incredibly sturdy.
That set his mind at ease.
He looked down at the service menu. Aside from test dummies ranging from straw to alloy steel, the facility also offered a combat simulation service.
It used robots to simulate opponents, categorized into Assassin, Warrior, and Tank types based on the materials used.
Using this service required an extra fee, but Bai Xiaodu didn't hesitate and paid upfront.
Lingxin had sent him several more big rockets, just like last time.
Heavens, what a generous soul to bestow such expensive gifts upon a service worker.
May Sister Lingxin enjoy boundless blessings and a long, prosperous life!
Even though Bai Xiaodu was frequently hired, he rarely encountered such generosity.
“This test features a Tank-type dummy with a defensive strength equivalent to a Rank 0.6 Warrior Apprentice.
“In case of any emergency, please shout 'stop' immediately.”
A gentle female voice from the speaker in the corner interrupted Bai Xiaodu's thoughts, and the door at the back immediately slid open.
Thud! Thud!
A bulky, tank-like robot with limbs stomped heavily onto the floor and appeared before him.
The moment it saw Bai Xiaodu, its eyes flashed red.
“...Target locked.”
Without a word, it dragged its heavy body forward, taking massive strides toward him.
Bai Xiaodu's expression instantly turned serious.
【Mechanical Heart】 activated!
After just a few breaths, the pre-drawn spell runes emerged.
Six colors rapidly flickered in his palm, and Bai Xiaodu's expression shifted slightly.
Damn it, I forgot to calculate the mana consumption.
Firing this single shot was roughly equivalent to firing four Freezing Rays.
Fortunately, it was still barely within his tolerance.
In actual combat, he just shouldn't condense so many rays at once.
He raised his arm.
An incredibly dazzling six-colored light erupted from Bai Xiaodu's hand.
Without the slightest pause, the rays roared forward like six agile dragons, hurtling toward the target!
【Multi-Ray】!
Rate on N.U.
