LWGP - Chapter 101
Chapter 101: Talent Bias
Back with Wang Jiu's group, she didn't have everyone stop. She just occasionally used Holy Light to restore their injuries and her own blood.
Once everyone's injuries had recovered, they also began to feel some relief from the weakness and discomfort of holding their breath.
"Don't go into the dense forest. Head for the ridge."
From some of the small paths and marks of chopped trees in the dense forest, Wang Jiu could tell that other creatures had lived here. They looked like primates capable of using tools. The difficulty of this Nightmare Dungeon had skyrocketed, and Wang Jiu had no desire to face any living beings for the time being, especially primates.
The others were used to obeying, so they followed her up the mountain.
They soon found a platform on a slope, which allowed them to survey the area below while also providing an escape route upward.
As for caves or anything of the sort, they really couldn't find any.
"Tired… I'm exhausted." Wang Shu, drenched and covered in dirt, lay on the ground gasping for air. The others were also wiped out.
Wang Jiu took out some honey and had them share it.
"What do we do after we finish this?" Dao Dao was a glutton, but she still had a sense of the bigger picture.
Although they were currently very weak.
But none of them had expended as much as Wang Jiu. Zhao Shanxiao sized up Wang Jiu, guessing that she had been using her class skills continuously. Timing the cooldowns well was one thing, but the spirit power consumption was extremely terrifying. He estimated it was over 300 points.
However, that combination of Holy Light, Blood Wrath, and Flowing Light was truly fearsome.
Heal, then use blood to boost burst magic damage, then heal again, then…
The cycle resulted in explosive damage.
He couldn't help but ask the System if this counted as a combo.
"There's no such thing as a combo or not. It depends on how an individual coordinates their skills based on their effects. All three of her skills have high consumption, especially Holy Light and Blood Wrath. A single wave costs three to four hundred spirit power. Someone like you who doesn't even have a homestead shouldn't even think about it. It's better to stay optimistic about life."
Zhao Shanxiao: "…"
This damn System was a master at hitting where it hurt.
"When it's gone, it's gone. Out with the old, in with the new." As soon as Wang Jiu said this, the others noticed a bag among the dense rewards in the team inventory, clearly labeled.
Stamina Fish Balls (Recovery Item, one restores half stamina)
There were a total of 50 in the bag.
Holy crap! Good stuff! It was twice as efficient as honey.
The eyes of Liao Luo's trio turned red. When they looked at the other rewards, their eyes were about to drip blood.
"This dungeon's difficulty has exceeded my expectations. We now know there's a team hostile to us. I reckon they've escaped that giant octopus and will definitely come to hunt us while we haven't recovered, especially since Zhou Han will go back and report that we killed the BOSS. Let's divide the loot first and use all the resources we can. Don't save them for someone else's benefit."
In previous dungeons, they could wait until the end to divide the loot. After all, there were usually only one or two BOSSes, and even if other teams entered, they weren't necessarily that strong. But a linked team that could enter a Nightmare Dungeon was bound to be incredibly powerful.
This Nightmare Dungeon was a real bastard. They might all get killed before even finishing the next BOSS.
"After all, you guys are so easy to kill."
The first part of her speech had the air of a team captain, but the last sentence… Qiao Xuejing adjusted her breathing and saw Wang Jiu hand her two fish balls.
"Hm? Captain, you should eat first."
"No need, you first."
"Thank you."
Qiao Xuejing was slightly moved. She put the fish balls in her mouth and chewed. As she chewed, her delicate brows knitted together, and her exquisite features briefly wrinkled.
Wang Jiu asked gently, "Is it good?"
Qiao Xuejing swallowed calmly. "It's delicious."
Then she took out two and gave them to Dao Dao. Dao Dao ate them, her expression also twisting for a moment before she quickly squeezed out a cheerful, gluttonous face. Then she gave some to Wang Shu, who ate them and passed them to Liao Luo…
It went around, one after another.
Later, when Zhao Shanxiao, who had been engrossed in checking the loot from the kill, casually popped a ball into his mouth, his body stiffened. He silently scanned the group with a gloomy expression, and finally took two and handed them to Wang Jiu.
Wang Jiu accepted them. "Thank you."
Zhao Shanxiao smiled. "You're welcome, Captain. You've worked hard. Please, eat."
Wang Jiu also smiled. "Judging by your reactions, I'm guessing it's raw and smells very fishy, right? Disgusting to eat? But I can't not eat it."
Then, in front of everyone, she coated the two balls with the little bit of remaining honey, popped them into her mouth, and swallowed them whole with the sweetness, without chewing.
Effortlessly.
Everyone: "…"
Damn it, what a dog! A beast!
Dao Dao, meanwhile, was hugging Qiao Xuejing's long legs and whimpering, "Master, you're so mean now."
Qiao Xuejing helplessly stroked Dao Dao's pig head and sighed. "You are who you associate with. You can't blame me for this."
As her stamina rapidly recovered, Wang Jiu checked her spirit power. Crap, only 200 points left. It would be difficult to fight even one more BOSS, not to mention fending off that group hunting them.
Time to distribute the resources first.
She glanced at the items in the team inventory.
Two pieces of silver equipment. This Fish King was so hard to kill, and it only dropped two silver items?
But what if one of them was a silver amulet?
Great Fish King's Amulet (Silver Accessory)
STA +60
AGI +40
The equipment's attributes were quite high because it was dropped by a level 19 BOSS, so the level contributed to the stats.
It was a pity it wasn't a growth-type item; otherwise, the attributes would be even higher after strengthening.
The System had said that strengthening levels couldn't be inherited unless you had an inheritance scroll, but that was something for the future, and it wasn't worth using on silver-grade equipment for inheritance.
So, which was harder to obtain, an inheritance scroll or a growth-type ring?
Wang Jiu didn't have time to ponder this. She directly equipped it along with the other silver pants. At worst, she could take them off and sell them later.
Next, she quickly picked out other items. Two class skill books, Shadow Step and Trap Art. She already had Golden Armor, so her defense was covered. What she lacked was an evasion-type skill. Wang Jiu directly chose Shadow Step.
But what was this Trap Art?
"Is it an introduction to formation arts? It says it's a basic foundation for formations."
System: "It's general-purpose, anyone can learn it, but it's a must-have for formation-type classes. The skill is pretty good."
Wang Jiu looked at the usage instructions. "Requires stealth and control? There are a lot of restrictions."
If she wanted to control the trap, she couldn't attack. This was somewhat useless for her.
System: "Formation masters are support in the early stages and become powerhouses later on. But based on your class characteristics, it doesn't seem to fit."
Of course it didn't fit. Her path was either brutal melee or powerful ranged attacks, which had little to do with the formation class path. Wang Jiu could learn many skills, but she wouldn't learn ones that conflicted with her main path and wasted spirit energy.
So she gave it up and took a card instead.
This card emitted a faint silver light, looking much more high-class than the previous cards.
But this time, it wasn't a Puppet Card.
Sea Spirit (Special Status Card, 30 minutes)
Attribute: Can borrow and amplify 20% of the Silver Feather Fish King's attributes. If underwater, can borrow and amplify 30% of its attributes.
This… was good stuff!
It was the best thing they got this time!
Considering the Fish King's three attributes were all around 800, amplifying them by 20% meant an increase of 160 points to all three attributes.
Ha! This was definitely a bug-like item for fighting bosses at this stage!
As Liao Luo's trio watched with eyes that could bleed, she took it. Then she swept up the basic skill books and manor-type resources like the Garden Field. Of the 4 medium chests and 6 small chests dropped by the Fish King, she took the majority, leaving one medium and two small chests. She didn't pick any of the other miscellaneous resources and recipes. She asked the others, but there was really no one else. The three slaves weren't important, so a random distribution was fine. If they wanted something specific, they could trade among themselves.
Liao Luo and his two companions watched with cold eyes, accustomed to this team's rule. There was only one rule—what Wang Jiu said, goes.
She carried them through the dungeon, and the rest were compensated based on their work. Do as you please, no complaining allowed.
Besides, Wang Shu and Qiao Xuejing weren't ones to complain. What they got might not compare to what Wang Jiu took, but the speed of their progress showed just how many resources they were receiving.
Just like now, Qiao Xuejing was directly assigned Trap Art, not to mention the medium chests and other things.
Jiang Kaikai sent a private message: "And the 11-star rating in the dangerous dungeon, plus two spins on the Lucky Wheel."
At the thought of this, the three felt a sharp pain in their hearts, as if watching their homesteads fly away.
Liao Luo: "Trap Art, and she seems quite happy about it. I think this class skill is mediocre. Did Lao Wang, that Demon King, screw her over on her participation score?"
Jiang Kaikai: "You're not even level 10 yet, what right do you have to say that?"
Liao Luo: "…"
We're all slaves, why must we make things difficult for other slaves.
After this Nightmare Dungeon, he was going to grind instances like crazy, damn it!
Wang Jiu now had 40 Strengthening Stones, though 30 of them were dropped by Lin Ang and his group.
She glanced at the auction house and saw that her buy orders were filled again. With one click, she collected the basic skills. Now she had 88 basic skill books in her inventory.
This time, she had enough.
Leveling from 4 to 5 required 16 of the same skill book. Wang Jiu maxed out all four of her masteries to level 5 in one go.
Heavy Strike also reached level 4.
"It seems that once the level 10 threshold is passed, the top-tier players focus more on class skills. But as long as no one is selling class skills, the funds will still be invested in basic skills."
Wang Jiu glanced at the 58 gold coins in her account and placed another buy order in the auction house. But she estimated that this wave wouldn't yield much, because—there was someone else posting buy orders beside her.
And they had posted a whole bunch, even driving up the price of mastery skills to the point where they were about to surpass Heavy Strike and Heal, which were originally the most valuable skills.
They were following the trend. It seemed that after their attributes caught up, many people started working on their masteries.
Wang Jiu raised an eyebrow and also received two notifications from the System.
"Congratulations, all three of your attributes have surpassed 600. You have received the new title 'Triple Six Smooth Sailing'."
"Congratulations, all four of your mastery attributes have passed the level 5 threshold. You have received the hidden achievement title 'Master of Four Directions'."
The title for having all attributes over 600 added 200 spirit energy, while the title for four masteries gave 300 spirit energy.
Wang Jiu was quite stunned and had an epiphany: achievements bought with money were indeed more noble than those that would eventually be earned through time.
Considering all the gold coins she had earned, almost all of them had been poured into basic skill books.
It was definitely a huge sum, a not-insignificant number even in the eyes of the world's top players.
"If the four active skills reach level five, is there a title?"
System: "Yes. Getting all four active basic skills to level 5 will also award a title with 300 spirit energy. When all four reach level 7, you will awaken an active combined skill. The higher the level, the stronger the combined skill. Your four masteries at level 7 will also awaken a barrier."
Hmm, so in the title system, the four active skills and the four masteries were each an extreme path.
And level five was a threshold, as was level seven.
It was hard to say which extreme path, active or passive, was superior, but miscellaneous basic skills were clearly at a disadvantage. She had unintentionally gained a huge advantage.
"This counts as classified information, doesn't it? You're actually willing to tell me?"
System: "Can't I read people? With your spendthrift nature, you'd max them to level 7 sooner or later. It doesn't matter if I tell you or not, it only depends on whether you have the money."
Heh, Wang Jiu didn't deny it, but she wasn't thinking about a glorious future. She valued what she had gained in the present.
Her nearly depleted spirit power was instantly supplemented by 500 permanent spirit energy, and her spirit power pool also surged by 500.
Looking at her attributes now, the boost from level 5 masteries had jumped from 30% to 50%.
HP: 66
Spirit Power: 700 (Permanent Spirit Energy: 1100)
Strength: 790
Agility: 850
Stamina: 720
"The improvement from high-level masteries is quite terrifying. But that also means if others get their active skills to level 5, they will be terrifying too. That Zhou Han's level 4 Heavy Strike almost made me cough up blood."
Even with the Heart of Bear Courage, Golden Armor, and her attributes being 100 points higher than his across the board, she still almost coughed up blood. It was clear how powerful high-level active skills could be.
And she also realized something—she could use Heavy Strike at the same time as a burst damage skill like Blood Wrath. This meant that basic evasion and class-based movement evasion skills could also be stacked.
This was very scary.
In the early game, high attributes gave an advantage. In the late game, it would be a world of skills.
Masteries weren't that amazing, unless one followed the four-mastery path like her.
Wang Jiu grew cautious. She silently listed her twenty-something Charge and Evasion books for 5 gold each, and Heal for 10 gold each.
Then she deliberately posted a 50-gold buy order, acquiring active skills for 2 gold each.
She wouldn't lose money. The active skills she bought now could be sold for a higher price later when people started to realize the benefits of level 5 skills. By then, even if the price of mastery skills had also risen, she would be able to afford them.
System: "…"
A scumbag who single-handedly inflates market prices.
Have some decency!
As Wang Jiu's power surged, she suddenly heard a gasp.
Because Qiao Xuejing had drawn something.
Wang Jiu turned her head to see Qiao Xuejing holding a homestead, a dazed look on her beautiful face.
"Uh, the System told me my class talent is quite strong, and I got Trap Art. I… I was just trying to draw another class skill."
Qiao Xuejing truly hadn't expected to get a homestead.
A 120-square-meter one, at that.
The System was amused and quickly sent Wang Jiu a message: "Unlucky as you are, at least she's better than you. Look, she got a 120-square-meter homestead from two Lucky Wheel spins. How many spins have you had?"
Wang Jiu: "When can you materialize?"
System: "Why? Wanna hit me? Come at me!"
Wang Jiu: "I'll castrate you."
System: "…"
Actually, it was fine. Wang Jiu was someone whose sights were now set on territories. Besides, she had a 210-square-meter homestead and could casually produce a small territory. Why would she get angry (as long as she felt she wasn't angry, then no one could tell she was furious).
However, the trio of Liao Luo lacked her skill in hypocrisy, and their expressions were sour with envy.
"So pitiful. You became slaves just to watch others get rich. Here, have some water to cool down."
Wang Jiu said this with a loving expression, but she noticed that Liao Luo wasn't angry, seeming to have something on his mind. She glanced at him, chuckled softly, and said nothing.
Qiao Xuejing, on the other hand, brought out the homestead, placed the Garden Field inside, scattered the seeds, and then handed the homestead to Wang Jiu.
"Can you hold this for me? I die easily."
Qiao Xuejing trusted Wang Jiu. Wang Jiu took it casually. "No refunds if it drops."
"If you die, I'll definitely die too. It makes no difference." Qiao Xuejing was unconcerned. She spun the wheel one more time. Her luck seemed to have run out a bit, as there were no more great items like the homestead, but she did get a class skill.
Qimen Dunjia Primer.
Everyone was curious. This didn't seem like a skill. After asking the System, they learned it was a class essence explanation, similar to a passive boost for class skills. It could increase the power of her trap-type skills by 20%.
A permanent passive among class skills.
It was a rare type, possibly more valuable than Blood Wrath. After all, Blood Wrath had a clear drawback—it required blood every time, and the human body's capacity to withstand blood loss was limited.
Twenty percent was a dangerous threshold.
Even with Holy Light, each cast only restored 5%. In a duel against a top expert, the opponent might not even give her a chance to cast Holy Light, striking while her blood loss was excessive.
She looked formidable now, but that was only because the people watching her weren't particularly formidable.
Wang Jiu didn't take people like Zhao and Jiang seriously; she was anticipating future dangers. So, seeing Qiao Xuejing so easily obtain a matching and weakness-free class skill, she couldn't help but feel a bit sour. She asked Qiao Xuejing gloomily, "Are you still wearing that silver slip nightgown inside?"
An awkward Qiao Xuejing: "…"
That was definitely not it.
Sensing that Wang Jiu seemed to want to try this method herself—because this person was truly unscrupulous when it came to getting good luck—
Qiao Xuejing quickly said, "It might be because I was holding Wang Shu's hand when I drew."
Huh? Everyone's gaze shifted to Wang Shu's chubby pig trotter. His left hand was being held by Qiao Xuejing, while his right was being pressed by Dao Dao's trotter.
This damn fatty was quite lucky with the ladies.
Wang Shu: "…"
Am I a semiconductor or something?
Wang Jiu, Qiao Xuejing, and Dao Dao all threw their chests at Wang Shu for him to open. She herself observed the environment down the mountain and noticed that the others hadn't caught up yet. They were probably searching for them in the dense forest.
But they should be here soon. She heard some noises.
Now that her strength had greatly increased, Wang Jiu wasn't afraid. While observing below, she said to Wang Shu, "Open them faster, they're coming up."
Everyone was startled and quickened their pace of consuming resources. Wang Shu's hands moved deftly. With no time for prayers, he popped open the chests one by one.
Qiao Xuejing's one medium chest contained a piece of silver equipment, an off-hand Silver Formation Banner.
It amplified the power of formations.
Now, even Qiao Xuejing was a bit embarrassed.
How strange, was her luck this good today? It seemed things had been going much smoother since she reached level 10.
Uh, everyone once again witnessed the characteristic of her class talent. The System's bias towards her was so obvious.
It was even more obvious than with Jiang and Zhao, because the resources those two had obtained didn't have such high consistency.
Qiao Xuejing noticed this herself. She didn't care about the others' gazes, but she quickly glanced at Wang Jiu.
She saw Wang Jiu asking in a gentle and friendly tone, "Is it convenient to tell me your class talent?"
Her talent was Doctor, and it wasn't specialized yet. Could her talent index be much lower than Qiao Xuejing's?
The System jumped out like a contrarian: "No, it's higher than hers, but your hands…"
Wang Jiu: "I had the damn fatty open them for me."
System: "Even an RNG God like Fatty Wang can't save you. Just how unlucky are you?"
Wang Jiu: "…"
Is this your scene? Get lost.
Seeing Wang Jiu's gloomy expression, Qiao Xuejing felt a bit awkward and said, "There are two. One is 'Architect of Unparalleled Beauty and Skill,' and I don't want to say the other one, is that okay?"
"Oh, sure. It is quite beautiful and skillful. So it is related to the nightgown. Fatty Wang, what's your talent?"
Wang Shu looked troubled. While opening chests, he said, "Master, I'm afraid you'll hit me if I tell you."
"What's it got to do with me? Just say it."
Wang Shu's chubby white face wrinkled. He said timidly, "I only have one: 'The Logistics RNG God Imprisoned and Exploited by the Great Evil Demon King'."
Everyone: "???"
Then they all turned to look at Wang Jiu in unison.
Wang Jiu remained expressionless, looking faintly at Wang Shu. "That's quite a long description."
"It's alright, it's alright." Wang Shu's hands trembled as he opened the chests, but when he opened Wang Jiu's, he got common resources like one or two Strengthening Stones.
Even though they were small chests, just look at what you opened for Dao Dao and the others!
Wang Jiu's gaze grew deeper.
The atmosphere was terrifying, perhaps even more so than the enemies who might charge up the mountain at any moment.
The trio of Liao Luo quietly shuffled further away.
Dao Dao, who had gotten a class skill from a single small chest, was very loyal. She raised her pig trotter and said, "Me, me, me! My talent is 'A Piglet That Arches for the Best Cabbages.' The System says I have a talent for land and construction, to complement our master."
The class skill she got from the chest was Earth Escape, a Qimen Dunjia type, which indeed complemented Qiao Xuejing.
Except for Liao Luo, who hadn't reached level 10 yet, both Jiang Kaikai and the other were level 10. Listening to their conversation, they were both a little surprised.
"Not everyone has a class talent. Their talents seem very obvious. I used to look down on the people around Wang Jiu, thinking they couldn't keep up with her level, but now… they're improving so fast."
Zhao Shanxiao said flatly, "In fact, we can't keep up with her level now either. So I'm very puzzled, why did she bring the three of us in? With so many Puppet Cards, she doesn't really need us. Is the Slave White Paper so worthless that she can use it so freely?"
Jiang Kaikai was stunned. That was right. So far, they hadn't been of much use. Even Zhao Shanxiao's influence on her was limited.
So why, then?
As Jiang Kaikai was wondering, he happened to see Wang Jiu turn her head and glance at him.
She was smiling.
A smile that was profound, bottomless, treacherous, and insane.
Jiang Kaikai, whose imagination was running wild with increasingly twisted thoughts, shivered uncontrollably.
Why did he have a bad feeling, like he'd been tricked into a pit?
Wang Jiu quickly retracted her gaze, because her 850 Agility had already detected Zhang Qihan, Zhou Guican, and the others sneaking up.
But Wang Jiu still didn't see Zhou Han.
When Zhou Han had attacked her before, she had seen his attributes. He was about as strong as Zhang Qihan, but his class skills were very powerful: one was Demi-Frost Slash, and the other was an unknown stealth skill.
Her Agility was over 300 points higher than his, yet she still couldn't see through his stealth.
But if he got close for a surprise attack, she could probably still sense it, because she had detected it in the nick of time during his previous attack.
They were still some distance away. Wang Jiu wiped her blade and said to the group, "They're coming up. The stealthy one is close. He won't attack you. He'll wait for the others below to arrive before ambushing me. You guys act a little weaker and be my bait."
"No need to look at anyone else. I'm talking about you three slaves."
Liao Luo's trio: "!"
Other butchers at least feed the pig a last meal before slaughtering it. You're skinning us alive and frying the skin, aren't you?
"If you die, I'll compensate for your losses."
The trio's mood instantly recovered.
Wang Shu hadn't finished opening Wang Jiu's three medium chests. Seeing the situation, he quickly opened them all and traded them to Wang Jiu without looking closely.
Wang Jiu also accepted them into her inventory without looking.
At that moment, Zhou Han had also scouted the situation of Wang Jiu's group above and reported back to the team channel.
"Still recovering?"
"They're out of stamina potions? Looks like taking down that Fish King cost them a lot of their resources."
"I wonder if they've absorbed the resources they just got. But even if they used the skill books, the equipment and items can still drop. Including their previous resources, it might not be less than the loot from a BOSS."
Zhou Guican was very cautious. He was afraid this was a trap set by Wang Jiu, and he was also afraid she had become much stronger after absorbing the resources. So he carefully questioned Zhou Han about many of the things he had observed before finally deciding to make a move.
"Get ready."
The seven of them discussed for a bit, reached a consensus on their hunting plan, and quietly moved up the small mountain paths, quickly closing the distance.
Zhou Han, using his stealth skill, arrived at the platform where Wang Jiu's group was. He didn't dare get any closer, because during the previous ambush, she had clearly sensed him and managed to block it. If she hadn't summoned Golden Armor, she would have been severely injured.
So he had learned his lesson this time and wouldn't attack rashly. He would wait for his cousin to arrive and surround her before launching his assault.
Soon, Zhou Guican and the others came up.
Only then did Wang Jiu seem to react, shouting, "Someone's here! Run!"
Hearing that Wang Jiu had spotted them and fearing that their main target would escape, Zhou Guican gave the order, "Attack!"
The six of them instantly surrounded them from various blind spots, trapping Wang Jiu's group like dumplings in a wrapper.
Moreover, each of them threw out two land and air Puppet Cards.
How the tables have turned. A chance to see who was richer had come!
The occasion for a group beatdown had arrived!
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