26 Chapter26-Surge in Strength
Standing on the open ground outside the Necrochurch, John stared blankly at the ruins, murmuring, "At least let me pick up the loot before collapsing, how long do you expect me to dig for?!"
John felt like exploding, having soloed a BOSS only to end up needing to excavate the equipment bit by bit; he was on the verge of spitting blood.
"Chuckle!" Just then, a low, melodious laugh came from beside him.
John turned, only to find Seraphina had returned to her usual aloof demeanor, her hair and eyes back to their original state as if nothing had happened.
Seeing John looking at her, Seraphina's face flushed slightly, but she coldly said, "What are you looking at? Let go of my hand!"
Only then did John realize he was still holding Seraphina's hand.
He didn't rush to release it but instead said cheerfully,
"Seraphina, after all, I did save your life. You ought to show some gratitude, right? Plus the initial agreement of 5 million federal coins for my commission, and the life-saving item you gave me, all added up, asking for 30 million federal coins isn't too much, is it?"
The flush on Seraphina's face slowly faded as she withdrew her hand, looking at John expressionlessly, "Could you be any more shameless?"
It was she who had saved John, yet in his narrative, he had become her savior.
And the life-saving item, which was supposed to be lent to him, was now seemingly his?
Seraphina's chest heaved with irritation, clearly angered by John.
Then, something seemed to strike her, her beautiful eyes blinking in confusion, "What are you talking about? What 5 million commission? We just met, didn't we?"
John was taken aback, indignantly retorting,
"Seraphina, as the daughter of the lord of Stellarburg and the pride of Stellarburg's Noble Academy, how can you go back on your word? We had agreed earlier that I would help you level up, and you would pay me five million federal coins a day!"
Seraphina calmly responded, "Is that so? I don't remember that. You must be mistaken."
John was dumbfounded; Seraphina was actually denying it!
A barely perceptible smile curled at the corners of her lips, a glint of amusement in her eyes.
She had just realized that since they hadn't made any formal contract or written agreement, and it was all verbal, she could simply deny it, and John couldn't do anything about it.
Her objectives had been met; she had gained an initial understanding of John and had reached level 8.
Now, she held the upper hand.
This shameless tactic, she had learned from John.
Now, Seraphina was using John's own methods against him.
At this point, John was somewhat at a loss.
He had hoped to gain some benefits from Seraphina, the city lord's daughter.
It seemed that those of noble birth were not easy to deal with.
Realizing this, John quickly admitted his mistake without another word.
He had no choice but to back down; otherwise, he might lose even the 5 million federal coins he had worked hard for.
Better to gain something than to end up with nothing.
Seeing John's good attitude in admitting his mistake, Seraphina graciously agreed to pay him the 5 million federal coins commission once they returned to Stellarburg.
John inwardly criticized Seraphina for being stingy but nodded repeatedly with a grateful expression on his face, letting the incident pass.
Afterward, John began digging through the cathedral's ruins for the equipment and materials he had looted, not mentioning Seraphina's second class, just as she didn't inquire about his secrets.
Though unspoken, both showed each other respect and trust.
It didn't take John long to excavate all the equipment.
The items emitted a peculiar glow, making them easy to find once he blasted away some rubble with his skills.
He stored the useless items in his storage ring; the iron-tier equipment didn't yield anything particularly good and was all stashed away.
However, among the bronze-tier equipment, two pieces were quite decent, with one even reaching perfect-tier.
What thrilled John the most was that he had even looted a silver-tier piece of equipment.
[Attributes]: Spirit +55, Spell Penetration +45, Cooldown Reduction -10%
[Skill]: Silent Curse (Active)
[Description]: Upon casting, the target is silenced for 3 seconds. Cooldown: 30 minutes.
...
Equipment: Phantom Cloak
Type: Cloak
Level: Lv10
Tier: Bronze-Tier
Quality: Perfect
[Attributes]: Speed +30, Attack Speed +5%, Casting Speed +5%
[Skill]: Wraith (Active)
[Description]: Upon casting, you enter a wraith state, increasing speed by 20% and allowing you to pass through obstacles, but you cannot attack. Duration: 1 minute. Cooldown: 1 hour.
...
Both the silver-tier Necrostaff and the bronze-tier Phantom Cloak were exceptional pieces of equipment, each providing a unique skill.
The Phantom Cloak, in particular, was practically a god-tier item for stealth-oriented and assassin classes, unlikely to be replaced even at much higher levels.
Even though John was a magus, he was extremely fond of this equipment, considering it essential for nefarious deeds.
After equipping the Necrostaff and Phantom Cloak, John took out the previously prepared [Ghoul Necklace] and [Gargoyle Ring], along with other Lv10 equipment, and updated his entire gear set, significantly enhancing his capabilities.
Then, John opened his attribute panel.
[Class]: All-Class Magus (God-Tier)
[HP]: 3501
[MP]: 8179
[Attributes]: Strength 91, Stamina 145, Spirit 356, Speed 106
[Talent]: Divine Favor Tome (SSS-Level)
[Skills]: Spring of Soul Lv10, Mana Recovery Lv10, Elemental Affinity Lv10, Shadow Marsh Lv10, Thunder Arrow Lv10, Ice Spear Lv10, Vine Thorn Lv10, Pyrokinesis Lv10, Aquakinesis Lv10, Zephyr Shield Lv10, Silent Curse (Equipped), Wraith (Equipped)...
[Equipment]: Necrostaff Lv10 (Silver), Phantom Cloak Lv10 (Bronze), Ghoul Necklace Lv10 (Bronze), Gargoyle Ring Lv10 (Bronze), Luminous Bracelet Lv10 (Bronze), White Jade Robe Lv10 (Bronze), Cloud Piercing Belt Lv10 (Bronze), Black Gold Boots Lv10 (Bronze)...
...
After equipping all the items, John realized he was now fully decked in bronze-tier gear.
Reaching Lv10 had significantly enhanced his overall attributes, and with this set of bronze-tier gear, his strength had almost doubled.
Additionally, he had acquired two new basic skills, namely [Elemental Affinity] and [Shadow Marsh], one passive and one control skill.
[Elemental Affinity Lv10 (MAX)]
[Type]: Basic Skill (Passive)
[Description]: You are favored by the elements. All elemental skills receive a 10% damage increase, a 10% cooldown reduction, and a 10% reduction in skill consumption.
...
[Shadow Marsh Lv10 (MAX)]
[Type]: Basic Skill (Active)
[Description]: Upon casting, a 30 square meter dark marsh is summoned. Targets within the marsh have their movement speed reduced by 50%, suffer 1500 points of dark erosion damage per second, and have a 30% chance to be imprisoned in darkness. Skill duration: 1 minute. Cooldown: 5 minutes. MP Cost: 500.
...
John was quite pleased with these two skills.
Shadow Marsh enhanced his control and area-of-effect damage capabilities, while Elemental Affinity boosted the damage, casting frequency, and sustainability of his elemental skills.
For a magus like John, who relies heavily on casting, a 10% increase was significant.
Additionally, after defeating the Ghost Wizard, John obtained two special items.
Item tiers typically range from Common, Rare, Precious, Special, to Unique, and they can be found as random drops in dungeons or encountered in specific scenarios.
The functions of these items are diverse and can cover nearly anything.
For instance, the resurrection item in Seraphina's possession is a precious quality item that can save lives in dungeons.
Such items usually drop in high-level dungeons, making them quite expensive.
John had also acquired some items in the Phantom Ruins, but they were of common quality and not very useful to him, serving only as sellable items for money.
However, the two items he now held were somewhat different.
