Chapter 312: The Second Infinite Battle
After listening quietly to Zhou Ning's previous experiences, including his own speculations, Kien nodded, his face displaying deep thought and a barely visible conflicted expression.
Once Zhou Ning left, Kien West spread out the small booklet he had received from him on his desk, picked up a magnifying glass, and began to observe it carefully.
After a moment, he sighed heavily, bit his finger, and began to carve a pentagram array onto the table based on the contents of the booklet. This was a talent he had as a reader.
A mist of blood began to rise from the pentagram array, and the flowers in the vase on the table began to wither. But soon, a golden holy light suppressed the blood mist.
"It can absorb resentment and drain life force..." A faint smile appeared on Kien West's lips. "Sometimes, it's better to know nothing."
...
Completing the previous hidden task rewarded Zhou Ning with 3000 Guardian of the Day reputation points and 142,000 experience points. As he passed by the faction shop, Zhou Ning couldn't resist the impulse to make a purchase. He spent 4500 reputation points to exchange for a Master-level alchemy blueprint: Solar Elixir.
[Solar Elixir: Grants a brief light attribute attack effect, lasting for 30 seconds.]
The reason he chose this blueprint was, of course, because it looked cool— the coolest kind of cool. Just imagine Kien West's attack effect after activating the family training; two wings of light would unfold behind him. At times like these, being cool is enough.
Returning along the same path to the church, the next mass had already begun. The archbishop presiding over the mass was Drest, whom Zhou Ning had met earlier at Kien West's place. Zhou Ning gave him and several other clergy a slight nod before walking down the aisle towards the exit.
As for Spark Lambert, he was likely still undergoing the purification ritual, so Zhou Ning planned to come back tomorrow and take on an escort task along the way.
Exiting Saint Raymond Cathedral, the sky was still bright—since it was the eve of the Solar Goddess's Christmas Day, the night would be a time of continuous daylight, with a New Year's Eve parade taking place at the church square.
Zhou Ning took out his pocket watch and glanced at it. It was just past 11 p.m., but he didn't plan on joining the festivities. After leaving the church square, he headed straight for 117 Gibbon Street.
After spending 800 Vecktas for repairs, the once weathered house had been fully restored. Even the furniture had been replaced with new pieces. Zhou Ning returned to his room, closed the door, and sat cross-legged on the chair, starting to review his recent acquisitions.
The biggest gain was, of course, the four Mithril Puppets, worth around 800,000 to 900,000 Vecktas combined. These things were rarely used and hard to handle, so Zhou Ning planned to keep one for personal use and would ask Richie Burke and his pirate crew to find a way to sell the others in places like Ruins, the Byron Republic, and so on.
Next were some extraordinary materials—three rare items that could enhance spellcasting power, one extraordinary material from the ghost mage Gran Vaughn, and one more recently obtained from the Spider Argus.
Zhou Ning had made an agreement with Richie Burke. He knew a craftsman who could create extraordinary items, so he planned to use these materials to have one made for himself.
Aside from that, there was a two-handed hammer named "Crush" and two books written in Elvish. One was too heavy to lift, while the other two were unreadable due to the language barrier, so he put them aside for now.
After searching for a while, the only usable item was a skeleton coin from the "Storm" Wilt's treasure.
Cursed Coin of Fate: Fate Item
Use Level: 1
Remaining Uses: 2
As mentioned before, the positive and negative effects of this coin were completely random, and there was no way to cheat for a better chance at good luck.
If he was lucky, he could skyrocket, but if not... there was an 80% chance of losing attributes, a 15% chance of losing something, and a 5% chance of being teleported to some star realm.
Zhou Ning's heart began to race. Tossing this coin was like challenging his own fate. The future was full of uncertainty.
But even the worst outcome was something he could handle. If he got lucky, he could rise immediately.
Zhou Ning's heart grew more resolute as he stretched out his hand and threw the coin.
The round skeleton coin began spinning on the desk, and when it slowly came to a stop, a cloud of black smoke rose into the air, forming a black toxic spring that bubbled ominously.
[You've encountered the Black Toxic Spring's invasion and have received the curse of the Black Toxic Spring.]
[Black Toxic Spring Curse: Permanent effect, Strength -7, Agility -4.]
This terrifying effect made Zhou Ning feel a chill. His strength was already a weak point, only reaching 49 after acquiring the Legendary Physique (Expert level) specialty. Now, it was permanently reduced by 7 points. Even his main attribute, Agility, had been lowered. For an average player, this would be unbearable.
With his body weakening, Zhou Ning's strength and agility dropped to 42 and 238, respectively.
Should he try again? Why not!
Zhou Ning took a deep breath and threw the coin again.
This time, when the coin landed, a golden light emerged from it.
Zhou Ning couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief. This was likely a reward, right?
An icon of a rainbow and a spring appeared above the coin again. Another spring!
Zhou Ning quickly glanced at the system's notification:
[You've received the Rainbow and Spring Blessing and acquired an unknown item: Prepaid Hourglass.]
[Prepaid Hourglass: You can pay 2% interest to temporarily borrow an attribute from your future self, lasting for one hour. Cooldown time: 24 hours.]
Borrowing attributes from his future self? Zhou Ning's heart skipped a beat. His expression was complicated. If used well, this could be a double-edged sword. For example, if he borrowed 400 Agility, he would only need to pay 8 Agility as interest, but in return, he would have explosive output for an hour. With 600 Agility, even against super-tier professionals or semi-gods, Zhou Ning felt confident he could take them on.
On the other hand, borrowing mental strength could allow him to summon the Three Phantom Gods. He already had Obelisk the Giant God in his hands, though its strength was still unknown, and he wasn't sure how much mental strength it would take to summon it. But Zhou Ning suspected he might be able to fight some ancient gods directly.
However, the issue was that attributes were far too valuable. Using this item too much could lead to irreparable consequences. Zhou Ning wouldn't use it unless absolutely necessary.
After tossing the coin for the second time, the skeleton coin quietly shattered into dust. It was indeed a case of heaven or hell, and Zhou Ning wasn't sure if he had gained or lost.
Perhaps that was fate: before the judgment was given, no one knew what the next step would bring.
At that moment, the distant bell tower rang twelve times. Zhou Ning tidied up his desk, quickly washed up, and lay down on his bed, ready to begin a new round of simulation.
As expected, he chose the "One Punch Man Zhou Ning" card for this round.
As per usual, Zhou Ning first selected the second option to check, feeling that he still had money, and if the opportunity arose, he would absolutely reject mediocrity.
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