Although the time limit isn't that short, this trial is far more difficult than the last, s.h.i.+ Feng thought as he observed the 10 Giant Gladiators standing on the elevated platform in the center of the colosseum. If a Half-step Refinement Realm expert attempted this challenge, they'd likely need a full set of up-to-date Dark-Gold Equipment to have a chance of pa.s.sing.
Unlike monsters, NPCs had many Skills and Spells under their command. Their combat standards were also leagues above monsters'.
Moreover, there was a huge difference between NPCs' strength within the same tier. This was due to the individual NPC's weapons and equipment. An NPC in full Dark-Gold Equipment would undoubtedly have a huge Basic Attribute Advantage over one in Bronze Equipment.
Of the ten NPC Giants on the platform, the weakest wore Bronze Equipment, while the strongest was geared in Fine- Gold ranked items. With the Giant Race's innate talents, a human player's Basic Attributes might not be as high, even fully geared in Dark-Gold Equipment. Players could only clear this trial by relying on their techniques.
External items and Berserk Skills were prohibited within the Tower of Four G.o.ds. Players could only rely on their strength to clear the trials.
The third trial's difficulty level made the first two trials look like warm-ups, while this was the beginning of the true test.
However, s.h.i.+ Feng did not give the matter much thought and approached the elevated platform.
After six days of training, he had hit a bottleneck. No matter what he tried, he could only perform, at most, 14 slashes with Lightning Flash. He had only reduced his Concentration consumption to one-fourth of his total, as well. He would need far more time to improve with the technique. Hence, instead of wasting an entire day training, without seeing any improvement to his combat power, he decided to clear the first floor's trials and move on to the second floor.
The moment s.h.i.+ Feng set foot on the platform, one of the NPC Giants stepped forward and moved into the platform's center. As the Giant reached s.h.i.+ Feng, it swung its two-handed axe at the Swordsman.
Dense, earth-type Mana enveloped the axe. Not only did the earth-type Mana increase the axe's weight by a substantial degree, but it also intensified the gravitational force where s.h.i.+ Feng stood, reducing his mobility.
A combat technique!? Surprise flashed in s.h.i.+ Feng's eyes as the Giant's attack approached.
Combat techniques were not unique to players. In fact, they had always existed in G.o.d's Domains. The Legacy Stone Tablets were evidence of this.
However, NPCs had a much harder time learning combat techniques than players. Normally, NPCs would only encounter combat techniques after reaching Tier 3. Even so, a small minority were actually capable of executing these combat techniques.
Why wouldn't s.h.i.+ Feng be surprised to see this Tier 2 Giant use a combat technique against him?
Even a Basic Combat Technique could significantly elevate an NPCs combat power. Taking into account that the Tier 2 Giant's combat standards were at the Trial Tower's fifth-floor early stage, this NPC could easily pummel a Half-step Refinement Realm expert.
Only, to s.h.i.+ Feng, the Giant's attack was quite crude.
He blocked the Giant's axe with a light swing of the Twilight Blade, countering with a slash from killing Ray and taking advantage of the Giant's blind spot.
Shadow Blade!
Ten dazzling stars flew toward the Tier 2 Giant. Just as they were about to hit their target, their paths intersected as pairs merged. The five resulting stars radiated an even more resplendent glow.
...
System: Shadow Blade Completion Rate 101%, resulting in 170% of Skill's effect. Skill Proficiency +10.
...
When the five stars collided with the Giant, the impact threw the NPC, and five damages of over -200,000 appeared above his head, one after another. By the time the Giant hit the ground, he was momentarily paralyzed.
What a powerful effect! The result of s.h.i.+ Feng's counterattack astonished him.
After six days of continuous training, he could reliably execute Shadow Blade with a 100% Completion Rate. He certainly hadn't expected to break past that now. As a result of crossing the 100% threshold, Shadow Blade had gained a new effect that paralyzed the target for one second.
Of course, surpa.s.sing a 100% Completion Rate with a Skill was intensely difficult, but after experiencing it, s.h.i.+ Feng had a rough understanding of Shadow Blade's essence. Now, even once he left the Tower of Four G.o.ds, he was confident in achieving a 100% Completion Rate with the Skill.
s.h.i.+ Feng appeared by the Giant and swung Killing Ray before the paralyzed NPC had time to recover.
Lightning Flas.h.!.+
Fourteen sword lights simultaneously cut through the NPC Giant, reducing the Giant's HP to a critical low. s.h.i.+ Feng immediately followed up the Twilight Blade, executing Purgatory Pentaslash, removing the last of the Giant's HP. The fight with the first Giant lasted no more than three seconds.
The other NPC Giants watched from a corner of the arena with grim expressions.
"Alright, next!" s.h.i.+ Feng demanded, flas.h.i.+ng the Giants a hungry look.
Swimming Dragon and the others would likely struggle to defeat these NPC Giants, but s.h.i.+ Feng's Basic Attributes were even higher than a Tier 3 player's of the same level, and his physique and reaction speed were only slightly inferior. If he had trouble with these Tier 2 Giants despite his ma.s.sive advantages, he might as well retire from G.o.d's Domain now.
However, s.h.i.+ Feng had to admit that these NPC Giants granted a lot of EXP, even more than Great Lords of the same level. His experience bar had risen by a sizable chunk after killing the first Giant. Unfortunately, the NPC hadn't dropped any loot.
s.h.i.+ Feng defeated all 10 NPC giants in less than five minutes.
As the last NPC died, the scenery changed yet again. This time, s.h.i.+ Feng had been transported into a temple.
The instant s.h.i.+ Feng arrived, he sensed that the Eternal Energy here was far less dense. There was simply no comparison to the first floor's Eternal Energy.
Meanwhile, a large number of snake monsters wandered the temple. Not only were these monsters ma.s.sive, almost as tall as a two-story building, but they each had a total of six heads as well.
...
(Six-headed h.e.l.lsnake) (Bloodline Creature, Lord)
Level 94
HP 42,000,000/42,000,000
...
Bloodline Creatures? s.h.i.+ Feng was dumbfounded when he saw the temple's Six-headed h.e.l.lsnakes.
He hadn't expected the second floor to be much more of a challenge than the first floor. Bloodline Creatures were elite existences among creatures of the same tier. They also possessed Bloodline abilities and extraordinary combat power. Not even the Tier 2 Giant NPCs were guaranteed to win against these h.e.l.lsnakes in a one-on-one fight.
But after his brief shock, s.h.i.+ Feng's face lit up with joy.
Bloodline Creatures were extremely rare. Even s.h.i.+ Feng only knew of a few places that possessed Bloodline Creatures. He had considered grinding the Nagas in the Thunder Temple's side temple to collect Bloodline Power, but it seemed that he could save himself the trip.
...
System: Congratulations! You have cleared the first floor's trials and reached the Tower of Four G.o.ds' second floor. You may choose to rest here for one day or begin the second floor's trials immediately.
...
I've been training without rest for quite some time. Even if my mind is clear, my physical body has been, more or less, affected. I should log off and rest for now. After giving the matter some thought, s.h.i.+ Feng decided to accept the system's offer to rest.
By the time s.h.i.+ Feng exited his virtual gaming cabin, sunlight streamed into his room. It was already afternoon.
s.h.i.+ Feng stretched, suddenly feeling physically powerless. Moreover, he was intensely hungry, and every cell in his body practically screamed for nutrients. He was also quite light-headed and sleepy.
What's going on? s.h.i.+ Feng's physical state surprised him. If he hadn't willed himself awake, he likely would've lost consciousness.
