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0029 – Acceleration
0029 – Acceleration
| Transaction Successful |
| Acceleration Scroll (30 minutes) x10 |
Athena held the scrolls in her hand, tearing open two of them outside the courtyard. The monster respawn timer didn't reset immediately, instead, a dialogue box popped up.
| Increase Difficulty Yes / No ? |
| Upon increasing, each use of this scroll increases the difficulty by 10%, and activates bonus rewards! |
| Using the Acceleration Scroll (30 minutes) multiple times enables achieving an S rating. |
Since she had already used them, she intended to make them worthwhile. It was indeed a pleasant surprise. Achieving an S rating often depended not only on strength but also on luck, difficulty and overall performance.
"Yes"
| Second round of monsters refreshed! |
The dark vortex at the entrance began to slowly rotate, and twenty-two iron-armored beasts crawled out, densely spreading towards her. The thorn vines at the stone railing quickly grew and entangled their legs, binding them one by one.
The turrets automatically targeted those not entangled, while Athena shot arrows at the iron-armored beasts. A gap appeared in their tight formation.
One of the iron-armored beasts quietly retreated while the others pushed forward, intending to return to the teleportation gate.
Athena spotted it immediately, aiming her bow to shoot.
| Special Event: | Returning Messenger. Doubling Boss-level units. |
| Guaranteed S+ rating upon completion! |
| [ Iron-Armored Beetle (Boss) ] | |
| Level: | 5 |
| Strength: | 13 |
| Defense: | 7 |
| Skill: | Swift |
| Temporary Buff from Iron-armored Beetle's Swift Skill: Defense doubled! Strength +2! |
The purple texts and system constantly emphasized the S+ rating. Athena had only achieved this rating twice before. The first time was in the Lost Souls Event, and the rewards were not particularly good. The second time was during a faction mission, where she gained the Guardian of Snow and Snow Armguards.
Doubling the Boss-level units wasn't unreasonable; the attributes were comparable to the long-tailed bear she had encountered before. With her improved stats and the presence of turrets and archers, Athena chose to let this messenger go.
She adjusted her aim and shot at another iron-armored beast.
| Special Event Triggered! Messenger, third round of doubling Boss-level units |
Guarding the tower this time was still relatively smooth. It took a bit more time due to the increased number, but overall, there were no losses.
None of the iron-armored beasts even entered the courtyard; they were firmly held back by the thorn vines outside the gate.
The profits were good; all twenty-two iron-armored beasts' bodies were thrown to the side of the smelting furnace by Athena. Even melting down everything now was already a significant task.
She tore open two more scrolls.
| Third round of monsters refreshed! |
| Due to player Big Dream's special event triggers, Boss-level units have doubled to two! |
The vortex spun, and two iron-armored beetles crawled out from the portal. They looked similar to regular ones, but their shells had a more metallic sheen, resembling a general's armor.
They quickly crawled towards Athena's courtyard gate, while the turrets and archers fired simultaneously at the two!
Athena readied her bow, expecting a battle of attrition. However, she noticed something unusual: the shells on the back of the iron-armored beetles split open, revealing a pair of cicada wings. As the turret's attacks came, they flew up, carried by the wind, straight towards Athena.
Swift!
The thorn vines swiftly caught one of their hind legs, pulling it down, while Athena switched from arrows to her axe as she rolled on the ground, avoiding the attack. She swung her axe, but the opponent dodged deftly.
The two lion grass balls guarded the door tightly, showing their sharp teeth, attempting to jump and attack, but they couldn't reach high enough.
The iron-armored beetles barely spared them a glance, not wasting time on them.
Despite being entangled in vines, one iron-armored beetle still tried to evade attacks and break free. With each tug, some vines seemed on the verge of snapping. Meanwhile, the other, having escaped Athena's attacks several times, bypassed her and started attacking the house.
It chose to start with the window, which, being made of wood, was easier to destroy than the stone walls.
A glaring warning quickly appeared!
| Warning! Shelter repairs are difficult. Any damage may reduce nighttime defense capabilities! |
| Losing the shelter means losing daytime protection. The player's current strength is insufficient to survive in the darkness! |
Even without the system's prompt, Athena couldn't allow this intruder to damage her house. But the opponent was cunning; once she closed in, it swiftly ascended into the air.
Although Athena had practiced archery for a long time, her skill wasn't yet enough to consistently hit fast-moving airborne targets. She could only strike when the iron-armored beetle swooped down to attack the house.
Meanwhile, the other iron-armored beetle was about to break free from its bonds. Dealing with one was already troublesome; if both attacked simultaneously, Athena wasn't confident she could prevent damage to her house.
As the enemy charged again towards the wooden house, Athena opened a crack in the door, and two figures swiftly leaped out.
"Panda!" "Enlarge!" The grass ball panda suddenly transformed back into its normal size, no longer exhibiting its usual silly demeanor but appearing exceptionally fierce.
It rushed towards the iron-armored beetle that was about to break free, extending its sharp claws to strike.
Meanwhile, the other beetle continued its relentless assault on the wooden window. Athena landed a side axe blow on its shell, causing cracks to form after multiple strikes.
Not wanting to stay and fight, it intended to fly into the sky. The grass ball cat agilely leaped beside it and, with remarkable agility, jumped onto its back, being carried into the air together.
As the iron-armored beetle rotated in flight, attempting to shake off the grass ball cat, the cat's claws firmly clung to its wings.
"Screech!!!"
The beetle emitted a piercing scream as the cat's claws dug into its wings. Despite its attempts to shake off the cat, the movement only left a shallow mark on its own wings.
Thrown off, the grass ball cat, Athena dashed forward to catch it, but it gracefully leaped onto the roof with a light bound. Then it agilely jumped back down beside her.
Although it only left a shallow mark, the beetle's flight became increasingly unstable.
With its eerie green eyes locked onto Athena, the iron-armored beetle abandoned its continuous attack on the wooden window, turning to charge at her with swiftness.
Without choosing to dodge, Athena stored her axe in her backpack, and as the beetle charged, she used both arms to block its biting mouth. It firmly sank its jaws into her left arm.
With her left hand now free, Athena grabbed hold of the beetle, denying it any chance of escape.
| Snow Armguards : | Arm Defense +10 |
| Special defense effect: | Unfazed by snow and wind, significantly improves resistance to them. |
| Title: Hunter (Equipped)(Locked) | |
| When fighting prey, Strength +10% (not applicable to use), Defense +5% |
| Adjust your mindset; they're just struggling prey! |
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