Chapter Twenty-Seven: Comprehensive Enhancement (Part One)

Chu Cheng’s gaze lingered indecisively between Blade Storm and Thunderous Strike, both advanced skills. Since he couldn’t immediately raise either to Level 5, he decided to split his points evenly, increasing each skill by one level, spending a total of 10 skill points. The remaining 6 points he kept in reserve.

Thunderous Strike, Level 2 (Advanced): Charge for 1 second, transform into lightning and leap up to a maximum distance of 35 meters, striking down to deal 230% physical damage within a 6-meter diameter at the point of impact, stunning all affected enemies for 2 seconds. Cooldown: 3 minutes.

Each additional level increases maximum range by 5 meters and damage by 30%, with other effects unchanged.

Blade Storm, Level 2 (Advanced): Unleash a destructive storm of blades, dealing 180% of maximum attack as physical damage per second to all enemies within a 3-meter radius for 7 seconds. Cooldown: 2 minutes.

Tip: During Blade Storm, the caster gains basic super armor, +60 movement speed, and 30% reduction to all incoming damage.

Tip: The skill can be dispelled. Authority priority level.

Each additional level increases maximum power by 30% and movement speed by 10, with other effects unchanged.

After upgrading his skills, Chu Cheng didn’t idle; he opened the flea market to continue shopping.

He bought two Level 12 blue curved swords, both with excellent stats, at 20 silver each. A blue helmet for 18 silver, blue shoulder guards for 16 silver, a blue cloak for 15 silver, a blue belt for 16 silver, a blue flintlock for 18 silver, and two blue attribute rings at 20 silver each.

Altogether, the total was only 163 silver.

Normally, blue gear for levels 10–20 sells for 15–30 silver per piece, with weapons, armor, and rings typically costing more, especially if the stats are exceptional—they can even double in price.

The silver-scaled heavy armor he previously bought was considered top-tier; it could easily sell for 25–30 silver on the market, so acquiring it for 18 silver was a bargain.

He sold all his old gear; for example, the green belt he’d gotten before could fetch 3 silver and 50 copper, earning him a profit of 50 copper—no loss at all.

Swift Curved Sword (Excellent/Blue)

Equipment Type: One-handed sword.
Requirement: Level 12, Agility 14.
Base Attack: 21 Slash, 20 Pierce.
Bonus Attribute: Agility +2.
Bonus Attribute: Reflex +1.
Assessment: A short sword commonly used by wandering swordsmen.

Silver-Scaled Heavy Helmet (Excellent/Blue)

Equipment Type: Helmet/Plate Armor.
Requirement: Level 11, Strength 15.
Base Attribute: Defense +8.
Bonus Attribute: Constitution +2.
Bonus Attribute: Strength +2.
Assessment: A finely crafted heavy helmet, offering formidable defense.

Silver-Scaled Shoulder Guards (Excellent/Blue)

Equipment Type: Shoulders/Plate Armor.
Requirement: Level 12, Strength 14.
Base Attribute: Defense +6.
Bonus Attribute: Constitution +2.
Bonus Attribute: Strength +2.
Assessment: Well-made shoulder guards with exceptional defensive power.

Blue-Patterned Cloak (Excellent/Blue)

Equipment Type: Cloak.
Requirement: Level 12.
Base Attribute: Defense +4.
Bonus Attribute: Agility +2.
Bonus Attribute: Movement Speed +5.
Assessment: None.

Exquisite Silk Belt (Excellent/Blue)

Equipment Type: Belt/Cloth Armor.
Base Attribute: Defense +4.
Bonus Attribute: Space +4.
Bonus Attribute: Perception +2.
Assessment: An exquisitely crafted silk belt.

Blackstone Flintlock (Excellent/Blue)

Equipment Type: Ranged/Firearm.
Requirement: Level 12, Agility 15.
Base Range: 50 meters.
Base Attack: 60 Pierce.
Bonus Attribute: Strength +2.
Base Attribute: Agility +2.
Assessment: An elite Black Sail pirate firearm with tremendous power.

Gem Ring (Excellent/Blue)

Equipment Type: Ring.
Requirement: None.
Bonus Attribute: Strength +2.
Bonus Attribute: Agility +2.
Assessment: A plain, unadorned gem ring.

He avoided those flashy items with all sorts of extra traits; all his gear simply boosted attributes.

Including his previous equipment, his entire set now provided a total bonus of 40 defense, 5 constitution, 12 strength, 12 agility, 2 perception, 2 reflex, 20% magic resistance, and +5 speed.

“Show attributes!”

A light screen popped up, displaying an impressively luxurious attribute panel before his eyes.

Name: Chu Cheng.
Race: Human.
Level: 12.
Talent: Spatial Refraction LV1 (1%).
Traits: Extraordinary Constitution (Epic), Extraordinary Agility (Extraordinary).
Primary Attributes: Constitution 10 + 14 + 5, Strength 10 + 16 + 12, Agility 10 + 10 + 12, Perception 10 + 2 + 2, Intelligence 10, Spirit 10.
Secondary Attributes: Toughness 5 + 5, Reflex 5 + 5 + 2, Willpower 2, Health Regeneration +1 + 5/sec.

Health: 290 + 500
Stamina: 790
Mana: 100
Melee Attack: 38 + 21 (Slash), 38 + 20 (Pierce)
Ranged Attack: None
Physical Defense: 5 + 5 + 40
Skill Resistance: 20%
Movement Speed: 132 + 50 + 5

Basic Skills: Dagger Novice, One-Handed Sword Mastery, Dual-Wield Novice.
Class Skills: Swiftness LV1 (Intermediate), Frenzy LV5 (Intermediate), Mighty Strike LV5 (Intermediate), Blade Storm LV2 (Advanced), Thunderous Strike LV2 (Advanced).
Life Skills: Novice Fishing, Novice First Aid, Novice Cooking.

All attribute values show base stats first, then points or skill bonuses, then equipment bonuses.

Though he’d never seen another’s panel, Chu Cheng could estimate that his stats were not much inferior to those of a level twenty character.

The two extraordinary specialties granted him immense attribute bonuses, giving him a significant advantage in the early stages.

This made him all the more eager for the level 30 class advancement, known as Profession Promotion, where his current class could be elevated to an elite profession, granting one or two new specialties. With the enhancement from his golden finger, the result would be exhilarating.

Notably, in the Chaos Realm, professions aren’t fixed; you can not only change them, but also take on multiple at once.

All it takes is a drop of River Styx Water to erase your current profession and choose a new one.

For example, if he managed to obtain a top-tier profession certificate, he could use a drop of River Styx Water to remove his existing profession and switch to the new one.

River Styx Water is a supreme treasure, priced at over a hundred gold coins.

Top-tier profession certificates are even rarer—sometimes costing hundreds of gold coins, and even then, they may not be obtainable.

So Chu Cheng had never considered changing professions unless he could acquire a top-tier or even the exceedingly rare Heroic Profession certificate. Otherwise, even with a high-level certificate, he wouldn’t spend a hundred gold to buy River Styx Water just to wipe his current profession.

As for multiclassing, he wouldn’t consider it at all.

There are no restrictions on multiclassing; if he acquired a mage certificate, he could add the mage profession and gain one or two mage specialties.

It sounds appealing, but why has no one done it? Not even those from privileged backgrounds in Class Five, like Wang Weilong, nor any of the elite students in Class One.

There are reasons—defects, and more than one.

The most critical flaw is the allocation of attribute and skill points: no matter how many professions you have, your level does not increase with the number of classes. From level 10 to 30, you get 100 attribute points in total, not 200 just because you take on an extra class.

The importance of attribute points needs no explanation.

For a profession to shine, attributes are crucial.

If you take on multiple classes, attribute points are spread too thin.

Say you add mage to your melee build; you must allocate points to spirit and intelligence, as many spells have requirements for those attributes—without enough, you can’t even learn them.

If you assign points there, your original melee class lacks sufficient attributes—rendering it ineffective.

Whether it’s melee-mage or melee-ranged, or even an agility-based warrior multiclassing with another physical tank profession, the attributes are always too thinly spread.