Call of the flame
Karsha continued to stare at the destruction with a solemn expression. The sword had turned crispy and crumbled apart, adding to the spectacle and making the entire scene even more astonishing, dangerous, and incredible.
In comparison, the lightning strike seemed pale. Though it was also a formidable skill, Fire Beam was on another level. Its attack power was more than sufficient to obliterate Tier 6 lesser mutants.
Karsha had just endured a battle with a Tier 6 Dark Mutant. If not for the otherworldly feeling that had regularly aided him, he wouldn't have emerged unscathed.
But that was no longer a concern, as a single attack from the Tier 8 skill could now obliterate such creatures. He had grown stronger, thanks to the Chaos Fire crystal and the Tier 8 skill.
"I need a good sword that can harness the full might of this skill," Karsha muttered. He then turned back to the system and began reviewing the messages once more.
< Quest complete successfully >
< Rewards >
-- Legendary Rank sword
-- High-Level Fire Crystal
< Ding! Next quest Triggered >
[ Next Quest ]
-- Retrieve the Healing Seed from the Fangtongue Forest and absorb it.
-- Location will be marked on the Map.
-- Upon completion, the next quest will be updated.
< Rewards >
-- A Life-saving Treasure
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After reading through the messages, Karsha retrieves the New sword. A long red sword appeared in his hands. The entire blade of this new sword is crimson red, radiating infernal energy.
Immediately Karsha held it, he could feel the fire essence within him constantly getting absorbed into the sword. The essence absorbed wasn't wasted either.
Perhaps, due to Karsha's newfound affinity for the fire element, he could feel the dangerous energy building up within the sword. The longer he held the sword, the more dangerous that energy became.
"Slash," he casually swung the sword again. Another enormous arc of fire erupted from the blade, creating a forty-meter-long crater on the ground. The earth split beneath the force, and the intense heat of the attack turned the soil around the impact zone glassy.
"This is a good sword" he then turned to the descriptions of the sword.
< Call of the Flame >
-- A legendary rank sword, said to be made from the borns of a Great Alpha Fire-Tiger.
Rank: Legendary
Rating: Low-Tier
Type: Long sword
Category: Weapon
[Enhance] - The sword sword multiplies the strength of every fire-type attack by two.
[Absorb] - When held, the sword constantly absorbs and stores the fire essence of the wilder.
[Call of the flame] - By channeling 80% of the fire essence into the sword, the wielder can unleash a wave of flame that burns anything it comes into contact with.
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"This will do for now," Karsha said, unsheathing the sword. He walked around, gathering and storing the bodies of the snakes he had slain, as well as collecting the orbs dropped by his kills.
He managed to acquire five orbs. He shattered the first three, resulting in three Tier 3 fire-type skills. He wasn't disappointed; with his synthesis ability, he could combine these to create a new skill.
The fourth orb produced another longsword, not of the fire type, but as Karsha could synthesize weapons, he knew it would still be useful—a High-Tier Rare rank sword.
The fifth orb, however, gave him exactly what he had been searching for.
< Ding! Congratulations, you have received the Third Piece of The Book Of Annihilation. >
The main reason Karsha came to the Blazing Desert was for the quest and to acquire the third piece of the Book of Annihilation—a crucial tome that would give him an edge over the 10 overlords.
He needed all the help he could get, and thanks to the system, he could make adequate preparations before facing any of the overlords.
The Book of Annihilation was central to his strategy. With it, he could identify the weaknesses of the overlords and exploit them effectively. Going against them without knowledge of their skills would be suicidal.
Planning his actions meticulously was imperative. Strength alone wouldn't suffice; he needed strategies.
They were called overlords for a reason—they possessed immense strength and an array of formidable skills. Facing them head-on without a plan would be reckless on Karsha's part.
The Scale Crusher that had pursued him could be considered the overlord with the strongest defense. Its scales were too tough for normal attacks to penetrate.
Against a creature of that nature, finding loopholes in its defense and exploiting them was essential. Karsha understood the necessity of the Book of Annihilation. It was his only path forward, and now that he had obtained the third piece, he was ready to move on to the next location.
He managed to acquire two pieces in just a day. While he still had a long way to go, at this rate, he anticipated assembling all the pieces within a few more days.
Initially, he had intended to use the time to train his skills. However, now that he had access to the subspace, spending too much time outside felt like a waste.
A day spent outside equated to squandering 24 days inside the subspace. That was far too much time to waste.
Karsha resolved not to waste any more time. He needed to swiftly gather the remaining pieces of the book. Thanks to the five shadow guards assisting him, completing other tasks had become easier.
Watching his points rise rapidly, Karsha knew the shadow guards were diligently fulfilling their assignments. He was immensely grateful for their help. With them managing the other tasks, he could focus on becoming stronger for the impending showdown.
After Karsha thoroughly scavenged the area, he dashed back to the rendezvous point where he and the Shadow Guards would regroup before heading to their next location.
As system notifications continued to flood in, indicating the Shadow Guards were still in the desert killing snakes on his behalf, Karsha opened a 100-meter-wide domain and settled down. Retrieving the blood from the Lesser Mutant, he consumed it in one gulp.
The moment the blood entered his system, the system began absorbing it, tempering his body with the essence of the fire element contained within. Karsha felt his strength surge to new heights as he continued to absorb the fire essence.
After 30 minutes, he opened his eyes and let a small smile escape his lips. His strength had surged once again, and strangely, he had become even more handsome.
The body tempering appeared to have a profound effect on both his inner strength and physical appearance.
The Karsha returning from the Drono Kingdom was no longer the same man. He had transformed, now remarkably handsome and possessing even greater strength.
If Vance, the arrogant heir of the Varon family, were to stand before him now, a single attack would suffice to end Vance's existence entirely.
< Ding! Congratulations, you have tempered your body with the blood of a Tier 6 Lesser Mutant Lava Wyrm. +100 added to strength and stamina. All fire-type skills have received a boost in damage output. >
"They still haven't returned, huh?" Karsha smiled, allowing his consciousness to slip into the subspace.
He reappeared in the same place, the unchanged green fields stretching before him. "I need to gather enough Tier 5 cores for an upgrade. I hate this plain grassland."
The clone stared at him indifferently. Karsha met its gaze with a smug expression on his face.
"System, let's run the Fire Beam skill for now. I need to master it to S rating as soon as possible," Karsha instructed. He intended to complete the quest swiftly so he could focus on training inside the subspace, knowing that upgrading the skill would facilitate clearing the remaining challenges.
A crimson sword materialized in his hands, identical to the clone's weapon. With the clone possessing a near-perfect understanding of the skill, Karsha approached and began observing closely.
One advantage of the subspace was that whenever the clone executed a skill, Karsha effortlessly grasped the technique behind it. Inside the subspace, his comprehension speed had been elevated to a new level.
This, combined with his already exceptional comprehension abilities, made the learning process exceedingly efficient. He was exceptionally astute, particularly within the subspace.
The clone channeled fire essence into the sword and slashed. The ignition of the flame shot forward with such brilliance and intensity that Karsha had to briefly close his eyes and endure a mental strain for a few seconds.
When he opened his eyes, Karsha saw the 200-meter grassland transformed into a wasteland. A five-meter-wide crater stretched across the terrain for the entire length.
"This is too powerful," Karsha muttered, his eyes burning with determination. The destructive force unleashed by the clone's attack was simply overwhelming. Though Karsha's current grasp of the skill was limited, he knew it wouldn't remain so for long. His resolve to grow stronger, fueled by his monstrous comprehension speed, would be the key factor in achieving mastery.
As long as the clone continued using the skill, Karsha believed he could soon replicate and even surpass its power. After all, on the outside, the shadow guards wouldn't return for another three hours.
Those three hours equated to 72 hours inside the subspace, and Karsha planned to dedicate that time to practicing just one technique—Fire Beam.