Chapter 160 - 121: Special Weapon

[Frost Riding Spear (Treasure Collection)]

[Type: Special Weapon]

[Effect: Attacks inflict a freezing effect and grant access to the weapon’s exclusive Skill, "Frost Piercing." The Skill’s power is slightly increased based on the user’s Constitution.]

[Explanation: A Lance forged from frost, brimming with frigid power. Transformed in a unique way by Warfire, it is the edge and glory of a Knight.]

With its ice-blue markings, a tip that radiated a frosty mist, and a cool texture along its shaft, the spear was simply irresistible.

"Holy shit..."

After seeing the effects of the Frost Riding Spear, Li Miao and the spectating players around him were all in shock.

’Attacks with a Special Effect, its own exclusive Skill, and it scales with your personal Attributes?’

’Isn’t this Weapon... a little too overpowered?’

To be honest, Li Miao hadn’t expected this. He had assumed the Sin Furnace would just forge a Weapon of a higher Quality. He never imagined it would grant him a Special Weapon, something fundamentally different from anything he’d seen before.

"A Special Weapon... That’s the first one I’ve seen. Brother Miao, hurry up and try out that exclusive Skill!"

A player urged him on, unable to wait.

Li Miao was already itching to try it. Spurred on by the other player, he lifted the Frost Riding Spear without hesitation. The moment the ethereal Warfire burning around him touched the weapon, it flared into an icy blue.

The next moment, his body transformed into a spiraling, ice-blue afterimage that flashed through the air, leaving a frosty mist that lingered long after he passed.

"Holy shit, those visuals are so badass!"

"Damn, this has to be the first Special Weapon anyone’s seen, right? Why does it have to be for a Knight again? I’m gonna puke. When will we Mages finally get our turn? I’m so mad I’m shaking!"

"Hey, don’t just poke the air! Come on, hit me with it! I wanna see how strong that Skill is!"

"..."

Even though there weren’t many players around, the appearance of the Frost Riding Spear undoubtedly captured everyone’s attention.

Some of the Mage players saw the Frost Riding Spear, so obviously made for a Knight, and were practically tearing their hair out with jealousy.

’Knights again! Why do they get all the good stuff?!’

Li Miao didn’t hold back against the player who had puffed out his chest and volunteered. After a moment of preparation, he activated the Skill and shot right through the man’s torso, leaving behind nothing but a frosty chill and a cloud of icy mist.

A huge hole appeared in the player’s chest. The Wax Oil seeping from the wound froze solid, and his movements became sluggish.

"Damn, that took half my health in one shot," the player said excitedly, quickly using a Recovery Wax Block.

His Level wasn’t low; he had already ignited his Warfire and was approaching the Molten Slag Ash Tier. Plus, he was a Power and Constitution-focused Warrior, so his health pool was quite large. Losing half his health in one blow was more than enough to prove the impressive power of Frost Piercing.

"That’s not even the best part, man," Li Miao, a veteran player, quickly pointed out, his voice filled with excitement. "The key is that it’s a movement ability! The collision effect is minimal, and its Ordinary Attacks also apply a slow. That’s a form of soft crowd control. This thing is a Divine Artifact!"

Hearing this, the other players’ eyes lit up.

’Right, that’s the crucial part!’

The Frost Riding Spear’s Skill was undoubtedly a perfect fit for the otherwise lumbering Knight players.

The critical element was the moment it transformed the user into a Piercing Attack!

This meant it could be used not only for offense, but also to create distance or evade certain Attacks.

It almost completely compensated for the Knight’s main drawback: their lack of mobility.

And on top of all that, it had cool visual effects! It just looked badass!

At this thought, the eyes of all the Warrior and Knight players began to burn with desire.

’A Divine Artifact! An absolute Divine Artifact!’

’I have to get one!’

’Even if I don’t use it, I can’t live without owning one!’

As for the Mage players...

"Damn it, I’m done. Logging off."

"This game is trash, it’s so unfair. They’re always buffing Knights. The dev who designed this must be an idiot; I bet he plays a Knight himself."

"Oh, goddammit. I’d love to cast a Blood Stone Burst right up that dev’s ass and then sprinkle some salt in there."

"..."

The Mage players grumbled and cursed, their words dripping with salt.

After getting his Weapon, Li Miao didn’t leave right away. Instead, he returned to the Sin Furnace to check how many Reinforced Wax Stones were needed to enhance this Special Weapon, the Frost Riding Spear.

[Required items for Enhancement not yet unlocked]

Seeing this, Li Miao felt a twinge of disappointment. Still, for a Weapon with such an absurd Effect, it would be even more absurd if it could be easily enhanced.

Besides, the Frost Riding Spear was more than enough for Li Miao’s current needs.

With that thought, he happily slung the Frost Riding Spear over his shoulder and left.

...

After leaving Exile Island, Li Miao teleported back to Candle Island. He found Mushroom, who had a stall set up next to the Demon-Harboring Cottage, and bought two bottles of a new type of Magic Potion.

"Thanks for your business, Brother Miao."

"Take care, and please come again!"

After Mushroom’s enthusiastic send-off, Li Miao walked over to the Spirit Candle.

[Burst Frost Potion·Tier One]

[Type: Consumable]

[Effect: When thrown, inflicts a freezing effect on nearby enemies within a certain radius for ten seconds. The effectiveness of the freeze varies depending on the enemy’s power.]

[Explanation: A Magic Potion concocted with Frost Fruit as its core ingredient. Can also be used on oneself.]

This Frost Potion was, of course, derived from the Frost Seed they had found on the altar in the Battlefield Relics. Mushroom had used the fruit it bore to develop this new Magic Potion.

’That kid Mushroom is becoming more and more of a profiteer.’

Li Miao couldn’t help but mutter to himself after stowing the Magic Potion in his inventory.

After all, they were the ones who had sold the Frost Seed to Mushroom in the first place.

He never thought the kid would turn around, grow the seed, concoct it into a Magic Potion, and then sell it right back to them.

There was only one Frost Seed per instance, and when it matured, it didn’t yield any new seeds; you had to replant the original.

This naturally made the Frost Seed quite valuable.

As a result, the price of the corresponding Magic Potion that Mushroom made was also high. No matter how you looked at it, Mushroom was the one coming out on top.

Still, the Burst Frost Potion was genuinely useful. It was like an instant-cast, area-of-effect crowd control Skill. Used at the right moment, it could potentially turn the tide of a battle...

Besides, this wasn’t the only Magic Potion Mushroom had developed from the Frost Seed. There was another, more common type that applied a buff, enchanting one’s Attacks with a frost effect.

But since Li Miao already had the Frost Riding Spear, he had no need for that kind of buffing Potion. The instant-burst version was obviously far more useful for him.

Li Miao planned to explore the peninsula instance next, so he bought two bottles just in case.

Soon, Li Miao arrived at the Spirit Fire Port, boarded a Spirit Fire Ship, and set off into the Gray Mist toward his destination.

It was daytime in the real world, but a moonlit night on Candle Island, so there weren’t many people playing. While some of the veteran players were on, including Shore, Li Miao was heading to the peninsula instance and didn’t call anyone to join him.

The Spirit Fire Ship sailed slowly into the Gray Mist...

...

The Dark Boundary, the abyssal sea... time in this instance seemed to be frozen at dusk.

Although the Dark Boundary hemmed him in, providing a general sense of direction, Li Miao still lit his illuminating Candlefire.

A small boat, a Knight wreathed in light, advancing slowly through the gloom.

Out on the open sea, swarms of monsters began to appear, streaking past him.

There were monstrous, snarling fish in the water and shaggy, bat-like birds in the air. Each one made a beeline for Li Miao, driven by nothing more than a primal instinct to attack.

Fortunately, just as the Storyteller had said, these monster swarms weren’t very strong. Having just massively upgraded his arsenal, Li Miao dispatched them one by one with ease.

He also took the opportunity to increase his proficiency with the Lance.

If there was one thing he hadn’t prepared for this expedition, it was his Weapon proficiency.

He had always used blades and Greatswords in the past. Having suddenly switched to a Lance, his proficiency was naturally quite low.

Fortunately, however, the Warrior’s instinct inherited from his Candle Spirit allowed him to adapt quickly and master the techniques for wielding a Lance.

After a long, lonely, and gloomy voyage, Li Miao finally reached the first small island—the location of the Milestone Spirit Candle.

Li Miao sat cross-legged before the Spirit Candle to recover his Physical Strength, his gaze lifting to the sky to watch the swarms of monstrous birds that streaked across the night.

"CAW..."

The hoarse, unpleasant cry echoed across the sea, grating on the nerves.

For some reason, Li Miao felt a heavy sense of oppression during this expedition.

He figured it was because he’d had to remain constantly vigilant against monster attacks during the voyage.

Once his Physical Strength had mostly recovered, Li Miao surveyed the small island.

The island was truly tiny; even in the darkness, he could see from one end to the other with a single glance.

It was also completely barren, with nothing to see but reefs and sand.

Li Miao got to his feet. Instead of immediately following the guidance of the Spirit Candle, he picked up his Lance and decided to explore the island first.

’The atmosphere might be oppressive, but that’s no excuse to skip out on a good search.’

’Even though the Spirit Candle doesn’t provide a map or any exploration prompts, I just feel like there are question marks all over the place, just waiting for me to find them. I wonder if that’s a side effect of playing too many of those formulaic open-world games...’

As his mind wandered, Li Miao suddenly spotted something and stopped, crouching down for a closer look.

Before him lay a corpse, rotted away to nothing but a skeleton and tattered scraps of clothing.

Judging by the clothes, it seemed to have been a pirate or sailor of some kind.

Without the slightest hesitation, Li Miao began looting the corpse.

[Obtained: Manlak Coin x17]

[Obtained: Tattered Pirate Headscarf (Crude)]

The pirate headscarf wasn’t worth mentioning—just trash gear.

The Manlak Coins, however, provided some useful information.

[Manlak Coin]

[Type: Consumable]

[Effect: Used for specific transactions.]

[Explanation: Currency issued by an island nation that thrives on maritime trade and plunder.]

’An island nation, trade and plunder...’

Li Miao grew thoughtful. He stored the Manlak Coins, thinking they might be useful later on.

’To be honest, if this followed the usual tropes, there’d be a last will or something next to the body. That would feel more appropriate,’ he thought.

’Then again, if there really was a letter, it would be a little illogical, considering the corpse has rotted down to the bone...’

After another meticulous search of the small island turned up nothing else, Li Miao, now feeling satisfied, finally continued on his voyage.

He hadn’t found anything especially useful, but as long as he knew he’d scoured every nook and cranny with nothing left behind, he felt a deep sense of satisfaction.