ATPnovel Chapter 27 The Wanderer's Possibility of Defying Fate
Chapter 27 The Wanderer's Possibility of Defying Fate
At a campsite by the main road, You Che was camping again.
This is a campsite specially prepared for adventurers and travelers. Most of the facilities are ready for immediate use, and Yu Che settled in without any hesitation.
It was dawn, and he sat by the simple campfire, sorting out his gains from the maze.
Because You Che didn't specifically choose the route with the most lucrative rewards during the mission, his gains weren't that great.
For example, the three skill scrolls he gave up can be obtained in the game if the conditions are met and the operation is proper.
But for You Che, the three scrolls, along with the items he hadn't taken out of the skeleton mage's magic pocket, had already disappeared along with the mage's death.
But that's alright, You Che's core objective has already been achieved.
[Undead Toxin]
Category: Magic
[Item Description: One of the oldest necromancy spells, capable of releasing a concentrated cloud of undead poison to attack enemies, or used to temporarily enchant one's weapon, imbuing it with undead poison.]
[Spell Cost: 12 Mana (Poison Cloud) / 4 Mana (Enchantment)]
[Requirement for use: Intelligence 8]
In the skeleton mage's view, the Undead Poison spell is less cost-effective than the other three spells, since it only adds poison, while Plague Ray and Plague Touch have the same function and are even more functional.
But for You Che, there was no other option at all.
After all, of those four spells, this was the only one he could use, and it was also the only one that met his needs.
The other spells, in terms of both intelligence requirements and mana consumption, exceed Yuche's current attributes and are not compatible with his tactical system.
Undead Poison is a special abnormal effect. Unlike the deadly poison of the Green Rust Dagger, Undead Poison causes less damage than deadly poison, but it does not dissipate on its own and will persist indefinitely if not dispelled.
Additionally, targets affected by Undead Poison will have their Agility attribute reduced by 10%.
Finally, due to the inherent characteristics of necromancy, necromancy poison can also cause slight damage to souls without flesh and blood.
And naturally, the abnormal efficiency of the Undead Toxin is also affected by Luck.
In conclusion, for Yu Che at this moment, this magic is the only option and a key part of his combat power system plan.
In fact, not to mention him now, even during the game era, many agility-based classes would specifically come to this maze to learn this magic.
After all, this spell has low casting requirements but high performance, making it an excellent support skill in the early stages.
Of course, there are also drawbacks, namely that the undead poison will have a normal effect on both the undead and the enchanted weapon.
So You Che's first priority is to avoid getting poison on himself... But that's not a problem, he wouldn't do something as stupid as "my dagger is covered in poison."
Secondly, the weapons must be of at least rare quality to resist the corrosive effects of the undead poison. So if he casts this spell on his daggers and axes, he should be prepared that he won't be able to take them back.
"..."
After pondering for a moment while looking at his personal panel, You Che drew his green rusted short sword and put it in his hand. Then, he added all two free attribute points he had saved to his intelligence.
[Name: You Che]
Level: 5 (Experience Points: 133/500)
Intelligence: 5 (+1) → 7 (+1)
Starting intelligence is 5, with an additional 2 points added for growth. The +1 in parentheses is the effect of the Grammer family crest ring, bringing the total to 8 points to meet the magic requirement.
Next, Youche took out the magic wand he had casually taken from the skeleton mage.
[Rotten Wood Wand: A wand that has decayed after the passage of time, and has no value other than serving as the lowest-level spellcasting catalyst.]
[Quality: Inferior]
[Requirement for use: Intelligence 6]
This is a short wand, the kind that can be easily held in your hand, but it has nothing special about it. The advantage is that it can be used.
You Che tried releasing necromantic poison onto the green rusted short sword, and a layer of gray-black mist immediately enveloped the blade.
He then tested the enchanted short sword against the trees nearby, and looking at the blackened and withered trunks that had been corroded, You Che nodded slightly.
"Excellent, key skill acquired."
Although he has already decided what he wants to do in this world, don't forget that the predicament he faces has never changed—his background as a wanderer is just too terrible.
So far, Yu Che has relied on his extensive knowledge and experience, as well as targeted pre-battle preparations, to deal with the battles, and things seem to be going relatively smoothly.
However, unlike Souls, where you can play 1+0 and slow down your level to complete the game, this strategy can only work in the early stages when the difficulty is low. Before long, he will be unable to keep up with the speed at which the enemies strengthen.
Putting everything else aside, most of the enemies that appeared later had a much higher agility attribute than him, making it impossible for him to even kite them.
Therefore, You Che had to take an unconventional approach. As early as when he first transmigrated, he had already set his sights on a special type of equipment.
That's cursed equipment.
Just like the Crown of Chaos Staff, cursed equipment in the game are items that possess great power, but also have powerful negative effects.
Some of these weapons even possess the power to disrupt the early game balance, and these are the weapons that Youche targets.
Of all the ways he knew to obtain cursed weapons, the dungeon with the lowest level requirement and one he could potentially clear with his current stats required him to use his newly learned skills to defeat the boss.
In short, everything You Che does is aimed at improving his immediate combat power, and then looking for the possibility of defying fate.
Although the wanderer's growth value is completely beyond saving, it is not irreversible.
You Che knew that there was a special side quest in the mid-game. If he followed a specific route in this quest, the final reward would help him escape the predicament of having zero growth potential.
That is his ultimate goal in the next stage.
As for the current stage, the priority is naturally to obtain the cursed weapon as planned.
You Che took out a new notebook and started writing and drawing in it.
"I've met the minimum requirements to clear that dungeon, but... I should level up a few more times before going again, and it would be best if I could have a teammate who can control the enemy."
You Che frowned as he calculated.
If this were during gameplay, he would definitely go and farm for equipment immediately.
Regardless of his skills and experience, he has already obtained the Adventurer Certification. As long as he accepts a quest from the Adventurer's Guild before entering the dungeon, he will have three "Cat Cart" opportunities even if he fails.
But in this world, these gaming mindsets must obviously be abandoned.
As Lu Xun aptly put it, a person dies when they are killed, and so does he.
Therefore, while strengthening himself as much as possible, Yu Che must also avoid unnecessary risks.
"...I think we should wait a bit longer."
You Che made a decision. He put down his notebook, glanced at the sky, and then took out the ancient book he had obtained from the Skeleton Mage and began to read it.
[Incomplete Ancient Text (Alchemy): After careful study, there is a certain probability that you can learn the skill "Basic Alchemy (Incomplete)"]
In Dark Fantasy, to learn a spell (including magic and prayer), you either need to use a skill scroll or learn it by reading.
These books serve as a learning tool, and the corresponding skills will be unlocked based on the player's reading progress and their own attributes.
Of course, the book that You Che obtained was incomplete. Even if he finished reading it, he could only learn an incomplete beginner's alchemy technique, but that was enough.
Alchemy is an almost essential life skill in the game. Without it, you won't be able to properly process even the materials dropped by some high-level monsters.
For most professions, basic alchemy is perfectly sufficient, even an incomplete version will do, it's not much different.
Therefore, there are reasons why the Hermit's Hut is one of the dungeons with the highest early-game completion rate.
You Che was not in a hurry. He slowly flipped through the book and put it away after reading for a while.
I'm about 20% reading progressed so far. A few more tries and I'll be able to learn the skill.
After putting away the ancient book, You Che looked at the broken staff leaning against him.
At this moment, on the top of the staff that was now only half intact, below the deep red gem, You Che had roughly drilled several small holes and embedded a few dark black pebbles.
That was still a gift from the Skeleton Mage, the lowest level Soul Crystal, which, according to the storyline, has the function of protecting the soul and replenishing the soul's power.
Although Yu Che is extremely knowledgeable about game knowledge and settings, he is unsure about content that is not mentioned in the game's plot or setting book.
The idea that a soul could actually be imprisoned by a cursed weapon has never appeared in the game; it's actually just his speculation.
Furthermore, Youche cannot see souls, which is why he sought confirmation from the skeleton mage. Asking if there was a way to liberate souls was merely a tentative attempt.
As for the skeleton mage's assertion, You Che can only say that a wild necromancer by the roadside is causing trouble.
I'll say it again, you're just a talking skeleton, what do you know about necromancy?
He had his own plans for what to do next.
"No one understands Dark Fantasy better than me... at least not in this world."
Looking at the broken staff, You Che murmured.
"Da da da da—"
Just then, from the main road not far from the camp, came the rapid sound of horses' hooves and wheels, accompanied by panicked shouts:
"Is anyone there? Help!"
You Che seemed slightly surprised.
Someone's passing by? What happened?