After seeing the attributes of the three items, even Shi Feng was genuinely shocked. It was his first time looking at the specific stats of a legendary fragment — in his previous life, the attributes of legendary items had been kept secret, and everyone could only guess at what they actually were.
He never imagined that the Dragon's Breath would be this powerful. It didn't add any flat stats at all — instead, it boosted all attributes by a percentage.
No wonder so many powerhouses who owned legendary items said that only the strong could bring out a legendary item's true potential. Even a weakling got their hands on one, the improvement wouldn't be all that significant.
If he could equip it right now, with his current stats boosted by the Dragon's Breath, he could crush level-20 Elites while still at level 12. Unfortunately, the requirements of 200 Strength, 200 Agility, and 120 Intelligence were nothing but a pipe dream — his current Strength was only 111, Agility sat at 123, and Intelligence hadn't even reached 50. He was still miles away from meeting the equip requirements.
Even with his Magic Artifact granting him 2 extra free stat points per level over other players, he wouldn't be able to equip the Dragon's Breath until at least level 20, and only after a full set of level-20 Gold-grade gear.
"Hei Zi, see if you can equip Mebys's Protection and the Ring of Radiance." Shi Feng handed the two items over.
He had his reasons for choosing those two items for Hei Zi. He couldn't babysit the team forever — he had plenty of his own matters to handle. But if he wanted the team to level up fast, they needed a strong leader to carry them.
On top of that, an Epic weapon was a matter of enormous importance, and the person he trusted most was Hei Zi. Handing Mebys's Protection and the Ring of Radiance to him put Shi Feng's mind at ease. With the boost from those two items, Hei Zi's damage output would almost certainly surpass his own — after all, Shi Feng's Magic Artifact was still only at the Dark Gold weapon tier, a far cry from Epic. And Hei Zi was a magic-type class whose farming speed was inherently faster to begin with. Add in the incredibly powerful skill attached to Mebys's Protection, and Hei Zi would have an even easier time leading the team to level than Shi Feng himself.
"This… Alright."
Hei Zi had been wavering, feeling completely unworthy of owning an Epic item. But after seeing Shi Feng's earnest expression and the trust behind it, he nodded with absolute seriousness.
The 80 Intelligence requirement was steep, but Hei Zi had already reached level 11, and his base stats had gone up considerably. He had several Mythril-rank pieces equipped as well, and after dumping every free stat point he'd earned from leveling into Intelligence, he barely managed to meet the requirement. He equipped Mebys's Protection — an 11th-level Epic staff — and the stat boost alone was enormous. It even came with a crit modifier, granting a full 20% magic critical rate, far more impressive than what he had seen earlier.
On top of that, Mebys's Protection reduced its own level requirement by 5. Hei Zi then equipped the Ring of Radiance and swapped in the level-15 Iron-rank and Bronze-rank caster gear he had obtained from earlier runs. In an instant, Hei Zi looked like a completely different person, as though reborn. A faint but unmistakable sense of pressure radiated from him.
"No way — my Intelligence hit 186!" Hei Zi stared at his stat panel, too excited to form proper words.
186 Intelligence — more than double what it had been before. Never mind the magic damage boost on top of that. His overall stats were probably more than twice as high as any other caster at this stage. He could one-shot a level-10 tank with solid gear in a single spell.
"Insane!" Jimo Ruxue gazed at the dazzling stats with undisguised envy, though he felt no jealousy toward Hei Zi. After all, he had only recently joined the Zero Wing studio. Just the fact that they were already carrying him through levels and had given him several Mythril-rank pieces was more than he could have dreamed of — to say nothing of something as important as an Epic item. If an Epic piece that suited him existed and they gave it to him right now, that would be the real miracle.
Moreover, when Jimo Ruxue saw how nonchalant Shi Feng had looked while handing over the Epic items to Hei Zi, he understood. If he performed well in the Zero Wing studio, sooner or later he would receive an Epic item too. There was simply no reason to be jealous.
"Epic weapons really are something else." Shi Feng glanced at Hei Zi's stats and grinned.
Epic gear typically scaled up with a player's level. Hei Zi would need to reach level 60 before Mebys's Protection could display its true power — what an 11th-level Mebys's Protection showed was merely the tip of the iceberg.
Besides, Shi Feng knew the origin of quite a few legendary items, but his current strength was too low, his level too meager, and he lacked a powerful team. There was no way to obtain those Epic items right now. He would have to wait until the studio had developed enough before going after them.
"Brother Feng, let's go hunt some Elites! I want to see what this Epic weapon can really do." Hei Zi looked at Shi Feng, eyes gleaming with anticipation.
"Sure, let's go find one." Shi Feng laughed. When he had obtained his first Epic item in his previous life, he had been just as eager as Hei Zi was now, desperate to test its power against a powerful monster.
Before long, following Shi Feng's guidance, they located a level-17 Rare Elite — a Swamp Lizard.
Swamp Lizard, Rare Elite, Level 17, HP: 20,000.