"You..."
Silent Red Star and Wildfire Berserker watched as Versade handed the Fruit of Life to his direct subordinate guard without a second word, their eyebrows twitching in disbelief.
Wasteful!
Absolutely wasteful!
How precious and rare was the Fruit of Life? Its value could be said to far exceed that of a Gold-grade fourth-rank guard, because the Fruit of Life could permanently elevate a player's life tier. Moreover, it could be used on Gold-grade or even Dark Gold-grade guards, pushing them even further and increasing their chances of breaking through to a fifth-rank class.
But using it on a fourth-rank guard whose potential was only Mythril Rank—even upgrading him to Gold-grade—would only result in a temporary surge in combat power. Once a player reached level 120, they could begin attempting the fourth-rank class advancement, at which point a fourth-rank direct guard's role would become negligible, serving at best as a peak combatant.
However, if the Fruit of Life could help a player in the future attempt fifth-rank class advancement, or help a direct guard break through to become a fifth-rank class, then the value would be immense. Fifth-rank classes were destined to be few—this much could already be seen from the third-rank advancement. A fifth-rank direct guard could dominate an entire region, and seizing a city would be as easy as picking something from one's pocket.
That was nothing like a fourth-rank NPC, who at best could blast through a guild city's defensive magic formations. Actually conquering a guild city? Utterly out of the question.
But just as Silent Red Star and Wildfire Berserker were agonizing over Shi Feng's extravagance, they saw that after swallowing the Fruit of Life, Versade was suddenly enveloped in a layer of life energy visible to the naked eye. He had previously appeared quite aged—even though his aura and imposing manner were terrifying, his life force itself could not be concealed.
Yet now, Versade was recovering at a speed visible to the naked eye. Not only was his life force growing increasingly vigorous, but his appearance was growing younger as well. In just three to five short seconds, Versade had transformed into a man who appeared to be only in his fifties.
And as Versade grew younger, the mana in the entire reception room surged as if driven mad, becoming increasingly dense. The surrounding space even began to feel as though it had become a separate world from the outside, with everything within the room seemingly under Versade's absolute control.
"This is One Thought Creates a World! How is that possible?!" Silent Red Star stared at Versade, his face filled with disbelief.
At this moment, not only Silent Red Star, but even old Coach Torey standing nearby was looking at Versade—this previously decrepit direct guard—with utter incredulity.
In the Divine Realm, once an NPC reached a fourth-rank class, they could generally master a Domain. This was precisely why fourth-rank NPCs were so powerful. This Domain wasn't some magical skill—it formed naturally, easily suppressing all enemies within it while boosting one's own combat power.
Thus, a single fourth-rank NPC at the same level could take on a whole group of third-rank NPCs without issue. If a player lacked fourth-rank strength, no matter how many came, they were simply walking to their deaths. This was also why fourth-rank NPCs could serve as administrators of major cities while third-rank NPCs could not—if the level wasn't there, numbers meant nothing.
For NPCs were different from monsters. A fourth-rank monster was only powerful in terms of body and attributes, which could be countered through external items, skills, and manpower coordination. Even a second-rank player might defeat one. But NPCs possessed an overwhelming advantage over players in terms of mana—they could target each player individually. Without the power to break free from mana suppression and restraint, there was simply no way to fight.
And now Versade's level was no longer merely a self-formed Domain—it was One Thought Creates a World.
This was a realm that transcended merely mastering magical elements; it was the domination of magical elements. Through sheer willpower, one could make magical elements form unique patterns, no longer operating according to basic rules, as though creating an entirely new world.
Generally, only fifth-rank NPCs could achieve this level.
At this moment, let alone Silent Red Star and the others feeling disbelief—even Shi Feng standing nearby was momentarily stunned.
He truly hadn't expected Versade to be this incredible. The Fruit of Life could indeed elevate an NPC's potential, but it couldn't raise their actual skill level—unless they already possessed it.
And any NPC capable of achieving One Thought Creates a World was a true powerhouse standing only a single step away from fifth-rank class advancement, incomparable to ordinary fourth-rank NPCs. It was like the difference between a third-rank class that had unlocked the Mana Body and one that hadn't—a full half-rank gap.
This prompted Shi Feng to immediately check Versade's stats.
Versade, Night Edge's direct guard. Male, age 76. Loyalty: 93. Growth Potential: 90. Level: 120. Class: Fourth-Rank Archmage.
"Holy crap! His potential was almost Dark Gold-grade?!" Shi Feng looked at Versade's potential and suddenly everything made sense.
The previous Versade definitely hadn't been mere Mythril Rank in potential—at minimum he'd been Gold-grade, and a true powerhouse standing only one step from fifth-rank class advancement. Because the potential increase from a Fruit of Life couldn't possibly be that much.
A full 16 points!
Even the legendary Fruit of Life couldn't do that—unless his potential hadn't been fully recovered before.
Though he didn't know what had caused Versade to fall to such a state, all Shi Feng felt now was wild joy and excitement—an ecstasy that even obtaining a Legendary-grade item fragment couldn't compare to.
A fourth-rank NPC was already formidable enough, but now Versade was a fourth-rank powerhouse with One Thought Creates a World. The sheer number of things he could do now was staggering—he could even venture into places he hadn't been able to reach in his previous life.
In the Divine Realm, once players reached third-rank class and unlocked the Mana Body, they were said to have "free passage through the Divine Realm"—in theory, there was nowhere they couldn't go. But being able to go somewhere and surviving once you got there were two entirely different things.
After all, in the vast Divine Realm, maps for level 100 and above made up the overwhelming majority. Human kingdoms and empires occupied only a small portion of the Divine Realm suitable for human habitation. There were many dangerous regions where humans simply could not set foot.
Third-rank players could only operate in relatively safe areas. Actually venturing into those dangerous zones was simply seeking death—even a moment's carelessness could result in having to delete one's account and start over.
But with a fourth-rank powerhouse at his side, he could genuinely venture into those truly dangerous regions.
After all, the advancement to fifth-rank class and numerous ancient legacies were all located in those places. In his previous life, the fourth-rank and above experts of the major superpowers had primarily operated in those regions, rarely returning to the safer zones—because only there could they progress further.
With these thoughts, Shi Feng gently suppressed his excitement and turned his gaze toward Silent Red Star and the others, who still hadn't recovered from their shock.
"Three of you, I wonder—does Zero Wing now have the credentials to partner with your guild?" Shi Feng asked Torey softly.