Chapter 521: The Monster That Evolves

As the closest thing to an epic-grade set available for anyone below level 50, a first-tier set was naturally anything but ordinary.

Shi Feng hadn't been very confident about taking down Canglang Zhantian and the others before, but now that he'd completed a Swordsman first-tier set, equipping it doubled his combat power.

The chances of eliminating Canglang Zhantian and the other seven top experts shot up considerably.

Without hesitation, Shi Feng swapped into the Hurricane set.

Unlike the Dragon Claw set, the Hurricane set was designed specifically for Swordsmen. The streamlined, form-fitting armor was a pale blue-green, and it didn't impede his body's movement in the slightest. In fact, as Shi Feng walked around, he felt an indescribable lightness.

"As expected of equipment designed specifically for Swordsmen. It preserves defense while making the player more agile. This really is on a different level from ordinary gear." Shi Feng moved his body through a few stretches, the corner of his mouth curling upward.

Hurricane Set. Equipment level: 20–50. Requirement: first-tier Swordsman. Bound on equip. Comprised of five pieces: head, chest, hands, legs, and feet.

Set Effects:

Two-piece bonus: Damage increased by 10%, attack speed increased by 20%, all Swordsman skill effects increased by 20%.

Four-piece bonus: Strength attribute increased by 15%, agility attribute increased by 15%. Gain skill — Sword Qi in All Directions: deals 300% weapon damage to all enemies within 5 yards, knocks all enemies back 12 yards, stuns for 1 second. Cooldown: 1 minute.

Five-piece bonus: All Swordsman skill cooldowns reduced by 20%. Each time you deal damage to a target, gain a stack of Tempest Power, increasing attack speed by 2% and attack range by 1 yard. Lasts 20 seconds, stacking up to 10 times. Gain skill — Hurricane: condense all Tempest Power to deal 200% + 30% × number of Tempest Power stacks in weapon damage to a 20-yard cone in front of you. All enemies in the area are suspended in the air for 5 seconds and cannot move.

With these base stats, Shi Feng's strength finally broke five hundred even without any buffs, and his agility was as high as six hundred. Whether it came to movement speed or attack speed, Shi Feng was confident he wouldn't lose to any player — unless that player was decked out in an epic-grade set.

And even an epic-grade set might not necessarily be better than the Hurricane set.

Once equipment reached dark gold quality or above, it gained a special characteristic that didn't show up in the stats. It was a hidden advantage.

That advantage was how well the equipment adapted to the player's movements. It was like wearing shoes and clothes that didn't fit — if they were too small or too tight, it was uncomfortable. Every class and every player had their own movement habits, and ordinary equipment was standardized, designed to suit no one in particular. This caused the player a certain amount of inconvenience — minor, perhaps, but in the eyes of top players, the impact was significant. It was like having a nail in your shoe: every step would poke your foot, making your movements choppy.

The quality of a first-tier set was above dark gold. So in the system's design, it was tuned to match a player's class-specific movement habits, unlike mass-produced epic-grade gear. It dramatically improved adaptability for a single-class player.

Right now, it felt to Shi Feng like the nail in his shoe was gone. He could move however he pleased.

After that, Shi Feng quietly settled in to wait.

Canglang Zhantian and his group had already made it close to the center of the Dragonkin's Lair. The terrain there wasn't wide, and it was flanked by mountains on both sides — you either pressed forward or fell back. There was no third option, making it the perfect spot for an ambush.

"Boss Canglang, I've scouted ahead. The path to the center of the Dragonkin's Lair is clear of traps and mechanisms — all we'll encounter along the way are some elite Dragonkin. But the boss guarding the treasure is a level 30 Lord-tier creature, and it leans toward the magic type. Could be a tough nut to crack." A first-tier Assassin named Wuying Shu, clad in black, reported back.

"Magic-type, huh?" Canglang Zhantian's face, already pale to the point of looking sickly, furrowed slightly in thought.

Magic-type bosses always had a ton of AoE skills and an unpredictable toolkit. But the most terrifying thing about them was their ability to one-shot players — unlike physical-type bosses, where you had multiple ways to stall them out.

The biggest difference between physical attacks and magic attacks was that physical ones came straight at you with a single attack form. They might be faster, but with quick reflexes and proper blocking, they weren't too hard to deal with. Magic attacks, on the other hand, mostly came in multi-hit patterns. That was precisely why they could delete a player before they even knew what hit them — leaving them completely helpless.