As Shi Feng clicked evolve, the faint golden crystal in his hand instantly vaporized, turning into a plume of golden airflow that submerged into the blade of the Abyssal.
Suddenly, the Abyssal began to tremble as well, emanating a faint, shimmering gold that flickered on and off.
In a short while, the Abyssal's appearance also began to change.
The silvery-white blade abruptly turned pitch black, and vivid red magic runes surfaced upon it, exceptionally bright and eye-catching.
"So this is evolution?"
Shi Feng was surprised. He could feel the immense change in the Abyssal in his hand, especially the significant increase in compatibility, as if it had been custom-made for him.
However, when the Abyssal leveled up previously, the commotion was huge. Yet, this evolution only altered its appearance, with no other effects. It was truly inconceivable.
Shi Feng then opened the Abyssal's attributes.
Abyssal, One-Handed Sword, Magic Artifact.
Attack Power +655 All Attributes +45 Attack Speed +15 Ignore Monster Level +15, 50% chance on hit to deal double damage, 25% chance to deal triple damage. Each time damage is dealt, Attack Speed increases by 2%, up to a maximum increase of 20%.
For all Swordsman class holders, all skill levels +3, and each level gained provides an additional 2 bonus attribute points.
Equipment Level: 30, Upgradeable (Devour twenty 35-level Gold-grade weapons and three 35-level Dark Gold-grade weapons to upgrade to Level 35), Evolvable to First Rank (requires devouring ten Magic Essence Crystals to evolve to Second Rank).
Attached Skill 1: Phantom Kill (First Rank). Instantly creates a phantom. Possesses 80% of the original's attributes and all skills. Duration: 70 seconds. Cooldown: 5 minutes.
Attached Skill 2: Abyssal Bind (First Rank). Binds an enemy, preventing movement. Defense simultaneously drops by 100%. Duration: 4 seconds. Cooldown: 50 seconds.
Attached Skill 3: Nine-Headed Dragon Slash (First Rank). Instantly creates twelve phantom copies of the Abyssal for the wielder's use. Each phantom blade can deal 60% damage. Duration: 30 seconds. Cooldown: 5 minutes.
Attached Skill 4: Abyssal Curse (First Rank). Renders targets within a 30-yard radius unable to move or attack for 6 seconds. Subsequently, their attributes decrease by 20% for 10 minutes. When only one target is within range, the effect is doubled. Cooldown: 30 minutes.
Attached Secret Art Inheritance: Black Emperor (First Rank). Upon dealing critical damage to a target, accumulates one stack of Death Qi. Each stack consumed increases all attributes by 2% and Attack/Movement Speed by 1% for 10 seconds, or reduces one skill's cooldown by 3 seconds. Can accumulate up to 33 stacks. Duration: 10 minutes. Cooldown: 12 hours.
A famous sword personally forged by the master craftsman Orisis using the fangs of the Black Dragon King as material. It is one of the Divine Realm's Thirty-Six Famous Swords, ranked thirty-first. However, this sword is cursed by the Black Dragon King. Besides bestowing incredible power upon its wielder, it periodically backlashs them. Thanks to Jack's modification, incorporating Starlight Stone, the backlash's power has been greatly reduced. If the wielder cannot suppress the backlash, they will suffer the Black Dragon King's curse: all attributes permanently reduced by 50%, and the item becomes bound, non-tradable, and indestructible.
"So this is the true face of evolution." Shi Feng finally understood.
Evolution contributed very little to the Abyssal's base attributes, but it could raise the rank of its attached skills. From originally zero-rank skills, they grew into first-rank skills, much like how players improved their skills.
The difference was that players needed skill proficiency to level up, while the Abyssal required Magic Essence Crystals.
Although the skill improvement from evolution wasn't massive, zero-rank skills became less effective against high-tier monsters. Once upgraded to first-rank, their effect would be considerably stronger.
"But these Magic Essence Crystals are really hard to come by. Only Hell Difficulty hundred-player dungeons have a chance to drop them." Shi Feng smiled bitterly. Clearing a Hell Difficulty hundred-player dungeon wasn't easy, let alone getting a drop. To obtain ten of them without strong guild support would probably be impossible for evolving a Magic Artifact.
The Abyssal's evolution was an unexpected bonus. The other drops from the Frost Giant were also very rich.