After reading the new system notification, Shi Feng froze in surprise.
Blackbeard the mayor's favorability had actually risen to 1,000 points, reaching the Revered tier.
System: Congratulations to the player for being the first to achieve Revered NPC favorability. Reward: one Iron Rank treasure chest.
"Once luck hits, there's no stopping it. Let's see what we get." Shi Feng eagerly opened the exquisite Iron Rank treasure chest.
Inside the chest lay one piece of equipment and one accessory.
Chaser of Darkness Cloak — Mythril Rank. Requirement: 70 Agility. Defense +20, Strength +4, Agility +8, Stamina +4, Movement +2, Evasion +6. Passive ability: Silent Step, allowing the user to silently flash behind the target up to 40 yards away. Cooldown: 3 minutes.
Interpreter's Pendant — Iron Rank. Requirement: 30 Intelligence, Level 7. Intelligence +6, Stamina +2. Increases magic damage by 5%.
Both items were extremely rare at this stage, but the Chaser of Darkness Cloak in particular was perfect for weapon-based classes. Simply equipping it would provide a significant power boost. The Silent Step ability was essentially a mage's Blink or an assassin's Shadow Step — a pure PvP item.
The Interpreter's Pendant was a top-tier accessory as well. A straight 5% boost to magic damage meant any caster class could keep using it all the way to level 20 without ever feeling outdated.
"I'll give this accessory to Hei Zi." Shi Feng thought it over — Hei Zi was the most dependable choice, and a caster to boot. As for the cloak, he couldn't equip it yet. The 70-point Agility requirement was far too steep; he'd need to reach at least level 10 before it was feasible.
Seeing these new items reminded Shi Feng that he was already level 5. With the Abyssal's base stats, if he dumped all 6 free attribute points into Strength, he could equip the Silver Moon Set.
Equipping the best Swordsman set available before level 10 while only being level 5 — his stats would be practically unmatched. Questing would become far easier as well.
With that, Shi Feng allocated every free point to Strength, then pulled out the five-piece Silver Moon Set and equipped it. Reaching level 5 had unlocked the Swordsman's dual-wield talent, allowing him to equip two one-handed swords. He drew out the long-shelved Mythril-ranked Blood Edge and slotted it into his off-hand.
Fully geared, Shi Feng took one look at his stats and couldn't help but marvel. There probably wasn't another player in the entire Divine Realm with stats like these right now.
And that was before accounting for the Silver Moon Set's set bonuses.
Bonus One: Attack +15, Defense +30.
Bonus Two: Max HP +10%. Grants a Second-Level Life Shield that absorbs up to 60% of incoming damage, max absorption of 500 points. Cooldown: 5 minutes.
Bonus Three: All damage taken reduced by 10%, attack speed increased by 10%.
Shi Feng's HP was now close to a thousand. With these three bonuses, he was tankier than most main tanks while his damage output had skyrocketed.
Clad in gleaming silver-white armor, the pitch-black Abyssal hanging at one hip and the vivid red Blood Edge at the other, he looked every bit like a hero walking the earth.
There was still plenty of time before the appointed meeting, so Shi Feng picked up two high-level quests in Stonehammer Town. Both required hunting 10-headed Two-Headed Serpents — 20 serpent gallbladders and 30 venom fangs in total. Completion would yield rare ores and forging materials, the kind needed to craft Iron Rank equipment and weapons, items that were normally nearly impossible to find.
After about twenty minutes of jogging, Shi Feng finally arrived at a desert oasis surrounded by a cluster of Two-Headed Serpents.
Two-Headed Serpent — Normal, Level 10, HP: 950.
Don't be fooled by their low HP. A regular level-10 player absolutely could not take one down solo — you generally needed backup. In the Divine Realm, once a monster hit level 10, it underwent a qualitative change: its attacks became fluid and unpredictable, and it could even block. These were traits that sub-10 normal mobs simply didn't have. Without extensive combat experience, an ordinary player would struggle to withstand or dodge those attacks. On top of that, their strikes often came with special skills, and a single mistake could mean instant death.
The Two-Headed Serpents' attack pattern typically had one head striking while the other defended, making it nearly impossible for a solo player to deal meaningful damage. To make matters worse, their Venom Fang skill meant that a single bite would inflict poison — 50 HP lost per second for 15 seconds. Without an antidote, that was basically a death sentence for most players.