Chapter 28 - Mutation of Skills, Earth Control

Victor King came to the depths of the cave and saw a few glowing items lying quietly on the ground.

[Howling Cape]

[Rarity: Blue]

[Class requirement: None]

[Equipment level: Level 15]

[Attributes: Speed +35, defense +25, attack +25, strength +15]

[Howling Gloves]

[Rarity: Blue]

[Class requirement: None]

[Equipment level: Level 15]

[Attributes: Speed +20, defense +15, attack +15, strength +8]

[Howling Bracers]

[Rarity: Blue]

[Class requirement: None]

[Equipment level: Level 15]

[Attributes: Speed +20, defense +15, attack +15, strength +8]

Victor King had already reached Level 15, so he could equip these.

After putting on these pieces of equipment, the entire character panel changed.

These pieces of equipment would only drop after successfully clearing the Howling Caves and killing the Lord of the Howling Caves. Moreover, the drop rate was extremely low. They were unique to the Howling Caves, but their attributes were very good.

There were seven pieces in the entire set, which were a cape, gloves, bracers, leg guards, weapons, top, and bottom.

Some people might not even be able to get a single piece even after dozens of attempts, let alone gather a complete set in a Series. It was almost rare. In any case, they had never seen someone with the entire set.

Victor King had dropped three pieces of equipment from the Howling Series, almost half of the total. He could not help but feel that the so-called drop rate was just a decoration in front of him.

[Congratulations on collecting three pieces of equipment from the Howling Caves. You will receive a 5 percent bonus to your total attributes]

After obtaining four items, it would be 10 percent, and so on.

It was the same for the other Secret Realm Series equipment. Usually, if one had three or more pieces, they would be able to obtain additional bonuses.

Other than that, there were also many materials dropped.

[Howling Caves Lord's Teeth: The teeth that shed naturally are extremely hard and sharp. They can be used to make equipment or level up.]

[Howling Caves Lord's Fur: The fur that fell from the Lord of the Howling caves. It might be useful.]

Victor King put all of them into his backpack. There was so much space anyway, so he might need them in the future.

No matter what, this trip to the Secret Realm was a profit. Just one piece of equipment from the Howling Caves was enough to make the trip worth it, not to mention three pieces at once.

"Eh, this is-"

A book with a black cover came into view. If one did not look carefully, it would be easy to miss it.

"It's actually another Skill Book!"

Victor King did not expect his luck to be this good. The drop rate of the Skill Book was also very low. He had already obtained it from the small monsters, but now, another one had dropped.

He used Appraisal to check the skill book's information.

[Beginner Binding: Able to bind an enemy for 3 seconds. The duration will increase as the skill level increases.]

It looked like a normal crowd control skill, and it could only bind one enemy. Victor King was disappointed. Single-target crowd control was useless in a group battle.

Unless it was a 1v1, it was barely passable.

"It's better than nothing."

Victor King thought for a moment. His sisters did not seem to need it, so he might as well learn it himself.

He could not help but think of the sudden change that happened when he used the Skill Book previously. He did not know if it would happen again this time.

[Beginner Binding successful.]

Just as Victor King was feeling a little disappointed, the unfamiliar notification sounded again!

[Congratulations to the Host for successfully activating the Earth Bind]

Just from the name alone, Victor King knew that it was not simple. When he opened the skill bar and checked the information again, there were already changes.

[Earth Bind: The area within 100 meters of the user is the territory. All creatures trapped in the territory will be imprisoned for 3 seconds. As the level increases, the range and time of the territory will also increase.]

Victor King was dumbfounded. This was the first time he had seen an AoE skill with such a wide range and unlimited targets.

Even Bella's AoE skills were not at his level. Moreover, both the range and the duration of the imprisonment could be increased.

These few seconds should not be underestimated. Even if one was distracted for a moment during the battle, one's life would be in danger. These three seconds were enough for him to do many things.

Victor King was sure that the normal Skill Books would turn into other top-tier skills in his hands. He did not know if it was because of his high luck or something else.

"If all skills can be converted, coupled with the Class Disguise of the ring, wouldn't I be able to use any top-tier skill?"

Unfortunately, the drop rate of Skill Books was too low, and there was not much circulation on the market. There was not enough for everyone, so how could they sell them?

"We can take it slow in the future. At the same time, I'll ask my sisters to help me keep an eye out."

After clearing the Secret Realm, Victor King did not stay for long and came out quickly.

It had only taken him about ten minutes to clear the Secret Realm. It was not even enough for him to take a nap.

The average time to clear the Howling Caves was more than a few hours. Moreover, this was the speed after clearing it a few times. If it was someone's first time, they would probably fail. Some teams with low configuration might even take longer.

Not to mention that Victor King went in alone and came out so quickly. Everyone thought that he had given up halfway.

"Heh, I thought this Kid could last for a long time. I didn't expect him to come out so soon. I'm afraid he hasn't even fought the monsters on the first floor. He wasted an opportunity."

"I've seen a lot of such people. They're probably newbies who have opened their eyes. You don't really think that he can clear the entire Secret Realm, do you?"

The people at the entrance of the Secret Realm were still the same as before. They did not gather any teammates, so they were still waiting here. When they saw Victor King, they only discussed a little and did not take it to heart.

When he got home, his sisters had already returned. When they saw Victor King, they quickly went up to him.

"Little Brother, where did you go? We were all very worried."

After all, Victor King had Awakened as a Bard, so he did not have much combat power. If he encountered any danger, he would not be able to escape.

In the eyes of the sisters, Victor King was not very strong. Passing through a Secret Realm like the Howling Caves alone and even killing small monsters along the way was simply a fantasy.

Victor King definitely would not tell them that he went into the Secret Realm alone. Otherwise, he would scare them to death.

However, the sudden increase in level could not be hidden from others. However, he had already thought of an excuse. "You guys are not here today. Since I have nothing to do at home, I went to hire someone to take me to level up."

The sisters looked at Victor King's level and saw that he had reached level 15.