The elite monster, breathing heavily in excitement, envisioned the next few seconds.
The last prey must have been cut directly from the skull to the waist and abdomen! Delicious internal organs would fall all over the ground waiting for itself to enjoy...
However, at that moment, the Jackal Warrior realized its prey had stopped running. The target turned around, uttering two syllables, wrapped in dazzling golden light.
[Flame storm]!
Such a brilliant... shade of red!
That was the last thing the Jackal Warrior perceived.
The next second, it was engulfed and burnt by the fierce flames!
...
"A level 20 elite should drop something." Sterl said emotionlessly.
He was the player who had run the farthest, the last to be chased down.
Facing the Jackal Warrior's skill-enhanced slash, Sterl countered with a combination of Divine Descent and Flame storm.
He had used this combo once before against the members of the Blood Mist Guild, where his output had exceedingly overflowed.
And now, facing a level 20 elite monster...
Sorry, the damage was still excessively high!
The Jackal Warrior, charging head-on, was blinded by the fire in the first second and immediately veered off course, tumbling to the ground to become a torch.
Under the starlit night sky, it was extraordinarily brilliant!
Eventually, the level 20 elite monster lasted about seven or eight seconds before being burnt alive.
For others, this elite monster was a terrifying enemy or the nightmare that decimated the elite squad... But for Sterl, it was nothing more than a pebble on the roadside that could be easily kicked aside.
However, Sterl felt that annihilating a level 10 elite with a quick strike could still be excused by claiming to be a prodigy...
But instantly killing a level 20 elite in front of everyone would make the issues with him seem rather significant...
Therefore, he chose to flee initially instead of taking action.
According to Sterl's original plan, due to the presence of players entering the dungeon at the entrance of the Divine Mountain Empire, he tried his best not to reveal his strength.What if the instance mechanism required collective cooperation?
He couldn't just eliminate the elite monster and then turn around to silence the players, could he?
But the Jackal Warrior, not knowing chalk from cheese any better, killed the other players before coming after Sterl...
This sealed its fate.
Of course, Sterl's decision to act wasn't just because of the Jackal Warrior's final pursuit.
Without witnesses, Sterl would have circled back after running for a bit to take down the elite monster.
After all, killing an elite monster not only granted experience points but was also guaranteed to drop something.
At that moment, a system prompt sounded in Sterl's ears.
[You have successfully killed a level 20 elite monster, the Jackal Warrior, and gained 3000 experience points.]
"Three thousand?"
Sterl couldn't help but crack a smile.
The reason is quite straightforward. Before level 20, the experience calculation for monsters is simple: ten per level, with elite monsters granting an additional fivefold experience.
If Sterl killed a level 19 elite monster, he would receive 950 experience points.
However, at level 20, players can significantly increase their combat effectiveness through class advancement, while monsters do not require such advancement. There is a sheer cliff of difference in combat effectiveness between monsters above level 20 and those below.
Naturally, killing monsters above level 20 yields a surge in experience points.
The Jackal Warrior, though only one level higher than a level 19 elite monster, offered a whopping 3000 experience points upon its defeat!
Moreover—
To Sterl's delight, this elite monster seemed quite generous...
He quickly moved forward to collect the spoils of battle.
[You have received one silver coin.]
This was worth a million credit points back at the base!
Sterl now personally understood why, for those powerful players, the benefits offered within the base were hardly worth mentioning.
A single silver coin could allow you to indulge in all sorts of women to the point of exhaustion, or gorge on various foods until you're sick.
However, Sterl also knew that within the player trade system, any equipment below level 20 was worth at least several copper coins. While equipment used by players after advancing their class at level 20 generally went for around 10 silver coins.
If Sterl really used this silver coin, he couldn't afford any good equipment.
Fortunately, in addition to the silver coin, the Jackal Warrior also dropped something else.
[Gloomy Curved Saber]
[Quality: Black Iron]
[Category: Weapon]
[Additional Effects: Strength, Agility +10.]
[Equipment Level: 15.]
get a gear drop!
[Transcendence], unlike the games Sterl had played before he was transported to this world, is known for its low drop rates for materials, currency, items, and naturally, equipment is also very hard to come by!
The [Gloomy Curved Saber], a level 15 equipment with additional attributes, is very suitable for melee players. Comparing to other equipment categories, weapons are in high demand for players.
This is something that could sell for around five silver coins!
Sterl couldn't keep the smile off his face.
Of course, the [Gloomy Curved Saber] being the first piece of equipment Sterl had ever obtained, he cherished it greatly. He stroked the blade and equipped it for himself.
With a few swings, Sterl could feel the saber's sharpness as it whistled through the air.
"I have a weapon now!" His expression was ecstatic.
By the way,
The equipment system in [Transcendence] is as follows:
Black Iron, Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Diamond, Legendary, Epic, Mythical.
And different pieces of equipment have different level requirements.
Generally, equipment below level 20 is in one category, those for first-class advancement players above level 20 are in another, followed by a category for second-class advancement players above level 60...
As for anything higher, Sterl admits—
He doesn't know.
The value of equipment is primarily determined by its level category.
Within the same category, the higher the equipment's level requirement, the stronger its attributes and the higher its value.
Finally, additional value is added based on the equipment's quality.
Of course, it's said that equipment of Platinum grade and above comes with incredibly powerful skill effects that the next lower tiers of Gold and Silver equipment might not match.
Diamond, Legendary, and Epic quality equipment require completing extremely difficult quests or can only be found in certain specific dungeons, with their power off the charts!
They are the rare treasures that all players can only dream of obtaining.
In summary, when the quality of equipment is low, its value mainly depends on its level category. When the quality is high, each piece is invaluable, and its worth is difficult to estimate with money!
To get to the point, Sterl, put away the silver coins and equip the curved saber in his hand.
He didn't have enough intelligence at the moment, so he had to wander aimlessly in the dungeon for a while, and many level 20 monsters came to die one after another.
Sterl, who could have easily obliterated them with a Flame storm, chose instead to activate his Divine Descent and took up his newly acquired saber to hack the monsters to death.
Battle was exhilarating!
Soon, he had accumulated the ten thousand experience points needed to level up to level 10... and then some.
Another prompt sounded in Sterl's ears.
[You have successfully condensed your first Blood Essence.]
[You have unlocked the Blood Set list (partial).]
[You have unlocked the Blood Skills list (partial).]
He paused, then realized the power of the Bloody Diamond had taken effect. He hurriedly opened the two refreshed lists, looking forward to what he might find.
Sterl was not disappointed, although each list only revealed one piece of equipment and one skill.
But—
"This piece of equipment is something special..."
"This skill seems pretty useful too!" Sterl couldn't help but murmur to himself.
In the equipment list—
[Visage of the Void]
[Type: Head]
[Additional Effects: Spirit +20.]
[Equipment Level: 15.]
[Skill: Vanity of the Visage, no one can see your panel attributes through any detection skills, and you can freely edit a false set of panel attributes for others to investigate. (Warning: If the difference in strength between the two parties is too great, the Visage of the Void may be damaged.)]
[Crafting Cost: Three points of Blood Essence.]
[Crafting Materials: None.]
Seeing this...
Sterl was thrilled!
He was most concerned about his secrets being exposed. If someone discovered he possessed two SSS-tier talents, it would definitely spell trouble!
Fortunately, in [Transcendence], skills were already rare, and detection skills were even rarer... To see through someone's talents required specific skills.
But the risk objectively existed!
Sterl couldn't take the gamble. If by any chance a powerful individual with detection abilities happened to cross paths with him and became curious...
Now, if he used Blood Essence to craft the Visage of the Void, the problem would be solved... Even if those significantly more powerful attempted to probe him, at most, the equipment would be damaged.
As long as Sterl prepared a flawless set of false panel attributes in advance, he could easily deceive others.
This item was crucial for him!