**Chapter 49: Tenth-Level Attributes, Strengthening Skills**
In the heart of Wolf King Valley, Su Yu shifted his attention momentarily to the ranking list, scanning the names of top players.
"Thousands of Cups Not Drunk, Iced Black Tea, and Cangshan Quiet Shadow... I didn't expect these pros to surface this early," Su Yu muttered, slightly impressed.
Cangshan Quiet Shadow was renowned in the Heaven Slaying Guild, known for his intense dedication and expertise in uncovering hidden game quests. His precision and intuition in unraveling complex storylines made him a force to be reckoned with.
Iced Black Tea, a master assassin in his previous life, operated independently. His skills were unmatched in the assassination class, securing his position as the top assassin in the game.
As for Thousands of Cups Not Drunk, Su Yu couldn't help but smirk. This player had a remarkable reputation.
Unlike the others, Thousands of Cups Not Drunk preferred to walk the path of a lone ranger. His legend began long before the game. In the real world, he hailed from a prestigious Kung Fu family, mastering real, battle-hardened martial arts rather than flashy, performance-based techniques. With his impeccable skill, mobs couldn't touch him in the game, essentially granting him a perfect dodge rate, allowing him to level up faster than anyone else.
However, despite his martial prowess, he had no interest in the assassin class, disliking its sneaky and underhanded nature. It wasn't until the third expansion pack, *Pandaren Empire*, that his true potential unfolded. When the game introduced the warrior, monk, Taoist, and alchemist classes, Thousands of Cups Not Drunk completed a hidden quest to unlock the martial artist class. His meteoric rise was legendary, placing him on equal footing with the game's most revered player, Snow Leopard, by the time the third expansion rolled around.
These three players stood among the elite.
Feeling a bit adventurous, Su Yu sent friend requests to both Thousands of Cups Not Drunk and Iced Black Tea. He waited briefly but received no response.
"Figures," Su Yu shrugged. "They're probably swamped with friend requests and disabled them."
With a resigned shake of his head, he turned his focus to his own progress, opening his attribute panel. His recent advancement to level 10 had brought significant upgrades:
**Character:** [Nemesis]
**Level:** 10
**Class:** Magician
**Bloodline:** [Star Bloodline (Legendary)]
**Attributes:**
Strength: 14 | Agility: 14 | Intelligence: 46 | Constitution: 14 | Luck: 10
Spell Power: 66
HP: 170 | Mana: 1280
Defense: 81
Spell Crit Chance: 0
Movement Speed: 5.8 m/s
**Experience:** 3/12,000
**Wealth:** 7,378,758,150 Psionic Coins
**Equipment:** [Village Chief's Staff lv5 (Gold Rare)], [Hillside Sheep's Leather Hood lv4 (Rare)], [Goddess' Tears (Epic)]
**Skills:** [Magic Bullet (Rare)], [Pointing Star Hand (Legendary)], [Lightning Shield (Rare)]...
Reaching level 10 had been a significant milestone for Su Yu, marking the point where his equipment and skills could once again be upgraded, with the potential for epic-level quality.
A system prompt appeared in his mind:
*"Ding! Do you wish to spend 10,000 Psionic Coins to strengthen [Magic Bullet (Rare)]?"*
"Sure," Su Yu responded casually, knowing it was an insignificant cost given his immense wealth.
*"Ding! Please confirm the strengthening direction of [Magic Bullet]: 1. [Elemental Burst]: Upon hitting, deal 30% splash damage to all enemies within a 4-meter radius; 2. [Magic Manipulation]: Allows you to slightly guide the spell mid-flight."*
Su Yu pondered for a second. "Go with option 2." He wasn't too reliant on the spell, so the guidance feature seemed like a decent choice.
*"Congratulations! [Magic Bullet (Rare)] has been upgraded to [Magic Bullet (Epic)]."*
A shimmering golden light enveloped the icon of [Magic Bullet] before bursting into a vibrant purple hue.
Without missing a beat, Su Yu moved on to enhance more of his spells.
*"Ding! Please confirm the strengthening direction of [Lightning Bolt]: 1. [100,000 Volts]: Increases the chance to paralyze the target to 100%; 2. [Fork Lightning]: Has a 50% chance to strike an additional target."*
"Option 1, 100% paralysis sounds good," Su Yu decided.
*"Ding! Please confirm the strengthening direction of [Frost Arrow]: 1. [Cold Bite]: Grants a 15% chance to freeze the enemy; 2. [Ice Bloodline]: The third spell cast costs zero mana."*
"Choose 1," Su Yu said firmly. The freeze effect was too good to pass up.
The enhancement process continued smoothly:
- For [Ice Shield], he selected the [Physical Barrier] option, which would allow him to become immune to the first physical damage he received.
- For [Chain Lightning], he opted for [Multiple Bounces], increasing the number of bounces to 5, making it devastating against groups of enemies.
- For [Blink], Su Yu chose the [Flash] option, allowing the spell to hold two charges.
- For [Invisibility], he chose [Hidden], reducing its cooldown by 1 minute.
With his skills now at epic quality, each enhancement not only boosted attributes but added additional effects. Some improvements, like mana cost reductions, didn't impress Su Yu. However, others, like the immunity granted by [Ice Shield], were invaluable.
"[Ice Shield] with [Physical Barrier] could block the first hit from a level 30 fighter or archer, possibly even a bullet in the real world," Su Yu mused. "This will only get stronger as I level up… eventually, it might even withstand a missile blast!"
Next, Su Yu reviewed his equipment. Most of his current gear didn't need upgrading, but his staff, [Village Chief's Staff], did.
*"Ding! Please confirm the strengthening direction of [Village Chief's Staff]: 1. Gain the additional skill: [Blink]; 2. Increase spell power by 10."*
Su Yu's eyes gleamed at the first option. "Additional skill? That's a no-brainer. Option 1."
Generally, only legendary-tier equipment offered extra skills, so Su Yu was thrilled to see [Village Chief's Staff] provide him with a second [Blink] ability. Even better, the cooldown for this [Blink] was independent of his own, allowing him to chain up to three teleports in quick succession—two from his upgraded [Blink] and one from the staff.
His mobility and survival chances had just skyrocketed.
With everything in place, Su Yu felt more prepared than ever. He now had both the skills and the equipment to take on whatever the game threw his way.
(End of Chapter)