Chapter 59: Chapter59-Gold-Tier Equipment
A dense, decaying aura of darkness emanated from John.
Subsequently, centered around him, a black marsh with a diameter of approximately forty meters emerged beneath his feet.
Within this dark marsh, numerous withered arms formed from the muck surged forth, grabbing hold of the Bloodwing Slaughterer's legs and wings, attempting to drag it into the swamp to significantly reduce its speed.
The Bloodwing Slaughterer's blood-red pupils contracted sharply, instinctively sensing danger!
It struggled, flapping its wings, trying to take flight.
However, John had finally trapped it and had no intention of letting it escape!
As the Bloodwing Slaughterer attempted to beat its wings and break free from the Dark Marsh's grasp, John's other hand holding the staff glowed with a purple light.
Five arrows formed from lightning converged behind him.
"Thunder Arrow!"
With a mere thought from John, the five thunder arrows turned into bolts of lightning, all striking towards the Bloodwing Slaughterer.
"Whizz whizz whizz..."
The thunder arrows broke through the air.
Despite the Bloodwing Slaughterer's desperate dodges, three of them hit its body.
Purple arcs of lightning continuously leaped across it, leaving the Bloodwing Slaughterer rigid and paralyzed on the spot.
At the same time, three damage numbers rose above its head.
"-8918!" "-9779!" "-9435!"...
The Bloodwing Slaughterer was paralyzed for two seconds.
Though it was just two seconds, in such a battle, even a single second could be fatal!
John's face remained expressionless as he gathered strength in his arm, the chilling ice spear in his hand turning into a streak of light, thrusting towards the Bloodwing Slaughterer's heart!
"Thud!"
The sound of flesh being pierced rang out, and foul-smelling black blood instantly splattered.
"-40012!"
A bright red damage number rose above the Bloodwing Slaughterer's head.
After transforming, the Bloodwing Slaughterer's defense had significantly increased, and it managed to avoid John's spear aimed at its heart at the last moment.
Thus, even though the ice spear penetrated its chest, it did not inflict a fatal wound.
However, John hadn't expected to take down the creature with just the ice spear.
Before the Bloodwing Slaughterer could catch its breath, it suddenly discovered, to its horror, that a spear burning with a brilliant white flame was rapidly condensing in John's hand.
In just the span of a breath, the blazing white light spear was formed!
"Blazing Light Spear!"
Feeling the terrifying power of the light spear, the Bloodwing Slaughterer experienced a suffocating sensation, and an indescribable fear surged within.
Death seemed certain if it were to be hit; it would surely perish!
This thought emerged in the Bloodwing Slaughterer's mind, and fear spread through its heart like a tidal wave.
It exerted all its strength in a desperate attempt to flee, but controlled by the Dark Marsh and thunder arrow, it couldn't escape John's grasp.
Watching the struggling Bloodwing Slaughterer, John's gaze was icy, showing no mercy as he thrust the Blazing Light Spear directly at its chest!
"Thud!"
Another sound of a body being pierced echoed, but this time, the Bloodwing Slaughterer couldn't dodge John's attack and was directly impaled through the heart by the Blazing Light Spear, leaving an arm-thick wound in its chest.
Through the gaping wound in its chest, John could even see the Bloodwing Slaughterer's organs writhing within its ribcage and the sea of clouds behind it.
"-80175!"
A crimson damage number rose above the Bloodwing Slaughterer's head.
Its body slowly bowed to gaze at the horrendous wound in its chest, as if in disbelief that it had been so thoroughly defeated by such a seemingly insignificant magus, and in such a miserable manner.
John spoke indifferently, "And here I thought you'd be more formidable, one of the Crimson Demon's twelve Apostles, but that's all there is to it."
Despite the fatal injury and its HP depleted, the Bloodwing Slaughterer didn't immediately perish but was rendered unable to attack further.
Faced with John's taunt, a deep sense of humiliation appeared on the Bloodwing Slaughterer's face.
Its crimson eyes turned towards John, and with a laugh tinged with rage, it said, "Boy, don't be so smug. This is not the full extent of my power, and I won't truly die. We'll meet again soon. Once I'm out, I'll ensure you understand what it means to wish for death, to know true despair!"
John's brow furrowed slightly, puzzled by the Bloodwing Slaughterer's implications.
Could these creatures have a way to escape?
If that were true, he would have to report it to Captain Victor!
The Apostles of the Crimson Demon were restrained in the trial, appearing less formidable, but John was under no illusion that this was the extent of their power.
If they were to escape, these creatures, at least of transcendent-tier, would undoubtedly bring great calamity to Stellarburg and the Federal.
While John was no saint, he wouldn't stand idly by and allow such a catastrophe to unfold.
John was about to probe further, to see if he could glean more information from the Bloodwing Slaughterer.
However, the light had already faded from the Bloodwing Slaughterer's eyes, and it perished.
[You have slain Lv15 "Bloodwing Slaughterer (trial)" and gained 58,900 Exp!]
Simultaneously, prompts for proceeding to the next level and the trial assessment appeared before John.
[You have passed the "Crimson Demon Heritage Trial's eleventh layer"!]
[Your performance in this layer of the trial was exceptionally outstanding, earning you an SSS-level rating!]
[Please choose whether to proceed to the next layer or exit the trial!]
[Proceed to the next layer] or [Exit trial]
...
The trial completion notification appeared.
John, watching the Bloodwing Slaughterer's body slowly dissipate, shook his head.
The Bloodwing Slaughterer's words were cryptic, leaving him with no clues.
He decided that once out of the trial, he would promptly report the matter to Captain Victor for him and the other powerhouses to consider.
Such matters among powerhouses were beyond the help a mere bronze-tier awakener like him could offer.
John decided not to waste his mental energy on it.
Just as John was about to leave, he suddenly caught a glimpse of a golden light flashing at the spot where the Bloodwing Slaughterer had dissipated.
John was taken aback and nearly jumped in surprise.
"Gold-tier equipment!" he exclaimed in delight.
Caught up in his thoughts about the Bloodwing Slaughterer's final words, John hadn't noticed that the creature had dropped equipment, let alone a piece of gold-tier equipment!
Considering that all his current equipment and assets combined might not afford him a single piece of gold-tier equipment, this was the first gold-tier item he had acquired!
John suppressed the excitement bubbling inside him and hurried forward to pick up the equipment.
To his delight, it turned out to be a gold-tier ring!
Since John had initially acquired the One-Eyed Lich King's Furious Bracers, he had also looted two silver-tier and four bronze-tier pieces of equipment in the trial.
Among them, only two bronze-tier armors were usable for him, leaving John frustrated for quite some time due to the incompatibility of the silver-tier items.
But now, John had cast all his previous frustrations into the sea.
If he couldn't wear silver-tier equipment, then he'd use gold-tier!
With a gleeful heart, John examined the attributes of the equipment.
[Equipment]: Ring of Bloodwing Slaughterer
[Type]: Ring
[Level]: Lv15
[Tier]: Gold-tier
[Quality]: Precious
[Attributes]: Spirit +80, Strength +80, Stamina +60, Life Steal +5%
[Skill]: Bloodthirst (Active)
[Description]: Upon activating the skill, you will enter a Bloodthirst state, increasing damage by 20%, speed by 15%, and life steal by an additional 10%, while reducing defense by 20%. Duration: 5 minutes, Cooldown: 1 hour.
...
The "Ring of Bloodwing Slaughterer" not only provides the wearer with three types of attribute enhancements but also offers a 5% life steal!
"Life Steal" is a very rare attribute, akin to the "Cooldown Reduction" for magus classes, "Critical Hit Rate" for physical classes, and other such properties.
Awakers with the "Life Steal" attribute can absorb a portion of their target's HP as their own when they inflict damage.
For John, a magus with no innate healing abilities, this undoubtedly greatly enhances his sustainability in battle.
Moreover, the "Ring of Bloodwing Slaughterer" comes with an active "Bloodthirst" skill!
This skill bears a resemblance to the "Berserk" ability of the One-Eyed Lich King's Furious Bracers, also a melee class skill, and they should be stackable.
Although John is of the magus class, the One-Eyed Lich King's Furious Bracers provided significant assistance in his recent battle, so he's not averse to such skills.
As long as they enhance his strength, he wouldn't hesitate to use equipment or skills from melee or even support classes.
In a world where power reigns supreme and only the fittest survive, strength is the ultimate truth.
After equipping the Ring of Bloodwing Slaughterer and ensuring no other equipment or items were missed, John proceeded to the next layer of the Heritage Trial.
This was the final layer of the "Crimson Demon Heritage Trial."
Whether he could find the Crimson Demon's treasure hinged on this moment!