17: Upgrade to a new level, new skills

"What's going on? How did the Boss die?"

"No, someone ambushed us just now."

"Nonsense, I clearly saw that the Boss's health was at least two-thirds full. Are you trying to tell me someone can instantly kill the Boss?"

"This... But if it wasn't an instant kill, how do you explain the Boss dying right before everyone's eyes?"

"Bullshit. To instantly kill a Boss, you'd need a master at least level 200, right? But what master would be willing to pay such a high price to kill a low-level Boss in the newbie zone?"

...As the Boss suddenly died, everyone in the canyon was filled with shock and suspicion.

And the Black Tiger Legion and Silver Dragon Legion, who were in the thick of it, were even more slow to react.

No one understood the Boss better than them.

However, precisely because of this, their shock at this moment far exceeded that of the other onlookers outside.

At this time, Lei Laohu and Kuang Long both frowned, their gazes fixed on the Boss's corpse.

Suddenly, Kuang Long flashed and rushed towards the Boss.

Lei Laohu, who was a step slower, also changed his expression, as he too noticed the treasures dropped beside the corpse.

Although he didn't understand how the Boss died, they were the only ones present.

Kuang Long had clearly discovered the dropped items and wanted to rush forward to snatch them.

How could Lei Laohu let him succeed?

Soon, both of them appeared beside the Calamity Herald's corpse.

Unfortunately, both of them tested it out one after another.

The Boss's dropped items did not belong to their two legions.

In Eternal World, items dropped after killing monsters have a certain protection period.

During this protection period, no one can pick them up except for the team of the killer.

Thinking of this, both their expressions instantly changed.

Their gazes quickly searched for something around them.

They had also seen the Fireball just now, but they didn't believe that anyone's Fireball could instantly kill the Boss.

But now, since they couldn't pick up the dropped items.

That proved that the Boss had indeed been instantly killed by that Fireball.

However, just as the Professionals watching outside the canyon said.

Lei Laohu and Kuang Long also couldn't figure out who had instantly killed the Boss.

They likewise didn't believe that a high-level master would spend a lot of money to kill a low-level Boss here.

But if it wasn't a very high-level master, they couldn't explain the scene before them.

Suddenly, the two exchanged a knowing glance.

Lei Laohu spoke first.

"Was it that woman Snow Phoenix?"

Kuang Long frowned tightly, then said with a bitter expression, "Although I don't want to believe it, in this Black Sand City, if even Snow Phoenix can't do it, then who can?"

Lei Laohu's heart sank upon hearing this.

"But didn't she already ask for tomorrow's time? Why did she launch a sneak attack?"

Kuang Long shook his head.

"That's what I can't figure out either. It seems I can only go ask her."

Seeing this, Lei Laohu said no more, turned around, and led his subordinates out of the canyon in a huff.

Kuang Long watched Lei Laohu's departing back, shook his head, and also left.

However, he kept an extra thought in mind.

Logically, even Snow Phoenix should be absolutely incapable of such an incredible feat.

But if a true master had indeed descended, then with their strength, trying to snatch the opponent's dropped items would be no different from seeking death.

What's more, the value of the Boss's dropped items wasn't high enough to make them fight to the death.

If it really was a master, he naturally wouldn't be foolish enough to offend them.

And with the departure of the two great legions, now only a handful of onlookers remained in the entire canyon.

However, they didn't dare to step in casually, after all, that scene just now was simply too terrifying.

They weren't brainless idiots.

At this moment, on the high ground.

After dealing with the Boss, Ye Xiao did not immediately go down to pick up the dropped items.

He took out the promotion token from his backpack.

And directly crushed it.

The next moment, a soft white light surged from the token into Ye Xiao's body.

---

"Ding! Congratulations on completing your promotion quest, successfully advancing to First Turn, gaining Constitution +5, Intelligence +15, Fire Elemental Mastery Skill Stone *1, Mana Shield Skill Stone *1."

"Ding! Now, for every level you gain, all attributes increase by 2 points, and free attribute points increase by 10 points."

"Ding! Your Skill Bar has gained 2 additional slots."

---

Feeling the changes in his body, Ye Xiao let out a long sigh.

Finally, First Turn.

This speed was hard for even Ye Xiao himself to believe.

All told, from the time he entered Eternal World until now, First Turn, less than a day had passed in total.

This was a speed that no one had ever achieved in the nearly one-hundred-year history of Eternal World.

For a moment, Ye Xiao was in a great mood.

However, he would not relax because of this.

Although he possessed a super-divine Talent, his current self still had a considerable gap compared to those veteran powerhouses.

This was a gap brought by time, and he could only rely on effort, diligence, and... Talent to shorten this gap.

After First Turn, the fixed attributes and free attribute points gained with each level up doubled.

This was the most obvious difference after promotion.

Similarly, after Second Turn, the fixed attribute points and free attribute points would also increase by that much.

It was precisely because of this that the greater the level gap between Professionals, the greater the strength gap between them.

And this point could not be compensated for by equipment or skills alone.

Unless you had a full set of Mythical equipment and various top-tier skills, that would be another story.

Of course, this point was not insurmountable for Ye Xiao, who possessed a super-divine Talent.

After all, as long as he learned many skills, the damage and health alone would already far exceed most people.

After First Turn, Ye Xiao once again obtained two Skill Stone.

---

"Fire Elemental Mastery: Increases Fire Elemental damage by 10%."

"Mana Shield: Releases mana to form a solid Mana Shield, blocking 10% of damage. Cost: 200 Mana, Duration: 3 minutes."

---

Fire Elemental Mastery was a passive skill, further enhancing the damage of Fireball.

However, with only a 10% bonus, most mages wouldn't learn it.

But Ye Xiao didn't have this problem; his single Fireball damage now reached 1008 points.

That 10% increased damage by 100 points.

In the early stages, this 100 points of damage was definitely a number that could not be ignored.

Moreover, for Ye Xiao, even if this skill was used in the later stages, the additional damage it could provide would increase accordingly.

So this was a sustainable passive skill, and there was no reason for Ye Xiao not to learn it.

The other Mana Shield was an active skill.

It was considered the mage's first defensive skill.

Although the 10% damage reduction wasn't high, it was quite considerable for a squishy mage.

Conversely, this skill held less appeal for Ye Xiao, whose health was already close to breaking the 100,000 mark.

Of course, even skills that seemed useless could still play a significant role in Ye Xiao's hands.

As for the two additional skill slots, Ye Xiao simply ignored them.

After learning the two skills.

Ye Xiao then walked towards the Calamity Herald's corpse.

He had seen the actions of Lei Laohu and Kuang Long earlier.

However, the dropped items were still in the protection period, so he wasn't worried about them being picked up by the other party.

As for the other party wanting to snatch them?

He could instantly kill the Calamity Herald, relying on two low-level legions.

He naturally wouldn't be afraid.

If the other party really made a move, that would be perfect.

He had wasted a full 3000 eternal coins to complete his promotion quest.

He would definitely get some of it back from them.

Soon, Ye Xiao had arrived in front of the dropped items.

He found that only one Skill Stone had dropped.

This made Ye Xiao, who was used to high drop rates,I couldn't help but complain a few words.

This Boss was really poor.

However, when he saw the information of the Skill Stone.

The speechless expression on his face instantly turned into joy.

---

"Evil Devour: Each attack devours the target's vitality, restoring 50 health to oneself."

---

It was actually a lifesteal skill.

Although Ye Xiao now had a high amount of health and regeneration abilities provided by equipment.

But that only triggered when his health dropped to a certain level.

And the amount of health restored was also unstable.

As for the Goblin's Elite Ring's effect of restoring 5 health on hit, he had completely forgotten about it.

But now it was different.

Although Evil Devour only restored 50 health on hit, which didn't seem much better than the ring's effect.

But he had the Infinite Skill Bar Talent!

If one Evil Devour didn't restore much health, then just use a few more, wouldn't that be better?

Thinking of this, Ye Xiao, who was originally about to leave, immediately changed his mind.

He decided to camp the Boss here.

However, the Boss's respawn interval was 4 hours.

After thinking for a moment, he walked towards another direction of the canyon.

After all, he had already reached First Turn and could continue to level up.

It was a good opportunity to use this 4-hour window to raise his level first.