182: [Red Blade Princess] Star Upgrade, Powerful Black Dragon

Chapter 182: [Red Blade Maiden] Star Ascension, The Powerful Black Dragon

"Not easy at all."

Shi Li was about to vomit from grinding monsters these days.

Back when he was in the Monster Training Ground and doing the [Red Blade Maiden] enhancement quests, it wasn't as grueling.

Because it required different types, which was really hard to achieve.

He had almost developed a conditioned reflex by now—seeing a new monster made him want to go fight it.

And he often had the illusion that he couldn't remember clearly whether he had fought many monsters or not.

Regarding the card face of [Withering Dragon], what he cared about first wasn't the card face, but whether this guy had a new Star Ascension quest.

He took a look, and sure enough.

The condition for 2 to 3 stars was to kill 3000 different types of monsters.

"Thank goodness, I thought it would be 10,000 types."

3000 types—Shi Li knew it was tough, but actually still acceptable.

Because this Star Ascension method didn't cost money.

It couldn't be rushed; you could only put in effort bit by bit.

"After I go out, I'll see if I can do it in the abyss."

He decided to ignore it for now and check the card face first.

[Withering Dragon]

Wither, 30 points, 2 stars, Attack 30, 50/50, 0/30

[Wither Immortality - Characteristic]: Withering Dragon's maximum health is fixed at 50 points, resets health each turn. [Wither Bomb - Passive]: When Withering Dragon leaves the field, applies 30 points of [Wither] effect to 1 target. [Wither Magic - 30 points Energy]: Withering Dragon attacks 1 target, applies 30 points of [Withered Caltrop] effect ([Withered Caltrop]: Lose corresponding value of maximum health this game, stackable).

"New keywords, not bad."

[Wither] is a relatively rare special effect.

Two consecutive keywords, both with the effect of reducing the opponent's maximum health.

If you kill it, you get [Withered].

If you don't kill it, you still get [Withered].

The best way is to burst it down as quickly as possible.

But if you can't burst it down, it's like wasting your damage output.

Have to say, this card's mechanism is quite something.

It makes the enemy uncomfortable no matter what, like nothing feels right.

This card doesn't have strong output, but it's definitely good at being annoying.

After handling this, Shi Li decided to leave the Chess Domain for a short while to rest.

The rejection period still hadn't come, so he still had the freedom to enter or leave.

After all, he had been a ghost for too long and wanted to regain the feeling of standing on two feet.

Also, Kairala had been contacting him regularly these days, and he wanted to learn more about the related matters.

"Scarlet Mercenary Group?"

When Chi Ou heard Shi Li mention this name, he paused slightly.

"Yes, I ran into their headhunter last time, and they've been trying to recruit me into the group ever since."

"Hmm, actually, I think this could work."

Unexpectedly, Chi Ou was quite supportive. "This is actually a rare opportunity, and among the top ten mercenary groups in Shi Lei Country, most have a good reputation."

"Most—meaning there are some bad ones too?"

"Exactly, the first is the Playboy Mercenary Group, ranked 7th."

You can probably guess their nature just from the name.

They don't touch drugs or gambling."

...

Shi Li immediately understood.

"The other one is the Blacklight Mercenary Group, ranked third."

"Blacklight Mercenary Group? What's its relation to the Blacklight Society?"

Shi Li immediately paid attention.

"To be honest, that's what I thought when I first heard the name too."

"I even investigated and found out—"

"There's no relation between the two?"

"No, the Blacklight Mercenary Group is backed by the Blacklight Society."

"??"

Shi Li was puzzled. Didn't the Blacklight Society always like to cause trouble? Could the natives of the Chess Domain tolerate them?

"You don't know about this."

Seeing Shi Li's expression, Chi Ou knew what he was thinking. "You need to understand, Fel Energy and the Blacklight Society are different."

The desire of Fel Energy is destruction, to annihilate everything in the world.

Although the Blacklight Society is an organization born from Fel Energy, it's led by people, not the abstract Fel Energy.

When destruction isn't the cheapest means to achieve their goals, the Blacklight Society won't choose destruction."

"You mean the Blacklight Society can't safely extend its reach into the Chess Domain, so they can only choose to support and cultivate their own forces inside?"

Shi Li caught on immediately.

"Exactly. Although the Blacklight Mercenary Group acts without scruples or morals, they're at least smart enough not to cross Shi Lei Country's bottom line."

In Shi Lei Country's eyes, they're just a bunch of thugs doing their work.

As long as the job gets done, who cares if they're thugs or villains?"

"Are there any organizations or forces supported by the Blacklight Society on Blue Star?"

This was what Shi Li cared about.

If there really were, he'd have to be careful in the future.

"As far as I know, there aren't."

Chi Ou shrugged and smiled. "Because there's nothing on Blue Star that they want."

"Oh, okay."

After talking with Chi Ou, Shi Li felt he had considered it enough.

Actually, he had been casually gathering information about the Scarlet Mercenary Group himself, and the feedback was mostly positive.

He rested at the base for half a day and contacted his roommate.

Nothing special had happened at school recently.

Gong Ping did complain about why the teacher didn't care about Shi Li skipping classes, thinking it was unfair.

After that, Shi Li re-entered the Chess Domain.

Having anchored Radiant City, he teleported directly there.

Just as he arrived at Radiant City, he received a meeting invitation from Kairala.

Shi Li thought about it and didn't refuse, agreeing instead.

The two met at a café.

"Do you remember the incident with Pakto last time?"

As soon as they sat down, Kairala asked.

"I remember, what about it?"

"After investigation, we found out Pakto wasn't the only case."

There have been quite a few similar situations recently, all with [Strange Fleshy Flesh] appearing at the final BOSS, possessing the B

OSS."

"Oh?"

"Then through visits, we found these people had all received similar 'feeding' quests through various coincidences."

Yes, feeding.

As long as the Card Player is defeated by the flesh monster in a chess match, the feeding quest is completed.

And it's said that if this quest is truly completed, aside from the quest taker, other team members' battle chess pieces will suffer varying degrees of damage."

"That's a bit too much."

If it were just about making teammates fail quests, suffering some small penalties like fines or even physical pain, that would be one thing.

But battle chess pieces are the foundation of a Card Player.

Some damage can't even be repaired with materials.

"Very malicious, right? Actually, even the quest taker themselves didn't know this before completing it."

But fundamentally, they aren't innocent either. Even if harming others wasn't their intention, taking such a quest means they should be responsible.

So many have been caught, including Pakto.

Then our group's investigators followed the trail and seem to have found the origin of that quest.

Or rather, a quest about the origin."

As she spoke, Kairala handed over a quest card.

[Wandering Poet]

[Quest Content]: A mysterious wandering poet seems to be spreading malice everywhere. If you encounter him, please capture him. (0/1)

[Enemy Level]: ???

[Recommended Rank]: ???

[Reward]: The old prophet of Gulu Village will give you thanks.

"Where do I complete this quest?"

Shi Li was confused.

Wandering poet—just these four words tell you it's like finding a needle in a haystack.

"Just take the quest card for now. Who knows, you might actually run into him someday."

Unexpectedly, Kairala was giving this card to him.

"Don't worry, we have plenty of these quest cards."

Kairala smiled and added, "Also, we've found clues about that evil dragon Araga you're looking for."

You'd better hurry over, or it might not be there anymore."

She handed over another note with the information.

"Sigh—"

Taking the note, Shi Li sighed.

This Kairala, she really knows how to do things.

Whether it's the quest card or the clue, she didn't use them as threats or exchanges.

On the contrary, she gave the things, but didn't mention the invitation to join the group at all. This way of doing things is both sincere and hard to refuse.

"By the way, next month our group is organizing a dungeon activity. Do you want to join?"

Seeing Shi Li's expression, Kairala knew her task was complete.

"Okay."

Shi Li nodded.

Neither of them mentioned it, but the matter of joining the group was settled just like that.

After chatting a bit more and Kairala left, Shi Li picked up the information note.

"How do I get to this place?"

Shi Li was a bit stunned.

According to the map, the location wasn't near any city or town.

If it had to be closest to somewhere, it was Radiant City.

Then, to his slight surprise, the place nearest to the intelligence location below the city level was actually the small town he first entered.

Of course, 'near' couldn't really be considered very close.

Based on experience from this period, traveling on foot while avoiding battles as much as possible would take about ten days.

Shi Li calculated; time-wise, it was still manageable.

After finishing this trip and returning to school, it would be just about time for the placement matches.

Without delay, he set off immediately.

Returning to the Chess Domain, Shi Li reappeared near Radiant City.

With a teleportation flash, he arrived at the initial small town.

Heading west from the town, he drifted at his fastest speed.

It must be said, this journey was quite monotonous.

No one to talk to, and the time felt long.

He also had to hurry, not daring to fight monsters along the way.

Otherwise, if he got delayed and hadn't completed the task by the time to return to school, it would be awkward.

If he didn't return, he'd be counted as a loss in the placement matches.

If he returned, this nearly ten-day trip would be for nothing.

Fortunately, Shi Li kept his head down and traveled, arriving at the location from the intelligence on the eighth day.

It was a lake surface as calm as stagnant water, emerald green like a mirror.

"Seemingly calm, but actually full of danger. The intelligence says there's a vicious beast in this lake that has swallowed many people..."

Shi Li thought for a moment and temporarily sat down in the small grove by the lake.

What he needed to do next was wait.

But since he was idle anyway, he opened the Card Player panel.

"550,000 cubic coins. With good luck, I could still complete the two-star to three-Star Ascension."

If he could reach Platinum 10 before the placement matches, Shi Li felt it would be a great help to him.

At the same Platinum 10 level, regardless of deck depth, in terms of table strength alone, he believed he wouldn't lose to any Platinum Card Player.

Platinum 10 was a watershed. After reaching this rank, he would truly be out of the Card Player novice period.

After leaving the novice period, the rank gap between Card Players would significantly narrow in some situations.

At this stage, rank seemed less important.

Because theoretically, Platinum 10 and Card Players of any rank were qualified to compete.

Because everyone was 9+1, at least in the number of playable cards, he wouldn't lose to others.

Plus, with his full set of unique deck, equivalent to having 40 traits.

Table strength was equivalent to an ordinary Emerald 10.

Of course, Shi Li also knew unique cards weren't something only he possessed.

The battle with Xue Zhang made him deeply realize that others might also have many unique cards.

And then there were those like Diamond or even transcendent beings like the Withered Saint Lord, who might not even need to get on the table, just using other means or item cards could finish him off.

"For now, let's focus on the Lotus Succubus's task first."

Shi Li calmed his mind and immersed himself in the simulation task.

30 minutes later.

[This task failed.]

[Yes/No consume 24,000 cubic coins to reset this task.]

"This task—it's a bit difficult."

Rubbing the bridge of his nose, Shi Li leaned back against a tree root.

To preserve enough Energy, he couldn't continuously refresh tasks.

He needed to balance work and rest.

"But if I don't refresh, maybe I can check another simulation task first."

He hadn't forgotten what he had on hand.

The three-star to four-star token card for Red Blade Maiden.

Clicking to use it, lines of text popped up.

[This task is named: Crimson Blade (Star Ascension).]

[After guidance from a mysterious person, Lin is full of confidence and decides to go to the Horned Dragon Secret Realm again.]

"?"

Seeing this, Shi Li raised an eyebrow slightly, as if making a connection.

If he hadn't obtained Crimson Liberation: True, would the mention of the mysterious person not appear here?

[From the mysterious person, she learned that there are several treasures in the Horned Dragon Secret Realm.]

[Ancestral Dragon Blade, and Ancestral Dragon Essence Blood.]

[These two items are recorded in ancient texts and can awaken and enhance the bloodline within the Horned Dragon clan.]

[This time entering the Horned Dragon Secret Realm, Lin's purpose became stronger.]

[Please help her make a choice.]

[A. Recruit a companion]

[Having a local as a guide might save Lin a lot of detours early on.]

"In the last simulation task, I really struggled with getting lost often."

[B. Enter directly]

[To complete the trial of the Horned Dragon Secret Realm, one must go alone.]

"That makes sense too, sounds reasonable."

[C. Find the little boy from last time]

[A child appearing in the secret realm is actually somewhat strange. Perhaps Lin should investigate him.]

"I knew it, something felt off at the time."

Shi Li thought for a moment and chose C.

[This task failed.]

[Yes/No consume 50,000 cubic coins to reset this task.]

Perhaps because he had mastered Crimson Liberation: True, Shi Li felt this simulation task wasn't actually very difficult.

It was indeed harder than all the two-star to three-star tasks he'd experienced, but not unimaginably so.

Just this refresh cost—

was a bit exaggerated.

"Forget it."

Shi Li was just scouting the path, not planning to tackle it for now.

After all, it was too expensive, and he had other tasks to work on.

After Lotus Succubus's Star Ascension, with 10 three-star character cards, it was time to do the Cicada Wing Patrol's core hand card task.

Next was the rhythm of grinding tasks + resting, grinding tasks + resting.

After cycling like this for 1 day, Shi Li finally waited for the target.

Flap! Flap! Flap!

The huge flapping wing sounds were hard to miss.

A dragon with an entirely black body slowly landed by the lake. The intelligence mentioned sightings of a large dragon named Araga appearing by the lake.

"This—"

But when Shi Li got a clear look, he knew the intelligence was mistaken.

[Araga's Offspring ☆☆☆☆☆, 25/25]

This dragon wasn't the main one, but some offspring.

[Roar!]

The black dragon landed by the lake, seemingly to drink water, but that wasn't the case.

It was emitting low growls towards the lake surface.

Boom!

As if in response, the lake surface suddenly erupted with a splash.

[!!!]

A large green snake-like creature, resembling a flood dragon, surged out.

[Jade Lake Water Dragon ☆☆☆☆☆, 18/18]

The two giant beasts fell into a confrontation for a moment.

"Interesting, are they going to fight?"

Shi Li immediately became interested.

But the next second, he saw the black dragon flapping its wings, performing an awkward and strange dance.

During this time tracking Araga, Shi Li had also learned some knowledge about dragons in this world.

He heard that during courtship, they perform strange dances.

[!]

However, the response from the water dragon was a spray of water cannon.

It seemed the other party wasn't agreeing.

[Roar!!!]

Clearly, this answer angered the black dragon. It shot a cursor over, and the chess match immediately began.

"Let's take a quiet look."

Shi Li moved closer to the chess match Barrier.

Both sides had a setup of 10 battle chess pieces, 1 dragon body, 9 minions.

Among them, the black dragon's stats were incredibly strong.

[Araga's Offspring]

Momentum, Attack 100, 5000/5000, 0/50

Movement distance 8, Attack range 1

[Dragon Scales - Passive]: Araga's Offspring gains 1 layer of Barrier on its own turn.

[Frenzied Dragon Blood - Passive]: Araga's Offspring gains Healing equivalent to 20% of its max HP each turn.

[Overlord Bloodline - Passive]: Araga's Offspring ignores any terrain penalties. [Conditioned Reflex - Passive]: Araga's Offspring deals 50 points of Counter to each source of damage that attacks it.

[Evil Black Roar Cannon - 50 Energy]: Araga's Offspring launches a column attack, each unit suffers Fixed Damage equivalent to 30% of max HP (map).

Without a doubt, Shi Li absolutely couldn't defeat this setup.

Even with Red Blade Maiden + Dragon Hunter ☆☆☆, it wouldn't work.

Just as he finished browsing its stats, a line of text popped up before his eyes.

[Completed finding the evil dragon Araga. Please report the clue to Ashiro.]