36: Shadow of phantom, greed of desire

Shadow Doppelganger

Quality: Epic

Requirement: None

Level: 1

Active Skill

Cost: 300 Mana

Cooldown: 15 seconds

Summons up to 2 doppelgangers that mimic your actions like shadows for 5 seconds.

Doppelganger attack speed reduced by 50%.

Total damage dealt by doppelgangers reduced by 50%.

.......

“There’s actually a skill like this?”

Lin Ye hadn’t originally intended to open it.

After all, it was an epic-grade skill. He thought about opening it after changing professions, or when his level was higher, to avoid wasting it.

But just now, President Bai said that items from scrolls would match one's profession, so he couldn't resist trying it.

The result...

It was simply perfect.

This skill felt compatible with any profession, and it would remain useful no matter how high his level became.

In fact, the higher his level and profession advancement, the stronger this skill would become!

However.

Lin Ye was more concerned with increasing his current monster-grinding efficiency. With the doppelganger skill, he truly had hope of activating the teleportation array today.

As for equipment?

There was no need to open any now; his damage was already sufficient.

He would save the boxes to open after changing professions.

Or, he would use them to acquire star coins and fragments from players once the teleportation array was opened.

“President Bai, Yan Yan, for the operational strategy of the Forgotten Land, you two can research it. I’m going to farm some materials.”

Professional matters should be handled by professionals.

Lin Ye had never run a company, nor did he have management experience. Now, he was merely deciding the general direction; it was better not to interfere with the specific details.

Xia Mo and Su Wanting followed along, picking up materials and also catching some jellyfish.

A moment later.

The group arrived at the beach.

“The tide is out?”

Lin Ye secretly thought it was perfect timing.

“You two, stay far away, even farther, a bit farther... Good.”

Crack!

Lin Ye twisted his neck, ready to get to work.

Rustle ~ Rustle ~

After the tide receded, Star-dust beetles crawled out from the sand.

This time.

Lin Ye specifically chose an open stretch of beach. The swarm of Star-dust beetles before him was several times larger than before.

“I forgot to ask Tu Xiusi if mythical equipment could be repaired. It seems resurrection can’t be used right now.”

When in doubt.

Open boxes first!

Lin Ye wouldn't be reckless again.

Legendary boxes.

He would open seven first.

If that wasn't enough, he’d open another seven.

【Ding ~】

【You have obtained Ring of Greed’s Desire.】

【You have obtained Battle Axe of Siste’s Frenzy.】

【You have obtained Robe of Fir Demon Rhyme.】

【You have obtained Hat of Holy Light’s Radiance.】

【You have obtained Necklace of Ranger’s Oath.】

【You have obtained Helmet of the Coward’s Nightmare.】

【You have obtained Battle Armor of Bloodlust Frenzy.】

.......

The equipment from the boxes wasn't profession-specific; any part could appear. Getting something usable depended entirely on luck.

“Not bad, at least two accessories are usable.”

Lin Ye opened the attributes.

【Greed’s Desire】

Quality: Legendary

Durability: 1000

Requirement: Level 10

Agility +80

Critical Chance +8%

Item Drop Quantity +20%

Item Drop Quality +20%

“It’s actually a profit-boosting equipment?!”

Lin Ye smiled.

His original gains were already exaggerated, and with additional profit-boosting effects, it would truly be... incredible!

He immediately replaced the Strangulation Ring.

“There’s also a necklace. I’ll put it on first.”

【Ranger’s Oath】

Quality: Legendary

Durability: 1000

Requirement: Level 10

Attack Speed +50%

Movement Speed +50%

Restores 5 Health upon hit.

Extreme Bloodlust

(Life gained from stealing, hit recovery, lifesteal, etc., is doubled)

“This should count as ‘hit recovery’,” Lin Ye thought to himself.

With my current attack speed and frequency, 100-150 hits per second should be no problem.

At 5 points per hit.

That’s 500-1000 health per second.

After being doubled by Bloodlust, that’s 1000-2000 health per second.

“Haha, truly good stuff. As expected of legendary quality, there’s really no trash.”

He looked at his panel again.

Attack close to 70!

Time to engage!

Lin Ye held his Wangyu Bow in one hand and conjured a Void Arrow with the other.

Bang ~

The arrow left the string, three shots in an arc.

Then.

Lin Ye calmly and continuously fired hundreds of arrows.

Soon.

The insect swarm was enraged, all spreading their wings and rushing towards Lin Ye.

“Careful ~”

Su Wanting, from a distance, saw this scene and immediately cried out in alarm.

“Hahaha, this is what I’ve been waiting for.”

Lin Ye smiled casually, directly activated his instant burst, and his attack speed exploded again.

Boom!

The arcing attacks of Void Arrow immediately turned into a Void Arrow rain, falling upon the insect swarm.

Bang bang bang bang bang ~

Explosions erupted one after another within the insect swarm.

Compared to last time.

Lin Ye’s attack power hadn't increased much, but his attack speed had more than doubled.

Against large groups of monsters.

Void Arrow's output relied entirely on explosions.

The faster the attack speed.

The more explosions.

The higher the stacked damage, and consequently, the higher the clearing efficiency.

For a time.

The insect swarm was so bombarded that it couldn't get close to Lin Ye.

But, this was only at the beginning.

The sheer number advantage of the insect swarm was the most terrifying aspect.

Tens of thousands of Star-dust beetles flapping their wings simultaneously could even drown out the surging waves of the Star Sea.

Buzz buzz buzz!

Star Flash!

For a moment, it was as if the starry sky above had collapsed, whole sections crashing down.

Lin Ye’s offensive was fierce, and the insect swarm was blocked head-on, but they could still surround him from other directions.

Xia Mo’s face immediately turned pale upon seeing this situation, and she pulled Su Wanting, ready to run.

“No, he hasn’t...”

Just as Su Wanting was about to struggle free, she saw Lin Ye summon two identical phantoms beside him, both drawing bows and nocking arrows.

Boom boom boom!

The phantoms fired in unison.

Immediately.

The entire insect swarm was covered by Void explosion waves.

It was as if mosquitoes had encountered fire, falling from the sky in swathes.

“Hahaha, this is awesome!”

Lin Ye let out a loud shout, looking up.

The health consumed by the instant burst was covered by the necklace's hit recovery, causing no damage to him, and he could even keep it active indefinitely.

Although the phantoms' attack speed was slower, it was only half as slow as Lin Ye's.

Compared to ordinary archers, the phantoms' attack speed was still very exaggerated, with a frequency of over thirty attacks per second, the same torrent of Void Arrows, the same wild bombardment.

The only drawback was their lower attack power.

Especially against high-level monsters, the damage after breaking through their defense was very low, and if the second stage of damage was also reduced, multiple explosions would be needed to achieve a kill.

But for the overwhelming swarm of insects.

Having two more doppelgangers to bombard them not only prevented the swarm from getting close but also provided a large amount of supplementary damage.

“Ah~”

Xia Mo sighed softly: “I told you there was no need to worry about Demon Lord. We should take care of ourselves first, lest we end up dying from slacking off in the back. That would be truly embarrassing.”

【Ding ~】

【Your skill has leveled up.】

Lin Ye opened it to check.

The experience required for epic-grade skills was indeed high; even with such intense grinding, it had only just leveled up.

“Speed and damage increased by 1%, cooldown and duration unchanged.”

Lin Ye nodded secretly.

A 1% damage increase was still considerable, mainly because he didn’t have many active skills; otherwise, if the doppelgangers could also cast skills, that would be explosive.

After 5 seconds.

The skill ended.

The number of insects had also been halved, and their momentum immediately weakened significantly.

At the same time.

Lin Ye's gaze, however, was fixed on a dark shadow on the distant beach.

That size.

It far exceeded the Star-dust beetle by several times, spanning seven or eight meters in both length and width, especially its enormous single claw...