Chapter 256 - 148: Triple Enchantment
’Power Magic Energy Rune?’
’Combine!’
’Plague Magic Energy Rune?’
’Combine!’
’Speed Magic Energy Rune?’
’Combine!’
...
Never mind what new troops he could unlock—just the various Runes alone were enough to make Li Ziyu beam with joy. Each Rune had its own special purpose and created different troops, giving him more options. So, whenever he accumulated enough Magic Energy Rune Fragments, he would combine them to create a new Rune.
[Basic Power Magic Energy Rune: Consumes Magic Energy in exchange for Power. Can be used for Enchantment. Be warned, however, that too much Power is not a good thing. When a body cannot withstand the Power, it will disintegrate.]
[Basic Plague Magic Energy Rune: Possesses the power to spread Plague. Can be used for Enchantment. Please do not discard this Rune carelessly. It is a high-risk Magic Energy Rune; the Plague it emits will contaminate the surrounding area.]
[Basic Speed Magic Energy Rune: Consumes Magic Energy to increase Speed. Can be used for Enchantment. Requires extensive practice, as a sudden burst of Speed can easily cause one to crash into a wall.]
[Basic Constitution Magic Energy Rune: Consumes Magic Energy to enhance the hardness of bones. Can be used for Enchantment. Side effects are minor, though overuse may lead to bone spurs.]
...
As all sorts of Runes were churned out, Li Ziyu’s eyes grew brighter and brighter. ’This is all good stuff!’
As the system continuously broke down corpses and new Runes were combined, the number of troop types unlocked in the Alien Tomb exploded, leaving Li Ziyu dazzled.
Just for the Skeleton Ox Demon alone, there was now a whole host of them: Dark·Skeleton Ox Demon, Frenzy·Skeleton Ox Demon, Strength·Skeleton Ox Demon, Speed·Skeleton Ox Demon, Plague·Skeleton Ox Demon... and so on.
Each type of Demonized Creature could produce a corresponding Alien Undead, and each Rune added another layer, causing a massive surge in unlockable troops. Li Ziyu felt a bit overwhelmed.
By the time the corpses were fully broken down, the troop page for the Alien Tomb in the system had expanded by several pages. Li Ziyu was both thrilled and distressed. He was thrilled because more troops meant he had more combat strategies, and the synergy between units wasn’t just 1+1=2, but 1+1>2.
The distressing part was that there were too many troops, making it a pain to choose. Take the Ox Demon, for example. Li Ziyu had positioned it as a heavy unit on the battlefield. Before, without as many Runes, the Dark Ox Demon was his only choice. But now, both the Frenzy Ox Demon and the Strength Ox Demon were clearly more suitable.
’Then again, the Plague Ox Demon also seems pretty good—a great source of AOE damage.’
Just as he was agonizing over the choice, he suddenly noticed a new notification in the Alien Tomb.
[Friendly Reminder: You now possess more than 2 Runes and can enable Rune Stacking. For more details, please check the troop page.]
’Eh?!’
’Stacking! This is great, this is great! With this, I don’t have to agonize anymore!’
Li Ziyu’s eyes lit up instantly. ’I didn’t see this notification last time I summoned a Skeleton Beast. The system must be acting up again. Such an important tip, and it only gets a tiny exclamation mark? You wouldn’t even notice it if you weren’t looking closely. Yep, this is the damned game designer’s fault.’
There was no need to hesitate. He decisively enabled Rune Stacking.
After Li Ziyu selected the "Enable Rune Stacking" option, a flash of light crossed the system screen, and the Alien Tomb interface updated.
The updated interface was much cleaner. The prefixes for the troops were gone, leaving only the base names. The Ox Demon was just called Skeleton Ox Demon, no longer divided into Darkness, Power, Speed, Plague, and so on.
’Ah, this is so much better,’ Li Ziyu nodded in satisfaction. ’The system finally did something right for a change. It’s cured my OCD.’
He clicked open the details page for the Skeleton Ox Demon, and the introduction inside had changed as well.
[Skeleton Ox Demon]
[Introduction: A Minotaur-shaped Alien Skeleton Undead. Their Mutated Souls grant them the power to control Magic Energy and unleash Runes. Compared to ordinary Skeleton Undead, they possess greater Power and harder bones, making them truly worthy Warriors on the battlefield.]
[Requirements: Demonized Minotaur Skeleton x2 units, Mutated Soul Energy x60 units, Soul Energy x50 units]
[Enchantment: A Basic Rune can be enchanted 3 times. The first Enchantment has no cost. The second Enchantment requires Mutated Energy x2 and Soul Energy x2 for summoning. The third Enchantment requires Mutated Energy x4 and Soul Energy x4 for summoning.]
[Note: The first Enchantment has a 100% success rate. The second and third Enchantments have a chance of failure. If an Enchantment fails, the troop cannot be summoned, and the consumed resources will not be returned.]
’What the fuck!’
’Isn’t this... isn’t this the same bullshit as smashing Gemstones into weapons to upgrade them? It’s a classic move from the damned game designers! I can’t believe I transmigrated and still can’t escape this crap.’
’This is unbelievable!’
’This damned system is so cruel!’
He cursed wildly in his heart, but Li Ziyu still had to admit... damn, it was a sweet deal.
It was easy to imagine how powerful an Alien Undead with three successful Enchantments would be. Take the Ox Demon, for example. Enchant it with a Rune to boost Constitution, then another Rune to boost Power, and finally top it off with Frenzy. He estimated its combat power—it would easily demolish an Elite Heavy Hammer Skeleton Warrior. An absolute battlefield tank, the kind that excels in both offense and defense.
The only question was the success rate. The system didn’t specify, only that there was a chance of failure.
’It’s forcing me to just burn through resources and brute-force it.’
’An Emperor of Europe gets it on the first try, obtaining an incredibly powerful Alien Undead Warrior. A Non-chief, on the other hand, is doomed to desperately burn through resources, only to end up with nothing but tears.’