Chapter 58: [58]: Treads of the Abyss, Breaking Speed Limits
Levi secured the Diamond vial to his belt, but he wasn’t done yet.
He looked down at his feet. His Silver-tier [Boots of the Deep Tide] had carried him perfectly through the early game. The +12 Agility and +5 flat Speed were great when he was Level 11, but right now, his base stats had completely outgrown them. A +12 AGI bonus was basically pocket change compared to his massive 113 base Agility.
If he was going to fight a Level 40 World Boss, he couldn’t afford to be wearing Silver trash on his feet. The boss’s attack animations would be way too fast to dodge if his Speed stat wasn’t pushed to the absolute limit.
Levi opened his spatial inventory again. While grinding the Undercrypt for three straight days, he had picked up a ton of duplicate gear from the Wraith King’s loot table. He scrolled past the useless bone armor and found exactly what he was looking for.
He pulled out two pairs of Silver-tier boots. They were made of the exact same deep-blue leather and silver plating as the ones he was currently wearing.
"Three of a kind," Levi said.
He unequipped his [Boots of the Deep Tide], leaving his avatar standing barefoot on the cold stone floor of the vault. He pulled up the Boundless Fusion interface one last time.
He dropped his old boots and the two identical looted pairs into the glowing slots.
The system prompted him for the standard Silver-to-Gold upgrade fee.
[Warning: Fusing Silver-tier armor into Gold-tier requires a raw currency fee of 1,000 Gold Coins. Proceed?]
Levi had exactly 1,000 Gold left after his AH fire sale. He dumped his remaining change into the slot and hit confirm. He was officially broke again, but he didn’t care.
The three pairs of silver boots melted together in a bright, prismatic flash. The water-themed blue leather darkened, turning into a pitch-black, shadowy material that perfectly matched his Obsidian Carapace. Heavy gold trim wrapped around the heels and shins.
The light faded, and Levi grabbed the new gear from the interface.
[Hollow’s Treads]
[Rarity: Gold]
[Effect: +40 AGI, +20 Speed]
[Passive: Complete immunity to terrain-based slowing effects and environmental friction.]
"Oh, that is beautiful," Levi grinned.
In Aethelgard, movement speed wasn’t just about outrunning monsters. Certain terrains—like deep mud, thick snow, or lava rivers—automatically slapped players with a massive 50% movement speed penalty. Having total immunity to terrain friction meant he could run at top speed through literally anything.
He strapped the Hollow’s Treads onto his feet. The dark aura of his Herald class instantly linked with the gold trim, locking the boots into his overall aesthetic.
Levi pulled up his stat menu to run the new speed math.
His previous Agility was 113. He subtracted the 12 AGI from the old boots, bringing his raw base down to 101. Then, he added the massive +40 AGI from the new Gold boots.
His new total Agility hit 141.
Next was the derived Speed stat. Speed in this game calculated from Agility and flat gear bonuses. His old Speed was 118. Subtracting the old 12 AGI and 5 flat Speed dropped his base Speed to 101.
Now for the new additions. 101 base Speed plus the 40 AGI bonus plus the 20 flat Speed from the Hollow’s Treads.
101 + 40 + 20 equaled exactly 161 Speed.
"A hundred and sixty-one speed on foot," Levi laughed. "I can basically dodge raindrops."
He closed his menu and walked out of the vault. He crossed the throne room, his new boots making absolutely zero sound on the stone floor, and stepped out into the busy courtyard of his Domain.
The players trading at the auction boards paused to look at him. Levi was fully decked out in black and gold gear, holding a massive scythe, and moving with a terrifying, glitchy smoothness because his speed was so high.
He ignored them. He walked out the front gates of the keep and stood on the scorched volcanic slope.
He triggered his mount slot. A massive pool of dark shadow erupted from the ashen dirt, and the Behemoth of the Hollow stepped out, its red eyes burning aggressively in the hot air.
Levi grabbed the heavy leather reins and pulled himself into the saddle.
He ran the final calculation. His on-foot Speed was 161. His Behemoth mount granted a flat +200 Speed bonus while riding.
161 plus 200 equaled an utterly ridiculous 361 Mounted Speed.
"Let’s go," Levi said, kicking his spurs into the dark horse.
The Behemoth exploded down the volcanic mountain. The acceleration was so violent that the VR engine actually struggled to render the environment fast enough. The jagged rocks and gray ash plains completely blurred into a solid smear of colors.
Levi pulled up his map. The World Boss was scheduled to spawn in the Searing Crater, located far to the south, surrounded by massive rivers of flowing magma.
He didn’t bother looking for bridges or safe paths. With 361 Speed, he just rode in a perfectly straight line.
Within a couple of hours, the landscape started to dip downward. The air temperature spiked horribly, and massive, sluggish rivers of bright orange lava blocked the path ahead.
Dozens of other players from the top regional guilds were struggling to cross the terrain. They were trudging slowly through the shallow parts of the magma, their avatars constantly triggering the 50% terrain slowing penalty. They looked like they were walking through thick glue, constantly chugging health potions to survive the heat.
Levi didn’t slow down.
He rode the Behemoth straight toward a fifty-foot-wide river of bubbling lava. The players nearby started shouting in the proximity chat.
"Hey! Don’t ride a mount in there, it’ll instantly despawn from the damage!" a tank yelled.
Levi ignored them. His Hollow’s Treads granted complete terrain immunity, and that passive effect applied to his mount while he was riding it.
The Behemoth’s dark steel hooves slammed onto the surface of the lava.
Instead of sinking and taking massive damage, the dark horse literally ran across the surface of the magma like it was solid asphalt. The 361 Speed propelled them across the fifty-foot river in less than a second.
The players stuck in the lava just stared in dumbfounded silence as Levi blurred past them, kicking up sparks of liquid fire.
"Did that guy just run on lava?" someone asked in disbelief.
Levi cleared the final ridge and pulled the reins. He looked down into the massive, sprawling basin of the Searing Crater.
A giant holographic timer floated in the red, smoky sky above the center of the basin.
[World Boss Spawn: 01:00:00]
Thousands of players from the major guild alliances were already setting up raid groups on the rim. Levi smiled. He had an hour to kill, his stats were perfectly optimized, and his diamond trump card was ready. He spurred the Behemoth down the slope.