BXBX NOVEL Chapter 84: The Star Point
"Even though it\'s just an E-rank arcane skill, it\'s increased my leveling speed quite a bit."
"Looks like leveling up through questing isn\'t a bad idea after all?"
Sterl couldn\'t help but marvel at the thought. The experience gained from perfectly completing a hidden quest was indeed comparable to grinding monsters!
Then, instead of continuing to train, he joined the maid who had entered the room, heading to attend the Divine Mountain Empire\'s welcome banquet for these otherworldly warriors.
The atmosphere at the banquet was quite lively, and Sterl quickly became the center of attention.
In the Divine Mountain Empire, third-class players were already considered high-level forces. The Empire\'s royal family\'s strongest combatants were about on par with the Earth\'s human race, comprising several legends and a reclusive demigod.
Basically, in the absence of the few legendary figures taking action, the elite among the third-class players represent the pinnacle of the Empire\'s combat strength.
Someone like Sterl, who had already demonstrated output capabilities that even third-class players couldn\'t match, and had a high probability of advancing to legendary or even demigod status in the future, was not someone anyone wanted to offend.
"Mr. David, let me toast to you."
"I was wondering which area you\'re primarily active in. Maybe we could do an instance together sometime?"
"Mr. David, how did you rest last night?"
…
Faces full of warmth and friendliness came and went.
What? Poor relations with the Earth\'s human race? Nonsense! Mr. David has long been our old friend.
Sterl exchanged pleasantries with everyone, appearing to enjoy the conversation.
However, his mind was already focused on the light screen open in front of him. Sterl was browsing the contribution store of the Divine Mountain Empire. Last time, he had 1,000 contribution points left. now, he had a total of 13,000 points, enough for a decent shopping spree.
"It would be best to pick out a skill. I\'m currently lacking single-target burst moves."
"And if there\'s suitable gear, I need to get it too. I still don\'t have enough equipment. If I were fully geared, my attribute points would increase by at least a few hundred…"
He pondered.
And then, Sterl was pleasantly surprised to find that after reaching a respected reputation level, the items in the contribution store had significantly increased.
For example, the [Mastery: Proficiency in Multiple Martial Arts] he had previously exchanged was now followed by [Mastery: Proficiency in Multiple Martial Arts Insights] in the store. This was a special crystal, infused with the insights of a strong practitioner who had mastered the corresponding skills. Using it would greatly enhance one\'s proficiency.
However, Sterl naturally wouldn\'t choose to buy it. He didn\'t have enough contribution points to waste on such luxuries.
He was currently browsing the large skill category. Since there were now many more skills, he had to start from the beginning, looking for a suitable single-target burst move.
[Piercing (Blue Quality)]
[Description: A special force technique developed by the Divine Mountain Empire\'s military.]
[Effect: When using melee weapons, it can ignore part of the opponent\'s defense. Activating it unleashes a powerful piercing attack.]
[Contribution Points]: 2000
...
[Spiral Arrow (Blue Quality)]
[Description: ...]
...
[Death Strike (Blue Quality)]
...
The skills in the contribution store were mostly of blue, white, and green quality, with prices ranging from 2000 to 4000 contribution points.
Sterl casually glanced at a few and nodded to himself. As expected of the Empire, these skills were quite excellent among their kind.
As Sterl continued browsing, his breath caught.
[Star Point Finger (Blue Quality)]
[Description: Suspected to be a special skill inherited from the ancient Star Race, its power is slightly higher than typical blue-quality skills, with extremely high piercing efficiency.]
[Effect: After activating the skill, it gathers stellar power to unleash a highly powerful piercing strike.]
[Contribution Points: 4000]
Sterl\'s eyes lit up. He had been looking for a single-target burst skill, and this Star Point Finger not only met his requirements but was also a legacy from the Star Race?!
Wouldn\'t that mean it could synergize with his class?
Immediately, in Sterl\'s mind, the priority for redeeming this skill shot up to the highest level.
The only thing that displeased him was the price of the Star Point Finger. It was on the higher end for blue-quality skills.
But Sterl managed to console himself.
"Worth it!"
"After redeeming the skill, I can enhance it through skill points, further evolving it to purple quality!"
"Getting a skill related to the Star Race is already hitting the jackpot!"
Without hesitation, he selected the skill for redemption in the store. In the next second, a crystal shimmering with light appeared before him.
He casually caught it, and the players and NPCs around him, seeing Sterl\'s actions, realized that his attention was not on the banquet but on redeeming items.
Everyone reacted the same way: they quietly left to avoid disturbing "David."
But Sterl\'s spending spree was far from over.
He continued to search the store, looking for other valuable items. After spending about half an hour, Sterl found two items that greatly piqued his interest.
First was an amulet.
[Peaceful Blessing]
[Type: Amulet]
[Description: A blessing from the Divine Mountain Empire\'s military. The wooden piece represents a mother\'s blessing to her child heading to the battlefield.]
[Effect: +10 to all attributes, special ability [Good Fortune: When killing monsters, there is a 1% chance to drop an additional item].
[Redemption Cost: 3000 contribution points]
Sterl was quite interested in this amulet.
He wasn\'t mainly enticed by the additional item drop effect after killing monsters. He valued that the [Peaceful Blessing] was an amulet that could be infinitely stacked in his inventory.
Although its effect wasn\'t particularly outstanding, it was priced at 3000 contribution points.
But Sterl felt it was worth it. After all, it was the only amulet in the entire contribution store, indicating its rarity as special equipment.
The last item that caught Sterl\'s attention was something he discovered by chance. Initially, he knew that reaching a respected reputation level had unlocked more items in the store. He wasn\'t in a rush to spend the remaining contribution points, thinking he could save them for when the next reputation tier unlocked.
However, just as he was about to close the store, he stumbled upon a piece of equipment that thrilled him to no end.
"Is this even possible?"
[Divine Mountain Empire Standard Armor (Silver Grade)]
[Type: Upper Garment]
[Description: Exclusive military gear supplied to elite soldiers by the Divine Mountain Empire. After special modification and enhancement, this gear is gifted to friends who have formed a bond with the Empire.]
[Effect: +40 to all attributes, +30 to Strength and Agility. Special Ability [Grand Morale: Upon activation, you can release a morale effect to all surrounding units, increasing their attributes by 10% and granting 30% resistance to abnormal statuses.]]
[Requirement: Reputation with the Divine Mountain Empire must be at least Respected.]
[Redemption Cost: 5000 contribution points]
What excited Sterl wasn\'t just the stats or abilities of this armor, which were standard for second-class player gear.
The key point was that the only requirement was having a respected reputation with the Divine Mountain Empire!
No level requirement!
For Sterl, this was a godsend!
5000 contribution points? Not expensive at all! He bought it outright!
After purchasing these three items, Sterl was left with only 1000 contribution points, just like the last time.
By then, the banquet had also just ended.
Eagerly, Sterl chose to return to his room to rest and allocate his points.
The first thing he did was to enhance the skill—Star Point Finger.
In his room, he shattered the corresponding skill crystal, and soon, a blue-quality skill appeared in his skill bar.
He didn\'t hesitate to allocate points!
A brilliant light flashed.
Sterl felt a surge of unique knowledge in his mind, giving him a deeper understanding of the Star Point Finger skill. Originally, this move gathered stellar power to pierce a single point.
Now, Sterl vaguely sensed the principles of celestial movements and gradually integrated them into the Star Point Finger.
He pondered…
"By allowing the energy to spin and cancel out each other, it bursts forth with destructive power. When this skill is activated, it can harness the force of a star\'s demise to deliver the ultimate single-point damage!" Sterl comprehended!
At the same time, he had a faint feeling that as he gathered the legacy of the Star Clan, his SSS-class profession, Star of Dawn seemed to have a slight fluctuation, as if it were growing stronger!
But that wasn\'t the main point. Sterl opened his eyes, his face lit with joy as he sensed the power of the Star Point Finger.
What a powerful move!
Originally, the Star Point Finger was already a top-tier skill among blue-quality ones. Now, having evolved to purple quality, it was even more formidable!
Considering that the Star Point Finger could receive enhancements from stardust, the power this skill could unleash in Sterl\'s hands would be insanely exaggerated.
After his excitement subsided, Sterl opened his panel again, ready to assess the exact strength of his newly acquired third purple skill. He was stunned.