Zayn grasped the doorknob to Peter’s torture chamber and opened the door by a narrow gap. That was enough to worsen the smell of rotten flesh and blood more than tenfold.
He closed the door quickly once again.
“Yeah…I’m definitely leaving this one out,” Zayn murmured, going to the next door while secretly hoping that Peter’s treasure trove was in the last room. If not…he would have to search through the torture chamber. That was something he wanted to avoid if possible.
As he spent more time in Forgotten Lands more memories of events surfaced in his mind. He recalled some gruesome information about Scarface Peter, information and screenshots Zayn of the past hated. The idiotic team who killed Peter added screenshots and vivid details about Peter’s torture chamber. Zayn had seen the screenshots in the past and it was quite evident that it hadn’t been a great experience.
Recalling the barrels of blood, the mashed body parts, and the remnants of skin and flesh on the removed skulls were more than enough for the time being.
Zayn sighed in relief when he found a small wooden chest in the last room. The hinges were already rusted, and the wooden parts of the chest had already seen better days as well. However, Zayn didn’t really care. He unsheathed Peter’s dagger and smashed the rusted lock with the hilt. The lock fell apart and clattered to the ground.
“Why are you even using locks if they’re not doing their job?” Zayn mumbled, shaking his head as he opened the chest.
His right eyebrow lifted, and Zayn stared at Peter’s little treasure trove. There was not much in the chest, but the few things inside were quite valuable.
There was a small pouch with 18 silver coins, a book, and pieces of a Card, both Common and Uncommon. Zayn retrieved the Card Shards and inspected them.
Common Card Shard 9/10
Uncommon Card Shard 5/10
Rare Card Shard 1/25
It was only now that he saw that one of the white pieces was blue. The Rare Card Shard had been hidden underneath the other Shards.
“That’s decent, but still a bit disappointing. There is no ranked equipment,” Zayn put the Card Shards into the pouch with the silver coins and attached it to his belt.
His eyes traveled through the room until he found something else that attracted his interest. There was actually a leather armor.
Zayn approached the leather armor and tried to inspect it but he failed – no. There was just nothing to inspect. It was not ranked. Zayn clicked his tongue, but he still took the leather armor and put it on. Even if Scarface’s equipment was not ranked, it was still a hundred times better than some rugged cloth and a stone dagger. Zayn’s problem was just that he was accustomed to everything he owned being top-notch. He was spoiled.
Once he adjusted the leather armor, it fit him perfectly. The leather was actually sturdier than Zayn recalled from unranked items. The leather of the armor was naturally highly durable and it had been tempered as well. It had been refined and reinforced to strengthen it. Despite being unranked the leather armor was not of bad quality.
“I think I can work with this.”
Now that he was almost done, Zayn glanced into the book. He didn’t expect anything good, but the content was even worse than he’d anticipated.
The book contained the names of the unfortunate people who fell victim to Scarface, followed by the torture methods he’d used and vivid details about everything he had done. The only interesting piece of information was the list of people he’d worked with together to torture others. That list was something Zayn noted down on the diary to have a copy for himself – for personal use if he coincidentally crossed paths with those psychopathic bastards.
Zayn should have suspected the book to be a torture diary or the like.
He felt like throwing the torture diary aside, but it might be useful in the future. He put it in one of the bags he had looted and began his way back to Emberfall.
Various thoughts flashed through his mind, including the strategy he desired to pursue now that Scarface was dead. His plans were not complicated. If anything, they were pretty simple. Zayn came up with simple plans that made everything more flexible. He could always adjust his plans according to the situation.
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The existence of the Arylin Forest made everything even easier for Zayn. Zayn recalled a lot about the Arylin Forest because the region had been well-known in the past, not only among Players from Emberfall but from more than a dozen villages. The Arylin Forest was the first large-scale region with several Instance Dungeons, Region Bosses, and a handful of proper Dungeons. But clearing them was not something Zayn had to bother about. Not right now, at least.
The only thing on his mind when he thought about the Arylin Forest and his short-term goal was a particular fact: The Arylin Forest was a plague – well, basically.
That made the distribution of his Soul Essences quite easy. At least, it should
[Foundation Orbit]
[Star of Vitality – Inferior 1/10]
[Star of Strength– Inferior 1/10]
[Star of Agility – Inferior 1/10]
[Star of Dexterity – Inferior 1/10]
[Star of Perception – Inferior 1/10]
[Star of Energy – Inferior 1/10]
[Star of Wisdom– Inferior 1/10]
[The Foundation Orbit determines the quality of the Card Holder’s Power. Strengthen the seven Foundation Stars to unleash your potential and transcend all barriers!!]
A total of seven Foundation Stars could be strengthened with Soul Essences to increase his Foundation. This would increase his combat prowess to pursue specific paths.
The Star of Vitality revolved around the user’s body and health. Strengthening the Star of Vitality would increase the endurance of the body, and improve the user’s physical health. It reflects the user’s resilience and endurance to withstand stress and recover from injuries, or ailments.
The Star of Strength was simple. It measured the user’s physical strength and raw power. It affects the user’s ability to perform tasks that require pure strength.
The Star of Agility focuses on movement speed and athleticism. It reflects the user’s ability to accelerate in bursts and reach extreme speed.
The Star of Dexterity affects actions that require precision and accuracy. It is usually known for improving the sleight of hands and affects crafting and fine movements with the hands.
The Star of Energy was as simple as the name suggested. It stores mystical energy and accelerates natural stamina regeneration. The Star of Energy determines how long the user can engage in physical activities and magical battles without becoming exhausted.
The Star of Wisdom improves quick thinking and memorization. It is not directly involved in the advancement of intelligence, but it subtly influences intelligence as well. The Star of Wisdom reflects the user’s insights, intuition, and spiritual connection. It affects the user’s ability to make wise decisions, perceive hidden information, and resist certain magical, or mental influences.
Last but not least the Star of Perception. It revolves solely around the senses of the human body and improves the ability to see, hear, smell, feel, and so on.
This principle was similar to most games, the only difference being the unique naming sense for the respective stats and the status sheet. It was also revolutionary for a game to drop attribute points by killing enemies rather than experience points. Soul Essences could be considered attribute points, which could be directly integrated into the Foundation Stars.
The only thing Zayn had to pay attention to was the synergy between Foundation Stars and the Foundation Orbit to ensure that the balance between them was maintained. Investing too many Soul Essences into a single Foundation Star would create a disbalance. Though depending on the strengthened Foundation Star it might not be too problematic to invest many Soul Essences into a single Foundation Star.
However, mindlessly increasing the Star of Strength without strengthening the Star of Vitality would break his body mid-battle. His overwhelming strength would tear apart his own body.
One had to expand and strengthen the vessel to fuel it with more power.
That was also why Zayn strengthened his vessel to the bare minimum he would require for the next few steps on his to-do list.
Integrate one Soul Essence into the Star of Vitality. Y/N?
Integrate one Soul Essence into the Star of Agility. Y/N?
Integrate six Soul Essences into the Star of Strength. Y/N?
Zayn clicked on yes with a mental command, and all eight Soul Essences disappeared. If Zayn were to be in his subconscious space right now, he would be able to see the white wisps – the Soul Essences – fly around wildly before they smashed into three stars orbiting around his Heart Deck. One wisp integrated into the Star of Vitality, one in the Star of Agility, and six wisps smashed into the Star of Strength, assimilating at once.
The sheet on the Foundation Orbit changed, increasing the Star of Vitality and Agility from Inferior 1/10 to Inferior 2/10. Meanwhile, the Star of Strength increased to Inferior 7/10
Following the integration of the eight Soul Essences, Zayn felt sudden changes occur to his body. He felt bursts of strength surge through him all of a sudden. His muscles began to move, squirming like little worms underneath his skin, altering his physical structure. Simultaneously, his muscles grew stronger and denser.
Zayn was growing stronger in Forgotten Lands.
For now, only in the game!