Chapter 333: Buying the Summoning Spell
Chapter 333: Buying the Summoning Spell
"After going through such a long scenario, this is all I got..." Feng Bu Jue murmured as he approached the second glass column. "What does the PS in the Background mean? A programmer's self-deprecating comment? To put it bluntly, this should’ve been deleted as redundant data."
【Choose your extra reward: 1) Randomly draw level-appropriate Equipment, 2) 50,000 Game Currency, 3) 116,000 Experience Points】
The familiar window popped up before Feng Bu Jue, but this time he didn’t rush to select.
"My current experience points are 134,300/290,000. Adding 116,000 would bring me to... 250,300", Feng Bu Jue quickly calculated. "That still leaves nearly 40,000 points short of level 30." He pondered, "Even if I take the experience, it won’t be enough to level up. I’ll need another scenario. Maybe just go for the Equipment..."
Since the clearance reward’s skill card had disappointed him, Feng Bu Jue had developed a gambler’s mentality, hoping to strike luck with randomly drawn Equipment—a rarity in recent scenarios.
Thus, he once again bet his reputation and chose the random Equipment reward.
A white light coalesced, revealing within the glass column a metal fragment the size of a bowl’s mouth, curved like a crescent.
At first glance, Feng Bu Jue instinctively looked down at his chest, frowning. "Hmph... can’t be. Even if it was that, there should be two..."
Clearly, he had misjudged.
【Name: Implanted Alchemy Amplifier】
【Type: Armor】
【Quality: Fine】
【Defense: Weaker】
【Attribute: None】
【Special Effect: Slightly enhances Summoning skills】
【Equipment Condition: Summoning Proficiency F】
【Background: This item can be equipped on either knee. It cannot be removed or equipped within scenarios. The wearer’s vitality value will decrease by 10% permanently】
"Oh... knee armor. Thought it was something else." Grumbling, Feng Bu Jue grabbed the item and pressed it onto his right knee.
On contact, the metal plate suddenly heated like a branding iron, searing him with a sharp, intense pain. Then, like a magnet, it affixed itself to his knee.
Looking down, Feng Bu Jue saw a transmutation circle glowing a grim red on the armor’s surface. What it signified, he couldn’t say.
"Tch... If only I’d studied advanced alchemy back then..." He still felt bitter about failing to decipher that book from an earlier scenario.
He instantly toggled the armor’s display to hide its appearance, switching to attire mode.
The problem was, "I don’t even have Summoning skills..." Feng Bu Jue muttered, opening his game menu. "Maybe store this in the storage room?"
Yet the thought unsettled him. The task 【Use Summoning Skills to successfully summon creatures 50 times】 had stalled at 14/50, a thorn in his mind. Now, acquiring equipment tied to Summoning Proficiency felt... like not using his Summoning skills in a scenario would be a waste.
"Summoning skills at the Auction House are all astronomical prices. And skills sold there are usually duds—otherwise, the seller would’ve kept them", he muttered, eyeing the 【Stinky Egg】 skill. "Spending over 100,000 on this? Definitely not worth it."
He paused. "Wait… the Scare Box!"
Suddenly, he recalled another way to buy Summoning skills—the Scare Box.
Besides equipment, the Scare Box also sold skill cards. However, scenario-lost skill cards were far rarer than equipment. During the Open Beta’s first week, the Scare Box had no skill card listings. Only after seven days did accumulated skill cards appear alongside equipment, initiating a seven-day countdown before deletion.
Feng Bu Jue’s skill points totaled 17,980—unmatched even among higher-level players. He had room to splurge.
Feng Bu Jue returned to the Login Space, rode the elevator down, and pressed the 【Scare Box】 button. Moments later, he entered the cramped room—a chessboard-patterned floor, walls lined with distorting mirrors, and a massive gift box at its center.
He navigated the menu, targeting the skills section and selecting the "Summoning" subcategory. Under such specific filters, eight pages appeared (100 per page).
As before, the Scare Box listings only showed name, type, and price. Detailed info required clicking through. But with Summoning skills already filtered, the type column was redundant. Skills couldn’t be judged by names alone.
Feng Bu Jue, who hadn’t even managed to read a single book at the Reasoning Club, decided to indulge here...
Nearly 800 skills—neither few nor many. Some exceeded his budget, but he’d spare none.
This was Sleep Mode, after all—10x time. No rush.
Three and a half hours slipped by.
With pathological patience and focus, Feng Bu Jue scoured every card at a steady pace.
After clicking the last skill on the final page, he stood up (he’d retrieved his Folding Stool from his satchel after three minutes of browsing) and began pacing.
His terrifying trait wasn’t just finishing this marathon of data—but retaining it, analyzing it, cross-referencing it in his mind.
Fifteen minutes later, Feng Bu Jue halted, reopened the Scare Box interface, flipped through pages, and selected a skill card.
【Name: Summoning】
【Skill Card Attribute: Active Skill, Permanently Mastered】
【Skill Category: Summoning】
【Effect: Summon Mushiro Koganei as a companion (Cooldown 80 minutes, Duration 20 minutes, maximum 1 Mushiro Koganei at a time)】
【Consumption: Perform a bizarre gesture】
【Learning Condition: Summoning Proficiency F】
【Background: A third-grade elementary student who embraced being a pervert after concluding that all great men were called freaks in childhood. His body spins at high speeds, moving across any surface. Constantly emits incomprehensible hissing sounds and strange noises. Exceptionally high IQ, inventing bizarre gadgets. Comes from a wealthy family】
"Alright, you’re the one." Feng Bu Jue paid 4,800 skill points—cheaper than the 【Casey Jones Mask】 by 20 points.
At first glance, this summoning was nearly useless in combat. Indeed, it was useless.
But realistically, F-rank summons were rarely useful. The 【Summoning】 skill was already an exception among F-rank techniques. It even required a specific consumption item—the 【Can of Spinach】. Other F-rank summons like Batman, Limping Zombies, or flying Hockey Bats were mere cannon fodder, serving only as distractions or scouts.
Feng Bu Jue sifted through the descriptions of F-rank duds. Only Mushiro Koganei, the deviant child genius, stood out as a high-intelligence summon.
From non-combat perspectives, Mushiro was far more useful than same-level peers.
Feng Bu Jue had hesitated over another skill: 【Summoning Art - Toilet Paper】. Utterly useless, no consumption, and a mere ten-minute cooldown. Yet it cost 1,400 skill points—clearly designed for players grinding summon counts.
Buying both wasn’t impossible, but since he’d secured the task solution, better to save 1,400 points.
"Later, I’ll run a scenario and summon him to chat", Feng Bu Jue muttered after learning the skill.
As a writer notorious for procrastination—or rather, frequent research trips—he’d consumed countless materials. Among them, the anime "Sunny Piggy" held a special place. Among its characters, Mushiro Koganei intrigued him most—a possible resonance between eccentrics.
———
After purchasing the skill card, Feng Bu Jue finally returned to the Login Space.
Four hours in the Scare Box—few casual players lingered here post-scenarios, save dedicated class players.
"Tonight, I’d better grind to level 30 before logging off", he mused.
Then, a mischievous thought struck: The cooldown for summoning Mushiro Koganei was 80 minutes. If he entered a scenario, summoned him, died quickly, and reran the scenario, he could summon again immediately...
With that plan, Feng Bu Jue resolutely chose the Nightmare Difficulty Singleplayer Survival Mode (Common). Clearing wasn’t necessary—just a skill experiment.
(End of Chapter)
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