Chapter 43: Transaction Information: Weapon Tempering

Chapter 43: Transaction Information: Weapon Tempering

[Shadow Walker Essence] is the starting item for the First-Class Job Transformation, the [Shadow Walker].

The second month of the Abyssal Invasion had arrived, and various Rank Essences began to appear on Blue Star, but humanity was still unaware of what these Ranks truly were.

While others remained in the dark, Lu Heng possessed this knowledge.

Essence is a special substance in the Abyssal world that transcends Divine Evolution, and the power contained within forms the foundation of extraordinary job systems.

The essence of Ranks is a power known as Essence, and the process of acquiring a Rank is, in essence, a battle for Essence.

In other words, it's an Essence Contest.

Essence exists in two states: a free state and a fused state.

Essence in the free state can be absorbed by living beings.

Fused Essence has already become one with the organism and cannot be absorbed by other organisms.

Once an organism absorbs a sufficient quantity of free Essence, it can complete the fusion, gaining the abilities represented by the Essence, and thus, the Rank.

This means that even if a metahuman absorbs Essence, until they acquire the complete Rank, the Essence remains in a free state and can be taken away by other metahumans.

Only by acquiring a sufficient quantity of Essence can the free Essence solidify into a fused state, thereby obtaining the Rank.

Therefore, having free Essence within one's body is a risky affair, as one may be attacked by other Essence contenders at any moment.

The Abyssal Fire Thief's ability to ignore physical collisions by diving into shadows originates from the [Shadow Walker Essence].

However, the Abyssal Fire Thief has not acquired the [Shadow Walker] Rank, so the Essence within it is in a free state, and killing it will release the Essence.

Lu Heng held the piece of [Shadow Walker Essence] in his hand, feeling a sense of awe.

This was something that wouldn't be obtainable until half a year after the Abyssal Invasion, yet he had acquired it five months in advance.

No one in his past life had obtained this hidden job, so he would be the first to take on this challenge.

Lu Heng released a current to dissolve the [Shadow Walker Essence] and absorbed it into his body.

[Acquired "Shadow Walker" Essence, initiating the Essence Contest.]



[Essence Fusion Completion: 10%]



[Essence is in a free state. Upon reaching 100% fusion completion, Essence Fusion can be achieved, granting the First-Class Job Transformation "Shadow Walker".]



[Temporarily acquired Essence Ability: Shadow Traverse]



[Shadow Traverse: Dive into shadow rifts, becoming immune to all physical collisions for 7 seconds. Upon time expiration, the caster will exit the shadow rift. If inside a solid material, the body will be crushed by the material, resulting in varying degrees of injury or even death.]



This ability was how the Abyssal Fire Thief had hidden within the rock wall.

As expected of a hidden job's Essence skill, its strength couldn't be simply expressed through data.

To some extent, the 7 seconds of using this ability is a period of invincibility.

Of course, it's not without drawbacks.

After losing physical collision immunity, one cannot be attacked by opponents, but neither can they attack their opponents.

Additionally, after the effect of diving into shadows ends, if one is inside solid materials like rock or steel, their body will be crushed.

Naturally, if such a situation occurs, it can only be attributed to the pilot's stupidity, not the skill's effect.

After absorbing the job Essence, a new line appeared on Lu Heng's data panel.

[Abyssal Battlefield: Summons Countdown - 7 Days]



He had been summoned again, and this countdown appeared simultaneously with the acquisition of the job Essence.

In other words, this Abyssal Battlefield might very well be an Essence Contest.

...

As Lu Heng finished absorbing the Essence, Su Muyu rushed over, panting heavily. She wiped the sweat from her forehead with her sleeve and gasped, "Did it work?"

She had followed the entire way, running to the point of exhaustion, all while controlling the scout eagle, making her even more tired than Lu Heng.

"Yes, it worked," Lu Heng said, pointing to the corpse of the Abyssal Fire Thief on the ground.

"This thing is too fast," Su Muyu said, having witnessed firsthand how the Abyssal Fire Thief had escaped. It was truly unbelievable, moving through the earth and sky.

In the end, to stop the Abyssal Fire Thief, her scout eagle had been clawed to pieces.

So, when Lu Heng pierced the Abyssal Fire Thief with his sword, she hadn't seen that moment.

"Look for the Flame Tail Spirit Cat and have it search for the Abyssal Fire Thief's lair," Lu Heng reminded her.

"Okay, the little cat is already searching. Let's follow it now," Su Muyu said, heading in the direction of the Flame Tail Spirit Cat.

In a cave located 600 meters away, the Flame Tail Spirit Cat discovered the lair of the Abyssal Fire Thief.

Inside the lair, they found the forge lid of the Tempering Furnace, along with other items stolen by the Abyssal Fire Thief.

These included lighters, flame torches, and barbecue grills...

In short, any item capable of producing fire had become part of its collection.

Most of the collection was of little value, but one item caught Lu Heng's attention.

[Thunderfire Grenade: An explosive made from dual-attribute elemental materials of lightning and fire, with immense explosive power. Blast Radius: 3 meters.]



In terms of effect, this item was similar to a hand grenade.

On Blue Star, this wasn't considered rare.

However, data appeared on the item, indicating its origin from the Abyss.

Since it came from the Abyss, it could be brought into the Abyssal world.

Lu Heng collected the Thunderfire Grenade into his inventory and then returned to the Forge Castle with the forge lid.

Gulu held the recovered forge lid, deeply moved, "You've helped me so much, I don't know how to thank you. You've earned the Forge Castle's most sincere friendship."

Judging by his tone and attitude, his favorability was almost maxed out.

Lu Heng thought to himself, "Too much sincerity in friendship isn't good either; it's hard to ask for favors."

However, on the way back, Lu Heng had already made up his mind, "Master Gulu, can I take on tempering jobs from other customers? The price will definitely follow the rules of the Forge Castle."

The last time he tempered the Aurora Blade, he unlocked the secondary occupation panel and obtained the [Apprentice Tempering Master] secondary occupation.

This secondary occupation could increase the success rate of tempering while also enhancing fire resistance, making it very practical.

Moreover, among the current metahumans on Blue Star, those who could obtain secondary occupations were probably rare, and the [Tempering Master] was likely the only one.

If he could take on tempering jobs, he could not only gain experience for his secondary occupation but also make some money on the side.

"Of course, I believe in your talent for tempering. Keep it up!" Master Gulu readily agreed to the request without hesitation.

This was the benefit of maxed-out favorability.

After all, Lu Heng had helped the Forge Castle escape the Abyssal world and retrieved the forge lid; with such high prestige, he deserved some privileges.

With the second Abyssal Battlefield campaign countdown initiated and likely to be an Essence Dispute, there were only seven days left to prepare.

Moreover, it was best to find a suitable Professional Quintessence for Su Muyu within these seven days, so they could join the same Essence Dispute.

Otherwise, it would be dangerous for Su Muyu to fight in Essence Disputes alone in the future.

After returning, Lu Heng posted a trade on the Crystal Kernel Darknet: "Weapon Tempering, private message for inquiries, no reporters."

Soon after posting the trade, his inbox started pinging with private messages.

However, most of these messages were questions.

"Can you temper?"

"How do you temper weapons?"

"What is tempering?"

"What's the use of weapon tempering?"

Lu Heng ignored all the questions and even blocked a few lucky ones who asked foolish questions.

True metahumans with backgrounds wouldn't ask such basic questions at this stage.

Currently, tempering materials had appeared on Blue Star, and although the quantity was small, major powerhouses would undoubtedly obtain them.

Those who were still unaware of tempering at this point likely lacked the ability to temper weapons.

...

Meanwhile, in the Azure Sea International Villa District of Coastal City, a young man stared at his laptop screen.

He had just seen a trade for "Weapon Tempering" on the Crystal Kernel Darknet and immediately sent a private message to the poster.

"Can you temper?"

After sending the message, he waited for a response, but after half an hour, there was still no reply.

He reopened the trade and noticed the latter half of the message, "No reporters."

Realizing his mistake, he quickly edited a second private message, "As long as you can temper, price is not an issue."

After editing the message, he clicked send, but the website prompted: "The other party has added you to the blacklist. Message cannot be sent."

"Damn!"

The young man cursed, but the more this happened, the more he believed the trader had the real deal.

He quickly grabbed his phone and dialed a number, "Miss Liu, bring me another laptop with a Crystal Kernel Darknet account. Yes, I need it now."

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end