Chapter Seventeen: The Ice Ape Bone Spirit

Chapter Seventeen: The Ice Ape Bone Spirit

With Lin Zheng’s ultimate skill spent, it was now Yuki’s turn. As the only mage in the team, Yuki became the main DPS! Besides her chain lightning area attack, Yuki surprisingly had another powerful group ice attack called “Falling Ice Technique,” which Xiaomeng mentioned was a reward from a class change evaluation.

This skill was incredibly strong! Not only did it deal more damage than chain lightning, but it also had a slowing effect, greatly relieving the pressure on the two frontline fighters. It even made the original plan for Xiaomeng and Lin Zheng to alternate defenses unnecessary! With Lilith supporting from the back, Lin Zheng and the defender could keep their health above 80%, making the grinding process very safe. As a result, Xiaomeng ironically became little more than a bystander here.

In no time, half an hour passed, and everyone had leveled up! Not just by one level—Yang Qi jumped straight to level 26, Lilith reached 23, Yuki 24, Xiaomeng 23, and although Lin Zheng lost 10% experience, he still climbed to level 22, not far from the next level. The efficiency of killing monsters at this spot was phenomenal! If they stayed here grinding all night, they could easily surpass other players on the leaderboard by several levels! Unfortunately, elite monsters had limited respawn times—once a week here—and the number of Ice Apes left in the cave was now scarce.

“Just a few left. Let’s finish them quickly and move to the next floor!” Lin Zheng kicked away an Ice Ape and charged forward. A handful of these creatures posed no real threat to him anymore. Yang Qi followed suit, swinging the Black Crow Sword and slaying another Ice Ape. Xiaomeng, who had been idling for a while, burst out like a bird freed from its cage, excitedly attacking the few remaining Ice Apes. Before long, the last of the Ice Apes were wiped out, leaving the entire chamber littered with monkey corpses and scattered loot.

“Wow! Leveling up so fast is amazing! You guys are so awesome, Brother Lin Zheng! Make sure to bring me and Yuki along next time for leveling!” Xiaomeng exclaimed, eyes shining with excitement.

“That’s right! Count me in too when good things like this happen! Half an hour’s worth of experience is just too generous!” Lilith blushed prettily as she said this. Yet at that moment, no one paid her much attention; Lin Zheng and the others were already focused on the loot and coins on the ground.

“No problem! We’re all friends here—of course we’ll include you if there’s a good opportunity,” Lin Zheng replied casually. “But first, let’s clean up the battlefield!” That was his true intention.

“Alright!” The two girls nodded and joined the treasure gathering, while Yuki surprisingly sat leisurely on a rock, quietly reading a book, showing little interest in the loot.

There was an overwhelming amount of items. Although the game’s drop rates weren’t very high, Lin Zheng’s group had killed thousands of monsters! After several minutes of scavenging, they finally collected everything into their bags.

The four wore satisfied expressions, their haul substantial. Lin Zheng alone picked up nearly eighty gold coins and about twenty pieces of equipment. Elite monsters dropped at least black iron gear, with many bronze items among them. After exchanging some pieces, they each assembled brand-new sets of gear. Lin Zheng completed a full Ice Ape hide armor set:

Ice Ape Leather Cap: Physical Defense 20, Magical Defense 20, Strength +5, Agility +5
Ice Ape Leather Armor: Physical Defense 55, Magical Defense 55, Max HP +800, Ice Resistance +20
Ice Ape Gloves: Physical Defense 25, Magical Defense 25, Attack Speed +5%, Ice Resistance +15
Ice Ape Bracers: Physical Defense 25, Magical Defense 25, Physical Defense +50, Ice Resistance +15
Ice Ape Leggings: Physical Defense 20, Magical Defense 20, Strength +5, Stamina +5
Ice Ape Leather Boots: Physical Defense 25, Magical Defense 25, Movement Speed +4%, Ice Resistance +10

Set Bonus: All attributes +10, Ice Resistance +40. Wearing the full set instantly transformed Lin Zheng’s stats dramatically.

Level 22 Lin Zheng, the Sword Fighter:

Strength: 68
Intelligence: 11
Stamina: 39
Agility: 16
Energy: 11
Physical Attack: 513-732
Magical Attack: 357-412
Physical Defense: 356
Magical Defense: 211
HP: 2945
MP: 1650
...

“Hehe! Impressive, right?” Lin Zheng said proudly.

“Wow! Brother Lin Zheng is amazing!” Xiaomeng gushed, eyes sparkling, making Lin Zheng feel a great sense of accomplishment.

“Not bad at all. With this gear, you’d definitely rank near the top in Frost City. Balanced attack and defense—very sharp!” Yang Qi gave an honest evaluation.

“I still don’t have any rings though. If I had two rings, my attack would jump even more!” Lin Zheng said regretfully.

“Yeah, rings are tough to get. I don’t have any either! But no rush, they’ll come eventually.”

“Speaking of which…” Lin Zheng pulled out a dagger, looking frustrated. “This thing is supposed to grow stronger, but it’s eaten up so much of my experience and hasn’t shown any improvement. Is it a scam or what?”

“Wow! What kind of dagger is that? Its stats are ridiculous!” Lilith gasped, examining the dagger’s attributes.

“That’s not fair! I had a dagger in the newbie village with only 55 attack, so how come yours is so overpowered?” Xiaomeng complained, clearly upset.

That’s right—they were seeing Lin Zheng’s dagger stats for the first time. Lin Zheng recounted the dagger’s origin again. Though it was the second time Yang Qi heard about it, she couldn’t help but envy Lin Zheng’s absurd luck. She wished she had such fortune herself; even if her luck was decent, no one ever complains about having too much good luck.

“This dagger’s bonus attributes are pretty outrageous, but the base attack is lagging for your level,” Yang Qi speculated after examining it closely. “I think the ‘Spirit Link’ attribute won’t activate until you hit level 30, and at the latest, probably no later than 50.”

“No way! By then, my attack power will be so far behind others!” Lin Zheng’s eyes widened. If Yang Qi was right, what use was this dagger? He still had the “Broken Moon” in his inventory, and its base attack was leagues ahead of this dagger. Plus, its bonus attributes were excellent!

“I suggest you keep that dagger,” Yang Qi said seriously, a rare solemn expression on her face. “There’s no official info on the Spirit Link attribute. That means it’s top secret! An attribute worth this level of secrecy can’t be weak. Of course, I’m just saying—you’re free to destroy it if you don’t want to waste experience.”

“Damn it, now that you say that, how could I bear to destroy it?” Lin Zheng grumbled. “It’s just 20% of experience, I can afford it! But if it doesn’t grow into something amazing, I’ll be heartbroken!”

“Given your insane luck, I doubt you’ll end up with a useless item!” Yang Qi teased. “Alright, it’s time to head to the second floor. Hopefully we can find another good grinding spot; otherwise, no one’s getting any sleep tonight!”

With preparations complete, the group cautiously descended a slope and reached the second floor of the Frost Crystal Cave.

“You have entered the second floor of Frost Crystal Cave. The concentration of ice power here is intense. Players with less than 30 points of ice resistance will continuously take damage!”

Hearing the warning, Lin Zheng and the others exchanged glances. No wonder the gear they found on the first floor had so much ice resistance—it was to prepare for what lay ahead! Lin Zheng’s ice resistance was already 100, more than enough to withstand the ice damage here. The others also had decent ice resistance, except Yuki, who hadn’t changed her gear. She kept taking 30 damage repeatedly. Seeing this, they quickly found some ice-resistant equipment Yuki could wear, boosting her resistance to 80 points so she stopped losing health. Relieved, they finally had the chance to explore the second floor properly.

As they proceeded down a corridor, the space suddenly opened up. A frost-covered world unfolded before them, with bizarrely shaped ice crystals large and small decorating the cavern like a crystal palace.

“Wow! It’s so beautiful!” Lilith’s eyes glazed over in admiration. Xiaomeng was equally enchanted. Girls always loved such dreamlike scenes! Lin Zheng glanced back at Yuki, curious about her reaction, but was disappointed. Yuki seemed indifferent to the scenery. When Lin Zheng looked at her, Yuki blinked, as if asking, “Is something wrong?” Lin Zheng patted her head, signaling there was nothing to worry about.

Suddenly, Xiaomeng screamed.

“Ah—what is that thing!?” She ducked behind Lin Zheng, pointing. Yang Qi followed her gaze and spotted skeletal figures made of ice lurking among the crystals. These were the second floor’s guardians! Because the monsters were much stronger, Lin Zheng took on the task of scouting. He donned his mask and investigated, retrieving the following data:

Ice Ape Bone Spirit: Level 40 (Elite)
Physical Attack: 500-686
Physical Defense: 380
Magical Defense: 250
HP: 3500

These Ice Apes sought greater power deep within the Frost Crystal Cave but perished. Their bodies were corrupted by the crystal’s ice energy, transforming them into Ice Ape Bone Spirits. Their attacks carry powerful frost energy.

“According to the description, their attacks should be ice-based and likely have a slowing effect. Hmm, I’ll pull one and test its attack frequency first!” Yang Qi said, drawing her Black Crow Sword and charging forward. Her furious slash dealt 980 damage to an Ice Ape Bone Spirit. The creature immediately counterattacked, swiping at Yang Qi. She deliberately didn’t dodge, wanting to test the attack’s effect. The hit dealt 56 damage! Despite her 100 ice resistance, the ice attack barely scratched her. But the next moment, her expression changed.

“The Ice Ape Bone Spirit’s attack inflicted ‘Armor Shatter’ on you, reducing your defense by 80% for 10 seconds!”

“Damn! Not a slow effect, but armor shatter! Defense down 80%? That’s brutal!” Yang Qi shouted. Careless, she was hit again, this time taking 520 damage! Lin Zheng and the others stared wide-eyed—such a huge damage difference was staggering! They quickly took down the Ice Ape Bone Spirit. Yang Qi returned, still shaken.

“This monster is ruthless. Luckily, I only pulled one. If I’d drawn more, it would have been a disaster! These damn monkeys, even in death, they’re trying to screw us over!”