Chapter 210: Pre-Battle Preparations
If that scoop was true, then it was certain to send some chills. Many people had been focusing on the exam, so when the insider news was revealed, nearly everyone partic.i.p.ated in the forum discussion.
In any case, although the simulated scenarios of their monthly exam were derived from the past war, at the end of the day, they were only given a minor role due to the fact that they were freshmen.
For example, they only did reconnaissance in the first exam, while the second—which Xiao Lin did not take part in—was nothing more than an escape task.
It was easy to understand why. After all, they were merely freshmen who had just been in school for two months. Their basic attributes were poor and they had few skills, so the things they could do were very limited. Tasks such as escapes and reconnaissance that were most suitable for them.
However, the situation at that time was different. Perhaps the third monthly exam might turn out to be a direct simulation of a certain battle? What role would they be playing then?
No one knew the answer, and no one dared to say that the leaked news was false either.
By then, the academy had created a very solemn atmosphere to let everyone know the exam was going to be out of the norm. Some could not understand the reasons for that, while others were full of complaints. Since they were merely freshmen, could the academy really be setting up such a difficult exam just to deliberately make them lose their lives?
At the end of the day, all they could do was suck up their dissatisfaction. Dawn Academy’s strict management system meant that they could not complain to anyone, other than making a couple of remarks on the forum. Who else could they complain to? A senior year leader? The head of a department? The student council president?
They were not Xiao Lin, for goodness sake. They probably never even had the chance to see those leading figures for a couple of months.
Finally, the day before the monthly exam arrived. On that day, the academy organized a basic-level Lifewater sale event for the freshman as scheduled. It was stipulated that only freshmen had the right to buy them, and students from other years were precluded from making any purchases.
Although it was a considerate act for the freshmen, some people viewed the student union’s behavior as more terrifying than anything else. It sent a clear signal that the exam would be a difficult one for those freshmen to survive.
The equipment that Xiao Lin entrusted Lu Renjia to manufacture was also completed on schedule. He made a special trip to the third-year dormitory area and completed the transaction on the spot. The total value of the order was 5,000 redemption points, which included a Bronze-rank sword, a Black-Iron staff, and a set of Bronze leather armor.
[Holy Soul Sword: Bronze-rank, physical damage evaluation E, worth 2,000 redemption points.]
As a bronze-level weapon, the physical lethality of a E-rated weapon seemed very ordinary, and perhaps even paled in comparison to a few superbly made Black Iron-rank weapons. However, Lu Renjia’s zealous marketing of the Holy Soul Sword actually aroused Xiao Lin’s interest.
The Holy Soul Sword came with two abilities. The first was called Swordsmanship Tutelage. If the pa.s.sive sword skill of the sword wielder was not higher than Grade E, the Holy Soul energy contained within the sword would have a direct effect on the wielder and raise their Basic Swordsmanship skill by two levels.
When Xiao Lin went to order the weapon, Lu Renjia mentioned that he had to make a tailor-made weapon. Before commencing any work, he specifically asked Xiao Lin about the latter’s skill level in Basic Swordsmanship.
Xiao Lin’s Basic Swordsmanship was at LV8, meaning it would reach LV10 if it was raised by two levels. That was already at MAX. Those two levels were not to be underestimated, because the change in his swordsmanship would be qualitative instead of quant.i.tative after reaching LV10. Such an increase in combat effectiveness was quite remarkable.
Lu Renjia strongly recommended that weapon for that reason. If Xiao Lin’s basic swordsmanship was not exactly at LV8, it would have been difficult for that weapon to exert its maximum effect.
The second ability was to summon the holy soul. Once enough blood stained the sword, it would temporarily activate the power of the soul within the gem, thus enabling a dead swordsman to briefly manifest and fight on behalf of Xiao Lin.
Lu Renjia said that the core material for making that sword was a gem he had accidentally obtained in the New World a year ago. The gem was said to be the manifested soul of a dead local indigenous swordsman who was obsessed with swordsmanship. Lu Renjia originally wanted to use it for his own weapon, but unfortunately the swordsman’s rank was very low during his lifetime. The most Lu Renjia could do was cast it into a Bronze-rank weapon.
As a third-year student, Bronze-rank weapons were of no use to Lu Renjia. That gem had been sitting there since then, and it just so happened to be available to Xiao Lin that time.
Both auxiliary abilities were very practical, hence Xiao Lin’s decision to accept the Holy Soul Sword.
[Peakfire Staff: Black Iron-rank staff, worth 1,000 redemption points.]
At the special request of Xiao Lin, the staff was made into a one-handed type. Magic staffs could generally be divided into two-handed and one-handed types. The former was larger and required more materials, but its effect was also much better. The advantage of a one-handed staff was its portable nature. It also appeared less heavy and c.u.mbersome during battle.
The Peakfire Staff was rated F in its spell damage. Such an evaluation was nothing more than moderate, but the staff also had an auxiliary effect of causing burns. When using the staff to cast fire spells, the probability of burning an enemy would double!
The effect was yet another practical one for Xiao Lin. The Flame Bullet he had just learned was originally an improved spell that increased the casting speed at the cost of lethality. The power of the Flame Bullet itself actually came from burns, and the faster the casting speed, the higher the probability of burns. On that point, it was much better than the Flame Ball.
[Warbear Leather Armor: Bronze-rank armor with F-rated defense against spells and physical attacks. Its ability is an increase in fighting spirit that builds up gradually when worn. Once the body reaches its limit of exhaustion, all that power will be released, and the stored fighting spirit will fully restore the wearer’s physical strength. Worth 2,000 redemption points.]
Although its defensive capability was a very meager Bronze-rank, the supplementary effect was quite nifty. It was made out of material obtained from a kind of bear called the warbear from Planet Norma.
Xiao Lin could see Lu Renjia’s casting style through those weapons. Although they all seemed quite ordinary, most of them often had very practical uses.
In Lu Renjia’s words, that was called equipment balance. Because of the many restrictions on materials and convenience, achieving a more powerful effect could only be done by reducing one’s own ability. Otherwise, the imbalance would make the weapon difficult to successfully produce.
In any case, Xiao Lin was very satisfied with the guy’s ability to manufacture weapons.
With 1,000 redemption points left, he chose to buy some healing potions and magic scrolls, but that amount of redemption points could only buy two scrolls and a few bottles of potions at most.
The expensiveness of the magic scroll came as a shock to Xiao Lin. A mere Black Iron-rank spell scroll was as expensive as 400 redemption points, and that was the cheap end of the range. If the quality was slightly better, it would reach at least 600 or 700 redemption points, and the magic scrolls were all consumables that were expendable after one use.