Evolution Begins with Elemental Domination

The equipment, on the other hand, was a bit pricier.

[Amplification Bracelet]: 1 Rune / 3 Rune Essences.

(Effect: When the wearer uses a Rune, they will gain a 10% bonus to Elemental damage.)

’Not bad.’

After a quick glance, Su Chen bought it immediately. It would further increase the lethality of his Flame Burst Rune.

The 10% bonus to Elemental damage might not seem like much.

But it was a proportional increase.

The more powerful a Rune’s base damage, the more significant the actual increase in lethality.

If this piece of equipment had been a pair of gloves, he would have had to think twice. Throwing technique was heavily dependent on feel.

Putting aside any superstitions, it was simply a matter of the sense of touch changing. His fingers would lose their sensitivity, and the change in friction would feel extremely awkward.

A bracelet, as long as it wasn’t too heavy and didn’t impede the motion of his wrist, would be fine.

The transaction required just three Rune Essences of any Element. They transformed into a stream of light that entered the building, and a moment later, a silvery-white bracelet was delivered into Su Chen’s hands.

The Amplification Bracelet was about a finger’s width, forged entirely from some unknown crystalline material. Its overall weight was surprisingly light, almost unnoticeable when held.

’No issues here.’

Su Chen’s last shred of worry vanished. He slipped it onto his left wrist, and it fit perfectly. Such a perfect fit couldn’t be a coincidence; the building must have somehow measured his wrist.

’I might as well buy the boots, then.’

[Agility Boots]: 2 Runes / 6 Rune Essences.

(Effect: The wearer will feel a slight reduction in their body weight while walking, making their steps exceptionally light. They will also gain the active Skill ’High-speed Walking,’ which grants 200% increased movement speed for 30 seconds upon activation. Cooldown: once per day.)

The description alone reminded Su Chen of news reports about exoskeletons used to aid mountain climbers.

The principle was simple and quite scientific: it transferred part of the load that would normally be borne by muscles and joints to the exoskeleton’s mechanical structure.

As for the Agility Boots...

When Su Chen put them on, his body did indeed feel much lighter, as if a portion of the weight from his body and his heavy mountaineering pack had been lifted.

Thanks to his improved Physique, he now felt incredibly light on his feet.

”Magic... it’s truly incredible,” Su Chen sighed.

Overall, he was very satisfied.

Even their appearance was great; they looked like a pair of hiking boots and went quite well with his gray windbreaker.

This unexpected shopping spree had cleaned him out. Aside from his Enchanted War Axe, all he had left was a single healing Rune.

If he wanted to buy anything else from the hidden shop, he’d have to gather more Rune Essences in the next 50 minutes.

Fortunately, the Rune building itself acted as a lure. Before he knew it, Xiaoye’s keen Perception picked up the scents of multiple monsters drawing closer.

Within Su Chen’s line of sight, more than 200 meters away, a Water Element tiger-leopard, its body shimmering with ripples of water, was stealthily crouched in the jungle.

’This species probably spans across all the Elements.’

The foxes he’d encountered before also came in various Elemental forms. He had even run into a hybrid fox with a Water-Wood Dual Element form once. It hadn’t been very strong as a juvenile and was instantly killed by Xiaoye.

Surrounded by enemies, Xiaoye was at full strength and showed not a hint of fear. Two Netherworld War Dog clones instantly split off from its body.

Its main body then activated its Stealth Skill, completely melting into the shadows of the dense forest.

This blatant show of force was enough to deter some of the other lurking predators.

Expecting monsters of different species to cooperate was a tall order. A water fox had considered joining the fray, but after catching the tiger-leopard’s scent from a distance, it instinctively turned tail and fled.

The water tiger was also a cautious creature. Realizing it had been spotted and would have a hard time dealing with the Netherworld War Dog, it too vanished into the dense forest.

’A typical response.’

Su Chen pushed deeper into the dense forest to hunt monsters, mostly relying on Xiaoye’s sense of smell to take the initiative and attack.

Xiaoye’s ever-increasing power, not to mention the appearance of its two Phantom Clones, prompted many of the lurking monsters to retreat after assessing the risk.

With the exception of some Wood Attribute monsters, getting injured in this perilous forest without a quick way to heal was tantamount to putting oneself on a path to certain death.

Of course, besides the insidious Flying Mantises that relied on their Clone Skill for surprise attacks, the wild boars were the most mindless attackers.

There was a reason for the old saying that ranked wild boars as more dangerous than bears or tigers.

They weren’t ranked first because of their Power, but because on top of being numerous, they were also extremely reckless and bad-tempered, fighting like absolute hotheads.

A large wild boar was snorting and grunting. Lured by the shimmering runic glow of the hidden shop, it didn’t hesitate for a second. Its body erupted in an earthy-brown light as it charged straight for them.

The two Netherworld War Dog Phantom Clones didn’t hesitate either. While they intercepted the boar, Xiaoye launched a flanking attack from stealth. The boar was quickly brought down under the relentless assault of all three dogs.

It was worth noting that Xiaoye, being a creature of flesh and blood, also needed to eat.

Even when recalled, it lived in the Netherworld, and it still couldn’t escape the basic necessities of life.

With supplies so tight, Su Chen couldn’t afford to be squeamish. Letting Xiaoye stick to its natural habit of eating raw meat was the best option.

If he had to start a fire to cook its food for every meal, he’d be pampering it like his own child. That was just making unnecessary trouble for himself.

Still, some rules had to be established.

No eating rotten meat.

As for the wild boar meat...

Xiaoye was a picky eater with some basic standards. It wouldn’t touch the tough, stringy boar meat. And that was before even considering the hide, which was caked in mud and covered in bristles, making it even less appetizing.

After that, Su Chen settled in to guard the area around the hidden shop.

The scene was a bit like a ”Protect Athena” game mode. After he slaughtered another pack of wild boars and two Flying Mantises, the sheer number of corpses piled up around him ended up deterring any other potential attackers.

But it was enough to buy out the shop’s inventory.

[Life Talisman]: 2 Rune Essences.

(Effect: When the body sustains external damage, it will actively trigger a protective effect to Veto the damage. When the external damage severely exceeds the individual’s Life Force, the Veto will fail.)

This was undoubtedly a great item. It effectively increased his margin for error, preventing a sneak attack from landing successfully.

Of course, the talisman’s effectiveness was linked to his personal Physique. If the incoming damage was too high, it would be useless.

’Limited to one per person.’ This was the one thing Su Chen regretted.

Afterwards, he bought out the remaining items in the hidden shop: the [Earth Spike Scroll], the [Shimmering Beacon], and the [Speed Potion] and [Focus Potion] he had looked at earlier.

As rare, limited-time, limited-quantity hidden items, he could always resell them later, even if he didn’t need them himself.

A short while later, the hidden shop’s time limit ran out. The runic glow sustaining it, both inside and out, instantly faded.

Once this Elemental Power was drawn back into the ley lines of the earth, the wood and stone that formed the structure lost their support and came crashing down, collapsing into a pile of rubble.