Evolution Begins with Elemental Domination

”There’s more?”

Before the crowd could even process their excitement over the Pool of Life, the ground beneath their feet began to tremble once more.

HUMMM!

A well platform rose up from the side. Intertwining Runes caused the ground to rapidly coalesce into a three-meter-tall Obsidian Well Platform.

The mouth of the well was open, its depths bottomless. It steamed with a dense, mist-like aura of Runes, within which thousands of light filaments seemed to flow endlessly.

Countless glowing Spiritual Particles rose like fireflies. Anyone standing by the well’s edge had only to take a slight breath to feel a jolt in their Sea of Consciousness as their Rune Energy Bar refilled at a visible rate.

”My energy is recovering so fast! This is even better than a Recovery Potion,” one of the nature Apostles exclaimed in amazement.

”It’s a Spirit Core Well.”

It didn’t take long for someone to realize what this newly formed runic marvel was.

But in reality, it wasn’t as simple as just a few more wells.

DONG!

DONG!

Six consecutive Resonances boomed from different directions. In six key locations around the Rune Core’s central area, including the original site of the Holiday Shopping Plaza, Spirit Core Wells erupted from the ground.

Things were getting good now.

The mist rising from the Pool of Life, like a veil of thin gauze, could mend a person’s broken bones in moments, while the Spirit Core Wells caused the Rune Energy in one’s Sea of Consciousness to surge back like a tide.

Su Chen, whose figure hovered in the air, also confirmed this as he looked down upon the city.

He wouldn’t mistake this for divine grace or a gift from the heavens.

This was the treatment Dongfu City should have had all along. If not for the accident during the city’s transmigration, they wouldn’t have been stuck playing on hard mode from the very beginning.

From his high-altitude perspective, he could also see that while the outer walls had collapsed in places during the late-night attack, the inner city that encircled the runic buildings remained completely undamaged.

The spatial calibration waves released by the ten Orderlight Mirrors also prevented outsiders from teleporting close.

And that wasn’t all. On the inner city walls, newly forged cannons continuously fired into the sky, their shots tracing deadly parabolic arcs as they rained down on the undead army in the scorched forestlands far away.

With the help of the Shaping Skill, forging a cannon barrel was far easier than making a handgun that required rifling to be inscribed.

There was no need to worry too much about accuracy; most of the Enchanted Cannonballs created terrifying area-of-effect impacts when they landed, forcing the enemy to give a wide berth.

”The Rune Store has new items. There are new Potions—the Great Recovery Potion and the Spiritual Wisdom Potion are available,” Yan Ruoruo informed him via Mind Transmission, telling him about the newly stocked goods.

Su Chen flew over at once. When he successfully linked his consciousness with the store, he found that eight new items had been added.

[Great Recovery Potion]: Lv3 Rune / 12 Essences.

(Effect: When consumed by a Rune Caster, immediately replenishes 30% of the max Energy Bar for all Runes and grants a hyper-speed Recovery effect for the next 30 seconds.)

’Not bad.’

This was way better than a normal, small Recovery Potion.

To a certain extent, its effect was even slightly better than a Lv7 Rainfall Skill.

[Spiritual Wisdom Potion]: Lv5 Rune

(Effect: After consumption, can permanently increase the user’s Intelligence and Perception Attributes by up to +2, thereby granting one additional Rune expansion slot and significantly enhancing the acuity of the five senses.)

’The Magic Goddess’s analysis is progressing faster. She can already mass-produce new things that benefit the body.’

’Might as well try it.’

’It might not work on me, though.’

The small cost was nothing to Su Chen, so he bought a bottle to try.

As expected, his personal attributes didn’t budge in the slightest. Aside from a refreshing sensation, it had little effect.

As for the Great Recovery Potion, he bought five bottles in one go, hitting his personal purchase limit.

It was worth noting that each day, the items available in the Rune Store and the weapons workshop had a total stock limit, and each person had a corresponding purchase quota.

A Life Potion, for example, would be completely removed from stock after being purchased in massive quantities—say, twenty thousand bottles—and would only become available again the next day.

There was an explanation for this phenomenon.

The Laws governing this world’s operation weren’t like a video game where a string of code could provide an infinite supply; it still had to follow a version of the ’law of conservation of energy’ to some extent.

’Since I’m already here...’

Su Chen took a look at the weapons workshop and noticed new items there as well. Seeing arrows for sale, the wealthy and extravagant Su Chen didn’t hesitate, immediately buying out the entire stock of ten available to him, hitting his personal purchase limit.

[Demon-Breaking Arrow]: 8 Runes

(Effect: The arrowhead is etched with multiple Runes, giving it a superior Piercing effect against Elemental shields.)

(Note: The arrow is a one-time consumable and cannot be recovered.)

They were far more expensive than bullets, but there was a good reason for the cost.

Judging from the design of the ones he received, they were truly extraordinary.

The arrowhead alone was a four-sided pyramid, its tip encircled by seven etched runic rings. The fletching was not made of feathers, but of three solidified Wind Pattern Crystals.

After receiving the message, Yan Ruoruo bought them as well.

Unlike Spiritual Energy Arrows, other types of arrows required a physical projectile to be fired. In a chaotic battle like this, there was naturally little chance of recovering the arrow shafts.

Since she often had to ”uncover the map” and provide vision for Su Chen, her arrow consumption was very high. To conserve arrows, she also carried a shotgun of the same model enchanted with a Lv7 Acceleration Skill, as well as a handgun.

「Soon.」

After a period of rest and resupply, Su Chen and Ruoruo, both having recovered ninety percent of their energy, returned to the front lines together.

In the time they had been gone, the situation had changed dramatically for the better.

The people of Dongfu, who had already repelled several waves of the Undead Calamity’s assault, were now even more invigorated.

With a ”blood pool” at their backs to restore their health and mana, they certainly had the resources to fight with vigor.

What was even more absurd was...