Evolution Begins with Elemental Domination

”Let’s go buy Potions first.”

Su Chen remembered Liao Dahai saying that the Rune Store had stocked the Barbaric Strength Potion today, which could permanently increase one’s personal Strength Attribute.

He and Ruoruo each bought a bottle.

The price wasn’t friendly—24 Essences, equivalent to two Lv3 Runes.

After Su Chen drank it, he didn’t feel any transformation. It merely invigorated his blood and sent a warm current through his limbs, but it quickly subsided.

His body’s attribute panel showed no changes.

It didn’t even show an increase of ’Strength +1’.

But after Ruoruo drank hers, the physical changes she felt were very obvious.

Although her figure was as slender as ever and her muscles hadn’t bulked up at all, her tendons inside had become much tougher and more powerful.

’Yesterday, Physique +1, and today, Strength +1. It seems the Magic Goddess behind the scenes is genuinely addressing the physical shortcomings of Mages. The sacrifices are working,’ Su Chen sighed to himself.

But at Her current rate of development, She still couldn’t catch up to the physical advantages he had established for himself.

However, to solidify this advantage, he still had to seek out more high-quality Heavenly and Earthly Treasures.

Besides the official buildings, this borderland was full of private trading organizations, private mines, and Rune Workshops.

The scale of it all naturally far exceeded that of Qixia Border Town.

I wouldn’t say most, but at least thirty percent of the city’s talent was gathered in this crucial Rune area.

”Too many people.”

Su Chen lost any desire to even browse around.

After buying a few Recovery Potions, he went to the Rune weapon workshop.

The entire structure was suspended in the air, looking very much like a giant metal box. Four vine-thick Rune chains hung from its four corners, deeply riveted into the bedrock below.

When it first appeared, it had sixteen weapons and pieces of equipment in stock.

Now, after a moment of mental interaction, he discovered there were 22 items.

Su Chen glanced over them and found that their overall effects were not as good as the Silver Summoning Book and Binder’s Belt he had just obtained. He couldn’t even find a lesser substitute.

It was no wonder. The equipment from the hidden store was, after all, in a league of its own.

It was limited in time and price, and even discounted.

The Cutter’s Axe, which cost 64 Essences, had one effect that could probably just barely match a Lv6 Wind Split.

Its other characteristic was allowing the weapon to grow or shrink, with its mass changing proportionally. Unexpectedly enlarging it to strike someone or shrinking it for easy carrying both had some decent practical uses.

”I bought two small knives.”

Yan Ruoruo had bought a sharp little knife from the selection. It was only a palm’s length long, radiated a cold, dark light, and possessed a Sharpness cutting trait.

When driven into a person’s shadow, it also had a binding effect.

It was called ’Blade of Dark Night.’

The other was called the Teleportation Dagger.

As the name suggested, its effect was short-range teleportation up to thirty meters.

She had always carried a small knife for self-defense and had even used a crowbar as a temporary melee weapon before.

On the Jingcheng University team, Ruoruo was a standard core damage dealer in the rear, rarely getting attacked up close. She just had to mind her positioning and pour out damage. However, after starting to move with Su Chen, the danger level had soared, and she often found herself being rushed and ambushed by enemies.

She didn’t expect to rely entirely on a knife to get out of trouble.

Now that she had the Moonlight Concealing Clothing, a ladies’ shawl, the pressure on her survival was much lower.

Su Chen was long past the stage of throwing Flying Knives, so naturally, he wasn’t interested.

”Let’s go. We’ll find a place to rest first,” he said.

...

「Ten minutes later.」

They took a seat in a high-end private restaurant. The highly prosperous market economy here had even given rise to a membership fee of 1 Essence.

This barrier alone was enough to keep most visitors out.

However, this restaurant had clearly spared no expense. Every booth and private room was equipped with Silent Stones that created soundproof fields, ensuring absolute privacy.

The environment was regulated by a built-in Constant Temperature Skill, making it feel like a spring day inside.

And the other menu unlocked by the membership was filled with delicacies made from monster meat.

Around five in the afternoon, Su Chen went ahead and ordered two servings of deer loin and an ice cream dessert.

This break was not only to wait for their Rune Energy to fully recover but also to observe the current situation.

Soon, a piece of gratifying news came over the official broadcast.

’...The Security Committee loves peace and is willing to accept peace, but the prerequisite for this dialogue is that Oran City must hand over all personnel on the contribution leaderboard to be tried and executed for war crimes, the massacre of civilians, and other offenses.’

Yes!

Everyone in the restaurant was invigorated by the news.

”You could call it an overt plot. It’s a great way to neutralize their so-called peace treaty.” Most people weren’t stupid. They knew why Oran City had suddenly sent envoys to mediate.

Failing to completely break through the gates of Dongfu City’s Rune strategic point was one reason.

Although the Teleportation Gates deployed at the three border areas had been destroyed and there were signs of enemy infiltration in the city’s heartland, the overall situation was still under control.

And the most important point was definitely that the powerful figures from Oran City had dominated the contribution leaderboard. They were trying to quit while they were ahead and ride out the three-day mission period with their current rankings.

To put it bluntly, it’s like they’ve gotten on the bus and are now trying to weld the doors shut.

”Once the three-day limit is up and they’ve secured massive rewards like class star promotions and the Magic Talent Blessing, this peace treaty will be nothing but a worthless piece of paper,” a man dressed as a ranger cursed loudly.

”Exactly. They’re spouting sanctimonious crap about not letting the world mission stir up trouble and harm the friendship between our two cities. It’s probably a smokescreen. They won’t be able to deploy more Teleportation Gates until tomorrow. If we let our guard down, we’ll probably get caught off guard and slaughtered again.”

A burly man declared, confident he had figured out the enemy’s intentions.

The most ridiculous part was that even after proposing a peace treaty, fighting was still breaking out from time to time in various places.

Not to mention communication issues, the four major powers of Oran City each had their own ulterior motives and couldn’t present a united front. Would they really be satisfied with their current rankings? Did they have no ambition to climb higher?

Su Chen wouldn’t accept that for a second.

He was naturally not satisfied with his current 5th place position.

As a defender, he could only gain contribution points by killing enemy personnel and destroying Teleportation Gates.

If no one came, his personal ranking would be set in stone.

”I’ll check the weather this evening. If it’s not an extreme temperature, I’m going into the forest.”

Su Chen pondered for a moment, then voiced a bold and crazy idea. ”If they really don’t come to us, then I’ll go straight to them.”

There were still more than two days left on the mission timer. This ample time was more than enough for him to reach Oran City. The ultra-long-range jumps of Aurora Flash were still trustworthy.

As for the camp personnel, they weren’t his concern. He had no obligation to report his itinerary. He just had to make sure his own RV was unharmed.

”I’ll go with you.” Yan Ruoruo didn’t hesitate for a second.

She sat upright by the window. A gentle breeze from outside lifted a strand of her hair but failed to disturb her expression.

Su Chen looked at her and smiled. ”Then you’ll have to endure some hardship with me, sleeping under the stars in the Dark Forest.”

...

「Meanwhile.」

Inside the magnificent and towering city hall, a fully sealed tactical communications hub was rapidly communicating with the outside world to gather intelligence. All the communicators inside were focused on solving a single question.

’Do they have anyone from the top ten on the contribution leaderboard over there?’

The answer to this could partially solve another nagging question: whether the world mission’s contribution leaderboard was shared between both sides.

Since the full leaderboard was hidden, no one could draw a definite conclusion.

But one thing was certain: the powers-that-be in Oran City who were pushing for the peace treaty had almost certainly locked down first place. They might have even swept the top three.

After an hour, once they successfully contacted and communicated with most of the Ghost Assault Team and their affiliated ghost agents, as well as most of the Investigation Legion’s squads, they found that not a single one of the top five contributors could be definitively identified.

However, powerful members of the Legion did step forward to claim the seventh and ninth spots.

”There are still some people we haven’t contacted. The spots could also belong to top-tier independent experts,” one of the communicators said, trying to ease the tension when he noticed the mood in the room souring.

”No matter how strong an individual is, they can’t match the operational advantages of the Assault Team and the Legion,” someone else added reassuringly from this perspective.

At that moment, the Security Committee also realized the gravity of the situation and immediately prepared a contingency plan.

”If the enemy really doesn’t come, then prepare for an expedition. Go ahead and draft the second Heroic Summons.”