Chapter 744: A Bamboo Pole Enhanced to +11, Mental Corruption

[Bamboo Pole of the Sword Master +10]

[Type: Long Sword]

[Level: 12]

[Rarity: Excellent]

[Lethality: 3000+1500]

[Durability: 2230/2230+1115/1115]

[Sharpness: 200+100]

[Effect 1 (Sword Master): Sword skill level +1]

[Effect 2 (Teaching): Sword techniques have a suppression effect on enemies who use swords]

[Description: This bamboo pole can cut through steel, and can also slice a fly without harming its wings]

Xu Lang held a bamboo pole that gleamed with a radiant luster.

This kind of luster was unique to enhanced weapons. The higher the enhancement level, the more abundant the luster, making it easy to identify at a glance.

It looked imposing and majestic, and carried a certain air of nobility.

Yet Xu Lang could not bring himself to smile at all.

The sunk cost was simply too great.

At first, he had only wanted to enhance it to 10, but now enhancement +10 was no longer enough to satisfy him.

Back then, the Blood Pelican Demon Blade had also been enhanced to 10. Equipment at +10 had a fundamental effect: it resonated with the player's intentions, making it incredibly comfortable to use, as if tailor-made.

When the Blood Pelican Demon Blade had been enhanced to 10, Li Wenwen had said that after level ten, every three levels gained would grant a special attribute.

As it turned out, the little girl's information was wrong.

According to the reliable records in the Neighborhood Committee's archives, enhancement +10 equipment was extremely, extremely rare. Every subsequent +1 level was a massive threshold, and the returns were enormous, each step like climbing a staircase.

Enhancement +13 was the highest known enhancement level, and it was rumored to grant three additional extraordinary traits on top of the original foundation!

Thinking of the information on those super-enhanced equipment, Xu Lang licked his lips, and without the slightest hesitation, threw this +10 weapon into the Mad Soldier Demon Furnace!

No matter how many times he enhanced, it was always a 50% success rate, the same as enhancing +1. So why not give it a try!

Sunk costs should not factor into major decisions!

"The Mad King Building doesn't have a +11 weapon yet. Maybe I can give it a shot!" A sharp light burst from Xu Lang's eyes as he stared at the buzzing, spinning core of the Demon Furnace, his heart involuntarily tensing up.

This enhancement took longer, nearly 30 seconds.

"Ding~"

The Mad Soldier Demon Furnace let out a crisp, pleasant chime. Then the furnace mouth opened, spitting out a bamboo pole that was hazy green and brilliantly shining!

[Bamboo Pole of the Sword Master +11]

[Type: Long Sword]

[Level: 12]

[Rarity: Excellent]

[Lethality: 3000+1650]

[Durability: 2230/2230+1226/1226]

[Sharpness: 200+110]

[Effect 1 (Sword Master): Sword skill level +1]

[Effect 2 (Teaching): Sword techniques have a suppression effect on enemies who use swords]

[Effect 3 (Special Attribute · Sever): When attacking, the probability of Severed Limb increases by 30%]

[Description: This bamboo pole can cut through steel, and can also slice a fly without harming its wings]

"A percentage bonus?! And a thirty percent percentage bonus!" Xu Lang's eyes instantly burned with excitement.

He raised his hand and gave the bamboo pole a light swing.

Weng~

A green afterimage traced through the air, leaving behind a gorgeous empty arc.

"The feel is this good?" Xu Lang was greatly astonished.

The feel of this bamboo pole actually faintly surpassed even Purgatory's Master, which indirectly increased his swinging speed and skill-casting speed.

For a moment, he even wanted to toss Purgatory's Master into the Mad Soldier Demon Furnace.

[What good luck! Want to go again?]

The Mad Soldier Demon Furnace's warm and cozy words popped up at just the right moment.

Xu Lang instantly sobered up!

Blinking his eyes, he suddenly came back to his senses. How much time had passed? He had been playing with the Demon Furnace this entire time!

A gambling addict must not be indulged!

But still, enhancement +12 also had a fifty percent success rate. What if it succeeded?

Xu Lang wore a rare expression of indecision, but ultimately he left this place.

He would come back next time, after a simulation.

He needed to remind Li Shuwen and the others to scare people properly. Nightmare Essence really was not enough to go around.

……

The second place Xu Lang wanted to visit was the Intermediate Mad Vanguard Barracks. This structure was also at the edge of Mad King Plaza, extremely close by.

At this very moment, the Mad King Chat Room was ablaze with activity.

Everyone's surveillance equipment had mostly broken down during the previous round of the game, so for the time being they could not see the outside changes. Only a scattered few were providing descriptions, sparking a heated discussion.

[433 Ye Fan: Lang Ge is heading to that crimson building now. That building looks like a tent, so it should be the Mad Vanguard Barracks.]

[520 Sheng Qi: Family, open your panels and check the bottom left corner. There's a Mad Vanguard count indicator down there. We currently have 1,000 Mad Vanguards!]

[559 Mao Jia: My guess is that in the future, we can only increase the number of Mad Vanguards by constructing Mad Vanguard Barracks!]

[341 Zhou Yanlin: Do you guys think the Mad King Building really only has Mad Vanguards as Building Guards? Could there be other types of Building Guards?]

[449 Zhu Yan: I want to try that Demon Furnace. If it can make Lang Ge emotional, that thing must be something special!]

[360 Li Xianzhou: @Ye Fan, hurry up and tell us what the Dorm Owner is doing right now!]

[533 Xiong Tai: Brothers, I want to mess with my SAN value. Anyone want to join me?]

The Mad King players were itching with restlessness, their discussions mainly revolving around Xu Lang and SAN value changes.

Staying at home doing nothing was too monotonous, and some people had already begun working to lower their SAN values.

Currently, SAN values could drop without limit, provided one was ruthless enough to oneself.

As SAN values dropped, the dormitory building's trait Chaotic Knowledge would also take effect, bringing many benefits!

Some people began attempting to venture into new territory, breaking through levels they had previously never dared to breach!

For instance, single-digit SAN values!

But gradually, some players noticed something was wrong.

After their roommates' SAN values broke into single digits, it seemed they could not come back. Even using items that increased mood and happiness, their SAN values would drop again before long!

The chaotic knowledge brought by Chaotic Knowledge had already corrupted their brains. Relying purely on mood elevation was no longer enough to excise this permanent damage!

Big trouble!

The matter was quickly reported up the chain.

……

"Teacher Sherry, is there any way your Healing Spell can remove that 'Mental Corruption' negative BUFF?" Inside Demon King Castle, Wang Yazhi looked at Sherry and asked in a low voice.

She held great respect for this teacher, after all, the latter had once taught at Qingkong University.

"I don't know." Sherry shook her head.

The reason for the players' SAN value decline was crystal clear, because the negative BUFF was right there on the status bar. There was no need to search for the cause.

This phenomenon had actually appeared before, just not this severe, and without the status bar reminder, no one had paid it much attention. Some even considered it a good thing, since it helped with efficiently manipulating SAN values.

It was just that occasionally something like shit got stuffed into your brain. Compared to getting stronger, that was nothing worth mentioning!

Kui Zi chimed in:

"This phenomenon of Mental Corruption has existed for a long time. It's just that it was never presented so intuitively before."

"Combining past information, the Mental Corruption status has three characteristics."

"One, it occurs with high frequency in those with extremely low SAN values, as well as those who have long drifted among low-SAN-value players!"

"Two, as time passes, the status level of 'Mental Corruption' will increase, causing the player's condition to worsen. SAN value drops grant Chaotic Knowledge, and Chaotic Knowledge causes the 'Mental Corruption' level to rise. This is simply a vicious cycle!"

"Three, it is difficult to remove!"

After hearing her out and seeing that she had no supplementary information or solutions, everyone could not help but feel somewhat disappointed.

Zhen Lu spoke up: "I feel like Lang Ge should have a way. When he fought that great battle against the monsters of the Evil King Building, he showed obvious signs of extremely low SAN values, and he very likely already entered the negative SAN value territory, yet he did not lose his mind."

"The Demon King Bed can restore SAN values." Miaoying wagged her tail.

"But after that great battle, Xu Lang did not get on the bed to sleep." Cao Yaxuan replied.

Everyone thought about it and felt that Xu Lang definitely had a way.

But they could not rely on Xu Lang for everything, so they still wanted to try things on their own end first.