The Ultimate Evolution

There is a saying that when you meet a bear in the forest, you don’t have to run faster than the bear, you just have to run faster than your companion.

So it was with the fight between Sheyan and Legolas. Sheyan did not have to kill Legolas, he just had to survive longer than the Elf in battle. The exhausted Legolas who was eager to take his life would definitely not fight a prolonged battle with Sheyan.

The fight progressed pretty much as Sheyan had planned, except he did not expect Legolas to attack with a divine artifact for the final blow! Fortunately, Sheyan’s ridiculous innate ability won out in the end.

Seeing the “backdoor” Gandalf had planted, Sheyan sneered indifferently. One would think that his inaction at the moment was because he was helpless to do anything about it, but that was not the case at all.

In the distance, Zi closed her eyes and floated into the air.

Several intense rays of light burst forth from behind her. The rays looked really dangerous, scorching red like molten steel. Yet, when the light penetrated through quite a few contestants and storyline characters, they seemed perfectly fine, as if nothing had happened.

The only explanation was that, though the rays came from Zi, they existed on another plane! Shrill screams abruptly came from the ghosts that were moving Legolas’ corpse away as well as the Black Arrow and Lothlorien Longbow that had suddenly floated into the air for seemingly no apparent reason! The ghosts then turned into smoke and dispersed with the wind!

The “backdoor” Gandalf and the Maiar had planted was to use creatures from an alternate dimension to take away the spoils so as to recoup some of their losses. Unfortunately for them, Zi had the ability to interfere with dimensional abilities. Even before this, she could already interfere with teleportation items that carried the power of the Realms. Now that she had obtained a legendary equipment, she had become even more powerful.

As Zi coldly retracted the mage dagger in her hand, the White Tower shook violently, as if there was a strong fluctuation in space. A horrible noise could be heard in the air, somewhat like the sound made when a knife scratched on the surface of a glass, except a hundred times louder. Everyone who heard the noise could not help covering their ears in an attempt to prevent their soul from suffering from that terrible torment.

The Maiar could only send their consciousness here and not their powers. The raging wind was their angry roar!

The upper part of the White Tower burned with a horrible flame that did not belong to the mortal realm, melting the white stone into red-hot magma!! None of those remaining in the tower could survive that, but their souls would be taken away by the angered Valar to the holy land of the Elves, Aman. There, the World Tree would protect their souls and reshape their bodies.

(Note: The Valar were the Powers of Arda who shaped and rule the world. The Maiar were those spirits which descended to Arda to help the Valar shape the World. Gandalf is one of the Maiar.)

This result did not come as a surprise to the dark side contestants because the Mouth of Sauron had already told them of this possibility. All of them started to rush to the tower. First, they would completely destroy the foundation of the White Tower, then they would clean up the remaining enemy near the tower so as to achieve the final victory.

At this time, Sheyan suddenly closed his eyes. He had obviously received some notifications related to the loot. Legolas’ corpse suddenly shone with a black light. The powerful Black Arrow started zipping left and right the air like a trapped beast that was unwilling to succumb to fate, but in the end, it was helplessly bound by an invisible force that sent it towards Sheyan!

The fact that Legolas had dropped the most valuable possession on him when he was killed seemed a little too lucky to be true. After all, in a lot of fights before this, it was not that rare to see high-level storyline characters drop nothing but trash. But considering the meaning behind this campaign, such an occurrence was actually quite reasonable.

This was a battle between multiple Realms. This was a war in which the Realms would bend the rules to the limit!

The participants on both sides had benefited greatly from the war. That was the case for most people, not just Sheyan. Be it the contestants from the human alliance or from the dark side, they would often get good loot whenever they killed someone. If Aragorn had not dropped a massive amount of things when he died, Legolas would have done so. It was because of this that those who participated in Realm Wars and survived would often become much stronger than before, as if they had been reborn anew, having sucked the nutrients out of those who fell in the war.

No matter how reluctant the Black Arrow was, no matter how hard it twisted and turned, it could not escape from Sheyan’s evil claws. Sheyan instantly received a series of notifications:

[ You have successfully plundered the low tier divine artifact, Black Arrow, also known as the Dragon Slaying Arrow and The Desolation of Smaug. ]

[ The divine artifact is enshrouded in a layer of fog. You have not gained the recognition of the artifact’s soul, so you are unable to view its detailed properties. ]

[ This is a strange and powerful weapon. It contains the noble bloodline derived from a powerful weapon used by an ancient Vala. If the wielder is not strong enough but forcefully use the weapon, it will cause the wielder severe injuries. ]

[ Basic equipping requirements (can only bring out 50% of the weapon’s maximum power): ??? ]

[ Advanced equipping requirements (can only bring out 70% of the weapon’s maximum power): ??? ]

[ Complete equipping requirements (can bring out the weapon’s maximum power): ??? ]

[ ???? equipping requirements (can bring out the weapon’s extreme power): ??? ]

[ Origin: (Omitted) ] (please refer to previous chapters for the details)

[ This weapon can be used in two ways: close combat or ranged combat. In close combat, the wielder can grab the tail of the arrow and use it like a short spear, while in ranged combat, the weapon can be shot like a normal arrow. Under normal circumstances, its power in close combat will be a little lower than its power in ranged combat. ]

***

[ ‘Ancient Power’: The divine power of an ancient Vala remains in this weapon. The enemy’s blood might stimulate and trigger this formidable power. When attacking the enemy, there is a chance for the wielder to gain the special effect of all attributes + 15 (melee combat) or to reduce all the enemy’s attributes by 15 (ranged combat). ]

[ ‘Ancient Power’ lasts for 30 minutes and can stack three times. ]

***

[ ‘The Desolation of Smaug’: The miserable scream of the evil dragon, Smaug, haunts the Black Arrow and will affect the opponent. When your opponent is not a dragon, their defence will be reduced by 20%. When your opponent is a dragon, their attack power will increase by 50% due to anger. ]

[ This effect can only be obtained after you have met the advanced equipping requirement. ]

***

[ ‘Identify Weakness’: The moment you enter combat, the soul of the Black Arrow will begin to analyse and identify the enemy’s weakness. The effect will improve with the passage of time. ]

[ After you enter combat for 30 seconds, the effect will improve for the first time. Your explosive strike damage will increase from the default 2 times the normal damage to 2.5 times. After you enter combat for 90 seconds, the effect will improve for the second time. Your explosive strike damage will increase to 3 times the normal damage. After you enter combat for 4 minutes, the effect will improve for the third time. Your explosive strike damage will increase to 3.5 times the normal damage. After you enter combat for 10 minutes, the effect will improve for the fourth time. Your explosive strike damage will increase to 4 times the normal damage! After you enter combat for half an hour, the effect will improve for the final time. Your explosive strike damage will increase to 5 times the normal damage! ]

[ Hint: The Black Arrow must be equipped to obtain this ability. This ability will not come into effect if the arrow is kept in your storage space. This ability can only be obtained after you have 100% mastery over the weapon. ]

***

[ Vala’s Wrath (Active Ability) ]

[ Perform two consecutive shots with the ancient power of the Valar. The first shot will consist of the physical body of the Black Arrow. When it hits the enemy, it will cause an astonishing amount of damage and also silence the enemy, temporarily causing the enemy to lose the ability to use all passive and active abilities. The enemy will also be stunned for three seconds. ]

[ The second shot will consist of the weapon soul of the Black Arrow, and will cause five times the damage of the first shot. If the enemy has less than 20% HP remaining after the shot hits, the enemy will be instantly killed. ]

[ Cooldown: 24 hours. The silencing effect will last for 24 hours or until it is dismissed by the wielder of the Black Arrow. ]

[ Hint: This ability can only be used in ranged combat mode. This ability cannot be used when the Black Arrow is kept in your storage space. This ability can only be obtained after you have 100% mastery over the weapon. ]

***

[ Warning: Because the weapon soul of the Black Arrow is still hostile towards you, you currently do not have the right to use the equipment, only the ownership right. You must battle the weapon soul of the Black Arrow and subdue it before you can sign a soul contract with the arrow and use it. ]

[ Hint: You must collect the relevant materials before you can activate the teleportation array to battle the weapon soul. You can only face the weapon soul alone. Failure may result in death. ]

***

Reading through these detailed information, Sheyan now understood that, although the gap between dark gold equipment and legendary equipment was huge, it was nothing compared to the gap between legendary equipment and divine artifact! There is a saying that divine artifacts can only be possessed by their rightful owners. In terms of the rules of the Nightmare Worlds, it meant that the relationship between a divine artifact and its owner was a two-way relationship. The owner chose the divine artifact, but the divine artifact would also choose the owner!

And that was the biggest difference between a divine artifact and a legendary equipment.

Holding the Black Arrow in his palm, Sheyan felt like he was holding a burning serpent – scorching hot, and filled with an unyielding power. The Black Arrow struggled like a freshly caught fish, except it was ten times more stubborn.

However, when G-Spot silently deformed and greedily extended a liquid metal tentacle towards the Black Arrow, the Black Arrow instantly stopped twitching. Right now, the arrow felt like it had shrunk to a tenth of its original size. A puff of smoke rose from G-Spot’s silver tentacle, and G-Spot immediately jerked it back.

Both the equipment behaved themselves after that, but it felt more like a cold war, as if they knew that there would be many more fights between them in the future. Currently, being only a top-tier legendary equipment, G-Spot was still unable to devour the Black Arrow. However, the divine artifact was extremely wary of the terrifying liquid metal life-form that could assimilate everything, because G-Spot only needed to get a little stronger to consume it.

Right then, what remained of the White Tower finally collapsed with a loud moan, no longer able to endure the fierce beating from the Trolls. The landmark building of Minas Tirith, the main city of Middle Earth, was no more!

Cheers could be heard everywhere. Quite a few of the contestants had even knelt down holding their faces, tears of joy flowing out between their fingers.

At that moment, the sun finally penetrated through the clouds. The Orcs and the Trolls fled to shadier places, but no one paid them any mind. Sheyan stood on top of the city, overlooking the devastated Pelennor Fields as well as the ruins in the city. A general built his success upon ten thousand bleaching bones indeed!

Sheyan was, after all, still a 26-year-old young man. Although he was mentally mature, he could not help but feel a little desolate at the scene.

While he was looking at the faraway sun and the smoke from Mount Doom looming in the distance, Sheyan finally received the notifications he had been waiting for:

[ Golden Main Mission: ‘Destroy the Kingdom’ has been successfully completed. ]

[ You have successfully destroyed the White Tower. The human alliance army has been annihilated, and the Fellowship of the Ring has lost more than 50% of their members. ]

[ Mission Evaluation: Just about excellent. (Don’t be surprised by this evaluation. Although you’ve done a good job, the heavy casualties of the dark side army is the main negative factor affecting your evaluation). ]

[ Mission Details: When you destroyed the White Tower, you have also wiped out everyone protecting it. Good job. ]

[ Hint: Your party level is not high enough, so your status as the leader of a Silver Party will not affect the rewards. ]

[ You have obtained 40 + 3 achievement points (Legend Level + 3 points). ]

[ You have obtained 300,000 utility points. ]

[ You have obtained 70 potential points. ]

[ You have successfully completed a Golden Main Mission! Party level + 1! ]

***

[ Common Reward A: Your attributes are increased by 15 + 3 points (Legend Level + 3 points) ]

[ Description: They will be added directly to your attributes. You do not have to allocate them. ]

***

[ Common Reward B: Interstellar Travel Certificate (disposable item) ]

[ Description: After using this item, other contestants will not be able to attack you during the duration of your stay in the world you use it in. Similarly, you will not be able to attack other contestants either. ]

***

[ Common Reward C: Exemption Letter of Authorisation ]

[ Description: This item can exempt you from the penalties of 3 missions of difficulty ‘B’ and below, and 1 mission of difficulty ‘A’ and below. It cannot exempt you from the penalties of higher difficulty missions. ]

[ Description: When you use this item to exempt yourself from mission failure, you naturally will not obtain the reward either. Please use this item before you are handed the penalty. ]

***

[ Common Reward D: Sauron’s Horn ]

[ Description: When you blow the horn, the Dark Lord will use his divine power to send his servants across the barrier of time and space to your side to fight for you. You will obtain the help of a small, 11-member which consists of an Uruk-hai, five Orc arsonists, four Orc warriors and an Orc shaman. They will be protected by Sauron’s divine power and will not die in battle. Instead, when they are on the brink of death, or after 24 hours have passed, they will return to the Lord of the Rings world. ]

[ Hint: To blow on Sauron’s Horn, you must infuse dark energy into it. There are two ways to infuse dark energy into the horn: either by killing 200 souls or by charging it in the Realm. ]

All the contestants started discussing among themselves in amazement upon reading the notifications. Such handsome rewards were totally out of their unexpectations. But it was nothing compared to what came next.

[ You will receive differing amounts of golden utility points according to your contribution in this campaign. You can use these golden utility points to purchase the special rewards of the Golden Main Mission! All remaining golden utility points will disappear upon leaving this world. Golden utility points can be traded. Your remaining contribution points will be converted into golden utility points based on a certain exchange ratio. ]

[ Contestant No. 1018, your performance in this campaign is worth 133 golden utility points. Do you want to convert your remaining contribution points into golden utility points? ]

“Yes!”

[ Contestant No. 1018, you now have 194 golden utility points. Please choose your preferred special rewards for the Golden Main Mission from the following list of options. Choose carefully, because most of the equipment and items that you see here will only appear in the rewards of Golden Main Missions. The size of the data transferred from the database is too large, so please wait patiently for the data download to finish… ]

[ The estimated waiting time is 17 minutes and 31 seconds. Please wait patiently. Feel free to sit down and relax with a glass of wine, or use the time to bandage your wounds. This is now a completely safe area. ]

Party Ace had gathered around Sheyan. They pooled together their golden utility points without Sheyan asking them to. The party had now truly become a single unit. Even the rebellious Aziz had quickly integrated into the team after going through fire and blood, life and death with the others. It was like he had always been a part of this team.

The situation around them had become as rowdy as a wet market. No one would miss out on a chance to gather as many golden utility points as possible. After all, the notification had clearly stated that the equipment and items that were about to appear will only be found as the special rewards of Golden Main Missions. These equipment and items were bound to have values exceeding their grades. Even the dark gold equipment would be comparable to some legendary equipment!