Chapter 527: The Hidden Properties of a Battle Companion
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Zhang Yang did not stay to guard the dead bodies. Instead, he led Chionocpi out of the cave. The cave was too large and if he had no quest guiding assistants, he would never be able to search for the [Zinc Alloy] when he does not even know what it looked like.
As they walked on, Zhang Yang casually asked, "Chionocpi, did the harpies do anything do you?"
"N-No!" cried Chionocpi. His nose then grew longer. Nervous, Chionocpi quickly added, "There’s this weird lady harpy that was always asking me to place my face in front of her. She would make me repeat and lie and then a truth in turn and then repeat it over and over again. I don’t know what she wanted me to do, but she made my nose all sticky and wet! What a weird harpy, asking me to use my nose to poke her insides. She knows very well that my nose is made of wood, moisture isn’t exactly good for it! She seemed to cry out each time it grew longer and shorter. How scary."
Zhang Yang stopped for a good moment and facepalmed hard. The developer who designed this quest must have been a dry f*ck…
That being said, he turned to Chionocpi and took note of his nose and limbs. If he too had such an ability, he could have already dominated Sun Xin Yu and Han Ying Xue! It’s not that his magnum was lacking in any aspect. In fact, Zhang Yang could proudly say that he was superior to most men! It was the fact that the two girls were always at each other's throats, always demanding more and more from him, even as they shot death gazes at each other. When he was done with one, the other would want it, and the cycle would continue until Zhang Yang’s golden sack was completely shriveled up!
If he had a single finger that could be controlled like Chionocpi’s nose, he should have already pacified both women with ease.
As he sighed heavily, Zhang Yang and Chionocpi made their way of the cave. The old man Kadejah was waiting anxiously. When he saw the silhouette of Kadejah, the little boy was overjoyed and ran over to the old man with tears in his eyes. The old man bent down and embraced the boy with his arms. "Chionocpi, my boy!"
"Father!" cried Chionocpi as he hugged his father.
After the emotional reunion, Kadehaj lifted his head and thanked Zhang Yang. "Brave adventurer, I can’t thank you enough for saving my son!"
‘Ding! You have completed the quest: Please Save My Son! Obtained 1,000,000 Experience Points!’
Zhang Yang smiled and replied, "Chionocpi is a good kid. No one in their right mind would not get in between him and the mouth of a monster."
Kaedjah nodded his head and wiped away his tears. "Adventurer, I do not know whether this piece of news would be useful to you but, I’ve heard the ironsmith in the town had mentioned about a rare mineral that could be found in the cave. The mineral is expensive and can be sold for a large fortune. Rumors say that the harpies are fond of the mineral and had hidden it away in some chest. The key to the chest is with the harpy leader, the Harpy Queen Yaniboque. If you can defeat her and obtain the key to the chest, you could sell the minerals for a large sum of gold coins!"
…
Eh? No quest notification?
Zhang Yang stuttered a little and said, "I-I thank you for the news. Old man, if I do get rich, I will come back and have a drink with you!"
Kadejah smiled and chuckled, "Thank you. I bid you farewell, adventurer. We shall take our leave now."
As the man turned around, Kadejah looked down to Chionocpi and said, "You must listen to me, and never run around again!"
"Yes, father!" Chionocpi nodded his head, and his nose grew a little. What a prick!
Zhang Yang turned back to the cave and headed to the place where he had rescued Chionocpi in the first place. He wanted to take the opportunity to rush in, since the monsters that he had killed had yet to spawn. Even though the monsters were not difficult to kill, it would still be a little troublesome. Halfway through, Zhang Yang had bumped into the group of four Indians that he had killed not too long ago.
Their face turned pale, but they came at him anyway, thinking that he was as unprepared as they were.
Zhang Yang laughed at their stupidity. He had not used any strong skills when he had first defeated them. So, killing them now would not make any difference. In fact, it would only be easier, since he now knew how they fought. With Felice joining his attack, the two of them had sent the four Indians to their graves again. It was all too simple for him, since Zhang Yang had the S class Inheritance, while Felice was a Battle Companion equipped with a complete set of Mythical equipment. With the two of them, they could completely crush any players right there and then. Come four or five, even 40, or 400, no one would not stand a chance when Zhang Yang activates his God of War Transformation! It would be a walk in the park for him to kill both normal and professional players. The difference in power when he is in Transformation mode was like heaven and earth, with no gray areas in between the two!
Not long after the fight, Zhang Yang came to the place where he first found Chionocpi. The cave was huge, and the routes were as complex as a spider’s web. He would usually walk with one hand against a wall at all times when in such caves. However, this cave had circular routes. If he had done so, he would be circling around endlessly.
Zhang Yang enlarged the minimap and found a large cavern that was even bigger than the entire cave! Though it was not clearly specified, bosses usually reside in a large area. Hence, it would be sensible for him to start there first.
After memorizing the pathway, he then proceeded to head in the general direction of the cave. Not long after, the monsters around had gained a tier, turning from normals to elites. Even though they could not cause Zhang Yang much trouble, it would still be time-consuming for him to kill them all. Besides, the four Indians might come back for his head anytime.
Zhang Yang then decided to use {Shadow of the Void} and {Burrow} to sneak past the monsters and moved deeper into the cave, unhindered. There was no way for Savage Lord and his mates to trace his pathway.
Even though the pathway to the boss’ room was clear-cut and simple, the way to it was completely filled with monsters. When {Shadow of the Void} and {Burrow} expired, he had to start killing his way through. It was a good haul as he had gained many pieces of equipment. Despite being barely dressed, the harpies had dropped a total of over 50 Gray-Silver equipment and 13 Yellow-Gold equipment. Zhang Yang was on the verge of filling up his inventory.
"Little Yang! The official site had released information about the tiers of Battle Companions. Check out little Felice’s grade. How many stars is she?" said Fatty Han through the voice comm just when Zhang Yang was starting to get annoyed at picking up equipment.
"Oh," said Zhang Yang as he nodded unconsciously. "What was it again?"
Fatty Han laughed and explained.
Battle Companions were unlike pets or mount. That had already been clearly established. It was true that there were Black-Steel, Yellow-Gold, or Violet-Platinums, but players had found out that Battle Companion had more than those grades. Felice was just too special to be even graded in the first place, but Han Ying Xue’s Battle Companion Messick, and the little girl’s Battle Companion "The Artist", Reina were too far apart in terms of their prowess. Messick’s HP was at least seven times that of Reina!
Even though Battle Companions could equip armor or weapons to increase their strength, there was no way to tell if the Battle Companion they had was strong or weak, which left players greatly confused. Hence, when countless of players threw in an endless amount of inquiries to the officials, the developers had gotten sick of explaining and decided to release some information about the Battle Companions.
According to the officials of ‘God’s Miracle’, they had intended to allow players to slowly discover the capabilities of the Battle Companion and find one that suits their own specific play style.
For tanks, they would wish to have DPS type Battle Companions, so that they could help kill monsters faster. That, or a Healer-type to allow oneself to last longer in battle. Inversely, DPS class players would want to have tanker Battle Companions since it would keep them from getting overwhelmed. Naturally, healing types would be effective as well. Supporters are always a welcome sight.
That being said, those categories would branch out into various subcategories under each class of Battle Companions. For example, under the tank class, there were single target or multiple target aggro control. For DPS type, there were magic attack and physical types, ranged, melee, AoE, single target, and many other branches. Theoretically, there was no strongest Battle Companion, only the best suited for each player.
Hence, the official had never released information about Battle Companions, until now, in hopes that they could prevent the game from being too linear where players would end up having the same "strongest" Battle Companions.
Zhang Yang had guessed correctly that each Battle Companion had an original grade which depended on their default equipment tier. For example, Felice would be a Mythical tier, according to her equipment. If he had not unlocked the seals on her, she would only gain levels without gaining tiers.
However, the equipment alone does not determine the prowess of a Battle Companion. If a player could farm or obtain the special equipment meant for their own Battle Companion, an originally Black-Steel tier Battle Companion could be upgraded to a Celestial superman! They could even kill a Battle Companion who started off as Holy tier!
Battle Companion had a specific growth rate which was a hidden attribute. It could be described in such a way. When a special equipment with 100 bonus Strength is worn by a Battle Companion, the effect of the Strength bonus could go down to 10 or even shoot up to 150, depending on the wearer.
For Strength type Battle Companions, equipping a Strength equipment would be beneficial for them. For Dexterity type or magic attack type, the amount of Strength they gain from the equipment would be minimal.
The system had even used a Star grading system to determine the growth rate of each attribute. The lowest was 1 star and the best was 15 stars. 1 star would only provide 10% bonus and 15 stars would be 150% attribute bonus. This was not limited to only equipment. It was the overall stat bonus. For example, when a [Vitality Magic Scroll] is used to provide 100 bonus Vitality, a 15-star Vitality Battle Companion would gain a 150 Vitality points boost, while a 1-star Vitality Battle Companion would only gain 10 Vitality points, even if the original effect was 100 points.
Normally, like players, a magic attack type Battle Companion would have higher stars for their Intelligence and Spirit attributes and lower stars for Strength and Dexterity. It would be as simple as equipping armors and weapons to see the changes. A tank type Battle Companion would have better Vitality star points, while physical attack type Battle Companions would have higher Strength and Dexterity stars.
"Little Yang! What are Felice’s attribute star points?" asked Fatty Han excitedly. "My Napolita has 8 stars in Intelligence, 7 stars in Spirit, but her Vitality only has 6 stars."
Napolita was Fatty Han’s Battle Companion that he had obtained just a few days ago. She was a busty, blonde chick. Hmm…the important factor was indeed her bust.
Zhang Yang wavered a little. "Didn’t you say that 15 stars was the best? Are you already that satisfied with her?"
"F*ck! Where can you find a Battle Companion with 10 stars in any of their attributes? Just look at the official database! Anything with 7 stars is already pretty good!" said Fatty Han as he defended his big hooters. I mean, his busty Battle Companion.
"Hey! I asked you to check Felice’s star count!"