novelraw Chapter 82: The Fruit of Life
Chapter 82: The Fruit of Life
[You remain invisible and leap into the Polluted Lake of Life…]
[The clear lake water is scalding hot, and your vision is strangely tinged with a faint red hue.]
[The Subspecies Sea Dragon Pearl on your body emits a faint blue glow, granting you the ability to breathe underwater and move freely in combat.]
[The lake water is clear and transparent. With one glance, you take in the entire lakebed landscape.]
[Throughout the whole lake, there is no sign of life. Not a single fish swims by, and there is not even a strand of aquatic plant to be seen.]
[Do you want to swim toward the floating soil at the center of the lake?]
Is that even a question?
Lin Xun immediately clicked ‘Yes’.
He still had no idea what kind of sapling was growing on that floating soil.
[You swim quickly toward the floating soil at the center of the lake…][The closer you get to the center, the hotter the water becomes. The scalding temperature reddens your entire body, the pain almost unbearable. You grit your teeth and push forward with all your strength.]
[At last, you reach the center of the lake and climb onto the floating soil.]
[The crimson sapling, about as thick as a wrist and no taller than a person, sways its branches gently in the breeze. A dark red fruit hangs from one of its branches.]
[Do you want to pick the fruit, or uproot the sapling entirely?]
Lin Xun’s eyes widened.
He had thought he could only pick the fruit, but to his surprise, there was also an option to uproot the whole tree and take both tree and fruit.
Without hesitation, he chose to uproot it.
[Greedy Apostle, you step forward, wrap your arms around the sapling, and pull with all your might, but the sapling does not budge an inch.]
[Your summoned creature, the Corrupted Three-Headed Lion, has died!]
“Damn!”
The Three-Headed Lion had held out much longer than Lin Xun had expected.
Originally, by now, he could have picked the fruit.
But since the grand prize had suddenly turned into a jackpot, Lin Xun naturally was unwilling to settle for just the fruit, and that had cost him extra time.
[Do you want to pick the fruit, or uproot the sapling entirely?]
Should he pick the fruit first, then uproot the sapling?
Looking at the two options in the game text, Lin Xun was unsure whether the option to uproot the tree would still be available after picking the fruit.
If he picked the fruit and the game text no longer gave him the option to uproot the tree, he would be furious.
Suddenly, he slapped his forehead.
“Right, the Dancer Shell is just a scrawny assassin. There’s no way it can pull out a tree by the roots.”
Work like this, heavy lifting, should be handled by the Paladin of Discipline.
With that thought, he quickly opened the Shell Panel. The Paladin of Discipline Shell was dull and dim, not yet reshaped.
“…”
“Forget it. Letting the Engineer pull out the tree should work too. Its level is high and its strength is solid.”
Lin Xun clicked on the Engineer Shell.
[You have possessed the Shell of the Pyramid Corporation Engineer.]
[You begin to hear deafening footsteps from behind. Turning your head, you see the towering Ancient Primordial Tree in the distance, striding rapidly toward you…]
Lin Xun quickly pressed the option to uproot the tree.
In his heart, he prayed that the Engineer’s brute strength would pull off a miracle, yanking the sapling out before the Ancient Primordial Tree arrived to kill him.
If even the Engineer couldn’t pull it out, he would have no choice but to grab the fruit and run.
[You bend down, grip the trunk with both hands, straighten your back, and with full force, you easily uproot the small sapling.]
[You have obtained Sapling of the Corrupted Tree of Life (Material).]
[You have obtained Corrupted Fruit of Life (Epic Item).]
“Done!”
Lin Xun pumped his fist excitedly. The Engineer had successfully uprooted the tree and claimed the reward.
The Shell’s high level of 32 was finally showing its power.
Although the Engineer was not a strength-specialized class, its level was so high that its strength attribute couldn’t be too weak.
[The footsteps behind you have fallen silent without you noticing.]
[You turn your head. The Corrupted Ancient Primordial Tree has reached the shore. Its crown of branches and leaves stands on end, and a furious roar rumbles from the hollow of its mouth as massive roots sweep toward you…]
[You are ensnared by the roots of the Ancient Primordial Tree…]
[Without any power to resist, you are crushed into pulp.]
[You have died!]
Lin Xun smacked his lips. That Ancient Primordial Tree was ridiculously strong; even a level 32 Engineer couldn’t resist and got instantly killed.
But his goal had been achieved. He not only grabbed the fruit but also took the sapling along.
This haul of rewards was basically a super jackpot.
[A feeble wandering soul is reborn in the familiar shed…]
Lin Xun opened his inventory to check the rewards he had exchanged his life for.
[Sapling of the Corrupted Tree of Life (Material): Only treant clans with a Tree of Life can flourish. Although this Tree of Life is just a sapling and has been tainted by corrupting power, it still contains incredible strength. Using this material to forge Shell Equipment will guarantee the generation of a related Equipment Trait.]
Lin Xun’s eyes lit up. A trait like the Hidden Blade’s ability to stay invisible after an attack was an Equipment Trait.
Forging equipment with the Tree of Life sapling would guarantee the creation of a trait.
“I wonder what kind of trait the Tree of Life would have.”
Lin Xun decided that after the current chapter ended, he would head back to the library to forge a top-tier piece of equipment.
Right now, he wasn’t lacking in weapons, but he desperately needed a powerful piece of armor.
The Yellow-Robed Bishop’s robe and the Dancer’s performance costume were both basically as fragile as paper, offering no real defense.
During real-world battles, Lin Xun’s Engineer Shell could only wear the Paladin of Discipline’s armor.
In the last fight against Talros, that armor had been battered into a damaged state and would need the Blacksmith Shell to repair it once the shell is reshaped.
He then checked the other item.
[Corrupted Fruit of Life (Epic Item): The Tree of Life can only bear one Fruit of Life at a time. The fruit contains all the essence and nutrients of the tree.]
[After growing for thousands of years, the fruit would fall and develop into a towering Ancient Primordial Tree. This fruit is not yet fully matured and has already been tainted by corrupting power, making it incapable of growing into an Ancient Primordial Tree.]
[Using this item will cause the corrupting power to deeply infect your Shell. It will not only increase your Shell’s level (the lower the Shell’s level, the more it will rise), but also allow the Shell to recall its True Name. This item can only be used on Shells of Epic quality or lower.]
Lin Xun’s eyes widened as he carefully examined this Epic Item.
Items that could directly boost a Shell’s level were extremely rare, let alone ones that also unlocked a Shell’s True Name.
This item was incredibly valuable.
From the Apostle Forum, he had learned that True Name items could generally only be obtained by continuing to search in the locations where the Shells were first acquired.
For example, Lin Xun’s Paladin of Discipline and Yellow-Robed Bishop Shells had both had their True Name items discovered in their respective locations by opening treasure chests, defeating bosses, or completing quests.
But True Name items were not guaranteed to appear. Sometimes treasure chests had nothing, and bosses dropped nothing. It all depended on luck.
For instance, Lin Xun still hadn’t gotten the True Name item for the Dancer Shell.
This Epic Item could unlock the Dancer’s True Name directly and also boost its level.
“Should I use it on the Dancer?”