novelraw Chapter 312: Hunting Competition Rewards, the Ethereal Ring!
Chapter 312: Hunting Competition Rewards, the Ethereal Ring!
Three days after the Hunting Competition ended.
The mess left behind by the sudden undead disaster had gradually been cleaned up.
The Doria Kingdom inevitably had to shoulder part of the responsibility, but fortunately the massive funds seized from the Morin Family covered the costs and then some.
Having received compensation, the other kingdoms could no longer make much of an issue.
At the same time, the competition’s final accounting had been completed, and today was the day rewards were distributed. After excluding the unfortunate contestants who had died, the remaining participants received their prizes according to valid ranking.
Many weaker contestants, believing they had no chance or simply worn out and unable to stay in the Silent Forest any longer, ended up escaping disaster and still received a consolation prize.
Everyone who took part in the Hunting Competition received 30 Gold Coins, while those who ranked in the top 1,000 got 300 Gold Coins.
Top 500 rose to 1,500 Gold Coins.
Ranks 200–500 received 3,000 Gold Coins.
But these were just small extras; for contestants, these coin rewards were only mildly satisfying.Reaching the top two hundred, however, changed things.
Besides a cash prize of 5,000 Gold Coins, contestants ranked 100–200 could additionally choose one mid-grade Exceptional-Grade equipment piece.
Ranks 50–100 received 8,000 Gold Coins, plus one mid-grade Exceptional-Grade equipment and one Exceptional-grade Skill Scroll.
Ranks 11–50 received 20,000 Gold Coins, plus two mid-grade Exceptional-Grade equipment pieces and one Exceptional-grade Skill Scroll.
The top ten rewards were another dividing line…
Ranks 4–10 each received 50,000 Gold Coins, plus one high-grade Exceptional-Grade equipment and two Exceptional-grade Skill Scrolls.
It’s worth mentioning that because they shared many points with Lin Mo, Ellie, Finnie, and Sherfilia all made the top ten.
The top three rewards were even better. Third place got 80,000 Gold Coins, two high-grade Exceptional-Grade equipment pieces, two Exceptional-grade Skill Scrolls, and a bottle of “Essence Blood Serum” crafted from the core flesh-blood essence of an epic-level monster combined with high-grade Exceptional-Grade medicinal ingredients.
This serum could substantially boost qi and blood strength in a short time, increasing attributes.
Effects varied by person, but for someone at level 10 taking third place, a conservative estimate was an increase of 10 base attribute points, roughly equivalent to half a level’s progress. Since that person had already been level 10 for a while, drinking it could likely promote them to Elite.
This single Essence Blood Serum would cost about 80,000 Gold Coins!
Second place, taken by Eve, received 100,000 Gold Coins, one low-grade Epic equipment, two Exceptional-grade Skill Scrolls, and two bottles of Essence Blood Serum.
And finally, the first place—Lin Mo’s reward...
200,000 Gold Coins! One mid-grade Epic equipment, one Epic-grade Skill Scroll, and either three bottles of Essence Blood Serum or one “Condensed Elixir” plus one Essence Blood Serum!
The Condensed Elixir had effects similar to the Essence Blood Serum but was harder to craft and required rarer materials, making it worth about twice as much.
That punishment—excuse me, that reward—was nothing short of extravagant.
Actually, the punishments in later years weren’t always this generous. This year, partially because the unexpected incident happened and they wanted to salvage the kingdom’s reputation, the sums were increased. Also, the Morin Family’s seized fortune was truly fat, giving the king plenty of money to spend, so he wasn’t stingy.
Thus the rewards were lavish.
Especially for the last ten places—without Lin Mo’s presence, the number of spots held by the Doria Kingdom in that bottom ten had actually shrunk. That showed the kingdom’s lower ranks that success in prior academy matches could yield results, so offering fewer punishments helped them slowly improve.
By the time they reached the final seven, they barely bothered to pretend. It was obvious the kingdom was finding excuses to hand benefits to Sheran and Eve.
To avoid accusations, third place got something as well, but the gap with the top two was clearly large.
Lin Mo was very satisfied with the rewards; without his time investment, this round would have been a huge missed opportunity.
At the same time, he grew more eager for the upcoming Academy Grand Competition.
If a single kingdom could be this generous, a massive competition held by an empire should have even richer rewards, right?
Only now, Lin Mo didn’t have full confidence about that competition.
On one hand, opponents would be strong; after entering elimination rounds, he might face Transcendent-level instructors. On the other hand, the gap between his team and others was a tangible, serious one.
And with only two or three days left, there wasn’t time to improve significantly.
Even if he risked going back to the unstable Silent Forest or somewhere else to grind proficiency, the gain would be limited.
It was better to spend time refining skill combinations and converting the Hunting Competition rewards into combat power,
and at the same time help boost Ellie’s and Finnie’s strength.
Otherwise if their points were insufficient and they didn’t even make the elimination rounds, there would be nothing to plan for.
After receiving her reward, Eve took her leave, likely to return to her dorm and use those two bottles of Essence Blood Serum.
Two bottles would be enough to push her up to Elite.
Lin Mo, as champion, wasn’t in a rush—he was naturally last to claim his prize.
After Eve left, he began choosing his rewards.
First for alchemical elixirs, Lin Mo selected one Condensed Elixir and one Essence Blood Serum.
Then came equipment and skills…
The award ceremony took place at the Doria Kingdom’s royal palace. Guided by palace guards, Lin Mo entered the palace treasury.
Passing by the Exceptional-grade equipment and scrolls displayed on shelves, Lin Mo went straight to the end of the vault, to a huge glazed cabinet.
Inside that glazed cabinet were roughly 30 equipment pieces and 20 Skill Scrolls.
Indeed, these were all Epic-grade.
Even small as it was, a kingdom still had some heritage. Apparently the items seized from the Morin Family hadn’t even been added in yet...
Since these were Epic-grade items, they had to be handled carefully.
Lin Mo’s gaze swept over the nearby items as he chose carefully.
There were five mid-grade Epic equipment pieces in total.
One was heavy armor for the Knight profession and could be ignored, one was a staff which Lin Mo didn’t want—he preferred swords. A mage’s weapon wouldn’t help; later he could forge Epic mithril gloves. A ranger’s bow was also unnecessary, so only two remained.
One was a silver-glimmering ring and the other a pitch-black longsword.
Lin Mo first checked the longsword’s stats.
[Meteoric Black Sword]
Equipment Type: Weapon/Longsword
Grade: Mid-grade Epic (Purple)
Attributes: Durability +110%, Toughness +200%, Sharpness +110%
Hidden Attribute: Meteoric Iron Might IV: Increases qi and blood strength by 40% in battle
Equipment Amplification: Meteoric Radiance IV: +45 Strength when using physical skills; an additional +25 Strength when using "Crushing" type skills!
Equipment Skill: Breath of Meteoric Flame: Releases searing meteoric flame. For the duration, attacks additionally deal meteoric flame burn damage, and forcibly applies "Enhanced Scorch" and "Intensified Burn" effects.
Note: Weapons forged with A+ grade meteoric iron are unusually sturdy.
Lin Mo frowned slightly.
This sword was certainly not bad; it also used meteoric iron and was similar in some ways to his Frost Dragon Scale Sword. As a mid-grade Epic weapon, purely by stats it would be stronger than the Frost Dragon Scale Sword.
But...
Lacking dragon scale power, this sword’s equipment skill and hidden attribute missed something.
Qi and Blood intensity was increased, but it lacked the "Dragon Majesty" effect; its skill was ordinary, not comparable to "Breath of the Frost Dragon."
Moreover, the amplification bonus favored "Crushing" type skills rather than "Sword Energy," and for Lin Mo the latter suited him better.
Overall, this sword might not actually be superior to the Frost Dragon Scale Sword.
In his mind, Lin Mo quietly sentenced the weapon to "death."
That left only the final item.
[Ethereal Ring]
Equipment Type: Accessory/Ring
Grade: Mid-grade Epic (Purple)
Attributes: Durability +150%, Toughness +80%
Hidden Attribute: Ethereal IV: Spatial Affinity +30%
Equipment Amplification: Child of the Void IV: +50 Mana when using Space Magic, Space skill potency +15%!
Equipment Skill: Rift of Severance (requires mastery of Space Magic): Tear open a rift in the void to exile enemies or incoming attacks to another space. (Exile target level must be no higher than user level -3. If the exiled attack exceeds the Rift of Severance’s endurance, the rift channel is destroyed, but the attack itself disappears with the rift.)
Note: The Ethereal Ring includes 1,000 cubic meters of storage space.
Holy crap?!
Lin Mo stared at the ring in astonishment.
This was a ring related to Space Magic!
That Spatial Affinity was like Elemental Affinity but for space, boosting his control over space, increasing space skill potency and casting speed.
The amplification "Child of the Void" further increased mana and skill power when using Space Magic.
But the most critical thing was clearly its equipment skill.
This thing was wildly overpowered!
The exile effect itself was somewhat niche for Lin Mo—he could only exile targets up to three levels lower than himself, and he usually one-shotted foes three levels lower anyway.
But the absorption of incoming attacks was extremely powerful.
Even if an enemy’s attack exceeded the Rift of Severance’s endurance and destroyed the rift, the remaining force would vanish along with the rift.
In other words, this equipment skill acted as a single-use "absolute defense."
Even a full-force strike from a Legendary-level powerhouse could be blocked by Rift of Severance.
When facing stronger foes or sudden dangerous situations, this was absolutely a lifesaving artifact!
On top of that, the ring included 1,000 cubic meters of storage, allowing Lin Mo’s original Spatial Ring to retire and removing concerns about personal space capacity. He could freely convert his portable space into a livable area.
For Lin Mo, the piece was perfect!
Without any hesitation, Lin Mo pointed at the ring and said, "I'll take this one."
At those words, Elvish, who had been watching, was momentarily stunned.
"Lin Mo, are you sure? This equipment... is unusual and may not be of much use," Elvish said delicately.
He of course knew the ring’s effects. Without Space Magic, the ring would be nothing more than a larger Spatial Ring.
"I know."
Lin Mo nodded. "This equipment suits me well."
Elvish paused, then seemed to understand his meaning and shook his head helplessly.
He now understood why his disciple had been so gloomy these past few days.
After all, it had only been a few months since Flora told him she had found a seed of potential worth recruiting to the academy.
And now...
Not only had that youth surpassed many, they had even learned Space Magic.
Elvish didn’t know how to console Flora.
He had been researching magic his whole life—what had he really achieved?
Aside from Fire Magic, nothing of substance.
In another year—or maybe only one year—that young man might surpass him.
Helpless, Elvish said nothing more and stepped forward to open the cabinet and hand the ring to him.
"There’s also one Epic-grade scroll you can choose, over there."
Lin Mo walked to the cabinet holding the Epic-grade Skill Scrolls.
The scrolls were neatly classified by profession.
Normally, one would just look at the scrolls for their own profession.
But for Lin Mo, he had to look through them all...
Warrior skills like Gale Hundred Slash, Battle Frenzy; Mage skills like Flame Meteor, Earthshaking.
Lin Mo examined them one by one, momentarily unsure.
Honestly, he wasn’t lacking skills now.
Whether offense, defense, or utility, he already had most needed.
So it made sense to pick a Ranger skill.
After all, he still didn’t have enough Ranger profession skills; without them he couldn’t promote the Ranger profession to Elite.
Thus his attention turned to the Ranger skill scrolls.
In the end he chose a skill called Shadow Arrow Web.
This skill sounded like a large-area attack type, which should make leveling easier.
Having chosen the skill and taken the scroll, he led his party and left the palace.
There were still important matters to handle.
First, he needed to liquidate the monster materials he had collected, then convert his huge sum of money into combat power to prepare for the Academy Grand Competition.