novelraw Chapter 331: Generous Rewards: High-Rank Epic Robe!
Chapter 331: Generous Rewards: High-Rank Epic Robe!
For the people of the Doria Kingdom's academy, winning the championship at the Academy Grand Competition sounded like a fantasy.
Even now that it had actually happened, there was still a strong sense of unreality.
It was like a shut-in who stayed home every day watching anime and playing games suddenly being approached on the street by an incredibly beautiful JK high school girl, then being pursued by her, and from then on starting a sweet romantic life.
Even when the beautiful girl in the blankets was blushing and lying on his chest, he'd still wonder if he was dreaming...
That was exactly how everyone in the Doria Kingdom felt right now.
Lin Mo was quite calm, after all, this result was something he had personally fought for.
Finnie, however, looked somewhat worriedly towards Shirleyas's direction, only relaxing after seeing she had woken up.
Ellie sat in her seat, somewhat sullenly hugging her knees.
Clearly, she had become much stronger. For her, Lin Mo had expended so much sweat and effort, yet in the end, she could still only be of minor help.
She had to work even harder!The uproar within the arena wouldn't subside anytime soon.
After all, this upset victory was something no one could have predicted before.
A small kingdom actually winning the championship in the Academy Grand Competition was truly unbelievable, absolutely unprecedented, and there would likely be no one to match it in the future either.
But the competition had ultimately ended. Although the discussions were heated, some spectators were finally beginning to leave slowly.
However, some people remained, especially the participants of the elimination rounds.
Because next, it was time to award the prizes.
The reason they came to participate in the Academy Grand Competition was partly to showcase their strength and talent, to become famous in one battle, and another important reason was for the competition's generous rewards.
As a large-scale event hosted by the Violet Empire every three years, the rewards for the Academy Grand Competition could be described as extremely extravagant.
Just by entering the elimination rounds, making it to the top 32, one was guaranteed a total of 200,000 Gold Coins! Plus 10 bottles of Essence Blood Serum and 10 pieces of mid-grade Exceptional-Grade equipment!
Winning one elimination round and advancing to the top 16 would grant 400,000 Gold Coins, 15 bottles of Essence Blood Serum, and 15 pieces of mid-grade Exceptional-Grade equipment.
The top 8 teams would receive 700,000 Gold Coins, 25 bottles of Essence Blood Serum, and 10 pieces of upper-grade Exceptional-Grade equipment.
The top 4 would get 1,000,000 Gold Coins, 30 bottles of Essence Blood Serum, 10 pieces of upper-grade Exceptional-Grade equipment, and 2 pieces of low-grade Epic Level equipment.
The runner-up would receive 1,200,000 Gold Coins, 40 bottles of Essence Blood Serum, 10 pieces of upper-grade Exceptional-Grade equipment, 3 pieces of low-grade Epic Level equipment, and 1 piece of mid-grade Epic Level equipment.
The champion's reward was the most exaggerated: a full 2,000,000 Gold Coins, 50 bottles of Essence Blood Serum, 10 pieces of upper-grade Exceptional-Grade equipment, and 5 pieces of low-grade Epic Level equipment.
Furthermore, the student who contributed the most and performed the most brilliantly in the finals would receive an additional FMVP reward.
This extra reward consisted of only one thing—a single piece of upper Epic Level equipment!
The value of just this one piece of equipment exceeded 500,000 Gold Coins, and in most cases, it was something money couldn't easily buy.
Upper Epic Level equipment was basically the highest tier of equipment one could see on the market. Even with the Violet Empire's deep reserves, the quantity of equipment at this level wasn't particularly large.
The basic rewards were soon distributed. However, regarding the equipment, they needed to go to the academy's treasure vault to make their selections according to their ranking.
After representing the academy to receive the rewards, Elvish first distributed the basic rewards.
2,000,000 Gold Coins for a total of 9 students and 5 instructors. Equal distribution was, of course, unreasonable. But if it were divided completely based on contribution, that might look a bit awkward. So, after weighing the options, Elvish finally gave the four students who contributed little 30,000 each, gave Eve 80,000, gave the five instructors 100,000 each, and the remaining 1,300,000 all went to Lin Mo.
This 1,300,000 was the reward for him, Ellie, Sherfilia, and Finnie.
Although the proportion they received was low, the prize money was substantial enough. 30,000 Gold Coins was undoubtedly a huge sum for those few students.
The 80,000 Eve received was also no small amount; even for her, it was definitely a considerable gain.
As for Lin Mo, directly receiving 1,300,000 Gold Coins made him feel a bit dizzy for a moment.
He never expected the rewards for the Academy Grand Competition to be this outrageous...
Over a million Gold Coins! Even buying Epic Level equipment, he could buy 20 pieces!
And that was just the Gold Coins. Besides that, they also received a total of 30 bottles of Essence Blood Serum, 6 pieces of upper-grade Exceptional-Grade equipment, and 3 pieces of low-grade Epic Level equipment.
Lin Mo thought for a moment and simply exchanged those 6 pieces of upper-grade Exceptional-Grade equipment for 1 piece of Epic Level equipment, directly taking 4 pieces of low-grade Epic Level equipment, just enough for each of the girls to have one.
As for him... he didn't need more equipment of this grade anymore now...
There was still a heavyweight piece of equipment waiting for him.
After the award ceremony ended, as the champions of this competition, they were naturally the first to select their rewards.
Finnie and Ellie went to choose their own equipment.
Meanwhile, Lin Mo, accompanied by Elvish, arrived at the topmost floor of the Imperial Academy's treasure vault.
When they arrived here, the Imperial Academy's Dean Aaron was already waiting for them.
"Teacher!"
Upon seeing Aaron, Elvish immediately bowed in respect.
"Hmm..."
Aaron looked at this student he hadn't seen for many years, his feelings somewhat complicated.
Among his many students, Elvish was the mediocre type, not doing too poorly, but not particularly well either.
Therefore, his impression of this student had never been very deep.
But now, in the kingdom and academy where this student was, a monstrous genius had emerged.
"Go pick the equipment you desire. I'll have a word with your dean..."
Lin Mo nodded. The burly vice dean of the Warrior Academy beside him led him to the room storing the equipment.
The moment he entered the door, an aura of profound heaviness and power washed over him.
This feeling was completely incomparable to low-grade Epic Level equipment.
Lin Mo had seen mid-grade Epic Level equipment before, but compared to what was before him now, the gap was still huge.
Lin Mo first confirmed his current equipment configuration.
Among his weapons, his sword was Epic Level, his gloves were damaged and also relatively low level, though they could be reforged later. His bow... didn't need to be good. His magic robe was Exceptional-Grade. Regarding accessories, the Ethereal Ring was Epic Level, the Calming Bracelet was Exceptional-Grade. His armor and boots were also Epic Level.
So, what could be replaced were either accessories or a cloak.
Which specific slot to choose depended on what was available in this room.
Upper Epic Level equipment was incredibly precious. Even the Imperial Academy's stock wasn't large.
Lin Mo walked around the entire room, looking at all the equipment. In total, there were only 13 pieces. Among them, there was only 1 accessory and only 1 cloak.
So it was a choice between two.
Lin Mo's gaze returned to these two pieces of equipment, confirming their effects.
First was that accessory, a water-blue necklace.
[Azure Water Scroll]
Equipment Type: Accessory
Grade: Epic (Purple)
Attributes: Durability +230%, Sturdiness +120%
Hidden Attribute: Water Rhyme IV: Increases Water Element spell casting speed by 45%, enhances Water Element spell power by 45%
Equipment Enhancement: Water's Spring IV: Gain 60 points of Mana attribute enhancement in battle, gain an additional 40 points when using Water Element magic!
Equipment Skill: Azure Water Shield: Activate the Azure Water Shield to block a large amount of damage and continuously provide slight healing.
Upper Epic Level equipment was clearly more than just a bit stronger than lower Epic Level.
A 45% boost to Water Element spell casting speed and power, plus a whopping 100 points of Mana attribute enhancement when using Water Element magic, along with an equipment skill that combined protection and healing effects—for a Water Element Mage, this piece of equipment was perfect.
But for Lin Mo, who wasn't particularly proficient in Water Element magic, it seemed somewhat lackluster.
It was certainly usable, but he could only bring out about half of this equipment's potential.
Better to look at the next item, the magic robe.
[Thunderflame Starfall Robe]
Weapon Type: Magic Equipment / Cloth Armor
Grade: Epic (Purple)
Attributes: Durability +280%, Sturdiness +170%
Hidden Attribute: Thunder Ignites Flame IV: Increases Lightning Element spell casting speed by 40%, increases Fire Element spell casting speed by 25%; enhances Lightning Element spell power by 40%, increases Fire Element spell power by 25%!
Equipment Enhancement: Thunderfire Power IV: Gain 60 points of Mana attribute enhancement in battle, gain an additional 40 points when using Lightning Element magic, gain an additional 25 points when using Fire Element magic.
Equipment Skill: Heavenly Thunder Starfall: Summons a "Falling Star" and channels heavenly thunder power, combining thunder and fire to deal massive damage, and applies "Paralysis", "Burn", and "Vulnerability" (reduces enemy defense) effects.
Excellent!
He had only glanced at it briefly before. Now, seeing the robe's effects clearly, Lin Mo's eyes immediately lit up.
That robe is perfect for me!
Thunder and fire are interconnected. That Primordial First Fire from back then was born from heavenly thunder to begin with. The characteristics of the Thunder and Fire magical elements also share many similarities.
And this robe gathers the power of thunder and fire, able to simultaneously amplify spells of these two attributes!
And thunder and fire also happen to be elements Lin Mo used very skillfully and with high frequency.
This robe, for a Lightning Element Mage, is a qualified upper Epic Level piece of equipment. For a Fire Element Mage, it can only deliver the effect of a lower to mid-grade Epic Level piece. But for Lin Mo, it was absolutely far superior to a typical upper Epic Level piece of equipment, almost as if custom-made for him!
"I'll take this one!"
"Alright."
The burly vice dean of the Warrior Academy beside him nodded, using the "key" in his hand to unlock the magic formation sealing this piece of equipment.
Lin Mo took out the equipment and put it on directly.
Compared to his original ice-blue magic robe, this purple-red robe looked significantly more high-class, and even Lin Mo's demeanor seemed to become more "noble."
At the same time, Ellie and the others had already chosen the equipment they wanted. It was time to leave and let the second-place team come in to select their reward.
When leaving the treasure vault, they coincidentally ran into Noren and Shirleyas leading the way towards them. Seeing Lin Mo, Noren immediately turned her head away with a "hmph!"
For the Imperial First Academy, only getting second place in the Academy Grand Competition was equivalent to a kind of disgrace.
So it was understandable that they were in a bad mood.
Lin Mo didn't bother with this little girl, nor did he say much. He just nodded in greeting and left.
Finnie followed behind Lin Mo, hesitated for a moment, then stopped, patting Noren's head. "Noren, don't be too upset... Are your injuries from before all healed now?"
She didn't know how to comfort Noren. After all, the ones who defeated them and made her lose the championship were Lin Mo and herself.
So if she said certain things, it was hard to tell if it was comfort or provocation.
"Hmph~ I don't need your concern..."
Although she said that, Noren's tone had clearly softened.
After her habitual tsundere act, Noren suddenly turned her head to look at Lin Mo ahead. "Hey, you, wait!"
Lin Mo turned his head, saying somewhat helplessly, "My name isn't 'hey'. You can call me Lin Mo directly, or you could... call me brother-in-law."
"Yuck!"
Noren made a face at him but didn't dwell on the address. "I admit, this time we lost. I was outmatched. I, Noren, can accept defeat... But don't get too cocky!"
Noren waved her claws menacingly, showing her two little fangs. "In the future, Shirleyas and I will definitely find a chance for 'revenge'. When that time comes, we'll definitely beat you until you're picking your teeth off the floor, begging for mercy on your knees!"
"Alright, I'll be waiting."
Lin Mo smiled, not taking this fierce-yet-cute "threat" seriously at all.
He didn't believe anyone could keep up with his growth speed. This master-servant pair couldn't beat him now, so they had even less chance later.
The same logic applied to anyone else. Once they lost to Lin Mo once, there was no possibility of a comeback or reversal.
This was called "Lin Mo's First Law."
"And also..."
Just as Lin Mo was turning away, Noren added another sentence. "Take good care of my sister... If you dare bully her, I'll bite you to death!"
"I will."
Lin Mo gently pulled Finnie, who had walked to his side, closer. "Whether you say it or not, Finnie is one of the most important people to me. No matter what, I won't make her cry (some special occasions don't count)..."
"Well then, we'll be going first. See you again if there's a chance."
Finnie waved somewhat reluctantly at Noren.
Although they hadn't met many times, she quite liked this younger sister.
This child always looked full of herself, but she was actually a good person, especially good to her, and she wouldn't do anything bad either.
"...Mhm."
Noren watched her turn and leave. Only after the people had gone far did she softly respond.
Shirleyas looked at the departing figures, her gaze lingering on Lin Mo for an extra moment before shifting away to look at the young girl beside her.
"Young Mistress Noren, we should go in to select our rewards now."
"Let's go. After we return, you're going to train me hard. We absolutely cannot lose to him next time!"
"Yes, my respected Young Mistress!"
On Lin Mo's side, the group followed Elvish to the place where they had first teleported in.
The competition was over. It was time for them to return.
Elvish couldn't wait to bring back the heartening news of their championship victory.
The Doria Kingdom had been dormant for too many years. The entire kingdom, from top to bottom, had lost its "vitality." But the shocking news of winning the Academy Grand Competition was enough to invigorate the kingdom and its citizens, setting them back on an upward trajectory.