Update Time: 2014-02-25
“The third trial—Spiral Staircase!”
Standing at the bottom of the Spiral Staircase, Lin Zheng looked up and immediately felt a sharp pain in his crotch at the sight of the ridiculously long staircase! It was at least twenty-some stories high, and being spiral, the actual climb was even longer! How could this Wizard Tower not look twenty-some stories tall from the outside?
While Lin Zheng was grumbling to himself, a gargoyle hanging upside down beneath the nearest staircase suddenly spread its bat-like wings with a “flap—” and shed its stone skin before flying towards the two of them.
Gargoyle: Level 60 (Elite), Physical Attack 2150-2840, Physical Defense 1280, Magic Defense 1250, HP 18750, Skill—Petrification. Gargoyles are one of necromancers' favorite guardians. They possess extremely strong physical and magical resistance, making them very troublesome enemies for adventurers!
With a sharp shriek, the gargoyle swooped down towards the two. Its four limbs were covered in sharp claws; getting caught by one would definitely be no joke! The gargoyle ferociously swung its claws at Lin Zheng, but he easily missed it. Xiao Mo, standing nearby, wouldn't let this good opportunity pass. She immediately launched a Chain Strike, causing a series of damages around 700 to float up from the gargoyle, instantly reducing its HP by half!
Xiao Mo’s powerful output immediately drew the gargoyle's aggro. The gargoyle shrieked and swiped a claw at Xiao Mo. As Xiao Mo dodged, Lin Zheng stepped forward with a Low Kick + Stomp, dealing nearly 4000 HP damage to the boss. He was just thinking of unleashing a shattered moon combo when, unexpectedly, the gargoyle folded its wings and instantly turned into a stone statue! Then its HP began to recover crazily!
“My goodness! This recovery speed is too outrageous!” Lin Zheng watched in shock as the gargoyle's HP was about to fully recover in the blink of an eye. Xiao Mo, without hesitation, immediately activated Chain Strike. “Clink, clink, clink, clink, clink, clink…” A series of crisp sounds rang out, but only a string of 200+ damage floated up from the gargoyle! Judging from this damage, the gargoyle's defense had increased by at least 50%!
“That’s right!” Lin Zheng’s eyes suddenly lit up. He took out his versatile dagger and fiercely stabbed it into the gargoyle. “Clink—” The gargoyle displayed -485 damage, and although the damage was small, the gargoyle’s astonishing HP recovery speed instantly stopped! Xiao Mo was surprised again and couldn't help but ask, “How does your dagger have so many functions?”
“Hehe!” Lin Zheng said somewhat smugly, “Although my dagger’s attack isn't great, its additional attributes are excellent. It can ignore armor effects and prohibit the attacked target’s HP recovery. It’s perfect for dealing with these guys!”
“Is that so!” Xiao Mo put away her surprised expression. “It looks so insidious!”
Lin Zheng “…”
Seeing Lin Zheng's frustrated expression, Xiao Mo smiled. She raised the Paladin's broadsword in her hand and launched a Pierce! Although the petrified gargoyle's defense was ridiculously high, its inability to Reversal and its stationary state made it very easy for Xiao Mo to attack. Soon, the gargoyle's HP was depleted, turning it into a pile of shattered stones. Checking the quest log, there were still 149 gargoyles to kill; it was a long and arduous journey!
“By the way, doesn't your sword have a special skill? Why didn't I see you use it just now?” Lin Zheng suddenly asked before they went up the stairs. Xiao Mo was startled by his question, then said with some shyness, “I'm used to normal attacks and didn't notice that skill!” Lin Zheng opened his mouth, not knowing what to say. Someone playing a game without using skills? This was probably the only one of its kind! Prompted by Lin Zheng, Xiao Mo opened her skill menu and looked at the description. Her eyes immediately lit up. This Holy Light was an activatable passive state; once activated, each attack would deal an additional 200 points of direct light attribute damage, ignoring all defenses! It was perfectly suited for fighting these gargoyles!
Formally stepping onto the Spiral Staircase, they hadn't walked many steps when another gargoyle flew up from below the stairs. It was difficult to dodge on the staircase, so Lin Zheng could only obediently take a hit from the gargoyle. That hit was quite painful, dealing over 2500 HP damage to Lin Zheng. Fortunately, Lin Zheng had a large supply of Level 6 cooked roasted snake meat, which restored 600 HP per second—a high-grade item unique to him! Eating the roasted snake meat, Lin Zheng unceremoniously gave the gargoyle a Stomp, while Xiao Mo immediately stepped forward with a Chain Strike. The Chain Strike, empowered by Holy Light, was indeed powerful, instantly dealing over 12000 HP damage to the gargoyle, causing it to immediately petrify! This time, Lin Zheng wouldn't foolishly watch the gargoyle recover. As soon as he saw it transform, he immediately pulled out his dagger and stabbed it, then left it to Xiao Mo. With another Chain Strike, the gargoyle turned into a pile of shattered stones.
After killing the gargoyle, the two continued to climb the stairs, but this time their pace was too fast, attracting two gargoyles at once! Xiao Mo was squishy and had low HP, definitely unable to withstand the gargoyles' attacks. There was no choice; Lin Zheng had to act as a meat shield, tanking the attacks of both gargoyles. Although he was chewing roasted snake meat, by the time Xiao Mo finished off the two gargoyles, Lin Zheng was already on the verge of death! With lingering fear, the two dared not rush this time. They slowly climbed the stairs, luring and killing the gargoyles one by one. This was very time-consuming; by the time they eliminated all the gargoyles and reached the large platform at the top of the stairs, over 30 minutes had passed!
Before the two could properly adjust themselves, stone Crumbs suddenly rained down from above the platform. Having seen gargoyles in action many times, the two immediately became alert. It seemed the boss of this stage was about to appear, and from above?
“Bang—” A massive dark shadow fell from above. Lin Zheng and Xiao Mo instantly leaped away, avoiding the thunderous strike! Quickly adjusting their state, Lin Zheng looked at the dark shadow. It was a gargoyle over 3 meters tall, and its appearance was different from the smaller gargoyles. It had the form of a demon with ox hooves and horns, and in its right hand, it held a greatsword over two meters long. Its fanged mouth snorted, actually spitting out wisps of flames!
Gargoyle Leader SS, Physical Attack 3240-4450, Physical Defense 1700, Magic Defense 1300, HP 550000, Skills—Petrification, Fatal Pierce, Flame Breath! The Gargoyle Leader is another proud creation of Ouna. Its body, taken from a demon's corpse, possesses extremely powerful defense and magic resistance. However, because it was transformed from a hell creature, its resistance to light attacks is negative, causing double damage from light attacks!