Chapter 103: Taro Ball Is Not Round
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 103: Taro Ball Is Not Round
【Upon pickup, gain one stack of Void's Curse. Each stack reduces all attributes by 1%.】
【A fragment containing the power of the Void. Those of insufficient status must not peer into it.】
Looking at the Void Fragment before him, which radiated an ominous aura, Taro Ball did not hesitate for long and chose to pick it up.
【Gained one stack of "Void's Curse." Cannot be removed.】
In the next second, his attributes dropped by a noticeable margin.
Immediately after, Taro Ball stared at the Void Fragment in his hand and activated his talent.
【Reverse Refinement】
【Select an item to extract its core factors and reverse them, transforming the item into a related tool, piece of equipment, skill, or talent.】
Instantly, the Void Fragment in his hand vibrated violently, and the surrounding space began to shake.
【Refinement Target: "Void Fragment"】
【Refining...】
【...】
【Error#】
【Gained one stack of "Void's Curse." Cannot be removed.】
Seeing his talent fail, Taro Ball felt a pang of disappointment.
"I guess I can't just force it. In the end, I'll still have to deal with those monsters from the Wheel of Fate."
With a sigh, Taro Ball stowed the Void Fragment into his inventory and opened his map to check his location.
"Three thousand meters until I'm out of the Land of Storms. Beyond that is the Northern Empire. If I trigger the power of the Void Fragment there, I should be able to meet them..."
Closing the map, Taro Ball resumed his journey.
As for why he was in the Land of Storms—a place that had absolutely nothing to do with a beginner—it was all thanks to a specific entry inherent to the Traveler class.
【Journey's Start】
【When entering the game for the first time, you may freely choose your starting area.】
Relying on this entry, a Traveler didn't have to deal with a random spawn point like other classes.
However, since this was a one-time-use entry, it meant that during later development, a Traveler would effectively have one less entry than other classes.
Furthermore, most players chose low-level areas suitable for beginners as their starting point. Unless it was some streamer looking for clout, this entry was generally considered useless.
But Taro Ball had done the exact opposite.
He chose the Land of Storms as his starting point, a place crawling with high-level monsters of level fifty and above. Even the lowest-level "atmosphere-building" mobs were level fifteen.
Beyond that, the Land of Storms had a region-specific, permanent curse.
【Endless Storm】
【Damage dealt decreased by 20%, damage taken increased by 50%. Lose 2,000 HP per second and gain one stack of Silence Lv.5, up to a maximum of one hundred stacks.】
Under normal circumstances, let alone a beginner, even veteran players in the late game would have to carefully consider their sustain before entering.
But under the effect of his talent's reversal, the storm curse transformed into something else entirely.
【Endless Storm - Blessing】
【Damage dealt increased by 20%, damage taken decreased by 50%. Restore 2,000 HP per second and gain one stack of Haste Lv.5, up to a maximum of one hundred stacks.】
The curse of the Land of Storms didn't cause him to drop dead at the start; instead, it became a blessing that fueled his growth.
Relying on the storm blessing at the start, Taro Ball quickly carved out a place for himself in the Land of Storms.
Along the way, he constantly used Reverse Refinement on monster materials, obtaining a series of specialized items and skills that steadily expanded his power within the region.
Combined with the Traveler's "home is where the heart is" trait—which meant he didn't need a fixed class-advancement point—Taro Ball had quickly ground his way to level fifty amidst the monsters of the Land of Storms, successfully completing his second class advancement.
To level up further, the required experience had reached the millions, making it impossible to gain significant power in a short time.
Compared to staying in the Land of Storms to grind, heading to the Northern Empire was now far more important.
Boom—!
Snow erupted into the air, instantly obscuring Taro Ball's vision.
Faced with this sudden development, Taro Ball immediately activated a concealment skill and hid to the side to observe.
In his line of sight were three demigods.
【White Robe Lv.105】
【Elise Lv.107】
【Cult Leader of Chaos Lv.115】
"Cough, cough... It's him again. Elise, you leave first. He's likely targeting your bloodline..."
"Enough of that. Don't start with that childish 'I'll hold him back' talk. It's not like you could actually stop him after I've run off."
"I'm just worried about you..."
"You have the nerve to say that? If the chaos power in your body hadn't faded, I might have had to fight a one-on-two right now..."
"Cough, cough..."
At that moment, the Cult Leader of Chaos, who had been ignored, interrupted the two.
"You two certainly are in high spirits. It just so happens that I am not fond of fighting either. How about this: if Miss Elise is willing to allow me to take a sliver of Witch's New Blood, as compensation, I will not only leave immediately but also clear all the storm curses in this area for you. What do you think?"
Hearing the Cult Leader's request, the two stopped bickering and turned to look at him.
For a moment, they were actually tempted.
The fundamental reason they had come to the Land of Storms was to complete a penal labor mission—to reclaim the land for the Empire.
With the Witch of Wind's innate control over the wind, Elise could easily reduce the storm curses in the Land of Storms.
However, the Land of Storms occupied half of the Northern Continent; its area was vast, and the time required to diminish the curses was significant.
This was supposed to be a long-term mission, but now the Cult Leader of Chaos was promising to wipe out all the curses at once.
By giving up just a sliver of blood, they could avoid a fierce battle and complete their penal labor mission in one go.
No matter how they looked at it, it seemed like a very cost-effective deal.
"I'm afraid we're going to have to disappoint you. We don't accept such trades."
"After all, we aren't stupid enough to trust the promise of a Cult Leader of Chaos."
Seeing that they didn't believe him, the Cult Leader of Chaos shook his head helplessly.
"Very well. Since you are unwilling, I won't waste any more words."
The moment he finished speaking, White Robe and Elise prepared their authority effects.
Just as the two thought the Cult Leader of Chaos was dropping his facade to attack them directly...
He ran away.
White Robe: "?"
Elise: "?"
"?"
Even Taro Ball, lurking nearby, was stunned by this sudden turn of events.
"He just ran? That doesn't seem like the Cult Leader of Chaos I remember."
While everyone was confused, an out-of-place voice broke the silence.
"Hahaha! Didn't expect that, did you? I—"
Looking at the bewildered White Robe and Elise, the arriving Strife froze.
"Huh? Where's the Cult Leader of Chaos? Didn't he come looking for you?"
Faced with Strife's confusion, Elise sighed.
"No. He probably noticed your presence long ago and fled before you arrived. Honestly, Big Brother, aren't you underestimating the opponent's intelligence a bit too much? Did you really think he'd fall for such a crude plan?"
Faced with Elise's critique, Strife scratched his head awkwardly.
"Hahaha... Well, I just recently started learning strategy from Brandon, and I thought I'd try it out to see if I could capture that Chaos guy alive."
Hearing Strife's explanation, Elise looked even more speechless.
"So... we were the bait in your 'strategy'?"
"Haha, not at all! I wouldn't actually let you two fall into danger, so how could you be called bait?"
"Forget it. Given how much you've looked after us lately, I can't really complain."
Feeling the awkwardness, Strife tried to change the subject.
"Anyway, the Emperor is currently receiving envoys from the Aodu Empire and is holding a rather nice welcoming ceremony. Do you want me to take you back to join the fun? Think of it as a vacation."
"Is that so? Alright then."
With that, the three left the scene.
Only after confirming the area was safe did Taro Ball deactivate his concealment skill.
"If I heard correctly, the Northern Empire is already in the Dual Emperor Alliance phase. It looks like I need to pick up the pace."
Just as Taro Ball was about to leave, a cold voice suddenly came from behind him, making his body stiffen.
"This little brother was watching from the side just now. I thought it might be an acquaintance, but looking at you now, you seem like a stranger..."