Volume One, Chapter 11: The Reinforced Absolute Defense
After leaving the village chief’s house, Lin Yu found a secluded spot and eagerly took out the golden “Divine Skill Enhancement Tome.” Seeing the tome glowing with a golden hue in his hands, Lin Yu’s eyes shone with an uncontrollable joy.
After all, this was a tome that could enhance all skills!
Especially for Lin Yu, who possessed numerous advanced skills, its value was beyond words.
However, he soon found himself troubled.
He was faced with four enhancement options: Absolute Defense, Taunt, Steadfast Will, and the newly acquired SS-rank skill, Fountain of Light.
Enhancing any one of these skills would greatly increase his power.
But the dilemma was which skill would yield the greatest benefit.
Logically, strengthening the already divine-level Absolute Defense seemed the obvious choice.
Yet Lin Yu was uncertain if the tome would even improve Absolute Defense.
He knew that beyond the divine level, there was supposedly a legendary transcendent tier, but that existed only in myths.
At least in his previous life, he had never heard of anyone possessing transcendent talents or skills.
Since the skill enhancement tome was a one-time use item, once applied, there was no turning back.
If the tome proved useless on Absolute Defense, it would all be for nothing.
It also meant he might lose the chance to gain another divine-level skill.
On the other hand, if it succeeded, with transcendent talent, he could rise to become one of the strongest beings on the Divine Demon Continent.
It was truly a perplexing choice.
...
“Forget it, I’ll take the risk. At worst, the quest will be wasted!” Lin Yu bit his lip after a moment of contemplation.
After brief reflection, he decided to use the Divine Enhancement Tome on Absolute Defense.
After all, sometimes you have to gamble to turn a bicycle into a motorcycle.
To stand atop the Divine Demon Continent, he needed stronger means and trump cards than others.
Without hesitation, Lin Yu applied the enhancement tome to Absolute Defense.
[Notification: You have chosen to enhance “Absolute Defense” with the Divine Skill Enhancement Tome. Confirm enhancement?]
“Enhance!”
Lin Yu clenched his teeth; as he said, at worst, the quest would be wasted.
A hum resonated from the game interface, followed by a dazzling flash of light.
As Lin Yu anxiously waited...
A long-anticipated system message finally sounded softly in his ear after a few seconds.
---
[Notification: Congratulations, player Ji Yu. Your “Absolute Defense” has been successfully enhanced. Please check!]
“Did it succeed?”
Upon hearing the confirmation, a surge of unrestrained joy welled up in Lin Yu’s eyes.
After all, this was a transcendent-level upgrade—how could he not be thrilled?
The next moment, he eagerly opened his skill panel.
[Absolute Defense (Semi-Transcendent Level) Lv. 2:
Effect 1 (Ultimate Defense): Permanently increases own defense by 0.02 per second (only while online).
Effect 2 (Counter Damage): When activated, reflects damage upon being attacked, dealing true damage equal to 20% of maximum defense. Activation and deactivation consume no resources (Status: Off).
Effect 3 (Health Sublimation): Gains health equal to 100% of own maximum defense.
Proficiency: 8250/30000.]
...
“Hiss, semi-transcendent.”
Seeing the current level of Absolute Defense, Lin Yu gasped sharply.
A semi-transcendent talent was unheard of in his previous life.
Though excited, he quickly analyzed the effects of the enhancement.
First, Effect 1’s Ultimate Defense seemed to have been nerfed.
Previously, defense increased by 0.05 per attack, but now it increased by 0.02 per second.
Given that multiple attacks could trigger several increments per second before, this seemed like a downgrade.
However, Lin Yu was not disappointed; rather, he was pleased.
Although the visible defense gained per second was less, it meant less effort on his part.
Now, as long as he remained online, he would steadily gain defense without needing to grind for passive triggers—undeniably a boon.
Moreover, with Absolute Defense, his defense had no upper limit, so a slight reduction was inconsequential.
As for Effect 2, it was undoubtedly strengthened.
The counter damage rate increased from 15% to 20%, and the addition of an activation toggle made it far more user-friendly.
Without this toggle, accidental attacks from teammates would be embarrassing.
Given his terrifying defense, counter damage could mean instant death or severe injury.
Most surprising was the new Effect 3.
Although his defense was high before, his health had always been an issue.
In the late game, true damage attributes existed, so low health would be a significant disadvantage.
Now, with Health Sublimation, that problem was effectively resolved.
---
In fact, moving forward, he could allocate all attribute points to attack, compensating for warriors’ innate lack of attack bonuses.
Most importantly, his SS-rank skill, Fountain of Light, finally had a worthy application.
Effect 3’s calculation was based on his defense, meaning his health could grow without limit too.
Overall, the Health Sublimation boost was immeasurable.
“I knew the gamble was worth it!”
After a brief analysis, joy flooded Lin Yu’s eyes.
With semi-transcendent Absolute Defense, standing at the summit of the Divine Demon Continent was no longer a dream.
Not to exaggerate, with the boosts from Absolute Defense and Fountain of Light, becoming a mobile fountain of regeneration in the late game was entirely possible.
With infinite stacking defense and health, plus percentage health regeneration every second, who could possibly kill him?
[System Alert: Your remaining online time is less than 5 minutes. Please take note!]
[System Alert: Your remaining online time is less than 5 minutes. Please take note!]
...
Just as Lin Yu was reveling, a system warning blared in his ear.
Clearly, his online time was critically low.
“Looks like I really need to get a game pod,” Lin Yu sighed helplessly.
To improve his strength as much as possible before the impending catastrophe, maximizing online time was essential.
Especially now that his Ultimate Defense depended on being online.
Having a game pod was crucial.
For the remaining time, Lin Yu did not waste a second.
He immediately put the Ghost Scorpion Armor, dropped from the Ghost Scorpion King, up for sale in the trade shop.
The Ghost Scorpion Armor was too trivial for him; better to exchange it for money.
He chose an auction format with a starting price of thirty gold coins—equivalent to thirty thousand Huaxia currency.
Though thirty gold was not cheap, for some powerful clans, it was mere pocket change.
Moreover, the armor’s attributes were excellent, still valuable up to level twenty.
Especially during early faction conflicts, this equipment offered significant advantages.
He was confident many buyers would be interested.
After listing the armor, Lin Yu logged off just in time.
Since his Absolute Defense was linked to online time, he was naturally unwilling to waste it.