Chapter 14: The Void Predator, the Devouring Chief, Infinite Evolution!
Soon after, the clerk approached carrying a black box. Li Yao was about to open it but was stopped by the clerk.
“Mr. Li, it’s better to wait until no one else is around before opening it.”
“Alright,” Li Yao replied.
Having a rough idea of what was inside, he stored the box in his storage ring. Seeing this, the clerk finally relaxed and smiled.
“Have you chosen a suitable summoning beast, Mr. Li?”
“This one,” Li Yao pointed to the Devouring Worm, “why is it so much more expensive than the others?”
The clerk was momentarily taken aback but quickly explained, “Because of the Devouring Worm’s health attribute, it can theoretically grow to the level of an A-rank summoning beast.”
“Oh?” Li Yao’s curiosity was piqued.
“However, I wouldn’t recommend this one.”
The clerk tapped a few times on the tablet and handed it to Li Yao. “Take a look for yourself.”
[Devouring Worm (B-rank summon): Mandatory skill: Devour. Bites the target, losing 10% of its own health to deal true damage equal to 30% of the target’s maximum health. If this attack kills the target, it permanently increases its own health by 1. Cooldown is 1 hour.]
Reading the description, Li Yao felt somewhat disappointed. Although it was an extremely rare “infinite growth type,” the growth value was very low. Even at maximum efficiency, it could only gain 24 health points per day. That was likely why the clerk discouraged choosing it.
Wait!
Li Yao suddenly thought.
For ordinary summoners, the Devouring Worm was merely a B-rank summon with limited skill effects. But what if star upgrades could enhance these values or reduce cooldowns?
Being B-rank meant there was significant room for improvement...
The more he pondered, the brighter his eyes became.
“This is the one!”
“Ah?” The clerk was surprised, thinking she hadn’t explained clearly enough.
“Mr. Li, please reconsider.”
“Many summoners have raised Devouring Worms before. Even with dedicated 24-hour care, they only gain about 8,000 health points in a year.”
“More importantly, aside from health, the other attributes are average for a B-rank summon.”
“When fully grown, it’s basically just a tougher punching bag.”
“Selling it for two million is too expensive.”
If it were someone else, the clerk would have hoped they would purchase it so she could earn a commission. But this was the young master of the Silver Wolf Guild, a prodigy with awakened talent. If he bought it and was dissatisfied, blaming her for misleading him...
The clerk shuddered at the thought.
“Don’t worry. Even if it turns out as you say, I won’t blame you,” Li Yao sensed her worry and reassured her.
“Are you sure you want to buy it?”
“Yes.” Li Yao nodded.
Upon hearing this, the clerk quickly tapped a few more times on the tablet. Soon after, a staff member delivered the skill book titled “Devouring Worm · Summon” to Li Yao.
“Please swipe your card.”
...
Li Yao took the skill book and went to the 7th floor of the Star Network Trading Center. Below the third floor was the trading floor; above was the hotel accommodation. The walls of the rooms were made of special materials so that even if an explosion occurred, the neighbors wouldn’t hear a sound. Naturally, the price was not cheap.
Inside the room, Li Yao placed his hand on the skill book, which transformed into sparkling starlight flowing into his body. The Devouring Worm’s attributes appeared on the system panel.
[Piece · Devouring Worm]
[Level: 10 (increases with summoner’s level)]
[Rank: B]
[Bond: Combat]
[Star Rating: 1 star (requires 5 gold coins to upgrade B-rank pieces)]
[Health: 3300/3300]
[Strength: 56]
[Spirit: 49]
[Agility: 51]
[Endurance: 66 (main attribute)]
[Skill 1: Devour – bites the target, losing 10% of own health to deal true damage equal to 30% of the target’s max health. If this attack kills the target, permanently increases own health by 1. Cooldown 1 hour.]
Nothing remarkable. Besides Devour, it had no other skills.
But...
“System, upgrade it for me!”
He had 5 gold coins remaining from before, and after reaching level 10, the hedge fund granted him 10 more—enough to star-upgrade the Devouring Worm.
When the upgrade finished, Li Yao looked at the updated attribute panel, finally relieved.
Its name had changed to Void Predator, and a new bond, “Void,” was added.
Unfortunately, the Void bond required three Void pieces to be on the field simultaneously to activate.
[Piece · Void Predator]
[Level: 10 (increases with summoner’s level)]
[Rank: A]
[Bond: Combat · Void]
[Star Rating: 2 stars (requires 15 gold coins to upgrade A-rank pieces)]
[Health: 4450/4450]
[Strength: 61]
[Spirit: 55]
[Agility: 51]
[Endurance: 89 (main attribute)]
[Skill 1: Evolved Devour – bites the target, losing 10% of own health to deal true damage equal to 35% of the target’s max health. If this attack kills a leader-level target, permanently increases health by 10% of that target’s max health. Cooldown 45 minutes.]
[Skill 2: Rupture – deals 5% max health magical damage to enemies in the target area, knocks them up, and reduces knocked-up targets’ agility by 60 for 5 seconds. Cooldown 15 seconds.]
“Perfect!” Li Yao exclaimed with joy.
After upgrading, the health increase from devouring normal creatures was removed, replaced by a requirement to devour leader-level targets. At first glance, this seemed like a nerf.
But leader creatures usually had immense health. Successfully killing one meant a single health increase equaled hundreds or thousands of previous increments!
Plus, it gained a new skill.
From the description, it was a control-type skill, making the Void Predator more than just a bulky tank.
Li Yao summoned the Predator.
“Are all creatures from the Void clan deep purple-skinned?” he mused, eyeing its appearance.
It was about a meter tall, with four pincers and two legs, standing upright like an insect. On each side of its mouthparts was a massive tooth, evoking a chilling sensation.
Li Yao reached out to touch it.
Its hard exoskeleton gave him a strong sense of security.
“Next... is this box.”
Li Yao took the black box from his storage ring and placed it on the table, having a good guess as to its contents.
Professional resource subsidies.
This explained why he only bought a skill book and returned to his room.
Among the resource subsidies was an A-rank skill exchange badge, so he wouldn’t need to waste extra money purchasing one separately.
Li Yao placed his finger on the box’s fingerprint scanner.
“Pffft!”
A burst of steam erupted, and the black box slowly opened.
The next moment—
“Hm?”
Staring inside, Li Yao froze.
“An S-rank resource subsidy?!”