Chapter 50: Unlocking a New Talent

The Black Sphere Game provided a large amount of information and numerous terms, which seemed complex on the surface, but its core was actually very simple and easy to understand.

Kamiyu sorted through it: Hell Tide was a breeding ground for Aberrant Beast Demons, essentially enemy territory;

In enemy territory, killing Aberrant Beasts and Demons would yield rewards: materials for crafting Potions and items, materials for repairing weapons and equipment, as well as dropped weapons and equipment, and so on;

Sanctuaries, on the other hand, served as bridgeheads for Players inserted into enemy territory, providing safe zones for Players to rest and recover;

Building and operating Sanctuaries required going to the Crimson Earth during Hell Tide to kill monsters and gather materials.

What Kamiyu couldn’t figure out was whether Players would build Sanctuaries in the territory of Aberrant Beast Demons or in the human World.

The Black Sphere didn’t specify.

“Forget it, I need to prepare for the worst and find a safe, easily defensible location to establish a Sanctuary.”

Kamiyu’s worst-case scenario was that the entire World would be invaded by Aberrant Beast Demons, turning this World into Crimson Earth.

“Damn it, during this Closed Beta phase, there’s no Blacksmith crafting function. I only have the Blacksmith’s Enhancement function, so I have a bunch of materials I can’t use,” Kamiyu said helplessly.

Materials could, of course, be used to craft weapons, equipment, items, and various other things. But for now, even with all her game functions unlocked, she still hadn’t found a page for crafting weapons and equipment.

There was only a page for crafting Potions and items.

“If only I could craft weapons and equipment,” Kamiyu said.

Her own crafting relied on using Enhancement Points to take an alternative approach, but this method was too wasteful.

Kamiyu shook her head. Such good fortune wouldn’t just fall into her lap.

She continued opening the next chest.

She pressed the switch on the golden chest.

A flash of golden light swept through.

【Ding: Unlocked the next stage of the Enhancement Talent. Congratulations, Player, on obtaining a new Talent.】

“The Enhancement Talent has a next stage? Dual Talents?” Kamiyu immediately widened her eyes.

She had thought the golden chest would only give some weapons or equipment. She never expected it to grant a new Talent, and not just any Talent—it was the next form of the Enhancement Talent, independently split into dual Talents, giving her an extra one.

【Congratulations, Player, on obtaining the UR Tier Talent: Construction Sage.】

“What is this? First Enhancement, now Construction Sage. Does the Black Sphere want me to become a construction worker?” Kamiyu said, exasperated.

But when she examined this Talent in detail, she was left utterly stunned.

This Talent wasn’t as simple as just building houses, as she had imagined.

“Players can freely ‘construct’ any item, with all attributes being 300% of items of the same Tier.”

“Hiss.” Kamiyu drew in a sharp breath.

“Black Sphere, any item, including weapons, equipment, items, and Potions—can I freely create them all?” Kamiyu asked excitedly.

【Black Sphere: Any item that appears in the Black Sphere Game can be freely created by the Player.】

“What’s the cost? Do I need Enhancement Points or materials?” Kamiyu pressed further.

【Black Sphere: Materials are required.】

“This is ridiculous! What kind of UR Tier Talent is this? What next form of the Enhancement Talent?” Kamiyu’s mood instantly plummeted to rock bottom.

If there were no cost, she could have infinitely crafted Ancestral Dark Gold Equipment.

“In the end, isn’t this just another Enhancement Talent?” Kamiyu said with a pout.

As she spoke, Kamiyu noticed that her Player Panel had gained a new construction page.

【Dragon Slayer Blade (Legendary Tier): Iron Blocks 452/999, Silver Ore 231/500, Demon Heart 45/99】

“Huh? Can weapons and equipment be directly constructed now?” Kamiyu said.

First, construct items, then enhance them. Now, she had truly become a Blacksmith.

Kamiyu continued scrolling down. It seemed that any item she had ever encountered could be crafted using materials.

This way, without any Enhancement, items crafted from the start would possess 300% of their base attributes.

Born superior from the very beginning.

This truly seemed like the next evolution of her Enhancement Talent.

Her Enhancement could then be used to inscribe Affixes onto weapons and infuse them with Skills.

“Wow, with this, even a Common Tier dagger wouldn’t be inferior to someone else’s Legendary Weapon. Wholesaling hack equipment in the Black Sphere Game? Just thinking about it is thrilling.” Kamiyu’s mood, like a rollercoaster, surged with excitement once more.

Kamiyu kept looking. Her eyes widened as she discovered that not only weapons, equipment, items, and Potions, but even her Sanctuary had its own unique, specialized construction path.

Kamiyu looked at the various blueprints:

“There are Arrow Towers, Catapults, Machine Gun Turrets, Magic Towers, ultra-high voltage barbed wire fences, Minefields, and other attack/defense weapons that can be constructed and unlocked.”

“Other people’s Sanctuaries can only defend passively, but mine can also attack outward. It feels like this has turned into a tower defense game, like playing Red Alert.”

“And the Sanctuary I build will have three times the durability of others.” Kamiyu laughed happily.

【Construction Sage】 uses materials to craft items;

Then 【Enhancement】 uses Enhancement Points to inscribe Affixes onto weapons and equipment and infuse them with Skills.

“Mmm, so good, it’s just too good.”

“Same materials, triple the attributes.”

“Moreover, I am currently the only Blacksmith at this stage of the game.”

“Others can only get weapons and equipment as monster drops, but I have two methods to manufacture them.”

Now her plan became even more complete.

Kill monsters during Hell Tides for material drops, use the 【Construction Sage】 Talent to craft equipment from the materials, sell the equipment at the Trading Post space for money, exchange money for more materials, accumulate materials and use the 【Construction Sage】 Talent again to build the Sanctuary.

The top priority goal remained constructing the Sanctuary.

“This wave is Locked In.” Kamiyu smiled.

She had not only obtained the rewards from the gold and silver chests and the Beta Tester Title but had also sorted out and understood the gameplay of this game.

“Wait a moment, I want to ask, can I use Enhancement Points to enhance the 【Enhancement】 and 【Construction Sage】 Talents?” Kamiyu asked.

The Black Sphere displayed text in response:

【Unable to use Talents to alter the content of other Talents. Players can complete special achievements to obtain the next stage’s Treasure Chest and unlock the next stage’s Talents.】

Kamiyu felt a wave of speechlessness. “Isn’t this just dangling a carrot? It’s like playing those long, drawn-out RPG games where you complete stage-based Main Quests to get chests, open them, and gain new abilities.”

“Let’s set that aside for now. For the moment, let’s open the next chest first.”

“Next is opening the final Black Sphere chest.”

“I wonder what’s inside?”

Kamiyu took a deep breath.

And opened the final chest.

A beam of light, white on the outside and black within, appeared, stirring up a fierce wind that disrupted the entire room.

The strange phenomenon faded away.

The next second.

A line of text appeared on the Black Sphere.

【Congratulations, Player, for successfully clearing Deathmatch Mode. You have two rewards to choose from】

【One: 100 Enhancement Points】

【Two: Revive a specified Player】

Kamiyu, who had been smiling just moments ago, now furrowed her brow.

What was this? Revive a Player?

She immediately understood—someone was watching from behind the Black Sphere Game. The game master had been observing the entire game all along.

That was why this reward was offered.

“Is this a test of my morals?” Kamiyu asked.

The Black Sphere did not respond.

She recalled the last words Xu Liwen had said to her—“When choosing your reward later, be careful to think it through. The Black Sphere won’t force you to choose.”

“Could it be that she also faced such a test of conscience back then?”

“Hmph, you really underestimate me, Kamiyu.” Kamiyu looked up toward the unseen game master, who was likely watching from somewhere.

Without hesitation, Kamiyu selected the second option.

【Two: Revive a specified Player】

Jack had been able to save her time and time again, without a moment’s hesitation.

If she hesitated or calculated over reviving him, what kind of person would she be?

100 Enhancement Points? What a joke.

Even if it were 1,000 Enhancement Points, she would still choose the second option.

1,000 hostile Players, 1,000 elite Aberrant Beast Demons—couldn’t she kill them? Was she incapable of doing so?