Online Game: Starting with an SSS-Level Plundering Talent - Chapter 266

Chapter 266: Chapter 266: Power Boost and Aptitude Test
John continued browsing the exchange shop.

He noticed the Apocalypse Stone, priced at 1 million points. This stone allowed the fusion of an additional set of racial treasures.

Without hesitation, he selected it for exchange.

Next, he saw Soul Essence—ten of them, also priced at 1 million points, the same as the Apocalypse Stone.

He exchanged them all, knowing that refining each Soul Essence would increase his Soul Technique by 10,000 points. Ten Soul Essences would give him 100,000 Soul Technique points.

In a flash, he had spent another 11 million points.

Suddenly, his eyes caught sight of something that made him exclaim out loud in disbelief: “A God-level Talent Upgrade Stone!”

It was an exceedingly rare item.

A stone that could upgrade an SSS-level talent to God-level.

Currently, John already possessed three God-level talents: Wrath of the Gods, Undying and Immortal, and One Breath, Three Purities—all of which were his secret weapons.

Over time, he had slain numerous mid-tier gods and upper-tier gods, obtaining quite a few talent upgrade stones, but most were low-level ones.

He checked the price: 10 million points, the same as the mysterious Creation Stone he had just acquired.

“Exchange!” Without a second thought, John spent another 10 million points to get the God-level Talent Upgrade Stone.

A God-level talent was immensely powerful and definitely worth the investment.

In addition to that, there were also 10 High-level Talent Upgrade Stones priced at 1 million points each, 100 Mid-level Talent Upgrade Stones priced at 100,000 points each, and 1,000 Low-level Talent Upgrade Stones priced at 10,000 points each.

John exchanged all of them.

“Hmm, out of points?” He frowned slightly, realizing that his over 40 million points had been completely used up.

There were still 60 Mid-level Talent Upgrade Stones, 1,000 Low-level Talent Upgrade Stones, as well as 1,000 Grade-A Basic Talent Stones, priced at 1,000 points each; 10,000 Basic Elemental Spirit Stones, priced at 100 points each; and 10 million Skill Stones, priced at 10 points each.

All these items were highly tempting.

“Oh, right. There’s still Cand-Dragon and the others.” John calculated their points. With their combined scores, they could practically clear out the exchange shop.

Stepping back from the monument, he allowed the second-place team to step forward for their turn to exchange.

He instructed them, “Exchange everything except for the skill stones. Use any remaining points to buy skill stones afterward.”

“Got it!” Cand-Dragon and the others’ eyes lit up as they activated the Exchange Monument and began exchanging items.

Nearby, a group of powerful beings overheard John’s instructions, and their faces turned grim.

There weren’t that many resources to go around. If John and his group took everything, others wouldn’t be able to improve their aptitude, which meant they might not survive the third trial.

“Human, don’t go too far!” one of them growled.

“Godslayer, we’re supposed to be allies. Couldn’t you spare us some of the resources?” one of the gods looked at John, pleading.

“And us, too…”

More voices joined in, asking to cooperate.

John scoffed, a cold smirk forming on his face. Earlier, when he had suggested an alliance, no one paid him any attention. Now, with their lives on the line, they shamelessly begged for help.

John responded coolly, “If you want cultivation resources, fine. Exchange for skill stones. But at double the Exchange Monument’s price.”

It just so happened that the Grade-A Basic Talent Stones, Low-level Talent Upgrade Stones, and Basic Elemental Spirit Stones weren’t of much use to him, so he could trade them for skill stones.

“Double? That’s outrageous!” the crowd protested in frustration.

“Take it or leave it. No one’s forcing you,” John shrugged, not caring about their complaints.

He did need skill stones, but he wasn’t desperate for them.

At that moment, Cand-Dragon and the others finished their exchanges and stepped down from the monument.

Blood Moon hurried forward, eagerly opening the exchange menu. When he saw what was left, his face turned pale with rage, and he almost coughed up blood again.

He had painstakingly accumulated 10 million points in the second trial, all for the chance to exchange for the Creation Stone.

But now, the Creation Stone was gone, and most of the other rare items had been snatched up too. The only thing left was 7.3 million skill stones.

Skill stones wouldn’t do much to enhance his strength, but if he didn’t take them, they’d fall into the hands of the other competitors. Gritting his teeth, Blood Moon used all his points to exchange for 1.1 million skill stones.

The rest of the competitors had no choice but to do the same, exchanging all their points for the remaining skill stones.

Soon, the exchanges were complete, and about 2.4 million skill stones remained.

John felt a bit disappointed.

Cand-Dragon and the others handed over all the resources they’d exchanged to John without hesitation, helping him enhance his power.

John didn’t refuse.

He then turned to the group and asked, “What’s the requirement for passing the aptitude test in this trial?”

Cand-Dragon shook his head. It was his first time competing for a world’s final treasure, so he wasn’t familiar with the rules.

Nine-Tails chimed in, “The aptitude test measures potential, not cultivation level. I know that anyone who possesses three or more SSS-level talents can pass.”

Three SSS-level talents?

John relaxed. He already had three God-level talents and two SSS-level talents, so passing the trial wouldn’t be a problem for him.

“Mastering ultimate skills, forbidden spells, as well as the number of fused treasures, control over elemental laws, bloodlines, and Soul Technique mastery can also increase your aptitude score. But the exact criteria aren’t always clear,” Jolyne added.

She had participated in several final Secret Area trials, and the rules for each test had varied.

John nodded, then asked the group, “Will all of you be able to pass this test?”

Cand-Dragon, Nine-Tails, and Jolyne all said they would be fine.

Tony, however, looked a bit uneasy. “What level is Immortal Art considered? I have two SSS-level talents and one Immortal Art. Will that be enough?”

“Immortal Art?” John was surprised.

He himself had mastered an Immortal Art, the Nine Heavens Sword, which had elevated his combat skills. He had learned it through the Immortals’ inheritance.

Could it be that Tony had also mastered an Immortal Art?

John now understood why Cand-Dragon had brought Tony into The Secret Area.

Immortal Art was incredibly powerful. He didn’t know which one Tony had mastered, but in critical moments, it could indeed change the course of a battle.

Jolyne looked puzzled. She hadn’t heard of Immortal Art before, likely because it was related to The Immortals.

She spoke up, “The rules for each test change slightly every time. With just two SSS-level talents, there’s still some risk.”

John immediately took out several talent stones and talent upgrade stones, saying, “See anything you can use? Pick one and upgrade your talent to SSS-level.”

He was confident that he could help his companions pass the test. And if worst came to worst, he still had the Talent Copy Stone, which could duplicate an SSS-level talent.

“I’ll just need one High-level Talent Upgrade Stone,” Tony said, selecting one of the stones.

Tony had an SS-level Wrath of Magic talent, which boosted magic critical hits. Once upgraded to SSS-level, he was certain he could pass the test.

John nodded, then looked at Cand-Dragon and the others, saying, “If there are any resources you need, feel free to take them.”

“I don’t need anything,” they shook their heads. Their goal was simply to survive the test and help John secure the final treasure.

Jolyne added, “Godslayer, you should also use these seven days to focus on your own cultivation. Enhancing your aptitude as much as possible will benefit you—and the ranking will come with extra rewards too.”

“Agreed,” John nodded and decided to retreat for secluded cultivation.

He had several High-level Talent Upgrade Stones now, so he could upgrade several of his talents to SSS-level.

As for the God-level Talent Stone, he didn’t feel the need to use it just yet.

Most of his SSS-level talents weren’t particularly game-changing enough to warrant upgrading them to God-level.

Perhaps Lifesaver Talent would be a good choice, but since he already had the Undying and Immortal Talent, it felt unnecessary to use the stone.

John consumed five High-level Talent Upgrade Stones, upgrading his Spell Combo Talent, Physical Damage Talent, Magical Damage Talent, Dual Mastery Talent, and Spatial Awareness Talent to SSS-level. His power surged significantly once again.

After that, he retreated for deeper cultivation, using Hellfire to refine and fuse the Soul Essence to enhance his Soul Technique.

Before he began his cultivation, he handed over several items he didn’t need—such as talent stones, talent upgrade stones, and Basic Elemental Spirit Stones—to Cand-Dragon. They could use them for themselves or trade with other races for skill stones, at the standard rate of double the exchange price.

John didn’t care if others cursed him for it. In life-and-death situations, there would certainly be those desperate enough to trade.

…

The seven days passed quickly.

John successfully refined all ten Soul Essences, increasing his Soul Technique by 100,000 points, bringing it to a total of 370,000 points!

He could clearly feel that his soul strength had surpassed Cand-Dragon and Nine-Tails.

What shocked him, however, was that he still couldn’t sense Jolyne’s Soul Technique.

Her Soul Technique was still far beyond his own.

John couldn’t help but feel curious about what kind of existence Jolyne’s Feather Race really was.

[The third trial has begun. Adventurers whose names appear, touch the monument to test your aptitude.]

[The top ten adventurers with the highest aptitude scores will receive additional rewards.]

[Evil Demon Race, Jone.]

The prompt flashed across the sky, and everyone stopped their cultivation, turning to look at the Evil Demon Race.

Only three members of the Evil Demon Race remained. One upper-tier gods-level warrior nervously stepped forward, took a deep breath, and slowly reached out to touch the monument.

Buzz!

Light flashed.

[Aptitude insufficient—under 10,000. Termination.]

Boom!

With a loud explosion, the figure of Jone instantly turned into a cloud of blood mist, completely obliterated.

The crowd was filled with fear and anxiety. After all, that was an upper-tier gods warrior who had just been wiped out in an instant.

John, however, let out a quiet sigh of relief. The monument only checked if you passed or failed the aptitude test, without revealing specific talents or other personal attributes.

He had too many secrets he wanted to keep hidden.

[Skyline Continent Human Race, Thouriver.]

The monument displayed another name.

Everyone turned to look at the human from Skyline Continent. An elderly man swallowed nervously but tried to maintain a calm facade as he walked forward.

He was only a mid-tier gods-level warrior.

Several people shook their heads, looking at him with pity.

In the Skyline Continent, a mid-tier gods warrior would be considered a top-level powerhouse, but here, even upper-tier gods could be casually wiped out like ants, let alone a mid-tier god.

No one had high hopes for Thouriver.

He approached the monument, despair evident in his eyes, and closed them tightly as he shakily touched the stone.

[Thouriver, aptitude test passed.]

The prompt flashed, and Thouriver had successfully passed the trial.

“I’m still alive?” The old man was in disbelief before a wild grin spread across his face. “Haha! I passed the test!”

[Beast Clan, Tony.]

At that moment, Tony’s name appeared on the monument.