Genius Chapter 143: Boyfriend

Chapter 143: Boyfriend

Translated by Karai of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Addis

When the system announcement came out, the eight-person group fell silent for a brief moment, followed by a burst of exclamations. They quickly clicked on the announcement to check the weapon details. Naturally, they could see the basic attributes of [Empty Lantern of Solitude], a dual-attack weapon. Although summoner-class weapons typically had high base attack power, this weapon’s attack stats were even higher than FireworksAndLanterns’ level 80 gold quest weapon. Its spell attack power was 150 points higher, and its physical attack power was a staggering 600 points more.

FireworksAndLanterns said, “My weapon has the highest spell attack of all magic-based weapons right now, but this one surpasses mine by over a hundred points. That attack power is pretty terrifying. And the physical attack power of this weapon is unprecedented. I’ve never seen a summoner with such a high physical attack.”

Bitter Melon added, “Momo is a summoner who stacks physical attack, so it’s normal for him to have higher stats than you. If he didn’t focus on physical attack, his spell attack would probably be 200 points higher.”

With over 200 more points in spell attack compared to the current weapon, it meant that FireworksAndLanterns’ level 80 quest weapon would have to be 300 points higher to match it. Although most players in Celestial Horizon derived their attack power from their weapons, and it was common for weapons to have high attack stats, the extremely high attack power brought by the combination of two quest weapons left everyone in awe.

Cantaloupe thought for a moment and said, “And judging by these attributes, it’s not just unusually high. It shows that Momo put in a lot of effort upgrading his weapons earlier. I’ve studied the synthesis formula too, and I’d guess his previous two weapons had perfectly stacked attack stats, which is why the combined result is so strong.”

Apple added, “This weapon is just too insane! Even as a magical swordsman, I’m envious.”

FireworksAndLanterns said, “Yeah, my weapon’s high attack was mostly luck, but it seems like this guy didn’t just get lucky… There’s no way it’s a coincidence—high-tier stats and attributes? Normally, quest weapons have some low-tier attributes mixed in.”

Attack power was just the base. Then, they looked at [Empty Lantern of Solitude]’s skill effects, skill accuracy, casting speed, and movement speed.

Among them, four major attributes were noticeably improved, and all the secondary attributes were the commonly used traits for summoners. Typically, when upgrading quest weapons, some attributes for summoners would appear, but there would always be a few useless junk attributes. However, every single attribute on [Empty Lantern of Solitude], from the highest to the lowest, was useful for a summoner. There wasn’t a single redundant one, making it an absolutely perfect weapon.

Perfect attribute rolls, enhanced main attributes, and standard secondary attributes…

Except for the special boost to physical attack power, this weapon was every summoner’s dream weapon, almost as if the system was favoring him.

But that wasn’t even the most crucial part—the key was that this was a special weapon with three skills!!

It was already known on the forums that combining two gold weapons with skills could result in a double-skill weapon, but no one had ever mentioned the possibility of awakening a third skill attribute!

When a legendary weapon appeared, it couldn’t be kept anonymous. However, unless the owner revealed it, the exact effects of the skills couldn’t be seen by other players; they could only see the skill names. The special skills carried by [Empty Lantern of Solitude] were [Desireless · Thoughtless] and [Soul-Chasing · Twinborn], with the third skill being the awakened skill [Void Aspect].

Players in the global channel were stunned by this weapon’s attributes, and the discussion became incredibly lively.

[Fuck, these attributes are too perfect.]
[This weapon is even signed!! Forged by Master Momo!]
[Whoa, I remember Momo’s profession is astrologer, right? How did he become a master blacksmith after forging his first weapon?]
[Is that the point?! Look at this—it’s a triple-skill weapon! The first legendary weapon in Celestial Horizon!]
[Perfect attributes and three skills, unbelievable. How did the boss manage to forge this?!]
[Was this just luck?]
[How could this be luck?! Unless Momo is secretly sponsored by the game.]

“Bro! What kind of awakened skill is this?!” ScarletFruit asked. “Just hearing the name ‘Void Aspect’ sounds super OP.”

ClearWind added, “I want to know too. Is it some kind of world-destroying ultimate skill?”

Friend requests and system messages flooded in from countless players, almost everyone on Su Mo’s list was asking about [Empty Lantern of Solitude].

“Hang on a second,” Su Mo replied calmly, turning off the message notifications and continuing to carefully examine the weapon’s attributes.

From the start of the upgrades, the materials used for both weapons were the best available at that stage.

The weapon had growth potential, and the values at each stage of its development affected the final product. Luckily, Su Mo had been careful; otherwise, the weapon might not have ended up with such high stats.

All the attribute rolls were the ones he had calculated, which confirmed that his formula for the attributes and material order was correct. The final values were slightly lower than expected, likely due to some loss during synthesis and refinement, or possibly the game’s central system controlling in-game attack values. However, based on this minor discrepancy, he could roughly gauge the maximum potential of dual-quest weapons and estimate the ceiling for legendary weapons.

Looking at the skills, Su Mo recalled the situation during the process. Was the awakening triggered because this was his first attempt? Or was it a result of the formula? The skills from the Desirelessness Lantern and Soul-Chasing Lantern were perfectly inherited, and their effects hadn’t changed. The only surprise was the appearance of this awakened skill midway through.

[Awakening · Void Aspect: Its form is emptiness, and all things return to nothing.
Awakening skill of the Spirit Sanctuary summoner-class legendary weapon. When the player wields [Empty Lantern of Solitude], they can use this skill, which increases the effect radius of all summoner-class summons’ skills within the Spirit Sanctuary by 2 meters and resets the cooldown time of all the player’s current skills. Lasts for 10 seconds, with a cooldown time of 10 minutes.]

Su Mo immediately sent the skill’s effect description to the team chat.

After seeing the description, ZenSlasher paused slightly and said, “Cooldown reset…”

This was a special skill that expanded the range of skills and reset cooldown times. Expanding the skill range meant that control-type summoners, like those with ThunderLion and LunarFeline, could apply their control effects over a wider area. The damage-dealing skills would also have a larger impact range. For example, if a skill typically hit within 3 meters, activating this skill would allow it to reach up to 5 meters. While an extra 2 meters might not seem like much, the impact was significant. In PvP scenarios, it allowed for better prediction of enemy movements, while in PvE, it increased the number of targets affected within the skill’s range.

In addition to this, the skill reset cooldown times.

For most professions, resetting cooldowns would be a game-changer, allowing them to perform a complete combo sequence again. However, for summoners, this was slightly less useful. Summoner skills generally had short cooldowns, and unless their summoned creatures were killed, long cooldowns weren’t a common issue. The cooldown reset was more of an added bonus, providing summoners with a bit more flexibility in their operations.

If a summoned creature was killed and caused a long cooldown, this skill could instantly reset it. In PvE, this meant the summoner could continuously summon their bear companion, while in PvP, the summoner’s chain control effects would significantly increase.

“Whoa, resetting cooldowns like that would be so satisfying for me!” ClearWind said enviously. “And expanding the skill range? In tight battlefield spaces, that would be incredible!”

ScarletFruit added, “I’m jealous too. Resetting cooldowns would be awesome for a cleric. My healing range would be even bigger.”

ZenSlasher commented, “Cooldown resets are more useful for physical classes—they could pull off another full combo. The skill range boost is amazing for magic classes. For summoners, though, the effect might not be as impactful as for other professions…”

Summoners didn’t heavily rely on cooldown resets for combos, as their skill control mainly depended on how they positioned their summoned creatures.

“If it weren’t for the fact that I’m a summoner, maybe the system wouldn’t have given me this skill,” Su Mo said with a slight smile. “The game’s central system monitors the data closely. It gives you good skills, but not too good.”

Still, for him, the skill had some usefulness.

Especially in battles against opponents who liked to bait skills or trick him into using his abilities, this skill had its clever uses.

While the team continued their heated discussion, Su Mo’s thoughts were entirely focused on the weapon. After spending so much time forging it, the result gave him a deep sense of satisfaction. It reminded him of his earlier work on experimental projects, where he mainly dealt with theoretical and foundational concepts but never got to experience the hands-on sense of accomplishment. Even when the project results came in, he was happy, but it lacked the joy of personal involvement.

However, seeing his formulas and theories validated firsthand in a game gave him a different kind of fulfillment. Even though the formulas in the game were far simpler than those in real life, there was an indescribable satisfaction that came with it.

Friend request messages kept popping up, but Su Mo exited them and sent the weapon’s data to Yu Zhen, who hadn’t logged in yet.

mo: Did you make it home? I finished my weapon. Let me show you [happy]

Yu Zhen: Just got home.

Su Mo didn’t expect such a quick response. Just as he was about to send another message, Yu Zhen initiated a voice call.

“I’m logging off. You all keep playing.”

“Wait, what?!” ScarletFruit hadn’t even finished speaking when Momo vanished into a puff of white smoke and logged off.

The group was still discussing the newly forged weapon, but not even two minutes after it was created, the weapon’s creator hurriedly logged off without a second thought.

“Why isn’t my brother even a little excited?!” ScarletFruit couldn’t understand. He opened the eight-person chat group, where the rest of the Fruit Gang was still trying to gather more information about the skills. “He just forged a legendary weapon! The first legendary weapon in Celestial Horizon! It even triggered an awakening, and the Global Channel is buzzing about his weapon.”

ClearWind said, “It’s not just the Global Channel. My friends are all asking me for details, and my fans are spamming me in the group chat. The whole game is excited, and he just logs off??”

ZenSlasher added, “…Oh, looks like a thread just popped up on the forums too.”

The three in the group chat were speechless. How was it that the entire Global community was hyped, yet their leader remained calm as if nothing happened?

Su Mo, unaware of the uproar in the Celestial Horizon Global community, calmly locked the weapon and tossed it into his inventory. After logging out, he answered Yu Zhen’s call, settling into his living room sofa with his terminal in hand to chat.

In a high-rise building somewhere in the center of Capital Planet, Yu Zhen had just walked through the door as a smart robot took his luggage. The house was decorated in a stark cold-white tone, quiet and spacious. What should have been a cold night was softened by the sound of the youth’s voice over the call. The glass door in front of Yu Zhen slid open, and the chilly wind from the balcony rushed in, seemingly cooling the warmth of his eagerness to see Su Mo.

“Yeah, that’s right… The reminder popped up halfway through the forging, saying it was an awakening skill.”

“It might be related to the formula. In the end, I’ll need to revisit the formula.”

“But it’s the first weapon; we haven’t verified it before.”

“…Hmm, it’s okay. I had a project before where the theoretical formulas were quite numerous.”

Yu Zhen looked at the weapon’s attributes and listened to the youth’s excited and proud voice on the call. He suddenly regretted coming back at this moment.

“Brother, I’m really happy,” Su Mo said. “But it’s a pity you weren’t online.”

Yu Zhen thought he should have stayed close to Su Mo and shared in the joy immediately.

“Momo,” Yu Zhen said, “are you heading back to school tomorrow morning?”

“You don’t need to pick me up,” Su Mo replied, noting Yu Zhen’s recent tendency to call him Momo outside of the game. He didn’t think much of it. “I’ve arranged a ride.”

This week was for submitting assignments, and with it being an experimental week, Su Mo wouldn’t be able to attend most of his classes and had to stay home to study and prepare for the competition.

But he needed to go back to school tomorrow morning to receive some project documents from his advisor and attend two meetings.

Yu Zhen looked towards the distance, where he could vaguely see the tall buildings of Capital University. “Alright, let me know when your meetings are over tomorrow. I’ll come to the school to pick you up for dinner.”

Even just having parted ways, he was already looking forward to their next meeting.

………

The forums had already erupted. The first legendary weapon had appeared, marking the dawn of a new era for level 80 weapons.

Previously, with explanations from blacksmiths, most players knew about the feasibility of dual-skill weapons. However, no one dared to take the first step to try creating such new weapons. Without a formula guide or material descriptions, the chances of failure were much higher than success.

Everyone had been waiting for the official release of a detailed forging process or a guide from a prominent blacksmith. Who would have thought that within such a short time, someone had actually managed to forge a new weapon—one of legendary grade—instantly claiming the top spot on the legendary weapon list and becoming the first level 80 legendary weapon in Celestial Horizon.

[Aren’t the stats on this weapon a bit overpowered?]
[Just spoke with customer support, and they said the weapon’s stats are within the System’s regulated range… so the stats are all reasonable, as long as you have the skill to forge it.]
[Several master blacksmiths on the forum have said that creating such a weapon couldn’t possibly be luck; it must be that Momo derived the formula himself.]
[Momo is insanely strong!]
[The official channels haven’t even released the process yet, and he’s already figured it out. His audacity is remarkable—doesn’t he fear ruining the weapon?]
[Several big names had released forging formulas before but didn’t dare to try… Archdemon truly lives up to the name, and to forge such a weapon—impressive.]
[The top dual-weapon blacksmiths seem to be getting restless, trying to contact Momo.]
[I happen to have two weapons myself. Does Momo help with forging? As long as it works, the price isn’t an issue!]

As soon as this weapon appeared, the number of people interested only increased.

Many prominent players had already started trying to get close to Momo through various connections. However, Momo had closed his in-game private messages and never opened his friend system to anyone outside his friend list. For those wanting to get him to forge weapons, it was indeed not easy. Curious players searched for information everywhere, scouring ScarletFruit’s trading posts, and eventually ended up in ClearWindIsHere’s livestream.

“My brother?” ClearWind said. “I don’t know. He logged off right after finishing the weapon.”

So, the prominent player logged off right after finishing the weapon, and no one on his list could find him…

Su Mo saw the messages in the group only in the morning. He briefly replied and then went to school alone. There was a lot going on: in the morning, he picked up project materials from his advisor, rested in his dorm room at noon, and attended two meetings in the afternoon. By the time he went out to dinner with Yu Zhen, he was starting to feel a bit tired.

Yu Zhen asked, “Didn’t you rest at noon?”

Su Mo replied, “I did rest, but I didn’t sleep much.”

After dinner, feeling more refreshed, Su Mo looked at Yu Zhen and asked, “Do you want to go for a walk somewhere?”

“It’s cold outside. How about coming over to my place?” Yu Zhen suggested. “It’s not far from here.”

Yu Zhen lived alone in a floating building in the city center. When they arrived, Yu Zhen mentioned that this was where he lived while working, as it was close to his workplace and convenient for coming and going.

The interior of the home had a minimalist feel, quite different from Su Mo’s place. The furniture was sparse, making the space appear quite open.

Su Mo sniffled a bit, noticing that the man behind him had casually moved to shield him from the wind. Normally, Lele would have already urged him inside, never letting him stay out in the cold for too long.

“Let’s go inside,” Su Mo said, feeling a bit chilly from the wind. They quickly went inside, and he added, “I kind of want to play a game now that it’s evening.”

“Come over here,” Yu Zhen said, leading him to the sofa and handing him a gift box.

Su Mo paused for a moment. Had Yu Zhen just gone to get this?

“Open it and see,” Yu Zhen said.

When Su Mo opened the box, he found a new head-mounted loader inside. He was momentarily stunned. “This is… an F-class loader?”

Yu Zhen took the loader out and placed it on Su Mo’s head. “This is a gift for my boyfriend.”

Su Mo was taken aback. “Has it been a month already?”

“Yes,” Yu Zhen replied. “It’s been a month.”

Time had passed so quickly…

Su Mo touched the head-mounted loader, suddenly feeling a surge of excitement. “So, are we officially in a relationship now?”

“Yes,” Yu Zhen said, pressing the power button and gently kissing Su Mo on the forehead. “I’ve input the previous authorization information for you. You can log in now, and I’ve added many new features. Want to give it a try?”

Su Mo felt the light touch of Yu Zhen’s kiss on his forehead and his heart raced. He tried to reach up to touch his forehead, but the loader’s interface popped up in front of him. The holographic loader guided him through the login process, making it impossible for him to touch his forehead now.

As he confirmed his login step by step, he noticed that many new functions had indeed been added. Previously, due to his physical condition, many features had been removed or modified. But this new loader included a lot of basic functions, such as time threshold adjustments and enhanced smart features. All of these were built based on the capabilities of an F-class loader and clearly represented a lot of effort and thought.

Su Mo spent a long time trying out the new features and even logged in to test them. He received numerous emails, which he muted, and explored the additional functions.

While testing the account-switching feature, he was surprised to find that the loader had authorization login information for two of Yu Zhen’s other accounts. Previously, he only had authorization for ReturnToSimplicity, but the new loader also included UnchainedWanderer.

He hadn’t prepared any gift himself.

Disconnecting from the loader, he saw Yu Zhen sitting beside him, working as if he were at home. Su Mo realized that he had been playing in the game for over half an hour, and Yu Zhen had been waiting patiently for him all along.

Su Mo quietly watched Yu Zhen for a while, then his gaze fell on the loader’s case on the sofa.

What gift would be appropriate? He hesitated for a moment, then asked, “Hey, can a boyfriend help you with weapon crafting?”