Genius Chapter 84: Two Skills

Chapter 84: Two Skills

Translated by Karai of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Addis

The results of this week’s guild war were surprising; no one anticipated the final outcome, leading to a flood of rant posts on the forum’s guild section and several flame wars. ScarletFruit didn’t mind this at all and even hoped the arguments would escalate, making it easier to raise prices.

Sure enough, the night the guild war ended, CloudTraveller and Bitter Melon came to him for the [Detection Item]. After his brother’s optimization, this item functioned like a large-scale reconnaissance tool in the wild, detecting up to 50 meters and targeting enemy units. It could play a decisive role at crucial moments. In this instance, the reconnaissance item almost completely neutralized Zenith Expanse’s ambush teams.

ScarletFruit didn’t sell too many; after some back-and-forth price negotiations, he set the item at 6000 gold each. In the first week, he sold 20 units to each side, planning to release the remaining ones gradually, depending on the situation.

“We’ll stick with this price for now and sell for a few weeks, controlling the weekly release volume. We’ll see if other astrologers come up with similar items,” ScarletFruit remarked, feeling puzzled. Previously, they had created the Dispel Cloak item, which caused assassins some trouble until an astrologer developed a counter-detection item, freeing the assassins completely. “It shouldn’t happen that quickly; we should still profit for at least a month,” he muttered.

The detection item didn’t end up being perfected as Su Mo had hoped. When he tried to modify it to display only hostile units, he kept encountering failures until he adjusted it to display all units. The new version of the detection item had a reduced duration and display time: it now lasted 15 minutes, with a detection effect that displayed for 10 seconds and could be used twice.

Crucially, it no longer showed the exact location of each player but instead indicated the presence of hostile players’ skill traces within a certain area, allowing one to infer that there were hostile units but not if they were the main force.

Once the enemy knew the item’s capabilities, they could easily devise countermeasures.

For instance, before an ambush, they could use skills in scattered locations to create a smokescreen. Even with the item present, the users couldn’t accurately determine the attack direction and might even be misled by the item. Thus, how long the item could be sold was uncertain, with a maximum of about a month before countermeasures would force a price drop.

“Items countering each other makes things interesting.”

Su Mo, having earned a hefty sum, turned back to item creation. Within a couple of days, he had produced a few new items for ScarletFruit, such as [Steadfast] and [Limited Block].

Steadfast made the user’s weight as heavy as a mountain, reducing movement speed to zero for 30 minutes, with one use.

Limited Block initiated a five-second block period, preventing environmental control skills, also with one use.

Steadfast could be used to withstand the winds in the Spring Realm, and Limited Block could resist some negative states in the Autumn Realm.

Su Mo casually said, “Didn’t you post a strategy guide earlier? Just include an ad for these two items. Don’t price them too high; I’ll give you the recipe, and you can make and sell them as you wish.”

ScarletFruit looked at Su Mo as if he were a god of wealth. “No problem, whatever you say, I’ll post the ad right away.”

ClearWind watched in amazement. “…Big brother, how does your mind work? You make these items so effortlessly.”

Yu Zhen, meanwhile, looked at Su Mo with a bit of confusion. Recently, Su Mo had been very focused on making money, almost always online crafting or researching items. “Are you really in need of money…?”

Su Mo paused for a moment when he heard this, “I need materials, and buying materials costs money.”

This game required a lot of money to equip gear, especially after the level 80 cap was raised, causing all players’ overall ratings to gradually increase. Su Mo originally used a level 75 set, and with the level 80 cap lifted, all his gear needed upgrading. It was time to switch to the level 80 PvP and PvE gear he had stored in his warehouse. He had saved up a lot of demon points during this period, enough to exchange for a full set of level 80 PvP gear, but not enough to exchange for materials.

Obtaining PvP gear was straightforward, but the avenues for acquiring PvE gear were still limited. The main source was dungeon drops, specifically from the Seven-Star Departed Souls Realm. Apart from that, there were no other stable ways to obtain level 80 PvE gold gear. As a result, he had only accumulated five pieces so far and was still missing three body pieces and seven scattered parts.

Therefore, he needed a large number of materials to refine his PvP gear and also needed to collect materials for crafting his future PvE gear. In the end, it all came down to a lack of money.

However, the lack of money was not a major issue at the moment. Su Mo handed over the money-making tasks to ScarletFruit. In the meantime, he used his free time over the past few days to complete the level 80 quests, becoming one of the first players to reach level 80. This earned him a [Level 80 Special Quest Chest]. His experience progress was behind other players, so he couldn’t catch up with the hardcore grinders. Fortunately, the first player to break through was Yu Zhen, so the first-clear rewards went to his team, not to others.

He had accumulated quite a few unopened chests, and on this day, after gaining the [Luck] attribute through his Myriad Palace Insight skill, he finally remembered the chests that had been sitting in his warehouse for a long time.

“I’m going to the warehouse,” Su Mo said.

Yu Zhen had just finished running two daily dungeons with him and was originally walking with him around the market area in the main city to see if there were any high-level materials they could get at a bargain. He saw Su Mo suddenly rush towards the warehouse.

He followed, asking, “What’s up?”

“I’m opening chests. I just got the luck attribute,” Su Mo replied, taking the chests out of the warehouse.

[80-level Special Quest Chest x1], [Soul Four Symbols God Chest x1], [Soul Four Symbols God Scroll x1], [First Clear Golden Title (Soul Four Symbols) x1], [Soul Four Symbols God Limited Appearance Chest x1]…

Most of the other material chests had already been opened by him. The Soul Four Symbols God Scroll was a biography, recording the connections between the gods of spring, summer, autumn, and winter. It filled in the story details that the dungeon had not clarified, and it would be experienced during the Sky Sealing quest. The first clear title was a permanent title, which, when equipped, provided a three-month bonus to the first clear attributes (physical attack and spell attack increased by 5%).

[Momo opened [80-level Special Quest Chest] and obtained the special quest skill [Clone Doll]]
[Momo opened [Soul Four Symbols God Chest] and obtained the special quest skill [Blood Fury]]
[Momo opened [Soul Four Symbols God Limited Appearance Chest] and obtained the special limited fashion [Proud Snow·Youth]]

Yu Zhen had just arrived near the warehouse vicinity when he saw three consecutive notifications of box openings in the team. … Su Mo actually got skills from both of his quest chests. Could it be that the Lucky attribute bonus from the Myriad Palace Insight was that significant? He was about to speak when he suddenly witnessed the young summoner in front of him undergo a sudden change.

Momo replaced the quest fashion he received in the Myriad Palace Insights with a snow-white outfit. Proud Snow·Youth was a pseudo-long robe, somewhat similar to the attire of the boss Eternal Winter, but not entirely alike. It leaned towards a sturdy style without the chilling edge of other such outfits, snug around the waist with flowing white chiffon that fluttered in the wind. The outfit was complemented by a unique headdress that tied the summoner’s hair into a youthful high ponytail, matching well with the summoner’s staff in hand, exuding a handsome and carefree aura.

“It feels quite good,” Su Mo adjusted his posture.

Yu Zhen hesitated briefly, “The fabric seems a bit scanty.”

“No, this one has a cold resistance property.” Su Mo was very satisfied with it and asked, “Bro, what did you get?”

Yu Zhen put on a similarly snow-white robe, but it exuded a more solemn and dignified aura compared to Momo’s youthful look.

“This one is called ‘Pride of Frost’,” he replied calmly and restrainedly.

In this round of Myriad Palace Insights, there were a total of 10 appearance chests. Each chest opened to reveal a unique outfit, such as ZenSlasher obtaining the female outfit “Mermaid of the Deep Sea,” FireworksAndLanterns getting the children’s outfit “Spring Blossoms Everywhere,” Bitter Melon receiving “Autumn Leisure,” ClearWind obtaining “Chilling Autumn Wind,” and ScarletFruit acquiring “Vibrant Vitality” … Each set of outfits embodied the characteristics of the four bosses from the Eternal Winter dungeon, but they were all distinct, ensuring no duplicates.

However, it seemed there were only two outfits related to the winter setting.

Su Mo looked at Yu Zhen’s outfit and couldn’t help but praise, “This outfit looks great on you, it really suits your style.”

Upon hearing this, Yu Zhen paused. What style did he have?

Su Mo didn’t notice Yu Zhen’s expression as his attention shifted to the other two quest skills.

[Spirit Sanctuary·Summon (Substitute Doll): Summoners can place a Substitute Doll in concealed environments. The Substitute Doll lasts for 3 minutes. If the player receives fatal damage within these 3 minutes, they can trigger the Substitute Doll’s effect to swap positions with it, avoiding death and gaining a 3-second invincibility state. The Substitute Doll can be destroyed by other players, losing its substitution effect upon destruction. If the distance between the placement location and the player exceeds 30 meters, the Summon will be canceled. This skill can be dispelled and cannot be upgraded.]

[Mad Blood: Once a player’s health drops below 50%, Mad Blood can be activated. While in Mad Blood state, the player’s defense decreases by 10%, attack power increases by 20%, accuracy increases by 10%, and movement speed increases by 5%. The effect lasts for 10 seconds. This skill cannot be dispelled and cannot be upgraded.]

Su Mo’s eyes lit up as he read this. He couldn’t help but share the introductions of the two skills with Yu Zhen in their team chat.

One was a life-saving substitute skill, and the other was a half-health enhancement skill.

Yu Zhen was surprised to see these skills. Summoners had fewer self-preservation skills compared to other professions, and escape skills like these were even rarer. He had only seen two so far—one was unexpectedly obtained by his friend HealsFor25000 through a quest skill, and the other was in Su Mo’s hands. However, the one held by 25000 was a permanent state lasting 30 minutes, akin to having an extra life, whereas Su Mo’s skill was more agile and flexible, suitable for rapid combat scenarios.

“Half-health enhancement skills are quite common. Mad Blood is currently one of the more widely distributed generic quest skills; CloudTraveller, Apple, they all pretty much have it. Generally speaking, DPS classes have a higher probability of getting it,” Yu Zhen continued. “The Substitute Doll skill is rare, versatile in its application, and not limited to specific scenarios. However, it requires foresight—you need to decide three minutes in advance whether to use it, and the placement must be concealed… With 3 seconds of invincibility, it’s enough for you to revive and take potions.”

Both of these skills were very suitable for Su Mo at this stage.

After unlocking the new skills, Su Mo immediately took Yu Zhen to the main city’s PvP area to test them out. They continued testing until it was nearly past ten in the evening when Su Mo finally logged off.

“Morning exercise tomorrow?” Yu Zhen suddenly asked.

Su Mo nodded, “Running.”

“Do you still want to eat buns?” Yu Zhen continued.

Su Mo’s eyes lit up at the mention, “Yes!”

Seeing the light in Su Mo’s eyes, Yu Zhen felt a tug at his heart for a moment and couldn’t help but speak up. “Alright, let’s go together tomorrow then.”

***

The next morning, Su Mo followed Yu Zhen to eat meat buns at the entrance of the residential area. Yu Zhen had prepared a cover story in advance, so when they left, Lele thought Su Mo was going to Yu Zhen’s house for breakfast. Lele even packed a small bag of medicine for him, reminding him to take it on time.

With the first time came the second time. Occasionally during their morning exercises, Yu Zhen would invite Su Mo to have breakfast.

Both of them had the habit of doing morning exercises. As Su Mo spent more time with Yu Zhen, he learned that Yu Zhen woke up even earlier than him every morning, and Yu Zhen’s running laps were ten times more than his. Several times they met on the road, Yu Zhen would be on his sixth lap while Su Mo had just started his first.

Su Mo looked on with envy. Truly, those with good physical constitution found everything easier.

“Do people with good constitution eat as much as you?” Su Mo had been curious about this for a long time. His eating habits had been different from others since childhood, and he hadn’t paid much attention to others’ dietary preferences, only vaguely understanding from snippets in books.

“It depends on individual metabolism and the body’s needs.” Yu Zhen, with an S-class constitution, explained simply, “During my time on Capital Planet, I ate more food cooked from ingredients. Before that, in other star systems, I mainly consumed nutritional and energy supplements.”

It was only then that Su Mo recalled what Grandma Cheng had mentioned: Yu Zhen had spent his youth traveling with an interstellar mercenary team, exploring much of the interstellar realm. “Was it fun out there?”

“There are fun places, but also not-so-fun ones.”

In recent years, the development of the Interstellar Alliance has steadily progressed, with more and more planets being developed and numerous star systems discovered.

“I settled on Capital Planet only in recent years. Former colleagues and friends have also settled down in their respective homes,” Yu Zhen said as he scrolled through the terminal, marking several nice and travel-friendly planets. “Last time, I mentioned Purplewater Star. These planets are also good options. Short warp distances make round trips convenient, and civilian aviation conditions are safe.”

Su Mo’s knowledge of outer space came solely from personal interest, without much in-depth understanding. Listening to Yu Zhen’s descriptions, he couldn’t help but feel a longing for exploration.

And Yu Zhen’s star map was very detailed; many of the planets were ones Su Mo hadn’t seen on regular maps. He pointed to a distant star system on the terminal map. “What about here?”

“Qionglin Star System,” Yu Zhen explained simply. “It was developed in recent years and has abundant mineral resources. Remember the K-series components? Most likely produced here.”

At this point, Yu Zhen scrolled past, with planets marked but not yet illuminated on their locations. “Behind here is the unknown territory. Discovered by the Interstellar Alliance but not yet evaluated for safety levels and exploration risks.”

Yu Zhen tapped on one of the positions. “When I was 17, the ship I was on had an incident at this location during warp, nearly fatal.”

Su Mo paused at his words.

“Space is beautiful, but beneath its beauty lies many dangers.” Yu Zhen had a youthful vigor and was very curious about everything unfamiliar, enthusiastic about exploration. He had traveled to many places and seen many things, but had almost lost his life several times in outer star systems. “This place has a unique magnetic field, and there have been numerous instances of starships’ systems malfunctioning here. Many routes steer clear of this area, currently classified as unexplorable. Of course, this is just the outermost area; the deeper you go, the more dangerous it gets, and these places won’t appear on star maps.”

“But these star systems hide many civilizations and races that we have yet to discover.”

As Yu Zhen continued to swipe back, many unfamiliar star regions appeared before Su Mo’s eyes.

Suddenly, Yu Zhen stopped and pointed to a dark area with scattered stars. “Like this one, the Unknown Exploration Sector β2. It’s known by a special name among the older generation because of its extremely low temperatures—The Frigid Realm.”

At these words, Su Mo’s face stiffened, his gaze fixed on the sector Yu Zhen was pointing to.

The Frigid Realm, where his parents had met with an accident.