Absolute Death Game

He glanced at his equipment bar and then at his Attributes bar, (Luck 10.5, no difference, huh, why is it like this!? I just don't buy it!)

As he pondered, he dragged the last two skills in and pressed down stubbornly.

This time, after five or six seconds had passed, there was finally a flash of golden light.

System prompt: Skill fusion successful. You've obtained the new skill 'Straight Lightning Sword.' You can view this skill in the Skill Bar.
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(Straight Lightning Sword? Sounds a bit like a watered-down version of 'Ultimate Skills: Straight Lightning Slash.') As Xiao Buli thought this, he examined the Skill Notes for the new skill. Indeed, it was very similar to the description of Straight Lightning Slash.

Straight Lightning Sword: Lunge at the target with a sword strike as fast as lightning, inflicting base weapon damage. If it hits a vital spot based on the stabbed part, inflict additional layered damage. After piercing the target, conductive electric shock can be activated to deal secondary damage, consuming 20 True Origin Points.

If conducting an electric shock, an additional 10 True Origin Points are consumed.

Xiao Buli studied the description of the skill for a long time and finally came to a rather speechless conclusion: this skill was completely useless.

It required piercing the target to activate the conductive electric shock; otherwise, it was no different from 'Piercing Heart Sword.' But the problem is, if you could pierce the opponent's heart, they would probably already be dead, so what's the point in shocking them? It might have some use in the game, but in reality, it seemed rather pointless...

(This skill is so useless, no wonder Jingci said that 'Curse Sword Unity' was a rip-off.)

As he considered this, he looked at the only third-level spell he owned, Heavenly Thunder Curse, (Should I use it for fusion?) Xiao Buli hesitated; after all, it was his only third-level spell.

But not fusing wasn't an option. This third-level spell was for stationary targets, with a five-second casting time. It was practically impossible to hit someone with it in real-life combat. Keeping it didn't make much sense. Better to fuse it.

All in! With gritted teeth, Xiao Buli dragged the skill into the Skill Furnace and then pulled the physical skills he knew toward the other side of the Furnace Core, one by one.

Upon experimenting with the third skill, the fusion degree had already reached 98%. Xiao Buli was immediately overjoyed, but when he looked at the skill, he was stunned.

The skill turned out to be 'Cloud Ascension Leap,' which left him somewhat puzzled. Cloud Ascension Leap was a light body skill, so how could it have such a high fusion rate with this type of offensive spell?

He hesitated for a moment but decided to go ahead with the fusion. After all, a 98% success rate was the highest he had seen so far. There was no reason it wouldn't succeed. Thinking this, he clicked to fuse.

As the Tai Chi Diagram rotated, the two skill icons gradually merged into one, but they did not immediately fuse. Sometimes the Cloud Ascension Leap icon became clearer, sometimes the Heavenly Thunder Curse icon became particularly bright. It seemed like both skills were trying to engulf the other, to overwhelm the other.

Finally, with a dazzling flash of blue light, the two skills arduously fused into one. The skill icon was now blue, depicting a lightning bolt piercing through dark clouds.

System prompt: Skill fusion successful. You've obtained the exclusive skill—Cloud Thunder Leap. You can view this skill in the Skill Bar.

Cloud Thunder Leap: Transform into a thundercloud and soar into the sky. In this state, your Movement Speed increases by 1000% for 30 seconds. Once the duration ends, you transform into a lightning bolt that crashes to the ground, dealing lightning + blunt hit damage to the impact area, causing splash damage around the impact site.

The damage at the impact site is related to your Spirit and physique, while the splash damage and its range around the impact site are related to your Spirit. Consumes 100 True Origin Points (can only be used outdoors).

Skill Notes: Using this skill can cause serious damage to the durability of your equipment. Please use with caution.

Xiao Buli gaped at the skill. What was this, a humanoid map cannon? Using this to bomb enemies seemed a bit unreliable, not to mention, what's up with the damaging equipment durability?

But whether it was usable or not would be known only after a try. 100 True Origin Points, well, that wasn't too much.

While he pondered about it, he stepped out of Mystic Hollow Palace, found an empty area where no one was around, and stowed all his good equipment back into his bag. Then he gently touched the icon of the skill. His character dramatically pointed towards the sky and shouted—Cloud! Thunder! Leap! Heavenward!

In the next moment, blue lightning began to emanate from his body. Soon, he realized that it wasn't just emanating; he was transforming into it. In the blink of an eye, his entire being turned into a blue lightning humanoid, and with the next flash of blue light, he shot up into the sky as a bolt of lightning.

His viewpoint suddenly shifted from the ground to high above, his character now out of sight, replaced by a spherical lightning bolt. With a slight nudge on the movement key, he zipped away into the distance—1000% movement speed was not a trifling matter.

He glanced at the top-right corner; of the 30 seconds' duration, 26 seconds were left.

In a hurry, he looked for a point to land, but was startled to find that the ground below was enshrouded in a hazy fog—Misty Forest lived up to its name.

He swiftly flew forward and finally saw a clearing in a less foggy part of the forest. The terrain was visible, but a new problem arose: there were no landing markers or crosshairs in sight. (Do I have to estimate it myself, or just wing it?) Xiao Buli thought to himself.

He fumbled with the controls in a panic without figuring out the situation, but by that time, the duration of Cloud Thunder Leap had already ended. The next moment, Xiao Buli fell to the ground as a bolt of lightning, plummeting rapidly.

Boom! A thunderous blast echoed in the Misty Forest, smashing the crown of a century-old tree to smithereens and scaring away a few wolves that were wandering nearby. Just as he landed, Xiao Buli suddenly noticed that his health points had drastically depleted.

He quickly started to heal himself while activating Fleeting Light and Shadow, entering a cautious state and scanning his surroundings. There were no enemies. What's going on?

He hurriedly checked the combat log.

System Record: You used Cloud Thunder Leap.

System Record: The duration of Cloud Thunder Leap has ended.

System Record: Your Cloud Thunder Leap dealt 135 points of damage to you.

Xiao Buli instantly broke into a cold sweat as he realized his oversight.

The skill notes for Cloud Thunder Leap were—inflicts lightning and blunt damage on the landing area. Wasn't he right in the landing zone when he hit the ground? This skill, when used on the enemy, is like hitting a moth with a flak cannon, sheer luck; but when used on himself, it's strikingly accurate.

Having understood the key point, Xiao Buli couldn't help but look up to the sky and sigh, "I harm myself before harming the enemy; heaven, do you hate me that much?"

Moreover, the side effects seemed not limited to this alone. Checking his equipment, he found that a few pieces he hadn't taken off were all damaged and charred, hanging from his body like a beggar's attire. He would have to fix them when he got back.

However, every cloud has a silver lining, and Xiao Buli excelled at finding a bright spot in the direst situation, drawing lessons from adversity.

On his way back to Mystic Hollow Palace, Xiao Buli thought of another brilliant use for the skill—it could be used to escape. It was almost like a medium-range teleportation skill. At ten times his normal speed, 30 seconds could take him three to five kilometers away. It could be quite effective for fleeing, though the side effects were considerable.

An average person might only have about 100 health points and would likely be done for on the spot, but he had improved his physique significantly over time, reaching 20 points, with health points over 200. Coupled with his equipment, he had surpassed the 400 benchmark, making him half a tank by any measure. He could withstand such damage.

It took him half an hour to get back to Mystic Hollow Palace, where he repaired his equipment. Not staying long since there was nothing left to learn, he set out once again. By evening, he finally spotted the familiar sights of Dahuang Village again.

PS: I had a gastroscopy today; oh my gosh, it was torture. Lying there with a tube being inserted into my stomach, I thought I would die. In the end, they diagnosed me with duodenal ulcers and superficial gastritis. It will take a long time to recover. Everyone, take care of your health and don't end up like me.

PS2: Tomorrow, back to two updates. (To be continued. If you like this work, please come to Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your votes for recommended and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)