025 The Lich's Form!

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So many treasures came from just one room, and there were still nine more rooms to explore—wasn’t this a fortune waiting to happen? Yet, when Chen Feng, dreaming of wealth, stepped into the first room on the left, his expression immediately darkened. This room was also a study, but unlike the previous two, it resembled half a laboratory, filled with some engineering tools, none of which were removable. Even if Outrace were here or if he knew something about them, these engineering items were useless to Chen Feng.

In the next several rooms, Chen Feng repeatedly found scrolls, which left him quite disappointed. He had originally thought he had uncovered the Steelgray Dwarves’ treasure hoard, but it turned out to be nothing more than those non-circulating coins, with no clue when they could be used.

[Skill Cooldown Reduction Scroll]: A skill scroll that reduces the cooldown of one extra skill you have learned. The reduction varies depending on the skill’s cooldown time, but the cost will change accordingly. The cooldown reduction is ineffective in the arena.

This was a decent scroll. The description indicated that the “extra skill” referred to skills outside the warrior class, such as Iron Body, Blood Strike, Fury Strike, and Tiger Strike. Skills originally learnable by the warrior class could not be affected by the scroll. So Chen Feng could only choose from these four skills.

The last room was locked by a large door covered in a thick layer of frost. Upon unlocking it with his mysterious key, a bone-chilling cold radiated from the keyhole, causing Chen Feng to shiver. He opened the door and stepped inside, finding the room coated in frost, the temperature unbearably low. Chen Feng felt as if his bones were freezing; his entire body trembled uncontrollably. At the center of the room lay an ice-blue chest, atop which rested a parchment scroll.

After planting a Battle Flag at the entrance, Chen Feng activated his Windstep and swiftly dashed forward, grabbing the parchment scroll from the chest and bringing it back to the flag. He exhaled warm breath to thaw himself; this was the coldest place he had ever been, colder even than the Arctic Continent.

Once warmed, Chen Feng unrolled the parchment to read its contents.

“Dear kin, by the time you see this parchment, desperation has likely set in. Yet I must warn you: unless the survival of our clan is at stake, do not open the Frost Chest. The power it grants will bring endless calamities to the entire continent—disasters far more terrifying than orcish rule. Remember this above all: do not open the chest unless absolutely necessary. — Kaos Steelgray.”

Was this an alarmist warning? Chen Feng was tempted to see what exactly lay inside the chest. Why would the Steelgray Dwarves bury their treasures beneath the Steel Iron City and never open this chest, even amid orc invasions? What could possibly be inside to cover the entire room in frost?

He immediately searched official sources for information about the Steelgray Dwarves but found nothing mentioning the Frost Chest. Even the dwarves themselves dared not open this chest lightly; Chen Feng would have to be cautious. Had anyone ever opened it before?

A divine artifact? If the chest contained a sealed demon lord, Chen Feng wouldn’t mind opening it. For players, whatever happened after opening the chest was irrelevant. Chen Feng secretly hoped it would cause chaos in Steel Iron City, giving him a chance to snatch some treasures inside.

He glanced once more at the ice-blue chest and suddenly felt a trace of fear, involuntarily stepping back. He wasn’t sure if he was trembling from the parchment’s warning or if the chest truly was that ominous. This room was definitely eerie; Chen Feng suddenly hesitated to open it.

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What if opening the chest meant dying here? After a moment’s thought, Chen Feng reasoned that if it were truly so dangerous, the Steelgray Dwarves wouldn’t have left the chest here. Curiosity winning out, he stepped inside and opened the chest.

[Frost Curse]: Negative status. All your attributes decrease by 50%, damage taken increases by 300%, lasting 7 days.

“Damn, this basically means I can’t leave the main city for seven days,” Chen Feng cursed inwardly. Fortunately, this was only a low-level account; otherwise, he would have really lost his temper. A week with half his stats and triple damage taken meant any player on the open map could kill him easily.

Chen Feng peered inside the Frost Chest, wondering what could scare the Steelgray Dwarves so much that even during orc invasions, they never used it.

A pale yellow skill book?

A divine-level skill book? Chen Feng hadn’t expected such a terrifying skill book to be hidden inside.

Divine skill books were rare—after several years of the game’s operation, only about a dozen players owned them. Chen Feng hadn’t thought one would be hidden here. But such a price to obtain it—a week confined to the main city—would seriously hinder early development.

[Lich’s Form]: Divine skill. Temporarily transform into an undead lich for 12 seconds. Cooldown: 1 minute. Cost: None. (Learning condition: Warrior, Paladin)

The description was simple and left Chen Feng puzzled about its use. Lich’s Form? He remembered many divine skill names, but never one like this—a skill to transform into an undead.

He had never heard of a skill book called Lich’s Form, nor seen anyone use a skill resembling turning into an undead. Yet Chen Feng knew someone must have obtained it; he just didn’t know how to wield it or what price was paid. Otherwise, why would the Steelgray Dwarves seal this skill book here?

As Chen Feng took the Lich’s Form skill book, far away on the Arctic Continent, the land began to tremble. The once swirling snowstorm halted due to the continent’s shaking. At the orc capital’s temple, the orc shaman seated on the throne suddenly opened his eyes. He immediately ordered his guards to summon all council elders—something major was about to happen.

The very skill book that sent chills through Chen Feng’s hand was tossed into his backpack, and he used a Hearthstone to return to the city. The sewers beyond undoubtedly led to the Steel Iron City’s Azure Lake, but Chen Feng was no fool—he wouldn’t rush in at his current level. It would be suicide.

Back in the city, Chen Feng stored the gems and carvings in the warehouse, then switched to his warrior account. His Shapeshifter character was too fragile; once outside the city, it was easy prey. Better to use the warrior.

He first chose to reduce the cooldown of Blood Strike. As for that Lich’s Form skill book, it was too eerie, so he stashed it in a corner of the warehouse. Though divine, what use was a skill that simply turned you into an undead lich? To Chen Feng, it was the most worthless skill book he had ever seen.

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[Blood Strike]: Recovery skill. Gather the power of blood to deal 120% attack damage to an enemy and restore 15% of your maximum health. Usage condition: Defensive stance. When your rage exceeds 100, using Blood Strike halves the cooldown but doubles the rage cost. Cooldown: 8 seconds. Rage cost: 30.

The cooldown was reduced from 25 seconds to 8 seconds, but the skill now consumed 30 rage instead of none, which affected Chen Feng’s output, especially when rage exceeded 100—then it consumed 60 rage, severely impacting his damage. From a damage perspective, this was true. Chen Feng always prioritized damage output and viewed things from that angle.

After further consideration, Chen Feng felt that as a tank, restoring 15% maximum health every 8 seconds was definitely worthwhile, provided he saved his rage. Especially during the Wind of Revival phase, continuous Blood Strikes could keep him alive and avoid many dangers.

“Jianren Feng, hurry to Sector 5 for reinforcements. I found a warrior with a Magic Ring,” the monk’s urgent voice came through just as Chen Feng was about to head to Sector 25.

“What’s their game ID? Which national server? Location?” Chen Feng asked quickly. Since Chen Feng obtained the Magic Ring, that monk had been eager to rush to level 30 to challenge other ring bearers. Chen Feng noticed the monk didn’t level up, search for treasures, or train troops on the big map, just running around, probably looking for Magic Ring bearers.

“Game ID is Storm, Singapore server. I’m south of Ghost Valley. Let me know when you arrive,” the monk replied. Knowing it would be hard to face the Magic Ring bearer alone, he pulled Chen Feng in. With Chen Feng’s help, he felt confident about obtaining the ring.

Chen Feng was somewhat amused. The monk actually asked him to help kill the Magic Ring bearer. If the monk got the ring, Chen Feng wasn’t sure whether he’d kill him or not. Only the monk was brazen enough to drag Chen Feng along—he knew calling on the wild warrior was impossible; that guy was too rough. Calling the Data Emperor was useless; he was too weak and couldn’t fight without a worthy opponent. Shadow was busy with tasks, nearly causing the monk to sever ties.

After switching to Sector 5, Chen Feng immediately headed to the outpost exit. Before leaving, he mounted his Night Saber and raced toward Ghost Valley. Many saw Chen Feng appear, and before they could react, he was already mounted and speeding away. Seeing a level 31 player with a mount, everyone envied him, unaware Chen Feng was a Magic Ring bearer. They wanted to add him as a friend and ask how he got the mount.

Storm from the Singapore server—Chen Feng remembered that player often teamed up with Unicorn from the Australia server. He guessed they were together again, but the elven hunter Unicorn was hiding. Chen Feng told the monk not to act rashly, just follow along.

This time, the monk might have found two Magic Ring bearers. Chen Feng recalled both Storm and Unicorn favored dirty tactics, likely planning to lure other Magic Ring bearers into Ghost Valley.

“Jianren Feng, the Magic Ring bearer Baru from the Italy server ambushed Storm. That hunter you mentioned came out too. They’re fighting fiercely. Should I finish them off?” The monk was excited, surprised that Baru from Italy had appeared. Three Magic Ring bearers fighting—it was the most thrilling moment the monk had ever experienced.