Nie Yan took out another third-tier fire crystal. After Darkwing Dragon glanced at it, it turned its head away, clearly not very interested in fire crystals, though it would still eat them, probably with minimal effect.
It seemed that in the future, he should feed flying mounts with crystals matching their element. For example, Darkwing Dragon should be fed dark-element crystals to avoid waste.
Nie Yan tossed a dark-element crystal into the air. Darkwing Dragon quickly turned its head, caught the crystal mid-air with lightning speed, and crunched it with a loud snap.
Nie Yan could sense that Darkwing Dragon had grown slightly stronger, though the feeling was vague. He couldn’t tell how much longer it would take for Darkwing Dragon to evolve.
After consuming the crystal, Darkwing Dragon looked at Nie Yan expectantly, clearly wanting more.
Nie Yan took out another dark-element crystal and tossed it to Darkwing Dragon.
Darkwing Dragon bit into piece after piece of crystals. As a sixth-tier creature, first, second, and third-tier crystals had limited effects on it. However, when consumed in large quantities, the cumulative effect was significant. Nie Yan could feel the powerful dark energy radiating from Darkwing Dragon, filled with a corrosive force. Plants within a three-yard radius withered into dry grass upon contact with the dark energy.
Darkwing Dragon let out a satisfied belch. Its belly was round and full—it had eaten at least a dozen crystals since earlier.
After consuming these crystals, Darkwing Dragon dozed off. Seeing that it was about to fall asleep, Nie Yan recalled it into his pet space.
Looking into his pet space, Nie Yan saw Darkwing Dragon had already found a spot to sleep. A thick layer of dark energy enveloped its body completely.
Darkwing Dragon had fallen into a deep slumber.
Nie Yan could sense the immense power surging within it. He wondered what changes would occur once it awoke.
Nie Yan turned his attention away. While practicing his crafting skills and working on the Shadow Dancer class quest, he gradually ventured deeper into the jungle. In the distance, a mysterious and strange structure floated above the jungle canopy, catching his attention.
This structure was magnificent, completely airborne without any support, like a massive fortress. It had endured countless battles, bearing visible scars, yet it remained grand and awe-inspiring.
Just like Carol City in Grendale, it was a floating city.
System: You have discovered the World Heart.
Nie Yan froze upon seeing the system message, his heart pounding. It was actually the World Heart!
In the ancient myths of Curtis’s book, the World Heart was the center of the world, floating above the continent of Atlantis. It was the dwelling place of gods. However, after the Third Divine War, the World Heart vanished without a trace and was never seen again.
Thus, the World Heart only appeared in fragments within ancient texts, and people regarded it as a mere legend.
Nie Yan had a strong intuition that this World Heart must be related to the Shadow Dancer class quest. He moved toward the direction of the World Heart.
The closer he got to the World Heart, the stronger the monsters became. Nie Yan gradually slowed his pace. Looking up, he saw dark shapes swirling around the World Heart. They were flying creatures. Although he hadn’t encountered them yet, judging by their size, they were of a very high tier—far stronger than his Darkwing Dragon.
About ten days later, Nie Yan completed 3% of the quest progress. Another system message appeared.
Quest Progress: Infiltrate the World Heart and seek the lost inheritance.
The quest had finally changed. If he continued fighting monsters, he would go insane. Third-tier creatures were already very troublesome, not to mention fourth and fifth-tier ones! After completing the first three quest stages, the subsequent tasks were completely different. However, infiltrating the World Heart was far more difficult than the previous stages.
Looking at the distant World Heart, Nie Yan realized that entering it would definitely require a flying mount. He glanced at his pet space, but Darkwing Dragon was still asleep.
Well, he would have to wait for Darkwing Dragon to wake up. Nie Yan wandered around, gathering materials and continuing to level up his crafting skills. Checking his progress, his skills in Mechanic, Forging, and Scroll Creation had all reached Advanced level, and he was preparing to advance to Master level. His Alchemy skill had already reached 52% of Master level, allowing him to craft more potions.
As he learned more crafting skills, Nie Yan developed new insights. Suddenly, he had an idea—could he craft his own weapon?
Nie Yan obtained some iron essence, forged and processed it, and slowly shaped it into a needle about three inches long and as thick as a thumb. One end was sharpened to a fine point, easily piercing defenses. Using his Master-level Alchemy skill, he crafted several vials of blue poison and evenly applied it onto the needles.
This could serve as a handy weapon for unexpected situations. Thinking further, Nie Yan decided to enhance it. Using his Mechanic skill, he modified the iron needle so that once embedded in an enemy, it would form barbs, hooking into the flesh and making it impossible to remove without tearing out a large chunk of flesh.
It was a small trick of Nie Yan’s ingenuity when, suddenly, another system message appeared.
System: You have invented a weapon. Attack rating (Strength * 5 + 5000). Special effect rating: This weapon causes 20% bleeding for 10 seconds and has a chance to cripple the target. Please name it.
Nie Yan examined the weapon’s attributes, surprised at its effects. The attack power was astonishing, with added bleeding and crippling effects. His Strength was around 6,000, so attacking an enemy with this weapon would deal over 30,000 damage, plus an additional 60,000 bleeding damage. It was terrifying.
What should he name this weapon?
After a moment’s thought, Nie Yan decided on “Bone Spike.”
System: Naming successful.
System: You have successfully invented and crafted a Bone Spike. Forging and Mechanic skills each gain 500 experience points.
Two beams of white light shone over Nie Yan—it was a level-up notification! Checking his skill list, Forging and Mechanic had both advanced to Master level. He hadn’t expected to gain so much experience at once.
The skill progression was incredibly fast! Nie Yan proceeded to craft a second Bone Spike, but this time Forging and Mechanic only gained 5 experience points each. It seemed that only the first invention of a new weapon would grant such a large experience boost.
Even so, crafting Bone Spikes still yielded significantly more experience than regular weapons, and it improved both Forging and Mechanic skills simultaneously, making it a highly efficient choice.
Nie Yan finally realized how useful it was to have learned all the crafting skills!
Ordinary players usually mastered only one crafting skill. Even at high levels, they could only produce items based on blueprints and recipes. They couldn’t independently develop and craft advanced items like Nie Yan could. High-tier items often required at least two supporting skills. Even creating new potions required assistance from other crafting professions, such as crafting special containers.
The Bone Spike exceeded Nie Yan’s expectations. It could serve as a powerful auxiliary weapon. In a few days, all his crafting skills would reach Master level. Then, he could independently develop and craft more advanced items, using these special tools to grow even stronger.
As he was deep in thought, a sudden surge of energy erupted from his pet space, filling it with powerful dark energy that spilled outward.
What was happening? Nie Yan was startled and looked into his pet space. A powerful dark force was emanating from Darkwing Dragon as it stood up. Its size had increased, and its body was now covered in dense, gray-black scales, forming a protective armor that reflected a glossy black sheen.
Its wings were stronger than before, and its muscular body radiated immense strength.
Nie Yan checked Darkwing Dragon’s stats. All attributes had increased by at least 30%. It was very close to evolution, needing just a little more. Feeding it more crystals might soon push it to evolve into a seventh-tier creature. Upon reaching seventh tier, its power would increase several times over.
Currently, the highest-tier flying mounts owned by other players were only fourth-tier. With a gap of three tiers or more, Nie Yan’s Darkwing Dragon could easily defeat all their flying mounts.
Darkwing Dragon had finally awakened and couldn’t consume crystals for a while. Nie Yan looked toward the World Heart—he would ride Darkwing Dragon up there!
Nie Yan prepared himself, crafting over fifty Bone Spikes and gathering numerous Master-level instant healing potions and high-tier bandages. After thorough preparation, he summoned Darkwing Dragon.
Darkwing Dragon appeared on the open ground before him, releasing a powerful aura that swept outward. All plants within a ten-yard radius instantly lost their vitality and withered within moments.
Looking up, Nie Yan saw that Darkwing Dragon now stood five yards tall. Its metallic scales gleamed, appearing nearly impervious and exuding a heavy, oppressive presence.
Nie Yan mounted Darkwing Dragon’s back. With a flap of its wings, Darkwing Dragon took off, soaring upward in an instant, rising dozens of yards into the air.
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