Chapter 68: Steel Spine Beast Armor
0%…9%…19%…31%…47%…65%…75% Failed!
0%…7%…19%…33%…48%…62%…71%…88% Failed!
0%…4%…14%…34%…48%…65%…73%…81%…91% Failed!
…
Failed! Failed! Failed!
More than half the night must have passed already; dawn was approaching. Liang Jing's expression was grim. He hadn't expected to fail all night long. Everything had gone smoothly in the earlier steps—it was just the final stage of enchantment activation that kept getting stuck. As long as that succeeded, the equipment would gain various attributes. Unfortunately, it failed!
He had lost count of how many times he had recovered his consumption and then copied everything anew. Several pairs of grayish-yellow leather boots lay beside him, all looking perfectly fine and impressive, along with a grayish-yellow suit of armor that shimmered faintly. Yet, since the enchantment had failed, those items carried no attribute bonuses. They were failed products!
Still, even so, they were better than the Warrior Leather Armor set, even if that set could activate set bonuses. After all, Steel Spine Beasts were creatures that even rifles struggled to harm. What Liang Jing cared about even more was that these furs weren't primarily for defense against firearms—their true purpose was to defend against enemy blades and swords in close combat. This defense was formidable! It was no match for just bulletproof vests; otherwise, the equipment would seem somewhat lacking in comparison.
Of course, if he succeeded, the defensive capabilities would certainly be enhanced. And depending on the quality tier of the finished equipment, there would be certain attribute bonuses—for example, Strength +1, Agility +3, Spirit +4, and so on. There might even be various attributes and skills. That was what made such equipment truly formidable. Liang Jing mused that he would even rename a successfully enchanted piece of equipment: "War Armor"!
At this moment, Liang Jing's stubborn streak flared up. A fierce light flashed in his eyes.
Failed?
He had no talent for enchanting?
Again!
If it failed again, he would just copy more materials. Let's see how many failures were possible! Even if it was just by sheer repetition, using materials to brute-force his way through, he would get it done. The *Leather Armor Secret Art: Enchantment* was indeed an obscure and unorthodox technique. For others, it might be worthless, but Liang Jing had the aberrant talent "Copy," Life Essence to recover his consumption, the Corpse Servant Art to provide hired muscle for killing monsters, and the ability to obtain Life Essence by slaying monsters. Liang Jing refused to believe he couldn't succeed!
Even if the cost was enormous, as long as he succeeded once, it was worth it for Liang Jing! Others might view this behavior as foolish—consuming so many materials, and rare high-tier monster materials no less, to use this skill *Leather Armor Secret Art: Enchantment*. The investment and the payoff simply weren't proportionate!
But as long as Liang Jing crafted one successful piece, he could endlessly copy duplicates of the finished product! Even if rare materials were consumed, he could just copy them again!
He copied another full set of materials once more!
Because he had spent the whole night using sets of materials that were identical in every way, down to the last detail, Liang Jing could now almost complete the first two steps with his eyes closed. Of course, he wouldn't actually do that…
Progress bar: 0%…5%…15%…25%…
Measurement and cutting of the hide—complete!
Progress bar: 25%…33%…43%…50%…
Sewing the beast sinews onto the hide—complete!
Liang Jing once again obtained a piece of leather armor. Even if it was a failure, he still got armor with respectable defensive properties!
Next came the final enchantment stage! The hardest and most essential stage…
Progress bar: 51%…56%…61%…
Watching the blue-white light flicker continuously across the formed armor, the entire surface coated in a layer of blue-white radiance, a small grayish-yellow crystal core flickered amid the glow, slowly dissolving and merging into the blue-white skill light and the armor itself…
Progress bar: 63%…67%…71%…
As time passed, Liang Jing grew more and more tense, cautious with every move, afraid that a sudden racing heartbeat might cause another failure. Failing so many times in one night would have shaken even the most resilient person. All this effort with no success—seeing hope dangled before him yet never knowing when it would finally work, or how—was devastating to one's confidence.
Because there was simply no foundation to rely on!
Progress bar: 73%…75%…
Watching the progress bar slowly advance, Liang Jing suddenly felt that continuing like this wouldn't work. It had been the same many times before—getting to the final ninety-something percent only to fail for no apparent reason. He had to try something different, find another way to tweak the process!
Progress bar: 79%…84%…91%…
As the progress bar neared the point where he had failed and fallen short so many times before, Liang Jing still hadn't found any secret or method. He knew he couldn't wait any longer. A decisive glint flashed in his eyes!
Progress bar: 92%…94%…
Liang Jing directly added the Steel Spine Beast crystal cores left over from the earlier failed steps into the leather armor being processed by *Leather Armor Secret Art: Enchantment*. At the same time, he directed his True Qi to rush swiftly into the skill runes of the enchantment. He even channeled some of the monsters' Life Essence from within his body without converting it, surging straight into the skill runes along with the rest…
Humm!—
This time, Liang Jing was going all out. Since the past experience showed failure anyway, he might as well take the initiative and shake things up with a different method. Even if it failed, it would bring some experience for the next attempt…
Practice was the only criterion for testing truth!
Progress bar: …95%…96%…97%…
The blue-white skill light over the entire armor flickered and pulsed. Liang Jing's emotions were inevitably caught up in it, tense… Then, as all his various efforts surged in together, with a hum, the originally unstable skill light suddenly flared brilliantly, then in an instant dimmed just as fast…
Liang Jing's heart leaped into his throat. He cursed inwardly—getting this nervous over something like this was maddening!
Because he was too invested, it was impossible not to care and be tense, just like love runs deep, so concern runs deep.
Progress bar: 97%…98%…
Liang Jing's controlled True Qi, carrying the unconverted Life Essence, directly charged into the runes of the *Leather Armor Secret Art: Enchantment*. The skill runes suddenly blazed with intense light. The skill glow that had abruptly dimmed flared to life again, shining brilliantly under the drive of True Qi!
It seemed to carry a trace of white light, which merged seamlessly within the blue-white skill radiance into the runes formed by the monster crystal core and the skill glow. There, in the inner layers of the armor invisible to the naked eye, it acted as a fusion lubricant, preventing the blue-white skill light from dimming and vanishing right away…
In just a moment, the white light was consumed rapidly, on the verge of disappearing!
Progress bar: …98%…99%…
Unconsciously, sweat even beaded on Liang Jing's forehead. His heart was screaming: Faster! Faster! Hurry up, just a bit faster!—
Progress bar: …100% Success!
Success!
Phew!—
Liang Jing let out a long breath. He had been far too absorbed, his heart tightly wound. Now he could finally relax. This kind of work couldn't go on like this—like those soccer fans or gamblers, being too invested was no good; sooner or later it would give someone a heart attack. Though that was basically impossible for him, it was still better to keep a calm and level head.
Ding!—
Please name: Steel Spine Beast Armor
Liang Jing casually picked a name. What mattered most now was inspecting the equipment's attributes. All materials came from Steel Spine Beasts, which were Green Elite monsters, with primary traits in agility and strength. He wondered what effects equipment forged from two Steel Spine Beast energy crystals would produce—would there be something special, some kind of miracle?
[Steel Spine Beast Armor] Quality: Blue, Attributes: Resist +10, Toughness: ??, Weight: 9 kg, Attributes: Strength +3, Equipment Requirement: 2.
Blue equipment!
Seeing the grade, Liang Jing's eyes lit up. What a fine item! He hadn't expected to hit that 1% probability, and on his very first successful piece of equipment at that!
Next, he noticed the so-called Resist +10 and felt a bit puzzled. Toughness: ?? What was that about? Could it be that this, too, had changed in reality? Like with Basic Insight—was it no longer so miraculous?
Liang Jing shook his head. Whatever the case, he'd just put it on and see how it felt. Sure enough, after equipping the Steel Spine Beast Armor, his body's Strength value increased by 3 points. So the equipment's attributes were indeed effective. And since it was made from Steel Spine Beast hide, the inherent defensive ability of the hide wouldn't diminish—it might even be strengthened. So Resist +10 was an addition on top of the hide's own defensive power.
Seeing this result, Liang Jing's heart filled with joy. As long as the equipment attributes worked, then everything was perfect…
Now that the night's arduous work had finally yielded success, the fatigue Liang Jing could no longer suppress washed over him. His stamina, True Qi, and especially his spirit had been drained excessively. He was utterly exhausted. He didn't dwell on anything else.
He returned to his room, stripped off his clothes, and slipped quietly into the bed covers, embracing the soft, fragrant body within. Content beyond measure, he fell asleep…
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