Chapter 1848 – Ancient Demon

“Guild Leader, did you find something good?” Aqua Rose asked curiously as she watched Shi Feng’s blank expression.

The rest of the team turned to look at Shi Feng, as well, anticipation flashing in their eyes. They all wanted to know what kind of treasure a Fine-Gold Treasure Chest had to offer.

A Fine-Gold Treasure Chest was almost impossible to find in Level 50-plus maps. The best players normally found were Secret-Silver rank. Meanwhile, even Mysterious-Iron Treasure Chests could cause a heated struggle between Guild teams.

The higher-quality treasure chest players found, the more of a commotion activating the treasure chest would cause. In turn, this would lead to more players finding out about the treasure chest. Moreover, after players acquired the items inside a treasure chest, there was a two-hour period when the items would be guaranteed to drop upon death. Hence, whenever a treasure chest appeared in the fields, a slaughter would soon follow.

Fortunately, Zero Wing’s team didn’t have to worry about being attacked. After all, this place was the Flame Demon’s Valley. The only other players that might see the glow from the Fine-Gold Treasure Chest were the Ninth Heaven members.

Even if other players with hostile intentions discovered them, they had no fear that anyone would try to rob them.

“Something good has dropped,” Shi Feng said, laughing. He then retrieved the Flame Demon’s Crown and shared its statistics in the team chat.

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[Flame Demon’s Crown] (Head, Fine-Gold Rank)

Equipment Requirement: Strength 800, Agility 800, and Intelligence 800 Defense +100 Additional Passive SkiH-

Flame Demon’s Body: Allows the wearer to gain the body of a Flame Demon, increasing Fire Resistance by 200 and becoming immune to burning effects.

Additional Active SkiH-

Flame Avatar: Becomes immune to all flame damage for one minute.

Cooldown: 10 minutes

...

After reading the Flame Demon’s Crown’s details, the team lost their prior excitement.

“Guild Leader, this crown is a scam. Not only does it have such a high equipment requirement, but it doesn’t actually offer any Basic Attributes. The only good thing about it is its high Fire Resistance, but it isn’t worth sacrificing everything else.”

“I feel the same. The monsters in harsh environments are generally very powerful. Although this crown can provide sufficient Fire Resistance to survive in these maps, without the Basic Attributes, you’ll have a difficult time dealing with monsters. It would be much better to equip several pieces of equipment that provide less Fire Resistance but have significant Basic Attributes.”

“Its defensive properties are even more important. No matter how I look at this crown, it doesn’t seem to have any.”

Everyone quickly discerned the pros and cons of the Flame Demon’s Crown.

Even Level 50 Common cloth armor had more than 100 Defense. The Flame Demon’s Crown’s Defense was practically a useless decoration.

In addition, losing the Basic Attributes from a piece of equipment would reduce a player’s Attributes by around 10%. This would cause at least a 20% reduction in combat power. Moreover, due to the lack of Defense in the head section, others would have a weakness to exploit. If one were struck in the head, it was entirely possible that they’d suffer a Fainted state.

As God’s Domain continued to update, the equipment players wore would have greater importance. Equipment would play a role in a player’s defense beyond Basic Attributes.

Take two players with the same Defense, for example. If one of these players wore chest armor while the other player did not, the player without a chest piece would receive more damage when struck in that area and suffer additional negative effects.

If a player took a blow to the head, they would feel dizzy and powerless, and their reactions would become sluggish. If one were stuck in the arm, it would go numb and become difficult to move.

There were subtle differences in the negative effects depending on the materials of their equipment, as well. An attack’s impact was one such example.

During the early stages of the game, these negative effects were barely noticeable, but as players took on higher-leveled monsters, these negative effects would become more prominent. As a result, players would have to choose their equipment carefully. It wasn’t enough to prioritize Basic Attributes. Players also needed to focus on their equipment’s compatibility and defensive properties.

Meanwhile, the Flame Demon’s Crown, made of fire with a pitiful 100 points in Defense, clearly didn’t have any. It was a costume piece at best. If one equipped the Flame Demon’s Crown during battle, they’d be asking for an early death.

Shi Feng simply revealed a bitter smile as he stored the Flame Demon’s Crown.

He had to admit that his Guild members’ standards had significantly improved. Their understanding of weapons and equipment was no longer limited to Basic Attributes. Unfortunately, they were still somewhat ignorant

This didn’t particularly surprise Shi Feng. His teammates were still relatively low-leveled, after all. They still didn’t fully understand Resistances. They did not know just how valuable a piece of equipment capable of increasing Fire Resistance by 200 points was.

Among the items in the Fine-Gold Treasure Chest, the Flame Demon’s Crown was easily more valuable than the other items combined.

By the time mainstream players had reached Level 100 and beyond in the past, a Flame Demon’s Crown had sold for a whopping 5,000 Gold. With that amount of money, one could purchase an Epic Equipment with poor Attributes. Even so, players rarely sold their Flame Demon’s Crowns.

Equipment that added 200 Fire Resistance was extremely rare. Most importantly, the Flame Demon’s Crown’s Flame Demon’s Body allowed its wearer to become immune to burning effects. In other words, no matter how hot an environment was, players would not suffer any negative effects. They could maintain their combat power at its peak.

Of course, due to the Flame Demon’s Crown’s glaring weakness, it was only suitable for expert players. Ordinary players would be better off wearing several pieces of equipment that provided both Basic Attributes and Fire Resistance.

Ordinary players already fought to get their Basic Attributes up to standard and as a result, struggled against monsters and in Team Dungeon raids. They would be asking for trouble by using a piece of specialized equipment like the Flame Demon’s Crown. However, expert players were different. They would easily have enough Basic Attributes even without wearing a headpiece. When fighting in sweltering environments, it was far more important for expert players to have high Fire Resistance.

Hence, during the later stages of the game, the various large Guilds’ main force members had stopped focusing on Basic Attributes. Instead, they had prioritized Resistances and physique.

Moreover, the Flame Demon’s Crown was like an entry pass to the Flame Demon’s Valley. As long as one had a Flame Demon’s Crown, they could travel anywhere within the valley. They wouldn’t even have any issues exploring the flaming valley’s core.

Originally, Shi Feng had worried that he didn’t have enough Fire Resistance to survive in the central area, but now that he had the Flame Demon’s Crown, he wasn’t concerned. Now, only the Flame Demon King himself would be a problem. In God’s Domain, the Flame Demon King was categorized as a World Boss.

Counter to most expectations, World Bosses were not much stronger than ordinary Field Bosses. The system did not grant World Bosses any special traits, either. However, they did have full control over their territories.

While in a World Boss’s territory, players would be prevented from using Magic Scrolls and magic arrays. It wasn’t even possible to use magical tools. At most, players could use their weapons and equipment’s Skills. It was a nightmare for most players.

After emptying the Fine-Gold Treasure Chest, Shi Feng and the others continued towards the central region. After traveling for a little over an hour, they finally arrived before a fiery world. White-hot flames danced along the mountain range before them. The ring of mountains resembled a burning sun, making it difficult to look at.

“This place is so hot!” Blackie exclaimed as he looked at the flaming mountain range. Despite standing some distance away from the mountain range, he felt as if like roasting meat.

Everyone on the team felt the sweltering heat. Even walking exhausted their Stamina.

Meanwhile, a gigantic figure wielding a trident patrolled the center of this mountain ring. Every one of this figure’s movements stirred the flames around it as lava rose into the air. Even from several thousand yards away, Zero Wing’s team could feel the figure’s fierce aura.

When they saw the Flame Demon King’s true appearance, they couldn’t help their gasps.

Even Shi Feng was shocked.

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[Flame Demon King] (Elemental Creature, Ancient Fiend, Mythic) Level 83

HP 720,000,000/720,000,000

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An Ancient Fiend?! How is this possible?! Shi Feng was indescribably shocked when he saw the Flame Demon King’s statistics. Shouldn’t it be an Archaic Species?