Lin Xun finished checking the loot and memories, then opened the panel to look over his stats.

[Shell: Polar Star Society Star Spirit Envoy Who Gazes Upward]

[True Name: Samta]

[Compatibility: 128% (+65%)]

[Shell Quality: Mythic grade (Compatibility has exceeded the threshold, Shell Quality has been raised!)]

[Shell Level: 120]

[Shell Equipment: Star-Gazing Mage Robe (Legendary grade Armor): …]

[Shell Skill: Thermal Star Ray (Legendary+ Skill): …]

[Shell Skill: Starlight Veil (Mythic grade Skill): …]

[Shell Skill: Falling Starlight (Mythic grade Skill): …]

[Shell Skill: Supernova Eruption (Mythic grade Skill): …]

“Why is the shell’s quality not Mythic+ grade?”

“Hellish game, you scammed me again!”

Lin Xun had originally assumed that this Star Spirit Envoy had to at least have Mythic grade shell quality, and that with his Compatibility bonus stacked on top, it would reach Mythic+ grade and become his first top demi-god shell.

Yet the shell quality column clearly stated that only after being boosted by Compatibility had it just barely reached Mythic grade.

In other words, the Star Spirit Envoy’s original shell quality was Legendary+, a pseudo demi-god that had not actually stepped into the demigod realm.

Having painstakingly schemed for so long and finally taken down this Star Spirit Envoy, only to end up with a fake shell, Lin Xun was so angry he could hardly breathe.

Strictly speaking though, calling it a fake shell was not quite right. After all, he only had a single Mythic grade shell, Desire Primordial Fire Child of Evil.

Now that Star Spirit Envoy had joined the Shell Slots, once he applied Bee Queen Visage’s effect, his damage output would rise another tier.

What was more, this shell’s level was a whopping 120, a full nine levels higher than his current level.

Lin Xun used Visage of the Leader and appointed the Star Spirit Envoy shell as Leader.

Immediately, all his shells shot up in level, each rocketing to the astonishing height of level 120.

“Based on the rank division where the Starrealm Envoy is Mythic+ grade, there is no way this Star Spirit Envoy is only Legendary+…”

“No, Star-Favored are Legendary, and Star Spirit Envoys are above them as Legendary+, which does make sense… But in that case, wouldn’t there be a power gap between Star Spirit Envoys and Starrealm Envoys?”

After pondering for a while, Lin Xun noticed that nearly all of Star Spirit Envoy’s skills were Mythic grade.

A skill panel like this only appeared on Mythic grade shells.

Ordinarily, for monsters or story characters in a game, when they were about to break through to the next realm, their skill quality would advance first.

For example, the Ninja Master’s shell quality was Epic+, yet he had a Legendary grade skill, Heartless Flow Ninjutsu.

That kind of improvement came from the character’s own cultivation and foreshadowed that he would very likely break through the realm in the future.

However, at most, one or two skills would advance in that way. Only when the shell quality itself broke through to the next realm would all of the skills gradually be cultivated up to the new grade.

Since nearly all of the Star Spirit Envoy’s shell skills were Mythic grade, it meant that this shell’s original quality should also have been Mythic grade…

“I get it. It has to be a side effect of Flesh Authority’s stat respeccing.”

Lin Xun had used Flesh Authority to perform a temporary ‘enchantment’ operation on the Eyeball Heart in order to reduce the burden of the heart on the body for a time, allowing Star Spirit Envoy to survive the heart transplant instead of dying on the operating table.

But when the Eyeball Heart gradually released its power to the point that Flesh Authority could no longer lessen the burden, it changed tack and used stat respeccing to strengthen the body’s capacity, allowing Star Spirit Envoy to hold out a bit longer.

The Star-Favored shell he had possessed was precisely ruined through such passive stat respeccing, its shell quality dropping until it became a scrapped alt.

The root cause was that his control over Flesh Authority was not yet sufficient; he could only passively undergo stat respeccing under the Authority’s influence.

That uncontrollable passive stat respeccing had even affected the Star Spirit Envoy, causing his shell quality to fall.

If Lin Xun’s control over the Authority were high enough, then even if he could not actively respec stats yet, he would at least be able to interrupt Flesh Authority’s passive respeccing on the Star Spirit Envoy.

“So, as long as I keep increasing my control over Flesh Authority, I will probably be able to respec this shell’s stats again.”

“Right, if I use Beginning of the Holy Spirit…”

Soul Secret Beginning of the Holy Spirit could temporarily raise his Authority mastery, and by quite a bit. If he used Beginning of the Holy Spirit again, he should be able to make this shell return to Mythic grade.

Then, with Compatibility over the threshold, he would obtain a top demi-god shell.

“I have to wait until my current soul strength cap is fully recovered before I can use Beginning of the Holy Spirit again…”

Beginning of the Holy Spirit temporarily consumed 4 points of soul strength upper limit. After his previous use, his soul strength had only just recovered to 3/3.

[…]

[You attempt to search the unoccupied offices but do not find any valuable items.]

[You are about to leave when something occurs to you.]

[You snap your fingers and the cabinet behind the desk slides open on its own, revealing a hidden secret room behind it.]

[Stacks of empty chests are piled up in the secret room. You step inside to search…]

[…]

[You find a palm-sized miniature refined copper device in the corner of the secret room, strange lights flickering around it from time to time…]

[You have obtained Image Replication Generator (Item).]

[Image Replication Generator (Item): This device is a byproduct of the Scholars’ research into the diffraction of Knowledge Illusions. It can capture selected nearby images and generate identical illusions.]

[By using this item, you can select objects nearby to capture their image, then use the device to generate identical illusions.]

[The number of illusions generated is inversely proportional to the size of the original object. Remaining uses: 1/3.]

[You look at the refined copper device in your hand and understand that Star Spirit Envoy used this to create the illusion that the secret room contained a massive hoard of Spirit Essence.]

[You put away the Image Replication Generator and leave the office…]

[What will your next move be?]

[…]

With the Starrealm Envoy and the three other Star Spirit Envoys away from home, once he had eliminated the last remaining Star Spirit Envoy in the branch, there was no longer anyone who could pose a threat to him.

Lin Xun narrowed his eyes, a plan already forming in his heart.

[…]

[You walk all the way down to the first-floor lobby and see the female Star Mage cowering in the corner behind the reception desk, her face streaked with tears and her expression full of terror…]

[When she sees you return from the dead, she screams in fear and points a trembling finger at you, stammering that y-you were dead…]

[You fly into a rage, stride forward, and slap her hard across the face, roaring, who died? Is she so eager to curse you to death?]

[The female Star Mage moves her lips but cannot get any words out…]

[You sneer and say that she must have gotten so carried away with how good she felt earlier that she hallucinated it all.]

[Now you have important matters to announce and she must gather every member of the branch at once in the transplant room…]

[The female Star Mage finally comes back to her senses and limps away at a run to summon everyone.]

[…]

[You return to the transplant room on the second floor and wait. Before long, the members of the Polar Star Society file in one after another.]

[Seeing your face dark and solemn, none of them dare to ask questions. They silently stand by, waiting for you to announce some major event.]

[At last, the female Star Mage returns to the transplant room and respectfully reports that every member in the branch has been assembled here.]

[You lock the door of the transplant room and then, facing the packed crowd, announce that through recent research in secret, you have developed an entirely new star magic that is not only immensely powerful but also very easy to learn.]

[You are about to teach them this spell. They are not to ask questions. You will only demonstrate it once, and how much they can grasp will depend entirely on their own talent.]

[At these words, the Star Mages below begin whispering among themselves, joy written all over their faces. They can hardly believe that the high and mighty Star Spirit Envoy Lord would personally teach them a spell.]

[This kind of rare opportunity cannot be missed. If they fail to learn the Lord’s new spell, would they not regret it for the rest of their lives?]

[They stare wide-eyed and prick up their ears, waiting for you to demonstrate the spell, unwilling to miss a single detail.]

[You raise Staff of Gazing at the Starry Sky high and chant a complex and profound incantation…]

[Specks of starlight gather around you. The starry light encircling you grows more and more dazzling until its blinding brilliance makes it impossible to see your silhouette.]

[The Star Mages’ eyes are pricked by the starlight until tears stream down their faces and their eyeballs are bloodshot, yet, afraid of missing even a single detail, they refuse to blink.]

[…]

[Finally, when the incantation reaches its final stage, the entire transplant room is filled with resplendent starlight so bright that nothing else can be seen.]

[The shining starlight converges on a single point and becomes an incomparably radiant star.]

[Suddenly, someone cries out in delight that they understand now. This is Supernova Eruption, the ultimate essence of high-level star magic.]

[…]

[Lord Envoy has actually improved Supernova Eruption and is even going to teach it to them. It is truly moving beyond words.]

[…]

[My lord, your subordinate will surely engrave your kindness upon his heart…]

[Many Star Mages below marvel at the immense might of the spell, feeling fear just from the momentum of the incantation alone.]

[Some are in tears, saying they will carry out their missions diligently to repay the Lord’s kindness.]

[Many more, however, frown as they try to grasp the deep, obscure magic from the demonstration, but no matter how they rack their brains, they cannot comprehend the essence of this ‘easy to learn’ improved spell.]

[They assume that it is because they themselves are stupid and lack talent…]

[By now, the incantation has reached the final segment. The Star Spirit Envoy Lord should be ending the chanting, cancelling the spell, and explaining the key points to them… but the Star Spirit Envoy Lord is still chanting.]

[At last, someone senses that something is wrong. His face goes pale with fear as he turns and sprints toward the door…]

[At that very moment, the final syllable of the incantation falls…]

[When an eternal star reaches the end of its life, it erupts with unimaginable destructive power.]

[The destructive starlight floods the entire transplant room and the countless Star Mages are instantly vaporized, dead on the spot.]

[Under your control, the destructive power of Supernova Eruption does not spread outward but instead remains concentrated within the transplant room as it detonates…]

[You have defeated Polar Star Society Star Perceiver Who Gazes Upward. Experience slightly increased!]

[You have defeated Polar Star Society Star Cantor Who Gazes Upward…]

[You have defeated Polar Star Society…]

[…]

Lines of defeat messages flooded the text as Lin Xun used a single spell to completely wipe out all the small fry in the Polar Star Society branch.

“Using a mage to reap the field really is relaxing…”

With the strength of a demigod, the Star Spirit Envoy was a mage among mages. For Star Mages at this realm, aside from their ultimate skills that required very long chanting and charge time, nearly all of their other spells could be cast instantly.

On the Star Spirit Envoy’s skill bar, only the ultimate skill Supernova Eruption could not be cast instantly and still needed a fairly long channeling time. Every other skill could be instantly cast.

Once he had cleared out the small fry, there was no one left in the entire branch building apart from him.

Lin Xun controlled the shell to return to the fourth floor and walked to the offices of the other three Star Spirit Envoys.

“Now I can just blow the doors open without worrying about making too much noise.”

He planned to take advantage of his colleagues and bosses being away to loot all of their lairs clean.

[…]

[You arrive at the office door of one Star Spirit Envoy. The door is tightly shut and a defensive magic formation shrouds the surroundings.]

[Do you want to smash your way through the defensive magic formation and open the office door?]

Lin Xun smiled faintly and immediately selected ‘Yes.’

[You raise your staff high and cast Supernova Eruption once more…]

[…]

[As the destructive starry light erupts, the defensive magic formation ripples layer upon layer, unable to withstand such fearsome power and shattering apart with a roar.]

[You step over the smashed door boards and enter the office…]

[You begin to search for valuable items…]

[Searching…]

[…]

[You find a scroll in the cabinet by the wall!]

[You have obtained Ancient Scroll Recording Star Magic (Legendary grade Item)!]

[Searching…]

[You find a book in the desk’s hidden compartment!]

[You have obtained Book Containing Abundant Knowledge (Item).]

[…]

Lin Xun blasted apart the defensive formations of all three offices and looted every useful item inside.

Just from skill scrolls alone, he had obtained three, all Legendary grade star magic skills, plus seven book items that could greatly increase his Knowledge stat.

Among the haul was also a strange potion.

[Star Sea Source Elixir (Item): … After drinking this elixir, any star-type spells you cast that are not above Mythic+ grade will not consume mental power for a short time.]

Lin Xun put the items away, feeling that this part where you got to rake in loot was truly soothing in both body and mind.

“Next up, it is the star of the show, the Starrealm Envoy.”

[You leave the corridor and ascend the stairs to the top floor of the building.]

[When you reach the top floor, you are blocked at the entrance to the corridor by a defensive magic formation and cannot advance a single step…]

Lin Xun smiled and used the same trick again, tossing out another spell ultimate.

[…]

[As the destructive starry light erupts, the defensive magic formation ripples layer upon layer, yet just barely manages to resist the fearsome spell and continues to bar your way.]

[You can feel a strange power pouring from the void to maintain the protection of the magic formation.]

[You are extremely familiar with this power. It is the stored energy of the Star Annihilation Magic Formation.]

[This defensive magic formation here is linked to the Star Annihilation Magic Formation. Unless the formation’s stored energy is exhausted, you will not be able to forcibly break the defense.]

Lin Xun raised an eyebrow, opened the Inventory, and examined the Star Annihilation Ring.

The item description showed that the Annihilation Formation’s stored energy had gone down from its original 97 to 92.

He knew that, eight or nine times out of ten, this was yet another pitfall set by the hellish game.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep