ca-book Chapter 17 Ancient Altar
Chapter 17 Ancient Altar
"What...what is this? Forging? Why isn't this option in my interface?"
"I've never heard anyone in the world chat mention that the campfire has a hidden option!"
She scrolled through all the messages on the world channel, but not a single player had ever mentioned that there was a fourth option for the campfire.
With 70 billion players across the entire server, not a single one discovered this hidden mechanism!
Lin Ye smiled, his fingertip hovering over the [Forging] option, and explained in a calm tone.
"This is a hidden mechanism in the Spire. It can only be triggered by clicking on the embers of the campfire three times in a row after the campfire has been used for at least one card removal and one upgrade."
"99.99% of players either rest or level up when they enter the campfire, and they never touch the card deletion option, so naturally they will never unlock this forging option in their lifetime."
As soon as he finished speaking, he opened the forging interface.
Three permanent enchantment options were clearly displayed.
[Sharpness: Increases the damage dealt by your attack cards by 2]
[Sturdy: Your defense cards provide +2 block]
[Poisoning: When your attack card hits a target, it applies an additional layer of poison.]
Without any hesitation, Lin Ye immediately selected the [Sturdy] option.
For his Corruption Protection Warrior system, blocking is everything. Each defense card grants an additional 2 blocks, and when combined with 0-cost skill cards, the efficiency of stacking armor is directly doubled, providing a permanent boost throughout the entire tower climbing process.
[Forging complete! Your weapon has been enchanted with the "Sturdy" enchantment!]
The moment the notification sound ended, the heavy blade in Lin Ye's hand gleamed with a faint silver light, and the block value of each defensive card was permanently increased by 2 points.
Su Qingyue stood to the side, watching with wide-eyed amazement, her admiration for Lin Ye almost overflowing.
With 70 billion players across the server, they can't even figure out the three basic options for the campfire, and are still arguing endlessly about whether to rest or level up.
Lin Ye, on the other hand, had a thorough understanding of even this hidden forging mechanism, which was so well concealed that it was almost impossible to discover.
His understanding of the game is so profound that he knows every hidden detail, down to the smallest corner.
Lin Ye put away his weapon and walked towards the outside of the campfire camp.
On the map, the room guarding the first level is already very close, and the crimson light can be faintly seen through the cracks in the rocks.
Meanwhile, in the world chat, countless players were still debating whether to rest or level up around the campfire.
Unbeknownst to them, while they were arguing endlessly over such petty gains, someone had already refined their deck to its ultimate form, unlocked the hidden forging of the campfire, and created an insurmountable chasm between them.
After leaving the campfire camp, the two continued to advance towards the first level's boss, following the optimal route on the map.
Ordinary monsters along the way pose no threat whatsoever to a deck with extremely refined decks.
After Su Qingyue's upgrade to [Deadly Poison+], she can stack nearly 20 layers of poison in one round. Combined with the perpetual motion armor stacking system in the forest, even small monsters cannot survive more than two rounds before being poisoned to death.
Turning a corner covered with strange runes, an ancient stone altar suddenly appeared before the two of them.
The altar was made entirely of dark stone, covered with twisted spire patterns. The groove in the center emitted an eerie dark red light, and a chilling aura emanated from it.
[Triggering a random event: Ancient Altar]
The moment the system notification sound ended, three options popped up in front of the two of them.
Option 1: Take the gold coins from the altar and receive 50 gold coins.
[Option 2: Touch the runes on the altar to upgrade any card in your deck]
[Option 3: Offer your blood as a sacrifice to the altar, permanently deducting 10 points of maximum health, and gain an unknown item]
Almost at the same time the event was triggered, the world chat exploded.
Countless players who triggered this event simultaneously are frantically posting comments, dissecting the three options of the event in great detail.
"Holy crap! Ancient Altar event! Just pick the gold coins! 50 free gold coins, a steal!"
"I chose to upgrade my cards, and I maxed out my core attack cards right away. It was so awesome!"
"Seriously? There's a third option? Sacrifice 10 points of maximum health? Only someone in their right mind would choose that?"
"Exactly! Maximum health is life! Losing 10 points of health means you're gone in a couple of hits from a monster. Are you crazy for some unknown item?"
"I just impulsively clicked the sacrifice button, and it cost me 10 HP. All I got was a useless stone. I'm so regretful!"
"I urge everyone, whatever you do, never choose the third option! It's a complete scam! Choosing gold coins or upgrades is a guaranteed win!"
"In this godforsaken place, survival is the most important thing. Health is the key to survival. Anyone who touches the sacrifice is a fool!"
Looking across the entire server's 70 billion players, almost 100% chose the first two options.
Either take the guaranteed 50 gold coins or upgrade your core cards; no one dared to touch the third sacrifice option.
Some players who had fallen into this trap even went so far as to spam the chat, advising everyone to stay away from this option and treating it as the most dangerous trap in the Spire.
Su Qingyue frowned instantly upon seeing the three options, and subconsciously grabbed Lin Ye's arm, her voice filled with anxious worry.
"Lin Ye, shall we choose gold coins or upgrade?"
"Sacrificing 10 points of maximum health is such a waste! You only have 40 points of maximum health at most, and losing a quarter of that makes fighting bosses too dangerous!"
"Besides, everyone in the world chat says this option is a scam, it just gives useless junk, it's not worth it at all!"
Her thoughts were exactly the same as those of all players on the entire server.
In this tower where life hangs by a thread, maximum health is the bare minimum for survival. To sacrifice a quarter of your health for an unknown item is simply not worth it.
But when Lin Ye looked at the third sacrifice option, there was not a trace of fear in his eyes, but rather an undisguised excitement.
He had been waiting for this event for a long time.
Su Qingyue was stunned when she saw the light in his eyes. Her heart skipped a beat, and she subconsciously asked him a question.
"Lin Ye, you don't really want to choose this sacrifice option, do you?"
Lin Ye nodded, his tone resolute, without the slightest hesitation.
"That's right, this is the one."
"The first two options seem like sure-fire ways to make money, but they're actually worthless. Only the third option is the only thing of value in this whole situation."
Su Qingyue was completely dumbfounded, her face full of disbelief, unable to understand Lin Ye's choice at all.
"But... it means permanently deducting 10 points of maximum health!"
"Besides, they're giving us unknown items. What if they give us useless junk? Wouldn't we be at a huge loss?"
Lin Ye smiled and patted her shoulder to calm her down, but did not explain immediately.
He raised his hand and used his mind to directly lock onto the third option: "Offer blood to the altar."
[Confirm selection? Selecting this option will permanently deduct 10 maximum health points, which cannot be recovered!]
The system popped up a cold confirmation prompt, and Lin Ye clicked "confirm" without hesitation.