Chapter 10-Open The Chest, Void Mantis Evolution！

After casually accepting a few missions, Li Yao left the Adventurers' Guild and made his way to the border checkpoint.

"Li Yao, Level 5, Chessmaster?"

The gatekeeper held Li Yao's exit permit, verifying his identity.

"You're only Level 5, and you're sure you want to leave the city?"

Li Yao didn't say much—he simply nodded.

The guard was clearly puzzled. A mere Level 5 A-rank professional—how did the academy even approve his exit?

But the exit permit was authentic, so the verification process went smoothly.

"There are many monsters outside. Stay alert. If you encounter something you can't handle, seek protection from stronger adventurers."

"If things get too dangerous, just come back immediately. You're still young—there's no shame in retreating. Your life is what matters most."

"Especially at night—monsters become much more violent, and their stats increase significantly. Make sure you find shelter before nightfall."

Li Yao listened patiently to the gatekeeper's lengthy warnings without interruption.

Once the man finished, Li Yao gave a slight bow in acknowledgment.

Then, he stepped forward—out of the city gates.

A chilling wind blew against him, carrying with it a faint scent of blood.

"As expected… two completely different worlds inside and outside the city."

Without hesitation, Li Yao strode forward.

In the gatekeeper's eyes, his figure quickly disappeared into the distance.

"Sigh… an A-rank professional, huh? Let's hope we see him return."

The deeper Li Yao ventured, the stronger the scent of blood in the air became.

Beastly roars echoed in the distance, and from time to time, he spotted other adventurers hunting monsters nearby.

The borderlands weren't exactly what Li Yao had imagined.

The area was littered with the ruins of old buildings—perhaps, this place had once been a human city.

It was clear now.

Humanity hadn't won against the monsters as decisively as the news always claimed.

The peaceful lives enjoyed within the city walls… were only possible because someone bore the burden of fighting in the darkness.

"This should be far enough."

Confirming that no one else was nearby, Li Yao reached into his storage ring and pulled out the Silver Treasure Chest he had looted from the Bloodthirsty Forest Wolf.

A loot chest that only boss-level monsters could drop.

Back at the StarNet Trading Hub, Li Yao had nearly sold it—after seeing just how much Silver Treasure Chests were worth.

With a flash of silver light, the chest vanished.

Two pieces of equipment materialized before him.

[Bloodthirst Pendant (Accessory – Pendant)]

Quality: Silver

Requirement: Level 5, Agility 30+

• Stat Bonus 1: Strength +10 | Agility +15 | Constitution +10

• Stat Bonus 2: Bloodthirst (Passive): Recovers 5% of damage dealt as HP (can be triggered by summoned creatures).

• Durability: 40/40

[Swiftstride Boots (Shoes)]

Quality: Bronze

Requirement: Level 5

• Stat Bonus: Agility +8 | Constitution +5

• Durability: 25/25

Seeing the equipment attributes, Li Yao's eyes lit up.

The Swiftstride Boots were nothing special—just standard bronze-tier gear without additional effects, worth somewhere between 2,000 to 5,000 coins.

But the Bloodthirst Pendant was a different story.

Because in this world, equipment value wasn't solely determined by level. The real deciding factor was quality.

For example:

• Bronze-tier gear, even at Level 50 or 60, would rarely be worth more than 10,000 coins.

• This was because low-quality gear (Iron/Bronze) was abundant—anyone could get it by hunting monsters in the wild.

• But Silver-tier and above?

Even at low levels, high-quality gear could be incredibly rare and valuable.

These items only dropped from field bosses or dungeon raids.

And the higher the boss level compared to the player's, the lower the drop rate.

Not to mention, dungeons had strict level entry restrictions.

As a result, high-quality gear was always in extremely limited supply—and highly expensive.

The Bloodthirst Pendant was an even rarer case.

Not only did it offer solid stat bonuses, but it granted lifesteal as well.

Li Yao remembered seeing a Level 30 bracelet on Jiangzhou's StarNet auction house that had only 3% lifesteal…

And yet, it had sold for 16 million coins.

If memory served him right…

The one who bought it had been his father, Li Yang.

Li Yao equipped both items.

His stats instantly surged upward.

Even better—the bonuses applied to his summoned beast as well.

[Piece: Void Mantis]

Level: 5

Grade: S-rank

Bond: Assassin

Star Rating: ★★ (Gold Coins Needed for Next Star: 45/40)

HP: 2450/2450

Strength: 689 (+5 from level, +4 from gear, +285 from combat training)

Spirit: 27 (+5 from level)

Agility: 92 (+5 from level, +4 from Li Yao's agility build, +9 from gear)

Endurance: 49 (+5 from level, +6 from gear)

Skills: Void Ambush, Taste of Fear

Passive Effect: Bloodthirst (from Bloodthirst Pendant)

Looking at the Void Mantis's updated stats, Li Yao couldn't hold back his excitement.

His Strength stat was about to break 700…

No—it already had!

Every five levels, the Hedge Fund passive awarded him 10 gold coins.

With his current balance, he had more than enough to rank up the Void Mantis to 3 stars!

"Void Mantis—evolve!"

In the shadows, the Void Mantis's body trembled violently.

An unknown force descended upon it, and its aura surged explosively.

Its body size doubled, reaching nearly two meters tall.

Every stat skyrocketed.

[Void Ambush] – Cloaks itself in Void, entering Level 5 Invisibility. The next basic attack deals 400% physical damage (previously 300%). Cooldown: 7 seconds.

[Taste of Fear] – Deals 400% physical damage to a target. If there are no enemies within 2 meters of the target, the damage doubles. Cooldown: 3 seconds.

But the most exciting part—at 3 stars, the Void Mantis had unlocked a new skill.

[Void Spike] – Fires explosive spikes at enemies in front, dealing 250% physical damage. Cooldown: 15 seconds.

"Perfect!"

An area-of-effect skill—exactly what the Void Mantis was lacking.

With this, he could massacre monsters in large numbers, rapidly boosting his Hextech Combat Training effects.

The perfect synergy.

"But I need to test the range."

Li Yao gave a command.

"Void Mantis."

The evolved Void Mantis revealed itself.

Under the sunlight, its razor-sharp forelimbs gleamed like massive scythes, exuding an aura of menace.

Li Yao spotted a Level 10 monster 30 meters away.

"Use Void Spike."

At the same time, he cast Identify.

[Roaming Rat]

Level: 10

HP: 1150

Strength: 27

Spirit: 16

Agility: 38

Endurance: 23

Skill: Heavy Claw LV1

A Level 10 agility-based monster.

But compared to a Level 5 Void Mantis… it was utterly insignificant.

In an instant—

The Void Mantis closed the distance to 10 meters.

"10 meters, huh… but what's the width?"

Swoosh!

A barrage of spikes shot forth.

[-1643]

The Roaming Rat was impaled to the ground, its pupils filled with shock and confusion.

A one-hit kill, as expected.

"Hah… a fan-shaped attack!"

"Length is average, but the width is fantastic."

"About 10 meters by 15 meters."

That was more than enough to massively accelerate his Void Mantis's growth.