Chapter 54: Time Stop! Qin Chuan's Ultimate Talent!

"I've decided to listen to you, let's try timing it." Qin Chuan looked at Yue Li with a serious face.

"I believe you can draw a good talent!" Yue Li said encouragingly, then her tone shifted: "Have you opened the random star equipment material?"

"Not yet." Qin Chuan shook his head.

"I discovered that custom star equipment material isn't about choosing types, but about choosing attributes and focus." Yue Li rested her chin and said, "So I plan to first check the forum for any useful advice; anyway, crafting star equipment is still far off."

"Then I'll go first, give you a sample." Qin Chuan smiled.

Random materials, on the other hand, don't have this concern.

There are still a few minutes before the Dream World Entrance closes; Qin Chuan added two seconds of Time Stop in advance, so he can do something else for now.

He took out that cluster of silver light from the item equipment bar; in the instant of taking it out, the light solidified into a strange metal, with light cyan traces shimmering with a glossy sheen, looking very dazzling.

【Congratulations, player obtained star equipment material: Wind Trace Star Iron; this material matches attributes: Wind, Metal; its focus direction: Speed】

Looking at the prompt before him, Qin Chuan's expression turned strange.

"Huh?" Qin Chuan glanced at Yue Li, bewildered, "You want to exchange your selected material for my random material?"

Immediately after, his expression suddenly froze.

Qin Chuan pressed 【Start Draw】 without hesitation, then nervously looked at the entries.

Upon hearing that, Qin Chuan no longer hesitated, handed the Wind Trace Star Iron to Yue Li, took the still-unformed golden light cluster, and placed it into the equipment bar.

Seeing Yue Li's curious gaze from beside him, Qin Chuan proactively introduced: "Wind Trace Star Iron, matching Wind and Metal attributes, with a focus on Speed."

【08:00:00/08:00:02】【00:00:07】

Seeing Qin Chuan still wanting to say something, Yue Li smiled brightly: "We're friends, right?"

She took out a golden light cluster, handed it to Qin Chuan, "Then let's swap!"

Well… as expected.

Saying that, she pushed the golden light cluster in her hand toward Qin Chuan.

This piece of star equipment material has nothing to do with Shui Hua.

"If that's the case, why not just use yours and leave the selection chance to you?"

"There's still one minute." Yue Li glanced at the time, reminding Qin Chuan, "Get ready to time it."

"You're really giving it to me?" Qin Chuan couldn't help confirming again.

Everything around fell silent in that moment.

"If you put yourself in my shoes, would you be willing to swap with me?" Yue Li said with a smiling gaze.

Immediately after, he glanced at Xiao Qing, seeming thoughtful.

Seeing that Qin Chuan's two draws yielded no good talent, his expression gloomy, Yue Li was still thinking how to cheer this guy up, and now an opportunity had arisen.

"But the random material you got matches my Xiao Qing perfectly." Yue Li said seriously, "Wind attribute, speed—even if I were choosing myself, I'd probably pick this."

"Okay." Qin Chuan nodded, reopened the talent draw light curtain, his finger poised above the 【Start Draw】 button, his peripheral vision locked on the countdown.

"Isn't that just perfect for Xiao Qing?" Yue Li suddenly smiled, voicing what Qin Chuan had been thinking.

Because the entries that should have been scrolling quickly were not scrolling at all.

Instead, the 【Confirm Backup】 button below was bright, almost glaring.

After tentatively sliding a finger across an entry, Qin Chuan suddenly used up all the remaining seven seconds of Time Stop.

All-in!

Under Time Stop, the talent draw abnormal: the scrolling talent entries turned into self-spinning talent entries; he had to consider whether this might be his only chance in life.

Come on… spin!

Qin Chuan's fingers flew across the entries, his eyes locked on each glowing entry's color, afraid to miss any.

【08:00:02/08:00:09】【00:00:00】

He saw the first hint of purple in his field of view.

Just, not enough!

If drawing normally, a purple talent would be enough to make him very happy.

But now, he went all-in for nine seconds, absolutely unwilling to settle for just one purple talent.

【08:00:05/08:00:09】【00:00:00】

After skipping seven or eight purples, Qin Chuan saw red flash before his eyes.

Red talent!

Qin Chuan's swiftly moving finger paused for the first time.

【Return Chase (Red)】

【Contract Spirit Beast can temporarily gain 200% speed boost, 20% racial value increase, duration 5 minutes, cooldown 10 minutes】

【Obtain an anchor point, allowing the Contract Spirit Beast to teleport to the anchor point; usable once every seven entries into the Dream World, anchor point can be changed to any visited location.】

Qin Chuan's pupils contracted sharply, his face also turning somewhat ferocious.

His heart was torn apart like never before at this moment.

Should he abandon this red talent and pursue a possible gold talent?

Or stop here and choose this red talent that was hard to refresh?

Countless thoughts flashed through his mind in an instant; Qin Chuan gritted his teeth and, after less than a second of hesitation, resolved himself.

Continue!

Even as he swiped, his heart held a faint regret, but more so was an unprecedented tension.

He had actively given up a red skill.

If he subsequently couldn't draw any new red skill, then this gamble would result in total loss.

【08:00:07/08:00:09】【00:00:00】

Watching the time stop about to end, Qin Chuan only regretted that he had saved up too little time stop.

If he had known beforehand about the change in the talent draw during the time stop, he would definitely have saved up for another one or two months before trying again.

But there are not so many "ifs" in the world.

【08:00:08/08:00:09】【00:00:00】

A flash of blinding gold streaked across Qin Chuan's vision, making him instantly suppress all thoughts in his mind.

Gold!

Gold!!

Gold!!!

Without any hesitation, Qin Chuan heavily pressed the 【Confirm Backup】.

【Gnomon (Golden)】

【Passive, triggers guidance when resources exist within one kilometer】

【Active, scans all resources within ten kilometers, usable once per entry into the Dream World】

【Locks the position of a designated target (player, resource, Spirit Beast) on the whole map; if multiple targets exist, locks only the nearest one; usable once every seven entries into the Dream World.】

In the final instant, Qin Chuan only had time to glance over all talent effects before his consciousness fell into stagnation.

【08:00:09/08:00:09】【00:00:01】

【Dream World Entrance closed】

——

「Haah!!! 」

Qin Chuan shot up from the bed, his expression excited yet somewhat dazed.

Recalling his frantic gamble just now and the gain in the final instant, he actually felt as if he were dreaming, unreal.

He, had obtained a golden talent?

Gnomon?

In Qin Chuan's mind rose the Dream World Forum's many speculations about this talent.

The gnomon is the sundial, an ancient device used to indicate time.

The gnomon needle is the vertical rod on the sundial.

Therefore, many people speculated that this talent might be related to time.

Heh, netizens are indeed unreliable! —

April 1st, adding two chapters, shamelessly asking for monthly tickets.

(End of chapter)