Yan Ruoruo's heart was cold, but her blood boiled.
By all rights, Frenzy Lv4 offered more than just a massive boost to Power, movement speed, attack speed, and casting efficiency, followed by a brief period of weakness.
The more significant, and often ignored, drawback was the loss of reason during its bloodthirsty rage. The user would act with extreme brutality, making the skill suitable only for close combat and utterly incompatible with a fine-tuned skill like archery.
Yet Ruoruo had done it.
Ever since the frontal lobe of her brain had been damaged, her emotions had been stripped away. It seemed as if nothing in the world could stir the slightest feeling within her.
The bloodthirsty impulse only made her blood run hot.
The only outward sign, at most, was a faint red glint in her eyes.
After blowing a cave dweller's head apart, and while the effects of Frenzy were still active, she aimed her sleek, sharp-lined Compound Bow at another survivor.
If not for the overlapping figures and the chaos of the battle, she could have loosed a continuous volley of arrows, piercing her enemies with precision using her equally high-level Lv4 Wind Split Arrows.
"Go down!"
At that moment, with a hysterical cry, the last cave dweller to break through their lines found itself surrounded by two "gatekeepers."
Le Yuxuan from the polytechnic university transformed into a rock-armored warrior. Through the synergy between his Earth Armor and Barrier Rune, layers of rock surged up from his feet, instantly condensing into a heavy suit of stone armor. He wielded a heavy hammer, relentlessly smashing forward.
The other, Pang Peng, was clad in a layer of Thorn Armor. Under a growth effect, countless fine vines sprouted from it, covered in a dense layer of sharp thorns.
In his hands, he swung a Thick-Backed Machete wreathed in lightning.
Despite the pincer attack from the two guardians, the quadrupedal cave dweller showed no fear. It arched its back, and a Bone Whip sprouted from its tailbone, lashing out horizontally like a steel cable.
The rock armor shattered on impact, sending shards of stone flying.
Le Yuxuan let out a muffled grunt, feeling as if his ribs had been snapped.
His cumbersome figure staggered back several steps, but his hands desperately gripped the Bone Whip. Supported by a brilliant green light of life force from behind, he held on with sheer willpower, refusing to let go even if it killed him.
With a great roar, Pang Peng also threw himself recklessly onto the cave dweller. The wooden thorns on his armor grew wildly, digging deep into the creature's flesh.
Immediately, an Entanglement Skill bound the cave dweller's leg joints, finally restraining it. The moment he finished casting, Yan Ziqian darted forward. Before the enemy could struggle free, he pressed his right hand onto its head.
A life-devouring, siphoning power surged from his palm. The creature's skin lost moisture at a rate visible to the naked eye.
In less than ten seconds, its entire head, like a desiccated fruit pit, completely shriveled and collapsed.
The creature's body went rigid, all resistance ceasing.
"Damn it, finally killed the thing..."
Le Yuxuan let go of the Bone Whip and collapsed to the ground in agony. His hands were a bloody mess, and his ribs still throbbed with pain.
Yan Ziqian walked over. Under Le Yuxuan's slightly panicked gaze, the surging light of life force on his hand was suddenly transferred to the other man's body, as if by a graft.
"This is a Life Absorption Rune."
Yan Ziqian explained, "After upgrading it and unlocking a new mechanic, the absorbed Life Force can be grafted and transferred. If it has a downside, it's that the absorption effect isn't as good over long distances."
'An unconventional, but effective, healing skill.'
As Su Chen used the vast Life Force from his healing ring to tend to Xiaoye's injuries, he realized the team composition of the eight-person group from Jingcheng University was crystal clear.
Yan Ruoruo was the core damage dealer, the main DPS. Yan Ziqian's three major Runes were all Wood Element specializations, making him a support who could control, fight, and even provide off-healing.
Pang Peng was clearly the main tank. As for the other member, Cao Yutang, he seemed to be a jack-of-all-trades. The steel pipe in his hand had transformed into a scepter covered in earthy brown patterns, and beside him stood a summoned Fire Element elemental.
The other three members from the polytechnic university also had clearly defined roles: one frontliner, one damage dealer, and one support.
However, one couldn't be too rigid. They were all archers, capable of blurring their roles at any moment to supplement the team with powerful, lethal damage.
"Come get some healing."
At Su Chen's signal, Yan Ruoruo—who had just come out of her Frenzy and entered a state of weakness—walked over.
Her fair, frosty face was now so pale it seemed translucent. The color had drained from her lips, and her breathing was heavy.
According to the official open-source annotations, Frenzy Lv1 had a base duration of seven seconds—much longer than the "Jingzhe" Rune. However, the former made one impulsive and bloodthirsty, a berserker, while the latter induced a state of calm, composure, and extreme focus.
The two Runes each had their pros and cons.
'Frenzy had a longer duration, but it also came with a one-minute period of weakness after it ended. If you couldn't finish the fight in time, this debuff could easily put your life in danger.'
'Fortunately, it can be mitigated with healing and Purification Skills.'
'You can't judge a book by its cover, but he never expected this tall, beautiful, and aloof woman to be able to perfectly master that furious, maddening impulse.'
'That kind of innate compatibility was something others couldn't hope to replicate. In other words, the effect of the same Frenzy Lv4 in Yan Ruoruo's hands was worlds apart from its effect when used by anyone else.'
"You should add a 'Critical Hit' Rune," Su Chen said.
He'd had a similar idea for a combination when he first heard about the second batch of Rune Formulas being open-sourced, but his interest had faded since then.
"That's a good synergy, indeed. I'll get it," Yan Ruoruo said with a nod, accepting his suggestion.
Even a headshot from an Lv4 Wind Split Arrow couldn't blow a cave dweller's head apart in one hit. Faced with such a lack of firepower, she really did need a damage-boosting Rune to enhance her output.

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