Chapter Fifty-Six: The New Warrior of Darkness

Wang Ling first used the key dropped by A**, summoning a black iron gleaming treasure chest.

"You have obtained 9,300 currency points, 5 attribute points, 3 skill points, and 1 Dream Skill Point."

The voice that sounded in his mind left Wang Ling astonished. He hadn’t expected that killing A** would bring such great rewards: not only almost ten thousand currency points, but also attribute points, skill points, and even a Dream Skill Point!

Dream Skill Points would undoubtedly become extremely valuable later on. As for Wang Ling’s innate skill, "Troublemaker," upgrading it required these points. However, to upgrade from level 1 to level 2, it needed not only one Dream Skill Point but also 10,000 currency points—a steep price. That was why he hadn’t chosen to invest in this skill while in the Dream Space.

Thinking back on A**’s overwhelming strength, it made sense. Killing such a boss was almost pure luck, after all. Besides, Main Quest 3 didn’t require him to kill A**—only to escape while being pursued. Now that he’d gone beyond the requirements, the extra rewards were only natural.

He turned his gaze to the inside of the treasure chest and discovered a vial of glowing red potion and a skill scroll.

"Strength Enhancement Serum: A gene-enhancing mutation potion created by the scientists of the Dark Fighter faction. Upon use, increases Strength by 23, muscle power by 19%, muscle resilience by 12%, and bone density by 17%. Side effect one: after using the potion, the user’s muscles will grow massively, altering their appearance and turning them into a muscle-bound giant. Side effect two: this potion carries a 90% chance of death. For every 1,000 currency points paid, the death rate decreases by 10%."

"Note: If you don’t care about your physique, use it! But beware of death—it’s wise to pay some price for safety."

Clearly, this was the same system as the Agility Enhancement Serum he received after killing Williams—a different variant, but equally precious. Of course, the side effects were extreme. Wang Ling would never use this; he had no desire to become a muscle-bound monster like A**.

He set aside the potion and picked up the skill scroll, checking its data with the Dream Emblem:

"Giant Swing: To use this skill scroll, pay 3,600 currency points. This is a grappling skill—grab the enemy by both feet, spin them in place, then hurl them away. At level 1, it deals Strength +12 base damage. Learning and usage requirements: Basic Melee lv1, Basic Parry lv1. Skill type: Active. Skill rating: E."

Upon seeing the skill book, Wang Ling felt a tinge of disappointment. It wasn’t a super finishing move like "Crushing Burst"—just a regular skill. The higher the Strength, the greater the damage—so for a Dreamer who focused on Strength, it would be quite useful. Unfortunately, his attribute distribution was balanced, so his Strength wasn’t particularly high.

On further thought, however, this chest had yielded currency points, attribute points, skill points, a precious Dream Skill Point, plus the potion and skill scroll—far more than he’d expected.

Wang Ling then used the wooden key. During the novice quest, he’d killed a giant squid in the water and got another wooden key, which yielded nothing but a tentacle, so he knew not to expect much.

Summoning the wooden chest and opening it, he was surprised to find a small green helicopter model inside—it looked like a miniature version of the armed helicopter.

"Helicopter Mold: Special item. To use, spend 1,000 currency points to summon a Green Arrow-class armed helicopter from the Dark Fighter faction. The helicopter is 12 meters long. Weapon System 1: High-speed autocannon, 1,600 rounds of metal bullets. Weapon System 2: Rocket pod, with two Hellfire rockets."

"Note: This item can only be used once. Use it wisely to maximize its effectiveness. Also, make sure you have a pilot with helicopter skills before use."

Wang Ling was secretly amazed. The vanished helicopter had apparently been transformed into a summoning item. This was far better than tentacle materials—the autocannon and rockets were formidable. The only downside was that it was single-use, and a skilled pilot was required.

Regardless, the spoils of this battle were immense. It was just a shame that Wang Long had died…

"Now, the story of Double Dragon II should begin. Once Marian is killed, the Double Dragon brothers will seek revenge on the Dark Fighters. The boss, Brunov, according to the plot, will be defeated by Billy and Jimmy, but they won’t kill him."

"There are still two Dreamers on our side. If they kill Brunov, my Main Quest 4 will end as well—but I can’t count on others. Besides, it’s likely the two have already been killed by White Phoenix."

"To deal with Brunov, I’ll probably have to rely on Cheng Fu’s power, but he may not be willing to help again… If Main Quest 4 fails, I’ll have to rely on extra life mushrooms to avoid punishment from Dream Space, in which case all of my gains in this world will be lost."

Though he had killed A**, Wang Ling now felt that the future looked grim. Frowning, he decided to assign the five attribute points. After a moment’s hesitation, he chose a balanced allocation, making his base attributes (without equipment): Strength 17, Agility 17, Stamina 17, Intelligence 16.

He left the skill points and Dream Skill Point unused for now. Picking up the enhancement serum, skill scroll, and helicopter mold to stow in his spatial pouch, a new thought occurred to him:

"Williams was originally just an ordinary Broomhead, but after taking the Agility Enhancement Serum, he became an elite leader. Using the skill that comes with Linda’s wish, I can summon Dark Fighters—could these enhancement serums be used on them as well?"

After pondering for a while, Wang Ling considered that with Wang Long dead and reset in the Kung Fu Scenario Card (thus unable to be summoned again in this world), and with Cheng Fu unlikely to help further, his own strength was limited. If he could use the enhancement serums to modify two of the Dark Fighters, he’d have two new summoned allies, which would be a huge help for Main Quest 4!

He immediately asked the Dream Emblem, and received the answer:

"The enhancement serums were developed by the scientists of the Dark Fighter faction to modify Dark Fighters—they belong to the same system and can be used on summoned Dark Fighters. In addition to the potion’s effects, there will be some extra improvements, but they will not turn them into elite leaders."

"The modified abilities will be recorded into the summoning item and can be preserved."

With this confirmation, Wang Ling immediately activated his skill and summoned the Broomhead, Thug, and Hippie.

He recalled that Broomhead’s highest attribute was Agility, at 11, while Thug’s highest was Strength, also at 11. He gave the Agility Enhancement Serum to Broomhead and the Strength Enhancement Serum to Thug.

Of course, he also paid 9,000 currency points for each to ensure their survival, leaving him with only about 1,500 currency points.

The two Dark Fighters drank their enhancement serums, and immediately their bodies began to convulse in pain as they collapsed, rolling and howling. Even Cheng Fu, who was asleep, was awakened by the commotion. Upon hearing Wang Ling’s explanation, he went back to sleep.

The enhancement process lasted a full half hour. Without the paid safety margin, they would have died from the agony. Wang Ling watched, eyebrows twitching. Both Broomhead and Thug had been fairly tall—about 1.8 meters—and considered handsome by American standards.

Now, however, Broomhead’s body had shrunk to only 1.5 meters, his figure so small he looked like a child. Thug, on the other hand, had grown to two meters, a giant with muscles bulging explosively—his physique so exaggerated it made a shocking visual impact.

"Broomhead’s modification successful—evolved into Broomhead Dwarf. New attributes integrated with summoning item; integration complete. Thug’s modification successful—evolved into Thug Powerhouse. New attributes integrated with summoning item; integration complete."

Following these two notifications, Wang Ling checked and found that the pseudo-rainbow Dream Equipment now showed the following updated skill data:

"Summon Dark Fighters: Consumes 25 Spirit points to summon Broomhead Dwarf, Thug Powerhouse, and Hippie.

Broomhead Dwarf: Strength 14; Agility 32; Stamina 14; Intelligence 12; HP 70; Spirit 60; Skills: Basic Footwork lv3, Basic Evasion lv2, High-speed Boxing lv1 (E-grade skill: Striking technique. Rapid punches in a short time; number of punches tied to Agility).

Thug Powerhouse: Strength 39; Agility 14; Stamina 14; Intelligence 12; HP 70; Spirit 60; Skills: Basic Melee lv3, Basic Ranged lv1, Ultimate Slam lv1 (E-grade skill: Grappling technique. Lifts opponent and slams them to the ground. Damage based on Strength).

Hippie: Strength 9; Agility 9; Stamina 11; Intelligence 7; HP 55; Spirit 35; Skills: Basic Parry lv1, Basic Endurance lv1.

Each summoned Dark Fighter can be equipped with one weapon. All three are fully under your control. Skill cooldown: 3 hours. Cannot summon duplicates."

"As I thought, becoming as powerful as elite leaders or bosses is impossible, but this is already a significant improvement. In addition to the potion boosts, each attribute has increased by 5 points, with new skills added and existing skills upgraded. The only downside: the cooldown is now three hours."

"Their physical attributes aren’t far off from Wang Long’s, but they lack his martial arts skill and combat instinct. Even together, they wouldn’t match Wang Long one-on-one."

Nevertheless, Wang Ling felt quite satisfied with the new Broomhead Dwarf and Thug Powerhouse. The remaining Hippie, however, seemed lackluster by comparison.