Floating Island - Triple S Talent

"Good, very good. You've done your job well," Lein praised. His eyes radiated satisfaction as he gazed at his clone, who had successfully found a new artifact. A faint smile graced his lips, showing his appreciation for the clone.

The clone stood upright, eyes expectant, as if anticipating further rewards. As soon as Lein pulled out a deer thigh from his spatial ring, the clone's eyes lit up. The fresh aroma of meat filled the air, tempting every sensitive sense in the room.

"Thank you, Master!" the clone exclaimed enthusiastically, barely able to contain himself as he accepted the meat. "I'll resume the search right away!"

With excitement, the clone brought the meat to his nose, inhaling its delicious scent with satisfaction. "Yummm," he sighed with such enthusiasm that it made the other clones glance enviously. Though clearly tempted, they could do little but steal glances before focusing back on the epic chests laid before them.

Lein simply smiled, waving his hand lightly as if signaling that he was still keeping an eye on them. "Very efficient," he muttered quietly, feeling a deep sense of satisfaction swell within him.

"I should've used this trick from the start..." Lein thought. Previously, opening epic chests had taken hours. But now, with the help of his clones, he had already gathered two heaven-grade artifacts in a short amount of time. "How lucky I am!" he murmured happily.

However, Lein suddenly paused, his brow furrowing. "Wait... is my clone luckier than me?" His mind started to spin. The clones shared 50% of his attributes, but did that also mean they shared the same destiny?

With a slight doubt, he shook his head. "Ah, probably not important. As long as it's beneficial." He dismissed the thought with a resigned expression, shifting his focus back to the row of chests in front of him.

"Alright, let's keep going," he called out lightly, settling back down and preparing to open the next chest.

---

Three hours passed without him noticing. Lein had been inside the mission formation trial room for more than three hours.

During that time, Lein and his thousand-plus clones tirelessly opened epic chests. The white light that shone from each opened chest was like beautiful fireworks, though often the beauty ended with a flat expression from a clone who failed to get a good item.

In over three hours, Lein and his clones managed to collect more than 100 artifacts, 12 of which were heaven-grade, while the rest were pure-grade artifacts.

At first, Lein was quite surprised by the appearance of pure-grade and heaven-grade artifacts, but over time, he grew accustomed to it and let his clones keep whatever they found.

Finally, after three hours had passed, all the artifacts were gathered before Lein as instructed. He felt he had spent enough time inside the trial room. However, before leaving, he decided to inspect the 12 heaven-grade artifacts he had obtained.

He examined the spatial ring containing all the artifacts. Lein could see a variety of weapons, armor, and unique tools such as jars, hoes, chains, and more.

Every time Lein read a description, he felt amazed and excited, imagining how powerful he had become. He continued inspecting the items one by one until his attention was drawn to a black mask.

The mask was made of hard black material, with small slits on the front, making it resemble a mesh. The back of the mask was lined with dark fabric, ending in golden fringes that added an elegant yet powerful touch.

(Mask of the Eternal Phantom)

The original mask of the Dark King, capable of conjuring terrifying illusions that trap enemies in endless nightmares.

- Type: Active Artifact

- Grade: Heaven

- Essence: 105,000

- Ability: (Phantom Realm) - Emits a dark aura that traps nearby enemies in illusions of their worst fears. The enemies will attack each other or even themselves. Duration: 10 minutes. Cooldown: 1 hour.

"A beautiful mask," Lein remarked with a satisfied smile, admiring its appearance.

The mask glimmered with a mystical light, as if harboring secrets from another realm. When Lein examined it closely, he could feel the power flowing within, almost inviting him to embrace the darkness hidden inside.

After placing the mask back, Lein continued to inspect the other artifacts his clones had collected. His mind moved quickly, analyzing each item until he stopped at a uniquely shaped spear, about two meters long.

The spear was a deep blue color, with a T-shaped tip, and small sparks of lightning danced along its shaft.

(Lance of the Stormbringer)

A spear inherited from the star Vomoz, carrying the power of the stars in every strike. Feared in battles across realms.

- Type: Active Artifact

- Grade: Heaven

- Essence: 110,900

- Ability: (Storm Fury) - Summons a thunderstorm that accompanies the user for 5 minutes, striking nearby enemies with continuous lightning. Each hit slows enemies by 80% and reduces their defense by 50%. Cooldown: 20 minutes.

"Whoa… a Zeus Spear?" Lein muttered lightly. He was reminded of Zeus, the character known for wielding a zigzag-shaped lightning spear. Although the design was completely different, Lein could feel the power of lightning radiating from the spear.

Curious about what it felt like to be a spear wielder, Lein grasped the spear with his right hand, assuming a graceful stance.

Grughhhh...

Zazz...

The moment his hand touched the spear, thunder roared in response. White clouds gathered, and flashes of lightning crackled, drawn to the storm spear in his grasp.

"Wow… don't tell me this is really Zeus's Spear," Lein said with a pleased grin.

Just holding it elicited such a response—how terrifying would it be when the skill was activated? Only his enemies would know the true pain and fear of such an assault.

"You'll sleep for now…" Lein whispered softly, caressing the spear before placing it back into his spatial ring.

Continuing his search, Lein kept reviewing every artifact, reading through each description and evaluating their abilities.

"What is this?" Lein muttered with furrowed brows.

In one corner of the room, he saw an orange crown that resembled flames. The crown had seven sharp points, and on top of it, an orange circle spun endlessly, glowing with a fiery brilliance.

(Crown of the Sun Emperor)

A crown born from the scorching energy of the sun, absorbing the power of stars until it destroys them. Nestled between space and time.

- Type: Active Artifact

- Grade: Heaven

- Essence: 141,000

- Ability: Solar Dominion - Activates solar domination mode, enhancing all magical abilities tenfold. Attacks inflict severe burning effects. Duration: 5 minutes. Cooldown: 1 hour.

"Amazing..." Lein admired the luxurious appearance of the crown in his hands. Not only did it shine brilliantly, but the crystals embedded in its body added a sense of value. Each crystal had a unique and beautiful color.

"Not bad... though still lacking compared to that middle-aged man..." Lein mused, recalling his promotion to tier-1. The crown atop that man's head made him feel like dust, ready to be blown away at any moment.

The crown on that man's head was thousands of times more majestic and regal than the dull crown in his hands.

"I wonder, what level is that person?" Lein asked himself but quickly abandoned the thought, knowing it was pointless to dwell on it now.

"Tenfold, huh... alright," Lein remarked with a satisfied grin as he observed the crown's abilities.

Though curious about the effect of the tenfold power boost, now was not the time to test it. Casually, he tossed the crown onto his head, trying to feel what it was like to be a king.

Silence...

The moment he donned the crown, Lein sensed his surroundings with heightened clarity. It was as if he was holding a powerful flashlight on a dark night. The clones around him now gazed at Lein with adoring eyes.

"What is this light?"

Lein could see himself radiating a soft, sacred glow, like divine light descending from the heavens, blessing those around him with celestial grace.

"Well... as long as it makes me look more handsome, I don't mind," Lein muttered nonchalantly.

Who would dare reprimand him now? No one. At least not in the realm of divine skies.

Without removing the crown, Lein resumed inspecting the artifacts for a few more minutes before completing the process. Most of them were low-grade artifacts that did not pique his interest.

After more than three hours of waiting, Lein surveyed his surroundings. Nearly every soul gate within a 10-kilometer radius was now clear, with no soul portals in sight.

Throughout the past three hours, he had received an endless stream of information about the soul shards collected by his clones.

E, D, C, and B-tier soul shards flooded his mind relentlessly. He had grown somewhat bored of hearing about them. Initially, the A-tier soul shards intrigued him, but even that excitement faded over time. He had collected over a thousand A-tier shards.

Despite the abundance of heavenly-grade artifacts and A-tier soul shards obtained within three hours, Lein still felt frustrated by the absence of any S-tier soul shards.

"Is it really this difficult, even after three hours? Could they be that rare?" Lein muttered in disbelief.

He began to question the luck of his clones. For some reason, his clones were not fortunate enough to find any S-tier soul shards, or perhaps those shards were simply that scarce.