Ian sensed that land was constantly being conquered and that large numbers of Faith Altars were being established.
Every new Altar transmitted a faint but steady stream of Power of Faith to him.
"The progress is good." Ian nodded with satisfaction, looking down at the world below.
Everything was moving forward steadily. With the enhancements redeemed using the Power of Faith, he didn't even need to personally deal with the Celestial Beings of the League of Legends Universe.
His subordinates, strengthened by the Power of Faith, were already sufficient to handle these so-called "Gods."
While continuously conquering the League of Legends World, Ian also successfully filled the Interdimensional Energy progress bar three times. He now had three Hextech Augments to draw, which made him quite excited.
"Let's see what my luck is like this time." Ian opened the first Hextech Augment option.
Three Hextech Augments appeared before him:
The first was the one he had previously locked: [UNENDING RECOVERY]. Recover 3% HP + 60-180 HP for every 1000 yards moved.
The second Hextech Augment was [SCOPE WEAPONRY]. Increase Attack Range. This was originally a very strong Hextech Augment, but for the current Ian, it had little practical value.
The third Hextech Augment was [SWORDS ACROSS THE LAND]. From now on, you can only fight melee. Increase Attack by 35%, HP by 35%, Lifesteal by 25%, and Movement Speed by 25%. Each stat is increased further based on the loss of Attack Range.
'This Hextech Augment is certainly strong...' A flicker of hesitation crossed Ian's eyes. The stat boost was considerable, but the "melee only" restriction was too fatal.
"Forget it. Being limited to melee would greatly reduce my Cool Factor." Ian shook his head. Maintaining his handsome appearance was more important.
He decided to reroll the second Hextech Augment. A new option appeared:
[DOUBLE TROUBLE]. Attack Speed increased by 80%. Attack Damage and Ability Power reduced by 50%. On-hit effects are unaffected.
'It's mediocre. The main issue is that I don't have many items with On-hit effects. This Hextech Augment is too restrictive.'
Rerolling again, another new Hextech Augment appeared:
[THIS IS NOT A TURRET]. You gain a Turret. The Turret will follow you, attack enemies in range, and grant Shields to nearby allies.
"Who would carry a Turret everywhere?" Ian's mouth twitched. "What kind of bizarre Hextech Augments are these?"
Ian immediately selected [UNENDING RECOVERY]. Given his current movement speed, this Hextech Augment would allow him to instantly recover full health during combat, making its practicality far greater than the other options.
"Now for the second set."
Opening the second Hextech Augment option, three new choices were presented:
[HIGH END INVENTOR]. Reduce the Cooldown of all items by 80%.
"This is good!" Ian's eyes lit up. "Combined with Heartsteel, it's practically invincible!"
[CLEVER SNIPER]. Landing a Skill Shot on a long-range enemy reduces that skill's Cooldown.
Ian shook his head. 'This one is truly mediocre. Since my current skills barely have any Cooldown, choosing this makes little sense.'
[BRUTALITY]. Reduce size, greatly increase Attack Damage and Armor Penetration.
"Make me shrink? Are you kidding me!" Ian didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "It might be strong in the game, but in reality, no one is going to make me shrink!"
Ian rerolled [CLEVER SNIPER] and [BRUTALITY]. Two new Hextech Augments appeared: [TIDAL SPLASH] and [TITANIC FORCE].
[TIDAL SPLASH]: You open an item vault and select one of three basic Tidal Dragon items, which will generate Gold for you.
'It's decent, but as I said before, the one thing Ian doesn't lack is Gold.'
[TITANIC FORCE]: Your HP and size are increased, but your Speed and Agility are significantly reduced.
Ian remembered this Hextech Augment well. The legendary "Clumsy Augment." Ian had chosen it once when playing the game.
At the time, a Five-Cost Unit spawned right in front of him, but the short distance seemed like an insurmountable chasm. No matter how much his Little Legend wiggled, it couldn't reach it.
Ian nearly smashed his computer from high blood pressure back then.
Next, he chose [HIGH END INVENTOR] without hesitation.
This Hextech Augment perfectly matched Heartsteel, increasing his snowballing speed once more.
What he needed most now was an enemy that wouldn't die, so he could constantly stack steel. The enemies he was currently facing were still too fragile; they couldn't withstand a few stacks of his steel.
"The last set. I hope nothing good comes up again." Ian opened the third Hextech Augment option.
[GO! GO! GO!]. Accelerate movement in an Unstoppable state, dealing damage upon colliding with an enemy. The longer the dash, the faster the speed and higher the damage, but there is a Cap.
"The Cap is too low, it's boring," Ian pouted. "I can charge by myself; I don't need to waste a Hextech Augment."
[QUANTUM COMPUTATION]. Summon Blades to slash surrounding enemies.
'Very ordinary, quite mediocre.'
[BLADE WALTZ]. Gain the old-version Fiora Ultimate. The user becomes Untargetable and launches multiple attacks against enemy Champions, which can trigger On-hit effects.
Ian's eyes lit up. 'This one is good. Although it's not super strong for me, it's definitely cool, and it has the Untargetable mechanism.'
Although he already had a good one, he still wanted to use up all his rerolls.
Then [GO! GO! GO!] and [QUANTUM COMPUTATION] were rerolled by Ian, and two new Hextech Augments appeared.
[OK BOOMERANG]. Automatically launches a Boomerang at a nearby enemy Champion every 7 seconds. The Boomerang deals Adaptive Damage upon hitting an enemy.
Ian's assessment was—'useless.'
[STACKING POWER] (Stacking Dragon). Greatly increases all Stacking Efficiency.
"This one!" Ian's eyes brightened. "I must take this!"
For someone who had embraced the Steel Door, this was a tailor-made Hextech Augment.
Ian chose [STACKING POWER] without hesitation, only Locked [BLADE WALTZ] for now.
Having selected all the Hextech Augments, Ian couldn't wait to start stacking steel.
Suddenly, Ian noticed the Countdown in the corner of the interface, which was almost at zero—the Terraria Calamity World was about to unlock.
"I can go to Calamity right away. It's the perfect time to test out the new Hextech Augment Buff." Ian stared at the Countdown, a surge of anticipation rising in his heart.
'I wonder how many stacks of steel the Devourer of Gods and the Supreme Calamitas can withstand?'
The moment the Countdown hit zero, Ian immediately Teleported.
He had already defeated the Moon Lord of the Terraria World, and the world was now in the Post-Moon Lord phase.
After the Teleportation ended, Ian found himself standing on terrain shimmering with an eerie starlight—the Astral Infection Biome.
"This is the Astral Infection?" Ian felt a strange power trying to infiltrate his body, like countless tiny Tentacles tapping on his skin, but it was completely unable to affect Ian.
Ian flicked his finger, scattering the surrounding Astral particles.
He then flew high into the sky, overlooking the entire world.
Terraria had undergone massive changes in Calamity Mode—numerous Asteroids floated in the sky.
The most prominent one was entirely metallic, its surface covered with intricate mechanical structures and flashing Energy Pipes.
"That must be the Draedon's Laboratory. It holds a lot of good stuff." Ian squinted his eyes, Game Information from his memory surfacing in his mind.
The changes on the ground were even more drastic.
The Astral Infection was eroding large areas of land like Cancer Cells, with blue-purple Energy Veins covering the surface like Blood Vessels. In the center of the Infection Zone, a bizarrely shaped Altar stood.
And the distant ocean had been infected by the Abyss, turning into a yellow-green Sulphurous Sea, with numerous bubbles rising from the surface.
"Calamity Mode truly lives up to its reputation. The entire world is on the brink of collapse."
Ian landed near the Altar, casually swatting away a few approaching Astral Creatures.
"I should Speedrun Calamity first. After all, most of the weapons, armor, and accessories in Calamity are very cool and match my Aesthetic."
"I hope you guys can last a little longer. Don't disappoint me too much."