Chapter 107: Which Buff Pairs Best with the Background Music? (A Little Bird, Additional Chapter for February Votes)

Michael, take Eleven and go help Sheriff Hopper. I’ll find the battlefield and finish off the Mind Flayer.

With that, Lynn Xiao once again ordered Stefan to transform. He had him rise more than ten feet into the air before suddenly leaping upward himself, seizing Stefan by the ankles.

Stefan wore a wry smile. He understood perfectly well that this was a show of force, a warning not to even think of running. Even if Stefan could fly, he still would not escape those hands of his—those true hands of his.

Lynn Xiao ordered Stefan to climb higher, about fifty feet above the ground, and look down over the residential district below. The Mind Flayer’s true body was already nearing the entrance to the neighborhood; if they did not choose a favorable battlefield now, it would be too late.

He scanned the surroundings. The district was packed with houses. If the Mind Flayer were allowed to rampage here, no one knew how many families would be left homeless. The best place to fight it was still before the residential area.

“There’s a fountain square ahead of the neighborhood. The ground is open enough there. Perfect for dealing with the Mind Flayer.”

At last, having found favorable terrain, Lynn Xiao told Stefan to descend at once.

At that moment, Eric, Dustin, and the others had also arrived, and the two sides joined up.

“The Mind Flayer is almost here. We can’t let it break into the neighborhood. There’s a fountain square up ahead, so we’ll stop it there and kill this culprit.”

Lynn Xiao kept it brief. No one objected; all immediately agreed with his plan.

“Good. Dustin, take Eric with you into the air. Stefan, can you carry me and Nick?”

He looked at Stefan. The vampire nodded. At the rank of a count, carrying two people was no problem.

Just as they were about to move, Nick looked back into the house and said to Lynn Xiao,

“There’s a young man inside who’s injured. Do you think you could heal him?”

Lynn Xiao turned and saw, lying on the sofa in the living room, a familiar face: Tommy, the same boy they had clashed with before.

“Please, someone save my child!”

Tommy’s parents cried out loudly. Blood gushed from Tommy’s leg; his face was deathly pale, and he looked close to dying from blood loss.

Without hesitation, Lynn Xiao strode forward and used his purification skill on Tommy’s wound.

A gentle power rapidly healed the injury. Tommy’s parents stared in stunned silence, crying over and over that it was a miracle, that God had answered.

Tommy weakly opened his eyes and realized the one healing him was none other than Jonathan Byers. The little hoodlum said feebly,

“Thank you, Byers. I was wrong before. I’m sorry.”

Lynn Xiao waved a hand and stood up, heading outside without paying Tommy any further mind. A great battle was about to begin; who had time to bother with such trifles?

When he reached the door, he suddenly remembered something and turned back to ask,

“By the way, do you have a cassette player? The kind with really loud volume?”

“Yes, I’ve got one in my room.”

“Perfect. And do you have Michael Jackson’s new album, Thriller?”

“I do. I was listening to it tonight. It’s in the cassette player.”

Tommy said weakly. His father hurried into the inner room and brought out Tommy’s player.

It was a large portable cassette player, the kind you could carry out into the street and dance to while listening to music. It was extremely popular in the eighties.

“Good. I’ll borrow your player.”

Lynn Xiao took it and Tommy asked in confusion,

“What are you doing, Byers?”

“Saving the world with music and dance.”

Without looking back, Lynn Xiao replied. Outside, Michael and Eleven had just returned and landed on the ground.

“I’ve killed all the demodogs over there. Sheriff Hopper stayed behind with the werewolves to keep watch, just in case any slipped through the net. What do we do now, Jonathan?”

Lynn Xiao looked at Eleven. She closed her eyes in understanding, then opened them again and said,

“It’s coming. The Mind Flayer is coming. It’s near the fountain square in front of the neighborhood.”

“Perfect timing. We’re going to kill this monster and save Hawkins.”

Lynn Xiao lifted the cassette player and switched it on. At once, familiar music poured from the speaker, stirring the blood.

He adjusted it a few times and quickly found the song he knew so well. Bright, crisp melody rang out through the night sky:

“Just beat it, just beat it
Don’t wanna be a boy, you wanna be a man
Just beat it, just beat it
...”

This song, Beat It, was an anti-violence song; the word “beat it” in the lyrics meant to get away, to avoid violence. But Lynn Xiao preferred to understand it as:

Beat it down. Beat it down. Just beat it down!

In the clear, soaring music, Stefan willingly transformed into vampire form and rose into the air. Lynn Xiao and Nick each leaped up, each grabbing one of his feet. Stefan spread his wings and flew toward the entrance to the residential district.

Michael likewise held on to Eleven. Dustin transformed into his vampire state as well and carried Eric. Eddie also transformed into a werewolf and led the remaining werewolf squad in rapid pursuit.

“Since we’ve got BGM, how can we not have buffs? Good songs deserve good songs. Now that I’ve gathered enough source power, it’s time to level up again and see how powerful the healer buff really is.”

While still in midair, Lynn Xiao’s thoughts shifted. He brought up the system interface. To rise from level 10 to 11 required 100 points of source power, and from then on each level required another 100 more, all the way to level 24.

Even so, he still spent the 100 points and reached level 11. Twelve free attribute points arrived at once, along with 4 SP points as a reward.

He invested 8 of the 12 free points into spirit, raising it to 70, and added the remaining 4 to intelligence.

With the battle against the Mind Flayer imminent, he urgently needed to raise his MP and magic attack power. As for physical attacks, against that gigantic true body of the Mind Flayer, even beating it until tomorrow would not kill it.

After allocating the free points, he spent 2 of the 4 rewarded SP points to unlock a buff skill:

Revelation: Holy Hymn: Level 1 beginner buff. After activating the aura, all allies within thirty feet, excluding the user, gain 10 percent to HP, MP, physical defense, magical defense, stamina, and spirit. When an ally suffers a fatal attack, part of the damage can be transferred to the user.

The increase was not large, but the skill could continue to level up. Most importantly, its damage-transfer effect could preserve the lives of everyone on their side, as long as he himself did not fall first.

Lynn Xiao believed that with his physical defense as high as 166 and his HP at 794, it would not be so easy for the Mind Flayer to bring him down.

He did not leave the remaining two SP points unused. Instead, he raised Angelic Blessing to Level 2 mastery as well, producing an unexpected special effect:

Angelic Blessing: Level 1 basic skill. Within a certain range, it increases weapon magic attack, intelligence, stamina, and spirit of one ally, including the user. Current boost: 10 percent. Mana cost: 30 per use.

Level 2 mastery special effect: Holy Light Blessing. When the host activates the Holy Light Chakra, two allies within thirty feet, excluding the user, have their attacks imbued with light属性, increasing attack power by 20 percent. Mana cost: 100 per use.

“Heh. This special effect has arrived at exactly the right moment. Comrade Mind Flayer, do enjoy the generous gift the people of your homeland have prepared for you. We are very particular about chivalry here. If we say we’re ganging up on you, then not a single one of us will be missing.”

Lynn Xiao chuckled darkly. It was time to settle his score with the Mind Flayer, seal the passage to the Upside Down, and complete his class advancement. The mysterious Shadow Step technique was already usable; he no longer needed that passage.