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.
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---------------
"?"
'What is he doing?'
As Dale approached Muddan, pilling up the loot on his way, he couldn't help but notice the peculiar behavior coming from the green giant.
As soon as all of his enemies fell, Muddan kneeled on the floor, grasping the bloodstained, broken earth with his two hands, raising it to his forehead…
"Grr… Akk-A-Ir…"
He whispered something in a low tone that even seemed to contain a bit of respect.
And after a few moments of silence, he placed the earth back on the ground before grabbing a small common seed and placing it inside.
The Karkavan may appear to outsiders as a bunch of secluded forest barbarians, but their history goes on for thousands of years and their rituals and way of honoring the living and dead are just as glorious if not more respectful than most Human settlements.
This was a ritual to be performed after a fight, to honor those that fought and fell, regardless of race and intent.
So that their souls may return to the earth and rise once more in the form of mighty trees...
Normally, the bodies of the fallen would be properly taken care of... But Muddan didn't mind that they turned to ashes and vanished, taking it as a peculiarity of this race he just met for the first time today.
May their ashes return to the earth and allow life to sprout...
...
/A few minutes later.../
"..."
Dale patiently waited for the warrior to rise again from his kneeling state, not interrupting his… Whatever he was doing.
Instead, he took this chance to collect all of the fallen loot, it was the perfect opportunity since all players in the Field had been killed, and those that came after couldn't enter it due to a barrier.
Players are, after all, limited by the rules of the System… Not the case for the other kinds of players...
Tourism mode players were still mostly restricted to the same things that bounded Standard players...
Not the case for the third type.
However, Hardcore players weren't easy to come by, especially in a place like Resko where every single player had already experienced death at least twice, and those that died less than that could be counted on one hand.
Resko simply wasn't a place for Hardcore players to start, but it surely was a place for them to gather towards… But that was for the future.
Some had tried, but none prevailed, Dale was the only Hardcore player over Level 20 in Resko, all others that somehow persevered did so by doing menial Quests in the Village for the past 2 weeks, slowly gathering XP so that one day, they may have the qualifications to raid outside.
There is one kind of special player though... The ones that are hard carried by their friends, but those are few and far between.
Even then, after what happened, none of them would risk their characters to come all the way here.
...
/Tremble.../
The minutes passed, and Muddan rose from the ground, clenching his mighty cleaver and using it to balance his massive body.
He turned around, gazing at Dale, a fire in his eyes incomparable to before.
"... You don't look full yet." Dale said with a small smile
/Exhale!/
Muddan did not reply, not because he didn't understand, but because there was no need to.
Instead, he exhaled turbid air at a speed so fast the grass beneath him was flattened for a moment!
"... Sigh."
Dale couldn't help but let out a small sigh as he looked at the ground, scratching his neck.
"Man…"
/FWOOSH!/
/BAM!/
But in the blink of an eye, Dale kicked the ground, sending a punch straight into Muddan's stomach!
/Crack!/
/Smoke…/
"Ho… You blocked that?"
Albeit Dale had held himself, Muddan wasn't someone to be trifled with.
In that small gap of time, he moved his left hand to cover his stomach, essentially stopping Dale's fist without even being pushed back.
His feet clung onto the earth as if roots tied them to it.
He was truly one with his surroundings...
'I only wanted to test his reflexes… But he's a tad faster and stronger than I thought.'
'Now now, don't call me a coward for 'ambushing' him, that guy was begging me to punch him, he didn't say it, but he wanted a fight…'
'And since we can't communicate, why not just let our fists do the talking?'
'Also, he was looking straight at me, so it can't be said to be an ambush…'
"..."
Just as Dale observed him, the giant warrior stared down at Dale with his red eyes…
His right palm was smoking slightly, and in the middle of it, a blue bruise slowly formed.
The warrior was tall, but that was also a disadvantage.
Dale's power was contained within a smaller frame, while he was spread out in his hulking form.
He may have more muscle and prowess, but a mosquito will still pierce his skin and draw his blood…
"We don't have all day." Dale said as he pulled his fist, slowly walking back and creating distance between them
"Raise your cleaver."
That was all Muddan needed to hear.
/ROAR!/
/BOOM!/
Muddan roared with a might incomparable to what he showed before as he stomped the ground!
[DING]
[Your quest has updated]
[... *Optional* Challenge Muddan into a Ritual fight and win ?/1…]
/Fwoosh!/
Muddan grabbed his cleaver and pulled, cutting the ground with it as he rushed forward like an unstoppable train, leaving behind a trench as he moved!
/SHAKE!/
Just by the way the ground trembled and cracked with each of his steps, Dale could tell this would be the strongest enemy he faced ever since he came to this world.
Stronger than the Elite Variant Yirg he slew with the Elders...
Stronger than the Devils he hunted with his bare hands at the brink of death in the forest…
Maybe even stronger than the strange creature he killed in the Catacombs when he freed David…
However, he was confident in taking it down!
"He's coming..."
'It's time.'
Time seemed to slow down as he saw the Karkavan warrior rush toward him.
'He's incredibly strong… Yet, I'm confident that I would be able to fight him even if I didn't have these new Accessories.'
'But that's only considering what he showed me while fighting the players, he's still hiding a lot of his true capabilities.'
'Even if I discount that, just like me, he's wearing some nice equipment, so it wouldn't be fair to not do the same.'
'The glimmer on the edges of that Cleaver... The quality of the leather he is wearing... Those bracelets in his arms... The black earrings on his ears!'
'He is geared from top to bottom!'
'How can I stay behind?'
With some impure thoughts, Dale equipped all of his Accessories!
[Player: DareDevil (Dale Houston)
Attainments: Body Reformation; Eclipsed; Massacre of 100; Culling Blade; Forged Heart amidst desperation; Minor Enlightenment; Heart Gate Open
Level:39 (92.8%)
Class: Alma Conqueror 1.7%
Character Status:
Strength: 128(331 -> 364); Constitution: 138(341 -> 409); Dexterity: 128(331 -> 447); Mental Power: 103(313); Reflexes: 103(303); Mana: 128(328 -> 656)
Soul Power: 10(70)
Prime Origin: 38(93)
Skills:
Slot 1-> Spear Technique 5-Star (Neutral)/ Mana Conduction 4.5-Star (Neutral)
Slot 2-> Close quarters Combat 3.5-Star (Neutral)
Slot 3-> Stable Emotions 3-Star (Passive)
Slot 4-> Spatial Awareness 1.5-Star (Passive)
Slot 5-> Fighting Spirit 4-Star (Active)
Slot 6-> Anomalous Status Resistance 1-Star (Passive)
Slot 7-> Vital Heart 1-Star (Active)
Slot 8-> Confluence 0.5-Star (Neutral)
Slot 9-> Prime Source 1-Star (Neutral)
Temporary Skills: Many...
Current Effects:
Aspect of Might -> All Stats +15
Physical Training -> Strength, Constitution, and Dexterity +3
Molded Heart -> Mana Ratio = 2
Heart Gate -> Mana +50
Fused Tripodial Mark -> Strengthening of the Fallen (Minor) All Stats +5*2=10
Body Reformation -> Natural Healing and Stamina recovery speed has been greatly increased
Blessed by Ju-Arkesios -> Constitution +10 while within a 5Km radius of any of his Temples
Well Done steak -> Increase in muscle Tension and Compression limits (32 minutes…)
Southern Imperial Corps Elite Squad Captain Set -> +20 All basic Stats
Strength Ratio -> 1 -> 1.1
Constitution Ratio 1 -> 1.2
Accessories effects:
2 Rings -> +60 to all Basic Stats; +30 to Soul Power and Prime Origin
2 Bracelets -> +45 to all Basic Stats; Dexterity Ratio = 1.35
2 Earrings -> +40 to all Basic Stats
1 Colar -> +10 to Strength, Constitution, Dexterity, Reflexes, and Mana; +20 to Mental Power
+5 Soul power
Inventory (+)
]
(I thought a lot before making this, I'll show all Accessories soon enough)
(Go to Notes for the details on everything)
Dale knew exactly what to wear and in what order, he had already thought of this before.
As he equipped his rings, one for each hand, together with his bracelets and necklace, he felt a sudden rush of power flow into his body, his armor, something he didn't have the requirements to wear was finally showing its effects!
So much power, so many Skills... But in the end, it was not his...
However, even if it was not his, Dale would still make use of it.
"!"
Dale almost felt overwhelmed by this, but he had no time to as a green monster raised its mighty cleaver and jumped into the air!
Dale blinked slowly, with his high Reflexes, the world around him seemed so...
Slow...
He raised his head, staring at the warrior as he rose into the sky, thinking:
'There is no problem with wearing items in an RPG game, that is how you play, and that was how it was meant to be... It's through them that players have fun.'
'Grinding many hours for a single set of gear to show off or just to grind something else...'
'However, what I seek is something else...'
'But I won't hesitate to use these to achieve it.'
'Such as my Skill ratings, they are awfully low for what I can currently do with these Stats, there's still much to learn.'
'When I got all of these Accessories, I knew my Stats would rise, but not so much...'
'With this, I should finally be able to use Caladgolg to some degree, right?'
[Caladgolg (Legendary Armament)
Rating: ???
The stronger your conviction, the stronger the swords get, giving you +1 to all Stats up to ???
The stronger your conviction, the stronger the bond with the Sword gets, allowing you to call it from longer distances and control it without touching it.
??
…
Gives the temporary Skills, Refracted Starlight 9-Star, Horizontal Slash 9-Star, ??? 9.5-Star…
Requirements: 300 Strength, 370 Constitution, ?90 Mental Power, ??00 Mana
Soul Power: ???
??
*The stronger your conviction the lower the requirements.
Description: ??? creation.
Little is known about this sword, but in the ancient past, there used to be a strong glowing Star in the sky, enough to rival the moon during the night, but always overshadowed by the brilliance of the sun...
However, no matter how long you waste staring at the night sky, no traces of such an astral body can be seen...
??
]
(I'm not counting the bonus from Caladgolg because the Mc doesn't have the requirements to actually use it)
As time passed and the stronger Dale became, more and more information was revealed to him about this mysterious object as if his qualifications had become a bit better, and as if he was now a bit more worthy of seeing its true magnificence...
Yet, even so, he was still far from wielding it, the sword was still heavy in his grip, despite his Strength being much higher than the necessary.
He couldn't be sure if his Stats being high was everything he truly needed.
Mayhaps, he was truly missing something...
But perhaps, the time he could claim it as his wasn't so far off.
"HUFF!"
Clearing his head off unnecessary thoughts, and putting all of his weight on his left foot, Dale swung his sword in an upward motion, cleaving the ground next to him as he intercepted Muddan's cleaver!
/Glimmer.../
His sword started to glow in faint light...
With a large smile, Dale activated the sword's Skill...
And the world was covered in white light.
...
.
.
.
Notes
Since Webnovel prices the chapter based on every 200 words I add, allow me to add a few more things here so we can get the maximum out of this.
The reason I'm not adding it all to the author's thoughts is because... It's already capped... I can only add 500 words to it.
I didn't know there was a limit to the author's thoughts...
Stat calculation:
Strength -> (128 + 15 + 3 + 10 + 20 + 145 + 10) x 1.1 = 364.1 rounded down to 364
Constitution -> (128 + 15 + 3 + 10 + 20 + 145 + 10 + 10) x 1.2 = 409.2 rounded down to 409
Dexterity -> (128 + 15 + 3 + 10 + 20 + 145 + 10) x 1.35 = 446.85 rounded up to 447
Mental Power -> (103 + 15 + 10 + 20 + 145 + 20) = 313
Reflexes -> (103 + 15 + 10 + 20 + 145 + 10) = 303
Mana -> (128 + 15 + 10 + 20 + 145 + 10) x 2 = 656
Soul Power -> (10 + 15 + 10 + 30 + 5) = 70
Prime Origin -> (38 + 10 + 15 + 30) = 93
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Word Count -> 2198
This content is taken from fr(e)ewebn(o)vel.𝓬𝓸𝓶