Arthur was surprised to see what the four items were. There was a black breastplate, a pair of dark boots and greaves, and a dark helmet. The final item was the sword the monster used in battle.
“Interesting, it gave me its armor set and its weapon. Actually, I have been looking for armor wasn’t I?” He muttered to himself thoughtfully. “This could be really good, actually.”
Tapping on the breastplate, the heavy object fell into his hand, almost making him stumble forward. However, he quickly regained his composure and looked at it.
“Ok, it isn’t in a bad condition, even though I have damaged it a little.” He said. There were some traces of damage here and there, but the item seemed to be in good condition.
[Ethereal Black Breastplate (Damaged)
Rank: D
Description: A black breastplate, forged from the Dragon Realm Obsidian. For one of these ores to be formed into armor, it is said to take a month of hammering. It is not rare, but it is certainly a powerful armor.
Type: Armor
Damage Resistance Affinity: Physical/ Fire
Damage Resistance: 40%
Special Ability: Has a very small chance of parrying an attack and returning it to the target.]
“Oh! This is really good!” Arthur blinked in shock. Not only was the breastplate D-Ranked which was one rank higher than every other thing Arthur possessed, but it also seemed to have a really good ability.
‘Parrying an attack could be really useful in some cases although it seems to be a very rare thing.’ He mused. However, Arthur had no reason not to put it on as it was an extra layer of defense he didn’t have before. So far, he was only fighting with a bunch of old clothes that seemed to belong to peasants. There was zero protection from them as one would expect.
“Hmm, how do I put this on?”
The moment he asked that question, a notification appeared in his retina.
[Would you like to wear this item?]
“Oh, yes.”
Almost immediately, the breastplate vanished from his hand. At the same time, he felt something heavy drop on his shoulders out of nowhere. Looking down, he saw the item tightly fit on his torso.
“Wow, that was quick. It even grew smaller to fit me. It also looks really badass.”
The intricate design of the armor and its slim yet powerful design fit him perfectly and his style of fighting. He didn’t feel like it could hinder his fast and offensive style.
“Ok, next items.”
The boots and the greaves had the same stats as the breastplate, except they didn’t seem to have any special abilities. Arthur felt a little disappointed, but he still didn’t mind that as these were still good pieces of armor.
Finally, reaching the helmet, Arthur realized that it was completely broken to pieces. There wasn’t a single part of it that was intact and he knew the reason for that.
“Thanks for destroying it, bastard. I can’t even make use of it now.” Clicking his tongue, Arthur threw the helmet back into the inventory as he decided to sell it later. Then, he finally checked his entire attire. freewebnoveℓ.com
“I look like a mysterious knight of some kind now. The color also fits the Sanguine Blade too. All I need is a good mask and I’m officially the edgiest player in the entire game. Hehe.” Laughing to himself, Arthur finally pulled the rest of the notifications to read them.
That was when he noticed perhaps the most important part of all the rewards he received so far.
“My main class… It finally evolved!”
In a hurry, he opened his profile to check and as he expected, his class had gone from (1/10) to (2/10). So far, Arthur didn’t understand what that 1/10 meant and what kind of things it would unlock as it evolved.
‘Did me beating that Ethereal trigger the second part? That could be it for sure. Hm, but why specifically that?’ Rubbing his chin, Arthur contemplated for a moment. He had some suspicions but he couldn’t confirm any.
The only plausible explanation was that he defeated a way stronger enemy than him and so his class evolved because of it.
“What kind of secondary class did it give me, though?”
Looking at his secondary class slot, he read the name. “Battle Specialist? Interesting name. What does it give me?”
[Battle Specialist
Description: You are an anomaly in battle. Whether it was a stronger foe or a weaker enemy, you always emerge victorious. Your wits and power push you beyond your limit into a higher a plain.
Effect: Gains +3% increase in attack power and +1% increase in defense against stronger enemies. Can stack up to ten levels above you.]
“…” Arthur was completely stunned for a good few seconds. The effect of the secondary class had taken him by surprise. He didn’t even need to imagine what it could do. The numbers alone made it sound extremely powerful.
“Haha, this is a secondary class? I cannot believe it. 30% increase in attack power at max level against stronger enemies is just free points. All I want to fight are stronger enemies, so this is a permanent power-up! Thanks, Divinity Gods for this generous gift! I will make use of it well.”
Feeling over the moon with this new addition to his arsenal, Arthur finally reached the last part of it all. The part he had seen first before anything else and yet tried to avoid. After all, this was neither a reward nor a new item added to his inventory.
It was a question. A rather simple yet very hard question.
[You are the first to kill a memory gate boss.]
[Would you like to announce that worldwide while maintaining your anonymity?]
[Yes.] [No.]
“Sigh, so there are world announcements of achievements in this game, huh? I guess that makes sense considering the massive player base. Flaunting achievements would be beneficial to the game and to the players.” He muttered.
Still, Arthur felt rather apprehensive about what he should do. Granted, it seemed his name was going to be kept a secret, but still, he didn’t know if he should really do this or not. A part of him was a little scared, but another part wished to just tap yes.
Although Arthur wanted a calm life, he still wanted to bask in the glory of being the first to achieve something before anyone else.
With a frown, he decided to first check his points and ranking after his battle. Seeing how this battle was far more brutal than the first one, Arthur expected a massive rise in points.
Lo and behold, he saw his name at the very top worldwide and region-wide. Then, he read his points.
“6341… Over 6000 points!” He almost coughed loudly from shock. “I doubled my previous points! But, hmm, second place isn’t falling behind that much anymore.”
Looking at Darkmoon who was right behind him, they had 4000 points which was surprising. Arthur knew how hard it was to get this many points so that player definitely did something very special.
‘The rest of the top 10 is also increasing rapidly. Nobody is less than 1000 points. I guess they are starting to get comfortable with the game and they’re improving.’
Arthur naturally was aware as days passed, players would get better and the competition would get harder and harder. If he doesn’t continue his monstrous and rapid increase in strength, he knows that he will be overcome by the extremely talented players.
That idea, for some reason, struck Arthur harder than he expected it would. His face turned serene as he stared at the ranking silently. Nobody knew what was going through his head at that moment.
But, within his eyes, an ember of fire could be seen growing in real time. Seeing the ranking, he felt a deep excitement rise in his heart. Before, he only thought about the fear of being exposed as the player ‘Persona’. But, now that he was certain that nobody would know him, what was left was a deep desire to actually try his best and compete for the rankings.
He was number 1 now, but who said he would last there for long? After all, players are bound to make guilds and groups to hunt stronger enemies and gather points faster. He wasn’t going to be easily given the first spot for a long time when more than a billion other players were going to try and seek it.
That was why at that moment, Arthur wanted to do something.
‘I… I’m fine with this. If they want to compete with me, I’m open to it. I’m not going to back down, fools. Do your best as shall I.’
Looking at the question again, Arthur closed his eyes for a moment before he opened them again and then tapped on the ‘Yes’ button.
This was his signal. Or, perhaps, a message for his opponents that he wasn’t going to let go of the first place that easily. This was only the start.