“Aren’t you fair? Good old relic of ancient times only gives what was earned, gods forbid you threw me a bone.“ Corvin spat at the ground.
[Achievement Unlocked: Do the impossible!]
“Hold on. Wait a minute.” Corvin shouted, pumping his fists.
[Additional rewards will be granted.]
“Ahah, yes! Gimme something good!” Corvin started laughing like crazy, his mood skyrocketing as melodic chimes rang in his mind.
[+5 Stat Points]
[Lv. 200 Weapon Selection Ticket (Cave Boa edition)]
[Skill Unlocked: Miasma Breath (Active)]
“Holy shit! Yes! This is what I am talking about. Screw luck, who needs luck?” He laughed like a madman, eyes gleaming with greed.
[Hidden Quest Completed: Hunt a ruler of darkness in its own territory.]
[Calculating… ERROR! The user is an anomaly….]
“Anomaly? Your mother’s an anomaly, you bastard!” he barked, chuckling as he waited for more rewards. Yet, that bothered him more than he wanted to admit, but he continued pretending that somewhere deep down, his father's words did still not haunt him. Shouting: 'My son, a demon?'
[Calculations completed.]
[Due to the impossibility of the user’s actions, assigning the max-level reward possible for the quest.]
“Hell yes! It’s hard to keep winning so much. AHAHAHAH!” If anyone heard him, they’d swear he’d gone off the deep end. Well, he probably had after everything.
[Title: The Night Lord]
[+5 Stat Points]
[Amulet of the Serpent King (Unique)]
“Okay, I did not see this coming. This is insane, I might die from joy.” His grin stretched ear to ear, but it felt brittle, ready to crack. Looks like it pays off to be an abomination.
“Let’s check all this good shit! First, the skill and the title; they sound strong.”
He summoned his status screen and immediately appraised the skill, ignoring everything else.
[Skill: Miasma Breath (Active)]
When activated, releases a five-meter radius of dark, corrosive miasma. The initial breath attack inflicts massive damage and leaves behind a lingering fog that erodes vitality, dealing critical damage every five ticks.
Rank: Epic
Duration: Until canceled
Cooldown: 1 Day
Mana Cost: 500 Mana + 6 Mana per second while active
“Damn, that is strong, but I cannot use it yet. Fine, I won’t complain!” I guess I’ll need to invest in Magicka stat. A plan to grow stronger than he’d ever imagined began to take shape in his mind.
He moved to appraise his new title, then froze.
Name: Corvin Moraine Valtieri [No title equipped]
A loud smack echoed through the tunnel as his palm met his forehead. “I am an idiot!” He yanked at his hair in frustration. “If I’d equipped the First User title, maybe I could’ve snagged another level… Argh! Damnit. Fine. It’s fine. You learn from mistakes.”
He took a deep breath and focused on the appraisal.
[Title: The Night Lord]
Stolen from an Epic rarity Cave Boa, as a reward for the [Do the Impossible!] achievement.
When equipped grants 30% increased damage while covered with darkness. Grants the passive skill Nocturnal, allowing the wielder to fully adapt to dark environments, and increasing overall speed by +23%.
Corvin dropped onto his backside, staring at the glowing text in disbelief. He read it again, and again. Then pinched his cheek hard. “Ouch! Okay… this is real.” His grin widened. “Looks like I really will become a mole monster at this rate.”
Well, better a mole monster than a demon…
“System, equip title: The Night Lord!” he commanded, determined not to repeat his mistake. The First User title crossed his mind, but the Night Lord’s boost was too good to pass, especially with more tunnels to explore.
As soon as the title etched itself beside his name, the world shifted. Shadows melted into clarity, the gloom brightened as if dawn had broken underground. Every detail sharpened, the whisper of air against his skin, the cool kiss of moisture clinging to it. Darkness no longer felt hostile; it embraced him like an old friend, a silent ally waiting for his command.
“Hell yeah! Mole Man is born!” He threw his fists skyward like a champion of darkness, grinning like a lunatic.
With a grin, he left the stat points for last and turned to his other rewards. “Jokes aside, let’s see what the hell these items are. Appraise!”
[Lv. 200 Weapon Selection Ticket (Cave Boa edition)]
A selection ticket that allows the user to choose any item dropped by a Level 200+ Cave Boa. The chosen item will be at least Epic rarity.
[Amulet of the Serpent King]
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Rarity: Unique
Forged from the core of a max-level serpent, still pulsing with its soul.
Effects:
- Grants +10 Agility, +5 Strength
- Adds poison damage to all physical attacks, but decreases the user’s vitality by 1 per attack (removed if the set is complete)
- ???
Set: Eternal Serpent (1/3)
- Set Bonus ???
- Set Bonus ???
He pulled the dark-blue amulet from his storage, which pulsed with a sickly green glow, its serpent emblem coiling like it was alive.
As soon as he slipped it on, the pendant flared with an eerie green glow once more, like a heartbeat before sinking into his chest, becoming a part of him, leaving only the charm visible, anchored so it would never be lost in battle.
Then a surge of white light enveloped him. His muscles tightened, his movements felt sharper, faster. Corvin grinned and leapt into the air, landing with a dash that blurred his outline. “Good. Good. With this, I might actually survive this ordeal. Just gotta watch my vitality, one bad swing and I’m toast.”
He opened his status screen and frowned.
“Aaaaah, I need points in everything. Strength, Agility, Magicka… I’ll have to kill everything that moves.” He chuckled, shaking his head. “Well, at least I’ll try.”
With a flick of his wrist, he summoned the selection ticket. It shimmered in his palm before exploding into a blinding light. “Stop it! I’m a mole monster now, Aaaaah, it burns!” Corvin groaned, shielding his eyes until the glare faded, revealing a glowing list of three items:
[Ophidian Lash]
Type: Whip
Rarity: Epic
Allows the user to attack from range at all angles. Deals dark and poison damage to the target each seventh hit.
Agility +25, Vitality -10
Requirement: 50 Agility
[Twin Fangs]
Type: Dual Daggers
Rarity: Epic
Increases the user’s Agility by +10 when attacking. Allow the user to strike precisely and delicately. Each critical hit poisons the enemy for 20 seconds.
Critical Chance: +20%
Requirement: 50 Agility
[Coilbreaker]
Type: Segmented Blade
Rarity: Epic
Jagged blade made of the serpent’s spine. Each hit deals bonus damage to armored foes and stacks the bleeding debuff.
+10 Strength, +10 Vitality
Requirement: 25 Strength, Sacrifice half of your Agility
Corvin stared at the glowing options, his mind racing.
“Most of these I can’t use yet… The sword removes half my Agility, but at least I could wield it soon. Slow but strong… ugh.”
He sat on the cold stone ground, eyes locked on the screen for ten long minutes before finally exhaling. “I’ve got the most experience with blades. Fine, I’ll take the Coilbreaker. If I raise Strength, I can use it now. Later, I’ll stash it when something better comes along.“
He chose the blade, sacrificing speed for power was the only thing he could do at this moment.
A soft chime echoed as the weapon materialized in his hands.
The blade was monstrous, two meters of segmented bone, each vertebra honed into a jagged edge. It radiated menace, making Corvin look like a demon risen from the Nether Realm.
“If my father saw me now, he’d swear I was a demon.” He chuckled darkly, spitting on the ground at the thought of the man. After all these years, the hatred still burned, a promise etched in blood. One day, he would return to that childhood home, and it would end in crimson.
“Okay… stats.” He summoned his status window, the Coilbreaker stabbing into the ground beside him like a fang from hell.
Unassigned points: 15
HP: 300/300 | MP: 0
Strength: 14 [+5]
Agility: 8 [+10]
Intelligence: 16
Vitality: 25
Magicka: 0
Luck: 0
“I need six points in Strength to wield this beast… MP needs a boost, and raising my awful Luck wouldn’t hurt either.” Corvin groaned, rubbing his temples. “My head hurts. Screw it, five into Magicka, four into Luck. Done.”
He nodded and gave the command. The System obeyed instantly. His body flared with light, then agony struck.
A deep, visceral pain exploded in his chest, stabbing through his heart and radiating into his solar plexus like molten steel. Corvin collapsed to his knees, tears streaming as his teeth ground together. His hands clawed at his chest while he writhed on the cold stone floor.
I’m dying. This is it. Death’s here for me.
Half an hour of pure torment dragged on like eternity before the pain vanished as suddenly as it came.
Panting, Corvin rose slowly, trembling fingers brushing his chest. No wounds. No marks. Nothing, until he heard it.
A second heartbeat. Faint, mystical, echoing beneath the first. His enhanced hearing caught it like a whisper from the abyss.
He pressed his palm to his chest and focused. “Appraisal.”
[Mana Heart]
Absorbs ambient mana and strengthens the body in the process. Excess mana is stored in the Magicka Root within one’s plexus.
Current Mana: 50
[New stat unlocked: Mana Regen added]
[Mana will regenerate every five seconds by absorbing the ambient mana.]
Corvin stared at the glowing text, his mind spinning.
A Mana Heart? The thing only Icon-bearers possess? The thing I was never destined for? And I just… got it?
His pulse thundered, palms slick with sweat, breath quickening. Then, slowly, a smile cracked his face. “Thank you, System. I had my doubts, but… truly, thank you. I’ll follow you into hell if you keep making me stronger.”
New stat as well. Looks like my mana can restore itself over time. This is crazy, just this puts me over someone like Isolde…
He gripped the Coilbreaker and swung it experimentally. Each arc felt heavier, slower, but raw power surged through his veins. He was still faster than before, thanks to his new boons, but speed and strength together? That would have to wait.
“Maybe some other time.” He chuckled, stashing the blade in his storage. His gaze drifted to the corpses of the two dead hobgoblins littering the tunnel. Spears, pouches, scraps of gear glinted in the dim light.
Greed flickered in his eyes.
“Let’s see what treasures you bastards were hiding.”
***
[Steel Spear [Uncommon] x2]
A spear with a seasoned oak shaft and a simple steel head.
Effect: When wielded, increases Agility +5.
Not bad. I can switch between the blade and the spear depending on what I’m fighting… though my spear skills are nonexistent. Corvin smirked as he stored the weapons.
Next came the pouches. Inside, he found several vials glinting faintly in the dim light.
Healing potions and antidotes. They didn’t even have time to use these. Sad bastards… well, good for me. He cackled, tossing the vials into his storage.
[Lesser Healing Potion x5]
Restores 100 HP instantly.
[Shaman’s Cure x2]
Removes all types of poison debuffs over 2 minutes.
Then, with practiced precision, Corvin slit open their chests and extracted two identical monster cores, valuable, if he ever made it out alive.
His gaze shifted to the serpent’s corpse and the shattered remnants of his old blade.
“My old friend… we’ve been through a lot. I’m sad to see you go. But I won’t let you rot here.” He gathered the fragments and stored them carefully.
Finally, he approached Cave Boa’s massive body. Its dark-green core pulsed faintly as he pried it free. Standing over the colossal reptile, he muttered, patting the massive body, “Thank you for your sacrifice. Now, if only I could take you with me. You’re worth a fortune.”
On impulse, he placed his hand on the corpse and whispered, “Store.”
The serpent shimmered with white light and vanished.
Corvin’s eyes widened. “Haha… HAHAHA! This is so damn useful! If only I had this before, I wouldn’t have wasted hours dragging corpses through dungeons.” He shook his head, grinning as he checked his storage.
[Hobgoblin’s Core x2 (Uncommon)]
[Cave Boa’s Core (Epic)]
[Corpse of Cave Boa (Epic)]
“Good! Time to see what’s outside before I head back and check the other tunnel.” He spoke aloud, a habit he was starting to pick up.
Slowly, he climbed the steep slope until a bright hole came into view. Shielding his darkness-adjusted eyes, he squinted against the glare until his vision adapted.
Outside stretched the same rocky terrain he’d explored earlier. Above, a pack of harpies circled like vultures, waiting for something wounded to emerge.
“Those damn birds… clever bastards. Well, joke’s on them, I’m not leaving through here.” He whispered, retreating slightly.
Then his ears twitched. A faint sound, dozens of small feet scurrying closer. His heartbeat spiked as he activated Echolocation.
A mental image bloomed: a swarm of goblins armed with spears and blades, led by two hobgoblins, marching straight toward his position.
“Damn goblins again.” Corvin cursed and dashed back into the cave, shadows swallowing him whole.
Achievements: Do the Impossible: Kill an Epic-type monster while at level 1
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