NOVEL NEXT Chapter 157: The Heart of Defiance
In Kingdom Forge, there were certain items that most players dismissed as ordinary, yet for specific classes, they were as valuable as legendary relics.
Take, for example, the epic-quality item Evelyn had just drawn: the Heart of Defiance.
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Heart of Defiance (Ring)
Bind on Equip
Level: 35
Quality: Epic
Equip: +10 Strength; +8 Stamina
Equip: +7 Parry rating
Equip: Reflects 22 Holy damage when attacked
Use: After being attacked, may stun the enemy for 3 seconds. Cooldown: 10 minutes
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At first glance, its attributes weren't much better than those of a rare-quality ring of the same level. But the stun effect was a game-changer. Paladins, notorious for their sluggishness, suddenly had access to a ranged stun. Combined with Reprimand, the synergy was brutal.
Yet the true power of the Heart of Defiance lay in one deceptively simple line: Reflects 22 Holy damage when attacked.
That number, while modest on paper, scaled with the Paladin's spell power. At Level 38, Paladins could learn a passive skill called Radiant Intellect, which granted one spell power for every three points of Stamina. Ryan's Stamina had already reached 115, granting him 35 bonus spell power. That meant every strike against him reflected not 22, but 57 points of Holy damage.
It might not sound devastating, but consider this: a Rogue attacking Ryan would shred themselves on his defenses without him lifting a finger. With nothing more than a couple of healing spells, Ryan could stand there and let the Rogue burn to death from reflected damage alone. And while the scaling eventually tapered off after 100 spell power, Ryan knew that once he cleared the raid dungeon at Level 40 and geared himself fully for spell power, he could push the reflected damage close to 200 points per hit.
By then, his other attributes would take a hit, but it wouldn't matter. No Rogue would dare touch him. With the Protection Paladin's natural armor and mitigation, Ryan could wade into the middle of a party, trigger his abilities in turn, and leave a ten-man squad in ruins.
For Paladins, the Heart of Defiance wasn't just an item—it was nearly a myth. Its drop rate rivaled that of legendary equipment, and the number of players who actually owned one could be counted on a single hand. Whenever one did appear, its price soared to absurd levels. Most transactions happened in private, and the actual numbers were kept secret, but every sale was enough to cause waves across the server.
In the early days, before players realized the ring's potential, it sold for around 500 gold. Not cheap, but hardly extraordinary. Ryan had long dreamed of stumbling on a bargain like that at the auction house. He checked listings every day, hoping to get lucky.
And now, of all places, Evelyn had pulled one out right here in front of him.
She caught the hunger in his eyes, and her lips curled with mischief. "You want it? Give me a thousand gold and it's yours."
To Evelyn, the Heart of Defiance wasn't all that impressive. Sure, it outclassed any Level 30 rare-quality ring, but for a Level 35 epic, it fell short of expectations. She was already considering selling it off to buy something better suited to her build.
But when she noticed the way Ryan's eyes lit up, she hesitated. For a moment, she even thought about just giving it to him. The idea felt too direct, though, so instead she decided to toy with him a little.
"Alright then, one thousand gold and it's yours," she said with a playful grin.
"Done!" Ryan answered immediately. To anyone else, that price might have seemed outrageous. To Ryan, who knew exactly what the ring could do, it was practically a bargain.
Evelyn blinked, thrown off by his quick agreement. She had expected him to protest, to haggle, to complain a little before she magnanimously handed it over. Instead, he just smiled as if he'd won the lottery.
"Wait, you're agreeing that fast? No way. Not one thousand—two thousand!" she said, crossing her arms in mock annoyance.
"Fine. Two thousand it is!" Ryan replied without hesitation, his cheerful tone baffling everyone within earshot.
Evelyn stared at him, half annoyed, half amused. "Do you really want this thing that badly? I mean, it's not that great. Honestly, I could just give it to you. You don't need to spend two thousand gold."
Ryan shook his head firmly. "No, no. I'd feel guilty if I took it for free. Two thousand is fine."
Around them, guild members were exchanging looks and muffled laughs. They leaned toward one another, whispering, and more than a few smirks spread across the crowd.
Molly, standing nearby, felt a knot of irritation twist in her chest as she watched the back-and-forth. She didn't fully understand why, but she couldn't stand it any longer. Clenching her fists, she stepped between the two.
"Big bro," she said to Ryan, then glanced at Evelyn, "why don't you just stick to your first offers? A thousand gold, no more, no less. You buy it for that, Evelyn sells it for that. We're all in the same guild, after all. Meet each other halfway."
The moment the words left her mouth, Molly flushed. Something about the compromise felt awkward, especially under the amused stares of everyone watching. To the others, the whole exchange hinted at something more, and the way their expressions shifted into knowing smiles made Molly feel even stranger.
Ryan noticed too. The laughter, the whispers, the looks. It suddenly felt like they were the entertainment at someone else's show. To defuse the tension, he quickly agreed.
"Alright. A thousand it is." He handed over the gold and claimed the Heart of Defiance, a prize that for now only he seemed to truly understand.
As more treasure boxes were cracked open, the haul grew richer. Rare-quality items began to pile up: plate boots, cloth shoulders, daggers brimming with spell power, sturdy belts. Then, another flash of purple.
This time it was an epic-quality cloth glove, its attributes almost flawless: Stamina, Intellect, and raw spell power, every stat perfectly aligned for a caster. Its power dwarfed that of any Level 35 rare glove.
When the roll ended, the gloves went to Whispering Petals, a quiet Priestess who had only just joined the guild. Too under-leveled to equip them yet, she carefully tucked the gloves deep into her bag, her face glowing with quiet satisfaction.