Endzone: Simulated Apocalypse

Soon after defeating the massive serpents, the group found a good place to get some rest—another cave, similar to the one they had came here through but far smaller. In all honesty, it was more like a canopy than a cave with how shallow it was, but that was fine—this wasn't meant to be a long rest anyway.

"That was some good teamwork back there," Ragnar chuckled, resting his arm on his knee. "None of us said anything beforehand, but we all just instinctively knew what the plan was all about and contributed our part. Not bad at all for a first-time team, I would say."

"Yeah, I agree," Kirika added, sitting across from him. "Just an hour ago, I wouldn't have been able to pull something like that off. But after being told a speech about confidence by a certain someone… I felt the boldness needed to make that move."

"Oh? A certain someone?" Ragnar lifted an eyebrow in curiosity. "Cyanide doesn't seem like the type to give encouragement."

"Not him," Kirika said with a smile. "Dianna."

"Ohhh. Yeah, that girl's hot. I prefer older women though."

"… Speaking of," Kirika hurriedly said, voluntarily deciding to ignore Ragnar's statement. "Where are those two, anyway?"

"They're above," Luna interjected, standing at the entrance of the cave. "Working on something, it seems like."

"Hm? The girlfriend ain't jealous?" Ragnar snickered, to which Luna gave a snort.

"Why would I be? In fact, I am happy Cyanide is opening up to more people. That is healthy, psychology-wise."

But Ragnar only laughed and said, "Copium."

Luna ignored his comment and instead simply walked away to somewhere alone, where she could perform maintenance on all her parts.

Meanwhile, up on the roof of the cave…

"… Hm."

Cyanide inspected the Crafting system in his inventory, carefully observing at one particular item he could Craft in particular: The Anaconda's Fang.

It was a weapon with a purple background in the system, marked as 'Epic' rarity. According to Luna, there were only two rarities above Epic: Legendary, which was marked by a gold background, and Mythic, which was marked by a red background. Regardless, this weapon would be a major upgrade from Cyanide's current weapon, even if it was enhanced to Rank 3. The [Kitchen Knife] he had currently only had a meager ATK stat of 35, but the Anaconda's Fang at Rank 1 was already 75 ATK.

The question was… whether or not Cyanide was willing to switch things up.

He'd always used a knife in the past to pair with his gun. This weapon, however, is more like a scimitar—longer and less simplistic to use. He could still pair it with his gun, but he would need to slightly adjust his combat style to accommodate the new type of weapon.

"What are you still hesitating for, Cyanide?" Dianna asked, bending over slightly from beside him to look up at his face. "You can't stick to your old ways anymore—not after coming to this world. I learned that the hard way. Didn't my father teach you? Adapt."

"I am aware. But…" Cyanide glanced down at his knife. It wasn't emotional attachment. A knife was simply a weapon, a tool to kill. Nothing more. However… the feel of a knife in his hand still beat any other tool. Adapt—yes, Anthrax had taught him that. The power to change and learn was one of the most powerful abilities of humans. But even so… the idea of changing the same weapon he'd used all his life was somewhat of a challenge.

But still, what needed to be done needed to be done. With a sigh, Cyanide crafted the [Anaconda's Fang]. It cost 2 [Snake Fangs] and 2 [Wood] to make one, both of which he had. Wood was easily obtainable from all the trees around here, and Snake Fangs were dropped by the anacondas they just killed. Right now, Cyanide had 6 Snake Fangs, which was enough to make three, meaning Rank Two Enhancement, but…

He turned to Dianna, who met his gaze with a smile.

"Want mine?"

"… I owe you one," Cyanide said, and Dianna giggled.

"Don't worry about it. I owe you a lot more, don't you think?"

"…" Cyanide didn't respond to that, instead simply taking the Snake Fangs from Dianna, who retrieved them from her inventory. Then, he got to crafting using the Blueprint, dragging the wood and Snake Fangs from his inventory into the crafting menu like a simple drag-and-drop mechanic.

Since Crafting was instant, within seconds, Cyanide had six copies of the [Anaconda's Fang] readily available. He then proceeded to Enhance the weapon with five of the copies, turning it into a Rank 5 [Anaconda's Fang] with an ATK stat of 150. The final copy was left as a spare back-up, just in case the enhanced one broke or got lost somehow.

It would seem that higher-rarity weapons not only had a higher base ATK, but also gained more ATK upon enhancing to the next rank. Whereas the Kitchen Knife only gained 5 ATK for ever rank, the Anaconda's Fang gained 15.

Cyanide held his newly acquired weapon in his hand, inspecting it carefully.

"See?" Dianna said with a smile. "Not bad, huh? Just need to try it out on a mutant now."

"Do you want the spare one?" Cyanide asked, but Dianna shook her head.

"Doesn't suit me. I much prefer using my mutant abilities—namely, these claws and throwing knives. But… if you're so eager to pay me back… how about a nice meal? I've heard from Luna you're actually quite skilled at cooking."

For a second, Cyanide thought she was referring to a different kind of 'meal', but to think she was actually saying something without hidden meaning for once…

"… Sure," he ultimately agreed, stowing away his new weapon on his waist.

"Then it's a deal," Dianna said, brushing past him. After a few steps, however, she stopped, and turned back to send him a wink.

"Oh, by the way? Claim your achievements—just a tip from a player from the previous batch."