NOVEL NEXT chapter 63
Yang Yi's interest is immediately piqued. He tells the guy to send over the stats.
"Hehe! Just dragged this baby back, took a hell of an effort…."
The seller is apparently a chatterbox, launching into a whole backstory for the weapon. He found it on a small island, he says, a place where nothing grew and the very earth was a dead, greyish-white. The only structure was a burnt-out smithy, and inside, this greatsword was just… sitting there.
"If I wasn't so desperate for supplies and short on time, I'd never sell this thing!" he rambles, adding a whole layer of historical mystique to the weapon in just a few minutes.
Yang Yi’s ears are about to start bleeding. "Are you selling a sword or a goddamn story?" he snaps.
"The sword! The sword, of course!"
"Then send me the stats!"
"Right away!"
[Name: Ironcleaver]
[Type: Relic]
[Quality: Exquisite]
[Description: A greatsword forged by a blacksmith filled with incandescent rage. The blade is made from an unknown metal, so hard that it was nearly impossible to shape, resulting in this crude form. Requires 9 Strength to wield, 10 Strength (the mortal limit) to begin to master. Humanity is too weak. Only by swinging something that defies common sense can one truly slay…..]
A picture is attached. Yang Yi lets out a series of stunned clicks and whistles. To call this a sword is a bit of a stretch. It looks more like a sharpened iron girder. It's hard to imagine what kind of person, in what state of mind, would forge such a monstrous weapon. The blade is about 35 centimeters wide and 220 centimeters long. The tip seems to have been broken off, leaving a slanted edge. The whole thing is incredibly rough, like an unfinished project, its surface pocked with uneven hammer marks. Even the edge is inconsistent, which would cause brutal, tearing wounds rather than clean cuts. Getting hit by this thing wouldn't be like being cut; it'd be like being mauled by a beast, leaving a mangled mess of flesh that no one could ever hope to stitch back together.
He's instantly captivated by its savage, brutal appearance. "How much are you asking?"
He has a point. A Strength of 9 just to swing it is a ridiculously harsh requirement. The average adult male is a 5. Even Yang Yi would need to stack both his [Frenzy] and [Refusal of Death] skills just to hit that number.
"No discount?"
"Nope! If not for the stats, I'd be selling it for 100k."
Yang Yi shakes his head. The weapon is good, but 100k is a fantasy. That Exquisite-grade revolver only sold for 120k, and everyone knows firearms are flat-out better than melee weapons right now. Besides, as a Relic, it's guaranteed to have a side effect.
"Buddy," Yang Yi types, "can you at least tell me what the side effect is?"
"What do you think it is? It dings your Reason a bit!"
"How much?"
"Man, you ask ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) a lot of questions. You buying or not? 40k, final offer!"
Seeing Yang Yi's persistence, the seller chops 10k right off the price. That level of eagerness means the side effect is probably nasty, and he's in a hurry to offload it.
"35k," Yang Yi shoots back. "Deal right now, no more bullshit."
"38k!"
"Done!"
After haggling him down 12,000 coins, Yang Yi pays up. As the gacha machine spits out the massive greatsword, it crashes onto the deck, gouging out a deep crater. Thankfully, the new [Arm Bone Armor] plating begins to slowly regenerate. Otherwise, he’d be spending materials on ship repair.
"Holy shit, it's heavy," he grunts, trying to lift it. He can’t. Even with both hands, he can only drag it by the hilt, carving a deep scar across his deck. His private messages flash again. It’s the seller.
"Hey buddy, just a friendly tip. When you're not using it, you should probably wrap it up tight in some cloth and stick it in a corner. That's all I'm gonna say!"
"Huh? What the hell does that mean?" Yang Yi replies instantly, only to get an error message.
[This user has blocked you.]
The side effect is that bad?
He stares at the Ironcleaver. He notices a flicker of light reflecting off its uneven surface. Inside the reflection, a ghostly white skull is flying straight at him.
[The Spirit of Fear passes through you. You are horrified. Reason -5.]
A chill crawls up his spine, and goosebumps erupt all over his skin. But it doesn't stop. The spirit keeps ramming into his body, over and over.
[The Spirit of Fear passes through you. You are horrified. Reason -5.]
[The Spirit of Fear passes through you. You are horrified. Reason -5.]
Son of a bitch, he thinks, grimacing. I got played. No wonder the seller blocked him so fast. Just as he's about to find a cloth to wrap the haunted hunk of metal—
[Your Reason is below 50. You have entered the Frenzied state… Heroic and fearless…]
[The Spirit of Fear passes through you. You are unmoved.]
[The Spirit of Fear passes through you. You are unmoved.]
A few minutes later:
[The Spirit of Fear has given up and returned to the sword.]
"Uh…" Yang Yi is speechless. With his third eye active, he can actually see the little ghost. Its eye sockets are drooped into a sad, pathetic frown as it woefully floats back into the Ironcleaver.
Wait.
Was that… kinda cute?
The thought makes him laugh. If he's starting to find traumatizing ghosts cute, he's probably got some serious mental issues of his own.