NOVEL NEXT Chapter 92: Bear Aftermath & Outfit of the Ruinous Demon
"*ROAAAAR*!" - Magma bear
I cut down one almost-dead bear with my scythe only to hear another one right behind me!
I closed my eyes in a hurry to bring out the 3D map from [Paranormal Sight] and "located" the bear without having to turn around. And at the same time, the bear got the full brunt of the Evil Eyes I had been keeping on after the first kill. The bear stumbled after getting hit by all those status ailment effects, which gave me time to turn around and hack at its neck with my Erebus Scythe.
Victory! ...Or not! The broken bear's vitality is too great! Cheater! In that case, allow me to cheat a little as well. [Darkness Drain] through the scythe to suck up some of that lifeforce, and...HEAVE HO!!
*Slash!*
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SYSTEM MESSAGE: You have cleared the Quest: [Volcanic Hellfire Prison: Veggie Defense]. You have obtained a total of 7.0 Aether Points. You have obtained 3 [Skill-Up Crystals (Decent)] due to having cleared the "No Produce Loss" condition. You have acquired the title: [Bear Slayer]. |
YES!! Take that, you lousy bear! What a great way (not) to end a quest! But I should start thinking about getting some better offensive moves sooner or later.
The final, burning giant of bear fur and muscles collapsed to the ground as its HP reached 0. Phew. That was rough. It feels good just having to defeat the enemies instead of having to hunt them down, but the fact that we're not getting any EXP because it's part of a quest is infuriating!!
Eh, whatever. I got lots more AP than I expected, plus some bonuses. Glad I summoned Nala and had her defend the veggies with her water shields.
According to the BBS, these "Skill-Up Crystals" are supposed to be an upgraded version of the Skill-Up Potion. The crystals work easily even on T-2 skills, but if they're used on a T-1 skill...
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SYSTEM MESSAGE: Skill: [Paranormal Sight Lv.6] has turned into [Paranormal Sight Lv.8]. |
Success! 2 levels for 1 pebble! And it was luckily one of the types that don't randomly level-up stuff either. If it was, there would be no guarantee whether it would hit a T-1 skill or a T-2 skill. Too bad general-type skills such as [Identification] don't count as T-1 skills when it comes to these rocks. It is still possible to use the crystals on them, but only for a single level. Cheapskates...
Yeah, luck is with me today. So it's better to not be too cocky. I used the 2nd crystal on [Paranormal Sight] again to elevate it to Lv.10 before giving the last one to Nala. She's earned it. Even if I wanted to use that rock on my [Charisma] or my [Leadership] skill...
Unlike me, Palug seems to be hungry for more bear stew. Because he's initiated a second quest chained to the one we just cleared. Yup, that's right. He used his Extra Medal.
A new bear, bigger and worse than the first bunch came out of the caverns and walked toward the veggie garden. Palug jumped up to greet the bear with his blade, but he was brilliantly parried by a giant saber that the bear was carrying. A saber bear? That's new.
A red forcefield surrounded the two beast swordsmen, preventing the rest of us from assisting.
"Engarde, foul knave!" - Palug
Welp, someone is having the time of his life. Let's move along. Nothing to see here. It was Palug who managed to defeat the commander-type bear after we lured it out by killing enough bears, so he must have been the only one who got the chance to initiate the Trial Quest because I got nothing like that. Meh, I'll save him the humiliation of being defeated in front of everyone. Tata~.
"Are you leaving already?" - Siel
"That is the bonus match. Nothing that I need to worry about..., and when did you arrive?" - Garami
It's the vampire kunoichi again.
"Around the time when the fox-lady finished drinking the first barrel of MP recovery potion." - Siel
Speaking of which, Aino has been the secret MVP in this quest. Without her anti-heat protection spells, the bears would have enjoyed a nasty barbeque by now. The fox was the first one to leave the fields when the quest was over though. I think she said something about wanting to take a bath IRL.
"And what are you here for anyway?" - Garami
"I wished to buy today's produce from the farm." - Siel
Ah, right. It's the favorite snack for her leader.
"Don't let me hinder you." - Garami
"Far from it. I should rather thank you for making it possible to have any at all." - Siel
The vampire looked at the battlefield, scorched black from the bears' Magma-type attacks. True, it was a difficult battle. I NEVER want to do it ever again!! At least let me use my webs...*sniff*.
"Also, the clan head wished to give you this." - Siel
Hmm? A letter? Let's see...hmm...okay...huh? ...For real? ......Oho~?
"Tell him I'll have to think about it." - Garami
"As you wish. Then, have a good day." - Siel
...!? Siel just disappeared right in front of me! No smoke bombs or whatever! Is this what a ninja can do? ...I need to consider giving Nyx a crash course on that subject.
Let's see...7 AP. Is that enough? ...Tch, it's not enough. I need some more before I can move on to phase 2. Advance-tier classes!
*Ring!*
Oh, that's my alarm. Guess it's time to sleep. Wow, time sure flies when you're having fun butchering bears... Okay, it wasn't as "fun" as it was "fatally scary", but you know the drill. Good night.
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The next day:
Log in!
What to do today? Bones is still busy grinding those Necro Points, despite this being his last day before he has to take a break from the game. Aino texted me via the Guild chat that she was going to visit a friend in-game, so she's not available either. As for Palug, he said there was something he wanted to confirm, so he was playing in less dangerous areas.
...I'm all alone. Just having a bunch of demons and a maid at my side. No time like now to start farming AP then. There are still 4 days before the bonus period for the Darkland Fort runs out, but it's no haste adding more to it right now. Honestly, I want to see the Dungeon in action to confirm its strengths and weaknesses. Plus there's the thing that the vampire leader asked me about...
But for now, it is FINALLY the time to debut my new "Ruin XXX" items. First, gotta wear everything, checking that [Paranormal Sight] still works with this strange blindfold on...okay. Then accepting the STRICT item restrictions for this awesome-looking demonic cleric outfit...GO!
...Nothing special happened. To test, I tried to remove the blindfold...it won't come off. Just as planned. Now, let's see if the description for the other items was true...
| Name: | Clergy Dress of the Ruinous Priestess | ||
| [Equipment Set - Light Armor (Clothing)] | Rarity: Ex | Quality: S+ | Durability: --- |
| Equipment Slots: | Upper Body, Lower Body | ||
| Description: |
A dress granted to the faithful of Ruin. It is missing the true blessings of the divinities of Ruin, but it will still protect the follower of the goddess. It appears very thin, yet the threads weaved to form this dress is more durable than metal, and it provides strong defense. |
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...Why do I feel that these items more than cover the loss of my eyesight already with only this item?
As for the next item of interest..., it has to be this one. What can the main culprit of my recent stress do?
| Name: | Blindfold of the Ruinous Insect | ||
| [Accessory - Blindfold] | Rarity: Ex | Quality: S+ | Durability: --- |
| Description: |
A blindfold granted to the faithful of Ruin. It is missing the true blessings of the divinities of Ruin, but it will still protect the follower of the goddess. It seals off the wearer's sight, but increases their other senses, whether they are physical or mystical. |
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Not much, from the look of it! But it's still cool. Maybe the blindfold is improving my 3D map from [Paranormal Sight] somehow? And a self-recovery effect based on what ailment effects one has? Pretty nice touch there.
| Name: | Detached Sleeves of Ruin | ||
| [Hands - Light Armor (Clothing)] | Rarity: Ex | Quality: S+ | Durability: --- |
| Description: |
A set of detached sleeves granted to the faithful of Ruin. It is missing the true blessings of the divinities of Ruin, but it will still protect the follower of the goddess. The sleeves grant protection to one's arms, preventing one from dropping held items. |
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Hmm, the sleeves seem to have replaced the gloves in both name and function. I'm not 100% sure, but it feels like it gives a boost to STR as well, based on the description's last line. Though, it's probably limited to the arms only.
| Name: | Boots of Ruin | ||
| [Legs - Light Armor (Clothing)] | Rarity: Ex | Quality: S+ | Durability: --- |
| Description: |
A pair of knee-high boots granted to the faithful of Ruin. It is missing the true blessings of the divinities of Ruin, but it will still protect the follower of the goddess. The blessings of Ruin kill the sound of the wearer's steps while also preventing them from tripping. |
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The boots don't seem that different from before.
| Name: | Cloak of Ruin | ||
| [Back - Light Armor (Clothing)] | Rarity: Ex | Quality: S+ | Durability: --- |
| Description: |
A priestly cloak granted to the faithful of Ruin. It is missing the true blessings of the divinities of Ruin, but it will still protect the follower of the goddess. Concealed by the cloak, one is less likely to be noticed by hostile forces. |
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This one here feels like a power-up. I vaguely remember that the old cloak boosted Drain-type moves. So much for that.
| Name: | Belt Pouch of the Ruinous Maiden | ||
| [Accessory - Item Bag (Pouch)] | Rarity: Ex | Quality: S+ | Durability: --- |
| Description: |
A belt pouch granted to the faithful of Ruin. It is missing the true blessings of the divinities of Ruin, but it will still protect the follower of the goddess. It grants a vast amount of storage space for the user, but as of now, the material-type items stored inside will rot and have their values lowered. |
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TCH! The pouch that was already attached to the belt of the dress is an item bag, but with a strict limitation. I guess it could be used to store throwing weapons, and the description explicitly mentioned "as of now", so there may be an upgrade in the future.
And that last line, what's it about? Is it a defense-type effect or something? It's too unclear...
But man, I didn't notice that the pouch was a replacement for the belt-type item I had before. I gotta take more notice of this kinda stuff.
| Name: | Anklet of Ruinous Dancer | ||
| [Accessory - Anklets] | Rarity: Ex | Quality: S+ | Durability: --- |
| Description: |
A pair of anklets granted to the faithful of Ruin. It is missing the true blessings of the divinities of Ruin, but it will still protect the follower of the goddess. Movement abilities are drastically enhanced, and one can even step on certain non-solid surfaces. |
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Oho~? This one seems nice. I wonder what surfaces I can use now. Unfortunately, there is no list of those in the current info, maybe due to [Identification] being too low-leveled.
The cost-down effect seems nice. Maybe I should consider looking at such "travel-based" skills at a later date. But that last line feels unnecessary. Unless I plan on acting like a queen. Not the royal kind of queen, but the R-18 type.
| Name: | Bangles of the Ruinous Monster | ||
| [Accessory - Bangles] | Rarity: Ex | Quality: S+ | Durability: --- |
| Description: |
A pair of bangles granted to the faithful of Ruin. It is missing the true blessings of the divinities of Ruin, but it will still protect the follower of the goddess. Increases the chance for physical restriction-type effects to take hold on targets, as well as increasing their duration and power. |
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Okay, this one is nasty. Binding-time UP, critical hit UP, and transformation UP? This is too good to be true! It's almost kinda scary...
| Name: | Ring of the Ruinous Trickster | ||
| [Accessory - Ring] | Rarity: Ex | Quality: S++ | Durability: --- |
| Description: |
A ring that is gifted to the faithful of Ruin. Its true powers are kept in check for now, but further blessings from the divinities of Ruin may change that. Vastly increases one's performance to trick and deceive others. |
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Forget what I said before. THIS IS THE REAL MASTERPIECE!! Strangely, some of the items are referred to as "Ruinous" while the rest is simply "Ruin"... Could it be that the nun outfit and all the Ruin items are considered a package deal or something?
Looking into the ring's description of its potential effects, maybe I should start looking into more magic. As a side gig, at most. But there's already so much I need to take care of...
Okay, I'll just focus on my classes for now. And test out how this new set of items works in the field. Time to party!