NOVEL SIMPLE Chapter 41: Upgraded Equipment Gallore
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“I thought we had talked about this before, my son, but showing such frivolous methods of affection does not fit us prideful vampire kind!” Teressa began reprimanding her son. “I suppose it is fine if you do it alone, in privacy, but please refrain from doing any of such things outside. Or you would risk tainting the image of vampires and our pride. Emotional affection and any of such sexual actions are forbidden most of the time until marriage!”
“Hah, who would have known vampires are so stuck-up in this game lore…” Paul sighed, feeling slightly tired of Vlad’s mother’s tantrum. “Well, it isn’t that she’s homophobic… It is just that, apparently, vampires don’t do any of these things. I guess they’re very bloodthirsty and cold, emotionless people. Showing emotions is… a sign of weakness, apparently. So stupid.”
Although Paul felt like arguing against Vlad’s mother, he didn’t want to end up making her angrier, and he preferred to leave it at that and still stay on good terms with her. After all, she was a figure of great strength and a member of the nobility, his own avatar’s mother. Fighting against her would only make things worse.
She also just said it was okay to do it in privacy… So it kind of didn’t matter in the end. She was just cranky and wanted her son to first find a bride, but Vlad didn’t want that, so probably the conflict came from her feeling disbelief that her son would rather kiss with his servant instead of making the servant a bride instead!
It was overly convoluted, and he wasn’t in the mood for drama.
“Okay, sorry, mother,” Paul sighed. “I promise we will keep this in privacy, just as it was being done. You, instead, barged inside the room without even knocking, right?”
“That’s right! We were smooching in privacy, ma’am!” Chris barked back like an angry chihuahua. “So don’t get so angry over it! Let’s get along, please.”
“Hmph…! Such insolence, but... Hah, as the saviors of the city, I can’t really get angry at you,” Teressa sighed. “Okay, let’s just forget this happened. Anyway, I am glad you’re back. It is quite late, though. Would you like to eat lunch with us?”
“Let’s eat together, brother!” said Camilla, running towards Vlad and trying to drag him down. “You too, Ali! Let’s eat together! I like you; you’re pretty, like a girl, and funny! Can you marry, big brother, please?”
“E-Eh?!” Chris blushed a bit. “Hahaha! Am I pretty? It’s just how I was born~!” The incubus felt slightly embarrassed.
“Let’s go! Let’s go!” Camilla had become much more vocal lately, and Vlad and Alitheus ended up being dragged down by her and her Telekinesis.
They enjoyed what Teressa had cooked today, which was different; this time she prepared meat and purple-colored rice, accompanied by those blood-colored potatoes, now cut into pieces and roasted with herbs and salt.
"Oh, this meat is very tender; where is it from?” Alitheus wondered.
“It is Piggial meat,” said Teressa. “Expensive cattle are mostly raised for noble vampires to eat. They produce a lot of blood, and their meat also has a lot of blood, so they’re well suited for our consumption. I suppose a commoner such as yourself has never tasted such high-quality meat, haven’t you, Alitheus? Feel yourself lucky you’ve managed to fancy my son enough to be allowed within our home.”
“I’m not a commoner! I am…” Chris stopped talking when Paul looked at him. He was about to say he was the son of the Fairy King Oberon but stopped midway through. “Never mind…”
Paul had investigated that there were tensions between Realms; it wouldn’t be nice to reveal Chris had the blood of a being from another Realm for now. If it was, he didn’t know if he could guarantee his safety within the game, as political tensions could arise quite quickly.
“Anyways, mother, we’re almost done with our stuff,” said Vlad. “I have already upgraded my armor and my staff, and I’ve gained plenty of new Skills. Also, the curse I have has… somewhat weakened.”
“Oh, yes! Right, you’re an amazing alchemist and crafter now, aren’t you, my son?” Teressa wondered. “Being a Player truly gives you miraculous abilities and talents out of nowhere… And you said your Curse… was weakened?”
“Yes, the Curse that reduces my Stats by ninety percent and breaks the Meridians of my body, so I cannot cultivate a Physique like everyone else,” said Vlad. “The stat reduction has decreased to seventy percent now.”
“I-Is that so? The powers of Gluttony you possess… It seems they must have certain conditions, then! There might still be some hope for you! So how did it happen? Can I help you in any way? I’ve been quite busy dealing with managing the money and buying materials while managing the rebuilding of the city, but… do tell!”
“Hmm, well…” Vlad muttered. “If I could ask my mother to bring me high-level monster corpses to devour, wouldn’t that be for the better? I could easily please Gluttony and… No, she’s too busy, though. I can’t just bother her like this.”
Paul had considered taking advantage of the high-level NPC that was Vlad’s mother. But after careful consideration of how busy she was, he thought it was better for her to prioritize Elderbridge and rebuild it as soon as possible with whatever funds she had left.
The city was now rather vulnerable to outside attacks. From Monster Waves to Bandit or Barbarian Tribe Raids, or even a neighboring lord wanting to take advantage of things... It was too dangerous now.
“Don’t worry about it; I can do it on my own with Alitheus support,” said Vlad. “I just need to eat eating strong monsters and... foes. You know what I mean with that.”
“Oh! I see… Indeed, those who wielded the power of Gluttony in the past could devour things and attain their powers,” said his mother. “It has been roughly three thousand years since the last wielder of Gluttony died, the Orc known as Rokkan of Endless Hunger. A Berserk that terrorized half of the land of Obscuritas back then.”
“So he wasn’t a Vampire, huh?” Alitheus wondered.
“No, the Evil Gods whims are very unpredictable… Although they do tend to fancy us Vampires as we are the most noble and strongest race of Obscuritas, they have cursed others,” Teressa said. “But my son, I was wondering, have you awakened your Sin Power yet?”
“Sin Power?” asked Vlad. “You mean the Stat, I thought that was only something Demons could possess…”
“Goodness, no! Although Demons are born with innate Sin Power, you can also develop it,” said his mother. “Especially someone with a Sin Curse, this Power naturally courses through your body in vast quantities! It could help you conjure powerful Curse Spells and Dark Magic, especially the unique Element you should be able to wield, Gluttony Magic.”
“Gluttony Magic?” Vlad was shocked; he had no idea of such a thing. “I simply had no idea, mother... Do tell me more.”
“Well…”
Teressa explained to Vlad the Essence of a Sin Curse, and how Vlad should be able to innately feel its powers and use them other than to unleash the most basic ability of eating things.
“Within your heart, there should be a small clump of darkness.”
After having lunch, Vlad decided to receive the help of his mother in developing Sin Power, sitting cross-legged over a couch and closing his eyes, channeling his inner energies.
“Use your Blood Power and move it around your body; can you feel this sphere of power?”
“Hmm…”
Vlad constantly tried to find it, but it was rather hard. It was either too small or it simply didn’t exist.
“I just can’t… find anything.”
“Nothing?”
“No…”
“But this is… Perhaps your senses aren’t sharpened enough due to your current state. Let your mother give you a hand.”
Teressa walked behind Vlad and touched his back, channeling her own Blood Power into his body and expanding her senses into it.
FLASH!
The red Blood Power she controlled started to analyze his internal body.
“Hmm, where is- Ahh!”
Teressa’s eyes widened as her senses flared, sending warnings to her.
Suddenly, an enormous amount of pure darkness surged from within Vlad, devouring the Blood Power she was imbuing in him.
“Ugh!”
She quickly pulled back her hands, feeling completely shocked.
“Mother?!” Vlad asked, panicking. “Are you alright?”
“Did something happen?” Alitheus asked.
“Mama!” Camilla ran towards her mom.
“I’m fine…” Teressa sighed. “I just… saw something tremendous. I understand why you couldn’t find a little clump… Hahah…”
“Eh? Why?” Vlad asked.
“The Curse of Gluttony has already not only devoured your Meridians but fused with you to a level… I couldn’t believe it,” muttered Teressa. “Instead of a tiny lump of darkness, everything was that, but at the same time, it was also you.”
“What…?” Vlad felt confused. “Then what does this truly mean?”
“It means that your Curse has become a part of your very biology and life, my son, part of your body…” her mother sighed. “There’s… I’ll need to investigate further how to help you channel Sin Power. But if we take into consideration how it has been fusing with you… It probably could be a power you’ll awaken at any moment. But that can’t be done in the usual way.”
“I see…” Paul felt slightly disappointed, but he guessed he wouldn’t get a new Stat so easily anyway. "Thanks, mother; for now, we’ll excuse ourselves back to the workshop. We need to finish off some gear and other things.”
“I guess it couldn’t be helped at the end,” Teressa said. “Anyways, I’ll also be going on my way; there’s several things I need to assess. I’ll probably go to the library as well; I need to further investigate how Cursed Sins works. I have a feeling the current stage of your Sin Curse is… much more advanced than normal.”
“Okay, thank you,” Vlad sighed. “Then, let’s go; we can’t waste time.”
“Yeah, yeah~” Alitheus followed his vampire master while flying carefreely.
“Mama, can I stay with Big Brother and Alitheus?” Camilla wondered.
“Fine, you can.” Teressa nodded. “Take good care of your sister, my son.”
“Ah… Okay then.”
As they moved back to the workshop, Camilla was able to see firsthand how her brother worked in his things. Fascinated by alchemy and crafting, she ended up trying to imitate him several times.
Paul also worked on Alitheus equipment this time, upgrading it using the materials of the raid boss and giving him a more crimson color and fashion, making the succubus have a wilder look with his already punk-themed equipment, which gained colorful red fur and bone spikes.
[You have upgraded several pieces of equipment!]
[The Subclass Skills: [Alchemy (C): Lv6] [Crafting (D): Lv4] [Runic Engravement (B): Lv4] [Sewing (D): Lv4] have Leveled Up!]
“Hot damn! You really upgraded everything so quickly! You’ve gotten really good at this, dude!” Chris celebrated, spinning around while wearing his new equipment. “Even the Trident and the Bow got better! Can’t you upgrade the accessories too?”
Chris glanced at his equipment while his heart was beating; it was all upgraded and even better than before!
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[Blazing Bat Queen’s Wild Punk Devil Set (Top, Shorts, Boots)]
{Item Type}: [Armor] [Clothes] [Combined Set]
{Item Quality}: [A Grade]
{Item Requirement}: [Incubus Only]
{Item Durability}: [50.000/50.000]
{Item Effects}: [Arcana]: [12.000/12.000] [Physical Defense]: [6.000] [Magical Defense]: [12.000] [Strength]: [+1.000] [Vitality]: [+1.500] [Dexterity]: [+2.000]
{Runic Engravements}: [Tier 3 Earth Spell: Stone Skin] (Top) [Tier 3 Fire Spell: Blazing Demon Strength] (Shorts) [Tier 3 Wind Spell: Whirlwind Aura] (Boots)
{Item Abilities}
[Blazing Bat Queen’s Set]: Equipment reinforced using the pelt, bones, fangs, claws, and fur of a Raid Boss. Once all set pieces are equipped, their stats combine and share the same Durability. When all set pieces are equipped and Arcana is imbued, a {Blazing Phantom Blazing Bat Veil} will be conjured, protecting the user from a lethal attack twice a day and deflecting 10% of the damage back to the foe. Once the Veil effect is used, a Blazing Phantom Bat Queen will be summoned for the next hour, sharing the equipment stats plus 50% of the wearer’s stats and possessing unique abilities.
{Description}
A powerful set for any Incubus, an upgraded version of their original equipment set, upgraded once using the black wolf pelt and the phantasmal ingots, and again using the materials of a mighty Raid Boss. It is said that it can protect its wearer from a lethal blow twice a day and summon a mighty protector. Made by a Vampire Prince for their beloved Incubus Concubine.
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[Infernal Vampiric Devil Trident]
{Item Type}: [Vampiric Weapon] [Fire Element Weapon] [Trident]
{Item Quality}: [A+++ Grade]
{Item Requirement}: [Incubus Only]
{Item Durability}: [25.000/25.000]
{Item Effects}: [Arcana]: [12.000/12.000] [Physical Damage]: [8.000] [Magic Damage]: [4.000]
{Runic Engravements}: [Tier 1 Wind Spell: Float] [Tier 3 Earth Spell: Stone Fortress] [Tier 3: Blood Spell: Blood Predation] [Tier 3 Curse Spell: Body Crippling Curse] [Tier 3 Thunder Spell: Thunderbolt Strike]
{Item Abilities}
[Infernal Vampiric Devil Fangs]: This trident has been upgraded and imbued with Phantasmal Obsidian Steel and the Fangs of Vampiric Bats, and then further upgraded using a Raid Boss material, granting it the ability to directly absorb Life Force from any wound dealt against a foe, weakening them in the process, and also spreading cursed flames that deal damage constantly. Each wound that has drained some lifeforce will decrease the foe’s Defense and Strength by -5%, for a maximum debuff of -50% for 15 Minutes and the Cursed Flames will deal 0.5% damage per second for 10 seconds, can be stacked indefinitely.
{Description}
An old trident that was remade anew using high-quality materials, embedded with several useful Spells and the ability to drain energy from foes and targets, has become a weapon powerful enough to compete with the most prized treasures. However, only the mischievous Incubus may wield the weapon’s power.
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[Magic Bow: Blazing Mistress of the Dark Moon]
{Item Type}: [Magic Bow] [Fire Element Weapon] [Weapon]
{Item Quality}: [A+ Grade]
{Item Requirement}: [Dark Affinity, Incubus, Moon Elf Only]
{Item Durability}: [12.000/12.000]
{Item Effects}: [Arcana]: [15.000/15.000] [Physical Damage]: [5.000] [Magic Damage]: [7.000]
{Runic Engravements}: [Tier 3 Wind Spell: Storm Arrow] [Tier 3 Fire Spell: Infernal Arrow] [Tier 3 Ice Spell: Frost Arrow] [Tier 3 Curse Spell: Abyssal Cursed Arrow] [Tier 3 Poison Spell: Decaying Poison Arrow] [Tier 3 Thunder Spell: Thunderous Paralyzing Arrow]
{Item Abilities}
[Blazing Mistress Assassin’s Bow]: A bow imbued with Phantasmal Obsidian Steel, further upgraded using a Raid Boss’ materials, and embedded with many magic arrow spells, perfectly made to be used as a long-ranged, damage dealing magic bow. However, its name also has a meaning. When equipped, it encompasses the wielder on a Veil of Dark Flames that increases their Stealth abilities and decreases the chances of being spotted by foes, but when spotted by foes, the veil fires against the foe and explodes, dealing damage based on 50% of the user’s Arcana. Additionally, whenever an arrow strikes down a foe by surprise, the bow will regain 35% of the Arcana spent, and there’s a 10% chance the arrow ignores 30% of the foe’s defenses.
{Description}
An incredible magic bow forged with great effort, made entirely out of Phantom Obsidian Steel, further upgraded using materials from a mighty Raid Boss, and embedded with powerful spells. This weapon was made for those who dislike fighting at close range and have good dexterity and agility. However, due to the bow’s nature, only Incubus and Moon Elves may equip it.
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Chris newly upgraded equipment looked rather crisp, with better stat boosts, stronger spells, and abilities, and he could hardly wait to test them on a battle.
“I can’t really upgrade them,” said Paul. “They’re non-upgradable. Most things given by the System are, apparently. I think it incentivizes players to make their own things instead. Every piece of equipment has its own upgrade limit, though, and all our equipment just reached it; we can’t upgrade it past this point.”
“Wait, really? Damn, I guess we’ll have to find something better later,” Chris shrugged. “But for now, these are top-notch stuff!”
“Yeah, the thing is, there’s nothing saying we can’t dismantle them until they break, and then we remake them again using new pieces of equipment… and make an “upgraded” version even though it’s a new piece of equipment altogether,” Vlad smiled mischievously.
“Oooh! Big brother’s smart! He figured it out!” Camilla clapped as she was making a little hat using her newly acquired sewing Skill. “I’ll make you a yarn hat too, Alitheus!”
“Aww, really? Thanks a lot!” Chris giggled, patting little Camilla in the head. “So how’s your armor and that new sword, though?”
“Wanna see?” Vlad smiled, showing his equipment stats.
The first was his wonderful sword.
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[Wizard Knight’s Heroic Magic Blade]
{Item Type}: [Magic Sword] [Elemental Weapon]
{Item Quality}: [A+++ Grade]
{Item Requirement}: [10.000+ Arcana Stat]
{Item Durability}: [30.000/30.000]
{Item Effects}: [Arcana]: [24.000/24.000] [Physical Damage]: [8.500] [Magic Damage]: [8.500]
{Runic Engravements}: [Tier 3 Wind Spell: Soar] [Tier 3 Fire Spell: Small Meteor] [Tier 3 Earth Spell: Stone Fortress] [Tier 3 Ice Spell: Frost Beam] [Tier 3 Light Spell: Sunshine Beam] [Tier 3 Water Spell: Sea Snake] [Tier 3 Life Spell: Healing] [Tier 3 Alchemy Spell: Geomancy]
{Abilities}
[Wizard Knight’s Legacy]: A magic blade created by combining a heroic sword with a powerful wand for wizards. It possesses both the sharpness of the blade and the magic power of the wand. When imbuing Arcana into the blade, enhances the range of all physical attacks by 5 meters and grants the blade the ability to break through Magic based on the Spell Tier and the Arcana used.
{Description}
A Special Magic Blade crafted by a Vampire Prince that has decided to combine the efficiency of wands with the sharpness of blades. It comes imbued with many useful elemental Spells, and can even break through other Magic Spells if given enough Arcana.
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His wand had become a full-fledged sword now, imbued with two new spells and upgraded spells as well, and with the potency to even break spells and attack from a distance.
And lastly, his armor.
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[Cursed Vampire Arcanist Paladin Full-Body Armor (Helmet, Chest, Arms, Gloves, Legs, Boots)]
{Item Type}: [Armor] [Full Body Set] [Combined Set]
{Item Quality}: [A+++ Grade]
{Item Requirement}: [Vampire Only, 10.000+ Blood Power and Soul Aether.]
{Item Durability}: [120.000/120.000]
{Item Effects}: [Arcana]: [50.000/50.000] [Physical Defense]: [25.000] [Magical Defense]: [15.000] [Strength]: [+3.000] [Vitality]: [+3.000]
{Runic Engravements}: [Tier 3 Life Magic: Boost Senses] (Helmet) [Tier 3 Wind Spell: Feather Weighted] [Tier 3 Fire Spell: Infernal Aura] (Chest) [Tier 3 Curse Magic: Strength Crippling Curse] [Tier 3 Earth Magic: Stone Giant’s Fist] (Gloves) [Tier 3 Light Magic: Sunlight Swords] (Legs) [Tier 3 Wind Spell: Whirlwind Aura] [Tier 3 Wind Spell: Soar] (Boots)
{Item Abilities}
[Cursed Arcanist Paladin Armor]: When all set pieces are equipped together, it increases All Stats Bonuses by 30%, Magic Damage Dealt by 40%, and decreases Arcana cost of Spells below Tier 5 by 30%. When conjuring Spells, Residual Arcana will accumulate inside the Armor, which can then be released as [Elemental Magic Shockwave] against foes, dealing 70% Damage based on maximum Blood Power and Arcana Stats and of any Element previously chosen. Cooldown: 25 Seconds.
[Cursed Ghostly Armor]: Whenever the Armor receives Damage to its Durability, it will accumulate Cursed Essence based on damage taken, which can then be used to Summon one [Cursed Ghost Clone], which will copy 60% of the user’s Stats and Abilities (without including any debuff or buff). Cooldown: 40 Minutes after Clone is destroyed.
{Description}
An incredible set of armor specifically created for Vampires who had comprehended the power of the Soul and Arcana, Arcanist Paladins, who have fallen into the dark side and absorbed the power of Curses. Using this armor, their magical powers will be enhanced, and they will even be able to summon a clone of themselves to aid them in battle.
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It was the same as before, mostly, but everything was much better. Even the smallest of abilities had been upgraded, and the arrangement of spells had also been greatly boosted.
Above all, the amount of bonus stats was really good, especially all of that Arcana!
“With this, I think we’re done for the day.” Vlad smiled with a nod.
“Wait, what? We’re logging off already? Can’t we go thug hunting as we talked?” wondered Chris. “Come on, while it’s the weekend?”
“Not yet; I need to first cultivate some more, use the Raid Points to purchase items in the Raid Shop, learn more Magic, and also take care of Camilla here,” Vlad said with an expressionless face.
“Boring…” Chris sighed. “Then I’m going off to the nearest dungeon to farm a bit! Can I?”
“A-Alitheus, you’re leaving?” Camilla wondered. “Stay! Let’s play!”
“B-But…” Chris was weak toward Camilla; the girl’s puppy eyes were all it took for him to agree. “Fine…”
As Vlad smiled by seeing them play and Camilla requesting Chris to wear dresses and pretend to be a princess from a foreign country in their teatime game, he moved onto checking his soul and body.
RUMBLE!
If it wasn’t because something was already happening outside the city, creating a huge commotion that shook half the city.
Something powerful smashed the walls apart—something strong.
“Hahahaha! Raid this run-down place! Steal every single damn thing, you bastards!”
A giant, muscular orc riding a giant wingless dragon led an army of a hundred bandits into Elderbridge.
Vlad watched the scene through the window with Chris and Camilla, as they were all growing worried.
Yet, the vampire couldn’t help but smirk.
“Well, isn’t this convenient? Let’s test our equipment then, Chris.”
Ding!
[The new {Background Event}: [Defend Elderbridge from the Black Fang Bandits] has begun!]
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