Chapter 422 - A lot of items (Patreon)

Have our precious group of traitors been trying to reach this palace? Hurrying, desperate to find it. Either scared someone will find it before them or that the corpses will turn into lurkers, which would probably make it impossible for them to deal with? They might be dead, but seeing the equipment, they used to be powerful, something a group like Eugan's would have no chance to deal with.

The last point is that they might not know how long the corpses have been lying there since they spotted them and probably were unable to get the equipment. So these corpses in front of me could turn into lurkers right away or in a few months. The lurkers respawn after a year anyway.

Moving from corpse to corpse, I use my senses and quickly collect all the items. There is a pile of upper epic ones, armors, some orbs, and more. There are even plenty of materials and mana stones with ciphered information.

Some interesting clothes in the bags with threads made of some different material, making the clothes feel normal but have the durability of maybe upper rare armor. There are plenty of metals too.

All of the items are something these people had on them while traveling. They are not the most valuable to the point of being similar to the arcane alloy I have but not that far off. I do wonder if they have such more valuable things stored somewhere else, maybe with their guild?

Of course, the most valuable are the three items. Something Eugan and her group must be after. Something they are willing to let people die for. The three arcane damaged items.

Bloodthirst (Arcane, Damaged) - Bloodthirst thrived on the essence of life, growing stronger with each battle. Its hunger for blood has lessened, but it still sporadically draws strength from fresh wounds, offering glimpses of its once insatiable power.

Echo Gauntlet (Arcane, Damaged) - The Echo Gauntlet could up to a certain level replicate any spell or ability it encountered. Though its power has waned, it can mimic nearby magical effects with unpredictable precision.

Golem Heart (Arcane, Damaged) - Golem Heart could animate stone and metal, bringing golems to life. Now, its core is cracked, but it sporadically imbues nearby objects with a flicker of life, making them move or respond for short durations, echoing its once grand animating power.

Bloodthirst is an interesting one because of the description it has. Growing stronger with each battle and thirst for blood? What does it even mean, what are the effects? As it is now, it is a claymore with a blade chipped in multiple places and with its inscriptions partially messed up. Its blade is made out of a white metal that seems to have an eerie blood-red shine to it.

Echo gauntlet, already on my right hand, is looking more like a glove, and it reaches only slightly over my wrist. It's made out of smooth light brown leather that feels soft, and inside of it are myriad threads of some material woven into inscriptions. The back of that glove is covered with a few pieces of metal, mainly on the back of the hand. The metal is black, and there are some inscriptions as well together with some damage.

The effect sounds way too powerful, so I'm already curious about its limitations. Probably only up to a certain level, limited amount of uses, or requiring a lot of mana for not that great a return.

It's interesting anyway.

Golem Heart is a piece of clay-like material that is way tougher and more mysterious than it should be. It's light brown in color and very smooth. The piece seems to be missing a small part as well.

All three of the items are amazing, they are great, and even now I could sell all three of them for a nice sum of shards, even though probably not that much because of the damage.

From Flamebearer, I know how powerful arcane weapons, even damaged ones, can be.

So now I have these three, then a staff from the mage lurker we met at the start, a dagger and mace from Roculus, and a pile of upper epic weapons.

It's quite a lot and from a group that was probably one of the better ones. Even these good upper epic items would be a nice addition to any group. Materials probably as well. There is so much I wonder if there is an item for storage. Soon I won't be able to carry it all.

Surprisingly, Shayna isn't trying anything. Even as I act as if I became careless because of my greedy hoarding of items, she doesn't attack. There isn't a single attempt from her, nor does she act in a weird way. Sure, there is some greed in her eyes, but that's it, she doesn't ask me for weapons nor complains.

"Do you think there might be a good reason why lurkers seem to avoid this area? As much as that group lured some away, there should be more on us as we killed a few. This is too unnerving," Shayna says while looking around.

"Isn't it obvious? We probably are in the territory of a powerful named lurker. The guy who did this," I gesture at the corpses.

At the same time, I keep checking the area with my mana and also Shayna. Just in case she might be sending a signal to the group. Roculus was part of them, so why the hell wouldn't she be? Sure, it would be weird for her to stay with me, but who the hell would know.

"So why aren't you taking some of the items?" I ask curiously, deciding to go with a more direct way.

"Because we will probably die anyway. Just take them, I don't want to die while carrying bags of them on my back." Even though her words, she seems calm. Determined even.

There is some truth to her words but dying isn't something I plan to do.

"So what item do you want? You can pick some." It pains me, but I offer her. Without her, I would have much more trouble. I'm not stubborn enough to not accept that.

Out of nowhere Shayna smiles, almost shyly, "I already took one while you weren't looking. I found a ring on one of the corpses," she admits.

Okay, give me back my feelings and take back what you just said.

"Show me," I challenge her, and she does so right away.

Phantom Ring (Arcane, Damaged) - Phantom Ring once provided unparalleled stealth and silent movement. It now intermittently bestows the wearer with heightened stealth, making them nearly undetectable for short periods.

Such a cursed object, it even has phantom in the name. It should be destroyed.

Checking the timer, I confirm that under an hour remains until my Stay Token wears off. Hopefully, after that, I will be sent to the 6th floor. It wouldn't make that much sense for the system to keep me here. I hope. It would also mean I wouldn't have to reach the safe zone, unlike Shayna.

Looking at Shayna, I sigh. I'm really getting weaker.

"Use the ring and run away."

My answer seems to surprise her, her eyes and hair changing color to pink, "It clearly didn't help its previous owner."

"Just slow down your heartbeat as much as possible, and if you think someone is tracking you, stop and don't move. It should be fine otherwise. I don't even think I would be able to detect you while using a damaged arcane item to hide. And I'm quite good at detection."

For a moment, she just stares at me, blinking slowly and hesitating, "Are you sure? You seem to have a plan, but..."

"Go before I take that ring."

That brings a thankful smile to her face, her hair color changing to bright yellow. "I guess you have a plan. Okay then, I will see you, Noname. You know my name, so look for me the next time you come to Beyond. And good luck," she says briefly.

Everyone is on their own here, and their life is the most important, so she doesn't hesitate much. It's very reasonable, and that short time we survived here together can't be valued over your own life. It's as simple as that.

I watch as she jumps over a few craters and, at the top of one of the hills, waves to me for the last time before putting the ring on. She slowly disappears from my sight, her smile the last thing I see.

Then I'm left alone and spend a short time examining the corpses, looking for anything useful. I go through the pockets, and clothes, and even find some dead bodies further away. All of them seem to be destroyed by the same type of damage - a raw force from a very powerful body. It even seems like some of them got stuck in place, unable to move under that force which eventually tore them apart.

Well, it seems to be about time, I should start getting ready.

I turn around, take a step, my arm moves swiftly, and I reach into the air to grab an invisible wrist. Oscillating mana coats my free hand, and I slash it in front of me.

From the air, Shayna slowly appears, her arm with the ring cut off and falling to the ground, blood spraying from her shoulder.

I hold her other hand by the wrist, in which she holds a dagger made of that transparent, difficult-to-sense mana of hers. The dagger she tried to stab into my eye and brain.

She tries to attack me again, but I bury my hand into her leg and tear off a piece of flesh, causing pain that disrupts her concentration. I add a punch into her chest that breaks a few ribs.

Even though, she is not a normal person and even in this state, she tries to attack me again, her disruption crashing against me combined with mana projectiles she creates.

I block it off easily and then fire a disruption of my own, making her lose control over her skills.

Shayna then stands there, without an arm, bleeding from a leg.

"I thought you had finally let your guard down with me," she says simply.

Finally let your guard down, she says, as if it was something she had planned from the start.

There are no excuses, no lame explanations. She just breathes heavily while determinedly staring into my eyes, a constant attempt of her trying to use her mana to be found.

In the end, the three or four arcane items seem to be really worth that much to some people. Enough to risk their lives for, enough to cloud their thinking.

If she asked, I would split these four items with her evenly. I feel that would be fair after what we went through. I would never betray her over some measly item.

But she had a different opinion; she wanted it all, even if it meant killing me. In this moment, all the good feelings she had fostered in me are gone.

I let thermal energy coat my hand and touch her arm where I had cut it off, the wound sizzling and flesh burning as the heat I create burns the wound and stops the bleeding. Then I do the same with her leg where I tore a piece off.

The air becomes full of the disgusting smell of burned flesh, and gradually sweat forms on her forehead, and her hair starts turning gray.

I think it's the first time they are showing a real emotion instead of what she wanted to show.

“Noname, listen, I…” she starts, but before she can finish, I coat my finger in oscillating mana and stab it into her side.

Then I send thermal energy through.

When she opens her mouth to scream, I use [Redistribution] to hold her movement, and only her eyes show the pain.

I have plenty of questions I wanted to ask.

***

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