Vol. 3: Chapter 18
With the final battle looming, the boisterous energy of the past two days had evaporated. A focused silence had settled over the players. Most were now grinding quests with quiet intensity, determined to maximize their power before the fight.
The average player, having only scraped together a thousand or so points, couldn't dream of the Ascendant gear in the Armory. Their goal was more modest: save up for one or two legendary items, or, for the more pragmatic, a full set of epic gear. Almost without exception, everyone chose PVE-focused equipment.
Of all the villages, none were as united or motivated as Starlight Village. They might be hot-tempered, a bit dense, and easily tricked by NPCs, but their love for their home was absolute. After all, they had built most of it themselves, one quest reward and one material turn-in at a time.
Lila woke up just after seven, saw the notifications on her phone, and scarfed down breakfast before logging into the game. She sprinted to the nearest mailbox and found a new message waiting.
[From]: Gilded Hand
[Subject]: Delivered as promised.
[Attached]: [Dragonbane]
"YES!"
Lila leaped into the air, her heart hammering against her ribs. A triumphant shout was trapped in her chest, fighting to get out. She closed her eyes and took several deep, steadying breaths, forcing the wave of pure adrenaline to subside.
When she opened her eyes again, she accepted the attachment. A clear, crisp chime echoed as the system registered the transaction.
System: You have obtained the Exalted weapon [Dragonbane]. The equipment leaderboards have been updated.
At the exact same moment, a thunderous announcement shook the server.
System: Player Lila has obtained the Exalted weapon [Dragonbane]!
The message jolted the all-night grinders awake.
"Holy crap, Exalted weapon!"
"I'm so jealous I could die."
"See, that's what you get for running with Dawnbreaker. Too bad he's not into guys, or I'd be all over that."
"Gilded Hand must have made it. But the announcement said he forged two weapons. Where's the other one?"
"Dude, look at the weapon rankings! Draevan's Obsidian Greatsword is gone!"
As the discussion raged, the system provided the answer.
This text was taken from NovelFire. Help the author by reading the original version there.
System: Player Draevan has obtained the Exalted weapon [Ashfang]!
The server chat went insane.
"AHHHHHHH!"
"I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!!!"
"Why Lila and Draevan?!"
"Did Dawnbreaker just get cucked?"
Most players were just having fun, shitposting in the world channel. Thankfully, Lila was in too good a mood to care.
Lila gazed at the weapon in her hands, unable to look away.
[Dragonbane] (Exalted)
Physical Attack: 12,200
Strength: +3000
Constitution: +3000
[Sanguine Feast]: Dragonbane grows in power by consuming the blood of powerful creatures. (Can be upgraded by defeating a certain number of bosses).
[Bloodthirst]: Attacks have a chance to cause enemies to drop globules of vitality. Absorbing them restores 10,000 HP to the wielder.
[Guardian's Ward]: While the wielder is not in an attack animation, Dragonbane will automatically block incoming attacks. The effectiveness is based on the difference between the attacker's stats and the wielder's. (Effect is halved against magic).
[Cleave]: Basic attacks and certain skills deal area-of-effect damage to nearby enemies.
Requirement: 4000 Strength
...
"This is..."
Lila was speechless. The stats were astronomical. It was effectively an 18,200 attack power boost and a 60,000 HP increase, not to mention the lifesteal, the passive defense, and the AOE. With this, she could solo entire packs of trash mobs outside the village. It was a god-tier farming weapon.
There was just one problem. That Strength requirement.
Her own Strength was 2529. How was she supposed to reach 4000?
She found her answer at the Armory.
[Savage Strength Elixir]
Increases Strength by 1000 for 15 seconds. 2-hour cooldown.
Cost: 1000 Points
It was clearly a "burn phase" potion for fighting the final boss. At 1000 points—the price of a level 25 Ascendant item—it was far too expensive for casual use. And, of course, potions like this didn't stack. Chugging two wasn't an option.
So, that left a deficit of 471 Strength. The temporary potions from the Land of the Behemoth could add another 100. That left 371.
Lila swapped out her gear mentally. Equipping a level 30 Ascendant greatsword—like Argent’s—would give her another 200 Strength.
That left 171. Simple. Argent's Blessing of Strength buff would cover the rest. All she had to do was wait for her to log on.
Just then, Hazel and Rena appeared, logging in for the day. They saw the server chat buzzing about Ashfang and Dragonbane and ran over, their faces beaming. They knew exactly who Dragonbane belonged to.
"Lila! Did you equip it? Let's see!" Hazel said excitedly.
Lila shook her head. "Not yet. Not enough Strength. I'm waiting for Argent to get on and give me a buff." She gestured toward the quartermaster's inventory. "Check out all the new stuff they added."
"Whoa... hey, are those the five Exalted items?"
"Wow, Hazel, look! There's an Exalted shield!" Rena pointed out.
"Hehe, and an Exalted staff. That one's perfect for you, Rena."
"Boss, look at the price," Hazel said. "Sixty thousand points. Right now, we're the only three who can afford one."
"Oh," Lila said, her interest elsewhere. Her entire focus was on Dragonbane.
The three of them opened the Exalted exchange page and began to browse.
***
On the fifth floor of The Traveler's Rest Inn, the tallest commercial building in Starlight Village, a few players leaned against the balcony railing, looking down at the bustling crowds below.
"It's strange," one of them said. "This place... it really feels like home."
"Yeah," another agreed. "In other games, I'd spend a few days in the starting village and never look back. I wouldn't even remember its name."
"But here... I don't know, it feels like a second home. Even when I'm logged off, I find myself thinking about it."
"I get that too."
They fell silent, their gazes shifting to the horizon. In the distance, a black tide was moving, the dark, massive legion of the orcs, marching steadily toward them.