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‘Calm down… stay calm. The boss dropped more than just those two pieces of equipment. It would be wasteful to use my priority pick this early.’

Technically, he could get away with quietly pocketing a few items. After all, only Zane knew exactly how many things had dropped. But even in a game, there had to be some basic sense of honor. Otherwise, how would he be any different from the people in Rainflower?

He continued to the next item.

‘A weapon for Bards? This is the first time I’ve seen one.’

It added a cleansing effect to the class’ two core buffs, allowing any Bard who wielded it to more easily join elite parties. And it even had a silence skill, giving the user a degree of self-protection, perhaps even the ability to interrupt a boss’ ultimate.

That said, it was meant for support roles, and Zane wasn’t particularly interested.

The rest of the gear turned out to be Rare-grade. He glanced through them, one was a leather bracer, the other a pair of heavy armor boots.

Starry already had Veilweave Gloves, and Zane had Gray Wolf Gauntlets. While the new bracer had slightly better stats, fighting over a Level 25 Rare item wasn’t worth it. By the time they hit 25, they’d likely be geared in full Epic equipment anyway.

As for the boots, Starry was already wearing Wraithfire Boots, and Zane didn’t want to remove Bone Shield just yet. After all, it was a lifesaving skill!

In total, there were only five pieces of equipment. Compared to other stingy bosses, this Demonkin one was already quite generous.

Besides the equipment, two skill books had dropped as well. He took them out and examined them.

Blink and Voice of Renewal! One was the god-tier mobility skill for Mages, the other a rare single-target healing skill for Bards. Though it wasn’t listed explicitly, Zane suspected that Wishkeepers could likely learn them too.

What now? Which one should he choose first? Nearly everything here was useful! But with him playing two characters, he could only hold back and bide his time.

Only one item remained. As Starry pulled it from her bag, Zane clearly felt a surge of warmth spreading from his chest.

‘What’s going on? Is it the necklace?’

The moment Starry retrieved the item, the sensation in his chest grew even stronger.

It was a violet energy core. This was the very core the boss had used to unleash those ridiculous skills. He hadn’t expected it to drop.

“…” It’s broken?

It certainly looked that way. It resembled nothing more than a random stone you might pick up off the ground. It was hard to believe this had once been that radiant, glowing energy source.

And yet, the reaction from his chest was growing more intense. Even with clear skies above, from Starry’s perspective, a faint red glow had already begun to shimmer across his chest!

Something was definitely wrong with that stone.

“I’m taking this one,” Zane said through gritted teeth. He didn’t care how the rest of the loot was distributed, but this core, he had to get it. Anything that could react to the necklace was definitely not something ordinary.

The others were a little surprised. They had assumed Zane would go for the Thunder Halberd, since it seemed the most suitable for him out of everything that had dropped. Maybe this damaged core had some hidden value, but that was no longer their concern.

Suppressing the unease in his heart, Zane stashed the core into his inventory. Only then did the necklace finally quiet down.

“That’s all of it,” Starry said.

After seeing what had dropped, Duskwraith was relieved they hadn’t taken everything and run. Even getting a share would help give some explanation to the guildmates who had stayed up late grinding and ended up losing levels. “Shall we start dividing it up?”

Zane nodded.

First up was the Magewind Cloak. None of the five present were Mages. Duskwraith was clearly tempted. “You’re really giving this to us? A Level 25 Epic item is practically priceless at this stage, and with the Mana Amplify special skill… I can’t just take this for free.”

“Go ahead,” Zane replied with a nod.
“As for the Thunder Halberd…”
“Take it. I know you want it.”

“What? Emberveil, you’re not keeping it? That’s the Thunderburst Cannon, you know!” The memory of how deadly it had been was still vivid.

“Saying I don’t want it would be a lie, but Level 25 is too far away. I can’t afford to wait that long. I’ll just take the two skill books. The rest is yours.”

“I can’t accept that,” Duskwraith said firmly. He understood well that taking too much now would make any future relationship feel unbalanced. “The Thunder Halberd and the skill books belong to you two. We’ll take the rest.”

“…”

“I know how valuable this equipment is, but this is still the early stage of the game. Our guild’s funds are tight too. I’ll give you five hundred gold for it.”

Five hundred? Honestly, Zane hadn’t expected Duskwraith to be so generous. Since that was the case, there was no need to say more.

“Alright. Deal.”

Unlike Endless Sea, Duskwraith was a vice guildmaster. He had a full guild backing him, so Zane didn’t have to worry about it affecting his real-life situation. He accepted the gold without hesitation.

What Zane didn’t realize, however, was that for Nether Dawn, a rising star in the guild scene, building strong ties with skilled solo players was a smart investment. There was no telling when one of them might change their stance, and if they did, Nether Dawn could be the first name that came to mind. When that happened, it would be time to reap the rewards.

After wrapping up the trade and exchanging a few polite words, Duskwraith and the other two logged off. After staying online for so long, they had already reached their limit.

***

It was already 8 o’clock. They had spent far too much time inside the hidden dungeon.

Zane returned to his personal hideout. This dead-end alley was rarely visited by anyone, and with Starry keeping watch at the entrance, the place was about as safe as it could get.

He took out the core once again. Sure enough, that familiar sensation returned. He also removed the necklace, holding it in his other hand.

As the two objects drew closer to each other… Suddenly, the damaged core seemed to be pulled by an invisible force. It shot straight up and was absorbed directly into the necklace!

And then… nothing happened.

???

Zane could practically see the question marks hanging in the air.

‘Come on, give me something!’

Another three minutes passed.

‘Alright, nothing really has changed.’ Zane stared at the item’s stats, completely speechless. ‘What did you just eat? Show me some reaction!’ He shook the necklace, and then finally noticed it. The tiny ruby embedded in it had grown by nearly half its original size!

Originally, the Gray Wolf and blonde-haired girl engravings had covered almost the entire surface. Now, with the gemstone enlarged, there was just enough space for one more figure.

Could it be…¹