Back in another hotel, having booked a random room more than an hour on foot away from the market, the group rests. Sitting on the ground, a man, a woman, and a spider sit in a small circle, staring at each other in silence for a brief moment.
"So what are those gloves you mentioned when we walked here?" Menchi asks, staring at his hands, which show no difference.
Princess Jewel asked a question first! She is also not concerned about these silly gloves and wants to know about the upgraded grenades!
"For now, I've stopped wearing them. If I ever want to use them, I need to make some modifications. I guess for now my Set is still superior in most cases. Anyway, I guess I can explain it to you guys, but I'm not too much of an expert myself. It's been a while since I watched and read that series," Alex says, rubbing his head.
"Well, it's one of the most powerful things in that one series called Record of Ragnarok. Though I believe in the original, the series is named after the Valkyries. In any case, the gods, which are the real gods of our world, belonging to various time periods, religions, and mythologies, decide to kill off humans for whatever reason; I kinda forgot."
Princess Jewel is not impressed. What a silly treatment of Peasants. Peasants need to be ruled, not eradicated.
"..."
"..."
Ignoring Jewel's comment, Alex continues.
"But to give humans a shot at survival... to prove their worth, they do not simply kill them, but they hold a tournament, which in this case is named Ragnarok, where the world's strongest humans throughout history face up against the gods."
"The Valkyries, who are actually just a step below gods, as they are just demigods, somehow ally with the humans, and to give them a fighting chance, they merge with them and take on the form of a special weapon or item. Usually humans can't really wound gods... but with those items, they can damage, hurt, and, of course, kill the gods. These items are called Völundr, and they can become incredibly powerful and are the one thing the humans can use to kill the actual gods. This item is a mix between Jack the Ripper, a serial killer, and Hlökk, the third youngest Valkyrie. This pair of gloves is perhaps the weakest, but on the other hand, the most insane Volundr with the most uses."
"Why?" Menchi asks, curiously. "Gloves are not even a weapon in the first place."
What do the gloves have to do with the improved Grenades, Soulmate? Please tell Princess Jewel.
At least she asked nicely this time. She's learning.
"That's just it, Jewel," Alex says, petting the spider in front of him. "Anything they touch becomes a Völundr, a divine weapon. Though the gloves I got are a lesser form... without the actual Valkyrie inside. But the effect is still the same, only a little weaker. To be honest... for a Conjurer like me, there's nothing better. I've bragged a couple of times about having the most powerful innate skill, but mostly in my head... but I'm quite serious right now. This item has the potential to make me unstoppable."
Soulmates Grenades are incredibly effective with that ability, but so are all other items, conjured or real. It doesn't matter what Soulmate touches; it becomes highly dangerous and durable! Arrows, Grenades, even the Peasant Snake-claw, the ice armor, or the helmet.
"Yeah," Alex confirms. "The only downside is that if I want to use it, my precious Set Bonus from my Pluto set vanishes. I also lose a few bonuses, as the gloves have no stats, only effects. They essentially just buff anything I touch and want to strengthen. Anyway, no need to change things drastically, especially since I use my Conjurations as more of a Support instead of a weapon. I can rethink and refine my strategy later."
"You can also change the appearance and style of your items. For Gold Quality items, it will be pricy, but you can change the type of item to resemble your old gauntlets," Menchi points out. "I heard there are even costly cosmetic sets that not only change their look, but some of their basic properties. You've done it already, haven't you?"
"Yes, but those were only minor changes. Not changing a glove made of cloth into actual armor... still, it's worth a try. For now I'll wear my set, not the gloves. In any case... let me see the knife, Jewel!" Alex says, his eyes turning a little greedy. "
[Ben's Knife]
World: Hunter x Hunter
Quality: Deep Blue
Type: Knife / Dagger
Required Stats: AGI - 10, STR - 10, SPR - 6, PHY - 5
Durability: 50/50
Damage: 13-29
Effect: Critical strike chance increased by 5%.
Effect: Torn-Apart - 20% chance to increase damage, cutting power, and damage done to armor by 75%.
Note: The serial killer and blacksmith Benny Delon forged a unique knife for each victim he killed. There are 288 Ben's knives in total. This is No. 223, which he created after killing a skilled mercenary using an axe.
"Not bad," Alex notes. "Similar to the one I got last time and gave to Tereza. This one has a decent special effect, and it also raises crit. I guess it is usable, but this is an item more suitable for a strength build... I wonder if this has any practical uses. Probably not a bad alternative for an agile fighter who wants to deal more damage."
Princess Jewel got one more thing!
"What do you mean"? Alex wonders.
Princess Jewel picked it up when leaving the wrecked house, while Soulmate dueled the Peasant in the sky.
She then presents a [Bloody Chest] to Alex, which he quickly opens.
She got it from the goon Jason hired! Smart girl... spider....
You received 1 Soul Crystal (Small)
You received 1 Soul Crystal (Medium)
You received 10,000 FC
"Good job, Jewel! And now..." Alex says, opening the bloody chest he received from Jason.
You received 50,000 FC
You received Upgrade Token (Light Gold)
You received Han Solo's Action Boots
[Han Solo's Action Boots]
World: Star Wars
Quality: Deep Purple
Type: Boots (Heavy Leather)
Required Stats: STR - 6, PHY - 6, AGI - 10
Durability: 55/55
Effect: Increases Movement speed by 10%
Effect: Increases AGI by 3 (Flat boost, not increased by skills)
Effect: Rogue's Gamble: Increases Dodge chance by 5% and reduces the chance of receiving critical hits by 5%. Grants an additional chance to dodge depending on the incoming attack's potency, relative to your current condition. (Up to 10%)
Note: Made from the finest Shata leather, befitting of a true Rogue.
Note: Wearing these worn-out, yet carefully maintained boots makes it incredibly difficult to hit the wearer, who is granted almost mysterious dodging abilities.
[Upgrade Token]
World: Fantasy Realm
Quality: Light Gold
Effect: Raises the quality of a weapon/equipment type item by 1 stage. Limited to Deep Purple Items and below.
Note: Can't be traded!
Note: It may not work on some items; be very cautious when using it.
Note: Warning, trying to upgrade Deep Purple items bears a high failure rate and will always create a subpar item with a weaker Gold effect that can't be upgraded any further.
"What the fuck? That Jason guy was so rich... and these boots, they're incredible. Why did he have them? I remember him having Light Gold Boots... maybe these were his old ones," Alex wonders, his lips curling into a faint smile. "I could even upgrade them... that's just insane... but I have a few other choices to upgrade as well. Difficult decision...."
Congratulations, Soulmate!
"Thanks, Jewel. You and Menchi did great as well. Especially you, since you managed to grab that Knife for us. You are really good at stealing stuff. I can really respect that."
❤️
Meanwhile, Menchi tries to hold back her laughter, seeing Jewel celebrate Alex's 'compliment'.
"It was a great idea to accept Samir's bet... looks like we really profited this time!" Alex continues, feeling his body shake slightly in excitement.
"Your luck is as crazy as always," Menchi says, smiling, as she crosses her legs and leans backwards. "I can't believe it. How many resources did that guy have? He was almost as rich as you. Anyway, I'm glad we can leave this behind us."
"Yeah..." Alex agrees, trying to sound convinced.
As long as whoever was backing Jason will let us....
What now?
"Rest... create some new grenades, and then we have a meeting, exactly at noon tomorrow," Alex says. "Not like it makes sense to run around aimlessly. We'd look like fools."
"I agree," Menchi immediately replies. "We've drawn too much attention to ourselves."
She then activates the TV in the Hotel room and switches to a news channel that is reporting on the events that just happened.
"Increased police presence, terrorism in the streets, warfare, death count, auction security, Hunters present, large operation."
The group watches curiously, hearing several key phrases repeated again and again as the report loops through the same information, showing a few clips from the battle, mostly Teal'c blowing up cars and Menchi hiding behind cars. Jewel is only visible as a flash here and there.
Princess Jewel is being disrespected! She has received no airtime!
"Even I could barely see you, Jewel... you are just too stealthy," Alex comments. "You really mastered that technique of rapidly changing between Ren and Zetsu; it's also quite risky."
It isn't! Princess Jewel can switch almost instantly.
I can't... maybe I should focus on Nen in my free time. I'm not using my Nen abilities at my full potential, apparently.
After quickly informing Benezia, Alex does a quick recount of what he has already gained:
"Ten White Quality pieces of equipment and weapons we found on the bull market.
Five more White items and two Light Green items we bought at the store; Menchi introduced us to them for the first time.
Then, after we got our cash from Benezia, we bought 7 more Green items and found five White items on the market until we stumbled upon Jason and Teal'c. The goon hired by Jason gave us some Soul Crystals and FC as well.
Finally, we got the [Ben's Knife], the [Leave Card], [Hlökk's Divine Gloves (Remnant)], [Han Solo's Action Boots], and the [Upgrade Token], as well as 50,000 FC."
"Jewel... if things continue like this, you might actually be getting those gems and jewels for real, not earth trash but system items! This is much better than I expected," Alex says, smirking slightly.
Soulmate...
Soulmate...
❤️❤️❤️
Princess Jewel is so touched.
Is this considered a wedding proposal?
"Now this spider has completely lost it," Menchi yells, staring at Jewel in shock.
"Jewel... where the hell did I say that?" Alex adds, agreeing with Menchi.
Giving a gem to a beautiful woman is considered a proposal.
"Well, I'd better not give you anything then..." Alex mutters quietly, making Menchi smile.
"Also... Spider... nothing wrong with that, just saying," Menchi corrects her loudly.
Spiders have genders too! Racist! Anyway... soon... Princess Jewel will evolve!
"Menchi, she is right... well not about being a racist, more like a... specist or something," Alex argues.
"Probably into a bigger spider," Menchi adds. "These things tend to go wrong, especially with you, Jewel. I'll tell you, your greed will one day screw you over."
"Where is that coming from, Menchi?" Alex asks, now visibly confused and surprised. "What's going on?
"Forget it," Menchi says, shrugging, closing her eyes, lying on the couch. "Just a hunch..."
"That's rather ominous... I hate stuff like that," Alex says.
Princess Jewel agrees! How dare Menchi curse Princess Jewel?
"Let's forget the future and focus on the here and now... okay?" Alex suggests.
Well rested, the group leaves their hotel in a timely manner and walks towards the spider's hideout. Soon, they stand before the abandoned building, the scenery eerily quiet.
Looking at his [Destiny Watch (Orbment) R2], Alex checks the time: 11:42 AM.
"Time to go in," Alex says, breathing out, slightly tense.
Time to meet the spiders... all of them...!
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