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  In MSS, monsters have stats.

  And naturally, if a monster has stats, it means those stats can be buffed or debuffed. Up to this fact, World: MSS doesn’t stray too far from other games. Plenty of games have stat blocks for monsters. HP, MP, Attack, even things like Stagger Meters. But what’s unique about MSS is the fact that monsters have Cores, and those Cores have abilities.

  On top of all that, there’s a chance that a monster can wield a Item.

  Not nameless Sword or Mace or Shield. I’m talking items that are considered drops, or loot. Items with a price tag and grading and classifications. Like a [Common] versus a [Legendary] item. In MSS, when a Monster wields an item, they receive all the abilities and buffs that come with equipping that monster. But there’s a bright side to it too, if a monster is wielding an item, there’s a chance that specific item will drop.

  Abysmally low chances. But it's there; if a monster wields a weapon, there's a chance you could grab it for yourself. Whether it's .001% chance or 1%. It's never 0%.

  That’s why certain end-gear can only be farmed from higher-grade monsters. Certain items will only drop if you encounter that specific breed of monster which is carrying that specific item. It’s not like they’re a Variant or anything either, it’s just up to chance. Sometimes the monster is carrying a [Legendary] mace, other times it’s just carrying a [Common] mace.

  That’s why when I used to see a monster carrying an item of [Unique] or above, I always hunted it. No matter what.

  And that’s what happened today. The [Samsoogook], through its ability, had equipped itself with the spear [Strange Antler], a [Legendary]-class item.

  Not just a [Legendary], but a [Plurality].

  Just to reiterate, the grading of items in MSS can be split into [Common], [Uncommon], [Rare], [Unique] and then finally [Artifact] and [Legendary] which are on the same rank. [Artifacts] tend to be geared towards casters and backliners –like Robes, Boots and even Staffs. They often provide a myriad of [Stat] boosts under the [Mental] stat tree. [Legendary] items are their counterparts, providing buffs under the [Physical] stat tree.

  And a [Plurality] simply refers to a Set Item in that’s of [Legendary] or [Artifact] rank.

  A lot of them are BIS or Best-in-Slot.

  My Lunar Shield is a [Legendary Plurality] and I have to say, it’s provided a lot of benefit. Thanks to its synergy with my [Arcane Masochism] from the [Ujo] Core, I’ve snowballed pretty hard. There’s no way I could’ve gotten this strong in such a short amount of time without it.

  And right now, in front of my party was another one.

  [Strange Antler].

  A Spear.

  “T-That’s a Legendary-class item. So my eyes weren’t deceiving me.” I could hear Kyrian swallow next to me. Out of all of the party members, he and Aurora probably had the most experience with things like this. He was also something like the Accountant of our group, keeping track of expenses and budget. Not the best, but he was what we had.

  I could practically hear the wheels in his head turning.

  “Ms. Aurora, how much would that Spear cost? I’ve only seen it in books so I’m unsure.” Kyrian trailed off.

  Now that Kyrian had confessed to having ill-will with Aurora before, I could notice the underlying apologetic tone of remorse there.

  I remained silent, trying to signal Skaris and Stole to do the same. Replaying previous conversations in my head, there was definitely a softening in Kyrian’s tone towards her. It wasn’t an apology, not quite. But something akin to paving the road for one.

  Aurora stood up, wincing at the pain. No one tried to stop her, out of respect.

  She was the Shielder of our party and if she wanted to stand up, we would let her.

  She walked over to the spear, running her fingers of the haft. “I must confess, I’ve never seen one in real life either, Mr. Kyrian.” Aurora had an Auctioneer License and she was the best we had in our party at putting a price on things. “But Mr. Lock’s shield itself costs over 170,000 gold. And that’s a Shield. Spear on the other hand…”

  Understandably, things like Shields were the cheapest of the items. How much would this Spear be? 200K, Maybe 250K?

  “Conservatively, I’d put it around 350,000 gold. Perhaps 400,000 gold if we put it up for auction ourselves instead of bringing in the Guild. Maybe even more.”

  “350,000 gold?! We could live off of that for-”

  “We’re fucking rich! Sis Aurora, let’s sell this thing right away!”

  My eyeballs almost popped out. “What?! But my shield was-”

  Aurora sent me an apologetic look. “Well, since we were letting you claim the Shield, I set the price as 176,000 at the time. But if we brought it to a private auction, I’m sure we could have gotten closer to 250,000 gold for it.”

  That was enough gold to tempt me. But [Legendary] items aren’t valuable because of how much they cost. They’re valuable because even if you have the money, they might not be around. Like I said, the value of my Shield can’t be calculated by coin. It might not be the centerpiece of my fights so far, but it’s done more than enough.

  Appreciating Aurora’s Auctioneer License, I looked at the spear.

  “There was no Core drops from this raid. No other items. Just the Spear.” Kyrian noted.

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  I knew what he was saying.

  We spent a whole lot of potions and they’re expensive. And knowing Kyrian, he was also keeping in mind the fact that our next stop was a group of island that belonged to Merchants; the Free Trader’s League. My plan was to buy Cores there, and a lot of them.

  400,000 gold could go a long way in buying multiple Cores of grade-7. Maybe even two grade-6 Cores.

  Skaris and Stole had leveled up in this fight with room for more Cores.

  I looked to Skaris who had been silent throughout this exchange.

  “Skaris, you’re the only one among us that uses a Spear. What do you think?”

  Skaris didn’t speak for awhile, his eyes fixed on the Spear. He took it from Aurora and brandished it, trying out a few stabs.

  “...I will lissssten to what you have to sssay, Sssslaveborn.” He said at last.

  I raised an eyebrow at him. “Really?”

  He shrugged.

  It wasn’t an air of dejectedness he was giving off. Something more like… acceptance?

  “Even now, I have grown sssstronger than many of the Walkers whom I resssspected from my village.” He spread his hand and closed it a few times. “I know that the choicssse you make issss never to make any of ussss weaker. The choicsssses you make might not make sssenssse at the time, and there’ssss alwaysss a sssscent of insssanity about them. But alwayssss, alwayssss, we come out of it stronger for it.”

  “I have already sssseen what it’ssss like to wield sssstrength beyond my imagination.” Skaris continued. “Only what the Eldersssss of different Tribessss can claim to do. Thanksss to you, Sssslaveborn, I have been able to protect this wayward group we have put together. I have ssslain monssssters that only the most accomplisssshed of my tribe hunt. I will lissssten to your advice.”

  Then he smirked at me. “Bessssidessss, it would be foolisssh to ignore the advicssse of a human sssshrewd enough to get the Orcssss to Blessss him with their Totem.” He was talking about my Crow Totem.

  Everything he said was true and the weight of his words settled over my shoulders. I always knew that Skaris trusted me, but it was another to hear him say it so nonchalantly.

  “Mr. Skaris speaks true,” Aurora said, nodding, “I trust your decision, Mr. Lock.”

  “Mister, if he doesn’t want it, can I have it?!” Stole was already trying to carry the spear.

  Stole didn’t even meet the Stat Requirements of the spear. I gave her a soft smile, just to let her know I appreciated her antics. I turned to Kyrian. “What say you, Kyrian?”

  He shrugged. “Whether we have the Spear or not, does it matter? If there’s something you see you like at the Free Trader’s League, I’m sure you’ll figure out a way for us to take it.”

  [Strange Antler].

  Was it the best spear for Skaris? How would it enhance his fighting style, and his abilities? What kind of Synergies did it have with his Fire-abilities?

  …And now that the Samsoogook was dead, what could Doror Stonehammer, the Master Smith do with it?

  It wasn’t a hard decision.

  Besides, Skaris is my comrade. He deserves this.

  “Skaris, take the spear. It’s yours.”

  “Yessssss! I knew that you would not let me down, Sssslaveborn!”

  “Why didn’t you just say that you wanted it?” I said, frowning as Skaris snatched the spear away from Stole. He immediately began practicing his maneuvers with it and poured mana into it. As the spear jutted forward, it created an almost translucent image of a stag’s antlers with wicked pointed ends with every strike.

  “Becaussse I trusssted in you, Ssslaveborn!”

  “But what if I said-”

  “A trusssst among warriorssss!” He ignored me and continued to spin his spear.

  “Wait, let me try that!”

  “Skaris, that seem dangerous to try it so close to-, could you not point that thing towards me? It’s an extremely dangerous weapon and-”

  I watched them fool around, feeling the post-battle clarity settle in.

  We had been too close to losing a member, Aurora. It hadn’t even been because the monster killed her outright. It was because we didn’t have a proper healer. If we had any other proper healer, he could have continued to heal Aurora as we tore that armor off of her. But we had to resort to potions and ended up half-disemboweling her. Right now, everyone was laughing and smiling. But I knew better.

  One wrong move and the [Strange Antler] be damned, no one would be celebrating.

  God, dying not because of a mistake she made but because she did her job. And although Aurora held up her end of the bargain, there was a no healer to help her. Aurora’s talent as a Shielder was being held back by my lack of ability to recruit a competent healer.

  ‘If only all the healers in MSS weren’t gold-hungry crooks or brainwashed zombies of their Churches…’

  I felt the sigh bubble up from my stomach and leave through my mouth. Watching Darwin stay in the fringe of the others, looking on and smiling in that innocent way…

  ‘Let’s deal with this issue later.’ Right now, it was a time to celebrate.

  “Mr. Lock, I do hope that Skaris will have to pay for the spear.” Aurora’s voice broke me out of my thoughts.

  I turned staring at her, wondering at the uncanny timing. Had she known that I was thinking about her?

  “...Mr. Lock, why’re you staring at me like that?”

  “Nothing. Just glad that Kyrian’s not the only one keeping an eye on our expenses.” I turned back to watch the scene, Stole trying to wrestle the spear away from Skaris and Kyrian telling them to be careful. “Your right, there’s a reason why we have a Party Fund and separate funds. Keep an expense tab and we’ll take out Skaris’ share of the loot until he pays it off to everyone. For now, we can fill people’s pockets with the Dimension Rings that we looted from the Scavenger Clan. Put whatever’s left in the Party Fund.”

  “You are the one that looted those rings. By all rights, every coin from the sale of those items should go to you.”

  I shook my head. “It’s fine. Without you guys, I wouldn’t have come out alive.”

  I thought back to the moment when I had been close to giving up. Just… accepting death.

  And how wanting to see these guys again had made me want to escape.

  “Are you sure, Mr. Lock?”

  “Yeah.” I turned to her again. “You and Kyrian… he said some things when you were out.”

  Aurora stared at me for a bit. “Yes, I imagine he did.” She said wistfully, looking away from me.

  Something about her tone struck me as odd and I felt my eyes narrow. “Were you… were you awake?”

  And Aurora Candrian Vetillian, the best Shielder I knew, Bastard-Scion of the Great House of Vetilius did something I never expected her to do.

  She turned her head over her shoulder and gave me a wink.

  I stared, open-mouthed and swallowing all the filthy air in this godforsaken cave as she joined the others, wanting to take a look at the latest [Legendary] item in our party.

  Did she know what she was doing? How long was she awake for? Hell, she’s a Tank. I wouldn’t be surprised if she had been awake the whole time, just gritting her teeth through the pain. If that was true… that was some next level acting.

  Smiling, I shook my head.

  Now, Skaris was officially the 2nd member in this party to own a [Legendary] plurality. This wasn’t exactly the BIS spear I had in mind for him, but it would be more than enough to hold onto until we started officially farming for end-game gear.

  “Come on then,” I said, heading for the stairs. “Let’s get out of this place.”

  ***

  When we emerged from the Samsoogook’s Lair, we found the dwarves waiting for us.

  There were perhaps about fifty of them, all of them elderly men. There were no young male dwarves or young female dwarves in this city. Only the elderly.

  But clearly, that didn’t stop them from armoring themselves with the best products available in their smithies. Not only that, they had doubled down on the defenses that pointed towards the lair entrance. Iron spikes and caltrops littered the ground. One of the dwarves began screaming bloody murder and lifted his weapon above his head and the others soon followed.

  “W-What’s this?!” Stole asked.

  “Lower yer arms! Lower yer arms!”

  The dwarf who yelled at the angry group was non other than Doror Stonehammer. He ran up and down the line, waving his arms and screaming at the top of his lungs. “It’s not the monster, ye blind cooks! It’s them! That lad, Slaveborn! He’s bloody done it! He’s fucking bloody done it ye useless bums!”

  There was a stunned silence which was followed by racuous cheering as the Dwarves began running towards us.

  “Skaris, lower your spear.” I said beneath my breath. “They’re obviously not attacking.”

  Skaris gave me a mournful look and lowered the spear.

  He barely had the Spear for a few hours and already, he wanted to kill something with it.

  Some people, I swear.

  “Lad! Ye done it!” Doror ran up to me and grabbed both my hands.

  “Were you all waiting here the whole night?” I asked, seeing the number of dwarves.

  “Aye… if ye failed…” Doror shrugged, not bothering to elaborate. “But there’s no need! Ye done it! Ye done it! We’re free!”

  I nodded. “Yes. But you know what that means, yes?”

  Doror’s eye hardened. Not with anger, but with determination. “Aye, lad. You leave that part to me. You held up yer end of the deal, I’ll take care of convincing my people.”

  “Good.” I sniffed. “And I want something else.”

  “Aye, what is it?”

  “Skaris, give me [Strange Antler].”

  Skaris looked at Doror then me. Finally he scoffed and passed me the spear. Doror looked at it, his demeanor shifting immediately.

  “The monster…”

  “Yes, it dropped this.”

  Then I leaned down, staring at Doror straight in the eyes. I passed him the two legendary items in my party’s possession.

  “Time to hold up your end of the Bargain, Master Smith Stonehammer.” And I felt chills run down my spine from expectant excitement.

  “These two Legendary Items, the [Lunar Shield] and [Strange Antler].” I saw the dwarf shudder as he touched them. “I want you to [Mod] them.”

  He met my gaze head-on without flinching.

  “Aye, that I can do. That’s the least I could do. What’ll you do in the meantime?”

  I looked at the number of dwarves that were dancing and singing, running back to the city to tell the moms and grandmothers that from now on, their children would be safe. Safe from the Samsoogook, the Bogeyman that plagued this village for so long. I watched the women and children exit from the doors, crying and hugging each other.

  And I could sense with my superior [Hearing], the whispers. The worries.

  Now what would happen to this Village now that the True Field Boss which kept the other monster away was dead?

  And beneath all that… Hope.

  Whispered promises that they’ll be getting off this island. That the saviors who hunted the accursed monster would take it one step further, and take them away from this place where there was no Sun, no Wind and no Warmth.

  A yearning so intense that it hurt.

  “Me?... I think it’s about time I have a talk with Zenom Saintred.”