Holy Sword Upgrade

As a mage's intimate guardian, gargoyles are the favorites of every spellcaster. However, since mages are known for making the most of every resource, using a gargoyle solely as a bodyguard is a massive waste. Thus, for many mages, a gargoyle serves not only as a sentry but also as a—safe.

These two gargoyles were no exception.

Among their fragments, Rhode discovered quite a few good things. As level 15 rare elites, the "drops" from gargoyles truly lived up to their status. Aside from gems, crystals, and a portion of gold coins, Rhode also found three magic items.

Frost Amulet [Elite Item]: Automatically triggers a Frost Shield when attacked, absorbing 50~150 damage. Grants immunity to water-attribute attacks.

Oath Guardian [Excellent Item]: Holder gains +5 spell effect and +5 spell resistance.

Ring of Mist [Excellent Item]: Can activate "Ethereal Form" once every ten natural days, lasting for half an hour.

These were all excellent pieces of equipment for a spellcaster; if sold at an auction house, they would certainly fetch a tidy profit.

Unfortunately, they were all spellcaster gear.

In the end, Rhode distributed these items to Lize. As a Spirit Master, while not an offensive spellcaster, she would still benefit from them. Rhode handed the Frost Amulet and the Oath Guardian to her, keeping the Ring of Mist for himself. In the game, the skill possessed by this ring was incredibly helpful for those soloing dungeons, so Rhode kept it without hesitation.

Lize, however, was surprised and astonished to receive two pieces of equipment for doing nothing at all. In typical mercenary groups, while they might obtain many magic items during their adventures, these were usually sold by the leader to fund the group's operations. Distributing them directly to others like this was unimaginable.

This highlights the gap between NPCs and players. As part of this world, the ultimate goal of mercenaries is simply to earn a living, so even if they find rare equipment, most won't keep it. In fact, many small mercenary groups rarely take on high-difficulty missions; they spend their entire lives doing third-rate tasks that players look down upon, because their goal is just to make ends meet. Those qualified to obtain magic equipment are usually the prestigious and powerful figures within the mercenary group. As for the weaker mercenaries? They can only watch and drool.

Players are different. From the moment they enter this world, their goal is to be better, more, higher, and stronger. Better equipment, more experience, higher reputation, stronger characters—this is what players pursue. Therefore, to them, magic equipment isn't actually that rare, and they don't worry about it rotting in their hands—after all, once they find something better, they can just swap it out and sell the old gear.

Take these three magic items, for example. To Rhode, these were merely level 10~15 transitional gear, after which they would lose their value. The Frost Amulet's stats were decent, but Rhode didn't need it; if he could summon a high-tier water elemental, he could achieve the same immunity to water-attribute attacks. Thus, distributing this "low-end" gear was no big deal to him. Only if he had pulled a legendary, pseudo-legendary, or ancient-tier item like the "Sword of the Sky" or "Heart of the Saint" would he have considered keeping them.

But to Lize, these items were "high-end." Even the leader of a medium-sized mercenary group would only have three or five pieces of magic equipment. Mages might have more, but as a support class, it was very difficult for a Spirit Master to obtain gear. Furthermore, given their position and nature, they generally didn't need it. Yet now, as a Spirit Master in a small mercenary group, she had suddenly received two pieces of decent magic equipment?

It even made Lize wonder if she were dreaming.

Compared to Lize, however, Mace, who stood to the side, saw much more.

As a merchant who had traveled far and wide, Mace understood how valuable magic equipment was. In his view, even if these items were taken to the most prosperous port in the North, Karag, they would easily fetch twenty or thirty thousand gold coins at auction. Yet, Rhode gave them away as casually as if he were handing over a piece of bread. This calmness wasn't the kind of affected cool a young man might put on to impress a pretty girl, but a genuine, inner tranquility—which meant Rhode truly didn't value these items.

This was something an ordinary person could never do. Mace had dealt with many people, from mercenaries to nobles, but even to them, such magic equipment was quite precious. Few would toss it away so casually, and they certainly wouldn't act as if the items were beneath their notice like Rhode did.

What did this mean?

It meant that in this young man's eyes, this kind of magic equipment was simply not worth mentioning. This behavior suggested that the young man likely came from an extraordinary background.

If Mace had previously viewed Rhode as just another member of the continent's countless nobles, he now began to associate this young man with those ancient, prestigious families or royalty. Only such families would possess vast amounts of magic equipment, and only they would treat it with such indifference—much like someone with infinite wealth wouldn't care about the loss of a small sum, even if that sum might be a fortune an ordinary person couldn't earn in a lifetime.

This thought made the fat merchant feel a surge of excitement. As a small-time trader, he rarely had the chance to meet members of such ancient, noble houses, as those great nobles had powerful associates, and a small merchant like him wouldn't even catch their eye. Now that he had such an opportunity, if he could grasp it, perhaps there was hope.

But this thought passed in a flash. Thinking of his own pig-like performance along the way, although the young man hadn't complained much, the fat merchant understood that he hadn't shown anything worth the other party's attention, which made him deflate once more.

Rhode truly didn't care about those three items. In fact, what he cared about most right now were the two heart-shaped gems in his hand.

Gargoyle Heart.

A condensed aggregate of artificial souls.

The explanation might seem complex, but in player terms, if a gargoyle were a robot, the Gargoyle Heart would be its chip.

Its value was self-evident.

In the Dragon Soul Continent, alchemical life was a high-end craft. Creating life was the prerogative of the gods, a rule even mages couldn't break, and artificial souls were their desperate second-best choice. Because of this, complete artificial soul cores were extremely rare, and not every mage could learn to create them. Yet for a mage, possessing an artificial alchemical lifeform was one of their highest goals—much like how a rich, handsome man must have a sports car to prove his worth.

Mages guarded these things closely; they rarely circulated on the market, and production was low, so the price was naturally high. At a normal auction, they would easily fetch over a hundred thousand gold coins, and even more on the black market. Depending on the quality, the best artificial soul cores could sell for millions, enough to buy a decent-sized territory.

Moreover, mages were always wealthy.

But Rhode didn't care much about the money. Years of player experience had taught him one truth: money can always be earned, and no amount is ever enough.

However, some things money cannot buy.

For instance, the other ability of the Gargoyle Heart.

Forcefully increase the evolution of a summoned spirit by +1.

The experience of a summoned creature is shared with its holder. Generally, in battle, if Rhode gained 1000 experience, he would actually only receive 700, while the remaining 300 would go to the spirits in the fight. Although this one-third share didn't seem like much, it added up over time—this was why Summoned Swordsmen found it harder to reach the peak than other classes. In fact, according to game rules, if Rhode were any other class, he would have reached at least level 12 or 13 by now from soloing a level 10 five-man dungeon. But because the experience was shared with Blue Bird and Star Trace, Rhode had only just passed level 10.

As for his summoned creatures...

[Eternal Holy Sword 10th Seat: Star Trace, No Attribute, Fusion-capable—Even the dust of history cannot bury its dazzling brilliance. Lv: 5, Glory of Victory, Press Forward, Blade Trait]

The maximum level for a summoned spirit is ten. After reaching level ten, they gain a chance to evolve. Upon evolution, they not only change but their level cap increases by another ten, continuing until the third evolution. The ability of the Gargoyle Heart is to forcefully raise a summoned spirit's level to ten, triggering the evolution. This not only saves experience points but also reduces the time spent grinding.

What is something money cannot buy?

Time is something money cannot buy.

Rhode didn't know the level cap for Star Trace, but based on his experience, summoned cards at the end of a deck usually didn't have high caps; three evolutions would be the limit. If he poured both Gargoyle Hearts into it, then at least when fighting monsters of the same level, the forcefully leveled Holy Sword wouldn't steal Rhode's experience.

However...

Rhode fell into deep thought. This set of Holy Sword cards was unique. When he received this card from the president of BM, the other party had explicitly told him it was the only one of its kind in the world. Rhode hadn't taken it to heart at the time, but now it felt a bit strange.

The only one?

The system prompt had clearly told him he had only obtained 1/10 of the Eternal deck, so how did it become the only one? What about the other 9 cards? And this was the 10th seat, the very last one; there should have been nine cards before it.

But this set of cards didn't exist in the game; it was just a souvenir from reality. In the lore of the Dragon Soul Continent, Rhode had never heard of the Holy Sword deck. It couldn't be a hidden game item either, because the deck was created after he won the competitive tournament. Since the guild he founded was named Starlight, the company had specially designed this card as a prize and souvenir for him. Such a rushed, custom product could never have been integrated into the game system.

But regardless, he had to try.

Thinking of this, Rhode extended his right hand and gripped one of the gems. Soon, a system prompt appeared before his eyes.

[Detected Gargoyle Heart (Magic Item), use it?]

Use.

Rhode answered in his mind.

As Rhode gave his answer, the summoning circle that had appeared on his right palm immediately flashed with a faint, ethereal magical glow. Then, the dark red gemstone shattered under this light, turning into powder and vanishing. Soon, new information appeared before Rhode's eyes.

[Target?]

Star Trace.

Rhode lowered his eyelids and answered internally.

[Target-Star Trace-Forced Evolution]

[Level up complete]

[Evolve?]

Yes.

A pristine, snow-white card appeared once more in Rhode's hand. Its radiance caused Lize and Mace, who were standing nearby, to look over with curiosity.

At that very moment, a series of system prompts began to emerge before Rhode's eyes.

[Evolution complete]

[Eternal Holy Sword Rank 10: Star Trace, Non-attribute, Fusion-capable---The dust of history cannot bury its dazzling brilliance. Lv: 10, Glory of Victory charges forward, Blade trait.

Snow-white wings shelter all things, Protection trait.

Holy radiance dispels darkness, Piercing trait]

[Attached skills: Blade Art, Winged Protection, Star Beacon. Can be used three times per natural day]

Not bad!

Seeing this system prompt, Rhode nodded in satisfaction. Star Trace possessed three special skills, and since these skills were attached to the weapon, it meant that casting them did not require consuming Rhode's soul power. Furthermore, three uses per natural day could be considered top-tier; one could imagine that they would play a significant role in battle.

However, the next system prompt made Rhode pause slightly.

[Magic condensation detected]