As a caster's devoted guardian, gargoyles could be said to be every mage's favorite. But mages were still mages, and most of them knew how to make the best use of their resources. Gargoyles made decent guardians, but using them solely as bodyguards was a huge waste. So for many mages, besides serving as guards, gargoyles could also be used as—safes.
These two gargoyles were no different.
Among their fragments, Rhode found quite a few good things. As level-15 rare elites, the gargoyles' "loot" certainly lived up to their status. Aside from gems, crystals, and some gold coins, Rhode also found three magical items.
Frost Amulet [Elite Item]: Automatically activates an ice shield when attacked, blocking 50–150 damage and granting immunity to water-element attacks.
Oath Guardian [Fine Item]: Increases the holder's spell effect by +5 and spell resistance by +5.
Ring of Mist [Fine Item]: Can activate "Phantom Form" once every ten natural days, lasting for half an hour.
They were all excellent pieces of caster gear. If sold at auction, they would surely fetch a good price.
Unfortunately, they were all caster gear.
In the end, Rhode divided the items between Lize and himself. Though she was a Spirit Master rather than an offensive caster, the gear would still benefit her, so Rhode gave her the Frost Amulet and the Oath Guardian, keeping the Ring of Mist for himself. In the game, the ring's skill was a great help to anyone grinding dungeons alone, so Rhode kept it without hesitation.
Lize, on the other hand, was surprised and confused to receive two pieces of gear despite having done nothing. In most mercenary companies, even when they acquired plenty of magical equipment on their adventures, the items were usually handed over to the leader to sell, with the proceeds used to keep the company running. Giving them directly to other members like this was almost unheard of.
This showed the difference between NPCs and players. As part of this world, mercenaries' ultimate goal was simply to earn a living. Even if they found rare equipment, most wouldn't keep it. In fact, many small mercenary companies rarely took on difficult missions. Some spent their entire lives doing third-rate jobs that players wouldn't think much of, because their only goal was to make enough money to get by. The people who qualified to obtain magical equipment were generally highly respected and highly skilled members of a mercenary company. As for the less capable mercenaries? They could just drool over the gear.
Players were different. From the moment they entered this world, their goal was to get better, more, higher, and stronger: better gear, more experience, higher renown, and stronger characters. That was what players sought. So to them, magical equipment wasn't all that rare. And they didn't have to worry about it going to waste, either—once they found something better, they could sell the old gear.
Take the three magical items before him, for example. To Rhode, they were merely transitional gear for levels 10 to 15, and after that they'd be of little use. The Frost Amulet's properties were good, but he didn't need it. If he could summon a high-level water elemental, he'd get the same immunity to water-element attacks. So distributing this "low-end" gear was no big deal to him. Only if he obtained a legendary, pseudo-legendary, or ancient item like the Sword of the Sky or the Heart of the Saint would he give it serious thought.
But to Lize, these items were practically "high-end." Even the leader of a medium-sized mercenary company would only have three to five magical items. Mages tended to have more, but Spirit Masters, as support specialists, had a hard time getting their hands on any. Given their role and circumstances, they usually didn't need equipment anyway. And now, as a Spirit Master in a small mercenary company, she'd suddenly received two decent magical items?
It even made Lize wonder if she was dreaming.
But unlike Lize, Mace saw more in the situation.
As a merchant who had traveled far and wide, Mace understood how valuable magical equipment was. In his eyes, those items could fetch twenty or thirty thousand gold coins even if they were auctioned off at Karag Harbor, the most prosperous port in the north. Yet Rhode had simply handed them over, as calmly as if they were pieces of bread rather than equipment. It wasn't the kind of nonchalance a young man put on to look cool in front of a pretty girl. It came from the heart—in other words, Rhode truly didn't care about those few magical items.
That was something ordinary people could never do. Mace had dealt with all sorts of people, including mercenaries and nobles, but even to them, magical equipment was precious. Few would casually give it away, and none would act as if they couldn't care less about it, the way Rhode did.
What did that mean?
It meant that, in this young man's eyes, magical equipment like this was nothing worth mentioning. And that showed he was very likely from a distinguished family.
Before, Mace had seen Rhode as just another ordinary noble among the countless nobles on the continent. Now, though, he was beginning to associate the young man with the great houses of ancient lineage or even the royal family. Only families like those had so much magical equipment that they could think so little of it—just as a person with immeasurable wealth wouldn't care about losing a little money, even if that sum would be a fortune to an ordinary person.
The thought stirred the pudgy merchant's excitement. As a small-time merchant, he rarely had a chance to meet members of the great noble houses with their long histories. After all, those nobles had powerful networks of associates, and a little merchant company like his wouldn't even catch their eye. Now that he had this opportunity, perhaps he could make something of it if he played his cards right.
But the thought lasted only an instant. Thinking of his pigheaded performance throughout the journey, Mace knew that although the young man hadn't complained much, he himself hadn't done anything to earn Rhode's regard. His spirits sank again.
Rhode really didn't care about the three pieces of equipment. In fact, what he cared about most right now were the two heart-shaped gems in his hand.
Gargoyle Heart.
An artificial soul core.
That description sounded a little complicated, but in player terms, if a gargoyle was a robot, then its heart was the chip inside it.
Its value was obvious.
In Dragon Soul Continent, alchemical lifeforms were a highly advanced art. Creating life was the gods' privilege, and even mages couldn't violate that rule. Artificial souls were merely the next best thing, chosen out of desperation. For that reason, complete artificial soul cores were extremely rare, and not every mage could learn to make them. But for mages, owning an artificial alchemical lifeform was one of their greatest goals—like a rich, handsome man needing a sports car to prove his worth.
Mages guarded these things closely. Few made it onto the market, and only a small number were ever produced, so they naturally commanded a high price. At a regular auction, they could easily fetch over a hundred thousand gold coins, and they'd go for even more on the black market. Depending on their condition and quality, the finest artificial soul cores could sell for several million—enough to buy a sizable estate.
And mages were all very rich.
But Rhode didn't care much about the money. Years of experience as a player had taught him one thing: you could always make money, and no amount was ever enough.
But there were things money couldn't buy.
For instance, the Gargoyle Heart's other ability.
It forcibly increased a summoned spirit's evolution by one stage.
Summons shared experience with their holders. Normally, if Rhode earned 1,000 experience points in battle, he would actually receive only 700; the remaining 300 would go to the spirits fighting alongside him. That one-third might not seem like much, but little by little, it added up. This was why Summon Swordsmen had a harder time reaching the peak than other classes. In fact, according to the game's rules, if Rhode had been another class, then after soloing the experience from a level-10, five-player dungeon as an eighth-level character, he should have reached at least level 12 or 13 by now. But because Blue Bird and Star Trace shared his experience, Rhode had only just passed level 10.
As for his summons...
[Eternal Holy Sword, Tenth: Star Trace, no element, can be fused—Not even the dust of history can bury its dazzling brilliance. Lv. 5, Glory of Victory, Press Onward, Blade trait]
A summoned spirit's maximum level was ten. After reaching level ten, it could evolve once. After evolving, it would change, and its level cap would increase by another ten, until it underwent its third evolution. The Gargoyle Heart's ability was to forcibly raise a summoned spirit to level ten and unlock its evolution. This would not only save experience points but also cut down on the time spent leveling.
What couldn't money buy?
Time. You couldn't buy time.
Rhode didn't know Star Trace's level cap, but based on his experience, summon cards near the bottom of a deck generally didn't have very high level caps. Three evolutions was probably the limit. If he used both Gargoyle Hearts on it, then at the very least, when fighting monsters of the same level, the Holy Sword—which had been forcefully advanced—wouldn't keep taking Rhode's experience.
But...
Rhode fell into thought. This Holy Sword deck was very unusual. When he'd received the card from the president of BM, the man had clearly told him it was the only one in the world. Rhode hadn't thought much of it at the time, but now it seemed strange.
The only one?
The system had clearly told him that he'd only received one-tenth of the Eternal deck. So how could it be the only one? What about the other nine? And this was the tenth card—the last one. There should have been nine cards before it.
But this deck didn't exist in the game. It was merely a real-world commemorative item, and Rhode had never heard of the Holy Sword deck in the lore of Dragon Soul Continent. Nor could it be a hidden item in the game, because the deck had been created after his victory in the tournament. Since his guild was called Starlight, the company had specially designed the card as a prize and keepsake. A product rushed out just for the occasion couldn't possibly have been added to the game.
Still, he had to try.
With that thought, Rhode held one of the gems in his right hand. A line of system text soon appeared before his eyes.
[Detected Gargoyle Heart (Magical Item). Use it?]
Use it.
Rhode answered in his mind.
As soon as he did, the summoning circle on his right palm flickered with a faint magical glow. The dark-red gem shattered in the light, crumbling into dust and vanishing. New information soon appeared before Rhode.
[Target?]
Star Trace.
Rhode lowered his eyes and answered in his mind.
[Target—Star Trace—Forced evolution] [Level-up complete] [Evolve?]
Yes.
The pristine white card appeared in Rhode's hand once more. Its radiance made Lize and Mace glance over curiously.
At that moment, lines of system text appeared before Rhode's eyes.
[Evolution complete] [Eternal Holy Sword, Tenth: Star Trace, no element, can be fused—Not even the dust of history can bury its dazzling brilliance. Lv. 10, Glory of Victory, Press Onward, Blade trait. Snow-white wings shelter all things, Winged Protection trait. Holy radiance dispels darkness, Piercing trait] [Attached skills: Blade Art, Winged Protection, Star Beacon. Usable three times per natural day]
Not bad!
Seeing the system message, Rhode nodded with satisfaction. Star Trace had three special skills, all attached to the weapon. That meant using them wouldn't consume Rhode's soul power. Three uses per natural day was quite good, too. He could imagine them proving very useful in battle.
But the next system message made Rhode pause.
[Magic power coalescing detected]
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