The first piece of equipment Izroth chose was the Worn Leather Chest. It was not, by any means, a strong item. Though there was a reason Izroth still decided to purchase it regardless of its poor quality. He wanted to test the different levels of effectiveness certain equipment had with the Apparel of Insatiable Transcendence.
Of course, even if they did turn out to be useless, they should allow the Insatiable skill attached to his living armor to change from its disabled status. After all, the skill specifically stated that it would be automatically disabled if there were not enough pieces of equipment to consume. Therefore, even if all 1,000 common pieces of equipment turned out to be useless when it came to improving the overall strength of his living armor, ultimately, none of them would go to waste.
Armor Name: Worn Leather Chest
Armor Rank: Common
Armor Level: 10
Armor Type: Leather
HP: 55
DEF: 5
AGI: 12
Description: A battle retired body armor made from cheap leather material. It can probably protect its wearer from a random stray dull tipped arrow on the battlefield… Probably.
'This description is a little… No, never mind. Well, I suppose since it's only a level 10 common chest piece, I shouldn't expect too much from it.'
The stats of the Worn Leather Chest really were quite sad to look at. Even for common equipment, it was at the lowest possible point.
Izroth equipped the Worn Leather Chest as the Peerless Conduct skill of his living armor instantly activated and destroyed the leather armor. Right after doing so, the Overeater effect was invoked as the Worn Leather Chest was successfully absorbed into his Apparel of Insatiable Transcendence.
〈System Alert: The effect of «Overeater» has ended!〉
〈System Alert: The item «Worn Leather Chest» has been successfully absorbed!〉
〈System Alert: The item «Apparel of Insatiable Transcendence» has grown very slightly!〉
Izroth checked the stats on his living armor as a helpless smile appeared on his face.
'Indeed, it has grown very slightly.'
Armor Name: Apparel of Insatiable Transcendence(Soulbound)
…
HP: 4,550(+928) → 4,550(+929)
MP: 0(+0)
Attack: 55(+3)
Defense: 367(+74)
Agility: 795(+177)
Magic: 0(+0)
…
The Apparel of Insatiable Transcendence's HP stat had improved by 1 point. As for the other stats on the living armor, they remained unchanged. Perhaps even "very slightly" was an overstatement. It was practically nonexistent! While Izroth did not hold high expectations for the Worn Leather Chest, he had severely underestimated the appetite of his living armor.
'Let's try something with a higher level.'
Izroth opened his inventory and removed a sturdy but plain-looking plated gauntlet. Compared to the flimsy-looking Worn Leather Chest, the plated gauntlet had a more durable and combat viable appearance.
Armor Name: Steelite Gauntlets
Armor Rank: Common
Armor Level: 32
Armor Type: Plate
Requirements: 155 Defense
HP: 472
DEF: 36
Description: Some gauntlets crafted from impure steelite ore.
'The stats are really too poor with common equipment.'
Izroth released a small sigh inwardly as he examined the stats of common equipment. Its stats were not that much higher than the level 23 uncommon plate equipment he acquired as loot from the dungeon Sea Palace Graveyard a while back. For the average player who had to rely heavily upon common and uncommon equipment to clear dungeons, as well as quests, it must require a well-balanced party.
'Rare equipment will start to become more commonplace once the majority of the casual player base reaches the mid-level 40s. At that time, it'll be a rush among the top guilds to start finding ways to acquire full sets of epic quality equipment.'
The reason Izroth made this prediction was due to the fact that level 40+ dungeons allowed players to challenge them on three different levels. Normal, which was the default setting, Difficult, and Hardcore. While the Normal setting would give mostly common and uncommon equipment, the Difficult and Hardcore settings increased the chances of players acquiring rare or higher level equipment by leaps and bounds.
Of course, the Hardcore difficulty was challenging even for pro players and top guilds, therefore, it was highly unlikely that casual players would attempt this setting. However, the Difficult setting was well within their reach so long as they used proper teamwork with a full set of uncommon equipment.
Izroth repeated the same steps with the Steelite Gauntlets as he did with the Worn Leather Chest and it was soon destroyed before being absorbed by his living armor.
Armor Name: Apparel of Insatiable Transcendence(Soulbound)
…
HP: 4,550(+929) → 4,550(+934)
MP: 0(+0)
Attack: 55(+3)
Defense: 367(+74)
Agility: 795(+177)
Magic: 0(+0)
…
A slight frown appeared on Izroth's face as he noticed that only the HP stat of the living armor was being increased. Though this time, instead of 1 point, his HP stat increased by 5 points.
'Well, there's only one way to find out. I don't believe that this is all this living armor is capable of absorbing.'
Izroth took out the highest level of uncommon equipment from his inventory. It was obvious that common equipment was getting him nowhere, therefore, he decided to take it up to the next level and could only hope that uncommon equipment would be enough for the time being.
Armor Name: Swift Boots
Armor Rank: Uncommon
Armor Level: 35
Armor Type: Leather
Requirements: 160 Agility
DEF: 33
AGI: 168
Description: "The wearer of these boots will move like the wind!"… So the original creator says.
'The creator of these boots must have very thick skin to make such a grand statement.'
How was one supposed to "move like the wind" with only 168 points of agility? Maybe a gentle breeze at best.
Izroth gave the Swift Boots to his living armor to absorb. The first thing Izroth noticed was that the overall stat gain on his living armor was greater than that of when it absorbed the two common pieces of equipment. Not only that, but two of his stats went up this time. Though the strange thing was that he managed to gain 2 points of defense from the Swift Boots and yet none from the Steelite Gauntlets even though it has a higher defense stat. This was something that Izroth did not yet understand.
Armor Name: Apparel of Insatiable Transcendence(Soulbound)
…
HP: 4,550(+934)
MP: 0(+0)
Attack: 55(+3)
Defense: 367(+74) → 367(+76)
Agility: 795(+177) → 795(+185)
Magic: 0(+0)
…
'Is it because the Swift Boots are a higher level? Or, does it have to do with the quality of the equipment itself?'
There were still too many unknowns about the Apparel of Insatiable Transcendence given that it didn't exactly come with a user manual. But, in the end, Izroth could only wait until he had enough information by allowing the living armor to absorb greater quantities of equipment.
After feeding the Apparel of Insatiable Transcendence some armor, Izroth tried to see if it could also absorb weapons. The results were just as he expected. The living armor was incapable of absorbing weapons and he figured that it was the same thing when it came to trinkets.
Izroth spent the next two hours equipping items only to have them destroyed by Peerless Conduct and absorbed into the living armor with its Overeater ability. It took anywhere between 1 to 4 seconds for the Overeater effect to resolve. The higher the level and quality of the equipment, the longer Izroth had to wait for it to be successfully absorbed.
By the time he finished, the Apparel of Insatiable Transcendence had absorbed 1,000 pieces of common equipment and 100 pieces of uncommon equipment. One of the things he discovered during this long process was that after reaching a certain point, the stats on his living armor would no longer increase using common equipment. Even the lower level uncommon equipment had stopped providing his living armor with an increase in stats.
'While it can still absorb the equipment, it appears that there's an invisible ceiling in which the living armor cannot break through without equipment of greater level and quality. Everything below level 35 no longer has any effect on it.'
Izroth understood why this was the case. Even if its HP stat was only increased by 1 point using a level 10 common equipment, if there was no limit in place, then all one needed to do was gather one million pieces of level 10 common equipment and they would have one million points of HP!
Although it was only possible in theory, since it was unlikely that one would be able to obtain one million pieces of equipment alone, it was still a potential concern, especially if one had a vast amount of resources at their disposal. So while it was unlikely to happen, the important thing was that it was not impossible to do.
There was another benefit Izroth received besides the stat increase and that was unlocking the Insatiable skill of the living armor. The most concerning thing was that it did not activate until the total number of equipment consumed reached the 1,000 mark. This left various questions that remained unanswered such as would the stats or skills of an item vanish forever once consumed by the Insatiable skill? How fast was the consumption rate? Also, just how powerful was this "massive" stat boost?
'Hopefully, there won't come a day where I have to use this Insatiable skill.'
Izroth took a final look at the stats that his living armor gained and he was satisfied with the outcome. Even though it was somewhat costly, it was definitely worth it to improve his overall power.
'Not bad.'
Armor Name: Apparel of Insatiable Transcendence(Soulbound)
…
HP: 4,550(+934) → 4,550(+2,685)
MP: 0(+0) → 0(+215)
Attack: 55(+3) → 55(+320)
Defense: 367(+76) → 367(+320)
Agility: 795(+185) → 795(+320)
Magic: 0(+0) → 0(+33)
…
At the moment, Izroth needed as much strength as he could get with everything that was right around the corner. Not to mention, the path that awaited him in the future. He knew that eventually, he would have to face powerful individuals like that Netherworld Envoy and the Netherworld Monarch with his own power, not one that was lent to him.
'Something tells me that we have not yet set a single foot into the door of this world. Everything accomplished up to this point… It all feels as if it's only the start of things.'
[Name: Izroth]
…
[HP(Hit Points): 19,784/19,784 (100%)]
[HP Regen(In-Battle): 79 HP/s]
[Energy: 225]
[MP: 125/1,403 (9.83%)]
[MP Regen: 10 MP/s]
[ATTACK: 2,675]
[DEFENSE: 1,134]
[AGILITY: 1,944]
[MAGIC: 144]
…
Once everything was settled, Izroth decided to immediately make a trip to the city of Everpeak to visit the Wiseman Kryxelsia in order to have his mana pool fixed. On the way there, he made sure to send out messages to those who would be the participating members of his party during the raid to inform them about the changed date.
'I won't be able to make much progress on my Boundless Emperor Void Perfection skill in such a limited amount of time. I can't depend on it too much during the raid, but… There may be another way.'
There was one more important reason Izroth wanted to visit Kryxelsia in Everpeak besides having his mana pool fixed. It had to do with a unique alternate method that could potentially allow the strength of his Boundless Emperor Void Perfection skill to grow at a faster pace without sacrificing its foundations!
'If I can increase the power of the Boundless Emperor Void Perfection to D-rank, then it should have the strength of a high grade A-rank or even a slightly weak S-rank skill.'
…
Meanwhile, somewhere within the capital city Amaharpe…
Inside the temporary headquarters of the guild Cross Haven, there were four individuals sat down. Ewan, the leader guild of Cross Haven, Wang Qiang, and Zhang Jie, two of the Five Great Generals, and a special guest that had arrived unannounced. At the moment, it was completely silent and the atmosphere was somewhat tense.
