The Ring of the Ancient Colossus was the eight moon item Izroth chose. Its original value was 125,000 Spirit Vouchers, placing it among the highest-priced category of eight moon items listed on the Netherworld Exchange.
If Izroth had to earn that amount of Spirit Vouchers through normal means, even if he cleared the bonus objective up to the impossible difficulty 3,000 times without flaw, he would still come up short!
‘Since I am not a resident of the Nether Realm, it is more challenging for me to acquire Spirit Vouchers. Right now, the only way I can get my hands on any is through the effects of the curse. However, in the long run, relying solely on someone coming after my life just to earn Spirit Vouchers is not a sustainable solution. I have to find another way to obtain them.’
As he gathered his thoughts, Izroth equipped the Ring of the Ancient Colossus as a surge of power immediately flooded into his body.
At that moment, Izroth felt as if he had the strength to move mountains. He had not lost or gained any mass but somehow his body became incredibly light.
‘What a refreshing feeling.’
Izroth became more invigorated than ever before as the weakened status next to his stats was no longer there. With the help of the Might stat, he had returned to his full strength in a single leap!
But, it did not stop there as Izroth was bombarded by a stream of system alerts.
〈System Alert: You have equipped «Ring of the Ancient Colossus».〉
〈System Alert: You have unlocked the hidden stat «Might».〉
〈System Alert: You are now immune to all rank D or lower offensive magic.〉
〈System Alert: You are now immune to all physical attacks that would deal less than 5% of your maximum HP [1,204].〉
〈System Alert: While you have no weapon equipped, all physical attacks will deal 100% of your attack power as bonus physical damage. When you have a weapon equipped, this bonus is lowered to 20%.〉
〈System Alert: Your physical strength has increased by 300%.〉
〈System Alert: You will now recover 50% faster from all negative status effects and physical irregularities.〉
‘Worthy of being a legendary item. It’s just one point, but the difference with and without it is like that of night and day. Even the weakness I felt before has vanished without a trace.’
The Might stat paired with his Heavenly Golden Body gave Izroth a terrifying physical prowess.
Izroth knew that if one day, he was able to properly control the Dragon Force he utilized in his battle against Tal’Nis, his body alone would be enough to raze entire armies to the ground!
After Izroth checked over his status, he closed out the Netherworld Exchange interface. Even though he had three Netherworld Exchange Tokens, Izroth believed it was best to save them until he obtained at least two more. That way the chances of him receiving one of the items he would select would be at its highest point.
As for the 40 Spirit Vouchers in his possession, it was barely sufficient to purchase a three moon item from the Netherworld Exchange. But, Izroth decided to save up for at least a five or six moon item.
And, when it came to the Restricted Supreme Spirit Voucher, Izroth chose to keep it for situational use. After all, it was thanks to doing this last time that he was successful in bringing Empyrean into this world.
‘After my fight with Tal’Nis, my Heavenly Golden Body was already on the verge of another breakthrough. Now, with the addition of the Might stat, it feels like I’ve reached the threshold and need one final push to advance. Once I achieve the fifth level of the Heavenly Golden Body, I doubt any skill below A-rank will have much of an impact on me. Then, it’s only a matter of time until even S-rank skills are rendered useless in front of me.’
As Izroth became lost in his thoughts, half an hour quickly passed by. However, seeing that there was still no word from Azalea, Izroth started to grow somewhat concerned.
‘I know she mentioned that communication would be difficult where she was headed, but… Should I check on her anyway? Well… If she does not respond, perhaps I’ll use the opportunity to explore the Devil’s Sanctum.’
Izroth opened his system interface and was prepared to send Azalea a message inquiring as to her whereabouts. But, just as he was ready to hit send, the sound of a system alert sounded in Izroth’s ears.
〈System Alert: Player Azalea Wraith has sent you a message, “I’m ready. Coordinates…”〉
‘Oh? Perfect timing.’
Izroth deleted his original message and sent a confirmation to Azalea to let her know that he was on his way to the coordinates.
After sending his message, Izroth closed out his system interface and walked towards the door.
‘After today…’
A cold look flashed through Izroth’s eyes as the natural aura around him was enough to make others suffocate.
‘There will be no Siren organization in the Mortal Realm.’
Izroth took his leave from the Twin Fang INN with only one thought on his mind—the annihilation of the organization, Siren!
…
Izroth stood at the outskirts of the Devil’s Sanctum’s main city where the Twin Fang INN was located. These were the coordinates he received from Azalea before his departure.
‘Hm?’
Out of nowhere, Izroth felt a small breeze as a ghost-like entity appeared at his side! However, Izroth was not startled as this presence was one that he was well familiar with.
“You’ve gotten better at concealing yourself, Azalea,” Izroth stated.
A few seconds later, the ghost-like entity underwent a drastic transformation as it turned into an actual person. This person was, of course, Azalea.
The first thing Azalea did upon her arrival was respectfully greet Izroth.
She then replied earnestly, “I still have a long way to go until I reach your level, teacher.”
Izroth gave a small nod and said, “You have done well in my absence. If not for your timely response having informed the others of the situation, the outcome could have been much worse. For this, you have my gratitude. I will see to it that you are properly rewarded for your contribution.”
“I was only following my teacher’s words—that’s all. I do not require a reward, but if I must choose, I hope that you will allow me to continue learning from you, teacher.” Azalea responded without haste.
Izroth shook his head, “That won’t do. Since I want to reward you, you will be rewarded. Or, can it be that you wish people to view me as someone who only knows how to take advantage of others?”
“This… I understand.” Azalea gave in after listening to Izroth’s words.
She then continued, “Then—I would like a better pair of daggers…”
“Oh? Now that you mention it… Those are the same pair of daggers you’ve had since our first encounter, right?” Izroth inquired.
Although Azalea’s daggers were well hidden and concealed under her forearms, they could not escape Izroth’s eyesight.
“Yes. They are a level 35 rare weapon set. I have tried searching, but… Finding a dagger weapon set with synergy at a higher level and quality that suits my class has been quite troublesome.” Azalea released a small sigh.
Azalea’s weapons were not bad by any means. Since they were a rare weapon set, even though they were only level 35, in terms of overall power did not fall behind a level 45 rare weapon. However, the opponents she had been facing lately were becoming more and more difficult. Soon enough, her current weapons would no longer cut it.
“Finding you a more suitable dagger weapon set that also matches your class may be somewhat complicated. Lucky for you, I have a more dependable solution. Once we finish things here, I will introduce you to our guild’s blacksmith. If there is anyone who can make you a better weapon set, it’s Gu Chao.”
“If it’s you who is saying so, then this Gu Chao must be highly capable. Allow me to express my gratitude to you in advance, teacher.”
“There’s no need. After all, you’ve more than earned it.” Izroth said with a carefree smile.
After exchanging a few more words, Izroth’s expression turned serious as he looked towards the far outskirts of Devil’s Sanctum.
“Now… Shall we depart?”
…
Several moments later near the far outskirts of Devil’s Sanctum…
