The moment Marcus laid eyes on the Skeleton Captain, the boss spotted him too. It let out a grating roar and charged.
Unbelievable. It seemed that after three straight days of getting farmed, the Skeleton Captain held a serious grudge. It saw him and went for immediate revenge.
Marcus had no trouble soloing the Skeleton Captain at Level 13. Now, at Level 20, why would he be scared of this chump? He raised the Steel Blade in his hand and charged right back.
-230, -480, -470. Landing a crit felt stupidly satisfying.
His damage output was insane now. Even though attack wasn't his main focus, a few swings were enough to make the Skeleton Captain's health bar plummet, which was a beautiful sight. In seconds, the boss was down to a sliver of health.
"Raaawr!" The Skeleton Captain roared, triggering an enrage. A pulse of black light doubled its attack power.
Marcus figured the Skeleton Captain had been killed by him so many times it had developed a serious vendetta. When hatred reaches a critical level, monsters are prone to buffing up like this.
-30, -25... Marcus stood there, tanking the hits to test the damage. He didn't know what the Skeleton Captain was thinking, seeing those pitiful numbers, but he was secretly thrilled. And this was his defense before equipping his Level 20 gear.
'Alright, I'm bored of you now.' With a few quick slashes, he finished off the enraged Skeleton Captain for good.
With a heavy thud, an item that looked like a war blade, glowing with a soft yellow light, dropped to the stone floor.
'No. Way.' He almost wanted to cry.
Marcus had always had good luck, but he'd never managed to get a Knight-class weapon to drop. His low attack had always been his biggest weakness. And now, here it was, a Golden-tier one-handed sword. The rush of elation was incredible. This was the drop he'd been waiting for.
He picked up the yellow-glowing blade. It was a dark red color, not made of metal, but looking like it was forged from some kind of dense bone, incredibly sturdy and sharp. With its unique curves and shape, it looked eerily like a set of human ribs.
Skeleton Blade
Quality: Golden Equipment
Requirement: Level 20
Effect: Unknown, requires identification.
He wouldn't know the stats or how good it really was until he got it appraised. Marcus immediately ripped a Town Portal Scroll. In a flash of light, he was back in Dragon's Peak Citadel.
The Citadel was now a zoo. Compared to the ghost town it was when he first class-changed, the difference was night and day. Players were everywhere, a packed, noisy sea of avatars. The chatter was deafening, with deals going down and parties forming all over the place, the virtual world buzzing with life.
Ignoring the chaos, he shouldered his way through the crowd toward the Storage Vault to grab his stashed Level 20 set. It was time to get all this new gear identified and finally see what he was working with.
A moment later, Marcus stood before his storage vault, surveying the high-end gear he'd accumulated.
Adamant Shield: Purple Divine item. Requires 100 Strength. Effects unknown, cannot be used.
Wolf's Edge: Golden weapon. Effects unknown, cannot be used.
War Bear Armor: Golden equipment. Requirement: Level 20. Effects unknown, cannot be used.
Skeleton Helm: Golden equipment. Requirement: Level 20. Effects unknown, cannot be used.
Skeleton Greaves: Golden equipment. Requirement: Level 20. Effects unknown, cannot be used.
Skeleton Gloves: Golden equipment. Requirement: Level 20. Effects unknown, cannot be used.
The sight of the Divine-grade Adamant Shield made his chest tighten with frustration. Such an incredible piece of equipment, completely laying in waste. He checked his coin pouch; 1,576 gold coins. Not enough to pay the identification fee. The shield would have to stay locked away, for now.
With a sigh, he gathered the rest of the gear; the Wolf's Edge, War Bear Armor, Skeleton Helm, Skeleton Greaves, Skeleton Gloves, and the recently obtained Skeleton Blade, and set off toward the Equipment Identification Station.
For the past three days, he'd been grinding the first floor of the Black Rock Spire, specifically hunting the Skeleton Captain. That was how he'd managed to obtain the Golden-grade Skeleton Greaves and Skeleton Gloves. It had been a grueling marathon. He had practically monopolized the Skeleton Captain spawn, clearing it again and again.
Despite his high Luck stat, the results were humbling. Plenty of lesser gear had dropped, but in seventy-two hours, he'd only managed to secure four Golden items. Not a single Red Artifact had shown itself. It was a harsh reminder that even with an advantage, truly valuable loot remained rare.
When he arrived, he greeted the old appraiser behind the counter with a respectful smile. "Hey there, Sir. I've got some equipment for you to appraise."
The man didn't even lift his head at first. His long white beard hung down to his chest, his expression flat and disinterested. "What have you got? Lay it out," he muttered lazily, as though every word cost him effort.
Marcus did as told, arranging the six gleaming items on the counter.
The old man's eyes flicked over the collection. Six Golden pieces? He finally raised his head, studying Marcus with mild curiosity. It wasn't common to see a player bring this many Golden-grade items at once. They weren't high-level pieces, true, but for someone this young, it was impressive. 'He's either lucky or well-connected,' the appraiser thought, his interest mildly piqued.
Out loud, he said, "Wolf's Edge: 140 gold coins. War Bear Armor: 300 gold coins. Skeleton Helm: 150 gold coins. Skeleton Greaves: 120 gold coins. Skeleton Gloves: 70 gold coins. Skeleton Blade: 220 gold coins."
Marcus blinked. Then his stomach sank. "That's… one thousand gold coins total?"
The old man didn't answer.
"W-wait, that much? Sir, can you maybe give me a small discount?" Marcus tried, forcing a friendly smile.
The appraiser remained silent, his eyes half-closed as if he hadn't heard a word.
Marcus's shoulders slumped. He handed over the money with a painful sigh, watching more than half his savings vanish in an instant.
"There," the old man finally said, his tone brightening ever so slightly. "While your Golden gear isn't high-level, it's all max-stat for its grade. Not bad at all."
His hands began to glow faintly as beams of light passed over the equipment. The mysterious patterns faded, revealing the true attributes of each item.
Marcus blinked at the appraisal results. For a moment he could only stare, then a grin spread across his face. The stats were incredible, far beyond what he'd expected. The sting of losing a thousand gold coins evaporated instantly, replaced by pure excitement.
He focused on the first one, his eyes widening as the details appeared.
Wolf's Edge: Golden Weapon. Requirement: Level 10 Archer. Forged from the spine and inner core of a century-old Mountain Wolf King. Exceptionally powerful. Attack: 80. Additional: Agility +20, Attack Speed +1. Attack includes 15 points of Frost Damage.
War Bear Armor: Golden Equipment. Requirement: Level 20 Fighter-class. Requires 80 Strength. Crafted from rare ores, offering formidable protection. However, the armor is heavy, and lacking the required Strength will hinder movement. Defense: 140. Additional: Strength +10, Constitution +20, Stun Resistance +10.
Skeleton Helm: Golden Equipment. Requirement: Level 20, All Classes. Low-level gear once used by Necromancers and Deathmages. Defense: 60. Additional: HP +50, MP +50, Poison Resistance +10.
Skeleton Greaves: Golden Equipment. Requirement: Level 20, All Classes. Low-level gear once used by Necromancers and Deathmages. Defense: 80. Additional: Constitution +10, Focus +10, Frost Resistance +10.
Skeleton Gloves: Golden Equipment. Requirement: Level 20, All Classes. Low-level gear once used by Necromancers and Deathmages. Defense: 40. Additional: Attack Speed +1, Agility +10, Fire Resistance +10.
Skeleton Blade: Golden Equipment. Requirement: Level 20 Fighter-class. One-handed weapon. Forged from the rib of a fallen Black Panther and infused with battlefield energy. Attack: 120. Attack Success Rate +20. Additional: Attack Speed +1, Health Recovery Speed +1, Magic Recovery Speed +1. Attack includes 10 Fire Damage and 20 Poison Damage.
Each description only deepened Marcus's awe. A standard Level 10 weapon had an attack of 30, while most Level 20 weapons barely reached 60. These numbers weren't just better, they were absurd. The Skeleton Blade alone could last him until Level 30 with ease.
Without hesitation, Marcus equipped his new gear. The moment the armor settled into place, his stats surged upward. The heavy, solid weight of the War Bear Armor gave him an imposing presence, while the sleek lines of the Skeleton pieces added an eerie, refined edge. Together, they made him look powerful and untouchable.
He caught his reflection in the shop window and smirked. Not bad at all. Around him, a few nearby players paused to stare, whispering among themselves. He didn't mind. The envy in their eyes only made the moment sweeter.
Then a crisp system chime rang in his ears.
"Ding! Player Stonehaven has assembled four pieces of the Skeleton Set. Partial Set Bonus activated: Attack Speed +1, Damage to Death-type monsters increased by 30%, Health Recovery Speed +1."
Marcus blinked, startled. 'Wait, a set bonus?'
So the Skeleton Helm, Skeleton Greaves, Skeleton Gloves, and Skeleton Blade were part of a set. That was an unexpected windfall.
He frowned, thinking back. When farming the Skeleton Captains, he'd picked up a few other Skeleton pieces, but since they weren't Golden-grade, he'd barely glanced at them and tossed them into his inventory.
Curious, he opened his bag and started rummaging through it.
Moments later, he froze, then burst into laughter that echoed across the plaza. "Haha! Jackpot!"
Skeleton Tunic: Blue Equipment. Requirement: Level 20, All Classes. Low-level gear once used by Necromancers and Deathmages. Defense: 80. (The Tunic has the highest Defense among armor pieces, which is why this Blue-grade Tunic has the same Defense as the Golden Greaves.) Additional: HP +50, MP +50.
Skeleton Boots: Blue Equipment. Requirement: Level 20, All Classes. Low-level gear once used by Necromancers and Deathmages. Defense: 50. Additional: Movement Speed +1, Agility +10.
Skeleton Shield: White Equipment. Requirement: Level 20, All Classes. Low-level gear once used by Necromancers and Deathmages. Defense: 60. Block Success Rate: 35%.
He could hardly believe his luck. These Skeleton Captains had been far more generous than he'd realized. Without hesitation, he swapped out the remaining pieces of his gear for the Skeleton items.
A soft glow surrounded him as the final piece clicked into place.