Mimics were dangerous, yes, but in many cases, the monsters were the treasure. The probability of dropping high quality loot was slightly higher when slaying them compared to normal mobs.
Furthermore, there was a crucial rule in the Heaven's Selection Space: players couldn't simply pick up a monster's equipment and use it immediately.
Even if a monster wielded a rare, high stat item, if it didn't specifically count as a "drop," it would function as a "white label" item with zero bonus attributes in a player's hands. At best, it would be durable, but it could never be taken out of the dungeon.
The soft glow surrounding the gentleman's cane signified that it had officially transitioned into a "Dungeon Drop," a reward for the players.
Loot or no loot, Chris didn't let his guard down. The zombies in the area had yet to be fully cleared.
He leaned down and snatched the cane, and the item's status panel immediately materialized in his vision, projected by the phone he'd tucked into the front of his boxers. Fortunately, his boxers had pockets... and the phone was currently serving as a makeshift source of illumination from his crotch.
[Vampire's Gentleman Cane: Grade: Green (Excellent) / Lv1. Type: Cane (one handed / Magic Weapon). Requirements: Spirit 12. Weapon Damage: 1-2. Durability: 24/24. (Extractable from Dungeon)]
[Attributes: Spirit +2. Physical damage dealt to undead units is increased by 50% (Universal trait of wooden blunt weapons).]
[Imbued Skill, 'Polymorph (Duck).' As long as the user meets the equipment requirements, they can cast 'Polymorph (Duck).']
[Polymorph (Duck): Fires a magical missile formed from a hexagram. Upon impact, the target is transformed into a harmless duck. Duration: 5 seconds. Casting time: 1 second. Cost: 20 MP. Cooldown: 10 minutes.]
[Additional Note: The spell's effectiveness will undergo varying degrees of diminishing returns when targeting units with the following suffixes, 'Elite,' 'Champion,' or 'Leader.']
Chris's eyes lit up as he read the description. He immediately formulated two theories.
The first was that the Vampire Magician could only cast Polymorph because of this cane.
The second was that Polymorph was an innate ability of the Magician, but upon its death, the skill had fused with the cane, becoming an item trait.
Regardless, while the cooldown was long, a one-second cast for a crowd-control spell was a powerful ace to have in his sleeve.
Furthermore, perhaps because this was his first piece of magical equipment, the system had provided an additional explanation that revealed more about the monsters of the Heaven's Selection Space.
[Normal], [Elite], [Champion], [Leader]. These were likely the five tiers of monster templates.
In plain English: Polymorph would last the full five seconds on a normal mob, but it probably wouldn't last even a second on a "Leader" unit.
Chris wasn't particularly bothered by this discovery. As a veteran World of Warcraft player, he was used to bosses being immune to most crowd control.
"Elite, huh..." Chris muttered, recalling the side mission on the tombstone screen, "Slay the Elite Demon Unit."
The battle continued, though it was clearly in its final stages.
With the cane in his left hand and the whip in his right, Chris began awkwardly experimenting with a dual wielding style.
Because the weapon types were so different, the bonus Holy damage from the Vampire Killer would be severely diminished if he tried to fuse it with the cane as a template weapon.
Fortunately, both were one handed weapons, and players had separate "Main Hand" and "Off Hand" slots. As long as he met the requirements, he could use both at once.
The standard equipment slots for a player were: Helm, Chest, Gloves, Belt, Pants, Boots, Necklace, two Rings, Main Hand, and Off-Hand. Unless it was a special item, only an object placed in one of these slots would truly take effect.
Even if you wore a ring on every finger and draped a dozen chains around your neck, only two rings and one necklace would provide their bonuses.
It was very much in the style of Diablo.
When the final zombie finally fell, the "one-eared" student stood frozen for a long moment before collapsing onto the ground. He gasped for air, his lungs and heart strained to their absolute limits.
Chris, though equally drenched in sweat, looked like he could keep going. He had just started to find a rhythm for using the cane and whip together when the zombies ran out.
His inspiration for current fighting style came from the "Threaded Cane" in Bloodborne.
Whip for offense, cane for defense.
Meanwhile, the student's roommate was also still alive, though he wasn't doing well. His body was stained red with blood.
Because most of the zombies had been drawn away by Chris and the other student, only a few had chased him. He'd been smart enough to realize that running around in the open would only trigger more spawns, so he'd retreated to the hill and used the ladder to find a safe spot where the zombies couldn't reach him.
The blood on his body was the result of the red-eyed crows. He had several deep wounds on his back, chest, and arms where they had torn at his flesh. He even had a "Bleeding" debuff, though the adrenaline had kept the pain at bay until now. As the rush began to fade, his condition was rapidly worsening.
Those crows were cunning. They'd already tasted human meat and were eager for more, but the moment they saw Chris approaching with a predatory grin, they took flight. They landed on the skeletal branches of a withered tree, watching him with a mix of fear and hatred.
After the intense physical exertion, both hunger and thirst were starting to set in.
The crows wanted to eat humans; Chris wanted to eat the crows. It was as simple as that.
The Vampire Killer was excellent at slaying demonic creatures, but it was too good, the residual holy power tended to incinerate the bodies of its victims. If it did that to zombies, it would certainly turn a small crow into a pile of ash.
But now that he had the gentleman's cane, Chris was curious. If he killed a target while the Polymorph spell was active, would it remain a duck or revert to its original form?
The first "welcome" from the Heaven's Selection Space was over, but Chris's work was far from done.
Every veteran MMO player knew that while gathering and killing mobs was routine, there was always a tedious, soul-sucking task that followed: the "cleanup."
However, Chris was still far from being tired of the mechanical labor.
He strode through the ash-covered graveyard, his chest held high. Thanks to the [Soul Rescue] effect, the "Innocent Souls" rose from the ground and were drawn to his body like pins to a magnet. His Innocent Soul count quickly reached 75.
It provided a satisfying sense of accomplishment.
Considering that not every monster was guaranteed to drop a soul, the fact that they'd just faced a hundred-strong zombie horde meant that without Chris's one-shot power, they would have been wiped out in an instant.
As he walked, Chris suddenly stopped in front of a pristine, white skeleton that was still wearing a pair of strawberry patterned boxers.
It was Arthur.
Under the influence of the Heaven's Selection Space, this version of Arthur had been the one whose journey ended before it truly began.
Chris stared at the hero's remains for a moment before crouching down. He ran a hand over the smooth cranium, his eyes meeting the empty, dark sockets of the skull.
"Listen, pal. I can't guarantee I'll save the princess, but if I get the chance, I promise I'll take down the Demon King for you."
As soon as the words left his lips, Arthur's skeletal hand, which had been clenched shut, suddenly loosened. A small scroll rolled out and landed at Chris's feet.
Chris's attention was immediately drawn to the scroll. He didn't notice that on his own plain white boxers, a pattern of tiny pink strawberries was slowly beginning to emerge...
[Translated and Rewritten by Shika_Kagura]