The game "Original Realm" was notoriously known for its difficult leveling system; countless players had vented their frustrations on the forums, accusing the game developers of being brain-dead.
However, when they came to know that there were no game developers to speak of and that all the parameters were generated by an advanced AI, they turned their grievances towards the seemingly unscientific settings developed by the AI.
Not only were the creatures difficult to kill, but the experience points gained from them were scanty, and the losses upon death were substantial...
Therefore, even after being active for over a month, the highest level reached by players in the game was around seventeen or eighteen.
Only those well-off bosses who devoted themselves tirelessly to the game could achieve such a level.
Here was Sebastian, who with just a finishing stroke, had skyrocketed by 15 levels?
Had he directly entered the top tier of rankings? It was absolutely preposterous!
Sebastian couldn't help but exclaim:
"Truly worthy of being a lv60 rare-tier elite BOSS!"
"Although most of the damage wasn't inflicted by me, it still granted me such a generous amount of experience..."
"It seems that seizing the opportunity to land the finishing blow will have to become a regular endeavor!"
After examining his own attributes, Sebastian didn't immediately check his "Ultimate Intelligence System."
Instead, he focused his attention on the array of equipment scattered before him.
After all, the Ultimate Intelligence System was bound to him and could be attended to at any time, but the equipment lying ownerless before him needed to be dealt with promptly...
It had to be cleared away without delay!
With this thought in mind, Sebastian first set down the little cub clinging to him, gently patting its head to soothe it, before he began to individually inspect the equipment on the ground.
The first thing that caught his eye was a golden-lit piece of equipment:
[Snow Wolf King Crown (Gold): A crown crafted from the hardest teeth of the Snow Wolf King and the most dazzling crystals found in the snow wolf cave.]
[Attributes: Usable by players level 50 and above, Strength +500, Agility +800]
[Special Enhancement 1: Grants the 'Cold Resistance' ability, preventing any debuffs in even the coldest of weathers.]
[Special Enhancement 2: Imposes suppression on all wolf monsters, increasing damage dealt by 20%.]
[Snow Wolf King Set (Set Bonuses):
Wearing 2 pieces grants Strength +100
Wearing 3 pieces grants Agility +200
Wearing 5 pieces grants Strength +10%, Agility +20%]
...
"I'll have to wait until level 50 to equip it, huh..."
Sebastian looked at the "Snow Wolf King Crown" in his hand, finding the situation both amusing and frustrating.
Waiting until level 50 felt like a distant dream, an occurrence anticipated to happen in a mythical time of monkeys and horses perhaps.
Opportunities to land such a decisive blow were once in a lifetime, certainly not a daily occurrence...
Yet, the level restriction wasn't the primary concern.
What disappointed Sebastian the most were the attribute bonuses of this golden equipment...
Although it added a substantial number of attributes, included two special enhancements, and set bonuses, it clearly was designed for warrior or knight class characters.
Why would he, a magus, need such an abundance of strength and agility?
Was he supposed to become a melee magus?
Sebastian chose the magus class precisely for the power to wreak havoc with a single spell.
The contribution of strength and agility to enhance a magus's abilities was marginal, to say the least…
While having extra would undoubtedly be beneficial, and no one would complain about augmented attributes, what Sebastian currently needed most was equipment to boost his spell power.
Thus, the crown felt somewhat superfluous to him.
"If only it were equipment that increased spirit or wisdom." Sebastian shook his head, placing the equipment into his bag before turning his attention to the other items.
The rest of the equipment comprised mainly of purple and blue gear.
Sebastian roughly counted a total of nine pieces of equipment dropped by the lv60 Snow Wolf King, including the crown.
There were two pieces of purple equipment and six blue ones.
[Wolf Fang Longsword (Purple): A one-handed sword forged from the saber-tooth of the Snow Wolf King, incredibly sharp.]
[Attributes: Usable by players level 50 and above, Strength +350, Agility +500]
[Special Enhancement: Enemies wounded by this sword will find their wounds frozen, reducing the effects of healing by 30%.]
...
[Snowcloak Cape (Purple): A white cloak woven from the sturdiest fur of the Snow Wolf King, offering protection against severe cold.]
[Attributes: Usable by players level 50 and above, Endurance +200, Agility +150, Wisdom +300, Spirit +200]
[Special Enhancement: When attacked in close combat, there's a 20% chance to inflict the 'Frozen' status on the assailant.]
...
These two purple pieces of equipment were also part of the Snow Wolf King Set.
The attributes of the remaining blue equipment were pretty average, Sebastian didn't linger on them and stowed them all in his bag.
"This purple cloak is pretty decent, I'll save it for when I reach level 50."
Just as Sebastian had packed up all the equipment and was planning to leave with the Snow Wolf King cub, the little wolf suddenly let out a "howl," broke free from Sebastian, and ran to the other side of the Snow Wolf King's corpse, calling out non-stop.
"What's the matter?" A bit puzzled, Sebastian followed.
Suddenly, he noticed that a blue crystal had been obscured by the Snow Wolf King's body.
Had it not been for the cub drawing his attention to it, he would have missed it entirely.
Sebastian picked up the crystal and started inspecting it.
[Remnants of the Magic Crystal Necklace (Unidentified)]
"An unidentified item?"
Sebastian was somewhat surprised, but considering its name...
"Since it's just remnants, it probably won't fetch much, right?"
"Well, it should be worth something at least. I'll have Arthur at the blacksmith shop appraise it later."
With that, Sebastian placed the remnant into his bag.
Then, picking up the Snow Wolf King cub, he smiled and said, "You're so clever, from now on I'll call you Smarty."
The cub seemed to dislike the name, continually howling in protest.
"Don't like it?"
Sebastian tapped its little nose, saying, "Okay, we'll choose a different one."
"Being the child of the Snow Wolf King, you deserve a more stylish name."
"From now on, your name is 'Breeze'."
This time, the Snow Wolf King cub did not howl.
Tilting its little head, it seemed to be pondering the meaning behind the name.
...
Darkstone.
Blacksmith shop.
Arthur had specifically put on his seldom-used monocle to closely inspect the blue crystal that Sebastian had brought in.
Holding little Breeze, Sebastian asked somewhat surprised,
"How is it going? Master, you've been looking at it for three minutes... there's a long line behind me!"
Unexpectedly,
Master Arthur waved a large hand, impatiently saying, "Then let them wait."
"This isn't just any object; I need to examine it more closely."
From Arthur's demeanor, Sebastian could clearly sense that this item was out of the ordinary.
He hurriedly whispered, "Could it be that you can't identify it?"
Old Arthur looked up, giving him a disdainful glance, "Of course I can identify it!"
"But the fee for this appraisal..."
"It needs to be at least this much."
Saying so, old Arthur extended a hand, showing a five.
Seeing this gesture, an initially somewhat panicked Sebastian felt relieved, "5 gold coins? I thought it would be more, I have that much right now."
Old Arthur shook his head repeatedly, "No, no, no, I'm asking for 50 gold coins... and that's just the appraisal fee!"
Sebastian was instantly stunned, "50 gold coins?!"
Converted into universal currency, wouldn't that be…
Fifty thousand dollars?!
Old Arthur nodded, continuing, "As I said, this is no ordinary item. I need to use some rare materials to aid the identification process, only then can it be successfully identified."
"The 50 gold coins basically cover the cost of the materials; I am not making any profit."
Having said that, old Arthur handed the blue crystal back to Sebastian, lowering his voice, "Whenever you decide to have it appraised, you can come find me."
"But I have to warn you..."
"This thing has no ordinary origins."
"If certain people learn that you possess it... I fear it might bring fatal trouble upon you!"
"So, it's better to keep a low profile."
...