Mobs and bosses that were part of hidden quests usually dropped all their equipment upon death.
Looting them was the most rewarding experience a player could have in New World Online.
Thus, when Leon, who had recovered from a near-death experience and was now in peak condition, searched the corpse of the Demonic Frost Wyvern, he ended up obtaining four items. Three of them were so special that he grinned from ear to ear. They were as follows
[Loot no.1: rank-2 Runic Item "Forbidden Device of the Two Lives Shaman"]
[Description: An ominous piece of dark metal with jagged spikes that curl menacingly upward. It is shaped like a crown and is as black as the void. It gleams with an eerie, dull light, and small, ghostly wisps of smoke continuously rise from its surface. This crown once belonged to a powerful shaman who was feared across the realms for his mastery over life and death. It was said that this crown was forged in the dark fires of the Abyss and imbued with the essence of the souls he had sacrificed to extend his own life. After the shaman's demise, the crown was lost for centuries until it was passed down to the 7th retainer of the 13th Prince of the Demon Realm, the Demonic Frost Wyvern.]
[Effects:
Effect 1: Grants 500 Magical Defense to its wearer.
Effect 2: Allows its wearer to cast the Barrier of the Damned black magic.
When this spell is cast, an unholy barrier materializes to block an incoming attack, protecting the wearer from harm. This effect can be used thrice before the crown enters a semi dormant state, causing its second effect to be sealed.
The barrier is strong enough to:
Completely nullify a physical attack.
Absorb and disperse magical damage.
Reflect a portion of the attack back at the attacker in the form of a curse.
Condition to activate: "Souls of the damned, shield me from death."
(This can be done either by speaking the words aloud or by repeating them in the mind.)
Once the crown has been used three times and enters a dormant state, the wearer must sacrifice souls to it in order to reactivate its full powers. The wearer will gain the ability to use Barrier of the Damned one time for every ten fallen enemies they feed to the crown. Only enemies you have killed can be fed to it. The feeding is done automatically. You can turn this feature off and assign a command to it to limit its gluttonous activities to your will if you don't want it to feed on every kill you make.
Effect 3: Grants the wearer the passive black magic, Rebirth of the Fallen.
Upon death, the wearer's body will disappear, only to reappear in the same spot, fully restored, as if they had never been harmed. After this effect is used, the crown loses the ability to grant its wearer resurrection until they sacrifice the lives of 100 creatures to it.]
[Warning! Wearing the Forbidden Device of the Two Lives Shaman and relying on its power comes with serious side effects.]
As for what these side effects were, there was no mention of them, and despite having the memories of his previous life, Leon didn't know about the side effects of this item either. He just knew that this item was a private collection of the number one PvE player in his past life, and that player never shared his weaknesses or the weaknesses of his equipment with others.
[Loot no.2: rank-2 Runic Item "Little Treasure of the Duke of Steel"]
[Description: The Little Treasure of the Duke of Steel is a ruby pendant, elegant and striking in appearance. The pendant bears a small yet intricate drawing of a wave bursting through a mountain, delicately carved onto its surface. To an untrained eye, this image may seem like a simple decoration. However, if an expert runesmith with wisdom rivaling the sages were to scrutinize it closely, they would realize that the image is composed of thousands of overlapping runes. These runes, meticulously arranged, bestow immense power upon the pendant. This small but potent runic item once belonged to the Duke of Steel, a renowned hero of the Alliance of Light. In his youth, the Duke wielded this treasure to enhance both his body and his weapons, turning himself into an unstoppable force on the battlefield. His mastery of this item secured numerous victories for the Alliance. Although it is unknown how he lost the pendant, it is certain that the Duke would be overjoyed to have it back in his possession.]
[Effects:
Effect 1: Allows the user to draw on the power of the runes etched into the pendant to enchant a part of their body or their weapon with the Steel Body Enchantment. This enchantment significantly increases sturdiness, sharpness, and durability. It has an activation condition.
Activation Condition: The user must recite the Chant of Power to activate this effect.
The Chant of Power is a unique incantation that resonates with a runic item, unlocking its hidden potential. Each runic item has a different chant, meticulously crafted to align with the specific runes embedded within it. In the world of New World Online, these chants can be collected through various means, such as deciphering ancient texts, completing difficult quests, or witnessing recordings of legendary battles where the chant was used.
Effect 2: Grants the user the ability to cast Empowered Strike. This skill doubles the effectiveness and range of the user's next skill. It can be used twice a day.
Activation Condition: This effect can be activated with just a thought and does not require a chant.]
[Warning: The item has a serious side effect. Once the first effect is activated, the user's stamina drains at twice the normal rate, and this drain does not cease until the enchantment is deactivated.]
"I can manage with that,' Leon thought.
[Loot no.3: rank-2 Runic Item "Bracelets of the Seer!"]
[Description: These bracelets were once worn by the Mother of All Dragons, a powerful seer whose abilities allowed her to foresee the future and perceive the true intentions of those around her. With her profound foresight, she guided the dragon race, ensuring their survival and prosperity for thousands of years. The divine aura that surrounded her mutated these bracelets, making them exceedingly special and rare.]
[Effects:
Effect 1: Grants the wearer 1000 magical defense.
Effect 2: Grants the user the ability to use Foresight of the Seer. This skill allows the user to target a single opponent and predict their actions before they make them. The effect lasts for 5 minutes and can be used once every 30 minutes.
Activation Condition: The user must recite the Chant of Power to activate this effect.
Effect 3: Grants the user the Sense of the Seer. Once a person wears this item, they may periodically experience visions, witness events from the past or future, or feel inexplicable sensations that provide insight or warning.]
The Bracelets of the Seer didn't seem to have side effects as the system didn't mention them, but Leon surmised that the visions one might experience because of wearing it could be considered a side effect in themselves.
The last item he looted from the corpse of the hidden boss in the tutorial was an old, weathered map with torn edges and faded ink. It had an X on it. The X on the map was marking a specific place in the forest. Otherwise, the wyvern wouldn't have come here with it.
"This must be related to its appearance in the Darkwood Forests."
Leon couldn't help but feel that whatever the wyvern had been sent to investigate for the 13th Demon Prince was likely connected to the marked location on the old map.
Now he wanted to go ahead and investigate it, believing that it could lead to a hidden treasure or an ancient power. However, the map was in very bad condition and couldn't be read clearly. He needed help if he wanted to understand what area of the Forest the mark was pointing to.
"Maybe the priest at the temple can help. He did say he would provide me guidance if I needed it."
He stored the map in his inventory and wore the other three items.
Then he turned to the corpses scattered in his surroundings.
The entire body of the wyvern was a treasure and the claws of the imps could be sold to certain npcs like blacksmiths for gold. He had to get them all. Yes, despite everything he had obtained, he was still not done collecting his spoils of war.
That was just the type of person he was.
Until he had wiped the place clean, he won't feel satisfied.
This was something he developed in his past life when he was a gold miner of NWO, and this bad habit of his had passed on to this life.
Anyhow, with its 8th slot taken, his inventory only had two slots free. He needed to free up some space if he wanted to store the body of the wyvern and also the claws of the imps he had killed before the battle with the hidden boss of the tutorial began in it. Carrying them wasn't an option. Carrying items increases stamina consumption and also slow down a player.
He freed one slot by taking out the Heaven Fury ability book and learning it on the spot. He tossed away one of his basic swords and freed another slot by taking out Stormbreaker, equipping himself with it.
Basic swords were pretty much useless. They couldn't be sold to other players or npcs. They were only useful until a player received better weapons. So his action of discarding one of his basic swords wasn't a waste.
Now, with four slots free in his inventory, he could store the corpse of the wyvern and the claws of all the imps he had killed so far into it.
After doing that, he began searching the forest for the last few imps he needed to kill to complete the tutorial.
As he was equipped with four Rank 2 runic items, he had become dozens of times more difficult to kill than a standard player in the same level range. Thus, slaying a few imps was going to be a piece of cake for him!