Inventory Synchronization

The inventory he had received for playing War of the Gods had been a blessing, but for Yujun—who until then had owned nothing beyond level 500 equipment—Inventory Synchronization was the system that had smashed straight through his limits. He wasn't sure it was entirely fair to call it the system's power. Either way, it delivered items to him whether No-Pay Casual Gamer willed it or not.

Inventory Synchronization had never once let him down, and expectation and excitement settled inevitably across his face.

Let's have a look.

He opened his inventory and checked the newly arrived items. Twenty in all ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had come through, and five of them stood out at once. Four belonged to a Mythic-grade armor set whose equip-level restrictions were brutally high. He was level 780, and the pieces that had arrived demanded exactly level 920. Once again, without fail, they were precisely what he needed.

Of course, without Rainbow Stickers he couldn't wear them—but he still had the Legendary Item Selection Boxes he had been hoarding unused all this time. He had left them sitting there on purpose, with exactly this sort of moment in mind. The fifth item was a Mythic sword restricted to level 720, and that one would be better off in Paranet's hands.

Now that I think about it, nothing that comes from No-Pay Casual Gamer is ever Transcendent-grade.

He had already confirmed, once, that Transcendent-grade items could drop even without a Transcendent Stone. And yet not a single one was being transferred. A guess suggested itself, though he couldn't be sure of it. No-Pay Casual Gamer might still exist only as a figure of the past. He might not even be active anymore. Yujun hoped that was the case. If No-Pay Casual Gamer was out there in a frenzy, hunting the thief who kept stealing his items, that would be the worst scenario Yujun could imagine.

Please let No-Pay Casual Gamer be dead.

Surely no other user in existence was this reluctant to run into a character he himself had made.

First, I'll use a Transcendent Stone on every piece of armor.

As luck would have it, he had exactly four Transcendent Stones on hand—saved, just like the Rainbow Stickers, for a moment like this.

My weapon is already close to over-spec. I can probably get my hands on at least one more Transcendent Stone before I find something better.

Yujun applied a Transcendent Stone to each item, then immediately checked their options.

Looking at the set, he could see exactly what sort of options No-Pay Casual Gamer favored.

Just like me. He only uses gear built around all stats, attack, and defense.

Of course he did. That was the efficient choice. The higher a player's own stats, the more items with options like these showed their true worth. On top of that, they carried extras any mage would drool over. The name itself said as much: Magic Swordsman Custom Gear.

Custom gear? What is that supposed to mean?

The items that had been sent to him looked remarkably strange. The full armor felt less like plate and more like a fitted suit—not the embarrassingly skin-tight sort, but something with real style to it. Honestly, it was a little cool. No. It was very cool. If he had to describe it, it was as though some unidentifiable black ore had been hammered thin and tailored into clothing, with crimson lines laid in at just the right places. Beautiful.

The armor even paired rather well with the Planet Destroyer's Sword, and a smile rose on Yujun's face of its own accord.

No-Pay Casual Gamer didn't make this himself... did he?

Even by Yujun's standards, the items were insane. The defense was absurdly high, and for someone who fought mainly with both magic and the sword, they were a perfect fit. Even the way they sat on the body was the best he had ever felt. He wasn't sure the faster magic manifestation mattered all that much, but simply equipping the armor had sent his magic power soaring, and that change alone was worth looking forward to.

He didn't dare guess how No-Pay Casual Gamer felt about having it stolen. Past a flicker of irritation, past mild annoyance, moderate fury, and full-blown rage—had he already reached apocalyptic wrath? If someone had robbed Yujun of gear like this, he would have chased them to the ends of the earth and beaten them into paste. And taken the items back, of course. Even if No-Pay Casual Gamer were a living saint, this had crossed the line. A cold sweat traced down Yujun's spine.

"Dad, what's wrong? Weren't you happy you got new items?"

Harp, having seen his face, asked it so innocently.

"No. I just remembered a nightmare I had yesterday."

"You had a nightmare? Aww... I want to have it with you."

"Huh? Why would you want to?"

"They say a sorrow shared is a sorrow halved. Wouldn't a nightmare be the same?"

"...My Harp, you're really something. Even so, don't go trying to have nightmares. Absolutely not."

"Okay. But Dad, you look so cool. That outfit is way better than what you wore before!"

"Y-you think so?"

Wearing the Magic Swordsman Custom Gear, Yujun looked down at himself. His physique was good enough that clothes cut from a material this fitted sat on him exceptionally well.

The material really is unusual. So is the look.

Calling it something halfway between armor and cloth felt about right. He was smiling at how satisfying it felt to actually wear when a system message drifted up before him.

Huh? My total stats passed demigod level ages ago.

Was there a tier above demigod, separate from the gods themselves? If not, perhaps it was a little different because the increase had come from items. He had forgotten about the Physical Ability Amplification Chip entirely, but with its grade suddenly rising, he had no choice but to look.

Whoa...

His head spun. It felt like an unexpected gift. As the chip's ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠grade rose, power genuinely flooded his body—so much of it that it was hard to control.

Getting used to this is going to take a while.

It wasn't only the chip's effect that had grown. He had also replaced his entire armor set with Transcendent-grade pieces, so the change was enormous. Fighting right away wouldn't be a serious problem, but in his current state, regulating his strength might be a little difficult. The same went for his speed. Still, he would adapt soon enough. The Genius trait wasn't there for nothing.

Come to think of it, I got a Fruit of Evolution as an achievement reward, too. Do I use it, or not?

This was exactly why you stockpiled as many skills and traits as you could. More choices never hurt. Then again, abilities weren't something you received just because you wanted them.

I'll take it slow. It's not as if I'm slow.

Set beside his strength, the number of his abilities might look small, but considering how little time had passed since he came to the Tower of Infinity, it was anything but. Measured by time, he actually held an absurd number of them.

Still, Fruits of Evolution turn up more often than you'd think. Better to use them as they come.

It wasn't as if he owned only poor abilities, and sitting on a fruit while he waited for something better to appear would be foolish.

Let's try it on Painful Strike.

Seeing how especially effective it had been against Masare this time, he wondered if Painful Strike might be an even better ability than he had thought. He had already used Fruits of Evolution on most of his decent abilities anyway, and SS-grade sat a little awkwardly on him.

It needs to be SSS at the very least.

He had obtained the Laurel Crown of Luck recently as well, so he ought to see the fruit's effect at its maximum. Yujun didn't linger. He used the Fruit of Evolution.

Oh. Not bad.

He had hoped, while he was at it, that it might climb all the way to EX-grade, but that was greed past reason. Most players didn't even know EX-grade existed. His skills and traits had reached such ridiculous grades only because his luck was high and one fateful encounter after another had trailed after him. It was hard to call this the normal range for skills and traits.

Back when I was playing War of the Gods, even catching a glimpse of the letter S was difficult.

Thought of that way, the No-Pay Casual Gamer character—maxed out at level 500—felt infinitely shabby.

Yujun bounced lightly in place and loosened up, throwing punches and extending his legs through the basic motions. There was no discomfort. Only, more strength went into the movements than he had intended. It wasn't a real problem. He had no reason to use his strength on anyone who wasn't an enemy.

"About time we went and stacked some Peace Contribution."

"Okay!"

"Harp, you want to fire your breath too, don't you?"

"Yes! I can feel I've gotten stronger! This—this feeling! I can't just sit still!"

Harp's way of talking seemed to be taking after Paranet. He was imagining it. Surely.

Yujun set out for the battlefield where the undead still ran rampant.

Night was sinking deep, and the undead had grown immensely powerful. The plague had vanished entirely and the players had returned to their former selves, yet the situation was hardly good.

"Is this ever going to end?"

"His Holiness and the Holy See are doing what they can, but..."

"We have to kill the liches first. There are too many of them."

"Just getting that close is impossible. The liches never come forward."

"What about taking them out with stealth?"

"If that worked, we'd have done it ages ago."

That was when a single player appeared in the sky and began to shout.