Chapter 183: Silver Spark and Golden Dawn
"Whoa. Being an event boss makes a difference, huh? It's an experience bomb."
He'd just leveled up not long ago, but here he was leveling up again. That made him level 68.
"Phew. The top ranker is at level 150, so when am I gonna hit 100?"
-No helping it since you started half a year late. Don't worry, though. This leveling stretch is hell, but from 80 onward, it'll open up again... Huh?
Ssssh.
The chimera's corpse was slowly turning to ash and vanishing.
But unlike other monsters, it didn't just leave ash and items behind.
As the body disappeared, a thick black energy surged up in proportion.
The demonic energy binding the Chaos Chimera dissipates.
The Purified Orb begins analyzing the demonic energy. Once analysis is complete, you can trace the demonic energy's flow.
Take out the 'Purified Frantic Orb' from your inventory.
"Aha. Same pattern as before."
Carpe nodded and pulled the Purified Orb from his inventory.
The black demonic energy floating in the air began slowly getting sucked into the orb.
Analyzing demonic energy flow. Time remaining until completion: 9:59
"Gotta wait a full 10 minutes without moving. No big deal since I have cleanup anyway."
Cleanup here naturally meant grabbing the loot from the downed boss mob!
Carpe approached where the chimera had fallen. Three items lay there.
He picked up the nearest one—a set of knuckles.
◈ Equip Req: Lv. 70+
◈ Knuckles infused with demonic power. Grants a curse on hit with a certain probability. Very low chance to curse the wearer.
"Knuckles, huh. First time seeing these in RaSe."
Like gauntlets, they were fist weapons, but unlike gauntlets, the fingers were fully exposed. The forearm coverage was much shorter too.
"Pretty good... but can't equip it even if I wanted to."
What good was a good weapon drop? No matter how great, it paled next to his planet-destroying +14 gauntlets.
These knuckles had solid attack power and extra options. Any other martial artist user would've cheered themselves hoarse.
But for Carpe, it was just auction fodder—nothing more, nothing less.
Unless he scored Epic grade or higher, he wasn't switching weapons anytime soon.
"Still, loot's always a mood booster. Sell it for some good gold."
-Yeah. Sell that crap quick. The name alone reeks of bad juju.
The second drop was a material item.
◈ Magic Material, Curse
◈ A new form of chimera born from combined knowledge and madness. Research may unlock new possibilities. Caution: Potent curse from vengeful souls and demonic energy. Purify to safely use...
"Unlock."
...
Curse removal successful. Item info updated.
-Put on your blinker next time. Status window's flustered lol.
"About time it got used to it."
◈ Magic Material
◈ Potent curse fully removed, grade upgraded. If you have artificial life creation knowledge, greatly enhance related abilities.
"Related abilities, huh..."
-You have doll-making skills, so you can use it. Or give it to Elis—she'll figure something out.
"Yeah. Stash it for now. Last drop is... Huh?"
The final drop was something totally unexpected.
A rectangular object the size of an adult man's palm. Any RaSe player would've recognized it instantly.
"Skill pack! Whoa!"
-This drops...
"Kuh. Yeah, pulls have been dry lately."
The one downside was it wasn't a single skill card like the Servant Lord's Fragment—just a pack. But beggars couldn't be choosers.
◈ Open to choose 1 of 5 skill cards. Cards range randomly from 3-star to 8-star.
"Whoa, an advanced pack too. Sick. But what's with the 'Defense' tag?"
-Exactly what it says—only defense skills from this pack. Unlike level-up packs, monster drops can rarely have themes.
"Oh."
Obviously rarer than standard packs.
"Defense skills. Perfect timing."
Carpe's skills fell into two main themes.
First, offensive ones like Permafrost and Ma Sword Penetration Mirror.
Then utility mobility like Dimension Gate, Blue Dragon Step, and Chilling Shield.
A decent balance, except defense was sorely lacking.
He'd gotten 5-star Elemental Shield from a level 65 pack, but it was too niche for elemental defense.
"Got the World Tree's Blessing, but..."
That was more a once-a-day special ability than true defense.
-Spot on for now. Your evasion's insane, but you can't dodge everything.
"Yeah. Single-target skills are dodgeable, but AoE? No chance."
Like fighting the Ice Queen recently—something like a holy grenade left no room for evasion.
"Defense skills would open up way more strategies. Phew. Nice."
Carpe glanced at his quest window.
A few minutes left until the Purified Orb fully absorbed the demonic energy.
Finishing the pack pull should time it perfectly.
No reason to hesitate!
Carpe reverently picked up the skill pack.
"Ahh. This cool, hefty feel—two years in the making."
-What're you on about? RaSe's been out less than a year.
"The long drought of duds and fails... sick of it. Thanks, Chimera! Back to 'freebie' Carpe days."
-...Where do I even start? When'd you ever suffer duds and fails, you shameless punk!
"Just a feeling. A feeling. It'll drop something good this time!"
Carpe took a deep breath.
To actually use it, he needed at least 4-star—no, 5-star minimum.
"Please no 3-stars..."
-Realistic today, huh? Usually it's 'gold effects or bust.'
"Can't win every time."
His freebie mindset had seeped into his bones, borderline delusion, but he knew constant gold effects were a pipe dream.
"5-star would satisfy... Nah, gotta be 6."
-Yeah. Seeing your shamelessness evolve in real-time is reassuring. Sudden change kills people. Shameless suits you.
And when that shamelessness finally shattered?
Cheonma could sleep happy.
"Good spot for it."
-...
Why was a demon-choked spot 'good'?
Cheonma almost retorted but held back. He'd just rationalize it as 'proven science' with nonsense.
Better not hear it again or he'd die of frustration.
"Here we go!"
Carpe ripped open the pack vigorously. Five skill cards floated up!
"Left to right."
He flipped the first.
3-star Skill – Water Shield
"Ugh, first one's trash. Been forever since a pull."
-Acting stoic but personality shows right away? Predicting 33433.
"Take back the good spot thing. Ghost haunting me—can't be good."
-It's always been here, punk!
Carpe sighed lightly, used Repeat, and opened the next.
3-star Skill – Basic Damage Reduction
"Tsk."
-Kuhahaha! Yeah, time for a flop. Too many freebies lately. Gotta fail now to balance the universe.
"Three left..."
Carpe used Repeat again and opened the third.
4-star Skill – Stone Body
"Ah... 4-star."
-Whoa. Am I on fire today? Nailed it like a ghost. Well, it is a ghost.
"Grr."
-Hahaha. Decent for 4-star. Passive physical damage reduction. Surprisingly popular. But still 4-star. 4-star. Kuhaha!
"Hoo."
Cheonma prancing beside him was infuriating, but Carpe calmed down.
Yeah, that antics were prime jinx-clearing. Three stacks of karma meant it was due now.
"Going!"
Carpe opened the fourth vigorously.
Fwaah!
An effect burst! Brilliant silver glow!
"Kraaa! It dropped! Silver! 6-star!!!"
-Holy shit. It actually hit? What a rigged gacha!
The silver faded, revealing the card.
6-star Skill – Iron Cloth Shirt
Passive skill hardening skin like steel. Strong defense against blades, blunts, and strikes.
"Oh!"
A familiar name from wuxia novels, an outer martial art.
And the effect was stellar.
Mastered, this passive cut most physical damage by up to 20%.
"Prefer active skills, but damage-cut passives ain't bad."
-Ain't bad? It's busted. Unconditional 20% reduction. Top mid-tier 6-star defense. Worth maxing points.
Magic damage untouched was a nitpick, but Vasilas covered that.
"Phew. Solid pull. Advanced pack ending at 4-star would've sucked."
Satisfied, Carpe opened the fifth—had to check.
And.
"...Huh?"
-Eh?
Fwaah!
Another effect burst.
Brilliant gold.
Proof of 7-star.