Chapter 77
Chapter 77
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>Translator: penny
>Chapter: 77
>Chapter Title: Eliza's Bracelet
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‘Zero mana cost means it’s basically always active, right?’
Unless it gets detected or touches something, it stays on.
It wasn’t ideal for combat, but in a situation like this where he needed to dodge all the prying eyes, it was the perfect option.
A true hero-grade item, living up to its name!
‘Is it really okay to get something like this just handed to me?’
This wasn’t some pumpkin rolling in on the vine.
Now, he was getting hero-grade items even if he just stood still.
He wondered what other players would say if they heard about this.
Even Do-hyun would’ve bombarded the devs with a barrage of curses over several days.
‘This is ridiculous.’
It was that absurd.
Sure, the thrill wasn’t as strong now that he had multiple hero-grade pieces, but objectively speaking, hero grade was still a high tier.
Even though it was an accessory with limited effects, that very fact made it even more valuable.
‘Accessories are hard to get through normal routes.’
That’s why people only equipped them after hitting a certain level.
With their high acquisition difficulty leading to prices way out of proportion to their power, only the filthy rich or nouveau riche show-offs decked themselves out in them from low levels.
‘People get them like this too? Is this what happens when you raise a divine beast?’
He’d never even raised a guardian, let alone a divine beast, so he had no idea.
He recalled Purple Bro mentioning that divine beasts sometimes fetched hidden pieces or triggered related quests...
‘Is this technically a hidden piece too?’
It was debatable, but who cared.
Good things were good.
Besides, he was more curious about something else right now.
“No, why’d you even have something like this?”
-Oh, as you can see, Eliza’s a bit special. Figured she’d have a lot of people gunning for her, so I turned a dead assassin into an undead on a whim, and turns out he was carrying this...
That’s how the bracelet came to be, processed from what they’d found: ‘Eliza’s Bracelet’.
But it was too big for Eliza, so she’d wrapped it around her neck two or three times to wear it as a necklace...
Come to think of it, no one ever mentioned Eliza.
She wasn’t even hiding in his pocket or anything—she perched openly on his shoulder or head.
‘So that’s why. Makes sense... She doesn’t exactly blend in, so I thought it was weird.’
What he’d mistaken for a simple leash was actually a hero-grade bracelet with insane performance.
-Come to think of it, this is the only thing I’ve done for her...
-Riza Riza!
-Thanks for saying that, Eliza.
He wore it every time he went out, apparently. As her first and last gift, it had become Eliza’s cherished possession.
These two sure had sentimental stories every time he heard one...
Well, after reuniting after 150 years, what wouldn’t be?
-Riza Riza!
-She says thanks, and that it’ll be more useful to you now than to her.
“...Yeah. Thanks, Eliza.”
-Riza!
With his hand on his hip, he replied, and it looked just like she was saying ‘you’re welcome’.
‘Things have been going my way ever since I got these guys.’
Was this why Purple Bro was so obsessed with his divine beast?
He’d said they sometimes brought back special items or hidden pieces, and you couldn’t help but adore them for it. Do-hyun was starting to get it.
‘She’s too damn cute.’
-Riza Riza!
That’s why Do-hyun wasn’t just petting Eliza’s head with his index finger out of mere affection.
She rubbed her head against his finger happily, looking utterly adorable.
After a brief moment like that, Do-hyun finally slipped on the bracelet.
‘Good thing it’s a bracelet.’
If it were a necklace, it would’ve overlapped with the Blood Oath Necklace.
It looked huge on Eliza, but it fit his wrist perfectly.
[You have equipped Eliza’s Bracelet.]
[Using ‘Faint Stealth’.]
-Whoa, Master looks all translucent now.
-Riza!
Just as they said, Do-hyun’s body had grown hazy.
To him as the user and the two guardians, it looked like this—but to everyone else, he’d probably vanished completely.
“Huh? Guess he left.”
“Hmm, was gonna give him a piece of my mind if he caused more trouble...”
“But he was the VIP the High Priest brought in himself... No trouble means it’s all good.”
“He left his companion behind, though?”
“He looks young—maybe he was worried and left him.”
In fact, even as Do-hyun walked right past the priests, they didn’t notice him at all.
They were only chattering about the robed Jihard.
The performance was solid. The other effects held up too.
[MP: 1,150 / 1,150]
‘It really doesn’t go down.’
Confirming the second option’s effect, Do-hyun grinned.
All problems solved.
Time to head out to the fields with his head held high.
“I’m going.”
He strode down the hall and boldly opened the entrance door.
Creak—thud.
But Do-hyun had to close it again before it even fully opened.
Murmur murmur—
‘...What the hell, so many?’
In that brief moment the door cracked open, the crowd visible through the gap was way bigger than he’d expected. Wondering if he’d misjudged, Do-hyun peeked again, just a tiny bit.
‘...Why does it look even bigger?’
Then he pondered seriously.
‘How the hell am I supposed to get through that?’
Getting stealth was great.
An option usable even in the city? Awesome—too awesome.
The problem was the performance of Faint Stealth.
‘You think I can weave through that crowd without touching anyone?’
Even for Do-hyun, slipping through that many people without brushing anyone was impossible.
Even at a glance through the crack, there were hundreds—no, more—jammed in there.
Packed so tight, how could he not touch someone? His stealth had already broken from just touching the door.
‘Don’t these idiots have anything better to do? Why are they milling around out front?’
Seeing it really drove it home.
Just how famous he’d become. 790k subscribers wasn’t a fluke. If they were all fans, that’d be one thing...
‘Fat chance. Look at those greedy eyes. They’re dying to strip me bare.’
-Wow, amazing. Those people have the exact same look as when you catch me, Master.
‘...’
-Ow! Why’d you flick me, Master?
Flicking Jihard’s forehead, Do-hyun gathered his thoughts again.
‘Gonna need some kind of strategy.’
Lure that mob somewhere else, or teleport out...
Backstab would be perfect, but damage skills were taboo in cities.
Even if not, Backstab left a mark, breaking stealth.
Then it’d all be for nothing—no point in using stealth.
-Kiruk, kiruk.
“Quiet down. Why are you chirping so much? I said watch the noise.”
-Sorry... But I’m just too excited.
“Excited?”
Some of us are stressing out here?
Frowning, Jihard hurriedly explained.
-No, not like that. It’s like... the lowly masses looking up to me. It’s weirdly addictive.
“...”
Oh, right.
He had that Strong vs Weak, Weak vs Strong trait.
With Jihard having the strongest instinct for it, feeling that thrill from those gazes was only natural.
‘Come to think of it, he loved it when we pushed through the crowd coming in.’
Having led an undead legion as a forest lord, this must’ve been a nostalgic rush.
To think this sneaky little guy was once a ruler...
Still felt unbalanced.
‘Wait, gazes?’
A sudden spark.
The word ‘gaze’, Jihard’s presence, and him being a guardian—it clicked into a brilliant idea.
“Hey, you said the attention feels good, right?”
-Yeah? Well...
“Wanna bask in it to your heart’s content?”
-Huh?
Grinning at the tilting head, Do-hyun explained the plan.
When he finished.
-Kiruk. This is too good.
“Right?”
A smile spread across Jihard’s face, making him look even sleazier.
Do-hyun’s face probably matched.
For once, master and guardian were in perfect sync, staring out the door with determined eyes.
“Let’s go.”
-Kiruk!
And Do-hyun vanished.
* * *
Meanwhile, Brion was in chaos right then.
Murmur murmur—
“Damn, look at this crowd...”
“Looks like a concert line. What, did this many people show up?”
An enormous throng, like something out of a stadium concert, packed the square in front of the Great Temple of Lyre.
So many it was suffocating just to look at.
Considering how vast Brion was—and the temple even more so—this was an insane sight.
A passing group included a guy who whistled in dismay.
“They smear honey inside or what? Or some flash event?”
“Kaiser went into the Great Temple.”
“So? He can go in if he’s in Brion—doesn’t mean this many people gather, even for Kaiser.”
The guy genuinely didn’t get it.
Kaiser? Yeah, the hottest dark horse and star right now.
No player had drawn this much attention so fast before.
But even so, wasn’t this overkill?
Valid question, but his party stared like he was clueless, then made a huge fuss about how he hadn’t heard.
“Look at this guy. Obviously something big happened. You’ve been in Brion this whole time and missed it?”
“What? What is it?”
“He met the High Priest, dude. Word is two priests escorted him in.”
“What? Didn’t he just arrive in Brion?”
“Exactly! That’s why everyone’s hyped. Doesn’t look like a normal thing at all.”
If true, it was huge.
Kaiser being famous made sense among players.
But an NPC... especially the High Priest showing interest? No precedent.
And he meets her right after arriving in Brion?
The High Priest that average players might never see even after graduating Brion?
‘I haven’t even met her yet...’
It reeked.
The scent of a hidden piece.
“No wonder they’re swarming. Curiosity, sure, but honestly, they’re jealous too.”
“...Yeah.”
Plenty were just excited, but no shortage with ulterior motives.
What kind of game was God of the Old Gods?
PK and looting were baseline, moral compasses shattered left and right.
They held back in cities only to avoid jail.
If someone scored something good right in front of them, envy drove them to sabotage or steal.
‘That’s why everyone joins guilds. Why Hero Guild’s so popular.’
Without a guild’s protection—or with a weak one—you were begging to get robbed.
Even if guilds threw their weight around monopolizing stuff, people turned a blind eye.
Guilds were indispensable here.
So hot stars joined big guilds, bulking up those guilds’ shields even more.
A virtuous cycle.
‘But Kaiser has no guild, right?’