The Exiled Champion
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ITEM DETAILS
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**Name:** Crimson Reef Shell Fragment
**Grade:** Uncommon
**Type:** Raw Material (Craftable)
Description: A fragment of the shell obtained from the creatures of the Bloodied Reef.
Exchange rate: 50 System Coins
EXCHANGE:
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He held on to those. They came in handy for repairing the armor now, they might come in handy later.
He moved to the weapons. The harpoons and the Tridents
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ITEM DETAILS
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**Name:** Barbed Harpoon
**Grade:** Uncommon
**Type:** Weapon
**Durability:** 190/300
**Level Requirement:** 2
Description: Harpoon wielded by the soldiers of the bloodied reef.
Exchange rate: 2300 System Coins
EXCHANGE:
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ITEM DETAILS
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**Name:** Jagged Trident
**Grade:** Uncommon
**Type:** Weapon
**Durability:** 280/300
**Level Requirement:** 2
Description: A reinforced alloy sword created by merging the Standard Mutant soldier sword with a Black Iron sword.
Exchange rate: 2800 System Coins
EXCHANGE:
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These came as a surprise. The harpoons and tridents both are better than his Black Iron Alloy Sword, in terms of durability and the level requirement. They are definitely a lot better than black iron swords. And he had a lot of these.
The tridents weren't his cup of tea. They are too big and bulky for his size. But the Harpoons were good in his hands.
He kept the harpoons for now and sold the tridents.
Ten of them and that's 28000 coins.
He went back and sold the Black Iron swords. Twenty-four of them at 400 coins each. 9600 coins.
Now he had a total of 48000 coins.
There are just two more things and the first thing Ayaan checked was the Crimson Fang. The moment he opened it, he was dumbfounded.
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ITEM DETAILS
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**Name:** Crimson Fang of Varrick
**Grade:** Rare
**Type:** Weapon (Sword)
**Durability:** 990/1000
**Level Requirement:** 4
Description: A sword forged in the Abyss for the Reaver Warlord Varrick
Exchange rate: 100000 System Coins
EXCHANGE:
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That was the most expensive item that he had ever seen in the system. He took out the sword and checked it out. It was smooth. Unlike the harpoons and Trident that gave the barbarous feel upon contact, the sword was refined.
The craftsmanship was impeccable.
It was made with crimson colored metal and the hilt fit perfectly in his arms. He couldn't identify what kind of material was used to make that hilt, but it was perfect to hold.
He stood up and swung it a couple of times. He could feel its power. He put it back in the inventory and moved on to the next item.
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ITEM DETAILS
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**Name:** Reaver Warlord Essence
**Grade:** Rare
**Type:** Consumable
**Level Requirement:** 4
Description: Essence extracted from the Abyssal creature, Reaver Warlord, Varrack. Upon consumption can change the player's constitution to be compatible with the energies of the Abyss.
Exchange rate: 100000 System Coins
EXCHANGE:
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The description was a bit vague, however it didn't deter Ayaan. He just took that pill out and swallowed it.
[Player Consumed the Essence of Varrack.]
Ayaan felt a cold energy invade his body. All his muscles tensed up. He could feel a cold steam surging through every cell of his body. He couldn't even breathe for a moment.
Ayaan clenched his teeth and looked at the ceiling. He didn't want to give in to the pain and scream. He just let it pass through him.
Soon, his pore opened up, cold vapor came out of his body and it appeared black color. Ayaan wasn't unfamiliar to this. He could feel it. It was the Abyssal smog that he had seen on the Warlord. The one critical factor that changed the fight from a battle of technique to a mindless brawl.
He could still feel its corrosive nature, however, it didn't affect him like it did before.
Slowly, his body once again reached its normal temperature, the pain was also gone. The system notification appeared.
[Player successfully digested the essence of Varrack.
The player's constitution has changed and the player's endurance towards Abyss and its nature has improved. Player will not be subjected to Abyssal corruption created by any entity weaker than him.
Player has acquired the skill: Abyssal Smog. Check the skill for more details.]
Ayaan's eyes lit up.
He hurriedly clicked on the skill window.
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SKILL
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Skill Name: Abyssal Smog (Level 1)
Effect:
Allows player to surround himself with Abyssal smog of corruption. While activated, anything player touches will be subjected to the Abyssal corruption.
Note: Player's equipment is exempt from the effect
Consumes 1 MP for every two minutes.
Skill can be kept active as long as the player has enough Mana reserves.
Cooldown Period: **15 minutes**
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Another skill in his arsenal. Ayaan felt extremely satisfied with this time's haul.
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INVENTORY
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Slots: 6/15
-Black Iron Alloy Sword*1
- Black Iron Combat Knife*1
- Abyssal Guardian Armor*1
- Crimson Reef shell fragment*194
- Barbed Harpoon*180
- Crimson Fang of Varrack*1
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Everything that should be sold has also been sold. After some thought, Ayaan opened the shop once again and browsed through the weapons. His combat knife's durability is almost up and he hadn't seen any repair options.
He wanted to see if he could find anything. Since he had 48000 coins he wanted to see what kind of equipment he could buy with it.
And he wasn't disappointed. There are many items and there are some really good options. One of them caught his eye.
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ITEM DETAILS
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**Name:** Leviathan's Fang
**Grade:** Rare
**Type:** Weapon (Dagger)
**Level Requirement:** 2
Description: A dagger crafted with the fang of a legendary leviathan of the Abyss. The dagger has a conductive property for abyssal energy and can be used in tandem with the abyss-type attacks.
Cost: 10000 System Coins
Buy:
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He did see some other weapons of higher price, but there were no daggers or combat knives in that price range. In that category, this one's the best. And the abyss energy conductivity also intrigued him a bit. So, purchased it.
After the shopping was done. Ayaan closed the system and tried to relax a bit. Luckily this time, he didn't have to travel for the next quest.
Along with it being a pleasure, it also confused him. Because in the system interface, Vashora is the only location choice. There were no multiple options like it did before.
Only Vashora.
This made him feel a bit cautious, because of the possibility that by any chance if the quest fails, the city would be in danger. Not that he would mind if the whole city drowned, but Maya couldn't be moved at this point.
So, this city has some reason to exist as it did.
That means this time, the stakes are higher.
Ayaan stayed the night in the hospital room and spent the next day resting. He ensured that his fatigue was zero.
There were no leads on the case either. Whoever that fourth guy was, Ayaan became sure that he was an insider. Someone who works discreetly with the government and possibly even on the level of the special teams.
Because he knew that even if someone ran a background check on Ayaan, the results would have been similar.
Even his identity as the Rear Admiral wouldn't be revealed by no means. None of the usual identifiers, like the fingerprints, blood, DNA and facial recognition would yield any results.
So, he had to come to terms with the fact that this fourth guy might be on the same level as him.
This only made things more complicated. Because Ayaan then had to think what the actual motive of the guy was.
Anyway, he couldn't solve it at the moment, so he just focused on the quest at hand.
Soon, it was time for the next quest. Ayaan went on to the rooftop as per his usual habit and wore the armor.
He took deep breaths and calmed himself down.
As usual, one minute before the midnight, the quest notification appeared.
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QUEST
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Quest Name: The Exiled Champion
Objective:
Defeat Varunax, once the champion of Zenith who had fallen and was now part of the Abyss.
Clear Conditions:
Kill Varunax in a duel
Reward:
- All Stats +6
- Random Skill of Varunax
Penalty for Failure:
- All Stats -70%
- 70% chance that Varunax will descend into your reality.
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The quest was simple. The most direct and simplest quest, Ayaan had ever encountered. The stakes were obviously higher as reflected in the penalty. But what disappointed him most was the lack of hidden conditions.
Just from the way it was phrased, it became clear that it would be hard for him to get any extra rewards from this.
He was looking forward to levelling up. But it might not even be possible.
The clock ticked.
00:00:05
00:00:04
00:00:03
00:00:02
00:00:01
00:00:00
Ayaan was enveloped with the grey flash.
When he opened his eyes, he didn't find himself on the rooftop like he usually did.
*SPLASH*
Ayaan felt the splatter of the tides hitting him. He was standing on a rock, as big as a basketball court, not too far away from the shore.
It was still in the shallow waters and it was even a bit submerged.
He could see the shore and the ruined city not too far away. The blood moon is still hanging over the sky and it seemed to have riled up the sea that's battering this small island he was standing on along with the shore.
Ayaan looked around looking for the enemy and then it appeared.
Lv6: Varunax [██████████████████████] 100.0%