Chapter 65: Player Equipment

“From now on, your name will be Vednina—Vednina Erantz Eid.”

Once he was certain that the Soulbound Naga had developed her own consciousness, although she remained as taciturn as ever, Liu Zhi pondered for a long time before finally bestowing upon her a pleasant name.

Afterwards, Liu Zhi led Vednina toward the spot where the red monolith had once stood.

There, he found the shattered remains of the monolith, and within it, lay a dried-up demon corpse, strikingly similar to Leif, except that its skin was red and a pair of ram’s horns curled from its head, while its chin bristled with tentacle-like beard akin to an octopus. Black bone spurs jutted from its hands, and its legs were reverse-jointed, ending in hooves.

Even after so many years in death, the corpse radiated heat like volcanic magma and exuded a pungent scent of sulfur.

Liu Zhi stepped forward and gently touched Leif’s corpse. Instantly, the body seemed to melt, turning into a pool of crimson magma, leaving only fragments of bone bobbing up and down within the viscous liquid.

All around, the feathered serpent fountains sprayed water, which rained down onto the magma, rapidly cooling it. Gradually, a heap of black stone accumulated before Liu Zhi, who soon noticed that something seemed to be hidden within it.

He waited patiently for the magma to disappear completely, then approached the stone and drew his sword, sending a blade of wind slicing down upon it.

Yet the force of his wind blade could only chip off a few fragments; it was nowhere near enough to breach the thick block.

Just as he was beginning to feel discouraged and was about to give up, he suddenly realized that when his wind blade struck the stone, his skill, Indigo Gale Swordplay, registered a sudden gain in experience.

It was just a modest increase of three points, but Liu Zhi’s eyes lit up.

Ordinarily, when he and the Soulbound Naga—no, Vednina—practiced swordplay, their combined efforts would yield only three to fifteen experience points in total per day across various sword techniques.

After all, Liu Zhi was often reluctant to use wind blades against Vednina—not out of fear of hurting her, but simply because the wind blades could never hit her at all, making it a pointless waste of energy.

But now, faced with an unmoving target that could endlessly boost his Indigo Gale Swordplay, how could Liu Zhi let this opportunity slip by?

He stood not far from the stone and began practicing the technique in earnest, gathering the wind blades at his sword tip and pouring into his strikes every idea and inspiration he’d had while training—useful or otherwise.

After all, the stone wouldn’t retaliate. Naturally, Liu Zhi seized the chance to hone his Indigo Gale Swordplay for all it was worth.

As for Basic Sailor Swordsmanship and the Z-Slash Secret Sword, it wasn’t that Liu Zhi was unwilling to practice them, but rather that neither technique had any effect on the stone at all.

While Liu Zhi immersed himself in this new discovery, Vednina made no attempt to urge him onward. Instead, she allowed him to train diligently, offering occasional, subtle pointers as he struck.

Guided by a master’s advice and aided by the ideal target, Liu Zhi’s Indigo Gale Swordplay rapidly advanced.

After nearly six hours, he was drenched in sweat, his sword arm nearly too heavy to lift, yet he pressed on like a machine, tirelessly swinging his wooden sword.

By now, three overlapping yet distinct wind blades gathered at the sword’s tip. They chased and repelled each other, but remained locked in place.

From this alone, it was clear that Liu Zhi had made remarkable progress with Indigo Gale Swordplay.

He did not let up, raising his wooden sword one more time and bringing it down hard upon the much-reduced stone block.

This time, the three wind blades shot forth from the sword tip, slicing into the stone like three raging tornadoes.

The block before him was carved into pieces, growing smaller and smaller, until finally, a spot of still-molten magma was revealed inside.

Indigo Gale Swordplay, Level 2 (4+0/18000): You have developed your own understanding of the magic and assassination-based sword style, Indigo Gale Swordplay. Can maintain three to five concurrent blades. Agility +0.2, Spirit +0.3.

Note: With prolonged use and contemplation of Indigo Gale Swordplay, you have discovered the importance of mental control in swordsmanship. The technique is beginning to evolve in the direction you desire, and some of your own secret moves are taking shape.

Having elevated his Indigo Gale Swordplay, Liu Zhi let go of his sword, which clattered to the ground. His right hand hung limply at his side, spent.

But his attention was not on his aching arm. Instead, he gazed at the object revealed after the stone was completely cut away.

It was a longsword, thrust into the earth, though its design was peculiar.

The blade was comprised of three distinct parts. One, seemingly the spine of the demon Leif, now formed the sword’s ridge. Between each vertebra, streams of magma—still molten and perhaps eternally so—flowed.

These molten currents bound to one side of the spine a series of long, black stone shards, sharpened by the wind blades.

The hilt was cruder still: a stone rod jammed into the end of the spinal column, rough-hewn and inelegant.

Yet for reasons he could not explain, Liu Zhi sensed that this sword, embedded in the ground, was player equipment—something he could take with him—rather than a mere in-game weapon he could never carry out.

Pondering this, he turned his pack around, opened the twenty-slot bag, and found his appraisal magnifying glass.

It looked much like any ordinary magnifier, except for a single eye on the handle that blinked continuously.

Raising the lens to the sword, its attributes instantly sprang into view.

Leif’s Twisted Spine (Sword)

Grade: C

Equipment Requirements: Two-handed (Strength 4.0), One-handed (Strength 6.4), Dual-wield (Strength 9.2)

Trait 1: 5% chance to inflict a critical strike on attack (after a critical strike, Constitution temporarily decreases by 1 point, recovers after one hour)

Trait 2: 15% chance to inflict distortion and deception on the enemy (after deception, all senses are dulled and the user is deemed untrustworthy for half an hour)

Trait 3: Activate the magma within the sword to turn it into a Magma Sword, granting fire damage (may be used three times per game, each use lasts ten minutes; causes ongoing damage to the wielder during use)

Note: Although Leif was not a true demon, centuries of possession have imparted demonic traits to his body.