069. [STAGE 3] Boxes (3)
“I’m…….”
Damien hesitated and spoke cautiously.
“I haven’t thought about it since. That promise with the prince.”
“…….”
“One day, when all the monsters are defeated, when there is peace on this front. You can ask me again then, Prince.”
Damien looked up at me with a face that I didn’t know if it was tearing or smiling.
“I’ll tell you then if I still…… hate you, Prince.”
“That day will definitely come, Damien.”
Three more years.
After walking the path to the ending, a decision will be made in one way or another.
“And whatever answer you give me then, I’ll gladly accept.”
I reached out and placed my hand over Damien’s bandaged eye. Damien was still, motionless.
Loyalty and hatred. Grace and grudges.
Player and cheat character.
Whatever the relationship, it didn’t matter. I just hoped that this little boy helping me would be happy someday.
Whatever the ending, I can only…… pray that it will be.
***
The night after the end of the stage.
I returned to my room exhausted.
“Ego-go, it’s Saksin, ego…….”
Even though my left arm was still injured, and my whole body was creaking from the rough rolling.
I couldn’t even rest. It was because I needed to know the exact result of the defensive battle that I was not present at.
The results of reality that cannot be known only through the system settlement window.
I had just returned from a tour of the city walls, the artifact storage warehouses, the various production facilities, and the soldiers in the temple.
“I’m tired…… I’m going to die…….”
There’s a victory banquet tonight, but I’m not in any condition to attend, so I just returned after reciting a congratulatory speech.
Even without me, the other guys will play well with the soldiers. Jupiter, Jupiter, Jupiter…….
‘I believe you, Jupiter.’
You’re good at drinking, smoking, gambling and wasting money. You’ll take care of the atmosphere and play nice with the soldiers.
“Whoaaa.”
As soon as I sat down on the bed, fatigue set in.
I want to collapse right now and go to sleep.
Still, don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today. I turn on the system window.
First things first: Job changes.
In the last battle, two of the main party characters reached the level required to change jobs.
When I reached level 20, the 1st job advancement became possible, and when Lucas reached level 35, the 2nd job advancement became possible.
Lucas first.
I opened Lucas’s stat window. Let’s see the stats of our little SSR hero, shall we~
[Lucas (SSR)]
– Level: 35
– Title: Prince’s Bodyguard/Protagonist
– Class: Advanced Knight
– Strength 35 Agility 35 Intelligence 15 Stamina 35 HP 20
“The stats are crazy…….”
Strength, Agility, and Stamina are all maxed out. If he were born on Earth, he’d probably win multiple Olympic gold medals, though I’m not sure which ones.
Lukas has already completed his second career change and has been promoted to Advanced Knight. If that’s the case, it means that the 2nd skill has been unlocked as well.
I open Lucas’s skill window. Let’s take a look at his 2nd skill!
– Skills
> Passive: Man of Steel
> Skill 1: Strike of Will
> Skill 2: Step of Tenacity
> Ultimate: ??? (Unlocked after 3rd job change)
Lucas’s 2nd skill, [Step of Tenacity] has been unlocked.
is a skill that attaches wings to Lucas, an SSR-class cheat character, simply put, it is a high-speed movement skill.
It’s a brute force maneuver that will give you a quick 10-meter jump.
However, there must be a target. You can’t run towards empty space where no one is.
You have to have something, whether it’s an enemy, ally, or object, to target and dash towards.
Despite these limitations, what makes this skill a scam is…. that it has no cooldown.
In the game, you can use it every turn.
Sure, it’s extremely MP-intensive, but it allows you to hit and run and shred the enemy lines at will.
There’s a simple reason why Lucas is considered the foundational and definitive DPS character in the game.
His skillset is strong, simple, and adaptable to every situation.
Passive tanking.
Attack with 1 skill.
Movement with skill 2.
‘Now, if he learns his ultimate skill, and gets his exclusive equipment and special talents…… Lucas truly becomes a battlefield god.’
Of course, the road to level 50 is long and arduous.
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Earning exclusive gear and creating his special talents is not easy.
But once you do, you’ll be rewarded accordingly. Our main character, Lucas…….
‘Let’s work him a bit harder.’
I turned off Lucas’ status window with a smile as I pictured Lucas’s endgame in my head.
Next up was me, Ash.
From my humble beginnings as a level 1 maggot, I have finally reached level 20 after a long and difficult struggle……!
I wrinkled my nose at the memory of my struggles.
‘End of hardship, beginning of happiness, Ash Kim! Now, hidden class-like fraudulent skills will pour out!’
I didn’t let the smell of burning stop my happy circuitry.
No, that’s right, it’s a hidden class! It’s a ‘commander’ class that no one has ever had before!
Shouldn’t he have at least one or two overpowered skills that would send Balance running for the hills in a panic!
I turned on my stat window.
[Ash(EX)]
– Level: 20
– Title: Lord of Crossroads/Third Prince
– Class: Intermediate Commander
– Strength 6 Dexterity 9 Intelligence 20 Constitution 8 HP 12
Maybe it’s because I’ve been struggling, but my stats are surprisingly good. Especially Intelligence.
I’d say that’s pretty good, even with the 50% negative growth debuff unique to the Commander class.
“Enough stats, skills! Two skills!”
I hastily opened the skills window. I shouted out.
“Did I get cheat skill?!”
– Skills.
> Passive: Indomitable Commander
> Skill 1: Commanding Eye
> Skill 2: ??? (Unlocked after 2nd job change)
> Ultimate: ??? (Unlocked after 3rd job change)
I frowned.
I could see the name of the new skill, but what was it? Commanding Eye……?
I quickly turned on the description.
[Commanding Eye]]
– Forcibly controls the consciousness of the target that meets your eyes.
– The lower the target’s Magic stat, the higher the success rate and the longer the duration of the skill.
※ This skill has no effect on allies with the passive skill [Indomitable Commander].
“Hooo…….”
In short, it’s a skill that spreads mind control magic in a wide area.
Of course, the effect is weaker than Mind Control, which lasts for the entire stage.
In any case, it means that I can control monsters by simply making eye contact with them.
‘I’ll have to test it to see how much MP it costs, but this is kind of cool.’
Of course, if I’m being honest, I was expecting some sort of bombastic active skill…….
You know, like, I’m a commander, so I can summon a dozen cannons and fire a barrage.
I was expecting something a little more epic, like summoning and controlling hundreds of sand soldiers.
Well, there’s still one more skills and an ultimate to go, so we’ll just have to pray that the bang-bang comes later.
‘Did they give me this passive for this one skill?’
I looked back at my passive, Indomitable Commander.
[Indomitable Commander] has the effect of preventing mental abnormalities of nearby allies.
This passive must have prevented my primary skill from malfunctioning. My men follow my orders so well, so there is no use my 1st skill.
“Anyway, this skill has a lot of potential.”
In an instant, I could think of all sorts of ways to use it.
Even if it’s temporary and has a chance of failure, it’s still a mind control skill.
The possibilities are almost endless, as long as you’re creative.
‘Sooner or later, I’m going to test it out in real life.’
I’ll have to test it against an enemy. I turned off the status window.
‘Next.’
I pulled four boxes out of my inventory.
Three were gray.
And one was a brilliant golden color!
It is a SSR level reward box. I’d gotten it for clearing the last stage.
‘Holy shit, an SSR-grade box!’
I looked down at the golden box in my hand and swallowed hard.
It is difficult to get a single golden box. I can’t believe it’s on Stage 3.
‘Hopefully they’ll give me a weapon I can use.’
I looked down at my casted left arm.
In the last battle, while wielding the lucky roulette weapon, ‘Lucky Strike’, a 000, fumble popped up and my left arm was smashed.
Even after healing, it would be impossible to use it like before.
‘We need a weapon that has fewer variables and is more practical, not just relying on luck. ‘
As much as I’d like to be able to give orders from safety, reality is different.
And now that we’ve confirmed the existence of “Dark Events,” which are designed to mess with the game’s strategy, the game’s difficulty will continue to fluctuate.
This means I’m going to be in the thick of things.
This means that I will continue to be involved in hand-to-hand combat.
‘I might be the one firing the gun, like in the last battle.’
Last time, I brought along an SSR-rated muzzle-loader, the Black Queen, and used it to good effect.
But that’s just a stopgap.
‘It’s better to give Damien at least one more gun. Especially one as overpowered as the Black Queen.’
I already have the right person who can unleash 200% of its power.
Me, using a weapon capable of one shotting enemy key units from a long range is like putting a pearl necklace around a pig’s neck.
I need to find the right weapon for me.
‘Although it’s greedy from me to think that I would draw one’
Still, I’ve got an SSR-ranked reward chest in my hand, and I could use another lucky draw, don’t you think?!
I opened the three Grade N chests first. I’m not expecting much, but I can hope for a finished product, right?!
[Rewards]
– High Grade Health Potion
– High Grade Magic Potion
– Fire Enchantment Scroll
“Nope~ No float~”
All three are consumables. Still, potions are always useful, and enchantment scrolls are effective.
‘By the way, I also have a freezing scroll that I got as a reward. I haven’t used it yet.’
I’m saving it because I’d rather use it when I encounter an enemy that I can stab with an attribute weakness. Anyway, let’s save them all.
Now, now to the real reward!
With the golden box in hand, I took a deep breath. After…….
Please!
“God! Please give me the one weapon that is perfect for me!”
I shouted, flinging the golden box open in one swift motion.
Flash-!
Dazzling golden light scattered everywhere.
Soon, the golden light converged and formed the shape of an item.
Holding the item in my hand, I opened my mouth slightly.
“This……?!”
[Translated by Mashine. Proofread by: WebTrashTranslation]
