"Ha, it depends on the nightmare’s mood. It might lend you its power quietly or... devour its user."

"...!"

I quickly opened the system window in surprise and checked Damien’s equipped gear. No way!

[Black Queen(SSR) Lv.55]

- Type: Magic Gun

- Attack Power: 225-250

- Durability: 7/7

- Ammo Capacity: 7/7

- Shoots cursed bullets, killing enemies instantly at a certain probability. The likelihood increases proportionally with weapon proficiency.

- ??? (Unlocked depending on the number of enemies killed with this weapon) ;3 more required

- ??? (Unlocked depending on the number of enemies killed with this weapon) ;3 more required

"Whew..."

These question mark options seem to be related to the ’nightmare’, but fortunately, they hadn’t unlocked yet due to insufficient kill counts.

’I just thought these were additional options, but they meant this!’

I’ll have to stop using the Black Queen after using it three more times.

I should decide on how to use it after seeing the option unlocks.

’I almost caused a big problem for Damien without knowing.’

As I’ve said repeatedly, there was no such equipment group as Nightmare Slayer in the game.

I never thought it would be a weapon with such risk.

I was wondering why it felt overpowered for the current stage, but it has such a drawback...

Kelleybei chuckled as I sat lost in thought.

"So, you’re not going to make it?"

"Huh?"

"Celendion’s magic core. Are you going to leave it as it is without making it into equipment?"

"..."

No.

I can’t.

"Please make it."

Black Queen is a powerful balance breaker that can turn the tide of battle.

If there’s a weapon on par with this, I should have it made first and think later.

Even if I only use it until those question mark options are unlocked, it’ll certainly be worth it.

"That’s a good decision."

Kelleybei tapped Celendion’s magic core with her hand, smiling brightly.

"You can’t be dominated by a weapon. You should be able to dominate the weapon. If you can’t, you shouldn’t even be able to handle a Nightmare Slayer in the first place."

"What do you mean...?"

"If you’ve been handling a Nightmare Slayer well so far, you can still handle it well even after feeding it enough blood and waking up the nightmare."

"..."

"Kid, weapons are originally dangerous. They have blades and spit fire to take lives, so how could they not be dangerous? Nightmare Slayer is just a little more dangerous because it’s stronger. It’s like having one more blade?"

So, waking up the nightmare isn’t necessarily a disadvantage.

With increased risk, the power might also increase... Maybe I can expect such a case.

"I’ve rambled on for too long. So... what kind of weapon should I make with this magic core?"

That had been decided from the beginning.

I gave the weapon made from the Black Spider Queen’s magic core to Damien who killed her.

Then the weapon made from Celendion’s magic core should naturally go to the major who killed Celendion.

’Junior.’

As I muttered the name of the magician who made the greatest contribution in the Celendion battle, I told Kelleybei,

"We need a magician’s equipment."

***

I only asked Kelleybei to make one piece of equipment for now, and decided to keep the rest of the magic cores for the time being.

Since the weapon is being made from Celendion’s magic core, Kelleybei said she had a lot to think about and was holed up in the blacksmith shop alone.

Please just make it well.

Late at night on the same day. My room.

I was sitting quietly on the bed, having changed into my pajama gown.

In front of me were 15 boxes lined up in a row.

R-grade. 7 SR-grade. And 3 SSR-grade.

In the game, it’s considered a lot if you get 10 of the SSR-grade boxes in a single run, but I got 3 in one go.

But even though three days had passed since the stage ended, I hadn’t opened these boxes yet.

There’s no particularly great reason why.

These boxes didn’t just feel like spoils from killing monsters.They felt like the relics left by the dead comrades. Each and every one of the boxes seemed to flicker with the faces of the deceased.

I didn’t have the courage to open them. So, I put it off until the very last moment.

"Whew..."

But if this truly was a memento left by my comrades, then all the more reason to open it and verify its contents.

They were the fruits of their sacrifices, their lives.

It was not meant to gather dust in some corner of my inventory.

With my fist clenched tight and my resolve firm, I began to open the boxes one by one.

First, there were five R-rated ones.

I opened each box carefully, cherishing every moment.

From the R-rated boxes, I obtained potions and R-rated magic cores. I organized them neatly into my inventory.

Next were seven SR-rated reward boxes.

No less than seven boxes guaranteed to contain at least an SR-rated item. Once again, I carefully opened each box.

Flash! Flash!

And the results were...

[Rewards]

- Standard Top-Grade Magic Core (SR)

- Standard Top-Grade Magic Core (SR)

- Covert Dawn’s Top (SR)

- Covert Dawn’s Bottom (SR)

- Covert Dawn’s Gloves (SR)

- Covert Dawn’s Boots (SR)

- Starting Over! (SSR)

I scored big time.

"Holy shit?! What the?!"

Surprised, I let out a curse without realizing it. What the heck?!

Two SR-rated Magic Cores, and the remaining five became a complete set. Plus, one of them was an SSR. What the...?!

’Calm down.’

First, I examined the clothing, gloves, and boots piled up on the bed.

Upon checking the options, they were indeed real. They were part of the ’Covert Dawn’ set, one of the best equipment sets for close-combat assassins!

A set of armor made of a top, bottom, gloves, and shoes.

Each piece of equipment was not bad, but the set effect was an incredibly good feature.

Set Effect: Covert Dawn (4/4)

- Upon killing an enemy while all pieces are equipped, you become completely undetectable for 10 seconds. (This effect can only activate once every 10 minutes)

In the game, you automatically went into stealth mode every three turns when you killed an enemy.

Cut down one guy, go into hiding, wait, and after three turns, take down another... This cycle repeated endlessly.

’But all four pieces of a set dropped at once? What on earth is going on?’

I examined the equipment in my hand in exasperation.

Come to think of it, previously the Screaming set also dropped piece by piece until I eventually collected them all.

Was there some sort of system adjustment that facilitated set item collection?

’Something... feels suspicious about them dropping all at once.’

...Well, a good thing is still a good thing, and since they dropped, I should use them.

The problem, however, was that there were no assassins or even close-combat dealers in my party.

If Dion were alive, I might have given them to him, but that’s a meaningless thought now.

"Ugh... Who should I give these to..."

After some contemplation, I decided to give them to Damien for now.

Although he was a backline sniper and the set effect wouldn’t make a huge difference, if he was targeted by enemies, he could use the set’s ability to secure a retreat.

Think of it as buying an insurance policy.

After organizing the clothes, gloves, and boots in neat piles, I turned my attention to the next item.

[Starting Over! (SSR)]

It was a golden metal plate about the size of my torso.

This was a familiar item. No, not an item... a planetary artifact.

"An artifact complete set from a box, the chances of that are ridiculously low."

Artifacts, if you go by their individual value, are far more expensive than any equipment a character could wear.

Getting one from a box was a blessing.

This artifact held an effect true to its name.

It forcefully teleported enemies reflected on this metal plate back to the wave’s starting point- that is, the southern plain far from the Crossroad fortress walls.

’Protect the Empire’ is a defense game.

The goal is to prevent the monsters trying to attack and cross the fortress walls.

Being able to send monsters, who had been vigorously approaching while taking hits from our barrage, back to the wave’s starting point made this artifact incredibly useful. It’s not an SSR grade for nothing.

’The downside was clear, so I didn’t use it during the game...’The metal plate only reflected a limited number of enemies, so at best, it could only send about ten back. Plus, it could only be used once per defense.

That’s not to say the effect was bad, but the issue was the cost of production. Summoning an SSR grade planetary artifact was expensive.magic

In the end, it was an artifact that merely bought some time instead of killing the enemy, and the astronomical production cost was hard to bear.

"Damn, this game is harsh enough when you’re on the hellish grind."

But that’s if I’m the one paying to make it. If it’s free, I’m eternally grateful. It can be put to good use.

’Thank you, thank you...’

Bowing towards thin air, I carefully set aside this water artifact.

Next, the last three SSR grade boxes. The main event of today’s box cracking, as it were.

I was quietly opening it, but it felt like I was lacking respect for the treasure box. So I exclaimed as I opened it.

"Did a completed piece appear?!"

Flash!

A dazzling golden light burst out from inside the box. What appeared?!

And what came out of the box was... a large piece of cloth.

"Huh? What’s this?"

[Great Commander’s Flag Piece] (1/5)

- One of five pieces of the exclusive equipment [Great Commander’s Flag(EX)] for the character ’Ash’.

- When all five pieces are gathered, a flag is completed.

"...?"

I blinked slowly as I didn’t quite understand the situation. What does this mean?

So... it’s my exclusive equipment. But it’s now in five pieces, and one of those pieces came out...?

Ding!

A system window appeared before my eyes.

[Exclusive Equipment Production Quest: Character ’Ash’]

- Collect the pieces of the Great Commander’s Flag. (1/5)

"..."

Hold on, damn it, hold on.

It’s good that I found out I have exclusive equipment.

It’s not bad that a production quest has appeared. But what? Pieces? Farming for pieces?

"Are you saying I have to rely on luck to get these from reward boxes?!"

Four more times? You want me to get something that only comes out of treasure boxes four more times? Are you kidding me, you bastards? How am I supposed to collect all these relying on luck?!

Most exclusive equipment is tied to the character’s storyline, so there’s usually a clear place to farm them.

But this dimwitted character Ash has to rely on luck to get his.

’I guess there might be some system adjustment like when set items appeared...’

I gritted my teeth and tucked the flag piece into my inventory. Damn it, let’s open the remaining boxes and then think about it.

I quickly opened the second SSR-grade box.

"Did a completed piece appear?!"

Flash!

What came out of the box with the gold light was... an elegant black cloak flowing with a high-class sheen.

"Oh?!"

It looks useful! What’s this?

[Invisible Cloak(SSR) Lv.1]

- Category: Accessory

- Defense: 0

- Durability: 3/3

- When worn undetected by enemies, you enter Lv.3 stealth state.

- Stealth can be broken by higher-level detection magic, instincts, etc.

- When stealth is broken, all enemies within a 15m radius will focus on you.

"What the hell is this...?"

I’ve never seen this equipment before. I know about the invisible cloak that appears once in all sorts of famous fantasies... but.

Reading the description, it seems like it’s not for use in combat situations. Did they give it to me for more general use?

After pondering, I decided to take it.

I could give it to Damien along with the [Covert Dawn] set and make him a complete stealth character, but it seems better for me to try out this item with high variability first.

"Alright, the last one!"

Having neatly folded the invisible cloak and stored it in my inventory,

I opened the last box. God of treasures! Please give me something really good this time!

"Please-!"

Flash!

And with the golden light, what came out of the box was... a sleek, beautiful, and large longsword.

[Karma Eater(SSR)]

I let out a shriek before I knew it.

"I got itttttttttt?!"

--TL Notes--

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