Vampire Princess Guide in Progress - Volume 1 Chapter 21

Chapter 21: Almost There, Not Enough Yet

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“What, what? It’s a blue quality one-handed sword!?”

“Yes, and starting from blue quality, there’s a chance for weapons with special effects. This should be considered very rare, hmm… but the agility attribute bonus is quite high, is it something suitable for a light swordsman?”

Kilo and Cross looked at the BOSS drop list together, with the drops belonging to the entire squad.

In the squad allocation mode, elite monster and BOSS drops are randomly distributed to team members, so sometimes when good equipment drops, resources are balanced within the team. For example, if a mage receives a sword fighter’s weapon, it can be traded directly to the team’s sword fighter.

However, in their small squad, there were now two sword fighters.

“I got it.” Karl checked his backpack and saw that the Swift Wind Sword had dropped into his inventory.

Nolan glanced at the green quality one-handed sword he had recently obtained, which only provided 【Physical Attack +120】. If he had to say, the agility attribute provided by the Swift Wind Sword was also something he desperately needed.

If Karl wasn’t a sword fighter, he might have unhesitatingly been willing to spend a sum of money to purchase it.

But since it was randomly allocated by the system settlement, it was also a default consensus that whoever received the drop kept it. There were no complaints, and if it could be used by Karl, it would also bring value, improving the overall strength of the squad.

Causing classic team conflicts over the distribution of spoils would probably be the most foolish thing.

But just as Nolan was thinking this, a 【Trade Request】 initiated by Karl suddenly lit up beside him.

“Here, Nolan.” Karl placed the Swift Wind Sword in the trade slot.

“What?” Nolan looked at the trade request that appeared beside him, slightly stunned, and said, “Karl, you don’t need to specially give it to me. Since you got it, and you’re also a sword fighter, you should keep and use it.”

“No, this sword will be more valuable in Nolan’s hands.”

However, Karl’s attitude was very firm as he continued, “Since entering the second floor, it has always been Nolan leading us as the team captain. It’s because of your understanding of monsters that we’ve been able to defeat the Giant Man-Eating Flower so smoothly. Besides, your DPS contribution is also the highest.”

According to the battle statistics, in the recent fight, Nolan’s personal DPS accounted for 72% of the total.

Karl felt that rather than saying he was cooperating with Nolan, it would be more accurate to say he had latched onto the coattails of an experienced player who was helping them level up quickly.

“Besides, I’m not sure about the use of this sword. In terms of attack value, it’s 20 points lower than the sword I’m currently using, and as for agility… I don’t have Nolan’s combat techniques and footwork, so giving it to you should be the most appropriate.”

“Hahaha, since that’s the case, Brother Nolan, you should accept it.”

Kilo’s axe hung on his back as he crossed his arms in front of him, laughing heartily, “No matter which of you uses it, it’s an improvement for the team, that’s beyond question, so there’s no need to be modest. Besides, Nolan is our core combat strength.”

“That’s right, hasn’t Nolan always said his agility attribute is too low? This sword should be enough.” Cross also said.

Seeing the enthusiasm of his teammates, Nolan couldn’t help but feel somewhat moved and didn’t want to refuse anymore, so he accepted the Swift Wind Sword.

In fact, Nolan’s agility value wasn’t low at all, it could even be said to be higher than all other team members present. However, it was still insufficient for the value he had calculated, but this Swift Wind Sword almost completely focused on agility, and even its special effect was like that.

This way, it might really be possible to reach the agility value he had during the closed beta period on the second floor.

“I’ll use it well.” Nolan gripped the scabbard firmly.

Several hours later, as dusk fell, the four-person squad appeared once again on the first floor teleportation platform with a flash of light.

The squad, having harvested abundantly under Nolan’s leadership, returned to Morning Dew Town in the evening. But compared to them who had been conquering the second floor, most players still on the first floor had sufficient levels and equipment, yet their willingness to advance to the second floor was not strong.

The visibly dejected atmosphere, or rather it had been this way for several days — ever since the Iris Knights guild had failed in their attempt to conquer the second floor BOSS.

On the first day of the game, players who arrived at Morning Dew Town felt fear but were full of fighting spirit for survival.

Now, after most players had improved their levels and equipment, due to the failure of the frontline pioneer group, more people’s spirits were dampened. Passing through some small villages, they would occasionally see players sitting against walls, their gazes vacant.

“Another few hundred people died today. It’s been almost a week, and we still haven’t cleared even one floor.”

“Hahaha, don’t worry, sooner or later we’ll all become one of them, it’s just a matter of time.”

“Is the BOSS attack value setting in this game serious? From the BOSS information published by the Iris Knights, except for the shield defense position, others can’t withstand two or three hits, plus various AOEs and complex mechanics, and even the weapon types have a rigid requirement of seven types to break the second phase shield…”

Everything seemed just as that closed beta player named Raven had said.

All of this was also seen by Nolan, but when Kilo and Karl occasionally sighed about it, he remained silent. Cross would glance at him, not knowing how to make the atmosphere as good as it was during their successful conquest of the second floor.

Almost there, not enough yet.

Nolan’s gaze fixed on his attribute panel as he gradually clenched his fist.

Not enough… whether it was level or equipment, they both needed improvement.

The attack attribute was too low, the DPS insufficient…

But in these nearly six days of fighting, he had already collected green quality equipment for his entire body, and the drop rate for blue quality was extremely low. In the entire game, including the Swift Wind Sword that had just fortunately dropped into his hands, there probably weren’t more than 20 pieces.

Even though he still risked going to high-efficiency monster farming areas late at night to solo farm, his level had almost stagnated at 21.

In comparison, Kilo, Karl, and Cross all had average levels around Lv.14. Nolan was actually concealing his true level, sometimes his high damage was inevitable since he was already far ahead in levels.

What other ways were there to improve? What other equipment and rare items could be utilized?

…Hmm? Wait, full green quality equipment?

Come to think of it…

Suddenly, Nolan, who was deep in thought, seemed to have realized something.

— The next day, Morning Dew Town Market Area (Lv.0)

As days passed in the game, the production of green quality equipment gradually increased among players, and there emerged players who specifically acted as equipment trading intermediaries, responsible for consignment trading of excess equipment from others.

This type of player was generally referred to as an equipment merchant.

In Morning Dew Town, there was such an equipment merchant named Gob who collected a large number of green quality equipment for trading and selling.

Today, this merchant, who always wore a moon-white wool cloak and carried a large baggage pack on his back, welcomed a particularly special customer. When he heard the request, he immediately revealed a puzzled expression.

“What!? You want a set of green quality equipment with all attribute modifiers being attack?”