Chapter 376

The second quest details appeared in front of his eyes.

[Ancient Artifact]

[You may obtain the ancient artifact ‘Graduate Gear’ if you collect the ‘Essence of the Strong’ and bring it to Wurttemberg!]

[Type: Repeating Quest]

[Progress: N/A]

[Reward: Choose one Graduate Gear]

[Note 1: The type and rating of Graduate Gear you may purchase from Wurttemberg will change depending on the quality and quantity of the essence you collected.]

[Note 2: It is possible to exchange lower grade Essence of the Strong for Graduate Gear of a higher grade.]

It seemed that the owners of each floor would drop an item called Essence of the Strong upon being defeated.

“So I can purchase artifacts from you in exchange for these essences?”

“Yes.”

“But what kind of artifacts are you selling? May I take a look?”

“Sure,” Wurttemberg replied and snapped his fingers.

Snap!

The empty first floor of the tower was suddenly lined up with rows and rows of weapon racks.

“Oh!” Siegfried exclaimed after seeing the weapon racks filled with the Graduate Gears.

The Graduate Gears looked a bit old-fashioned, but they had that classic and ancient design that gave off a luxurious and exclusive feel.

“Can you see these, everyone?” Siegfried asked the viewers through the Smart Camera hovering around him.

Of course, it was impossible to communicate with the viewers as the chat room was flooded with hundreds of thousands of messages every second, and the chats were appearing and disappearing at speeds impossible for normal people to follow.

This was the reason Siegfried gave up on communicating with his viewers and just said whatever he wanted.

Wurttemberg grimaced and asked, “What are you doing? And what is that round object hovering around you?”

“Ah, I am from another world, and this allows the people in my word to see what I am doing.”

“What?!” Wurttemberg was stunned, and he hurriedly asked, “A-Another world?! Has magic advanced that far?!”

“Not really.”

“Then? You just said with your own mouth that you were from another world, right?!”

“I cannot explain the specifics, but..” Siegfried proceeded to explain what kind of people the Adventurers were.

“Oh! I see! It seems magic in your world has greatly advanced! Who would’ve thought dimensional travel would be possible? What amazing magic!”

“Not really... but I am clueless about how it works, so I cannot tell you more about it. Anyway, may I take a look at the artifacts?”

“O-Of course!”

Siegfried was able to take a look at the local specialties of the Sky Tower after briefly explaining things to Wurttemberg.

“Allow me to show you what we have here,” Siegfried said to the viewers as he flashed his Rune of Insight at the Graduate Gears being sold by Wurttemberg.

***

The Graduate Gears were divided into tiers completely different from the Rare, Unique, Legendary, etc. tiers the artifacts on the continent were classified. The ancient artifacts were classified into five grades, with D-Grade being the lowest and U-Grade being the highest.

Wurttemberg introduced the D-Grade Graduate Gears first.

[D-Grade Basic Gloves]

[A Graduate Gear with basic stats.]

[Grade: D]

[Effect: +65% Attack Speed]

[Price: 150 Essence of the Strong]

“T-This thing boosts attack speed by sixty-five percent?” Siegfried was surprised after checking the stats of the D-Grade Basic Gloves. A sixty-five percent increase in Attack Speed was rare, even among legendary artifacts. The downside was that it didn't have any other options or stats attached to it, but it was still quite impressive.

Siegfried was indeed amazed, but he was not particularly attracted to this artifact.

But what if it was presented before a player who relied heavily on their Attack Speed?

“It’s going to be extremely attractive to them..”

It was definitely going to entice them, and proof of that was how the viewers who wanted to increase their Attack Speed went wild in the chat room.

Siegfried proceeded to show the rest of the D-Grade Graduate Gears to the viewers, and they saw that each of the artifacts provided a massive boost to Attack Speed, Casting Speed, and Movement Speed, but they didn't provide any other stats or options.

The reactions of the viewers were mostly the same after Siegfried finished showing the artifacts.

—KekeCM: I need that attack speed item;;

—ErikaG: I want that casting speed item..

—YooNeYeon: Me! I need that! Give me!

The viewers with characters that heavily relied on their Attack Speed, Casting Speed, and Movement Speed could not help but covet the Graduate gear as their build would be complete just by equipping one D-Grade Graduate Gear.

“We’re going to look at the C-Grade now,” Siegfried said as he showed the C Grade Graduate Gears to the viewers.

As expected, the C-Grade Graduate Gears were not that different from the D-Grade Graduate Gears. It did not have any additional stats or options, and each artifact increased either HP, Stamina, or Mana.

It was the same for the B-Grade Graduate Gears as they provided a boost to only Strength, Agility, or Intelligence.

‘I wonder what the A Grade will be..?’

Siegfried checked the A-Grade Graduate Gears as well, and they provided a boost to Attack Power and Magic Attack Power.

‘Oh? These look quite good.’

He was interested in the A-Grade Graduate Gears as he had a thing for items that would boost one's Attack Power.

‘Should I aim for one? It’s only an accessory, so it’s not difficult to include in my build..’ he pondered as he made his way to check the U-Grade Graduate Gear.

Three seconds later..

“T-This.. I must get this!”

He screamed unknowingly after seeing the details of the U-Grade Graduate Gear. The reason was that the stats and options provided by the U-Grade Graduate Gear were impressive enough to make anyone scream.

***

[Master’s Necklace]

[The highest tier Graduate Gear.]

[You have to clear the Sky Tower to obtain this.]

[Rating: Universe]

[Effect: Main Skill +10 Levels]

[Price: 15 Top-Quality Essence of the Strong + 1 Essence of the Tower’s Strongest]

[Note 1: Only one may be purchased per person.]

[Note 2: There are only 981 in stock, and it cannot be purchased ever again once it goes out of stock.]

[Note 3: Soulbound.]

[Note 4: Cannot be enhanced.]

An artifact would usually increase one or two skill levels, and some of the extremely special ones would bestow a five-level increase on one's skill at most. Those special artifacts would cost billions of won as well, and finding anyone selling them would be a challenge regardless of how much money one had.

However, this item would actually increase one's main skill by ten levels? Forget about how much it would cost in cash; an item like this had never appeared until now.

“I must.. I must get that,” Siegfried steeled his resolve to obtain the Master’s Necklace no matter what.

He was the Debuff Master, and he was prepared to drink poison if it meant he could increase Blaze Field’s level by ten.

However, he wasn't the only one prepared to go to such extremes as even the viewers seemed prepared to do far more than that after seeing the artifact’s options. In fact, some of the viewers were famous gamers and pro gamers, and even they were ready to go to extreme lengths if it meant they could get their hands on the U-Grade Graduate Gear.

The Master’s Necklace offered extremely good options that would make any gamer covet it, regardless of whether they were pro gamers or not.

“Are you done looking around?” Wurttemberg asked.

“Yes, I did,” Siegfried replied.

“So, what do you think? How is it compared to the artifacts of your generation?”

“It is not lacking at all.”

“Really?”

“Yes,” Siegfried nodded and explained, “Well, it is a bummer it only provides one option, but I dare say that these artifacts are far superior compared to most artifacts out there. I would say it is probably the embodiment of what a magic artifact should be.”

“I see..” Wurttemberg replied, but his expression seemed a bit strange. Then, he let out a sigh and said, “I’m not sure if I should be happy to hear that. It does feel good to know my skills aren’t far behind what this generation of blacksmiths has to offer, but I can’t help but be disappointed in them at the same time.”

“You do not have to be disappointed,” Siegfried said as he showed Horse Fly to him.

“What’s this?”

“Horse F— I mean, this artifact is called Vanquisher’s Grasp.”

“Oh!” Wurttemberg exclaimed.

He was indeed befitting of his title as a Legendary Blacksmith as he immediately recognized the value of Siegfried’s Vanquisher’s Grasp.

“The craftsmanship, skills, and bloodlust I feel from this artifact is amazing! Is this an artifact crafted by the blacksmiths after me?”

“Yes.”

“Oh! There was no need to be disappointed! I’m sorry, but may I observe this artifact for a bit?”

“That will be a bit difficult right now,” Siegfried shook his head and replied before he flashed an apologetic smile and said, “I am a bit busy right now as climbing the tower comes first.”

“Ah! I see! But what if you die while climbing the tower? Then I won’t get to see that artifact, no?”

“I am from another world, so I will not die.”

“R-Really?!”

“You can think of this body as something like an avatar.”

“Haha.. That’s quite something.. You’re not a wandering spirit like me, yet you’re immortal..”

“Haha..”

“Alright, then go on ahead. But you have to show me that artifact later, okay?”

“Certainly,” Siegfried replied with a smile. Then, he made his way to the magic circle located at the center of the first floor. He made his way toward it as he did not see any stairs so he figured this magic circle was the path to the next floor.historical

“By any chance.. Was there anyone who had climbed this tower before me?” he asked to check if anyone from the Church of Osric had climbed the tower before him.

However, Wurttemberg’s response was not what Siegfried expected.

“I can’t tell you that.”

“Why not?”

“It is forbidden to speak of the ones that climbed the tower.”

“I see.. Tsk..”

“I’ll pray for your victory. Don’t die, and make sure to just give up if it gets too difficult, do you understand?”

“That will not be necessary,” Siegfried replied with absolute confidence before he infused his mana into the magic circle.

Wooong!

The magic circle shone brightly as it engulfed Siegfried in its dazzling light.

***

[Sky Tower: Second Floor]

A message informing him of his current location popped up in front of his eyes after the light disappeared.

“Greetings,” someone approached Siegfried and said, “I am the owner of the second floor, and my name is Bjergsen.”

Siegfried looked up and found an NPC wearing tight leather pants and a short-sleeve vest.

“My name is Siegfried.”

“It is nice to meet you, Siegfried,” Bjergsen said and extended his hand toward him.

‘Oh, what a well-mannered NPC,’ Siegfried thought as he was about to shake Bjergsen's hand, but—

“Ptooey!”

—Bjergsen spat on his face.