Chapter 20

As a caster's devoted guardian, the gargoyle can be said to be the favorite of all mages. However, since they are mages, most would choose to make the best use of everything. Although the gargoyles, as guardians, are quite good, using them solely as bodyguards would be a huge waste. Therefore, for many mages, gargoyles can also be used as —— safes.

These two gargoyles were no exception.

Among their remains, Rod found quite a few good things. As level 15 rare elites, the "drops" from the gargoyles were truly worthy of their status. Besides gems, crystals, and some gold coins, Rod also discovered three magical items.

Frost Amulet [Elite Item]: Automatically triggers a Frost Shield when attacked, blocking 50~150 damage and granting immunity to water-based attacks.

Oath Guardian [Excellent Item]: Increases the holder's spell effects by +5 and spell resistance by +5.

Mist Ring [Excellent Item]: Can activate "Phantom Spirit" once every ten natural days, lasting for half an hour.

These were all excellent items for casters. If sold to an auction house, they would certainly bring in a good profit.

However, it was a pity that they were all caster equipment.

In the end, Rod gave these items to Rijie. As a spirit master, although she was not an offensive caster, these items would still provide her with some benefits. So Rod gave her the Frost Amulet and the Oath Guardian, while he kept the Mist Ring for himself. In the game, the skill this ring possessed was of great help to solo players, so Rod did not hesitate to keep it.

Rijie was very surprised and astonished to receive two pieces of equipment without doing anything. In a typical mercenary group, although they would obtain many magical items during their adventures, these items were usually sold by the leader to maintain the group's operations. Directly distributing items to others was almost unimaginable.

This also highlighted the difference between NPCs and players. As part of this world, the ultimate goal of mercenaries was merely to earn a living, so even if they found rare equipment, they would rarely keep it. In fact, many small mercenary groups rarely took on high-difficulty missions; they spent their entire lives doing third-rate tasks that players considered insignificant. Their goal was to earn a living, and nothing more. Those who had the right to obtain magical equipment were usually respected and skilled figures within the mercenary group. As for the less capable mercenaries, they could only drool in envy.

However, players were different. From the moment they entered this world, their goals were to become better, more numerous, higher, and stronger, with better equipment, more experience, higher prestige, and stronger characters. For them, magical equipment was not particularly rare, and they did not worry about it becoming useless —— after all, they could always sell it when they found better items.

For Rod, these three magical items were just transitional equipment for levels 10~15, and then they would lose their significance. Although the attributes of the Frost Amulet were good, Rod did not need it. If he could summon a high-level water elemental, he would gain the same immunity to water-based attacks. Therefore, distributing this "low-end" equipment was not a big deal for him. He would only consider items like the "Sky Sword," "Heart of the Saint," or other legendary, pseudo-legendary, or ancient items.

However, from Rijie's perspective, these items were considered very "high-end." Even a medium-sized mercenary group's leader would only have a few magical items, and as a support class, spirit masters rarely obtained equipment. Now, as a spirit master in a small mercenary group, she suddenly received two good magical items?

This even made Rijie doubt whether she was dreaming.

However, compared to Rijie, Mace saw more from the situation.

As a traveling merchant, Mace understood how valuable magical items were. Even if these items were auctioned in the most prosperous port of the North, such as Kalgan, they would fetch at least 20,000 to 30,000 gold coins. Yet Rod gave them away so calmly, as if they were just pieces of bread. This calmness was not the kind of pretense young men put on to appear cool in front of beautiful girls; it was genuine —— meaning that Rod truly did not value these magical items.

This was something that ordinary people could not do. Mace had dealt with many people, including mercenaries and nobles, but for them, these magical items were also very valuable. Few would casually give them away, and even fewer would act as if they were nothing.

What did this mean?

It meant that in this young man's eyes, these magical items were not worth mentioning. This behavior also suggested that this young man might have a distinguished background.

If Mace had previously considered Rod as just one of the many nobles on the continent, now he began to associate this young man with the ancient noble families or the royal family. Only such families would have numerous magical items and treat them so lightly —— just like a person with immense wealth would not care about a small amount of money, even though it might be a fortune for ordinary people.

This thought excited the fat merchant. As a small merchant, he rarely had the opportunity to meet the ancient noble families. After all, these families had powerful allies, and a small merchant like him would not be noticed. Now, with this opportunity, if he could seize it, there might be some hope.

However, this thought quickly passed. Reflecting on his own poor performance, although the young man did not complain much, Mace knew that he had not done anything to earn the young man's favor, which made him feel deflated.

Rod indeed did not care about the three items. What he cared about most now were the two heart-shaped gems in his hand.

Gargoyle Hearts.

Artificial soul aggregates.

This term might sound complicated, but if put in player terms, if the gargoyle were a robot, then the Gargoyle Heart would be its chip.

The value was self-evident.

In the Dragon Soul Continent, alchemical creatures were a very advanced technique. Creating life was the domain of the gods, and even mages could not violate this. Therefore, artificial souls were their second-best choice. As a result, complete artificial soul cores were very rare, and not every mage could learn to create them. For mages, owning an artificial alchemical life form was one of their highest goals —— like a wealthy and handsome man needing a sports car to prove his worth.

Such items were usually tightly guarded by mages, and there was little circulation in the market. The production was also limited, making the price very high. A normal auction would fetch at least 100,000 gold coins, and even more on the black market. Depending on the quality, the best artificial soul cores could sell for millions, enough to buy a significant piece of land.

Moreover, mages were very wealthy.

However, Rod was not very concerned about the money. Years of gaming experience had taught him that money could always be earned, and no matter how much he earned, it was never enough.

But some things could not be bought with money.

For example, another ability of the Gargoyle Heart.

Forced Summoned Spirit Evolution +1.

The experience of summoned spirits was shared with the holder. Generally, in battle, if Rod gained 1000 experience points, he would actually only get 700, with the remaining 300 going to the spirit. Although this one-third of the experience did not seem like much, it accumulated over time, which was why summoner swordsmen found it harder to reach the peak compared to other classes. According to the game rules, if Rod were another class, he would have reached level 12 or 13 by now after completing a level 10 five-man dungeon. However, due to the experience being shared with the Bluebird and Star Trace, he was only just over level 10.

As for his summoned spirits...

[Eternal Holy Sword, Tenth: Star Trace, No Attribute, Can Merge —— The dust of history cannot obscure its brilliant light. Level: 5, Victory's Glory, Blade Trait]

The level cap for summoned spirits was 10, and after reaching level 10, they could evolve once. After evolving, they would gain new abilities, and their level cap would increase by another 10 levels until the third evolution. The ability of the Gargoyle Heart was to force a summoned spirit to level 10 and then initiate evolution. This would save some experience points and reduce the time needed to level up.

What could not be bought with money?

Time could not be bought with money.

Rod did not know the level cap of Star Trace, but based on his experience, the level of cards at the end of a deck was generally not very high, with a maximum of three evolutions. If he used both Gargoyle Hearts, then at least in battles with monsters of the same level, the forcibly evolved Holy Sword would not steal Rod's experience.

However...

Rod fell into deep thought. This set of Holy Sword cards was very unique. When he received the card from the B&M company president, the president clearly told him that it was the only one of its kind in the world. At the time, Rod did not think much of it, but now he found it strange.

The only one of its kind?

The system had previously told him that he had obtained 1/10 of the Eternal Deck, so how did it become the only one? What about the remaining 9 cards? And this was the tenth card, the last one, so there should be nine cards before it.

However, there was no such set of cards in the game. This was just a real-world souvenir, and in the game background of the Dragon Soul Continent, Rod had never heard of any information about the Holy Sword deck. Moreover, it could not be a hidden item in the game, as the card was created as a result of his victory in the tournament. Since his guild was named Starlight, the company specially designed this card as a prize and souvenir. Such a hastily made product could not be integrated into the game system.

But no matter what, he had to try.

With this thought, Rod extended his right hand and held one of the gems. Soon, a system prompt appeared before his eyes.

[Discovered Gargoyle Heart (Magical Item), do you wish to use it?]

Use.

Rod answered in his mind.

With Rod's response, a summoning array appeared on his right palm, emitting a faint magical light. The dark red gem shattered into powder and disappeared. Soon, new information appeared before Rod's eyes.

[Target?]

Star Trace.

Rod lowered his eyelids and answered in his mind.

[Target — Star Trace — Forced Evolution]

[Level Up Complete]

[Do you wish to evolve?]

Yes.

A pristine white card appeared in Rod's hand, its radiance catching the attention of Rijie and Mace.

At this moment, system prompts also appeared before Rod's eyes.

[Evolution Complete]

[Eternal Holy Sword, Tenth: Star Trace, No Attribute, Can Merge —— The dust of history cannot obscure its brilliant light. Level: 10, Victory's Glory, Blade Trait.

Snow-white wings protect all, Guardian Trait.

Holy light dispels darkness, Piercing Trait]

[Attached Skills: Blade Technique, Wing Protection, Star Beacon. Can be used three times per natural day]

Nice!

Seeing the system prompt, Rod nodded in satisfaction. Star Trace had three special skills, and these skills were attached to the weapon, meaning they did not consume Rod's soul power. The three uses per natural day were also excellent, and it was easy to imagine the significant role they would play in battle.

However, the next system prompt made Rod pause slightly.

[Detected Magic Condensation]