Chapter 79

"Wow..."

Over the past few days, I had been busy gathering materials with Fiers as my base, but today, the area in front of the hero statue was unusually bustling.

Many players had gathered in front of the large gate that had been set up in the fountain square.

Even though it was a Friday, the first event was clearly heating up.

"Hmm, it's quite big, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it's about the size of a large shrine's torii gate."

Rin and I logged in together and looked up at the gate, sharing similar impressions.

The gate seemed to be already open, but inside, there was only a mysterious shimmer visible.

This must be some kind of warp gate. The actual dungeon seemed to be in a different space, and I could see players who had been waiting in line from early on entering the gate one after another.

It seemed everyone was lining up properly. The imperial soldiers seemed to be keeping the queue in order, and there didn't seem to be any trouble at the moment.

"Despite everything, it seems the servers are pretty evenly balanced."

"Yeah. Servers with fewer players might be easier to rank up on, but we don't know which servers have more or fewer players. In the end, we just have to choose based on our feelings, and the imbalance will naturally even out."

"Are we good to go? We're on Server IV, so we just need to equip the green mark, right?"

"Yes, that's right. Some people were kicked out because they forgot to equip it, so we shouldn't forget."

This event, "Stardust Labyrinth," involves clearing dungeons to earn points and exchange items.

The rankings are divided into five servers, and the players who earn the most points will rank higher.

The servers are named with Roman numerals from I to V, and we chose Server IV.

The reason is that Fiers is the fourth city. It's a bit cliché, but it's just right for choosing something like this.

The different marks sent by the developers, in red, blue, yellow, green, and purple, can be attached to any part of the body, so it's easy to tell them apart at a glance.

"Hmm? Yeah, I'm in a good mood."

"What's up?"

"Oh, a comment. Maybe I look that happy, huh?"

"Yeah, I guess so."

Today, Rin is streaming, so I can't react to comments myself.

I never really paid attention to it when I was streaming, but now I can see what it's like from the outside.

I don't know much about how Rin usually streams, but at least the current Rin seems very natural.

To me, she seems like her usual self. Waking up, having breakfast together... it's just the usual atmosphere.

If the listeners think this is a good mood, I'm happy about that. It means Rin values the time we spend together.

"By the way, Nana, did you get the new equipment you prepared?"

"Yeah, it's ready. It was completed late last night."

Rin's gaze was on the golden rod sent by Haruru. Despite being made of metal, it absorbed light, giving it a matte, dark appearance that was quite striking.

---

Item: Shadow Stitch

Rarity: Rare PM

Required Strength: 208

Attack Power: +82

Durability: 2005/2005

Category: Blunt Weapon, One-Handed Mace

Even if the blow is dodged, the impact will stitch even shadows. The heavy blow that merges with the night is a destructive strike that no one can withstand.

---

The parameters are as follows.

This is a custom-made weapon by Haruru, including the flavor text.

The name is "Shadow Stitch."

While the shape is almost the same as the golden rod I've been using, its performance is outstanding.

The attack power is 82, surpassing the relatively low attack power of the golden rod and nearly doubling the "Golden Rod - Pierce" I've been using.

Even considering the attack multiplier difference between weapon types, it still far exceeds the "Meteor Impact - Zero."

The durability of the golden rod is also impressive, with a value over 2000, making it almost impossible to break.

Most importantly, the required strength is extremely high, finally reaching the 200 mark.

As a result, most of the bonus points I've been saving since Meteor Impact have been allocated to strength, bringing me closer to a muscle-brain character.

Fortunately, I had a bit of luck on my side.

The price is 400,000 Iris. The high cost, even with materials provided, is due to the use of quite rare items in refining the Over-Heavy Metal.

After checking, I found that these items are indeed quite rare, and considering the value and effort, I judged the price to be reasonable.

Since I had some extra money after killing a Mysteria Rabbit, I paid in full without hesitation.

The specs are at a level that is quite rare even in the current frontlines, but I haven't been able to test the feel of it yet.

As I mentioned earlier, it arrived late at night when I was sound asleep, and I haven't fought any monsters since logging in.

However, Haruru had already told me that it would be completed just in time.

Refining and processing Over-Heavy Metal is apparently very time-consuming and requires a lot of patience.

I brought the materials to Haruru three days ago, and I'm impressed that she managed to complete it despite having other requests.

I'm really looking forward to wielding this weapon, which is heavier and more powerful than ever before.

"Rin, you're still using the same weapon, right?"

"Yes, this one is also made from named materials. However, it's not a named weapon because I didn't use a 'Soul.'"

"I see, I hadn't thought about that."

A named "Soul" is a rare drop from a named boss monster.

Originally, it drops with an extremely low probability, but it will drop with 100% certainty for the first player, party, or raid group to defeat the named boss.

As you can see from my headgear, "Lone Moon Camellia," and "Lau's Tempting Rapier," the performance of weapons made with a "Soul" is overwhelming.

However, named materials are already incredibly strong even without a "Soul."

Their performance is far superior to that of monsters in the same level range, to the point where they can easily be used in the next city or two.

Additionally, they come with unique special effects.

For example, my "Red Wolf Armor" combines lightness, speed, and durability.

Rin has been using a weapon made from named materials for the past two weeks, likely for these reasons.

"I've also prepared quite a bit, so let's do our best for the next seven days."

"By the way, what's your goal?"

"About 15 hours a day, I think."

"Wow."

I couldn't help but exclaim at Rin's words, said with a smile.

It means dedicating all her time to WLO except for the bare minimum.

"Next person!"

"Okay, let's give it a shot."

"Yes, let's go."

While chatting, it was our turn to enter the gate.

Since this is going to be a long haul, there's no point in starting off too tense. We passed through the gate leading to the Stardust Labyrinth in a relatively relaxed atmosphere.