Alessio Leone's Perspective
Inside the Black Tower, magical items followed a clear rule.Four categories.
Rare.Epic.Legendary.Mythic.
That was the official scale.Everything else was reduced to dust, dismissed as mere common items — disposable pieces offering nothing beyond looks and basic function.
The system was simple.And at the same time… incomplete.
Because there was a flaw.Small, almost invisible, but one that any attentive player would eventually learn to value.
The Uncommon Items.
They didn't officially exist.They had no place in manuals, nor were they celebrated as achievements.And yet, they were real.
They were flawed items—and precisely for that reason, they were a flaw in the system itself.
Imperfect pieces, born from failed attempts by craftsmen or enchanters trying to forge something Rare or higher.
But for some reason, they still carried traces of power.
Flaws.And, paradoxically, useful.
For someone like Alessio, identifying them was easy. The necklace Eleanor wore on her chest, for example—he knew it was an Uncommon Item.
Just like the skull-shaped helmet in his hands.
Lion Soul Helm
Special Ability — Intimidate
Unleashes an aura of predatory presence.
Monsters of equal or lower level hesitate or retreat.
Duration: 10 seconds.Cooldown: 3 minutes.
Alessio narrowed his eyes.It wasn't a revolutionary ability.Not a weapon that could turn a battle on its own.
But it was useful.
Intimidate.
The function was nearly identical to his class's starting skill, Beast Roar.The difference was crucial: his roar drove monsters insane, forcing them to attack without thinking… while the helmet did the opposite.They recoiled.They faltered.
It was a tool of control.And in the right hands, control always meant power.
Alessio ran his fingers over the carved fangs of the helm.He could almost feel the symbolic weight of the beast that had once roared through those bones.
The name wasn't random.Lion Soul Helm.
Even Uncommon Items like that were rare within the Tower.Not because they were hard to make—failures were more common than successes—but because of the fate they usually met.
Craftsmen, upon realizing their work was flawed, preferred to destroy them and reuse the materials. It was more efficient to recover fragments of bone, metal, and runes, and try again in search of something truly Rare or higher.
And even those who didn't recycle them still kept such pieces out of common circulation.There was another market for them.
The noble houses.
Families who maintained private armies—hundreds of soldiers needing every advantage, no matter how small. To them, even an imperfect item had value.
Armor that slightly reduced injuries, weapons that offered minimal attack bonuses, shields that delayed the impact of a fatal blow—any detail could mean the difference between a squad surviving or being wiped out.
The demand was always high.Nobles bought everything.Which was why Uncommon Items never reached ordinary NPC markets.
They simply didn't make it there.
But there was one exception.One detail that kept them alive within the Tower.
Boss loot.
It was in the depths of dungeons that such items—failures piled together or forgotten remnants—appeared as rewards.Not often, but often enough.And that was enough to make every dungeon an inevitable destination for players dreaming of more than mediocrity.
That was why, in his past life, Alessio remembered it well: dungeons were never empty.They had always been the most visited, contested, and bloodstained places in the Tower.
And now, holding the Lion Soul Helm in his hands, he understood why better than ever.
It didn't take long for everyone to finish choosing their new gear.At first glance, the floor looked like endless treasure—scattered coins, metal fragments, gems, and pieces of armor. But, as Alessio expected, most of it was junk. Broken scraps, limited-use gear, common items that wouldn't make any difference in battle.
Even so, they got lucky.
Besides the Lion Soul Helm, still heavy in his grip, two more Uncommon Items had appeared—something rare, which Alessio believed was because this was the first time the dungeon had ever been cleared.
Matteo found a new staff.Metal, simple yet sturdy, with a finish that reflected the engineer himself: solid, straightforward, unpretentious. Just a common item. But when Matteo lifted it, adjusting his glasses with a satisfied gleam in his eyes, Alessio almost smiled. It suited him perfectly.
Cassandra, on the other hand, practically burst with joy when she discovered a new robe.Woven in dark tones with subtle golden details, far more glamorous than the lifeless uniform she'd been wearing, it brought a wide smile to the red-haired mage's face. Alessio couldn't help but notice how she gave a little spin, showing off the fabric as if on an improvised runway.
He made a mental note: clothes were definitely a good way to bribe the girl.
As for Hana and Eleanor, nothing new.Maybe they hadn't found anything suitable for their classes, or maybe there was simply nothing useful for them in this haul.That was normal.Alessio knew the mechanics of dungeons well—in his past life, he'd taken part in dozens of runs where all he got was a handful of coins and the wear of battle.
Aside from that—
Each of them received 200 gold coins as their fair share.An honest amount, especially for their first group run in the Tower.More than Alessio could've expected when he'd dragged Matteo into what he personally called a suicidal madness.
As he watched his teammates examine their new equipment, Alessio leaned back against the stone wall again, letting the pain throb silently through his body.Deep down, he knew: tonight's haul wasn't just gold and gear.It was the experience each of them had gained.
After all, they had only taken the first step.
The group traded a few quick words—casual remarks about the loot, stifled laughs at the pitiful state they were all in. Nothing long, nothing deep—just enough to ease the silence after battle.
Alessio didn't force the conversation.His body still ached, and though his mind was clear, fatigue was creeping in.A quick glance at the panel confirmed what he already suspected: little more than twenty minutes remained before the system shut down the servers.
There was nothing else they could do that day.Going deeper would be reckless.Forcing another fight would be suicide.
And his companions understood that.
One by one, they began disconnecting, vanishing in gentle flashes of bluish light. Matteo, adjusting his glasses one last time; Cassandra, caressing her new robe with a satisfied smile; Hana, silent as ever; and Eleanor, who gave him one last lingering look before fading into the air.
Alessio was the last to leave.With the Lion Soul Helm still firm in his grasp, he allowed himself one final breath inside that dark cavern.
Thus ended the second day within the Black Tower.