Leo briefly explained the situation to the two women, and they finally decided to make preparations on two fronts. Since everyone was familiar with the route, they would rush to the cave early tomorrow morning to see if they could snatch the mission completion first. They would prepare enough supplies so that, even if they couldn't make it in time, they could continue leveling in the cave to catch up with that Level 20 powerhouse.
He distributed the Small Charms to the two based on their needs. He sent Gerdie off to purchase daily necessities and Majesty to handle the spoils of war. Leo returned to his own tent; he also needed to prepare for tomorrow's departure.
He had long wanted to try the core gameplay of Diablo II from his past life: the Rune system. Taking off his Ancient Armor, he took out the runes Tal and Eth. First, he socketed Tal into one of the armor's sockets; a gentle force firmly locked the rune into place. Then, he socketed Eth as well.
A flash of gray light pulsed, and the sockets on the armor vanished, merging into a smooth whole. The originally polished armor now displayed magical engravings brimming with an ancient aura.
The name of the Ancient Armor changed to:
> Stealth
> Ancient Armor
> Defense: 220
> Required Strength: 100, Required Level: 17
> Magic Damage Reduced by 3
> +6 to Dexterity
> +15 Maximum Stamina
> Poison Resist +30%
> Regenerate Mana 15%
> 25% Faster Run/Walk
> 25% Faster Cast Rate
> 25% Faster Hit Recovery
>
Leo was thrilled; it appeared the Rune Words were functional. Mastering all the Rune Words gave him a truly massive advantage.
After all, many Rune Words from his past life had extremely practical attributes, and endgame gear essentially consisted of Rune Words. Putting on Stealth, he felt the power of the equipment; a mysterious energy lingered in his mind, making him sharper, and his movement speed was noticeably faster.
The effect was very clear. Leo planned to head out for a stroll after dinner to see if he could buy more socketed gear, runes, and other good items.
Although the squad's equipment had been fully updated to blue items—and the two women's main weapons had even been replaced with rare yellow items—being able to equip the entire team with Stealth to increase movement speed would give them a better chance of snatching the main quest.
The charm space had also completed a phase of analysis. Normal-grade equipment had been selectively analyzed during his leveling time. The attempt to analyze Exceptional-grade gear prompted a failure message; he estimated he would have to wait until he reached the equippable level to analyze them.
Leo opened his inventory; the charm attributes had undergone a significant transformation.
> Charm Attributes:
> Damage: 8-20
> Poison Damage +12, duration 3 seconds
> Accuracy +5%, +100
> Defense: 230
> All Resistances +7%
> Strength +8
> Dexterity +5
> Crushing Blow Chance +20%
> Open Wounds Chance +50%
> Light Radius +5
> Instantly restore 35% Life/Mana (3 charges)
>
As dinner time approached, the two women completed their tasks and returned home. Leo took stock of the supplies they brought back. Majesty returned with 180,000 gold. Gerdie had somehow managed to purchase runes from somewhere, and the quantity gave Leo a shock. There were 56 in total: five each of #1 through #8, three each of #9 through #12, and one each of #13 through #16.
While eating together, he learned about the women's current attributes. With a plan in mind, Leo headed out to look for Rune Word bases.
The Rogue Encampment at night was exceptionally hot—in every sense of the word. In the central square, enthusiastic Rogues and female class members were singing and dancing; this had become a collective activity for releasing stress in the camp.
A large crowd of male class members surrounded them, cheering loudly. From time to time, confident young men would go up to strike up a conversation. Failure would draw a chorus of boos, followed by the man returning crestfallen to drink a penalty cup. Success would immediately result in a couple leaving together like "immortal companions," though it was unknown whether these pairings were long-term or just for a fling.
Among the class member stalls, Leo found two Gothic Plates. One cost 30,000 gold, only slightly cheaper than in the shops; the rare thing was that both had two sockets. The armor required 70 Strength, which the two women could manage with the bonuses from charms and equipment. The defense was 130, only a bit better than light armor, but they had sockets. Once he went back and crafted two more Stealth sets, the two women would surely be happy.
"You pervert, smiling so disgustingly while watching the women dance. You definitely aren't thinking of anything good."
Leo heard a somewhat familiar voice from behind. Turning around, he saw it was Sael, the little Barbarian again. Why did he keep running into him everywhere?
"Hiding here and staring... you have the lecherous heart but no guts. Not a real man at all. If you have the balls, go talk to them. Let's see who's more popular with the girls," Sael said with a look of disdain.
Leo was amused. Although he hadn't had a girlfriend in this life, his looks were still decent. Just based on how cute his sister was, he knew he wasn't bad. But as an adult, being asked to compete in this with a little brat was truly embarrassing.
Seeing Leo remain silent, Sael's eyes darted around before he blurted out: "What? Scared? I'm Sael, known as the 'Beauty Killer.' Every night I lead a beautiful girl away to have some fun."
Looking at Sael's shifty eyes while he spoke, Leo knew this kid was lying without even a script. Leo didn't bother exposing Sael's tall tales; this brat needed to be taught a lesson or he'd think he was flying. "Sael, does a truly powerful man need a woman to prove himself?"
"Well... of course not," Sael's brain was clearly not quite up to the task.
Leo continued to hoodwink him: "A real man fights the strongest Demon Lords, drinks the strongest liquor, eats the most delicious food, and only lastly, takes the most beautiful women."
Sael's eyes were shining as if he had already defeated all the Demon Lords, feasted like a king, won the hearts of ten thousand beauties, and reached the peak of life.
"There are no Demon Lords to fight here, and no delicious food to enjoy. But as for strong liquor, I'm not lacking in that." Speaking of this, Leo opened his inventory and pulled out two bags of strong ale.
"Today, let's become friends through drink and see who the real man is, shall we?" Little brat, when your big brother was living in a drunken stupor in my past life, I drank high-proof spirits. This strong ale is only a bit better than rice wine. As long as you dare to agree, I'll have you carried back.
The "bear child" was fearless; how could he be afraid of Leo's bag of wine? He lifted the bag and downed it—glug, glug, glug—finishing it in one go. After finishing, he heroically tossed the bag to the ground, though his eyes were becoming a bit glazed.
Leo said no more, picked up the other bag, and poured it down.
He put the bags back into his inventory. "Another one?"
"Bring it on! I'm just getting started!"
The two downed another bag. Sael was clearly starting to struggle to stand.
"Another one?" Leo continued to provoke him.
"I... I... would I be afraid of you? Bring it..."
They drank another bag. Sael was finished; he sat on the ground, beginning to babble incoherently, speaking constantly in the Barbarian tongue.
Leo couldn't understand it, except for the onomatopoeia for "Gerdie." Seeing the brat crying and shouting, jumping and making a scene while calling out Gerdie's name, Leo figured that was enough. After all, he was an acquaintance of his teammate, so he should show some mercy.
"Sael, the drinking is about finished, and you're truly a real man. Look over there at the sister dancing—is she beautiful?" Leo wrapped an arm around Sael's shoulder affectionately and pointed his finger at a woman who looked like the hardest to mess with.
"Beaut... beautiful. A real man... should, should take the most beautiful woman..."
Watching Sael struggle to get up and stagger forward, Leo turned and walked back to his residence. A real man never looks back at the explosion.