Grey punted Eli’s head away like it was a soccer ball.
"Fuck you."
He flexed his foot and looked out toward the distance, but despite what he had been expecting, nothing came.
’Did I scare him?’ Grey frowned. He had definitely heard Joaquin scream out Sabrina’s name, so where was he now?
Before, Eli had been speaking out as though he was telling Sabrina something, but Grey was pretty sure that he was secretly also sending out a message to Joaquin.
It was clear enough to Grey that Joaquin was meant to take part in the battle at some point. The only questionable part was whether or not Joaquin was late to react because Grey killed them too quickly, or if Joaquin didn’t appear on purpose.
Something was telling Grey that it was the latter. Maybe it was because he really didn’t like that snake and was thinking the worst of him. But he had seen people like Joaquin in the past...
That handsome face, that perfectly set dirty blond hair as though he were still worried about such a thing in the middle of fighting for his life, and most importantly, that fake, concern-troll set of eyes and smile.
Everything about him made Grey’s skin crawl.
Grey flicked his wrist and the blood from Sabrina and Eli splashed away.
He was about to leave when his steps stopped. Shaking his head, he chuckled to himself.
Clearly, he had way too much PTSD about stripping people. But he had probably already walked right into a trap. At this point...
Who gave a damn?
Grey moved toward Eli’s corpse and pulled the cloak off of him.
—
Name: Faded Cloak
Rarity: Uncommon
Accepted Type: Branching
Restricted Type: Linear
Description: A cloak of the silent and undetectable. The less light there is, the more effective this item is. Bend shadows and light around you until the edges of your being fade from reality.
Abilities: Immune to Common Detection Skills. Reduce effectiveness of Uncommon Detection Skills by 50%.
—
’Interesting.’
The Accepted and Restricted combination was the exact same as the Skrill Mask, so he should be able to use it. But honestly, he still didn’t understand what any of that meant.
Still, he tossed it into his Weapon Space for the time being. Then he took up Eli’s dagger and froze.
’What...’
Grey stood frozen for a while before he started to laugh. Then he raised the back of his hand to what remained of his lips and gave it the best kiss he could.
He was so distracted he almost hadn’t noticed. But usually, the words would be blurry and hard to read. He’d also have to adjust May’s Nexis Suit several times.
But this time, the words just popped up nice and easy. He didn’t even consciously realize it until Eli’s dagger came back with nothing.
Eli’s dagger was a weapon the Russian had chosen at the selection. It wasn’t a treasure and was just made of normal steel—or whatever constituted as normal steel in this world.
It had no description.
Sabrina had interrupted him before he could really accept the rewards for Operation Spark Flame, but it seemed the greatest benefit had gone right over his head.
Did he... not need a Nexis Suit anymore?
Grey quickly checked his status page, but sighed when he saw his stats were still the same. Maybe not.
Then again, how was he supposed to improve his stats? He actually didn’t know. He hadn’t paid attention to that in the tutorial because he was more worried about his immediate problems and finishing the tutorial zone as quickly as possible.
Now he was in the dark, unfortunately.
’One problem at a time. We’ll keep knocking them down.’
Grey was energized.
Reaching down, he pulled the shin guards Eli had been wearing off his legs.
—
Name: Guarded Shins
Rarity: Uncommon
Accepted Type: Branching
Restricted Type: Linear
Description: A sweep of the legs can mean two things. This helps you either protect from them or execute the deadliest of them, whatever suits your fancy.
Abilities: +10% STR when kicking. +10% END when suffering an attack to the shins.
—
Grey nodded and threw them into his Weapon Space once again.
Eli didn’t seem to have anything else of value on his body. Grey had gotten a dagger, a cloak, and the shin guards out of him, so he could only look toward Sabrina.
’Well, might as well.’
—
Name: A Beauty’s Guard
Rarity: Rare (BLESSED) (LIMITED)
Accepted Type: Resonant
Rejected Type: Linear; Branching; Recursive
Description: Blessed by the Goddess of Unity, the Beauty’s Guard is a bound item designed for the chosen of her holiness. Graced by the Goddess’ goodwill, it grants the user two Mind Combat Methods.
Abilities: Beauty’s Bullet. Beauty’s Shield.
—
Grey raised an eyebrow, looking at the staff. Could he use this thing or not?
On the one hand, a Resonant Accepted Type was one thing he hadn’t seen before. But then again, he wasn’t supposed to be able to use the Skrill Mask either, but hadn’t he?
He was really tempted to use it, but he restrained himself.
There was a reason he hadn’t tested out any of the other methods. He really wasn’t sure if Joaquin was watching or not. In fact, all the while, Grey was still waiting for someone to try to surprise attack him.
But nothing came.
Either way, he would find out soon.
’Does this mean this thing can be upgraded? But how will this Goddess of Unity feel about that? Or is she already pissed at me for killing Sabrina?’
Grey shook his head.
One problem at a time. It was really becoming his motto.
The staff was quite simple, just carved of white wood with a bulbous head. It was barely about three quarters of a meter long, so it also easily fit in the Weapon Space. Though, the cubic meter in there was really starting to reach its limits.
Grey checked Sabrina’s body for more, but this seemed like the only item she had. The rest of her clothes were purely cosmetic.
’Let’s go. Let’s see what that asshole has waiting in the city...’