Chapter 96 Counting the spoils

Aiwass didn't look for a wheelchair, but got out of bed in his pajamas.

He stepped directly onto the soft, dry carpet and couldn't help but sigh, "It's indeed quite clean. I don't see any blood stains on the floor, and even the carpet isn't dirty... Well done, Shadow Fiend."

When Aiwass stepped on the ground, the contract between Shadow Demon and Aiwass was connected, and the power of Shadow Demon was activated.

The morning light of the rising sun was shining on Aiwass.

The weak sunlight cast only a faint shadow. But after the shadow demon activated, the shadow suddenly thickened—like a large dose of ink dropped into water. The shadow at Aiwass's feet took on the appearance of a furry black cat.

The entire room grew dim, countless dark clouds of smoke gradually condensing and slowly climbing up all the windows. The gradually thickening shadow lines resembled dense blood vessels and nerves, or slowly growing tree branches, almost completely blocking out the sunlight outside the windows.

Now, only a small amount of sunlight seeped in. It was like the dim yet barely visible state of the room at dawn.

"It's too dark."

Aiwass said casually: “But it’s up to you, as long as you are happy.

"I thought you'd tear it completely apart. I was prepared to pick up whatever was useful...but I didn't expect it to be so well preserved."

He picked and chose, searching for his spoils.

The more he examined, the more subtle his expression became.

Not to mention the equipment, why is it that even the underwear is preserved so intact?

...Ah, that's not right. It seems reasonable.

If you have all the gear but only your underwear is missing, that seems like a bigger problem...

Aiwass did a rough search and found that among the items "dropped" by the assassin lady this time, the most valuable one was probably her dagger, that is, the handleless throwing knife.

[Eagle Feather*4]

【Superb Weapon (Light Purple)】

[Exotic Dagger, Throwing Weapon, Light, Sharp]

[Species Characteristics: No handle (it requires special techniques to be used properly)]

[Module - Poison Tank: Its poison effect lasts longer and is more likely to poison enemies when it hits.]

[Super Module - Silent Poison: When poisoned, it will not make any sound before hitting the target]

There are four throwing knives left in this set.

It didn't have any fancy attributes; all its effects were designed for assassination. Among extraordinary weapons, it was considered the weakest—but for an assassin, it was the perfect hidden weapon.

As long as it's coated with venom, it won't make the sound of breaking through the air. If you use this method to launch a sneak attack, you can basically only dodge it through inspiration. Some Daoists lack the inspiration attribute, even if they have cultivated a high level of transcendence, they can't capture it through perception.

It's just a pity that Miss Assassin didn't drop the "Skill Book". For the time being, Aiwass can't get the Hawkeye Assassin's technique to use this weapon...

——But it's not unusable. All you need to do is find a trustworthy blacksmith and add a handle to the back of it. That will turn it from an exotic dagger back into a normal dagger.

Although it may cause the center of gravity to shift, it doesn't affect its properties anyway. If the blacksmith is skilled enough, it should be able to be modified.

The assassin also has two poisons that match this knife, both in the form of lipstick.

One of the lipsticks is dark red and is called "Love." The poison inside is quite subtle, causing increasing fatigue over the course of several hours, and ultimately leading to sudden death without notice.

The other one was pink and called Moon Mist. It could kill a person in seconds, causing the heart and lungs to corrode and melt rapidly—this was clearly the poison used to assassinate the secretary.

Both lipsticks were practically brand new, likely with plenty of life left in them. Aiwass wasn't a poison maker, nor was he a transcendental being attuned to the Dao, so he wasn't immune to the poison. And he obviously didn't use lipstick.

Even so, it's fine to use the lipstick as a solid poison ointment. The Hawkeye Organization's poison is still very reliable... Anyway, keep it for now, maybe it will be useful later.

Besides that, there was a transmitter. It was a badge that required dark mana to activate, and its function was to urgently notify one's superiors—either to request assistance or commit suicide.

It seems that Shadow Demon is very efficient. She didn't even have time to commit suicide before he killed her.

Otherwise, the experience will be wasted.

"Can this explode?!"

When Aiwas saw the corset worn by Miss Assassin, he gasped.

"——Is she so high in Hawkeye's eyes?!"

Because that is another piece of equipment in the "Eagle in the Shadow" suit, and it is also the most valuable and core piece of equipment:

Stalker in the Shadows

【Extraordinary Equipment (Purple)】

【Armor-Torso】

[Feature: When the enemy doesn't notice you, it becomes easier to successfully enter stealth or invisibility (only triggered by Adaptive Path)]

[Extraordinary Feature: While in stealth or invisibility, your sneak attacks always gain +1 advantage (Shadow) (Triggered only by Adaptive Path)]

[Set: Eagle in the Shadow (1/4)]

"—Keep quiet, remain silent. Shadow is our mother."

Although it's only purple in rarity, has no resistance at all and no enchanted spells...

But this is undoubtedly the most valuable piece of equipment in this set.

It can be purchased in-game, but this is the only piece of equipment that isn't mass-produced. Therefore, the set's attributes are incomplete, and the average player can only collect three pieces. The fourth piece must be obtained through special channels.

Because it brings about an increase in "priority".

The reason why the extraordinary people in this world use "energy level" to classify their ranks is because when their abilities conflict, the extraordinary person with the higher energy level is more likely to succeed. However, when their energy levels are the same, the outcome is uncertain.

For example, the Path of Authority has a law spell called "Nothing Can Hide," which can reveal things hidden by supernatural powers within a range. This spell has a +1 advantage (reveal), and can be successfully activated even if the opponent is one energy level lower than the opponent, but if the opponent is two energy levels lower, it will basically not be able to reveal anything.

Therefore, those low-level inspectors and lawyers could not catch the assassin lady - their level was too low, and they could not find her even if they tried their best.

The +1 Advantage (Shadow) means that the assassin can gain a temporary power level when sneaking with the help of the Shadow Domain. However, if the opponent is immune to Shadow abilities, this priority blessing will be ineffective.

According to Aiwass's assessment, Gordon should be a level 39 air cavalryman. At his age, Gordon's accumulated experience is definitely sufficient. Therefore, he must be stuck at the level before the advancement—that is, level 39, no more, no less.

He must have failed repeatedly in his attempts to advance, so he decided not to advance.

Failure in advancing from the fourth energy level to the fifth energy level would cause significant damage to the soul. Even death is possible during the full moon ceremony.

Although Gordon didn't have a mount, the assassin didn't sneak attack either. As a weak class, she could fight the air cavalry head-on to a draw, even outrunning a griffin. She must be around level 38 or 39.

This is also in line with the strategy of the Hawkeye Organization: the assassins they send abroad are basically all at the fourth energy level, because assassins at this energy level can more safely evade tracking and detection and operate in unfamiliar and dangerous areas.

If Miss Assassin could complete the advancement ritual to level 40, then Gordon would not be able to suppress her. Although it was only one level difference, it was still a level difference.

But if those fifth-level transcendents with names starting with "Big" really came, Chloe's stealth would be worthless to them. They could easily sweep Chloe out and control her.

This is energy level suppression. It is precisely because of this strict "hierarchy" system that the extraordinary people call it "energy level." It means the priority of extraordinary abilities.

The Adaptive Path possessed the ability to prevent sneak attacks and sense danger, while some Paths also possessed defensive abilities. However, once an assassin donned this cloth armor, devoid of any defensive attributes, they could successfully sneak attack enemies they had previously been unable to, penetrate defenses they had previously been unable to penetrate, and hit targets they had previously been unable to hit.

Even if it's only +1, it's extremely valuable to temporarily raise the judgment by one energy level!

Although with each new version, items with increased priority have gradually become more common... this can be considered a form of numerical inflation. However, in the current 1.0 version, even equipment with a +1 advantage is very rare.

Without obtaining favorable bonuses, it is basically impossible to defeat the Fallen Angels at level 50.

Level 50 is even the sixth energy level, which is almost impossible to reach in the current version. It requires the gathering of level 49 transcendents from all nine paths to complete the advancement, and failure carries a high probability of death. Because it is basically impossible to gather enough people now, it is difficult to complete the advancement at level 50... Only when the world is in chaos and the power of the fifth energy level is no longer sufficient will the sixth energy level begin to emerge in large numbers.

In the current environment, the sixth energy level is undoubtedly the strongest and best in the world.

The Eternal Pope of the Theocracy is now at level 50, but she also relied on her status as the Eternal Pope to forcibly raise her level temporarily, and she will return to level 49 when she leaves office.

As for Fallen Angels, a particularly difficult dungeon in version 3.0, even level 50 is barely the hard threshold. In large-scale MMORPGs like these, even the most challenging dungeons in a given version are practically impossible to enter without full gear and a full level. Even if you do enter, you'll likely end up wiping repeatedly.

——This is the value of a high-level phantom demon.

Just as "Higher Demons" refer to demons of higher status than Demonologists, the concept of "Higher Phantom Demons" originated with the Fallen Angels' destruction of the Rosicrucian Society. These demons are higher in status than those in this world—all apostles and angels are considered High Phantom Demons.

The difference between a higher-level phantom demon and a phantom demon is that even if a higher-level phantom demon is forcibly incarnated and descends into the material world, its level is stuck at the upper limit of the world, but in reality it is always considered to be a higher level. This is the main reason for the failure of the Rosicrucian Society, a pure information gap.

The difference between a higher-level phantom demon and a phantom demon is determined by whether or not it has an unconditional +1 benefit in all areas (divinity).

Only high-ranking phantom demons can be sealed into great beasts by great sin scholars.

Therefore, although the Flame-Bearing Butterfly was low in level, its status was high—this premature, incompletely hatched butterfly was only level 30 at the time, yet it was judged to be at the fifth energy level. It was virtually immune to all control, weakening, curses, armor penetration, and sneak attacks, and could even penetrate the player's resistance and shields.

At the time, players thought this was a standard feature in raids... but then, two major bosses in a row didn't have this trait. It wasn't until after defeating the Fallen Angel that players realized... that the Flame-Butterfly was actually the first high-level phantom demon that players were aiming for.

Therefore, any equipment with the "+1 Advantage" attribute should be collected first. Although only the highest level bonus is used in each field, there are still many fields with bonuses.

This was also why Aiwas wanted to go archaeological research—even the indigenous people knew this kind of equipment was valuable, and it was basically only held by the top powers in each country. In Iris, it was Hawkeye, and in Avalon, it was the Arbitration Hall.

The strongest person in Avalon should be the Great Arbitrator Meg.

Although she was only a fifth-level transcendent, she possessed three pieces of equipment with +1 priority, strengthening the three areas of "Boundary," "Revelation," and "Resistance." If she took the Queen's Scepter, she would also gain a priority in the area of ​​"Command," essentially making her a sixth-level supreme being.

It is precisely because of Meg's powerful deterrent power that Avalon, whose internal political situation is increasingly chaotic and everyone has their own ulterior motives, has been able to survive to this day.

It was because next summer, Meg realized that the situation in Avalon was gradually becoming dire, so she decided to try to advance. If she could complete the advancement, Xingti would definitely not dare to attack Avalon.

But in that promotion ceremony, Meg failed to advance and eventually died unfortunately——

Only three months later, the events of Avalon's Cruel Autumn occurred.

(End of this chapter)