C3 Weapons

"Alice's body, it's actually here."

His train of thought was shattered by someone speaking.

Crouching down, he retrieved a small dagger from his backpack, a temporary purchase from the mall. He planned to select his personal weapon once the instance dungeon concluded.

Carefully, he brushed away the dust and debris from the corpse's head, revealing silver adornments amidst golden locks and delicate bones. It was clear that in life, Miss Alice had cherished her beauty.

He was about to speak when he caught the alarm in his teammate's eyes.

"There's something... behind you..."

"Widget," the female player, pointed shakily to his rear.

Without a second thought, Xie Yu sprang forward, stepping away from the corpses. He hadn't turned around when he spotted a swift, dark shadow on the ground, moving towards them. There was no time to ponder; he had to keep backing away.

He hadn't yet chosen his weapon, and the small dagger in hand, hardly longer than a chopstick, seemed hardly reliable for combat.

Despite the fear etched on the faces of "Obedient" and "Troublemaker," they remained composed, avoiding a complete panic. Once Xie Yu found his footing, the group of five stood together, their collective courage bolstered.

Looking up, he saw a dark figure suspended above the corpse, draped in an oversized robe, with water dripping steadily from its black sleeves.

"What is that?" Brother Fearless blurted out.

Floating mid-air, it couldn't be human. It seemed they were facing a vengeful spirit.

"It could be Alice's spirit, but... it doesn't quite look like a woman..."

"What a mess," he murmured, while shielding his girlfriend, puzzled.

The black spirit above the corpse writhed, emitting a piercing shriek as droplets fell in increasing numbers from its sleeves.

Before long, they pooled into a small puddle atop the corpse.

"We need to deal with this spirit to complete our mission," Xie Yu surveyed the area, his voice steady.

"But the mission says we're supposed to take her away from here..."

"Be good!" Widget interjected immediately upon hearing Xie Yu, "If we kill her, that should mean mission failure."

"Trust me, it won't happen," Xie Yu assured as he gripped his dagger tightly and charged ahead.

But his target wasn't the vengeful spirit hovering above the corpse; it was the massive bay window.

He plunged his dagger into the window with force, and with a loud crash, the glass shattered completely, turning the half-open window into one that was wide open.

Shards of glass tumbled to the floor, mingling with Alice's body nearby, scattering among puddles and reflecting the sunlight from outside.

The fragmented light danced over the mutilated corpse. Xie Yu sheathed his dagger, sensing the end of the dungeon was near.

"We can't take down this vengeful spirit; we lack the weapons to do so," Xie Yu stated, standing tall as he watched the spirit dissolve in midair. "The body is too damaged to remove. So, we let the sunlight in instead."

Bathed in sunlight, the wraith's robes disintegrated, and it vanished in a plume of black smoke. The glass on the ground, though casting only weak rays, proved to be sufficient.

Soon after, the system's announcement filled his ears.

"Dungeon complete. Congratulations to the player for a successful clear."

"Game functions are now fully unlocked."

Xie Yu remained still. After a 30-second countdown, a flash of white light transported them out of the dungeon.

Shortly after their departure, the fragments of the corpse on the ground stirred, slowly reassembling, until finally, it stood upright.

Adorned in an elaborate golden court gown, with pale golden hair and eyes of ocean blue clouded with confusion, Alice appeared as if awakening from a deep slumber.

Standing beside the shattered window, she tilted her head back to gaze at the sunlight. Moments later, her eyes regained their clarity.

"I... found him..."

Xie Yu wasted no time after exiting the dungeon, diving straight into the marketplace.

With the beginner's dungeon behind him, he was about to face dungeons of official difficulty. Without selecting a suitable weapon, he knew the challenges ahead would be daunting.

The marketplace boasted an array of weaponry, from longswords and shortswords to a vast selection of daggers.

Though the selection of firearms was slightly smaller than that of melee weapons, the variety was still extensive.

Xie Yu meticulously flipped through page after page, ensuring he didn't overlook a single detail. Suddenly, his eyes locked onto one item. That was it! The Ring Blade, slender and sleek—just the way he liked it. Without hesitation, he selected one, completed the purchase, and retrieved it from his mailbox.

In Reveler World, every player was entitled to a unique weapon. Upon completing a dungeon, the system awarded players based on how well they fulfilled the mission objectives, doling out not just the requisite gold coins and experience points but also weapon points.

These weapon points, unique to the system, were the currency for weapon upgrades. They could be accumulated over time, and as weapons were enhanced, they would begin to exhibit special functions. However, these features were considerations for the mid-game stage.

Initially, the focus was on strengthening the weapon's core. Special functions were a rarity, only emerging with a minuscule probability. It was only when a weapon reached peak enhancement that the emergence of a special ability became a fixed probability.

This exact probability was unknown to players. Only by hacking into the game company's database would one discover that even at maximum enhancement, the chance of a special ability manifesting was a mere one percent. And the likelihood of such an occurrence in the early stages? An even more astronomical one in a hundred thousand.

After breezing through the beginner's dungeon, Xie Yu hadn't yet checked the bounty of gold coins, experience, and weapon points the system had awarded him. He carefully stored the Ring Blade. While it was possible to purchase and carry multiple weapons, once weapon points were allocated to an enhancement target, they couldn't be reassigned. Consequently, it was rare for players to wield a variety of weapons simultaneously. The most anyone would do was opt for two of the same weapon, given the importance of weapon proficiency.

For a player accustomed to swords, suddenly switching to daggers in a high-level game was tantamount to a death wish.

Xie Yu browsed the mall's armory once more, pausing briefly before purchasing another weapon. To the uninitiated, it might be mistaken for a chef's knife, and indeed, it bore a striking resemblance. But upon testing it, Xie Yu found it remarkably well-suited to his grip.

The Ring Blade was destined to become his primary weapon, but for the time being, he preferred to wield the kitchen knife. In the unpredictable and chilling world of this suspense game, allies could turn into adversaries at any moment. Caution was paramount.

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