Chapter 376

Chapter 376

The second quest details appeared in front of his eyes.

[Ancient Artifact]

[You may obtain the ancient artifact ‘Graduate Gear’ if you collect the ‘Essence of the Strong’ and bring it to Wurttemberg!]

[Type: Repeating Quest]

[Progress: N/A]

[Reward: Choose one Graduate Gear]

[Note 1: The type and rating of Graduate Gear you may purchase from Wurttemberg will change depending on the quality and quantity of the essence you collected.]

[Note 2: It is possible to exchange lower grade Essence of the Strong for Graduate Gear of a higher grade.]

It seemed that the owners of each floor would drop an item called Essence of the Strong upon being defeated.

“So I can purchase artifacts from you in exchange for these essences?”

“Yes.”

“But what kind of artifacts are you selling? May I take a look?”

“Sure,” Wurttemberg replied and snapped his fingers.

Snap!

The empty first floor of the tower was suddenly lined up with rows and rows of weapon racks.

“Oh!” Siegfried exclaimed after seeing the weapon racks filled with the Graduate Gears.

The Graduate Gears looked a bit old-fashioned, but they had that classic and ancient design that gave off a luxurious and exclusive feel.

“Can you see these, everyone?” Siegfried asked the viewers through the Smart Camera hovering around him.

Of course, it was impossible to communicate with the viewers as the chat room was flooded with hundreds of thousands of messages every second, and the chats were appearing and disappearing at speeds impossible for normal people to follow.

This was the reason Siegfried gave up on communicating with his viewers and just said whatever he wanted.

Wurttemberg grimaced and asked, “What are you doing? And what is that round object hovering around you?”

“Ah, I am from another world, and this allows the people in my word to see what I am doing.”

“What?!” Wurttemberg was stunned, and he hurriedly asked, “A-Another world?! Has magic advanced that far?!”

“Not really.”

“Then? You just said with your own mouth that you were from another world, right?!”

“I cannot explain the specifics, but...” Siegfried proceeded to explain what kind of people the Adventurers were.

“Oh! I see! It seems magic in your world has greatly advanced! Who would’ve thought dimensional travel would be possible? What amazing magic!”

“Not really... but I am clueless about how it works, so I cannot tell you more about it. Anyway, may I take a look at the artifacts?”

“O-Of course!”

Siegfried was able to take a look at the local specialties of the Sky Tower after briefly explaining things to Wurttemberg.

“Allow me to show you what we have here,” Siegfried said to the viewers as he flashed his Rune of Insight at the Graduate Gears being sold by Wurttemberg.

***

The Graduate Gears were divided into tiers completely different from the Rare, Unique, Legendary, etc. tiers the artifacts on the continent were classified. The ancient artifacts were classified into five grades, with D-Grade being the lowest and U-Grade being the highest.

Wurttemberg introduced the D-Grade Graduate Gears first.

[D-Grade Basic Gloves]

[A Graduate Gear with basic stats.]

[Grade: D]

[Effect: +65% Attack Speed]

[Price: 150 Essence of the Strong]

“T-This thing boosts attack speed by sixty-five percent?” Siegfried was surprised after checking the stats of the D-Grade Basic Gloves. A sixty-five percent increase in Attack Speed was rare, even among legendary artifacts. The downside was that it didn't have any other options or stats attached to it, but it was still quite impressive.

“It is not lacking at all.”

“Really?”

“Yes,” Siegfried nodded and explained, “Well, it is a bummer it only provides one option, but I dare say that these artifacts are far superior compared to most artifacts out there. I would say it is probably the embodiment of what a magic artifact should be.”

“I see...” Wurttemberg replied, but his expression seemed a bit strange. Then, he let out a sigh and said, “I’m not sure if I should be happy to hear that. It does feel good to know my skills aren’t far behind what this generation of blacksmiths has to offer, but I can’t help but be disappointed in them at the same time.”

“You do not have to be disappointed,” Siegfried said as he showed Horse Fly to him.

“What’s this?”

“Horse F— I mean, this artifact is called Vanquisher’s Grasp.”

“Oh!” Wurttemberg exclaimed.

He was indeed befitting of his title as a Legendary Blacksmith as he immediately recognized the value of Siegfried’s Vanquisher’s Grasp.

“The craftsmanship, skills, and bloodlust I feel from this artifact is amazing! Is this an artifact crafted by the blacksmiths after me?”

“Yes.”

“Oh! There was no need to be disappointed! I’m sorry, but may I observe this artifact for a bit?”

“That will be a bit difficult right now,” Siegfried shook his head and replied before he flashed an apologetic smile and said, “I am a bit busy right now as climbing the tower comes first.”

“Ah! I see! But what if you die while climbing the tower? Then I won’t get to see that artifact, no?”

“I am from another world, so I will not die.”

“R-Really?!”

“You can think of this body as something like an avatar.”

“Haha... That’s quite something... You’re not a wandering spirit like me, yet you’re immortal...”

“Haha...”

“Alright, then go on ahead. But you have to show me that artifact later, okay?”

“Certainly,” Siegfried replied with a smile. Then, he made his way to the magic circle located at the center of the first floor. He made his way toward it as he did not see any stairs so he figured this magic circle was the path to the next floor.

“By any chance... Was there anyone who had climbed this tower before me?” he asked to check if anyone from the Church of Osric had climbed the tower before him.

However, Wurttemberg’s response was not what Siegfried expected.

“I can’t tell you that.”

“Why not?”

“It is forbidden to speak of the ones that climbed the tower.”

“I see... Tsk...”

“I’ll pray for your victory. Don’t die, and make sure to just give up if it gets too difficult, do you understand?”

“That will not be necessary,” Siegfried replied with absolute confidence before he infused his mana into the magic circle.

Wooong!

The magic circle shone brightly as it engulfed Siegfried in its dazzling light.

***

[Sky Tower: Second Floor]

A message informing him of his current location popped up in front of his eyes after the light disappeared.

“Greetings,” someone approached Siegfried and said, “I am the owner of the second floor, and my name is Bjergsen.”

Siegfried looked up and found an NPC wearing tight leather pants and a short-sleeve vest.

“My name is Siegfried.”

“It is nice to meet you, Siegfried,” Bjergsen said and extended his hand toward him.

‘Oh, what a well-mannered NPC,’ Siegfried thought as he was about to shake Bjergsen's hand, but—

“Ptooey!”

—Bjergsen spat on his face.