Rayleigh froze completely.
He turned his head slowly, looking at Akara’s unreadable face, feeling as if his brain had short-circuited.
“What did you say?” “I said, I do have it,” Akara repeated calmly, holding the bowl of herbs.
“Your starter pack has been with me all along.” *Pfft!* Rayleigh almost choked on his own breath.
He popped up from the grass like a released spring, the sudden, violent movement pulling at the wound on his back and sending a sharp bolt of pain through him.
Instantly, however, he completely ignored it.
“You have it?!
You’re saying you actually have it?!
Then why the hell didn’t you give it to me?!” Rayleigh pointed right at Akara’s nose, shaking with rage.
“Do you know what kind of life I’ve been living these past few days?!
I almost died in that bloody cave!
Just a hair’s breadth away!” Akara didn’t even bat an eye, offering only a flat response.
“You never asked me for it.” Rayleigh felt his blood pressure skyrocket as a surge of fury rushed straight to his head.
“I…
How was I supposed to ask if you never mentioned it!
How could I possibly know you had something like that?!
Is this standard operating procedure?!
You’re supposed to hand it over automatically!
You’re glitching, aren’t you?!” “I do not know what a ‘glitch’ is,” Akara replied, her logic infuriatingly airtight.
“I only know that from the moment you arrived, you never asked a single question regarding a ‘starter pack’.
You asked how to grow stronger, and I provided you with a class and skills.” Rayleigh opened his mouth, finding himself utterly speechless.
It seemed…
that was actually logical.
Back then, he had been entirely focused on pestering Akara to grant him his class transfer; he hadn’t asked a word about “starter benefits” or “gift packs.” Whose fault was that?
Mine?
“No!
This is definitely on you!” Rayleigh instantly shifted the blame back, shouting with righteous indignation.
“As a guide, shouldn’t you have a duty to inform me of all basic setup details?
This is gross job negligence!
I want to file a complaint!” “You may file your complaint with me,” Akara nodded politely, her attitude flawless.
“I…” Rayleigh was choked up once more.
Was he losing his mind, trying to argue logic with an NPC?
Complaint?
File it with whom?
He paced back and forth for a few steps before finally admitting defeat.
When under someone else’s roof, one had to bow one’s head.
Rayleigh took a deep breath, exhaled slowly, and forced a smile onto his face that looked worse than crying.
He rubbed his hands together, leaned close to Akara, and spoke in a near-fawning tone, “So…
my respected Lady Akara, look, I’m asking now, aren’t I?
So…
my starter gift pack…
could you…
give it to me now?” Only then did Akara set down the bowl of herbs.
She raised her hand and made a gentle pulling gesture toward the empty space between them.
Space rippled.
A primitive, square metal box covered in mysterious, intricate runes materialized out of thin air.
The box wasn’t large—about the size of a palm—but the moment it appeared, Rayleigh felt his heart skip a beat.
*Holy crap!* “The Horadric Cube!” He knew this thing intimately!
The single most powerful item in Diablo!
Synthesizing equipment, upgrading gems, crafting Runewords…
it was an absolute must-have godly artifact for any adventurer!
Rayleigh’s eyes gleamed with excitement, saliva practically dripping from his mouth.
Just as he was about to pounce forward and grab the precious treasure, a sudden thought flashed through his mind, bringing him to a dead halt.
Something was wrong!
He quickly calmed down, eyeing Akara suspiciously.
“Don’t tell me you simply forgot to give me an item this important?” For the first time, a flicker of unnatural stiffness appeared on Akara’s face, though she quickly regained her composure.
“Its situation is somewhat peculiar.” “Peculiar?” Rayleigh’s heart sank with a bad premonition.
He leaned close to the Cube, examining it in meticulous detail.
Before long, he noticed a tiny nick on one of its corners.
A corner was damaged!
“I knew it!” Rayleigh’s heart plummeted.
He knew nothing ever came that easy!
“This thing is broken?” “It is chipped,” Akara corrected him.
“Which is why I am offering you a choice.
You may take this chipped Cube right now, but the cost is that you will be unable to obtain the complete Horadric Cube through subsequent quests.” She paused briefly before continuing her explanation.
“This chipped Cube possesses a fatal defect.
Its synthesis formulas are chaotic and unpredictable.
Which is to say, you will not be able to craft a single one of those legendary Runewords.” Rayleigh’s face darkened completely.
After all that, it was a defective product!
A defective product that would ruin future main quest rewards!
In that moment, he suddenly understood Akara’s “good intentions.” The old woman wanted him to strive forward through his own efforts to win the perfect Horadric Cube.
Rayleigh fell silent.
He didn’t immediately reach out for the box.
Instead, he stared fixedly at it, his brain working at maximum capacity, weighing the pros and cons.
If he had transmigrated into a pure Diablo world, he would have refused without a second thought.
A Horadric Cube incapable of crafting Runewords lost at least ninety percent of its value!
For long-term growth, he would definitely choose to complete the quests and get the perfect one.
The problem was, this wasn’t just Diablo!
The Hogwarts outside—that dangerous, volatile magical world—was his main battlefield!
What did he need most right now?
Immediate power that could be converted into combat capability!
He recalled his situation at Hogwarts.
Was his magical talent comparable to Albus Dumbledore’s?
Was it comparable to Voldemort’s?
Don’t make him laugh; those were top-tier, ceiling-level wizards, while he was at best an ordinary guy with a bit of street smarts.
Even if his talent could compete, time waited for no one!
First year: How was he supposed to deal with the remnant soul of Voldemort sticking out from the back of Quirrell’s head?
Second year: What would he use to fight the Basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets that could petrify anyone on sight?
Third year: How was he going to dodge the Dementors who loved giving out deadly kisses?
Relying on his own half-baked wizarding skills?
Or hoping that Harry Potter’s protagonist halo would somehow cover him too?
Don’t be ridiculous!
Putting one’s life in someone else’s hands was the stupidest thing imaginable!
Rayleigh evaluated his current strength once again.
After grinding monsters so frantically, dealing with a third-year Hogwarts student shouldn’t be much of a problem.
He could probably even spar with lower-to-middle tier fourth-years.
After all, his Fire Bolts and Ice Bolts were instant-casts!
In wizard duels where incantations were required, instant casting was practically a dimensional strike.
Yet that strength was relative.
It wasn’t because he was truly that powerful, but because the average Hogwarts student right now was simply too weak!
Rayleigh remembered clearly that in the original story, some seventh-years about to graduate couldn’t even cast a proper Shield Charm!
It was embarrassing!
However, weak students didn’t mean weak professors, let alone a weak Dark Lord!
Once he faced a truly powerful wizard, his meager mana pool would be completely drained after a few instant spells, leaving him entirely at their mercy.
After pondering for a long time, the gaze in Rayleigh’s eyes gradually turned resolute.
He needed this Cube!
Even if it was chipped!
While the Sorcerer class relied on the Horadric Cube to an extent, its core advantage would always be those devastating, instant-cast elemental spells!
A chipped Cube might prevent him from creating game-breaking gear like “Enigma” or “Infinity.” However, its foundational synthesis capabilities—such as combining potions and upgrading gems—should still be intact.
And that was enough!
Higher-grade potions meant far greater combat endurance!
Higher-grade gems could be socketed into gear to boost his core attributes!
These were tangible, immediate power spikes!
As for the perfect Cube…
he could think about it once he had reached the point where he could walk tall and unthreatened through Hogwarts!
Survival was what mattered most!
“I choose to take it now!” Rayleigh lifted his head and spoke to Akara with firm conviction.
Without a moment’s hesitation, his hand reached out toward the chipped Horadric Cube hovering in the air.