Constantine crouched amid the ruins of the cavern and began sorting through the drops.
Even in his current state, with his old attire shredded, his shield destroyed, and both daggers lost somewhere in the carnage, he couldn't quite suppress the anticipation this part always brought.
Ten years of repetition had made it something close to reflex.
'Let's see what we have.'
He worked from the outer edge of the drop radius inward.
The Hellhound mob loot was modest—three Minor Recovery Potions, two Ability Boost Potions, a handful of crystallized Ghost Fangs, and a Ghost Iron Fragment. Crafting materials, mostly. He set them aside without much attention.
The Ghost Hellhound drops were something else entirely.
Two of them had left behind small crystallized objects—translucent shards radiating a cold, pale glow from within. Constantine recognized them the moment he laid eyes on them and straightened up involuntarily.
Skill Crystals.
'Two of them…' He picked them up carefully. 'That's extremely rare.'
In Eccel Accel, a Skill Crystal formed only when a monster died while channeling an ability powerful enough to crystallize into a transferable form.
Many Players ran entire battles, especially in early games, without seeing a single one. Absorbing a crystal transferred a version of that Skill directly to the user—sometimes diminished compared to the original, but always functional.
He examined the first.
[Skill Crystal: Ghost Step]
Obtained from: Ghost Hellhound
{The user can suppress their presence entirely, becoming temporarily undetectable to all forms of sensory perception. Duration and effectiveness scale with the user's Level.
Constantine stared at it.
'The Skill that blindsided me over and over in that fight.'
This was the ability behind a major turning point in the earlier battle, and now it was sitting in his palm, offering itself.
He absorbed it without hesitation.
[Skill Acquired: Ghost Step]
The second crystal was noticeably heavier.
[Skill Crystal: Dark Blast]
Obtained from: Dark Ghost Hellhound
{The user can project a concentrated burst of dark energy, inflicting heavy damage to all living targets within its trajectory. Potency diminishes over distance. Cooldown and output scale with the user's Level.}
'The Boss's own Skill.'
Constantine went very still, his expression solemn.
The ability that had twice driven him to Level 2.
The one that vaporized sections of stone floor and forced him against the cavern wall just to survive the shockwave.
A transferable version of that exact power was waiting in his hand, ready to be absorbed by a Level 21 Ghoul who already passively corroded every living thing within range.
'To think I have such good luck!'
He let out a short, quiet laugh—and absorbed it.
[Skill Acquired: Dark Blast]
The Boss drops themselves were clustered at the center.
The armor caught his eye first. It was sleek and form-fitting—entirely unlike the blocky Adventurer outfit he'd been wearing—deep charcoal in color with a faint luminescent quality that shifted when light struck it from different angles.
It was clearly derived from the creature's own hide.
[Spectral Hide Armor (SR)]
{Forged from the reinforced hide of a Dark Ghost Hellhound. Exceptional physical resistance without compromising mobility. Grants partial immunity to debuff Skills and environmental hazards.}
'Oh? A Super Rare Item… As expected from a Boss!'
He changed into it on the spot, discarding the torn remains of his old outfit without ceremony. The moment the armor settled against his body, he registered the difference—a solidity in his frame, a physical presence that simply hadn't been there before.
The daggers were next.
Two of them, formed from the Boss's crystallized fangs. Long and slightly curved, dark along the flat with a cold gleam like still water at night.
[Ghost Fang Dagger (SR) ×2]
{Formed from the fangs of a Dark Ghost Hellhound. Capable of penetrating physical resistance that deflects conventional blades. Inflicts minor dark energy damage on contact.}
He strapped both to his belt.
The Potion haul was reasonable—seven Minor Recovery Potions, three Ability Boost Potions, and a Major Recovery Potion buried at the center of the Boss's loot pile. He loaded everything across his three Basic Adventurer Pouches.
A brief search of the cavern turned up his Ordinary Sharp Sword, cracked nearly through the flat. He held it for a moment, then set it aside.
It was still technically a weapon, albeit barely, so he wasn't throwing it away yet.
Then he checked his Status Window.
[STATUS INFORMATION]
{Name}
Constantine
{Race}
Undead
{Level}
21
{System Points}
???
{Class}
Ghoul
{Title(s)}
Dead on the First Day/Died Once
{Skill(s)}
Miasma Emission / Ghost Step / Dark Blast
{Equipped Items}
Spectral Hide Armor (SR) / Ghost Fang Dagger ×2 (SR) Basic Adventurer Pouch ×3 (C) / Minor Recovery Potion ×7 Ability Boost Potion ×3 / Major Recovery Potion ×1
{System Note}
Congratulations on clearing the Floor Boss! Your System Points have been updated as a reward. Why not visit the Shop to spend them on something useful?
<<Click Here to Access Inventory>>
<<Click Here to Access Gacha>>
<<Click Here to Visit Shop>>
<<Click Here to Check Map>>
<<Click Here to Reach Forge>>
<<Click Here to End Your Life (RECOMMENDED)>>
'Still at it,' Constantine thought, dismissing the window.
Three Skills. SR armor. SR daggers. A functional Potion supply.
He allowed himself a moment to appreciate the picture—Level 21 with a ranged ability, a stealth Skill, and Boss-tier equipment—against the memory of a Level 1 Ghoul crawling out of dried blood not so long ago.
The distance between those two versions of himself was almost difficult to conceptualize.
What remained on the floor was the complication.
Ghost Iron Fragments. Several Gem pouches. The Rare bow. A Common sword. His cracked Ordinary Sharp Sword. Various crafting materials he recognized as ingredients for higher-tier forging.
'I can't physically carry all of it, and storing them in my Inventory is not even an option.'
The System had demonstrated twice that it could lock him out whenever it chose. Placing anything critical there was the same as surrendering it.
At that moment, the System weighed in.
[System Notice]
{Host, I notice you haven't stored your remaining loot in your Inventory. I would hate for you to lose it! :)}
Constantine stared at the notification for a moment.
"Right," he said aloud. "Very convincing."
He closed it and returned to staring at the pile.
The Forge was equally out of reach, since the System could interfere with the results.
After all, the Safe Zone trap had already proven the System would let anything function perfectly for exactly as long as it needed in order to lower his guard.
He was not walking back into that.
Every single thing on this floor had been earned, how could he throw them away?
'There has to be another option.'