[Forge is Upgrading your Rusty Sword…]
{Please be on Standby (60% complete)}
Constantine heaved a loud sigh.
He was a little worried at first, but everything was working perfectly—just like in the game.
'Upgrading low-ranked items pretty much has a hundred percent success rate. The higher the rank of the item, the lower the chances. Crafting works the same way. As for Downgrading, it has a constant success rate, though the quality and quantity of materials that are preserved afterward vary.'
Right as he finished his thought, the process was complete.
[Upgrade Successful!]
{Congratulations! You have acquired Ordinary Sharp Sword (R)}
"Yes!"
Perhaps it was because of the recent heaps of disappointment, but Constantine had remained a little skeptical up until the very end.
Witnessing this successful attempt proved there was no glitch in this section of the System.
The upgraded sword had also appeared in front of him, glistening with pale white light, so he wasn't worried about the weapon being trapped in his Inventory.
'Now… to Craft my Shield.'
Constantine had thought very thoroughly about this, but he opted for a shield in the end.
As an Undead, he didn't really feel pain, and apart from his brain, there were no other weak spots that could result in a fatal injury.
His {Died Once} Title also ensured his body would regenerate over time.
Thus, his need for armor was greatly reduced.
If he opted for a shield, he would be guaranteed higher quality in the long run. This would allow him to better defend his weak point without compromising mobility.
'I also don't have a lot of materials to use as offerings. It's best not to be too ambitious.'
Constantine ended up sacrificing his bread, water, the rest of his Gems, and the remaining clothes of the Adventurers he killed. After some hesitation, he also chose to offer up the bow, arrows, and quiver in his possession.
'I don't have an archery Skill, and the learning curve to master this weapon is huge. I'm also not a ranged fighter. If the Inventory was working as it should, I would have kept it there as insurance, but I can't trust the System to let me use it in desperate times. It's better I use it to better guarantee my safety.'
[System Notice]
{Are you sure about this choice?}
"Oh? So now you care?" Constantine coldly snorted and confirmed his choice.
[System Notice]
{To reiterate… are you really certain about this?}
At this point, Constantine felt a tinge of dread in his heart. He couldn't quite place the feeling, but the suspicious actions of the System made his numb heart race slightly.
In the end, he chose to continue with his decision.
"Yes. I am sure!" He pressed the 'Confirm' button once more.
'This annoying thing could be trying to scare me into making the wrong decision again.'
After making all the sacrifices and selecting what he was trying to Craft, he confirmed all his choices and left the rest to the Forge.
[Forge is Crafting your Shield…]
{Please be on Standby (10% complete)}
In many ways, Crafting was the most cost-efficient among the three functions of the Forge. Its value-to-price ratio was also the highest. The only unfortunate thing was that there was a limit to the quality one could obtain from Crafting alone.
'Well, since I sacrificed a weapon, I should get a Shield of the same quality… right?'
After waiting only a few more minutes, the results were in.
[Crafting Successful!]
{Congratulations! You have acquired Ordinary Sturdy Shield (R)}
Just like the sword, the shield also appeared in front of him.
It glowed with a metallic luster, and it looked like a work of art compared to the flimsy thing he had used before.
Most importantly, it was a Rare item.
Items in Eccles Accel were divided into nine ranks based on their abilities and usefulness:
Common, Rare, Super Rare, Ultra Rare, Super Ultra Rare, Legendary, Mythic, Divine, and Transcendent.
Among these, the Rare rank wasn't that extraordinary, but it was still far better than the Common rank, which was the rank of his rusty sword and first shield. Seeing that he had to upgrade his sword to obtain a Rare-rank weapon, while simply Crafting had given him a Rare shield, Constantine was rather pleased with the results.
'My bad luck is finally gone!' He beamed before equipping these items.
Right now, he had quite a few things equipped:
Male Adventurer's Outfit (R)
Ordinary Sharp Sword (R)
Ordinary Sturdy Shield (R)
Basic Longsword (C)
Basic Dagger ×2 (C)
Basic Adventurer Pouch ×3 (C)
Minor Ability Boost Potion ×6
Minor Recovery Potion ×7
Full Recovery Potion ×1
'Hm… I should probably upgrade the Adventurer Pouches so I can get a single one that's far better than the three strapped to my waist.' Constantine rubbed his chin while quietly analyzing his path forward. 'Should I keep the Basic Longsword as my secondary weapon, or should I use it to upgrade the daggers and use those instead?'
These were all important decisions that would affect his playstyle moving forward, so he couldn't make a careless decision.
Now that he was in a Safe Zone, he could exploit this opportunity to properly consider his options.
'I might lose my shield at some point, which will leave my left arm free. Having a second sword would be good. But if something happens to my first sword, having two daggers to help me deal a lot of damage while improving my mobility is also really good.'
Amidst these thoughts, loud tremors suddenly reverberated throughout the vast cavern that Constantine had grown comfortable in.
"E-eh? What is going o—?"
BOOOOOOOOM!!!
Before he could finish his thought, the cavern walls shattered, and several monsters suddenly emerged through the gaping hole.
Seeing the sudden horde that had appeared, Constantine's eyes bulged.
His gaze landed on the Map as he noticed something incredibly frightening—RED!
This region was now covered in red!
'So suddenly? No way… A Safe Zone wouldn't suddenly turn into a Danger Zone!'
Safe Zones could only turn into ordinary areas after some time. Then, those ordinary areas could later turn into Danger Zones.
The same logic applied to Danger Zones transforming into Safe Zones.
But why was this different?!
Constantine made a dreadful guess at that moment.
At some point, this Safe Zone must have stopped being one. However, the System deceived him into thinking it had remained safe. The System must have had the ability to manipulate the Map all along, but it pretended to be incapable so he would let down his guard.
What about the Forge?
It was likely under the System's control as well!
'It only let me succeed because it wanted me to believe I was in full control. It was buying time for this area to become a Danger Zone!'
Now that he thought about it more carefully, the System had intentionally asked him if he was sure about his sacrifice more times than necessary because it wanted to delay him. Even the Crafting and Upgrading times were likely dragged out for this same purpose.
All of it was to keep Constantine in this dangerous place long enough for death to arrive.
From the start… this had been yet another trap!