Chapter 37: Rewards II

Ryan opened the equipment section of his inventory.

The Death Blade Knight Equipment Set appeared before him.

It contained six pieces of equipment.

Death Blade Knight Helmet — Legendary

Death Blade Knight Armor — Legendary

Death Blade Knight Gauntlets — Legendary

Death Blade Knight Greaves — Legendary

Death Blade Knight Boots — Legendary

Death Blade Greatsword — Legendary

Ryan looked at the equipment with interest.

"Six pieces?"

He selected the helmet first.

[Death Blade Knight Helmet]

[Rank: Legendary]

[Requirement: Death Blade Knight Class]

[Strength: +100]

[Constitution: +100]

[Physical Defense: +20%]

[Death Resistance: +20%]

[Passive: Death Sight]

[Death Sight: Allows the user to see Death Energy, undead creatures, and hidden traces of death.]

Ryan nodded.

"Not bad."

He checked the armor next.

[Death Blade Knight Armor]

[Rank: Legendary]

[Requirement: Death Blade Knight Class]

[Strength: +150]

[Constitution: +200]

[Physical Defense: +35%]

[Magic Resistance: +15%]

[Damage Reduction: +10%]

[Passive: Death Barrier]

[Death Barrier: Automatically creates a protective layer of Death Energy when the user receives a powerful attack.]

Ryan raised his eyebrows slightly.

"This one is pretty good."

He moved on to the gauntlets.

[Death Blade Knight Gauntlets]

[Rank: Legendary]

[Requirement: Death Blade Knight Class]

[Strength: +150]

[Agility: +50]

[Physical Damage: +15%]

[Attack Speed: +10%]

[Passive: Death Grip]

[Death Grip: Increases the user’s grip strength and prevents the weapon from being forcibly removed from their hands.]

Ryan looked at his hands.

"Useful against enemies that can disarm me."

He then checked the greaves.

[Death Blade Knight Greaves]

[Rank: Legendary]

[Requirement: Death Blade Knight Class]

[Agility: +100]

[Constitution: +100]

[Movement Speed: +15%]

[Physical Defense: +15%]

[Passive: Heavy Step]

[Heavy Step: Increases the user’s physical impact when attacking while moving.]

Ryan nodded again.

"The bonuses are pretty balanced."

He opened the information for the boots.

[Death Blade Knight Boots]

[Rank: Legendary]

[Requirement: Death Blade Knight Class]

[Agility: +150]

[Movement Speed: +20%]

[Stamina Recovery: +30%]

[Passive: Death Walker]

[Death Walker: Allows the user to move across unstable terrain without losing balance.]

Ryan smiled slightly.

"These should make moving around much easier."

Finally, he selected the greatsword.

The information appeared in front of him.

[Death Blade Greatsword]

[Rank: Legendary]

[Requirement: Death Blade Knight Class]

[Strength: +250]

[Physical Damage: +30%]

[Death Damage: +30%]

[Armor Penetration: +20%]

[Passive: Death Edge]

[Death Edge: Every attack releases a small amount of Death Energy that increases the weapon’s cutting power.]

[Skill: Death Blade Wave]

[Releases a powerful slash of concentrated Death Energy.]

[Damage: 500% Physical Damage + 300% Death Damage]

[Mana Cost: 500 MP]

[Cooldown: 30 seconds]

Ryan looked at the greatsword for several seconds.

"This is definitely the best piece."

He had been using the Skeleton King’s greatsword until now, but a Legendary weapon specifically designed for his class was obviously better.

Ryan equipped the entire set.

Dark armor appeared over his body, covering him from head to toe. The armor was mostly black, with faint silver patterns running across its surface. A dark cloak formed behind him, and the Death Blade Greatsword appeared in his hand.

Ryan looked down at himself.

"Looks pretty good."

He swung the greatsword once.

The air in front of him was cut apart by the blade, and a faint black trail of Death Energy remained in its path.

Ryan nodded with satisfaction.

"Much better."

A new notification suddenly appeared.

[Death Blade Knight Equipment Set has been equipped.]

[Set Effect activated.]

Ryan’s eyes moved toward the notification.

"Set effect?"

He opened the information immediately.

[Death Blade Knight Set Effect]

[2-Piece Effect: +10% Physical Damage]

[4-Piece Effect: +15% Physical Defense]

[6-Piece Effect: +20% Death Damage]

[Complete Set Bonus: Death Blade Knight’s Will]

[Death Blade Knight’s Will: When the user’s HP falls below 30%, all physical and Death-based attacks are increased by 30%. Physical Damage Resistance is increased by 20%.]

Ryan read the effect carefully.

"So the full set gives an additional effect when my HP gets low."

He thought about it for a moment.

"Hopefully, I won’t need to use that effect often."

Ryan closed the equipment window and looked around the hall.

The challenge was over, and there was nothing else he needed to do here.

His summons were still waiting nearby.

"Everyone, return."

The summons disappeared one after another, returning to their respective spaces.

Ryan then opened the Tower interface.

A new option was now available.

[Second Floor — Access Granted]

Ryan selected it.

A familiar system notification appeared.

[Would you like to enter the Second Floor?]

Ryan smiled.

"Of course."

He confirmed the option.

A pillar of light immediately appeared beneath his feet.

Ryan looked at the empty hall one last time before stepping into the light.

"Let’s see what the second floor is like."

His body disappeared from the hall.

At the same time, the ranking screen in the Tower updated once again.

1. Max Walker — New York — New Earth

The name remained at the very top of the ranking.

Ryan had no idea that his name had already begun attracting attention from Awakeners across different planets.

The changed ranking screen appeared in front of several Awakeners across different planets.

All of them had participated previously in the Heroic Difficulty challenge. They had spent a long time preparing for it and earned a rank, so they immediately noticed something strange when the new ranking was updated.

Their previous positions had all been pushed down.

"Wait, what happened to the ranking?"

"Someone took first place?"

"Who is Max Walker?"

The Awakeners quickly opened the ranking and looked at the name at the very top.

1. Max Walker — New York — New Earth

The name was completely unfamiliar to most of them.

Some of the Awakeners began checking the newcomer’s information, while others simply stared at the ranking in confusion.

Among them was a young-looking vampire from the Ancient Blood World.

His name was Raghur.

He was sitting inside a large room when the ranking appeared before him. Raghur looked at the first-place name carefully, and his expression slowly changed.

"Max?"

He stared at the name for a few seconds before suddenly bursting into laughter.

"Ahahaha! So Max was transferred here too!"

Raghur laughed as he continued staring at the ranking.

He and Max had been close friends in their previous life. They had known each other for years and had spent a lot of time together.