Novel Full Chapter 962: Last Item
Chapter 962: Last Item
Michael stared at the panel for a long time.
Three stars.
Michael had not expected that from the bamboo shaft, and yet here it was. Epic Grade three stars.
He looked at the staff with considerably more attention than he had given it before.
This was the third three star epic grade treasure in his possession. The first was the Damaged Coffin of the Forgotten. The second was his storage ring. Both had come as rewards tied directly to his advancements.
This was the only one that had come naturally.
To think Shojo had kept a three star epic grade support treasure in a cave alongside bones and dust for an unknown number of decades, completely ignorant of what it actually was.
Michael exhaled quietly.
"Truly," he said to the empty space, "ignorance is expensive."
Though the description of the Everbloom Staff read in a relatively straightforward manner on the surface, the effects themselves were anything but ordinary.
The first effect alone, a twenty-five percent boost to Constitution and fifteen percent to all other attributes for every ally within range, was strong. That kind of passive amplification applied to multiple Rank 4 undead simultaneously was not a small thing.
But it was the second effect that made Michael read the panel twice.
As long as the wielder could consistently supply mana, all sustained injuries would be healed instantly.
Michael thought about his current mana reserves. His Intelligence was sitting above 2600.
With this treasure he was essentially a cockroach, as long as he was not killed in a single strike.
Michael turned the staff over in his hand one more time.
"There doesn’t seem to be anyone perfectly suited for this."
It was not that he lacked options. He himself was a candidate, and among his undead there were several reasonable ones. Unfortunately there was no perfect fit.
He stored it and moved to the last item.
The musical instrument.
A string instrument to be precise.
It was roughly the size and shape of something that could be held against the body, its frame carved from dark lacquered wood. The body was narrow and elongated, curving slightly at the base. The neck was long, the frets marked with small inlaid pieces of what looked like pale bone at even intervals.
The strings themselves were few in number, thick and taut, running from a carved headstock down to a tailpiece fixed at the instrument’s base with a small decorative knot.
It looked like something that belonged in a performance hall. It looked like a pipa from his old world.
Michael picked it up carefully and cast Detect.
[Item Name]: Sovereign Pipa
[Grade]: Epic Grade ★★★
[Effect - String One: Shattering Pluck]
A single pluck releases a concentrated sonic burst directed in a straight line. The burst carries physical force capable of fracturing barriers, disrupting formations, and staggering opponents. Force scales with mana invested.
[Effect - String Two: Binding Resonance]
A sustained note releases an invisible resonance field that anchors targets within range, restricting spatial movement including teleportation for the duration the note is held.
[Effect - String Three: Soul Tremor]
A plucked chord sends vibrations directly into the spiritual body of targets within range, destabilizing active domain effects.
[Effect - String Four: Sovereign’s Dirge]
A full strum releases a sweeping wave of oppressive sound that suppresses all living targets within range, reducing their combat output by twenty percent for thirty seconds.
Michael stared at the panel in shock.
Another three star treasure.
"Jester, I love you!"
Michael wanted to shout in excitement, especially after reading through the item’s effects.
The excitement lasted a few seconds before doubt crept in quietly behind it.
Michael thought back through Shojo’s memory of the encounter. The owner of the Sovereign Pipa had managed to seriously injure Shojo, which was no small feat. But they had also been killed off relatively quickly once the engagement shifted into close range. The fight had not been the protracted, grinding exchange that the Black Serpent human or the elven spear wielder had produced.
Were the effects truly as strong as the panel suggested?
Michael reached out toward the second string. Binding Resonance seemed like the least offensive of the four effects, the one least likely to cause collateral damage to the cave around him. A reasonable choice for a quick test. Still, Michael was cautious and created multiple layers of barrier around himself first.
Michael had barely touched the string when he felt a noticeable and immediate drain pulling from his mana reserves, the sensation arriving before he had even produced a sound from it.
Michael raised an eyebrow and pulled his hand back.
"So strange."
His mana had already crossed into the early stages of Rank 4 in terms of volume. Yet a single touch of the string’s surface, without activating it all the way through, had produced a noticeable reduction.
A few actual uses at full activation might drain him considerably.
Michael looked at the Pipa with considerably more complicated feelings than he had experienced thirty seconds ago.
It was possible this instrument was not designed for Rank 4 users at all. The Black Serpent human had used a two star item and still managed to push Shojo to its limits. The Pipa’s previous owner had wielded a three star instrument and had still been killed relatively quickly.
At this point Michael did not think the owner had been weak. The more likely conclusion was that they had simply not been able to fully utilise what they were carrying.
Michael stored the Pipa carefully.
"Tremendous potential. Unfortunately I can’t think of anyone suitable," he said quietly. "Still, this counts as a trump card."
Michael had thousands of undead. If he evolved a sufficient number of them he could simply have them take turns using the item.
He shook his head slowly.
He was becoming an increasingly unreasonable opponent the stronger he grew.
Disgusting. Just the way he liked it.
Michael did a quick count of the epic grade treasures now in his possession.
Before today he had possessed two. Today had added five more.
The Venomflare Lance. The Emperor’s Aegis Decree. The Veilborn Circlet. The Everbloom Staff. The Sovereign Pipa.
Seven epic grade treasures in total. Five of them acquired in a single day. There was no daylight highway robbery in history to match this.
Of those seven, four were three star items. The Everbloom Staff and the Sovereign Pipa sitting alongside the Damaged Coffin of the Forgotten and the storage ring at the top of his collection.
Michael exhaled slowly and looked around the cave one final time.
The battle with Shojo had turned out to be one of the most fruitful encounters of his life.
Only one experience could genuinely compete with the returns from this single night and the days that followed.
The time in hell, when he had stood at the edge of death and comprehended his law.
That had given him something no treasure could replicate.
But in terms of material gain, this came very close to the top.